Following the scandal of the appointment of Amina Zakari as the head of Election Collation arm of the Commission, a top level strategic meeting was called for by former president Olusegun Obasanjo in Lagos.
The Meeting, which held on Sunday, January 6, was said to be geared towards the checkmating of the desperation that seem to be marking the actions of the ruling party in recent times.
Recall that Amina Zakari, hitherto the Director of Health in INEC, has been appointed the Coordinator of INEC Collation of results for the 2019 Presidential elections, despite cries of blood ties with a sitting president. But the Presidency has denied that she is the niece of Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the APC, but accepted that she is in effect his step niece. This has resulted in a loud backlash against the action of Mahmoud Yakubu, particularly as there were reports that he with Zakari had a nocturnal meeting with the presidency before the announcement of her appointment. Zakari herself told a forign media outfi that she is not related to the president but that the president is “my leader”
Although it is not clear if Zakari is a card carrying member of the ruling party, Buhari is the National leader of APC by virtue of his being the highest serving elected officer of the ruling party.
The main opposition party,the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has asked the National Peace initiative coordianator, Abdulsalami Abubakar, and the international community to step in and save the situation as, according to them, her appointment has confirmed a rigging template of the ruling party.
The meeting, called at the instance of the former president Obasanjo, has the PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar in attendance, as well as the Senate President Bukola Saraki. They were said to have appraised the issue of the leaked tape of the current minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, where he criticized the president in unflatering terms. “Part of the meeting dealt with strategies of countering the activities of the security agencies and INEC, who have not hidden the partisan nature of their activities”, a source told this Magazine.
Besides the INEC scandal, the security agencies have suddenly become hyperactive. Recently, the Nigerian army sealed the offices of Daily Trust Newspapers both in Maiduguri and Abuja, accusing them of leaking information about how they intend to reclaim lost towns. The Army had denied that they lost any town at all. There were no indications that they were searching for who might have leaked such a vital information to the press.
The police has been hounding senator Dino Malaye about a crime he was said to have committed months ago. There were rumors of the security agencies muzzling the press through inducements and intimidation.
The Ruling Party, APC, seem to be in an internal crisis following the revelations by the Minister of Transport. In fact, this magazine was informed of overtures being made by President Buhari to meet with former President Obasanjo one on one. The agenda of the meeting, however, is not clear.
Obasanjo, a former president, is said to have widw reaching international influence, and is said to be using that in furtherance of the opposition cause.
The Rabia sign has in recent times become a symbol of a quiet movement going on within the Nigerian political space, imperceptibly creeping into our National psyche.
The sign, believed to have originated in Turkey, was first used in 2013 to garner support for the Muslim Brotherhood uprising in Egypt. The Turkish president, Tuyyep Erdogan, was said to have used it in solidarity for the so called anti Morsi demonstrations in Egypt.
But in Nigeria, it is currently being made popular among the ruling elites, who are believed to have copied it from President Muhammadu Buhari, who used the sign during his recent Budget presentation.
Unfortunately, this appears to play into the antics of conspiracy theorists who believe that buhari was using the sign to cover up his palm lines. The leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has in recent times claimed that the palm lines of the president has changed from 2016 to what it is now, insisting it is a proof of an impostor in Aso Rock. Shortly after the broadcast, president Buhari started using thae sign.
Of course, this may be pure coincidence. But the sign has since caught on with Aisha Buhari apparently championing the spread. She had made her famous statement that the presidency is run by two people during a conference organized by project 4×4-a reminder of the Morsi episode. In this case, Project 4+4 indicated four more years of Presidency for Buhari, each hand representing a term. Since then she has appeared in pictures with the Rabia signs-sometimes alone, sometimes with other groups of people. Is the new movement affiliated to Turkey, Muslim Brotherhood, Sudan, all or none of the above? Or is it a sign for four more yera of Buhari? It remains to be seen. But conspiracy theorists have gone to town insisting there is more to the sign that meets the eye.They refer to the recent opening of the Kano Airport to Sudanese Airline under questionable Bilateral Air Services Agreement, BASA, and the surreptitious way that the documentation has been shrouded in mystery as a sign that there is a hidden movement going on.
But all these may be just a new political sloganeering that is part of taking the change mantra to the next level. Or the next level may be sympathetic to Muslim brotherhood.
The All Progressives Congress, Lagos State on 3rd and 4th January, 2019 trained the TRAINERS who shall in turn TRAIN its Election Canvassers. The programme was attended by many APC members.
Below are faces from the event:
Training Materials being shown to the participantsParticipants at the training programme. Cross Section of participants at the training programme
Another cross section of Participants at the training programme.Hon Tunde Balogun, Lagos State APC Chairman.More participants
…And More participantsHon Funsho Ologunde, Lagos West APC Vice Chairman and the Chairman, Strategic Committee, APC Lagos State.…And More participants
The appointment of Amina ZakarI, an INEC Director in charge of health and medicare, to head the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC collation of results have sparked off a deluge of anger among the populace, especially in the social media with many wondering at the audacity of the Commission to appoint the Niece of President Buhari to such a sensitive electoral position.
During the evening of the Jonathan administration, and Attahiru Jegga, former INEC chairman, billed to retire immediately after the 2015 elections, former president Jonathan then was said to have asked the presidnt elect, Muhammadu Buhari to nominate the new INEC Chairman since he is to be the new sheriff in town. He immediately nominated his niece, Amina ZakarI. Characteristically, Jonathan approved the nomination. But when Buhari took over, there was an uproar over the blood relationship between the president and INEC chairman, and he finally dropped her for Mahmud Yakubu. But she was deployed to a more strategic position as the Director of operations, thereby increasing suspicion that she may be used for a rigging hatchet job by the presidency. The opposition expressed such misgivings and INEC ignored the protests. It was not until the Senate hinged the approval of INEC supplementary budget on her removal that she was deployed to the health Directorate as the director in charge.
Amina is a Pharmacy graduate from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, as well as an Old Girl of Queens College Lagos.
The opposition, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has officially rejected the appointment, seeing it as part of the APC rigging strategy. In fact, it is said that the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, privately complained that if there is any free And fair election, Buhari stands no chance against him, but that his worry was that he is contesting the elections against INEC and the security agencies.
The army, for example, is insisting on Operation Python Dance III all over the country, a move seen by the opposition as using the army to weaken the PDP strongholds in South east, South south and North Central.
The PDP is said to have established an ant rigging committee which this magazine was told has an ultra-secret membership. The job description is to identify rigging plans, modalities and ways of tackling same. Efforts to officially confirm this proved abortive, but the spokesperson of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, was said to have noted that the best antidote will be for the INEC to involve international observers in the collation of results.
It will be recalled that President Buhari has refused to sign the electoral bill for fears that it may not give INEC the leeway to act. The act stipulated that announcement of results should be done directly from the polling units and not at a central collation center, as that will give room for result falsification.
There has been allegations of opposition intimidation by anti-graft agencies. It was alleged that even serving governors are being blackmailed with arrests after power, with evidence of their baggage dangled before them-which was why, according to sources, even PDP governors are not being heard seriously issuing campaign statements. The PDP has mostly used press releases to push out information as a collective decision. Only a few PDP top-wigs are vocal, like, for example, Ayo Fayose, Femi Fanni Kayode and Osita Chidoka.
Apprehension is on the rise that more of the 23 commercial banks in Nigeria face uncertainty in 2019 as stakeholders expect the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN to release a damning report on the health status of some banks, through the Financial Stability Report, FSR.
The FSR is used by the CBN to measure the resilience of the financial sector to the economy.
According to checks, some banks may get the CBN harmer for poor governance issues before half year 2019 after serious indictment in the FSR.
The fear of more banks collapse has also being looming recently in the sector.
The possibility of acquisition and outright takeover of banks cannot be ruled out, sector analysts warn.
In the 2017 report released by the apex bank, the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele had warned then that three commercial banks in the country faced uncertain future after they failed the stress test.
Within the course of the year, two commercials banks obviously exhausted their pay cheque.
Skye Bank was taken over by CBN which renamed it Polaris Bank Ltd, while Diamond Bank has been swallowed by bigger Access Bank.
The magazine investigations from various regulators and those with deep knowledge of the sector indicate that few banks will manage to survive 2019.
There will be more acquisitions and takeovers by healthy banks the magazine was told.
There are ominous signs to this effect. More have now found themselves in the same situation with those three banks which failed CBN stress test last December.
A source in the apex bank told the magazine on Friday that “more banks have failed preliminary test conducted by the CBN as would be released in a comprehensive report soon”
“The outgoing year has been one of the most difficult one for the banking sector. Aside the fiscal policy of the federal government which affected their fortunes, the sector is not helped by external factors which limited foreign investment inflow into the sector in one hand and the economy at large ,” Adetoro Oyebo a financial sector analyst also told the magazine on Thursday.
Though the ‘stressed’ banks were not mentioned, but what happened in the course of the year directly pointed to the fact that some banks are only managing to survive the harsh economic situations.
According to the National Bureau of Statistic, NBS report obtained by the magazine the banking sector is one of the most affected in the declining investment inflow into the country in 2018.
The report said the sector recorded a nine month decline of $891m from $1.18bn to $298.4m between March and November this year.
Last month, the CBN warned that commercial banks in the country faced more risk. According to CBN Deputy Governor, , Corporate Service, Edward Adamu ,non-performing loans, NPLs is rising astronomically due to exposures to the oil and gas sector.
Adamu also warned that interest rates normalization in developed economies of the world has led to decline in foreign capital inflow and thus posed a high risk to Nigerian banks.
Another major pointer to the fact that local banks are sick, according to insiders in the sector, is progressive decline in their Capital Adequacy Ratio, CAR.
A member of the Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, Dahiru Hassam Balami had warned after the last MPC meeting that the sector’s CAR fell from 12.08 per cent from June to10.79 per cent in August.
Lenders will be further pushed to the abyss, insiders warn, due to rising rate of non-performing loans, NPL, which the apex bank said has rising beyond the five percent maximum requirement.
The NPL from CBN records rose from 12.45 percent in June to a high 14.7 per cent.
One source in the CBN hinted the magazine that poor credit administration is one of the major factors that affected the Uzoma Dozie led Diamond Bank.
“The bank obviously gave loans without adequate security. Most of those given loans were either family members or friends who did not provide collateral.
They were granted loans based on false impression that they had the capacity to liquidate such credit facilities,” the source said.
Diamond bank has now been acquired by Access Bank after a three year run to turn its fortune around failed.
The CBN spokesman, Mr Okoroafor did not respond to calls made to his telephone to respond to the issue.
In the past one year, aside from being the Minister for Labour, Chris Ngige, a medical doctor, has been engaged in another assignment which he considers very important. It is to convince his South-east people that one of their own will be Nigeria’s President in 2023. But Ngige attached a condition. The region must vote massively for President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term in office in 2019, or forget the Presidency.
On this, Ngige is in the good company of Osita Okechukwu, the Director General of the Voice of Nigeria, VON. There are, also, a couple of other not- so-important people so involved in this insulting campaign. I call those ones “waka pass”.
For the records, Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha, is also in this business. The only difference: He considers himself the best and most qualified Igbo man for the position in 2023. I don’t, however, know now if the campaign is still of any interest to him. Here is why.
Chris Ngige
The Leadership of his party, the APC, has since told him, in no unmistakable terms, that he has an exaggerated opinion of his powers and influence in the party. If in doubt, ask the National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole. Or, better still, ask these lmo gentlemen – Senators Hope Uzodinma, Ben Uwajimogu, Ifeanyi Araraume, Osita Izunaso, Deputy Governor Eze Madumere, Theodore Ekechi, and more – who demystified him as a force to be reckoned with in the APC. For now, based on the above, he is not relevant in this write-up.
So, Ngige and Okechukwu have been in the forefront of this secular sermon in the South-east. Vote Buhari in 2019, and be sure of the presidency in 2023, they preach.
When you hear them talk, you’d think they had Buhari’s authority, and/or that of the party leadership to say so. They talk so confidently that one is bound to believe them. And I can confirm that a number of people fell for it. The campaigners have a faultless argument. Buhari will not go for four more years after two-terms in office. Unlike a new President, they insist, who would ask for two terms.
This other day when the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha, represented Buhari in Owerri, at Uzodinma’s governorship election campaign flag off, he gave Ngige and Okechukwu the wings to fly. He told the crowd to vote Buhari and be sure of the 2023 Presidency for the South -east. The crowd clapped and yelled in excitement.
I was not convinced. I have never bought their story, or line of argument. I know they had nobody’s mandate to make such non-binding promise. I knew they were just looking for votes for their party. And had no qualms to insultingly reduce the South-east to a pawn in their political chess board. I doubt if they even believe themselves when they talk.
I apologise for this, but in the hierarchy of the APC, I don’t know how influential Ngige and Okechukwu are in the scheme of things. They knew, and still know, that they were just talking. They know that if a South- easterner would ever be Nigeria’s President, let’s assume, under the APC in 2023, it will not be because of their non-authorised promises, or because the zone voted Buhari. Check this.
In 1999, the South-west refused to vote for Olusegun Obasanjo. But, without their votes, he won overwhelmingly and, became the President. He went on to win a second term in office, after out-witting the South-west governors in a funny arrangement with them. Obasanjo swept the governors out of office. The only survivour in that political tsunami which reduced his colleagues to irrelevance, politically, was Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. To be relevant, they now look towards Tinubu’s direction, and grovel for accommodation. But, I digress.
So, Ngige and Okechukwu have been in this business for one year and counting.
But now, the rug has been pulled from under their feet. More important and influential voices in their party have literarily asked them to shut up. A lie has been put to their storyline. “Power pass power”, they seem to have reminded them.
Babatunde Fashola, under whom three ministries reside, was the first to put his colleague-minister, Ngige, and his co-campaigners in their place. During a function in one of the South-west states, Fashola told the Yoruba to vote massively for President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term so as to get back the Presidency in 2023. When Fashola made that statement, I had hoped to hear, or read, a rebuke from Ngige. None came from him. Or from Okechukwu. And now this.
On Saturday, December 22, 2018, any shred of doubt that Minister Ngige and DG Okechukwu were talking out of tune, was wiped away by the very cerebral Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. On a courtesy visit to the Alaafin of Oyo, Osinbajo urged the South-west to vote massively for President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, so as to get the Presidency in 2023.
Osinbajo: “Yoruba have a lot to contribute to Nigeria for the 2019 elections. It is for us the Yoruba; if you understand, it is for us. We are not looking at 2019, but 2023. If we don’t get it now, it may take sometime again.
“We have to look forward to that; that is before us. Though there could be some challenges, but what I know about President Buhari is that he is an honest man. If he says he will do something, he will do it.”
So, has Mr President and those that matter in the APC zoned the 2023 Presidency to the Yoruba? Was that what Osinbajo was insinuating? Perhaps, or perhaps not. May be all the parties are just talking to maximise the votes from both regions. But, as they say, there is no fire without smoke.
I don’t know about you, but between Ngige/Okechukwu on one side, and Osinbajo/ Fashola on the other side, I would, without a blink of the eye, take the latter more seriously than the former. For, this I know. Neither Osinbajo nor Fashola talks for the fun of it.
For a long time, the story has been on that the APC, would, in 2023, field a Tinubu/Boss Mustapha ticket. At times, one also hears of an Osinbajo/Mustapha ticket. But since Osinbajo’s statement, angry reactions have been coming like claps of thunder, notably from the PDP, Ohaneze, Afenifere and a number of other political actors. Senator Ben Obi, a respected Igbo and national voice, described it as insensitive of Osinbajo.
The question is: In the event of a Buhari victory in 2019, what will be in it for the South-east?
For the records, I don’t care who wins the Presidency in 2023. I am not tribalistic. A number of those who helped me in life are from the North. All I want is the best candidate, the best President, for Nigeria, whether the person comes from the South or North. Which is why I have never supported political parties. I support individuals. I want Nigeria to move forward. I want progress.
Like most Nigerians, I want to be able to do my job, pay my staff, put food on the table for my family, help the helpless to the best of my ability, be able to pay hospital bills in case of ill-health, sleep with both eyes closed and, drive along the roads without any fear of armed robbers or kidnappers. That’s what most Nigerians want, and wish for our country.
They abhore the extreme insecurity in the land. They abhore the rivers of blood flowing across the country. They abhore this frightening situation where Nigerians are slaughtered, everyday, like fowls, goats and cows. They abhore the hunger and poverty in the land. They abhore the frustrations in all fronts, almost. They abhore the extreme unemployment in the land. And they abhore the hundreds of thousands of our children out of school. They don’t really care who the President is as long as they have a little good life. That’s the truth.
But our leaders, unfortunately, do not understand. They brainwash us by playing the ethnic and religious card. We have gained nothing from their games.
Osita Okechukwu
The presidency has been in the North for like forever, but the poverty in most parts of the North is infectious. You need to see to believe. And I have. I have either toured or visited all the states in Nigeria, and my heart breaks at the level of poverty in the North. So, what have the ordinary Notherner gained? The South, especially, the South- east has not fared any better.
In the last administration, the South-east held a number of important positions – Deputy Senate President, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Minister for Finance/ Coordinating Minister for the Economy, partly Minister for Petroleum because the minister then is married to an Igbo man, Ministers for Aviation, Power, Health, Interior, Director of Budget and, at a point, the Chief of Army Staff and the Comptroller General of Immigration. But what was in it for the region? Nothing, almost. No good roads, no railways, no good hospitals, no massive employment.
During the regime of President Olusegun Obasanjo, the region not only held the Ministry for Transportation, the position of the Senate Presidency was also zoned to it. Yet, the region gained nothing. No massive employment, no infrastructural development. Instead, Nigerians watched in shock, as Igbo sons were changed from that seat same way women change their underwears – Evan Enwerem, Chuba Okadigbo, Adolphus Wabara, Anyim Pius Anyim, Ken Nnamani. The shame of a region.
But, back to the squabble over 2023. Isn’t it a shame that when we are not even sure of surviving 2019, politicians are deceiving the people with fake promises over the 2023 presidency? They are trading with 2023 already. They are hawking it like pure water. The APC, as represented by Buhari (through the SGF), Osinbajo, Senator Ndoma Egba, Ngige and Okechukwu, are selling one plot of land to two different people. In so doing, they are deliberately knocking the heads of the Igbo and the Yoruba together. The two regions should see through this. The meaning is: one party is being scammed. In the instant case, I have a strong feeling that the South- east is being scammed because its people will even sell the region for two a kobo. Many saboteurs abound.
And, the situation is no better in the PDP than it is in the APC. The disharmony which engulfed the party over the choice of Peter Obi as running mate by its Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubarkar, was not over 2019. It is over 2023. The stage was set for the big fight once Atiku said he would serve for one term, and no more. A dozen of them wanted to be in Obi’s shoes, and hated him for his choice by Atiku. Yet, the election has not been held. They have not yet won. The contest is with an incumbent. But the South- east is already de-marketing itself and its own with all kinds of frivolous stories and allegations. They are stabbing one another at the back.
One high profile politician from the zone advised that a Yoruba be chosen as Atiku’s running mate just because he was not chosen. A sitting governor offered the sum of N5billion (Five billion Naira) just so his preferred candidate is chosen.
But back to Ngige and Okechukwu, the sh*t has hit the roof. The wind has blown, and exposed the behind of the fowl. They should stop dangling promises which control is not in their hands before the people. When the chips are down, the question of who becomes the President, either in 2019 or 2023 will be answered by the people.
Finally, I think the South- east will be the deciding factor in 2019 if the zone harnesses every of its vote, play its card well, and speak with one unmistakable voice.
For too long, the region has been treated as a very junior partner in a relationship, as if it does not matter. In 2019, it should make the point that it matters. If you don’t say that you are, nobody will say you are. In 2019, therefore, the zone should not wail, it should not shout marginalization, it should not shout persecution. It should be vigilant. And be the deciding factor.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has failed to intervene on the allegation of money laundry in which two officials of Bankers Warehouse are currently being held by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The decisionby apex bank to keep mum over the matter, the magazine learned may not be unconnected with ongoing EFCC investigations to unravel the source of the cash and suspicion held by the anti- graft body that the seized is meant for campaign purposes.
Two officials of BW were arrested last Thursday at the AkanuIbiam International Airport by EFCC after $2.8m were found in their possession.
While the anti-graft agency claimed that it was a case of money laundry, the Bankers Warehouse said the two employees were on legitimate official duties.
Union Bank Plc has claimed ownership of the huge foreign currency demanding that the CBN intervene on the issue so that the cash can be released.
On its part the EFCC has also written a letter to the apex bank to clarity grey areas concerning the cash haul.
In a letter signed by BW Head of Operations, Dr Lawrence Ijebor, the firm said it was wrong for EFCC to confiscate and arrest its employees, knowing they were on legitimate duty.
Condemning EFCC’s action BW demanded that the CBN acted quickly to end the confusion and stop further harassment of its staff by security agencies particularly the EFCC.
“We seek your intervention as our regulator to address this issue of constant harassment of our staff by security agencies which constitutes a risk that could threaten the lives and safety of our employee and the cargo they are tasked with conveying,” BW said in the letter to CBN governor Godwin Emefiele.
Union Bank on its part also deplored the action of EFCC because” movement of cash across states is routine for all banks. Bankers Warehouse is licensed by CBN to provide Cash-in-Transit-services.”
But a CBN source told the magazine on Monday that the apex bank was being careful on how to respond to the matter.
The source who spoke in confidence because he was not authorized to speak on the issue said there” is an unofficial communication between the apex bank and EFCC, the CBN will not make any pronouncement on the matter that EFCC is already investigating.”
It was also learned from EFCC source that the huge cash was seized because of suspicion on the part of EFCC that it was meant for political purpose.
There’s a squeeze on political funding by the present government ahead of 2019 general elections and political actors are desperate on moving cash around, the source said.
According to him “It’s very difficult to transfer huge cash nowadays because of the fear that such money will be tracked. So politicians are looking for other ways to move money to fund the ongoing political campaigns across the country.”
Though the magazine cannot ascertain whether the seized cash was meant for political purpose, routine movement of cash is a common thing across the world financial system.
The subcommittee of the United States congress for Africa has taken the Trump administration to task on what they are doing about the human rights abuses and the Federal Government clampdown on the opposition during the run up to the 2019 elections. The subcommittee, which oversees Human rights, Global Health, and International Organizations frowned at the US government responses to happening in Nigeria, citing reports from Vanguard Newspapers and Premium Times, representing the main stream and online media.
During a hearing on Nigeria earlier this month, which was titled “Nigeria at a Crossroads:The Upcoming Elections” they made reference to reports of the freezing of Accounts of Vice Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the raid on the house of Atiku’s son’s house. The Chairman of the committee, Chris Smith, had said that he is in possession of a memo by the Nigerian Embassy targeting Human rights Lawyer for testifying against them. he therefore wondered whether the Trump administration has engaged Nigeria on these issues, and if so, whether it is just to hold contrary views.
A Washington based Human Rights Lawyer, Emmanuel Ogebe, had submitted a letter to the United States state department accusing the Nigerian Embassy in Washington of attempted subversion of the US Congress through witness intimidation.
Senate President Bukola Saraki was present at the Hearing.
During the hearing, the Assistant Secretary of state of the US insisted that more farmers have been murdered than the Herdsmen in Nigeria, thereby lending credence to opposition groups who claim the herdsmen activities borders on ethnic cleansing.
In a similar development, the British House of Lords took the Theresa May government to task on what it is doing concerning the status of Leah Sharibu, kidnapped among other Dapchi girls but yet to be released by Boko Haram. About two years ago, Britain had raised alarm that the Buhari government has been using anti graft agencies to harass and intimidate the opposition while protecting members of the ruling party. Recently, EFCC had paraded two people who allegedly had large cache of dollars, but the Union bank had claimed that the money is theirs and that there is no crime committed. Some opposition party members have insisted that the vice presidential candidate of the PDP may have been the target.only recently, former Airforce boss, Alexander Badeh was murdered in controversial circumstances.
Last month, governments of the European Union, US, Uk and others signed an agreement to monitor the elections in Nigeria. Signatories to the agreement include the European Union delegation to Nigeria, France, Germany, United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden.
Lagos, hitherto the political empire of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, appears to be at a political crossroads since an incumbent was denied a second term by the widely acclaimed political godfather.
Recall that the incumbent governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, was unceremoniously sacked by Tinubu on the grounds that though he is acclaimed to be performing, he is not a faithful party man. He has since been replaced by Babatunde Sanwolu, who is currently the APC governorship candidate in Lagos. But that singular act has put the Lagos political terrain into turbulence. The efforts to manage the fall out of such an unprecedented decision has since been threatening to tear the party apart.
Sources within the state hierarchy indicate that the politics of imposition is taking its toll on the party. It was said that in the APC caucus meetings, Tinubu will promise free and fair elections and still end up imposing candidates of his choice everywhere. This has resulted in grumblings within the party, and threats of defection. Besides, the fear that Ambode is still smarting from the disgrace meted on him is a source of worry. It was said that it took serious persuasion before Ambode was able to publicly endorse his successor. Even at that, he is not forthcoming in making the state structure available for campaign. The state house of Assembly is still mulling impeachments to remove him and use his deputy to open up the state treasury for campaigns. But it appears that the conclusion is to let him be for the mean time.
The entrance of Jimi Agbaje into the raceas thePDP flagbearer has also complicated issues. Agbaje was widely believed to have won the 2015 elections but was robbed by the Tinubu machinery. His wide acceptance within the Lagos metropolis has been worrying to the APC. Even the former governor, Babatunde Fashola, who is said to have thrown his political machinery into Accord Party, was said to be intent on destabilizing the Tinubu fiefdom. Recently, Accord Party threw its weight behind Agbaje, fueling speculations of impending collapse of the Tinubu Dynasty. And recently, most Ambode associates decamped to Accord party.
It is unlikely that Tinubu will relinquish Lagos without a fight. With all senators and house members behind him, he will use any means possible to maintain his position in Lagos. And Aregbesola, former Osun governor, will not fold his arms to watch Alimosho slip through his hands.
President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2019 budget yesterday amid boos, jeers and accolades from the joint sitting of the national Assembly. The budget, which degenerated into a campaign speech by the president, was received with boos and shouts of “it’s a lie”, “no more years”, four more years” etc. It was a rancorous session, which prompted the president to take a break from reading the budget and caution the National Assembly, saying they should not be behaving this way, and that “the world is watching us”. Amid the crisis, the security agents were forced to start playing the National anthem when he was still seated, and he was hurriedly whisked out of the place.
The Peoples democratic Party, PDP, reacted by saying the booing was part a sign of vote of no confidence passed on the President. The All Progressives congress, APC, criticized the National Assembly for being unruly. And the social media was on fire, with people at opposing camps in their reactions.
Part of the reason given by legislators for booing Buhari was their allegations that he was lying to the Nation standing inside the hallowed Chambers. They cited the Enugu Onitsha road which Buhari claimed has been completed. The Source fact-check shows that the workers were hurriedly moved to site recently, and that they have not even done a small fraction of the road. The road was one of the agenda tabled by Igbo leaders who met Buhari recently. Others were the second Niger bridge, Enugu Port Harcourt expressway and Enugu International Airport. These were mentioned as what the Igbo leaders are not happy about. “For Buhari to come and bring up the road as part of the completed project is an insult on Ndigbo”, a member of the House of Representative told this magazine yesterday.
Besides, during the meeting with governors recently, Buhari has said the economy is in dire straits. But during the budget presentation, he has noted that the economy is on the recovery side, citing the exit out of recession as proof. This was however refuted by the Senate president, Bukola Saraki, who noted that it is still a dicey.
Perhaps the highlight of the budget presentation was the acknowledgement of subsidy, which he officially provided for in the budget. Buhari had, during the runoff of 2015 elections, claimed that subsidy is a scam. try into unprecedented debt since the history of the nation. The excess crude account, meant to be saving for the rainy day has since become monthly allocations to governors.
The Buhari administration has enmeshed the country into debt, The excess crude account, meant to be a cushion for the rainy day, and forced to be shared by profligate governors, has suddenly become too depleted. $1.688 billion, almost 73 per cent, left the account within the last three weeks. It can not be immediately confirmed what the Federal government has done with it. External Debt averaged 8486.04 USD Million from 2008 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 22083.44 USD Million in the second quarter of 2018.
The budget, however, is devoid of economic revival plan. Recently, the Presidential candidate of the PDP has said that there is no single economist in Buhari economic team.
