₦airaland Forum

I recently read that Eta Mbora is aggressively pushing for the NDC ticket in the Calabar Municipal/Odukpani Federal Constituency, and it immediately raised a massive red flag. For those of us who live here, watch the politics of our state, and desperately want real progress, this development forces a cold, uncomfortable reality check. Politics is entirely about momentum.

If you aren't moving forward, you are moving backward—and right now, our people are fiercely impatient for change.

Handing our flag to a recycled politician isn't just a strategic blind spot; it is a declaration that we have run out of fresh ideas. If the NDC wants to win tomorrow’s battles, we cannot rely on yesterday’s defeated generals. We cannot afford to turn our party ticket into a political safety net.

If we look past the noise and the optics, the hard facts show exactly why having the likes of Eta Mbora leading the ticket is a liability the NDC simply cannot afford.

1. The Electorate Has Already Delivered a Clear Verdict
We don’t need to guess how voters feel about him; they told us plainly in 2023. Standing as an incumbent with all the advantages of power, he was soundly defeated, crashing into a distant third place. Rewarding a candidate whom the public actively rejected just a few years ago is a massive gamble that flies in the face of public opinion.

If the general electorate wouldn't buy what he was selling then, why do we think they will buy it now?

2. A Marriage of Convenience, Not Conviction
Let’s be honest about his sudden arrival in the NDC. This wasn’t a sudden ideological alignment; it was a tactical retreat from the internal collapse of his former political home, the PDP. The NDC ticket should belong to the loyal hands who stayed behind to build, fund, and defend this party through its darkest days, not someone treating our platform as a temporary storm shelter.

3. Twenty-Three Years in the System is More Than Enough
His political timeline stretches all the way back to the State Assembly in 2003, moving through local council leadership, and culminating in eight years in the House of Representatives. He has spent over two decades in the corridors of power. If twenty-three years wasn't enough time for him to transform this constituency, another four years won't magically do the trick.

4. The "Old Guard" Brand is Toxic to Modern Voters
The average voter today is exhausted by career politicians who view public office as a lifelong game of musical chairs. People are desperately seeking dynamic, innovative leadership. In this climate, fielding a face from the early 2000s instantly alienates the youth and independent blocks—the very swing voters the NDC absolutely needs to capture the seat.

5. A Stagnant and Forgettable Legislative Record
Eight years in Abuja should leave a legacy you can see and touch—landmark infrastructure, robust human capital development, and systemic empowerment. Instead, his tenure left the grassroots feeling deeply disconnected, defined by underwhelming, uncompleted constituency projects that did little to move the needle for our people.

6. Rusted Grassroots Machinery
The political engine that once kept him afloat has eroded. The energy is gone. His ability to genuinely mobilize the base has shrunk to a fraction of what it used to be, meaning he no longer possesses the structural muscle or the organic goodwill required to win a grueling, multi-party general election.

7. Loyalty That Shifts with the Wind
In sustainable politics, loyalty is everything. If a politician can abandon the political family that sustained him for decades the moment things get difficult, there is absolutely zero guarantee he won’t abandon our platform tomorrow—much like the current incumbent did—if a better offer comes along or the political winds shift again.

8. Importing Yesterday’s Factional Drama
He doesn’t travel alone; he brings the baggage, old grudges, and factional friction of his former political life straight into our camp. Right now, the NDC needs absolute internal cohesion to win. The last thing we need is to import external feuds and old camp rivalries into our family structure.

9. A Deep Generational Disconnect
The challenges facing Calabar Municipal/Odukpani today are modern and complex. We are talking about digital economy integration, innovative trade frameworks, youth unemployment, and contemporary governance. His political style belongs to a completely different era and is fundamentally unequipped to handle modern economic realities.

10. A Career Rescue Mission is Not a Vision
We all know this bid is entirely about a personal political comeback. It’s about personal survival, not a transformative agenda for the constituency. The people of Calabar and Odukpani deserve a representative whose primary focus is the collective future of the constituency, not the resuscitation of a fading personal career.

The choice before the NDC is clear and simple. We can choose energy over exhaustion. We can choose a fresh, bold vision over a recycled past. If we want to win, we must move forward.

Affiong Oyo-Ita writes from Calabar.

brutustech:
So many pwople are bitter over 2023 loss

Former Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has reaffirmed his commitment to supporting elderly and vulnerable women during the holy month of Ramadan, as thousands benefitted from this year’s Ile-Arugbo charity distribution in Ilorin.

Saraki said the annual outreach remains a moral and spiritual obligation rooted in compassion, gratitude, and the responsibility to care for the elderly, particularly during a sacred period that emphasises charity and humanity.

He noted that the initiative is intended to ensure that aged women, many of whom depend on communal support, are able to observe Ramadan with dignity and without anxiety about basic meals.

Food items were distributed to the women at the well-known Ile-Arugbo charity home located within Baba Saraki’s GRA residence, continuing a humanitarian tradition closely associated with the family and the political legacy of the late patriarch, Dr Abubakar Olusola Saraki.

Although Saraki was not physically present at the distribution, the exercise was carried out on his behalf by the Director of Ile-Arugbo and leader of the Baba Saraki Alasalatu group, Hajia Afusat Abubakar, who stood in and closely monitored the process to ensure the items reached the intended beneficiaries in an orderly and respectful manner.

Speaking during the exercise, Hajia Afusat reiterated that the Ile-Arugbo initiative remains dedicated to providing relief, inclusion, and care for elderly women, especially during Ramadan when support for the less privileged becomes even more significant.

The beneficiaries, who turned out in large numbers, expressed gratitude for the food support, describing the gesture as timely and reassuring. They offered prayers for Saraki, asking Allah to reward his generosity, strengthen him, and continue to guide him in service to the people.

The distribution once again reinforced Ile-Arugbo’s enduring reputation as a centre of compassion and community support for elderly women in Ilorin, particularly during the fasting season.

Pussymann:
It's a shame and disgrace

brutustech:
No woman should have to beg for her husband’s life. Please, let the truth come out. El-Rufai where is dadiyata

brutustech:
No amount of pressure from the opposition can stop Reno , he will continue to expose every of their act. This is one unique thing about him

aisha111:
Nasir el-Rufai: The Jeffrey Epstein of Nigeria

By his own admission on live television, an argument can be made that Nasir el-Rufai is Nigeria's version of Jeffrey Epstein, as seen in the famous #Epsteinfiles. Like Epstein, Nasir el-Rufai is a notorious gatherer of negative information on people using illegal means.

Please fact-check me: Six years ago, on Friday, 1 May 2020, when multiple attempts to hack my emails and social media accounts were made, I fingered Nasir el-Rufai as the main suspect.

He had sent me an email in which Southern Nigerian Christian women were described as "whores". And when, in shock, I wrote about it in my Thisday column, I suddenly became the victim of a massive hacking spree across almost all platforms.

Who knows what other Epstein-style blackmail information this self-confessed accessory after the fact to criminal hacking has?

If you are one of his paid 'data boys' or influencers, you had better watch your back!

If you are Waziri Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, or Rotimi Amaechi, please note that there is no spoon long enough to dine with the devil. Someone like el-Rufai can use illegally obtained compromising information to manipulate the ADC primaries.

Given his admission on live TV yesterday, is it a stretch to imagine that, like Jeffrey Epstein, Nasir el-Rufai knows people who use hidden cameras in hotels and private residences to obtain compromising information about people?

Based on what he said on Arise Prime Time yesterday, is el-Rufa'i above espionage, which is the use of illicit sexual activity to entrap people?

If Nasir el-Rufa'i has your phone number, I would urge you to block him immediately; otherwise, we may start hearing all your secrets on television!

Reno Omokri

Gospeller. Deep Thinker. #TableShaker. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years. Hodophile. Hollywood Magazine Humanitarian of the Year, 2019. Business Insider Influencer of the Year 2022. 21st Most Talked About Person in Africa, 2024.

https://x.com/i/status/2022655912490439166

Pussymann:
My own is that As long as it is free and fair, I have no probkem.

If Peter Obi Can’t Guarantee Real-Time Money Transfer in His Bank, How Can He Want INEC To Guarantee Real-Time Transmission of Election Results? pic.twitter.com/ZHZQEJcR4m

— Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) February 10, 2026