President Bola Amed Tinubu’s Independence Day speech and travel; former vice president Atiku Abubakar’s recommendation; the continuing feud between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor and Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike made the news this week. Also, the denial of corruption allegation by former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai; the House of Representatives demand for equal honour with the Senate President and the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria generated reactions this week. These and more are presented below.
Tinubu’s Independence Day speech, trip draw reactions
President Bola Tinubu was in the news over his Independence Day speech which drew mixed reactions.
The president had in the speech highlighted some of the achievements of the administration in over one year in office, including winning the war on terror and banditry.
He announced a 30-day gathering of a National Youth Conference as a platform to address the diverse challenges and opportunities confronting young people.
“It will provoke meaningful dialogue and empower our young people to participate actively in nation-building. By ensuring that their voices are heard in shaping the policies that impact their lives, we are creating a pathway for a brighter tomorrow,” he had said.
However, the speech was criticised by several stakeholders for being insensitive to the plight of the people.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described the speech as insensitive and a sign of a lack of hope.
“Nigerians are appalled that the president’s speech was a complete waste of time as it did not address issues or proffer any solution to the myriads of economic and security problems created by the APC government, for which Nigerians are hurting,” PDP spokesman Debo Ologunagba said in a statement.
A public affairs analyst, Jide Ojo, described the president’s speech as “short of the expectations of many compatriots.”
However, Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, stated through its publicity secretary, Jare Ajayi, that President Tinubu’s broadcast closely aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda, the manifesto he presented during his campaign.
Amidst the controversy, the president on Wednesday departed the country for the UK on annual leave, thereby drawing more criticism.
Atiku recommends six-year single tenure for presidency
Former vice president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, was in the news due to his interventions on six-year single tenure.
In a statement on Thursday by his media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku also made recommendations which border on procedures for the educational qualification of candidate(s) in elections, internal democracy in political parties as addressed to the Deputy President of the Senate and Chairman, Senate Committee on Constitution Review, Senator Barau Jibrin, and dated August 30, 2024.
Add paragraph “A” to section 130(1) to read – “the office of the president shall rotate among the six geopolitical zones of the federation on a single term of six years flowing between the North and South on the single term of six years respectively.
- Amend Section 135(2) to read – “subject to the provisions of the subsection (1), the president shall vacate his office at the expiration of a period of six years commencing from the date.”
According to the explanatory note covering the proposals by Atiku, the amendments that he seeks in the review of the constitution aim at the following:
“These amendments seek to raise the standard of the educational qualification of political office seekers.
“An end to violent takeover of political parties and thereby strengthening internal structure of political parties.
“Reducing the tendencies of political parties to breach the constitution, electoral act, rules and guidelines made thereunder, and the constitution of the political party.
“The implication of the above is that political parties are allowed very wide latitude to breach the perimeter of laws on elections.
“Such indiscipline by political parties and infidelity to the electoral parameters yield chaos in the system.
“The above amendments will enthrone the discipline that is needed in a democracy,” Atiku stated.
Earlier in the week, Atiku had called for Nigerians to unite against what he called one-party authoritarianism, adding that the ruling party was manipulating the internal processes of political parties to make them ineffectual.
“Nigeria teeters on the brink of a one-party dictatorship, and it is incumbent upon all politicians and statesmen of integrity to rise and reclaim our democracy from the encroaching shadows of oppression,” Atiku said.
El-Rufai ready to swear with Quran over corruption allegation
Former governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, was in the news this week for denying allegations of corruption and being ready to swear with the Quran to prove his innocence.
He asserted that his entry into politics was driven solely by a desire to serve the people, not to amass wealth or siphon public funds.
El-Rufai made this declaration on Tuesday during a Hausa programme aired on Freedom Radio, Kaduna.
The former governor dismissed allegations of financial misconduct during his administration, maintaining that he was satisfied with what he had before assuming office.
The Kaduna State House of Assembly had earlier indicted El-Rufai’s administration for the misappropriation of over N423 billion during his eight-year tenure.
“I did not join politics to steal money or enrich myself. I was satisfied with what I had before becoming governor,” El-Rufai stated.
He added that he was ready to swear with the Quran to prove his innocence if other former governors and current leaders do the same.
“I have always prayed for guidance in all I do, and I strive not to betray the trust of the people. Whenever the former governors of Kaduna State and other leaders are ready to swear with the Quran that they never misappropriated public funds, I will join them. I have no fear because I know I never took money that belonged to the people,” he said.
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Fubara-Wike feud deepens
Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, and the Minister of FCT and the immediate past governor of the state, Nyesom Wike, have faced heightened feud over the local government elections in the state which holds today.
Earlier, Wike had during a reception programme in his honour by an Ijaw group, mocked the Fubara camp for decamping to the All Peoples Party (APP) as an alternative political party.
He said: “Imagine in Rivers; they are contemplating APP. It is not about money. Money does not move. You can have all the money but if there is no capacity, there is no capacity.
“All the things you see are people envious of our growth. We have defeated them severally and if an opportunity comes again, we will defeat them.”
Wike said he executed different projects in Rivers State that the governor is laying claims to.
Fubara had reacted to Wike’s comments by saying “It is only empty containers that make noise.”
Speaking during a church service, Fubara said, “anybody that is making noise for recognition, it is a sign that he has lost it.”
He continued, “I cannot give my kidney or liver to anyone if that is the reason that I am loyal; I will not.”
Both camps have been feuding over the control of the PDP structures at the local government level as the state council elections are set to be held on Saturday, October 5.
There have been counter orders from courts seeking to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voters’ register and to order the release of the same.
Reps reject CFR award for Speaker, seek GCON
Members of the House of Representatives were in the news for demanding that President Bola Tinubu withdraws the national honour of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) he conferred on the Speaker and award similar Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) to the Senate President and the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
The House rejected the description of being the “lower chamber” compared to the Senate, stating that Messrs Akpabio and Tajudeen are “first among equals.”
The Green Chambers also constituted an ad hoc committee, chaired by the House Leader, Julius Ihonvbere, to look into the issue and revert within three days.
These resolutions followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Philip Agbese (APC, Benue) and supported by the 359 members of the House of Representatives.
The president had announced that the Senate President and Chief Justice of Nigeria were awarded the GCON, while Abbas and Barau were conferred with the CFR.
Additionally, the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu was awarded the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).
Presenting the motion, Mr Agbese vehemently rejected the concept of the House of Representatives being subservient to the Senate, describing the differences in national honour as “discriminatory.”
“There is an ongoing and inappropriate culture of discrimination against the House of Representatives, often portrayed as inferior to the Senate, through language that consistently refers to the Senate as the ‘upper chamber’ and the House of Representatives as a ‘lower chamber’,” he said.
“This terminology misrepresents the legal status of both chambers and diminishes the House’s standing,” he said.
He also rejected the description of the Senate president as the “Chairman of the National Assembly,” stating that the term is unknown to the Constitution.
The Representatives were also involved in the probe of the controversial revelations made by social media critic Martins Vincent Otse aka VeryDarkMan, through an audio purported to have been gotten from trans-gender personality, Idris Oguneye, also known as Bobrisky.
The lawmakers interviewed officials of the EFCC and the National Correctional Service (NCoS) before directing the latter to provide CCTV footage of Bobrisky in their facility.
Reinstated Edo Deputy gov, Philip Shuaibu, inspects projects despite controversy
The reinstated deputy governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, was in the news after he inspected ongoing projects in the state.
Shaibu carried on with the inspection despite statements from the state government warning against the move.
Shaibu was impeached by the state House of Assembly but was reinstated by the court which was ignored by Governor Godwin Obaseki who chose Omobayo Godwins as his replacement.
However, Shaibu, who had since resumed in another office, inspected projects like the multi-billion-naira five-star Radisson Blu Hotel, the ongoing Museum of West African Arts (MOWAA), reconstruction of Okada Avenue Road and parts of Central Road.
After his inspection at MOWAA, Shaibu said “Work is about 80 percent completed. It is fine but I have my reservation, this is supposed to be a Central Hospital for the people and not to build a museum here.”
Reacting to concerns about his status as deputy governor, he said “We should not respond to people in exile who release press releases because we are here. Anybody who wants to release a press release should come here and not be in exile and start releasing press statements. We should ignore them.
“I have since resumed because the issue of reinstatement should be a thing of the past. I don’t think we should be talking about it. Judgment has been made. We should move forward. The issue is if I can work with Obaseki, can I work with him? I can work with him but he cannot work with me.
“The office of the Deputy Governor is not an office under Obaseki. It is an office created by the Constitution. You must understand the difference between the office of the Governor and the Office of the Deputy Governor and the Constitutionality of the office. I am deputy governor and my role is clearly defined. I will be going around in the next two weeks starting with Edo South, after then Central and then North to check what we have done. A new sheriff is in town and we must hand over to him. That’s where we are. I am doing my work as deputy governor of Edo State.
“I have come to inspect what is going on here at the museum. We went around and to other projects. Administratively, some issues have to be sorted out. There are administrative issues which have to be sorted out. It is work and work. In the next six weeks, we have to put things in proper perspective so that the next sheriff in town will know where we are. I am doing my work as deputy governor. I am on the ground and not in exile,” he said.
Meanwhile, the statement by the Special Adviser on Media Projects to Obaseki, Crusoe Osagie, said “Shaibu, just like any private citizen, can take a tour around the exceptional projects of Governor Godwin Obaseki.”
Killing of Hezbollah leader, Nasrallah, stirs heightened tension
The killing of the Secretary General of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, Syyed Hassan Nasrallah, by Israeli missile strike has created tension and an increased risk of a wider regional war in the Middle East.
Already, the Nigerian diaspora commission led by Abike Dabiri has warned Nigerian nationals in Lebanon to leave the country as well as plan an evacuation operation.
Nasrallah, 64, was on September 27 killed in an attack involving Israeli 80 tons of bunker-busting missiles in a Beirut bunker alongside the Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander, Abbas Nilforoushan and Hezbollah commander, Ali Karki.
Hezbollah is allied with the Iranian government just like the Hamas in Palestine and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The killing prompted Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to order a barrage of about 200 missiles at Israeli military installations on Tuesday, which were mostly intercepted by the country’s defence systems. Hezbollah had since 2023 mounted missile attacks on Isreal’s northern border, forcing over 60,000 locals to flee with the aim to make Israel to stop attacks on Gaza and agree on ceasefire negotiations.
Nasrallah led Hezbollah for over 30 years, transforming the organisation from a guerrilla outfit to a strong political resistance force in the Middle East.
Israel has now commenced a ground operation in southern Lebanon to push back Hezbollah and enable its citizens return to their homes in the North.
The US designates Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist organisations.
