₦airaland Forum

It's easy for you to interpret every denouncement of Chief Nyesom Wike as an attack on PBAT but you won't accept it if someone powerful also tries to impose themself on Tinubu & his administration. If fPMB we're doing to PBAT was Wike is doing to Fubara, I'm certain you won't be supporting Buhari.

While no one is denying that Wike is among the top 5 most influential politicians in Nigeria today, ask him & his supporters what Gov. Fubara has done that warrants impeachment threats or making the state too hot for him to govern.

Their problem is a political one that requires political solutions that doesn't include using the instrumentality of the state house of assembly (which has most of its members as Wike's loyalists/stooges) to commence impeachment proceedings against the governor.

truthfinder319:
Story

Children of hate are confused. They hate Wike but will not accept he is what Laolu said he is. To them , Pandora Panama is the prominent Politician. The are now supporting Fubara, a PDP governor just because they hate Wike and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR the most prominent Politician of the century

Omo, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN) done age oo. Nice to see him still actively involved in his legal practice & winning landmark cases as well.

God bless him.

Unfortunately, Chief Nyesom Wike doesn't see it more as a blight on his own political image than on Gov. Fubara.

Any keen & unbiased observer of the political drama playing out now in Rivers will be more sympathetic to Fubara than his predecessor because they know Wike as governor won't tolerate a pinch of what he's doing to the current governor; heck, then Gov. Wike had the entire political class in the state on a chokehold. His excesses were tolerated due to the enormous power and influence he wielded as governor; it was that same influence & power he used whenever his interest was threatened to cut Amaechi, Omehia, Peterside, Abe & others even within the PDP down to size.

Except Fubara naturally doesn't want to engulf the state in a needless political war, he can also cut Wike down to size if he wishes to & heavens won't fall; only that in his estranged political godfather, he has a formidable, ruthless, unforgiving & extremely rich opponent to battle.

In all, I hope Rivers people will call Wike's bluff & put him rightly where he belongs - the same place where he placed his predecessor & other dissenting voices against his administration then as governor.

You're most likely right on MSQ using profit from their other locations to sustain their Uyo branch.

You know, ShopRite were the initial anchor tenants in mind for the mall before they pulled out (likely after conducting due diligence & market survey) & MSQ came in; I still struggle to understand the business decision behind their choice of coming to Uyo. While they enjoy sales (profitablity is what I don't know), other business owners inside the mall are seriously struggling.

As per De Choice, I think they've been able to maintain a firm grip on their market share; which still tracks back to my point earlier that most people who visit the mall go there for sight seeing more than shopping. It's also a "status" symbol/showoff kinda thing. Most of them would rather patronize De Choice, INELs or any other indigenously owned business for their basic shopping needs.

Gerrard59:
I had to quote everything. Thanks for your perspective.

Regarding the bold, the previous government leased the store to private investors. So Market Square is different from Ibom Tropicana as a whole. Just as ShopRite Ikeja is different from the ICM. At a point, the cinema there thrived on AKSG subsidy as very people patronised it except when major movies such as Wedding Party was released. So, I wonder why Market Square opened there. Maybe he is targeting when the state becomes more populous than when it entered the market. Using Port-harcourt's profits to sustain Uyo sort of. What is your opinion on De Choice Mall?

Gerrard59:
So, how come ShopRite thrives in Abuja and Lagos? I want to assume the one at Ikeja City Mall is the most successful and profitable store. Are residents in Lagos & Abuja not patronising local markets again? You will want to mention population, but remember, you said people from Niger and Chad enter Kano for shopping. Plus it is Northern Nigeria's most populous state.

There's what I would call "shopping" culture; it's prevalent in Lagos & Abuja that you mentioned but absent in some states.

For instance, Market Square in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State (also known as Ibom Tropicana) may also face the same challenge in some few years to come if nothing drastic is done about the very poor shopping culture there; I know this because I used to run a multi-national retail business there. Most people who visit market square in Uyo come for sight-seeing & to take fancy photos. Outside Christmas, New Year, Easter & a few other public holidays where people troop in to the mall (don't forget that most of them only come to take photos or experience the escalator), any other day, the place has very very poor footfall.

It's the same thing in Kano inspite of their very large population. Now, you may get some things in ShopRite cheaper than what you get in major markets in Abuja (don't know about Lagos as I rarely visit there or even know about their markets), but you see Kano? If ShopRite sells a particular item let's say for N100 in Abuja while Wuse or Utako or even Garki market sells same for let's say again, N85-N90, in Kano markets, that same item or a similar one (different brand) may be selling for N60-N75.

You've major distributors in Kano's markets whose major concern is sales volume/faster turnover than actual profit making; some of them receive goods from the manufacturers to resell at distributorship price (if it normally takes 3 weeks for e.g to sell same goods in other places, they'd rather "crash" the price & sell off completely in a week, collect their "incentives" from the manufacturers, place another order & the cycle continues. It's a unique selling strategy common among some major distributors in Kano markets; this, I believe is a major factor that attracts many traders from neighboring countries to Kano to purchase goods.

That's what I mean. I would love to go into many more instances of Kano's unique markets & their pricing structures but time won't permit me.

Modified: the highlighted on your response? They don't come for shopping in ShopRite, they come for massive bulk purchases from the many large markets in Kano (Singer, Kantin-Kwori, Yankura, Rimi etc).

SP Akpabio has been known (not sure if it began after he came Chairman of the NASS or way before) to close associates to be sedated before he can sleep; it's said that due to the lack of sleep, he suffers exhaustion frequently than most.

I wish him recovery.

Anyone who knows the Ado Bayero Mall in Kano & the below average patronage it receives from Kano residents and visitors alike, would've known that this day would eventually come.

Have you seen the number of hugely successful, highly patronized & affordable markets in Kano State? Markets that attract visitors from neighboring countries such as Niger, Chad, etc apart from pastries, frozen foods, sea food & junk food, there's nothing ShopRite sells that you wont find in most of these big markets in Kano & at far cheaper rates than what obtains inside the mall.

Nonetheless, I feel for those who are about to become unemployed due to this business decision by ShopRite; I wish them best of luck for the future.

Fine photos. Lovely sights.

Train drivers or came to drink Maltina? I wish them an accident-free December operation & beyond.

Oshiomhole didn't lie; the HM enjoys the comfort provided by BOI building; a decision I learnt isn't sitting well with her ministry officials because files have to be moving between BOI & old federal secretariat in Garki where the FMITI is situated.

When one of my mutuals who happens to be the deceased's close friend posted on her WhatsApp status yesterday that she was "poisoned" by jealous friends, I wanted to tell her the implication of her comment implies she may be brought in as a suspect.
According to her, there was evidence in her room that her last moments on earth were tragic: she may've struggled to live as the "poison" began to take effect.
First of, if she was indeed poisoned by "jealous" friends, it would mean whatever she took was laced with a slow acting fatal substance; that would require some level of "experience" in administering. It was said she was dead for some days before her remains were discovered, which means if it was any of the alleged "jealous" friend, they didn't lace her with poison that killed her immediately & I find this theory difficult to believe.
The second theory is what if she committed suicide? I once read one morbid thread on Twitter (now X) on how likely it's that people who take poison (especially sniper), would wish they didn't take it as its effect on the human system is devastating; the thread mentioned most victims having their internal organs (mouth, tongue, throat) burnt out while they're still alive; some of them claw out their hairs & nails in agonizing pain etc before finally dying. What if the poor lady had taken that option & when the effect began to kick in, she struggled to survive but it was too late?
Nonetheless, this is where a thorough investigation by the police can piece together her last moments & if indeed she was poisoned by "jealous" friends or friend, identify the culprit & charge them to court for premeditated murder but the proverbial camel will soon pass through the eye of the needle than to expect them to do their job in this instance.
May her soul RIP.

You can't give what you don't have! Man was riding on the sentiments of many Nigerians who were disillusioned with the existing order; if his tenure as Anambra governor was indeed a yardstick, then Willie Obiano performed far better than him in Anambra.
Let's not even compare his tenure with that of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State; with all his flaws & failures in many respect, GYB has a better record of achievement as a governor than the 2nd runner up in the last presidential election.

Nice video and the guy is actually very sensible; he has done more in laundering Nigeria's image than most of us would ever do for a lifetime.

SDM not ready to make some lawyers richer by going to Court; at least, guyman no fit guy guyman!

Whoever at United Nigeria Airlines that released the statement blaming bad weather in Abuja for the flight diversion to Asaba deserves a sack!

I mean, they could've spinned a more believable lie, after all, what happened isn't new in aviation circles as even the most advanced countries have had similar experiences.

Anyways, this is an eye-opener just as the minister disclosed; hopefully, lessons have been learnt for future purposes.

Salihu Lukman has been on overdrive unfortunately, those in the corridors of power are paying him no heed; nothing eats up an attention-seeker faster than denying them the attention they badly crave.

If Salihu Lukman is aggrieved that the APC structures in Rivers State is systemically being transferred to Wike, as a loyal party man that he is, would he in all sincerity agree that Rotimi Amaechi worked for APC/Tinubu in the last Presidential elections? Has he bothered to probe how Rivers APC (under the leadership of Amaechi) since 2015 has failed to win any elections in Rivers due to the former Transport Minister's alleged high handedness & impositions? Has the former APC national vice chairman asked himself why most, if not all, Amaechi's loyalists in Rivers have dumped him for Wike (from Chidi Lloyd, to Ibom Semenitari to Victor Giadom & so on)?

Whatever Amaechi is facing in APC & by extension Rivers State, today, he brought it upon himself. He couldn't manage the party properly & reduced it to a shadow of itself; if it requires the party's structures being systemically taken from him & handed to someone else who has shown capacity & knows how to accommodate others' interests, by all means, the Gandollar-led EXCO of the party should go ahead.

I would love to swallow this report hook, line & sinker but I see the hand of Esau all over this Tribune report.

They're painting Aiyedatiwa as a disloyal, over-ambitious, power hungry & desperate deputy who will do anything - including flouting the terms of a gentleman's agreement reached at the instance of PBAT - to occupy Alagbaka House at the expense of his purportedly incapacitated boss; the idea is to pitch him against the President.

Notwithstanding, they're all politicians & I've no pity for anyone of them least of all Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu, who is now finding it difficult to take his own advice that he freely gave to then President Yar'Adua when he was incapacitated as a result of ill -health.

When a man says PBAT is a "druggie, criminal, evil, devil reincarnate..." Etc it's within their purview to express those views about him therefore, such persons shouldn't be denigrated.

Likewise, when someone says PBAT is the best thing to happen to them or that his presidency is "God ordained", they should also be allowed to express their views as they deem fit without being called all manner of unprintable names; it's this same attitude of maligning anyone who chooses/chose to support PBAT or speak in favour of him that contributed to the failure of those that contended for the Presidency against him especially that serial defector.

And if they keep it up, they'll still be here to insult/curse their opponents in 2027 after the incumbent would've won reelection.

In summary, live and let live.

Apparently, you're fast to react but slow to comprehend!

Go read (this time slowly & with understanding) what I wrote again & compare it with your response.

flokii:
Oga keep quiet..

Lagos won't shake because of the ongoing demolitions..

Alex Otti demolished over 700 houses in Abia state
Chukwuma Soludo demolished hundreds of houses in Anambra state

Why are you shedding tears over demolitions by Lagos Government?

All tribes are affected in the demolitions so anyone that wants to move out should move.. more serious people will come in and fill the space.

This is very very unfortunate & nerve wrecking. However, Lagos will never be a "shadow of itself" because of this & other demolitions currently ongoing & probably not stopping anytime soon.

For every one person who gets angry over this demolition & decides to carry their investment out of Lagos, there are already 3-4 others waiting in line to bring in their own investments, so, no Sir: the indices (by all standards) don't point to a slump in Lagos' fortunes rather, it's stock will only continue to go higher by the day.

May we not labour only for bulldozers to come and reduce them to rubbles.

It's very unfortunate this is happening after years of sweat, finances, resources & blood but there are still lessons to be learnt amid all the destruction, tears & regrets; in the words of the great Kenny Rogers

… You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealin's done...

You Gerrit? If you don't Gerrit, (whistles out of thread)...

Cross River is APC now; how did Cable mix that up?

To the main topic, with the exception of Kano & Zamfara (the latter was declared inconclusive pending the Supreme Court's judgment), there's no other state where the person declared winner by INEC had their elections annulled by two competent courts (election tribunals & Appeal Court); it's either the tribunal upturns the election of a sitting governor then the Appeal Court affirms INEC's earlier declaration or the tribunal affirms INEC's decision and the Court of Appeal sacks the governor.

However, the case of Plateau was self-inflected.

Not yet Uhuru, Gov. Sule. David Ombugadu may just get his tribunal ruling - which declared him winner - restored by the Supreme Court.

If there's anyone's election victory that I expected to be upturned by the courts, Nasarawa, Ogun & Kaduna were suspect.

Odinkalu & his co-travelers have been fishing & spinning different absurd theories since their fav lost in the last presidential election.

They're deliberately coming up with all sorts of spurious allegations to stir up emotions especially in the Kano governorship elections court cases so that there can be a reaction (a revolt) knowing how volatile the political climate is in that state.

When they fail, they'll jump to the next one & the cycle will keep repeating itself till the next presidential election and they'll fail again; rinse and repeat.

On the contrary, some of these foreign trips are necessary.
The PUNCH editorial would've called for an outright ban on foreign travels by the President or his Vice instead, it called for a situation where such visits outside the country are undertaken by the VP or Foreign Affairs Minister which in my opinion, is no different esp in the case of the former (Vice President).
Unlike under PMB where most of his foreign trips were to mark attendance, the same cannot be said of similar trips under OBJ then or PBAT, now.
UNGA events are traditionally attended by Presidents of member nations (the delegation following the President is where the issues lie, most times just as the PUNCH editorial pointed out).
For the Guinea Bissau trip (to mark that nation's independence), the President was already abroad & scheduled to return to Nigeria so he decided to "branch" there on his way back; the President can't be abroad in a different country & his Vice at the same time. Protocol & national security considerations forbid it.
The visit to UAE (Dubai) last month was also a "by the way" trip. The President didn't originally plan to travel there it was while returning from UNGA - I think - he made a stop over.
I can go on and on and on about the strategic importance of these trips especially the ones to UAE & Germany but that's going to be another story.
Should the President (not just PBAT but every other Nigerian leader after him) choose their foreign trips carefully in order to reduce the burden on our recurrent expenditure, I strongly believe that but again, Nigeria is currently in a situation where if it requires the President going cap-in-hand to secure investment committments, good deals & FDI into the country, he should do so.
OBJ was called all manner of names in his first term for his foreign trips but one major fallout was the historic "debt forgiveness" Nigeria secured; man could've sent Atiku (his then VP) or his Foreign Affairs Minister or not send anyone even but would we've been able to secure debt forgiveness if he hadn't made those moves personally?
I've seen snippets of PBAT's remarks during his foreign trips & man is vigorously marketing Nigeria, its potentials (the youths especially - compared to when his predecessor on a foreign trip labeled Nigerian youths "lazy" & huge market to investors on a scale never before seen.
It's left for the results to become evident or not but we shouldn't leave anything to chance!

Apparently, Emperor Wike didn't lie when he said he was very ill (I think poisoning, he mentioned) & had to seek foreign treatment a reason for a while he became really emaciated.

However, looking at this photo, the FCT Minister appears to be bouncing back to his chubby old self.

To the topic, beyond critical roads & infrastructure in the nation's capital, the FCT Minister should focus on improving infrastructure in satellite towns (Kubwa, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje etc) while opening up new districts. He should also beam his search light on owners of many empty estates in the FCT & the reason behind their unoccupation: the cost of house rents in Abuja is over bloated & requires urgent intervention.

God bless the FCT & bless Nigeria.

Democracy would've been hailed as thriving in Nigeria had the judgments in question gone against the ruling APC; let all be aware that the law isn't based on emotions.

David Lyon won an election but his running mate ran foul of the law & their electoral victory was canceled outrightly & handed to PDP.

APC won Zamfara then but due to internal wranglings, the court nullified the party's victory in that state's election (all positions won by the party was nullified - from governorship to national and state house of assembly) & handed victory to PDP (Bello Matawalle then before he defected to APC).

In Rivers State, since 2015 elections I think, the APC has always had the courts delivering judgment against its candidates, specifically barring the party from sponsoring any candidate for the elections then some very few days to the polls, the order will be vacated.

The only isolated case was Hope Uzodinma in Imo State, who got his first term at the detriment of PDP via the courts. Other than that, the ruling party has also been victim of devastating court judgments.

In all these aforementioned instances, the party licked its wounds & forged ahead & democracy wasn't in danger.

PDP ought to have known especially in Plateau State that it was holding onto straws; matter of fact, all positions won by the party in the last general elections ought to be declared invalid & the runner up declared winner for all those positions.

If the judiciary isn't living up to expectations because of conflicting judgments (especially against PDP), the foundation for the rot was laid by the same PDP when they held sway at the federal level. APC simply borrowed a page from their playbook only this time, they're unfortunate to be at the mercy of a very tactful & sly politician in the person of Bola Tinubu.

Reading through some of the comments, it's obvious some people will remain perpetually pained over the outcome of the 2023 general elections; that pain has now made them numb to common sense.

These set of commentators don't realise that for the next 4 years, the one they call unprintable names will & can travel to any country of his choice without hassles; and these trips will be embarked upon using tax payers (their own money assuming they even pay tax) funds.

Instead of looking critically at the implication of this unexplained cancelation of already issue visas on the operations of Air Peace, they're busy jubilating because they think it's PBAT that's being punished yet they forget it's an innocent business owner (Allen Onyeam, founder of Air Peace) that's going to bear & has already borne the cost of returning those rejected intending pilgrims back to Nigeria.

I'd be most disappointed if the FG succumbs to NLC/TUC's demands. As a matter of fact, I expect that the FG & states (where organized labour members went on strike) should have their salaries withheld.

What happened to Ajaero in Imo State stands condemned by every right thinking individual & while the CP at the time the assault happened has been removed from the state, organized labour thought it wise to bring the entire country to its knees for what happened to its national president in one state? C'mmon now!

How many strikes did NLC/TUC call when Nigerian youths are chased to their deaths or shot dead by power drunk policemen? Or when states like Benue & Abia owed their workers salaries for months, what did organized labour do for its members in those states?

Like I said, e go pain me if FG succumbs to this particular blackmail by organized labour that's clearly hinged on personal & political interests of Comrade Joe Ajaero, not on any principle of equity and justice for the majority of NLC/TUC members.

Typical Nigerian politician. If under the same parameters this particular Bayelsa governorship election was conducted (the one Duoye Diri is now hailing as one of the best ever) & Timipre Sylva was declared winner, I'm 100% certain Gov. Diri would describe it as a sham election but since he won, democracy isn't under siege.

You've link to the commissioner of police & they'll be paraded as scammers? Please, who told you that? You see how Nigerians abuse their connections & powers when they're entrusted with it? You didn't consider reporting at the divisional police station in the area where this purported fake transfer took place but you want to escalate it straight to the state CP because you've the connect?

Anyways, what you should do is formally report to Uber via your driver's app; they'll take it up from there. Based on past experiences, I believe they'll also compensate you (not much, but to show their commitment to ensuring both drivers & riders have a pleasant experience).

LoL. Bwala the attention seeker. Since the campaigns when he once stated that "... They'll labour in vain... (in veiled reference to that presidential candidate & his followers)", PBAT has never paid any other attention to them.

There are Atikulators who voted for the PDP candidate & they're more than the 2nd runner-up's supporters; just because they're not loud on SM constituting a nuisance by threatening fire & brimstone doesn't mean they should or would be taken for granted.

Bwala knows what he's doing: he's indirectly stoking up the emotions & inflating the ego of the 2nd runner-up's followers so that they can go on rampage. Those ones have a false sense of importance that they can bring this country down to its knees hence PBAT needs to pay more attention to them than the economy but that won't happen; they'll continue to be ignored & the heavens won't fall.