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Bad Governance: Mbaka Asks Buhari to Apologise to Nigerians
Ejike Mbaka, a Catholic priest, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to apologise to Nigerians for bad governance.
In his homily on Sunday, the spiritual director of Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Nigeria (AMEN), said the recent #EndSARS protest was not just against police brutality but also bad governance.
“The living government needs to apologise, and they should also apologise for the errors of past governments,” he said in a message entitled, ‘Impure heart’.
The Catholic priest was Buhari’s cheerleader when he contested for president in 2015.
In an address entitled, ‘From good luck (in mockery of former president Goodluck Jonathan) to bad luck’, he said Buhari was the “saviour” Nigeria needed and asked Nigerians to vote for him.
Shortly after the president was elected, he hosted Mbaka in Abuja, describing him as a “man of courage”.
In his latest sermon, however, Mbaka said the president has surrounded himself with “criminals” and “hooligans”.
“Buhari, who could have been a solution to this, succeeded in encircling himself with criminals and hooligans, people who do not just tell him lies, but rather, they magnify lies and feed him!” he said.
“This is not about #EndSARS or IPOB. Nobody is fighting any government, we are fighting bad governance. “This country can never be the same again!
“Did you expect these young men to keep watching the country being swindled and looted dry by the so-called leaders?
“Some of the young men, who are now fast getting old, had started working for the criminals in authority, hooligans in power, since they were very young.
“I know that by the time some of the leaders listen to this message, they will begin to attack Fr. Mbaka. But that is their headache, not mine. One day, enough will be enough. Look at crime upon crime.
“The people that you have not given jobs, you have not given food, you have not given security, housing, power; and they have no food to eat nor water to drink; no quality hospital and no good roads, among others, and they had endured all the while.
“Just one day that they came out to say they are not happy, you began to kill them. And after killing them, you carry their corpses and dump inside rivers and valleys? Nigeria can never be the same again!”
The priest added that the “hooligans in power” think that “the world is their home,” accusing them of looting Nigeria’s common wealth.
“They have acquired houses and other possessions in Abuja and other areas within and outside the country, with our wealth, but they cannot be wise to build good industries to provide jobs for our growing youths. That is my worry,” he said.
“Our leaders seem to be reaping the seeds that they had planted. When somebody that you had not given job comes out to say that he is hungry and angry, it was you that attracted such protest, in the first place.”
TheCable
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Biodun Oyebanji, winner of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election.
Oyebanji secured a landslide victory, polling 319,224 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dr. Wole Oluyede, who garnered 40,543 votes. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Dare Bejide, came a distant third with 12,872 votes.
The election, held across all 16 local government areas of the state, was overshadowed by reports of irregularities and widespread allegations of vote buying, drawing strong condemnation from observers.
The official results were announced on Sunday morning by the Chief Returning Officer, Professor Adenike Oladiji, who declared Oyebanji duly elected after meeting the constitutional requirements.
In her declaration, Professor Oladiji stated: “I, Professor Adenike Oladiji, hereby certify that I am the Returning Officer for the Ekiti State Governorship Election held on June 20, 2026, and that the election was conducted in compliance with the provisions of the law. Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of valid votes cast, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
Source: Reuters
Arise Television anchor, Rufai Oseni, has alleged that there may be attempts to prevent key opposition figures, including Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, from appearing on the ballot for the 2027 general elections.
Oseni’s remark followed a Federal High Court judgment ordering the de-registration of some political parties.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples’ Party (APP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Action Alliance Party (AAP) over alleged constitutional breaches.
The judgment arose from a lawsuit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the affected parties failed to meet constitutional and statutory electoral performance requirements necessary for continued recognition as political parties.
Justice Lifu subsequently barred INEC from recognising the affected parties, accepting nominations from them or permitting them to participate in activities related to the 2027 general elections.
The ruling, if upheld, could affect the political ambitions of several politicians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is the ADC presidential flag-bearer, and Osun State governor Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord Party.
But speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Tuesday, Oseni described the court ruling as a “test” of public reaction, warning that more actions could follow ahead of the next general election.
According to him, opposition parties such as the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, should be cautious, claiming that efforts could be made to stop major figures from participating in the election.
Oseni argued that the judgment was part of a broader process aimed at shaping the political landscape ahead of 2027.
He maintained that the ruling came despite some of the affected parties having recorded electoral victories in recent elections.
He warned that Nigerians must remain vigilant to safeguard the country’s democracy, stressing the need for judicial reforms alongside efforts to tackle insecurity.
Oseni said: “NDC, ADC should be careful because there will be attempt, and this is me predicting now, to ensure that Obi, Atiku and other big contenders are not on the ballot.
“This that you saw yesterday is just a test. This is not the real place where the whole thing is going. This is me predicting now.
“You know before you have a show you test the microphone. They want to see the reactions of Nigerians. More is still coming.
“You can see how they carry a judgement when ADC won two House of Representatives seats in Kogi, one Kogi House of Assembly seat, APP one chairmanship seat in Jigawa, Zenith Labour party won several seats in Abia, but they still went ahead and issued judgement for deregistration after the Court of Appeal, a higher court, said it should stay on that.
“If we want to deal with this judicial rascality, can I tell you something? The judge that gave this judgment, nothing will happen to him. Nothing on this earth. They are just coming.
“And who is leading this group? Gbajabiamila. Have you forgotten what Gbajabiamila said on Hon Ajibade’s birthday? So they are just coming. This one is just a test. The next one they will do is the NDC.
“With the way they’re going, if Nigerians don’t shine their eyes when they will finally have this election, you will not have the major contenders in the ballot. This thing they have just done is to test reactions from Nigerians.
“I saw this thing coming. You know we are going into an election in which Atiku Abubakar is the only major candidate from the North. It’s not like the last one you have Kwankwaso that can split the Kano votes. And you have Peter Obi and general consensus that a lot of people are in abject penury, insecurity is raging hard.
“This is the beginning of many things. They are just testing the microphone. It’s engineered. More is coming. Nigerians, it is you that will save your democracy. Judicial reforms have become so important as insecurity in Nigeria.”
