The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sentry

  • Why unseating Tinubu will be uphill task for Atiku, El-Rufai, others

    Why unseating Tinubu will be uphill task for Atiku, El-Rufai, others

    Saying that the opposition is living in awe of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s firm foothold on the nation’s political terrain is an understatement. More correctly, the President’s popularity is a nightmare for the likes of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai and other opposition politicians whose mission is to unseat him in the 2027 elections.

    But the harder they try, the more it is looking like unseating Tinubu in 2027 is a mission impossible. If nothing else, the obvious disarray in the opposition camp point to the mountain they would have to climb in 2027 for their dreams to materialise. Even the coalition of anti-Tinubu forces championed by Atiku and El-Rufai is yet to find its feet while the elections approach at astonishing speed.

    For the opposition elements, it is a case of the falcon not hearing the falconer as Tinubu’s influence continues to loom large in their camp. It is getting increasingly difficult, as the elections approach, to know which opposition member is truly against Tinubu as many of them are clandestinely working to ensure that he secures a second term.

    It could not have been otherwise, considering how easier life has become governors under Tinubu’s leadership. Now availed with about three times the amount of money that comes to them from the federal purse on a daily basis, many of them believe of them believe they owe him a world of gratitude, and the best way they can reciprocate his gesture and sustain their new financial status is to support the President for a second term. That is particularly the case with first-term governors who are hoping for another four years after the current dispensation.

    Read Also: ‘Tinubu’s executive orders not to undermine NOGICD Act’

    A pointer to the foregoing was the recent gale of defections by opposition governors and members of the National Assembly to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as a melodrama that occurred at a recent zoning consultative meeting in Lagos by southern stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) opposed to Tinubu’s reelection in 2027.

    It turned out, however, that a few hours later, some PDP governors who had attended the said meeting where they also resolved to expel FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, former Benue State governor Daniel Ortom and others accused of anti-party activities, were on board an aircraft that took them to Brazil.

    While their mission to the South American country remains a matter of conjecture, it nonetheless provoked curiousity in that it coincided with President Tinubu’s official visit.

  • Anambra governorship election: Soludo, Ekwunife in comic extravaganza

    Anambra governorship election: Soludo, Ekwunife in comic extravaganza

    On the basis of the comic relief that has attended the build-up to the Anambra State governorship election on November 8, it is unlikely that anyone would complain of a dull moment by the time the poll is over.

    Of course, there would be winners and losers on the basis of the votes polled by the individuals and political parties involved in the contest. But there is every chance that those who fail to win at the polling booths will look back to the build-up and commend it as a worthwhile ride if only on account of the public spat involving the reelection seeking Governor Chukwuma Soludo, his wife Nonye and the deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Uche Lilian Ekwunife.

    Soludo had chosen the inauguration of his party’s campaign council on September 6 to fire the first salvo at the candidate of APC, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, and his running mate and former member of the House of Representatives Ekwunife, describing their educational qualifications as poor and fake respectively.

    The former CBN governor had said that Ukachukwu “crawled out of school” with F9 in three subjects he described as the backbone of leadership, namely English, Mathematics and Economics.

    “How will a man who failed English understand official documents?” he queried.

    “How will he calculate Anambra’s money when he failed Mathematics? Such a person should be driving a tipper, not dreaming of becoming the governor of a state that produced Chinua Achebe, Nnamdi Azikwe, Ojukwu, Alex Ekwueme, Chuba Okadigbo and other great icons,” he added.

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    Shifting attention to Ekwunife at the occasion, Soludo accused the former House of Reps member of parading a fake PhD certificate; a move he said could deceive young, innocent people into believing that every university degree could be purchased.

    He said: “INEC has a column where if you are filling your form, you fill your qualifications. But the running mate to this candidate wrote that she had a school cert and a PhD. What this means is that she does not have a diploma, a degree or a master’s degree, but jumped to present a PhD. That is wrong.

    “Some people have taken it upon themselves to find out where the PhD was gotten, and it turned out to be fake.

    “It is from those kinds of institution where if you pay, you get it. Some charge even 60 dollars, and they give it to you.”

    Soludo then vowed to declare a war on fake certificate holders once he was through with his battle against fake native doctors in the state.

    While Ukachukwu chose to play the gentleman and kept mute over Soludo’s jabs, Ekwunife would not allow it go without a response. She did not only defend the authenticity of her academic certificates, she launched a vitriolic personal attack on Soludo, saying he is poor in both hygiene and dressing. She then insinuated that an amorous relationship existed between Soludo’s wife and Chinwoke Mbadinuju while the latter held sway as Anambra State governor. She even insinuated that the former governor might have fathered one of her children.

    As it would be expected, Ekwunife’s allegation did not sit well with Mrs Soludo, who accused Ekwunife as crossing the red line. She vowed that she got married as a virgin and had remained faithful to her husband in their more than 30 years of marriage. She then challenged Ekwunife to make the same vow if she was sure that she had not been sleeping around.

    She also said she was ready for a DNA test for all her children, challenging Ekunife to do same.

    With the governorship election still about three weeks away, observers of events in the Southeast state are guaranteed some interesting times.

  • From allies to foes: How Amaechi, Fayemi’s friendship collapsed

    From allies to foes: How Amaechi, Fayemi’s friendship collapsed

    Theirs is a classic instance of the thin line between friendship and enmity, and how quickly one can turn into another.

    Since their days as governors of Ekiti and Rivers states until recently, Sir Kayode Fayemi and Hon. Rotimi Amaechi carried on as the best of friends. Such was the bond between them that they became the brains behind the adoption of African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the rallying point for Atiku, El-Rufai and other political enemies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to pursue their mission of stopping his return for a second term in 2027.

    But in an instance of the instability of human relationships, the mission that united them became their veritable source of animosity, so much so that Amaechi was said to have complained loudly that Fayemi no longer picks his calls.

    But how did things go wrong between them?

    Recall that both Amaechi and Fayemi were candidates in the presidential primaries that produced Tinubu as the APC candidate in the build-up to the 2023 elections. Fayemi, however, toed the path of other aspirants like Senator Godswill Akpabio, former Ogun State governor Ibikunle Amosun and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Dimeji Bankole, who stepped down forTinubu moments before the the votes were cast at the Eagle Square venue of the primary election and set the stage for Tinubu to roundly defeat Amaechi, former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and other party stalwarts who contested the election.

    Read Also: I have fulfilled presidential mandate, says Ibas

    Smarting from his defeat at the presidential primaries, Amaechi resolved to work against Tinubu’s interest, eventually drafting Fayemi, whose hope of getting a slot in Tinubu’s cabinet did not materialise. In their pursuit of this unholy scheme, they hit on the idea of joining forces with other anti-Tinubu forces on a mission to frustrate his administration and make his return in 2027 impossible.

    However, while Amaechi chose to be open about his opposition to Tinubu’s presidency, Fayemi, fearing a backlash, chose to be clandestine. But as it has turned out, their differing approach became the sore point as Amaechi drew Fayemi’s anger with his public declaration that he and the former Ekiti State governor masterminded anti-Tinubu elements’ choice of ADC as the vehicle for the anti-Tinubu mission.

    Apparently embarrassed by Amaechi’s revelation, Fayemi tried to dismiss it with a wave of the hand. “In an era where fabricated or distorted statements are often attributed to public figures for malicious purposes, we are cautious about engaging with potentially manufactured controversies designed to provoke or profit,” he said.

    He added that “it is possible that Hon. Amaechi did not make the statement or was misquoted” and also claimed that there was no video of Amaechi making the claims attributed to him.

    Determined, however, to prove that he is the one to be believed in this game of claims and counter-claims, Amaechi released an audio providing incontrovertible details and naming names to vindicate himself and permanently silence his political ally.

    Amaechi said: “ADC has overgrown those that started it. The coalition started between Fayemi and I in the house of Nasiru Danu, with Salihu Mohammed and others.

    “When we met, Salihu commenced the meeting. He wanted us to reconcile. After reconciliation, we agreed to broaden it so that it would involve more than just the two of us talking about starting a new party.

    “Then we got a consultant to help us look at the political structure and that of INEC to determine which party will be most suitable.

    “Then we expanded by getting (Senator Aminu) Tambuwal and others. By the time we did that, we had grown to about 20 to 30.

    “We thereafter set up a committee to look for any of the available parties to join.

    “The committee, after negotiating with several parties like AA (Action Alliance), Accord Party, ended up with ADC.

    “One of the requirements we set was that the party must give up its leadership so that everyone can join.”

    Amaechi’s detailed explanation has sseen driven Fayemi into absolute silence while Amaechi is going about promoting his presidential ambition. Any surprise that Fayemi is no longer picking his calls?

  • Headaches for two Southwest governors over airport projects

    Headaches for two Southwest governors over airport projects

    Airports, no doubt, are critical social infrastructure without which any nation cannot function. That perhaps is the reason why virtually every Nigerian governor wants to be involved in the project once they assume office.

    Many would argue, however, that their preference for airports above other critical social infrastructure is informed by the huge platform it offers for diversion of state resources into private pockets.

    That may explain why some state governors are falling head over heels to launch airport projects in spite of statistical assertion that only four of the 29 existing airports in the country are viable.

    At the moment, two Southwest governors are in the eye of the storm over issues that border on the construction of airports in their states.

    One of them, according to reports, has drawn the ire of some indigenes of the state who are threatening fire and brimstone over his decision to relocate the airport project begun by his predecessor from their community to his home town.

    The enraged indigenes of the affected communities have already issued a strong warning to two ministers invited by the governor to flag off the foundation laying of the new airport to stay away from the ceremony.

    Read Also: Southwest governors to create farm unit within Amotekun Corps

    Another Southwest governor is under intense pressure to probe his predecessor over the billions of naira the latter claimed to have spent on the state’s airport project with nothing tangible to show for it.

    A very influential legal luminary in the state, who is said to be highly interested in actualisation of the state’s airport project, is said to have mounted intense pressure on the sitting governor to probe his immediate predecessor’s spending on the project.

    He is said to be particularly miffed that a very close person to the immediate past governor won a N750 million contract for the proposed airport’s fence and the said sum was released without the contractor laying a single block.

    Ironically, the former governor is at the vanguard of people that are now pontificating on good governance for the country.

  • Crisis brews between northern governor, godfather

    Crisis brews between northern governor, godfather

    No condition, they say, is permanent. And that includes human relations. Like the popular Jamaican reggae musician Bob Nesta Marley observed in one of his famous songs, we live in a world where one’s worst enemy could become one’s best friend and vice versa.

    While it may be wrong to assert that the relationship between a northern state governor and his acclaimed political godfather has assumed the proportion of enmity, there are sufficient grounds to fear that that could ultimately become the case.

    At the heart of the crisis of confidence is the refusal of the state governor to pander to the promptings of his godfather who demanded that two top officials of the state’s administration should be kicked out of office and replaced with two nominees provided by him (godfather).

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    The godfather was said to have grown very uncomfortable with one of the state’s officials because he has refused on a number of occasions to heed his orders, while he wanted the second official, a commissioner for information, replaced with a social media influencer he considers more competent to manage the ministry as well as the image of the state government.

    But if the godfather had thought that his governor godson would be a better listener than the state official he seeks to replace, he must have realised by now that he was grossly mistaken.

    The governor was said to have vowed that he would rather have a one-on-one discussion with his godfather before a decision is taken on the matter.

    Instructively, the brewing crisis has already given rise to the emergence of a group in the state whose mission is to mount pressure on the governor to assert himself and stop living in the shadows of the godfather.

  • Sacking a commissioner for voluntary resignation?

    Sacking a commissioner for voluntary resignation?

    When has it become a sin for a member of the State Executive Council to voluntarily resign?

    But that is the wrong message a governor of an Eastern State is trying to pass across: ‘Once I appoint you as commissioner, you can’t quit; I hire and I can fire, but you can’t leave on your own.’

     The erudite scholar is trying to prove wrong what is right, while also proving right what is wrong, without an evidence, which makes the entire scenario very embarrassing.

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    In the opinion of the governor, the right to resign voluntarily is forfeited once you are inaugurated. You just have to stay on until the chief executive decides otherwise.

    The commissioner politely approached His Excellency to intimate him about his decision to leave the cabinet, which is a rare thing in Nigeria. His decision was devoid of bile. It was never an attempt to spite. He was thankful for the big opportunity to have been chosen to serve. He premised his decision on family consideration and other personal matters.

    But before tendering his letter on the agreed date, the commissioner was fired by the governor, instead of a mini-sendforth that he deserved. What was the motive? Only the governor can say.

    No explanation was given by the governor for going the odd way. No basis can be found for it in law, logic, history and politics.

    So, what is His Excellency up to? Is being commissioner by force? Why the unnecessary ambush?

  • Cash-for-mandate scandal rocks Southern state after LG elections

    Cash-for-mandate scandal rocks Southern state after LG elections

    The conclusion of local government elections in a South-South state has left in its wake an allegation to the effect that the mandate of the party that won the elections in one of the LGAs was traded for cash and appointments.

    Accusing fingers are being pointed at a highly influential politician in the state for masterminding the cash-for-mandate scandal with a view to safeguarding his political ambition in 2027.

    Fearing that his political ambition in 2027 would be under threat with the loss of his local government area to a rival political party already announced by an ad hoc official of the state’s electoral commission as winner, he allegedly prevailed on the governor to dole out millions of naira and appointments to the winners and leaders of the party in the affected local government in exchange for their mandates.

    The development has left a political figure regarded as the leader of the compromised party members in the local government area boiling with anger, accusing the leadership of his party of using the affected local government to do barter.

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    The centenarian political leader, who recalled that the youths in the area protested the development by barricading a major highway, said that he too was not happy with the development but there was little he could do about it because “age has slowed me down”.

    He recalled that the governor had invited him and members of his party in the local government to a meeting at the Government House to discuss matters relating to the election in the local government area.

    At the said meeting, the governor was said to have told the aggrieved party members that they needed to show respect to the influential and uncommon politician, promising to compensate the candidates whose mandates were compromised with appointments in his administration.

    True to the governor’s words, a top official of the state government announced the appointment of nine people from the local government as personal assistants to the governor and two others as special assistants. Among the appointees were the political leader’s wife and son.

    Added to the foregoing was the sum of N20 million the governor allegedly gave the delegation to hold a peace meeting when they returned to their community.

    In all, the governor was reckoned to have spent more than N50 million pacifying the aggrieved people. 

    Is anyone still in doubt that local government elections in the country being  conducted by State Electoral Commissions (SIECs) are a travesty of elections ?

  • Cash-for-mandate scandal rocks Southern state after LG elections

    Cash-for-mandate scandal rocks Southern state after LG elections

    The conclusion of local government elections in a South-South state has left in its wake an allegation to the effect that the mandate of the party that won the elections in one of the LGAs was traded for cash and appointments.

    Accusing fingers are being pointed at a highly influential politician in the state for masterminding the cash-for-mandate scandal with a view to safeguarding his political ambition in 2027.

    Fearing that his political ambition in 2027 would be under threat with the loss of his local government area to a rival political party already announced by an ad hoc official of the state’s electoral commission as winner, he allegedly prevailed on the governor to dole out millions of naira and appointments to the winners and leaders of the party in the affected local government in exchange for their mandates.

    Read Also: FACT-CHECK: Can CNG cars, trucks, vehicles explode?

    The development has left a political figure regarded as the leader of the compromised party members in the local government area boiling with anger, accusing the leadership of his party of using the affected local government to do barter.

    The centenarian political leader, who recalled that the youths in the area protested the development by barricading a major highway, said that he too was not happy with the development but there was little he could do about it because “age has slowed me down”.

    He recalled that the governor had invited him and members of his party in the local government to a meeting at the Government House to discuss matters relating to the election in the local government area.

    At the said meeting, the governor was said to have told the aggrieved party members that they needed to show respect to the influential and uncommon politician, promising to compensate the candidates whose mandates were compromised with appointments in his administration.

    True to the governor’s words, a top official of the state government announced the appointment of nine people from the local government as personal assistants to the governor and two others as special assistants. Among the appointees were the political leader’s wife and son.

    Added to the foregoing was the sum of N20 million the governor allegedly gave the delegation to hold a peace meeting when they returned to their community.

    In all, the governor was reckoned to have spent more than N50 million pacifying the aggrieved people. 

    Is anyone still in doubt that local government elections in the country being  conducted by State Electoral Commissions (SIECs) are a travesty of elections ?  

  • Edo: Where is Marvelous Omobayo?

    Edo: Where is Marvelous Omobayo?

    Above is the question on the lips of observers of political events in Edo State since the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lost the governorship seat to the All Progressives Congress (APC) about two weeks ago.

    At the height of his face-off with his deputy, Philip Shaibu, the outgoing governor of the State, Godwin Obaseki had discarded Shaibu via a purported impeachment by the seven-man House of Assembly made up of the governor’s loyalists and appointed Marvelous Omobayo as deputy governor.

    But the new deputy governor appointed in April has been largely anonymous since Shaibu’s removal was voided by the court.  He has remained quiet and no one seems to know his whereabouts. He has kept a very low profile and is neither seen nor heard. Rather, it is the supposedly impeached Shaibu that has been in the news.

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    The abnormal situation has become even more noticeable after the governorship election with Shaibu literally dictating the pace of events in the state as Obaseki jetted out of the country. In Obaseki’s absence, Omobayo should ordinarily be the deputy governor in charge of the state’s administration, but the reverse has been the case.

    Apparently emboldened by a recent court judgment declaring him the authentic deputy governor of Edo State, Shaibu has even taken it upon himself to inspect the government projects around the state. Omobayo, on the other hand, has been as invisible as the air.

    Some observers believe his taciturn mien might have to do with an existing contempt suit against him while others say his weak support base in PDP as a former Labour Party chieftain whose appointment did not go down well with many party members might be responsible for the current state of affairs.

  • Ondo 2024: Guber candidate’s fruitless mission to South-South governor

    Ondo 2024: Guber candidate’s fruitless mission to South-South governor

    As the day draws near for the governorship election in Ondo State, parties as well as candidates are reaching out to individuals they believe could be of help in their bid for victory.

    This is particularly the case with political parties who believe that they have a good chance of winning because they are not only entrenched in the state but also boast formidable structures nationwide.

    Not exempted in this battle for survival is a particular candidate who is not a novice in electoral battles. He has been reaching out to influential members of his party across the national landscape, soliciting for help, particularly finance.

    Sentry gathered that his search for financial assistance took him to a South-South state reputed for huge allocations from the federal purse on account of its natural endowments, where he had an interesting encounter with the governor.

    Read Also: CBN sells $543.5m to stabilise FX market in September

    At the meeting with the governor, the candidate took time to recount how well he and his party were poised to win the governorship election because of the prevailing circumstances the country and also  in the state 

    The governorship candidate, however, got the shock of his life as the governor, who had listened patiently to the candidate’s tales, declared without equivocation that with the dearth of great party leaders in the state, he did not deem the candidate’s governorship ambition a venture worth investing in. “Eyes are on me here. And you know as much as l do that things are not well with us nationally. My prayer is that you win, but here, we take calculated risk,” the governor was quoted as saying.

    Needless to say that the host governor’s response left the governorship candidate dejected. “Calculated risk, calculated risk,” his aides heard him saying after the encounter; an indication that the adventure was a failed one.

    That, however, has not stopped him from reaching out to more people for help.