Politics

Mischief-makers Creating Wrong Narrative About Edo Assembly Crisis – Govt

Published

3 years ago

February 2, 2022

The Edo State Government has condemned attempts by some mischief-makers to create the false narrative that there is a ‘crisis’ in the Edo State House of Assembly.

The Government noted that the exercise is being orchestrated by elements who lost out in the last governorship election in the state.

Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie Esq., in a statement titled, “The Full Story Regarding the Edo State House of Assembly: The Danger of a Single Fraudulent Narrative,” said the people of Edo State have continued to enjoy the benefit of good governance with the three arms of government at peace with one another and working for the common good.

The statement reads: “The Edo State Government has noticed that in the past few weeks, a vigorous media offensive appears to have been launched by some characters who lost out in the politics regarding the governorship of Edo State in the last election.

“The issue of particular interest has been an attempt to create the narrative that there exists a ‘crisis’ in the Edo State House of Assembly and that such a crisis has been orchestrated by the Executive Arm of Government.

“These persons seek to take advantage of the somewhat short attention span and memory of some unwary persons which make the obvious factual inaccuracies in their narrative seductive.

“It is, therefore, necessary to recount for purposes of posterity the sequence of events that led us to where we are now.”

Ogie continued: “On the 9th of March, 2019, an election was conducted into the Edo State House of Assembly, in which all 24 seats were won by the candidates of the then All Progressives Congress (APC).

“In line with the provisions of section 105 (3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended), His Excellency, the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki, on the 14th Day of June, 2019, issued a proclamation for the first session of the Edo State House of Assembly to be held on the Monday, 17th Day of June, 2019.

“This proclamation was duly publicized in official gazettes and in the print and electronic media circulating in Edo State and across Nigeria.

“It is a requirement of the law that all elected members present themselves to the Clerk of the Assembly, bringing along copies of their declaration of assets upon which they would be sworn-in by the Clerk of the House of Assembly and would subsequently proceed to elect their principal officers.

“On the said date, 17th of June, 2019, nine elected members presented themselves forswearing-in in accordance with the law, while the others (for reasons best known to them), chose to stay away.”

The government scribe further noted, “The members present therefore were administered with the relevant oath and proceeded to carry on with the business of the House of Assembly.

“It must be pointed out that the validity of these proclamation and inauguration were challenged before the Federal High Court in suit noFHC/PH/CS/159/2019 and in a considered judgement, His Lordship, the Honourable Justice J.K Omotosho, not only validated the aforestated proclamation and inauguration of the House of Assembly, but restrained the Governor of Edo State from issuing any other proclamation in that regard.

“Subsequently, two other members presented themselves for swearing-in and were duly sworn in to take their places in the Edo State House of Assembly.

“The rogue members-elect of the House of Assembly at the behest of their political patrons relocated to Abuja, living large in five-star hotels under the sponsorship of their said patrons whilst they instituted various cases including suit no B/81/OS/2019 and also invited the two arms of the National Assembly to unlawfully intervene and truncate the smooth running of the Edo State Government.

“It is a matter of public record that these attempts to secure a political coup d’etat ultimately failed because of the heroic resistance of the people of Edo State.

“At the expiration of 181 days of continuous absenteeism and failure to present themselves for inauguration as prescribed by the constitution, the seats of these delinquent members-elect were declared vacant by the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, who subsequently called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct by-elections into the now vacant seats in order to ensure that the citizens of the affected constituencies have representation in the Edo State House of Assembly.”

“These same recalcitrant members-elect immediately again filed an action at the Federal High Court in Abuja in suit no FHC/AB/CS/1582/2019, seeking to restrain INEC from conducting the said by-election and also seeking to reverse the decision to declare their seats vacant,” he added.

Noting that the absentee members-elect and their sponsors have resorted to spinning a false narrative of unlawful exclusion and illegality after they lost in their attempt to continue the stranglehold of their godfathers on the governorship of Edo State, Ogie said, “In consequence of these numerous actions, the absentee members-elect have ensured a stalemate in the resolution of the representation of their constituencies arising from their selfish interests.

“In the run-up to the last Edo State Governorship election, these same members-elect notwithstanding the numerous court actions they had themselves instituted came to Benin under armed police escorts from Abuja and attempted to physically and violently seize control of the Edo State House of Assembly.

“When they failed in this attempt, they retreated to the residence of one of their sponsors in Benin City, whereat they purported to proclaim their own House of Assembly and even went ahead to elect their own Speaker and principal officers.

“Before their illegal activities fizzled out into insignificance, they issued orders to banks and other financial institutions, attempting to shut down the activities of the Edo State Government.

“When they and their sponsors finally lost in their attempt to continue the stranglehold of their godfathers on the governorship of Edo State, they again retreated into their shells and have only recently embarked on a whirlwind tour of media houses and other public establishments in an attempt to spin a false narrative of unlawful exclusion and illegality.

“One would have expected that persons who submitted their disputes to duly constituted courts in line with the dictates of all civilized societies would pursue their claims before those courts diligently rather than the constant twists and turns by which they attempt to seek extra-judicial sympathy, remedies and political resolution of straightforward legal issues.”

The statement further read: “It has become necessary to make this statement in order to set the record straight and to avoid a situation where lies and fraudulent untruths are repeated so often that they begin to appear like truth.

“The Edo State Government wishes to assure all concerned that the state is in good health, safe, secure and welcoming of all law-abiding citizens, investors and visitors and this attempt to falsely create an impression of crisis and conflict is not supported by the facts on ground.

“Interestingly, in the absence of these mischief-makers and their godfather, the generality of the people of Edo State have continued to enjoy the benefit of good governance with the three arms of government at peace with one another and working for the common good.”

Politics

Why I left Tinubu’s Govt — Former Aide Aliyu Audu Declares

Published

12 hours ago

June 16, 2025

Editor

A former Senior Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Public Affairs, Aliyu Audu, has revealed that he resigned from the administration in order to actively campaign against Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.

Speaking on Monday during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Audu said his decision was driven by a matter of “principle and conscience,” as he accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.

“It confirmed it on one hand, and on the other hand, it strengthened my resolve to not work for him in 2027,” Audu said, referring to Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech where the president claimed to enjoy seeing the opposition in disarray.

“I couldn’t in all honesty and in my conscience be in his government knowing I’m plotting against removal in 2027, because I will, and by God, we will remove him. Collectively, Nigerians will install a leader that will be our chosen, not his chosen. Not emilokan (my turn), but awa lokan (our turn), in fact, gbogbo wa lokan (all of us).”

He also criticised the inclusion of Nyesom Wike, a PDP member and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, in the APC-led government, questioning his loyalty and the legitimacy of such a move.

“What is Wike doing in our government? If he’s going to leave the PDP, he should leave. If we’re doing a government of national unity, you deal with the party, not individuals. The party is what we vote for — not Bola Tinubu but APC; not Atiku but PDP; not Peter Obi but Labour Party.”

Audu’s resignation letter, dated June 8, criticised the APC’s political trajectory and warned against what he described as a deliberate silencing of opposition voices. In a follow-up statement, he clarified that while he does not support the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he would not lend himself “as an instrument to reduce Nigeria to a one-party state.”

“If we now begin to silence or crush opposition simply because we have the upper hand, then we are no different from the very system we once criticised under Obasanjo in 2003,” he said.

Politics

VIDEO: How Peter Obi Betrayed Me – Kenneth Okonkwo In New Interview

Published

2 days ago

June 14, 2025

Editor

Veteran actor and ex-spokesperson of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Kenneth Okonkwo, has accused former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, of betrayal in the wake of internal party disputes.

In a viral interview with Symfoni which started trending on Saturday, Okonkwo, who officially exited the Labour Party in February 2025, revealed that Obi went against his advice and returned to support the embattled Julius Abure-led faction of the party, despite alleged warnings.

According to him, Obi was misled by LP executives who claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission had recognised them.

He said, “Any politician that knows what he’s doing cannot be betrayed by another. If there is anybody that betrayed the other, I can say it emphatically that Peter Obi betrayed me.

“The Julius Abure-led LP members lied to Obi that the Independent National Electoral Commission had accepted them and Obi surreptitiously went back to them but I told him: ‘Sir, you have made a public statement on integrity and even if INEC has accepted them, that is not a criterion for you to go back and start dealing with them because they have shown that they are not democratic. If you go back to them, they will destroy your political career and everything you have said about integrity will die.’”

He said that despite privately urging Obi not to align with a group he described as “undemocratic” and “agents of the government,” Okonkwo said Obi went ahead to publicly endorse them.

“I told Obi that these people had become agents in the hands of the government to destabilise him. What they did was absolutely illegal and unconstitutional, I told him that if he went back to them, I wouldn’t join him in doing so.

“Thereafter, I called all the people that were in the inner circle and told them the same thing about what Obi was trying to do. I told them he wanted to go back with the Abure people and if he did, I wouldn’t go back with him because I do not swallow back my words.

“And after saying all those things, within like 72 hours, Obi went back to Abure’s office to publicly endorse them and while he was there talking to them, one of the leaders in that executive sent me the video to mock me that the person I was fighting for against them has come to their office to endorse them.

“It was when INEC dissociated itself from Abure that Obi came out to start acting neutral but I told him he could not be neutral and something had to be done,” he added.

The Labour Party has been embroiled in a prolonged leadership crisis, with opposing factions laying claim to the party’s national structure.

The Abure-led faction has faced allegations of financial mismanagement and anti-democratic practices, which critics say contradict the party’s reformist image.

Okonkwo, a known loyalist of Obi’s political ideology, cited these irregularities as his reason for quitting the party earlier in the year.

Watch video below:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1933867577651925202https://twitter.com/i/status/1933867577651925202

Politics

Amaechi Slams Tinubu’s Policies In Fresh Outburst

Published

4 days ago

June 12, 2025

Editor

Former Minister of Transportation and two-time governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has asked the coalition opposition to kick President Bola Tinubu out of office if Nigeria is to escape its deepening economic crisis.

In a no-holds-barred interview with the BBC, Amaechi, a founding member and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, lamented the country’s deteriorating condition and signalled his willingness to help forge a new opposition coalition to rescue the nation.

“People are dying. People are starving. I myself am feeling the effects of hunger,” he said, painting a grim picture of life under the current administration.

Amaechi’s statement comes in the wake of the APC’s recent endorsement of Tinubu as its sole presidential candidate for 2027, a move Amaechi openly questioned.

While reiterating his loyalty to the party, he warned that fidelity to a political platform should never come at the cost of national conscience.

“If the government is failing the country, you don’t just go along because you’re in the same party. You know that’s not right,” he stated emphatically.

Though he stopped short of confirming a 2027 presidential bid, the former minister said the option remained on the table.

“Certainly, I believe I can make a meaningful contribution,” he added, hinting that his political journey may not yet be over.

He spoke of widespread poverty, spiralling food insecurity, and daily tragedies that now dot the national landscape.

Reflecting on his years as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Amaechi lamented that the number of out-of-school children then pegged at 10 million, had since ballooned.

The economic hardship, he said, had also deepened insecurity.

“The Boko Haram insurgency is not just a religious crisis. Many of those involved are driven by desperation and hunger,” he asserted, linking terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping to a broader socioeconomic collapse.

Amaechi’s declaration added momentum to an emerging political realignment.

Talks were already underway among key opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, as they explored the possibility of a unified front against Tinubu in 2027.

Even ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and once a key Tinubu ally had signalled interest in backing an opposition alliance.

But as opposition forces stir, the ruling party continues to absorb defectors, prompting fears of Nigeria drifting toward a one-party state, a scenario Amaechi warned could undermine democracy and silence dissent.

“We’re thinking that if we come together and win the election, the country will certainly witness change,” he said, suggesting an urgent need for a credible alternative.