Category: Sentry

By Sentry

The political face-off between Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, and his erstwhile deputy, Agboola Ajayi, isn’t about to end with the latter’s resignation last Sunday from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Instead, a fresh crisis has been ignited by Ajayi’s decision to remain in office as deputy governor while brandishing the membership card of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Sentry learnt it might not be possible for Akeredolu and the APC to get rid of Ajayi from his current seat.

The APC has described his insistence on not resigning as vexatious. But the defiant Ajayi has said: “My people that voted for me did not ask me to resign as Deputy Governor, so I remain the Deputy Governor of this state. I was duly elected as a Deputy Governor.”

Ongoing efforts by the governor and the party to get the House of Assembly to move against him are not yielding fruit as Ajayi is said to enjoy the sympathy of a good number of the lawmakers.

“In fact, a couple of them are currently preparing to join him in the PDP. So, it may not be easy to use the assembly to remove him as some of our party leaders desire,” a source told Sentry.

As it is Ajayi appears to be the proverbial bone in the throat of Akeredolu. Barring an unforeseen slip, the governor may have to make do with an opposition party member as his deputy for the rest of his term in office.

By Sentry

The internal crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, has festered, and the gladiators are ready to come into the open arena to do real battle. It appears two very big political elephants are gradually unfolding their plans foar a big fight. Already, the grass is crying out.

In a move described by many observers as opposed to the interest of Governor Kayode Fayemi and the state leadership of the party, executives and members of the APC in Ado-Ekiti Ward 8 in Ekiti State have unanimously passed a vote of confidence on the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Political Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu. Ado-Ekiti Ward 8 is also the ward of Fayemi’s deputy, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi.

Ojudu has been accusing Fayemi of running the affairs of the party like his personal business, while the governor’s aides have been labeling him as overambitious. The leadership of the party in the state, supporting the governor, has pushed for the suspension of Ojudu by his ward executives for alleged anti-party activities.

But speaking after a meeting on Wednesday, chairman of Ward 8, Ayo Afolabi, said no amount of intimidation and financial inducement from state leaders of the party would make them suspend Ojudu.

The position of the ward executives to spare Ojudu, Sentry learnt, has angered the governor and other party leaders while the same decision has emboldened Ojudu and other aggrieved party chieftains to come out and take on Fayemi and his supporters in the days to come. The implication is that APC in the state may be headed for stormy waters in the days ahead.

By Sentry

Following Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s, decision this week to extend the suspension of the executive and legislative council committees across the 16 local government areas of the state by another six months, there is fear that the local government chairmen may have perfected plans to confront his administration.

It would be recalled that when the chairmen were suspended last year for alleged financial infraction, they organised a peaceful protest and described their suspension as illegal.

Read Also: AbdulRazaq extends suspension of Kwara council chairs, others

It would be recalled that suspended chairmen, in their reaction had said: “All the Councilors in Kwara State rejected the suspension but resolved to remain at home in order to give peace a chance in the state.”

Now that the governor is extending the suspension for the second time, there is fear that the suspended council bosses have resolved to take what an aide to one of them described as a “a more practical approach of fighting for our rights. We can no longer sit down at home thinking it will bring about peace,” he said.

What that new approach would be remains to be known but sources, yesterday said some of the aggrieved chairmen did not take the current extension lightly and are already meeting to finalize the way forward.

By Sentry

The recent outburst of Nigeria’s Ambassador to Togo, Olusola Iji, on the mode of primary election to be adopted by his party in Ondo State is a confirmation that the last may not have been heard of this contentious matter that has pitched many of the governorship aspirants against Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.

Iji, who is also one of the governorship aspirants, had threatened to sue the All Progressives Congress (APC) if it uses the indirect primary mode to elect its governorship candidate in Ondo State, without adhering to the party’s constitution.

He alleged that the indirect primary mode was used in the past without election of delegates, as stipulated in the APC constitution.

Read Also: Akeredolu: direct or indirect, Aketi is a goal

The aspirant’s latest position has, according to insiders, exposed the depth of disagreement within the party in the state as they prepare for the governorship primaries. This is mainly because, until now, many had believed the rumour that Iji had agreed to step down for Akeredolu.

Denying the allegation, Iji said “I will not step down for Akeredolu. For him to express interest that he wants to contest, having secured the party’s ticket twice and he wants to get it again, means it is inequitable.”

By Sentry

Governor Samuel Ortom is not a very happy man as we speak. The Benue helmsman is reportedly wondering how a man he has high regards for as a ‘hunter’ is now being hunted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations that he diverted monies meant to fight criminals in the state to personal use.

It is no longer news that the commission days back arrested George Mbessey, Commandant of Benue State Vigilante Group (BSVG), following a petition over alleged conspiracy, abuse of office and diversion of N449.5 million public funds.

What is strange to many is why officials of the state government allowed the suspect to collect funds meant for an agency using a personal account on a monthly basis for newly two years unchecked, unreported.

According to the EFCC Makurdi Zonal Office Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale “the BSVG receives its official funding of N20 million monthly directly from the Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs through official account.

“Between October 2018 and May 2020, the suspect allegedly collected funds meant for the group to the tune of N449.5 million, using personal account,” the commission spokesperson said.

One thing the EFCC has not disclosed is whether the suspect was aided and abetted from within the government.

Sentry, however, gathered that the agency may be keeping that close to its chest in order for ongoing investigation not to be jeopardized.

By Sentry

Following Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule’s, decision to sack the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Aliyu Ahmed-Tijani, there are claims his decision may have angered certain interests.

Before the sack, the state House of Assembly’s ad-hoc committee investigating the release of N1billion for the renovation/fencing of public secondary schools in the state in 2018, had indicted the former SSG.

But many were certain the SSG wouldn’t get the axe. This was because of the relationship between him and the immediate past governor, Umaru Al-Makura.

There is now talk of a rift between Sule and his predecessor. Not a few well-placed party chieftains claim the former SSG’s sack is not unconnected with the alleged brewing disagreement.

What is left to be unraveled is the correlation between the assembly’s probe of the SSG, his eventual sack, rumours of rifts and Sule’s second term. For now, all fingers are crossed.

By Sentry

The impeachment threat that hangs over the Oyo State Deputy Governor, Rauf Olaniyan, is far from being over if feelers from the Oyo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the state government are anything to go by.

Following the reported intervention of some eminent personalities within and outside the state, the frosty relationship between Olaniyan and his boss, Governor Seyi Makinde, appeared over, but the former may still lose his seat.

One of the reasons given for the failure of an earlier impeachment plot is the “good relationship” Deputy Governor enjoys with the leadership of the state assembly and majority of lawmakers. Ironically, this same “good relationship” is making it difficult for some people and interests within the government and party to be comfortable with his continued stay in office.

Read Also: My relationship with Makinde cordial, says Deputy

The allegations against him include the fear that he could one day move against the governor, “given his good relationship with the lawmakers.”

Sentry learnt of subtle moves within the party and the state assembly to prepare the ground for easing out Olaniyan and replacing him with someone with less political clout and visibility immediately after the Covid-19 crisis.

Already, there are allegations that the Deputy Governor is being sidelined in the administration of the state. His supporters are of the opinion that there is a calculated attempt to reduce his visibility ahead of a more sinister plan.

By Sentry

Following confirmations from within and outside the North-Central state that the COVID-19 index case in Kogi State was not in any way controversial, Governor Yahaya Bello, is gradually beating a very humble retreat and changing his approach to the fight against the pandemic virus without his usual media fanfare.

The governor, who up until last weekend accused the NCDC of trying to force fictitious patients on the state, while insisting that his darling state is still uninfected by the ravaging virus, is now suddenly aligning with the centre’s earlier claims which he publicly despised.

Read Also: Bello: an emerging political phenomenon

It was gathered that the governor, during the week, at meetings he held with stakeholders, openly accepted the fact that there is need for the state to do more in its push against the virus now that it has found its way into the state.

The fact that the index case is a prominent religious leader is not making things easy for Bello as he is having to retract some things he said when news first broke that the state had recorded two cases. But, like the smart politician he is, the governor is cleverly re-ordering his ways and surprisingly talking less.

By Sentry

For months now, many have been wondering about the relationship between Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State and his deputy, Agboola Ajayi, amidst claims that the duo can’t work together.

While the uncertainties about their relationship rage, with their allies and supporters clashing openly on some occasions, neither Akeredolu, nor Ajayi has confirmed the alleged cracks on the wall of their joint ticket. On many occasions, the duo came out to tell the world that all was well between them.

But keen observers of the politics of the state claimed their statements were mere attempts to manage a deepening crisis. Stories of how some concerned stakeholders within and outside the state tried to reconcile the duo also flew around with most attempts ending in deadlock according to tale-bearers.

Read Also: Why I won’t step down for Akeredolu, by Kekemeke

Two weeks ago, very strong indications emerged that Ajayi may be dropped as deputy governorship candidate in the July governorship election, just as it was strongly bandied that the embattled deputy governor may have struck a deal with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) on his possible defection to the party to pick the governorship ticket.

Now, it appears that the dispute between the two men may have been settled. Sentry learnt that some prominent traditional rulers and eminent personalities from the Ondo South senatorial district, in a last minute effort to save the situation, may have succeeded in settling the grouses between the duo. As things stand, the dust may have settled. Whether it is so or not, events of the next few weeks will reveal.

By Sentry

For the First Lady of Kaduna State, Hajia Hadiza Isma El-Rufai, a long time hobby turned sour during the week when many of her 80,000 followers on Twitter, broke away from the usual banter and light discussions, to call her out for allegedly not using the platform to condemn last week’s killing in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state.

Obviously taken aback by the unexpected turn of events on the platform which was normally used to appreciate her fans and supporters of her husband’s administration, Mrs. El-Rufai, with her responses, invited more trouble from her angry followers.

More than a dozen people were killed last week in Kajuru when gunmen attacked a village. Responding to their criticism of her silence on the resurgent killings, she said in a tweet; “I don’t tweet about serious matters like governance and politics. Though I’m married to a governor I’m not part of government.”

The statement drew more flak from angry respondents who expressed dissatisfaction at her attitude towards the killings with many reminding her of how she campaigned vigorously for her husband during the elections and wondered when she decided not to be part of “serious matters like governance and politics.”

The issue was still trending at press time though the First Lady appeared to have decided to leave her displeased followers to their opinion on the matter hoping to regain their friendship later for the platform to quietly return to the “language, humor and other light-hearted issues” which she insists it is actually meant for.