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Why Buhari Didn’t Intervene In Adamawa Governorship Saga — FG

Published

3 years ago

April 19, 2023

The Federal Government, on Wednesday, explained that President Buhari did not intervene in the governorship drama in Adamawa State because the matter was within the purview of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, could handle.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated this why fielding questions from State House correspondents at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the Council Chambers, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Mohammed maintained that the just-concluded elections in the country was the most transparent and rancour-free elections in recent times due to the introduction of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System, BVAS.

He added that President Buhari did not use security to rig elections in favour of the ruling party.

He was then asked why Buhari has not intervened in the alleged misconduct of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in charge of Adamawa State, Hudu Yunusa Ari, who usurped the powers of the Returning Officer to announce the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate, Senator Aishatu ‘Binani’ Ahmed as the governor-elect, while collations were ongoing.

Mohammed said the INEC Chairman was saddled with the responsibility of handling election matters.

According to him, “I don’t think this government has ever intervened in the way the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, conducts elections.

“So there was no need for us to intervene. It was entirely an INEC and INEC handled it.

“The Chairman of INEC is in charge of all employees of INEC and he is handling it, so what do you want the government to do?”

Reminded that INEC had written a petition to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, to take the alleged unwholesome display of the Adamawa REC to the President, he maintained that the INEC Chairman is capable of handling the matter.

Obi’s ‘treason’

He also spoke on his trip to the US and why he accused the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi of treason.

Lai said since Mr. Obi did not rebuke his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, for saying that if the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is sworn-in on May 29, it would be the end of democracy in the country, it meant that Ahmed said the mind of Mr. Obi.

He said, “I went to the US to balance the skewed report about the just-concluded elections.

“And everywhere I went, I said it very unambiguously that the last general elections in Nigeria are the most transparent, the freest and was authentic.

“And that’s despite the efforts of the opposition to delegitimise or discredit the elections. And I forwarded my position there as to why these elections were the best.

“One, that deployment of technology, especially BIVAS, made it pretty difficult for anybody to do the usual things before which were overvoting, stuffing ballots and the like, because once it takes your biometrics you can’t go twice.

“Secondly, I said because the President also showed that he promised that he will provide a level-playing ground, which he did.

“In the first instance, Mr President did not confer any advantage on his ruling party.

“And that is why as far he was concerned, he would rather lose the election than win at all costs and the results showed it.

“The President lost the presidential election in his state in Katsina. It has never happened in Nigeria, for a sitting President to lose the election in his own state.

“And I went further to say that the President also prevented anybody from misusing security to rig elections. Of course, the last election is largely the least violent in the history of Nigeria.

“What I said about Mr. Peter Obi is very clear. I said, Mr. Peter has every right to seek redress in court like Labout Party.

“But nobody has the right to call for insurrection, or to threaten to say that if the President-elect is sworn in, that would be the end of democracy.

“That was precisely what the running mate of Mr. Peter Obi said on television. And I have not heard Peter Obi reign him in or correcting him.

“So if your running mate says something, of course he was saying it on behalf of the party and the candidate.

“That’s why I said that it was treason for anybody to say that if a duly elected President in Nigeria is sworn in, that would be the end of democracy. So I don’t see anything controversial in that.”

News

Gombe Wins Northeast Quiz Competition On Legislature, Democracy

Published

20 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

Gombe State has emerged as the winner at the 2025 North East Zonal Quiz Competition on legislature and democracy organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) for senior secondary schools across Northeast on Friday.

Speaking before the commencement of the 2025 edition of the zonal debate which focuses on the legislature, democracy and governance, the Director-General of NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, said the exercise was to deepen the knowledge of legislative and democratic governance among secondary school students and youth.

According to him, it was also to broaden their knowledge on the history, practice and procedure of the legislature and encourage deeper understanding of civic and democratic governance.

The competition, he added, would stimulate the interest of the young students in politics and make them more proactive in matters relating to the legislature and democracy.

He explained that enhancing the knowledge of young Nigerians in the legislature would not only foster an inclusive and participatory legislature in Nigeria but would also serve as an avenue for citizen engagement in the legislative process.

Represented by Mr Jeremiah Agada, NILDS Northeast Zonal Quiz Coordinator, Sulaiman added that the quiz competition would take place in all the six geo-political zones and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“It is also to inspire young Nigerians to cultivate the interest to participate in legislative governance.

“This 10th edition of the competition is therefore the fourth time the competition has been held at the national level.

“As the 2025 NILDS Zonal quiz competition is declared open, I therefore urge all competing students and their teachers to abide by the rules of the game so that the desired objectives of the competition are achieved,” he said.

Also speaking, the Bauchi State’s Commissioner for Education, Dr Muhammed Lawal, said the exercise was a welcome development in the circle of education, adding that it was a ground where students in the zone could be tested among other students in the country.

“This will enable us to improve the quality of our delivery in our various schools to our teeming students across the zone.

“I want them to take it upon themselves that in an engagement like this, there is no loser. You put in your best, and if at the end of the day, you don’t make it up to the top, your efforts will be crowned.

“I hope this will be well covered because it will stimulate other schools to be part of and perform better so that they can come up to this level as well,” he said.

Mohammed appreciated the commitment of teachers and moderators who coached the students to fully participate in the competition and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to revamping the education sector under Gov. Bala Mohammad’s leadership.

Announcing the winner of the competition, the Quiz Master Mr. Lucky Tongs, announced Gombe State as the overall winner of the debate with 75 points

He also announced Taraba State as the first runner up with 55 points and Yobe State as the third position with 50 points, adding that the winner is expected to represent the Northeast sub-region at the National competition in Abuja.

Other states that participated in the competition included Adamawa and Bauchi.

News

Police Arrest Nollywood Production Manager For Assaulting Crew Member

Published

23 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Police have arrested a Nollywood production manager, Anierobi Courage, for allegedly assaulting a crew member.

Anierobi Courage, better known as Nwa South, reportedly assaulted the head of makeup, Mary Chizzy Eze, on October 28, 2025, while on the set of the film “Lagos to Opulence.”

A trending video of the physical altercation showed the production manager pressing Mary’s throat after slapping her, an act that has sparked widespread outrage on social media.

Reacting to the public condemnation, the Nigeria Film Crew Community (NFCC), in a statement released on Thursday, described Courage’s actions as “animalistic behaviour.”

Announcing his arrest, NFCC called on Nollywood producers and other stakeholders to blacklist Courage across all productions.

“The production manager violently hit and strangled Mary Chizzy Eze for speaking up against unequal treatment among the crew. While she has received medical care, he has been arrested.

“This level of disregard for human dignity is unacceptable. We stand firmly against all forms of abuse, assault, and crew maltreatment,” the NFCC said.

News

‘EFCC Collected N10m Before They Released Me’ – Oladips Alleges [VIDEO]

Published

1 day ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

Popular Nigerian singer, Oladips has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, of collecting N10 million from him.

The rapper made this known nearly a year after he was arrested by EFCC during a midnight raid in his estate.

Oladips was arrested with some of his neighbors for alleged fraud in November 2024.

He was released after spending five days in detention.

Speaking about his experience with the EFCC, Oladips in his latest interview on Trending podcast, stated that nothing was found on him after the EFCC investigations.

While revealing that the EFCC collected N10 million from him before his release, he lamented that “Nigeria just happened to me”.

“It’s just one smelling place like that. They just packed us there like sardines and they gave us nonsense food. Funny enough it was Zlatan that was sending me food. Zlatan is not even a friend, that’s my blood.

“He was sending someone to buy good food for me because the food there is bad. They just packed us there like sardines. I’m not even supposed to be there first of all. Like, why did I spend four to five days there when you people (EFCC) didn’t find anything on me, not even a single thing. And they still collect N10 million from me before they released me.”

When asked “Is it a thing you can take up against the EFCC later, or you will just allow the sleeping dog lie?”, the singer responded “Who is my father?”

“Who is my father now? At the end of the day, who is my father? It’s just me and my truth. It’s not something I will want to. I don’t just know how the system works. I for dey their page now if to say I dey do Yahoo. They didn’t find anything on me. If they are watching this, they know that I’m saying the truth.

“They collected money from me before they released me. They didn’t find anything on me. So, what was the money for? What was all that stress and suffering for? It’s just Nigeria. Nigeria just happened to me,” he said.

https://x.com/i/status/1983504280972615813