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June 12, Abacha angle, and truth Babangida never told Us- Kenneth Okonkwo

By
bvichannel1
-

June 12, 1993, presidential election is arguably one of the most important events in Nigeria in our lifetime. I always have this conviction that though history can be mad at times, history is made all the time. There’s practically no Nigerian that has not heard about June 12. The importance and popularity of that date came alive again on February 20, 2025, when General Ibrahim Babangida launched his autobiography, Journey in Service, in which he laboured, rather very weakly, to explain inaccurately and in a dribbling style his role in the annulment of the June 12 presidential election won by MKO Abiola. At the end of the whole saga, Babangida, yet again, scored an own goal against himself and left the dark wounds of June 12 unhealed. He indeed added insult to the injury. Maybe the gap toothed General will realise, after all these years, that it’s only the truth that genuinely heals and in the absence of the truth, silence would have been a more preferred destination.

 

I was an eye witness to the events of June 12. I do not need to read anybody’s version to tell the correct version of the story of June 12. The summary of the whole episode is that Babangida, as Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces, established a fake transition to civil rule programme in which he never intended to hand over power to anyone and at the end of the day, annulled his fake transition to civil rule and was forced to step aside by a country that became tired of his unending insincere transition to nowhere.

Babangida assumed power on 27 August, 1985 in a bloodless coup that overthrew the “holier-than-thou” Muhammadu Buhari, whom he and Abacha brought into power on 31st December, 1983, after removing Alhaji Shehu Shagari, the first executive President of Nigeria, thereby ending the second republic. Almost on that same day, Babangida promised the whole world that he was going to hand over power to a democratically elected government by 1990. Along the line, he kept modifying the programme and shifting the dates until Nigerians concluded that he had a hidden agenda.

For the avoidance of doubt, Babangida established the political bureau that advised him on the political journey he undertook. Against all democratic norms, he established two political parties, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Republican Convention (NRC) and commanded all politicians who wanted to contest elections to join any of them. He wrote their constitutions and manifestos. He built their secretariats in all the local governments in Nigeria. He scheduled the timetable for elections. He banned the people he didn’t want from contesting and called the resultant remnants “new breed.” Indeed he owned the transition. It’s instructive that when he did all these things, he didn’t say that he was intimidated, induced, coerced, or influenced by any human being to do such. He was 100 percent in charge and was in power. Of course, he was a military dictator who governed through decrees. His word was law.He conducted the gubernatorial election in 1991 and shifted the presidential election to 1992 just to gain two more years for himself. He effectively enthroned the undesirable diarchy in which the country didn’t know whether they were governed by decrees or laws. By 1992, Babangida organised the presidential election primaries for the two political parties won by Gen Shehu Musa Yar’Adua of the SDP and Adamu Ciroma of the NRC. After concluding that the primary elections were rigged, he cancelled them and cunningly shifted the election to 1993 and decided that 27th August, the eighth anniversary of his regime will be the handover date for his transition after the presidential election fixed for June 12, 1993. At this stage, nobody assisted him in annulling the elections and shifting the date. In Nigeria, as at then, nobody, including Abacha, believed that Babangida was serious about handing over power.

The political parties, surprisingly, according to Babangida, conducted a peaceful, hitch free presidential primary elections, adopting option A4, in which Bashorun MKO Abiola of the SDP and Alhaji Bashir Tofa of the NRC emerged as the presidential candidates. Things were moving very well towards June 12. However, an organisation called Association for Better Nigeria (ABN) led by Arthur Nzeribe, sprung up from nowhere and endorsed Babangida to govern for the next four years. IBB himself, inadvertently, in his book endorsed this request. Hear him, “amid the fierce opposition we faced then from civil society, any sign of ‘approval’ from even a seemingly suspicious quarter was a relief! If we didn’t stop the torrent of abuse and opposition to us, why should we stop the only ray of ‘approval’ that came our way?”(P 284). As noted by IBB, he refused to stop ABN from trying to persuade Nigerians that IBB should annul the transition and continue in power in perpetuity which the civil society organizations opposed.

On June 10th, 1993, Justice Bassey Ikpeme issued an injunction stopping the election of June 12. Babangida summoned a meeting to feel the pulse of his followers, to understand the decision to take. Ordinarily, if Babangida wasn’t part of the plot to abort the transition, he needed not summon any meeting because he made the Decree 13 that ousted the jurisdiction of any court to make such order. He would have just ordered Prof Humphrey Nwosu to proceed with the election. At the meeting, Nwosu overwhelmed them with superior argument which left Babangida with no other choice than to issue the order to the Prof that he should proceed with the election. His order however proved that whatever IBB wanted done was done irrespective of who was opposed to it and no matter whose ox was gored, whether it was a court or NEC chairman or an Abacha whom IBB admitted was in that meeting when he made the order.

There was only one excuse Babangida and his anti-transition lieutenants waited for to annul the election. Allegations of rigging and violent elections. Unfortunately, the politicians denied him the opportunity. Hear Babangida, “On Saturday, June 12, 1993, the Presidential elections took place as planned. To my surprise, the polls were not just peaceful but very peaceful indeed!” (P 274) Why would Babangida be surprised if he expected the election to be peaceful? He was surprised because contrary to his expectation of a rowdy election which would have given him the excuse to annul the election, he disappointingly saw a peaceful election which denied him the opportunity of an excuse to annul the election. A non-desperate leader would have known that his time was up at this time and allowed the election to be completed and handed over to the winner. But IBB was so desperate to remain in power that he suspended the announcement of the results and went ahead to annul the election.

IBB himself noted thus: “Voting took place in all the 110,000 polling stations in the country, and in keeping with the Modified Open Ballot System (MOBS) as stipulated in Decree 13, counting took place flawlessly in the open, followed almost simultaneously with an open collation that allowed for final results to be attained quickly. Using a giant board in front of its Abuja offices, NEC started, as early as June 13, as stipulated by the Electoral law, to display already released results from all 30 State Headquarters of NEC before the Resident Electoral Commissioners brought them to Abuja for final ratification. That process of public display of results, which had now covered 14 states, continued until June 14. And then, on June 16, without my knowledge or prior approval, NEC Chairman, Professor Nwosu, announced the suspension of the June 12 election results ‘until further notice’. I knew instantly that certain fifth columnists were at work and that there was a need for extra care!.” (P 274)

IBB, rather than standing with the Prof to conclude the election, ran to Minna and made himself incommunicado. He admitted that within this interregnum, the option of annulment was agreed by all of them. Hear IBB: “Yes, during the stalemate that followed the termination of the results announcement, the possibility of annulment that could lead to fresh elections was loosely broached in passing. But annulment was only a component of a series of other options.” (P 275)

Despite his claim that he wasn’t aware of the preliminary announcement of the annulment of the election by Nduka Irabor, the Press Secretary of his second-in-command, Admiral Aikhomu, on June 23, obviously to test the waters and prepare for his own announcement, he went ahead personally on 26 June to officially put his seal of authority on the annulment by announcing it publicly in a broadcast, claiming that the election was rigged, and obviously contradicting himself that the election was peaceful and hitch free. (P 277)

Babangida, and Babangida alone annulled the June 12 election because he didn’t want to leave power. His utterance, “These nefarious ‘inside’ forces opposed to the elections have outflanked me!’ I would later find out that the ‘forces’ led by General Sani Abacha annulled the elections” (P 275) was patently false. IBB was too smart to be outflanked. Indeed IBB disrespected himself and displayed cowardice by insinuating that his junior officers persuaded him, against his will, to annul the election which he knew was free, fair, and credible.

Does this imply that Abacha was innocent in the annulment of the transition to civil rule? There were various interests in the June 12 debacle. The Babangida interest, Abacha interest, Dangiwa interest, and Abiola interest. Abacha was central to every party to the transition. He understood the genuine desire of all of them and utilised the opportunity to achieve his own interest. Abacha wanted to be Head of State and bid his time to achieve that purpose. He had been a professional coup plotter and knew the best time to strike. His strategy was simple, play along with every party with the impression that he will help each party realise each party’s interest and dump the party after using the party to actualize his own interest which was to become the Head of State.

Abacha knew that Babangida didn’t want to leave power but also understood that if Babangida allowed the transition to be successful, he wouldn’t be Head of State. He created the impression to Babangida that he will support him if he annulled the election and Babangida fell for it. After the annulment, he withdrew support from Babangida and his regime collapsed. Babangida alluded indirectly to this in his book. Hear him, “But it’s also correct that he (Abacha) was a complex character. He was capable of bottling up a lot inside without giving a hint of where he was. And then, suddenly, the bottle bursts, and we begin to see a different person. I obviously didn’t know everything about him! For instance, I was alarmed to discover that he and a handful of others mobilised negative opinions against me within the military, portraying me as the problem. That campaign was geared towards a violent military coup to remove me as President forcefully.” (P 278)

Babangida was right here. Unknown to Babangida, at the same time Abacha was supporting him to annul the election, he was mobilising the Dangiwa group against Babangida, creating the impression to them that Babangida wasn’t sincere with his transition and didn’t want to leave power. Abacha knew that the Dangiwa group was the sincere group who was ashamed of the military reneging on its promise to hand over power to civilians and wanted to redeem the image of the military by all means even if it meant taking out Babangida. When Babangida stepped aside, Abacha turned against the Dangiwa group and retired them out of the army because he knew that they will be an obstacle to his ascendancy to become Head of State.

Abiola interest was the revalidation of his mandate. Abacha understood the magnitude of this mandate and the unyielding resolve of the Nigerian civil society in the revalidation of the mandate. He created the impression to MKO that he should just be patient and allow him to take over power to revalidate the mandate. MKO believed him and started praising him openly and telling people that he is a General in love with democracy and will do the right thing at the slightest opportunity. Meanwhile, Abacha actually loathed Abiola. (P279).

The Interim National Government led by Shonekan was declared illegal by the courts and Shonekan resigned, obviously by the subtle push from Abacha, supported by the Abiola group. Abacha assumed power as Head of State and Abiola was one of the earliest callers to show solidarity with him obviously hoping that Abacha will put all the necessary arrangements to revalidate June 12. Abacha beamed the visit to the whole world and created the impression that his taking over power was accepted by all. The observation Babangida made about Abacha, “And then, suddenly, the bottle bursts, and we begin to see a different person,” perfectly reflects what happened.

Abacha quickly consolidated himself in power and retired all known officers loyal to IBB or professional coup plotters, or sympathetic to the June 12 struggle. Before Abiola realised it, it was late. In frustration, Abiola declared himself President. Abacha arrested him and threw him into jail. It was in Abacha’s interest that Abiola remained alive but in jail. He understood that if Abiola remained alive, no other politician will be interested in being a democratically elected President because no politician will be able to have power to deal with the crises of June 12 annulment. Indeed, no notable politician genuinely aspired to succeed Abacha in his lifetime. Even when Abacha orchestrated a transition to civil rule, all the five political parties, which Bola Ige described as the five fingers of a leprous hand, adopted Abacha as their unanimous choice for President until he suddenly died. About one month later, Abiola also, in similar circumstances, died under the regime of Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar, paving way for the transition to the fourth republic, which we have today.

Source : Sunday Sun

Nigeria June 12: Abacha Angle, And Truth Babangida Never Told Us- Kenneth Okonkwo

By
Queen Madu
-

June 12, 1993, presidential election is arguably one of the most important events in Nigeria in our lifetime. I always have this conviction that though history can be mad at times, history is made all the time. There’s practically no Nigerian that has not heard about June 12. The importance and popularity of that date came alive again on February 20, 2025, when General Ibrahim Babangida launched his autobiography, Journey in Service, in which he laboured, rather very weakly, to explain inaccurately and in a dribbling style his role in the annulment of the June 12 presidential election won by MKO Abiola. At the end of the whole saga, Babangida, yet again, scored an own goal against himself and left the dark wounds of June 12 unhealed. He indeed added insult to the injury. Maybe the gap toothed General will realise, after all these years, that it’s only the truth that genuinely heals and in the absence of the truth, silence would have been a more preferred destination.

 

I was an eye witness to the events of June 12. I do not need to read anybody’s version to tell the correct version of the story of June 12. The summary of the whole episode is that Babangida, as Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces, established a fake transition to civil rule programme in which he never intended to hand over power to anyone and at the end of the day, annulled his fake transition to civil rule and was forced to step aside by a country that became tired of his unending insincere transition to nowhere.

Babangida assumed power on 27 August, 1985 in a bloodless coup that overthrew the “holier-than-thou” Muhammadu Buhari, whom he and Abacha brought into power on 31st December, 1983, after removing Alhaji Shehu Shagari, the first executive President of Nigeria, thereby ending the second republic. Almost on that same day, Babangida promised the whole world that he was going to hand over power to a democratically elected government by 1990. Along the line, he kept modifying the programme and shifting the dates until Nigerians concluded that he had a hidden agenda.

For the avoidance of doubt, Babangida established the political bureau that advised him on the political journey he undertook. Against all democratic norms, he established two political parties, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Republican Convention (NRC) and commanded all politicians who wanted to contest elections to join any of them. He wrote their constitutions and manifestos. He built their secretariats in all the local governments in Nigeria. He scheduled the timetable for elections. He banned the people he didn’t want from contesting and called the resultant remnants “new breed.” Indeed he owned the transition. It’s instructive that when he did all these things, he didn’t say that he was intimidated, induced, coerced, or influenced by any human being to do such. He was 100 percent in charge and was in power. Of course, he was a military dictator who governed through decrees. His word was law.He conducted the gubernatorial election in 1991 and shifted the presidential election to 1992 just to gain two more years for himself. He effectively enthroned the undesirable diarchy in which the country didn’t know whether they were governed by decrees or laws. By 1992, Babangida organised the presidential election primaries for the two political parties won by Gen Shehu Musa Yar’Adua of the SDP and Adamu Ciroma of the NRC. After concluding that the primary elections were rigged, he cancelled them and cunningly shifted the election to 1993 and decided that 27th August, the eighth anniversary of his regime will be the handover date for his transition after the presidential election fixed for June 12, 1993. At this stage, nobody assisted him in annulling the elections and shifting the date. In Nigeria, as at then, nobody, including Abacha, believed that Babangida was serious about handing over power.

The political parties, surprisingly, according to Babangida, conducted a peaceful, hitch free presidential primary elections, adopting option A4, in which Bashorun MKO Abiola of the SDP and Alhaji Bashir Tofa of the NRC emerged as the presidential candidates. Things were moving very well towards June 12. However, an organisation called Association for Better Nigeria (ABN) led by Arthur Nzeribe, sprung up from nowhere and endorsed Babangida to govern for the next four years. IBB himself, inadvertently, in his book endorsed this request. Hear him, “amid the fierce opposition we faced then from civil society, any sign of ‘approval’ from even a seemingly suspicious quarter was a relief! If we didn’t stop the torrent of abuse and opposition to us, why should we stop the only ray of ‘approval’ that came our way?”(P 284). As noted by IBB, he refused to stop ABN from trying to persuade Nigerians that IBB should annul the transition and continue in power in perpetuity which the civil society organizations opposed.

On June 10th, 1993, Justice Bassey Ikpeme issued an injunction stopping the election of June 12. Babangida summoned a meeting to feel the pulse of his followers, to understand the decision to take. Ordinarily, if Babangida wasn’t part of the plot to abort the transition, he needed not summon any meeting because he made the Decree 13 that ousted the jurisdiction of any court to make such order. He would have just ordered Prof Humphrey Nwosu to proceed with the election. At the meeting, Nwosu overwhelmed them with superior argument which left Babangida with no other choice than to issue the order to the Prof that he should proceed with the election. His order however proved that whatever IBB wanted done was done irrespective of who was opposed to it and no matter whose ox was gored, whether it was a court or NEC chairman or an Abacha whom IBB admitted was in that meeting when he made the order.

There was only one excuse Babangida and his anti-transition lieutenants waited for to annul the election. Allegations of rigging and violent elections. Unfortunately, the politicians denied him the opportunity. Hear Babangida, “On Saturday, June 12, 1993, the Presidential elections took place as planned. To my surprise, the polls were not just peaceful but very peaceful indeed!” (P 274) Why would Babangida be surprised if he expected the election to be peaceful? He was surprised because contrary to his expectation of a rowdy election which would have given him the excuse to annul the election, he disappointingly saw a peaceful election which denied him the opportunity of an excuse to annul the election. A non-desperate leader would have known that his time was up at this time and allowed the election to be completed and handed over to the winner. But IBB was so desperate to remain in power that he suspended the announcement of the results and went ahead to annul the election.

IBB himself noted thus: “Voting took place in all the 110,000 polling stations in the country, and in keeping with the Modified Open Ballot System (MOBS) as stipulated in Decree 13, counting took place flawlessly in the open, followed almost simultaneously with an open collation that allowed for final results to be attained quickly. Using a giant board in front of its Abuja offices, NEC started, as early as June 13, as stipulated by the Electoral law, to display already released results from all 30 State Headquarters of NEC before the Resident Electoral Commissioners brought them to Abuja for final ratification. That process of public display of results, which had now covered 14 states, continued until June 14. And then, on June 16, without my knowledge or prior approval, NEC Chairman, Professor Nwosu, announced the suspension of the June 12 election results ‘until further notice’. I knew instantly that certain fifth columnists were at work and that there was a need for extra care!.” (P 274)

IBB, rather than standing with the Prof to conclude the election, ran to Minna and made himself incommunicado. He admitted that within this interregnum, the option of annulment was agreed by all of them. Hear IBB: “Yes, during the stalemate that followed the termination of the results announcement, the possibility of annulment that could lead to fresh elections was loosely broached in passing. But annulment was only a component of a series of other options.” (P 275)

Despite his claim that he wasn’t aware of the preliminary announcement of the annulment of the election by Nduka Irabor, the Press Secretary of his second-in-command, Admiral Aikhomu, on June 23, obviously to test the waters and prepare for his own announcement, he went ahead personally on 26 June to officially put his seal of authority on the annulment by announcing it publicly in a broadcast, claiming that the election was rigged, and obviously contradicting himself that the election was peaceful and hitch free. (P 277)

Babangida, and Babangida alone annulled the June 12 election because he didn’t want to leave power. His utterance, “These nefarious ‘inside’ forces opposed to the elections have outflanked me!’ I would later find out that the ‘forces’ led by General Sani Abacha annulled the elections” (P 275) was patently false. IBB was too smart to be outflanked. Indeed IBB disrespected himself and displayed cowardice by insinuating that his junior officers persuaded him, against his will, to annul the election which he knew was free, fair, and credible.

Does this imply that Abacha was innocent in the annulment of the transition to civil rule? There were various interests in the June 12 debacle. The Babangida interest, Abacha interest, Dangiwa interest, and Abiola interest. Abacha was central to every party to the transition. He understood the genuine desire of all of them and utilised the opportunity to achieve his own interest. Abacha wanted to be Head of State and bid his time to achieve that purpose. He had been a professional coup plotter and knew the best time to strike. His strategy was simple, play along with every party with the impression that he will help each party realise each party’s interest and dump the party after using the party to actualize his own interest which was to become the Head of State.

Abacha knew that Babangida didn’t want to leave power but also understood that if Babangida allowed the transition to be successful, he wouldn’t be Head of State. He created the impression to Babangida that he will support him if he annulled the election and Babangida fell for it. After the annulment, he withdrew support from Babangida and his regime collapsed. Babangida alluded indirectly to this in his book. Hear him, “But it’s also correct that he (Abacha) was a complex character. He was capable of bottling up a lot inside without giving a hint of where he was. And then, suddenly, the bottle bursts, and we begin to see a different person. I obviously didn’t know everything about him! For instance, I was alarmed to discover that he and a handful of others mobilised negative opinions against me within the military, portraying me as the problem. That campaign was geared towards a violent military coup to remove me as President forcefully.” (P 278)

Babangida was right here. Unknown to Babangida, at the same time Abacha was supporting him to annul the election, he was mobilising the Dangiwa group against Babangida, creating the impression to them that Babangida wasn’t sincere with his transition and didn’t want to leave power. Abacha knew that the Dangiwa group was the sincere group who was ashamed of the military reneging on its promise to hand over power to civilians and wanted to redeem the image of the military by all means even if it meant taking out Babangida. When Babangida stepped aside, Abacha turned against the Dangiwa group and retired them out of the army because he knew that they will be an obstacle to his ascendancy to become Head of State.

Abiola interest was the revalidation of his mandate. Abacha understood the magnitude of this mandate and the unyielding resolve of the Nigerian civil society in the revalidation of the mandate. He created the impression to MKO that he should just be patient and allow him to take over power to revalidate the mandate. MKO believed him and started praising him openly and telling people that he is a General in love with democracy and will do the right thing at the slightest opportunity. Meanwhile, Abacha actually loathed Abiola. (P279).

The Interim National Government led by Shonekan was declared illegal by the courts and Shonekan resigned, obviously by the subtle push from Abacha, supported by the Abiola group. Abacha assumed power as Head of State and Abiola was one of the earliest callers to show solidarity with him obviously hoping that Abacha will put all the necessary arrangements to revalidate June 12. Abacha beamed the visit to the whole world and created the impression that his taking over power was accepted by all. The observation Babangida made about Abacha, “And then, suddenly, the bottle bursts, and we begin to see a different person,” perfectly reflects what happened.

Abacha quickly consolidated himself in power and retired all known officers loyal to IBB or professional coup plotters, or sympathetic to the June 12 struggle. Before Abiola realised it, it was late. In frustration, Abiola declared himself President. Abacha arrested him and threw him into jail. It was in Abacha’s interest that Abiola remained alive but in jail. He understood that if Abiola remained alive, no other politician will be interested in being a democratically elected President because no politician will be able to have power to deal with the crises of June 12 annulment. Indeed, no notable politician genuinely aspired to succeed Abacha in his lifetime. Even when Abacha orchestrated a transition to civil rule, all the five political parties, which Bola Ige described as the five fingers of a leprous hand, adopted Abacha as their unanimous choice for President until he suddenly died. About one month later, Abiola also, in similar circumstances, died under the regime of Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar, paving way for the transition to the fourth republic, which we have today.

Source : Sunday Sun

2025 Anambra Gov’ship Election: YPP Re-strategizes To Oust Soludo

By
Joseph Albert
-

The leadership of the Young Progressives Party, YPP, has said that the party is re-strategizing to take over governance in Anambra come November 8; to enable it unleash people-oriented programs in the state, adding that the party is geared towards breeding a new set of leaders through “ballot revolution”.

Speaking at a press conference in Awka, the YPP leadership, including the National Chairman, Bishop Emmanuel Amakiri, represented by the National Secretary, Barrister Vidiyeno Bamaiyi, Anambra State leader of the party, Chief Dr Chinedu Umeadi, Agunechemba, and the state Chairman, Honourable Prince Moses Obi, noted that the party did well in the last political outing in the state; resulting in increase in its followership, and has re-strategized to make more impact in future outings.

On 2025 Anambra governorship position, the party announced March 1 as date for commencement of sale of nomination and expression of interest forms, adding that it has no zoning arrangement, and that sale of form for the election is free for women as special incentive.

On the by-election for Anambra South Senatorial District, the party said the chance to produce late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah’s replacement should have been given to them unchallenged.

On state of Anambra affairs, the YPP leader in the state, Chief Dr Umeadi, declined comment, but wished Governor Chukwuma Soludo well in office, even as he promised to support any candidate of his YPP party in the coming Anambra governorship election.

Asked what they will do different, the YPP leadership said the party will better than APGA in all aspects.

On possibility of supporting APC because of the late Senator Ubah, the said no, adding that the late Senator was right in his decision, and still has respect of YPP members.

Earlier at a meeting of YPP members from across the state, a minute silence was observed in honor and appreciation of the late Senator Ubah, whom Dr Umeadi said was the reason he entered YPP.

While calling for membership drive to strengthen the party, Dr Umeadi explained that the more stakeholders, the more grounded the party is for any meaningful outing during election, and charged members to be consistent and make serious commitment for success of the party.

He said he is open to discussion with people across party lines, even as his membership of YPP remains certain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Land Dispute: Anambra Lawmaker ‘Ojike’ Warns Chiobi, Okparaezechukwu To Obey Court Order, Desist From Aiding Illegality

By
Joseph Albert
-

The member representing Oyi Constituency at the Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon. Innocent Ojike has frowned at the attitude of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Air Vice Marshall (AVM) Ben Chiobi and Senior Special Assistant on Security, Hon. Mazi Chukwuma Okparaezechukwu foru sing their positions to harass and intimidate his people.

Hon. Ojike in a petition addressed to Governor Chukwuma Soludo against Chiobi and Okparaezechukwu, stated that the two appointees of the Anambra State government have abused and ridiculed their exalted offices by using their positions as paid agents to torment, threaten, harass, intimidate and wrestle the communal land of his people.

The lawmaker revealed that Chiobi and Okparaezechukwu used different security outfits such as State Vigilante, Anti-Tout and Agụnechemba to intimate, harass, torment and threaten his people in a very lawless manner to ensure that the market project is executed even in contravention of a lawful order of the Otuocha High court.

According to Hon. Ojike these individuals are appointees of the state government who are supposed to uphold the rule of law, order and best democratic practices.

“The matter had been determined and Appeal entered in 2013 at the Court of Appeal Enugu, now Awka- Appeal no CA/AW/446/2013.

“The land in dispute has a valid STAY OF EXECUTION ORDER in suit No: . OT/50/2009.

“The matter is still pending at the Court of Appeal Awka till date. The order of Injunction issued by Anulude J in January, 2014, is still valid”. The lawmaker stated.

Notable Anambra Community Leader, Barr. Madu Lauds Governor Soludo’s Security Efforts

By
Joseph Albert
-

A community leader in Anambra State, Barr. Nonso Madu has again eulogised Governor Chukwuma Soludo for his giant strides and unprecedented achievements in all sectors of the State economy.

Speaking to Government House correspondents in Awka when he paid a courtesy visit to Governor soludo, Madu said he personally came to thank the Governor for his continued efforts to improve the security of lives and property in Anambra State.

He thanked Governor Chukwuma Soludo for his recent on the spot visit to assess the improving security situation in Owerre- Ezukala, Ogbunka and Umunze.

Barr.Madu who is a native of Owerre-Ezukala, also assured the Governor of the willingness of the people of Owerre- Ezukala to assist the government to flush out the criminal elements that have set up crime camps in the bushes in the community.

Speaking further, Madu stated that the good people of Owerre-Ezukala are happy with the efforts of the Governor to restore order to the community and assured the Governor of his continued support.

Barr.Madu further congratulated Gov soludo for winning the prestigious Sun Newspaper Man of the year award for his outstanding achievements in Anambra state.

Akpabio is After me Because I Refused his Advances – Sen. Natasha

By
Queen Madu
-

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central) on Friday accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of victimising her because she refused his sexual advances.

Akpoti-Uduaghan recently clashed with Akpabio during plenary about seating arrangements.

She has been referred to the Senate Ethics Committee for probe.

However, the Kogi lawmaker said in an interview on Arise Television’s Morning Show that her altercation with Akpabio began with his request for a sexual relationship between them.

“The Senate President made a mistake by not allowing me to speak on that Order 10,” she said.

“The Senate President has the right to allocate seats, and senators should adhere, but for a senator to invoke Order 10, it means their privileges have been trampled upon, and that can be raised anywhere at any time.

“So, once a senator shouts Order 10, even if they are being dragged on the floor, they are supposed to be heard.

Once I raised Order 10, the Senate President ought to have allowed me to speak. He could have used his discretion to move that complaint to the Ethics and Privileges Committee or overrule it, but he failed to do that. Instead, he ordered the Sergeant-at-Arms to remove me from the chambers and prepare for my suspension.

“I did mention that in the Senate, I have been dehumanised, maligned, and all that, and I believe that this situation was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.

“Many people do not know what I’m about to say, and I’m going to speak my truth while the Senate President is allowed to counter it.

“It all started on December 8, 2023, a day before my birthday and his. We were all in Akwa Ibom, and he held my hand, saying he wanted to show me around his house. My husband was walking behind us.

I noticed that he hastened his pace while still holding my hand, and then he got to a particular sitting room and said, ‘Do you like my house?’ I said, ‘Of course, sir, every room is beautiful.’ He then said, ‘Now that you are a senator, I’m going to create time for us to come and spend quality moments here—you will enjoy it.’

“When I turned to look at my husband to see if he had heard that or not, the Senate President also turned and said, ‘Let me show you my chapel as well.’

“That evening, we left his house at about 11 pm and my husband asked what the Senate President told me. I wondered whether I should tell him what the Senate President said about bringing me there to ‘have a good time’ or if I should just let it go because I knew how much my husband adored him.

“In February, I wanted to move a motion for the investigation of anti-corruption practices at Ajaokuta Steel Company. I listed that motion five times, but it was only on the sixth attempt that it was approved. Many senators can testify to that. Each time the motion was listed, he would say, ‘Senator Natasha, we can’t take this motion because the good of the Senate does not accommodate it.’

“He kept doing that, so I went to his office and said, ‘You know how important the Ajaokuta Steel Company is to me and my people. I’ve noticed that you have repeatedly stepped down this motion.’ He replied, ‘Natasha, I’m the Chief Presiding Officer of the Senate. You can enjoy a whole lot if you take care of me and make me happy.’

“At that point, I said I would pretend I didn’t hear that. He then said, ‘The ball is in your court.’ When I got home, I told my husband to speak to the Senate President to allow my motion to go through.

“You know when a student keeps failing because they refuse to sleep with a lecturer? That is exactly what I have been facing, in simple terms.

“Regarding the nightclub incident, I believe that was not a slip of the tongue. He had told me that there are a number of ways we can have fun if we travel.”

The lawmaker urged Akpabio to defend himself.

(Niche)

Abia State to Commence Registration of Her Citizens

By
Queen Madu
-

The Abia State Government, through the Ministry of Budget and Planning, has announced the commencement of the registration of all Abia citizens and other residents in the state.

According to the state government, the registration will involve the issuance of the Abia State Social Identification Number, ABSSIN, which is an important step towards building a database that will enable the state to implement more objective socio-economic planning and intervention programmes.

The Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Kingsley Anosike, disclosed this on Monday in a special government announcement. He explained that ABSSIN is a unique identity system designed to provide every Abia resident with a verifiable identity.

He added that the initiative aims to create a comprehensive database linking citizens to essential services and benefits, including social welfare programmes, healthcare services, student scholarships, and other social intervention opportunities.

“Trained enumerators will be coming to your houses, offices, shops, markets, motor parks, schools, churches, and communities to register and generate your unique ABSSIN number,” Anosike stated.

He emphasised that the registration is free of charge and is open to everyone from birth to old age. He also noted that residents can complete their registration via Abiapay.com and urged them to report anyone attempting to extort money from them during the process.

(Jungle Journalist)

Just In: Supreme Courts Nullifies River State Local Govt Election

By
Queen Madu
-

The Supreme Court, on Friday, nullified the outcome of the Local Government Elections that were held in Rivers State on October 5, 2024.

The apex court upheld an appeal that was brought before it by the All Progressives Congress, APC.

In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, the court vacated the November 21, 2024, judgement of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which validated the elections.

In its lead judgement that was delivered by Justice Jamilu Tukur, the Supreme Court held that there was no evidence to establish that the condition of precedents stipulated by section 150(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010, was met before the election was conducted by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commissioners, RSIEC.

The Supreme Court restored an earlier verdict of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which barred the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from releasing voters’ register to the RSIEC for the conduct of the LG polls.

It will be recalled that a special panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Onyekachi Otisi held that the high court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain suit against the Rivers State LG elections.

The appellate court equally faulted the trial court for barring security agencies from providing security during the elections.

According to the appellate court, section 28 of the Electoral Act does not cover elections conducted by states but only federal elections, governorship and Area Council Elections in the Federal Capital Territory.

It held that Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who had on the strength of a suit that was filed by the APC, stopped the conduct of the Rivers State LG elections, acted outside his jurisdiction.

Justice Lifu had based his judgement on the fact that the RSIEC erred by fixing date for the conduct of polls in the 23 local government areas of the state without strict compliance with relevant laws guiding such election.

Justice Lifu held that the RSIEC failed to publish the 90-day mandatory notice before it scheduled the election.

More so, he held that the update and revision of voters’ register to be used for the election ought to have been concluded before any valid date could be fixed for the polls.

Consequently, he ordered INEC not to make the certified voters’ register available to RSIEC, pending when the relevant laws were complied with.

He further barred RSIEC from accepting any voter register from INEC or using same for the purpose of the LG polls, a decision that was upheld by the Supreme Court on Friday.

 

Dangote Announces a “65” Naira Fuel Reduction

By
Queen Madu
-

DANGOTE

PRESS STATEMENT

OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON THE REDUCTION IN EX-DEPOT PRICE OF PMS BY N65

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced a reduction in the ex-depot (gantry) price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly referred to as petrol, by N65.00, from N890 to N825 per litre, effective from 27th February 2025.

This strategic price adjustment is designed to provide essential relief to Nigerians in anticipation of the upcoming Ramadan season, while also supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic recovery policy by alleviating the financial burden on the Nigerian populace.

It is important to note that Dangote Petroleum Refinery has consistently lowered the prices of petrol and other refined petroleum products to the benefit of Nigerians. This marks the second price reduction of PMS in February 2025, following a previous decrease of N60.00 earlier in the month.

Additionally, in December 2024, during the yuletide period, the refinery reduced the price of PMS by N70.50, from N970 to N899.50 per litre, as part of its commitment to easing the cost of living and providing relief to Nigerians during the holiday season. This reduction has positively impacted the overall cost of living, benefiting various sectors of the economy, and has also ensured that Nigerians did not experience the perennial fuel scarcity and price hikes typically associated with the yuletide season.

Nigerians will be able to purchase the high-quality Dangote petrol at the following prices in all our partners’ retail outlets. For MRS Holdings stations, it will sell for N860 per litre in Lagos, N870 per litre in the South-West, N880 per litre in the North, and N890 per litre in the South-South and South-East respectively.

The same product will also be available at the following prices in AP (Ardova Petroleum) and Heyden stations:

N865 per litre in Lagos, N875 per litre in the South-West, N885 per litre in the North, and N895 per litre in the South-South and South-East.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery assures the public of a consistent supply of petroleum products, with sufficient reserves to meet domestic demand, as well as a surplus for export to enhance the country’s foreign exchange earnings. The company calls on marketers to support this initiative, ensuring that Nigerians remain the primary beneficiaries of this effort. This collective action will contribute to the broader economic recovery plan led by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is committed to making Nigeria self-sufficient in refined petroleum products and establishing the country as a leading oil export hub.

Management

26th February, 2025

@DangoteGroup

www.dangote.com

Soludo And Padre Obimma: An Ego Rift

By
Joseph Albert
-

By Victor Agusiobo

Popular Anambra Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Emma Obimma aka Ebube muonso is in a dog/cat relationship with his governor, Charles Soludo.

On the face of this apparently non cordial relationship are issues bordering on the security of the state. But there seems to be more to their rift that gestures at ego.

Doubtlessly, the two personalities have some elevated sense of their own importance. Soludo, a professor, a former CBN governor, a first class graduate of Economics and now a governor of a sophisticated state like Anambra has every reason to be haughty.

Ebube muonso on the other hand is a Catholic priest, very well respected if not adored by many of his congregants. His name alone, the aura of the holy spirit suggest the prowess he has been able to achieve in his vocation of proselytizing. Not a few of his admirers believe that he has the powers to pray with some efficacy, listen to both old and young confess their shadows, recommend absolution and cure different languors. The Padre himself has openly avowed that he is a servant of God who hears regularly from Him. In what language he does that is still not decipherable. But suffice it to say that political candidates aside wanting to tap from the sheer multitude he controls also troop to him to ascertain the mind of God regarding their ambition or simply for him to bless them.

Soludo was once a beneficiary of such spiritual largesse.

So, in ways big and small, the Padre has become powerful. For such a man with these multi-dimensional attributes, real or imagined, arrogance is not likely to be a rare vice in and about him.

So, when few weeks into the Soludo administration, the Padre went upon this communion with the heavens, something dastardly was revealed to him. What was that?

A bunch of blood sucking persons who looked like the Fulani had attacked the governor’s convoy and there was so much blood everywhere resulting from the massacre.

It seems upon hindsight now that Ebube muonso must have miscalculated what was to be Soludo’s response to that dream or call it prophecy. But the response did come with a mischievous and deflating bite.

Soludo simply dismissed what looked a prophecy of doom by reminding the Padre that the power that revealed it to him should as well have revealed where the potential assailants were to aid their easy capture. Keen observers strongly believe that Padre Obimma did not forgive the governor for that seeming assault on the integrity of prophecy that spewed forth from a man of God said to have the ears of God on the affairs of men.

When therefore the government allowed the security situation to slide almost to the point of bedlam and a number of priests became victims of kidnap and occasional death, the ground was set to remind the government of her insufficiency.

That job, beautifully timed was spear headed by Fr. Ebube Muonso. His torrents of criticism against the apparently poor handling of security were very well appreciated and received by the Anambra populace. The aptness of the criticism heightened the hollowness in government attempt to put up a defense or even attack the Padre.

In a twist of pleasurable coincidence, the determination by government to give insecurity a good chase matched with the crescendo of Ebube Muonso’s harangue on the Soludo administration.

Thus far it’s been a win win situation for the two very popular sons of Anambra State. What is left is usually not taught in schools namely a sense of moderation and emotional intelligence. For the Padre, the aggressive criticism which many believe helped to usher in the new security efforts should now be mellowed to enable the citizens distinguish the part of his call that is altruism, vendetta and politics.

For the governor, he must be reminded of the thoughts of a leader in our profession, Joseph Pulitzer who once said: ‘the only position a person can successfully occupy without any form of training is the position of an idiot’. While for now the Agu na eche mba security may be making some progress, the level of training of the members is still of concern. Yes, when one is down, the only place to go is up. Anambra was indeed down, so anything was better than nothing. Usually in situations where a thief is set to catch a thief, if eventually the thief is caught, what happens to the predator thief? The Bakassi experience are still fresh for good lessons on the absence of effective monitoring and supervision.

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