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How Someone Made Me Pay $10,000 To Marabouts To Become Governor –Diri

Published

9 months ago

January 18, 2025

Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has revealed how he paid the sum of $10,000 to marabouts from Kenya contracted on his behalf to spiritually facilitate his emergence as governor.

He however said he rejected the ritual.

Diri, while speaking during the KOLGA (Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area) Annual Day of Thanksgiving held in Sampou, his community on Friday, said his absolute faith in God earned him the sobriquet ‘Miracle Governor.’

The governor also narrated how in 2020, a senior citizen invited him to Abuja and advised him to perform certain rituals if he wanted to be governor and how he turned down the offer.

Diri, a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2019 off-cycle governorship election in the state, had lost to the then candidate of th All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief David Lyon, but he challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declaration of Lyon as the winner and eventually won at the Supreme Court.

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Governor Diri’s spokesman, Daniel Alabrah in a statement on Saturday, quoted him as telling the crowd at the gathering that the senior citizen flew in some marabouts from Senegal to perform the rituals when the matter was still pending at the Supreme Court but he bluntly rejected the offer.

He said the man demanded a refund of the money spent to transport them into the country and he had to pay him the sum of $10,000.

He explained that his unshaken faith in God made him decline the advice to look elsewhere for help, saying God, against all the odds, proved that He is always faithful.

He emphasised the need for politicians to learn from his experience and put their trust in God rather than in man.

He stated that the people of Koluama/Opokuma local government have reasons to be thankful to God given the level of development they have witnessed, and thanked the council for giving the thanksgiving day a legal backing through legislation.

Governor Diri also expressed gratitude to Apostle David Zilly Aggrey, the convener, and those who have sustained the programme.

He said: “I thank God and also thank Apostle David Zilly Aggrey because he started this event. And because his prayers were heard, God made it possible to bring me in and today, it is by law that all Kolokuma/Opokuma people can gather to praise God.

“Let me reveal to you why it is important to thank God and have faith in Him. Sometime ago, a senior citizen of this country invited me to Abuja and asked me to perform certain sacrifices but I declined. I told him my faith in God will not allow me to do it. He got angry and told me I would never become governor.

“He told me that he had spent $10,000 to bring the people for the sacrifice and asked for a refund, which I obliged.

“When the Supreme Court’s pronouncement came, the man was shocked and could not call me. Sadly, he passed on after some time.

“The story I have narrated was witnessed by my deputy and a friend in Abuja as both of them accompanied me to visit the senior citizen.

“Kolokuma/Opokuma people have every reason to thank God. As a state, we do not want anybody to be harmed in the name of politics because we do not know who God has destined for greatness. So I call on all of us in the political game to be very civil and recognise that there is God who rules in the affairs of man.

In his sermon, Apostle David Zilly Aggrey said the younger generation might not understand the reason for the thanksgiving as they did not experience the difficulty older ones in the local government faced.

He said Bayelsa was witnessing tremendous development under Diri and thanked the people of the state for giving him the opportunity to serve a second term.
Daily Trust

News

Why I Picked Amupitan As INEC Chair – Tinubu

Published

2 hours ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday explained that his choice of Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN) as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission was based on his apolitical stance, integrity and impeccable record of service.

“President Tinubu told the council that Amupitan is the first person from Kogi, North-Central state, nominated to occupy the position and is apolitical,” a statement by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, quoted him as saying.

The President spoke at the State House, Abuja, during the meeting of the National Council of State, which unanimously endorsed the nomination of Amupitan to succeed Professor Mahmood Yakubu, whose decade-long tenure as INEC Chairman ended on Tuesday.

Tinubu told council members that Amupitan, a professor of law from Kogi State, North-Central Nigeria, is the first person from the state to be nominated for the top electoral job.

Council members, including serving and former leaders, backed the nomination, describing the professor as a man of proven integrity.

Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo, said Amupitan’s track record “reflects a deep commitment to justice, knowledge, and national service.”

Following the council’s approval, the President is expected to transmit Amupitan’s name to the Senate for screening and confirmation in line with constitutional provisions.

Aged 58, Amupitan hails from Ayetoro Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

A professor of law at the University of Jos, Plateau State, he is currently the institution’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) and also serves as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University in Osun State.

He obtained his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees in law from the University of Jos, after earlier studies at the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin.

Called to the Nigerian Bar in 1988, Amupitan has built an extensive academic and administrative career spanning over three decades.

He became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2014 and has written extensively on company law, corporate governance, and evidence law.

His published works include Corporate Governance: Models and Principles (2008), Documentary Evidence in Nigeria (2008), Evidence Law: Theory and Practice in Nigeria (2013), and Principles of Company Law (2013).

Beyond academia, Amupitan has served on several boards, including Integrated Dairies Limited in Vom, the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, and the Council of Legal Education.

He was also a board member of Riss Oil Limited, Abuja, between 1996 and 2004.

The Kogi-born scholar, described by colleagues as “a jurist of quiet influence,” is married with four children.

When confirmed by the Senate, Amupitan will become Nigeria’s 15th INEC chairman.

News

Meet New INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan

Published

2 hours ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has nominated Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The appointment, which was confirmed by the National Council of State on Thursday, follows the exit of Professor Mahmood Yakubu from the electoral body.

According to a statement issued by Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga, Amupitan’s nomination marks the first time a native of Kogi State will head Nigeria’s election management agency.

The law professor hails from Ayetoro Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi state.

Amupitan, who currently serves as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos, has spent more than three decades in academia and legal practice.

He joined the institution in 1989 as an Assistant Lecturer and rose through the ranks to become a Reader in 2003 and a Professor of Law in 2008.

Details from the University of Jos website show that the new INEC boss obtained all his degrees, including Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate, in Law from the same university.

He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1988 after completing his programme at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos.

Amupitan’s areas of academic and professional interest include Law of Evidence, Corporate Law, Corporate Governance, and Privatisation Law.

He was conferred with the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 2014 in recognition of his contributions to the legal profession.

Beyond academics, Amupitan has held several administrative and national positions.

He has served as Dean of the Faculty of Law, Head of the Department of Public Law, and Chairman of the Committee of Deans and Directors at the University of Jos.

He has also represented the institution on several boards, including the Council of Legal Education and the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, where he served as a member of the Governing Council.

He was, until his nomination, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Osun State.

The legal scholar has authored and co-authored over 50 academic publications, with research spanning corporate governance, electoral law reform, and petroleum industry legislation.

He has supervised more than a dozen doctoral and master’s students in law.

Professor Amupitan is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Nigerian Institute of Management, and the National Association of Law Teachers.

Outside academics, he has served on several boards, including Integrated Dairies Limited, Riss Oil Limited, and the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Governing Council.

He is married to Dr. (Mrs.) Yemisi Amupitan, and they have four children.

News

Elder Statesman Christopher Kolade Dies

Published

2 hours ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

Veteran broadcaster and former Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr Christopher Kolade, has died at the age of 92.

The family announced the elder statesman’s death in a statement on Thursday.

The statement said the late former Chairman of Cadbury Nigeria died peacefully on Wednesday, October 8, 2025.

“We are thankful for his incredible life of faith and service, and are grateful for God’s abundant blessings,” the statement read in part.

Kolade had a distinguished career as a diplomat, academic, advocate for integrity and corporate governance, among other things.

Born on December 28, 1932, in Erin-Oke, Osun State, Kolade was the son of an Anglican missionary. He attended Government College, Ibadan, before proceeding to Fourah Bay College in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where he completed his higher education.

Kolade began his career in broadcasting, eventually rising to the position of Director General of the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation.

He later became Chief Executive and Chairman of Cadbury Nigeria Plc, where he was widely recognised for his ethical leadership and corporate reforms.

The deceased also served Nigeria as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, leaving behind a legacy of diplomacy, integrity, and professionalism.

Kolade taught Corporate Governance and Human Resources Management at the Lagos Business School and Leadership & Conflict Management at the School of Media & Communication, both part of Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos.

Kolade, a former member of the university’s Governing Council, also served as its Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, and was later Chancellor of McPherson University, Ogun State.

Deeply committed to promoting ethical standards in business, Kolade chaired several integrity-driven organisations, including Integrity Organisation Ltd GTE and The Convention on Business Integrity Ltd GTE.