₦airaland Forum

searchiing4love:
And death overlooked these wicked thieves but took the lives of Keshi and other patriots life is unfair

omenka:
Lmao!!

Modath, why this kind news this early mormor?? You wanna ruin people's week??

Oh well, for me, it might have come after sunset and I couldn't care less. Already ordered a bag of popcorn when news broke they were planning to have a sit down today- I said "another opportunity for great cinema beckons!" Would really have loved to see fists and chairs flying in Dawadawa Plaza.

Nonsense party.

AngryNigerian:
My dear, tell them! Instead of saying that he should set up a committee made up of trusted fellows to invest the money in particular national infrastructures (say Ajaokuta Steel or any other new project like refineries) or better still create a fund with it for entrepreneurship development for the innovative youths! Share d money indeed!!!

bejeiodus:
Abati in his brilliant best.

refiner:


He looks like a suspect

There has been no shortage of controversy and hair-raising incidents from the 8thNational Assembly of Nigeria, but nothing breaks the heart more than the name-them-shame-them letter that has been sent to the Speaker of the House of Representatives by the US Ambassador in which he accused three Nigerian lawmakers of sexual misconduct during an April 7-13, 2016 participation in the International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP).

The three lawmakers are Mohammed Garba Gololo (APC, Bauchi), Samuel Ikon (PDP, Akwa Ibom) and Mark Terseer Gbillah (APC, Benue).  In his letter to the Speaker, James Entwistle says Gbillah and Ikon “allegedly requested hotel parking attendants to assist them to solicit prostitutes” while Gololo “allegedly grabbed a housekeeper in his hotel room and solicited her for sex”. This was reported to the hotel management. [b]The use of the word “grabbed” sounds quite deliberate in its Nigerian-ness.

Whoever threw that phrase in knows certainly well, that Nigerian lawmakers who spoke against a Gender Equality Bill, and who have done nothing to protect the Child Rights Act which pegs the age of marriage at 18, are most likely to abuse women and grab anything that their libido finds attractive. Of course as expected, the three indicted lawmakers have claimed that they are innocent, that nothing of such happened and that they have been denied the benefit of fair hearing. Mark Gbillah has written a windy protest letter, like a petition for a visa denied, in which he not only affirmed his innocence, but he is also alleging defamation and the threat of possible lawsuits. Gbillah is even asking for a video-tape proof! You’ve got swag hen, bros, the way you just dey halla…

But I will advise you and the two others to just drink cold water and chill, and as they say, calm down. Without any technical or express malice intended, the truth of this matter is that the US Embassy in Nigeria and the US Department of State have just thrown you and the two others under the trailer.  Read Ambassador Entwistle’s letter again, the word “allegedly” is used but the letter suggests that the weight of the law of the United States could have been brought to bear upon the three of you right after the reports were made, but now, two clear months later, after investigations have been conducted and the US Government is convinced, the decision has now been taken to name and shame you, and punishment has been issued: your visas to the United States have been cancelled.  The case against you is already closed.

Your threat that you will go to court amounts to nothing.  It is your word against theirs. And it is not just the three of you the Americans are shaming, it is the rest of us, and so the shame is an embarrassment to Nigeria. If you guys don’t think so, please hire an intelligent person to decode the following excerpt: “The conduct described above left a very negative impression of Nigeria, casting a shadow on Nigeria’s National Assembly, the IVLP, and to the American hosts’ impression as a whole. Such conduct could affect some participants’ ability to travel to the United States in the future”. What? All of these insults -just because three male Nigerian lawmakers could not manage erectile functionality?

It seems to me that part of the problem with many of our public officers is that they enjoy free meals and free rides so much that they hardly pause to understand the implications. They jump at every invitation to dinner from foreign embassies without knowing what it means to go there and start blabbing. Every word gets recorded! They also don’t know what it means to accept a free ride to the home country of those embassies under whatever guise. Everything you do during the visit is monitored and every one around you, including the programme guides and the staff of the hosting hotel, has been specifically detailed to keep an eye on you. The IVLP is organized by the US Department of State through US embassies across the world. It is a “premier professional exchange programme.”

The American government funds it, and in its 75 years of existence, 200, 000 persons, mainly “current and emerging foreign leaders” from 190 countries have participated in it. The objective is to provide an opportunity for interaction and exchange of ideas with counterparts in the United States and to offer exposure to the workings of the American system and democracy. People don’t usually apply; they get invited. In its wisdom, the US Embassy in Nigeria chose ten lawmakers from Nigeria including Gololo, Ikon and Gbillah. These three gentlemen should go and take a second look at whatever documents they signed before they collected a free ticket, free accommodation and some dollars, to cover the cost of their stay in the US as guests of the American people. They should check the small print carefully. They may just discover a line about good conduct somewhere; and what the US Embassy in Nigeria has just issued is a report and a testimonial on a trip that was paid for by the American taxpayer!  If so, can the Americans be blamed for protecting the integrity of the American woman, who paid the taxes that provided funds for the US trip by Gbillah, Ikon and Gololo? I am tempted to write something else on the in-context onomatopoeic suggestiveness of this last name but good conduct says No. Let me just ask then: should the US Congress fund a programme that allows foreign visitors to come and harass the unwilling American woman for sex or solicit for prostitutes?

I must say this though: it is not only Nigerian lawmakers who act sometimes as sexual predators, either at home or abroad.  The United States also has a long list of lawmakers who attracted odium and sanction, because they could not keep their libidos in check. The only difference is that whereas in the United States, such predators when caught out are named and shamed, and they often show contrition, in Nigeria high social status is taken as a licence for sexual predation and that is why the indicted have been sounding so arrogant and defiant.  When Nigerian public officials go on any trip, local or foreign, they usually make special arrangements for what is called “Man no be wood”.  This is the euphemism for the money that is set aside by an individual for taking care of prostitutes, female companions, or accidental bedroom partners during such trips.[/b]

There are male public officials and even company executives who in fact swear that they will never sleep alone on a bed during any offshore trip. They will therefore either travel with what they call “a handbag” (this is the word for a mistress taken on a trip), or may be their wives who are knowingly introduced to others on the trip as Madam, but generally no trip is deemed successful without the accompaniment of a “cover cloth” (that’s another word for a woman whose task is to satisfy the sexual needs of a Nigerian travelling offshore). There are even more denigrating terms in the local languages. In Yoruba, such women are referred to as “agbesun” or “aso ibora”.

And of course, in many countries, female hotel attendants, particularly house-keepers are ready targets. Nigerian men are known in some countries to be quite generous, when paying for such special services. This instructively has nothing to do with religion. One of the guys in the present case, is said to be a devout Muslim (yet, he was allegedly soliciting for a prostitute), the other is said to be a practising Christian and an elder in the Apostolic Church of Nigeria (these religious labels hen?) and the third is described as a Christian (in this matter, there is obviously no religion!). What has also not been said is that some personal and special assistants to Nigerian big men attend to this same matter as part of their job definition. The sociology of misogyny, sex-solicitation and phallocentrism in Nigeria is quite an embarrassingly interesting subject.

The present scandal under review will not put an end to it, but the testimonial from the US Embassy is a cautionary note to all future Nigerian travellers to the US, especially public officials.  Gbilla, Ikon and Gololo have had their visas to the United States cancelled. They may never again be given a visa to that country.  And it may also be the case that other embassies in Nigeria would have taken note of their indictment by the US Embassy, and hence refuse them visas or opportunities such as the one they have just enjoyed and abused.

The leadership of the House of Representatives has reportedly set up a panel of inquiry. We expect in typical Nigerian fashion that the panel will stand by the three lawmakers, declare them to be honourable, guiltless gentlemen; the panel may also summon the American envoy and possibly interrogate him, but all of that will not change anything about the Americans’ decisions about a programme they organized and sponsored and whose terms and conditions the three indicted lawmakers agreed to. By the way, in the state of Ohio, US, where the lawmakers visited, sexual harassment, prostitution and solicitation are illegal. The allegations against the trio are akin to a breach of contract and trust and a shameful record.

The indicted lawmakers probably do not understand how serious this is. But I accuse the US Embassy in Nigeria of overstating its case and it is like this: All that talk about negative impression of Nigeria, and the National Assembly and the threat to future participants is too saccharine. It is unfair to label the rest of us in that manner. Many Nigerians have participated in the IVLP over the years and they behaved well. Even in this instance, out of 10 Nigerian participants, there has been no need to complain about the seven others.  So, we should always name and shame the ones who fall short of standards and expectations but save us the stereotype, don’t jump from three to 200 million Nigerians and start tarring all of us with the same brush. The terms of participation in the IVLP should be between you and the individuals involved and not the House of Representatives or the rest of Nigeria. Gbillah, Ikon and Gololo do not represent me, just as they do not represent many readers of this comment.

project8:
bros u wicked oo.yuan equal dollar?? jus say life imprisonment cos i dnt c that hapenin

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A Chinese national, Sunk Kun, has been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command over an alleged attempt to assassinate his Nigerian business partner.

Kun, who has been resident in the state for 5 years, was reportedly arrested after one of the assassins who he paid N1.4 million to
kill his business partner, was arrested.
The state Commissioner of Police, CP, Fatai Owoseni, made this known on Saturday while parading the suspects, Channels Television reports.

According to him, majority of the money paid to the hired assassin has been recovered.

Owoseni said, “The Chinese national fellow who is in business with some Nigerians, happened to have business misunderstanding with one of the Nigerians and he thought the best way to resolve the business misunderstanding is to eliminate his Nigerian business partner.

“He had recruited a fellow who is his co-accused to go and help him recruit more people in order for them to kill the Nigerian business partner that he had a misunderstanding with and he had paid the sum of N1.4 million for the assignment,” the CP confirmed.

But on interrogation, Kun denied ever wanting to assassinate his Nigerian business partner.

He said, “This Nigerian man, many years ago, he did business with my company. He owed me money and is a fraudster.

“I don’t want to kill him but he wanted to kill me. This guy says he can do voodoo for me.

“The money is not for assassination, it is for juju, and no one will be able to kill me,” the Chinese man confessed.

presidential veto of a bill to amend
the Constitution makes jest of the philosophy of
sovereignty, which is that power belongs to the
people

The Senate yesterday explained why President Muhammadu Buhari should not have the powers to assent the ongo ing constitution amendment, arguing that “presidential veto of a bill to amend the Constitution makes jest of the philosophy of sovereignty, which is that power belongs to the people.”

The Deputy Senate President and chairman, Senate committee on constitution review, Chief Ike Ekweremadu stated this at the ongoing retreat by the committee, holding in Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos.

He declared that since former President, Goodluck Jona than failed to sign the Fourth Alteration Bill into law, which strips the president of powers to veto any bill, it will be reconsidered with fresh inputs.

According to the lawmaker, “A bill to amend any portion of the con­stitution is not an ordinary bill. It is the only bill that requires the two-thirds majority of each Chamber of the National Assembly to pass in the first instance. It is also the only bill that requires the approval of two-thirds of the States Assembly to pass.

“Presidential veto of a bill to amend the consti tution makes jest of the philosophy of sovereignty, which is that power belongs to the people, and that the people exercise this sovereignty through their representatives in parliament.

“Nigerians have argued, and rightly so, that the Constitution would have made explicit prescrip tions on how such veto could be reversed, if it were the expectation of the framers of the Constitu tion for one man or woman to veto a constitution amendment.”

Sherrif, A bride with HIV

eph12:
After all the noise this Panama papers generated what's the result? I thought some Nigerian names were mentioned?

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The work of more than 370 journalists, including those from PREMIUM TIMES, who collaborated on the Panama Papers project was honoured with the Investigation of the Year prize at the Data Journalism Awards in Vienna, Austria on Thursday.

The Panama Papers investigation was based on a 2.6 terabyte trove of data obtained by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and shared with ICIJ and a network of more than 100 media organizations, including Nigeria’s PREMIUM TIMES.

The leaked dataset of 11.5 million files from Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, exposed the inner workings of the secretive offshore financial system, and revealed hidden companies linked to politicians, criminals, sports stars and more.

Accepting the Investigation of the Year award on behalf of ICIJ, data journalist Cécile Schilis-Gallego, paid tribute to the global team of reporters and the source of the information.

“I want to take a second to highlight the brilliant work of journalists who partner with us – especially Süddeutsche Zeitung – but also the courage of whistleblowers who take incredible risks to help us tell stories that participate to the democratic debate on offshore finance. Without the data, we would not be able to produce those stories,” she said.

It is the second year in a row that an ICIJ project has won top honours at the Global Editors Network-hosted event, after Swiss Leaks took home the Investigation of the Year award in 2015.

The Swiss Leaks investigation, which published in early 2015 in collaboration with French newspaper Le Monde and dozens of global media outlets, was also awarded the prize for business reporting at the Society of Professional Journalists’ Washington D.C. branch Dateline Awards at a ceremony at the National Press Club earlier this week. It was one of seven awards won by the Centre for Public Integrity at the event.

amokeme:
no they call it "making my marriage work"[/b] smh.. if you talk now, they will think someone is a feminist. But how do we explain this And the husband should not even say the normal "it is the devil's work" because he is the devil here

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Margaret on her hospital bed

A middle-aged man simply identified as Onya, has been arrested by the police in Benin, Edo State, for allegedly setting his wife, Margaret Onya, ablaze after a disagreement.
‎

The incident occurred at 35, JB street, Ekosodin quarters, off Ugbowo-Lagos Road, Benin City.‎
The man was alleged to have poured petrol on his wife and set her ablaze with a match stick.
Margaret who suffered severe burns from the incident is now being treated at a private medical facility in Benin City.

Trouble started when Onya allegedly refused to attend the burial ceremony of his father in-law.
Neighbours said that though the funeral rites of the father in-law had been concluded, Margaret was not happy with her husband’s decision not to attend her father’s burial.

Elder brother of the victim, Mr. Julius Eteghe, who described the development as shocking, added that the incident happened late on Saturday.
On her part, Mrs. Margaret who spoke on her hospital bed said:

“We had a quarrel and my husband told me he would teach me a lesson. After our disagreement, I sat on the chair and my husband went inside, brought petrol and wanted to pour it on me.

“I held the jar and as we were dragging, I was shouting for help. He overpowered me and poured the contents on me and lit a match. I was saved by one of my neighbours who rushed into our apartment and put out the fire,” she stated.

Efforts to reach the State police spokesman, Abiodun Osifo, a Superintendent, was unsuccessful as calls put to his mobile phone went unanswered.
A source at the state police command, however disclosed that Onya has been detained.

Jethro Ibileke/Benin

Controversial journalist and critic, Kemi Olunloyo, has revealed she sent late music producer and singer OJB Jezreel, a huge amount of dollars when he was diagnosed with Kidney failure.

While paying tribute to the late artiste who passed on in the early hours of today via her facebook page, Kemi disclosed someone tried scamming her using OJB's situation.

She shared a photo of the deceased and captioned it with:

"#‎RIP OJB Jezreel. The guy I told to go to hell after aggressively begging money for kidneys on my page only to find out it was 419 scammers trying to defraud me, Tuface and DBanj on our fanpages. The poor dude later reached out to me apologizing it wasn’t him but he needed kidney surgery. I sent him a huge amount of dollars. Sleep well. U are now free. Everyone can google that scam story."

mizthorlu:
gave me a nice treat, I love eating and I ate to my fill. we sat close to the sea, talked and i left his place, later at night, he told me on phone his with someone else.

2year's now and it's just like yesterday. I don't really regret it tho I still miss and love him but he gave me a departing parry (lol)

Stolen:
Buhari is forcing Chairman on us in PDP. We have rejected Sheriff.

wolfslair:
You want to give us what belong to us
God will punish you and buhari



long live

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu has said the President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government will consider people from the Niger Delta region when allocating oil blocs.

Speaking at a Town Hall in Uyo, capital of Akwa Ibom State, the Minister said though the President had not allocated any oil bloc since assumption of office but that when he eventually starts, only skilled people will benefit.

According to the Minister, the President will follow due process when he finally starts the allocation of oil blocs.

Kachikwu said, “In terms of the allocation of oil blocs to south-south indigene, since we came into position, the government has not allocated any bloc of petroleum. The president has not put any emphasis on that at all.

“He said we need to correct the mess before we begin to give advantage. Let me set something very clearly here; just like Udoma, I didn’t know the president before I got appointed here, never met him before, never spoke to him before.

“Recommendations and reputation brought me here. I haven’t been in government before, so I don’t know how it works, but since the day that I resumed, this president has never called me to give me the name of anybody, any Nigerian, north, south, east or west and say to me ‘you need to do some favour.

“On the contrary, his emphasis is that there should be no favours. Make the right decisions and be able to defend it. On the issue of oil blocs, when the time comes, it will follow very due process.

“I’m one of those who believe there’s a need to see how the south-south and corridors would benefit, because that is part of giving back. I am sure that at the appropriate time, those presented to him, he will listen to it.

“He will listen to it subject to the fact that those who have skills and the finances to develop the field will be allowed to develop the fields.”

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) on Monday announced a seven-member team, led by Odein Ajumogobia, a former Minister of Petroleum, to dialogue with the Federal Government.

Jomo Gbomo, MEND’s spokesman, said in an online statement on Monday that other members of the group, tagged, “Aaron Team 2”, are Bismark Rewane (Delta) and Florence Ita-Giwa (Cross River).

The rest are Timipa Jenkins Okponipere (Bayelsa), Ledum Mitee (Rivers) and Lawson Omokhodion (Edo) and Ibanga Isine (Akwa Ibom), who is a PREMIUM TIMES reporter.

Mr. Gbomo said other members of the team would be made public in due course after consultations with relevant stakeholders.

He said the team was made up of patriotic and selfless men and women with good track records and character drawn from different parts of the Niger Delta region.

Mr. Gbomo also said the team would dialogue with the Federal Government on the immediate, medium and long-term future of the Niger Delta region.
He said members had already agreed to serve on behalf of the Niger Delta Region.

He recalled that MEND on May 30, 2014, declared a ceasefire on attacks against the nation`s key economic and strategic interests.

The spokesman said the group took the decision in response to former President Goodluck Jonathan`s Democracy Day speech.

“Our message to the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) is simple: The Niger Delta struggle is beyond attacks on oil installations.

“If indeed your cause is to avenge the injustice done to the Niger Delta region; then, we urge you to ceasefire and join us to the table of negotiation with the Federal Government.

“Otherwise, the Niger Delta struggle shall be hijacked, once again by selfish interests for their own personal aggrandizement,” Gbomo said.

He said the problems and challenges facing the region after attacks on key installations were environmental pollution and political corruption. (NAN)

BABAGANA KINGIBE
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Kingibe and Atiku Abubakar lost the SDP ticket to Abiola, but with immense influence upon the SDP governors, he became Abiola’s running mate. It was the first time Nigeria would have a Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket.  Reports had it that Kingibe never believed that a southerner would be president.

When Kingibe declared his intention to run for the highest office towards the end of 1992, he invited media executives in Lagos to seek their support. Kingibe stunned the top journalists into disbelief when he told them that it was unrealistic for any southerner to seek the highest office because a southerner can never win presidential election in Nigeria.

So, even when Kingibe accepted to be Abiola’s running mate he had never believed that Abiola would emerge victorious.

In the words of Mohammed Haruna, a seasoned journalist, “Kingibe thought like IBB that Tofa would win.”

It is on record that he was the first to join Abacha government. He later served as secretary to the government of the federation under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, but was fired after reportedly trying to exploit the illness of Yar’Adua.

DOYIN OKUPE
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Okupe, former aide of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, and former Goodluck Jonathan, was a chieftain of the NRC in 1993. Okupe had already congratulated some of his SDP counterparts for their victory in the election.

Suddenly, the story changed, and Okupe later told Nigerians that IBB instructed Tofa not to accept defeat.

Recently, there were reports that Okupe was interested in becoming the chairman of the PDP. Though he did not say this openly, he canvassed for the zoning of the office to the south-west, which has never produced the party’s chairman in its 17 years history.

SANI ABACHA
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Abacha was commissioned in 1963 after he had attended Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, England. Before then, he had attended the Nigerian Military Training College in Kaduna.

His military career is distinguished by a string of successful coups. He was one the most successful coup plotters in the history of Nigeria’s military. Abacha came to national limelight as the announcer of the coup that ousted second republic President Shehu Shagari from office in 1983.

Exactly 20 years later, he forced Ernest Shonekan, head of the interim national government, to step down after barely three months in office.

Abacha was regarded as a military dictator, who threw his opponents into detention. Many fled the country, while some organised a massive campaign against his government from within. He went after Abiola after the politician declared himself as president.

Abiola was accused of treason and arrested. He was detained for four years, largely in solitary confinement with a Bible, Qur’an, and fourteen guards as companions. During that time, Pope John Paul II, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and human rights activists from all over the world lobbied the Nigerian government for his release. The sole condition attached to the release of Abiola was that he renounced his mandate, something that Abiola refused to do, although the military government offered to compensate him and refund his extensive election expenses.

Kudirat, Abiola’s wife was also assassinated. The killings continued until Abacha himself died on June 8, 1998. Hamza Al-Mustapha, Abacha’s chief security officer, has promised to speak on the exact cause of his death, and that of Abiola, who died a month after the dictator.

JOHN OYEGUN
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Oyegun was elected civilian governor of Edo state on the SDP platform, during the transition to democracy launched by Babangida, and served from January 1992 to November 1993, when Abacha declared him wanted.

He went on exile but joined the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), which campaigned vigorously against the military.

Commenting on the NADECO days, Oyegun said: “I was taken out of the political scene on a permanent basis and that was why NADECO came about. The mission of NADECO was to end the military rule. June 12 was grafted when Abiola came to join us. We were meeting then somewhere in Ikeja GRA when Abiola applied to join, and I remember I got up that day and said he has to accept that the core of the struggle was a permanent end to military rule.”

Upon his return to politics, Oyegun joined the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). On 13, June 2014, he was elected as national chairman of the APC. Tinubu is believed to have played an important role in the emergence of Oyegun.

NDUBUISI KANU
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Ndubuisi Kanu was born in Abia state. He joined the navy, and went to India for cadet training. He obtained honorary doctorate degrees from the Imo State University and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri.

In July 1975, as a lieutenant commander he was appointed a member of Murtala Muhammed’s ruling cabinet, the supreme military council, and later appointed governor of Imo state in March 1976.

He was the first governor after the decree that established the state from part of the old east central state. He was transferred to become governor of Lagos state in 1977, and left service in 1978.

However, Babangida made him a member of the armed forces ruling council (AFRC) between 1985 and 1989.

Later in life, he joined the pro-democracy movement and played a leading role in the agitation for the actualisation of June 12. He was the chairman of NADECO. Despite serving Babangida, he described his regime as “the time when things started to go wrong, with increasingly centralised control”.

June 12, 1993, remains a remarkable date in the history of Nigeria. It was a day when Nigerians put aside religious and ethnic sentiments while casting their ballot.

The election was annulled by Ibrahim Babangida, a former military president. Babangida had alleged that there was conflict in the process of authentication and clearance of credentials of presidential candidates, and that he was aware of other forms of inducements against officials of National Electoral Commission (NEC).

His excuses were not convincing and he was forced to step down two months after that infamous act, but rather than solve the situation, Babangida’s exit plunged Nigeria into another crisis.

There are many people who played major roles in that period in Nigeria’s history, but 23 years down the line, we profile 12 of such personalities.

MKO ABIOLA

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Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, top class businessman, publisher, sports lover, philanthropist and politician hailed from Abeokuta, Ogun state capital. Though from Ogun, his fame spread across the length and breadth of the country. His interest in journalism dates back to his days at Baptist Boys High School, Abeokuta, where he rose to become the editor of The Trumpeter, the school magazine, with Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigerian president, as deputy editor.

Abiola’s popularity would later speak for him when he contested the presidential election in 1993. He made made history by winning in Abuja, the military polling stations, and over two-thirds of the country, including in Kano, the state of Bashir Tofa, his opponent. He contested on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), while Tofa on the National Republican Convention (NRC).

He was thrown into detention for declaring himself as president after the regime of Sani Abacha refused to restore his mandate.

BASHIR TOFA
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Tofa is a businessman, an oil trader and industrialist. He was chairman of International Petro-Energy Company (IPEC) and Abba Othman and Sons ltd.

His running mate in the election was Sylvester Ugoh, one time governor of the former Central Bank of Biafra. At the time of the poll, he was an ally of Halilu Akilu, a retired general, who held key security positions, including that of director of the directorate of military intelligence.

There were reports that he almost conceded the election, which he obviously lost. He had told his associates to wait for more results to be declared, so that the pattern would be clearer. Suddenly, his tune changed, as he demanded an outright cancellation of the election.

Twenty years after that saga, Tofa spoke in a manner suggesting that he did not agree that Abiola actually won. Addressing reporters in Kano, he said: “Events of June 12 are fiction, those still celebrating the dead issue have nothing to do with their time. It is for those who don’t have anything to offer this country to move forward that can still be talking about June 12 presidential election.

“If you have learnt any lesson out of it good, if you have not, keep quiet, let this country make progress, but for one to still be talking about something that occurred 20 years ago is colossal waste of time.”

Tofa later joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and became a member of the party’s board of trustees.

AUTHUR NZERIBE
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Nzeribe is a businessman, who was into construction, arms, oil brokerage, publishing and property investment. A renowned politician, who is an inlaw to the Yar’Adua family, having married the sister of Asabe Yar’Adua, wife of the late Shehu Yar’Adua,a retired general.

On June 10, 1993, Nzeribe tried to stop the election, relying on a court order which his group, Association for Better Nigeria (ABN), got from late Justice Bassey Ikpeme of Abuja High Court. ABN was known to be pro-Babangida.

But Humphrey Nwosu, who was then the chairman of the National Electoral Commission (NEC), resolved any issue that could have arisen by citing section 19(1) of the presidential election decree 13 of 1993.

The section said: “No interim or interlocutory order of ruling, judgment or tribunal before or after the commencement of this decree in respect of any intra-party dispute or any matter before it shall affect the date or time of holding the (presidential) election.”

Nzeribe, a member of the board of trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was the senator who represented Orlu constituency in Imo state between 1999 and 2007.

HUMPHREY NWOSU
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If Nwosu was praised for having the courage to foil the plot to thwart the election, the result of his good work became fruitless in a matter of days. Nwosu was professor of political science at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He served in the cabinet of Samson Omeruah, governor of the old Anambra state.

In 1989, Eme Awa, Nwosu’s former mentor, had a disagreement with Babangida and resigned as chairman of the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO), which later changed to NEC. Babangida picked him to replace Awa.

Ahead of the 1993 election, the commission introduced option A4 voting system and the open ballot system. Compared to the past, Nwosu’s election witnessed a major innovation: the introduction of an election monitoring group. 3,000 observers took part in the nationwide exercise.

The effective system and mechanisms he put in place enabled Nigerians to get the results of the election 24 hours after. Many of the results were already in circulation at the time he was ordered to stop further announcement.

Despite the obvious, and painful fact, Nwosu could not muster the courage to officially announce the results and damn the consequences,

In 2008, he published a book in which he claimed that Babangida was not to blame for annulling the election. The book was severely criticised for failing to accurately account for what happened.

IBRAHIM BABANGIDA
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Without the Minna-born general popularly known as IBB, June 12 might have not been part of our history. An ally of Abiola, MKO said when he buried Simbiat, his wife, in Lagos in 1992, IBB told him that he must contest election and that the country wanted him as the next president.

While in jail after the annulment Abiola said: “I believed in a friend. I trusted a friend and he betrayed me. IBB betrayed me”.

Abiola said few days to the election, IBB called him and asked him to accept the results as a good sportsman, thinking that Tofa will win. And when it became obvious that he (Abiola) would carry the day, he put several calls to IBB, but he refused to answer his phone.

The military ruler, who came to power after overthrowing the then Major General Muhammadu Buhari in a coup, wielded so much influence.

As head of the armed forces ruling council – the highest decision making organ of the military junta – IBB said the election was annulled in the best interest of the country.

IBB, a member of the PDP, made several attempts to return as a civilian president, but did not even succeed in picking the ticket of his party. Dubbed Maradona for his evasive style during media interviews, IBB has is yet to give a straightforward answer on the June 12 issue.

TONY ANENIH
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Tony Anenih, prominent chieftain of the PDP and former minister of works, was chairman of SDP. He took over from Babagana Kingibe, Anenih went into politics after retiring from the police. His membership of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), one of the strongest blocs within the SDP, also played a key factor in his emergence as chairman of the party. Shehu Yar‘adua, also a member of PDM, assisted Anenih to the position.

Anenih did so much for his party, but the story changed after the annulment. He took the cancellation in good fate, and this earned him so much criticisms.

In later years, the Edo state politician became a godfather in his state. He also played a key role in the re-election bid of former President Goodluck Jonathan. The loss of Jonathan made the elder statesman to relegate politics to the background.

Debunking a rumor of his death last month, he said: “God punish those who want me dead. They will certainly die before me.”

TOM IKIMI
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Ikimi, a politician from Edo state, was the chairman of the NRC. Just like Tofa, he refused to accept that his party lost the 1993 election. He even spoke in a manner suggesting that he was in support of the annulment of the election results.

Ikimi later served as foreign affairs minister in the administration of Sani Abacha. Ikimi, who is a founding member of the APC, lost his bid to be the party’s chairman. He subsequently left, but not without creating a storm.

He accused Bola Tinubu, a former Lagos state governor and one of the main architects of the APC, of thwarting his bid to lead the then opposition party.

Ikimi said Tinubu resented him because of his own opposition to the idea of fielding Tinubu as running mate to Buhari, who was then the presidential flagbearer.

In a letter leaked to the press, Ikimi made weighty corruption allegations against Tinubu. He said the former governor was a major beneficiary of oil deals from the PDP government, a claim Tinubu denied.

Ikim has since defected to the PDP