Politics
Easter: Clerics Task Buhari On State Of The Nation
Having watched the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government’s sloppy response to several challenges bedeviling the nation and threatening its unity, top among which is insecurity, clerics, political elite and other stakeholders have called on the president to call time on his trance and stem the slide into anomie.
On the occasion of this year’s Easter celebration, they stressed that rather than let the nation remain at sea and allow insecurity to fester at a scale never witnessed before, the government must think out of the box for solutions, as well as procure a healing balm for a fractious nation.
Prelate of the Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence, Dr. Samuel Uche, specifically, called on President Buhari to brace up and arrest the ugly situation because “government would only be relevant if it is able to secure the lives and property of its citizenry.”
Uche urged the president to sit up and tighten the loose ends so that the worsening insecurity across the board would be arrested. “I know that the government has immense intelligence at its disposal and knows where these people are. So, it should not treat them with kids’ gloves; they should see them as criminals, terrorists and handle them as such,” he said.
Stressing the “urgent need to do something,” he noted that though President Buhari’s tenure would end pretty soon, his actions and inaction from now till he exits office would affect the political party that he represents. According to the Prelate: “Buhari’s failure is the failure of his party, and his success is the success of his party. If he loves his party, he should brace up and rewrite the wrong impression people have about him and his party. I am talking as a religious leader, not as a politician.”
Uche advised President Buhari to “sit up, be awake and alert to the mandate given. He should use it wisely and responsibly.”
Regarding the Easter season and what it embodies, Uche called on leaders and Nigerians to learn from Jesus Christ who showed love in all endeavours while also manifesting a very high level of servant leadership.
“Jesus cared for those He led, he was willing to make any form of sacrifice for the betterment of their lot to the extent that He was willing to die…” he noted.
For the Catholic Bishop of Oyo Diocese, Most Rev. Emmanuel Badejo, political leaders must also wake up and save the nation from complete collapse, adding that their insincerity and inaction have damaged all citizens.
In his Easter message titled, “Life Conquers Death: God Has Done His Part,” Bishop Badejo said: “All the betrayal, the rejection, oppression, the lies and wickedness of the powerful people will someday be defeated by justice and love. Light will win, darkness will fail.”
Badejo, however, urged Nigerians, especially Christians, not to lose hope amid the challenges confronting the nation while calling on leaders of the world to give up war and embrace peace.
“I say to all our governments and all leaders, your insincerity and inaction have done enormous damage to all, wake up and save Nigeria, this beautiful country and people from complete collapse. Make justice and peace to break out and save your name in history,” he said.
On his part, the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, His Grace, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, observed that, without doubt, insecurity has worsened when one considers the brazen way the so-called bandits have been operating.
He lamented the effrontery of the bandits, who recently claimed that the government knew what they wanted and unless they were given, they would continue to make the country insecure.
While expressing surprise that government and security agents allegedly know the locations and phone numbers of the said bandits, Martins declared that the Buhari-led government and security agencies have failed Nigerians.
“The government is either overwhelmed or elements within it don’t want to deal with the problem. Nigerians should be told what the bandits want. It is worrisome that Kaduna State, which has many military formations and institutions is the epicentre of recent attacks. One wonders what agenda is behind this continued assault on innocent people in homes, on the roads, and even on the rails.
“Indeed, the elections are approaching and Nigerians should not simply accept broad promises of a better life. We need to ask for the details of plans that they have to deal with the economic crisis, the problem with the infamous oil theft, the insecurity problem, and the crisis in the educational sector. We need to know how they intend to solve the problem of borrowing more money and the like. Promises should be backed up with concrete plans for fulfilling them,” he said.
The cleric noted that since Easter is a sign of hope that good will always triumph over evil, the problems currently being faced as individuals, families, and as a nation would not overwhelm us.
Martins prayed that the light of the risen Christ overwhelms the darkness of evil in the country and charged Nigerians not to lose hope, but to keep praying while striving to do everything possible to deal with the challenges.
Politics
Reps Constitution Review Committee Holds Zonal Hearing For Rivers, C’River, Akwa Ibom In Calabar
A press statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Cross River State Governor, Mr Linus Obogo, disclosed that the Calabar Centre — designated as Centre B — will host representatives and stakeholders from Cross River, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom States.
The public hearing is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Transcorp (Metropolitan) Hotel, Calabar.
The initiative, according to the statement, is designed to promote inclusive dialogue and capture the aspirations of Nigerians from all regions.
It aims to serve as a platform for citizens to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing national efforts to refine and strengthen the country’s legal and institutional frameworks.
“Citizens, civil society groups, professional bodies, traditional rulers, and other interest blocs are invited to participate in this landmark engagement aimed at advancing a more just, equitable, and responsive Nigerian Constitution,” the statement read.
The hearing forms part of the broader review process of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and is seen as a strategic move toward fostering national unity and addressing structural legal issues within the federation.
For the first time since 2022, when then-presidential aspirant Alhaji Bola Tinubu declared he made former President Buhari Nigeria’s President in 2015, Mr Mustapha dismissed the claims, stressing that the merger only contributed about three million votes in addition to Buhari’s existing 12 million votes in the North.
He insisted that former President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to the breakthrough, not the three million votes from the merging parties, which he described as insignificant.
Speaking on the role of the merging parties, particularly President Tinubu, the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Mustapha, who was the keynote speaker at the launch of the book ‘According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesman’s Experience’ authored by Mallam Garba Shehu, described the impact of the votes from other merging parties as very insignificant.
In attendance were former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, chair of the event; immediate past Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; SGF George Akume, who represented President Tinubu; PDP’s 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar; former Chief of Staff to Buhari Ibrahim Gambari; elder statesman Babagana Kingibe; former governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Chris Ngige (Anambra), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Raji Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); former ministers Solomon Dalung and Sunday Dare; former Army Chief Tukur Buratai, and Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s spokesman, among others.
According to Mr Mustapha, “I do not intend to stir up any controversy. The merger in 2013 was midwifed to create a Buhari presidency. Let us look at the statistics. In the 2003 election, it was the Obasanjo-Buhari presidential contest where Buhari recorded 12.7 million votes. In 2007, it came to 6.6 million, and it went back to 12.2 million in 2011.
“When we were conceptualising the merger, what would give us a headstart? Obviously, it was at the back of our consciousness that the merger with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), though it had only one state, the ACN had six states, ANPP three states, and when you sum up the total votes that we had as the presidency in 2015, the aggregate of the total votes was 15.4 million.
“So, basically, what we brought to the table after the merger outside the Buhari 12.5 million votes was three million. Before turning to that presidency, it is important to recognise the former President’s role in reshaping Nigeria’s political trajectory.
“In early 2013, as the leader of the CPC, Buhari formally requested and supported the creation of a CPC merger committee, part of a broader coalition-building process that brought together the ACN, ANPP, APGA faction, and elements of the ruling party through the breakaway ‘new PDP’ group. His endorsement and participation, along with other party leaders such as President Tinubu and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, lent credibility and direction to the merger, helping to unify disparate party factions under the banner of the APC. That coalition-building paved the way for the first democratic defeat of an incumbent ruling party in Nigeria’s history.
“President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to that breakthrough. No account of President Buhari’s tenure would be complete without acknowledging the extended periods he spent on medical leave. These moments, while politically delicate, were also telling of his leadership philosophy and personality,” he said.
In his remarks, President Tinubu promised to build on the legacies of former President Buhari, stressing that “nation-building is a relay. The efforts of one administration lay the foundation for the next.
“In this regard, I acknowledge the efforts of my predecessor, President Buhari, and assure all Nigerians that the reform-oriented path he initiated will be consolidated and strengthened under this administration. Our Renewed Hope Agenda is inspired by the desire to build a resilient, just, and inclusive Nigeria—a nation that delivers dividends of democracy to all its citizens”.
Speaking during an appearance on live television on Wednesday, Mr Omokri alleged that Mr Obi’s statements were misleading and damaging to the country’s economic prospects.
Mr Omokri said some investors currently operating in Nigeria were considering exiting the market due to Mr Obi’s remarks.
“That is not true. He doesn’t rile me up. I rile him up. The reason why I came here is because I’m a patriot. Peter Obi lied. You know, foreign direct investors are watching your programme, who are making investment decisions not to come to Nigeria. There are foreign investors in Nigeria that are making investment decisions to leave Nigeria because of the lie he told.
“One of the lies he told is that President Tinubu has borrowed more than the administrations of Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari. That is a blatant lie”, Mr Omokri said.
To buttress his claims, Mr Omokri referenced figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO), maintaining that President Tinubu had actually reduced Nigeria’s external debt burden since assuming office.
“I have here with me data from the Debt Management Office, and Nigerians who are watching can go to DMO.com and search Debt Management Office, Nigeria State of Indebtedness 2015.
“As of 2015, Nigeria was owing a total of $63 billion. When Buhari was leaving office, Nigeria was owing $113 billion. Today, from the DMO, our debt has gone from $113 billion to $97 billion, meaning that Tinubu has reduced our debt by over $14 billion.
“We should be appreciating this man. Yet Peter Obi came here and lied to the Nigerian people. He took the debts and translated them into naira to make it look like the debts have increased”, he said.
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