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“You Are Shameless, You Spent Over N30b On A Road Without Result” – Otti To Opposition

By
Suleiman Anyalewechi
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Alex Otti - Governor of Abia State

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, Wednesday evening, May 21, 2025,  justified the about N36 billion expended by his administration to finally fix the seemingly  jinxed but all-important Port Harcourt Road in Aba the commercial  hub of the State.

This is just as the Aba business Community insisted that the reconstruction of the economic gateway of  Aba and Abia State far outweighed any amount spent.

At a special thanksgiving   carnival tagged  “Port Harcourt Road: Promise Kept” put together by the Aba business community to appreciate him, Governor Otti noted that his immediate predecessor in office spent more money without fixing the road.

The Source reports that Port Harcourt Road which serves as the heartbeat and operational economic gateway of the commercial city, was left in utter ruins for over 15 years.

The sorry state of the road which houses over 70% of the branch offices of major banks and critical state infrastructures, including schools, forced many businesses and other activities to go under, thereby negatively affecting the Gross Domestic Products, GDP, of the Abia state.

However, the opposition outcry over alleged inflation of the reconstruction efforts has tended to be competing with the visible public ecstasy that greeted the completion of the reconstruction.

Responding to the opposition, Governor Otti, stated that he had deliberately chosen not to reply the often misguided criticisms of the opposition with sterling performances.

“The shameless opposition began to make noise right from the time we brought Julius Berger to the site before assuming office.

“That time, they said we were in a hurry. And when  we started to  deliver what they could not do for years, they began to talk about the cost.

“But the truth is that the immediate past administration spent about N9.8 billion as at 2017 on the same road without any result.

“That amount, when converted today at the current exchange rate is over the amount we finally spent on fixing the road.

“But the good thing is that we have always ignored their rantings and refused to be distracted.

“You see, in 2025, we spent N36 billion to fix the road, and they ( opposition) are making noise . Now, I said since you  people understand mathematics ,let us work it out. In 2017 the average exchange rate was N333 to a Dollar.

“Presently, if you apply that to the  N9.8 billion they spent in 2017 to the exchange rate, you will have about $29 million dollars equivalent.

” In 2025 ,at the average exchange rate of N1.600 ,N36,billion is actually $ 22.8 million equivalent.

“Now, some people spent $29 million dollars without achieving any result, and another fixed the road with about $22 million, which one is commendable?”, Gov Otti, queried

He appreciated the Aba business community for organizing the carnival to appreciate and support the efforts of the Government.

The Governor noted that such show of public gratitude and understanding will further encourage the Government to do more.

The immediate past National President of the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, NACCIMA, Ide John Udeagbara, the President General of Aba  Landlords Protection and Development Association, ALPADA, Sir  Alphosus Udeigbo, and Chief Onyeka Ernest Udeaja, who spoke separately on behalf of the organizers of  the event, paid glowing tribute to the Governor for breathing back life into the economic activities of Aba and Abia State in general through his administration’s massive infrastructural renewal agenda.

They particularly lauded him for the Port Harcourt Road reconstruction efforts which they described as landmark, and monumental.

According to them, the reopening of the road which had been in serious dilapidated state for almost two decades, has once again reopened the economic corridors of not only Aba, but most neighbouring South East and South South states.

Rivers: Tinubu Seeks NASS Approval For N1.481trn Budget

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas

President Bola Tinubu has send to the National Assembly for approval the 2025 for Rivers state.

The president, in a letter he sent to the Speaker of the House of Representatives urged the lawmakers to approve N.481 as this year’s budget for the oil bearing state.

The letter was read on Thursday by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abass.

On February 18, 2015 President Tinubu suspended the democratically elected institutions including the governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his Deputy and members in the state house of Assembly.

The president immediately appointed Ibok Ete Ibaz, a former Chief of lNaval Staff, to oversee the affairs of the oil bearing state.

The suspension had received serious backlash from not a few Nigerians who said the president violated the Constitution. The president had already been dragged to the Supreme Court court over the issue, by some well-meaning indigenes of the state and the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, governor who want the suspension cancelled.

On Wednesday, President Tinubu told the nation’s apex court that his action was in tandem with the law, citing for instance,the approval of both chambers of the National Assembly.

The magazine reported that both the Senate and House of Representatives have set up two committees to oversight the function of the Sole Administrator,Ibok Ete Ibaz, a retired Rear Admiral.

Peter Obi: “I Neither Own Fidelity Bank, Nor Did I Go To Rome To Meet Tinubu On Bank’s Behalf”

By
The Source
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Peter Obi

By Gideon Njoku

Peter Obi, a two-term Governor of Anambra State, and the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 General Elections has dismissed those who falsely allege that he went to the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV for the sole purpose of pleading with President Bola Tinubu on behalf of Fidelity Bank Plc, as cheap blackmailers.

In the past couple of days, some unscrupulous elements have been trying to de-market Fidelity Bank, one of Nigeria’s most solid and best-run Banks.

Just when the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN,  dismissed the ridiculous insinuations against the bank as absolutely untrue and nonsensical, and while the bank was scoring A+ in every indices, those after it raised the ante.

Deliberately ignorant about the ownership structure of the bank, they tried to connect Obi’s trip to the Vatican for the Pope’s inauguration with their fabricated story on Fidelity Bank. They said Obi traveled to the Vatican purposely to meet with President Bola Tinubu to plead on behalf of his (Obi’s) bank, Fidelity.

However, in a reaction to the ridiculous tale, Obi dismissed it as beneath contempt, a cock and bull story.

In a post on his X page, Obi tutored his blackmailers and the demarketers of Fidelity Bank that not only does he not own the bank, he had no private meeting with President Tinubu to discuss anything. The only time he met with him, he said, was very briefly, publicly, where both exchanged courtesies. He also tutored them on the ownership structure of the bank, explaining that not only does he not own it, the bank has about 500,000 shareholders.

Obi lamented a situation where his person has, suddenly, become a best-seller for blackmailers.

The full text of his post reads:

“It’s obvious that the biggest business for blackmailers now is talking about Peter Obi from every negative perspective. Even my solemn spiritual trip to Rome has been twisted into yet another blackmail campaign by merchants paid ostensibly to propagate anything negative against Obi.

“One such individual, whose entire life revolves around blackmail, falsely claimed that I went to Rome to have a private meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu regarding a purported ₦225 billion debt crisis involving Fidelity Bank. These claims are not only baseless, malicious, but entirely false.

“Let me categorically state that I have never sought an audience with, nor met, President Tinubu since he assumed office, except about 1 minute meeting at the arena of Saint Peter’s Basilica Rome during the inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV, where I was seated behind, and had to respectfully greet him, and other dignitaries present.

“I was previously in Rome on the 9th of May for the lying in state of Pope Francis. Immediately after the mass and exchanging pleasantries, I went straight from Vatican City to London, and then back to Nigeria.

“The self-proclaimed “blackmailer-in-chief” and others who thrive on spreading pain and falsehoods have also claimed that I own Fidelity Bank. For the record, I do not. Throughout my career, I have served as Chairman/Director of 3 banks/Financial institutions, of which Fidelity is one of them. Fidelity has over 500,000 shareholders, none of whom hold a majority stake. What this blackmailer seeks is to harm these hard-working Nigerians and cause them needless distress.

“To those peddling these falsehoods, and engaging in blackmail, I offer a simple prayer: May God grant you the virtues of gratitude and understanding to know that we came here with nothing and will go with nothing, that they cannot prof it from their evil ways.

“A new Nigeria is POssible.

– PO”

Again, Ikpeazu, SAN, Loses Daughter, Stalls Abba Kyari’s Case

By
Adesina Soyooye
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Onyechi Ikpeazu

By Adesina Soyooye

For the second time in two years, legal luminary, Anambra State-born Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, reputed to be one of the best and most rigorous interrogators in Nigeria, is in mourning.

Recall that Ikpeazu, just about two years ago, lost his 32 year-old daughter to the wicked hands of death. Now, just last Saturday, May 17, 2025,  the SAN, again lost his daughter, Chineze, who was just waiting to be called to bar in a few days time, having completed his final law examination. She died in a fatal vehicle accident.

The sad news of Onyechi’s loss was broken at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday by Abdul Mohammed, SAN, who held brief for him during the trial of suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari.

Kyari is, along with four others,  being prosecuted on drug-related charges brought against them by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA. Onyechi is his Lawyer.

When the case was called up, Wednesday, May 21, Mohammed told the trial Judge, the Honourable Justice Emeka Nwite, of Ikpeazu’s loss.

“Out of respect for the Court, he directed me to come  and convey  the sad news to the Court and asked that this matter be adjourned to a reasonable time to enable him to get himself back for the proceedings.

“We are suggesting July 7, the period we feel would enable him to nurse the wound before coming back to conduct the proceedings.”

The Judge obliged him.

Jonathan Calls For Vibrant National Assembly

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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Goodluck Jonathan
Dr. Goodluck Jonathan:
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has emphasised the need for a vibrant national assembly.
According to him, the NASS should be able to override the president on issues bordering on national interest.
The former Nigerian leader spoke on Wednesday evening at the Champions of Nigerian Content Awards Dinner, organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Jonathan was honoured with the Nigerian Content Lifetime Achievement Award.
His remark is coming on the heels of the criticism that has greeted the current NASS as a rubber-stamp of the executive arm of government.
Both the Godswill Akpabio led Senate and Tajudeen Abass-led House of Representatives have been accused of being passive in their function of holding the Presidency to account.
The NASS has denied the accusations saying all the arms of government need to work in harmony for the country to move forward.
Citing the NASS under his administration and that of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Jonathan said they were above board and  performed their duty of holding the executive accountable by using their veto power effectively.
For instance, Jonathan recalled his eagerness to sign the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Bill into law while he was in office.
 He noted that the bill, sponsored by Senator Lee Maeba of Rivers State and others, was a product of a truly dynamic legislature.
“When I was acting President in 2010, and the National Assembly presented the bill, I promptly signed it and we quickly established a monitoring body. Someone like Lee Maeba, the bill’s originator, and his group also deserve recognition. That was a period when the National Assembly truly lived up to its name,” Jonathan said.
He further highlighted the Assembly’s assertiveness, recalling how it passed the Niger Delta Development Commission bill into law despite President Obasanjo’s reluctance to sign it.
“In 2000, the NDDC bill was also vetoed by the National Assembly. They overrode President Obasanjo’s refusal. Typically, in other countries, it is the President who vetoes bills.
“But in Nigeria, during the law-making process, it is the National Assembly that can exercise the veto. If the President does not assent to a bill within 30 days, the National Assembly can reconvene and, with a two-thirds majority calculated by headcount, not voice vote—enact the bill into law.
“That is how the NDDC Act came into being, thanks to a truly vibrant National Assembly,” he said.

“Wike Is Living On Borrowed Time” – Fmr. Gov. Sam Egwu

By
Adesina Soyooye
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Sam Egwu and Nyesom Wike

By Adesina Soyooye

A former Governor of Ebonyi State, Dr. Sam Egwu, has slammed the Minister for the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, for what he described as the Minister’s reckless manner of speaking.

Egwu, a two-term Governor of Ebonyi State said this while replying to Wike’s response to the ultimatum given by the South-east PDP to the  National Leadership of the Party in respect of the office of the National Secretary of the Party.

The South-east stakeholders of the PDP, including its only Governor in the Zone, Dr Peter Mba of Enugu State, and former Governors which included Egwu and Chief Achike Udenwa, a former two-term Governor of Imo State, had told the National Leadership of the Party to confirm its choice of National Secretary, Sunday Udeh-Okoye, in place of the incumbent Senator Samuel Anyanwu, popular as Samdaddy.

But the National body has been dragging its feet. The situation has escalated so much it has been in out of Court, including the Supreme Court. There seems no end to it.

But finally, majority of the stakeholders in the South-east, a few days ago, at a meeting at the Government House Enugu, issued an ultimatum to the National Body to accept Udeh-Okoye as the National Secretary or the Zone would  review its relationship with the PDP.

It is in response to the threat that Wike not only dismissed the threat as empty, but singled out, and descended on former Governors Egwu and Udenwa.

Speaking with the BBC Pidgin, Wike dismissed both men as  literally without any clout. He said none of them was able to install his successor in office as Governor, and that none was even able install a National Assembly Member, or  win more than three per cent votes for the party. Based on those, Wike asked on what grounds the two former Governors would threaten the Party.

But in a statement, Egwu expressed shock and embarrassment at Wike’s reaction. For a collective decision, Egwu wondered, why Wike would single out the two of them, (he and Udenwa) only to attack.

Egwu, after flaunting his achievements in office, including installing his successor, warned Wike that he was living on borrowed time.

He challenged Wike to try and install another Governor after Siminalayi Fubara, and promised him Fubara would be his last.

Part of Egwu’s statement reads: “My attention has been drawn to the unsavory remarks by the Minister for the Federal Capital Territory, Mr Nyesom Wike wherein he described the demand by South-east leaders on the PDP as empty.

“Particularly worrisome is Wike’s personalisation of what was supposed to be a collective position of PDP stalwarts in the South-east. It is in bad taste for Wike to have singled out Achike Udenwa and myself for vilification. This attack is not only embarrassing to me, it is unwarranted.

“As a political family, the PDP in the South-east Zone has the right to take a position on matters that affect it, one way or the other. That was simply what we did. It is not upto Wike or any other person for that matter to use that as a launchpad for personal attacks and launch-pad.”

Wike’s Rivers State is, no thanks to his soiled relationship with his estranged political godson,  Fubara, PDP, is under an Emergency Rule headed by a retired Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas. And, for the records, Wike, PDP member he insists and emphasizes, is a high profile Minister in the APC Federal Government.

Obi Decries Relentless Scene Of Corruption In Nigeria System

By
The Source
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Peter Obi

The Labour Party’s standard bearer in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has, for the umpteenth time, decried the relentless scene of corruption that Nigeria has become.

Reacting to the huge N7 trillion budget fraud uncovered by the BudgIT in the 2025 federal budget, Obi said Nigeria remains a relentless scene of corruption.

Writing in his X handle on Wednesday, Obi said,, “I have consistently maintained that for this country to make progress, Nigeria must cease to function as a crime scene and be repositioned for genuine development.

“This entrenched corruption – persistent and deeply rooted – must be nipped in the bud if there is to be any meaningful turnaround.

“How else can we explain the distressing revelations by BudgIT, which uncovered a staggering ₦7 trillion in questionable projects inserted into the 2025 national budget? I am convinced that this figure represents only a fraction of the actual amount misappropriated. These findings are deeply troubling and confirm my long-held position that we have turned our country into a crime scene. We must urgently and aggressively combat corruption, misappropriation, and fiscal recklessness to manage our resources effectively and efficiently, and invest in critical areas of development: health, education, and lifting our people out of poverty.

“The ₦7 trillion uncovered as fraudulently inserted into the 2025 budget is even greater than the combined allocations to the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and the Ministry of Agriculture – ministries that are fundamental to national development.

“To be precise:

  • The Ministry of Education was allocated ₦3.52 trillion,
  • The Ministry of Health received ₦2.48 trillion,
  • The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation was allocated ₦260 billion, and

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security received ₦636.08 billion.

“Combined, these four ministries were allocated ₦6.896 trillion—an already inflated amount—yet still less than the ₦7 trillion dubiously inserted into the budget.

“That ₦7 trillion figure is even more than the ₦6.1 trillion allocated to national security—at a time when Nigeria is among the most terrorised nations in the world.

“This brazen impunity by our leaders is precisely why the country cannot invest adequately in education, in the face of the existence of nearly 20 million out-of-school children. It is the same corruption that has crippled primary healthcare, resulting in alarming levels of malnourished children. We face widespread hunger, yet our leaders neglect agricultural investment due to persistent mismanagement and a lack of accountability. The same disregard affects our capacity to fund national security effectively, or to support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which are vital to national growth.

“These glaring acts of corruption reinforce my position: Nigeria has been reduced to a crime scene.

“We must confront this corruption, misappropriation, and fiscal recklessness with unwavering resolve. Our national resources must be transparently managed and strategically invested in key sectors—health, education, and poverty alleviation—to secure a better future for our people. We must turn this nation around.

A new Nigeria is POssible.

“You Are Dishonouring Biafran Heroes, Heroines, Punishing Their Families”, Forum Tackles IPOB Over Lockdown

By
Suleiman Anyalewechi
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IPOB Members

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The Njiko Igbo Forum NIF, on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, knocked the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, over its call for a lockdown of the South East region on May 30, 2025.

The Source reports that the Biafran agitation group had, in a statement, issued by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, last week, declared May 30, as Biafran Remembrance  Day ,to celebrate, honour and appreciate the sacrifices made by heroes and heroines of Igbo land during the Nigeria/Biafra fratricidal war of between 1967 and 1970.

According to IPOB, business activities, schools, offices, markets, and movements will be halted between the hours of 6.00 am and 6.00 pm, as a mark of respect for all those who lost their lives during the war.

However, reacting to the development, NIF, in a statement from its National President, Rev Dr Okechukwu Obioha,  insisted  that the IPOB lacks the power to make such proclamation. He noted that only the duly elected representatives of the people and the Government have the authority to do so.

While appreciating the laudable roles of IPOB in keeping alive the Biafran hope, the NIF however, distanced itself from the lockdown declaration.

“While we acknowledge IPOB as harmless, and unarmed support group of the South East’s and Igbo’s agitation for equity and fairness, we, however, distance  ourself from the words and style chosen to honour and remember these our cherished heroes and heroines.

“The word lockdown sounds confrontational and declared imprisonment on the people of the South East ( Igbo) known as Biafra on that hallowed day of 30th May 2025.

“IPOB is not the Government to declare such a holiday or lockdown.

“Before the birth of IPOB, 30th of May, every year, in the past, had solemnly been observed as a significant/ remarkable date, and with very remarkable events in different ways voluntarily .

“Biafrans had observed this date by wearing black, putting black ribbons on their left chest breasts and black wrist bands.

“The most notable observation that people made was the three-minute silence that had always been observed by any Igbo in Nigeria by 12 noon on that day, no matter what you are doing, and whatever you are. It looked solemn, awesome and peaceful.

“Another major event that used to be held that day is  the delivery of lectures in various cities in Nigeria.

“Activities, and particularly economic ones, are not barred, or disrupted. People go to work, market, schools, and any activities of human endeavour, and conduct their normal activities. However, they are always conscious of the date and its import, and religiously observe three-minute silence.

“The three-minute silence is symbolic of the traditional way of hailing through backhands before shaking proper.

“Lock down from 6.00am to 6.00 pm, and paralyzing economic activities to observe 30th May 2025 is not feasible, as Governments of the day will not allow that, and the children, and living families of heroes and heroines you are seeking to honour, and remember, will be tensed up, deprived freedom of Movement, and live in hunger”,  Rev Dr Obioha stated.

To this end, the NIF called on IPOB and those entities and individuals that subscribe to the suffocation of the economy of the Igbo and the South East under the guise of observing Biafra  Day to have a rethink.

According to the Forum, the declaration of lockdown, cannot, in all honesty, be an honourable way to pay tribute to those that were killed during the Biafran war.

“Politicians, Uniformed Officers Are Informants To Bandits” – Gov. Zulum

By
Ayodele Oni
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Professor Babagana Zulum

By Ayodele Oni

Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has revealed another impediment blocking the defeat of banditry in the country, accusing some Nigerian politicians and members of the armed forces of acting as informants for Boko Haram insurgents.

Zulum spoke on Wednesday, during an interview on Breakfast Central, a programme on News Central Television.

“We have informants and collaborators within the Nigerian armed forces, within the politicians, and within the communities. What we shall do is to strengthen our intelligence and to deal with them ruthlessly.”

The governor lauded the federal government’s initiative to establish forest guards, describing it as a potential game-changer.

He, however, noted that these guards should be recruited from local communities within the states.

“This is very important, establishing forest guards will be a game changer. But I want to give an early warning, that these forest guards should be recruited from the communities within the states.”

Zulum, who also spoke on repentant insurgents, noted that most of them have actually turned over a new leaf.

“I cannot completely say that 100% of those people who have surrendered are doing the right thing, but I want to assure you that over 99% are doing well and are not participating in the ongoing terrorism.”

The governor stressed the importance of both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies in tackling insurgency.

“Insurgency will never be ended by kinetic measures alone. We must ensure that the non-kinetic measures are also properly put in place.”

FG Offers N5 Million Reward For Information On Fleeing Inmates Of Osun Custodial Centre

By
Ayodele Oni
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Nigeria Correctional Center - Prison

By Ayodele Oni

Identities of fleeing inmates from Ilesa Correctional Centre in Osun state have been revealed just as the Federal Government  placed a ₦5 million bounty on seven inmates that escaped on Tuesday .

Report stated that the seven inmates took advantage of defect on the prison wall caused by rainstorm and escaped from the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Ilesa.

Spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), DCC Abubakar Umar, made the announcement in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

“To encourage public cooperation, the Nigerian Correctional Service is offering a ₦5 million reward for credible information that leads to the recapture of the escapees.”

He urged citizens to report any useful leads to the nearest security agency, assuring that all tips will be handled with strict confidentiality and anonymity.

The escape has sparked heightened concern, and security agencies are actively working to locate and apprehend the fugitives.

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