The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Toyin Omotosho rejoices

    Toyin Omotosho rejoices

    ENGR. Toyin Omotosho is a highly accomplished individual known for his expertise in engineering, education, and property management. He is widely recognized as a leading figure in Lagos and has made significant contributions to his community.

    Recently, Omotosho celebrated his birthday with a thanksgiving ceremony, which showcased his gratitude for the blessings he has received in life. This event reflected his dedication to his faith and his appreciation for the opportunities he has been given.

    Read Also: Toyin Lawani threatens to call out ‘gaslighting’ debtors

    One of the key values Omotosho holds dear is maintaining a good reputation. He understands the importance of having a strong and respected name, which has undoubtedly contributed to his success in various fields.

    One notable achievement in Omotosho’s career is the establishment of the renowned ‘Eyes On The Future School.’ This educational institution has made a significant impact in providing quality education and shaping the future of young minds.

    Overall, Engr. Toyin Omotosho is a highly regarded and influential figure in Lagos. His professional accomplishments, commitment to education, and emphasis on maintaining a good name demonstrate his substantial contributions to society.

  • GOING NO WHERE: Napoli consider release clause in new Osimhen contract

    GOING NO WHERE: Napoli consider release clause in new Osimhen contract

    Reports have suggested that Victor Osimhen is edging close to signing a new contract with Napoli, which could include a release clause.

    The 24-year-old Nigerian striker is one of the hottest topics in the summer transfer window following his incredible season in Campania.

    Osimhen played a crucial role in Napoli’s Scudetto success, scoring 26 goals in 32 league games, and his work attracted the attention of multiple clubs like Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.

    But  Gazzetta dello Sport yesterday  detailed how Napoli are pushing to tie down Osimhen to a new long-term contract, extending his stay in the Campania capital from 2025 to 2027.

    The Nigerian would be given a significant raise, from €4.5m net to €7m net per season, and a release clause could be included in his contract – worth around €100-120m.

    Bayern Munich have seemingly moved away from Osimhen, instead focusing their efforts on Tottenham’s Harry Kane, but PSG could reignite their interest should Kylian Mbappe be sold.

    Read Also: Playing under Mourinho ‘ll be huge honour ,says Osimhen

    Meanwhile, Juventus have officially announced the arrival of Cristiano Giuntoli, who has become the club’s new sporting director.

    The 51-year-old spent the last eight years with Napoli and played a crucial role in their Scudetto success last season, helping bring in stars like Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen.

    In the closing stages of the campaign, reports quickly began to emerge that he was keen to leave Napoli for Juventus. After a frosty period in the Campania capital, Giuntoli agreed his exit from the club a year before his contract was due to expire.

    As announced today, Giuntoli is officially Juventus’ new sporting director and will work closely with his new right-hand man Giovanni Manna.

    The Italian director will now be tasked with guiding the Bianconeri in their post-Andrea Agnelli era, starting with offloading a number of unneeded players in order to lighten the wage bill. He is also working on bringing in the right reinforcements to take the club back to the top in Italy.

  • Four killed in Auchi Poly cult clash

    Four killed in Auchi Poly cult clash

    Four persons have been killed in  rival cult war involving some students of Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State.

    The renewed cult war was between members of Black Axe and Supreme Vikings.

    Our reporter gathered yesterday that a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, who was a member of Black Axe, was shot by members of Supreme Vikings.

    Read Also: One dead in Kwara rival cult clash

    The shot NYSC member was quickly rushed to an undisclosed hospital in Auchi for treatment, and later discharged, but in a reprisal, a member of Supreme Vikings was killed around a popular fast-food plaza in Jattu, near Auchi, with three others killed at Mechanic Site, Vacchi and Winners’ Road, Auchi.

    The Assistant Public Relations Officer (APRO) of Auchi Poly, Mrs. Adebola Ogunboyewa, stated through the phone that the authorities of the tertiary institution had no control over happenings, including cult clashes, outside the campus, especially in host communities, which she said would be handled by security agencies.

    Edo Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Chidi Nwanbuzor, a Superintendent of  Police (SP), did not answer calls to his MTN line.

  • Ministerial list: Rivers leaders of thoughts root for Abe

    Ministerial list: Rivers leaders of thoughts root for Abe

    Rivers State Leaders of Thoughts have called on President Bola Tinubu to consider Senator Magnus Abe for a place in his cabinet.

    The leaders, under the umbrella body, Coalition of Rivers State Leaders of Thoughts, said Abe is a proven Tinubu loyalist who had worked for the success of the president at the poll. 

    The elders, in a statement signed by High Chief Sunnie Chukumele FOSHA, Hon. Josiah Onoriode, convener and Hon. Josiah Onoriode,  Secretary respectively, also stated that Abe  would be an added advantage to President Tinubu’s administration.  

    The statement reads in part: “We believe that appointing Sen. Abe whose profile is intimidating into Pres. Tinubu’s cabinet will also be a succour to the President’s original believers and followers in Rivers State. If their leader is rewarded, naturally they are affected.

    “These people should not be traded for interests and people we call the “Latter Day Saints”. These are mere turncoats.

    “From the foregoing submission, we want to in conclusion remind Mr. President that he has been a man noted to reward loyalty at all costs. The Holy Book says that a labourer is worthy of his wage or reward.

    “We pray that Senator Magnus Abe’s position as Pres. Tinubu’s first and main loyalist in River State should not be swapped or short changed for another.

    “Majority of Rivers people shall be glad to see Sen. Magnus Abe nominated by the President into the Federal Executive Council which he is about to constitute.”

    Read Also: Ministerial appointment splits Wike’s, Abe’s camps

    They also noted  “That we bring to the notice of Mr. President, that the Ogoni people being the second largest ethnic group in Rivers State have never enjoyed a full ministerial position in this country since after the administration/cabinet of Gen. Yakubu Gowon, where the late Dr. GB Leton served as Federal Commissioner several years ago.

    “Mr. President, it may further interest you to know that the Ogoni Ethnic Nationality has never produced a Deput Governor, or even Speaker of the state Legislature. Ogoni land and Ogoni people have contributed immensely to Nigeria’s economy. We see it as equitable that Sen. Magnus Abe and Ogoni people be compensated, having given up the quest for the governorship of the state.”

    The Elders also commended Abe for voluntarily withdrawing his case against the Peoples Democratic Party at the tribunal.

    “That we commend Senator Magnus Abe for voluntarily withdrawing his petition at the Election Tribunal. This we see as a generous gift and gesture to the governor of River State Sir Siminalayi Fubara to settle in to serve the good people of the state.”

  • Supreme Court dismisses case seeking Delta Gov Oborevwori’s sack

    Supreme Court dismisses case seeking Delta Gov Oborevwori’s sack

    • •Awards N6m cost against Aghwarianovwe

    The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by Ikie Aghwarianovwe seeking the disqualification of the Governor of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori for allegedly supplying false information about his academic qualification and date of birth to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    In a judgment on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court was unanimous in holding that Aghwarianovwe’s appeal failed because he failed to show that the concurrent decisions of the two lower courts were pervase.

    Justice Adamu Jauro wrote the lead judgment, which was read on Friday by Justice Emmanuel Agim.

    The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Asaba division, delivered on 5th May 2023 which upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court, Asaba Division, to the effect that Aghwarianovwe failed to prove his case and that Oborevwori was qualified to contest the last governorship election in the state.

    Justice Jauro noted that none of the grounds of the appeal showed that the concurrent findings of the two lower courts were pervase.

    He added: “After a very detailed consideration of every argument of all the parties on the various issues raised, I find that no matter how the instant appeal is viewed it is bound to fail.

    “There is no saving grace for it. Right from the grounds of appeal, to the prominent issue of jurisdiction and now to the merit itself, the appeal was dead on arrival, with zero chance of success.

    “Flowing from the foregoing, I find no merit in the instant appeal. I dismiss same,” he said and proceeded to affirm the earlier decisions of two lower courts.

    Justice Jauro awarded a cost of N6million against the appellant, to be paid at N3m each for the first and second respondents – PDP and Oborevwori.

    Other members of the panel -Justices Mohammed Garba, Ibrahim Saulawa, Tijani Abubakar, Agim – agreed with the lead judgment.

    Read Also: Supreme Court quashes Nwaoboshi’s money laundering conviction

    Elated by the judgment, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori attributed  his legal victories at the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal and the Supreme Court to divine intervention.

    The governor made the remark during a thanksgiving service.

    The thanksgiving service which held at Government House Chapel, Asaba, yesterday, to appreciate God for the victories, was attended by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and his wife, Tobore, the deputy governor,  Monday Onyeme and his wife, Catherine, former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and his wife, Edith, and the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Emomotimi Guwor among other top government functionaries.

    The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Asaba, had, on Thursday, dismissed the petition of Mr. Ken Pela, the governorship candidate of the Labour Party for abandoning his petition.

    Governor Oborevwori, who dedicated the court victories to Almighty God, thanked Him for stamping His feet on the affairs of the state.

    He pledged to continue to be the governor of all Deltans and sued for the support of all in the task of building a virile and prosperous state.

    Oborevwori disclosed that his administration was anchored on Christ, just as he attributed his electoral victory to God’s divine mercy.

    According to him, “God cannot deny Himself. The victory God has granted us is permanent and no man can destroy what God has done by Himself.

    “Today, we stand here victorious and we are grateful to God for guiding us through this challenging journey. God has taken over our battles, therefore, we are more than conquerors.

    “These victories of yesterday and today are dedicated to God and they have come as early birthday gifts to His Excellency, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.

    “I congratulate our leader, Senator  Ifeanyi Okowa, for the foundation that he has laid. I once told him that he has done things that he will be remembered for.

    “I appeal to Deltans to know that the victories we have recorded are not from men, but from God and we give God all the praise,” he said.

  • Police kill six suspected kidnappers in Rivers

    Police kill six suspected kidnappers in Rivers

    The police in Rivers have killed six suspected kidnappers during a gun battle in Emohua Local Government Area of the state.

    The Commissioner of Police in the state, Emeka Nwonyi, who confirmed the incident in a press briefing on Friday said operatives of the anti-cultism and other tactical units killed the suspects in a gun duel at Obelle town.

    He said the gang was led by one Uchechukwu Daniel adding that some of the suspects escaped with bullet wounds.

    Nwonyi said: “Sequel to the criminal activities along the East-West road axis in Emohua, operatives attached to the anti-cultism unit in conjunction with a tactical team invaded a hideout of one Uchechukwu Daniel Okana,  aka Horn man at Obele community in Emohua.

    Read Also: France unrest: An assumption of racial discrimination and police brutality to humanity

    “On sighting the operatives, they opened fire on them. The rapid response from the anti-cultism unit in collaboration with other tactical teams neutralised and dislodged them as they scampered for safety. Six  were neutralised while six were arrested. The six arrested suspects are helping the detectives in further investigation.”

    Nwonyi said that operatives of the command on patrol along King Perekule junction GRA, Port Harcourt, intercepted and rescued one kidnap victim.

    “The victim narrated that one of their friends was kidnapped and taken away by the hoodlums, who were operating in a carton colour Lexus RX 350 jeep after shooting at their vehicle tyre. Pieces of 7.2 empty shell and a techno phone belonging to the victim was also recovered.”

    Nwonyi said some kidnappers were trailed to their hideout at Ozuoha in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state where a victim was rescued unhurt while one of the suspects Mr. Buchi David was arrested.

  • Amnesty Office, NAPTIN In talks to train Ex-Agitators On Power Sector

    Amnesty Office, NAPTIN In talks to train Ex-Agitators On Power Sector

    The Office of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) and the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) have concluded arrangements to train ex-agitators on power related areas.

    A statement issued on Friday by Freston Akpor, SA Media to the PAP Interim Administrator, said the planned collaboration will see NAPTIN train ex-agitators as part of the non-formal education vocational training scheme of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

    The statement added that the latest collaboration formed part of discussions held when the NAPTIN Director-General, Mr. Ahmed Bolaji Nagode and his management team paid a courtesy call to the PAP Interim Administrator, Major-Gen Barry Ndiomu (rtd).

    In his remarks, Mr. Nagode expressed the Institute’s readiness to partner with the PAP in broader areas to build the capacity of ex-agitators and youths in the Niger Delta to play critical roles in the power and related sectors.

    Read Also: Senate pledges Budgetary support for NAPTIN

    “Youths from the Niger Delta who undergo the training scheme would not only become self-reliant but also job creators and employers of labour who would grow the nation, improve human capital and make Nigeria better economically,” he said.

    The Director-General highlighted three key areas for skill acquisition and development in the power sector, namely: Solar PV Installation, Mini Grid and Metering, which according to him, will enhance job creation and help ex-agitators to become independent.

    Mr. Nagode explained that “As an institute, NAPTIN is at the fore to develop those trade skills for the power sector which is also in line with the policy direction of the PAP Interim Administrator’s desire to see youths from the Niger Delta drive the economic growth of the region.”

    Responding, the PAP Interim Administrator expressed gratitude to the NAPTIN team for the seriousness it attached to the earlier request for a collaboration and assured that efforts are on to design a workable plan to get the project up and running.

  • Image rights

    Until Nigeria’s incredible performances at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games through the women’s long jump, few bronze medals and of course the fantastic gold (super gold medal), news emanating from this country hardly captures our virtues but feast on our vices. No disrespect to Chioma Ajuma’s gold and Nigeria’s first medal at the multisport competition and in the football event, Nigeria in the eyes of the world was a pariah nation suffering under the jackboot era of the departed goggled one, the late Sani Abacha.

    I recall passing through immigrations inside the Atlanta Airport watching Nigerian athletes exit unheralded except for a few back slaps for those renowned ones among our athletes. Nigeria’s participation was symbolised by our national flag hoisted among the comity of nations expected at the Games. Those visiting the US for the first time were not disappointed. The US was working and will always work. The country was on autopilot with existing checks and balances. The United States was fun, her citizens warm and friendly.

    Again, I recall leaving Atlanta after the Olympics heading for Philadelphia by Greyhound and witnessing the way excited Americans showed incredible warmth towards us when they knew we were Nigerians who partook in the Games on any platforms. For these Americans, every Nigerian was Okocha, for some others Kanu or Oliseh. For those Americans who couldn’t pronounce long Nigerian names such as Okechuku, Babangida, and Amokachi, they shouted Amooo… taxi while they brought out anything they could lay their hands on to sign autographs. Yes, the perception of Nigeria during those dark days was wiped out albeit temporarily following our sports ambassadors’ Olympic Games’ exploits.

    How can I forget how journalists were made to make the hard option of choosing between delaying the trip to Georgia to watch the Olympic Games game between Brazil and Nigeria? Both countries had met at the Group stage with the Samba Boys emerging as winners. The hard choice to make for the newspaper men had to do with watching the game from the blast of the whistle or watching athletics where Ajunwa in the long jump which had been dominated by the Americans and arrive Georgia 15 minutes late. Some of us chose to ask questions from enthusiastic Nigerians we came across to plot our trajectory from Atlanta where we stayed to the match venue.

    A few of us found a few who prodded us to watch Ajunwa perform on the long jump pit. This decision was to say with the group paid off. Ajunwa hit her gold-winning jump on the first attempt and it remained unassailable. The beauty of Ajunwa’s feat was achieved through the magnanimity of one of the Greatest Of All Times (G.O.A.T)  in Nigeria’s football, Segun Odegbami of the famous Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) of Ibadan and Green Eagles, the country’s senior soccer team was when Ajunwa started her victory lap of honour without Nigeria’s Green-White-Green flag. Was this a failure of leadership among the officials? Likely. Nobody gave Ajunwa a dog chance to conquer the world in the long jump event in Atlanta. Certainly, Odegbami is an incurable optimist in any course he has faith in.

    Faith was kind to Ajunwa in the course of the celebratory lap of honour. She spotted a little girl among the crowd waving Nigeria’s flag. Ajunwa seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and ran towards the little one who willingly gave Ajunwa the flag with a few kisses from the gold medallist. The rest, as we say here is history. No doubt the perception before the Games and when Ajunwa struck gold had changed for good.

    Read Also: Dokubo can’t dent image of military, says Akpodoro

    I won’t bore you, dear reader, with the captivating details of what happened in Georgia between Nigeria and Brazil and the ultimate 3-2 victory over Argentina in the final game. Nigeria, by that epic feat, had changed the narrative of the beautiful game at the senior level with several world beaters in the game eager to host the 1996 Olympic Games’ winners at any cost. Why a certain Sports minister in the government (name withheld) deemed it appropriate to stop Dream Team 1 from reaping from the harvest of invitations extended to the boys for friendly games, says a lot about the beginning of the slow death of the country’s football today.

    Sadly and painfully too, Nigeria threw away the golden chance to reinvent football here no thanks to one person’s rascality. Super Eagles have been humbled several times by hitherto smaller football countries in Europe and Africa. The fact that Nigeria is still struggling to qualify from a group that has Sao Tome, Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau explains how far the country has fallen in the game globally. It is instructive to state here that Nigeria’s soccer reached its apogee when the country debuted at the senior World Cup in 1994 in the United States of America. Our growth was such that we went to the 1994 World Cup as winners of the Africa Cup of Nations beating depleted Chipolopolo of Zambia in the finals 2-1.

    Already the country’s U-17 Golden Eaglets led by Wilson Oruma won the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Many players from this team were part of the gold medal side that won the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games with senior players from the Super Eagles giving the squad width in their matches, strength and experience during tricky games. What it meant then was Nigerians were World champions and Olympic Games champions in 1993 and 1996. In the interlude between these victories, Nigerians were also African champions.

    Indeed, our stars from these three groups mentioned above were regulars ahead of Europeans in their different clubs in Europe. Not so anymore as our players languished either on the bench or struggled with nagging injuries which kept them out of the game for a very long period. The backlash from this scenario is that some of our top players are being listed in European clubs due to their poor performances. So, when you have a team populated by benchwarmers, injury-prone boys and ageing ones, what has befallen the Super Eagles shouldn’t cause any reason for tears to drop down our cheeks.

    Credit should go to Dutchman Clemens Westerhof who reinvented our football anchored on mainly home-based players many of who took to Europe to brush up the rustic aspects of their games and Nigeria-born lad laying for European clubs but were also highly skilful. Westerhof lived with us here and attended the domestic games himself. Such was Westerhof efficiency in monitoring the local lads that George Finidi played for Calabar Rovers on a particular weekend only to play for Ajax FC in the Dutch league the following weekend. In the absence of a credible foreign coach such as Westerhof in the present Super Eagles, NFF has started a commendable coaching course in Nigeria. One only hopes that the domestic clubs’ can be invited to participate in the course.

    “CAF has sent us one of the very best in the field. I urge you to follow this very unique programme and the different modules with rapt attention, so that you can gain so much to pass onto other Nigerian coaches in subsequent courses,” NFF President Gusau said in a speech read on his behalf by the NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi.

    According to NFF Media Director and veteran journalist, Ademola Olajire in a release from the federation: ” The first-of-its-kind CAF Coaching Instructors’ Course to be conducted on Nigerian soil was flagged off at the NFF/FIFA Goal Project, MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja on Thursday.

    ”CAF Elite Instructor and FIFA Technical Expert Abrham Mebratu from Ethiopia will take charge of the different aspects of the training programme, which has 15 of Nigeria’s elite coaches participating, ” Olajire wrote.

    But can NFF appoint national teams’ coaches based on known indices of the coaching trade for such assignments without imputing national character? You tell me.

  • Rivers APC protests Wike’s influence within its ranks

    Rivers APC protests Wike’s influence within its ranks

    • •Says recognising ex-gov will undermine loyal party members

    The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has protested what it described as the overbearing influence of the former governor of the state, Chief Nyesom Wike, on the party’s activities, especially at the national level.

    The party’s protest was contained in an Open Letter, addressed to President Tinubu, signed by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Comrade Darlington Nwauju, on Friday, and made available to journalists in Abuja, alleging attempts by some elements to hijack the party on behalf of the former governor.

    “We wish to clear the air that Gov Wike did not deliver any value to our dear Rivers State APC,” the letter read.

    It also called on the President to reject former Governor Wike’s overtures to stealthily foist himself on the party in order to take control of its structures in the state.

    It warned President Tinubu to be wary of Wike and his cohorts, saying the former governor’s claims of working to favour the party now will only undermine loyal and dedicated APC members and other stakeholders.

    Read Also: Nyesom Wike is still relevant

    Continuing, the group recalled that the former governor had in the past meted out  unquantifiable brutality on members and families of  the APC in Rivers State with countless casualties.

    “Mr. President Sir, we wish to recall that the 2015 presidential election melted  Unquantifiable brutality on members and families of APC in Rivers State with

    countless casualties. Yet the Rivers APC resisted the onslaught of former Governor  Wike led aggression on innocent party followers and members.”

    The Rivers State APC shrugged off efforts to accord recognition to Wike following the party’s election victory in the state. It said “Dear Mr. President, we wish to clear the air that Gov Wike did not deliver any value to our dear Rivers State APC, rather he fought against our dear Rivers APC.”

    The chapter urged Tinubu as “a consistent party man who built your ideals of party growth and sustainability on practical people-oriented philosophy, and a known rewarder of stewardship, to resist former Governor Wike “because he has no political ideology as script he follows.

    “We know that your leadership will not allow those who believe in political thuggery, those known by local and international community as perpetual abusers of our democratic stability and mischief markers, whose thrive is money mongering to highjack our dear Rivers APC because they now see party politics as tradeable commodity,” the Rivers APC said.

  • PDP chair: Saraki’s ambition divides party

    PDP chair: Saraki’s ambition divides party

    There seems to be no end in sight for the storm that has been rocking the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since the period preceding the 2023 elections.

    The decision of the presidential candidate of the party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to choose former Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate instead of former Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State who came second in the party’s primary had stirred a serious crisis that pitted Wike and four other PDP governors against the party.

    The grouse of the governors was that the North could not produce both the presidential candidate and the chairman of the party, hence Iyorchia Ayu, an indigene of Benue State, should step down for someone from the South to become the party’s chairman.

    The demand made by the G5 governors, which also included Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, however, fell on deaf ears, prompting them to withdraw support for Atiku’s candidacy; a move widely believed to have contributed in no small measure to Atiku’s defeat in the election.

    It would seem, however, that the dust around the beleaguered office of PDP National Chairman is not about to settle as the rumoured bid by former Senate President Bukola Saraki to take over the party’s leadership appears to have reopened the old wound. 

    The Atiku camp is said to be eyeing Saraki with suspicion because they believe that he is not a stable politician or one that can be trusted. For instance in the last presidential primary of the PDP, he pledged support for Atiku only to later seek to fly the banner of the party.

    Indeed, as he was leaving Atiku after pledging his support, the former VP was said to have told party members who were with him that “that boy, you cannot rely on what he says.” The former Vice President was said to have smiled in vindication as the former governor and Senate President threw his hat in the ring.

    Read Also: Life outside power is challenging, Igbinedion, Saraki tell outgoing governors

    The G5 block is also said to be uncomfortable with Saraki as the former Kwara State governor reportedly played the ostrich in the former’s face-off with Atiku and Ayu before the presidential election.

    But Saraki’s supporters see him from a completely different prism. As far as they are concerned, he is more capable than anyone else to rebuild the party and even woo back into the fold some of his co-travellers who defected from to APC in 2015.

    Tambuwal, Dickson: the agony of defeat

    These are not the best of times for two PDP senators and former governors, Seriaki Dickson and Aminu Tambuwal. Both are yet to recover from the shellacking the party got in the selection of principal officers of the Senate.

    With their party boasting 36 senators, they had looked forward to a seamless election. Among the PDP senators are former governors and experienced lawmakers who see themselves as the conscience of the party in the red chamber.

    In the election of the Senate President, they had pitched their tent with Senator Abdulaziz Yari of the APC who contested the Senate President seat against Senator Godswill Akpabio, the preferred candidate of the powers that be in APC with the aim of humiliating the ruling party. They did not reckon with fresh senators and other minority members. But they met their Waterloo as Yari was roundly beaten by Akpabio.

    Few days to the resumption of the Senate, Dickson and Tambuwal had confidently stormed the PDP secretariat to ask for a letter from the party’s acting chairman, Umar Damagum, or any top official of the party nominating Tambuwal for Senate minority leader. At the secretariat, they were tossed around. Damagum, they were told, was not in the office. They asked to see other senior executives but they were told that none was around.  Furious, disappointed and dejected, they left, wondering what the executives were up to.

    At the resumption of the Senate on Tuesday, Dickson, Tambuwal and their collaborators sat glued to their seats, staring blank as their hopes were dashed. Tambuwal was not the choice of minority senators. Rather, 38 of the 50 minority senators wrote a letter to the Senate President declaring the Senator representing Plateau North, Simon Davou Mwadkwom, as their choice.