Politics

Impeachment: Ondo Deputy Governor Not Ready For Genuine Reconciliation – Speaker

Published

2 years ago

November 3, 2023

The Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Hon. Olamide Oladiji, said this weekend, that the embattled deputy governor of the state, Hon Lucky Aiyedatiwa, was not ready for genuine reconciliation to stop his impeachment.

Recall that the assembly had served the deputy governor impeachment notice, for alleged gross misconduct.

But Aiyedatiwa had approached the court to halt the impeachment process just as the national leadership of the party, set up a reconciliation committee to resolve the crisis.

The national leadership of the party, at a peace meeting with the parties in Abuja, directed them to sheath their sword and allow for an amicable settlement of the crisis.

But speaking in Akure, the state capital, on the outcome of the peace meeting in Abuja, with the leadership of the party, the Speaker, Rt Hon Oladiji, said that the deputy governor was not ready for genuine reconciliation.

Oladiji said that during the reconciliation meeting, the assembly members and the deputy governor were asked to withdraw all cases in court.

According to him, ”We met the National Chairman, and he specifically asked me how do we commence reconciliation.

“I told him that the reconciliation process has to start from the deputy governor, the deputy governor has to start the reconciliation. He is the one that took us to court, we cannot be reconciling ourselves when we have cases in the court.

“Let him go to the court, withdraw all these cases, then we would know that we are now in for genuine reconciliation.

“But the deputy governor has not done that as he has appealed some of the rulings of the lower court.

“But in the process where those cases have not been withdrawn from the court, the court cases are still on, and we are telling ourselves that we are doing genuine reconciliation. Is that one genuine?.

“As far as the House of Assembly is concerned, we are not doing anything. The cases are in the court and we would follow due process. We believe in the court, as far as we are concerned, the matter is the court.

“He appealed some cases again, so we are in court, either favorable or unfavorable, then we will know what to do next. As far as we’re concerned now, we are doing nothing, we are following up the cases in the court.”

On the alleged division amongst the assembly members,the speaker said: ”I want to use this opportunity to inform the general public that the House of Assembly is intact. About three days ago, we had our parliamentary meeting here(House 11 legislative quarters, Alagbaka, Akure,) because of the protest of this Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN).

“We had about 23 members in attendance. We did so many things together here, if not because of this strike, which is not peculiar to Ondo State alone, it is nationwide, we would have continued our legislative businesses.

“I have been treating files since morning, and our members have been coming, if you go to the speaker’s lodge now, you would see about 15 members there, we are together.

“At times, when there’s a political tussle like this, there can be insinuations, rumours, but in the House of Assembly, we are together. We told ourselves that it is an institution, and the institution must be protected. So, we are together.

“To the public, most of these bloggers want to feed fat on the issues on ground. They are the one deceiving the public, telling all sort of stories that the House is this, it’s that. As far as I am concerned, we are together.”

Oladiji, also, dismissed the allegation that the state has shut down and nothing is functioning as a result of the absence of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu in the state.

He said staffers of the state government are being paid their salaries and the workers are going about their duties unhindered.

“As far as I am concerned, I will not subscribe to that because, if you are telling the public that the state is stagnant, yesterday people just received their salary. The impress would be coming any moment from now.

“It is not a new thing for head of Administration to man a local government, most especially when the state government is planning to conduct an election. Instead of bringing in another set of people, what they do is that, they instruct the head of Administration to take over the government, pending the time we would conduct our election.

“So, it is not a new thing. the state is not stagnant, if you go to most of our construction sites, the Ministry of Works, they are working. All our commissioners are working, they are distributing Palliatives in the 18 Local Governments, we are doing well.

“I don’t know where they get that from, there can be political tussle somewhere, that does not destroy the operation of governance, that does not hinder governance, people are getting their salary, they are getting their impress and the civil servants are doing their work,” he said.

The Speaker denied that the impeachment of the deputy governor was initiated by him and members of the assembly.

“Some people are now tracing the impeachment thing to House of Assembly, Mr. Speaker, honorable.

“It did not originate from the House of Assembly, the letter must come from the executive to the House of Assembly. By the time it comes to the House of Assembly, then we ask ourselves, what does the Constitution say? And that’s what we are doing.

“If we are setting up any panel, it would have to come from the executive. If they can get the 2/3 of the members of the executive, fine, and they would write us.”

He said that: “By the time they write us, it is then we can now start working on it. Just like the one we did, as far as that of Deputy Governor is concerned, the executive wrote us, and we acted on that letter that they wrote us.”

Politics

Wike Gives Update On Rivers Emergency Rule Expires Date

Published

9 hours ago

August 30, 2025

Editor

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Saturday said he was optimistic that the state of emergency declared in Rivers State would expire on September 18.

He disclosed this after casting his vote in the ongoing local government election in the state.

Wike noted that the expiration would pave the way for the state House of Assembly to resume its legislative duties.

“As far as we are concerned, this election is peaceful, people are trooping out and at the end of the day the election has been conducted successfully and peacefully.

“I do know that by September 18, the state of emergency will expire and the state assembly will come back to their job and we will have a government at the grassroots level,” Wike said.

The minister said the conditions were right for lifting the state of emergency since both state and local governments now had representation.

He added, “The coast is clear for the state of emergency to be lifted, being that the state government has its representative and the local government has its representatives, so we are good to go.”

President Bola Tinubu had earlier imposed emergency rule in Rivers to prevent a political crisis, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and the State House of Assembly for six months.

Politics

APC Mocks Jonathan As ADC Woos Him For 2027 Race

Published

15 hours ago

August 30, 2025

Editor

There were reports on Friday that a powerful group within the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is wooing ex-President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2027 presidential race.

A source close to both the former president and the ADC told Saturday Tribune on Friday that the former president is seriously considering running in the coming presidential polls.

The source confirmed that key figures in the ADC were comfortable with having Jonathan as their presidential candidate and had, in fact, reached out to him.

He, however, said the former president was torn between his loyalty to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) “which made him” and the ADC which, he said, had the potential of winning the election if it gets the right candidate.

“Former President Goodluck Jonathan is worried that certain persons with strong links to the Villa may still be in control of the PDP and may mess him up if he seeks the ticket of that party,” the source said.

He added that Jonathan’s only issue with the ADC is that “he does not want to contest against Peter Obi because he believes that the Igbo people supported him in 2015 even more than his own Ijaw people.”

While saying emphatically that Jonathan would run except he could not find a platform, the source added that “if he chooses our party (ADC), we will zone the presidency to the South. If he does not come to us, we will have no option than to go to the North because politics is about numbers and winning.”

Jonathan can’t defeat Tinubu —APC

Meanwhile, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that former President Goodluck Jonathan cannot defeat its candidate, Bola Tinubu, in the presidential election coming up in 2027.

The Lagos State chapter of the party said on Friday that it had observed with keen interest the growing speculations surrounding the possible return of former President Jonathan to the 2027 presidential race, and therefore made the submission.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Jonathan, who lost his re-election bid in 2015 to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, is being persuaded by supporters to seek reelection in 2027 general elections.

NAN reported APC’s spokesman in Lagos State, Mr Seye Oladejo, in a statement on Friday as noting that the former president’s political relevance to unseat President Bola Tinubu, remained in doubt.

“While we acknowledge the former president’s role in the peaceful democratic transition of 2015, an act that rightly earned him praise at home and abroad, we must state, in clear terms, that Nigeria has since moved beyond the politics of sentiment, nostalgia, and symbolism.

“The challenges of today and the future require bold, capable, and forward-thinking leadership, not a return to the comfort of a past that was far from perfect.

“Let it be clear: good luck alone is not a governance strategy,” he said.

Oladejo alleged that the Jonathan administration, from 2010 to 2015, left behind a country grappling with severe structural weaknesses, from unchecked corruption to alarming insecurity and economic inertia.

“While some may look back on those years with rose-tinted glasses, we must remind ourselves that nostalgia is not a policy platform.

“Emotion cannot drive economic reform, and sentimentality will not fix power generation, insecurity, youth unemployment, or education sector decay,” the APC chieftain said.

Oladejo said that the party also noted the constitutional and political complications of a potential Jonathan candidacy.

According to him, having completed more than one term in office, any return bid will inevitably trigger legal contention and political instability — distractions Nigeria cannot afford in a time when decisive action is needed across all sectors of national life.

“Moreover, the former president’s political relevance has been complicated by his recent engagements across party lines.

“His flirtation with the APC and absence from PDP’s strategic rebuilding efforts raise questions about his loyalty, clarity of vision, and political intentions,” he said.

According to him, the APC remains focused on consolidating progress, implementing reforms, and engaging the Nigerian electorate with fresh ideas and credible candidates who reflect the aspirations of a dynamic, youthful population.

“We believe the future of Nigeria does not lie in recycled leadership but in visionary governance rooted in integrity, innovation, and resilience.

“Former President Jonathan remains a respected elder statesman. His legacy as a peaceful democrat is assured. But legacies are not manifestoes, and nostalgia is not governance.

“We urge Nigerians to reject emotional shortcuts and stay focused on the need for capable, accountable and transformative leadership.

“As 2027 approaches, let us not reach backwards in desperation, but move forward with courage and clarity,” Oladejo said.

Politics

Marafa’s Loyalists Quit APC, Cite Neglect Of Zamfara

Published

2 days ago

August 29, 2025

Editor

Supporters of former Zamfara Central Senator, Kabiru Marafa, have announced their resignation from the All Progressives Congress, citing what they described as injustice, marginalisation and deliberate neglect of the state by the ruling party and President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The group, operating under the aegis of the Senator Kabiru Marafa Consultative Forum, met in Kaduna on Wednesday and Thursday, August 27 and 28, 2025, to deliberate on the worsening political, security and developmental situation in the state.

At the end of the meeting, the forum issued a communique signed by its chairman, Bashir Mafara, secretary Mannir Tsafe, and seven others, formally announcing their exit from the APC.

The communique partly read, “After broad consultations and critical review of the prevailing circumstances, the political structure of Distinguished Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa OFR, CON across the 147 wards in Zamfara State unanimously resolved as follows:

“The entire structure with all its supporters hereby formally resigns from the All Progressives Congress in protest against the sustained injustice, mistrust, marginalisation, and deliberate neglect of Zamfara State and its people.

“That we shall, in due course, announce our next political direction, guided by the collective interest of the good people of Zamfara State.”

The group expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation in the state, pointing to official data and community reports on rising kidnappings and killings.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, hasn’t been able to address the persistent and senseless kidnappings and killings of innocent citizens in Zamfara State, despite the explicit promises made during the 2023 presidential campaign.

“The situation continues to worsen, leaving communities devastated and hopeless,” they said.

The group claimed that reports indicate that out of the 4,722 people kidnapped over one year in Nigeria in 2024, 1,203 are from Zamfara State, followed by Kaduna State with 629.

It added that the Zamfara Circle Community Initiatives reported that 25 villages suffered attacks in one week after the just concluded by-election, with 145 people kidnapped and 21 killed.

The senator’s loyalists also accused the government of politicising insecurity for electoral gains.

On the alleged marginalisation of Zamfara in political appointments and projects, the communique added, “Despite the fact that Zamfara State was one of only two states in the entire North-West geopolitical zone that delivered victory to President Bola Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election spearheaded by Distinguished Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa OFR, CON as State Coordinator which the President himself categorically acknowledged during his speech shortly after his declaration as the winner of the 2023 election by INEC, the state has been sidelined in all facets of human developments including protection of lives and properties, infrastructural developments as well as fair representation in political appointments.

“The state was given only a Minister of State, while most states in the Northwest got two slots.

“But more unfair is the allocation given to the Southwest that corners the entire financial sector, with some states getting multiple ministerial slots and countless agencies.

“For example, Lagos state, where President Tinubu lost the election, has enjoyed overwhelming patronage in terms of appointments and developmental projects, underscoring the deliberate marginalisation of Zamfara state, where Mr. President won.”

The forum concluded by accusing the APC leadership of betraying its founding principles of fairness and justice.

“The above actions and omissions negate the fundamental principles of justice, fairness, equity and accountability upon which the APC was founded.

“Conscience demands that genuine progressives must stand for truth and resist injustice, no matter how uncomfortable,” it said.