Fahdiga:
With enough Ghana must go bag they might have a rethink

The position of the Southern governors that the 2023 pres­idency should be zoned to the Southern part of the country appears to have divided the Ni­geria Governors’ Forum (NGF), as state governors are not on the same page on the issue, Daily In­dependent has gathered.

According to the communiqué by the Southern governors read by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, “The Forum reiterates its commitment to the politics of equity, fairness and unanimous­ly agrees that the presidency of Nigeria be rotated between South­ern and Northern Nigeria and re­solved that the next president of Nigeria should emerge from the southern region.”

Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, who is the chairman of the NGF, was also present at the Southern Governors’ Forum where the decision was reached.

In an apparent response to his Southern counter­parts, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State at the weekend said the 1999 con­stitution does not recognise the zoning of presidency.

Bello, who is from the North-Central zone of the country and is seeking to contest the presidency in 2023 on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), said con­sideration should be given to merit rather than zoning.

“On zoning presidency to a particular zone in 2023, we must apply equity in the process. Democracy is all about free will. Let no po­litical party limit the choice to a particular zone.

“Zoning is not recognised in the 1999 constitution, it’s absolutely unconstitution­al. If we must continue with the sentiment of rota­tional presidency, it’s okay, but let’s do it right in the interest of equity, fairness and justice.”

A credible source in NGF, which is the umbrella body of the 36 state governors in Nigeria, said some North­ern governors were shocked by the decision of their Southern counterparts on the “future of the country post-2023 without carrying them along”.

According to him, being a national issue that is not limited to the Southern re­gion alone, the issue should have been discussed among the governors like every other issue that affects the whole of the country and not the manner the South­ern governors treated it as a “coup against the other part of the country.

“Yes, I can authoritative­ly tell you that the 36 gov­ernors who are members of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum are not on the same page on the issue of the zon­ing of the 2023 presidential ticket.

“Some of the members of the NGF, especially those from the Northern part of the country, felt it is a very sensitive national issue, it should have been discussed among them, instead of what their colleagues in the South are doing by treating it as a regional issue.

“I am sure if the issue was tabled at NGF meeting, those in support of zoning the presidency to the South in 2023 may still carry the day because we have seen some Northern governors who have publicly said it must be the turn of the South in 2023. I know the Kaduna State governor, Na­sir El-Rufai, has said that severally.

“The issue of the 2023 presidency is not entirely a PDP or APC affair. It is also neither a Northern gover­nors’ nor Southern gover­nors’ affair. It is a burning national issue that should be agreed upon by all stake­holders, especially by the state governors as repre­sented by the NGF”, he said.

Also speaking, a former governor in the North-East­ern part of the country, said it is very likely that the po­sition of the Southern gov­ernors will divide the NGF.

While sharing the view that the issue of zoning the presidency in 2023 is a national issue, he, however, said it cannot be discussed at the NGF level based on the ambition of some of the governors both in the North and Southern part of the country.

“Yes, I believe there will be cracks in the NGF. If you consider the fact that some of them have presidential ambition. If you look at it, Fayemi is the chairman of the NGF while Governor Aminu Tambuwal is the deputy. They both have pres­idential ambition in 2023.

“There is no way they can discuss that at the Governors’ Forum meeting because Tambuwal who is from the North will see it as an attempt to shut him out from the race while the decision by the Southern governors clearly favours Fayemi.

“I also know someone like Bala Mohammed of Bauchi and the Kogi governor may not agree to the idea that the ticket be zoned to the South. They will rather argue that it should be thrown open. So such a meeting will be ran­corous”, he said.

When contacted by Daily Independent, Abdulrazaque Bello Barkindo, Head, Me­dia and Public Affairs of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, said the issue of zoning is a political issue which the NGF does not dabble into.

“The Nigeria Gover­nors’ Forum does dwell on political issues. Only peo­ple who represent APC or PDP can respond to that. The issue of the zoning of the 2023 presidency is a po­litical statement. It is not part of what we discuss, so I can’t comment on that. We don’t do politics at the NGF”, he said.

Pan-Yoruba socio-po­litical organisation, Afenifere, on Sunday said President Mu­hammadu Buhari is provok­ing Nigerians to go to war so as to pave way for him to declare emergency rule in the country and extend his tenure in office beyond May 29, 2023.

Chief Ayo Adebanjo, the acting national leader of the organisation, who spoke exclusively with Daily Inde­pendent, also condemned the invasion by the Department of State Services (DSS) on the residence of a prominent Yoruba nation agitator, Chief Sunday Adeyemi, aka Sunday Igboho in the Soka area of Ibadan few days ago.

Describing the attack, which left two of Igboho’s aides dead as a constitutional infringement on his liberty, Adebanjo said Buhari’s be­lief was that the attack will trigger a response from the South-Westerners who will then attack every Fulani they come across.

“The attack on Igboho is writing a script and I am saying it positively. Buhari wants to cause war. He is pro­voking the South-West to re­act, thinking that the moment they have done that to Igboho, the Yorubas will go and start killing all the Fulanis in the South-West.

“If that happens, he will now say law and order has broken down and so, he will declare a state of emergency, prolong his tenure in office and begin to rule militarily. That is my projection with the attitude of Buhari”, he said.

Speaking further, he said the president’s refusal to listen to counsels by various groups across the country is what is fueling most of the unrest.

“By refusing to listen to Southern leaders, Afenifere, PANDEF, Northern Elders Fo­rum and others who are say­ing let us sit down peacefully and dialogue, it shows he has a sinister motive.

“Instead of listening to voice of reason, he said he will treat people in the language of war. Is that language a father­ly one? How can the president of a country be so aggressive in attending to issues relat­ing to his subjects? Anybody who opposes his aggressive actions, he will accuse them of plotting to break the coun­try. Who is breaking the coun­try other than the president himself who does not talk in a way that can bring people to­gether? He is fooling people, he cannot fool us”.

Adebanjo also said that he warned Nigerians not to vote for Buhari in 2015 despite his claim that he is now a con­verted democrat. According to him, the president’s utter­ances and actions since com­ing to office in 2015 has shown that he does not have respect for the rule of law.

Lamenting the continued incarceration of the leader of the Islamic Movement in Ni­geria (IMN), Sheikh Ibrahim El Zakzaky, and others de­tained unjustly, Adebanjo said Afenifere and other groups in the country will cry to God to deal with Buhari and put an end to the misrule in the country.

“Nigerians should remem­ber, before they voted for this man in 2014, I said don’t vote for this man because he is a feudalist by birth, a dictator by training and a non-con­formist by action.

“When he came into office in 2015, he said he is now a born-again democrat. What has he done since then to prove that he is a democrat? He is the number one presi­dent in this country who has violated the rule of law with impunity. That is the born-again democrat we have as president.

“El-Zakzaky is still in prison in spite of several pronouncements by local and international courts, the president pretended he doesn’t hear. I can see through Buhari’s attitude provoking every areas to go to war be­cause he has the architecture of security in his hand and he knows that we are powerless.

“That is why he attacked Igboho in that manner think­ing that Yorubas will retal­iate. We will not do that. We will call on God to deal with Buhari. He is believing in his horses and chariots but we will call on Almighty God to come and help us”.

The Afenifere leader also described Femi Adesina, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Buhari as a betrayer of the Yoruba people following his recent statement justifying the actions of his principal.

He said Adesina’s utter­ances since becoming the president’s media aide is at variance with his views be­fore his appointment while behaving as if the President will remain in power forever.

Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity on Thursday said the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may cease to exist before the 2023 general elections.

In his weekly article titled ‘Speaking To PDP In The Language It Understands’ Adesina said with the current defections from the PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), one party will continually grow stronger in the days ahead while the other will be continually weaker.

He wrote “PDP is being ravaged and savaged politically, and if care is not taken, the Party could become an empty shell before 2023. The vessel is leaking, and taking in water massively. It may have to scream May Day, May Day soon, and evacuate.”

“The irony of it all is that whenever the PDP is making gains politically, all is jolly well and good. But when it suffers reversals, then democracy is threatened in the country.”

“In 2015, by the time the dust of general elections settled, the All Progressives Congress (APC) had 24 Governors. PDP had 12, and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) had one. PDP, which had always vaunted itself as Africa’s largest party, threatening to rule us for minimum of 60 years, was looking like King Lear at his worst. It had been knocked off its perch at the national level, also in many States, and its snout yanked from the country’s honeypot. It was terribly unhappy.”

“By combination of schism, implosion and explosion, APC did not manage its success well. By 2019, the number of its governors had dwindled to about 19. And PDP was reaping the harvest. But APC retooled, got itself straightened out, and returned to winning ways. Gov Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State ported into APC. Followed by Ben Ayade of Cross River. And now Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State. APC is equally swelling in terms of lawmakers and membership, both at the Federal and State levels. The winner takes it all, the loser standing small”.

“PDP, at its lugubrious worst, is screaming and kicking. They are plundering us! Democracy is in danger! Oh, really? Since when?”

“Welcoming Matawalle into the APC early last week, President Buhari said the party was becoming more popular “because of its impressive performance record and commitment to good governance.”

“True. But PDP never wants to hear that, and it accounts for all the obfuscation we see in the country. We have security challenges, very severe ones, no doubt. And those challenges are being frontally confronted, with the criminals “being sent to God to account for their crimes.” But PDP has made it a passion to daily trumpet negative developments, as if those were the only things happening in the land”.

“All they want is to tar the APC with the brush of infamy so much that the people would forget massive infrastructural works round the country, better accountability in public finances, doing a lot more with a lot less, giant strides in anti-corruption, gradual economic improvements, all despite the security challenges. What PDP has its eyes on is the diadem of presidential seat in 2023, and it is throwing everything into the fray. Hate speech, fake news, disinformation, misinformation, outright lies. The people must not see any redeeming virtue in the APC government, it has resolved”.

“But the beauty of democracy is that the people have the final say. They always do. They did in 2015. In 2019. And they would in 2023, and beyond. Also, they know the truth, irrespective of the attempts to pull the wool over their eyes.”

“Democracy would remain a game of numbers. It’s not a cinch that you must win the presidency, if you hold sway in more States, but it does help. With APC’s control of 22 States now, (and counting) to PDP’s 14, it appears that the goose of the opposition party is being cooked. And with the language of the Dean of Faculty of Linguistics, PDP can only come to more grief.”

“The security challenges in the country would be surmounted soon, there would be commissioning of massive infrastructural works in 2022, and the people would know which party has been serving them, and the one that took them for a ride for 16 years.”

“With the way things will turn out in the months ahead, one political party will wax stronger and stronger, while the other one will wax weaker and weaker. A third force may be unlikely before 2023, at least not in a way to make much impact.”

“Can the PDP come in from the cold? Doubtful. It may do well then to get blankets, very thick ones, as the chill bites harder”.

The indefinite tenure exten­sion granted the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CE­CPC) of the governing All Progres­sives Congress (APC) has further po­larised the camp of the progressives ahead of the 2023 general elections, Daily Independent has gathered.

The Caretaker Committee, which was inaugurated on June 25, 2020, for six months after dissolution of the Adams Oshiomhole-led Nation­al Working Committee (NWC), had its tenure extended for another six months in December, 2020 by an emergency National Executive Com­mittee (NEC) at the Presiden­tial Villa in Abuja.

However, the indefinite extension was reached a fortnight ago after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari and the 13-member Caretaker Committee at the Presidential Villa in Abuja where the CECPC chairman presented a summary of the committee’s progress report.

While the party released the formal timetable for con­gresses from ward level to the state level, it failed to an­nounce date for the national convention, a situation which means that the committee, led by Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State will continue in office indefinitely.

A statement by the Secre­tary of the Caretaker Com­mittee in Abuja on Friday evening said: “President Mu­hammadu Buhari on Friday approved the review of the timelines available to the All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Com­mittee (CECPC).

“The president granted the approval after detailed consid­eration of the progress report, the schedule of outstanding activities with regards to congresses, the national con­vention and the forthcoming Anambra governorship elec­tion.

“The president also ap­proved the timetable for APC ward, local government and state congresses. Ward con­gresses will hold 24th July, 2021 followed by local govern­ment congresses on 14th Au­gust, 2021 and state congresses on 18th September, 2021.”

Speaking to Daily Indepen­dent on Wednesday, a serving minister in President Mu­hammadu Buhari’s govern­ment, who is a key loyalist of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the party’s national leader, said they (the ACN bloc in APC) are not happy with the indef­inite extension granted to the Buni-led committee.

He, however, said they have chosen to remain silent and bid their time so as not to ag­gravate the already pent-up tension in the party.

He said, “Within the Buni-led camp, Asiwaju’s loyal­ists are present but they are in the minority. Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun is also a member of the Care­taker Committee. Will Oye­tola work against Asiwaju’s interest? Of course, no! They are there monitoring the situ­ation, strategising and giving Asiwaju feedback.

“You may be extending the tenure of the caretaker com­mittee now, but a time will come that the extension will not work again and you have to do the national convention to elect substantive executives of the party”.

Speaking further, the min­ister said, “Whether you like it or not, the Caretaker Com­mittee cannot be there forever, according to the law of the par­ty and the constitution of the country. Whether they like it or not, they must leave.

“So, they may be wasting their energy on indefinite extension but they must still come to convention. So, we are planning and preparing for convention without mak­ing noise.

“The reality is that we are not happy but we don’t want to be seen as rocking the boat. We are just bidding our time. We are planning our own strategy too so that the effect will not be monumental on us.

“This is a party we built from scratch and worked for. At this stage, we cannot allow anything to damage the plat­form just because of the be­haviour of some people who are inconsiderate and power hungry.”

On why Tinubu has not said anything about the issue, the minister said the former Lagos State governor doesn’t want to engage in public al­tercation with the president or party leadership as the op­position Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will latch on to it to gain undue advantage.

“You (Tinubu) cannot fight Obasanjo, fight Jonathan and then come around be fighting your own president who be­longs to your party.

“But Asiwaju is a superi­or politician. He knows the game. When it is time for him to act, he will do so but in act­ing, he won’t want anything that will damage the party. Two wrongs don’t make a right. The fact that you are oppressing him and he is keeping quiet is not because he is daft but he will wait till the appropriate time. It is a matter of strategy”.

Also speaking with Daily Independent, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman of the Pres­idential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), said it is worrisome that the Buni-led caretaker committee that was given just six months to manage the party’s affairs and conduct an election has remained in office for more than a year.

According to him, indefi­nite extension for the Buni-led committee is not good for the health of the party.

“The whole thing about that Caretaker Committee, I don’t really know. I don’t know why they keep extending the tenure. They were there to do a convention. More than a year after that convention has not come to pass.

“They were given six months initially but now I’m hearing they are to be there in­definitely. Honestly, a body that is not elected, I don’t think that is very good for the health of the party. I don’t think it is the best for the party”.

KillMNKnow:
So

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday said it is confident that Eyitayo Jegede, its governorship candidate in the October 10 governorship election in Ondo state will get justice at the Supreme Court owing to the fact that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had no candidate in the election.

Having lost at the tribunal and Appeal court, Jegede who lost the election to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu had approached the Supreme Court for redress.

Speaking with Daily Independent, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary said the party is confident that Jegede will get justice at the Supreme Court because Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State who is the National Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) lacks the constitutional powers to submit Akeredolu’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

According to him, by so doing, APC had no candidate in the governorship election.

“It is a known fact that Mai Mala Buni, the governor of Yobe state was not properly elected as the national chairman of APC. Therefore, he cannot nominate a candidate for INEC. They flouted their own constitution”.

“The existence of Mala Buni as national chairman flouts the rule and constitution of their own party. I believe that is the ground that our candidate, Eyitayo Jegede is pursuing to the Supreme Court, that ab initio, APC had no candidate because the process of nominating their candidate was faulty”.

“So, we are confident that based on this, our candidate, Eyitayo Jegede will get justice at the end of the day,” he said.

Hunchogee:

Exactly the just wakeup and state talking nonsense.. imagine Lagos that is about 100yrs old while Akwa Ibom is just 30yrs old but still came close to Lagos in almost everything..
Can he compare Akwa Ibom stadium to that if Lagos or even road network or greenery.
Do Lagos have a eLibrary or up to 32 island settlement..
Akwa Ibom has alot of thing lagos will be dreaming to have..

proxillin:
300 men came for a man who is relaxing on his bed. And ur warped brain is not shameful to open this thread.

Nwodosis:
His spiritual power is specifically for the Fulani herdsmen!

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike says mass defections will rock both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) between now and December, as politicians realign ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The governor said although defection is an inherent part of the democratic process, those who defected from the PDP lack integrity and character.

He stated this at the inauguration of reconstructed William Jumbo, Ernest Ikoli, Eleme, Akassa, Abana and Mbiama streets in Old Government Residential Area of Port Harcourt on Wednesday night.

“People are defecting; More will defect. Defection is part of our electoral process. As you are defecting, people are coming in. There are those who are angry there (in APC), they’ll come (to PDP). You that is angry here (in PDP), you will go. That is the game.”

The governor stressed that insinuation that some governors and others who have defected from PDP to APC were being intimidated, is not tenable. He maintained that those who have decided to jump ship lack conscience, character and integrity.

“If it is by provocation, if it is by intimidation, if it is by coercion, then Rivers state won’t have been in PDP. Because, if there is one State that has been intimidated, if there is one State that has been punished by the ruling party, it is Rivers State. Yet nobody can push us, nobody can intimidate us to leave the hope and the future of this country, and that is the PDP.”

He remarked that those who claim PDP has been unfair to them should also realise that the party had at different times wronged Rivers State, which accounts for its highest votes since 1999. But despite this, the State has remained steadfast and committed to the ideals of the PDP.

“PDP has done a lot of wrong things to the Rivers state, but I cannot say we will leave PDP. We will be there and fight the war. The interest of Rivers state will be fought inside PDP, we will not leave anywhere.

“Even if the whole States abandon PDP, Rivers State will not abandon PDP because we are people of integrity, we are people of character. Anybody who does not have integrity, who does not have character cannot say he is from Rivers State.”

The governor observed that it is worrisome that some prominent members of the PDP who are aspiring to be presidential and vice presidential candidates have remained mute instead of speaking out against the maladministration that has characterised the APC led Federal government.

Governor Wike dismissed President Muhammadu Buhari’s assertion that the reason why Zamfara State governor, Bello Muhammad Matawalle defected to the APC was because of the good things happening in the party.

According to him, APC has wrecked Nigeria and those who defect from PDP are leaving a party that offers hope to one that offers Nigerians none.

The Rivers State governor also accused some State and National Assembly lawmakers of plotting against him and conspiring with extraneous forces to undermine the State.

Governor Wike revealed that he is aware of their various clandestine meetings in Abuja and warned of dire consequences if they don’t desist from their nefarious scheme.

The governor said one essence of bringing prominent personalities to flag off and inaugurate projects in the State, particularly at night is to prove to the world that indeed Port Harcourt is safe.

He said though some members of the opposition, including his predecessor and Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi have been living in denial of the infrastructural transformation taking place in Rivers State, Mbiama street where he (Amaechi) resides in Port Harcourt is among the streets just inaugurated.

okefranci:
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, a Professor of Law, formerly the Attorney General of Lagos State, embodies the promises of a new moral order going by his long history of integrity as a public officer, which he brightly displayed in Lagos State politics, with an impeccable record when he led the legal reforms in the state, not to now talk of his attributes thus far as the Vice President of Nigeria, an office which offers him a constitutional role as the Chairman of the National Economic Council (NEC) with brilliant deliverables thus far, writes Femi Popoola, saying, the opposition only used the NEMA, FIR, and EFCC issues, where he has already been vindicated, as mere political contrivances intended to distract him.

Ever since Vice President Yemi Osinbajo assumed office after the historic 2015 election win, so much has been said on his integrity and personality which was the major selling point for the APC during their 2015 election campaign.

Prof Osinbajo, the former Attorney General of Lagos State, and a Professor of Law embodies the promises of a new moral order going by his long history of integrity as a public officer, this he brightly displayed in Lagos State politics, as his impeccable record when he led the legal reforms in the state is white as snow, not now to talk of his attributes thus far as the Vice President of Nigeria, an office which offers him a constitutional role of the chairman of the National Economic Council (NEC).

As expected, there has been a legion of commentaries and discussions by many observers, writers, political commentators, analysts and revisionists directed at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) pastor in a bid to dissect his faith, politics, philosophy and integrity.

In the Nigerian political context and possibly other climes, the moment an individual presents him/herself for a political post, his life automatically becomes a subject of pubic scrutiny. While one would expect that such scrutiny is inevitable as politicians anywhere in the world are expected to be accountable to their people, but the amoral politics of the Nigerian landscape presents a different reality.

Going by Nigeria’s chequered political history, many traditional politicians are generally viewed with distrust because they are sometimes seen as simply occupying public offices for occupying sake, rather than truly serving the people in their exalted position. This general assumption makes political offices in the country a no go area for persons with high moral value and decency.

While the Vice President has enjoyed a great deal of affection and praises by many commentators which is an alien experience for politicians in this country where they are generally held in low esteem, Osinbajo has also endured a furnace of persecution, denudation and name calling like “V.P. Academics” from his traducers, who believe he should not be treated differently. Well, life they say is a mixed bag and Osinbajo’s political career is no different. It has not entirely been a bed of roses for the sprightly 64-year-old, neither has it been a golgotha of thorns.

Osinbajo’s reputation and longstanding integrity was firstly put to the fire in a virulent manner at the backdrop of Tunde Fowler’s exit from the Federal Inland Revenue Service due to corruption cases.

A letter from the late President’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, had surfaced on the Internet querying the FIRS boss on the discrepancy in their figures. The following day, the story came up that the VP allegedly took N90 billion from that same FIRS to fund the 2019 elections. It was the most confusing story of the year in 2019. There were a lot of insinuations and gossips. While some believed it was a knife fight in the APC party politics by some cabals who wanted to reduce Osinbajo growing influence, others posited that the purveyors of such malicious lie had planned it well by dragging Osinbajo to the Fowler’s corruption story due to their similar backgrounds and chummy relationship. Fowler was a childhood friend and a former classmate of the VP.

The apocrypha story trended in beer parlors and on various social media platforms for some days but the purveyors were having difficulty explaining to us how such huge amount of money was delivered.
With another intent to puncture the integrity of the former Law Professor, the Vice President was also dragged into the issue of the N5.8 billion National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) scandal this time by the opposition PDP.

The main opposition party had claimed that the Vice President had “failed to provide a cogent response to the report of the House of Representatives on the N33 billion NEMA fraud in addition to allegations that the N5.8 billion was withdrawn from the national coffers, while he was Acting President, without legislative consent and expended without recourse to extant due process, procurement and contract rules.”

Osinbajo’s only administrative iniquity was the immediate action he took when he approved funds for the emergency operations in the North East at the time the entire region was facing a severe humanitarian crisis. They claimed that the funds were from the consolidated Revenue Fund not budgeted funds. Although, it was later discovered that the funds approved were actually from budgeted funds, specifically the Rice Levy.

Babafemi Ojudu, the presidential political adviser while responding to the claim said, “Nowhere in the House of Representative Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness report was there an allegation of corruption against the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, and this is why claims against him from some quarters regarding the report are mere political contrivances intended to distract him.

“It is evident that the opposition are in search of company for their acts of grand corruption which brought Nigeria to its knees as of May 2015. They cannot find that company in the Vice President.

“First, there is nowhere in the politicised House of Reps report where the VP was accused of corruption or embezzlement of funds. I challenge them to quote any word or sentence that makes such an accusation.”

Again, the Vice President found himself enmeshed in another campaign of calumny. A renowned merchant of fake news, Jackson Ude, on July 8, 2020 through his media platform Pointblank News published a story with a headline that says “How Magu Embezzled N39 billion, Gave Osinbajo N4 billion, Begs for Soft Landing.”

For those who are not familiar with the fake news monger, here is a man who once worked with the former President Goodluck Jonathan government. He has a clear history of blackmail and false publications. The Mrs Oyindamola Amuka fraudulent story and the former Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala blackmail he orchestrated are still fresh in our memory.

Jackson is a notorious fraudulent publisher, whose illegal activities have denied him a stay in the country. So, such publications against the person of the VP holds no water as none of the reputable news media published similar story.

Not only did the Vice President through his lawyer requested the Inspector General of Police to investigate Jackson and his malicious story, but it also defies human reasoning to imagine how Magu or the EFCC that doesn’t have a vault in its office or has a total control over the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), will dole out such fortune to the Vice President (that by law he is not answerable to).

Although the allegation would later disappear into thin air not only the report could not be substantiated but because there are some Nigerians who refused to be gullible. Those that can tell between facts and fictions and won’t mistake a monkey for a gorilla have since trashed the malicious fake news.

The coordination and the barrage at which most of these smear campaigns against the VP always hit the media space has raised a suspicion from some quarters who believe someone or an organised network of people was after VP Osinbajo ahead of the 2023 politics of scheming and permutation.

As Donald A. Adams put it: “To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.” I can confidently say that Osinbajo came to Nigerian politics with reputation and integrity. That is why up till now his loudest traducers have not come up with a valid corruption case against him. He is a man of honour and integrity. Everywhere he goes, he is lauded and garlanded for his virtues. What is bred in the bones they never goes out through the flesh.

A Renowned Professor of Law, Itse Sagay, while commenting on Prof Osinbajo said: “The Vice President is an incorruptible man of God, a man of high moral standing who is as clean as a whistle. He will not appropriate any money that doesn’t belong to him to himself.”

During a gathering of the All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters at a dinner sometime in 2019 after the victory of the re-election of APC government, Osinbajo said: “As I repeated many times during the course of the campaign that our country is not short of ideas, we are not short of projects; we are not short of money either; what we are short of is integrity in office.”

While all this scheming, politics, permutations, constant barrage against the person of the VP may not end anytime soon as clock ticks towards the 2023 general election, Osinbajo will continually remain a person of interest being a major asset of the ruling APC. The fight will get more belligerent if the APC party decides to give him a presidential ticket and Osinbajo should have nothing to fear. His integrity which has brought him this far will definitely not abandon him in the hands of his accusers.

Indispensable85:



Oga bring forward your evidence na......
There's no case concerning matawalle with efcc. Stop the speculation