Politics

ExGov. Masterminded Meeting Where Buhari Was Assaulted, Insulted, Says APC Chieftain

Published

5 years ago

August 11, 2021

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Yola South, Bakari Abdulmalik, has accused Muhammad Umaru Jibrilla Bindow, immediate past governor of Adamawa State of masterminding the meeting where President Muhammadu Buhari was insulted and assulted.

Abdulmalik who is the secretary, APC stakeholders forum in Yola South, noted that contrary to the ruse which “Bindow’s apologists are dishing out that the former governor convened a stakeholders meeting to reconcile warring factions”, Bindow actually assembled his “political stooges and appointees to assault and denigrate the person of President Muhammadu Buhari for not bringing him back to power at all cost and his refusal to give him any federal appointment.

“Bindow has been nursing morbid hatred against the person of president Muhammadu Buhari for sacrificing him in 2019 election and for not giving him any federal appointment.

“But as far as I’m concerned, that anger is misplaced, because you can’t expect a disciplined man like President Buhari to rig an election in order to hoist his party man who worked contrary to the people’s wishes to power.

“And secondly, Buhari appoints only people whose integrity he can vouch for. So the mindset that you should abuse Buhari for not bringing you on board is an error of judgement,” the stakeholder said.

He noted that going by the political identities of those who are in the meeting, it can be inferred that Bindow just called a meeting of “his stooges with the intent to malign the person of Mr. President because of the president’s perceived hard-line posture against the convener of the meeting (Bindow).”

Abdulmalik said those who openly abused the president must have read the body language of the convener of the meeting to have the audacity to abuse the president in the manner they did, adding that the fact that “they did not get reprimanded all added vent to the sordid spectacle.”

The APC chieftain said the silence of Bindow in the face of such assault and insult against the president was a direct indictment.

“We all know that Kabiru Mijinyawa was governor Bindow’s favorite under whom the governor rode the state roughshod till our party was ousted from power. The host of the meeting, was a commissioner under Bindow, the suspended caretaker chairman of Yola South APC was the chairman of the party when Bindow ruled and Yushau Adamu was also an adviser of the former governor.

“If Bindow has the president at heart, the moment they started abusing him, he ought to reign on them or even rebuke them. But listening to such vituperations amounts to complicity.

“Before the said meeting, APC was calm even though Bindow wants to tell the world the party was in crisis necessitating his intervention.

‘Nobody was abused and nobody wished anyone death. But surprisingly, during a so called reconciliatory meeting, we heard abuses and even death wishes. Can we in all honesty said a reconciliation took place.

“Reconciliation usually takes place between two parties involved in conflict, is Kabiru Mijinyawa in conflict with Prince Mustapha Barkindo Aliyu Mustapha or the others despite being hirelings of Bindow?” the stakeholder queried.

He added, “what Bindow intended to do was to malign all our stakeholders and cast them as weaklings who cannot resolve an internal party challenge till someone from far away intervened.

“In Adamawa State, Yola South is the area that produces the most influential stakeholders of APC. Aisha Buhari is our daughter, Binani is our daughter, Ribadu is our son, FCT minister is our son, Modi is our son, MC Tahir is our son but because of his desire for mischief, Bindow convened the so called meeting to spite leaders of the area.”

Abdulmalik added that if Bindow has the prowess for reconciliation, he shouldn’t have lost election in 2019, because it was under his watch that Nyako left the party to ADC.

“Our party was never divided like it was under Bindow forcing many to resort to open anti-party which led to the defeat of governor Bindow in 2019. But today a man with such poor credentials is the one convening a kangaroo reconciliation meeting. It shows how bad our situation is,” Abdulmalik said.

Abdulmalik added that Bindow has nurtured a prolonged scorn and hatred against the first family but noted that God decided to expose his devious antics through the viral audio since he refused to change his ways.

“We the true lovers of President Muhammadu Buhari will not forget in a hurry the number of times Bindow treated the president with scorn and outright disdain.

“Firstly, he once openly said that his loyalty is with Atiku and whoever is not happy about that should go to hell.

“Secondly, the man sponsored a song debasing and desecrating the first lady and by extension the first family despite being a beneficiary of the Buhari’s popularity.

“At a point in time when the first family was passing through its most challenging period when the president was critically I’ll, instead of sympathising with them, Bindow was busy scheming and praying for the president’s death so as to become the vice president.

“As for me the alibi the governor is using to defend his presence at the recent meeting which is to reconcile warring factions in the party is a ruse as there is no faction in Yola South APC as all the members of the party recognize and pay allegiance to Sulaiman Adamu, the suspended caretaker chairman.

“It therefore amounts to great disservice for the former governor to say he is trying to broker peace between imaginary warring factions. The only meaning any discerning individual will drive from that meeting is that it has provided another opportunity for enemies of the president to stage another odious plans against him.

“But God in his infinite mercies decided to expose them as he has done to many of the President’s enemies before,” Abdulmalik added.

Politics

2027: NDC Unveils Electoral Committee Members For Primaries

Published

5 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has released list of Electoral Committee Members to Conduct primary election.

The exercise is for State House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate, Governorship and Presidential Primaries across all States in Nigeria and the FCT.

This was contained in a statement posted on its verified X handle on Thursday.

The party had provided updates concerning its upcoming Presidential, National Assembly, Governorship, and State Assembly primaries.

According to the party’s National Chairman, Moses Cleopas,
and Barr. Ikenna Alex-Morgan Enekweizu, National Secretary, the primaries are confirmed to take place across the nation on May 29, 2026, adhering to the previously established timetable of May 28 and 29.

Politics

APC: Fubara Has Been Treated Badly, It’s Dangerous For Tinubu – Otubanjo

Published

5 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The director of research at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Femi Otubanjo, has said the treatment of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, in the just concluded All Progressives Congress’, APC, primary poses political danger to President Bola Tinubu.

Otubanjo stated this on Thursday while speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show, where he also criticised the role being played by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in the political affairs of Rivers State and the All Progressives Congress.

According to him, the handling of Fubara’s political crisis remains one of the most surprising developments in Nigeria’s political landscape.

Otubanjo further argued that Wike, who is not a member of the APC, appears to be dictating political activities within the ruling party in Rivers State.The research director warned that the current political arrangement in Rivers State could negatively affect Tinubu politically, insisting that Wike was pursuing his personal agenda rather than that of the president.

He said: “The treatment of Fubara must be one of the American wonders of Nigerian politics. Fubara has been badly treated. We have a situation in which Nyesom Wike who is not even in the APC is taking the primary decision in the APC. I hope the tactical team of President Bola Tinubu is not sleeping.

“The reality is that what they have done is very dangerous for Tinubu. What has emerged in Rivers today is that Wike is pursuing his own agenda, not Tinubu’s agenda inspite of PBAT and all of that combination.”

“If Wike really wants to pursue Tinubu’s agenda, he must retain Fubara.”

Politics

In Defence Of Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe: The Generational Shift Reshaping Edo Politics

Published

1 day ago

May 27, 2026

Editor

By DAN Osa-Ogbegie

For decades, Edo politics remained trapped within a narrow and predictable cycle of political recycling. The same ageing actors moved endlessly from one office to another, from one administration to the next, and from one political alignment to another, as though leadership in Edo State had become the exclusive inheritance of a permanent political aristocracy.

Meanwhile, thousands of intelligent, energetic, and capable young Edo people watched helplessly from the margins while opportunities for leadership, governance, party administration, and public service remained tightly controlled by individuals whose political relevance dated back several decades.

That unhealthy political culture is now gradually changing.

Today, one of the most important political transformations taking place within the All Progressives Congress in Edo State is the deliberate transition from recycled political gerontocracy to a younger generation of political actors. That transition is unfolding under the leadership of Senator Monday Okpebholo, Governor of Edo State and Leader of the APC in Edo State, together with the State Chairman of the party, Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe.

Predictably, such a shift has unsettled entrenched interests.

Those who became accustomed to monopolising political relevance naturally feel threatened by the emergence of a younger generation that is increasingly assertive, visible, influential, and institutionally empowered. Yet, history teaches a simple lesson: no political structure survives indefinitely without renewal.

No serious political party can continue recycling the same exhausted political machinery forever while expecting innovation, grassroots energy, modern governance ideas, and long-term political sustainability.

That reality appears to be clearly understood by Governor Monday Okpebholo and Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe.

Much of the criticism unfairly directed at Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe in recent times stems from the fact that he has become one of the visible faces of this generational transition within Edo APC. Beneath the noise, propaganda, and political bitterness lies an undeniable truth: the party is consciously opening spaces for younger people in ways not seen for many years.

From the youthful Deputy Chairman of APC in Edo State, Sylvester Aigboboh, to several younger commissioners, Special Advisers, members of the State Executive Council, board chairmen, local government administrators, and strategic appointees across government, the evidence of deliberate political renewal is becoming increasingly impossible to ignore.

In Uhunmwode Local Government Area, Hon. Austin Imafidon has emerged as one of the young faces of focused governance and grassroots administration. Beyond politics, he has already established himself successfully in business, bringing into governance the mindset of productivity, enterprise, and modern administrative engagement.

In Etsako, Hon. Sunny Ekpeson has continued to attract national attention as the youngest ALGON Chairman in Nigeria, representing a clear departure from the era where local government leadership was treated as the permanent preserve of ageing political operators disconnected from younger demographics.

In Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area, Hon. Eric Osawaru represents another example of the younger political generation now entrusted with leadership responsibilities, while in Oredo Local Government Area, Engr. Gabriel Iduseri equally reflects the growing confidence being reposed in younger administrators within the APC structure.

In Owan, Hon. Aitalegbe Ernest, popularly known as “China Boy,” has also emerged as one of the prominent young political figures gaining traction as the incoming Chairman of the local government, further reinforcing the expanding generational transition currently taking shape across Edo State.

The same pattern is visible across government institutions and strategic agencies.

Pastor Stanley Dave Ighodaro, a successful entrepreneur with thriving business interests in Europe, now heads the Edo State Parks and Gardens Agency. His emergence reflects an increasingly important shift towards bringing professionally exposed and globally minded younger individuals into governance and public administration.

Similarly, Kassim Otono, who serves as Special Adviser on Oil and Gas to the Executive Governor of Edo State, represents another example of younger technocratic involvement within the present administration. His inclusion within such a strategic sector underscores the growing confidence being placed in younger professionals and politically aware technocrats within government.

This is how enduring institutions are built.

A political party that refuses to regenerate itself eventually becomes intellectually stagnant, structurally weak, and electorally disconnected from evolving social realities.

Governor Monday Okpebholo deserves commendation for recognising that governance in a rapidly changing society cannot remain permanently tied to political methods and leadership assumptions developed several decades ago. Contemporary governance demands adaptability, technological awareness, stronger grassroots engagement, administrative energy, and a deeper connection with younger populations.

Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe equally deserves credit for helping stabilise the party while managing this difficult but necessary transition process. Generational shifts are never easy within political systems historically dominated by established interests. Resistance is inevitable. Political resentment is expected. Internal anxieties naturally emerge whenever old monopolies begin to weaken.

Leadership, however, requires courage.

The recently concluded primaries further revealed this evolving direction within the APC. The emergence of candidates such as Rt. Hon. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, Osazee Igbinovia, Dr. Emmanuel Paddy Iyamu, Omosede Igbinedion, Sir Lucky Eseigbe, and Odianosen Okojie reflects a growing political philosophy that increasingly values capacity, grassroots relevance, contemporary appeal, and generational continuity.

Equally symbolic is the emergence of several young Acting Local Government Council Chairmen who are now candidates of the party in the forthcoming local government elections. That development sends a powerful message across Edo State that political participation is gradually becoming more accessible to younger people with competence, commitment, and organisational value.

For too long, many young people in Edo politics were reduced to political spectators, social media defenders, praise singers, or election-day foot soldiers while actual power remained tightly guarded elsewhere. Such a model was never sustainable.

A society that continuously sidelines its younger generation ultimately weakens its own political future.

The ongoing transition within Edo APC does not amount to hostility towards elders or experienced political actors. Experience remains valuable. Elder statesmen still possess institutional memory and political wisdom that younger actors can benefit from immensely. Mentorship, however, must never become political suffocation. Guidance must never evolve into permanent political domination.

Every generation deserves the opportunity to participate meaningfully in shaping the future it will eventually inherit.

That is precisely why the current direction of the APC leadership in Edo State deserves objective acknowledgement rather than emotional hostility.

Many of those attacking Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe today are not truly angry about party administration. Their deeper discomfort arises from the reality that political influence is gradually shifting away from old centres of control towards a newer generation of actors who may no longer depend entirely on traditional political gatekeepers for relevance or survival.

Societies evolve.

Political cultures evolve.

Leadership itself evolves.

No generation owns political power forever.

Ultimately, the future of Edo State cannot be built exclusively around recycled political veterans whose greatest political moments belong largely to the past. A forward-looking society must continuously create room for younger leadership, newer ideas, fresh administrative energy, and modern political thinking.

That future is already unfolding within the APC in Edo State.

History may eventually remember Khalifa Jarrett Tenebe and Governor Monday Okpebholo as central figures in the difficult but necessary political transition that began moving Edo away from recycled political dominance towards a broader and younger leadership culture capable of preparing the state for a different era.

Daniel Aroren Noah Osa-Ogbegie is a Benin based legal practitioner and public intellectual from Uhunmwode Local Government Area.