Politics

Crisis: Fubara Playing To Gallery, Not Sincere – Rivers Assembly

Published

4 months ago

March 13, 2025

Rivers State House of Assembly has disagreed with Governor Siminalayi Fubara that he was barred from accessing the House to re-present the 2025 Appropriation Bill.

The House said it never received any official communication from the governor announcing his interest to bring the state’s 2025 Appropriation Bill to the floor of the House.

Spokesperson of the House, who is also Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Dr. Enemi George, described the governor’s claims as a mere comedy skit scripted to paint the House bad.

George noted that on March 3, the House of Assembly wrote to the governor requesting him to bring his 2025 Appropriation Bill to the lawmakers following the judgement of the Supreme Court.

The spokesman said: “We were the ones, who immediately after that judgement appealed to the governor to bring his appropriation bill. We acted immediately because we have the interest of the state at heart and didn’t want Rivers people to suffer any harm.

“Despite withholding our entitlements for over a year and demolishing our chambers, we still wanted him to hasten up the presentation in the interest of the progress of Rivers.

“We indicated our intentions in that letter and even gave him a timeframe because of the urgency of the matter. To regularise his appointments, we also urged him during our subsequent sitting to submit the names of his nominees for the positions of commissioners and some boards’ membership for screening and confirmation.

“But the governor rebuffed our pleas. We sent employees of the Assembly to deliver these resolutions to him but as usual they turned them down at the gate and even brutalised them. We resorted to engaging the services of a courier company.

“But he still did not heed our call, forgetting that there are essential services like hospitals, schools and others to be funded. Our intention was to finish everything about the budget on March 15th so that we could send necessary information and documents to relevant agencies of the government to allow the release of Rivers allocations at the end of March. But with what he is doing, we don’t know what he wants to achieve.

“How can he turn around to claim that we blocked him from re-presenting his budget? This is the height of insincerity. We even need the budget to be passed because the governor has been owing us our entitlements for more than a year and without the budget we can’t get our entitlements.

“The governor and his team simply and deliberately acted Wednesday’s drama with a singular motive to tarnish the image of the Assembly. The governor is simply playing to the gallery to whip up unnecessary sentiments. But it has backfired because the truth has come out.”

George maintained that the letter the governor claimed he sent to the Speaker never got to the recipient, adding that it was after Wednesday’s sitting that the lawmakers saw the letter flying on social media.

He said: “But even the letter trending on social media was dated March 11. Does it mean that the governor purportedly sent a letter on Tuesday God knows when, and immediately mobilised to the assembly quarters on Wednesday morning claiming he came to present his budget?

“That alone vitiates the claimed purpose. It is procedurally trite that after writing to the Assembly, the governor ought to wait for the letter to be acknowledged by the lawmakers, who will then invite him to appear before them and make his presentation. Governor Fubara ought to know this if he is sincere.

“But all we know is that this Assembly will continue to uphold the rule of law and will remain committed to promoting the interest of Rivers State. We urge him to do the needful so that Rivers people can breathe. He is toying with the lives and livelihood of Rivers people.”

Politics

Worst Of PDP Defections Yet To Come – Saraki Warns

Published

9 hours ago

June 28, 2025

Editor

Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Reconciliation Committee, and former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has warned that more defections from the party may still occur, even as efforts continue to reposition the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Saraki made this known during an interview on Arise TV on Friday.

He said: “PDP would likely see one or two more defections, and we should prepare ourselves for that; there is a possibility.

“We haven’t seen the worst of the defections for PDP. We would probably see maybe one or two governors who will defect, and we might see some senators who will defect.”

He, however, described the timing of the crisis as an advantage, arguing that it gives the PDP time to recover and rebuild before the election cycle begins in full swing.

“For some of us, this happening early in PDP is an advantage. We are lucky that this is not happening, let’s say, late 2026; we would not even have had time to recover and regroup,” he said.

“We have just under two years to the election, and we are lucky to have that. I think, with a lot of commitment and understanding, it is not a lost cause.

“A party with over 26 years of history that has been around, the largest party, we will definitely have low times like this.”

Despite the turbulence at the national level, Saraki said the PDP remains strong at the grassroots and across state structures.

He said: “When you go round the country, the state chapters, the local government chapters, the party is still very strong in the grassroots. In some areas in the country, they are not even aware of what is happening at our level, in Abuja.

“The reactions we are seeing at the grassroots give us a lot of encouragement. But what we need to do is to get to the bottom and start to build.”

He added that the party is already laying the groundwork for the 2027 elections but warned that the stakes go beyond just party survival.

“This is not just about resolving today’s issues. It’s about building for the future. The next convention must not be business as usual. We must bring in new, younger faces who represent the future of this party.

“If PDP fails, Nigeria edges closer to a one-party state. And that would be a disaster for democracy.”

Politics

CSO, PDP Bicker Over Fagbemi’s Stand On Osun LG Crisis

Published

1 day ago

June 27, 2025

Editor

An Osun-based civil society group, The Osun Masterminds, has urged the State Government to respect the opinion of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, regarding the leadership crisis rocking local government areas in the state.

The group said Fagbemi, being the number one law officer of the federation, his opinions on issues relating to law are not just official, but are also binding.

This was disclosed by the Executive Director of the group, Prof. Wasiu Oyedokun-Alli, while speaking with journalists at the monthly media briefing of the organisation held in Osogbo on Friday.

Oyedokun-Alli, who said accused the state government of disregard for, not just the Appeal Court, but also the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, adding that the group has studied several legal positions on the Osun local government disputes and came to the conclusion that the government was swimming against the tide of clear court pronouncements.

“We are to point out, however, that the utter disregard for, not just the Appeal Court, but also the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, by the Osun State Government is a matter of grave concern. Where we understand that the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, is the number one Law Officer of the Federation, we must realise that his opinions are not just official, they are also binding.

“We have studied several legal positions on this matter, especially from highly revered silks who have dissected the pronouncements of the Court, and one thing remains obvious – the Osun State Government is swimming against the tide of clear Court pronouncements.

“The question that begs answers, however, is why the Osun State Government is so unwilling to work with Local Government Chairmen elected under a different political platform. Where we respect the principles of separation of powers, should we not be willing to work together even if the political parties are not the same? Has the APC-led Federal Government refused to work with the Adeleke Government because it is of the PDP?”, Oyedokun-Alli said.

Calling on the stakeholders to prevail on the Osun State Government to end the LG crisis, Oyedokun-Alli, however, urged the residents, regardless of party affiliation, to cohabitate in peace.

Responding to issues raised by the group, the spokesperson for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, Oladele Bamiji, said TOM was a partisan organisation that has consistently supported the All Progressives Congress in the state.

Bamiji further said, “Their so-called ‘civil society’ posturing has long collapsed under the weight of its hypocrisy and shameless servitude to the dictates of APC in Osun and beyond, and it is sad they are dead to their dented image out there.

“TOM has again confirmed to the people of Osun that it is nothing but a busy body propaganda irritant of the APC, issuing monthly rankings, not out of civic concern but to earn its monthly stipend from its political sponsors.

“We find it laughable and frankly disturbing that any group claiming to possess civic literacy would hold binding the personal opinion of a political appointee like the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, over and above the ruling of a competent court of law.”
(PUNCH)

Politics

BREAKING: Confusion As APC Chair, Ganduje Resigns

Published

2 days ago

June 27, 2025

Editor

National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, has resigned from his position, Saturday Vanguard has learned.

Although the exact circumstances surrounding his resignation remain unclear as of press time, a senior party official confirmed the development, stating simply, “Yes, it is true. He has resigned.”

Sources revealed that Ganduje’s personal belongings were earlier moved from his office at the APC national secretariat, further fueling speculation.

The development has thrown the party’s headquarters into confusion, with staff and visitors visibly shocked by the unexpected news.