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Buhari Did Everything To Subjugate Igbos, Says Edwin Clark

Published

1 year ago

June 13, 2024

The leader of the Ijaw Nation, Chief Edwin Clark, says former President Muhammadu Buhari did everything to subjugate Igbos from the South-Eastern part of Nigeria for reasons best known to him, noting that Buhari excluded the southeast from some of his appointments during his time in office.

Clark stated this in a letter to President Bola Tinubu, where he also pointed out that Buhari did not appoint anyone from the South East in his constitution of the Board of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, even though the region had three oil-producing states including Abia, Anambra and Imo States.

He further recalled how Buhari allocated less than 1% of a $22.7bn loan to the South East zone, while others received higher percentages, adding that the former President also failed to appoint service chiefs from the region.

“President Buhari did everything to subjugate the Igbos for reason best known to him. Perhaps it may be necessary to cite some examples; the NNPC board which he constituted when he came into office had 9 members, 1 from the South-West, 1 from South-South, and no member from the South-East, even though 3 South-East states; Abia, Anambra and Imo are oil producing states; the remaining members including his Chief of State came from the North, a non-oil producing region.

“However, he later tried to amend it when he appointed Sen Ifeanyi Ararome as chairman of the second board; and he later replaced him with Margery Chuba-Okadigbo before he took office. He (Senator Ifeanyi Ararome) took the matter to court and won but the situation has not changed.

“Also, when President Buhari attempted to obtain loans from foreign financial institutions that exceeded 30% of the GDP which was not in the interest of the country; and the loan of $22.7 billion (USD), of which less than 1% of the amount was to be allocated to the South-East zone while other zones were allocated higher percentage for infrastructural projects, is a violation of the constitutional requirement to ensure a balanced economic development of Nigeria in accordance with President Buhari’s Oath of Office. In President Buhari’s 17-man security chiefs, 14 of them came from the North and only 3 from the South excluding the Igbos from the South East,” the letter read.

Clark also stated that the “discrimination and injustice” against the Igbo had not abated under Tinubu’s administration, noting that while he (Tinubu) appointed 10 ministers from the Southwestern region, only six had been appointed from the South, adding that there was no justification for the omission.

“Mr President, even in your administration, the discrimination and injustice against the Igbos has not abated. The old Eastern Region and the old Western Region, to which I belonged, were equal competitors and partners before and during the First and Second Republic but today, you have appointed 10 Yorubas as Ministers from the South-West, and only five (5) Ministers from the South-East, and you even failed to give them the ministerial appointment due to their region that would have made it six (6) Ministers. There is no justification for this grave omission and no effort has been made to correct it,” he added.

The elder statesman, therefore, called on the President to immediately restructure the country if the nation was to remain one. He also called for the implementation of the 600 recommendations of the 2014 National Conference Report, and for the Igbos to stand up and legitimately assert their rights.

“Now that the elections are over, we must face the restructuring of this country. I repeat the immediate restructuring of Nigeria must be carried out if this country is to remain one, and I appeal to Mr President to take immediate action to implement the historic 2014 National Conference Report which submitted 600 recommendations to the Presidency on how to restructure Nigeria in every aspect of our lives.

“The Igbos of Southeast or wherever they are in Nigeria, must stand up and assert their rights legitimately, judiciously and in a democratic way, to benefit like any other Nigerian as it was before the civil war of 1967”.

Related Topics:Bulgari Clark Edwin Clark

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Six African Nations In Abuja To Study Nigeria’s Data Protection Model

Published

9 minutes ago

September 8, 2025

Editor

Six African Nations In Abuja To Study Nigeria’s Data Protection Model

Six African nations in Abuja to study Nigeria’s data protection model
, including Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and The Gambia, are currently in Abuja for a Data Governance Study Trip hosted by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.

This study trip forms part of a broader effort to strengthen data governance frameworks across the African continent.

The NDPC was officially established in 2023, following the enactment of the Nigeria Data Protection Act.

This legislation, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, supersedes the previous Nigeria Data Protection Regulation of 2019 and the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau established in 2022.

The NDPC now serves as the independent regulatory authority overseeing data protection and privacy matters in Nigeria.

During his opening remarks at the opening ceremony of a five-day data governance study visit for Data Protection Authorities in Abuja on Monday, the National Commissioner of NDPC, Dr Vincent Olatunji, shared insights from Nigeria’s journey in data protection.

He highlighted the importance of developing a unified governance framework that respects the unique socio-political and economic contexts of each country, while aligning with continental standards.

Olatunji emphasised the need for African countries to design national data protection policies that reflect their own realities.

The study trip, which is more than just a learning exercise, has been described as a platform for fostering collaboration, sharing experiences, and establishing long-term partnerships among African nations.

Olatunji further stressed the importance of continuing these conversations beyond the event to strengthen the role of Data Protection Authorities in securing digital rights and promoting inclusive digital economies.

He also pointed out that, although 36 African countries had enacted data protection laws, only 26 had established dedicated data protection authorities.

He stressed that the establishment of such authorities must be accompanied by strong implementation and cross-border cooperation.

With Africa’s population of over 1.4 billion people, Olatunji noted that the continent presents significant opportunities for a thriving digital economy.

“This potential can only be realised if the continent develops a single digital market that is supported by free, responsible flow of data and proper governance structure”, he said.

The NDPC boss also said that the country has generated over $1.5 million in registration fees and trained over 23,000 Data Protection Officers in the past three years.

“Data is the new oil, but unlike crude oil, it cannot be exported raw. It must be refined through governance, compliance, and innovation to create value. That is exactly what we are trying to build in Nigeria,” he said.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT & Cybersecurity, Salisu Afolabi, highlighted the progress lawmakers had made in drafting the National Digital Economy and E-Governance Bill, which aims to eliminate legal uncertainties surrounding electronic transactions.

He also noted that lawmakers were collaborating with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime to ensure the law aligns with global best practices.

The Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Massimo de Luca, representing the European Union, emphasised that while emerging technologies can drive efficiency, their success hinges on strong data governance frameworks.

He further emphasised that data protection authorities not only safeguard citizens’ privacy but also attract investment and facilitate data flows for regional prosperity.

Political Counsellor at the German Embassy, Felix Reinhold, urged African countries to ensure their data remains protected within the continent.

He stressed the importance of protecting citizens’ privacy and ensuring that data contributes to local innovation and sustainable development.

He also warned against data monopolies, advocating for an equitable and trusted digital future for Africa.

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Argentina’s President Suffers Crushing Defeat In Provincial Elections

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8 hours ago

September 8, 2025

Editor

Argentina’s President Javier Milei vowed Sunday to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections.

The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023.

He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the centre-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse.

A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda.

“We will deepen and accelerate it,” he said at a muted election night event in the resort of Mar del Plata, where he took the stage in silence, in marked contrast to his usual dramatic entrance to rock music.

With 91 percent of the votes counted, the centre-left Fuerza Patria coalition had taken over 47 percent of the vote against nearly 34 percent for Milei’s ruling La Libertad Avanza (LLA), official results showed.

Buenos Aires’s votes are telling as a bellwether for Argentina. The province contributes more than 30 percent of Argentina’s GDP and accounts for 40 percent of all eligible voters.

The 13-point gap between Milei’s party and the left was far greater than opinion polls had predicted.

Turnout in the election was high, at around 63 percent.

The result poses major concerns for Milei, coming just six weeks before the midterm elections.

Some members of his party downplayed the extent of the defeat, pointing out that the LLA had nonetheless increased its share of legislators in Buenos Aires.

The government went into the election under a cloud following a corruption scandal at the National Disability Agency involving the president’s sister and right-hand woman, Karina Milei.

In a sign of the anger among many Argentines over the affair, Milei and his sister were pelted with stones on the campaign trail outside Buenos Aires in late August, with skirmishes breaking out among supporters and opponents.

The ruling party’s election drubbing comes three days after Milei suffered a major setback when Congress overturned his veto of a law increasing allowances for disabled people.

On the economic front, the self-described “anarcho-capitalist” is struggling also, despite success in fighting inflation and erasing a fiscal deficit.

Last week, his government began selling treasury dollars to stem the depreciation of the local currency, the peso, which had been accelerating in recent weeks despite high interest rates.

“We must learn from this (election defeat),” LLA candidate Diego Valenzuela told AFP, claiming that the result “was due to not engaging in economic populism, which is new in Argentina.”

His remarks were aimed at the Peronists, accused by Milei of leading South America’s second-biggest economy to ruin through excessive spending and protectionism.

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Trial For South Korean Woman Accused Of ‘Suitcase Murders’ Starts Today

Published

8 hours ago

September 8, 2025

Editor

The trial of a South Korean woman accused in New Zealand of killing her children, stuffing their bodies in suitcases and leaving them in a storage locker began on Monday.

The case caused widespread shock in New Zealand when the bodies of Minu Jo, 6, and Yuna Jo, 8, were found in an abandoned storage locker by an Auckland family in August 2022.

Police believe Hakyung Lee killed her children in June or July 2018, a year after her husband’s death, and then returned to South Korea.

She was extradited from South Korea in November 2022 at the request of the New Zealand police.

Appearing before the Auckland High Court on Monday morning, New Zealand media reported Lee refused to answer Justice Geoffrey Venning’s calls for a plea.

Despite the silence, Venning said he took Lee’s actions to be a not guilty plea, and continued with the case. He told jurors he expected an insanity defence to be presented.

Lee has elected to represent herself in the trial.

Two defence lawyers, Lorraine Smith and Chris Wilkinson-Smith, are serving as standby counsel.

The prosecution is expected to open its case on Tuesday.