Headlines
Obasanjo Knocks Buhari Again, Says Nigeria Moving Towards Disaster, Instability
By Eric Elezuo
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has knocked President Muhammadu Buhari one more time, saying that Nigeria is fast moving towards disaster and instability under his administration.
Speaking exclusively to Premium Times, Obasanjo, hinted that Buhari’s administration has destroyed the war against corruption, adding that the economy has become unstable.
The former Nigerian Leader fell out with Buhari prior to the 2019 elections when he backed the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, who was his former deputy.
He accused Buhari of nepotism, saying he was also too old to run for a second term.
Obasanjo said, although Buhari was re-elected, he believed the country was on the edge of the precipice.
He said, “The progress we are making may be questionable –Is it fast enough? Is it steady enough? Is it stable enough? Are we taking two steps forward and one step backwards or one step sideways?
“You can question that, but we have no choice but to be on (the) path of sustainable development. Any other thing will be a disaster. In fact, the pace at which we are going now is tending more and more towards disaster and instability and unsustainability.”
Obasanjo said he was worried that the first three top officials of government were from a particular region.
He said the situation had called for concern as it was against the constitution.
He said, “Now, you have a situation where three top officials of government will be from only two northern zones. Ahmed Lawan is from the North-East, the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria is from the North-East, the President of the country is from the North-West. They are all from what we call the core North. How can you have that kind of arrangement and then be absolutely insensitive to it?
“So the prescription that our constitution makes for the kind of leadership that should emerge, we have failed to achieve that with the present leadership we have in place. The constitution expects the executive to care for the welfare and security of every Nigerian. But in the present situation, they don’t seem to care.”
Obasanjo said there was no more confidence in the economy, adding that the Buhari government had wasted the gains of the past administrations.
He claimed that Buhari had “corrupted” the fight against corruption, which started during his (Obasanjo) government with the creation of two anti-corruption agencies.
The Presidency has dismissed claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comments were directed at the political situation in Rivers State or President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s constitutional decisions on the matter.
In a statement on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, the Presidency described the reports as a “gross misrepresentation.”
The statement clarified that Vice President Shettima’s remarks at the public presentation of a book by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), were misconstrued by some online platforms and individuals.
“These reports have distorted the Vice President’s comments in pursuit of a mischievous agenda,” it stated.
“They twisted his account of how the administration of former President Jonathan considered removing him as Borno Governor during the insurgency to falsely link it with current events in Rivers State.”
The Vice President, who spoke at the launch of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block in Abuja on Thursday, was said to have referenced the past solely to commend Adoke’s professionalism while in office, and to reflect on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution regarding federal and state relations.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional measure implemented was a suspension, not an outright removal.
“This action was taken in response to the grave political crisis in Rivers State at the time, with the governor facing a looming impeachment and the State Assembly complex under demolition,” Nkwocha clarified.
The Presidency insisted that the action taken by President Tinubu in declaring a state of emergency and suspending the Governor was fully in line with Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which authorises such measures when there is a breakdown of public order requiring extraordinary intervention.
According to the statement, the President’s proclamation invoking Section 305(2) was subsequently ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, confirming the legitimacy and constitutional propriety of the decision.
“The action of President Tinubu in suspending Mr. Fubara and others from exercising the functions of office averted the governor’s outright removal. To conflate suspension with removal is misleading,” the statement further noted.
Nkwocha also stressed that Vice President Shettima’s comments were delivered extemporaneously and intended to underline the importance of public accountability and historical documentation.
He referenced the Vice President’s mention of past public servants, including Adoke and former Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to illustrate principled leadership.
“His remarks were not in any way a criticism of President Tinubu’s actions, which the Vice President and the entire administration fully support and stand by without reservation,” the spokesman stated.
The Vice President, the statement added, remains in “loyal concert” with President Tinubu and is committed to implementing all constitutional measures necessary to safeguard democracy and uphold order across the country.
Concluding, the Presidency called on media organisations and political actors to desist from misrepresenting public remarks for sensational or partisan purposes.
“We urge media organisations and political actors to desist from the destructive practice of wrenching statements from context in order to fabricate nonexistent conflicts,” Nkwocha said.
Headlines
Akpabio Relieves Natasha of Committee Chairmanship Position, Appoints Akwa Ibom Senator As Replacement
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has replaced suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora/Non-Governmental Organisations.
In her place, Akpabio named Senator Bassey Aniekun Etim (Akwa Ibom -East).
The Senate President, who made the announcement on the floor in Abuja on Thursday, did not give any reasons.
The committee position had remained vacant since March when the Senate suspended the Kogi-Central Senatorial District lawmaker for six months for flouting the Senate’s rule on the seating arrangement and seat allocation.
The suspended lawmaker, at a point, chaired the Senate Committee on Local Content before Akpabio reassigned her to the Committee on Diaspora/NGO, shortly before she ran into trouble with the Senate over her conduct on seat allocation.
The Supreme Court has affirmed the 2024 governorship election victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba, the apex court ruled that the appeal lacked merit. It upheld the earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had both declared Okpebholo the validly elected governor.
