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Abike Dabiri, Communications Minister Fight Dirty on Twitter over Office Space
The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, on Sunday traded words on Twitter over the forced eviction of NIDCOM staff from their office at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
While Dabiri-Erewa, in a series of tweets, accused Pantami of being disrespectful to women, the minister, who tweeted back, called the NIDCOM boss a liar.
The scuffle between the duo started after the former House of Reps member, in a video posted on NIDCOM Twitter page, accused Pantami of ordering armed men to chase away her workers from their office.
She noted that the office was given to them by the Nigerian Communications Commission, lamenting that the working tools of the staff had been locked up.
She said in the video, “In one year, we don’t even have an office. The office we got, given to us by the NCC, we were actually driven away by the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Pantami. Within two days he drove us out with guns and what happened? The place was given to us by the NCC.
“You know we all help each other, NCC as an agency of government, said there is a place you can use to settle in. And just as we settled in, I was in Ethiopia when I got a call. I thought that it was a joke. I came back from Ethiopia on Thursday, this happened on Tuesday, by Friday when I went to the office, guns, armed men had taken over the place. I thought it was a joke; but here is the thing, I’m a government employee, so is he. It’s government business. Do I go on the street and start fighting. No. So, I said I would take the moral higher ground.
“I have complained officially, but we let it be. He wants the place, let him take it. And that place is still there, a whole floor is still vacant. As I speak with you all our items are locked up. I don’t have a computer; I don’t have printers, everything has been locked up.”
However, the minister, in a tweet to the video, called Dabiri-Erewa a liar.
“This is a fat lie from her. The owner of the building @NgComCommission has faulted her lies on their social media platforms. The minister has never given that directive to any gunman. We need to be very objective in reporting. I have never sent any gunmen there, and I have no one,” he wrote.
The NIDCOM boss, while quoting Pantami’s tweet, said he chased the workers away because he did not respect women.
“An Islamic scholar should not lie. Hon minister (Phd), you did that to me because I am a woman. Your disrespect for women is legendary. Left the ugly incident behind me since February. But please, release all our office equipment. Public office is transient,” she wrote.
She then posted a video of the stranded NIDCOM workers who were being addressed to stay calm.
“To refresh you sir, despite your denial; the secretary of the commission seeking calm after staff resumed for work and denied access to the 5th floor office of NIDCOM based on your instruction. Turned back by armed men! Haba!!!!” Dabiri-Erewa added.
Pantami retweeted supports from some of his followers, who urged him to take legal action against Dabiri-Erewa for defamation of character.
He also shared a statement from the NCC, which had also absolved him of blame in the matter.
The agency’s Director of Public Affairs, Henry Nkemadu, said NIDCOM was not forced out of the complex.
“The NCC has not withdrawn the offer, but had hiccups arising from the preparation for the visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to inaugurate the Communications and Digital Economy Complex and launch of other projects relating to the mandate of government.
“Incidentally, after the offer of the office spaces to the NDC (NIDCOM), the Director General, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, had not visited the complex to take possession of any of the offices and also the commission had not started using any of these spaces as offices.
“As is usual in ensuring security and accountability before, during and after presidential visits, the building had to be cleared to allow for only known and identifiable persons to have access within the complex.
“Therefore, the Honourable Minister of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, could not have sent armed men to drive the staff of the Diaspora Commission out of the Communications and Digital Economy Complex,” the statement said.
The Punch
Former Military President, Gen Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), is set to launch his long-awaited autobiography.
Reports said the memoir titled: ‘A Journey In Service’, will be released on February 20, 2025, at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
The development is coming 32 years after IBB left office.
The regime of the former Head of State was negatively shaped and defined by the adoption of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) policy, among other regulations, which sparked a nationwide riot by student union and other similar groups.
There was also the unresolved murder of the late journalist, Dele Giwa, and the June 12 annulment, among other controversial issues.
While in office, IBB was popular with the moniker “evil genius” and “Maradona”.
Explaining the nicknames, IBB said they were manufactured by the media because of his “deft political moves”.
“That’s the very good thing about the Nigerian media and Nigerian people. You have to anticipate them.
“If you anticipate them, then you live well with them. They call me ‘evil genius’, I marvel at that. The contradiction, you can’t be evil and then be a genius.”
“The definition of Maradona I got from the media is because of deft political moves. That’s the way the media described it”, he had said.
He succumbed to pressure in August 1993 when he “stepped aside” for the late Ernest Shonekan as the chairman of the Interim Government.
The late General Sanni Abacha would, however, topple the government in 1993 and would subsequently die in office in 1998.
Although IBB granted interviews to local and international media since leaving office, he has somehow found a way around some of these contentious issues that happened during his rule.
About seven years ago, he had expressed doubts about writing an autobiography, saying he was uncertain if Nigerians would “want to read about a dictator”.
He added that the public had a wrong impression of him, citing his role in the June 12 crisis, and some of the policies he unfurled between 1985 and 1993 as head of a junta.
However, he made a U-Turn and wrote the book.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will lead former Nigerian leaders and their counterparts in other parts of Africa to grace the much awaited autobiography.
According to an invite dispatched to dignitaries this week, the board of trustees of the IBB Presidential Library Foundation said the book launch will take place alongside fundraising for a Presidential Library.
The organisers said the event would be chaired by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, with President Bola Tinubu as the Special Guest of Honour.
The keynote address would be delivered by the former president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, while former vice-president Yemi Osinbajo would review the autobiography.
Other guests billed to attend include ex-presidents Muhammadu Buhari, Yakubu Gowon, Abdulsalami Abubakar, and Goodluck Jonathan.
A former Minister of Defence Gen. Theophilus Danjuma and Chairman of BUA Group; Abdul Samad Rabiu, are named chief launchers.
Members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have expressed support for the recent court ruling that nullified the party’s congresses in Rivers State.
The NWC members made their position known during a visit to Governor Siminalayi Fubara at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Wednesday night, where they also held a closed-door meeting with the Governor.
The delegation included the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba.
Speaking after the meeting, the National Treasurer, Ahmed Mohammed, reaffirmed Governor Fubara’s status as the party leader in Rivers State.
He described their visit as part of an effort to realign the party and strategize for a comeback in the 2027 elections.
Mohammed stated their commitment to fostering unity, stability, and effective repositioning in the State.
He also expressed the NWC’s support for Ude Okoye, who was recently reinstated as the party’s National Secretary by the Court of Appeal.
Mohammed urged party stakeholders and governors to rally behind Okoye for the party’s progress.
The visit comes just days after PDP Youth leaders from across the country met with Governor Fubara in a bid to resolve internal party crises, with a focus on affirming his leadership in the state.
The court ruling that nullified the Ward, Local, and State congresses, which were won by allies of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has created ripples within the party.
The congresses, which were held last year, were marred by conflicting court orders, with a State High Court restraining the exercise while a Federal High Court allowed it.
Following the nullification, an interim committee emerged, saying it will oversee the leadership of the party in Rivers State.
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has denied the request of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to issue an arrest warrant for Dr Oba Otudeko, Dr Bisi Onasanya and others due to lack of formal service on the defendants.
The court addressed multiple motions during the session, including the Prosecutor’s request for a warrant of arrest, which the Judge rejected due to the lack of formal service to the defendants. The Judge, therefore, granted an application for substituted service.
Bode Olanipekun, appearing for Dr Otudeko, sought an order restraining parties from irresponsible use of the media, Thus, the Judge advised all parties to exercise restraint in media engagement and urged journalists present to ensure accurate reporting of court proceedings.
The case has brought the EFCC under scrutiny for allegedly flouting procedural norms.
Critics have faulted the agency for going public with the charges without first formally serving Otudeko and other implicated parties. Legal experts argue that this approach undermines the principle of fair hearing and could prejudice the public against the accused.
The case has been adjourned to February 13 for arraignment.
