The Trump clan, Donald and Don Jr, and maybe a few other members are issuing ‘tokens’ from World Liberty Financial although there are still details to follow. 

There are at least 10,000 cryptocurrencies with various degrees of success. Anybody who wishes to can buy them or create their own but should politicians, or potential politicians, be involved?

The Australian Parliament has a “Register of Members’ Interests” which requires all politicians to declare everything they own and especially everything they are given. A couple of examples of people losing their position or ministry include one who declared a TV they brought into the country as black and white rather than color and thus avoided import fees and another who forgot to declare a Paddington bear.

If all politicians had to be honest, declare what they have and what they got from others or what they were going to earn from their gullible followers, would we have any politicians left?

“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”

– Thomas Jefferson

Dennis Fitzgerald,

Melbourne, Australia

As the 21 September 2024 Sokoto State Local Government Areas’ election holds, Louis Achi puts the exercise on the scale, against the backdrop of Governor Ahmed Aliyu and the State Electoral umpire’s firm commitment to a free, fair and credible elections and PDP’s boycott

The unassuming, amiable Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto of Sokoto State has repeatedly assured the people of Sokoto State and indeed Nigerians of his administration’s commitment to conducting a free, fair, and credible election in the state’s 21st September 2024 local government elections. The first evidence of that intention was the retention of the members of the Sokoto State Independent Commission (SOSIEC) appointed by former Governor Aminu Tambuwal.

But for reasons best known to the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which despite assurances threatened boycott of the election and ultimately opted out of the important poll due to a quirky fear that the Sokoto State Independent Electoral Commission (SOSIEC) which its leader appointed cannot be trusted to conduct a credible election.

Notwithstanding that the members of the body were appointed by former Governor Aminu Tambuwal, the fact that Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto is a firm rule-of-law stickler, he refused to dissolve them like other governors who took over from the opposition did.

How could the Aminu Tambuwal-led PDP in the stated disown their appointees? Is the former governor indirectly telling the world that the 27th March 2021 elections which the PDP won hands down didn’t reflect the will of the people and that he feared same treatment despite the assurances by the governor?

Leaning on his unblemished and proven credentials as a strong believer in rule of law and democrat, the governor has severally urged the PDP to reconsider its curious decision to boycott the LGAs’ poll but in vain. Governor Aliyu Sokoto again pushed this appeal recently while addressing a large crowd of All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters from eight local governments in the Sokoto East Senatorial Zone, at Goronyo at the flag-off of the party campaign ahead of the LGAs’ poll in the state.

Hear Governor Ahmad Sokoto: “The leaders of the Sokoto Independent Electoral Commission were appointed by the previous PDP administration of Governor Aminu Tambuwal and I have not altered that structure. I wonder why the PDP is afraid of participating in the elections that would be organised by SOSIEC that they appointed.”

For good measure, Governor Aliyu Sokoto further assured the opposition in the state that SOSIEC, under his administration, would conduct free, fair, and credible local government elections unlike what the PDP did in 2021. “I had a meeting with the Chairman of SOSIEC, and he assured me of the commitment of the members to conduct a transparent election and that whoever wins will be declared the winner because that’s the will of the people” the governor affirmed.

Having been widely perceived as a victim of electoral fraud in the 2019 governorship elections it’s not surprising that the governor has shown willingness to respect the will of the Sokoto State people. He equally has demonstrated amazing political skills by ensuring that he delivered on his campaign promises.

The Sokoto State voters are expected to come out in large numbers and vote for the candidates of their choice. The APC candidates who despite the withdrawal of the PDP have continued to campaign for their votes deserve to be rewarded so that working with the APC-led state government, they can ensure the continuation of people-oriented projects in the state. The emerging consensus is that the current administration has performed well in all sectors of development.

As Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, the respected APC leader in the state at the various campaign rallies has said, politics is about serving the people and the incoming elected officials must work with Governor Aliyu Sokoto to continue the urgent task of transforming the state. The eight years of Aminu Tambuwal was no doubt a disaster.

Wamakko’s words: “Mr. Governor, we are very proud of you. You have made significant progress in all sectors of development in the state. Please continue the good work and am sure the new chairmen would work with you to change the story of our state”.

It’s gladdening to know that SOSIEC is determined to conduct a credible election especially as the governor wants the right thing done. The people of Sokoto State are watching and would want the commission to match its reassurances to conduct credible local government elections in the 244 political wards and 3,991 polling units across the state, with actions on Saturday.

The engagement between the Commission, and all the registered 18 political parties in its effort to ensure credible polls, led to the agreement of September 21 for the polls with no fewer than 15 political parties registering their interest in the polls is commendable.

The USAID Nigeria-State Accountability, Transparency and Effectiveness (State2State) activity, that discussed issues that can cause conflict and how best to handle such matters according to SOSIEC has proved beneficial. SIEC has a responsibility to correct the failures of the last local government elections of 2021 which the PDP had won, despite the mere 342 votes between Aminu Tambuwal and Governor Ahmad Sokoto. It’s significantly regrettable that the PDP boycotted the elections.

But why did PDP opt for boycott of the LGAs’ poll, especially given the fact that it was the PDP that constituted the current SOSIEC? What really is the main opposition party’s beef with LGAs’ election? Alhaji Bello Aliyu Goronyo, Chairman of the PDP in Sokoto had initially expressed doubts about participating in the poll due to what he called unresolved security issues in 14 of the state’s 23 local government areas.

He had also insisted that SOSIEC must address what he called “significant concerns” before raising almost on a daily basis, issues it wanted addressed.

From “issues of significant concern” Alhaji Bello Aliyu Goronyo, went on to criticize the Sokoto State Independent Electoral Commission (SOSIEC) for requiring parties to buy nomination forms before primary elections. He had also problem with SOSIEC’s decision not to use the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

Responding to PDP’s shrill criticism, SOSIEC Chairman Alhaji Aliyu Sulaiman confirmed the commission’s decision to forgo BVAS, citing controversial experiences from the 2023 elections. “We resolved not to use BIVAS to avoid unnecessary controversies. It’s not mandatory,” Sulaiman stated, noting that the PDP had not purchased any nomination forms by the deadline, unlike other parties.

It wasn’t surprising that PDP eventually chickened out of the LGAs poll. The emerging political consensus is that the PDP had clearly seen the handwriting on the wall, hence its decision boycott the September 21 election.

Significantly, since the PDP was upstaged in the 2023 governorship election by APC’s Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto they opted for confrontation and campaign of calumny against the governor. “I took over the mantle of leadership of Sokoto State without working documents. I mean there was no handover notes for me to work with. I started as a total fresher,” an obviously miffed Governor Aliyu told THISDAY. 

THISDAY checks revealed the immediate past administration of Aminu Tambuwal left what many see as a deliberate confusion to entrap the successor administration. The Aminu Tambuwal administration left huge unpaid pension and gratuities, delayed salaries and uncompleted projects.

But it would appear they didn’t count on the nimble governance nous and political gravitas of youthful Governor Aliyu who deployed a stern focus to leapfrog the mines laid on his course and has now birthed a new progressive direction for Sokoto State.

More, Governor Ahmed Aliyu long before the Supreme Court judgment had embraced Local Government Area autonomy as one of his 9-point governance agenda. He instigated changes in the local government law to increase the tenure of the chairmen and councilors from two to three years. This puts Governor Aliyu and the APC in even more populist position to sweep the poll.

As it were, since the main opposition PDP had not purchased the requisite nomination forms by the deadline set by SOSIEC, like other parties have done according to the Commission chairman Sulaiman, then it’s obvious they are effectively out of contention in the September 21 LGAs election in Sokoto State.

Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State in this recent interview in Jos, the state capital, speaks on several pressing national issues including his relationship with President Bola Tinubu and the forthcoming local government election in the state. Seriki Adinoyi brings excerpts:

What has been the story since you came on board as Governor of Plateau State?

You know that governance continues daily. It keeps improving; it’s like a football club, every season, you see clubs buying new players because they need to improve the competitiveness of the squad.

I am happy with my squad; but I’m always looking for ways of improvement. As soon as we find ways in which we can improve, we will bring in the best hands that can be recruited.

Recently, you suspended two of your commissioners. When that was done through your Director of Press, you didn’t tell the world why you did it. May we know why it was done?

Well, let me say that we suspended them in order to reinforce discipline within the cabinet. Where we see some bit of lacklustre disposition, we try to rein them in and make sure people sit up to their responsibilities. We can’t for political reasons, allow anything and everything to go. But I am sure those we suspended have learnt their lessons; and we will keep reviewing those suspensions.

There was an appointment you made recently which generated a lot of fuzz. I’m sure you saw the reactions even from the Jamaatu Nasri Islam about a Senior Special Assistant on Indigenous Muslims. There seems to be too much of hues and cries. I don’t know if you want to explain anything in that light?

 I really don’t like generating storms out of tea cups. It’s not necessary. I didn’t create the idea of “Indigenous Muslims”. I met it on ground as governor. It has been in existence, and even registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission as indigenous muslims.

I don’t know what motivated them; but they are definitely a defined group within our space. And so I didn’t create them. I only said, “Okay, look, you guys exist, let’s see how you can relate better with government”. That’s all we did. Therefore, I don’t see why anybody should deny them the right of existence. Some of them are Berom, some of them are Mwaghavul, some of them are Ngas, and others are Tarok.

They want their own identity. And there is freedom of association guaranteed under the constitution. So there is no need to deny anybody that right. So, we simply recognised what is in existence. We didn’t create it. What we have done in trying to recognize the various groups is to give everybody a sense of inclusion: so that we don’t just throw something at the large group and some people within that group feel disenfranchised, feel disentitled, and feel not included. That is why you can see for the first time in the history of Plateau we recognised different groupings and gave them a channel of relating with government. We are running on this mantra of inclusion, equity, and fairness to all. Now, if you are getting your own, don’t deny somebody the opportunity to get his own. That’s all we are saying.

It appears you have a smooth relationship with Mr. President; to the extent it is feared that you may want to possibly jump ship someday. Are you thinking in that direction?

First of all, let me appreciate Mr. President for accepting me and opening his arms of fellowship to me. After all, he is the father of the nation. For instance, as the Governor of Plateau State, I cannot discriminate against any Plateau citizen. And so, for me to have that access to Mr. President, I believe it’s for the good of Plateau people.

Let me say this, I’m a PDP man to the core. My politics has always been dictated by God and the people. And I know that Plateau people own PDP. They see it as their own. If tomorrow Plateau people tell me to move, I’ll move. But if they tell me we want you to stay where you are, that’s where I will stay. So, I will always move with the people. Let me assure the people about this; I will always move with the people. I relate well with Mr. President; but I don’t forget where I come from.

Just a few days ago, the APC stakeholders on the Plateau met. Since you have this good relationship with the President, do you have any information to give us in the light that Plateau has been without a minister for a very long time, even though you don’t belong to the APC?

The federal cabinet is a right, as enshrined in our constitution. And I’ve had to engage Mr. President on this. He has asked me to be patient. He is trying to re-jig his government and certainly has not forgotten about Plateau. He is considering a lot of options. Of course, we will keep engaging him on this matter. Presently, the National Assembly is on recess – the Senate, particularly. I’m sure that when they resume, we are likely to hear something positive in this regard.

The local government elections are just a few days away. You have repeatedly said you created a space where it would be a level playing ground for everybody. The people don’t believe that what you’re saying is going to happen. Your party had some bit of stormy ride in the primaries. The other party seemed to be very quiet. They did their primaries and everything went on smoothly.

Did they do primaries? They didn’t do primaries. I can tell you that for free. Let them challenge me hereafter. Let them tell us where they did primaries. They didn’t do primaries for governorship. Names were just written; they didn’t do for local government elections either. But let me say this, we are going to prove to Nigerians that Plateau is a model in terms of conducting local government elections. We are bringing International Observers to observe our local government elections. The reason APC is participating is because we have provided a level playing field. You remember the shameful local government elections conducted in 2021 where they excluded the PDP on very frivolous and scandalous basis, which was decided in the Government House, not even by PLASIEC.

We witnessed situations where before results could be counted, people were already announced and sworn in. That is not going to repeat itself on the Plateau. By the grace of God, we’re going to conduct credible local government elections. I was a beneficiary of such credible elections in 2014, when I became a local government chairman. I cannot go below that standard.

Plateau people should be reassured that we’ll do the best we can, to ensure that we have credible local government elections. For us in the PDP, we had hiccups here and there. Truly the party belongs to the people, if we had situations where in communities’ members emerge as consensus candidates rather than by the party itself; because communities took ownership of the party. And we are glad about that.

But let’s not exaggerate it. We had a few skirmishes in two or three local governments out of 17. And what I can tell you is that we brought everything under control. Of course, when you have a contest, some people will be aggrieved – it’s normal; but we are addressing it. And I am sure before the elections everything will be well, and we are going to go into the elections, as far as the PDP is concerned, as one happy family

It appears that some of the people you started with in your journey through your campaign appear not to be getting your attention anymore – they have been left in the cold. What is your position on this issue?

You know, government does not begin and end in one day. People have expectations that once you come into government, everybody is going to get an appointment. Everybody is going to get one thing doing or the other. It doesn’t happen in one day. People have to learn to be patient. There is no way I can cut myself into pieces and give everybody. When I was chairman of Mangu, I had this very naive idea that I could be seeing everybody. So I created two days in the week. The first two weeks, I almost died because there was no way I could see everybody. Now, I have to attend to issues in Abuja, and also attend to issues here locally.

I’m going to get journalists to keep company with me for a week and see my schedules. I believe that among many governors, I’m doing my best to be able to allow access to me as a person. I answer phone calls when the time allows; reply text and WhatsApp messages. I engage people, when I have the freedom.

But somebody calls you, maybe you are even having a state executive council meeting. He wants you to answer his call. So let me appeal to those who feel they haven’t been carried along to continue to be patient.

We’ll continue to look out for that. And people who know me know that I have no enemies or friends when it comes to governance.

If you have any value to add to Plateau people, we’ll bring you on board. Some of those who competed with me during elections, are in different offices today. Appointments were facilitated, you know, so we’ll continue to do that. I appeal to people who have such feelings, let them continue to be patient.

What measures are you putting on place to help get sponsors for Sport teams in Plateau State, especially through companies existing on the Plateau? What are the companies giving back to the state as it will lessen the general burden on your government in funding these local teams?

 We are trying to reorganize sports from the grassroots and look at various aspects of the administration of sports as it is presently.  Government is bearing the burden for virtually all the teams, whether in football, basketball, badminton, every aspect of sports, because when we got on board, the Sports Council was almost dead.

We’ve been able to bring in one of our veteran sports administrators, Professor Ezra Gunnen. We brought him from Abuja to become Director of Sports. He was a record holder in 1500 meters here on the Plateau. We are thinking of how to be able to rebuild from the base.

Of course, part of the critical thing that was coming is the contributions of the private sector. But before you ask the private sector to give, you must first of all also give them.

So we are looking at what the enabling environment is. What is the enabling environment for the private sector to thrive? They don’t do Father Christmas; they do what is called corporate social responsibility – which is done after they have made profit.

What are the concrete plans in terms of having a befitting stadium in Plateau? We are losing to the outside world because we don’t have a sports facility that can even attract the national team to the state?

I absolutely agree with you. I’m also passionate about sports and I also don’t like to see abandoned projects. And so, since I came on board, we’ve been having series of engagements with the private sector about how to be able to bring in funds to finish the Zaria Road Stadium, for example. Now we realized that it is not possible to fund it from the budget – both in terms of the amount required and also of the management capacity, because if you simply leave the management of the stadium to civil servants, it may not yield the desired results. Therefore, we’ll bring in the private sector as it’s done in Europe.

But when they come and say, you have to give us additional incentives to be able to put money into the stadium, and then you have to do something. We’ve taken stock of all the land around the stadium and we are in the process of trying to demarcate same and all other things can be created around the stadium that are of commercial value.

We are going to be dealing with all the mechanic shops to recreate a village around the stadium where there will be other assets of value that will be created to give incentive for the private sector to invest money in finishing the stadium.

But we are doing some minimal things to keep our teams playing there in the professional league so that it won’t be taken away from us. But, definitely, I am confident – and trusting God – that my administration will bring to foreclosure this project that started as far back as 1988.

Let me remind you that the last game of the season of the Professional Football League was played at the Zaria Road Stadium and even the pre-season of the league kicked off here on the Plateau. That tells you that we are still very much within the reckoning horizon of the Nigerian Football League.

Keem Abdul writes that President Bola Tinubu will do well to before long rejig his cabinet to incorporate technocrats who will share same ideas with him towards implementing the Renewed Hope Agenda of his administration

There’s a famous Hollywood movie titled, ‘The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner.’ Based on a short story of that title by the English writer Alan Sillitoe, it talks about delinquent young man who takes to long-distance running in order to free himself from the pressures and expectations of his society – and especially of the peer pressure which has so often led him into trouble with the law. Sillitoe gives his character the ability to achieve his purpose without the pressures of a team – hence the use of the term, ‘loneliness.’

Leadership, too, is a marathon and an awfully lonely business – especially if you’re a visionary with your eyes fixed on the bigger picture and you’re willing to sacrifice instant gratification for long-term and ultimately lasting gain. It’s a lonely business if you have decided not to be a people-pleaser, prone to being blown here and there by the often changing winds of popular opinion – and even more so if you’re at the head of a team comprising members who are not completely on board with your vision.

Recent media stories making the rounds, to the effect that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is on the verge of a major cabinet shake-up that would effectively rid his cabinet of certain ministers who have been described in various quarters as ‘dead woods’ and ‘square pegs in round holes’, etc, seems to suggest that the President has come to the understanding that though these appointees may have had their uses in the past – especially in helping get him elected to office, and in respect of other services – they were no longer fit for purpose. This may have nothing whatsoever with their competence or lack thereof (as some of them have enjoyed sterling careers in the public or private sectors) but all to do with whether their understanding of the mandate they received from the President was in tandem with the mandate HE received from the Nigerian people.

When he ran for President in 2023, the Tinubu campaign team proposed a far-reaching agenda compassing all the sectors of the Nigerian economy – and proffered profound solutions to the challenges bedeviling each of these sectors. The Renewed Hope Manifesto, as it was called, made it clear that for the Nigerian economy and indeed its entirely polity to move forward, tough decisions would be made; it also made it clear that it was better to endure temporary hardship today in order to secure the brighter future of our dreams. In the tension between what we WANT NOW, and what we NEED THE MOST, the Renewed Hope Manifesto suggested that Nigerians choose the latter.

Needless to say, the implementation of some of the reforms driving that vision, upon the success of the Tinubu/Shettima ticket at the polls and the President’s assumption of office, has brought no small amount of hardship to millions of Nigerian households. From the abrupt abolition of the fuel subsidy regime, to the unification of the exchange rate regime, to drastic increases in tariffs for electricity and other services as well as the upward review of the country’s tax profile, the Tinubu reforms have hit wallets really hard – prompting a bitter backlash from certain quarters, including civil society organizations. Industrial action and public protests have trailed the impact of these reforms and policy decisions. The minimum wage strike by the country’s two main labour unions, and the #EndBadGovernance protests that rocked several Nigerian towns and cities, are two examples.

In the face of the fierce winds of opposition assailing him on every side, however, one cannot but note how the President has soldiered on regardless, in his determination to see that these reforms bear fruit in the shortest possible time.

President Tinubu is, of course, no stranger to opposition – whether as its instigator or the one at the receiving end of it. When he was the Governor of Lagos State, there was so much venom directed at his leadership style and especially his reforms that it looked as if he wouldn’t be re-elected in 2003 – especially being an influential opposition Governor faced with a determined President Olusegun Obasanjo at the centre, who was on a mission to ‘capture’ the entire South West region (including Lagos) to consolidate his position within the then-ruling party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). However, the equally determined Tinubu didn’t just get an unprecedented number of votes to return to office, he went on to lead Lagos State through a period of economic boom and sustained prosperity which placed that state as the 5th largest political economy in Africa.

True leadership demands the courage of one’s convictions – especially when those convictions are not received well by the generality of the people. A true leader knows that what his people NEED THE MOST is not always palatable in the short-term, but ultimate vindication will be his or her reward. It was the 28th American President, Woodrow Wilson, who said, ‘I would rather lose in a cause that will someday win, than win in a cause that will someday lose.’

But beyond having the ideas and vision, as well as the courage, convictions and energy to drive them, a leader needs a TEAM – some of whose members may differ with the principal on methods of reaching the desired destination, but should NEVER be at variance with him on what exactly that destination is.

That seems to be what President Tinubu is grappling with at the moment. Not only are his reforms and policy decisions being assailed by the political opposition as well as certain sections of civil society and the media, but there is a noticeable lack of commitment to the full flowering of those reforms and the implementation of those policies on the part of some members of his team. The cankerworms of internal dissent and sheer incompetence or lack of commitment are, in most cases, far more dangerous to a government’s ability to deliver on its mandate than the machinations of the political opposition. They are the Trojan Horse capable of sidestepping the government’s guardrails (especially in matters of confidentiality and the nitty-gritty of policy-formulation, etc.) and the maggot that eats the fruit from within the fruit.

Therefore, if the reports of an impending cabinet shakeup are anything to go by, then the President must act with all alacrity in order to restore the confidence of Nigerians in the viability and feasibility of his vision, as well as his ability – with the help of his team – to deliver the goods as far as the welfare and security of Nigerians are concerned.

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a social democrat by ideological inclination – with a lifelong commitment to democratic freedoms as well as social and economic justice for the masses. This was apparent in his activist days – and there’s no indication that he’s about to betray those principles now, at the very peak of his political career. But Nigerians are groaning, and time is running out. If the Renewed Hope mandate is to be fully actualised, the President needs a team that is not only fully on board with his vision, but also possesses the skill sets, the expertise, experience and forward-looking mindset needed to drive forward the vision. What the President needs within his governing outfit is unity of purpose. Robust in-house debates as to the quickest, most cost-effective way of getting to the desired destination must be encouraged – but DIVISION based on tunnel vision or narrow self-interest is a luxury that neither he nor the Nigerian people can afford right now.

• Keem Abdul, publisher and writer, hails from Lagos. He can be reached via +2348038795377 or Akeemabdul2023@gmail.com

Adams Abonu writes about the remarkable feat of Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State in a little over a year after assuming duties in the state.

In an unprecedented leap of growth, there’s a new order of things in Benue. It’s an era of excellence and exemplary leadership occasioned by the the assumption of office by Rev. Father Hyacinth Alia as Governor of the food-basket state in May, 2023.

Since coming into office, Governor Alia has introduced a brand that is people-centered and focused on reviving the common patrimony of Benue people. What began as “Yes Father” chants across Benue following his nomination as governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2022 has today transformed into a charismatic movement that is leaving in its wake an inspirational trajectory.

A walk down memory lane in the sociopolitical evolution of Benue would explain why the people have made Governor Alia a rallying point for development.

For a state known for her abundant agricultural potentials and a robust pool of human resources, Benue has been shortchanged adversely by those who governed the state. Farmers had little or no value for their products leading to massive unemployment and a poor economic outlook. Economic activities were in their lowest ebbs as industries and enterprises were comatose and there was never any sincere plans to revive them. Civil servants wallowed in misery as their wages were delayed and they were left to their sad fate, unable to cater for the needs of their families nor their health. It’s a sad situation in Benue that prevailed for over two decades.

Then entered Father Alia, the soft-spoken clergy versed with wisdom and charisma.

Upon assumption to office, Governor Alia immediately set to work in a bid to meet his people’s collective demands for a fairer deal. Plugging out leakages in government’s revenue, the amiable governor started offsetting the backlog of arrears of salaries, pensions and other emoluments of civil servants. A payment mechanism was intimated to see to the prompt payment of salaries and gratuities of retirees within days of retirement from service. This unprecedented feat has been sustained thus far making public servants heave sighs of relief.

In his bid to revive the physical infrastructure of the state, Makurdi, the state capital is today wearing a new and befitting look with rehabilitation of dilapidated township roads, landscaping of the environment and lightening the township with bright lights.

The Highlevel Underpass that is at a near completion stage is a testament to the commitment of Governor Alia to ease transportation within the state capital and remodel its outlook. In addition, similar projects are at various stages of completion in Katsina-Ala, Gboko and Otukpo townships.

Harnessing the great potentials of Benue’s agricultural sector has also received requisite attention from Father Alia. Farming incentives like fertilizers, herbicides and access to agric loans and grants are readily provided for farmers and this has greatly improved the prospects of food security within the state and the entire nation in general. The administration had also procured machines and implements to enhance agricultural productivity. Inadvertently, this effort has the potential to revive the Benue economy and increase prosperity in the nearest future.

When the governor declared that he’d turnaround the industrial outlook of the state, he has shown that he meant every word of it. Today, the Benue Investment and Property Company (BIPC) is building a world-class refinery in Makurdi with the prospects of employment and business opportunities for the residents of the state. Similar cottage industries are being established to encourage an economic boom. The health sector is accorded needed priority with the equipping of the Benue State University Teaching Hospital and the revival of primary healthcare provisions across the state.

The pro-masses disposition of the Benue governor has seen him revive the transportation sector with the reinvention of Benue Links with a view to lessen the transportation burden of residents. Today, travellers express profound gratitudes for the timely intervention of government as comfort, safety and affordability has become the hallmark of the transport sector.

Governor Alia’s indelible footprints in Benue are a clear pathways to development and Benue people are following after him with their hearts. In a recent “Thank You Tour” that took the governor through the extensive nook and corners of the state, the mammoth crowd that greeted everywhere he stopped indicated a wide acceptance of his sterling leadership. Never before has Benue people being so inspired by their leader since the days of Aper Aku of blessed memories.

On the political front, how Governor Alia is charting a new course by recruiting a pool of leadership anchored by passion and distinction remains an enduring example worthy of emulation. A clear shift is being witnessed; a shift from politics of aggrandizement to politics that puts the people above all other considerations. Understandably, this shift has met some resistance by elements that held the commonwealth of Benue by the jugular.

That the governor has unrelentingly stood on the side of the people is a testament to his strength of character. Today, a due process mechanism has been put in place in Benue that ensures wholesome expenditure of accruing revenues.

In his numerous feats, Governor Alia is inadvertently inspiring a generation of Benue people to give their best in making the state greater for all. As the local government elections to elect leaders at the third tier of government draws closer, a responsibility beckons on those who would eventually emerge as leaders to sustain the development blueprints of Governor Alia.

The healing mass being orchestrated by the governor need to go down to the grassroots to make Benue a state of our collective dreams.

What Governor Alia is doing in Benue, his inspiring leadership and the consensus of Benue people to rally around him has become a model that would stand the test of time. One can only urge the priest not to relent in his noble bids.

-Abonu writes from Makurdi.

Yinka Oyebode writes about the clamour by Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti state for traditional rulers in the state to join hands with government for the development of the state.

Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti state has canvassed for unity and corporation among traditional rulers in the state, stressing that such cohesion is needed to ensure peace and sustainable development across the state.

Oyebanji made the call at the 70th birthday thanksgiving service of the Chairman, Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers and Olojudo of Ido Ekiti, Oba Ayorinde Ilori-Faboro held at the St John’s Anglican Cathedral, Ido Ekiti.

He noted that unity among the royal fathers would further pave the way for a more structured and collaborative approach to addressing the challenges confronting the state.

Stressing the importance of the traditional institutions in maintaining the cultural heritage of the state, while also acting as custodians of peace and progress, the Governor stated that a united traditional council is essential in promoting government policies at the grassroots, thus enhancing good governance and development.

He urged the traditional rulers to strengthen unity among themselves, set aside any differences that may hinder the development  and progress of the state

While congratulating the Olojudo of Ido Ekiti, Oba Ilori l-Faboro on his 70th birthday, Oyebanji, who paid a glowing tribute to the monarch, lauded his immense contributions to the development of Ido-Ekiti and Ekiti State as a whole.

Highlighting Oba Ilori-Fabiyi’s ability to foster harmonious relationships between his subjects, and neighbouring communities, the Governor said his leadership had help in strengthening the bond between the traditional institution and the state government, thereby driving progress in the state.

“Kabiyesi, today is a special day, 70 in Nigeria is a big deal, in a country where expectancy age is between 45 and 55 years, so to be 70 in Nigeria, we have every cause to thank God and taking into consideration your own trajectory in life. On behalf of the Government of Ekiti State, let me say thank you for your support for our government.

“To our royal fathers, I say congratulations and I thank you for your support for our administration. When I walked in and saw our royal fathers dressed like this, I was happy. I will just plead that our fathers should use the occasion of this 70th birthday to come together so that Ekiti State can develop. I know that if we are united, we can recreate Ekiti parapo, not to fight any war but to develop Ekiti State and history has it that when Obas are united in one accord, there is no mountain that will be too difficult for us to surmount” the Governor asserted.

Responding to the Governor’s plea to the Obas, the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe assured the Governor that the monarchs in Ekiti remain united and committed to the development and progress of the state, stressing that they have always played a pivotal role in maintaining peace and stability across their domains and will continue to support government’s vision for a united and prosperous Ekiti.

Oba Adejugbe, while highlighting the long standing cooperation between the traditional council and the state government, noted that the monarchs have always prioritise the well-being of the citizens in the state.

Also speaking, the celebrant, Oba Ilori- Faboro, while expressing his gratitude to the Governor and the people of Ekiti State for their support throughout his reign, reaffirmed his commitment to the continued growth and stability of his community and the state at large.

Earlier in his sermon, the Anglican Bishop, Ekiti Diocese, Rt. Rev. Anthony Olusola Ajayi; urged Oba Ilori-Faboro to see the attainment of the age of seventy as a blessing from God, adding that living up to that the age has conferred on him the grace and IPP to review his life and change certain things.

-Oyebode, Media Adviser to Governor Oyebanji, writes from Ado Ekiti.

Eligible voters in Edo State will go to the polls on Saturday, September 21, to elect who will take over from the incumbent, Godwin Obaseki, who by November 12,  2024 will complete his eight-year tenure as governor of the state. In this piece, Adibe Emenyonu fact checks some of the gubernatorial candidates and factors that may see any of them emerging victorious.

The People’s Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress have been natural opponents and contestants in Edo state’s political landscape like in national polls. The LP, especially after its outing in the 2023 general poll, has shown its capability to give the PDP and APC something to worry about.

No doubt, the election is a three-horse race, but that of Edo is peculiar in several ways. One, the rivalry between the PDP and the APC, not just at the national level, but is more of a status and influence contest between two former allies, Governor Godwin Obaseki, and his predecessor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and now Senator of the Federal Republic. Before the duo parted ways, they were political bedfellows such that against all protestations, Oshiomhole, as the outgoing governor in 2016, made Obaseki, who then was a political neophyte, the governor of the state on the platform of the APC. But when the handshake krept beyond the elbow, both became political enemies and never agreed again politically.

Therefore, this Saturday’s election will rekindle the rivalry between the duo which began with the refusal in 2019 of 14 state elected lawmakers loyal to Oshiomohle from being  sworn in as members of state parliament orchestrated by Obaseki. To get back at Obaseki, Oshiomohle then as National Chairman of APC, denied Obaseki APC’s second term gubernatorial ticket which later caused him his job.

Obaseki was then forced to move to the waiting hands of the PDP, and all those who had an axe to grind with Oshiomhole rallied round the governor and saw to Obaseki’s victory, which left the Oshiomhole political dynasty stranded as it lost 13 out of the 18 local government areas in the state.

Since then, it has been a ding-dong affair between the two power houses in the state that after the 2020 outing, Oshiomhole’s camp re-grouped and by the time the camp came out of its political laboratory, it was in a good stead to give Obaseki and his PDP a run for their money. The real test of power played out in the 2023 general election when PDP failed to win any of the three senatorial seats in the state. Oshiomhole clinched the slot for Edo North senatorial District for himself and also mobilised APC supporters in Edo Central to get Senator Monday Okpebholo, who is the APC governorship candidate, to win for the APC. The former governor was able to achieve that feat because Obaseki’s attempt to change the political arrangement in the district which shares political offices between the two blocs of Okpebholo and Agbazilo met resistance from the people.

Similar scenario played out in Edo South where Obaseki wanted to foist Matthew Urhoghide who was then finishing his second term as senator representing the area.

In the case of Agbazilo and Okpebholo, while Obaseki insisted on returning Senator Clifford Odia from Okpebholo for a third term, the people opted to follow their ancient political landmark of zoning the senatorial seat to the Agbazilo axis. Angered by the governor’s behaviour, when it was rumoured that the LP candidate who naturally would have been a choice was hand picked by Obaseki, the people had no other choice other than to opt for the APC candidate from Okpebholo bloc. That was how the zone which have Obaseki block votes in 2020, changed the narrative.

For the Edo South district, this political mistrust also threw up the LP victory one because the people did not want APC because of its economic policies that have thrown Nigerians into hardship, and two the personality of the PDP candidate, hence the decision to settle for LP.

It was however, a different ball game in the 2023 state assembly election as Obaseki made sure he restricted the opposition APC and to a lesser extent, the LP back to their status as opposition parties in the state.

Therefore, with the near political-balance-of-power in the September 21 governorship poll and the selection of candidates by the three major forces in the state, four major factors may likely shape the outcome of the election.

One of these is how people perceived the three political parties in the contest and their candidates and party programmes. Except for the factor of ethnicity, which the PDP and the APC have settled by picking candidates from the central senatorial district for equity, justice and fair play, the LP candidate, Olumide Akpata though coming from a zone with majority registered voters is considered disadvantaged because of the seeming consensus of Edo people that the governorship be zoned to central area.

Even at that, personality will also determine who becomes the next governor of the state going by the sophistication of Edo voters. Should that play out, the contest would be between the candidate of the PDP, Asue Ighodalo, and that of the LP, Olumide Akpata as many have observed. The candidate of the APC, though, a sitting Senator, does not come into reckoning in that rating. Akpata himself made allusion to that in one of his engagements when he said “my focus is on the PDP because there is nothing in the APC”, a veil reference that the man lacks depth and other characteristics expected of a candidate in the 2024 poll.

Juxtaposing the charisma, disposition and grasp of the APC standard bearer with those of the PDP and LP, is like comparing light and darkness because while the two are in their elements and in different realm in terms of articulation, eloquence, grasp and knowledge of the issues concerning governance, the APC candidate unfortunately, lack such prowess.

If not for the the issue of consensus that the governorship be ceded to Edo central, it would’ve been a hard choice to make between Ighodalo and Akpata. As lawyers, both have made remarkable footprints in their chosen profession. Akpata, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ighodalo has been chairman of many corporate bodies, such as Sterling Bank Plc, Nigeria Breweries Plc, member, Oshiomohle Economic Team then chaired by Obaseki, and for eight years, adviser to Obaseki on economic matters can hold sway as  governor of the state.

While on the podium seeking for votes, the two have demonstrated who they are, with sound oratory prowess and good crowd engagement delivery. So, if personality, mien and charisma were the parameters at stake, Ighodalo and Akpata, no doubt, are the two options before Edo people.

The second is the financial strength of the candidates and parties. No doubt, all the three major contenders have big war chest as they have demonstrated in their campaigns through advertorials, jingles, tele- campaigns, posters and all that, but what is worrisome is the alleged plan by one of the parties to engage in vote buying using that means to cajole gullible voters against their will having weaponised poverty to the extent that the average and uneducated voter will now mortgage his conscience for pittance.

The third factor is the role of godfathers. During the APC primary and while the crisis that rocked the exercise lasted, a stalwart of the party from both Edo North and Edo Central argued that the choice of Okpebholo above notable names from his zone like Prof. Osunbor, Gideon Ikhine, Mike Onolememen, Gideon Obahkan, Patrick Ikhariale and many other remain a minus for the party. They are not wrong in their observations but because of the backing of Oshiomohle and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the party would rather prefer someone that lacks personality than those with good education.

On the other hand, another APC member, who preferred anonymity, described the “Okpebholo’s candidacy as what you get when you have leaders who will rather champion their own personal interest than listen to anybody”, adding that if the party fails to win the election, then the likes of Ize-Iyamu and Oshiomohle be held responsible by refusing to see the personality of the candidate they want to foist on the people coming into play in the September election and the sophistication of the electorate.

The division between the Agbazilo and Okpebholo sub-groups of Edo Central is another factor likely to play a major role on how the voting will be in that district where majority of the people in the area have the strong feeling that the Okpebholo axis, having gotten the senatorial seat in person of the APC candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, it would only be right and fair, if the Agbazilo axis, comprising Uromi, Ubiaja, Ewohimi, Ewatto and Uzea, should produce the governor. This argument becomes stronger when juxtaposed with the undeniable fact that the Okpebholo axis (Ekpoma, Irrua, Ewu, Igueben, etc), had produced two governors in the past in the persons of the late Professor Ambrose Folorunsho Alli and Professor Osarheimen Osunbor, whose term was cut short by the Court of Appeal in 2028.

The PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo, hails from Ewohim in Agbazilo axis of the district. Should the Esan people decide to maintain their ancient political configuration, they are likely to vote more for the PDP candidate as his emergence as governor would have sustained that age-old  tradition of political distribution.

Not only that, some notable personalities who were edged out in the build up to APC governorship primary that threw up the duo of Okpebholo and Idahosa are not happy that they were not given fair chances to contest.

Persons like the erudite scholar and professor of jurisprudence, Osariemen Osunbor, Gideon Obahkan, Gideon Ikhine, Patrick Ikhariale, and many others have the carriage, eloquence and depth to engage even the most sophisticated electorate.

Like someone from the area said, even if you want somebody from Edo Central as the APC standard bearer, why not look for the best or even the near best. According to the source who preferred anonymity, “the emergence of Okpebholo was a suprise to all of us. This was one of the major reasons why just few Esans are with him. When you see him mount the podium to address the people, you begin to wonder why of all the best from the area in terms of articulation, message delivery and what have you, Okpebholo is the only one we see. It is a slap on us”, he lamented.

The Diaspora factor is not something to ignore because of their strong attachments back home. In every five homes in Edo, you can boast of having at least two persons from a family living overseas, so their input is something that cannot be ignored.

For instance, this Diaspora group lent their voice on Monday, September 16 saying they agreed that their support is for Ighodalo because of his pedigree as someone who has the capacity to bring in development to the state. The group members who displayed their PCVs, said their sole purpose of coming back home is to cast their votes for Ighodalo and his running mate, Ogie, adding that after their interaction with candidates of the three major parties, they are not in doubt who the cap fits. They also asked voters in the state not to be intimidated in any way but come out in their numbers to cast their votes for candidate of their choice.

Another critical issue to the election is the third party advocacy role or what many referred to as federal might. While lobbying delegates for the presidential primaries in 2022, President Bola Tinubu allegedly promised Edo delegates to bring back the state into the APC fold. Tinubu then may have made such promise to induce delegates from the state to vote for him in the primary election. Now he is President and it appears the average Edo APC member wants Tinubu to fullfil his promise. Since the President allegedly made such promise and now that he is in the saddle, the APC has been behaving like a young man promised police recruitment and before the exercise, started going about arresting people. The party hierarchy in the state has been having sleepless nights trying to conjure the spirit of federal might even when Tinubu who made the promise then, did so apparently get the support of Edo delegates.

Speak to an average APC supporter in Edo, all you hear is that since Obaseki used state might to win local government elections, the party ‘ll also use federal might to win governorship poll either by hook or crook.

Not left out is the role the deputy governorship candidates will play in the emergency of their principals. Those of the PDP, Osarodion Ogie, and the APC’s Dennis Idahosa, are expected to play vital roles.

Of the duo, Ogie enjoys more acceptability across all political parties. As former Chief of Staff for former governor Oshiomohle, Commissioner for Works and SSG to Obaseki since 2016 before he resigned to pursue his political ambition, Ogie has been the people’s man. Even in the political crossfire between Obaseki and Oshiomhole in 2020, he maintained a dignified position of absolute neutrality. In the current campaign, when Oshiomhole threw some darts at his direction, he remained calm. Ogie is a man one can easily be said to be at home in any of the political camps in the state.

The APC deputy governorship candidate, Idahosa, also enjoys some level of goodwill. Apart from being a sitting member of the House of Representatives, winning his re-election by defeating Omosede Igbinedion of the PDP, he also served in the cabinet of Oshiomhole briefly before he was booted out by the former Labour leader. Placed side-by-side Ogie, the PDP running mate towers far above his APC counterpart, while the LP’s running mate, Alhaji Yusuf Asamah Kadiri (SAN), largely looms in the dark, politically.

Three days to the Edo governorship election, all the political parties in the state have began final preparations for the encounter with Vice President Kashim Shettima and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar leading the governors and leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), respectively, literarily to shut down Benin City, Edo State capital last weekend to mobilise support for the governorship candidates of their respective political parties – Dr Asue Ighodalo of the PDP, and Senator Monday Okpebholo of the APC.

Similarly, the former presidential candidate of LP, Mr. Peter Obi, and the Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, also came last week to Edo to hold street to street rally and road show for the party’s candidate, Olumide Akpata.

Former Deputy Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Hon. Emmanuel Arigbe-Osula, in this interview speaks on Saturday’s gubernatorial poll in Edo state and the need to allow the electorate choose a candidate of their choice. Ayodeji Ake presents excerpts:

The governorship election in Edo State is just days away. You have described it as crucial. How crucial? 

This is the most important election I have known in my adult days because of the prevailing conditions across the nation.

In this Saturday’s election, the entire Nigerians would be speaking through Edo people. We must reject APC and restore hope to the over 200,000 Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora. Nigerians are looking up to the Edo electorate for that important duty.

We cannot afford to make any mistake in this election, otherwise Edo State will be taken 100 years back, never to recover and will drive a sword through the hopes of the entire people of this nation. It is very disheartening to note that the APC, the ruling party in our country for the past nine years, is participating in this election.  The APC has forced on us, unrepentantly, great and grave hardship. And yet, they are campaigning on the same promises they made that got Nigeria and Nigerians into this horrible situation in the first place.

So, Edo State must know that, come Saturday, the country has a common enemy. We, Nigerians, have a common enemy to the progress of our country, and it is APC. We must take our anger against them and not vote APC on Saturday. The only motivation that would make anybody want to vote APC is if they are driven by corruption, not peace, not the development of our state, not the security we have long sought after, not the provision of social infrastructures, which APC has shown they cannot provide for Nigeria and Nigerians. So, in Edo State, there is one party we cannot vote for on Saturday, and that is the APC. 

It’s not clear whether you have a candidate in the election. But it is obvious you’re opposed to the APC…

Oh, certainly, I do have a candidate. I have taken time to review the background of the other two candidates (Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party and Asue Ighodalo of the PDP) and there’s no doubt Asue Ighodalo stands out as the person I will ask every progressive-minded Edo person to vote for. My good people of the state should vote for Asue Ighodalo if they want to move the state forward. I’ve had time to also meet personally with him to review his vision, to discuss his plans for the state. They are very laudable, and he’s passionate about them and determined to move Edo State in the right direction. I’m saying this without any reservation: the right person for this job and the right person that Edo people should vote for is Asue Ighodalo. 

All sentiments aside, the only thing that should drive any of us to vote and to ask others to vote in this election is the development of our state—not stomach infrastructure that has made a lot of people to congregate under the APC despite the devastation they have foisted on our people nationwide.

One grouse some people hold against Obaseki and for which they cannot wait to punish him, his party and candidate for is his ‘contempt’ for the Oba? They fear Asue may toe his line of disrespect. As a Bini person, how do you react? 

I’m not only a Benin man, I am someone who sees himself as a custodian, an ambassador of our royal heritage that the Oba represents. I would not support anyone who has no respect for the Oba of Benin. However, I have met personally with Asue Ighodalo, and his respect for the Oba of Benin is not in question at all. We shouldn’t forget that, unlike Obaseki, the respect for the palace and the Oba of Benin is in Asue’s DNA. This is not to insult Obaseki, but Asue is from Ewohimi, and the current lineage of the Oba that I know very well runs through Asue. Every true Ewohinmi child, whether born in Edo or anywhere in the world, has a commitment to and respect for the Oba of Benin in their DNA. Asue Ighodalo has spoken to this.  There is no one in this election closer to the root and lineage of the current Oba of Benin than Asue Ighodalo. I believe in what he says; his unwavering support, respect, and commitment to the palace. So, Asue Ighodalo is not one to have contempt for the palace of the Oba of Benin. 

Let’s take this back a bit. When the Binis complained about Obaseki, when Adams Oshiomhole was pushing for the governorship position, I remember in person hearing him say at that time that nobody should bring up any primordial sentiments that are hundreds of years old. So the contempt for the palace of Benin is more from Adams Oshiomole than Obaseki. Asue Ighodalo is of a different background, one that speaks to sacrifice and hundreds of years of ancestral commitment to the palace. Only someone who does not know the lineage of the current Oba would think remotely that Asue Ighodalo should be held responsible for whatever they have against Governor Obaseki.

Another point against Asue Ighodalo is that he has been with the incumbent governor in the past seven and half years as economic adviser. If people believe that the Obaseki government has not lived up to expectations, it would also mean that Asue Ighodalo can’t exonerate himself from the perceived failure of Obaseki, his promoter-in-chief. Can he?

I want to say that Governor Obaseki did not inherit a better government from Adams Oshiomhole. However, Asue Ighodalo is not Obaseki. But Edo State today is in a much better, healthier state than it was eight years ago. Everyone of them complaining in APC today is upset because the treasury of Edo State has not been made an appendage of their personal accounts as it were under Oshiomhole. I have had cause to speak with these people personally, and they will tell you that it is not that Governor Obaseki hasn’t performed at all—it is because their homeboy politicians are not having access to the treasury.  So, unless we have someone with the background of Asue, his professional antecedents, his vision, we would not get Edo State out of the hole.  At least, you’ve heard from Asue. We’ve not heard from his opponent, Senator Monday Okpebholo.

Some people will say, well, the APC has spoken for Okpebholo. He’s going to run on the blueprint of the party. Don’t you buy into this line of thought?

It would have been better if Monday Okpebholo had something to say, instead of relying on APC. The actors in APC have failed us.  The Senate president told the Nigerian youth, who were protesting the hardships they were facing, that they could go on protest while he will be busy eating. Is that someone Edo people should use as a character witness for Monday Okpebholo? Or anyone from the party including Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who belongs to that same institution, that is now an appendage to Tinubu’s Aso Rock, that we should take them seriously? Is it the Vice President, who is second in command in this hardship they have brought upon Nigerians?

Nobody in APC has shown the character, vision or compassion to lighten the yoke on Nigerians. We shouldn’t even be advising Edo people on this. We feel it in all aspects of our lives. And there’s only one culprit, and that is the APC. And they should not be voted for.

Adedayo Akinwale beams searchlight on the  political career of the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, as he clocks 60 on Thursday,  September 19.

Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat needs no introduction as far as the political terrain of Nigeria is concerned. When decent politicians in the country are discussed, he ranks high as one of the few politicians in the country who are without controversies or corruption allegations dangling on their neck.

Hazmat who clocks 60 tomorrow was born in Lagos  on 19 September, 1964 into the family of Late Oba Mufutau Olatunji Hamzat and Late Alhaja Kehinde Hamzat from Iga Egbe.

His father served as a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly and as a Commissioner for Transportation in the state (1979–1983) before becoming the Vice-chairman (South West) of then Alliance for Democracy (AD). He became the Lagos West Senatorial District leader of the Action Congress and a crowned king through his maternal royal lineage.

If the political antecedents of his father, the late king is anything to go by, it is safe to say Hazmat was born into the progressives fold.

Hamzat had his primary education at Odu-Abore Memorial Primary School, Mushin, Lagos State and his secondary education at Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo state.

He graduated from the University of Ibadan in 1986 with a degree in Agricultural Engineering in 1986 and a Masters in Agricultural Engineering in 1988. In 1992, he had his PhD in System Process Engineering at Cranfield University, England.

Despite being from a privileged family, Hazmat is the perfect definition of humanity who has been able to leave a meaningful impact in the lives of those that have come across him. He doesn’t know how to look away when he sees someone he needs.

His love for humanity and his philanthropic gesture which he intentionally keeps away from the media is second to none.

Whenever foot-soldiers of President Bola Tinubu are mentioned, Hazmat is high up there. He has been a member of the political family for a number of years and unapologetically committed to Tinubu’s progressive ideals.

Before he ventured into politucs, he worked at RTP Consulting Services, Columbia University, Merrill Lynch Inc, Morgan Stanley and Oando Plc. In Oando Plc, he served as the Chief Information Officer and Group Head, IT Strategist.

Hamzat is a well-regarded technocrat and administrator with a reputation for his emphasis on using technology and data to drive policy decisions. His policies have largely focused on innovation in governance, infrastructure development, and smart city initiatives.

He is considered part of the Bola Tinubu political network and has gained influence within Lagos State politics through his close relationships with other key politicians in the state.

In spite of his background, Hamzat’s political journey didn’t start until he was appointed as a Commissioner for Science and Technology in 2005 under the administration of Governor Bola Tinubu. He continued to serve in the same role during Babatunde Fashola’s tenure as governor.

He is known for spearheading several technology-driven initiatives to enhance the efficiency of governance and service delivery in Lagos. One of his significant contributions was the introduction of e-governance systems in the state’s public service. This led to an increase in transparency and efficiency in government processes.

Hazmat was also appointed Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure between 2011 and 2015. His focus was on infrastructure development, ensuring Lagos State’s road networks were maintained and expanded.

In addition, he was appointed as Special Adviser on Works to the Minister for Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola in 2015. In September 2018, he resigned that role to contest in the Lagos state gubernatorial elections.

After a long-fought primary, Hamzat emerged as the running mate for Babajide Sanwo-Olu for whom he had stepped down during the primaries. Sanwo-Olu would eventually become the party’s nominee, and later Governor-elect.

Both men ran together a campaign that went to different parts of the state. On 10 March, 2019, after the election, Hamzat was declared Deputy Governor-elect of Lagos State by the Independent National Electoral Commission and presented a Certificate of Return. He was re-elected in 2023 for a second term.

The Deputy Governor is notorious for maintaining a low-profile personal life while focusing on his duties as a public servant. Hamzat is respected for his intellect and strategic thinking in governance, combining his technical background with his political ambitions to push for progressive changes in Lagos State.

Hamzat is married to Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat, and the union is blessed  with wonderful children. As the Lagos Deputy Governor celebrates 60 years of fulfilled life on earth, the political landscape appears wide and very open for him.

John Mayaki highlights the factors that will shape the governorhip election 

With just three days to the Edo 2024 governorship election, Nigerians, and especially Edo voters, can now see that Monday Okpebholo, the APC candidate, lacks the capacity required to lead Edo State effectively. An Okpebholo who dodges the opportunity to sell himself and evades debates and special interview sessions cannot lead an enlightened people. 

His candidacy portrays his lack of commitment to serving the people, one that is interested in pursuing narrow interests. In contrast, the PDP has presented a candidate who not only demonstrates brilliance and competence but has also earned genuine popularity among the masses – the one and only Dr. Asue Ighodalo. His rise has left the APC scrambling for unwholesome strategies to counter the growing momentum behind him.

Although Asue is entering the electoral ring for the first time, he is by no means inexperienced.  After all, political leaders made entrance into the system at one point or the other. And so, Asue’s solutions to Edo’s challenges are pragmatic, forward-thinking, and deeply rooted in an understanding of governance. His manifesto, rich in ideas and clear in vision, promises to fundamentally transform the state, and his intellectual approach to leadership has garnered widespread support.

He does not shy away from public debates, and opportunities to express himself – on TV, radio, newspaper interview, symposiums, workshops, and such other platforms to showcase his plans, sell himself and the state. 

A key advantage of Asue’s campaign is his choice of running mate, Mr Osarodion Ogie. Widely regarded as a political tactician, Ogie’s selection is seen by many as a game-changer – the icing on the cake!

With his deep connections in Edo North, Central, and Edo South, he adds regional strength and political credibility to the ticket. Ogie has his hands in the APC, PDP, Labour Party among several other parties – but this hand is unseen. Together, Asue and Ogie have shown remarkable energy and focus, leaving no corner of the state untouched by their vigorous campaigning. They’ve reached out to communities large and small, solidifying their presence and demonstrating they are serious contenders in this election.

Ogie, a quiet and unassuming operator, has made a greater impact on Christendom than anyone could have expected. True to the scriptures, Ogie doesn’t let one hand know what the other hand is doing. For example, in the Catholic faith, Ogie reportedly mobilised his friends to raise over N300 million for the construction of a Catholic Church along Airport Road – just one of many examples of his philanthropic gestures and societal impact.

Ogie’s unsung outreach can enhance the perception of him as a compassionate and committed leader and this again, to the Arewa or Hausa community in the state – you underrate Ogie at your peril. His actions are in tandem with values that many voters admire, particularly in religious communities, which may increase their appeal. 

This kind of grassroots impact and his behind-the-scenes influence will surely translate into voter trust and support, especially giving him and Asue Ighodalo an advantage in the election by appealing to voters looking for leaders who genuinely care about societal welfare.

Another strategic win for Asue is the influence of his wife, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Ighodalo on the campaign trail. Her charm and sincerity have ignited the women folk across the state, adding a personal touch that connects with voters on a deeper level. Her involvement has infused the campaign with a fresh, relatable appeal, further expanding Asue’s base of support.

 What truly sets Asue apart is the substance of his vision for Edo State. His manifesto is not just a collection of lofty promises; it’s a well-crafted road map that has won over intellectuals, technocrats, and progressive minds across the state. While a few entrenched politicians who have been out of government may resist change, clinging to the status quo for personal gain, Asue’s ideas have won the support of those who seek real progress.

At its core, this election is more than a contest between candidates; it’s a battle between Edo’s future and its past. It pits godfathers and political warlords, driven by ego and vengeance, against a candidate who has no political baggage but with the education, expertise, and leadership qualities necessary to move the state forward. In Asue Ighodalo, Edo has the opportunity to break free from stagnation and embrace a brighter, more prosperous future.

· Mayaki is a Journalist and Diplomat

At the sidelines of President Bola Tinubu’s recent state visit to People’s Republic of China and participation in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, in this interview with DejiElumoye in Beijing, speaks on China’s renewed comprehensive mutual bilateral cooperation with Africa and Nigeria’s current efforts to stabilize the economy, among other issues.

What is your impression about Nigeria’s outing at this year’s FOCAC?

What has happened is that President Bola Tinubu led four Governors vis Kaduna, Kwara, Lagos, and Niger States as well as Senators and members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), to accompany him first of all, to a State visit to the People’s Republic of China hosted by President Xi Jinping.

Secondly, there has been participation by that same contingent led by Mr. President to FOCAC 2024, which is the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which is all about a joint effort and mutual support and, encouragement for the development and improvement of the lives of the citizens of the continent of Africa with support from China. So, this is what I would say, has been a very successful engagement.

What is unique about the State visit?

 First of all, the one-on-one bilateral discussions that the President has had with President Xi Jinping in which they discussed matters clearly of mutual interest particularly mutual cooperation on the global stage at the international fora such as the UN’s common views on the ascension of the continent’s of an African country to the UN Security Council and so forth.

But more important, was the discussion and witnessing of agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on projects of key importance in the areas of railways, ports, petrol-chemicals, and so forth that mean investments in critical infrastructure and critical projects in Nigeria.

Continuing in that same vein, President Xi Jinping expressed his commitment at the FOCAC plenary session, when he opened it, he expressed commitment to global security, global development, and global civilization, so, going beyond the physical development to include cultural exchanges and things that lift the spirits of citizens and ensure that the citizens buy-in to the developmental efforts and story.

So, it was a very comprehensive engagement for Nigeria. Further agreements have been signed not just in the presence of Mr. President early in the State visit but right throughout the week’s engagement including gas, and methanol projects at Brass Island in Bayelsa State and so on. Lagos State signed an MoU with China Habor Engineering company as well as the Ministry of Finance Incorporated to put in place the green line plan of Lagos State which basically opens up light rail and rail transport for cargo as well as for passengers along the Leki axis thereby, providing very much needed improved logistics for evacuation and movement of goods and people.

What is important about that particular investment, or the style of that particular company is that it is the majority owner of the Lekki Port. It is a foreign direct investment, that is, an equity investment, not so much pilling on more debts to be repaid later but an equity investment that not only creates jobs but helps to ensure performance, operational performance, profitable performance, and efficient performance of that facility as time goes by. In fact, the company in that Private Public Partnership (PPP), is talking of doubling the capacity of the Port and even more investment in that sector.

So, that’s a critical yardstick and a critical example of what President Bola Tinubu’s philosophy and economic strategy is all about. Stabilizing the Nigerian economy, creating an environment for investment, particularly by private investors, and non-government investors whether domestic or, foreign to encourage the growth of productivity, creation of jobs, growth of the economy, and course reducing poverty in the country, which China has done very well over recent decades.

Are there projections in terms of FDI volume?

President Xi Jinping was very specific. He talked about $140 million for investment to help with security and defense in African countries. He talked about another $140 million for the social sector and $50 billion in funding over three years in various sectors of the economies and the societies of the African continent. And of course, when we take it back home, the equity investments in particular, the FDI that we have mentioned before was $535million invested in Leki Port and the prospect is that that would be doubled as further investment is made.

So, we are talking about concrete figures. The President of the People’s Republic of China did lay out 10 items, and initiatives that he is seeking to launch and implement over the next three years in particular, and that range from defense, infrastructure, education, training, and cultural exchanges.

Really, a whole of society approach to development is the way I will characterize what President Xi Jinping laid before the African continent as a way of mutual cooperation to mutual benefits to modernizing the economies of the African continent, as China despite all its advances still regards itself as a South country, a developing country and maybe, when you do look at the Gross Domestic Product, the GDP per capita figure is still relatively low compared to some of the even countries in Asia, Korea, and South Korea.

However, it has made giant strides and it is joining hands with the leadership of the African continent to try and help our countries emulate what has been achieved by way of modernization in China.

Fredrick Nwabufo in this piece writes about the encouragement being given by President Bola Tinubu to the armed forces and other security agencies for them to tackle head-on the security challenges facing the nation.

It takes decisive leadership to roll back the forays of terror. Terror understands the language of terror. The recent successful operations of Nigeria’s security forces across the country bear a defining mark of resolute leadership.

On Thursday, troops of Operation HadarinDaji made a quick delivery. They dispatched terrorist leader, HaliluSububu, and his gang of death-dealers in a five-star caravan of wry irony to the netherworld.  

Terrorist leader Sububu had risen in notoriety with the savagery he dealt on citizens in Zamfara, Sokoto, and other parts of north-western Nigeria. He was loud, imperious, and brutal, issuing threats and making crowing pronouncements on videos. Lives have been lost, communities displaced, property destroyed, and citizens maimed by the sheer industry of Sububu and his gang.

The troops also achieved another victory, neutralisingSaniWalaBurki, kin of Sububu in the terror business, and his gang, as well as extirpated a terrorist hideaway in Kaduna, freeing 13 kidnapped students.

According to PRNigeria, an authoritative news source on security operations, the troops of Operation HadarinDaji also eliminated four terrorists in Zamfara state — Ibrahim Nagure, Lawali Dodo, Kadiri, and Jambaleri.

In another valiant endeavour, the security forces apprehended terrorist leader, Hosseini Osman, in Plateau state. The news agency says Osman was netted at Ganawuri village, in the Riyom local government area, where he confessed to masterminding numerous attacks across the state.

The troops further launched offensives against fleeing terrorists in Sambisa Forest, neutralising many of them.

This string of propitious outcomes in the north-west and the north-east follow President Bola Tinubu’s directive to the service chiefs to relocate to the zone and his consistent support to the security agencies.

President Tinubu is a renowned democrat, but also a firm and bold Commander-in-Chief.

On September 3, 2024, in a decisive response to the killings in Yobe state, the President had said: ‘’The perpetrators of this sinister act will have an inevitable encounter with justice.’’ And true to his promise, the troublers of the nation are having fated encounters with justice, and so will all those visiting terror on Nigerians.

Additionally, the successful operations also show that there is synergy and proper coordination among the security agencies and the intelligence agencies. Intelligence is a fundamental piece in the counter-terrorism puzzle.

In the past, inter-agency rivalry had been a detraction to the counter-terrorism effort. The effective coordination and deployment of security resources attests to a strong and reinvigorated leadership.

Fundamentally, successive actions against terrorism will not be effective or be permanent solutions without a conscientious plan to address the underlying cause. A prominent contributor to the challenge is youth illiteracy and socio-economic dislocation. Economic and social security is essential for corporeal security.

This is the reason the President Tinubu-led administration is making critical investments in education. The federal government, through its out-of-school children initiative, recently reintegrated four million children into the educational system. Also, the Out-of-School Children Commission, set to commence this month, will provide training to approximately 10,000 young Nigerians.

The Tinubu administration is addressing the bottom-line precipitates of socio-economic insecurity through seminal policies and programmes while redistributing wealth to the vulnerable and the most vulnerable through revamped social welfare schemes.

As the President re-affirmed, immediate and latent security threats will be decisively dealt with.

-Nwabufo, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Engagement, writes from Abuja.

 Most of the state governors elected since 2007 have been governing like emperors in their respective states, reckons YUSUPH OLANIYONU 

Emperors in ancient times – Medieval or Renaissance era – were very powerful. They exercised absolute powers in political, legal, financial, military, and religious matters. They were said to hold both imperium maius (supreme power of command) and tribunician potestas (tribunician power). 

In Rome during the period of Emperor Augustus, the tribunician power permitted him to dictate to the civil apparatus and preside over as well as dominate the Assemblies and the Senate. The Emperors of Old were the state and they were second only to God. That is why in Oriental civilizations like Japan and China, they were referred to as “the Son of Heaven.”

Among those who enjoyed such absolute, imperial powers were Genghis Khan of the Mongol Empire (1162 – 12 27), Augustus Caesar of the Roman Empire (63 BC- AD 14), Ashoka the Great of the Maurya Empire (India) (c.268 BCE – c. 232 BCE), Charlemagne of the Carolingian Empire (c. 742 – 814) and Kublai Khan, also of the Mongol Empire (1215 – 1294). 

Why am I dwelling on the Emperors of old and their immense powers? What relationship did they have with Nigeria of today where we are supposed to be practicing American-type democracy founded on liberty of the citizen, separation of powers, checks and balances, adult suffrage system, and rights of the citizens to elect and remove their leaders?

Well, it is because, since the return of democracy in 1999, Nigeria has gradually descended into producing Emperors, particularly at sub-national levels who rule with absolute powers like the aforementioned emperors of the Medieval and Renaissance eras. Most of our state governors elected since 2007 have been governing like emperors in their respective states.

In the first eight years of the present republic, Governors were under strict check by the strong personality of the then Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, an army General. While Obasanjo was accused of being too autocratic, his strong-arm tactics curbed the excesses of the governors to a large extent. Since his exit, the governors have risen above the laws in the various states.

Like the Emperor of old, our state governors have a strong control of the purse of their respective states and they spend the money the way they like. They exercise powers like the tribunician potestas (the tribunician powers) as they have subdued the legislature and the judiciary. The governors determine the leadership of the state legislature and remove Speakers of their respective state Houses of Assembly at will. No member of the legislature can speak against the governor and survive, politically.

The governors make the legislators feed from their palms and the legislature do their will at all times. In some states, lawmakers elected on the platform of the opposition parties as opposed to the ruling one in the states are given persona non grata treatment. In some cases, they are denied the privileges and other perks of offices extended to their colleagues who belong to the ruling party. They are harassed, suppressed, oppressed, intimidated, and forced to either defect to the ruling party or become pliable to the wishes of the governor. 

Also, one can hardly get the state high courts to give any ruling or judgment against the state government or its emperor-governor, no matter the merit of one’s case. The Emperors have extended their meddling schemes to the judiciary. No institution is so sacred as to escape the interference of these omnipresent emperors.

The traditional and religious institutions are frequent victims of the rampaging emperors. The governors could order the suspension, removal, or interdiction of any traditional ruler who fell out of favour. Even, journalists are not exempted from the long arm of the Lords of the Manor. Nosy and prying journalists are detained or imprisoned on the orders of the governor. In some states, few journalists have been murdered and there have been no trace of the perpetrators.

These modern-day emperors in Nigeria brook no opposition. Members of the opposition or their estranged friends are served a dose of their raw anger. Some of such hapless people have their landed property demolished on the orders of the governors to cripple them economically. The Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) on the choice properties owned by the opposition elements or aggrieved friends are revoked. Those in this category who have one business or the other that

require government approval would have to wait in vain or pray for regime change when they probably will fall on the favoured side. Such opposition elements have their businesses denied government patronage and if they have any pending money owed them by the state government, they should just forget about it. These men of power use their posts to settle personal scores and family feuds.

Governors have become so careless that they order their security aides to assault or maltreat other citizens for “making noise” while the emperor was talking at a public event. Such ‘unruly’ citizens would be fortunate to only suffer some slaps and kicks and not be further thrown into detention for speaking above the whisper in a gathering where the emperor is present.

Our governors prove they are the state like their predecessors in the Byzantine era by spending state money the way they like. They live large by using state funds to hire aircraft which they fly to places that have nothing to do with state functions. Some of the governors during their tenure build personal estates or houses where they display ridiculous opulence. They spend money lavishly in a manner that they could not have dreamt of doing if they had not been elected as governor.

The state money is the Governor’s money. No House of Assembly could dare activate the provisions of the constitution to query the governor’s profligacy. The governors do not stop the misuse of funds belonging to the state government. They have also appropriated the funds from the federation account due to the Local Government Areas (LGA). Governors spend LGA funds the way they like and if any LGA chairman dares speak out, he will get the boot. Either his councilors would be induced to remove him or the State Legislature is used to suspend him.

It is the reason why across the 36 states, the candidates of the opposition parties do not win chairmanship seats during LGA polls. The state electoral commission whose members were appointed and controlled by the governors would simply write the results and announce that the emperor’s party has won all the seats. That is the trend across the country.

When a new governor who belongs to a different party from the past governor under whom the current local government officials were elected assumes office, one of the first decisions he takes is to suspend all the elected LGA officials. That is another violation of the constitution and a demonstration of the fact that a new emperor has taken control of the Empire. He then appoints caretaker chairmen and councilors to take over. Another aberration. Why must the governor who would, rightly so, refuse the control by the president dictate to the local government chairmen and councilors? It is the emperor’s mentality. The emperor is a totalitarian. He is a conqueror.

The new emperors in town see their deputies as their errand boys. Any Deputy Governor who proves to be clever or has any sense will bite the bullet. He will be removed by the subservient House of Assembly which sometimes bends the law to achieve the impeachment of the deputy as desired by the governor. A lucky deputy governor may just simply be sidelined and reduced to a newspaper-reading, indolent office worker. Another illegality that is frequently perpetrated by the new emperors.

Incumbent governors now single-handedly select all candidates contesting for seats in the Senate, House of Representatives, state House of Assembly, LGA chairmanship, and councilorship on the platform of their political parties.

Even under the military, the governors did not have the type of control that these current elected governors appropriate and exercise. Military governors were then subjected to control from the Supreme Headquarters. They report to the Deputy Head of State then known as Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, or the Chief of General Staff. Their crucial decisions needed approval and could be vetoed. The present governors in Agbada report to no one. They are all in all. They are supreme rulers and ‘Sons of the Heavens’.

The control to which the military governors were subjected indicated that this totalitarianism we now witness at the state level has not always been so. In the Second Republic, the elected governors could not toy with members of the House of Assembly. Each of them played different roles and where they were members of the same party, the governor could not unilaterally deny a member his return ticket. In Ogun State, a state legislator, Hon. Muftau Ajibola openly dared Governor Olabisi Onabanjo and told him only the electorate in his constituents could stop his re-election. He won his seat at the general elections before the governor even won his own.

In the same Second Republic, deputy governors like Chief Akin Omoboriowo of Ondo State and Chief Sunday Afolabi in then Oyo State challenged their governors for the gubernatorial tickets at the party primaries and they were not impeached. They voluntarily resigned when they wanted to get the tickets of rival parties to enable them to stand for election in the 1983 polls. Also in May 1983, when Alh. Muhammadu Rimi left the PRP and got the gubernatorial ticket of the NPP, his deputy, Alh. Abdul Dawakin Tofa did not follow him and was not impeached. He simply replaced Rimi.

In 1982, during what is known as the Day of the Long Knives, then Oyo Governor, revered Chief Bola Ige (of blessed memory) and his deputy, Chief Sunday Afolabi stood for hours before the disciplinary committee of the Unity Party of Nigeria during the NEC meeting of the party in Maiduguri to answer charges of indiscipline because they allowed then General Olusegun Obasanjo who was regarded as an enemy of the party to intervene in their feud. That was the period of the supremacy of the party. When the governors were only senior members of the party and subject to the party constitution, organs, and control. Today, what you have is the supremacy of the governors. The Governor, like the ancient Emperor, is now the party in their respective states, except in a few cases like Lagos State where there is an overriding godfather.

Well, most of these emperor governors forget they will leave office one day. And when they leave they find it difficult to adjust to life after power. The few ones who managed to get elected into the Senate find out they cannot call any shot in the 109-member assembly. They are just one out of the lot. There has been a case of a former governor who got elected into the Senate alongside the police officer who served as his Aide-De-Camp (ADC) while in office. If he had not been good to the ADC, it would have been very odd for him to sit side by side as a colleague of the man who used to carry his file around and saluted him now and then.

A few of the ex-governors got appointed as ministers and had to now report to many line bosses in the Presidency before they could get to the overall boss, the President. The majority of the ex-emperors ended up as ordinary men. Of course, they are rich after they have cornered state wealth. Yet, they no longer enjoy the attention and relevance they used to have.

The bid to remain the centre of attraction after their tenure most times set the former governors against the new emperors, and their successors, who they enthroned by all means, to ensure and assure their continued control of state affairs. The clash with the reigning emperors usually make past emperors become more ordinary and pitiable sights. It usually results in more humiliation and more trouble. After all, a Yoruba adage says nobody gives way to the man who rode the horse yesterday and walks the street today like every other person. 

These governors who have turned themselves into oppressors of the people, bad managers of state finances, and riders of the high horses should remember that they will end up leaving the exalted office. For example, among the 1999 set of governors, except for the likes of Chief Olusegun Osoba, Chief Bisi Akande, and Chief James Ibori, how many of them still command national attention as they did while in office? The case of the incumbent President of the country, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who was also part of the 1999 set is a special one. 

When these emperors leave office, they cease to board private jets. The operators of the commercial planes they resort to traveling with do not delay flights to await their arrival at the airport as they used to do when the governors were the reigning emperors. Also, as former governors, nobody will delay public functions to await their arrival. If they are unlucky to lock horns with their successors, that is when they will realise how bitter nemesis can be as they are made to swallow the poisonous pills they forced down the throats of their predecessors.

The main reason why our country is not developed is because of the misplaced priorities of its state governors. Instead of focusing on development issues, the governors expend so much energy and time on the display of raw power, demonstrating how they are the all-time conquerors, the unquestionable ruler, and the ones to whom all others must submit. 

I have always believed that if all our governors become genuine, honest, and humble servants of the people who devote more time to serving the people, searching for solutions to problems confronting the people, the country will become developed and the people will become happier. The state governments will be engaged in healthy competition with Ideas and initiatives that will solve daily problems confronting the people. If the various states are doing well for their people by providing good governance, then the majority of the citizenry will be happy. 

Also, I believe we just need governors in ten states working so hard and making lives meaningful for the residents of their states. The multiplier effect will be felt in the remaining 26 states. The ten states where the government is effective would be good models for others to emulate. The initiatives and ideas behind the success of the government in one state can be copied and replicated by the other states. We experienced this in the First Republic among the three regional governments.

Where we have people with ancient Emperor mentality in our various Government Houses, what do we expect other than a state of anomie and inertia as defined by Emile Durkheim?

Olaniyonu writes from Abuja

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State is doing everything possible to make the security of life and property the centrepiece of his legacy, writes Shola Oyeyipo

It is not an accident that governments the world over consider the security of life and property their number one responsibility. This is because in an atmosphere of insecurity, no meaningful development – social, political and economic – can take place.

Unfortunately, the growing insecurity across Nigeria is a major cause for concern for all compatriots. Although it is a statement of fact that whatever security challenges being grappled with today didn’t start with the current administration of President Bola Tinubu, it is also true that the situation is not abating under him either.

In other words, the incidences of kidnapping are on an alarming upswing, and a poignant pointer to the disastrous and dire economic situation many have found themselves in.

However, Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous state, and the economic nerve centre has continued to be marked safe due largely to the state government’s proactive and prodigious investments in security architecture and gizmo, as well as her steadfast commitment to delivering a safer Lagos for the benefit of all.

Nigeria’s worsening economic situation, with the pervasive hunger and hopelessness, plumbing many further down the poverty line, has now led to an upsurge in the incidence of kidnapping for ransom, a new report published by SBM Intelligence has revealed.

SBM Intelligence is an Africa-focused, geopolitical research and strategic communications consulting firm that addresses the critical need for political, social, economic and market data, and big data analytics.

Between July 2023 and June 2024, the report, titled: “Grim Reaping: Economics of Nigeria’s Kidnap Industry – A 2024 Update”, revealed that 7,568 individuals were abducted in 1,130 incidents across Nigeria. 

Within the same period, the report stated that, “Kidnappers demanded at least the sum of N10, 995, 090, 000 (approximately $6, 871, 931) as ransom, but received N1,048,110,000, a mere 9.5% of the money demanded, indicating that kidnappers have become less targeted in their victimology.”

The North-western states of Zamfara, Kaduna, and Katsina have the highest numbers of incidents and victims of the 1,130 reported kidnapping cases.

Zamfara ranks highest with 132 incidents, 1,639 victims, and 146 civilian deaths. Kaduna had 113 incidents with 1,113 victims; while Katsina reported 119 incidents with 887 victims.

The report averred that the three states also have the highest number of civilian deaths, adding, “In the year under review in this report, kidnapping has become more lethal, with 1,056 people killed in 1,130 reported kidnap incidents. On average, someone is killed each time there is an attempted kidnap.”

The haunting dimension to this year’s kidnapping incidents in the North is the increase in mass abductions. From January to June, the report stated that there were 135 mass abduction incidents involving at least five victims per incident, with 3,277 people kidnapped and 125 killed.

For geo-political zones, the Southeast stands out for paying the highest ransoms, totalling N419.2 million out of the N645 million demanded, representing a 65% collection rate – the highest across the board.

The report added: “There is speculation that the kidnap figures from the Southeast might be underreported. However, sources indicated that sustained pressure from security forces on criminal and separatist groups like IPOB and its rival splinter factions had reduced their capacity to carry out such attacks.”

Curiously, in the period under review, Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous state with an estimated 24 million inhabitants, recorded only seven cases of kidnap, while Ekiti and Osun States recorded six cases each. Gombe brings up the rear with only one reported kidnap case while Jigawa, Bayelsa, and Kano have two, three, and four cases respectively.

As Nigeria’s economic nerve-centre, which also welcomes over 100,000 people from across the country daily, it is easy and pardonable to presume that Lagos would be porous and most attractive to perpetrators of kidnap for ransom, but the reverse is the case. Lagos is one of the safest states as revealed by the report.

Fairly, an incumbent is rewarded or pilloried for what happens on their watch. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu may not roll out the drums to celebrate this coveted acknowledgment of his strides in securing the lives and property of Lagosians, because of his belief that it is all in a day’s work, but it deserves copious mentions.

Over the past five years, Sanwo-Olu has proved that he is best placed to protect Lagosians from potential and real threats and keep the state moving forward.

He acknowledged early that meaningful development could not exist without comprehensive security, and that securing Lagos requires more than military power or siloed technology systems. It needs effective security solutions for incident prevention, emergency response, surveillance, evidence collection, and investment decisions. Therefore, ‘Security and Governance’ is one of the pillars of his T.H.E.M.E.S (Traffic Management and Transportation; Health and Environment; Education and Technology; Making Lagos a 21st Century State; Entertainment and Tourism, Security and Governance) development agenda.

“We will make sure that we create the right environment in which security and safety of lives and property is guaranteed. Our ultimate goal would be to ensure that Lagos State remains one of the top destinations on the African continent to live, work, and invest in,” he said at the outset of his administration.

Thus far, Sanwo-Olu has been proactive and pragmatic in the handling of the state’s security, providing the required support for the police and other security agencies while donating security assets like communication gadgets, ballistic vests and helmets, and anti-riot water cannon vehicles.

He has also provided Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), patrol vehicles, and patrol motorcycles for use by the Lagos Command of the Nigeria Police Force. Additional men were equally recruited into the Neighbourhood Security Watch to complement the efforts of existing security personnel.

The Sanwo-Olu administration has also substantially supported the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), an interventionist agency established in 2007 as a public-private partnership organisation to raise funds and cater to the needs of security agents and agencies so that businesses and individuals could develop their potential and succeed in reaching their goals while also being able to engage in social events and other recreational activities in a secure environment.

His words: “This administration has been working closely with security agencies in the state in our firm resolve to raise the bar of governance, which includes ensuring a well-secured and safe environment for investment and other socio-economic activities to thrive.

“We strongly believe that investment in security must be prioritised because the security and welfare of the people remain the primary duty of any government,” the governor said.

In furtherance of this, the governor announced in January, 2024 that N7 billion would be raised in support of the agency to enhance the capabilities of the security agencies while pledging the provision of 300 vehicles to bolster the logistical operations of security operatives across the state.

Similarly, the state government is installing smart cameras connected to a Command and Control centre, where several points in the city are monitored in real-time. The command and control centre has direct lines to the Police emergency first responders, and fire and rescue service, among others.

From October 2022 to September 2023, the Lagos State Police Command reported notable milestones. According to Waheed Ayilara, the late former acting Commissioner of Police for Lagos State, out of 189 robbery incidents, 172 were thwarted, resulting in the arrest of 257 suspects. 175 cultists were also arrested and 108 of them were prosecuted with commensurate sentences handed out.

Instructively, for the fourth consecutive year, Lagos recorded no armed robbery attack against any financial institution in the state. This is the longest period in which no bank has been attacked in the state over the last two decades.

“Our efforts have paid off as Lagos State still retains the record for the longest number of years without a bank robbery. Also, our security agencies have been able to keep home invasions at a minimum while seriously tackling cases of kidnapping and other emerging security matters.

“We achieved this through the magnanimous donations of a few corporate organisations and individuals with the support of the Lagos State Government and Local Governments/Local Council Development Areas,” Ayilara said.

Without a doubt, Sanwo-Olu is making good his promise to create the right environment in which the security and safety of lives and property are guaranteed while ensuring that Lagos State remains one of the top destinations on the African continent to live, work and invest in.

 FREDRICK NWABUFO argues that recent operations of security forces across the country bear a mark of resolute leadership

It takes decisive leadership to roll back the forays of terror. Terror understands the language of terror. The recent successful operations of Nigeria’s security forces across the country bear a defining mark of resolute leadership.

On Thursday, troops of Operation Hadarin Daji made a quick delivery. They dispatched terrorist leader, Halilu Sububu, and his gang of death-dealers in a five-star caravan of wry irony to the netherworld.   

Bandit leader Sububu had risen in notoriety with the savagery he dealt on citizens in Zamfara, Sokoto, and other parts of north-western Nigeria. He was loud, imperious, and brutal, issuing threats and making crowing pronouncements on videos. Lives have been lost, communities displaced, property destroyed, and citizens maimed by the sheer industry of Sububu and his gang.

The troops also scored another victory, neutralising Sani Wala Burki, kin of Sububu in the terror business, and his gang, as well as extirpated a terrorist hideaway in Kaduna, freeing 13 kidnapped students.

According to PRNigeria, an authoritative news source on security operations, the troops of Operation Hadarin Daji also eliminated four terrorists in Zamfara State — Ibrahim Nagure, Lawali Dodo, Kadiri, and Jambaleri.

In another valiant endeavour, the security forces apprehended terrorist leader, Hosseini Osman, in Plateau State. The news agency says Osman was netted at Ganawuri village, in the Riyom local government area, where he confessed to masterminding numerous attacks across the state.

The troops further launched offensives against fleeing terrorists in Sambisa Forest, neutralising many of them.

This string of propitious outcomes in the north-west and the north-east follow President Bola Tinubu’s directive to the service chiefs to relocate to the zone and his consistent support to the security agencies.

President Tinubu is a renowned democrat, but also a firm and bold Commander-in-Chief.

On September 3, in a decisive response to the killings in Yobe State, the President had said: ‘’The perpetrators of this sinister act will have an inevitable encounter with justice.’’ And true to his promise, the troublers of the nation are having fated encounters with justice, and so will all those visiting terror on Nigerians.

Additionally, the successful operations also show that there is synergy and proper coordination among the security agencies and the intelligence agencies. Intelligence is a fundamental piece in the counter-terrorism puzzle.

In the past, inter-agency rivalry had been a detraction to the counter-terrorism effort. The effective coordination and deployment of security resources attests to a strong and reinvigorated leadership.

Fundamentally, successive actions against terrorism will not be effective or be permanent solutions without a conscientious plan to address the underlying cause. A prominent contributor to the challenge is youth illiteracy and socio-economic dislocation. Economic and social security is essential for corporeal security.

This is the reason the President Tinubu-led administration is making critical investments in education. The federal government through its out-of-school initiative recently reintegrated four million children into the educational system. Also, the Out-of-School Children Commission, set to commence this month, will provide training to approximately 10,000 young Nigerians.

The Tinubu administration is addressing the bottom-line precipitates of social-economic insecurity through seminal policies and programmes while redistributing wealth to the vulnerable and the most vulnerable through revamped social welfare schemes.

As the President re-affirmed, immediate and latent security threats will be decisively dealt with.

 Nwabufo is Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Engagement

With the letter written by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi and the Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, notifying the Independent National Electoral Commission of the setting up of a 29-member caretaker committee by the party’s expanded stakeholders, and the refusal of the sacked Julius Abure-led National Working Committee to vacate office, Ejiofor Alike reports that all eyes are on the electoral body to recognise the authentic leadership of the party

That the sacked National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Julius Abure, has survived many legal and political battles since after the 2023 general election is not in doubt.

Shortly after the elections, the Deputy National Chairman (South), of the party, Mr. Lamidi Apapa had in April 2023 declared himself as the party’s Acting National Chairman, following an order by a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court restraining Abure from parading himself as the LP’s national chairman.

Though Apapa claimed he enjoyed the support of the party’s presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi’s followers, better known as “Obidients,” the party’s chairmen in the 36 states threw their weight behind the Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.

With the support of all the critical stakeholders in the party, Abure survived all the litigations and corruption-related allegations targeted to get him out of office.

However, before Apapa’s camp collapsed its structure in June 2024, Abure’s leadership had run into troubled waters when it lost the confidence of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). 

One of such unpopular decisions Abure took was the holding of the party’s National Convention in Nnewi, Anambra State, on March 27, 2024 where he was said to have won a re-election for a fresh tenure without the support of the labour union and other critical stakeholders, who shunned the convention.

His predicament was worsened by a letter from INEC saying that it did not monitor the party’s Nnewi’s convention.

INEC pulled the rug from under his feet when it denied monitoring the Nnewi convention.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Steve Adehi, representing one of the LP camps, had written to the electoral umpire requesting for the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the commission’s report on the convention and also a copy of the Labour Party’s constitution.

But in its response, the acting National Secretary of INEC, Harilu Aminu, in a letter dated July 18, 2024, told Adehi that: “The commission has received your request for Certified True Copy (CTC) of the monitored report of Labour Party Convention at Nnewi, Anambra State held on the 27 day of March 2024, and the Labour Party’s Constitution. The Certified True Copy of the Labour Party’s Constitution has been forwarded to your firm earlier.”

“Regrettably the commission did not monitor the Labour Party Convention of 27 March 2024 and cannot therefore report on the convention,” the letter added.

INEC’s response had set the alarm bells ringing as it was feared that the letter was a clear indication that the electoral body did not recognise the outcome of the convention.

The commission’s response, by implication, was a de-recognition of the Abure-led NWC by the commission.

But in a swift response, the National Publicity Secretary of the LP, Obiora Ifoh, argued that INEC’s letter never said explicitly that the commission had rejected the outcome of the convention, adding that the inability of the commission to monitor the convention did not in any way invalidate it.

Citing Article 82 (2) of the Electoral Act, which states: “The commission may, with or without prior notice to the political party attend and observe any convention, congress, conference or meeting, which is convened by a political party for the purpose of (a) electing members of its executive committees or other governing bodies,” Ifoh further insisted that it was not mandatory that INEC must be present during the internal party exercise.

Ifoh maintained that the LP had duly informed the commission of its decision to hold the convention in accordance with the provision of the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates political parties to officially inform the INEC at least three weeks of its intention to conduct the national convention.

However, having lost the confidence of most of the critical stakeholders of the party, Abure was advised by some leaders and elders of the party to perish his inordinate desires and allow peace to reign supreme in the party to no avail.

It was in view of INEC’s claim that the duo of Obi and the Governor of Abia State, Mr. Alex Otti had summoned an expanded stakeholders’ meeting in Umuahia, Abia State, on September 4, 2024, where Abure-led NWC was sacked and a 29-member caretaker committee set up to organise the party’s congresses and national convention within 180 days.

Abure had earlier warned Otti to face governance and stop meddling in the party’s administration.

Conveying the outcome of the Umuahia meeting to INEC, Obi and Otti, in a letter addressed to the chairman of commission and dated September 6, 2024, notified the electoral body of the setting up of a 29-member caretaker committee by the party’s expanded stakeholders.

The letter, dated September 6, 2024, also noted the Labour Party’s leadership crisis in recent times “culminating in the de-recognition of the Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) by INEC effective June 2024. This is sequel to the settlement brokered by INEC on June 27, 2022.”

According to the letter, the settlement was founded on the consent court judgement by Justice Gabriel Kolawole, whose implementation was deferred for one year because of the 2023 general election.

The letter stated that settlement states that the party shall organise an all-inclusive convention after organising ward, local government and state congresses not later than one year after signing the terms of settlement.

The letter, however, noted that the Abure-led NWC organised a convention at Nnewi in March 2024 without first organising ward, local government and state congresses, stressing that this fell short of the standards and the spirit of the terms of settlement.

 It said the development created a leadership vacuum in the party.

But the sacked Abure-led NWC kicked against the outcome of the stakeholders’ meeting, describing it as null and void.

Reacting in a statement issued after the meeting, the sacked National Publicity Secretary of LP, Ifoh, stressed that Otti and others have “no power within the party’s constitution, the Electoral Act and even within the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to convene any meeting of the party.”

Ifoh also claimed that the chairman of the 29-member caretaker committee, Mrs. Nenadi Usman is not a registered member of the party, adding that she surfaced during the Obi’s presidential campaign to assist Obi in his campaign.

With the request by Obi and Otti seeking INEC’s recognition of the party’s caretaker committee, and Abure’s claim to the party’s national chairmanship, all eyes are on INEC to recognise the party’s authentic leadership, a decision that may also fuel litigation.

The bail conditions given to 10 #EndBadGovernance protesters by a Federal High Court in Abuja has shown how determined the federal government is to deal with the protesters.

The defendants, who include: Michael Adaramoye, Adeyemi Abayomi, Suleiman Yakubu, Opaoluwa Simon, Angel Innocent, Buhari Lawal, Mosiu Sadiq, Bashir Bello, Nuradeen Khamis and Abdulsalam Zubairu, were part of the nationwide protest against economic hardship from August 1 to 10. 

They were all arraigned before Justice Emeka Nwite on September 2. They pleaded not guilty to a six-count charge bordering on treason, intent to destabilise Nigeria, conspiracy to commit felony and inciting mutiny — which are punishable under section 97 of the Penal Code.

They were also accused of trying to start a war, intimidating the president by attacking and injuring police officers, and burning police stations.

Although the defendants had applied for bail through their different lawyers, Justice Nwite ordered their remand in prison custody pending a ruling on the application on September 11. Delivering the ruling last Wednesday, the judge granted the defendants N10 million each and sureties with landed property.

Many eminent Nigerians had appealed to the federal government to release the protesters whose actions were triggered by hunger and economic hardship. But the government accused them of treason because of the violence that characterised the protests, and insisted on prosecuting them.

Though the judge exercised his discretion in favour of the protesters, the N10 million bail bond by the court is outrageous. Where on earth will these poor protesters get N10million and sureties with landed property? If they had even N30,000, would they have embarked on the protest?

The bail conditions are not only perceived by human rights lawyers to be a punitive action against dissenting voices, their arraignment and trial are viewed as part of a large-scale attempt by the government to demonise protests and protesters.

This is why the federal government must learn to uphold their international human rights obligations by protecting the people’s right to peaceful assembly.

With barely one week to the governorship election in Edo State, Nigerians are keenly watching to see if the Independent National Electoral Commission will redeem itself after what many viewed as its inglorious outings in the past elections, Davidson Iriekpen writes

As the governorship election in Edo State draws nearer, the expectation of Nigerians is that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will redeem its battered image. Though the electoral umpire is intensifying efforts to ensure that the polls are credible, analysts are skeptical given the previous records of the electoral umpire, especially in the February and March 2023 elections. 

The commission’s record was worse in the subsequent November 11 off-cycle governorship elections in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa states as there were more reported cases of malpractices at the polls, which crashed another dream of a free and fair election.

Generally, a free, fair and credible election is one in which the electorate is free to make their choices through the ballot without fear, inducement, threat or intimidation from anyone. It is one in which all contestants are given a level-playing field to compete without anyone enjoying any undue advantage over others and the process is seen to be transparent, with the result devoid of manipulation, and underhand dealing by critical stakeholders like INEC and police.

In the last elections in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa states, many Nigerians felt that the commission  colluded with the incumbent state governors to manipulate the process in their favour. 

In the three states, the election results in many areas were believed to have been generated and not a true reflection of the votes.

It was believed that INEC officials condoned irregularities as manifested in several people who were caught with pre-filled result sheets before the elections started. Election officers allegedly uploaded fictitious figures into IReV.

In Kogi Central senatorial district for instance, where former Governor Yahaya Bello and his successor and incumbent governor, Usman Ododo hail from, almost all the results were pre-filled even far above the number of registered voters to give them advantage.

In Imo State, the commission declared APC winner in all the 27 local government areas, including areas where insecurity affected the turnout of voters.

This is why the Edo State election offers the commission an opportunity to redeem its image under the leadership of its Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu. The poll would again significantly impact public trust in the commission’s ability to conduct credible elections in 2027.

If INEC conducts credible, fair and transparent elections in Edo, its performance will mitigate the controversies surrounding the 2023 general election. Yakubu should realise that it is his reputation and integrity that are at stake once again. 

This is why he should use the Edo election to demonstrate that he has learnt from his mistakes and redeem himself.

In the penultimate week, the electoral umpire declared that all measures had been put in place for the smooth conduct of the election. Its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr. Sam Olumekun, who was represented by the Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mery Nkem made this known while fielding questions from journalists during the pre-election news conference in Abuja.

Also last week, INEC Chairman, Yakubu was in the state to conduct mock election and test run some of the equipment for the poll.   

Before he came to the state, his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, had given the assurance that the commission had put measures in place to prevent cases of prefilled result sheets witnessed in Kogi from reoccurring in Edo or future elections anywhere in the country. 

Oyekanmi added that even the latest hike in the price of petrol would not affect the conduct of the governorship election. He noted that the commission was already meeting with officials of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) on the new development to ensure that electoral materials would arrive every local government area early.

“I can assure you that the commission took active steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again. In fact, our result sheets cannot be forged because they are custom-made. They have security features and nobody knows what those security features will be.

“So, INEC has been able to perfect that aspect, that if you go ahead and print result sheets, you have just wasted your time because you will not have access to what we have, and you will not be able to make use of it.”

Oyekanmi also assured Nigerians that it would not be possible to collate results in any polling unit where the election is not held in Edo. He said there was no polling unit with zero voters in Edo; hence, the election was expected to be held in all the polling units across the state.

He added, however that “if an election does not take place because of one reason or the other, of course, the presiding officer must report that.”

Given INEC’s previous records, many Nigerians may not believe these assurances.

Key to the threat against credible poll in the state is the alarm raised by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the election would not be free and fair, citing the key positions being occupied by the associates of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Nyesom Wike, who is Obaseki’s known political enemy.

For instance, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Anugbum Onuoha, is believed to be Wike’s cousin, who had served as a Special Adviser on Lands when he was governor of Rivers State.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Nemi Edwin-Iwo, who was deployed to the state barely a month ago, is also alleged to be Wike’s associate as an indigene of Rivers State.

Many residents of the state believe that their posting to the state could not have been a coincidence but a deliberate plot to deliver the state to the APC.

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, had last week raised the alarm that the police were demonstrating to be acting in the interest of the APC by waging war against PDP members.

The governor wondered why many chieftains of his party have been arrested and detained outside the state while those instigating crises from the APC are walking free. It was on this ground that he threatened not to sign the Peace Accord.

The National Peace Committee led by a former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) should ensure that the REC and CP in the state are redeployed and replaced with officials whose neutrality are not in doubt.

Elections should not only be transparent but must be seen to be transparent.

The presence of the two key officials in Edo State has tainted the credibility of the yet-to-be conducted election.

INEC and the police are too critical agencies whose officials should not be associated with any political camp in any election.

With the associates of one of the political camps in charge of these two critical agencies, many have predicted the outcome of the exercise. This portends danger to democracy.

This is why the INEC chairman and the Inspector General of Police should redeploy these two officials and do everything within their powers to ensure that the will of Edo people prevails.

As the election holds on Saturday, September 21, all eyes are certainly on INEC and security agencies to conduct a free, fair, credible and transparent election in Edo State.

The acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), IIiya Umar Damagum appears to have drawn  battle lines with the governors elected on the platform of the party with his handing over of the party’s structure in Rivers State to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

The governors had in their separate resolutions after their meetings in Enugu and Taraba states, resolved to engage the Damagum-led National Working Committee (NWC) to revisit the party’s congresses in Rivers State to ensure that Governor Siminalayi Fubara took over the control of the party’s structure.

State governors in Nigeria are by tradition, the leaders of their political parties in their respective states.

But the Damagum-led leadership flouted this tradition, snubbed the governors and recognised the congresses held by Wike’s loyalists.

However, the latest development in the PDP did not come as a surprise, given the recent claim by the governorship candidate of the party in Kogi State in the 2023 general election, Senator Dino Melaye, who alleged that the party had been commercialised and privatised.

But for daring to expose the alleged rot in the party, Melaye was suspended by his Ayetoro/Iluagba Ward 1 on Thursday, September 12, 2024, while plots were being perfected for his local government, state and the national leadership of the party to affirm his suspension.

To prevent the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party from overturning its decision on Rivers, the NWC also postponed the NEC meeting of the party, originally set for September 26, to October 24.

With the action of the NWC, Wike has become the leader of the party in the state, contrary to the tradition of political parties.

In an open letter he wrote to Damagum dated April 24, 2024, foremost Ijaw leader and elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, had accused him of doing Wike’s bidding, and urged him to resign to prevent the party from collapsing on him.

Perhaps it was this lack of internal party order and discipline in the PDP that made the presidential candidate of the NNPP in the 2023 election, Rabiu Kwankwaso, to describe the PDP as dead.

With Damagum’s show of disdain for the governors, the outcome of the October 24 NEC meeting of the party will reveal whether the governors have the political will to sanction him and his NWC, or not.

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The recent altercation between Senator Adams Oshiomhole and the First Lady of Edo State, Mrs Betsy Obaseki mirrors the downward spiral of politics where personal attacks and toxic language are becoming the order of the day, writes Vanessa Obioha 

Politics is dirty, and getting dirtier each new day. From the United States, which supposedly has the best template on democracy, down to Nigeria, where politics is a do-or-die affair, the fight for political power has become very messy. It is surely not an occupation for the faint-hearted as politicians dig up dirt to tarnish the image of their opponents. 

In the recently held United States presidential debate, former President Donald Trump sparred contentiously with the Vice President and the Democratic Party presidential candidate, Kamala Harris.

In Nigeria, politics is characterised by the use of caustic, insensitive and acerbic language that are unrelated to governance. The latest altercation between Senator Adams Oshiomhole and First Lady of Edo State, Mrs Betsy Obaseki is a typical example of the level of mudslinging in Nigerian politics.

Mrs. Obaseki, had during her introduction of Mrs Ifeyinwa Ighodalo, the wife of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo, at the flag-off of the party’s campaign at Ubiaja Township Stadium in Esan South-East Local Government Area, declared that the PDP candidate was the only candidate that had a wife.

“Let us vote for the best candidate in this coming election, and I want to introduce the wife. Incidentally, among all the candidates, only one has a wife, and it’s our own party’s candidate, Asue Ighodalo. Only he has a wife. This is the wife, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Ighodalo,” she said.

“Edo women know that only one candidate has a wife. Better things come to women when there’s a woman in the Government House. All women in Edo, regardless of party, should see the candidate who has a wife. They will take us higher,” she explained.

However, Oshiomhole did not take her claim lightly.

During  his tenure as the governor of the state, Oshiomhole had reportedly told a widow to “Go and die” during a routine inspection of the environmental sanitation in Benin City. 

Therefore, many were not surprised that he would hit Mrs. Obaseki but the extent he sunk so low shocked even APC supporters.

In a viral video, Oshiomhole expressed surprise that the First Lady would claim that his party, All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Monday Okpebholo did not have a wife.

“Here is a woman who has no child. Between him and Obaseki, they have no child; they are childless,” Oshiomhole said. “They are not even ready to adopt. I don’t blame anyone who shouldn’t have a child but people who have love for children go to motherless homes and adopt children. They have not adopted, and they are both in their sixties,” he added.

He further stated that Okpebholo has children.

“Our candidate not only has children; he has invested in the education of those children such that you watch them on live television where the first one that spoke is a lawyer; the second one is a medical doctor, and they addressed the crowd in Edo South, Edo Central, and Edo North; and their mother was there,” he said.

Oshiomhole’s retaliatory comment drew the ire of many who considered it insensitive.

 Incidentally, Oshiomhole, who is currently representing Edo North senatorial district in the National Assembly, is not new to using disparaging words on people. Many recall how he used deceptive tactics and falsehoods to destroy the then PDP governorship candidate and his former ally, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu. He had called Ize-Iyamu unprintable names to favour his candidate, Obaseki.

As fate would have it, in 2020, because he was determined to ensure that Obaseki, whom he had fallen out with did not win his re-election, Oshiomhole apologised to the same Ize-Iyamu and drafted him into the governorship race on the platform of the APC.

Addressing a massive crowd of supporters at his residence in the state, Oshiomhole who at the time also lost his exalted position as the National Chairman of the APC, publicly apologised to the people of the state for supporting Obaseki and working against Ize-Iyamu

He said: “I made my mistakes by supporting a man who has no vision for my people and judged a pastor who genuinely loves his people, I am sorry… I apologise to Edo people and promise to correct my mistakes by making sure the servant of God, Pastor Ize-Iyamu is elected as governor and kicking the snake out of the government house. From now till September 19th I am here in Edo State because a political lion that I am, I am not scared of anything.

“The man (Ize-Iyamu) that is coming is not a stranger, he campaigned for me in 2012 and I won all the 18 local governments in Edo State, so he knows the roots unlike the current governor who just became governor and doesn’t know the efforts people made to make him governor. We would kick out this MoU governor and replace him with a pastor and sweep out the coronavirus party by the special grace of God.”

Unfortunately for him, he had done incalculable damage to the image of Ize-Iyamu, which largely contributed to his defeat by Obaseki.

Reacting to comments on Mrs. Obaseki, the Edo Salvation Group (ESG) demanded an apology from Oshiomhole, describing his comments as a collective insult to Edo women.

“We now believe that Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has an animosity for Edo women as this is not the first time he would be publicly mocking Edo women,” a statement from the group read. 

“Going beyond the limit to mock our First Lady on her condition is to us senseless and a bad example of dirty politics. We, as such, urge him to apologise and tender an unreserved apology not only to Mrs. Obaseki but to all Edo women for this crass denigration of the esteem and comfort of our women.”

Indeed mocking a woman for her  childlessness is simply cruel by any societal standard. When Trump announced JD Vance as his running mate in the upcoming US elections, his critics were quick to dig up his comments where he labelled Harris and other female politicians as childless cat ladies in a 2021 interview with Fox News.

“We are effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too,” Vance said.

While Harris has stepchildren, Mrs. Obaseki, in her response to Oshiomhole, clarified that she is not barren. 

“I will say to those of you sisters who like myself had conceived and had miscarriages; who like myself had painful evacuations of our babies who have died in our wombs; who have conceived and birth babies who died at birth or different stages in life, and as we speak today do not have children to show for the trauma and the pains that we experienced in life; my word of comfort to you as I say to myself, is you are not barren,” she said during a Zoom meeting with Edo women in the Diaspora.

Foul language seems to be the order of the day for Nigerian politicians who derive an inexplicable joy from throwing mud at their opponents like toddlers in a playground, even if, in the process, their outfits were also badly stained. Their playground, of course, is usually the campaign ground where serious issues are overshadowed by verbal attacks, either spoken or sung. These attacks are needless distractions to hide the deficiencies of incompetent candidates.

In a country where the cost of living is becoming astronomical due to fuel hikes and other forms of economic hardship, one’s marital or childbearing status should not take centre stage. Rather important issues such as healthcare, good governance, and business opportunities, to mention a few, should be focal points of the political campaigns.

Whether Oshiomhole would apologise to Mrs. Obaseki, as he did in 2013 and 2020 when he apologised to the poor widow he insulted and Ize-Iyamu, remains to be seen.

On Saturday 21 September,2024, Edo State voters will go to the polls to elect a brand new governor who will succeed Governor Godwin Obaseki whose tenure of eight years will elapse by November.

The forthcoming Edo State election would be the very first off-season election under the watch of President Bola Tinubu as president.

Before he became the president, Tinubu was widely acclaimed rightly or wrongly as a democrat whose credentials dated back to the Third Republic as a senator even before he became a governor of Lagos State in the current democratic dispensation.

Therefore, the Edo State election will present the ample opportunity to assess or re-asses Tinubu’s democratic credentials. Will he prove critics right or wrong? The choice is left for him.

However, Tinubu should be reminded of how off-season elections in different states of the federation had panned out under the watch of his predecessors starting from President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Nigeria used to have all elections, particularly presidential and governorship elections the same day until 2006 when Peter Obi changed the narrative by removing a usurper sitting governor through the election tribunal. That was the very first time the calendar of governorship election began to change in some states. Of course, some other states like Edo, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun followed suit. New states like Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa were added much later owing to political disequilibrium.

Now, when Peter Obi was seeking for a reelection as governor under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in early 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan was in power as acting president. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was in power at the federal level. The PDP had a very competent governorship candidate in the person of Professor Charles Soludo who just left office at the time as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. However, Jonathan as then acting president didn’t muscle out Peter Obi in the election because he belonged to a minority party like APGA.

Still under Jonathan as president, off-season elections were conducted in this same Edo, Ondo, Osun, states, which his party (PDP) candidates lost. He didn’t muscle or rig out the candidates of other political parties just to favour his own party candidates. He allowed the will of the people to prevail. Even in Ekiti State where PDP candidate, Ayo Fayose won, it was obvious to everyone that he clearly defeated the then incumbent governor. The Labour Party won in Ondo.

Under president Muhammad Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the APGA won election in Anambra. The PDP won elections in Osun and Edo States. 

Therefore, President Tinubu is morally bound to allow a free and fair elections to take place under his watch. He should demonstrate that in the forthcoming Edo election. If someone like Buhari who toppled democracy in the second republic could demonstrate a reasonable attribute of civil and democratic credentials during his era by allowing the will of the people to prevail in some elections under his watch, it will be a shame if a civilian like Tinubu has the predilection to muzzle out democratic rights of the people of Nigeria.

Finally, on the part of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the commission can start redeeming its image through these off-season elections beginning with the Edo State election. Most importantly, the INEC chairman, Professor Mahmud Yakubu, whose non renewable tenure will expire next year has nothing to lose if he insists on doing the right thing even if for the first time. He has started his usual rhetoric of assurance of free and fair elections, but a handful of Nigerians believe whatever he says now. INEC and its officials should atone for their sins and make peace with their creator unless they do not believe in eternity.

 Ifeanyi Maduako, Owerri viaifeanyimaduako2017@gmail.com

 Dada Olusegun reels off the gains of President Tinubu’s trip to China

President Bola Tinubu on Friday rounded off his official visit to China with his trip to the world’s 2nd largest economy ending with very significant and mouthwatering gains for Nigeria. It was obvious that the President was looking forward to a trip heavy on deals that would impact on Nigeria’s quest to improve our infrastructure, agriculture, power, solid minerals, etc., judging by the public officials in his official entourage. 

From the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Minister of Trade and Investment, the Minister of Solid Minerals, Minister of Power, FCT Minister, Minister of Defence, Minister of Transportation, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Minister of Information and National Orientation, Minister of Foreign Affairs, etc., to Governors of Lagos, Kaduna and Kwara States, the President’s entourage was tailored for purpose.

Shortly after being warmly received by the Chinese government, President Bola Tinubu on Monday, September 2, visited the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), during which he acknowledged the company’s role as a reliable partner in Nigeria’s infrastructure development programme, commending its ongoing railway projects in the country. President Tinubu right there at the headquarters of CRCC promised that the Ibadan-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano railway segments will be completed and done to the satisfaction of Nigeria and West Africa at large. Already China is providing funding through the China Development Bank for the ongoing Kaduna-Kano section of the Lagos-Kano railway project. The Ibadan-Abuja section is set to be funded by the Chinese too, thanks to renewed cooperation between Nigeria and China on the Belt and Road Initiative.

After the visit to CRCC headquarters in Beijing, President Tinubu also visited the Huawei Technologies’ Beijing Research Centre, where the company announced the launch of DigiTruck, a mobile ICT classroom aimed at enhancing digital literacy in underserved communities in Nigeria. Chairman of Huawei’s Board of Directors, Mr Liang Hua said that the initiative would operate in 10 states annually, training at least 3,000 students each year. Huawei also proposed to build two major technology data storage centres in Lagos and Kaduna States, which would create employment and opportunities for more young people in Nigeria. 

President Bola Tinubu held a high-powered bilateral meeting with the Chinese President, Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday, September 3. At the bilateral meeting, the two heads of state announced the elevation of China-Nigeria relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership from just a strategic partnership, signaling deeper ties between the world’s second most populous nation and the most populous black nation on earth.

At the bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping, several bilateral MoUs were signed on the Belt and Road co-operation plan (promoting the implementation of the Global Development Initiative), economic development, application of the Beidou Navigation Satellite System, nuclear energy, peanut exports to China, and news media, among other fields.

The belt and road MoU is particularly very crucial as it further solidifies China’s interest to continue to invest in infrastructural projects in Nigeria especially on railways and roads/bridges. The cooperation agreement on nuclear energy is equally important as it is meant to enhance Nigeria’s capability to harness nuclear technology for electricity and also utilization in medicine. 

The MoU on export of shelled peanuts is very important for our agricultural and Nigeria’s quest to increase non-oil exports. It also signals China’s readiness to buy more processed or semi-processed goods from Nigeria. Already, with a trade volume of over $23 billion, Nigeria is China’s second largest trading partner in Africa. With huge potential for even more trade, Nigeria can surpass South Africa as China’s largest trade partner on the continent.

The President then joined other African leaders to participate in the Forum for Africa-China Cooperation. At the Forum, the next chapter of Tinubu’s trip unfolded. On the sidelines of the conference, more MoUs were signed by ministers and governors some of which include:

gas-related Projects. The Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas) witnessed the signing of critical Project Agreements for the Brass Industrial Park, Gas Gathering Pipelines & Associated Facilities, and the Methanol Complex Project between Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Company Ltd. (BFPCL) and the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC). 

This partnership involving three key projects has the potential to inject about $3.3 billion into Nigeria’s economy and particularly driving growth and innovation in Nigeria’s energy sector. These projects are very pivotal in driving Nigeria’s industrial growth and energy security. This is a big win for Nigeria.

The $1bn Proposed Iron-ore-to-steel Project:

During President Tinubu’s trip, Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake witnessed the signing of an MoU between Chart and Capstone Integrated Limited of Nigeria and its Chinese counterpart, Sinomach-Hea, who is a market leader in solid minerals development. The deal is for a $1 billion new iron-ore-to-steel project planned for Kogi State, which has abundant deposits of iron ore and home to the Ajaokuta Steel complex. The Nigerian company, Chart and Capstone Integrated Limited already has a mining license approved by the Cadastal Office and needed both a proven technical and financial partner, thanks to President Bola Tinubu’s trip to China, it has gotten a partner in Sinomach-Hea.

Still on the sidelines of FOCAC and with the full guarantee of the federal government, Lagos State government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) to realise the ambitious Green Line metro rail project in Lagos. The Green Line, which is a 68km rail line designed to run from the Lekki Free Zone to Marina and connecting with the Blue Line at Marina is projected to carry over 500,000 passengers daily at launch, rising to over a million eventually. 

The Green line is expected to transform the transport landscape of Lagos as it will complement the Blue and Red Lines and link areas such as Victoria Island, Lekki, Ajah, etc. The federal government’s Ministry of Finance Incorporated and CHEC would be involved in the design, financing, and construction.

The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu earlier signed an MoU with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) for the construction of the Lekki-Epe link bridge in the Lekki-Epe axis of Lagos. With the MoU in place, Lagos State has commenced discussions to award the Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to CCECC with feasibility and design studies for the bridge already completed.

During the FOCAC summit in China, the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike was also on hand to sign an MoU with CCECC for the provision and installation of solar street lighting in key areas in the FCT such as Maitaima, Asokoro, Wuse, Central Business District, Airport Road. The Minister also signed another MoU with China Geo-Engineering Corporation Overseas Construction (CGCOC) for water works including the completion of the Abuja Water Works project and for extension of clean water supply to Gwagwalada, Kwali and Kuje areas of the FCT. CGCOC also signed MoU on solar street lighting and would cover Mabushi, Katampe and Garki.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that President Bola Tinubu’s China visit was carefully planned to bring home greater infrastructural development for Nigeria. Judging by the five focal infrastructure developmental agreements signed between Nigeria and China, Tinubu’s state visit to China and his participation in the FOCAC summit was a resounding success. These agreements would translate to better transport infrastructure for Nigerians, it would lead to greater gas utilisation by industries, it would open doors for value addition in our solid minerals sector in line with the anti mine-to-ports policy of the Tinubu administration in the solid minerals sector. 

All these mean more jobs, increased productivity, more external trade, more FX earnings and of course increased prosperity for Nigerians. During the trip, the Chief Marketer of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu did not fail to interact with the Nigeria diaspora community in China. He spoke passionately to his fellow compatriots sojourning in China, explaining to them why his administration is taking the hard decisions necessary to reset Nigeria’s economy and place it on the path of sustainable development.

Dada is Special Assistant to the President on Digital Media

Ahead of the September 21, 2024 Local Government Council polls in Imo state, members of the ruling All Progressives Congress and the opposition parties are wary of the process leading to the election, Tony Icheku reports.

About two weeks to Imo State’s first local government council polls in five years, furrows have formed on the foreheads of the All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirants,  and their eyes are red and bleary from sleeplessness and worry. They are no more certain that the process would be transparent, free and fair as they grapple with the contradictions in executing the letters of the party’s constitution concerning internal democracy.

In early June, 2024, Chairman of the Imo state Independent Electoral Commission  (ISIEC), Chief Charles Ejiogu announced Saturday, September 21, 2024 as the date for   local government council polls in the 27 local government areas (LGAs) of Imo State. He  assured critical stakeholders and all registered political parties in the State of ISIEC’s preparedness and readiness to offer all a level playing ground. “It will be free, transparent, and credible”, he said. 

APC  loyalists quickly embraced the exercise. They looked forward to a seamless and rancour-free process: The governor may  have nothing at stake, they reasoned, that he is in his second and last term. Expectations were high that he would play the unbiased umpire and allow loyalists who have stood with him through thick and thin to finally have their day in the sun.

In a twinkle of an eye, over 800 councillorship hopefuls purchased nomination forms to jostle for 305 councillorship seats at N1 million each and 200 chairmanship hopefuls shelled out N3 million to jostle for 27 chairmanship seats.

The weeding out process would be through primary, the party and ISIEC assured them stressing that the principles of internal democracy would be duly observed, but after four postponements, the message finally sank in that it may not all be smooth sailing after all.

By the tail end of August, 2024, after several postponements of the primary, Governor Hope Uzodimma finally intervened and prescribed consensus as his preferred option for  the selection of chairmanship and councillorship candidates. The governor while addressing all chairmanship and councillorship aspirants, state leaders and stakeholders at APC’s Secretariat in Owerri, the state capital explained that the party constitution allows for three methods of producing candidates for election, namely direct primaries, indirect primaries and consensus.

The Imo Governor also declared that party aspirants who failed to clinch the party ticket will be refunded their expenses, but on the condition that they exhibit good behavior during and after the process, stressing that the decision to opt for consensus candidates was taken to promote unity and cohesion in the party as well as stability of politics in the State. He reminded the party members that APC was one family in the State, urging them to make sacrifices for the victory of the party.

His words: “I will plead with the party to go into the contest with one spirit. Those who win, we will encourage them to work with those who didn’t win”.

According to him, the 27 chairmanship and the 305 ward councillorship candidates would emerge through consensus. He added that where the consensus option fails to select a candidate, the party will conduct a primary election, either direct or indirect.  The decision became imperative following the high number of interested candidates in the polls, he said.

Uzodimma was economical with details of how the consensus candidates would emerge. And it is also pertinent to recall that earlier in the race, he recommended zoning of the positions as one of the factors in determining the flagbearers for the chairmanship slots.

Aspirants left the meeting holding their breath in suspense which turned to bewilderment few days later when Local Government chairpersons of the party were forbidden from holding meetings in their domain forthwith.

Uzodimma’s current posture and body language are at variance with his earlier stand that he is “not going to influence the Local Government Election, it will be transparent. We must go by the rules and ensure that credible people that will serve the people are elected.”

He advised those angling for positions as either chairman or councilor to go to their people and sell themselves since they will be accountable to the people at the end of the day.

Analysing the issue, a journalist and public affairs analyst, Henry Ekpe stated that Governor Uzodimma’s position on zoning and consensus option are opaque and ambiguous as  “there are clear differences between  zoning formula and  consensus, including Direct or Indirect primaries.

“While zoning means  the rules must be followed to  balance the political equation in each given LGA based on their age long way of sharing political positions, but consensus means arriving on immediate acceptable solution based on what is on ground, not minding if it met balancing or not”

Again Ekpe maintained that the consensus option renders the delegates impotent while transferring powers to a clique or a powerful leader to produce the candidates. So, who ever, between a leader or group of leaders who manage to foist a chairman on a LGA become automatically a kingmaker or  kingmaker(s).

“Under this consensus option, the Imo APC chairmanship and councillorship primaries have been left on the altar of the survival of the fittest, lacking in democratic norms, but the  end justifying the means, with a looming implosion”, he submitted.

Ekpe argued that the true pictures would emerge if Uzodimma’s next political agenda is known – Will he be running for elective office after his governorship or simply interested in installing his successor? Either way, he would want only his trusted allies to hold power as Executive Chairperson or Councillor under the LG’s new financial autonomy dispensation where they would be very influential.

In its reaction to the development, a civil society organisation, the National Youth Alliance (NYA) Imo State chapter described the consensus option as a confrontational attack on the psyche of Imo people and a brutal attack on democracy and rule of law.

According to the NYA Imo  coordinator, Comrade ChinonsoNonsokwa, the consensus option is “…totally unlawful, illegal, undemocratic, unacceptable, tyrannical, dictatorial and grossly dehumanising of all aspirants in that party who truly believed there would be primary election”.

Beyond the controversy over the emergence of  APC candidates, the insecurity challenge has also reared its ugly face as ISIEC recently declared that the  scheduled elections may not hold in three local government councils namely:  Onuimo, Okigwe and Orsu LGAs due to insecurity l.

ISIEC Chairman, Ejiogu, while speaking during an interactive session with the various security outfits in the state, proffered that the major operational challenges facing the Commission in the discharge of its duties ahead of the upcoming elections is protection of staff and  movement of election materials.

He noted that electoral officers cannot get easy access to some LGAs for routine verification of polling units and collation centres in line with operational guidelines.

Nevertheless, the ISIEC boss affirmed that the Saturday, September 21,2024 date for the LG Polls in other LGAs of the State remains sacrosanct in the absence of any circumstances beyond the Commission’s control.

The LG election is definitely an APC affair as the major opposition parties have distanced themselves from it.

Speaking with THISDAY, DrVinUdokwu, the Coordinator of the Rebuild Imo Movement, comprising former Governor EmekaIhedioha’s loyalists that pulled out from the PDP ruled out the participation of the movement in the LG elections which he described as being programmed to produce a predicted outcome.

Udokwu, a former Chief of Staff to former Governor AchikeUdenwa, maintained that it is an established tradition for LG election conducted in a particular state to be won by members of the ruling party in the State.

“The parties which field candidates in these elections fully understand the game and they only use the elections for sensitisation and mobilisation of members, at worst a very popular party may win one or two councillors, but definitely not the chairmanship”.

The Imo State chapter of the Labour Party (LP) has emphatically distanced itself from the election and described the Imo State LG Polls as coronation of selected persons to man the 27 Local Government Councils in the State and not an election.

Speaking exclusively to THISDAY in  Owerri, the Imo LP State Chairman, MrCallistusIhejiagwa maintained that LP chose to boycott the LG elections as it refuses to lend itself to be used to endorse the  shenanigan and coronation of cronies of Governor Uzodimma to man the LG Councils.

“Imo State LP have no confidence in the democratic credentials of Governor Hope Uzodimma and we do not see ISIEC as completely independent. Go and find out, the word on the streets is that Uzodimma and the Imo APC have already compiled a list of those who would be announced as winners in the so-called election. The LP refuses to be part of such coronation. The Party will not lend itself to endorse such shenanigans”, Ihejiagwa stressed.

The LP State Chairman described the electoral process as flawed from the beginning even as he argued that Uzodimma have an agenda for scheduling the LG elections so early in his second term, stressing that in his first four years the Imo governor refused to hold any LG elections.

 Commenting on the forthcoming LG polls, the State Organising Secretary of the APC, Hon IkechukwuUmeh, refuted the allegations that the GovUzodinma has already endorsed certain candidates ahead the September 21 council polls, describing the allegations as false and misleading.

The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the governor on Electronic Media, Ambrose Nwaogwugwu stated: “We want to categorically state that this claim is false and misleading. Governor Uzodimma has not endorsed any aspirant for the elections, neither privately nor publicly.

“There is no list of endorsed aspirants existing anywhere, and the Governor has not made any statements to that effect and will not make”.

Across the State, the political environment is like lifeless ashes after a a big fire as the aspirants wind down on the hitherto hyperactive political activities as they wait directives from the APC leadership.

Temitope Ajayi writes about President Bola Tinubu’s serious commitment towards turning Nigeria round for the better despite identified hiccups that will fade with time.

Those who think they are taking a dig at the President have been gloating. Their usual refrain is that the man they said built Lagos should build Nigeria for them to see. As Governor of Lagos, the President reformed governance and set the state on the path of irreversible progress. 

President Tinubu has never claimed he did it alone or discounted the contributions of others who led the state before him. Some of the landmark projects he started are still standing, and the plans and vision he articulated are still being implemented till today. We talk about the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Complex at the Lekki Free Trade Zone and the transformation that has taken place within the Lagos economy in the last 20 years, and you think about Bola Tinubu, who engineered them. 

Leadership is about fixing today’s problems and thinking ahead for years. The good thing is Tinubu did not accomplish all he did in Lagos within a year. The new Lagos metro Red Line being test-run is a product of his visionary leadership, just like the Blue Line, which has carried over two million passengers in the last two years. 

No sane person can argue against the considerable progress governance has delivered to Lagos State since 1999.

Just last week in China, the state, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Finance Incorporated, inked a new deal on the 68-kilometre Lagos Green Line Metro that will move from Ibeju-Lekki to join the Blue Line at Marina. That is another great leap forward: how progressive societies are built from generation to generation. 

As Governor of Lagos State, President Tinubu faced numerous challenges. Many wrote him off within his first year in office. However, like a Phoenix, he rose to these challenges as a statesman.

This President does not shy away from challenges. He works tirelessly to overcome and prevail. He understands there are no easy choices to make. He has made it clear that he will make the right and intricate decisions for the country, even if those decisions are unpopular.

And he has indeed made the right choices that will deliver  significant gains for the country and its people.

-Ajayi, Media and Publicity Assistant to the President, writes from Abuja.

Yinka Oyebode writes that Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti state has sought the intervention of the National Assembly for the upgrade of the National Youth Service Corps’ Permanent Orientation Camp in Emure Ekiti.

Governor BiodunOyebanji of Ekiti state has sought the assistance of the Senate Committee on Youth Development in providing critical support for the upgrade of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Orientation Camp in the state.

The Governor also appealed to the Committee to develop policies aimed at fostering skill acquisition among Nigerian youths, emphasizing that education without skills in this modern era will put the youths at a disadvantage.

Oyebanji, who stated these in Ado Ekiti, the state capital during a meeting with members of the Senate Committee on Youth Development led by the Chairman, Senator YemiAdaramodu, shortly after their fact finding visit  to the NYSC camp in EmureEkiti.

The Governor expressed concern over the poor condition of the NYSC camp, noting  that the facility had suffered neglect over time following the inability of the NYSC to adequately maintain the camp.

The Governor said his government had already commenced rehabilitation efforts which include construction of 45 units toilet and bathrooms in the camp, rehabilitation of the road leading to the camp to curb accidents and kidnappings along the route, as well as giving approval for procurement of utility vehicle to enhance the operation of the scheme in the state.

He however urged the Senate Committee members to ensure adequate budget provision for the camp in next year federal budget, in order to upgrade facilities at the camp.

According to him: “I am not happy that NYSC has shifted its responsibility to the state. Ideally both of us should be responsible but NYSC just washed off their hands from their facilities in the state. We are doing our best to fix the road leading to the camp and fix 45 Units of convenience facilities, in addition to other interventions. I implore you to ensure adequate provision for the camp in the next budget so the facilities can be upgraded.”.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman Senate Committee on Youth Development, Senator YemiAdaramodu while appreciating the  Governor for his quick intervention during the recent near-disaster in the NYSC camp and his commitment and dedication towards the youth development in the state, said the purpose of their visit to the state was to assess the condition of the camp and identify areas requiring urgent intervention, adding that despite the Senate being on recess, the visit was prioritized to incorporate the rehabilitation of the camp in the upcoming budget deliberation.

Adaramodu highlighted the significance of their visit to include providing support for the efforts of the state government, while also promising that his Committee would contribute 250 mattresses and chairs to the camp as palliative measure while working on the major intervention.

He also promised to personally facilitate the construction of a new hall as a constituency project and the installation of solar-powered street lights to improve security within the camp.

-Oyebode, Media Adviser to EkitiGovernor, writes from Ado Ekiti.