Politics

Dele Momodu accuses Tinubu of repackaging Abiola’s manifesto

Published

4 years ago

October 24, 2022

Dele Momodu, publisher of Ovation magazine, has accused Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), of repackaging the manifesto of MKO Abiola.

The APC’s presidential candidate released his 80-page manifesto tagged ‘Renewed Hope 2023’ on Friday.

The ruling party promised to solve Nigeria’s security and economic problems if reelected next year.

Momodu — who is the director of strategic communications of the PDP presidential campaign — criticised the document in an article published on Sunday.

In the article titled ‘APC: Renewed hope or forlorn hope?’, he said the document is filled with “half-thoughts, poor reasoning, and copied notes” from Abiola’s ‘Hope ’93’ manifesto.

Abiola was the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 1993 election.

He was adjudged to have won the presidential poll before it was annulled by Ibrahim Babangida, then head of state.

Momodu emphasised the difference between Abiola and Tinubu, describing the latter’s presidential bid as a “forlorn hope”.

He said the manifesto was “an insult to the sensibility and needs of Nigerians” and accused the authors of “copy and paste”.

The full article:

“After carefully reading through the much-awaited APC Presidential Campaign Manifesto that was released over the weekend, we cannot but conclude that the elephant has given birth to an ant. After such a long delay, what the APC Presidential candidate has come up with is a series of platitudes, half-thoughts, poor reasoning, and copied notes packaged and presented as “Renewed Hope”. The APC and its Presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, could not even come up with something original: “Renewed Hope 2023.” Really? This is again, another attempt by the APC candidate to appropriate Bashorun MKO Abiola’s Legacy. It would be more salutary if he were to run on his own steam instead of copying the memory of a man whose life trajectory was uncommon and whose hope for Nigeria was noble. And the APC candidate should be reminded that 1993 is far different from 2023,” the Ovation publisher said.

“The late MKO Abiola was known for industry and brilliance. Shall we ask what the APC candidate is known for? Whereas MKO’s Hope ‘93 was a genuine course; for the APC and Nigerians, it’s a forlorn hope ~ and that’s the message of Bola Tinubu and the APC campaign in 2023

“In all honesty, the 80-page document that the APC has put together comes across as a little more than an insult to the sensibility and needs of Nigerians.

“At a time when the country is in dire need of clear leadership with vision and courage, all the APC seems capable of doing is to generally copy and paste regurgitated ideas of others with nothing original or breathtaking. Asiwaju says he “knows the way”. With due respect, he does not. On more than one occasion, he has advertised himself as the architect of the victory of the APC in 2015. Their party’s slogan then was “Change.”

“In eight years, they have not been able to change anything positively. They have led Nigeria into a ditch. Inflation is close to 21%. Unemployment rate is 33%. The Naira is one of the worst-performing currencies against the dollar in the world. The suicide rate in the country has risen terribly, because the people have lost hope. Divorce rate too because the APC and its leaders have castrated families, and ruined “the other room:”. Thus, they have worsened the condition of Nigerians. Now, in 2022, Tinubu says he wants to take Nigerians on a journey. A journey to nowhere, most certainly; or, to be precise – to perdition. A week ago, he promised that he would ensure the continuity of the current administration. What does he want to continue? If I may ask: the poverty, agony and cluelessness that the APC have imposed on Nigerians?

“Like a crafty student trying to avoid being caught in the act of plagiarism, the authors of the document have tried to rewrite some unoriginal ideas. The authors of the document do not only offend Nigerians with their collection of cliches and pedestrian ideas but they offend, expose and indict the APC candidate Chief Bola Tinubu. I urge you in the spirit of fairness to interrogate what the APC calls a manifesto. You will see that they are promising exactly what they have not been able to achieve in eight years.

“Chief Bola Tinubu is not new to Nigerian politics. It is sad that he allowed some people to copy and repackage, without tact or grace, the Abiola Hope ’93 manifesto and mixed it with the 2015 APC/Buhari manifesto for him. They even have the impudence to tag it ‘Renewed Hope’. Nigerians do not need a copy and paste manifesto. They want details and original ideas. The way this country is right now, offering the people empty promises would not take us forward. The question for every Presidential candidate is how? How will you solve the problem? We all know what the problem is. Tell us how? For eight years, Bola Tinubu has projected himself as the power behind the throne. His party has failed to lead Nigeria forward. They must stop blaming the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). They must stop blaming the world and COVID 19. The duty of government is to provide leadership and solve problems. Leadership is about managing people and resources. Nigeria urgently requires a leader with exemplary capacity and ability to lead a nation in confusion with distinction and never with untested experimentation. We’ve already gone through calamitous experiments in the last eight years. The APC government is the only government that blames others and the past for its lack of innovation and creativity.

“I insist that the authors of the APC manifesto exposed and indicted both APC and Chief Bola Tinubu. The authors of the document, whoever they are, seem so disrespectful of Nigerians that they do not seem to care or know that Nigerians will ask where was Chief Bola Tinubu and his running mate when the current administration was getting things wrong with a similar game plan and manifesto? What did they and other APC members say or do in private or public to warn the government about their underperformance? What did they say or do in private or public to remind the outgoing APC administration that they failed to keep the promises they made in 2015? What advice or suggestions did they offer the outgoing administration to keep the lives and properties of Nigerians secure? What advice or suggestions did they give to grow our economy, create wealth and jobs? What strategies did they offer the outgoing administration to fight corruption? Were they just patiently and cynically waiting for the current administration to fail so they can say “I can do it”? Were they too scared or too engrossed with their ambition to tackle the government for the sake of Nigeria?

“I have used the phrase “authors of the document” advisedly because the APC is well-known to dial back, even on its own promises and it is one party whose candidates may not even know the content of their own manifestoes. After the 2015 general elections, the APC openly rejected some of the promises in the party’s manifesto, and that was long after they had been declared winner. This is probably why their 2023 manifesto this time around is long on promises and short on details. As a concerned citizen, I don’t think Nigerians should be taken on another bad ride.

“No other election in recent Nigerian history can be more important than the 2023 elections. The time for progress has come, and 2023 must be a referendum on the APC. My appeal is that voters must vote wisely. And I hope that going forward, Chief Tinubu would make himself available to attend debates and respond to questions that would be raised to do so, and when he does so, he should please refrain from his predilection to reduce serious conversations to vague proverbs and metaphors. Nigerians are not looking for a ‘dibia’. They want a leader with a clarity of purpose and vision.”

Related Topics:Dele Momodu Featured MKO Abiola’s Manifesto

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‘Fix Oyo First’ – Presidency Tackles Makinde Over Attack on Tinubu

Published

3 hours ago

May 29, 2026

Trends Admin

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde

‘Fix Oyo First’ – Presidency Tackles Makinde Over Attack on Tinubu

ABUJA, Nigeria – The Nigerian Presidency has fired back at Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde following his criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration regarding the proposed implementation of state police, telling the governor to “fix Oyo first” before lecturing the federal government on security matters. The presidency’s response was contained in a statement on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, who accused Governor Makinde of using the federal government as a scapegoat to deflect from the rising insecurity and underfunding plaguing his own state. The exchange marks the latest escalation in a war of words between the Tinubu administration and the Oyo governor, who formally declared his intention to contest the 2027 presidential election just one day before his criticism of the President.

Recall that on Thursday, Governor Seyi Makinde urged the federal government to stop deceiving Nigerians over the creation of state police. He insisted that state governments already possess the power to establish their own policing structures through local legislation. Makinde made the assertions during the governorship, senatorial, House of Representatives, and House of Assembly primaries of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) held at the Watershed Celebration Centre in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. Addressing party members and delegates at the event, the governor reflected on the establishment of the Western Nigeria Security Network, codenamed Amotekun, across the South-west, describing the outfit as a fallback option after initial efforts to establish state police failed. According to him, the regional security outfit was created by South-west states through laws passed by their respective Houses of Assembly—a legislative process he argued could also be adopted for establishing full state police.

“Some people will know insecurity was one of the major pillars of this administration when we established Omitutun phase one and phase two, and it will remain a major pillar. Before this government’s emergence, there was nothing like Amotekun in Oyo State. We wanted state police. It was because we couldn’t get the state police that we established Amotekun as a stopgap. They should stop wasting Nigerians’ time,” Governor Makinde stated. “We know how we established Amotekun. The Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly is here. We passed a common law in the whole of the Southwest. The whole Houses of Assembly in all states in the Southwest passed the law, and that led to the creation of Amotekun. The only state that didn’t create Amotekun is Lagos State, and we know it is because their boss didn’t want Amotekun,” he said.

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Governor Makinde’s renewed call for state police comes in the wake of a major security crisis in Oyo State. On May 15, 2026, gunmen invaded three schools in Esiele Community, Oriire Local Government Area, abducting seven teachers and 39 students from Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School. During the attack, a mathematics teacher was beheaded by the gunmen, while a motorcyclist and a security personnel also lost their lives. The Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, subsequently visited the affected communities and ordered intensified rescue operations.

Replying via a post on his X handle, presidential aide Dada Olusegun accused Governor Makinde of playing politics with the challenges of insecurity, describing his outburst as “a masterclass in deflection.” Olusegun wrote: “Gov. Seyi Makinde’s recent outburst accusing President Tinubu of ‘wasting time’ on State Police and claiming Lagos boycotted Amotekun for political points is just a masterclass in deflection. When a Governor is grappling with rising insecurity in his own state, the instinct to scapegoat the center is predictable.” He denied Makinde’s claim that Lagos boycotted Amotekun due to Tinubu’s influence, stating it is “entirely false,” adding that President Tinubu was himself “one of the voices that clamoured for a local security network to aid the federal efforts on Security.”

The presidential aide then turned his attention to the operational challenges facing Amotekun in Oyo State. “Makinde praises Amotekun as his glorious ‘stop-gap,’ yet the reality in Oyo is tragic underfunding. While Lagos mobilizes billions for the welfare and resources of all security apparatus in Lagos state, Oyo sends brave Amotekun operatives into forests with pump-action rifles to fight AK-47-wielding syndicates. Press conferences don’t buy ballistic vests.” Historical records show that in August 2020, the Oyo State Government approved N59.78 million as a takeoff grant for Amotekun. However, critics argue this initial funding has proven inadequate for sustained operations against heavily armed criminal gangs. In contrast, Lagos State has consistently allocated billions of naira annually to security infrastructure across various agencies.

Olusegun questioned Makinde’s capacity to manage a full-fledged state police given his perceived inability to adequately fund the regional security outfit. “If Gov. Makinde cannot adequately finance, equip, and manage his own regional vigilante group, how does he plan to shoulder the colossal financial burden of a full-fledged State Police? State policing requires forensic labs, armories, pensions, and unassailable funding, not just loud rhetoric.” He further emphasized that President Tinubu understands that constitutional security reform “requires meticulous legality and rigid economic frameworks, not rushed politics to distract from local failures.”

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Olusegun concluded his statement by directly challenging the Oyo governor: “Before lecturing the architect of Nigeria’s most successful security funding model, Gov. Makinde owes the people of Oyo State a duty of care. Elevate Amotekun from a poorly funded political prop into a tactically superior force. Until then, the lectures remain hollow. Fix Oyo first!!! “

The exchange comes against the backdrop of a major security crisis in Oyo State. The abducted principal of Community Grammar School, Alamu Folawe, made a fresh appeal from captivity, urging President Tinubu and Governor Makinde to pursue dialogue over force to secure the release of herself and other abductees. “We are in the cold, we are under the sun, we are under the rain, the children and the adults as well. Please, we are begging you, don’t let them waste our lives,” she said in a video that has since gone viral. President Tinubu had earlier condemned the attack and renewed his call for the establishment of state police, with security agencies stepping up efforts to rescue the victims. In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President said security agencies were stepping up efforts to rescue the victims and that the Inspector-General of Police was personally coordinating a technology-driven operation aimed at securing their release.

The latest verbal confrontation between the Presidency and Governor Makinde also carries significant political undertones. On May 14, 2026, just one day before the school abduction and two days before his APM primaries address, Makinde formally declared his intention to contest the 2027 presidential election under an alliance involving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM). At his declaration rally held at Mapo Hall, Ibadan, he launched the “Reset Nigeria Movement,” describing it as a platform for policy engagement, volunteer registration, grassroots coordination, and diaspora participation. Speaking at the rally, Makinde warned that Nigeria was drifting dangerously towards a one-party state, insisting that democracy itself was under threat if opposition forces failed to unite against what he described as systematic attempts to weaken alternative political voices. He declared, “Today, I, Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde, FNSE, announce my candidacy for the position of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the PDP/APM alliance.”

The Oyo governor has been actively building opposition alliances, hosting a major opposition summit in Ibadan in April 2026 that brought together former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and several other opposition figures. With his declaration, Makinde joined Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi, and Adewole Adebayo among those expected to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election. This political context adds another layer to the ongoing war of words, as Makinde positions himself as a leading opposition figure while the Presidency seeks to portray him as a governor failing to address security challenges in his own state. The battle lines are increasingly drawn ahead of 2027, with security governance emerging as a central theme of the emerging political contest.

‘Fix Oyo First’ – Presidency Tackles Makinde Over Attack on Tinubu

Politics

Ganduje counters Kwankwaso, says political mentorship not a ‘master-boy’ relationship

Published

3 hours ago

May 29, 2026

Trends Admin

Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje

Ganduje counters Kwankwaso, says political mentorship not a ‘master-boy’ relationship

Former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has fired back at comments allegedly made by Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, insisting that political relationships should not be reduced to “master-boy” narratives.

Ganduje, who is currently performing the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, reacted through a statement issued on Friday by his Chief of Staff, Comrade Muhammad Garba, amid renewed political tension between the two former allies in Kano State.

The former Kano State governor described Kwankwaso’s alleged “political boy” remark as unnecessary and dismissive of the complex political history they shared, stressing that political success is often shaped by mentorship, strategic alliances and mutual support.

According to the statement, Ganduje played a significant role in Kwankwaso’s early political rise, particularly during the National Assembly elections that paved the way for Kwankwaso’s emergence as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Second Republic era.

“At that time, Ganduje could confidently have referred to Kwankwaso as his political boy, having supported him morally, financially and stood by him during that period,” the statement said.

Ganduje further recalled that before both men attained greater political prominence, Kwankwaso frequently visited him while he served as a senior civil servant in the Federal Capital Territory and later as Commissioner for Works, Housing and Transport in Kano State.

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The statement also revisited the 1998 governorship primaries in Kano, claiming Ganduje was widely believed by stakeholders to have won the contest before he was persuaded by party leaders to step down in the interest of unity and accept the deputy governorship slot alongside Kwankwaso.

Despite their subsequent political disagreements, Ganduje noted that both men worked closely between 1999 and 2003, and again from 2011 to 2015, describing those periods as productive years that delivered key developmental strides for Kano State.

The former APC chairman also referenced incumbent Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, noting that although he once served as Kwankwaso’s Personal Assistant, he is today the duly elected governor and deserves respect from all political actors.

“Politics should not be about who is superior to the other. A father can nurture a child who eventually becomes greater in status and influence. That is the natural progression of leadership and human relationships,” Ganduje was quoted as saying.

He warned against inflammatory political rhetoric capable of deepening divisions in Kano’s political landscape, urging leaders across party lines to focus on governance, peace and development rather than personal attacks.

The renewed exchange highlights the lingering political rivalry between Ganduje and Kwankwaso, whose once-close alliance collapsed after Ganduje succeeded Kwankwaso as governor in 2015.

Their fallout eventually birthed rival political blocs, with Kwankwaso leading the New Nigeria Peoples Party political movement, while Ganduje remained a prominent figure within the ruling APC.

Political observers believe the latest war of words signals renewed realignments ahead of future electoral contests in Kano, widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s most politically strategic states.

Ganduje concluded by appealing to supporters of both camps to remain calm and avoid actions capable of escalating political tensions in the state.

Ganduje counters Kwankwaso, says political mentorship not a ‘master-boy’ relationship

Politics

What I Discussed With Amaechi During Abuja Visit — Atiku

Published

23 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Trends Admin

Atiku Abubakar and Rotimi Amaechi

What I Discussed With Amaechi During Abuja Visit — Atiku

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has disclosed details of his meeting with former Rivers State Governor and ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, during a visit to his Abuja residence on Thursday.

The meeting comes amid the lingering controversy surrounding the ADC presidential primaries, which Amaechi recently dismissed as lacking credibility and described as “concocted.”

Atiku arrived at Amaechi’s residence alongside prominent party figures, including former Sokoto State Governor, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, former ADC National Chairman, Chief Ralph Nwosu, and other top stakeholders within the party.

Speaking after the closed-door meeting via a post on his verified Facebook page, Atiku said discussions focused largely on the state of the nation and the urgent need for collective efforts to address Nigeria’s growing challenges.

“This afternoon, I visited my brother and compatriot, former Governor of Rivers State and ex-Minister of Transportation, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, at his Abuja residence,” Atiku wrote.

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“Beyond the warmth and camaraderie, we had deep and honest conversations about the troubling state of our nation, the growing economic pain, insecurity, and the urgent responsibility on patriotic Nigerians to continue engaging in the search for solutions that can rescue our country from drift and despair.”

The former vice president said he also used the opportunity to celebrate Amaechi’s birthday, while sharing light-hearted banter over football.

“I also felicitated with him on the occasion of his birthday yesterday and teased that Arsenal’s historic triumph could not have arrived at a better time.

“Chief Amaechi, a thoroughly well-loaded Gunner, took the banter in very good spirits.”

Atiku further revealed that Amaechi jokingly apologised for not having enough time to prepare Fisherman Soup, a delicacy associated with Rivers State hospitality.

“In true Rivers hospitality, he apologised for not having enough time to prepare Fisherman Soup, a delicacy I have now been promised on our return for the second leg,” he added.

The meeting has sparked political interest, particularly given recent tensions within the ADC following Amaechi’s criticism of the party’s primary process.