Politics
Obasanjo Denies Writing UK Over Nigeria’s 2023 Election
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has denied planning to scuttle Nigeria’s 2023 elections.
Some publications claim he wrote to the United Kingdom to back off the polls and allow Nigerians to decide the outcome.
Obasanjo allegedly warned the UK authorities against interference, adding that it will not be business as usual.
The former Head of State allegedly recalled that in 2002, the British government wanted to remove him.
He allegedly said the European nation wanted to install a Fulani man whom they can control, but he overpowered them.
Obasanjo allegedly told the UK that the problems Nigeria is facing is a result of the Fulani man they emplaced.
A statement Thursday night by his media aide, Kedinde Akinyemi denied the purported letter.
“The trending story on the alleged plan by the former President to collude with the electoral body in the Presidential election of February 25 is completely false”, he noted.
The spokesperson added that apart from the January 1 letter to youths, and the other to Prof. Toyin Falola on his 70th birthday, “there has been no other public or private letter written to anybody”.
“The reading public is for the umpteenth time reminded that only a statement duly signed by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo or by his Media Assistant, Kehinde Akinyemi are to be allowed into the media space.
“If need be, necessary checks can be made to confirm the authenticity of such documents before publication to avoid any embarrassment”, the statement added.
Meanwhile, over 30,000 politicians primarily from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Sandamu and Maiadua Local Government Area of Katsina State on Wednesday defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The defectors were received by both the Director-General, Lado Campaign Council, Mustapha Inuwa and one of the party’s factional chairmen, Lawal Magaji into PDP during their campaign tour to the area on Wednesday.
While addressing the crowd of supporters that turned out for the rally, Dr Mustapha the erstwhile Secretary to Katsina State Government, presented the key figures among the defectors to the mammoth crowd that graced the occasion.
Among the defectors were Alhaji Shaibu Danjuma, Maamuda Ado, Sabiu Uli and Maria Lawal, a women leader from the area.
The former Secretary to Katsina State Government commended the decampees for rejecting the APC, describing it as a wise and bold decision.
Mustapha commended the defectors for the display of courage assuring them that they won’t regret their decision.
He equally urged them to remain resilient in the bid to end the hardship initiated across the country over the last seven years by the APC led government, assuring that it will end in the next 44 days.
In the same vein, the Lado Campaign Director General, thanked the pool of supporters for the love shown the PDP and its candidates, particularly, the governorship candidate, Sen. Yakubu Lado and the Senatorial Candidate for Daura District, Ahmed Baba Kaita,
According to erstwhile SSG turned Katsina PDP Campaign DG, “The pool of supporters at the rally were there on their own free will and not compelled unlike in APC.”
Politics
Why I Won’t Help Tinubu’s Govt Overcome Economic Challenges – Sanusi
The 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, says he would not help President Bola Tinubu’s administration to correct the administration’s policies affecting the citizens.
Emir Sanusi spoke on Wednesday in Lagos as the chairman of the 21st Anniversary of Fawehinmiism (Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture 2025).
The emir stated that while there were “a few points” he could offer to explain the trajectory the administration had taken and how such decisions were predictable, he chose not to do so because “they don’t behave like friends.”
He said explaining the government’s policies would help the government, but he did not intend to assist them due to the way they had treated him.
“I can give a few points that are contrary, that explain perhaps what we’re going through and how it was totally predictable, most of it, and maybe avoidable. But I am not going to do that.
“I have chosen not to speak about the economy or the reforms or to even explain anything because if I explain, it would help this government, but I don’t want to help this government,” the emir said while addressing some of the points made by speakers about the economy.
He added: “You know they’re my friends, but if they don’t behave like friends, I don’t behave like a friend. So I watch them being stooges. And they don’t even have people with credibility who can come and explain what they are doing. I am not going to help. I started out helping, but I am not going to help. I am not going to discuss it. Let them come and explain to Nigerians why the policies that are being pursued are being pursued.
“Meanwhile, I’m watching a very nice movie with popcorn in my hands. But I will say one thing: What we are going through today is, at least in part, not totally, but at least in part, a necessary consequence of decades of irresponsible economic management.
“People were told decades ago that if you continue along this path, this is where you’re going to end up, and they refused to open their eyes. Now, is everything being done today correct? No.”
Emir Sanusi, who was deposed as the 14th Emir of Kano in 2020 by then-Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the current national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was reinstated as the 16th Emir of Kano in 2024 by the New Nigeria People’s Party-led Kano State Government.
His emirship has faced ongoing challenges from forces believed to be backed by the federal government, including federal officials’ continued recognition of his predecessor, Emir Aminu Ado Bayero.
Last month, the police barricaded his palace, with the state government accusing the federal government of orchestrating the action to stir unrest in the peaceful state.
Politics
Reps Loses Deputy Chief Whip
The Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon. Oriyomi Onanuga, is dead.
Also known as Ijaya, Rt Hon. Onanuga, who was the member representing Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo North Federal Constituency, is said to have died following a brief illness.
This was confirmed in a tweet on the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the House of Representatives, on Wednesday night.
Rt Hon Onanuga, who was born in Hammersmith, London, to Nigerian parents on December 2, 1965, was a politician and entrepreneur. She held the position of Deputy Chief Whip in the Nigerian House of Representatives since 2023.
She contested and won a seat in the House of Representatives under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019. She also served as the Chairperson of the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development.
Politics
Aiyedatiwa Dissolves Cabinet, Retains Finance Commissioner, Attorney-General
Gov. Aiyedatiwa, however, exempted two members of the cabinet from the dissolution due to the critical nature of their duties.
The two commissioners exempted include the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Kayode Ajulo, SAN, and the Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Omowunmi Isaac.
This was contained in a statement issued by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Mr Adeniyan said in the statement that “All the affected cabinet members are to hand over all government properties in their care to the accounting officers of their respective ministries.
Gov. Aiyedatiwa thanked the executive council members “for their service and contributions to the development of Ondo State under his administration and wished them well in their future endeavours”.
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