₦airaland Forum

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described the revocation of the bail initially granted to the former Attorney-General of the Federation, Mallam Abubakar Malami, SAN, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as partisan politics.

In a statement signed by Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, National Publicity Secretary of the party, the ADC stated that, from all available evidence, the former Attorney-General did not violate any of the legal conditions attached to his initial bail.

Abdullahi said revoking his bail, especially after he attended a political rally in his home state of Kebbi, could create the impression that the action was taken to curtail his politics rather than to pursue justice.

The ADC reiterates the party’s support for the EFCC and any other anti-corruption agency to pursue its mandate of investigating crimes, but warns that selective investigation or weaponising investigations against opposition leaders ultimately undermines the genuine fight against corruption in the country and renders anti-corruption agencies complicit in the government’s suppression of opposition and dissent.


“The African Democratic Congress (ADC) views the revocation of the bail of Mallam Abubakar Malami, SAN, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as politically motivated.”

“From all available evidence, Malami did not violate any of the legal conditions attached to his initial bail. As a senior lawyer and former number one law officer in the country, he understands what it means to violate bail conditions.


“However, what he probably did not understand was that attending a political gathering in furtherance of his governorship ambition in his home state of Kebbi could be the basis for revoking his bail by the EFCC, even though he has cooperated fully with the agency’s investigators.

“For the avoidance of doubt, ADC regards corruption as one of the most dangerous threats to the very survival of our country. Therefore, we fully support any genuine efforts to hold public officers accountable. However, we are deeply concerned that some of the actions and inactions of the EFCC give the impression that the agency is a gladiator in the political arena rather than an impartial warrior against financial malpractice.


“Revoking Malami’s bail only after he had attended a political event makes one question the EFCC’s motive, and wonder on which side of the political divide the agency is fighting, and whether it is not violating the very same laws it purports to defend.

“By barring a citizen from political activity, the EFCC arrogates to itself powers it does not possess under the Constitution. No agency of government has the power to suspend political rights, redraw political boundaries, or determine where a citizen’s political interest may or may not be exercised. That this restriction applied only to Kebbi State leaves one with an inescapable conclusion that the EFCC’s real agenda is to cripple his political ambition in the state.”

Abdullahi drew attention of the EFCC to a corruption survey that listed the Presidency as the third most corrupt institution in Nigeria, adding, “ADC believes that reports such as this provide an opportunity for the EFCC to understand the magnitude of its task and reset its priorities, if it is truly committed to the fight against corruption.”

He said the ADC was standing with Malami, “who we believe is innocent of the charges against him until declared guilty by a competent court. More importantly, we demand his immediate release on bail, without the attached conditions that stifle his political rights”.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused Nigeria’s anti-corruption institutions of abandoning their core responsibilities and converting the anti-graft campaign into what he termed a “full-blown political witch-hunt.”

In a statement released by his media office and circulated by his adviser, Paul Ibe, on Thursday, Atiku cautioned that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other agencies risk losing public confidence unless they “purge themselves of partisan contamination.”

His remarks follow the arrest and continued detention of former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).

Atiku argued “that the nation’s anti-corruption war is dangerously sliding off course and mutating into a brazen political witch-hunt.”

He claimed the EFCC is “straying far from the noble principles” on which it was founded, alleging that the agency is now “weaponising its powers to serve narrow political agendas.”

According to him, “The politicisation of corruption investigations has rendered the EFCC’s credibility suspect and rubbished the very ideals that inspired its establishment.”

He also condemned what he called a “selective pursuit” of opposition leaders like Malami, warning that such moves cast the EFCC as “an overzealous appendage” determined to entrench a one-party state.

Atiku said, “EFCC suddenly became hyperactive the moment the African Democratic Congress (ADC) emerged as an opposition force, launching coordinated attacks on key figures such as Malami and Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, while conveniently ignoring glaring corruption cases involving allies of the ruling party.

“We expected the EFCC to voice its objection to the appointment of former governors with unresolved corruption allegations. But partisan loyalty prevailed over integrity.”

The former vice president also claimed that had Malami defected to the APC, “the EFCC would have left him untouched, even if he had looted the entire CBN vault.”

Atiku stressed that no responsible nation undermines the autonomy of its anti-corruption bodies in pursuit of political objectives. He urged EFCC leadership to insulate itself from partisan pressure, insisting that its institutional reputation must not be bartered “for the fleeting interests of any political party.”

WHEN Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka stepped out of a high-profile hotel in Lagos last week, he was greeted by an outlandish sight. Lined up like a presidential guard were no fewer than 15 heavily-armed police officers and other security agents, complete with rifles, bulletproof vests, and the unmistakable swagger of state agents protecting an untouchable principal.

They were guarding not a head of state, not a warlord, but Seyi Tinubu, the 39-year-old son of President Bola Tinubu.

This is a provocative habit of VIPs in Nigeria. This security force should be disbanded.

Seyi is a private citizen, a businessman with no elected office or public mandate, yet flanked by a convoy that could overrun a small insurgency.

Soyinka wittingly quipped that this “battalion” should have been dispatched to quash the recent attempted coup in the Benin Republic, sparing Nigeria the need to send its Air Force and troops across the border.

“Why send the military?” he mocked at the 20th Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism Awards. “Next time there’s an uprising, just call Seyi and say, ‘Go and put down those stupid people there.’”

The jest exposes the rot at the core of Nigeria’s security crisis.

The hall erupted in bitter laughter. Every Nigerian knows the joke is on them.

This is not comedy. It is a national tragedy.

Only weeks earlier, on November 24, Tinubu himself had issued a directive ordering the immediate withdrawal of police officers attached to VIPs and politicians so that “more boots can hit the ground” against bandits, kidnappers and terrorists who have turned large swathes of the country into killing fields.

The President spoke with the gravity the moment demanded: “We need all the forces we can utilise on the streets.”

Yet, not long after, his own son paraded a private army that would make a divisional police officer in Zamfara weep with envy.

The hypocrisy is so blatant it stinks.

While Seyi cruises around in his expansive convoy, poorly protected senior military officers are paying with their lives.

In November, Musa Uba, a brigadier-general, was ambushed by ISWAP terrorists in Borno, taken alive, and later executed on video like a sacrificial ram. All he had for escort was a handful of soldiers. No air cover, no rapid-response team.

The horror statistics are stark, especially in the North. Over 300 schoolchildren were abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State in November; 165 are still in captivity.

Thirty-eight worshippers were kidnapped from a church in Eruku, Kwara, during an evening service, and two were shot dead for resisting.

A recent report by Amnesty International states that between May 2023 and May 2025, no fewer than 672 villages were sacked by armed non-state actors across several North-West states, including Katsina and Zamfara.

As of mid-2025, according to the International Organisation for Migration and UNICEF, there were over 718,000 internally displaced persons in the North-West.

Farmers abandon farmland because they cannot farm without paying “harvest tax” to bandits or risking death.

A governor once publicly lamented that 100 villages in Katsina State were being “protected” by just 30 police officers who shared only 10 rifles between them.

And in the middle of this horror, Seyi moves with the security details of a head of state. This is not protection; it is provocation.

In 2023, he was spotted lounging in the Federal Executive Council chamber until his father publicly rebuked him, saying, “That is not acceptable.”


In 2024, a viral video showed him inspecting what looked suspiciously like a guard of honour mounted by men in uniform, some openly carrying arms. The Nigerian Army quickly distanced itself, claiming the men were “not soldiers.”

Nigerians were left to wonder: if they were not soldiers, and not police, then who exactly were these armed men saluting a private citizen?

Seyi’s sister, Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, the self-styled Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, tried earlier this year to export her controversial market leadership title to Edo State. The move was firmly rebuffed by the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, who declared the imposition “alien to Benin culture and tradition.”

Then, just last weekend, the President’s wife, Oluremi Tinubu, heavily escorted as always, publicly humiliated the elected governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, at a function in Ile-Ife. As the governor paid tribute to the Ooni, Mrs Tinubu interrupted him: “Stop singing, or I will switch off your microphone… You have five minutes to round up.”

The hall froze. A sitting governor, elected by Osun citizens, was reduced to a schoolboy by an unelected spouse. The video went viral within minutes, and the outrage was nationwide.

The Tinubu family is not merely enjoying the perks of proximity to power; it seems intoxicated by it, and the country is paying the price, literally.

The budget for “VIP protection” runs into billions of naira annually, yet many local communities cannot boast of a single police post.

Senators now openly complain on the floor of the National Assembly that their “single” police orderly has been withdrawn, while some privileged Nigerians retain full detachments.

One senator asked, in anguish: “Are some animals more equal than others?”

In other climes, no one is above the law. Not even the children of presidents.

In 2001, Jenna and Barbara Bush, the 19-year-old twin daughters of then-President George W. Bush, were caught using fake IDs to buy alcohol in the United States.

They were arrested, charged, fined, and ordered to perform community service. No Secret Service agent shielded them from the courts. No presidential directive withdrew the police who arrested them. The law applied because the law must apply to everyone, or it applies to no one.

Nigeria cannot continue to pretend that the Presidency is a traditional monarchy where the children of the king inherit divine protection paid for by starving peasants.

If Seyi feels unsafe, let him hire private security at his own expense. The police and army are not his domestic staff.

Tinubu has an opportunity to redeem his own directive and salvage what remains of public trust. He should order the complete withdrawal of all police and military personnel attached to his son and every other unofficial member of his family.

The President should ensure his directive on the withdrawal of police and military personnel from VIPs and politicians is carried out, and that the withdrawn officers are redeployed to the areas where they are desperately needed.

Anything short of this will confirm what many already suspect: that the November 24 directive was mere public relations, never meant to apply to the President’s own household.

Soyinka has done his duty. History will record that, at 91, he still found the strength to speak truth to power.

Where are the other elders? Silence in the face of such blatant abuse is complicity.

Nigerians see the battalion guarding one man’s son while children of lesser compatriots are led into forests by kidnappers.

They see the convoy longer than funeral processions, while generals die for lack of escort. Nigerians see the impunity.

Mr President, charity begins at home. Equity begins at home. The rule of law begins at home. Withdraw Seyi’s battalion today.

Salewa97:
Rufai Oseni is just being petty.

Something must have happened between him and Seyi which he is not telling us

Tensions within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) eased markedly on Wednesday after state chairmen from across the country pledged full loyalty to the National Working Committee (NWC) led by National Chairman, Dr Tanimu Turaki, SAN, a development that signals growing consolidation in the opposition party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The endorsement was made during an interactive session at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, where members of the newly inaugurated NWC met with the Forum of State Chairmen to review the party’s challenges, prospects, and strategic direction.

Both Dr Turaki and the Chairman of the PDP State Chairmen’s Forum, Dr Tony Aziegbemi, who also leads the Edo State chapter, addressed the gathering.

Speaking on behalf of chairmen from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Aziegbemi declared, “We are here today to send a clear message: We are solidly behind the Tanimu Turaki-led PDP NWC. We acknowledge the challenges, but more importantly, we see the unwavering dedication of the NWC to upholding the party’s constitution and preparing us for future electoral victories.”


The Forum condemned what it described as attempts to destabilise the PDP and urged stakeholders nationwide to support the NWC while allowing the party’s constituted organs to function without interference.

“Our focus must remain on the Nigerian people. The PDP is a democratic institution, and we must allow the National Working Committee to perform its duties without undue pressure,” Aziegbemi stressed.

He further commended the new NWC for initiating early programmes aimed at strengthening the party structure and ensuring that forthcoming congresses and internal processes strictly comply with the PDP constitution.

In his remarks, Turaki said the presence of 27 state chairmen, alongside apologies from two absent states and ongoing efforts to reconstitute dissolved chapters, showed that those parading themselves as leaders of ‘factions’ within the PDP lacked credibility.

“If all the state chairmen are here with us, then who is it that is not with us? If all the state chairmen are supporting us, then who, sincerely speaking, can be fighting us?” he asked.

Highlighting the PDP’s national depth, Turaki described the state chairmen as the party’s equivalent of “General Officers Commanding”, with local government and ward executives forming the next layers of command.

“PDP is the only party that has a presence in every unit, in every ward, in every local government in this country. And this is verified,” he said.

He thanked the chairmen for their support during the elective convention in Ibadan, praising them for mobilising delegates and for being the first organised bloc to congratulate the new NWC.

Turaki said the meeting was deliberately convened early in the NWC’s tenure to enable frank discussions on the state of the party, address emerging concerns, and jointly outline urgent steps needed for rebuilding and stabilisation.

“Unless we talk to ourselves freely and honestly, then we will not be able to achieve results within the shortest possible time. This new leadership means business, and business we shall do,” he stated.

He also took aim at the All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing it of reversing many gains made during the PDP’s 16-year rule. According to him, Nigerians were increasingly nostalgic for the pre-2015 era.

“Whenever Nigerians speak, they beg: if you can take us anywhere further, please take us back to where we were in 2015,” he said.

The meeting climaxed with a renewed pledge of allegiance to the Turaki-led NWC, as the chairmen vowed to work collectively to reposition the PDP as a credible alternative ahead of the 2027 elections.

A total of 27 state chairmen, including the FCT, attended the session.

Mr Soyinka said he counted at least "15 or so heavily armed to the teeth" security officials who accompanied the president's son at a hotel in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka on Tuesday criticised the large number of armed security personnel that he saw accompanying Seyi Tinubu, the son of President Bola Tinubu.

Mr Soyinka spoke in Lagos while presenting an honourary award to Odia Ofeimun, the famous poet and activist who was honoured by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.

Mr Soyinka mocked the situation by saying that President Bola Tinubu should not have deployed Nigerian soldiers and air force officials to Benin to foil Sunday’s coup there but should instead have asked Seyi Tinubu to go with his armed security escorts to foil the coup.

Mr Soyinka said he counted at least “15 or so heavily armed to the teeth” security officials who accompanied the president’s son at a hotel in Ikoyi, Lagos.

He said he was so astonished by what he saw that he reached out to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to complain about it.

Burob:
And to know that Gringory Obi is far far worse?, what a tragedy.

Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has revealed that his decision to leave the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was driven by the party’s failure to protect him during the recent political crisis in the state.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, Fubara said he had sought support from the federal government after facing challenges that threatened his position and political survival.

“I went to see Mr President not just for a personal visit, but for a consultation on state matters. The most important outcome of that meeting is that we now have full support to leave where we were because we didn’t get the protection we needed,” he said.

Daily Post reports that Fubara officially announced his defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) during the meeting, taking along his key supporters.

He explained that the APC offered the support and protection necessary to navigate the political turbulence in Rivers State.

He added, “If President Tinubu had not intervened, there wouldn’t be a Siminalayi Fubara today. We have the people and supporters with us. Our decision is to move to the APC and fully support the President’s second-term bid.”

Fubara’s defection is considered a major political shift in Rivers State and is expected to impact the state’s political dynamics ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The Federal Government has commenced full recovery of the 157 model Almajiri Schools built across the country under the Administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Nura Muhammad, Spokesperson of the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education (NCAOOSCE), disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.

Muhammad said the recovery was a decisive step taken by the federal government to revitalise and institutionalise Almajiri education in the country.

According to him, the recovery process is underway, and all the schools will be brought under the Commission’s control before their rehabilitation begins.

He added that the renewed effort was a sequel to the establishment of a legally backed national body, specifically mandated to regulate all Almajiri-related educational activities, an institutional foundation that was absent during earlier reforms.

The spokesperson commended former President Jonathan for his remarkable efforts in initiating the 157 model Almajiri schools, describing the project as “a noble and well-intentioned stride toward modernising the system”.

He, however, noted that the initiative faced several constraints, particularly the failure to adequately engage “Alarammas” – the traditional Qur’anic teachers/memorisers, responsible for Almajiri education.

“We must commend President Goodluck Jonathan for his remarkable efforts towards reforming Almajiri education, which led to the establishment of 157 model Almajiri schools across the country.

“Although the initiative was noble and well-intentioned, it, however, faced several challenges.

“One major issue was the inability to adequately carry along the Alarammas during the policy implementation.

“In addition, the programme existed merely as an initiative under the Federal Ministry of Education, without a strong institutional framework to sustain it,” he said.

Muhammad, however, said that with the establishment of the Commission, backed by law to regulate all activities relating to Almajiri education, and with the recent adoption of a National Policy on Almajiri Education, the momentum for reform is significantly stronger.

“We are confident that, in due course, all negative practices associated with the system will be eliminated.

“These schools will soon be fully under our control and subsequently rehabilitated so they can serve the purpose for which they were originally established,” he said

A former national secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Iyiola Omisore, has said his disqualification with six other aspirants from the party’s Osun governorship primaries is “a huge joke,” accusing the screening committee of unfairness and lack of credibility.

Omisore who was speaking with journalists after he appeared at the APC Appeal Committee on in Abuja yesterday, also said the screening panel’s report lacked credibility and was informed by external influence.


The APC on Friday disqualified Omisore and six other aspirants from participating in its forthcoming governorship primary election in Osun State.

The others screened out are Babatunde Oralusi, Oyedotun Babayemi, Dr Akin Ogunbiyi, former Deputy Governor Benedict Alabi, Adegoke Rasheed Okiki and former senator Babajide Omoworare.
However, two aspirants; Mulikat Abiola Jimoh and Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji have been cleared to contest the primary election.

But the former national secretary dismissed the basis of the disqualification, insisting that neither he nor the other aspirants were formally informed of any shortcoming of the party’s mandatory nomination criteria.

“That panel report is the biggest joke of the year. It is unfortunate that partisanship has been taken beyond politics.

“We know the panel produced multiple reports, and the one submitted to the secretariat was not the original. As we speak, none of us has been shown the report or told why we were disqualified,” Omisore said.

He alleged that the screening committee chairman privately admitted of coming under pressure from Minister of Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola to disqualify all the major aspirants in favour of his preferred candidate, Oyebamiji.

“The chairman told us he was under pressure. Unfortunately, we are all victims of this,” Omisore added, querying the basis of the panel’s claim that the aspirants lacked the required number of nominators.
He maintained that the party leadership has full access to the membership register and should have verified the details.

“He who alleges must prove,” Omisore said, expressing confidence that the National Working Committee (NWC) would upturn the screening committee’s decision,

“Even the committee’s own report said the party is factionalised and at risk of losing the election. So what exactly are we talking about?” he queried.

According to the message, the Police High Command expressed concern that despite repeated instructions, some officers continue to follow VIPs in mufti, contravening the operational guidelines of the Special Protection Unit (SPU).

The Nigeria Police Force has issued a fresh directive warning officers and men against escorting Very Important Persons (VIPs) while dressed in mufti, describing the act as a violation of standing orders.

The warning was contained in a wireless message dispatched from the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Protection, Force Headquarters, Abuja (AIG PROTECT FHQ), to all Police Protection Units across the country.

The signal, referenced CB: 4001/DOPS/SPU/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.20, reiterated an earlier order from the Inspector General of Police, directing the withdrawal of personnel from unauthorised VIP escorts and banning officers from performing such duties in plain clothes.

According to the message, the Police High Command expressed concern that despite repeated instructions, some officers continue to follow VIPs in mufti, contravening the operational guidelines of the Special Protection Unit (SPU).

“It has been observed that men still follow VIPs in mufti in disregard to this order. Officers and men are to desist henceforth as anybody caught will be dealt with accordingly,” the directive stated.

The signal was copied to key police formations nationwide, including commands in Kano, Lagos, Yola, Makurdi, Benin, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Sokoto, Bauchi, Abeokuta, Akure, Awka, Enugu, Ibadan, Minna, Calabar, Asaba, Ebonyi, Akwa Ibom, Owerri, and Kaduna, among others.

Units were instructed to acknowledge receipt and treat the order as urgent and important.

SaharaReporters reported on November 23, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had directed that police officers assigned to provide security for VIPs across the country be withdrawn from such duties and redeployed to focus on their core policing responsibilities.

The presidential directive was issued during a security meeting on Sunday in Abuja, which brought together top officials, including the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Waidi Shaibu; the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke; the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Tosin Adeola Ajayi.

Under the new arrangement, VIPs seeking protection will now be required to request well-armed personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

On Wednesday, SaharaReporters reported that following President Tinubu's order, the Nigerian police authorities had begun some internal adjustments.

A memo, signed by the Commanding Officer of SPU Base 16 in Lagos, Neji Veronica, instructed all officers to return to base before the close of business on November 24.

It stated, “Sequel to the directive of Mr President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces on the withdrawal of police personnel attached to VIPs, the Commanding Officer directs, with immediate effect, the withdrawal of all personnel of SPU Base 16 attached to VIPs/Beats across the federation back to base."

Reinforcing the urgency, the memo added, "You are all warned to report back before the end of today, Monday, 24/11/2025, and all to attend the lecture parade tomorrow. Attendance shall be taken from the nominal roll. This is for your information and strict compliance

The Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday reviewed the country’s security situation and concluded that the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government had failed to meet the expectations of Nigerians.

The party said the minimum expectation of citizens from their government, security of lives and property, had not been met by the APC administration.

Turaki reportedly spoke in Abuja after a meeting of the NWC, held shortly after a formal handover ceremony between him and the Ambassador Umar Damagum-led committee.


The PDP urged President Bola Tinubu to further review the country’s security architecture.

“We believe that, with the spate of kidnappings now taking place virtually all over this country, and with the spate of killings taking place all over this country, the APC-led Federal Government has really not lived up to the expectations of Nigerians.


“We, therefore, call on the Federal Government to brace up and, most especially, begin to consider a review of the security architecture in this country. We in the PDP believe that a situation where governors are called the chief security officers of their respective states, yet have no hand in controlling the operational activities of the military and security personnel who operate in their states, is something that needs to be overhauled,” he said.

“We believe the situation in this country is such that Nigerians are not safe on the streets. Nigerians are not safe in their places of work; be it in the office, on the farms, in the markets, and Nigerians are also not safe in their homes. So, the situation where every citizen lives in perpetual fear, walks in perpetual fear, and does their business in perpetual fear is something that must change.

“We, therefore, call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to really brace up and ensure that Nigerians are protected wherever they are, and that their properties are protected wherever they are.”

The party also commented on the fate of Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, saying it believed he remained a member and was expected to participate in the party’s governorship primaries.

However, Turaki noted that although the NWC had not received any formal notification of Adeleke’s reported resignation, the PDP recognised his right to associate freely.

“As far as we are concerned, even if what we saw on social media is true, as a Nigerian, Governor Adeleke, like any other person, has the constitutional right to freedom of association. He is free to move in; he is free to move out of any political party,” he stated.

Turboking:
The question should be, who got him nominated lol? The president himself and I'm sure he 💯 boldly did it, so why are you crying more than the bereaved? With this your analogy,I'm sure you will agree with me that,those of you who took the allegation and ran with it, is as guilty as Reno

Turboking:
don't mind them, some of us know this allegation is just a smoke screen, Reno's real offence was the constant exposure of the numerous lies told by certain tribe In the country, which they termed "hate speech" Looking at the people leading the charge for his disqualification alone, says a lot. I wonder why they are crying more than the bereaved..it's pure eye service laced with ulterior motives

CyynthiaKiss:
Below is the compilation of Reno Omokiri calling Tinubu what he’s actually is


https://www.nairaland.com/7307958/compilation-reno-omokri-mockery-tinubus

He mocked Tinubu’s health, and above all his oral hygiene as well.. Infact, Reno took it personal

Multiple parliamentary sources told SaharaReporters that Senate President Godswill Akpabio was instrumental in pushing Omokri’s name forward, allegedly as a reward for political work Omokri had done for him.

There is mounting tension in the Nigerian Senate following the nomination of social media commentator and former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, as an ambassadorial nominee, an appointment that has triggered factional battles, and the shutdown of the lawmakers’ WhatsApp group.

Omokri was among the 32 names forwarded to the Senate for confirmation, but his inclusion has provoked a storm, especially over his past public criticism of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, including a controversial remark in which he once labelled the President a “drug baron”.

Multiple parliamentary sources told SaharaReporters that Senate President Godswill Akpabio was instrumental in pushing Omokri’s name forward, allegedly as a reward for political work Omokri had done for him.

Meanwhile, in an unexpected twist, Akpabio is said to be mobilising his loyalists to oppose the same nominee he helped elevate.

“The senate president had nominated Omokri as a reward for the hatchet job he did for him,” one source disclosed.

“However, Akpabio is rallying some of his clique to screen Omokri out on the claim that he once attacked Tinubu and called him a drug baron.”

Another source revealed that Senator Osita Ngwu of Enugu West has taken a lead role in mobilising resistance against Omokri.

Ngwu has allegedly been reaching out to colleagues, urging them to reject the nominee on grounds of impropriety, arguing that anyone who made such serious allegations against a sitting President cannot credibly represent Nigeria on the global stage.

Senator Osita Ngwu, representing Enugu West Senatorial District, is reported to be rallying senators to reject Omokri with sources revealing that Ngwu has been attacking colleagues against the move.

“Senator Osita Ngwu, representing Enugu West Senatorial District, is reported to be rallying senators to reject Omokri,” an insider noted.

“Ngwu has been attacking colleagues against the move.”

The disagreements reportedly spiralled into a larger internal crisis when a Senate WhatsApp group, used for routine communication among lawmakers, was abruptly locked after arguments over Omokri’s nomination intensified.

Senator Ngwu, said to be one of the administrators of the group, allegedly disabled responses to prevent further confrontations. This angered several senators who insisted they had been silenced.

But Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, a vocal figure in the Senate, publicly confronted Ngwu over the group shutdown and demanded that he reopen the platform and restore comments that had been deleted during the altercation.


“Dear Senator Osita Ngwu of Enugu Enugu West Senatorial District, you will open responses in the Senators WhatsApp forum and repost my deleted comments,” she posted.

“Else I’ll bring the discussion to the public domain.”

Ngwu insisted anyone who had called the president a drug baron cannot represent the president and country.

He said, “Someone who called the President of Nigeria a drug baron and who has not retracted the statement should not represent Nigeria and Nigerians in the international and diplomatic society.

“It’s about the office of the President not about an individual.

“Meanwhile, bring it up...”

Ngwu

His defiance further inflamed tension among senators already divided over the nomination.

The source told SaharaReporters that despite the uproar, the Senate is expected to begin screening the ambassadorial nominees on Tuesday.

SaharaReporters previously reported that former presidential aide to Goodluck Jonathan, Omokri, once swore never to accept any appointment or work with President Bola Tinubu.

Omokri was one of Tinubu’s fiercest critics prior to the 2023 presidential election, questioning his record, qualifications, and integrity.

Although he later softened his criticism after confirming Tinubu attended Chicago University.

Reno made the remarks during an appearance on the Mic On podcast, hosted by journalist Seun Okinbaloye, where Omokri was asked directly if he would accept an offer from Tinubu.

“It will never happen,” he said.

Pressed further on whether any scenario could make him reconsider, he added:


“Oh my gosh, I don't want to betray privilege. Somebody from Bola Tinubu's camp has already reached out to me, and I told the person that, look, it cannot happen.

“I can't do it. It's just against my principles. Some people can do that. It's not in my DNA. I can't do it.


“It's never going to happen. It's never going to happen. I wish Bola Tinubu well if he eventually is sworn in and then the court upholds his victory. But I can never work with him.”

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Federal Government over reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited spent N17.5 trillion in a single year on securing fuel pipelines, describing the development as unprecedented and alarming.

Atiku made the remarks on Sunday in a statement from his media office, stressing that the revelation stands as one of the most brazen financial scandals in the nation’s history.

The statement compared the alleged spending to Nigeria’s fuel subsidy expenditure over more than a decade, saying: ”For clarity, Nigeria spent roughly N18 trillion on fuel subsidy over a period of 12 years, a national programme that directly cushioned millions of Nigerians, stabilised the transport sector, and helped keep food prices manageable.”


According to the statement, the Tinubu administration had channelled almost the same amount in a single year into opaque security contracts.

“Yet, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the country has now expended nearly the same amount in a single year on the same subsidy and opaque pipeline security contracts awarded to private firms tied to associates and cronies of the President.


“Indeed, the action of the President is akin to robbing Peter (Nigerians) to pay Paul (cronies). This is not governance. This is grand larceny dressed as public expenditure,” the statement added.

The ex-Vice President also questioned the Tinubu administration’s justification for subsidy removal.

”Nigerians were told to tighten their belts, endure hardship, and ‘make sacrifices.’


“However, the same administration has now channelled N17.5 trillion—an amount that could transform Nigeria’s power sector, rebuild our refineries, or fund universal healthcare—into opaque security contracts whose beneficiaries are conveniently linked to those in power,” he stated.

The Presidency has slammed former President Olusegun Obasanjo that terrorism took root under his watch as president of Nigeria.

Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, Mr Sunday Dare, said this on his verified X account on Sunday, adding that Obasanjo was not in the right position to criticise Tinubu over the worsening security situation in the country.

This is coming following Obasanjo’s comment that President Tinubu should seek foreign help if he is unable to address the nation’s security challenges.

The former president called for Nigeria to subcontract its internal security to foreign governments is not an act of statesmanship.

The presidency, while blasting Obasanjo said that before the former President recommends surrendering the country’s sovereignty to foreign powers, he should reflect on what he allegedly failed to do when terrorists first began organising under his watch.

“This administration will not be distracted by selective amnesia wrapped in elder-statesmanship, nor will it allow those who midwifed Nigeria’s early security failures to rewrite history.

“Recent comments by a former President and a few habitual presidential aspirants attempting to paint the Tinubu administration as ‘unable to protect Nigerians’ are not merely hypocritical but ignoble. They ignore the hard truth: Nigeria is facing terrorists, all of them, by every definition, be they international, regional or local.

“Yet the very individuals who looked away when these threats first sprouted now want to sit in judgment. Nigerians know better.

“The suggestion that Nigeria should effectively subcontract its internal security to foreign governments is not statesmanship; it is capitulation. Before recommending surrender, the former President should reflect on what he failed to do when these terrorists first began organising under his watch,” Dare wrote.