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Tag: Ehichioya Ezomon

  • Hardship protest: Atiku’s rhetoric and protesters’ mayhem in Northern Nigeria – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Hardship protest: Atiku’s rhetoric and protesters’ mayhem in Northern Nigeria – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    The saying, “Be careful what you wish for,” may haunt former Vice President Atiku Abubakar going forward from the ashes of the 10-day #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest that rocked and racked parts of Nigeria between August 1 and 10, 2024.

    The presidential candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 and 2023 General Elections was most vociferous in cheering the protesters from start to finish without a thought – as many concerned Nigerians had – for how quickly such protests turn violent in the absence of noticeable and recognisable leaders.

    Acknowledging the rights of Nigerians to freedom of expression, especially against bad governance, individuals and groups, including the government and the United Nations Department of Safety and Security, appealed to the agitators to shelve their plan, to avoid aggravating an already dire economic situation, and prevent groups with ulterior motives from hijacking the protest.

    But standing out from the pack, Atiku’s adamant in stoking the fire, accusing the Bola Tinubu government of attempting to abort the protest. In a post on his X handle on July 23, as first reported by Vanguard on July 24, Atiku said it’s ironic that those stifling the rights of Nigerians to protest in 2024 were leading protesters in 2012 (a reference to now President Tinubu).

    Atiku wrote: “For the avoidance of doubt, the rights of citizens to protest are enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution and affirmed by our courts. Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as altered) unequivocally guarantees the right to peaceful assembly and association.

    “Chasing shadows and contriving purported persons behind the planned protests is an exercise in futility when it is obvious that Nigerians, including supporters of Tinubu and the ruling APC, are caught up in the hunger, anger, and hopelessness brought about by the incompetence and cluelessness of this government.

    “It is deeply ironic that those who now seek to stifle these rights were themselves leading protests in 2012. A responsible government must ensure a safe and secure environment for citizens to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights to peaceful protest. Any attempt to suppress these rights is not only unconstitutional but a direct affront to our democracy.”

    Reacting to alleged killings, and the police manhandling of journalists, Atiku, as reported by The Cable on August 2, noted that the protesters had “mostly” conducted themselves well and should be commended, describing as “needless” and “unacceptable,” the high-handedness of some security officers.

    “The police must refrain from the molestation of journalists who are merely reporting the protest. It is imperative that security agencies exercise restraint while enforcing law and order,” Atiku said. “Security agencies are encouraged to identify and isolate the minority elements who are resorting to violence and looting, ensuring that the actions of a few do not tarnish the majority of peaceful protesters.”

    “To the government, I admonish you to heed the voices of the people and come down from your high horses. It is time to demonstrate a sincere commitment to addressing the demands of the protesters.”

    But at a meeting of heads of security agencies in Abuja on August 6, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, said the police, military and other security agencies involved in the management of the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria didn’t use live ammunition during the protest.

    Egbetokun said: “The police and the military – and indeed other security agencies involved in the management of this protest – have not deployed excessive use of force. Instead, what we had were attacks on security agents during the protest. From our record, there were no shooting incidents by the police.

    “The police or military did not use any live ammunition in the management of these protests. Instead, we have had cases where our officers were injured and are in critical condition, as we speak.”

    In his national broadcast on July 4, President Tinubu urged the protesters to cease their actions, as his decision to remove the fuel subsidy and unify the foreign exchange systems – key demands for reversal by the protesters – was necessary to eliminate the exploitation by smugglers and rent-seekers, and that he’s fully focused on “delivering governance to the people – good governance, for that matter.”

    In a statement same day, Atiku – who even went after the First Lady, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu – noted that the president’s broadcast overlooked the severe economic challenges that Nigerian families had faced since the start of the Tinubu administration, the PUNCH reports.

    Atiku said: “This address lacks credibility and fails to offer any immediate, tangible solutions to the Nigerian people. Given the extensive publicity surrounding the protests and the threats issued by government officials against demonstrators, one would have expected President Tinubu to present groundbreaking reforms, particularly those aimed at reducing the exorbitant costs of governance.

    “But alas, no such announcements were made. The President ignored the protesters’ demands, such as suspending the purchase of aircraft for the President, downsizing his bloated cabinet, or even eliminating the costly and burdensome office of the First Lady, who has been indulging in extravagant trips at the nation’s expense.

    “In his lacklustre recorded speech, President Tinubu offered a superficial account of his so-called reforms, revealing his own tenuous grasp of policy as he failed to convince his audience. While the President has spoken, it is unfortunate that his words lack substance and respect for the protesters’ sentiments, leaving Nigerians with little faith in his reform agenda – if one exists at all.

    “We urge the President and his team to own up to their failures over the past 14 months and abandon the absurd theory that the protests are orchestrated by the opposition. This administration has failed on all fronts, even in the simple task of keeping a presidential speech confidential.”

    And on August 6, via his X handle, Atiku warned service chiefs and military commanders against authorising the use of lethal force against protesters, saying they’d be held liable for the shooting of peaceful civilian protesters by soldiers and other security operatives.

    Atiku’s apparently reacting to the August 6 killing by a soldier of a 16-year-old protester, Ismail Mohammed, in the Samaru community in Zaria, Kaduna State, which the Army said wasn’t authorised, that the suspect soldier had been detained, and high-ranking officers had condoled with the victim’s family and attended his burial.

    Atiku’s words: “I wish to convey a stern caution to the distinguished service chiefs and military commanders of Nigeria’s armed forces that those who authorise the use of lethal force against peaceful civilian protesters will be held responsible for committing crimes against humanity, even in the years following their retirement from service.

    “The constitutional right to engage in protest is firmly established within our supreme law and reinforced by the judiciary. It is the solemn duty of the government and security agencies to ensure a safe and protected environment for individuals exercising their right to peaceful protest.”

    While Atiku’s caution was timely, his galvanising and encouragement of the protesters was less than stellar, considering that the protest eventually got out of hand – a scenario Atiku overlooked while rallying support for the demonstration – such that the protesters called for internal and external overthrow of the Tinubu presidency.

    Did the call for unlawful overthrow of a democratically-elected government sit well with Atiku? It might, as Tinubu defeated Atiku to the second position in the February 25, 2023, presidential election; and wanting Tinubu replaced illegally won’t be a new-wish by the Atiku-led opposition.

    Recall that while at the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) in 2023 – in efforts to overturn the declaration of Tinubu as President-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Atiku led a PDP protest march through Abuja streets, ending at the Defence Headquarters for an unmistakable coded message to the military high command!

    Calls for a regime change were rampant during the protest, with brazen displays and waving of Russian Flags in major cities and towns across Northern Nigeria – a treasonable offence that Atiku didn’t condemn. Nor did he reproach the massive and wanton attacks, destruction, vandalisation and looting of public and private property in all seven States of the North-West.

    Ironically, the six states of the North-East – particularly Atiku’s homestates of Adamawa and Taraba that formed the defunct Gongola State, which Atiku won for the governorship in 1999 before retired Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo tapped him as running mate in the 1999 presidential poll – didn’t witness the scale of havoc the protesters wreaked on the North-West. Why? We should ask Atiku!

    Yes, President Tinubu – in investigating the overall protest that turned subversive and treasonous – must look into the alleged killing of protesters by security operatives, which invoked memories of the October 20, 2020, reported massacre by the military at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos State. Atiku’s zeroing in on security agents’ activities during the protest is akin to an exhumation of the ghosts of that Lekki tragedy!

    While the government strives to meet the protesters’ varied and wide-ranging demands, and takes stock in human and material costs, to gain knowledge of the protest-turned riot, the authorities should shift attention away from identifying the small fries in the chain of execution of the protest, and focus on the big fishes that gave oxygen to its birth, nurturing and sustenance.

    It’s welcoming for Atiku to warn against killing of protesters by security operatives. It rankles the sensibilities for security agents, detailed to protect the protesters, to fail in that regard, and expose the protesters to attacks by hoodlums and/or the security operatives themselves. Government should get to the bottom of the alleged complicity and high-handness of the security operatives in dealing with the protesters.

    Yet, as they’re at it, the Tinubu administration must grow the balls to ask the hard questions about what Atiku knew about the agitation, planning, organising and execution of the protest that shook the consevative Northern Nigeria, which, over the years, looked docile, reticent, and even complicit as governance went awry in the country, and specially in the region.

    Besides what the “unknown leaders” of the protest advertised, what did Atiku, as leader the PDP – and the unofficial head of the opposition in Nigeria – know about the protest that he became the powerful force that encouraged, defended and protected the protestants? Did he merely cash in on an opportune moment for a political Hail Mary?

    Was Atiku’s full backing of the protest part of an alleged broader plan to gain the presidency through the backdoor in an overthrow of the government, which many of the protesters actually called for? These questions flow from Atiku’s sequential utterances and statements throughout the protest that destroyed a large swathe of his backyard in Northern Nigeria! A self-inflicted destruction, that is!

    Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria

  • Hardship protest: Lawmakers’ salary cut and Kalu’s part-time legislative advocacy – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Hardship protest: Lawmakers’ salary cut and Kalu’s part-time legislative advocacy – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    In an novel move that many Nigerians have hailed as in the right direction – even as they hold that it doesn’t go far enough – members of the House of Representatives have donated half of their salaries for the next six months – in the first instance – to complement Federal Government’s efforts at cushioning the economic hardship Nigerians undergo, especially since the Bola Tinubu administration in May 2023.

    Viewed by sceptics as a fry in the pan – until a wholesale cut from the legislators’ homongous allowances that are in the realm of speculations and conjectures due to opaque disclosure even by fiscal responsibility advocates in the legislature – the lawmakers’ slash of salary by 50% for six months will amount to barely N3.240bn on the assumption that the 360 odd House members receive monthly basic of N1.5m, totally N540m.

    Though Senators haven’t indicated they’d follow suit, calls have sometimes been cacophonious for members of the National Assembly (NASS) to shed their sundry allowances – reportedly graded from about N32m to over N50m – that they’ve enjoyed since the Fouth Republic commenced in May 1999.

    They hardly settled down when the lawmakers of both chambers of the NASS embarked on a spending binge in official and private capacities, giving the impression that there’re surplus allocations to throw around in the midst of crushing poverty that’s earned Nigeria the unenviable record of the “Poverty Capital of the World.” Hence the NASS looks to draw as much of public anger as the executive arm of government, which, nonetheless, receives more resources than the legislature.

    Nigeria’s journey to poverty is storied, with each succeeding government – whether civilian or military – pursuing policies and programmes that favour the ruling class and elite, without commensurate ameliorating measures that cater to the basic needs of the masses.

    President Tinubu’s twin policy of removal of subsidy on petrol and floating of the Naira has exacerbated a bad situation of years of intermittent increase in prices of imported petroleum products – for a country that’s one of the largest producers, and with huge oil and gas reserves in the world – and inadequate and inefficient generation, transmission and distribution of power, with Nigeria becoming one of the world’s largest importers of generating sets as the main source of powering homes, offices and businesses.

    The result of Tinubu’s declaration of “subsidy is gone” at his inauguration on May 29, 2023 – and subsequent floating of the Naira – had spontaneous effects on its value against other tradable currencies, a spike in inflation, and a steep rise in prices of goods and services, such as petrol, transportation, foodstuff, household consumables,  pharmaceuticals, utility, rentage and tuition, resulting in low purchasing power, and less food on the table for tens of millions of citizens.

    With Nigeria again earning an ignoble award for the “Highest Multi-Dimensional Poverty in the World,” the citizens’ woes have multiplied by manufacturers’ striving to maximise profit by adopting what, in economics, is known as shrinkflation, and skimpflation – a portmanteau of shrink and inflation, and skimp and inflation.

    Adopting “shrinkflation” (reduced quantities) and “skimpflation” (lower quality ingredients) for household consumables – while the prices remain the same or slightly increase – is a decadesold practice since the downturn in Nigeria’s economy, and the push for value addition to locally-produced goods. The difference in the prevaling instance is the sharp increase in prices by over 100% since mid 2023, even as products continue to shrink and skimp almost biweekly or monthly.

    In their bid to cut costs and maximise profit – or even exploit the situation and make abnormal profit, also called excess profit, supernormal profit or pure profit, “over and above what provides its owners with a normal return to capital” – producers have visited shrinkflation, also labels as “package downsizing, weight-out, and price pack architecture,” and skimpflation on packaged household consumables, such as beverages, noodles, flours, purees, table and ‘pure satchet water’, cooking oils and toiletries.

    The hardship in the land – and the unbridled spending on luxurious items that make those in government “super comfortable” – have riled the masses, and turned their hunger into anger, and a call to action by mostly the youths, to protest what’s been perceptively consensually agreed as bad governance.

    As the Tinubu administration appears to focus some of its policies to alleviating the problems, the youths – who argue that one year is enough for the government to consolidate such programmes – think the agents of their sufferings can best be addressed through mass protests, to hasten official actions.

    The nationwide protests, which began on August 1 – and uncharacteristically predominate the North-West and North-East, and allegedly infiltrated by hoodlums and insurgents – have had telling consequences in death and destruction, prompting declaration of 12-hour to 24-hour curfews in several of the states, and heightened alert to deploy the military should the scenarios spiral out of control of the Police and other security agencies.

    In the interim, former Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kanu’s offering appeals, and recommendations for the way out of Nigeria’s economic logjam. Dr Kalu (APC, Abia North), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Privatisation, and former Chief Whip, is adding his voice to the clamour for a part-time legislature, to cut costs of governance.

    As reported by Vanguard on July 21, 2024, Kalu, who expressed his views in an interview published on his verified Facebook page, thinks that the part-time legislative measure can significantly reduce government’s expenditure and enhance public trust in the political system.

    “Not only the Senate and the House of Representatives, but all the legislative houses in Nigeria will be part-time,” Kalu says, adding, “I think it will be a very good idea if my colleagues and other members of the Houses of Assembly will agree that we can sit for three months and do constitutional amendment first.”

    Kalu suggests that the legislative bodies can convene four times a year – with provisions for emergency sessions, as needed – arguing that it’ll allow for more efficient governance without the need for full-time legislative operations.

    Kalu also advocates for regional governments, as a cost-saving alternative. “If we’re going for regional government, it also means that the ministers, the legislators, will be the same,” he says. “I’ve been tinkering with the idea of how we can save money to run Nigeria because the country needs money.”

    Urging President Tinubu and the National Assembly to consider the legislative changes, with their potential to benefit the entire nation, Kalu touches on the “misconception” that senators receive excessive compensation, and stressed the need for a constitutional amendment, to facilitate part-time legislative sessions, as “that will bring trust and bring relief to the Nigerian people.”

    Note that a part-time legislature – including the abolishment of the Senate – is No. 2 on the list of 15 demands (that’s kept changing) by the “unidentified organisers” of the August 1 to August 10, 2024, protests, captioned: “#EndBadGovernanceInNigeria for the Days of Rage revolt

    NON-NEGOTIABLE DEMANDS.” The ‘organisers’ urge: “(2) Toss the Senate arm of the Nigerian Legislative System, keep the House of Representatives (HOR), and make lawmaking a part-time endeavour.”

    Here’s where the resistance to the change in the configuration of the legislature may come from: From the legislators themselves, who won’t want to lose their exalted positions, particularly in the Senate that’s literally become a “retirement place for and benefit” to former Governors.

    Even a return to Regional Government may not be sweet music to the lawmakers because of the concomitant demand for accountability and transparency in parliaments, which the Nigerian legislators seem to loathe in their defence of fiscal and legislative autonomy for the National and State Houses of Assembly.

    Yet, it’s imperative for Senator Kalu – in his stated commitment to “reducing governmental costs and fostering a more efficient and trustworthy political system in Nigeria” – and like-minded lawmakers to continue to advocate, and sustain the momentum for Nigeria to either adopt a part-time legislature under the subsisting presidential system of government.

    Or return to a parliamentary democracy, as practised in the First Republic between October 1960 – following Nigeria’s independence from Britain – and January 1966, when the Military staged its first coup to upend, and suspend democracy in the country for decades – except for barely four years during the Second Republic, from October 1979 to December 1983.

    Such a change will fit into the broader moves – some with constitutional underpinning – that’s silently and gradually emerging under the Tinubu administration, to restructure Nigeria in line with public clamours and recommendations of national conferences, and reports of committees empanelled over the years to so carry out!

     

    Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria

  • Edo 2024: Shaibu’s bitter-sweet Abuja court judgment – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: Shaibu’s bitter-sweet Abuja court judgment – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Reproduced herein is a draft of the article intended for Monday, July 22, 2024, before it’s “overtaken” by the Thursday, July 18, 2024, alleged attempt by political thugs to “assassinate” either or both of court-reinstated Deputy Governor of Edo State, Comrade Philip Shaibu, and the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 21, 2024, Edo governorship election, Senator Monday Okpebholo (APC, Edo Central).

    The focus of the KIV-ed article is the favourable judgment that Shaibu got from the Abuja Federal High Court, restoring him to his Office, and whether Governor Godwin Obaseki – who instigated his impeachment by the Edo State House of Assembly – will honour the court order not to interfere with or prevent Shaibu from carrying out his duties as the Deputy Governor of Edo State.

    Noting that Obaseki – like most of his peer-Governors – has no appetite for court rulings that disfavour him and his government, the article concludes that Obaseki may rather run out the clock, by appealing the Abuja court judgment, to forestall Shaibu’s return to office as Deputy Governor of Edo State. (That prediction has come true, with the Obaseki government parading copies of a stay of execution and appeal it filed on the same day of the court judgment, and the governor threatening lately – at a political event – that “Nigeria will burn” if Shaibu’s reported hired thugs repeated their alleged attacks on innocent Edolites, and destruction of property in Benin City, Edo State capital city.) Happy reading!

    “From the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, it’s a mixed grill of “you win some, you lose some” for reinstated Deputy Governor of Edo State, Comrade Philip Shaibu, whose impeachment by the Edo State House of Assembly on April 8, 2024, was nullified by the court.

    “If you didn’t peruse the mainstream media, you wouldn’t know that this pronouncement came from the same court on the same day, as only one aspect of the judgment trended on social media – to the effect that the court had upheld the candidacy of Dr Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State.

    “The court gave Ighodalo judgment on the grounds that he’s duly nominated at the PDP primary on February 22, 2024; the plaintiffs’ case lacked merit, as they failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove that Ighodalo had forged his permanent voter’s card (PVC); and that the action was statute-barred and consequently merited to be struck out.

    “The other ruling – which should’ve gained equal or a measure of prominence in the media – is the reinstatement of Shaibu as the Deputy Governor of Edo State – a position he’s sacked from by the House of Assembly over alleged gross misconduct, which stemmed from his aspiration to succeed Governor Godwin Obaseki in office in November 2024.

    “Interestingly, Shaibu had initiated the suit, marked CS/469/24, at the Abuja court presided by Justice Kolawole Omotosho, who held that Shaibu’s impeachment was ‘illegal, unconstitutional, null, and void,’ on the premise that it’s ‘in gross violation of the provisions of both sections 188 and 35 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).’

    “Recall that Obaseki and Shaibu decamped mid 2020 to the opposition PDP when then-ruling APC in Edo State refused them a return ticket for that year’s September governorship poll, which they subsequently won, and rejoiced and danced together publicly, to mock their traducers in the APC’s National Working Committee (NWC), headed by former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, who’s Obaseki and Shaibu’s acclaimed political godfather.

    “But the politically-motivated love lust between Obaseki and Shaibu didn’t last, as Shaibu expressed his aspiration to succeed Obaseki, who’s already grooming a ‘successor’ in Dr Ighodalo, the governor’s Lagos-based friend and business associate, who’s nominally present in Obaseki’s government as Chairman of ‘Alaghodaro’ – the administration’s annual economic summit.

    “Failing to dissuade Shaibu from his governorship ambition, Obaseki reportedly put in motion a plan to induce the House of Assembly to impeach Shaibu, who preempted such an eventuality with a writ at a Federal High Court court in Abuja, which restrained Obaseki, the House of Assembly and security agencies from giving effect to sack Shaibu as Deputy Governor.

    “Beaten in his own game, Obaseki denied the plot, and gave Shaibu a false sense of security, prompting Shaibu to publicly apologise for his indiscretion of taking out the suit against Obaseki, who accepted the contrition, and hoped that Shaibu won’t breach it – by persisting in his bid to be Governor in 2024.

    “That’s not to be, as to Obaseki’s discomfeiture, Shaibu stepped up consultations within and outside Edo State, to realise the governorship. That’s when the governor deployed his ‘Plan B’ to checkmate Shaibu by undermining his office as Deputy Governor: Bar him from direct communication with the governor; prevent his attendance at official engagements involving Obaseki or representating the governor or government; relocate the Deputy Governor’s office outside the Osadebey Avenue Government House in Benin City; and allocate the office to ‘Alaghodaro’ as a secretariat – and thus Ighodalo as a ‘de facto Deputy Governor.’

    “Having literally made Shaibu orphan and homeless, Obaseki pressed on with the ultimate strategy of impeaching him, which the House of Assembly carried out on April 8, dismissing an Abuja Federal High Court’s injunction as an interference in the internal affairs of the legislative arm of government.

    “Subsequently, Shaibu and his pro-delegates were allegedly prevented from participating at the PDP-organised governorship primary that returned Ighodalo as candidate of the party, having scored 577 votes to defeat 10 other aspirants, ‘including Shaibu,’ who’s returned at a parallel primary he won with 301 votes as the sole contestant.

    “It’s a combination of alleged undue election of Ighodalo as candidate of the PDP, Ighodalo’s purported forgery of a PVC of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Shaibu’s own impeachment on April 8 that Shaibu and others took before the Federal High Court, Abuja, on which Justice Omotoso made pronouncements on July 17.

    “As per the judgment in a suit marked, CS/469/24, as first reported by Vanguard on July 17, the court upheld the nomination of Dr. Ighodalo as the PDP candidate for the 2024 Edo State gubernatorial election, and dismissed the case filed by Philip Shaibu, challenging Ighodalo’s nomination.

    “In his ruling, Justice Omotoso held that, ‘Ighodalo was duly nominated’ during the party’s primary on February 22, 2024, at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, with Ighodalo emerging victorious by ‘securing 577 votes to defeat Shaibu and 10 other aspirants.’

    “‘The court further determined that the plaintiffs’ case lacked merit, as they failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove that Ighodalo had forged his voter’s card. Moreover, the court ruled that the action was statute-barred and consequently struck it out.’

    “Ruling on Shaibu’s impeachment, the court reinstated him as Deputy Governor of Edo State, with Justice Omotosho declaring the purported ouster by the Edo State House of Assembly as “in gross violation of the provisions of both sections 188 and 35 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and thus, ‘illegal, unconstitutional, null, and void.’

    “‘Aside from restoring him (Shaibu) to office as the Deputy Governor, the court held that all his salaries, allowances, and benefits should be paid to him from April 8 (2024), when he was illegally impeached, until the expiration of his tenure.

    “‘The court issued an order of perpetual injunction, restraining Governor Godwin Obaseki and the Edo State House of Assembly from stopping Shaibu from performing the functions of his office.’

    “Noting that the reason the Edo Assembly gave for impeaching the plaintiff was ‘lame and smacked of an ochestrated political vendetta,’ the court ordered the Inspector General of Police to ‘immediately restore all his (Shaibu’s) security details.’

    “It’s a bitter-sweet judgment for Comrade Shaibu. While he may’ve lost his bid for Governor in 2024 – unless he’s a favourable judgment on appeal – Shaibu’s retained his office as Deputy Governor of Edo State, with all his entitlements, rights and privileges restored from the date of his impeachment.

    “The poser is: Will Governor Obaseki obey the court verdict and its declarative orders? Obaseki – like most Governors across Nigeria – has no respect for court rulings that disfavour him and his government. The Edo House of Assembly, the state’s Chief Judge and Governor Obaseki had disobeyed the Abuja Federal High Court’s order to maintain the status quo, and to show cause why the Shaibu prayer against his impeachment moves shouldn’t be granted.

    “It’s Obaseki’s choice to obey the instant court order, or simply go on appeal, as a delay tactic, to frustrate the judgment, and forestall Shaibu’s return to the government as Deputy Governor till November 2024, when the incumbent administration hands over to a new government.

    “The Edo people are watching – and waiting with bated breath – to see if the proverbial leopard can change its spots, especially in the homestretch of campaigning for the September 21 election for which Obaseki’s “anointed” and is supporting Dr Ighodalo to succeed him!”

     

    Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria

  • Edo 2024: The ‘double assassination attempt’ on Okpebholo, Shaibu in Benin – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: The ‘double assassination attempt’ on Okpebholo, Shaibu in Benin – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Save speculations, it’s difficult to determine who – between the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 21, 2024, Edo State governorship election, Senator Monday Okpebholo, and court-reinstated Deputy Governor of Edo State, Comrade Philip Shaibu – was the target of an armed attack about the entrance of the Benin Airport, in Benin City on Thursday, July 18, 2024.

    However, it’s not as difficult or farfetched to decipher the motive for the attack: It’s for the possible elimination of one or both of the high-profile political figures that will surely determine the crucial governorship poll barely two months away.

    While Shaibu escaped physically hurt in the mid-day (1:18pm) attack on the busy and populated area of the capital city, Okpebholo’s injured (with the degree of injury unknown as at the weekend), his Aide-de-camp (ADC), Inspector Akor Onu, was shot dead, and a couple of Police details, and several persons in Okpebholo’s motorcade were also wounded, with all the victims taken to hospitals for medical attention.

    As Edo people, and Nigerians in general await the outcome of Police investigation – the Edo State Commissioner of Police, Funsho Adegboye, was reportedly present at the airport, ostensibly to ensure compliance with an Abuja Federal High Court’s order to restore Shaibu’s security details – the attack would’ve had immense ramifications had Okpebholo or Shaibu, or both been killed in what concerned members of the public have dubbed a “failed assassination attempt” on two prominent Edo State citizens.

    Sen. Okpebholo (APC, Edo Central) and Mr Shaibu boarded the same flight from Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, and landed at the Benin airport amidst jubilation by thousands of their supporters – a normal scenario during  electioneering when political leaders fly into town.

    There’s added significance to the occasion, as Shaibu’s coming into Edo following the Abuja court judgment, which nullified his April 8, 2024, impeachment by the Edo State House of Assembly, and reinstated him as the Deputy Governor of the state.

    Shaibu’s impeached over alleged gross misconduct, stemming from his aspiration to succeed Governor Godwin Obaseki, who – floating his friend and Lagos-based business associate, Dr Asue Ighodalo, to succeed him in November 2024 – vehemently opposed Shaibu’s governorship bid, and accusingly engineered his impeachment based on a “lame and an ochestrated political vendetta,” according to Justice Kolawole Omotosho of the Abuja court that gave judgment to Shaibu on Wednesday, July 17.

    Following alleged prevention of his “secured delegates” from the PDP-organised governorship primary in Benin City on February 22, 2024, Shaibu’s faction of the PDP conducted a parallel primary that returned him as the party candidate – an outcome rejected by the PDP national headquarters.

    Shaibu’s since thrown his weight – including his campaign offices across Edo State, campaign vehicles and supporters – behind Okpebholo, who’s emerged as the main opposition contender for the governorship in September. And this has put him, Okpebholo and the APC in the crosshairs of Governor Obaseki and the PDP.

    Even as he battles to regain his office from a tenacious Obaseki government, and reportedly appointed new aides, Shaibu – asked on Arise TV’s ‘Morning Show’ on Friday, July 19, about his relationship with Okpebholo – said his “spirit” has left the PDP, and that he’s “as good as being a member of APC,” adding, “the only thing is that I have not officially left PDP.”

    “For now, I am PDP. But going forward, if I declare for APC, it means that I have declared full support for Okpebholo. I am as good as being a member of APC, I can tell you that. I have two legs in APC. The only thing is that I have not officially left PDP. I am an unofficial member of APC. My spirit has left PDP,” Shaibu said.

    Thus, it’s no coincidence that Shaibu and Okpebholo took the same flight from Abuja, and landed at the Benin airport into a welcoming reception by their supporters. But convoying out of the airport was a perfect setting for their traducers to wreak havoc in an ambush by armed political thugs allegedly aided by operatives of the state government-controlled Edo Security Network (ESN).

    A reporting by The Nation captured the eerily bloody confrontation: “Inspector Akor Onu, a security operative attached to the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State for the September 21 election, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has been shot dead in Benin by thugs.

    “The attack took place during the victorious homecoming of the reinstated Edo Deputy Governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu. Others injured with the standard bearer of APC in Edo are on admission in an undisclosed hospital in Benin.

    “Shaibu and Okpebholo, who flew in the same aircraft from Abuja, arrived Benin Airport around 1:18 p.m to a rousing welcome by their teeming supporters. They sang victory songs amid drumming and dancing, to celebrate Wednesday’s judgement of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which reinstated Edo Deputy Governor.

    “As their convoy left the airport and linked the dualised Airport Road, thugs in a Toyota Sienna vehicle in front of the Miracle Centre of the Church of God Mission, started shooting sporadically at the vehicles of Shaibu, Okpebholo and others.

    “The shooting led to the death of the police inspector, with many motorists, pedestrians and residents scampering to safety, causing confusion in the densely-populated neighbourhood. The reinstated Deputy Governor drove off speedily and headed for his nearby residence in the Government Reservation Area (GRA), Benin, and quickly moved to the various hospitals to empathised with the injured.

    “The attack took place despite the presence at Benin airport of Edo Commissioner of Police, Funsho Adegboye, whose officers and men displayed bravery, but the thugs laid ambush for the convoy. Military personnel and other security operatives were quickly deployed in the area to prevent reprisal.”

    The question isn’t, who did the attack, but who plotted and sponsored it? Aftermath of the deadly assault, Okpebholo’s legislative aide in charge of media and communication, Godswill Inegbe, allegedly fingered a former chieftain of the APC (names withheld) as leading the ambush to take out Okpebholo or Shaibu, or both in one fell swoop.

    But the politician – who, as he’d resigned from the APC, predicted a “political tsunami” that he’s leading, and thereafter decamped to the PDP – denied involvement in the attack, claiming he’s out of Benin City during the incident, and that the allegation was to tarnish his image as a law-abiding citizen, who’d not engage in political violence.

    Contrarily, can the Obaseki government, which instigated the impeachment of Shaibu – and had obtained a stay of execution of the Federal High Court order restoring Shaibu to his office – exonerate, and extricate itself from the attack on Okpebholo and Shaibu?

    Rather than display shock over the attack, and extend sympathy and empathy to the victims, the Obaseki government was after Shaibu, claiming that in his bid to return to office, as mandated by the Abuja court, he’s going about attacking residents and destroying property in Benin City.

    In a statement on July 18, the Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, alleged that Shaibu-led thugs had unleashed mayhem on innocent citizens “in the guise of enforcing the judgment reinstating him to office.”

    “We want to reiterate that Shaibu will face the consequences of violence he has resorted to in pursuit of his aim to return to the Government House even when he is aware that a stay of execution of the judgement has been filed,” Nehikhare said.

    (It’s trite that simply filing of an application for a stay of execution can’t vitiate a declarative judgment that has immediate force of law until the court applied/appealed to hears and grants the application.

    As per Felix Osemwengie Isere, Esq., “The mere fact that Edo State House of Assembly or the Attorney General of Edo State has applied to a stay of execution of the judgement reinstating the former deputy governor, Philip Shaibu, does not stop the enforcement. It is only after the application has been heard and granted that the judgment can be enforced. What this means in a simpler term is that Philip Shaibu is the legally recognised deputy governor of Edo State today by law except the application for a stay of execution pending appeal they have filed and parading is granted by the court.)

    Nehikhare advised the residents to remain calm and go about their lawful businesses, as the government had embarked on restoring peace to the state capital, with reports indicating that security had been beefed up at the premises of replacement Deputy Governor Godwins Omobayo, at Osadebey Avenue, Benin City, to forestall any (counter) attack on him.

    It’s worthwhile to recall a viral video featuring an Edo PDP topshot and a director in the Ighodalo campaign organisation, making brazen and incendiary claims that the PDP would resort to beating up opposition members if they didn’t join the party, declaring that, “Who no wan hear, go kpeme” (die).

    According to an APC supporter that reposted the video lately, “tragically, someone did ‘kpeme’ (die) yesterday (July 18) — none other than the Orderly of the gubernatorial candidate (of the APC).”

    Did the Obaseki government and PDP condemn that flaming video and call the party chieftain to order? What about post-the inevitable happening; has the government and PDP deplored the attack on Okpebholo and Shaibu? Has PDP’s candidate Ighodalo criticised the assault, and commiserated with especially Okpebholo, his competitor and kinsman from Esan Central of Edo State?

    In closing, let’s recall the United States President Joe Biden’s admonition in the wake of the July 13 failed assassination of former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate in the Tuesday, November 5, 2024, General Election.

    In his Remarks in an Address to the Nation on July 14, an assailed Biden – fending off calls by concerned Democrats to drop his reelection bid after his poor debate performance with Trump – said: “Yesterday’s shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania calls on all of us to take a step back, take stock of where we are, how we go forward from here.

    “My fellow Americans, I want to speak to you tonight about the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics and to remember, while we may disagree, we are not enemies. We’re neighbors. We’re friends, coworkers, citizens. And, most importantly, we are fellow Americans. And we must stand together.

    “Tonight, I want to speak to what we do know: A former president was shot. An American citizen killed while simply exercising his freedom to support the candidate of his choosing.

    “We cannot – we must not go down this road in America. We debate and disagree. We compare and contrast the character of the candidates, the records, the issues, the agenda, the vision for America.

    “But in America, we resolve our differences at the ballot box. You know, that’s how we do it, at the ballot box, not with bullets. The power to change America should always rest in the hands of the people, not in the hands of a would-be assassin.

    “You know, the path forward through competing visions of the campaign should always be resolved peacefully, not through acts of violence.”

    Biden’s caution should resonate, and guide the campaigns for the governorship election in Edo State on September 21. Similar to what happened in Pennsylvania, a governorship candidate (Okpebholo) was shot at in Edo State on July 18. A Nigerian citizen (Inspector Onu) killed while simply performing his duty of a confidential assistant to Okpebholo, and several persons injured.

    This is not who we’re, or should be. Let the gladiators in the Edo governorship lower the temperature in our politics and remember that, while they may disagree, they’re not enemies, they’re all Edolites, and Nigerians. They should settle their political differences at the ballot and not with bullets, and allow Edo voters to exercise their franchise on Election Day to decide who their Governor should be!

     

    Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

  • An Open Letter to public officeholders: Don’t treat Nigerians as dispensable servants – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    An Open Letter to public officeholders: Don’t treat Nigerians as dispensable servants – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    This article – lightly labelled “An Open Letter” – takes its bearing from a Facebook post on Saturday, June 29, 2024, by the Honourable Commissioner for Information and Strategy in the Lagos State Government, Mr Gbenga Omotosho, who can be described as a “veteran (authority, consumate, long-serving, professional, well-versed) Journalist.”

    Before he’s appointed into Government, Omotosho had risen through the ranks to the posts of Deputy Editor, Editor, Columnist and Member of the Editorial Board of two of the most influential Newspapers in Nigeria: The Guardian and The Nation, which are a stone-throw from each other in the Oshodi-Isolo business district of Lagos State.

    This piece isn’t about Journalism and Journalists, but a partial reaction to the Omotosho post, summarising the weekly activities of the Lagos State Government, under the indefatigable and amiable Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who, by my estimation, hasn’t any competitor among his peer-Governors since he mounted the saddle of leadership in 2019.

    Let me confess that I barely perused the headlines – and not the explanatory notes to the visual clips – shown over a background music, because of the special effects of the production. Entitled, “Recap of news for week Sunday, June 23, to Saturday, June 29, 2024,” some of the headers are: “Cholera: Lagos adopts one strategy to combat outbreak; LASEPA warns against consumption of contaminated water, poor sanitation; LIWAC 2024: Sanwo-Olu charges stakeholders on improving water, sanitation sector.

    “We are resolute in our quest for flood-free state – LASG; Flooding: Lagos to construct additional drainage collector at Agungi; Building safety: LSMTL holds meeting with stakeholders, consultants; Don’t build, trade under powerlines, LASBSC warns residents; We are creating business-friendly environment to encourage investors; TESCOM inducts newly-recruited post-primary teachers.

    “Hamza charges Army recruits from Lagos to be of good conduct, professional etiquette; Commissioner solicits support of residents to eradicate drug, substance abuse in Lagos; Albinism: Experts advocate for prevention of skin cancer in affected persons; International Widows’ Day: LASG empowers 800 vulnerable widows; Lagos empowers youths on acquaculture; Hajj 2024: More Lagos Pilgrims return home.”

    Though some may assume that the clips were unrelated to the discourse hereunder, they’re, however, enough to rouse some latent issues that’d bothered me for long about governance by elected and appointed politicians, and public and private workers. They seem to have the same or similar mentality to marginalise Nigerians they consider as servants, rather than their masters.

    Omotosho – who’s instrumental to my receiving an over-unduly delayed Letter of Appointment at The Guardian, effective April 1, 1998 – and Governor Sanwo-Olu and his Government should bat an eyelid, as I merely seized on the post to address the powers at all levels of Nigeria’s governance structure.

    So, instead of a timeously short response to Omotoso’s post on his wall on Facebook, I delayed, and expanded it under an encompassing headline. And because Lagos leads the way in most sectors of the polity, I zeroed in on the State Government’s handling of the issues highted, for a domino effect on other States of the Federation. Happy reading!

    “Good day, Sir. Best greetings of a probable dreary and wetful season we’re entering in Lagos. It’s hoped that the Lagos State Government and the residents have prepared for the predictable deluge of flooding that will overwhelm many States across the country.

    “My sincere kudos to the Lagos State government and Governor Sanwo-Olu and his workaholic team for the good jobs they’re doing to make Lagos a truly Mega City in name and appearance, for which most open-minded residents are very appreciative!

    “Particularly uplifting, and heartwarming is the trailblazing Blue Line Rail and Red Line Rail system that’s marked Lagos out as seriously striving to join the league of ultramodern cities around the globe. The proposed Fourth Mainland Bridge will add to the superstructure of the state!

    “Besides the government’s excellent and professional handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state, I take due cognisance – as a resident in Alimosho Local Government Area – of the presence of the Alimosho General Hospital that caters daily to the medical needs of thousands of patients. Even as a nearby dumpsite fouls the air quality of the facility, and displaces surrounding structures and businesses, the beneficiary population is grateful to the government for its continued upgrade of the hospital that now uses e-Cards for patients’ medical records.

    It’s also gratifying to learn that the Sanwo-Olu administration has disbursed a princely N25b in grants and loans to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), to enhance productivity and economic growth in the state, as disclosed by the governor via his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, on July 11, at the 2024 Business Day Newspaper CEO Forum, tagged, “Governors in Conversation-Innovative Governance: Steering States through Economic Turbulence.”

    The single-digit loans weren’t only offered to sustain and train the beneficiaries on how to manage their businesses, but the Lagos State government also assisted them to “source products, have access to the market, and help them to interact with NAFDAC, BOI, CAC, and Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), among other agencies, for them to understand how to run their businesses within the framework of the laws,” Sanwo-Olu said, adding that, “It is for us to create those types of environments that allow private people to run their businesses and create jobs for the future.”

    Commendable as these efforts are, many Lagosians – like the fabled Oliver Twist – want to see more work, particularly to meet the needs of those at the grassroots. While people are seeing standard infrastructure and other developmental strides in highbrow areas of the state, little or no appreciable efforts seem to be spared to spread same to populated suburbans and communities.

    “For instance, the Lagos Government appears to have completely forgotten the Igando Community, which some derisively refer to as “New Igando” without even near-commensurate modern amenities befitting such an appellation.

    “Since we began residency there in November 2005, there’ve virtually been absence of noticeable indices of development in the area. We’ve been our own Government: provide water; grade and mend roads, streets, and construct culverts; purchase transformers, cables, poles and installation, which the supposed electricity providers fiatly – in line with its framework – take ownership of from the community people, who provide the amenities.

    “We’re also responsible for remedying any minor or major faults in the power supply system. And yet, we hardly get up to 10hrs of supply in a month. Sometimes, we go for weeks without a blink of power supply. Because the distribution company (DISCO), Ikeja Electric – in which the Lagos State Government reportedly has some stake – has deliberately abandoned reading Analogue meters – even serviceable and functional ones – it brings OVER-ESTIMATED Bills in thousands of Naira each month, for power it doesn’t supply to customers.

    “Ikeja Electric embarks on this dubious, fraudulent and unpatriotic scheme through what it terms CAPPING – a means by which the firm bills similarly-graded households the SAME AMOUNTS, whether the street, road, or community receives power supply or not within the billing period.

    “When customers protest the outrageous bills, the ubiquitous “Disconnection Crew” of Ikeja Electric will threaten the people with total darkness, and actually simply go to the service transmformer and remove the fuses, which they only return after days, weeks or months of “sufficient mollification” (you know what that means in the notorious history that the DISCOS inherited from the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) and Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). This is the life in the New Igando Community!

    “Inward Iyana-Oba, right from the the second and third environmentally-hazardous dumpsites in Igando alone, up to the Igando Roundabout Police Station Road – where, ironically, there’s a nearby TCN/Ikeja Electric feeder station – on the Isheri-LASU Road, inhabitants of the expansive communities that border Ayobo-Ipaja are at the mercy of power outages or total blackout from the Ikeja Electric.

    “Last December, though, something unimaginable happened! On its volition – perhaps scandalised by its abysmal performance pre, during and post- Yuletide season – Ikeja Electric announced it’d bring the month’s bills down drastically. The message is reproduced below:

    “‘Dear Esteem Customers Compliment of the season. We are again using this medium to inform you that our hearts are with you in this period of poor service. We assure you that management is giving due attention to its resolution and that the poor service will reflect when you receive your December 2023 bill in January. However, the bill received now (N7,052.42) is for November 2023 consumption, PLEASE, endeavor to pay up to avoid accumulating outstanding debts on your bill. Thanks for your usual understanding as we strive to serve you better.’

    “And true to Ikeja Electric’s word, the lowest customers were billed only N1,779.90, from a high of average of N8,000.00. Well, the grace period was just that December, as the company continued its astronomical billing: January 2024 (N3,459.05), February (4,553.71), March (N10,477.90), April (N6,716.60) (there’s protest against the bills), May (N9,06.99) and June (N9,906), without power supply up to 15hrs per month. Please, observe that May and June bills are the same! How come?

    “Away from Ikeja Electric’s abracadabra, we in New Igando only hear about or see Lagos Government’s presence in some parts of Alimosho LGA, reportedly the most populated in Lagos State. In these hard times in Nigeria, and particularly in Lagos, we hear of Federal Government’s grants of Palliatives – in huge cash and thousands of tons of food products – to State Governments, including Lagos, which reportedly augmented with its own Palliatives.

    “But as I write this “Letter,” we have not seen or received – nor seen somebody in my community and beyond – who admitted getting a grain of rice, beans, maize, garri; a strand of noodles or pasta; a satchet of “pure” water, tomato puree, breverage; a cube of condiment or seasoning; a raw tomato, onion, pepper; the least-measure of salt, sugar; palm and vegetable oil; cassava, plantain and yam flour; or a tuber of yam, cassava, cocoyam, potato and plantain.

    “There’s no doubting the Lagos State government’s release of these Palliatives to be distributed to the most affected in the grassroots, but did they receive the largesse, and/or in the quantity or amount earmarked by the government?

    “If in doubt, let the Lagos State government commission a credible survey of households in the local government areas, to find out if the residents had received such Palliatives from official coffers or warehouses; the government would be shocked by the findings!

    “I have informally interviewed many residents in my community, and beyond, and no resident had admitted to’ve seen or received any Palliatives since 2023. Two exceptions, though: A man said he attended a meeting of one of several Community Development Associations (CDAs) in my area, where a few cartons of noodles and pastas were presented as government’s Palliatives for the CDA. He said the sharing formula was, three people to a satchet of pasta, and one person to a satchet of noodles, adding that to solve the ensuing confusion, it’s decided that the head of each street at the meeting be given one carton of noodles or pasta to distribute among their street members!

    “The other exception was a few residents, who admitted they’d heard that ‘Government is selling some foodstuffs at reduced prices of 25% at Special Food Markets in some local government areas,’ which they said they didn’t have the means to travel to, and buy the goods, as some confessed that, ‘we live from hand to mouth,’ and ‘often go to bed without food.’

    “Lagos State – with its economy that can cater for over 10 States in Nigeria – can afford to provide basic foodstuffs like rice, beans, garri, yam, palm/vegetable oil, tomato puree, beverages, noodles, pasta and a token cash to each Household on its Land Use Charge scheme six or four times a year for the next three years! Don’t ask me how; those in Government know they can do it with prudent allocation and management of resources, and the right political will!

    “In the kind of governance system we run in Nigeria, majority of Lagosians – like residents in other States of the Federation – feel abandoned, meant only for election of politicians into public offices every four years, to make themselves, their families and cronies comfortable as “the masters,” and regularly ask us, “the servants,” to tighten our belts on already lean and emaciated waists.

    “In closing, except then-Governor Babatunde Fashola, at the Marina House seat of Lagos Government, during the coverage of an official engagement, and Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, at a press briefing at his Gbagada campaign office when he’s still a governorship aspirant in 2014; I’ve never seen or met – in flesh and blood – Governor Sanwo-Olu, Deputy Governor Hamzat, and the Senator for my District, House of Representatives Member, House of Assembly Member, Local Government Chairman, LCDA Chairman, and the Councillor. When will I meet any of these elected officials, a few of whom I only see on television (Ikeja Electric permitting)?

    “Particularly in these hard times, Lagosians – and indeed Nigerians – want to see more of their leaders in their communities and homesteads, to show that they care and feel their pains, and to reassure and explain to them what they’re doing to alleviate their sufferings. May the Almighty touch the hearts of our leaders to do right by the people they swear to serve!

    “Once more, my sincere appreciation for the good works Governor Sanwo-Olu and his Government are doing in Lagos State. Wishing them more grease to their elbows! God bless our Leaders! God bless Lagos State!! God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!

     

    Mr Ezomon, Journalist, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

  • Edo 2024: The Inegbeniki, Mayaki ‘suitability’ question of Okpebholo’s candidacy (2) – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: The Inegbeniki, Mayaki ‘suitability’ question of Okpebholo’s candidacy (2) – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    In the second and last installment of this header – the first part on Monday, July 1, 2024, having dealt with the High Chief Francis Inegbeniki’s angle to the instant issue of “suitability” of Senator Monday Okpebholo for Governor of Edo State – I plead to recall a seemingly anecdotal but factual reporting on March 29, 2024, by Mr John Mayaki, a topshot of the Edo chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Dubbed as a “Media icon,” Mayaki, who’s vowed to work against Sen. Okpebholo (APC, Edo Central), in the September 21, 2024, governorship election, had captured, in lucid, descriptive, and interpretative prose, the arrival of the APC candidate from Abuja, following the primary that returned him to contest for the governorship.

    Posted on his Facebook page @JohnMayaki.com on March 30, Mayaki quoted “Distinguished Senator Monday Okpebholo” as expressing his profound gratitude to Edo people for the overwhelming reception accorded him upon his return to Esanland yesterday (March 29) to commence a thank-you tour, saying, “Edo people cannot go outside its shores to borrow a governor,” and that, “somebody who cannot speak his language cannot be an Esan man. A true Esan man is here.”

    (That’s a dig at the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Asue Ighodalo, accused by political opponents as not a “homeboy” or Esan or Edo enough because he’s reportedly born, bred, schooled and worked outside Edo State, and can’t communicate in Esan language, as if these are qualifying criteria for Governor. A few of us – I don’t know if Mayaki’s among – wrote several times to condemn the stereotyping of Ighodalo.)

    Excerpted below is the Mayaki report on the Okpebholo arrival from Abuja: “In a stirring address to a gathering of supporters and well-wishers, the APC candidate articulated his vision for unity and progress in Edo State.

    “May God bless us all… Amen,” Senator Okpebholo began, invoking blessings upon the entire community gathered before him. With a fervent ‘Amen’ echoing through the crowd, the atmosphere was charged with hope and anticipation.

    “Okpebholo extended his blessings to the three senatorial districts within Edo State. ‘May God bless you all… Amen,’ he declared, emphasising his desire for divine favour and prosperity to be bestowed upon every corner of the state.

    “Speaking directly to the people of Esanland, the Senator invoked the traditional saying, ‘Esan di fure’ (It shall be well with Esanland), expressing his commitment to the welfare and prosperity of the region.

    “Turning his attention to Benin, the historic heart of Edo State, the candidate proclaimed, ‘Edo di fure’ (It shall be well with Benin), reaffirming his dedication to the city and its people. The crowd responded with enthusiastic approval, signaling their endorsement of his message.

    “Addressing the Afemai region, Senator Okpebholo declared, ‘Afemai di fure’ (It shall be well with Afemai), underscoring his inclusive approach to governance and his commitment to serving all constituents, regardless of geographical boundaries.

    “‘We will work in Esanland, we will work in Afemai, and we will work in Benin,’ the candidate proclaimed boldly. And the crowd erupted into applause, affirming their endorsement.

    “In a moment of unity and clarity, Senator Okpebholo posed a rhetorical question to the crowd: ‘Are these not what you people want and looking for?’ The resounding response of ‘Yes’ echoed throughout the crowd, affirming their collective desire for positive change and effective leadership.

    “Concluding his address, the APC candidate asserted, ‘Edo State cannot be held to a standstill again…’ and there was a resounding ‘yes,’!

    “Earlier, his (Okpebholo’s) convoy made its way from Abuja to Ikabigbo in Etsako West local government area, where he was hosted by the acting Chairman of the party, Emperor Jaret Tenebe. He later proceeded to Esanland, where a jubilant crowd welcomed him at Irrua and accompanied him all the way to his private residence.

    “His kinsmen lined the roads from Irrua, enthusiastically waving and expressing their joy. The motorcade from Edo North did not disembark; they joined in the welcome frenzy. This marks the Senator’s first visit to his hometown after his declaration as the APC candidate.”

    Of course, some would argue that Mayaki’s doing his professional job as a reporter. But would he’ve done a similar beautiful story if it were, for instance, Dr Ighodalo of the PDP or Mr Olumide Akpata of Labour Party (LP), that’d arrived from Abuja and rode in a convoy into a welcoming reception in his hometown since clinching the PDP or LP ticket, as Mayaki, perhaps, still believed in the supremacy of the APC then?

    This was barely three months and one week ago, but today, Mayaki, and several chieftains of the APC in Edo State, have “discovered” that Sen. Okpebholo isn’t qualified in terms of character, capacity, competence, congnition, carriage, charisma, eloquence, exposure, political maturity, popularity and vision to be the APC candidate for the September poll!

    Let’s look at the reason(s) for Mayaki’s avowal to work against Okpebholo’s election. Mayaki had lined behind Sen. Adams Oshiomhole’s preferred aspirant, Hon. Dennis Idahosa (APC, Ovia Federal Constituency of Edo South), who Okpebholo defeated twice at the controversial primary, which’s upheld by the APC leadership as reflecting the mandate of the party’s voters.

    While Oshiomhole successfully negotiated the Deputy Governor’s position for Idahosa, Okpebholo, who named Mayaki as Director (New Media) for the Campaign Council, reportedly met with resistance from APC members, who argued that the Media and Publicity arm of the council should go to another person, as it wasn’t Mayaki’s “birthright” to occupy it again.

    Recall that Mayaki’s Senior Special Assistant (Media) to Governor Oshiomhole, and Acting Chief Press Secretary (CPS), for a few months, to Governor Godwin Obaseki, before he’s sacked (Mayaki claimed he resigned) under controversial circumstances.

    In rejecting the Okpebholo offer on Sunday, June 9, Mayaki’s ambivalent: That he turned down the job due to the potential impact on his working relationship with a colleague initially penciled for the role, saying he prioritised maintaining a harmonious work environment. Then, he shifted the gear to his “still recuperating from an accident,” and needed time to come back to full steam for the rigours of electioneering.

    Finally on Friday, June 14, Mayaki quit the obvious rigmarole, and declared that Okpebholo wasn’t a “sellable material for Governor in the 21st century Edo State,” and that he’d campaign and vote for a candidate on another political platform.

    Noting that competence must trump party supremacy, Mayaki said he’s showcasing a candidate who’s an embodiment of “capacity, competence, connections, experience and sincerity to provide the leadership required to tackle the enormous challenges in governance and take the state out of the woods.”

    In a prepared message titled, “2024 Governorship Election: Party Supremacy, Competence, and the Future of Edo State” — delivered at the 5th Edition of the ‘John Mayaki Roundtable with Friends in the Media’ at the NUJ Press Centre in Benin City, Mayaki alleged that a factionalised and fragmented APC might not throw up a competent flagbearer (after almost four months of the primary).

    Mayaki’s words: “My candidate is the man we can all trust. The man who has networks and connections both home and abroad. The man with ‘moral’ or ethical reputation, not a novice to governance system. This man is not of the APC stock because irrespective of party supremacy, the future of Edo state is more supreme in my heart. My first commitment is to the state while the party is secondary.

    “From the communicative to the managerial and cognitive. Does the leader know what to do as a leader at every point in time? Is he always available? Does he have vision and good understanding of what to do? If he does, does he have the required skills and political will to do same? I have accessed (sic) all the candidates and have come to the conclusion that the candidate I will campaign for has all these qualities in abundance.

    “The strength of a leader’s vision, the methods he employs in driving the vision, his communication and ensuing goodwill and popularity, all add up. I mean the candidate who has a clear vision and thorough understanding of the mandate he’s seeking for.

    “One who has remained focused and committed to taking development to all corners of Edo State and alleviate the sufferings of the people in our various communities. The one who has equally applied the right leadership style and judiciously applied his limited stock in governance.

    “For me therefore, I have made up my mind to commit myself to encouraging my numerous supporters across the state, especially in my local government area, ward, and unit, that they vote for the candidate who will best develop the state, regardless of political affiliation. I mean a man who has the carriage, clout and charisma befitting of a governor.”

    Politics aside, Okpebholo – and not the “choice” Mayaki’s yet to unveil or any other – is the only candidate in the running for the Edo governorship in 2024, who’s the “moral, ethical reputation, and knowledge of governance system” that the community people of particularly Esanland, and Edo State in general, could identify and associate with for standing by and for them over the years.

    The highfalutin qualities Mayaki bandies about his “candidate” are relative, which most politicians or technocrats parade outside of governance, but given the opportunity to wave the same acclaimed magic wand in government, they fall flat, and perform abysmally. Do we need to travel outside Edo State for example of such a dismal performance from a “wonder technocrat” imposed on the people for years now?

    To round off this article, it’s beyond belief that Mayaki could label, as a “novice in governance system,” Okpebholo, who’s a Senator, and had years of tutelage under the late “political oracle and kingmaker,” Chief Anthony Anenih, aliased “Mr Fix It” in political circles by friends and foes alike!

    While pulling himself up by the bootstraps, Okpebholo combined schooling and business, and made success of both, before going full-time into politics, where he became a “giant killer” – as noted by President Bola Tinubu when he handed the APC flag to Okpebholo and his running mate, Idahosa, on March 18 – who assisted in uprooting an entrenched PDP, and planted, for the first time, the APC in Edo Central since 1999.

    Mayaki’s inalienable right to choose a candidate and campaign for them. But on the premise of “suitability” of Okpebholo to be Governor of Edo State, he appears to lack indepth knowledge of current peculiarity of Edo politics – and what propelled Okpebholo to clinch the 2024 governorship ticket.

    On his “late discovery” of the quality and governance flaws in Okpebholo, Mayaki’s only acting out the character traits of the typical Nigerian politician, whose first – and only priority – is self-interest, and not the affected promises of fighting for or representation of their people, talkless of the interest of Edo State.

    On this score, Mayaki should leave Okpebholo to Edo people, who can tolerate his alleged “lack of capacity, competence, connections, experience and sincerity to provide the leadership required to tackle the enormous challenges in governance and take the state out of the woods,” and concentrate on marketing his “sellable candidate” to the voters for the September 21 election.

     

    Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

  • Edo 2024: The Inegbeniki, Mayaki ‘suitability’ question of Okpebholo’s candidacy (1) – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: The Inegbeniki, Mayaki ‘suitability’ question of Okpebholo’s candidacy (1) – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Bomb-throwers in the political arena and mediasphere are at work in Edo State, orchestrating a campaign of personal attacks on the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Monday Okpebholo, aimed at demarketing him ahead of the September 21, 2024, governorship election.

    The attacks look syndicated to opposition elements within the party, and outside groups parading as writers, who question Okpebholo’s character, competence, capacity, congnition, carriage, charisma, and ability to articulate” achievable actions to take Edo State out of its morass.

    Take a look! Writing in The Guardian in early June 2024, one Ifeanyi Ibeh, in a piece captioned, “Edo 2024: Okpebholo and his crumbling sandcastle,” related how an “abracadabra” primary produced Okpebholo, whose co-contestants aren’t supporting his candidacy, even as many topshots desert the APC because of the “difficult-to-sell” Okpebholo candidacy.

    Mr Ibeh, who signed off the copy with, “Etakibueba writes from Benin City” – different from his byline – said of Okpebholo: “Avoiding any engagement during the day, and only manages to crawl out at night, once in a while, almost being a recluse or hermit, he would, however, not fail to cause public commotion whenever he manages to come to the open, through series of gaffes, palpable display of lack of self-confidence, incoherent and unsychronised deliveries and his annoyingly lack of basic knowledge needed for high office like that of Governor of Edo State.”

    That commentary – like many that’d been run in the mainstream and social media – oozes and drips with bitterness, bile and hatred towards Okpebholo, who’s humbly called for issue-based discourse rather than a campaign of calumny and character assassination.

    Nobody begrudges the Edo voter wanting a “perfect” Governor for the state, considering the lacklustre performance of Governor Godwin Obaseki who – as is evident today – played on the people’s intelligence against then-Governor Adams Oshiomhole he’d labeled as a “godfather” dictating to him, as if Oshiomhole wasn’t a “godfather” when he swung the governorship for Obaseki in 2016.

    “Say no godfatherism” guided the campaigns for Obaseki’s reelection in 2020 on the platform of the PDP – when he’s denied a return ticket by then-Oshiomohle-led APC’s National Working Committee (NWC) – only for Obaseki to turn into a godfather and “anointed” his business partner, Dr Asue Ighodalo, as the PDP candidate for the September 2024 poll.

    What’s curious about the sudden focus on Okpebholo’s “suitability for Governor” is the regularity and spread of the crusade – starting to appear in the media at the same time, and with the same or similar message of his non-qualifiication for the office.

    Thus, this article will be examined in two parts: This week on the departure of High Chief Francis Inegbeniki from the APC, and the next edition on the pledge by a dubbed “Media icon” John Mayaki, to support another candidate against Okpebholo at the poll.

    For being “influenced” to do a hatchet job on Okpebholo, ghost and hack writers can be pardoned, but what about former leader of the APC, Chief Inegbeniki, the “Uzoya of Esanland” (literally, ‘Alleviator, Rescuer’), joining the chorus of Okpebholo isn’t qualified to be Governor, and yet backed him – or was his support for another Esan aspirant – against well-oiled and formidable opponents in the February 2024 primary, and greeted him for picking the ticket?

    Because, as of February 24, 2024 – even before the conclusion of the repeat primary on March 1, which Okpebholo won as he did in the initial balloting on February 21 – Inegbeniki had congratulated Okpebholo, and thanked APC members nationwide for electing him as the party flagbearer.

    Praising especially APC members from Edo South and Edo North, for their votes, and stating that “Esan people will not take this support and trust for granted,” Inegbeniki, in a statement, said: “Let me thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, APC National Working Committee (NWC), APC Governors and party stakeholders for standing for truth and equity, which led to the election of Senator Okpebohlo as Edo APC governorship candidate.

    “I must not fail to also appreciate our leader, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, he is a human being and entitled to his own opinion. Irrespective of his position and the stands he took in the just-concluded primary elections, he still remained our leader. We will come together to reconcile ourselves and move forward. We are one family, sometimes we disagree to agree.

    “I sincerely appreciate Edo APC leaders and members for the confidence they have reposed in Senator Monday Okpebholo, by electing him the APC governorship candidate, and by which the Edo APC have reaffirmed that democracy is all about equity and inclusiveness. They are indeed the true heroes of our democracy by supporting rotation of power to Edo Central.”

    Earlier on August 8, 2023, Inegbeniki not only greeted Sens. Oshiomohle and Okpebholo for their appointments to chair the Senate Committees on Interior, and Public Procurement, respectively, but also described the duo as “champions of Edo State and APC in the 10th National Assembly… very experienced individuals and achievers in private and public sectors.”

    “I am excited and confident that Senator Adams Oshiomohle and Senator Monday Okpebholo will put their respective experience and capability to play and they will make positive impact in the Senate,” Inegbeniki said.

    But on June 8, Inegbeniki resigned from the APC, shrouding his real reason for quitting, only that: “There comes a time in the life of every man when some hard decisions must be taken not only in one’s interest but in the general interest of his people. This is one of such moments.

    “I believe that I have contributed my quota to the growth of the party in my ward, local government area, senatorial district, state, and our country, Nigeria. However, some recent developments in the party in my LGA and state conflict with my core principles and values. This has led me to seriously evaluate my political future in Edo State and decide on the way forward.

    “After due consultations with my family, friends, and political associates, I wish to formally inform you of my decision to resign my membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and my role as the State Vice Chairman. It is a hard decision, but it is the best in the interest of the good people of my senatorial district.”

    Forty-eight hours after, in a chat with members of the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Benin City, Inegbeniki predicted a “political tsunami” in the APC chapter, even as he debunked a viral post that Okpebholo had visited, and prevailed on him to rescind his exit from the party.

    Inegbeniki said, with some air: “I was in my house consulting with all my friends and political associates, and I can tell you that I have received calls from far and wide. The only person that has not called me is President Bola Tinubu.

    “Okpebholo appeals that I should rescind my decision, and as usual, what is about to happen in APC will be a political tsunami. I’m only leading the way. I cannot rescind my decision because it is about the state. It is not about me but for the improvement of Edo State.

    “I am here to tell you that there is no truth in the report that I have rescinded my decision to quit the APC. I stand by my resignation and I have left the APC. I communicated (it) in my letter.

    “At the moment, I need a break, I want to stay out of partisan politics. Any time I change my mind, I will let the world know. I am also an activist and now that I am not a member of any political party, I will talk about the ills taking place in the state.”

    Inegbeniki cleared the air that his decision to quit the party had nothing, whatsoever, to do with the recently-constituted APC Edo campaign council from which some party chieftains were reportedly dropped.

    Lately, Inegbeniki allegedly added another layer to the reason(s) he exited the APC: That Okpebholo lacks “character, competence and capacity” to be Governor of Edo State. So, barely three months to the September 21 election, Okpebholo, in the estimation of Inegbeniki, has turned out a nonentity, and no longer deserving of the office of Governor?

    Yet, in a spate of 10 months, from August 8, 2023 to June 8, 2024, Inegbeniki had identified, and described Okpebholo as “a champion of Edo State and APC in the 10th National Assembly; a very experienced individual; an achiever in private and public sectors; a lawmaker, who will put his experience and capability to play and will make positive impact in the Senate; and in whom the APC leaders and members resposed their confidence by electing him the governorship candidate.”

    If Inegbeniki’s altruistic in assessing Okpebholo’s suitability for Governor, he would’ve discovered that many of the qualities he belatedly wanted in a Governor were embedded in his “double congratulations” to Okpebholo when he’s made Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Procurement in August 2023, and when he won the APC double-header primary for the 2024 Edo governorship election!

    Hence, Inegbeniki’s latter-day assessment of Okpebholo as unfit for Governor – and that the APC would be hit by a “political tsunami” he’s leading the way – fuels the narrative that his “after-thought” actions have more to do with personal grievances as a politician, whose first – and only priority – is self-interest, and not the public display of platitude of fighting on behalf of the people!

     

    Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

  • Rivers political crisis: Fubara raves as Wike likely retreats (7) – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Rivers political crisis: Fubara raves as Wike likely retreats (7) – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    It’s certainly hitting the bull’s eye by declaring in the sixth installment of this header on Monday, June 10, 2024 – and indeed, as shown in the threads so far – that the Rivers “problem” between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and ex-Governor Nyesom Wike “is like the unending story of the tortoise, and has defied the dictum, ‘There’s end to litigation,’ hence cases terminate at the Supreme Court.”

    A Port Harcourt high court’s ruling on Monday, June 10, 2024, has borne witness to that declaration! Against partisan expectation, the court validated the 25 pro-Wike lawmakers’ seats on grounds that, while their names remain in the membership register of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), there’s nothing before the court to show that the “defectors” had registered as members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Twenty-seven of the 32-member (including a vacant seat) Rivers State House of Assembly defected from the PDP to APC on December 11, 2023. However, two of the decampees recanted and returned to the PDP on December 14, 2023.

    Citing their “defection” as in breach of the amended 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, five members loyal to Fubara, headed by “suspended” House Leader Edison Ehie, moved against the Speaker Martin Amaewhule-led 25 lawmakers, and announced Ehie as “Speaker,” who declared the 25 lawmakers’ seats vacant. When Ehie resigned from the post and the House, a three-member legislature, under Speaker Victor Oko-Jumbo, redeclared vacant the 25 pro-Wike lawmakers’ seats.

    This is the background to the June 10 judgment of the Port Harcourt high court, which held that the 25 lawmakers remain bonafide members of the PDP and Rivers Assembly, and that Rt Hon. Amaewhule retains the gavel, with which he’d sanctioned, into law, several bills Fubara had vetoed, as “not enacted by a duly-constituted House of Assembly.”

    The ruling – which’s temporarily screeched the seemingly autopilot gains by Fubara in the supremacy battle with Wike – stemmed from “a suit by Hycenth Amadi & others versus Martin Chike Amaewhule & 26 others, the Governor of Rivers State, the Attorney General of Rivers State and Rivers State House of Assembly,” questioning the 25 lawmakers’ continued membership of the assembly, having defected to the APC.

    But presiding Justice Okogbule Gbasam held that it could not be proved that Amaewhule and 24 other lawmakers had decamped to the APC, as the claimants failed to prove that, “the names of Amaewhule and the 24 other lawmakers are now in the membership register of the APC.”

    Noting the claimants’ allegation, and failure to prove same, the court held that it “cannot rely on newspaper and electronic media publications as enough evidence,” as “a party’s register or membership card – and not television ceremonies and/or verbal statements – are the only acceptable proofs of party membership.”

    Declaring that the lawmakers “are (still) members of the PDP since their names are in the PDP’s membership register, as provided by the party,” the court ruled that the members “never lost their seats and everything they did were (was) valid,” and ordered that, “Governor Fubara must comply with all the laws passed by the lawmakers.”

    Therein comes the bombshell, as Fubara, using a minority of five and then three lawmakers, had vetoed several bills passed by the majority 25 lawmakers, who, in turn, had overriden the governor’s vetoes, and sanctioned the bills into law, including the one that extended – beyond June 2024 – the tenure of local government chairmen by six months until democratically-elected officials were installed in the local councils.

    So, the minority lawmakers loyal to Fubara, having declared the pro-Wike members’ seats vacant, gave alibis for courts in Rivers and Abuja to rule that the 25 legislators lost their seats on account of “defection” from the PDP to APC.

    For instance, Justice CN Wali of a Rivers high court, who’d affirmed the revoking of the 25 lawmakers’ seats by separate minority lawmakers, ruled on May 30, to reassert his May 10 order, “prohibiting the Governor, Attorney-General, and Chief Judge from having any dealings with the lawmakers in question,” based on an ex parte motion by the three-man lawmakers of Speaker Oko-Jumbo, Sokari Goodboy and Orubienimigha Timothy.

    Granting an interlocutory injunction arising from the lawsuit that names the 25 lawmakers as 1st to 25th defendants, and the Rivers State Governor, Attorney-General, and Chief Judge as the 26th to 28th defendants, the court said:

    “An order of interlocutory injunction is granted restraining the 1st to 25th defendants from parading and holding out themselves as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and/or meeting/sitting at the Auditorium of the House of Assembly Quarters located at off Aba Road Port Harcourt or at any other place whatsoever to purport to carry out the legislative business of the Rivers State House of Assembly, their legislative seats having been declared vacant pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

    “An order of interlocutory injunction is hereby made restraining the 26th to 28th defendants from dealing with, interfacing, accepting any resolutions, bills and/or however interacting with the 1st to 25th defendants in their purported capacities as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, their legislative seats having been declared vacant with effect from 13th December 2023, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.” The court then adjourned the case to July 1, 2024, for mention.

    Fubara, “picking and choosing” which court verdicts to obey, has kicked against the June 10 ruling affirming the 25 lawmakers as bonafide members of the Rivers Assembly and state’s ruling PDP; and via a press conference by his Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dagogo Iboroma (SAN), denied  Amaewhule and the 24 lawmakers as members of the PDP and Rivers Assembly. Below are excerpts from the briefing to the Press:

    “As you all know, Martins Amaewhule and 26 others defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress on the 11th Day of December, 2023, and stated that much in affidavit evidence deposed to by Martins Amaewhule for himself and on behalf of 26 others in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/1681/CS/2023 before Hon. Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division. The Suit is still pending in court.

    “By Section 272(3) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, it is only the Federal High Court that can determine whether Martins Amaewhule and 26 others are still members of Peoples Democratic Party and also members of the Rivers State House of Assembly. This much was held by the trial court.

    “However, you will recall that this (there) is a subsisting order of interlocutory injunction in Suit No.PHC/512/CS/2024 restraining Martins Amaewhule and his co-travelers from further parading or presenting themselves as law makers in Rivers State pending the determination of the substantive suit, which has not been appealed against till date.

    “We urge the public to disregard the news presently making rounds in social, print and electronic media to the effect that Martins Amaewhule and 26 others have been declared as members of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Rivers State House of Assembly.”

    Interesting that Iboroma aprobates and reprobates at the same time! On one hand, he says, “it is only the Federal High Court that can determine” whether Amaewhule and 24 others are still members of the PDP and Rivers Assembly.

    On the other hand, Iboroma craves compliance with “a subsisting order of interlocutory injunction” (by a Rivers high court) in Suit No.PHC/512/CS/2024, “restraining Martins Amaewhule and his co-travelers from further parading or presenting themselves as law makers in Rivers State pending the determination of the substantive suit.”

    Has the Fubara government obeyed, appealed or vacated the order(s) of the Federal High Court, Abuja, presided by Justice Kolawole Omotosho, which ruled on Monday, January 22, 2024, that the Amaewhule-led lawmakers were bonafide members of the Rivers Assembly “pending the determination of the substantive suit?”

    The Justice Omotoso ruling has two important aspects: First, it sets aside the 2024 Rivers N800bn budget because, “both the presentation and passage of the appropriation amounted to nullity, and a wilful breach of the court order made on November 30, 2023.”

    Second, it restrains Governor Fubara “from frustrating the Amaewhule-led Rivers Assembly from sitting or interfering in its constitutional and legislative functions,” and “barred the National Assembly, the police and any member of the state executive arm from interfering in the assembly’s affairs.”

    Similarly, a Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, January 30, dismissed a suit seeking to stop Governor Fubara from re-presenting the Rivers N800bn 2024 budget, as Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, taking judicial notice of Justice Omotoso’s ruling in a similar suit, set aside her interim order granted to the plaintiffs, who claimed that President Bola Tinubu, Governor Fubara and the Rivers House of Assembly “have no right nor entitled to enter into any agreement that has the effect of nullifying or undermining the provisions of Section 109(I)(g) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”

    Section 109(1) talks about, “A member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if (g) being a person whose election to the House of Assembly was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected:

    “Provided that his membership of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or faction of one of which he was previously sponsored.

    And Section 109(2) says that, “The Speaker of the House of Assembly shall give effect to subsection (1) of this section, so however that the Speaker or a member shall first present evidence satisfactory to the House that any of the provisions of that subsection has become applicable in respect of the member.”

    Governor Fubara and his government have chalked up “victories” from “forum-shopping suits” emanating from the Rivers political crisis, with the Wike camp looking askance and downcast, even as he tried lately to juice up the 25 lawmakers’ belief and confidence that, “nobody can remove you as a lawmaker.” The Wike prediction is ominous!

    Hence Fubara’s concerns about the June 10 Port Harcourt high court ruling in the suit, which Iboroma panned as being struck out “for want of locus standi” (by the claimants), and “also for being an abuse of court process, which robbed the trial court of jurisdiction to adjudicate on the matter.” The validation of the 25 lawmakers’ membership of the PDP and Rivers Assembly directly challenges all the actions – in governance – taken by the Fubara administration since the political crisis began about October 2023.

    Sustaining the lawmakers’ membership of the two bodies will not only pull the rug from under Fubara’s feet, but also return him to the starting point of the crisis, where and when the Wike camp had the upperhand with his fiercely loyal 25 lawmakers in full control of the Rivers Assembly!

    No one – not even Fubara with “all the powers of State” – would want to be in such a reversed situation that threatens their political career and re-election in 2027! Let’s watch and wait, as the Port Harcourt high court has adjourned the case to July 1, 2024, for mention!

     

    Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

  • Rivers political crisis: Fubara raves as Wike likely retreats (6) – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Rivers political crisis: Fubara raves as Wike likely retreats (6) – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Rounding off the fifth installment of this series on Monday, June 3, I stated that, “barring any ‘political earthquake’ this week (last week) in the Rivers crisis, the remaining measures Fubara could deploy to arrest Wike’s alleged hegemonic hold on Rivers State will be interrogated in the next installment of the running header!” Two of the strategies were examined on May 27 and one on June 3, accordingly.

    There wasn’t any cataclysmic occurrence, even as Governor Siminalayi Fubara hasn’t removed his leg from pressing the neck of his former political benefactor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

    Fubara’s doubled down on his rhetoric to undermine and undercut Chief Wike’s grip on Rivers’ political structure – all geared towards bringing him to account, via a probe, for his alleged financial impropriety as Rivers governor (2015-2023).

    Feeding the news appetite of a delegation of media outfits and bodies based in and outside Rivers State, led by President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Mr Eze Anaba, who visited the governor on Sunday, June 2, 2024, Fubara leveled grave allegations against “desperate enemies of the state” who had “thrown everything in an attempt to frustrate my administration from functioning effectively,” as first reported by Vanguard on June 3.

    Stating that opposition elements “have exhibited spirited efforts” to sabotage his government’s determination to “deliver good governance and quality services to the people,” Fubara listed other things his “detractors” had done in trying to undermine his one-year administration. They include:

    Clandestine calls to some key speakers and prominent personalities invited to the recent Rivers Economic and Investment Summit, not to associate with his administration, or participate in the programme.

    Efforts to derail the revival and completion of the Port Harcourt International Automobile Spare Parts Trading and Commercial Centre at Iriebe in Elelenwo, Obio/Akpor local government area, by cajoling the previous contractors to sue the State Government.

    Investors face litigation by land grabbers sponsored by opposition elements targeting to scuttle the government’s construction of 20,000 housing units in Mgbodo-Aluu axis of the Greater Port Harcourt City Development area in Ikwerre local council.

    But undaunted, Fubara stressses he would want to be remembered “not just by the signature road projects of building legacy bridges and flyovers (an apparent reference to Wike’s accomplishments that’ve earned him the alias, ‘Mister Project’), but by sustainable impact on human capital and manpower development and other critical infrastructure to bridge the healthcare and education gaps in the state.”

    The same Sunday, June 2, Fubara’s in church for thanksgiving, to conclude the activities marking his first anniversary in office. As such a solemn occasion demands, the governor said: “I will not give this day to anybody, I will not talk about anybody, I will only say, ‘God Almighty, thank You.’”

    But like the leopard that can’t change its spots, Fubara soon went down the familiar path, and told the congregation, “Some two months ago, nobody would have believed that we will be seated here to say, ‘God, thank You that we are able to navigate this troubled water to this point.’”

    Fubara said the plans of the opposition were orchestrated to frustrate his administration up to the moment the first anniversary was being planned, adding, “You won’t understand. I can tell you in good authority that even before we started this programme, there was every plan to frustrate us.”

    Then he declared: “What the devil thought was evil, God turned it to blessing and good. To the glory of God, we are all gathered here to say, ‘God, thank You, that You have carried us and led us to this point.’ Now, if we have God by our side, do we have any problem? I want to thank everyone of you that are (is) here to support us.”

    The Rivers “problem” is like the unending story of the tortoise, and has defied the dictum, “There’s end to litigation,” hence cases terminate at the Supreme Court. But in Rivers, there’s no limit to or terminal date for political crisis when those in the saddle have acquired the power of life and death, and ready to deploy it at the slightest provocation.

    Though Wike looks unreachable, and untouchable in faraway Abuja – and audaciously comes into Rivers at anytime of his choosing – Fubara could adopt the Governor Godwin Obaseki strategy (of “barring” former Governor Adams Oshiomhole from coming to Edo State without his express permission), and proclaim Wike “persona non grata,” and/or direct him to get his (Fubara’s) “permit” to visit any part of Rivers.

    Besides, Fubara – like some past Rivers governors – could make Wike’s visits and stay in Rivers miserable that he’d decide to “permanently” stay out until the expiration of the governor’s four-year term in 2027 or eight-year tenure in 2031.

    Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi allegedly frightened, out of Port Harcourt, his “ex-master,” former Governor Peter Odili (1999-2007), whom he’d served as a personal assistant (PA). Having moved from the post of House of Assembly Speaker to Rivers’ Governor – and finding himself “in power and in government,” to use a liner by self-styled retired Military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) – Amaechi hounded Odili, who “escaped” to Abuja until Amaechi finished his eight-year tenure (2007-2015).

    Ditto for Wike, who – even as Minister of State for Education under President Goodluck Jonathan (2010-2015) – regularly deployed “federal might” to make Rivers ungovernable for Amaechi. On occasions, Wike would cordon off the entrance to the Government House, Port Harcourt, with security operatives, and armoured personnel carriers (APCs), to prevent Amaechi from going out of or coming into the premises. Thus, Amaechi, lucky to still have his head in place, tactically “japaed” from Rivers until the end of Wike’s tenure (2015-2023).

    It’s Fubara’s turn – or choice – to visit retribution on Wike, who’s already feeling the heat as Fubara slowly but steadily turns the screw. Yet, Wike should be grateful to President Bola Tinubu for giving him a job in Abuja that keeps him away, at least for five days a week, from the metatarsising sequence of events in Rivers. By now, real anarchy would’ve taken over from the chaos in the state!

    To go down low and personal in a “roforofo fight,” Fubara could revoke the certificate of occupancy (CoO) of Wike’s residence in Port Harcourt, and demolish the structure, as asked by supporters as his feud with Wike was taking shape by October 30, 2023, when there’s a fire incident in the Rivers Assembly, after moves by pro-Wike lawmakers to impeach Fubara.

    And to go for the kill, Fubara could levy financial and material fraud against Wike – as Wike did against Amaechi – and set up a panel of inquiry to probe Wike’s government. Fubara’s started querying the financial health of the Wike administration, revealing lately a marked, upward difference between the internally-generated revenue under Wike and his one-year-old government.

    But that would be insinuating “financial abracadabra” under the Wike government, for which Fubara, as the Accountant General, had the duty to ascertain inflow and outflow of income and expenditure, and ensure accountability in the system.

    It’d also indicate that Fubara helped Wike to cook the books, thus confirming the charge by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that he dipped his hands in the Rivers till under Wike. Fubara’s denied complicity, claiming to have records that’d exonerate him. Still, his displays are a sideshow to score political points, as he won’t probe Wike; and if he did, it’d amount to probing himself as the “bag man” on Wike’s watch in Rivers.

    Wike did more to Amaechi, probing his alleged theft of billions of state finances and materials, and founding him “guilty.” Based on the report, Wike issued a White Paper, and a Gazette, but his threats of a court action against Amaechi ended in “all sound and fury signifying nothing,” as he pigeonholed his vow till he left office in May 2023.

    Thus, Fubara’s holler to probe Wike “na shakara,” thanks to the legendary afrobeat maestro Fela Anikulap-Kuti. Probing Wike is one thing, dragging him to court is another. Fubara should ask Wike, “How far with the Rotimi Amaechi probe?” That report/white paper/gazette gathers dust in the Rivers Government House. Why?

    Because of a “perpetual injunction” that Dr Odili obtained in 2007, which prevents anti-graft agencies from looking into the Rivers Government books. And none of the state’s Accountant Generals, including Fubara, has had the gravitas to bring past and present governments to account.

    The “Odili perpetual injunction” appears locked in a strongroom, and the keys thrown into the sea. As no court has successfully vacated it – despite the EFCC efforts to do so – the restraint has emboldened Rivers governors to play with the state’s resources.

    After all, Rivers is a honeypot due to oil and gas money from internal sources, and hefty allocations from both the Federation Account and 13% derivation paid to oil producing states in the country.

    So, the cycle of crisis in Rivers State is fueled by the tussle for power and money by incumbent governors, in attempts to block or sever the drainpipe connected to their predecessors. That may’ve incentivised Fubara’s battle with Wike in the Rivers uncharted political crisis!

     

    Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria

  • Rivers political crisis: Fubara raves as Wike likely retreats (5) – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Rivers political crisis: Fubara raves as Wike likely retreats (5) – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Has the political heat in Rivers State simmered in the past week to suggest perhaps – just perhaps – that conventional wisdom has taken hold of the dramatis personae in the crisis to pull back from the precipice they’ve pushed the state in the last eight months?

    There’s nothing on the ground to suggest otherwise, even as Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, played their brand of politics at separate locations, trying to undo each other in showcasing achievements in their official jurisdictions, to mark one-year in the saddles in Rivers and Abuja, respectively.

    Amid “all the distractions from those that want to draw Rivers State backward,” Fubara invited prominent persons from within and outside Rivers – including Abia State Governor Alex Otti of the rival Labour Party (LP), and former Rivers Governor Peter Odili – to launch projects he “executed in record time, and with full payments to the contractors” – an obvious dig at Wike for allegedly failing to pay contractors for their services.

    As is the routine in Rivers governance, especially since the Wike’s helm, Fubara, using his “State of the State” address to render account of his one-year stewardship, revealed the “huge debts to contractors” that Wike left behind for his government.

    At the Dr. Obi Wali International Conference Centre in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, May 29, Fubara said his administration “inherited 34 uncompleted projects, valued at over N225.279bn in 13 local government areas of the state,” adding that the contractors, who executed the 34 projects, have come to him for payments.

    Fubara stated that though he inherited a state, “whose economy was on a declining trajectory despite its growth potential,” his government has changed the narrative for the better by “increasing astronomically internally-generated revenue from N12 billion to between N17 billion in off-peak periods and N28 billion during the peak months.”

    “Our liberalised business-friendly economic policies and programmes are boosting confidence and attracting local and international investors and investments into the State, judging by the expression of interest offers we receive every month.” Fubara said.

    “We have kept our taxes low, frozen the imposing of taxes on small businesses across the State, and increased the ease of doing business by eliminating bureaucratic bottlenecks. No request for the signing of a certificate of occupancy (CoO) remains in my office beyond two days, except if I am otherwise engaged beyond two days or out of town.

    “We have established a N4 billion matching fund with the Bank of Industry (BOI), to support existing and new micro, small, and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) to grow their businesses to drive economic growth and create jobs and wealth for citizens. Over 3,000 citizens and residents have applied to access this loan to fund their businesses at a single-digit interest rate, and a repayment period of up to five years.”

    Commissioning the completed projects – mostly inherited from the Wike administration (2015-2023) – the invited guests heaped praises on Fubara, not only for achieving commendable strides within a short time, but also for “liberating Rivers State” from Wike’s stranglehold – the same Wike that some of the invitees had praised to the heavens barely a year ago.

    For instance, Dr Odili, an erstwhile ally of Wike, noted that Fubara “has taken full control of governance in the State,” stressing that the governor is “focusing on the people” in line with his chosen mantra: ‘People First’. It’s on Saturday, May 25, at the inauguration of the dualised Omoku-Egbema road in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area (ONELGA) of the state.

    An elated Odili even predicted a seamless second-term election for Fubara in 2027, and urged him to remain focused on the people, giving succour to the less-privileged and hope to those who do not have anyone to help them go through life’s challenges.

    “I can tell our people that the next election is very far, but what the Governor has done so far, is enough to secure the support of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area going forward,” Odili said. “Thank you, Your Excellency, because the greatest assets of the State remain the people, not oil and gas.

    “The people of Rivers are behind you, rallying support for you because they trust you, believing in what you say and convinced that you mean whatever you say,” Odili said, adding, “I want to agree with you that the sky would become the takeoff point of your administration.”

    Relatedly in Abuja, it’s Wike’s days in the sky. Though he didn’t have the luxury of throwing brickbats at Fubara – and there’s no surrogates to do same for him – Wike had the rare privilege of enlisting President Bola Tinubu to launch some of the projects that were “abandoned for decades,” and received applause from Tinubu for returning and restoring Abuja’s Master Plan, and transforming the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    On Tuesday, May 28, at the commissioning of the Southern Parkway, which Wike proclaimed as “Bola Ahmed Tinubu Way” – a crucial infrastructure project that’s dormant for 13 years before Wike’s intervention – the President described the minister’s vision as “inspiring many and yielding remarkable results in the FCT.”

    Tinubu said: “Barr Nyesom Wike, ‘Mr. Project,’ thank you for giving us this home and for your sincere commitment to shared values. Your revolutionary vision is inspiring many and yielding remarkable results in the FCT.”

    Highlighting the significance of the road, the President said, “The Southern Parkway not only connects vital areas within the FCT, but also symbolises our collective aspirations for connectivity, ease of livelihood, and progress. This road will enhance mobility, ease traffic congestion, and spur economic development for residents and visitors alike.

    “Infrastructure is an enabler of jobs, economic growth, and prosperity. We are committed to building a world-class capital city, and the completion of this road is a testament to that commitment. Making our citizens the central focus of our development is crucial for Nigeria’s success,” Tinubu stated.

    Earlier, Wike noted: “This landmark project is the first amongst nine visionary projects scheduled for commissioning by Mr. President in the coming days. It represents a significant milestone in our collective efforts to enhance the infrastructure and livability of our great capital and her inhabitants.

    “As we mark the first year of your transformative leadership, Mr. President, this event underscores our shared commitment to progress, innovation, and the enduring prosperity of Nigeria.”

    Yet, the make-for-the-cameras pomp and ceremony, razzmatazz, accolades, hand-pumping and backslapping by politicians in Port Harcourt and Abuja are but a temporary relief or diversion to mask the “real politic” in Rivers, where Governor Fubara’s fighting the battle of his life to cage Chief Wike, and save his governorship and political career heading into the 2027 General Election.

    The fourth installment of this article on Monday, May 27, 2024, examined two strategies that Fubara could adopt to handle Wike and his sacked loyal members of the Rivers Assembly, and local council chairmen, whose tenure ends in June 2024, but have vowed to remain in office until “elected officials” were installed in the Rivers local councils. Below’s a recap:

    First, Fubara could evict the lawmakers from the Rivers State House of Assembly Residential Quarters in Port Harcourt – where they and their families domicile, and use as a legislative chamber – to deny them the venue and avenue to make laws and/or plot his impeachment.

    Second, Fubara could copy his counterparts, and withhold the lawmakers’ emoluments, and allocations to the legislature – as he’s allegedly done to the April 2024 allocations to the councils – to checkmate the legislators, whose seats have lately been redeclared “vacant” by a Rivers High Court.

    Let’s now proceed to interrogate the remaining measures, beginning with the Third, as follows: When push comes to shove, Fubara could muscle the pro-Wike lawmakers by physical attacks on them, their homes and businesses, the aim being to overraw, and hound them, to sabotage their plans to make his government ungovernable, and pave the way for his impeachment – the aim of the lawmakers from onset of the Rivers crisis.

    Recall Fubara’s declaration about the lawmakers early in 2024: “I think it has gotten to a time when I need to make a statement on this thing, so that they (lawmakers) understand that they are not existing. Their existence and whatever they have been doing is because I allowed them to do so. If I don’t recognise them, they are nowhere. That is the truth.

    “I can say here, with all amount of boldness, I have never called any police man anywhere to go and harass anybody. I have never gone anywhere to ask anybody to do anything against anybody.

    “Even when I have all the instruments of State powers, I have shown restraint, I have acted as a big brother in the course of this crisis. I have not acted like a young man that may want the house to be destroyed but, I have behaved like a mature young man that I am.

    “This is because I know that no meaningful development will be achieved in an atmosphere of crisis. And because our intention for Rivers State is to build on the foundation that had been laid by our past leaders, it will be wrong for me to take the path of promoting crisis.”

    Interpreted, the pro-Wike lawmakers – already in the lurch over series of court rulings sacking and re-sacking them, and voiding all legislative actions they took in the course of the Rivers crisis – shouldn’t underrate Fubara’s powers and resolve – if pushed against the wall – to roar like the lion, attack like the hyena and bite like the crocodile!

    Barring any “political earthquake” this week in the Rivers crisis, the remaining measures Fubara could deploy to arrest Wike’s alleged hegemonic hold on Rivers State will be interrogated in the next installment of this running header!

     

    Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.