Politics

Rivers won’t vote for president along party lines, says Wike

Published

2 years ago

November 17, 2022

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike

Party affiliation, ethnicity or religion will not determine the February 25, 2023 presidential election in Rivers State, Governor Nyesom Wike said yesterday.

He also listed equity, justice and fairness as the conditions for truce between the leadership of his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the aggrieved Group of Five (G5) governors.

Apart from Wike, other G5 members are: Samuel Ortom (Benue); Seyi Makinde (Oyo); Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Ifeanyi Ngwuanyi (Enugu).

They are asking Dr. Iyorcha Ayu to quit as PDP national chairman to pave the way for a Southerner to step in, arguing that Ayu (from the North) cannot hold on to the position when Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (another northern) is the party’s presidential candidate.

Wike spoke yesterday when former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole inaugurated a flyover located in Rumueprikon, his country home in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area, Port Harcourt.

The flyover is the eighth implemented by the Wike administration in the state.

The governor said Nigeria was in dire need of unity, justice and equity, adding that the next election would not be based on party, ethnicity and religion.

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He said it was unacceptable for anybody to say people should not be voted for because they were not from a particular ethnic group or religion.

Wike said: “What we require in this country today is united, one Nigeria. This how all of us can see ourselves as one and how we can see ourselves as our brothers’ keepers.

“We need a Nigeria that all us can be proud of, that I will know that truly I am not a second class citizen, that the same right you have is the same right I have, the same opportunity you have is the same opportunity that I have. There is no need of saying if you are not from this place people will not vote for you. We don’t want that.

On the condition for truce, Wike clarified that the group of five governors fighting for inclusiveness in PDP will spurn any reconciliation not based on the principles of equity, justice and fairness.

He renewed their position that elective offices must be shared equally between the North and the South in the opposition party ahead of the 2023 general election.

Wike said: “People will praise you but the day you say no, they will oppose you. I am sure those of them in my party, before they cannot say anything without mentioning Wike. But now because I said let the right thing be done, I have now become an enemy. These are people who are praising me everything.

“And some people believe they won’t obey an agreement but we say it must be done. We stand for equity, fairness and justice. That is what the G5 will continue to preach. We have said we are not against reconciliation but it must be based on equity, fairness and justice”.

Rivers governor regrets supporting Obaseki, apologises to Oshiomhole

The governor expressed regret for supporting the re-election of Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki.

He apologised to Oshiomole for all his utterances in the run-up to the election of Obaseki for second term.

The Rivers governor, however, recalled that Oshiomhole, when he held sway as the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) vigorously opposed his relection in 2019, accusing the former Edo helmsman of deploying soldiers to frustrate him.

He said Oshiomhole’s ouster as the APC Chairman brought a lot of relief to opposition parties, describing the former chairman as tough and strong.

Wike said: “I use this opportunity to apologise to you. I came to Edo State to make sure your candidate didn’t win the election. I was virtually in charge of everything. And I said you wouldn’t win and you didn’t win. That assignment had been done and we now know who is who. I want to tell my people that I sincerely apologise to you. I want to sincerely apologise for all the things I said that time.

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“But you too, you peppered me here. During 2019 election, you sent all the soldiers, but the people stood firm and resisted it. So, you did me one and I did you one. So, we forgive ourselves. Now, we are friends. Let bygones be bygones. You did me, I retaliated.

“The Bible says when someone does you bad, you shouldn’t retaliate. But in politics, when someone does you bad, you retaliate because if you don’t retaliate, you don’t know whether you will survive the next one. Politics is not religion at all. If not that we were firm, your party needed this state badly.

“Your President has given us an award as the best in infrastructure. So, I don’t know again what you will use to campaign in the state again because I am carrying the certificate everywhere I am going to. So, you people should surrender. There is no need of campaigning in this state.

“People like you that had worked in your state are the people I invite to commission projects that impact on lives of the people. We know you, you always show strength and that is why when you were showing strength in your party, some people did not like it and they ganged up to remove you.

“Nigerians don’t like anything that is straight. They will find a way to circumvent it to make sure the person who is trying to do it is taken out. “But Gods time is the best. We were happy that you left because you were too strong. Anybody who watched you talk, sometimes the opposition did not know what to say again. So, the day you were removed, we thanked God because you gave us a lot of heat.”

The governor explained his choice of some key opposition leaders to inaugurate projects implemented by his administration.

He said no law stipulated otherwise, adding: “Party is like a conveyor belt. It is a vehicle to take you to your destination. You come down from that vehicle and focus on governance. Governance doesn’t know party. It doesn’t know ethnicity and it doesn’t know about religion. It is for everybody, those who supported you and those, who did not support you.

“Many people have been saying why am I inviting other people to come and inaugurate projects and I am not inviting people in my party. First, no law says I must only invite my party members to come and inaugurate my projects.

“When you invite other parties, they come and see really whether what they hear is correct. I am sure when Adams Oshiomhole goes back he will says all those things I heard, I went and saw and all are correct.

“In fact, tomorrow, Peter Obi is coming. He is not in my party. On Monday, Kwankwaso is coming.”

He said the eighth flyover and ninth flyover at Nkpolu-Oroworokwo that were awarded in July were all delivered at record time.”

He said: “This is the eighth flyover and the ninth flyovers will be commissioned tomorrow by Peter Obi. Last year June, July we flagged off the Nkpolu-Oroworokwo Flyover and the same period we flagged off this particular flyover. So within a year these two flyovers had been completed.

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“I want to say authoritatively that we are not owing a dime as far as this flyover is concerned. Before development there must be some discomfort. I have told the contractor to go and complete all other roads that had not been completed in my community before I leave office.

“This is my community, if I don’t do it now I don’t know who will do it. I don’t want to wait for my successor because he too has his community. Let me finish my community so that when he comes he will face his community. If everybody comes and work like that, the entire state will be developed.”

Inaugurating the project, Oshiomhole, distanced himself from any military invasion of Rivers during the 2019 election, saying he was never in charge of the armed forces.

He commended Wike for inviting him and some opposition leaders to inaugurate projects, saying that when he was the Edo governor, he invited Peter Obi to open some projects in his state.

Oshiomhole harped on the need for politicians to keep to their agreements and fulfill their promises.

Describing Wike as his Man of the Year for maintaining his steadfastness in demanding equity and justice in PDP, Oshiomhole said the governor merited the award conferred on him as best in infrastructures by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said: “In a democracy, yes, we need political parties and we need to contest elections, but in doing so; when we make promises and people give us the benefit of the doubts, when the election session is over we should move away from politics to projects.

“Our is not very generous in praising people. He does not flatter people and that is why it took him seven years to confer his first national honours. He told me you don’t throw honours away. You have to honour people who rally merit it. You can see you are one of the very few and I think yours was particularly celebrated.

“The President Buhari finds in your person, in spite of your statements about his government, worthy of that honour as Mr. Project. I think Rivers people should be proud. Governor Wike has truly transformed this city. Even the worst critic will admit that Governor Wike has made a difference.

“You made a difference, not just in projects. I join you in saying that a country should not be governed by people who cannot be trusted; when politicians make statements, promises and agreements and refuse to obey them. When they default, they will say it is politics.”

Politics

Obi: We’ve not agreed on merger with any political party

Published

17 hours ago

January 3, 2025

Trends Admin

Obi: We’ve not agreed on merger with any political party

The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi has said there was currently no agreement between the party and any other opposition party for a merger.

The former Anambra State governor spoke against speculations that the LP had entered into a merger deal with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP.
Obi, who addressed newsmen on the state of the nation in Abuja, yesterday, however, didn’t admit or deny the existence of merger talks, but he was emphatic that there was “no agreement yet.”

He appealed to all lovers of Nigeria irrespective of political affiliation to unite because it was only in unity that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, whom he said has “mismanaged” the nation’s resources can be defeated.

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Obi described Nigeria’s security situation as unfortunate. He expressed sadness that Nigerians were needlessly being sent to their early graves on account of banditry, terrorism, and kidnapping-for-ransom.

He also faulted the current administration’s claims of fighting corruption.

Obi argued that the level of corruption in Nigeria remained high just as the cost of governance which he said has led to an astronomical increase in public debt.

Obi stressed that the situation was worsened because government officials willfully mismanaged public funds in 2024 through incessant foreign travels.

Obi: We’ve not agreed on merger with any political party

Politics

How Tinubu outsmarted Buhari to become president – Ojudu

Published

3 days ago

January 1, 2025

Trends Admin

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and ex-President Muhammadu Buhari

How Tinubu outsmarted Buhari to become president – Ojudu

Babafemi Ojudu, a former Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, has claimed that ex-President Muhammadu Buhari did not endorse the presidential aspirations of his former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, or his political ally, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Speaking on Edmund Obilo’s State Affairs podcast on Monday, Ojudu stated that Buhari withheld his support from Osinbajo, despite the latter’s qualifications, and also refrained from backing Tinubu.

According to him, Tinubu managed to secure the presidency by “outmaneuvering” Buhari in various ways.

Ojudu, who previously worked in Osinbajo’s office, expressed confidence in his former principal’s ability to lead, asserting that Osinbajo could have delivered a more effective administration than the current leadership.

His words: “I knew Osinbajo was going to lose the primary, I saw it coming.

“Because of the system we operated and still operating, I kept saying at our meeting that all of the efforts we are making like traveling around, convincing people, and addressing delegates is only 40 percent.

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“60 percent of it lies in Buhari’s hands unless and until Buhari mobilizes people around him, the governors, his aides, we are going nowhere.

“I used to refer to Buhari as a one-man majority and he never mobilized his team towards Osinbajo and I think Tinubu outsmarted him in so many different ways.”

Speaking further, he likened the failure to elect Professor Yemi Osinbajo during the last presidential election to missing a second chance at the leadership of Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

“I supported Osinbajo to be president. I was convinced because having seen him up close,” Ojudu said.

“The way he worked, his philosophy, his breadth of knowledge and the kind of patriotic verve in him I just think that he was the best person at that time to govern Nigeria that I have seen up close to be on the part of danger.

“Osinbajo would have been good for this country. For me, it is like losing Awolowo for a second time because he was at Awolowo’s level in terms of capacity, ability, dedication and commitment.”

During the APC primary in the buildup to the 2023 elections, Bola Tinubu secured 1,271 votes to clinch the party’s presidential ticket, while former Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi garnered 316 votes. Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo received 235 votes, finishing third, while Senate President Ahmed Lawan obtained 152 votes.

How Tinubu outsmarted Buhari to become president – Ojudu

(Vanguard)

Politics

Seyi Tinubu death threat: Court fixes Jan 6 on Olamide bail application

Published

3 days ago

December 31, 2024

Trends Admin

Olamide Thomas

Seyi Tinubu death threat: Court fixes Jan 6 on Olamide bail application

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday, fixed Jan. 6, for ruling in a bail application filed by Olamide Thomas, who allegedly threatened Seyi Tinubu with death threat on social media.

Justice Emeka Nwite fixed the date after T.J. Aondo, who appeared for Thomas, and the lawyer to the prosecution, Victor Okoye, made their submissions for and against the bail application.

Upon resumed hearing, Okoye told the court that the matter was slated for the hearing of the bail application and that he had filed and served his counter affidavit on the applicant’s lawyer.

Moving the bail motion, Aondo said the application, dated Dec. 20, was served on same date.

He said it was brought pursuant to the 1999 Constitution and Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.

The lawyer said the application prayed the court for an order admitting Thomas to bail pending the hearing and determination of the charge before the court.

He urged the court to admit his client to bail on liberal terms, assuring that she would not jump bail.

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But Okoye, who said a counter affidavit was filed on Dec. 30, prayed the court to refuse Thomas bail application.

Okoye equally urged the court to discountenance the exhibits attached to the bail request.
He argued that the documents were extracted from the internet in contradiction with Section 84 of the Evidence Act.

He further argued that any newspaper publication sought to be rendered in court ought to be certified by the National Library.

“We submit that those printouts are not worth admitting as evidence,” he said.
Okoye also argued that Thomas claimed that she was suffering from an ailment without attaching any medical report.

He urged the court to discountenance the submission.

But Aondo interjected, arguing that Okoye cannot orally speak on Thomas ill-health, having failed to state this in their counter affifavit.

The senior lawyer also argued that the entire affidavit filed by the prosecution did not meet the requirements of Section 115 of the Evidence Act.

He cited Paragraph 17 of the affidavit which he said equally fell short of Section 115 of Evidence Act.
He said the prosecution argument cannot stop the court from exercising its discretionary power under Section 6(6) of the constitution to grant his client bail.

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He said the power of the court to admit the defendant to bail cannot even be premised on her production of medical report, citing Sections 35 and 36 of the 1999 Constitution.
Also citing a Supreme Court decision on the admissibility of newspaper publications, Aondo argued that an affidavit presumed to be on oath is already certified.

He said the prosecution did not raised any issue on whether Thomas will not escape if granted bail.
Aondo, therefore, prayed the court to exercise its discretionary power in favour of Thomas.
Justice Nwite adjourned the matter until Jan. 6, 2025 for ruling.

The judge, who hinted that the case file would be remitted back to the chief judge after the ruling, said his duty as vacation judge would end on the date.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Thomas was, on Dec. 20, arraigned and remanded at Suleja Correctional Centre after she pleaded not guilty to the three-count charge preferred against her by the Inspector-General (I-G) of Police.

Thomas was arrested on allegations bordering on harassing and threatening Seyi Tinubu; the I-G, Kayode Egbetokun and the Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, in a viral social media post

In the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/636/2024 dated and filed on Dec 18 by the police team of lawyers led by A.A. Egwu, Olamide was sued as sole defendant.

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NAN reports that in count one, Olamide was alleged to have, sometime in 2024, knowingly and intentionally transmitted communication in the form of video recording through computer system or network on her social media platforms wherein she made remarks in Yoruba Language.

In the video, she was alleged to have stated “that Mr Seyi Tinubu would die this year, and misfortune and calamity had befallen the Tinubu family, with intent to bully, threaten, harass the person of Mr Seyi Tinubu.”

The communication was said to have placed Seyi in fear of death, violence or bodily harm.
The offence is contrary to and punishable under Section 24 (2) (a) of Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.

In count two, the defendant was alleged to have intentionally transmitted communication in the form of video recording wherein she made remarks in Yoruba Language to bully, threaten, harass the person of Mr Egbetokun.

The communication was said to have placed Egbetokun in fear of death, violence or bodily harm.
The offence is contrary to and punishable under Section 24 (2) (a) of Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.

In count three, Olamide was accused of intentionally transmitting or causing the transmission of communication in the form of video recording wherein she made remarks in Yoruba Language, stating that the children of Adejobi would all die before his eyes.

She was quoted to have also said that “he (Adejobi) will bury all his children in a single day, with Intent to bully, threaten, harass the person of Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi.”

The communication was said to have placed Adejobi in fear of death of his loved ones.

The offence is said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 24 (2) (a) of Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024