At the heart of sham general elections held since the advent of democracy in Nigeria are various manifestations of malfeasance. Nigerian politicians and their agents are a bunch of desperadoes out to win at all costs, not minding the damages their inordinate ambition leaves in its trail. Beyond scuttling the democratic process, the bellicosity and shenanigans of these do-or-die politicians and their musclemen fuel much fear in the electorate that they would rather stay indoors than go to exercise their civic duty on election day. The heist of elections Nigeria used to have hit a new low in 2007 such that the announced winner of the presidential poll, the gentlemanly Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, acknowledged in his inaugural speech: “that our elections had some shortcomings,” promising that his government will learn from the mistakes and remedy shortcomings that writ large the election.
True to this pledge, President Yar’Adua, on August 28, 2007, constituted a 22-member Electoral Reform Committee headed by retired Justice Muhammed Uwais to, among other things, “examine the entire electoral process with a view to ensuring that we raise the quality and standard of our general elections and thereby deepen our democracy.” This brief historical excursion is necessitated by the currency of one of the recommendations of this watershed panel. It called for the unbundling of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the creation of a different agency to shoulder aspects of the electoral umpire’s functions. Enter the push for an Electoral Offences Commission, which also got promoted by the Senator Ken Nnamani electoral reform committee set up in 2015 by the Buhari government to do a further look into the report of the Uwais panel.
Some members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are pushing for a probe of the party’s finances.
Truetells Nigeria gathered that some PDP NWC members are angry that the National Chairman of the party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, has failed to give an account of some funds that accrued to the party.
A source told TheCable that the PDP leaders have demanded an audit for about N1 billion that the party got from friends of the presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar.
The source added the PDP NWC members want Ayu to account for the funds that accrued to the party through the sale of forms and donations.
“Some of the NWC members want an audit for about N1 billion that the party got from friends of Atiku, in addition to donates from governors and sale of nomination forms,” the source said.
The special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina has revealed that for a long time, he disliked former military leader of Nigeria, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB).
According to Adesina, he believed Babangida who overthrew Buhari in a palace coup in 1985 did it for selfish reasons.
Truetells Nigeria recalls in August 1985, Major-General Ibrahim Babangida who was the Chief of Army Staff at that time led some Armed Forces officers to overthrow the government of Major General Muhammadu Buhari (who himself took power in the 1983 coup d’état).
However, Adesina in an article via his Facebook page on Thursday in which he spoke glowingly about the recently deceased Duro Onabule who served as the Chief Press Secretary to IBB during his regime said it was a particular action from Babangida after his own mother died that softened him.
He said all the while he was against IBB, Onabule never took his opposition against his own principal against him.
A former presidential aspirant and publisher, Ovation magazine, Dele Momodu, has narrated what transpired between him and Senator Remi Tinubu, wife of the presidential flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, during the funeral of a chieftain of the APC, Kemi Nelson, in Lagos.
Momodu, in a terse statement posted on his verified Instagram page via @delemomoduovation on Friday, stated that he chose to place Nigeria above friendship.
The media mogul, who is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), disclosed that he rejected Remi’s proposal to back her husband in next year’s election.
He said, “Only two people, apart from the photographers, witnessed what happened between me and Senator Oluremi Tinubu yesterday, at the funeral service of Chief Kemi Nelson, at (the) Archbishop Vining Memorial Church in Ikeja, Lagos.
“Before some people add salt and pepper to it, I need to state precisely what happened…
“Senator Tokunbo Abiru and Dr Tunji Olowolafe and I had walked in about the same time and we went to greet my very dear sister, Senator Oluremi Tinubu. Immediately she saw me, we exchanged our usual pleasantries and then she asked me, ‘So Bob Dee, you’re not going to campaign for my husband…?’ I smiled and remained very calm before replying: ‘Your Excellency, I’m in PDP…’ She apparently didn’t find it funny and regaled us with the past I shared with her husband and I tried to calm her down.”
A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olabode George, has warned former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, against attacking Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.
Truetells Nigeria reports that Lamido has constantly attacked the Rivers State Governor over his rift with former vice president Atiku Abubakar.
Speaking on Channels Television on Tuesday, Lamido said: “We should forget about Wike.
“Wike is an individual. I don’t think because he is a governor there, he has control and monopoly over the peoples of Rivers.”
Reacting, George asked Lamido and other party elders to learn from the pacifist nature of founding fathers of the party.
Bode George, who cited the roles played by some founding fathers of the PDP, such as Chief Solomon Lar, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Chief Bola Ige (who wrote the constitution of the party), Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, Chief Sunday Awoniyi, and others, said: “All these elders, who are late today, were never fixated on their needs or selfish interests. They were patriotic. It is because of their patriotism and sacrifice that PDP remains a very strong brand today.
“So, I call on party leaders, elders, and members to please look at the overall interest of PDP. The fact that someone has, knowingly or unknowingly, done something unjust or dishonest is no justification for personal attack or acting in a similar way.”
A former Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu, has blasted the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, over his attitude towards the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu.
Truetells Nigeria reports that Shittu is the Director General of the Asiwaju Tinubu-Shettima Coalition for Good Governance.
In an interview with The Punch on Thursday, Shittu said the former minister had shown resentment and has been unbothered towards Tinubu’s presidential aspiration.
The former minister claimed that Wike’s planned defection to the ruling APC will inevitably displace and relegate Amaechi in Rivers state.
He said Wike is currently busy playing psychological warfare against the PDP and leaving them to second guess if he will leave the party or not.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau has been sworn in as the new President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
Truetells Nigeria reports that Maikyau’s emergence came following the expiration of the Olumide Akpata-led administration.
The legal practitioner had won the election for the position earlier in July when he polled 38,000 electoral votes to become the 31st President of the NBA.
The swearing-in ceremony was held today at the Eko Hotel & Suites.
At the event, Maikyau thanked God for helping him thus far. He also thanked his colleagues at YC Maikyau & Co., his campaign team, as well as friends and associates who supported his candidacy.
Maikyau commended the outgone Akpata administration for the giant strides it recorded at the NBA in the last two years.
Following the intervention of stakeholders in the industry, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has temporarily suspended its order on the revocation of licenses to some media outfits.
This development was made known in a statement on Friday by the Director-General of the NBC, Balarabe Shehu.
He said the NBC has taken a decision to temporarily suspend the shutdown of the indebted broadcast stations all over the country after getting positive responses and the intervention of stakeholders.
It will be recalled that the commission had on Friday, August 19, announced its decision to revoke the broadcast licences of about 52 stations in the country.
It also directed NBC state offices to liaise with security agencies to ensure the shutdown of the operation of these stations within the next 24 hours.
The NBC boss noted that the affected stations were suspended over failure to pay federal licensing charges to the tune of N2.6 billion.
A human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, who was incarcerated for one month at the Uyo prison has regained his freedom.
Truetells Nigeria recalls that on July 27, Justice Ekaette Obot had jailed Effiong on grounds of alleged contempt of court after he reportedly protested against the presence of armed policemen in court.
The lawyer was in court to defend Leo Ekpenyong, a lawyer, in a libel suit filed by Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom when the incident occurred.
However, in a recent live video, Effiong was spotted walking out of prison to the waiting hands of friends and colleagues who had gathered around Wellington Bassey Way, Uyo, as early as 8:00 a.m.
The Vice Presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressive Congress, Kashim Shettima has disclosed the reason he wore the outfit he wore to the Nigerian Bar Association conference in Lagos on Monday, August 22.
Truetells Nigeria understands that the outfit worn by the APC, vice presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima to the Nigerian Bar Association conference triggered a lot of reactions on social media.
Critics in mockery of the APC chieftain outfit, created a trend called #ShettimaChallenge with images of several of them, donning various sizes of suit with a red tie, and pairs of gym shoes across Nigerian Twitter.
However, speaking about the outfit on Thursday, the former Borno governor said he had received word that there was a gang up against him, so he decided to throw them off with his outfit.
He noted that the outfit was deliberately worn to throw people off during the campaign.
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