Politics
Bode George Decries Alleged Conflicting Verdicts From Tribunals
Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, and elders of the Lagos State chapter of the party on Monday expressed worries about the conflicting and contradictory judgments coming from the country’s judiciary, saying “What is oozing from the third arm of government in the world’s most populous black nation is offensive to millions of Nigerians.”
This was just as they warned against looming anarchy when Nigerians no longer trust the judiciary, pointing out that in many political cases, millions of Nigerians now hold the belief “and rightly so, that some judges deliver Judgments, not Justice.”
Chief George said this while addressing newsmen at his Ikoyi Office, shortly after a closed-door parley with other elders, including former Lagos State deputy governor, Senator (Mrs) Kofoworola Bucknor Akerele; Mrs Onikepo Oshodi, Dr Charles Akitoye, Dr Amos Fawole, Dr Seye O’Dairo, Hon Abiola Ismail, Mr Agbolarin Adegboyega, Hon. Malomo Adelabi, among others.
George, who is also the Atona Oodua of Yoruba land, while reading the statement jointly signed by the elders titled: “When Nigerians no longer trust third estate of the realm, anarchy looms,” pointedly declared that these were not the best of times for the Judiciary in Nigeria, recalling that this was unlike in the past.
According to him, eminent Nigerians knew the judicial and justice system in the country during the days of former Chief Justices of Nigeria, such as Justice Stafford Foster Sutton (1955 – 1958), Justice Adetokunbo Ademola (1958 – 1972), Justice Teslim Olawale Elias (1972 – 1975), Justice Darnley Arthur Alexander (1975 – 1979), Justice Atanda Fatai Williams (1979 – 1983), Justice Gabriel Ayo Irikefe (1985 – 1987) and Justice Muhammed Bello (1987 – 1995), the first Northerner to become Chief Justice of Nigeria, among others.
He said these were legal giants who stood their grounds against any form of victimisation or unnecessary manoeuvre from the executive branch of government, adding: “You dared not look at their faces or even try to bribe them.
“So, the questions being asked today are, among others: ‘What exactly is the problem of the judiciary? Where did we get it wrong? Why is it difficult for the judiciary to assert its control over politicians and political parties? Why are technicalities being used to affirm electoral heists and in the process, undermine the will of the people and silence them? What is the meaning of a ‘typographical error’ when a judgment has already been delivered?
Is it, according to some Nigerians, that the ‘real’ judgement was pushed aside and another read which has now led to a ‘typographical error?” he queried.
He said what was happening now ran against this old “popular saying from the 1950s to 1980s in Yorubaland ‘orun ke niwaju Adajo’ (you dare not sleep before a judge),” noting that those were the glorious years in Nigerian judiciary when Judges were judges.
“Obviously, the unholy dalliances between some politicians and judges is dangerous to our democracy.
“Millions of people will come out on the day of the election, queue, collect ballot papers, cast their votes for their preferred candidates, results will be announced and everybody will jubilate only for three, five or seven judges to upturn the popular will of the people. What an affront!
“Pitiably, we now have a situation in which politicians who did not participate in party primaries are affirmed by the judiciary as the candidates because of ‘technicalities.’
“That is why Nigerians strongly believe that some members of the Executive suppress and intimidate Judges, just to get favourable judgements,” he said.
The PDP chieftain maintained that democracy should be about the people, exercising their fundamental human rights, and not being goaded, as currently being witnessed in the country, positing that electoral verdict should be the sole responsibility of the electorate.
He said such principle had now been turned upside down, leaving the country to now have “government of the judiciary, by the judiciary, for the judiciary.”
The PDP chieftain, while citing recent happening in Liberia where President George Weah had already congratulated his challenger, Joseph Boakai even when the electoral commission was still counting the votes, and the 2015 occurrence when President Goodluck Jonathan did same in Nigeria in 2015, said “it is our belief that the best the judiciary must do in political cases is to adjudicate and where there are discrepancies, order for a rerun without giving victory to party A or B.
“In our opinion, it is wrong to remove the power of the electorate to elect political leaders and for the Judiciary to tell us who the winners are.
“This is not good for the polity. This is not good for Nigeria. This is not good for our electoral system. A compromised judiciary is dangerous. Something urgent must be done to stop this malady,” George said.
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.
Politics
Tinubu’s Contribution To Buhari’s Presidency Marginal – Ex-SGF

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”.
Politics
Your Lies Chasing Investors From Nigeria, Omokri Slams Obi
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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