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Akintoye Resigns As Yoruba Nation Leader, Gives Reasons
The leader of the apex body of the Yoruba self-determination struggle, Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide, also known as Yoruba Nation. Prof. Banji Akintoye, has resigned his position.
Akintoye handed the baton of leadership to his former Deputy, Prof. Wale Adeniran, citing old age and a weakened body system as his reasons for stepping down.
In a letter addressed to Adeniran and sighted by The Punch on Thursday, Akintoye explained that he did not resign from the position to evade responsibility over the crisis rocking the self-determination group.
Akintoye’s resignation letter in full:
“Dear Wale, I write this letter to you in your position as Chairman of Ilana Omo Oduduwa to congratulate you and the newly elected Executive Council of Ilana.
“I also hereby inform Ilana through you of my departure from further responsibilities in Ilana. I urge you and all others not to think that this step is a consequence of recent difficulties in Ilana. As you know better than any other person, I have been seeking for over a year now to take my leave from Ilana because combining the duties of Ilana with the duties of the greatly elevated demands of the Self-determination Struggle has been too heavy for me at my age. I am greatly honored that you as the closest person to me in Ilana, most Ilana members, and all Ilana committees, have for months been urging me not to leave Ilana because, according to you all, Ilana is my special ‘baby’ in the whole Self-determination Struggle. But you would remember that in a special meeting of leaders of the Self-determination struggle from all over the world about a month ago, you and all the other meeting participants agreed graciously that I should give up my duties in Ilana because of my heavy accumulation of duties to the higher levels of the whole struggle.
“As for our current difficulties in Ilana, I am sure you would testify that I am not leaving because of them, and that, in general, even the greatest of difficulties never make me quit. I am imbued with God-given confidence that I can bear all things and solve the most tortuous complications among men, because God in His mercy has given me the gift of a heart that loves all persons in all situations.
“Still, I must ask you to forgive me for leaving Ilana to you in its current condition. I had wanted to leave Ilana immediately after the special meeting of worldwide leaders about a month ago, but I decided to help you to iron out some of the ongoing difficulties before leaving. Unfortunately, things have not improved as quickly as I expected, and you now have to face a situation in which some of our extremists are still compounding the difficulties. However, I have much confidence in you – including confidence that you will find ways to steer our Ilana back to the path of compromise, unity and strength.
“Finally, I must congratulate and thank you for your very high quality of leadership in this struggle for our embattled nation. I must congratulate and thank you, particularly for your bearing with strength and fortitude the frequent vilifications and false accusations. We who have stepped out bravely to liberate our Yoruba nation and to save it from being destroyed by the destructive forces of Nigeria are going through a lot of fire from our own people. No doubt, we shall soon be hearing from some habitual detractors that it was you who disloyally plotted against me and made me to leave Ilana, but we must not let such talk bother us in any way. By the grace of God, we shall win this war and liberate our Yoruba nation, and thereby giving our nation the freedom it desires to develop into a greatly respected modern country in the world.
“Of course, you know that I shall always be available to you – to you personally as a friend and close associate in the higher levels of the Self-determination Struggle, and to Ilana as Patron and Mentor in the way that I am Patron and Mentor to other Self-determination Organizations.
“I thank God for His leadership qualities in you and thank you for giving yourself so unstintingly to our struggle for our nation. Accept my best wishes for you and your family.”
Immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, has stated that the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu is planning to tarnish his reputation because of his 2031 Presidential ambition.
Speaking in an interview with Arise TV on Monday, el-Rufai alleged that Ribadu is collaborating with Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to destroy his image
“This project of destroying Nasir el-Rufai is Nuhu Ribadu’s conception. He is the architect and builder of that project. He is the one working with Uba Sani to implement it. So far, it has been frustrating for them,” el-Rufai said.
“Somebody wants to destroy my reputation. Why? Nuhu Ribadu wants to be president in 2031. He has to eliminate every northerner that he thinks is on the radar.”
Following the revelation by former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida in his book, “A Journey in Service” that the 1966 coup was not an Igbo coup as alleged, Igbo apex group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, on Sunday, February 23, has demanded an apology and N10 trillion as compensation from President Bola Tinubu to the Igbos.
In his book, Babangida revealed that the primary objective of the coup plotters was to release Chief Obafemi Awolowo from prison and install him as Prime Minister. He emphasized that the involvement of officers from different ethnic backgrounds, including non-Igbo officers such as Major Adewale Ademoyega, Captain Ganiyu Adeleke, and Lieutenants Fola Oyewole and Olafimihan, further invalidates the claim that it was an Igbo-driven coup.
Additionally, some senior Igbo officers were also victims of the coup, such as Lt-Col. Arthur Chinyelu Unegbe, who was executed by fellow officer Major Chris Anuforo. This further weakens the argument that the coup was designed to serve Igbo interests.
Furthermore, Babangida pointed out that the coup was ultimately crushed by Major John Obienu, an officer of Igbo extraction, reinforcing the argument that it was not an ethnic uprising but rather a failed military intervention with specific political objectives.
Reacting, Ohanaeze noted that the story surrounding the coup at the time, unleashed disastrous repercussions on the Igbo people, which ultimately led to the cataclysmic horrors of the Biafra War.
In a statement by the Deputy National President of the Ohanaeze faction, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the group noted that the apology and compensation had become necessary due to the ”staggering loss of life, with approximately three million Igbo—predominantly innocent women and children—slaughtered during the war.”
It stated that the revelations by IBB would compel Nigerians to confront the alleged ‘’stark injustices perpetrated against the Igbo people.”
The statement added that the demand for ten trillion naira in reparations remained steadfast, stressing that the figure was not arbitrary but a symbolic recognition of the ‘’huge losses the Igbo people had endured since the creation of Nigeria.”
The statement read:
“The apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, extends its profound appreciation to General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) for his remarkable courage in officially declaring that the January 1966 coup was unequivocally not an Igbo coup.
“This pivotal acknowledgement is not merely a correction of historical nomenclature but a significant moment in our collective pursuit of justice and reconciliation, signalling a potential end to the historical vindictiveness and cruelty that have been pervasive in Federal Government policies towards the Igbo Nation.
“His forthright exemption of the Igbo from the egregious classification as enemies of the Northern region in the aftermath of the coup is both timely and necessary, even if it arrives decades later.
“The mislabeling of the January 1966 coup has unleashed disastrous repercussions upon the Igbo people, most tragically culminating in the July 1966 counter-coup, which decimated a military Head of State of Igbo descent.
“The staggering loss of life, with approximately three million Igbos—predominantly innocent women and children—slaughtered during this conflict, continues to reverberate through our collective consciousness.
“Furthermore, even in the post-Biafra era, the Igbo Nation continues to grapple with systemic injustices, evidenced by acute marginalisation that leaves us with the smallest representation of states within the Nigerian federation.
“The political conspiracies designed to deny the Igbo the rights to ascend to the highest office in the land—Nigeria’s Presidency—the chronic economic neglect symbolised by the closure of the Calabar seaport, the inoperative state of several ports in Igbo land, the implementation of a discriminatory quota system, and the conspicuous absence of functional international airports in the Southeast starkly illustrate the Federal Government’s long-standing policy of exclusion.
“In light of these egregious injustices and the deliberate neglect exhibited by successive administrations, Ohanaeze Ndigbo hereby restates its demands, as articulated previously during the Justice Oputa-led Judicial Commission for the Investigation of Human Rights Violations Panel in 1999.
“We assert that the Nigerian Federal Government, under General Yakubu Gowon, conducted indiscriminate and unjustified bombardments in Igbo territory during the Nigeria-Biafra War, resulting in overwhelming loss of life. These historical realities establish an irrefutable case for the reparations we seek.
“The present Federal Government, led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, must recognise this moment as an opportunity to extend a public and unequivocal apology on behalf of previous military regimes. Our demand for ten trillion naira in reparations remains steadfast.
“This figure is not arbitrary but a symbolic recognition of the indelible losses the Igbo people have endured. The time has come for true acknowledgement of these historical wrongs, which can only be rectified through both reparations and sincere apologies.”
Source: LIB
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has discovered N1.37 billion allegedly diverted from funds allocated for Kaduna State’s now-abandoned light rail project.
The money, it was learned, was siphoned into a private account during the administration of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who led the state from 2015 to 2023.
The ICPC detailed its findings in an application filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking the forfeiture of the funds. The commission argued that the alleged diversion deprived Kaduna residents of a vital rail transport system.
According to the ICPC, the fraud stemmed from a purported joint venture agreement signed in October 2016 between the El-Rufai-led administration and Indo Kaduna Mrts JV Nigeria Limited. Payments to the entity began in December 2016, even though the company was not officially incorporated until May 10, 2017.
Between December 2016 and January 2017, the El-Rufai administration approved the payment of N11.1 billion to Mrts JV Nigeria’s account with Sterling Bank. Out of this amount, N1.37 billion was traced to a private account.
On February 14, 2024, the ICPC sought an interim forfeiture order and requested that notices be published in national newspapers, inviting any claimants to show cause why the funds should not be permanently forfeited.
The investigation began after the ICPC received a petition in June 2024 from a lawyer, M. Yahaya, alleging financial misappropriation by officials of the El-Rufai administration. The commission’s probe found that the Kaduna State Government had transferred N11.1 billion in multiple tranches to the joint venture’s account before it was officially registered.
Payments included N890.3 million from the state treasury on December 23, 2016, N2.3 billion on January 10, 2017, and two more tranches of N3 billion and N4.9 billion on January 17, 2017.
On the same day that the final payments were made, Skipper Nigeria Limited, linked to the joint venture, directed Sterling Bank to place the funds in a fixed deposit account. By July 2019, Indo Kaduna Mrts JV Nigeria Limited refunded N10 billion to the Kaduna State Government, leaving a balance of N1.046 billion.
The fixed deposit had also accrued N326.8 million in interest, both of which were allegedly diverted to accounts belonging to GTA Engineering Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Skipper Nigeria Limited.
The ICPC claims that the N1.046 billion was labeled as payment for feasibility study, but no such study was conducted. The commission has since recovered both the diverted sum and the accrued interest, totaling N1.37 billion, and is now seeking a court order for its forfeiture.
Former appointees of El-Rufai have denied any wrongdoing, calling the ICPC’s move an abuse of power. They argue that the project was part of a Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer agreement requiring Kaduna State to contribute 15 percent equity, with the rest funded by an Indian loan.
However, the project stalled due to the federal government’s failure to provide a sovereign guarantee. The former officials insist that the joint venture was legally established and challenge critics to present evidence of misconduct.
