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  • Edo, Ondo 2024 reechoes bitter tribal politics of 2023 elections – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo, Ondo 2024 reechoes bitter tribal politics of 2023 elections – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    In 2020, Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki fought the political battle of his life for a second term in office. Mid year, he’s disqualified by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), headed by Senator and former Governor Adams Oshiomhole as then national chairman.

    In 2016, Oshiomhole had “imposed and installed” Obaseki as his successor. But the godfather-godson relationship didn’t last, as Obaseki decried Oshiomhole’s “godfatherism,” and connived to have him suspended from his ward in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo North, and sacked by the courts as APC’s chairman.

    Oshiomhole denying Obaseki a re-election ticket prompted Obaseki to defect to opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which granted him automatic ticket, with which he contested and won the September 2020 election.

    But in the course of the campaigns, former Lagos State Governor and acclaimed “National Leader” of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu (now President of Nigeria) called on the people of Edo State to vote for the APC candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who’s chaperoned by Tinubu’s close ally, Comrade Oshiomhole.

    It’s a wrong political move at a time Obaseki, his campaign and supporters alleged – with no concrete evidence, and yet believable – that Oshiomhole had carried out a script written by Tinubu, to disqualify Obaseki from the APC governorship primary.

    When Obaseki’s still in the APC, he led a group of governors and party chieftains to Tinubu’s Bourdillon road home in Ikoyi, Lagos, to solicit his assistance to settle the feud between him and Oshiomhole, and Tinubu, short of shunning the parley, remained noncommittal, thus sending signals that he sided with Oshiomhole’s antic to deny Obaseki a second term ticket.

    The backlash from Edo people against Oshiomhole for “instigating” disqualification of Obaseki from the APC primary, was also extended to Tinubu for his alleged “interference in Edo politics,” and hence the coinage: “Edo no be Lagos” – a reference to Tinubu’s stranglehold of politics of Lagos State.

    So, “Edo no be Lagos” became an anthem, and the rallying cry for the Obaseki campaign, members and supporters of the PDP, and Edolites across party lines, who felt Oshiomhole (and Tinubu) committed a “political sacrilege” by denying a return ticket to Obaseki whom he’d backed for governor in 2016.

    Thus, the Obaseki campaign adopted three strategies that worked for the governor’s re-election without a referendum on his “achievements” from 2016 to 2020: Deploy Oshiomhole’s “betrayal of Edo people” – particularly the Binis of Edo South, where Obaseki hails from; replay Oshiomhole’s campaign of calumny against Pastor Ize-Iyamu during the 2016 election, to denigrate and demarket him, and promote Obaseki’s candidacy that Oshiomhole sponsored; and harp on Tinubu’s “interference” in Edo politics.

    Now to the 2024 governorship election in Edo State where another version of “Edo no be Lagos” or “Edo no be Yorubaland” – with a ting of tribalism – has emerged in the lead-up to the September 21 poll. But first, recall that the 2023 General Election in Lagos State witnessed an intense recline to tribal politics between the Yoruba and Igbo – the one trying to stave off alleged plans by the other to dominate Lagos politics by declaring the state as “a no man’s land” to be “captured” in the 2023 elections.

    True to the fears of the Yoruba, the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi defeated Tinubu in his Lagos homestead in the February 25, 2023, poll. So, ahead of the following March 18 governorship election, alarmed conservative Yoruba resorted to whipping up tribal sentiments, telling liberal Yoruba that the intention of the Igbo wasn’t just to takeover Lagos – where they’ve an unverified 5m population – but also to bring the entire South-West geopolitical zone under Igbo domination.

    Besides calling for “Yoruba Ronu” (‘Yoruba, Think’) – a phrase used by the legendary Hubert Ogunde “in his famous 1964 play,” warning about intra-ethnic divide among politicians in Yorubaland that could give way to external infiltration – the agitation for “Yorubaland for the Yoruba” culminated in rallying for Yoruba nationalism and supremacy in Yorubaland.

    As noted by Yusuf Omotayo in a piece, “The True Meaning of ‘Yoruba Ronu,’” first published in The Atlantic of July 10, 2023, “Yoruba Ronu has recently become the anchor on which Yoruba politicians have championed calls for fanatic support. The original core message of the phrase, however, is unity rather than ethnic disrespect and Yoruba supremacy.”

    The Yoruba agitators backed up their alleged “Igbo Agenda” with declarative statements and videos issued and posted by social media influencers, calling on members of the “Obidients Movement” – the mass of voters who backed Obi’s presidential run – to “vote massively” on March 18, for the LP to takeover Lagos State.

    And for good (or bad) measure, the LP featured as its governorship candidate Gbadebo (Chinedu) Rhodes-Vivor, who’s a Yoruba father and Igbo mother and wife – and whose utterances and actions, even on the campaign trail, tended to play up his affinity to Igbo more than to his Yoruba heritage.

    The Yoruba agitators dug into Mr Rhodes-Vivor’s social media posts – which some alleged were manipulated – in which he backed activities of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) – a group fighting for secession from Nigeria; his lead participation in the October 20, 2020, #Endsars violent and bloody protests in Lagos; and his intention, if elected governor, to dethrone the Oba of Lagos, and install an Igbo as replacement, declare an annual “Igbo Day” for Igbo to celebrate their traditional and cultural heritage, business acumen and dominance of the commercial and political affairs of Lagos, and give Igbo unfettered access to control all markets and commercial places in Lagos State.

    These and other issues worked against the LP and Rhodes-Vivor’s ambition on poll day, giving the ruling APC and the amiable but assailed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu a landslide victory, and crowning the “Yorubaland for Yoruba” agitators’ fierce campaign for “Yoruba Ronu” with defeat of the “Igbo campaigners” of “Na we build Lagos, na we own Lagos.”

    Meanwhile – and sadly – the tribal politics of 2023 elections has resurrected in Edo and Ondo 2024 elections. In Edo, the LP candidate and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Olumide Osaigbovo Akpata, had to do a hit music in Bini, to prove that he’s a bona fide “son-of-the soil” from the prominent family of the Akpatas of Benin Kingdom.

    Decked in traditional attire, Mr Akpata leads “the cultural troupe” in a Bini song and graceful dancesteps to trace his paternal and maternal roots to ages, and pleads with Edo people that he isn’t a stranger or a Yoruba, as his political traducers want to portray him in the intense mobilisation for the LP primary, and the  governorship poll on September 21.

    Amid lingering doubts as to Akpata being “truly” Bini and Edo, a tweep (a user of Twitter) posted “an advisory” on X (formerly Twitter) for Igbo residents in Edo State not to dabble in the local politics of who the parties field for the governorship, but to mind their civic duty of voting for their preferred candidate.

    This stirred instant reactions from Yoruba netizens (habitual or keen users of internet), who reasoned that the advisory was issued to Igbo residents in Edo State because the LP candidate’s middle name – Olumide – is Yoruba, and hence anathema to the Igbo.

    The Yoruba say what’s sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander. If Igbo supported Mr Rhodes-Vivor with a middle name of “Chinedu” and Igbo mother and wife for the LP governor in Lagos, why should Igbo steer clear of canvassing for Mr Akpata with a Yoruba name of “Olumide” as candidate of the LP in Edo State?

    Similarly in the PDP in Edo State, governorship candidate Asue Ighodalo faces scrutiny as to his Esan roots from Ewohimi in Esan North-East of Edo Central. In 2023, Dr Ighodalo, a Lagos-based lawyer and industrialist associate of Governor Obaseki, reportedly hired “an interpreter” to convey his aspiration for governor to his ward members in Ewohimi. Now, critics query his “Edoness” for “growing up and working in Lagos, and marrying a Yoruba.”

    In Ondo State, lawyer and veteran politician, Chief Olusola Oke, has a primary huddle for marrying an Igbo named “Nkem” as a second wife, who’s reportedly “very close” to Mrs Betty Anyanwu Akeredolu, the Igbo wife of the late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), who died from a protracted ailment on December 27, 2023.

    Accused of being an “Iron” First Lady with a domineering streak – and allegedly advancing the interests of Igbo to the detriment of the Yoruba in Ondo State – Mrs Akeredolu’s ethnic relationship with Mrs Oke may cause Mr Oke the primary ticket of the APC, and ultimately the governorship if the agitators for “Yorubaland for Yoruba” deploy “Yoruba Ronu” in the APC yet-to-be-scheduled April primary for the November 16 election in the state.

    This is the stage we’re in Nigeria’s bitter politics, in which tribe and state of origin of spouses and their parents, living permanently or for a considerable length of time in their states of origin, and ability to speak fluently the local language, and imbibe the traditional and cultural nuances of the people, now determine one’s ambition for elective political position(s).

    It’s happened in Lagos, in the case of Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivor failing the governorship in 2023 partly because – in the estimation of the conservative indigenous Yoruba – he’s not “Yoruba enough” for having Igbo mother and wife, and “displaying disdain” for Yoruba language, traditional and culture.

    It also occurred in 2023 in Enugu State, where a resident of Ebonyi State origin was told by the locals that he couldn’t – as a “stranger” or “non-indigene” – become governor of Enugu. “A person from Ebonyi cannot be our governor in Enugu. God will not allow that” (to happen), one of the speakers – with members of the audience concurring – told the bewildered politician at a gathering to intimate the people about his governorship ambition, which died stillbirth thereafter!

    On May 4, 2022, Senator Adeola Olamilekan (alias ‘Yayi’) (APC, Lagos West), gave in to emotions when his constituents in Ogun West gifted him nomination forms, to contest in the 2023 poll to represent the district. Pre-2015 general election when Chief Olamilekan wanted to represent Ogun West – his district of origin in Ogun State – there’s strong opposition that he wasn’t a Yewa man from the district. Some even claimed he’s from Ekiti State.

    He’d to seek his political ambition in Lagos West (he’s Reps member from 2011 to 2015), which he won and represented from 2015 to 2023. But reportedly eying the governorship of Ogun State in 2027 that’s “zoned” to Ogun West, Olamilekan made attempts to switch from Lagos West to Ogun West, and met with the same resistance from APC members, three of whom filed a writ in court to stop him.

    However, majority of his constituents – who’d heard about his political exploits in Lagos West – rallied for, and 71 of them purchased the nomination forms for him to contest in the primary and election, which he won, and now represents Ogun West in the 10th National Assembly.

    There’re also instances of women, who weren’t allowed to vie for elective political offices by chieftains of parties in the states they’re married into, and asked to go look for slots in their states of origin. That’s how, for example, Mrs Daisy Ehanire Danjuma – wife of former Chief of Army Staff, and Founder and Chairman Emeritus of TY Danjuma Foundation, Gen. Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (retd) – left Taraba, her state of marriage, to seek senatorial slot in Edo State and won in 2003 (PDP, Edo South).

    Can this bitter tribal politics in Nigeria be reversed? It’s doubtful, as the 2023 general election that’s supposed to subsume the primeval cleavage actually accentuated it, as fears of domination by residents fueled anxiety and outrage among the local and indigenous peoples across many states of Nigeria!

     

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

  • Edo 2024: Acrimony, blood-letting, threats, comic relief overshadow primaries – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: Acrimony, blood-letting, threats, comic relief overshadow primaries – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    As the primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State for the 2024 governorship election witnessed blood-letting, breaking of limbs and skulls, an unrecognised splinter group of Labour Party (LP) decided to inject some comic relief into the nominating process.

    While factions of the main parties held parallel primaries or claimed to’ve won the ballots, the Alhaji Lamidi Apapa-led group of LP surprised even its members on February 22, by sending a list of “nominated governorship candidate and running mate” to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the September 21 poll.

    In a covering letter to INEC, as first reported by GWG.NG, Chief Apapa, who signed as acting national chairman, and Alhaji Saleh Lawan as acting national secretary, said: “We write to submit the names of our candidates that emerges (sic) from our Governorship primary election conducted today (February 22) in Benin, Edo State.

    “You will recalled (sic) that we had earlier notify (sic) the Commission about the conduct of our Party Governorship Primary today and we hereby forward the names of our Party flagbearer for the September 21, 2024 Governorship Election, Barr. Anderson Uwadiae Asemota (and) Deputy Governorship Candidate, Barr. Monday Ojore Mawah.”

    As the public was yet to fathom the ghost primary that produced the Apapa “candidate and running mate,” another aspirant, who resides overseas, disclaimed the Apapa “list,” arguing he’s the authentic candidate produced in a primary in Benin City on February 24 – the last day for parties to send in the names of their candidates.

    The latest LP “candidate,” Hilton Idahosa, a United Kingdom-based legal practitioner, as first reported by New Telegraph on February 25, claimed he emerged during a parallel primary of the Apapa faction with 917 votes, describing the Apapa letter to INEC as “fake,” as the primary slated for February 22 was shifted to February 24, “to allow for exigencies.”

    Mr Idahosa labelled the Apapa letter as “the handiwork of mischief makers bent on causing disaffection within the ranks of the party,” and said he emerged at the primary “conducted by the Labour Party state officials” at the factional secretariat on First East Circular Road, Benin City, adding, “the true position will be made known in the coming days.”

    In summary, the LP, like the APC, has produced three candidates, claiming its sole ticket for the September election. In the primary held on February 23 at the Bishop Kelly Pastoral Centre, Benin City, former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Olumide Akpata, polled 316 votes to defeat oil and gas magnate and proprietor of Mudiame University, Irrua (MUI), Prof. Sunny Eboh Eromosele, and a businessman and educationist, Barr. Kenneth Imasuagbon, who scored seven votes apiece, as declared by the returning officer for the primary, Deputy Governor Ikechukwu Emetu of Abia State.

    Reacting to the Apata letter on alternative candidate(s), the LP leadership urged Nigerians, especially the media, to ignore the antics, noting that events leading to the choice of Mr Akpata as candidate of the party were televised live on notable stations, and that INEC officials, led by the state electoral commissioner, “also observed the very successful primaries.”

    “How on earth could a group of persons conduct a primary election that was not known or heard by the public and was not covered by the media, and went ahead to ask the INEC to act on their correspondence,” Obiora Ifoh, national publicity secretary of LP queried. The Conclave online first reported the news on February 25.

    “INEC knows that there was no primary; it did not supervise any other primary but the one conducted by the Party led by Barrister Julius Abure. INEC knows that they just brought names; there was no primary. We were in Benin that day, and the world knew that Abure had an issue and was released, after which he witnessed the primary.

    “How come they (Apapa group) did a primary and the media did not know? When and where did they conduct their delegate election? Was it by direct or indirect election? These men are just a bunch of desperate people looking for easy money from desperate politicians,” Ifoh said.

    “Labour is thereby urging Nigerians to distance from any other list other than that of Barrister Olumide Akpata as the only candidate being sponsored by the Labour Party.

    “We (are) also using this medium to specially appeal to the media to stop progressing with this factional narrative. There is no faction in Labour Party. If you are still in doubt of the authentic leadership of Labour Party, please check the website of the INEC, Ifoh added.

    It wasn’t the first time – since it emerged in the 2023 election cycle as a formidable unit – that the Apapa group would interfere or attempt to sow confusion in federal and state electoral matters of the LP, as it schemed to wrest power from the Abure camp through a forceful takeover of the national headquarters of the party in Abuja, or via the courts, which’ve ruled majorly in favour of the Abure-led NWC.

    The Apapa camp tried, unsuccessfully, to dictate the processes of LP’s participation, campaigns, and election petitions from the 2023 presidential and state polls, with Apapa and some in his group members suffering humiliations from LP supporters in and outside court premises in Abuja, and elsewhere across Nigeria.

    During the November 2023 governorship election in Imo State, the Apapa camp tried but failed to present its factional candidate for the poll, but the Supreme Court affirmed the candidate produced by the Abure group. Still, the Apapa faction hasn’t relented!

    So, it’s no surprise that the group’s tried to conjure “miracles” in the Edo governorship. But what’s amiss is the lack of knowledge about when, where and how the first (and even the second) primary was conducted, and the rather novel picking of the candidate and running mate at the same time – a break from the norm of candidates choosing their running mates after weeks or months of the primaries.

    The latest gambit by the Apapa faction of the LP – which’s lasted this long due to the oxygen given it by the courts, INEC and media – may be seen by party members and supporters as the usual irritant from a flailing group grasping any straw to stay afloat. But it could disrupt the party programmes and campaigns if the INEC and courts gave it some hearing ahead of the election.

    Similar scenarios of curiosity pervaded the primaries in the APC and PDP. Whereas the PDP’s factionalised into three camps, one led by Governor Godwin Obaseki, another by Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu, and the other by the National Vice Chairman (South-South), Chief Dan Orbih; the APC showed no serious signs of division in its Edo State chapter until the primaries.

    While the APC primary lasted seven days (February 17-23), finally winnowing four claimants to the ticket to one in an anti-climax on Ferbruary 23; two factions of the PDP conducted their shadow polls on February 22. The APC produced Senator Monday Okpebholo (APC, Edo Central) as the winner, ahead of 10 other aspirants, as declared by the Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu-led APC Edo governorship primary election committee on February 23 in Benin City.

    Okpebholo’s 12,433 votes (to 6,541 votes scored in second position by Hon. Dennis Idahosa (APC, Ovia Federal Constituency)) were fairly consistent with his tally of 12,145 votes (with Idahosa scoring 5,536 votes to place second) during the February 17 “inconclusive” primary, as declared by the Chief Returning Officer, Dr Stanley Ugboajah.

    But the Ugboajah declaration was disputed, as well as the return made by the previous chairman of the APC primary committee and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, who declared Idahosa as winner for polling 40,453 votes to “defeat” Okpebholo (100 votes) and 10 other contestants.

    On February 18 in Auchi, Etsako Central local government area of Edo State, some local government areas returning officers proclaimed a third aspirant, Hon. Anamero Dekeri (APC, Etsako Federal Constituency) as the primary winner. Leader of the officers, Mr Ojo Babatunde, said Dekeri scored 25,384 votes to defeat Idahosa (14,127 votes) and 10 others.

    Remarkably, a fourth aspirant and former minister of state for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, who also claimed he won the primary based on turnout of voters, has congratulated Sen. Okpebholo, and pledged his support as a “loyal party member.” Two other APC aspirants, Dr Blessing Agbomhere and Dr Afolabi Umakhihe, have also congratulated Okpebholo.

    But Idahosa and Dekeri, rattling the sabre, have threatened external actions against “fictitious” votes and a “manipulated” process, if they failed to get justice in the APC appeals committee. Idahosa, in a statement in Benin City on February 24, alleged that the “fictitious results” declared by the Governor Otu primary committee “represented the highest level of rape on democracy ever witnessed in Edo State.”

    His words: “Events in the last few days may have been very disappointing and demoralizing to lots of people, as your votes seemed not to have counted going by the process and declaration of fictitious primary election results of what happened on the field on the (February) 22nd re-run elections in the 192 wards of the state.

    “Let me assure you all, our teaming supporters, that I shall explore all the party internal mechanisms to resolve the issues, and seek justice and where that doesn’t work, I shall communicate with you all on our next line of action.” On February 26 in Benin City, supporters staged a protest to add bite to Idahosa’s threats, as first reported by The Nation.

    The leader of the protesters, Mr Harrison Okpamen, who called on the APC leadership to recognise Idahosa as the authentic winner of the primary, alleged that the declaration of Okpebholo was “conjured” by Governor Otu, who reportedly ignored results of the rescheduled primary, and deployed security agents to disperse the APC leaders who were waiting with the results to be collated.

    Mr Okpamen stated what allegedly transpired, thus: “Governor Otu directed that party members should report at their 192 wards for the conduct of the primaries. Aspirants began fresh mobilisation, and thousands of members were gathered at their various wards. To their surprise, no returning officer was deployed to the wards to conduct the primaries.

    “APC members in the 18 local government areas of Edo, after waiting in vain for the arrival of the electoral officials, began to queue behind posters of their preferred aspirants. It was clear that Hon. Dennis Idahosa was the preferred candidate of a vast majority of party members. Curiously, Governor Otu went out of circulation.

    “APC’s leaders brought the results from their various LGAs to the collation centre, but there was no one to hand them to. Worried party members waited in the vicinity of the collation centre in vain. Suddenly, Governor Otu arrived and ordered armed soldiers to evacuate party members. After dispersing party members disrespectfully, he then announced some conjured figures.”

    Also Dekeri, in a statement, comparing the scores he recorded for his election into the House of Representatives and the votes declared for him by the Sen. Otu primary committee, told journalists that the outcome of the primary was “manipulated.”

    He said: “I mobilised 65,000 people for this primary. In my election to the House of Representatives, I scored over 100,000 (votes), and then in this primary election, they said I scored about 2,000 (2,566) votes. This is a charade, as far as I am concerned,” and vowed to decide his next line of action.

    Note that Dekeri, claiming to’ve “mobilised 65,000 people” indicates he possibly engaged in “vote-buying” of APC’s members, whereas the NWC-verified number of financial members cleared to vote at the primary stood a little above 44,000 – about 21,000 less than the figure Dekeri bandied to mobilise for the primary!

    In the PDP, Governor Obaseki and his “anointed” aspirant, Dr Asue Ighodalo (who polled 577 votes to Deputy Governor Shaibu’s one vote) continue to revel in the outcome of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC)-backed indirect primary held at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City on February 22 that returned Ighodalo as the party candidate. But Comrade Shaibu’s predicted failure for the ruling party in Edo State if he’s not fielded as the flagbearer.

    This comes as Acting National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Umar Damagum, handed a certificate of return to Ighodalo on February 27, and said that Ighodalo – declared the primary winner by the returning officer, Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal – “is the only candidate the party recognises for the Edo gubernatorial election,” adding, “the PDP is one and we organised and recognised only one primary in Edo which produced Dr Asue Ighodalo.”

    But Shaibu – at loggerheards with Obaseki over his governorship ambition – doesn’t solely base his claim to the parallel primary in which he scored 301 votes, but on the premise that his candidature represents Edo North – one of the tripod senatorial districts of Edo State.

    For Shaibu, if the APC picked Okpebholo from Edo Central, and LP chose Akpata from Edo South, it’s politically expedient for the PDP to settle for him (Shaibu) from Edo North – and not for a candidate (Ighodalo) from Edo Central – to balance the senatorial representations for the governorship election.

    Shaibu said: “I am appealing to the PDP National Working Committee that if they want to win Edo State, they should just abide by what has happened. They should just support my candidacy and PDP will win Edo State.

    “You can see how the primaries have gone now in Edo. Labour Party has Olu Akpata from Edo South and APC has Monday Okpebholo from Edo Central. Now, I am from Edo North. It shows that the three senatorial districts now have candidates.

    “And this comes to the point I have been saying that (in) Edo State, we have not met or we are (yet) to agree that there is zoning. And if we are meant to have a convention to say we now have a zoning formula, when it leaves here, it goes here, by now, nobody will be contesting in the three (but one) senatorial districts.”

    Dismissing the primary that produced Ighodalo as pre-determined, and breached the laws guiding elections in Nigeria, Shaibu said: “I’m aware that they had another primary, and in the coming days, you will know who is authentic and who is not authentic because even from the results that they declared, it’s laughable.

    “A deputy governor that was NANS president, that was two-time majority leader, eight years in the House of Assembly, a deputy governor that was in the House of Reps, that was pulled back because of his political strength to complement a ticket that would have failed without a politician that is known and accepted, is now getting one vote, and somebody that is not known at all is now getting 577 votes. It tells you where the results were written.

    “And if you check what they did, it was more like a celebration of either a wedding or burial reception. You see the primaries where every local government had an aseo-ebi, its own uniform; it speaks volume; check what they did. And that is the primaries.

    “It shows that there was no contestation; that is what they did show. There was no contestation because if there was contestation, you don’t have local government by local government wearing the same attire. It shows that it was more like a party, what the Yoruba popularly call ‘owambe.’”

    Shuaibu, who side-stepped the issue of whether the PDP NWC backed, and INEC monitored his primary, simply said: “If the party wants to win the election, they will not go for Asue (Ighodalo). If the party wants to win the election, the people have spoken and they have spoken very loud and clear.

    “If people can stand bullets (referring to alleged invasion of his factional primary by operatives of the Edo Security Network, whose sporadic gunfires injured some delegates) to say this is who we want, then the party should follow that direction.”

    Meanwhile, Dr Ighodalo of the PDP has congratulated his fellow candidates of the APC and LP, Sen. Okpebholo and Barr. Akpata, and urged them to join him in a commitment to focus on issue-based campaigns, and refrain from messages that promote division and disunity.

    Ighodalo noted that: “The February 2023 general election saw a level of hate and vitriol masked as political sloganeering that took this nation to the brink; and the fires politicians lit back then continue to smoulder across the nation,” as reported by VANGUARD on February 26.

    “I and my team will continue to campaign to the people of Edo State in language and behaviour that seek to unite rather than divide. We will stay focused on the issues that matter to our people; and there will be no descent into abuse, ethnic-baiting and name-calling. We must not destroy the unity of the state we seek to govern. I therefore urge all my fellow candidates to similarly run respectful issue-based campaigns.”

    While Edo people expect other candidates to make similar commitments, the weeks and months ahead are especially crunchy and testy times for the APC, PDP and LP candidates for the September 21 election. Can they surmount and survive the intrigues and machinations within, mounted by political godfathers and gladiators, such as Senator Adams Oshiomhole, leader of the APC in Edo and former Governor of the state, Hon. Idahosa and Hon. Dekeri in the APC; Deputy Governor Shaibu and Chief Orbih in the PDP; and Chief Apapa and his comrades-in-arm in LP? The die is cast!

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

  • Edo 2024: As Eromosele vows grassroots governance – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: As Eromosele vows grassroots governance – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    The other day, 18 of the over 30 aspirants of the Labour Party (LP) for the 2024 governorship election in Edo State – acting as paupers in an undisguised blackmail – petitioned the party leadership to scrap the N5m fee for Expression of Interest form, and reduce the cost of Nomination form from N25m to between N1m and N5m for the February 22 primaries.

    But the LP national chairman, Mr Julius Abure, acknowledging at a January 31 press conference in Abuja that “election is expensive in Nigeria,” portrayed the aspirants as unserious and unprepared for the governorship contest, saying, “We believe that candidates, who are not able to afford our nomination fee, may not be able to conclude the process of election.”

    The petitioners didn’t argue they can’t afford the N30m fee, but that the decision of the National Working Committee (NWC) “does not align with the principles and public perception of our party,” which “prides itself on being a party of equal opportunity, which implies that an average worker with vision, requisite qualifications, and character should aspire to be the Governor of Edo State.”

    Noting that the LP is known as the party of “Mama, Papa, Pikin” and the workers, and that the minimum wage for an average Nigerian worker is N35,000, the dissatisfied aspirants said, “to peg the party forms for governorship at a price that is 100 times a Nigerian worker’s minimum wage in the midst of crushing economic hardship, may be perceived as tone-deaf.”

    Even as they acknowledged “the financial challenges the party may face, and we propose enforcing mandatory prescribed membership monthly dues collections as per the party’s constitution to address this concern,” the aspirants craved for a drastic review of the cost of the two forms.

    “After extensive internal discussions, and also feeling the pulse of the members of our party… the expression of interest form should be made free for all aspirants, while the nomination form should be obtained at a cost that does not exceed from N1m to N5m,” with 50 per cent reduction for women and people living with disabilities, the aspirants said.

    A January 17, 2024, statement by the national publicity secretary of LP, Mr Obiora Ifoh – conveying the resolution of the NWC to peg the forms at N30m for the primary poll in Edo State – provoked a pushback from the aspirants gunning for the governorship on September 21.

    The aspirants include: Barrister Efosa Ogieriakhi; Engr. Michael Oshiobugie; Hon. Lucky Ehis Obiyan; Dr. Loretta Oduwa Ogbor-Okor; Hon. Stephen Osemwengie; Mr. Paul Agbonze Obazele; Dr. Aruna Braimoh Denzel; High Chief Okhaimon Matthews; Engr. Morrison Eghobamien; Barrister Olumide Osaigbovo Akpata; Mr Kingsley Ulinfun; Mr Ehizojie Ohiowele; Dr. Osezua Ehiyamen; Azemhe Azena; Barrister Ihueghian Guobadia; Mr. Ernest Abegbe; Amb. Asha Emily Okojie-Odigie; and Mr Ogbemudia Osagie.

    But dismissing the aspirants’ complaints, Mr Abure defended the N30m fee as “still the cheapest among the commity of political parties” – with those of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) pegged at N50m and N35m, accordingly.

    Abure said the NWC “sat extensively, considered all the variables, (and) put all the factors together before arriving at that amount,” adding, “We must say that the party needs a lot of funds in order to drive the process of electioneering. Today, no matter how you conduct primary election, funds are required; even after election, litigations (sic) are going to arise from whatever you do.”

    “Litigation cost a lot of money, even organising the primary itself is expensive. When the party was not as big as this, you could explain to people that you have no money to give but today, people believe that the party has money and when you send anybody for any assignment, you must pay them adequately.

    “Therefore, funding the party, responding to challenges in the party makes it imperative for us to arrive at that amount. I want to say it is about the cheapest within the political parties. We believe that we ought to draw attention to our philosophy of being a party for the downtrodden. With the reality on the ground, we have looked at it and come to that conclusion.”

    While Abure’s response was apt for the “beggarly” 18 aspirants, there’s upswing in campaigns for the primaries, with many aspirants obtaining the nomination forms, and using the occasion of their visits to the LP national secretariat in Abuja to retate their strategies for winning the primaries and the September poll, and how they plan to lead if elected governor.

    Prof. Sunny Eboh Eromosele is a frontline aspirant who picked the nomination forms on February 1, thus taking the first official step on the journey to the Osadebey Avenue Government House in Benin City, even as he and other aspirants face the party screening committee on February 14.

    This comes after months of Mr Eromosele’s extensive meet-the-people consultations in the 192 wards of the 18 local government areas of Edo State. Amid a huge crowd of party leaders and young people that form the bedrock of the LP, the occasion in Abuja was reminiscent of a royal reception.

    Protocols and formalities over, and the governorship forms handed over to him by the LP national youth leader, Mr Kennedy Ahanotu, who pledged “the party’s commitment to a credible primary election,” Eromosele displayed the forms, and spoke directly into the television cameras for millions of viewing audience.

    Eromosele – popularly called “Mudiame” (literally, ‘God stands for/with/by me’) by relations, friends, colleagues, business associates and supporters – said he’s the aspirant to beat at the primaries, and Labour the party to beat at the September election.

    He said he’s excited to be in the race because, “I have an agenda that aligns with the ideals of policies of governance. Edo State needs to be recalibrated. I’m bringing on board a governance that will care for the people and care for the society.”

    To Eromosele, “the people are not part of the (government) policies. The people are not part of the governance. And so, I’m blessed that the people are ready to take over Edo State through the Labour Party.”

    Rhetorically, Eromosele asked: “What are the challenges in Edo State today? It’s very simple,” he said.

    “Edo State is facing poverty challenges. And my agenda is to take the people from the floor to the upper level. So, I’m bringing on board a governance that will care for the people and care for the society. I have done it before. And people are saying, ‘Oh, he can do it again!’”

    Being people-centric, the mechanic of Eromosele’s Manifesto, RISE: To RESCUE people from poverty, INCREASE their standard of living, SECURE the people and environment, and EMPOWER the people – symbolises a striving and caring for the masses. The reason Eromosele vows to “return governance of Edo State to the people” if elected governor.

    Meanwhile, as the campaigns approach ground zero for the primaries, the issue of “homeboy” versus “townsboy” or “diasporan” has taken a centre stage in the LP – and in other two major parties of the APC and PDP – propagated by prior apostles of electing an Edo governor on capacity, competence and all-round performance.

    With the emergence of Eromosele (and a few others) – who, though new in politics, is young and with the requisite capability, capacity, competence, education, exposure record of achievements, and finance – the no-hoper aspirants have sudden recourse to producing a “homeboy” governor versed in local issues and longevity in politics.

    Remarkably, Eromosele, in a message-driven poster for the 2024 governorship, says, “I am the ‘original homeboy,’ with a deep-rooted dedication to the welfare and progress of good people of Edo State. I have invested billions of naira into the development of our beloved state, a fact that can be verified by all.”

    It matters not the basis of Eromosele’s declaration, yet it’s coincidentally a direct response to snide remarks by opponents in the governorship race that he isn’t a “homeboy,” but a “townsboy,” who doesn’t know the local politics and issues that affect the grassroots.

    Which makes one to ask: Who’d you rather want for Governor of Edo State: A “townsboy” Eromosele with all his accomplishments in truly uplifting the society and its people – and with the potential to “do more exceedingly great things” – or a “homeboy” with scant or none of Eromosele’s qualifications and achievements?

    No guessing that given the opportunity and free rein to choose at Edo 2024, the good people of Edo State will cast their lot with and ballot for Eromosele, who’s demonstrated, in practical terms, that “homeboy” or “townsboy,” he’s grounded in local politics and issues, and has the wherewithal to making Edo truly “The Heart Beat of the Nation.”

    Eromosele’s deeds speak for him when matched and paired with his counterparts in the running for Edo governorship. He’s an Academic and Administrator; founder of a globally-recognised welding institution and the Mudiame University, Irrua (MUI) in Edo State; an international businessman in oil and gas; a pathfinder in finding local solutions to technogical and innovation problems in oil and gas, and aviation sectors in Nigeria and the West African subregion; and a philantropist that provides basic amenities, including houses, for, and awards higher education scholarships to the needy.

    Edo people should “rise and walk” with Prof. Sunny Eboh Eromosele with their votes at the Labour Party indirect primaries on February 22, and the September 21 election to choose the Chief Executive of Edo State. The mandate will be worthwhile to “a man who knows the road” to applying public policies and governance to get Edo State out of the woods!

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

  • Edo 2024: How Oshiomhole’s ‘imposition’ gambit blew up in his face – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: How Oshiomhole’s ‘imposition’ gambit blew up in his face – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    If Senator Adams Oshiomhole’s testing the waters to re-enact his 2016 imposition of a candidate on the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, he’s failed spectacularly in the plot, with pleas by members to President Bola Tinubu and the APC leadership to call him to order, to avoid another defeat for the party, as in 2020, blamed on Oshiomhole.

    Hell was unchained in the APC on January 19 when words spread that a shadowy “screening committee” had reduced from 29 to 10, to six, and to four the number of aspirants angling for the party ticket. Fingers were pointed at Oshiomhole, as scheming “to eliminate unwanted aspirants,” and “impose a certain aspirant” as the party candidate.

    In 2016, Governor Oshiomhole unilaterally picked a Lagos-based businessman, Mr Godwin Obaseki, for the governorship. But they’re to part ways, as Obaseki accused Oshiomhole of dictating to him like a godfather – which Oshiomhole indeed assumed to swing the governorship for Obaseki.

    The rift led Oshiomhole – as the national chairman of the APC – to deny Obaseki the ticket for re-election in 2020, prompting Obaseki to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and won the poll.

    But lately, Oshiomhole’s accused of reviving his relationship with Obaseki, to undermine the APC, by screening out prominent aspirants, and installing a “criminal,” who’s indicted by an investigation panel instituted by Oshiomhole in 2015.

    Theconclaveng.com online, which first reported the “rumours” about the screening, stated that the committee, led by House of Representatives Majority Leader, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, initially reduced the number of aspirants from 29 to 10, but was “prevailed” upon by Oshiomhole to trim the list to six of two aspirants each from Edo South, Edo North and Edo Central of Edo State.

    Noting that, “the panel on Thursday night (January 18) achieved a list of six aspirants, the report added: “The list, as learnt, comprises, from Edo North, the immediate past minister of state for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba and a retired permanent secretary in the Federal Civil Service, Dr Ernest Umakhihe.

    “From Edo Central, serving Senator Monday Okpebholo and the immediate past state chairman of the APC, Col. David Imuse (retd); and from Edo South, a serving member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dennis Idahosa and former Deputy Governor Lucky Imasuen. Barring any last-minute change(s) in plans, the party is expected to formally announce this outcome today (January 19).”

    Instead, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC disclaimed the committee, stating that the screening and clearance of aspirants would be undertaken by a committee to be constituted by the NWC “in accordance with its Constitution,” the national publicity secretary of the APC, Mr Felix Morka, said in a statement.

    Morka added: “As stipulated in the released APC timetable and schedule of activities for Edo gubernatorial election, all interested aspirants are to make prescribed payments into the party’s approved bank accounts,” and “collect their expression of interest and nomination forms from the party’s national secretariat.”

    Similarly, the Edo State chapter of the APC, via its publicity secretary, Mr Peter Uwadiae, told journalists on January 23 that, “There is no truth in the news that governorship aspirants have been screened and about 25 have been disqualified.”

    “Based on the advice of the National Working Committee of the party, we set up a committee, led by Julius Ihonvbere, to interface with the aspirants on the need to reduce the number of aspirants to a manageable one. It is after the close of sale of forms that the NWC will set up a screening committee,” Uwadiae said.

    Urging members and supporters of the APC not to get agitated, as “the party believes in unity, fair play and democracy,” Uwadiae said the sale of expression of interest and nomination forms at N50m was ongoing, and that members aspiring for the governorship should obtain the forms. Yet, the purported screening sparked instant reactions, with many chastising Oshiomhole.

    How did Edo APC get into the storming controversy? Comrade Oshiomhole may’ve capitalised on the innocuous plea by the NWC to the aspirants to trim their number.

    Reading the resolution of the Edo State APC stakeholders meeting on the governorship on January 16, the deputy national publicity secretary, Hon. Duro Meseko, said, “Given the large numbers of aspirants jostling for the party’s ticket in Edo State, the NWC urged the stakeholders to unite in trimming the number of aspirants.”

    Also, the APC national chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, counselling on how to improve, deepen and widen internal democracy, said, “We have to be transparent, and at the same time, we have to adopt a guided democracy where we can discuss issues so that we limit, if possible, the number of contestants.”

    During the consultative meeting on January 15, Oshiomole, vowing APC’s return to power in Edo State, told the NWC that stakeholders in the state chapter had embarked on dialogue with the aspirants, “to get their understanding for a rancour-free primary and eventually win the governorship election.”

    “It is no secret that at the time we had the dialogue, I think they (aspirants) were 27. I learnt they have increased to 29 now. The process is ongoing, and the struggle continues,” Oshiomhole said.

    He didn’t reveal what the dialogue was really about, which’s aimed at reducing the number of aspirants – an action that now threatens the primaries and APC’s hopes for the governorship. Hence Oshiomhole’s come under fire!

    Frontline aspirant and two-time candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu – stressing his cordial relationship with Oshiomhole he describes as “my senior brother and the leader of our party and a distinguished senator” – dismissed the screening as “rumour,” telling his supporters that he’s in the race to win the ticket and the election, and that he’d obtain the nomination forms “next week” (last week), which he’s done.

    (As reported by The Nation, a check at the directorate of organisation of the APC in Abuja on January 24 shows that eight aspirants had purchased the forms. They include Pastor Ize-Iyamu, Prince Agba, Senator Okpebholo, Mr Imasuen, Hon. Anamero Dekeri, Mr Gideon Ikhine, Col. Imuse (retd) and Maj.- Gen. Charles Airhiavbere (retd)).

    Arriving at the Benin airport from a parley with the APC leadership in Abuja, Ize-Iyamu, as first reported by Vanguard, told a huge crowd of supporters and some APC leaders that there is nothing to worry about.

    “The highest organ of our party issued a statement, particularly on Edo governorship election, and specifically said that all those who have aspiration to run for governorship should go and collect the forms,” Ize-Iyamu said.

    “And that they (NWC) are the only one to set up a screening committee, which they will do at the appropriate time. And if you look at the earlier time table released, you will find the schedule there.”

    Ize-Iyamu noted that when you are contesting for an election, “there are bound to be intrigues and all kinds of rumours and stories,” adding that, “I know there were rumours that some people have been excluded but by that NWC release, that is not possible anymore.”

    “The only people that can exclude aspirants is the committee set up by the NWC. Let me announce that by next week, I will collect the form. And I want to assure you that I will contest and win the election,” Ize-Iyamu said.

    The New Telegraph reports that one of the “screened out” aspirants, Dr Blessing Agbomhere, said that, though “Oshiomhole is a leader who is revered and loved by many people,” he won’t allow his love for him to overwhelm his sense of reasoning and good judgment, and allow Oshiomhole to make another mistake in choosing the next Edo governor, “considering what his choice of Obaseki has cost the members of the APC and the good people of the state.”

    Agbomhere alleged that Oshiomhole’s scheming to install a candidate with “criminal record,” wondering how Oshiomhole – whose Administrative Panel in 2015 confirmed the global criminal activities of the aspirant – “now wants to anoint him as APC’s candidate for the governorship election.”

    “Edo State parades a good number of men and women who are qualified to govern it,” Agbomhere said. “It is wrong, disrespectful, and divisive to screen out all these men who have paid their dues to the party and the state only to pave the way for a nonentity, who can only be remembered for his alleged criminal record.

    “Edo people are too sophisticated to accept the imposition of a candidate on them and will definitely lose faith in the APC and cast their ballots for other parties in the contest.”

    Noting that the NWC “has condemned the clandestine move to destroy the goodwill that the party enjoys in Edo State,” Agbomhere commended the party leadership “for opening up the space again for all 30 aspirants to sell themselves to the people of Edo State, as it would have been catastrophic if they folded their arms and allowed anybody to toy with the party’s glorious opportunity to reclaim the governorship seat in the state.”

    A group of Concerned Edo APC Stakeholders noted in a statement signed by 10 of the members, first reported by TheNewsGuru.com, that Oshiomhole “does not have the authority to constitute a screening committee,” as he’s neither the national chairman of the APC nor a member of the NWC, even as the group admitted that the six-man committee was constituted under the leadership of Oshiomhole, to interface with the aspirants and make recommendations on how the number could be reduced, and dispelled the notion that it’s a screening committee.

    “We would like to state for the records that Comrade Oshiomhole does not have the authority to constitute a screening committee, as he is neither the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress nor a member of the NWC. Furthermore, only aspirants who have completed and submitted their forms, can be screened by the committee established by the NWC for this purpose,” the group said.

    “The scheduled date for the screening of aspirants, as outlined in the approved timetable by the NWC, is between 8th and 9th February 2024. The Oshiomhole committee unlawfully assumed the functions of the NWC and (members) were unfortunately coerced by Comrade Oshiomhole to submit a report in variance of their earlier recommendation, which is in the public domain.”

    The stakeholders said Edo people were shocked when the news broke that the Oshiomhole committee initially recommended 10 names among the aspirants, “and on meeting with Comrade Oshiomhole, was told to further remove some names and make the total six.”

    “It is worth noting that Comrade Oshiomhole’s previous usurpation of nomination powers, as witnessed in the nomination of Godwin Obaseki and Philip Shuaibu as governor and deputy governor, respectively, in 2016, resulted in the party’s opposition status in Edo State today. It is evident that he intends to repeat this indelible error in 2024,” the group said.

    “It is common knowledge that Comrade Oshiomhole has a personal interest on who becomes the Edo State governor. We, therefore, reject Comrade Oshiomhole’s undue influence and demand that he steers clear of the Edo 2024 APC governorship primaries.

    “We hereby call on the national chairman of the APC, H.E Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and other well-meaning party leaders in Edo State and across Nigeria, to intervene and restrain Comrade Oshiomhole and his co-travelers. The APC in Edo State should not be plunged into unnecessary crisis ahead of the 2024 governorship election.

    The League of Patriotic Lawyers, through its chairman, Mallam Abubakar Yesufu, decried the “disqualification of political heavyweights,” such as Pastor Ize-Iyamu, Chief Chris Ogiemwonyi, and Gen. Airhiavbere (retd), “to pave the way for Osiomhole’s ‘anointed candidates,’” and asked President Tinubu to call Oshiomhole to order “over his excesses in Edo State.”

    Accusing Oshiomhole of ensuring that “aspirants with political structures and fibers were shoved aside, to give wings to the candidates that the PDP would easily defeat,” Mr Yesufu said the former governor “shouldn’t have been allowed to handle such a sensitive position that affects the political future of Edo State,” and advised Tinubu to be circumspect in accepting the so-called list, as “it does not contain the best materials.”

    “Whilst not trying to impugn on the credibility of the committee and so-called ‘cleared’ candidates, Mr President should take a second and serious look at the rejected names,” Yesufu said, alleging that “Osiomhole’s recent romance with Asue Ighodaro, Obaseki’s ‘anointed candidate,’ shows that he’s indeed a mole planted to destabilise APC in Edo State.”

    He recalled how Oshiomhole “told the world that Pastor Ize-Iyamu was a ‘Devil’ when he wanted to plant Obaseki about eight years ago, and went further to endorse Ize-Iyamu as ‘the best candidate’ when he fell out with Obaseki, an action which cost the party’s march to Osadebey Avenue (Government House in Benin City).”

    “Osiomhole’s recent activities are dangerous to the chances of the APC, and action should be taken to ensure the party does not lose in the next off-circle election slated for September 2024,” Yesufu said in a statement on January 20.

    Denying Oshiomhole’s alleged plan to impose a candidate on the APC members in Edo State, his spokesman, Simon Ebegbulem, said the former governor “is a thorough-bred APC leader, who will not work against the party but is committed to ensuring that Edo State returns to APC in the next election.”

    “The screening committee merely adopted a mechanism to prune down the long list of aspirants, to avoid waste of funds, and ensure the unsuccessful ones team behind and mobilise support for the best candidate who would consequently emerge,” Ebegbulem told New Telegraph.

    Politicians never say die, and Oshiomhole – a talkaive labour veteran and brilliant political tactician – may yet have some “tricks” up his sleeve, to ensure his “anointed” aspirant gain the APC ticket for the crucial September 21 election. The party members have to be “watchful and prayerful” to derail his imposition plot!

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

  • Edo 2024: Ize-Iyamu’s third time march for governor – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: Ize-Iyamu’s third time march for governor – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    He cuts a familiar figure, and preaches a familiar message! Two-time governorship candidate of rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2016 and 2020, respectively, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, claims he’s a detribalised, pan-Edo politician, who sees Edo State as one family, and seeks simultaneous even development of all sections, as a panacea for the divisive issues of marginalisation and recourse to ethnicity.

    Aspiring again to be governor in the September 21, 2024, election on the platform of main opposition APC in the state, Mr Ize-Iyamu, 61, says the agitation for zoning of the governorship stems from uneven development of the senatorial districts of Edo South, Edo North and Edo Central by successive governments, especially since democracy returned in Nigeria in 1999.

    “Stemming from this, I am aware of the importance of electing a competent state chief executive who would stay focused in the discharge of his duties; who would see to the development of every nook and cranny of the three senatorial districts simultaneously,” Ize-Iyamu said on December 27, as reported by Concord News Online of his declaration for governor at the APC secretariat in Benin City, capital city of Edo State.

    A minister of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Ize-Ize-Iyamu, waxing biblical, notes that in line with his upbringing and pastoral calling, each time he sees an Edo indigene, “I do not see a Benin, an Esan, an Etsako, an Owan, an Akoko-Edo, an Ika, an Ijaw or a Hausa, an Igbo or a Yoruba. What I see is an Edo person, whether an indigene or a resident.”

    “It is impossible for me to discriminate on any basis because my motivation in politics is the admonition by Jesus Christ that, ‘Let your light so shine among men so they shall see your good works and glorify your father in heaven.’ So I endeavour my light to shine in the midst of darkness, and that light is not for some, but for all.”

    Opposing “ethnicisation of Edo politics,” Ize-Iyamu declares – to the cheers of his teeming supporters at the carnival-like ceremony at the APC office on Airport Road in Benin City – that: “Edo needs a governor that has a roadmap for development and progress of the state, someone who understands the workings of government and not a total stranger.

    “We want a governor that will see Edo as his own, develop the state, and not a governor with tribal sentiments. We want a governor that will relate with the party and have regular session with the party.”

    To solidify his claim to being a true Edolite that believes in the oneness of Edo people, Ize-Iyamu, lawyer and farmer, recalls his days as a student leader in the University of Benin (UNIBEN), and the youth leader of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), actively supporting the late Prof. Ambrose Alli from Esanland of Edo Central, to become governor of old Bendel State (Delta and Edo States) from 1979 to 1983.

    “Similarly, it is common knowledge my role in the election of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole from Etsako, Edo North, in the 2007 and 2012 Governorship elections,” Ize-Iyamu said, with a call for the APC to give the ticket, and opportunity for governor to the best among the aspirants. (Ize-Iyamu’s Campaign Director-General for Oshiomhole’s re-election in 2012.)

    The former Chief of Staff (1999-2003) and Secretary to the State Government (2003-2007) under Governor Lucky Igbinedion (1999-2007), and former National Vice Chairman (South-South) of Action Congess of Nigeria (ACN) – who touts his experience in politics and the workings of government as qualifying him as “the best amongst the APC aspirants” – commends the party for not zoning the governorship to any senatorial district, “as that is the best way for our great party to field its best for the election.”

    “If I’m given the mandate, I promise to faithfully implement my rebrand ‘SIMPLE AGENDA,’” that aims for an even developmental road-map for entire Edo State,” he said.

    The SIMPLE AGENDA, first launched for the 2016 election, and revised for the 2020 poll, focuses on six core areas of governance: Security and social welfare; Infrastructure development and urban renewal; Manpow­er development and training; Public/private partnerships; Leadership by example; and Employment creation and empowerment.

    The APC didn’t zone the governorship to any senatorial district, thus sealing the hopes of Esan people of Edo Central, who’ve agitated for the position over marginalisation in the governance of the state since 1999. The state secretary of the APC, Mr Lawrence Okah, stated this on December 3 when the party received an aspirant, Prince Kassim Afegbua, a former Commissioner for Information, and spokesman to former Military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.

    Fielding questions on expectations of the APC from its numerous aspirants, Mr Okah told journalists that, “What we are looking for is capacity and the ability to deliver, and that is why we said there is no zoning; that is the message.”

    That “message” is more likely to favour Ize-Iyamu, who – apart from being an old warhorse with bankable votes from two previous governorship contests – is from Edo South with the population and voting strength than Edo North and Edo Central combined.

    The APC direct primary election for the governorship scheduled for February 17 – as adopted at an extended Edo State stakeholders meeting with the National Working Committee (NWC) at the national secretariat in Abuja on January 15 – has 29 contenders as of that day, majority from Edo Central, vying for the party ticket, as disclosed at the parley by Senator Oshiomhole –  leader of the party in Edo North and Edo State – who vows APC’s return to power in Edo State in 2024.

    For their political undoing, the APC aspirants in Edo Central are unable to close rank to pick “the best” among them – with many defying a screening that pruned the number to two aspirants of Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor (dubbed a former Governor for 17 months (2007-2008) before he’s sacked by the courts), and Mr Thomas Okosun (former Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly).

    Politics isn’t a teaparty or a picnic for every Tayo, Dike, and Hassan – many who can’t win their polling booths in 2024, notwithstanding they’d won council or legislative elections. The Edo governorship is a battle royale of cold calculations of who’s the numbers, and from where those numbers will come for victory on September 21.

    So, getting the party ticket has come down to the brass tacks of capability, capacity, competence, experience, and ability to turn in the numbers on Election Day. These criteria are devoid of emotions and sentiments about marginalisation, or payback for longevity in and loyalty to the party! And that’s where Ize-Iyamu and Edo South come into reckoning, as being in good stead to deliver Edo State from the seemingly fractured ruling PDP under Governor Godwin Obaseki, whose eight-year tenure ends in November 2024!

    The questions for the 30 odd APC aspirants are: Have you the reach, the ground game, and the warchest to turn the tables against an Obaseki-backed PDP aspirant, Dr Asue Ighodalo, a Lagos-based billionaire lawyer-boardroom guru, or campaign-scarred, streetwise Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu, also a billionaire, who’s defied Obaseki’s aversion to his ambition?

    Do you’ve the political armament to match the LP duo of Prof. Sunny Eboh Eromosele, billionaire oil and gas magnate, local pathfinder for solutions to technological-innovation problems in oil and gas and aviation sectors, and founder of Mudiame University, Irrua (MUI), and Mr Olumide Akpata, former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and a most successful commercial lawyer, who’s donated scores of campaign vehicles to LP offices across Edo State?

    For now, the odds look to favour Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu in the APC at the direct primary poll on February 17. He’s the only aspirant – across all political parties – to’ve confronted Obaseki in 2016 and 2020, even as Obaseki had the power of incumbency behind him on each occasion, and yet sweated to win. Except the calculations reveal otherwise, it’d be a gamble for the APC to overlook Ize-Iyamu for its governorship ticket!

  • Edo 2024: As Esan aspirants sabotage governor for deputy – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: As Esan aspirants sabotage governor for deputy – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    The hopes of Esan people of Edo Central senatorial district – that the 2024 governorship election will redeem the marginalisation of Esanland in the governance of Edo State – may be fizzling, or have fizzled out due partly to alleged handiwork or machination of some vauntily-ambitious Esan aspirants.

    Of the three leading political parties that intend to field candidates for the September 21, 2024, election, the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state has dissed the idea of zoning the governorship to Edo Central that comprises Esanland.

    The state ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the new opposition Labour Party (LP) – both battling internal division – have been nonplussed on ceding the governorship to Edo Central, even as Governor Godwin Obaseki is reported to be supporting the aspiration of an Esan, Mr Asue Ighodalo, a lawyer-businessman.

    As reported by New Telegraph on December 4, the APC gave the clarification on December 3 when it received, at the party secretariat in Benin City, an aspirant for the governorship, Prince Kassim Afegbua, a former Commissioner for Information and spokesman to former Military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.

    The state secretary of the party, Mr Lawrence Okah – fielding questions on expectations of the APC from its numerous aspirants – told journalists that, “What we are looking for is capacity and the ability to deliver, and that is why we said there is no zoning; that is the message.”

    Okah asked the aspirants to play by the rule and avoid utterances against each other, as the February 1 to 24, 2024, “primary is an internal contest among members of the same family,” from which “the party is going to pick only one (aspirant) and the rest will work with the one that has been picked.”

    Still, zoning of the governorship isn’t the sole unfair “comeuppance” for the Esan people. Lately, revelations emerged that some Edo Central aspirants are “undermining the ‘Esan Agenda’ (to occupy the office of Governor in 2024) with their plot to pick up the position of deputy governor.”

    A chieftain of the APC and leader of the party in Edo Central, Major General Cecil Esekhaigbe (retd), on December 21 revealed the scheme by the so-called Esan aspirants – who should lead the charge for redemption of Esan people – to sabotage the chances of Esanland to produce the governor in 2024.

    Mr Esekhaigbe also accused other senatorial zones of ganging-up against Edo Central, “with the slogan of competence, as against the agitation of zoning to Central,” even as he said he’d come under attacks by some of the aspirants “who only scheme for the slot of deputy governor.”

    Esekhaigbe noted that some aspirants, who willingly participated in the screening to prune the number of aspirants in the APC, suddenly turned against him, wondering, “Why will a man deny he was invited for an exercise which he deliberately skipped? Why will a man who, knows his constitutional limitations of tenure, continue to deceive himself? Is Esan looking for a one-term Governor?

    “Can a man, who is still on active service of a corporate organisation, come and take precedence over the men who have kept the party for years? Let us be wise and take a bold decision towards our quest for Esan Governor. No avalanche of insults on me will give you the ticket.”

    Esekhaigbe alleged that some Esan political leaders are “deliberately sowing seeds of discord to the advantage of the other senatorial districts,” saying, “Let us have a conversation today on our best for the job. Tomorrow may be too late. Those calling me names today would remember this day tomorrow.

    “Take the message and forget the messenger. We need only one man for the job. Edo Central needs the APC ticket, and so are other parties in Esanland. I repeat, with emphasis, that all the aspirants cannot get the ticket. Only one aspirant will get the ticket.”

    But Esekhaigbe sounds undemocratic in attempting to exclude some aspirants on the basis of newness or inactivity in the party; not resigning from their corporate organisations when they aren’t public officials, as stipulated by law; or plotting for a single term with regard to term limitation, and yet, he promotes longevity in politics over competence.

    Regardless, how can political leaders – who’ve cried over marginalisation of Esanland in Edo governorship, especially since 2016 – spurn an opportunity to right the obvious wrong by sabotaging the process for selfish interest?

    How will leaders of Edo South, comprising of the Bini-speaking stock, and Edo North of the Afemai lineage, take Esan people seriously if – before the whistle is blown for the primaries – they’ve abdicated their governorship aspiration for the Osadebey Avenue Government House seat of power in Benin City, capital city of Edo State?

    Was it the intention, from the get go, by the alleged “aspirant-sellouts” to make up the numbers as “also ran,” or they’re genuinely afraid of losing the primaries to more qualified Esan aspirants? If the first alternative is the answer, it means they’re unworthy of the exalted office of Governor of Edo State.

    If the second option is their dilemma, the best and dignified route is to quit the race, rather than constitute a stumbling block to the ambition of those that have the genuine interest of Esanland, which hasn’t produced a Governor of Edo State – at least since 1999.

    Why won’t the aspirants go through the primaries, to test their “political prowess and sagacity,” and know where they stand in the reckoning of Esan people, and Edolites as a whole? Instead, they want to give a carte blanche – or undeserved bonus – to the people of Edo South and Edo North – who’ve shown, over the years, that they’re adept strategists in the political power game in Edo State!

    The two senatorial districts – with their individual superior voting strength – have learnt to outsmart and outmaneovre Edo Central in the political arena. And unless the Esan people demonstrate enough seriousness with a matching political machine, the two zones will rotate the governorship between them every eight years.

    While Edo South would’ve occupied the governorship for 16 years (Governor Lucky Igbinedion, 1999-2007, and Governor Godwin Obaseki, 2016-2024); and Edo North has governed for eight years (Governor Adams Oshiomhole, 2008-2016), Edo Central hasn’t ruled the state.

    The erroneous impression of Edo Central having ruled for 17 months (2007-2008) through Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor isn’t known to law, as his short occupation of the governorship was annulled by the courts in 2008.

    Save “ego trip,” and a “political arrangement” to cloak Osunbor as a “former Governor of Edo State,” – and illegally award him the emoluments of the office – Esanland hasn’t produced a Governor since 1999. Which makes compelling the imperative for political parties to zone the governorship to Edo Central in the lead-up to the primaries of February 1 to 24, 2024.

    But how will any of the parties zone the governorship to Edo Central when some indigenes plot only for the deputy governor’s slot? According to President Bola Tinubu, “power is not given a la carte,” – or freedom of choice, say by Esanland, for the governorship. It’s a battle of the fittest and the most determined!

    The Saviour Jesus Christ enjoins in Matthew 7:7-8 (KJV) that: “7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh receiveth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

    If Esan Central leaders don’t want power in 2024, why should Edo South and Edo North offer them the governor or deputy governor as compensation for alleged marginalisation of Esanland? The two zones would rather pair themselves for governor and deputy governor. Which makes more political sense at the poll, given their superior voting numbers!

    In the 2024 election cycle, the Esan people should avoid the recurring tales of blame and regrets by doing the right and best thing now! Otherwise, the “sellers” of Edo Central governorship to Edo South and Edo North will be the ones to re-echo “marginalisation of Esanland” the day after September 21, 2024, election!

  • Kaduna ‘accidental’ bombing of civilians one too many – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Kaduna ‘accidental’ bombing of civilians one too many – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Were it even a one-off occurrence, the Army bombing of celebrants of Maulud (birthday of Prophet Muhammad) in Kaduna State on December 3, 2023, would be hard to explain away as “mistaken.” But it isn’t!

    “Mistakingly” bombing of civilian communities (or troops’ positions) has become a periodic happening, especially in several states in northern Nigeria where insurgency, banditry and kidnapping predominate.

    And the so-called “inadvertent” bombings seem to occur when the Military, the Police and other security agencies and civilian collaborators are gaining in the war against terrorism and criminalities across the country.

    Which bears the question: Are these repeated shellings by jets or drones accidental, coincidental, happenstance, inadvertent, involuntary, mistaken, unanticipated, unforseen, unintended, unintentional, unknowing, unmeant, unplanned, and unpremeditated?

    Or they’re advertent, calculated, certain, deliberate, destined, forseen, intended, intentional, inevitable, knowing, planned, predictable, predestined, premeditated, unforced, voluntary and wilful?

    The probing question mostly arises from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) quick denial of involvement of its aircraft in the bombing, noting that other sister security agencies deploy drones across the theatre of operations.

    The Army accepted responsibility for the repeated interdiction to do further damage and inflict more casualties when survivors of the initial blast were rescuing the injured for medical attention.

    Were the target actually a gathering of terrorists, the Army would’ve received plaudits for a job well done in annihilating hundreds of insurgents or bandits that’ve killed thousands across northern Nigeria since 2009 when Boko Haram planted its feet in Borno State. But the “target” were villagers celebrating Maulud. That’s why the Army’s received condemnation, calls for investigation and retribution for killing non-combatant civilians.

    Since 2017, as tallied by The Nation in its December 6 report, six communities have been bombed – five by NAF jets, and one by an Army drone – killing hundreds, majority of them women and children. They’re as follows:

    * January 17, 2017: Between 52 and 126 villagers, including aid workers, were killed and 120 injured, as NAF fighter jets bombed a camp of Internally-Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Rann, Borno State.

    * April 13, 2020: A NAF fighter jet shelled Sakotoku village in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State, killing 17 civilians, including women and children.

    * April 13, 2022: A NAF jet killed six children returning home from where they had gone to fetch water in Kurebe village in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.

    * July 7, 2022: A NAF jet bombed Kunkuna village in Safana Local Government Area of Katsina State, killing one, and injuring 13 villagers, shortly after the attack on ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s security team in the state.

    * January 2023: Bombs by NAF jets killed 37 persons, including herders, at the boundary between Benue and Nasarawa states in Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

    * December 3, 2023: Nigerian Army drone killed over 120 villagers, who were celebrating Maulud in Tudun Biri of Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

    Similarly, a report by Al Jazeera on September 6, 2022, noted that since April 2014, at least 14 incidences had been documented of the air force bombing residential villages. They include:

    * February 2014: A NAF aircraft dropped a bomb on Daglun, a village in Borno State, killing 20 civilians, and wounding scores of others.

    * April 2019: Children in Tangaram village in Anka community in Zamfara State cheered an aircraft, which passed over the village, but returned to drop a bomb that killed six children, and injured 17 civilians.

    * September 15, 2021: An air raid killed 10 people and wounded 20 others in Buhari village in Yunusari LGA of Yobe State, with NAF saying its jet targeted members of Islamic State in West African Province (ISWAP) when it hit the village. But the residents said they hadn’t witnessed insurgent attacks in three months, and wondered when and where did NAF see and locate the terrorists in their village, even as they’re paid only N10,000 compensation.

    Also, The Cable did extensive coverage of communities or areas impacted by military airstrikes, and reports the following:

    * In June 2021: There were reports that an air force fighter jet killed some wedding guests in Genu, Rijau LGA of Niger State, with the NAF saying it had no record of unintended civilian casualties apart from bandits.

    * In July 2021: A NAF airstrike targeting bandits at the Sububu forest located between Shinkafi and Maradun LGAs of Zamfara, hit and killed a woman and four of her children, with NAF denying that civilian casualties were recorded.

    * December 1, 2022: An undisclosed number of people killed in Dansadau district, Maru LGA of Zamfara State, when military air raid was conducted in Malele, Mutunji and other villages around Dansadau.

    * In January 2023: A NAF jet dropped multiple bombs in Galadima Kogo, Shiroro LGA of Niger State, killing 30 vigilantes, who’d laid ambush for bandits they sighted in the area.

    * On September 28, 2021: About 20 fishermen reportedly killed by a NAF airstrike in the Kwatar Daban Masara region of Lake Chad.

    * On February 20, 2022: A Nigerian military airstrike targeting terrorists killed seven children, who were playing as their parents were in a ceremony, in a border community in Nachade village, Maradi, in the Niger Republic.

    Ironically, the Military hasn’t spared its own in the “wrong” bombing of suspected terrorist targets, as there’d been reports of Airforce shelling of troops confronting insurgents in the North-East of Nigeria.

    For instance, in April 2020, some soldiers were killed in Mainok, Borno State, after a NAF fighter jet fired a bomb on the ground troops it’s providing air support for. The jet hit the wrong coordinates, while targeting Boko Haram insurgents, who had attacked the troops some days earlier.

    An October 2021 report by Abuja-based think-tank, Centre For Democracy and Development (CDD), noted that, “since 2011, an estimated 12,000 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced across the northwestern states of Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara due to the conflict” by bandits, who’ve “raided villages, attacked an air force fighter jet and a train, and kidnapped people of all ages, including children, for ransom.”

    It’s in resolve to add more firepower to its campaign against criminalities that the Military engage in airstrikes on terrorists and bandits’ hideouts or rendezvous, and thus prone to misfiring.

    Affirming the possibility of accidental killing of civilians in the fight against terrorists, former Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the civilian victims were “collateral (unintentional) deaths,” that happen “once in a while.”

    “Fighting insurgency is a very difficult thing. And as much as the air force or the military are careful, once in a while, it does happen – that innocent people also suffer. We regret it,” Mr Mohammed said.

    Agreed that in “providing air support for ground troops in the fight against a spate of killings and kidnappings” across northern Nigeria, the Military could make mistakes, but they shouldn’t be on a regular basis or denied offhand, that “no bomb or missile was even expended” in the affected areas.

    When the Military did admit any errors, it’s to justify the mistakes under the cover of targeting armed groups hibernating in or pursued into civilian communities.

    For example, while the Army acknowledged, and apologised for its error in the Kaduna bombing, the Defence Headquarters claimed the drone attack on Ligarma community was based on information about untoward activities of terrorists in the area, known to be terrorist-infested in Kaduna State.

    In a statement on December 5 in Abuja, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, said the Army Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) captured movement of groups of persons synonymous with the terrorist tactics and modus operandi.

    Buba said the observed advance of the terrorists that were gathered posed a threat to key infrastructure within reach of their activities, and “the threat was eliminated to prevent the terrorists from unleashing terror on innocent civilians.”

    “It should be noted that, terrorists often deliberately embed themselves within civilian population centres for civilian population to bear the consequences of their atrocities,” Buba said, adding, “Nevertheless, the Nigerian military does its best at all times to distinguish between civilians and terrorists.”

    Buba said the military views civilian deaths in the cause of operations as needless and unwanted tragedies, “which cause the armed forces to take extensive measures to avoid them.”

    One such measure is to continually give precise instructions to communities, “to always alert troops of their activities, particularly when such a community is known to be infested with terrorists and their sympathisers.”

    “These instructions are intended at enabling the military distinguish between friendly and untoward activities,” Buba said, and pledged that, “the armed forces would continue to operate in line with international laws, and also continue a determined and cautious progress in eradicating terrorists from the land.”

    Still, the public, and especially survivors of erroneous military attacks, “want the government (military) to admit what they did,” rather than justifying their actions as resulting from targeting armed groups hibernating, sighted in or pursued into civilian communities, and paying compensations in pittance thereafter to victims.

    As Aina’u Umaru, 35-year-old mother of a girl, Sakinah, killed in the April 2019 bombing of Tangaram village in Zamfara State, recounted to Al Jazeera, “It has been more than two years, and there have been no statements from the Nigerian military.”

    According to her: “The Nigerian air force said they followed bandits who ran to our village… These bandits stay in the bush, and their camps are known to them (military). If it was confirmed that bandits ran into the town, is it appropriate to bomb a village of thousands of people?

    “Whenever I remember her (Sakinah), I tell myself it (military bomb attack) was deliberate,” Umaru said, and queried: “Why would they drop a bomb in a village because they’re chasing bandits? It ruined us. We were left to deal with their mistakes.”

    The “how’s” and “why’s” for the “unintended” Army shelling of celebrating villagers in Kaduna State are what everybody who’s spoken wants answers to, while they condemn the act, condole with the victims, and call for an investigation, and stiff penalties for culprits.

    President Bola Tinubu, away in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for the United Nations Climate Change COP-28 summit, has called for an expeditious and thorough investigation into the incident, even as he condoled with the victims and families of those who died in the bombing.

    “President Tinubu describes the incident as very unfortunate, disturbing, and painful, expressing indignation and grief over the tragic loss of Nigerian lives,” a statement by presidential spokesman, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, said on December 5.

    “The president has directed a thorough and full-fledged investigation into the incident and called for calm while the authorities looked into the mishap,” Ngelale said.

    Vice President Kashim Shettima visited the injured at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital in Kaduna on December 7, and pledged government’s full investigation and punishments for culprits of the massacre.

    “There is no gain in dwelling too much on this incident that has happened,” Shettima said after touring the hospital. “I am here because the President is deeply concerned; he was deeply touched by what happened.

    “Let’s not talk about the numbers (because), one life lost in cold blood is as gruesome as millions lost in a pogrom. The heart of the President is with the bereaved families.

    “It is already directed by Mr President, an investigation is being conducted with a view to preventing a re-occurrence of the incident and we expect a report to be submitted in the shortest possible time.”

    Many other individuals and groups have spoken in tandem with the realities on the ground. They include Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani; House of Representatives Speaker Tejudeen Abbas; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi; the Arewa

    Consultative Forum (ACF); Northern Elders Forum (NEF); Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN); Congress of Northern Nigeria Christians (CNNC); Jama’atul Nasril-Islam; and Arewa Youth Consultatve Forum (AYCF), whose President General, Shettima Yerima, said, “It is sad that a security agency, whose primary responsibility is to protect lives and property, is now the one killing the people in the guise of (a) ‘mistake.’ This is not acceptable because it is one mistake too many.

    “Perpetrators of this so-called mistake must be made to explain beyond (all) reasonable doubt(s) how religious people, carrying out religious activities, could be mistaken for terrorists. Enough of this unwarranted killings of innocent people by those who should protect them,” Mr Yerima said.

    Amnesty International (AI), whose Country Director, Isah Sanusi, and officials of the organisation visited the village, gave a figure of “over 120 dead” as of December 6 – a figure that conflicts with the account reportedly given by an eyewitness of the burial of the victims in two mass graves.

    Mr Sanusi said: “I can confirm to you that the current number of casualties in the affected areas is more than 120 persons.

    “According to our contact, who was at the scene of the mass burial, there were at least 77 dead bodies in each of the mass graves. There were also 17 other persons, who are (were) from adjoining villages, who lost their lives in the ugly incident.”

    This totals over 171 dead as of December 6, and the figure could rise, as updates are given by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), whose figures of casualties as of December 4 were 85 dead and 66 injured.

    While investigation, sanctioning of the culprits, and paying compensations to victims and those who lost relatives in the Kaduna tragedy are imperative, there’s need for the Military to look inward for possible saboteurs of its operations to combat and degrade terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other criminalities across Nigeria.

    Because globally, there’re reports of rise in participation in or having sympathy for terrorism within the security agencies, particularly the Military. Is the Nigerian military immune to this frightening trend within the security apparatuses?

    Actually, there’ve been reports of saboteurs within the Nigerian armed forces, who relay troops’ positions to insurgents for attacks, or tip off terrorists about imminent attacks by security operatives; and some security personnel aid and abet terrorist and bandit attacks and kidnappings in the North, and oil bunkering in the South.

    The Military (and its arms: Army, Air Force and Navy) has been quick to deny such allegations as aimed at tarnishing its image and reputation, and distracting it from the war against internal security challenges that’ve overwhelmed the Police and other civil security agencies in the country.

    Yet, mishaps, such as the Kaduna bombing, persist to question the kind, quality and actionable intelligence the security agencies conduct and receive before deciding to strike terrorist targets.

    For instance, how did the “identified and actionable target” in the Kaduna community turn out to be a gathering of people celebrating Maulud? Was it due to faulty Intel or the purported “terrorists” suddenly disappeared before the drone strike?

    As the bomb-bearing drone hadn’t the intelligence to determinine whether its target was of terrorists or villagers celebrating Maulud, what further and final checks did the drone operators carry out – especially as it’s in the night – before they released the “doomsday” bombs on the target?

    Many questions begging for answers, as Nigerians await the outcome of the investigation, to “get to the bottom” of the Kaduna bombing, hoping that the matter won’t be “swept under the carpet,” as did previous probes of such untoward mishaps.

  • NASS welcome moves to amend Electoral Act 2022 – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    NASS welcome moves to amend Electoral Act 2022 – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Many Nigerians agreed – and had hoped – that the amended Electoral Act 2022 would be a game changer in terms of its dynamism and innovation to cure obvious lapses in the electoral system, and ensure credibility and transparency of elections.

    But as shown in the process, outcome and aftermath of the February-March 2023 General Election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), a lot of loopholes and wiggle room still exist in the system.

    Trust politicians, they’ve exploited these flaws for selfish ends. Even those that’d long shot – or no shot at all – at the offices they vied for, have taken undue advantage of the inadequacies in the electoral law to blame their opponents – and not themselves – for their defeats at the poll.

    Particularly excoriated are INEC and the All Progressives Congress (APC) for alleged connivance – that’s largely unproven in courts when the accusers were given opportunities to do so – to deny members of the opposition the reported mandate Nigerians gave to them on poll day.

    Hence the refrain, “We will retrieve our ‘stolen mandate’ in court,” which they failed to achieve, as the courts dismissed most petitions and/or appeals as “incompetent and lacking in merit” – judgments that’ve given rise to further allegations of compromise of Judges handling electoral matters.

    No court – from the High Court to the Supreme Court – is spared these odious allegations bandied by defeated candidates, their cronies, supporters and political parties because there’re no sanctions – and if there’re, no one has been held to account – for such spurious charges against political opponents, the governing party, Judges and the entire Judiciary.

    To the extent that lately, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, was hard-pressed to urge Judges not to abandon the law for “emotions of the mob” in the consideration of matters before them.

    At the swearing-in of 58 new Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) in Abuja, Justice Ariwoola said: “I expect every judicial officer to work very hard and also be very honest and courteous to the litigants, witnesses and members of the bar, and discharge all your judicial functions with all the humility at your command.

    “Even while doing this, it is still necessary to have at the back of your minds that public opinions, sentiments or emotions can never take the place of the law in deciding the cases that come before you.

    “The law remains the law, no matter whose interest is involved. In all we do, as interpreters of the law, we should endeavour to severe the strings of emotion from logic and assumption from fact.

    “We should never be overwhelmed by the actions or loud voices of the mob or crowd and now begin to confuse law with sentiment or something else in deciding our cases.”

    Nonetheless, the moves by the National Assembly (NASS) to review the Electoral Act – soon after the courts have put to rest the virulently-contentious February 25 presidential poll – should appease those aggrieved over the fallouts from the elections.

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, Sharafadeen Alli, on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily on November 21, hinted about the Senate musing on extensive review of the Electoral Act 2022.

    Senator Alli (APC, Oyo South) – affirming that the 2022 Act was a game changer, and yet, not a perfect legislation – listed some areas (for amendments) that drew the ire of the electorate during the 2023 elections.

    They include, mandatory conclusion of pre and post-election matters before inauguration of election winners; binding electronic transmission, and upload of results to the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal realtime; and conclusion of petitions and appeals before swearing-in of poll winners.

    He said: “I must say this, there can not be a perfect legislation. After every legislation, you see gaps and that is when power that is given to the judiciary will tap into this clause.

    “We must praise the 9th (National) Assembly under Senator (Ahmad) Lawan (former Senate President) for coming out boldly to pass the Electoral Act; it is the fundamental change in our electoral system.

    “BVAS (Biomodal Voter Accreditation System) machine is like a game changer, unlike the Card Reader. When the card reader does not work, we will fill the incident form, and we knew (what voters) used that for. But as soon as you bypass the BVAS this time around, the election is null and void. That is one of the things that we are doing going forward.

    “And whatever we say on every legislation, there has been an improvement on the previous ones, and we say things are getting better (even if) there are errors there as well.

    “Under the current law, it is not mandatory for INEC to upload (poll results). That is what the courts have said: ‘Enter the law.’

    “But as we are going forward, it (upload of results) is going to be mandatory. It is just to ask INEC to make sure we improve our technology and ensure that the thing is there.”

    The Senate, in its retreat in Akwa Ibom State in October – which precursored the Lagos retreat by the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on Electoral Matters – set up a committee to attend to electoral reforms in advance of the 2027 polls.

    Rising from the three-day Lagos parley, the committee – which demonstrated the seriousness of observed lapses in the Electoral Act, and the importance of remedying them for the 2027 electons – resolved to pursue and conclude the amendments before the end of 2024.

    In the course of its deliberations, the committee took cognisance of, and reviewed recommendations from local and international election observers, who elaborated on citizens’ experiences with the 2023 elections.

    Areas for amendments include: * The challenge of appointment of non-partisan persons into INEC that hinders its independence and integrity. * Issue of minimum educational qualification of candidates for elective offices. * Conflicts arising from decisions of the courts over pre or post-election matters.

    Others are: * The use of BVAS technology in electoral process. * INEC’s recourse to reconfiguring the BVAS machines (wiping prior data) before fresh election. * Lack of clarity in documentary proof of non-compliance with the electoral law. * Operational challenges in INEC as per electoral offences. * Issue of internal democracy that splinters parties, and breeds anti-party activities.

    To success in its task, the Joint Committee will carry out extensive consultations with constituents, the public, and other stakeholders, to ensure inclusive participation; collaborate with the NASS Constitutional Review Committee, to address areas of elections that require alteration to the amended 1999 Constitution; and work with technical experts to prioritise and articulate issues for amendment.

    The NASS leadership has given the assurance for a timely amendment of the Electoral Act, to enhance transparency and accountability in the electoral processes.
    The November 29 commitment comes in Abuja at a “Citizens’ Townhall on Electoral Reform,” organised by Yiaga Africa in collaboration with the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committee on Electoral Matters.

    Senate President Godswill Akpabio said: “For the electoral process, we are committed not only to go along with the people on the call for reforms on electoral framework, but at the same time protect the independence of the electoral commission and restore the trust of the people in the electoral process.
    “This administration is ready to work with anyone and everyone that is interested in the progress and development of this nation. This is not only on issues on electoral reform, but also in formulating initiatives and policies that will revamp our economy and put us on the driving seat of industrial and economic advancement.”

    Similarly, House of Representatives Speaker Tejudeen Abbas said: “There is no gainsaying the fact that credible elections are the bedrock of any democracy, and Nigeria stands the risk of reversing the gains of the last two decades if we do not fix our elections.

    “The 10th House of Representatives is committed to championing legislative initiatives that promote fairness, transparency and accountability in our electoral processes.”

    Critics, who, in the wake of the 2023 elections, shredded the entire Electoral Act 2022, have the opportunity now to contribute their quota to making the law a “perfect” one of their dream.

    This is as Nigerians, and the global community look forward to the NASS, to translate its zeal, commitment, and timely commencement of reforming the electoral process into enhancing credibility and acceptability of our elections.

  • Edo 2024: Shaibu dares Obaseki on governorship ambition – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: Shaibu dares Obaseki on governorship ambition – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo State Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu subtly took Governor Godwin Obaseki to the cleaners on November 19 in Abuja, prompting polity watchers to predict a “battle royale” ahead of the September 21, 2024, governorship poll to replace Obaseki, who completes his eight-year tenure next November.

    This comes two months after Shaibu’d cringed and cried – cutting a picture of a forlorn and hapless personality – as he begged and genuflected for Mr Obaseki to forgive him his real or imaginary indiscretions that overawed the governor.

    Shaibu soured relationship with Obaseki over his bid to succeed him. He later recanted, apologised and vouched his loyalty to Obaseki, saying he’d “taken a personal vow with God to support the governor,” who ironically doesn’t support Shaibu to succeed him.

    But with the gloves off in a no-holds-barred, innuendo-filled session with journalists in Abuja, Shaibu’s returned to his 2024 governorship ambition, which he says is alive, and consultations ongoing on the way forward.

    On suitability for governor, Shaibu claims to possess the requisite experience, knowledge of politics and practical, not experimental governance – a dig at Obaseki, a Lagos-based financier brought by former Governor Adams Oshiomhole, and made governor.

    Shaibu’s words: “With the 2024 Edo governorship election fast approaching, Edo people need practical governance, and you cannot experiment again with somebody who does not understand the politics of a good state and the needs of the people.

    “I understand the debt profile of the state, and where I feel I can get funding to put up structure in the state. So, I won’t be coming to learn on the job, but to hit the ground running.”

    Shaibu says the citizens are asking the government to “stop pushing for projects that are not needed in any environment” – again referring to Obaseki’s obsession with grandiose projects, signing of series of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for which critics label him “MoU Governor” for non-execution of the projects, many appearing only on paper.

    “So, everything we have to do should be assessed,” Shaibu said, adding, “You cannot know the need of the people when you don’t live with them” – this time baiting Obaseki’s reportedly endorsed Lagos-based businessman for the 2024 governorship.

    For 2024, Shaibu canvasses “competence and experience” as the watchwords, querying, “Who is competent? Who is more experienced? Who will hit the ground running from day one?”

    “Are we going to experiment with a new person again? And the person will spend the first four years learning on the job and he will spend another four years trying to embezzle, set up his businesses in the name of consolidating on the gains of the first term? Or do we need a governor that from day one will hit the ground running?”

    On Obaseki’s loggerheads with the APC Federal Government, Shaibu – who, along with Obaseki, dumped All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2020, after Obaseki’s disqualified from the ticket for re-election – says to succeed, a state government must collaborate with the central government.

    Obaseki had repeatedly publicly criticised the APC government of former President Muhammadu Buhari over alleged neglect of federal roads in Edo State; and accused the administration of printing Naira to run its activities.

    On rotation of the governorship among the senatorial districts in Edo State, with Esan-speaking people of Edo Central claiming it’s their turn to produce the governor in 2024, Shaibu of the Afemai stock of Edo North, says whereas other zones have had more than a turn at producing a governor, Edo North has had just one turn.

    Taking accounts of civilian governors who ruled Bendel State (Delta and Edo), and Edo State till date, Shaibu said: “We have had four governors from (Edo) south (Late Dr Samuel Ogbemudia, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Chief Lucky Igbinedion and Mr Obaseki), two from (Edo) central (Late Prof. Ambrose Alli and Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor, whose election was voided by the courts, and in the eye of the law, was never a Governor) and only one from (Edo) north (Senator Oshiomhole).

    Shaibu added: “Just like my ambition to be deputy governor was not mine, but I made myself available, so also the ambition to be governor is still not mine. I’m only making myself available” – a reference to his endorsement by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members of Ward 11 in Etsako West Local Government Area of the state on November 15.

    The unanimous call on Shaibu to run was made by PDP supporters during a reception for Shaibu at the ward meeting, chaired by Mr. Igbafe Agbonoga, who declared on behalf of the ward:

    “We have agreed that Philip Shaibu must run for 2024 Governorship Election. We know he will make a huge difference, if elected as the next governor of our dear state.

    “Our decision is based on the ideology of the deputy governor’s practicality in governance during his tenure as a member of Edo State House of Assembly and National Assembly respectively, which focused on paradigm shift in governance.

    “The Ward 11 PDP members and leadership, after critically examining the antecedents and capacity of the deputy governor, we have decided to endorse and support him to run and win the Edo 2024 governorship election.”

    Hailing Shaibu as the most credible and qualified person for Edo 2024, Agbonoga said Edo people needed not just any politician, “but a man with the best interest of the state at heart, in addition to the necessary experience.”

    “We need the deputy governor to steer the ship of the state from the failed expectations and disappointments that have been our bane,” the ward chairman said.

    “It is on this note that we are here, to announce that after careful scrutiny of those aspiring to be Governor, we have found that the most suitable man for the job is Rt Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu, and we so endorse him for the number one seat of Edo State.”

    Due to unpredictability of politics, and politicians, not many would’ve forecasted Shaibu would turn the tables against Obaseki so soon after his humiliation, and apology to Obaseki for unkown offences he denied committing.

    Yet, as a pre-emptive strategy, Shaibu sued Obaseki in a couple of courts in Benin City and Abuja, to restrain the governor, Edo State House of Assembly and security agencies from alleged moves to impeach him in the run-up to the 2024 governorship.

    Obaseki – who’d dealt with his political godfather, Oshiomhole, leading to his sack as APC’s national chairman – took Shaibu as a small fry to handle, to show him that, “I remain the Governor of Edo State.”

    Accordingly, Obaseki ejected Shaibu from his office at the Osadebey Avenue Government House in Benin City, and kept him floating for weeks, such that Shaibu’s seen in a viral video outside the Government House, telling someone on the phone that he’d no communication about the new office he’s relocated.

    The next day on September 19, Shaibu received a two-paragraph memo captioned, “Relocation of Office Accommodation,” dated September 15, from the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Osarodion Ogie.

    It reads: “I write to inform you that His Excellency, the Governor, has approved the relocation of your office accommodation to No 7, Dennis Osadebey Avenue, G.R.A., Benin City.

    “You are therefore requested to ensure your compliance in line with Mr Governor’s approval, please.”

    And Shaibu – who told journalists on September 21 in Benin City that, “We have resumed (in the new office),” and that, “there is no problem with it, as the governor has asked us to go there” – tendered apology to Obaseki, who held back further actions against him – save the initial cutting him off from audience and contacts with him (Obaseki), attendance at certain official duties, and turning over Shaibu’s office to organisers of the state’s yearly ‘Alaghodaro Summit.’

    A scalded, scorched and seared Shaibu’d enlisted the powerful and influential in the society, to intercede for Obaseki to “forgive him,” for the good old days to roll once more.

    So, having withdrawn his writs in courts against Obaseki, Edo Assembly and security agencies, Shaibu invited the press on September 21, to assist him to disseminate widely his “Mother-of-all-pleadings” with Obaseki, who Shaibu, in a tone of comic relief, and a touch of religiosity, said he “really missed” his relationship.

    Shaibu said: “I will use this medium to appeal to Mr. Governor, if there is anything that I don’t know that I have done, please forgive me, so that we can develop our state together.

    “Mr Governor, please, if there is anything that you think I have done, I am sorry. I need us to work together to finish well and strong because that is my prayer for you.”

    Shaibu added: “I’m missing my governor really, and I know God will touch the governor’s heart and touch all of us and even those that are trying to be in-between. God will touch them to know that I mean well.

    “Like I always tell people, I am a loyal servant, there is nothing that has changed. I took a personal vow to support the Governor, and you can see my Catholic people are here. Everything about me, if I have a vow with God, there is nothing that will change it.”

    These words, capable of melting a stone – coupled with entreaties from well-meaning interceders – mollified Obaseki to accept a truce on September 28, one week after Shaibu offered his public apology.

    In a letter, “Re: Public Apology By The Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu,” Obaseki, touting himself as a “person of faith,” said he’s “under obligation to accept the apology.”

    He said: “I have noted the public apology made by the Deputy Governor of Edo State, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu. This apology followed an aberrant behaviour that contradicts what the people of Edo State stand for.

    “To name a few, the Deputy Governor needlessly filed unfounded petitions in the Nigerian courts restraining me, the State House of Assembly and Security agencies from a non-existent impeachment process, followed by repeated breaches of protocol; unwarranted and unprovoked attacks in the media on my person and the State Government.

    “The media frenzy as a result of the above and more, provided an impression of crises that has been precarious and distasteful to Edo people in the State and across the world.

    “Although these unwarranted provocations caused me severe personal discomfort, as a person of faith, I am under obligation to accept this apology because as they say, ‘to err is human, to forgive is divine.’

    “In good faith, I trust that the public apology as expressed by the Deputy Governor is genuine and followed by contrite steps to improve his conflict resolution skills. I also enjoin the Deputy Governor to guide his proxies to act in accordance with his piety.”

    Hardly two months later, Shaibu’s returned to 2024 governorship, and thrown down the gauntlet. Will Obaseki pick up the duel that’s likely to go beyond Election Day in September 2024, and with potential to heat up the polity in Edo State? It’s a guessing game with a governor that takes no prisoners!

  • Bayelsa 2023: Sylva’s undoing partly self-inflicted – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Bayelsa 2023: Sylva’s undoing partly self-inflicted – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Because of the deck stacked against him – or more aptly, due to the deck he stacked against himself – it’s illusory to project the November 11, 2023, governorship in Bayelsa State as a walkover for former Governor Timipre Sylva.

    From the get go, Mr Sylva faced numerous huddles, to reach the Creek Haven Government House in Yenagoa, capital city of Bayelsa, which he left in 2012. Foremost were headwinds from Governor Douye Diri of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and aggrieved members in Bayelsa’s All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The odds likely favoured Mr Diri seeking re-election to the seat he got on a platter on February 13, 2020, when the Supreme Court nullified election of Chief David Lyon on the eve of his swearing-in.

    Mr Lyon won the November 16, 2019, poll by a landslide, but Diri’s gifted the governorship when the court barred APC’s Deputy Governor-elect Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo over discrepancies in his credentials to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the election. Diri therein nicknamed himself as a “Miracle Governor.”

    Lyon, who saw the “Promised Land” of Government House on February 13, 2020 – during final rehearsals for his swearing-in the next day – regarded himself as the “candidate-in-waiting” for 2023, and APC’s ticket his for the asking.

    Members of the Bayelsa chapter, especially the youths, regarded Lyon as “our next Governor,” and urged the APC leadership to “award” him the ticket without a primary contest, and they hit the streets when the party threw the nomination open for a direct primary by registered members.

    Lyon won the September 4, 2019, primaries with 42,138 votes, to defeat five aspirants, including current Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Dr Heineken Lokpobiri, who scored 571 votes, but went to court, to be declared the candidate on the grounds of irregularities at the primaries.

    A Supreme Court ruling halted Lokpobiri on February 11, 2020, three days to inauguration of Lyon, whose election was voided two days later when the same court disqualified Mr Degi-Eremienyo.

    Though he won the November 2019 poll, Lyon’s supporters had no illusion he’d defeat Sylva – also a former Minister of Petroleum Resources with a large warchest – in the April 14, 2023, primaries, which Lyon boycotted as the APC rejected his “sense of entertainment” to the ticket.

    From 58,171 accredited among 142,031 registered APC members for the primaries, Sylva secured 52,061 votes, while Lyon scored 1,582 votes to place third behind ex-agitator Joshua Maciver, who came second with 2,078 votes.

    Sylva, acclaimed “sole financier of Bayelsa APC,” reportedly preferred Lyon, and “threw his weight behind him” in the 2019 primaries for the APC ticket for the governorship of that year.

    After Lyon’s dramatic ouster by the Supreme Court in 2020, Sylva allegedly pledged to back his second bid in 2023, even as he promised supports for other APC chieftains for the governorship he reportedly excluded himself.

    But ahead 2023, Sylva “reneged on the promises,” declared for the governorship, took the primaries by a landslide, and told primarygoers he’d replicate same on November 11 against Diri, who mocked him as “dishonest and insincere” for allegedly deceiving members of the APC over his ambition, and his disqualification by an Abuja Federal High Court.

    In a statement, “Bayelsa Doesn’t Deserve Serial Deceiver As Governor,” Diri said: “Bayelsa needs an honest and sincere leader that is focused on its development and not a man widely known for deception.

    “Timipre Sylva is a man you cannot trust. He displaced all those he promised that he would give the governorship ticket and turned around to become the candidate himself.”

    Diri’s accusingly behind the court cases by APC members, to ensure Sylva didn’t participate in the governorship. Sylva’s lawyers in his disqualification appeal, and even some of the three-member panel of Justices of the Appeal Court, hinted about such a possibility.

    An APC member in Bayelsa, Mr Demesuoyefa Kolomo, filed a suit on June 6, asking the high court to determine – given sections 180(2)(a) and 182(1)(b) of the 1999 Constitution – whether Sylva was qualified to contest in the poll, having occupied the governorship from May 2007 to April 2008 and May 2008 to January 2012.

    Ruling on the night of October 9, trial Justice Donatus Okorowo held that having been inaugurated twice and ruled as governor for five years, allowing Sylva to contest would amount to expansion of the constitution or its scope.

    Justice Okorowo directed INEC to remove the names of Sylva and his running mate, Mr Maciver, from the list of candidates for the poll, to prevent Sylva from exceeding the eight-year tenure for governor if he won the November 11 election.

    But Sylva argued that he’s elected once as governor – citing an April 2008 Court of Appeal ruling that nullified his 2007 election – and filed a three-ground notice of appeal, through a team of lawyers, led by Dr. Ahmed Raji (SAN).

    When the case was called on October 27, Sylva’s lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), and APC’s counsel, K.O. Balogun, urged the appellate court to allow the appeals, set aside the high court judgment and affirm Sylva’s candidacy.

    Arguing Sylva’s position of having been sworn-in once as governor, Mr Kehinde described the high court judgment as “a hatchet job just to tie this man (Sylva) not to campaign and participate in the election.”

    Also faulting the decision of the high court, Mr Balogun said, “What the 1st respondent (Kolomo) is asking this court to do is to deem the nullified months as four years.”

    He accused Kolomo of “fighting a proxy war” (for Sylva’s opponents at the poll), because “he cannot be a member of the APC and be fighting to destroy its candidate and chances at the election.”

    Similarly during the proceedings, some members of the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led panel wondered why Kolomo, who claimed to be an APC member, but not an aspirant at the primaries, would want to destroy his party’s chance in an election!

    Noting that Kolomo could’ve voted for another party in the November poll “if he assumed Mr Sylva did not deserve his vote,” the panel condemned the attitude of lawyers, who failed to advice their clients appropriately, saying, “it is a moral issue.”

    Kolomo’s lawyer, Mr Abiodun Amuda-Kanike (SAN), and INEC’s lawyer, Mr Ahmed Mohamed, prayed the court to dismiss the appeals, and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

    However, on October 31, the court set aside the high court decision for lack of jurisdiction, and awarded N1 million cost against Kolomo for lack of legal right to seek Sylva’s disqualification from the election.

    Again on November 9 – two days to election – the Appeal Court in Abuja came to Sylva’s rescue, dismissing an appeal, seeking to prevent him from the poll, as without merit.

    Reading the lead judgment, Justice Binta Zubar held that the subject matter of the appeal by Hon. Isikima Ogbomade Johnson was non-justiceable, adding that “the case was brought in bad faith.”

    The court held that having been sacked by the courts in his first election, Sylva couldn’t have taken the oath of office as a governor twice, which informed the conduct of another election that Sylva won in 2008, and governed till 2012.

    On the issue of Sylva not duly nominated as candidate, the court held that overwhelming evidence presented by the INEC and APC showed that no legal provision was violated in the primaries.

    “From the uncontroverted independent report of INEC, it was clear beyond any doubt that a valid primary election was conducted by APC and monitored by the electoral umpire as required by law,” the court said.

    The court upheld the judgment of Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court in Abuja, which on September 26, dismissed Mrs Johnson’s suit for lacking in merit and substance, and imposed a cost of N1 million against her.

    Noting that the appellant’s case was statute-barred, having been instituted outside the 14 days allowed by law, the court upheld the judgment of Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court in Abuja which on September 26, dismissed Mrs Johnson’s suit for lacking in merit and substance, and imposed a cost of N1 million against the appellant.

    The court cases against Sylva definitely put a wrench to the efforts of Dr Abdullahi Ganduje-led National Working Committee (NWC) to return APC to power in Bayelsa.

    Yet, besisde court’s barring of Sylva, and INEC’s delisting of his name, prompting the APC to suspend campaigns for weeks, Sylva owns his undoing by incurring enemies in Messrs Lyon and Lokpobiri prior to the primaries, and election, leading to cries of their sellout to, and a deal with Diri for the poll.

    As reported by an online portal quoting sources, Diri conceded 50 slots of Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) each to Lokpobiri and Lyon, and also promised them some measure of influence in decision-making if he won re-election.

    The APC dismissed the alleged Lokpobiri and Lyon’s alliance with Diri, with the Secretary, Media and Publicity Committee of the National Campaign Council of the APC, Hon. Yekini Nabena, on October 9, releasing pictures of Lokpobiri and Lyon recommitting themselves before the National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, to deliver Sylva and APC in Bayelsa.

    Nabena’s words in a statement: “Our attention has been drawn to a sponsored propaganda in some quarters suggesting cracks in the solid camp of the Bayelsa APC ahead of the November 11 governorship election in the State.

    “We will not be distracted because we are fully aware how desperate the incumbent Governor Douye Diri has become, therefore employing all manner of tactics including propaganda and lies just to cause confusion.

    “For the benefit of the doubt, the attached pictures will tell doubters that the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, and the 2019 governorship candidate, David Lyon, most recently held a strategic meeting with our candidate in the presence of our National Chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, where everyone recommitted himself, and massive mobilization has since begun.

    “We, however, sympathize with the restless Governor Diri and his camp for acting too late, bearing in mind that their days are numbered in the Bayelsa state Government House.

    “We urge all our party members, supporters and Bayelsans, in general, to remain calm, expectant of landslide victory and disregard lies suggesting cracks in our camp.”

    Lokpobiri, via his Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Nneamaka Okafor, denied the allegation same day as baseless, and reaffirmed his commitment to the APC success at the poll.

    “We categorically state that these allegations lack credibility and are merely propaganda,” Okafor said, adding, “Senator Lokpobiri’s dedication to the APC’s principles and values is unquestionable, and he remains steadfast in his commitment to the party’s success in Bayelsa State.”

    Whichever, Sylva, who allegedly went into the campaigns as his own director-general – either he’d no confidence or trust in others to lead the team or those he approached turned down the offer – was literally a lone ranger, starved of the necessary backing from party chieftains, such as Lyon and Lokpobiri, with his eventual defeat at the poll glaring in the strongholds of APC’s topshots.

    So, for Sylva to win the November 11 election would’ve been nothing short of a miracle, which, like that of Mr Diri, could still happen via the instrumentality of the courts. Till then, it’s another four-year wait for the APC to break the 24-year rule of the PDP in Bayelsa State!