Politics

Atiku Vs Wike: Nobody Can Play God, Fayose On Advice To PDP Presidential Candidate

Published

3 years ago

March 8, 2023

Former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, has opened up on the advice he gave the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, on how to solve the enmity between him and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.

Fayose, who admitted that nobody could play God, revealed that he advised Atiku to go to Port Harcourt to resolve with Wike amid the lingering crisis of the PDP but his advice fell on deaf ears.

He disclosed this in an interview with TVC on Wednesday.

Fayose said, “Our candidate, Atiku Abubakar invited me and I told him I was going to tell [Nyesom] Wike before I could come. When I told Wike and he said I can go. Somebody said, but you’re an older Governor than Wike, but whatever, that is your story. God makes kings, God makes people be leaders, you might be younger, or older as long as he’s the leader.

“So I went to our candidate in his hotel and I told him, “Your Excellency, it would be of great interest if you win the [2023 Presidential] election. I told him these are the demands of these people.” I said, “please stop saying by the constitution [Iyorchia] Ayu can’t be removed.”

“I advised him, I gave him alternatives to what he should be saying and I told him, the more he mentions this constitution, they’ll be reminding you that you aren’t supposed to be the candidate. How can they hold on to an [Iyorchia] Ayu against Wike, against [ Ifeanyi] Ugwuanyi, against the governor of Abia, against the governor of Benue, and so on?

“Even if you tell me that they lost, everyone knows that [Peter] Obi had the East. They weren’t expecting that a miracle would happen. But the issue is that I told His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, I said Sir, go to Port Harcourt, don’t tell anybody, people like me will go and wait for you there, I and Gov. Wike, just provide a few friends that can get a convoy for you to come and park at Governor WIke’s gate.

“They will come and see us at the gate. We will now sit down there and he will hold Wike and settle the matter. But certain people around Abubakar said no, don’t embarrass our Presidential candidate, he’s the president in waiting, nobody can feel big, nobody can play God.”

Recall that the PDP held its presidential primaries last May this year.

Atiku emerged as PDP’s Presidential flagbearer for the 2023 general election.

Atiku defeated Wike after he secured 371 votes, while the governor, who came second, garnered 237 votes.

Wike has been aggrieved with PDP’s leadership over Atiku’s choice of a running mate.

Atiku ignored Wike, who came second during the PDP’s presidential primaries, a situation that tore the party apart.

Following his action, Wike called for the resignation of Iyorchia Ayu.

The governor noted that the North could not produce PDP’s presidential candidate and the National Chairman.

Politics

Enugu Gov Mbah Set to Dump PDP

Published

4 hours ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah is set to dump the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, next week.

National Chairman and Deputy National Chairman, South-East, of the APC, Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda and Emma Eneukwu, respectively, broke the news in Abuja on Friday.

The APC national leadership revealed Mbah’s imminent defection to the ruling party while swearing in the newly inaugurated members of the Enugu State caretaker committee, led by former state chairman, Ben Nwoye, at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.

The governor is expected to announce his defection at an event schedule to hold in the state next week.

Chairman of the newly inaugurated caretaker committee, Nwoye, who confirmed the development, said the governor will join the ruling party alongside all his appointees.

There are speculations that Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas, is also set to join APC.

Politics

Makinde Calls Out Umahi Over Coastal Highway Cost Analysis

Published

7 hours ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has weighed in on the cost of the controversial Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project that was approved by President Bola Tinubu.

Makinde, who spoke at an event in a viral video on Friday, said there was no need for the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to be “dancing around the cost” of the project.

The governor was reacting to a heated exchange that unfolded live on television between Umahi and Arise TV presenter Rufai Oseni on Tuesday.

Oseni had requested the minister to analyse the cost of the project, kilometre by kilometre.

The request didn’t sit well with Umahi, who declared himself “professor” of practice in engineering while elaborating that the costs of the road in kilometres are not the same and would be too complicated for the journalist to understand.

He said, “These are elementary questions. And it makes no sense (sic). A process is ongoing, payment has been made, and you are saying, ‘how has this money been utilised?. The money is meant for the project, and it will be paid according to the work done.

“When a certificate is generated, and it is approved through a process in the Ministry of Works, it will then be given to the funders, who will, in turn, check if the works were done. How can you be asking for cost of kilometre? The prices are different. The next kilometre is different from the next kilometre.

“Keep quiet and stop saying what you don’t know. I’m a professor in this field. You don’t understand anything. I understand engineering very well. You have no knowledge of what you ask. You have no knowledge of what you’re asking.”

Oseni, who also refused to back down, responded, “Minister, it’s alright, keep dignifying yourself, and let the world know who you truly are.”

However, justifying the journalist’s question to the minister, Makinde said, “They asked a minister how much is the coastal road is, and then you (Umahi) are dancing around and going to say that no, the next kilometre is different from the next kilometres. Then what is the average cost?

“When we did the Oyo to Iseyin road then, it was about N9.99 billion, almost N10 billion. About 34 or 35 kilometres, average cost is about N238 million per kilometre.

“But when we did Iseyin to Ogbomoso, that was 76 kilometres, it was about N43 billion, average cost is about N500 million per kilometre. And we had two bridges, one over the Ogun river and then one at Ogbomoso end.”

The PUNCH reports that last year, the Federal Government announced the commencement of construction work on the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which spans nine states and includes two spurs leading to the northern states.

Umahi made the announcement during the official handover of the first phase of the project, made up of 47.47 kilometers of dual carriageway, to Hitech Construction Company Limited, and which is to be constructed in concrete pavement.

This was contained in a statement issued by his Special Adviser (Media), Uchenna Orji.

According to him, the Minister who was in company with the Federal Ministry of Works’ Controller in charge of Lagos State, Mrs O. I. Kesha, emphasised the need for all contractors handling Federal Government’s road projects to deliver within a record time, noting that the government would not allow variation arising from delays or slow pace of work once mobilisation had been done.

Politics

2027: Oyo Gov, Makinde Speaks On Successor

Published

21 hours ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has said that the choice of who would succeed him in 2027 rests solely with the people of the state, not with political godfathers or entitlement claims.

Makinde said this on Thursday in Ibadan while flagging off the zonal stakeholders’ consultative forum and engagement meeting on the 2026 Budget.

According to the governor, the decision of who becomes the next governor of Oyo state rests on all eligible voters in the state.

“Oyo State has gone beyond the era of politics based on entitlement or propaganda.

“Rather, the people of the state are now more politically enlightened and they will only support leaders who present credible plans and demonstrate capacity for development,” he said.

Makinde, while reflecting on his own experience before coming into office in 2019, noted that leadership must be about accountability, not entitlement.

He recalled that many people doubted his capability when he first sought the governorship position, because he had not held any political office.

“In 2018, when I was consulting to become governor, there was no yardstick to measure me. I had never been a councillor or a local government chairman, but I asked the people to trust me and judge me by my actions,” he said.

The governor urged political leaders to focus on policies and projects that directly impact the lives of citizens rather than engaging in political theatrics.

He said his administration’s approach to challenges has been to present a clear roadmap for Oyo State’s development, “one that people can read, evaluate, and hold us accountable to.”

Makinde expressed optimism that the people of the state would continue to support leaders who prioritise progress, inclusivity, and the well-being of citizens over personal ambition.

Speaking at the 7th Stakeholders Consultative Forum, the governor said that his administration would continue to consult and engage with residents of the state on the making of the state’s annual budgets, with a view to knowing their aspirations and prioritising their needs.

He maintained that the stakeholders’ engagement was to enable his government to serve the residents of the state better through a bottom-up approach to development, noting that his administration began the tradition in 2019.

According to him, his government first separated the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning from the Ministry of Finance in order to ensure better management of the state’s resources and to avoid discrepancies.

He stated that the stakeholders’ engagement had resulted in better budget performances and economic development of the state.

Makinde reiterated that his government would continue to serve the interests of the people of the state by putting in place institutions that would ensure that the environment was safe and ready to attract investments.

He added that the state was growing rapidly and that this development had stopped rural-urban migration with the construction of Moniya-Iseyin Road, Iseyin-Ogbomoso Road, Oyo-Iseyin Road, among other infrastructural projects, which have opened rural communities.

Makinde is currently serving as governor for the second time.

The governor, whose term ends in 2027, had earlier this month advocated a single term of five or six years for elected political office holders across all levels of government in Nigeria, against the current double term of four years each.

He said a single term of five or six years is enough for any government to focus and serve the people and deliver on its mandate.

(NAN)