Headlines
Jumping the Gun: The Five Ambitious Fingers of 2023?
- /home/rhoncare/pointblank.ng/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 27
https://pointblank.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Ambition-1000x600.jpg&description=Jumping the Gun: The Five Ambitious Fingers of 2023?', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
- Share
- Tweet /home/rhoncare/pointblank.ng/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 69
https://pointblank.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Ambition-1000x600.jpg&description=Jumping the Gun: The Five Ambitious Fingers of 2023?', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
By Eric Elezuo
Many are of the opinion that 2023 is a long way away, but to the ambitious, many of whom are already beginning to (overtly and covertly) express their intentions to seek the highest office in the land. A lot of supporters or praise singers have echoed their principal’s intentions though of course none of those involved has so far owned up to harbouring presidential ambition as the year 2023 drag itself forward.
The title of this piece is derived from a former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige (1930-2001), who in 1998 described the five political parties that unilaterally adopted General Sani Abacha as consensus presidential candidate as the “five fingers of a leprous hand”. The parties, much as Abacha remained vocally silent, beckoned on him to be their parties’ flag bearer. Though his silence spoke volumes, but it was never held against him until he unceremoniously passed away on June 8, 1998.
The parties were Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM), Congress for National Consensus (CNC), National Centre Party of Nigeria (NCPN), Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN), and United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP),
Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi’s attempt to declare the head of the junta unfit to stand for the said election was quashed by Justice Babatunde Belgore of the Federal High Court, who declared thus:
“If other people in their wisdom decided to nominate him or confer an honour on him, he is not bound in law to react. The greatest fundamental human right is that a man cannot be prosecuted or held liable for his thought or even his wishes. A man’s mind is like a parachute; it can only function or malfunction when it is open.”
“I cannot see how a declaration can be made or injunction can be issued on a mere speculative conclusion.”
Resting on Justice Belgore’s precedence therefore, it will be out of place to hold responsible as many as are nurturing presidential ambition come 2023. However, a few names come to mind as a result of their body language, clandestine moves, and/or followers actions. They include but not limited to 1. the incumbent Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo; 2. the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole; 3. the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; 4. the Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai and 5. a former Secretary to the federal Government, Baba Gana Kingibe.
Let’s view their abilities or otherwise to hold the exalted position:
YEMI OSINBAJO
Born into the family of Opeoluwa Osinbajo on March 8, 1957, in Lagos, Yemi Osinbajo SAN, GCON, has come under serial attacks by a cross section of Nigerians described as the cabal, for harbouring unconfirmed ambition for the presidency.
Osinbajo’s suspicion dated back to the periods before the run off to the 2019 elections when some faceless groups and individuals accused him of eyeing the presidency, especially owing to his superlative performance as Acting President when President Muhammadu Buhari was away on sick leave.
Though he appears his usual self, the Vice President has suffered great humiliation in the recent past including allegation that he was corrupt and systematic stripping of his legitimate duties.
A scholar of great repute, Osinbajo was educated at Corona Primary School, in Lagos. Between 1969–1975, he attended Igbobi College Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. where he was the winner of the State Merit Award (1971); the School Prize for English Oratory (1972); Adeoba Prize for English Oratory (1972-1975); Elias Prize for Best Performance in History (WASC, 1973); School Prize for Literature (HSC, 1975); and African Statesman Intercollegiate Best Speaker’s Prize (1974).
Thereafter, he studied for his undergraduate degree at the University of Lagos between 1975-1978 when he obtained a Second Class Upper Degree in Law. Here, he also won the Graham-Douglas Prize for Commercial Law. In 1979, he completed the mandatory one-year professional training at the Nigerian Law School whereon he was admitted to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor of Nigeria’s Supreme Court. In 1980, he attended the London School of Economics & Political Science, where he obtained a Master of Laws degree.
From 1979–1980, Osinbajo served the compulsory one year youth service as a legal officer with Bendel Development and Planning Authority (BDPA), Bendel state.
In 1981, he was employed as a law lecturer at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. From 1983 to 1986, he was Senior lecturer of Law at the University of Lagos. From 1988 to 1992, he was an Adviser (legal advice and litigation) to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Bola Ajibola. Osinbajo began lecturing at the age of 23.
Yemi Osinbajo was also the Pastor in charge of the Lagos Province 48 (Olive Tree provincial headquarter) of The Reedeemed Christian Church of God, Ikoyi before his inauguration into office as the Vice President of Nigeria. He however still insists that he remains the pastor-in-charge of the said province and he is only on loan to the Federal Government. In his words, “Just like Pastor Ibitayo has said we are on loan. I am still the pastor-in-charge of Province 48 in Lagos and my wife remains wife of the pastor-in-charge and wife of the Vice President.”
On May 9, 2017, he became the Acting President after President Muhammadu Buhari wrote a written declaration to the president of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives on his decision to embark on a medical trip.
Ruthless as a leader in taking the right decisions, on August 7, 2018, he fired the State Security Service boss, Lawal Daura for illegal invasion of National Assembly by armed and masked operatives of the department. Daura was replaced with Matthew Seiyefa, who was removed by Buhari when he returned from medical leave.
BABA GANA KINGIBE
This is one man who a lot of people are believing has a lot to do with the presidency come 2023, his old age notwithstanding. He is alleged to be a member of the so called cabal, which up till now, is yet to be unmasked.
Kingibe was in 2018 recognised and honoured as the running mate of the Chief Moshood Abiola in the June 12, 1993 presidential election despite the fact that he left the struggle even before it started. He was conferred with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) award. An honour reserved for former vice presidents.
He was born on the June 25, 1945 to the family of Mustafa Shuwa and Ya Kingi Mallam. He grew up in city of Maiduguri and attended primary schools in the city. In 1958, he was admitted into the Borno Provincial Secondary School, however, in 1960, he traveled to London to complete his O’Level and A-level at Bishop’s Stortford College under a Borno Native Authority sponsored scholarship scheme. He took up further studies earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations at the University of Sussex .
He worked as a Research and Planning Officer at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria before becoming the head of Features and Current Affairs at the Broadcasting Corporation of Northern Nigeria. In 1972, he joined the Nigerian Foreign Service a senior counselor and later became the head of the political desk at the Nigerian High Commission in London. During the Obasanjo administration in the late 1970s, Kingibe worked in the political department as principal secretary and was involved in the government’s return to civil rule programme, states creation and boundary adjustment, local government reforms and the constitutional drafting committee. In 1981,at age 36, he was appointed the Nigerian ambassador to Greece and later the country’s representative in Pakistan.
In June 2007, he was appointed Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria. He was unceremoniously removed from office on September 8, 2008 by the President, Umaru Yar’Adua after spreading rumors about the President’s ill-health while believed to be contending for the presidency.
Kingibe has silently remained in the corridors of power ever since Buhari assumed power in 2015, and bookmakers suspect that something may be brewing.
BOLA AHMED TINUBU
Bola Tinubu is revered by many as the most successful politician to have come out of the south west in recent times owing to his elaborate political schemings and maneuvers. He has been single handedly dictating the political direction of Lagos State in the last 20 years, having been a two terms governor of the state. He is also reputed to have played a great part in the installation of Buhari as president in 2015 and 2019. Not a few however, believe that all his political schemes over the years are geared towards becoming the president in 2013
His presidential posters were the first to don major streets of Lagos and unlike some of the others accused of presidential ambition, Tinubu has not denied his ambition.
Born Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu on March 29, 1952 in the city of Lagos, Nigeria. Asiwaju as he is fondly called attended St. John’s Primary School, Aroloya, Lagos and Children’s Home School in Ibadan.
At the age of 23 in 1975, the man whose hindsight is legendary left the shores of Nigeria for the proverbial greener pastures to the United States, where he studied first at Richard J. Daley College in Chicago, Illinois and then at Chicago State University. He graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.
In the run-up to the 1999 elections, he was a protégé of Alliance for Democracy (AD) leaders Abraham Adesanya and Ayo Adebanjo. He paid his dues. He won the AD primaries for the Lagos State gubernatorial elections in competition with Funsho Williams and Wahab Dosunmu, a former Minister of Works and Housing.
In April 1999, he stood for the position of Executive Governor of Lagos State on the AD ticket and was elected, and there extended his larger than life existence.
Following the victory by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the April 2007 elections, Bola Tinubu was active in negotiations to bring together the fragmented opposition parties into a “mega-party” capable of challenging the PDP in 2011. In July 2009, he called for implementation of electoral reforms spelled out in the Uwais report to ensure that the 2011 elections would be as free and fair as the elections of 1993 had been.
Tinubu is married to Oluremi Tinubu, the current Senator representing Lagos central. His mother, Abibatu Mogaji died on June 15, 2014 at the age of 96.
In giving back to the society, Asiwaju Tinubu has established industries, and employed thousands of Nigerians. His investments cut across the media, aviation, finance and many more.
His Bourdillon Ikoyi home is home to many individuals who throng there on a daily basis for one directive or assistance or another.
ADAMS OSHIOMHOLE
Oshiomhole is a firebrand activist, who spent most of his professional life as a labour unionist. His presidential ambition took many by surprise when his posters appeared in Abuja with Kaduna State governor as running mate. Though he has since denied knowledge of the posters, bookmakers believe there is no smoke without fire.
Presently the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole was born on April 4, 1952 at Iyamho, near Auchi in Edo State. He was born Muslim but was led to Christianity by his late wife, Clara who died of cancer aged 54. He is Catholic and his Christian name is Eric. He has since remarried to a young model called Lara Fortes
After his secondary education, he joined the Arewa Textiles Company, where he was elected union secretary. He became a full-time trade union organizer in 1975.
He then studied at Ruskin College, Oxford in the United Kingdom and majored in Economics and Industrial Relations. He also attended the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru.
In April 2007, Adams Oshiomhole ran for Governor of Edo State under the Action Congress Party, with which his Labour Party had entered a strategic alliance. Though he lost, he contested the election results at the tribunal and emerged victorious
On 11 November 2008, a federal Appeal Court sitting in Benin City upheld the ruling of the state’s elections petitions tribunal, declaring Oshiomole to be the Governor of Edo State. The decision was based on several voting irregularities.
In 2012, he was elected to a second term, winning the elections in a massive landslide. He ended his tenure on November 12 2016.
On 23 June 2018, Adams Oshiomhole emerged as the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nigeria following a voice vote by delegates at the party National convention, and led the party to presidential victory in 2019.
NASIR EL-RUFAI
Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai has been one name that has remained synonymous with the presidency for a very long time now. He has a way of warming his way into the hearts of incumbent presidents. While Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was president between 1999 and 2007, many believe he would be the successor. He was even ‘considered’ to replace the then vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who was having a running battle with Obasanjo.
Today, apart from his posters coming as a presidential hopeful come 2023, his utterances have left many in doubt about his ambition.
He was born on February 16, 1960 in Daudawa of Faskari Local Government Area in Katsina State. His father died when he was eight years old, and was sponsored throughout his schooling days by an uncle in Kaduna.
He attended Barewa College, and graduated at the top of the class, winning the “Barewa Old Boys’ Association Academic Achievement” Trophy in 1976.
He went off to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, earning a Bachelor in Quantity Surveying degree with First Class Honors. He also attended post-graduate programmes at Harvard Business School and Georgetown University. Since leaving public service, Nasir has completed an LL.B degree from the University of London, graduating in August 2008 with Second Class Honors, Upper Division, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in June 2009. He also received the Kennedy School Certificate in Public Policy and Management having spent 11 months as an Edward A. Mason Fellow in Public Policy and Management from July 2008 to June 2009.
Rufai is serving his second term as Governor of Kaduna State. He is also a writer of great repute.
Much as many fingers are up for the number one office in the land, it should not be forgotten that President Buhari, who has tasted power this far might spring a surprise third term intention. Who knows?
President Bola Tinubu says his administration had identified mistakes made by previous governments, appealing to Nigerians for more time to address those lapses
Tinubu made the appeal on Friday through the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, during a special prayer session at the National Mosque in Abuja to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary.
Tinubu said peace and development are gradually returning to the country.
“This anniversary—the 66th—by all accounts signifies Nigeria has come of age,” he said.
“The person of 66 years cannot be called a child anymore. Nigeria has become mature, even though when we reflect on the journey from independence to date, we may say it was a mixed journey.
“Nigeria was bedeviled with a lot of issues in the past and opportunities as well. But we thank Almighty Allah for granting us the life and the peace for us to witness this very historic event today.
“My message to the country on behalf of the Mr. President, the Senate President and all members of the National Assembly is that the citizens should not lose hope. Peace is coming back to this country. Development is coming back to this country. Things will get better as we progress in this democracy.
“More importantly, citizens should look at the focus of the government of today, that the mistakes of the past—the cumulative mistakes and the missed opportunities of the past—are being corrected in this particular administration.
“And I want to categorically make it clear that Nigeria is on the right path; that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that Nigerians have finished making sacrifices for this country to be great again.
“We should give this government more opportunity for it to come back and finish the good work [it has started].”
Senior government officials, including Barau Jibrin, Deputy Senate President; State governors; National Assembly members; ministers; George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation; and military chiefs, attended the event.
STATEMENT BY H.E. BOLA AHMED TINUBU, GCFR, PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
AS DELIVERED BY
H.E. KASHIM SHETTIMA, GCON,
VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
AT THE GENERAL DEBATE OF THE EIGHTY-FIRST SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON THE THEME: “RESTORING TRUST, MANAGING TRANSFORMATION: A UNITED NATIONS THAT DELIVERS FOR ALL”
24TH SEPTEMBER, 2026
Mr. President,
Mr. Secretary-General,
Excellencies, Heads of State and Government,
Distinguished Delegates,
I extend my warmest congratulations to you, Mr. President, on your election as President of the Eighty-First Session of the United Nations General Assembly and assure you of Nigeria’s full cooperation and support. I commend your predecessor’s stewardship of this Assembly. I also salute the Secretary-General, His Excellency António Guterres, for steering the United Nations through storms that have sharpened our awareness of the cost of inaction.
2. None of us can pretend that conflicts within our borders or in lands far beyond them do not exact a price from us. Such is the reach of our interdependence. Such is the urgency of this session’s sacred duty to restore trust in the international institutions we established to reconcile our differences and advance our common interests.
3. The persistence of conflict across the world recalls the purpose for which the United Nations was founded: to spare succeeding generations the devastation of war. We must therefore return to the founding principles of dialogue, mutual respect and collective responsibility. Nigeria stands by the Charter and its promise of a world in which diplomacy prevails over coercion, cooperation over isolation and international law over the arbitrary exercise of power.
Mr. President,
4. The reform of this institution must begin with the reconstitution of the Security Council, for the world of 2026 cannot remain captive to the distribution of power in 1945. Africa cannot continue to fill the Council’s agenda while remaining absent from its permanent membership. Nigeria demands, in accordance with the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, at least two permanent seats for Africa, with all the rights and responsibilities of permanent membership, including the veto for as long as it exists, and five non-permanent seats in total. The authority to speak for humanity carries an obligation to represent it.
5. Nigeria stands ready to assume greater responsibility on the strength of obligations honoured and sacrifices made over decades in the service of peace. From Liberia and Sierra Leone to Darfur, Mali and The Gambia, we have committed personnel and resources when international solidarity required action. Through ECOWAS, the African Union and our Gulf of Guinea partnerships, we continue to advance mediation, democratic governance, counter-terrorism and maritime security.
Mr. President,
6. Our foreign policy rests on the same conviction that guides our economic reforms. Through sound macroeconomic management, stronger institutions, private-sector development and strategic public investment, we seek to give practical meaning to our sustainable development commitments. This purpose binds our national advancement to our continent’s progress and to our responsibility to contribute to a peaceful, equitable and prosperous world.
7. We understand that governments and multilateral institutions earn trust when their decisions improve lives. Yet none of these gains will matter if we turn a deaf ear to the threats gathering around our borders and farther afield. We inhabit the only planet known to sustain human life, and as long as that scientific fact holds, we cannot pretend that we are insulated from conflicts elsewhere. Geography offers no exemption from the consequences of a fractured world.
Mr. President,
8. We reject the false choice between development and climate action. Developing countries must industrialise, eradicate poverty and expand energy access through low-carbon pathways supported by technology transfer, capacity building and climate finance. Africa contributes less than four per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, yet bears disproportionate consequences. Nigeria remains committed to the Paris Agreement and an equitable energy transition that reflects historical responsibility and capacity while protecting people’s right to development.
9. Under our Energy Transition Plan, we are working towards net-zero emissions by 2060 while expanding access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy. This effort combines renewable energy, clean cooking and gas as a transitional fuel with climate-smart agriculture and nature-based solutions. Finance must be governed by equity and shared responsibility rather than charity, with international commitments translated into accessible, predictable and adequately funded mechanisms enabling developing countries to pursue climate action without compromising development objectives.
Excellencies,
10. We refuse to surrender our technological future to paranoia. An invention can be destructive or beneficial, depending on the purposes it serves and the judgement of those who use it. A knife can take a life in the hands of an assailant and save one in the hands of a surgeon. We can deploy artificial intelligence to wage war or use it to transform healthcare, education, agriculture, governance and economic productivity. Much of the anxiety surrounding AI reflects the distrust we have allowed to grow among us.
11. Nigeria is investing in digital public infrastructure, broadband connectivity, innovation ecosystems, research institutions and technology entrepreneurship. We invite the world to work with our inventive, resourceful and enterprising young people to direct AI towards humanity’s advancement rather than its destruction.
12. Mr. President,
13. One of the greatest obstacles to sustainable development is inadequate financing. Many developing countries devote substantial resources to debt servicing at the expense of education, healthcare and infrastructure. Nigeria therefore calls for reform of the international financial architecture, wider access to concessional financing and debt sustainability frameworks that recognise developmental needs. We also support innovative financing through private capital, blended finance, South-South cooperation and strategic partnerships for sustainable development, climate adaptation and resilient infrastructure.
14. Nigeria further recognises the African Continental Free Trade Area as one of the continent’s most transformative opportunities. It can strengthen regional value chains, expand intra-African trade, promote industrialisation and attract investment. Africa must move beyond its historical role as an exporter of raw materials towards greater value addition, manufacturing, technological innovation and knowledge-driven growth. Our abundant natural resources must become engines of shared prosperity rather than sources of perpetual dependency.
Mr. President,
15. No nation, however formidable its defences, can secure itself completely against dangers sustained beyond its borders. Terrorism, organised crime, cyberattacks and illicit finance exploit the gaps between our national responses, drawing strength from the divisions that weaken collective action. Nigeria’s prolonged struggle against Boko Haram, ISWAP and other armed groups has taught us that military victories require enduring foundations in education, economic opportunity, accountable governance and communities whose rights and dignity are protected. Development cannot take root where violence repeatedly uproots livelihoods, and peace cannot endure where injustice and exclusion replenish the ranks of those who threaten it.
16. Our common security therefore demands cooperation equal to the reach of the threats before us. We must exchange intelligence, strengthen institutional capacity, interrupt the financing of violence and prevent weapons from crossing borders that our responses too often fail to cross. The turmoil in the Sahel illustrates how insecurity in one territory can imperil its neighbours, displace populations and frustrate commerce, regional integration and democratic governance. As a founding member of ECOWAS, Nigeria upholds regional solidarity and African leadership in resolving these challenges, reinforced by principled international partnerships. No country can claim lasting safety while the forces capable of destabilising it retain sanctuary, resources and recruits elsewhere.
Excellencies,
17. Nigeria remains committed to the peaceful settlement of disputes under the United Nations Charter. The conflicts in Sudan and other war-torn countries demand urgent diplomacy to address their humanitarian, economic and geopolitical consequences. All parties must uphold international humanitarian and human rights law, protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian access. Negotiated settlements must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity. Within and beyond our continent, no claim to security can justify starving children, denying relief to civilians or erasing communities from the land they call home.
18. We should all be afraid of a world in which we can no longer tell the victim from the aggressor. When our investment in propaganda shields perpetrators from justice to the point that telling the truth becomes a crime, the promise of this institution stands betrayed.
19. We place our faith in diplomacy because military victories alone cannot secure lasting peace. Dialogue, reconciliation and inclusive political processes must give people a stake in ending violence and preserving the agreements that follow. The United Nations must therefore strengthen peacekeeping and give greater attention to peacebuilding, mediation, institution-building and sustainable development. Prevention must command greater resources and political attention.
Mr. President,
20. Africa is ready for the future. Our resilience, our ingenuity, our youthful population, our natural wealth and our expanding markets can make us a major driver of global growth in this century. The African Continental Free Trade Area offers exceptional scope to deepen regional integration, accelerate industrialisation and strengthen our place in global value chains. Developing countries must be recognised as indispensable partners whose contributions to global solutions and shared prosperity extend far beyond their need for assistance.
21. Such a partnership requires a United Nations that evolves with the aspirations of present and future generations. Institutions that adapt preserve their relevance; those that resist change imperil it. Nigeria remains optimistic because history shows that countries acting with common purpose and determination can overcome obstacles once considered insurmountable. Our generation has the privilege of shaping the future and the responsibility to answer for it. Those who follow us will judge our courage in reforming outdated institutions, building cooperation across divisions, protecting the planet and directing technology responsibly.
Mr. President, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,
22. Nigeria pledges to choose cooperation over confrontation, dialogue over division, hope over fear and partnership over isolation. These choices must shape institutions that respond to the legitimate aspirations of all nations. Restoring trust requires us to honour our obligations to one another and to manage the changes before us with justice, wisdom and compassion.
23. The world looks to this Assembly for leadership, and our debates must lead to action worthy of that expectation. Nigeria believes that the humanity we share is stronger than the divisions we have made and that cooperation remains wiser than conflict. A reformed, inclusive and effective United Nations is indispensable to the peaceful, just and sustainable world that future generations deserve. Whatever our differences, we must remember that humanity is our oldest citizenship, and peace is the inheritance we owe every child.
24. I thank you for your kind attention.
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio has dismissed calls for President Bola Tinubu to hand over power to Vice President Kashim Shettima, saying there is no leadership vacuum despite the President’s continued working vacation abroad.
Speaking on Tuesday, in Akwa Ibom State, while commissioning road projects executed by Governor Umo Eno, Akpabio addressed public concern over Tinubu’s three-week holiday, which was recently extended by one week. He insisted the President remains fully in office and continues to carry out his constitutional duties.
“I am the Senate President, and I am not the acting President of Nigeria, because President Tinubu is still in power. He is on a working leave, and there is no absence in Aso Rock. The world is a global village, and one can give instructions over the internet. So, why are people complaining?” he retorted.
Akpabio emphasized that only his office can declare a presidential vacancy and that no such condition currently exists. “Right now, there is no vacancy. Asiwaju Tinubu is still in power, and he is still running the affairs of Nigeria,” he added.
To underscore the President’s continued engagement, Akpabio disclosed of recent diplomatic contacts, including communications with French President Emmanuel Macron.
His remarks may have finally put to bed, unnecessary concerns raised by critics who claim the extended absence has hindered governance. Invoking modern communication, Akpabio argued a “remote” presidency can still function effectively.
The Presidency has not provided a formal return date for President Tinubu. Akpabio’s comments, however, signal a united stance within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) aimed at quelling speculation about a leadership crisis.
