Politics

2023: Oshiomhole’s Loyalists, Serving Senate’s Aide Exchange Words Over Edo North Ticket

Published

4 years ago

March 2, 2022

The bid to unseat Francis Alimikhena, senator representing Edo North at the National Assembly took a twist Wednesday as loyalists of former Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, vowed to stop his (Alimikhena) third term bid.

The loyalists therefore urged the former Governor to contest for the Edo North Senatorial seat.

The group which met under the Platform of the South South Movement, Edo North chapter, told journalists that the incumbent National Assembly member has not met the aspiration of the people to deserve another shot at the senate.

Led by the former Executive Director, Ministry of Lands and Survey and Deputy Director of the group, Mustapher Buddy; and APC chieftain, Vitalis Eshokene, the group said that most of the projects executed by Alimikhena are merely ‘ceremonial’ in nature and not functional.

Eshokene, who spoke on behalf of the group said, “In my Etsako East Ward 9 and 10, the boreholes are ‘ceremonial’ because they cease to function after inauguration.

“He has boasted that the few individuals he has empowered would take him to the senate for the third term.

“We don’t have a problem with him giving Greek gifts to a few individuals in the name of empowerment. What we are saying is that he has failed to meet the collective interest of our people.

“He (Alimikhena) was a principal member of the Senate in his first term and there was no significant project he attracted to the area with this position. Look at what Prof Julius Ihonvbvere is doing in Owan federal Constituency with laudable people’s oriented projects.

“We are saying this because we hear he is telling people that he will be a principal member if he should be given another opportunity. For us, he has had his chances and failed to use it for the betterment of the district.

“To change this narrative is why we are routing and already mobilising for Oshiomhole to come replicate what he did as the governor in the area.

“People may want to say it is not the same thing being a governor and a senator, but experiences have shown that Oshiomhole sees the people as the center point of his policies.

“We are not just talking, we are already working the talk by mobilising fund both for the campaign and buying of the form for the former governor who has done a lot for not just people of Edo North senatorial district, but the entire State.

“We no longer want a sleeping senator , we want a working senator.”

However, aide to the Senator, Ben Atu, said those accusing the senator are political outsiders.

He said they were paid merchants and jobbers who have no idea of the development profile of the Senator in Edo North.

He said, “These people who are against the Senator are neither from Edo State nor from Edo North. It is only people from Edo North that can speak for the area.

“Those paid merchants from other states who are organising a press conference to abuse the Senator should come for a two-week development tour.

“The Senator is offering to personally take them for a tour. On the issue of boreholes that have stopped functioning, the fact that these critics admit that boreholes exist in the first place means that they are indeed ignorant of their claims.

“They are paid to criticise and they fail on their job by not doing proper research before criticising.”

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Politics

Trump’s Threat: You’re Responsible For Nigeria’s Rising Insecurity – ADC Slams Tinubu

Published

8 hours ago

November 3, 2025

Editor

The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has blasted President Bola Tinubu, blaming him for the escalating insecurity in Nigeria and the tagging of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern by US President Donald Trump.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, on Monday, the ADC said the action by Trump again highlights the urgency and scale of Nigeria’s security collapse.

The party said that the US President’s designation underlines the global expectation that governments must protect the lives of citizens living within their borders.

“We are guided by the painful reality that what is really at stake on this issue are the thousands of human lives that have been lost to insecurity in Nigeria, irrespective of their tribe, religion, or region.

“The statement by President Trump reminds us of the greater global concern about the sanctity of human life, and the cardinal responsibility of national governments to protect the lives of people who live within their borders.

“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians,” he stated.

Beyond the security failures, the ADC decried Nigeria’s weakened international standing, linking it to what it called the administration’s diplomatic negligence.

It questioned the continued absence of ambassadors in key countries more than two years into the government’s term, asking: “How can a government that has been boasting of unprecedented revenue success continue to give lack of funds as an excuse for not appointing ambassadors?”

“Under President Tinubu, Nigeria has declined both as a continental and a regional leader.”

Politics

How Obama Plotted My 2015 Election Defeat – Jonathan

Published

9 hours ago

November 3, 2025

Editor

Former President Goodluck Jonathan, has alleged that ex-US President, Barack Obama, plotted his defeat in 2015.

Jonathan made this allegation in his new book, ‘My Transition Hours’ due to launch on Tuesday.

He said Obama displayed an unusual level of bias during the 2015 elections, describing him as overbearing and ‘condescending’ in his message to Nigerians ahead of the 2015 general election.

According to Jonathan, “On March 23, 2015, President Obama himself took the unusual step of releasing a video message directly to Nigerians all but telling them how to vote.”

Giving the details in the book, Jonathan said, “In that video, Obama urged Nigerians to open the ‘next chapter’ by their votes.

“Those who understood subliminal language deciphered that he was prodding the electorate to vote for the opposition to form a new government.”

According to Premium Times, which obtained a copy of the book hours before its unveiling in Abuja on Tuesday, Jonathan had kept the book secret in order to avoid excerpts of it being published ahead of its formal launch.

Recall that Jonathan lost the 2015 elections to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, marking the first time an incumbent president would lose reelection.

He assumed office in 2010 following the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua, getting his own mandate of four years at the 2011 presidential election.

“The message was so condescending, it was as if Nigerians did not know what to do and needed an Obama to direct them,” Jonathan said of the video message.

He lampooned Obama, who was American president from 2009 until 2017, for saying all Nigerians must be able to cast their votes without intimidation or fear, but was reluctant to allow the Nigerian security forces drive Boko Haram insurgents away from the Nigerian territories they had been occupying in order to free Nigerian citizens there ahead of elections.

Jonathan also took a harsh aim at former US Secretary of State, John Kerry, saying the diplomat was nonchalant in his attitude towards his government, despite all efforts to make him understand that the decision to postpone election was in the overall interest of Nigeria.

“How can the U.S. Secretary of State know what is more important for Nigeria than Nigeria’s own government? How could they have expected us to conduct elections when Boko Haram controlled part of the North East and were killing and maiming Nigerians?

“Not even the assurance of the sanctity of May 29, 2015 handover date could calm them down. In Nigeria, the Constitution is very clear: No President can extend his tenure by one day,” Jonathan said.

Politics

Protest Rocks PDP National Secretariat As Wike-led Faction Takes Over

Published

14 hours ago

November 3, 2025

Editor

A protest erupted on Monday at the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party, Wadata Plaza in Abuja, as supporters of the factional acting National Chairman of the party, Mohammed Abdulrahman, stormed the premises.

The group, chanting solidarity songs, demanded that the National Working Committee, led by Umar Damagum, vacate the headquarters immediately.

Abdulrahman was named the acting national chairman of the party last week as the leadership crisis threatening the soul of the party worsened with the suspension of the party’s National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and the Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade, for a period of one month.

In a dramatic twist, the faction loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, had converged at a separate venue in Abuja and announced the suspension of the Damagum-led NWC.

The protesters, who accused the Damagum-led leadership of mismanaging party affairs, vowed to reclaim control of the secretariat for the Abdulrahman-led faction.

Security operatives have been deployed to the area to prevent a breakdown of law and order as both factions struggle for control of the party’s edifice.

However, the faction of the party’s NWC led by Abdulrahman has taken control of the party’s National Chairman’s office.

Speaking to journalists at the office, Abdulrahman promised to unite and reposition the party in preparation for the next general election.

He also assured members of his commitment to work diligently for the party’s progress.

“We are ready to work in the interest of our dear party,” he said.