Politics

Why It’s Impossible For Nigeria To Make Progress With APC, PDP – Utomi

Published

3 years ago

January 9, 2023

Political economist, entrepreneur and politician, Professor Pat Utomi, has explained why it’s “literally impossible” for Nigeria to make progress with a leadership got from either the All Progressives Congress, APC, or the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Professor Utomi said it was all about why and how they chose candidates, which invariably lead to how both political parties have ended.

The don said these in an interview with The Niche.

According to the don, these two major political parties in the country treated power like tools of transactions, with candidates not carrying any ideology.

In his words: “Now, with all of these problems staring at us, Nigerian political parties missed the script.

“The script is that a political party is a source of recruitment of the best available talents into groups that have competing ideas of how to order society.

“So, this idea, which is called ideology says that you can use state control to achieve a lot. And yes you can. It depends on how you manage that process.

“Another group says you can use markets to achieve a lot. And yes you can. It depends on how you run the markets and the institutions that support the markets.

“But the political parties that Nigerian politicians came with believe in nothing.

“It was just machine politics – the machine for capturing power, usually financed by a few people who are big men who take money mainly from the treasury of the state.

“And so, these parties came to be tools in their nature in terms of how they dominate the politics but they did not manage them to create a developmental notion of society.

“Seeking power between them now became a series of transactions. ‘Okay, I will give you Nigerian Ports Authority, you will get NIMASA, and you will get Airports Authority’.

“They share everything, as APC and PDP are doing now. They share government and the mindset of those who are investing to get their share is to loot.

“So, the developmental nature of the state is lost.

“They will make some pronouncements because they need legitimacy – ‘oh, government will do this for the people’.

“But as you are seeing clearly, Nigeria has been moving progressively backwards.

“So, the nature and structure of these political parties basically got us to a point where it has become implausible, not impossible, that something coming out of the PDP or the APC could lead to Nigeria making a major leap forward.

“And you can see it in the nature of how they choose their candidates, which is what brought us to the no alternative scenario that we have come to.

“Even though there are quite a number of good people that could have come out of the APC, the APC process necessarily had to end up where it ended.

“Even though there are quite a number of good people in the PDP, the PDP process had to end up where it ended.”

Politics

Oshiomhole Blasts Amaechi, Says He Built Railway To Niger Republic Instead Of Port Harcourt

Published

15 hours ago

November 24, 2025

Editor

Senator Adams Oshiomhole on Monday criticised former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, accusing him of poor judgment and misplaced priorities during his tenure in office.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Oshiomhole said: “Rotimi Amaechi is the most terrible. Look at the choice of language. A guy who shut down Rivers judiciary because he wanted to appoint his own personal favourite as chief judge of Rivers State. Once he couldn’t have his way, the Rivers State judiciary was shut down for almost two years.

“Look at the crisis in the railway system that he superintendent over for eight unbroken years. He was unable to get the priorities right, playing to the gallery.

“Now he rather constructed a rail, not to Kano, not to Port Harcourt, where he came from, but to Niger Republic.

“Which goods are we sending to Niger Republic? He was a minister. And if you were a minister under Buhari, you will be fair to him, life or death, that Buhari gave anyone he appointed free hand to do the job he assigned to you. That is what Buhari was.”

Politics

State Police Can No Longer Be Delayed – South-West Governors

Published

15 hours ago

November 24, 2025

Editor

The Southwest Governors Forum is set to create a South West Regional Security Fund to strengthen responses to insecurity in the region.

This initiative aims to address the rise in kidnapping, banditry, illegal mining, and unregulated interstate migration.

The decision was reached during a meeting of the six governors on Monday at the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Ibadan, Oyo State.

In the communiqué issued at the end, it was agreed that all six states would support coordinated operations, joint intelligence sharing, and rapid-response initiatives across Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti states.

The governors also emphasised that the establishment of state police “can no longer be delayed.”

They applauded President Bola Tinubu for security interventions in states affected by kidnappings, while urging sustained attention on regional development.

Politics

JUST IN: Atiku Officially Joins ADC, Registers With Party In Adamawa

Published

22 hours ago

November 24, 2025

Editor

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has officially registered as a member of the African Democratic Congress in Adamawa State, signalling a major development in Nigeria’s opposition politics ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The registration took place on Monday, following Atiku’s announcement to ADC supporters and stakeholders in Adamawa over the weekend.

Abdul Rasheeth, an aide to the former vice president, had confirmed the development in a statement obtained by The PUNCH.

Videos and photos from the event showed Atiku’s convoy arriving in the town to the cheers of supporters, who beat drums, sang, and carried placards with his image.

Atiku waved and greeted well-wishers from his vehicle as he received his ADC membership card.

In a brief X (Formerly Twitter) post on his handle shorty after his registration, Atiku wrote,” It’s official. -AA”

This move formalises Atiku’s association with the coalition party, which he had previously endorsed in July as a platform for opposition figures, including Peter Obi and Babachir Lawal, to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

Until now, Atiku and other opposition leaders had delayed their formal registration with the ADC.

The former vice president’s registration is expected to strengthen the party’s profile and consolidate the opposition ahead of the next general election.