Politics

Shettima’s Unveiling: Tinubu Adamant As Reactions Trail Fake Clergies’ Presence

Published

3 years ago

July 22, 2022

The camp of the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, remained adamant last night, despite accusations that his party invited ‘fake’ clergies to the unveiling of Senator Kashim Shettima as his running mate in the 2023 general elections.

Although the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Felix Morka, failed to respond to text messages or take calls on his phone at press time, a party source said: “We (party) didn’t hire the clerics. The Tinubu Campaign Organization has spoken on the matter already and that settles it. The clerics are Nigerians, some of them likely members of the party. APC is made up of all Nigerians.”

Firing back at critics who accused his team of hiring street urchins and dressing them as Christian clerics during the unveiling of his running mate, Tinubu in a statement by his campaign organization, said the event was open to all, including clergymen.

Accusing the opposition of cashing in on the development to stir unnecessary attacks on APC, the Director, Media and Communication of the Tinubu Campaign Organization, TCO, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, also described as “unwarranted distractions” the viral pictures and videos of some clergymen and women at the unveiling.

The campaign spoke as Apostle Ekapong Ubi, who was named as one of the clerics allegedly listed as one of the clerics at the event denied being there, saying he was in Calabar and had not been to Abuja for over three months.

Also, the Conference of Concerned Christians of Nigeria, CCCN, challenged the APC to disclose the identities of the bishops and clerics at the ceremony and commended the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, for opposing the same faith presidential ticket.

Onanuga said: “The event was an open affair, which allowed members of the public to attend, including the clergymen and some others now being derided by hirelings of the opposition.

“We want to say that those clergymen were not fake, mechanics or yam sellers as the purveyors of hatred have made Nigerians to believe in social media. They are not big names in Christendom yet, they are gradually building up their missions.

“They are church leaders who genuinely believe that Nigerians must eschew politics of hatred and religious bigotry and rather embrace politics of peace and nation building.

“We, therefore, deplore the hysterical twisting of the presence of these men and women in cassocks and the false accusation against our candidates, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Shettima.

“The orchestrated social media sensation over the presence of the men is needless and all calculated to detract from the huge success recorded at the momentous event on Wednesday.

“We believe Nigerians are too wise and discerning to see through this shenanigan. Asiwaju Tinubu and his running mate and our great party are working very hard to provide purposeful leadership and good progressive governance that will improve the quality of life of Nigerians.

“We are well aware that the opposition parties and the sponsors of the social media charade are jittery and threatened by the intimidating political credentials of our candidates. The only way they hope to shift the attention of public scrutiny away from their uninspiring candidates and credentials is to create social media distraction.

“Our campaign is determined on focusing on core governance issues that affect all Nigerians with a view to confronting them and making the desired improvements in the standard of living of our people.”

VANGUARD

Politics

Wike: Why Removing Fubara Will Be Difficult – Ex-Commissioner

Published

23 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

A former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Austin Tam-George, has said that attempts to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara would be difficult to sustain, citing what he described as the governor’s performance record and the lack of concrete allegations against him.

Tam-George made the remarks on Thursday while speaking on Prime Time on Arise Television, arguing that the impeachment process being initiated against Fubara was to scuttle his chance for a second term.

According to him, Governor Fubara has continued to place the needs of the people at the centre of his administration, with visible interventions in rural development, housing, education and healthcare.

He said this, in his view, has made it difficult for opponents to justify moves to remove the governor from office.

Tam-George also called on the All Progressives Congress, APC, to intervene, arguing that the party should not allow what he described as the humiliation of a sitting governor.

He said: “Well, all I think he needs to do is to do exactly what he’s been doing from the beginning, which is to place the people at the center of gravity of his administration, prioritize the needs of the people, so that the people can see the direct impact of government action in their lives.

“And that’s exactly what he’s doing in terms of rural development, in terms of housing sector transformation, which I mentioned that he is doing the same in education sector and in health.

“So if he continues, if he persists in placing the people’s need at the center of focus of his administration, there is no way they are going to be able to justify this kind of shenanigans.

“Because, if you look very carefully at the so called articles of impeachment, you will see that there is no specificity in terms of any infraction by the governor or his deputy.

“What they are trying to do is to make sure they scuttle the administration so that the governor doesn’t then get to the point where he will be seeking a second term.

“Let me be clear, just two days ago, Nyesom Wike was at one of the local governments, and he made it clear in a moment of epiphany, he made it clear that, look, if Governor Fubara were to get a second term in office, it will amount to his own political burial.

“So all of these things that we are seeing the so called impeachment proceedings they’ve initiated, it’s actually an effort to try to scuttle the prospects of the governor coming for a second term, and I don’t see how they will succeed.

“If you look at the so called articles of impeachment, as I said, they lack specificity in terms of the kind of infraction that they allege that the governor has committed. He has done nothing wrong, and they will see how the process will play out.

“My sense, and in fact, if I were to advise the governor, my sense is that he should just maintain the people, retain the people at the center of gravity of his administration, meet their needs, run a transparent administration as he always done, and then the truth will come out, and he will be able to defend the administration.

“I think the the governing APC should also step in because they can’t possibly allow the governor of the office with probably one of the best performance records in the country to be humiliated by some of these members of the assembly.”

Politics

Wike A ‘Pestilence’ On Rivers, I Resigned Because Of It – Ex-Commissioner

Published

23 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

Austin Tam George, a former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, has described the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as a destabilising force in Rivers State, accusing him of attempting to exert godfatherism over the state’s political affairs.

He argued that the move to impeach the governor is a calculated attempt to reassert political control and reduce Fubara’s growing influence.

Tam George, who served under Wike’s administration, made the remarks on Thursday while speaking on Prime Time on Arise Television.

He said he resigned as commissioner due to what he described as Wike’s propensity for chaos and instability and the reduction of governance to a personality-driven system.

According to him, the current political tension in the state is the culmination of Wike’s long-standing approach to power, which he said is now manifesting in efforts to control the state for personal political influence.

He said: “Nyesom Wike has been a complete pestilence on Rivers state. I served in his administration as commissioner for information. As you know, I resigned precisely because of these, his propensity for chaos, for instability and reducing government to a personality cult, more or less. And I’m so disappointed that this propensity has now crystallized today to a stage where the state is now held by the juggler by person who thinks that he will be political godfather over the rest of Rivers state.

“But what I think is going to happen in this final phase of this struggle is that Rivers’ people ultimately are going to resist and defeat this tendency to want to privatize the state, to want to capture the state for his own personal aggrandizement.

“Governor Fubara has been an excellent administrator. I have to say he’s spending money building people’s capacity, lifting communities out of poverty. Money you would have expected that he would have diverted to political godfathers are now being spent in critical sectors such as education, where he’s completely transforming the sector, in health where almost all the tertiary health care systems are revived, 122 primary health care centers spread across the 23 local government areas.

“There is a total transformation happening on a sector by sector basis, and this has endeared the governor to the people of the state.

“Now there is a strong likelihood that he may be seeking a second term to expand his legacy and to consolidate his achievements for the benefit of all. And this will mean that there is going to be, you know, a reduction of Wike’s influence.

“So what you see as an impeachment move is an attempt to try to reassert what they consider to be their leverage against the governor.”

Politics

Why We’re Impeaching Fubara — Rivers Assembly

Published

2 days ago

January 8, 2026

Editor

The Rivers State House of Assembly has given reasons for the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

The Majority Leader of the Assembly, Major Jack, said the decision to impeach the governor and his deputy was based on their alleged persistent violation of the peace agreement brokered by President Bola Tinubu.

Jack made the allegation during plenary on Thursday while presenting the report detailing acts of misconduct against the governor.

According to him, Governor Fubara and his deputy had repeatedly disregarded the resolutions reached during reconciliation efforts aimed at restoring stability in the state.

He accused the two leaders of running the affairs of government without commitment to transparency and good governance.

“The governor and his deputy have continued to act in a manner that undermines democratic principles and accountability,” Jack said.

He further alleged that the peace deals facilitated by President Tinubu were breached on several occasions, including agreements reached during reconciliation meetings held in December 2023 and another in 2025.

Jack insisted that the continued failure of the governor and his deputy to honour the terms of the peace accord necessitated the impeachment process currently before the Assembly.