₦airaland Forum

“Utomi’s unilateral declaration of a ‘shadow government’, in a presidential democracy, is, in and of itself, an exercise of democratic freedom and free speech, in the extreme,” the statement reads in part.

Seun:
The bot issues have not been solved.
Just try to be polite and kind to everyone.

Obi apparently threw the first shade..

Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State and his predecessor, former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, have thrown shade at each other this week amid the visit of President Bola Tinubu to the state.

Obi apparently threw the first shade when he criticised governors prioritising the construction of government lodges over the rising poverty level in Nigeria.

In a post on X lamenting the poverty level, Obi said, “It is the direct result of years of misplaced priorities. Rather than investing in critical sectors, we have continued to prioritise wasteful spending on non-developmental projects such as conference centres, government houses and lodges, guest houses, and fleets of official vehicles—instead of investing in human capital, education, and healthcare, which are the true legacy projects capable of transforming a nation.”

His post was shared a few days before Soludo invited Tinubu to commission some projects, including the first government house in Anambra.

In an apparent move at taking a pound of flesh, Soludo stated that the last time a president visited Anambra was in 2012, adding that the visit was to commission a brewery.

He said,“The last time a president visited for a commissioning was in 2012 for a brewery, but today, the president is here to commission roads spanning several kilometers, flyovers, a government house, and more.”

It would be recalled that Obi was the governor of Anambra State in 2012, and the brewery that was commissioned was built by him, an investment Soludo once described as “worth next to nothing.”

This exchange of comments occurs as President Tinubu continues his nationwide tours to launch infrastructure projects and meet with regional leaders.

Political analysts suggest that the disputation between Soludo and Obi reflects larger tensions within the political dynamics of the Southeast, especially with the 2027 elections approaching.

zero8zero:
Wow.. this man carry weight.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, Thursday, said that the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, is committed to the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

The Minister also said that the one day working visit of President Tinubu to Anambra State was a manifestation of his spirit of inclusivity and that it has proven that he is a president for all Nigerians, regardless of political party affiliations, tribe or creed.

But the Minister, who is a member of Board of Trustees of APGA, said she has no intention to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, even though she is a cabinet member of the APC led federal government.

Asked to comment how she felt over the President’s visit to Anambra State, the wife of the late Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu said:

“It’s a momentous occasion. The President’s visit to Anambra, state today (yesterday), has demonstrated really how magnanimous he is in his political affiliations.

“It has showcased his spirit of inclusivity, and he has shown all and sundry that he is a president for all Nigerians, regardless of political party affiliations, tribe or creed.”

Ambassador Ojukwu said President Tinubu was very impressed with the projects he commissioned in Awka, the state capital that were executed by Governor Chukwuma Soludo.

“Today he commissioned the largest building within the Nnamdi Azikiwe University complex, the Solution Fun City, and, of course, the gigantic Government House of Anambra State, which houses about 57 buildings.

“And he was clearly, clearly impressed by the hard work the governor has put into his first tenure of office. And in fact, he captioned it the power of one man, the power of one man to underscore the vision that the governor had and the commitment to deliver.

“He had an agenda. He had a dream, but a dream with a deadline, and he has shown today, beyond any doubt that he has been able to deliver on that dream.

Asked if she was in agreement with the governor who said that APGA has adopted him is the Presidential candidate in 2027 despite the fact that they are not in the same party, she said there has always been the understanding between APGA in the state and the party at the centre.

Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu said that the declaration made by the governor to the effect the APGA has adopted him as its Presidential candidate in 2027 was a consensus by the party.

“Yes, it is a consensus of the party. We have done that with the People’s Democratic Party in times past. In the state, we are the All progressives Grand Alliance, but when it comes to support, we key into the center. We did that with the People’s Democratic Party, and we are, as a party, committed to the second term aspirations our president.”

Also asked whether she intends to defect to the APC, she said: “I am a member of the Board of Trustees of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, a principal member at that. So, I have absolutely no intentions of defecting.”

zero8zero:
But you're complaining about the bot in your post too, maybe you don't have the liver to create thread on it. You waiting for someone else to do it so that you can air your grievances.

Seun:
We intend to make the bot more accurate. The first ban may have been a mistake. However, your second post was calling for violence.

helinues:
Bro I used to get banned like 3 times in a day since anti spam bot was introduced. I had to adjust

helinues:
That's the anti spam bot not the mods

Be cautious of your words

I am yet to be banned today

femisplash:
Anyone not enthused by this good news, is under a weight heavier than human comprehension. It is advisable for us as citizens to be responsible, accountable and objective as much as possibly as the spirit of patriotism demands of us. We ought to follow the data, statistics, processes as much as possible with an open mind. Neutralizing negative perceptions and a sharp resistance to anything that come off as positive about the country. This is a very great feat and deserves a tea party. The very first time in history we are off IMF red books. As the media aide rightly put it, we will still do business with IMF but in a proactive manner going forward. Let's follow the processes and statistics meticulously and disengage from media propaganda aimed at disparaging the country. Hopefully, we are into the era of reimagining while we focus on reducing other financial obligations and boosting the country's industrial capacities. God bless Nigeria.

As the anti-Tinubu coalition, headed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, gathers momentum in the North, elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, has said the North alone cannot determine who emerges as president in 2027.
This came as the League of Northern Democrats, yesterday, said the mission of the group is not in seizing power but fixing the country.

It will be recalled that former Special Adviser on Political Matters to President Bola Tinubu, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, recently declared that the North will soon define its political direction, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Baba-Ahmed had stressed that no politician can win the Nigerian presidency without support from the Northern region.

“No politician can become president without Northern support, making the region’s stance crucial to any aspirant’s success,” he had said.

However, Yakassai, a former Liaison Officer to late President Shehu Shagari and founding member of Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, who spoke with Vanguard, noted that neither the North nor the South could determine who emerges Nigeria’s president.

Speaking against the backdrop of growing coalition against the Tinubu Presidency, Yakassai said:

“The presidential election is a national affair. Any presidential election is a national issue, the North alone cannot determine who becomes President; the South alone cannot make it. The South and North must come together with a formidable candidate to get it done.

“When I mean a formidable candidate, it means apart from someone with the popularity, he must have the financial clout. Elections in Nigeria now involve a lot of money. Unfortunately, people with money in Nigeria do not like to sponsor any candidate. You must have enough money to put yourself there but don’t rely on others.”

Emphasising his earlier position, Yakasai declared that though the North plays a critical role in the emergence of a president, it cannot make the decision alone.

The elder statesman said: “Like I said, the North alone cannot decide who becomes President in 2027 but it will play a very important role because of its numbers. Of course, other factors will make it possible for a presidential candidate to emerge and win elections in this country. Those factors include acceptability and support by the stakeholders.”


No one can win presidency on regional voting alone – ACF

Speaking on the issue in an interview with Vanguard last night, the National Publicity Secretary of Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, Prof. Tukur Mohammed Baba, said the forum had no control over who would win the presidential election noting that no one could be president on the basis of regional voting alone.

He said: ‘’In 2027, ACF views the statement as a personal opinion of Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed to which he is entitled. Whether or not it will come to pass, we don’t know.

‘’ACF as an organisation has no control over that. But we do know that no one can be president on the basis solely of regional voting alone, as the constitutional requirements require what is essentially a pan-regional spread of support at some minimum level.

‘’Again, whatever anyone thinks, it is the voter, if allowed to vote without interference, manipulation or other electoral malfeasance, that will determine the outcome. So basically, we need to wait to see how things eventually pan out.

Recall that on March 20, 2025, the former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar announced the formation of a coalition of opposition political parties to oust President Tinubu in 2027.

Atiku, who spoke at a press conference at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, had said: “Yes, this is the birth of the coalition of opposition ahead of 2027.”
However, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, said the coalition being put together by Atiku has disintegrated.

Onanuga said: “Atiku’s political future looks bleak. The coalition that he, El-Rufai, Babachir, and new member Baba-Ahmed are cobbling together has disintegrated.”

Though some stakeholders believe the Atiku coalition might have hit the rocks, they argued that it remains a Northern affair.

Multiple sources, who confided in Vanguard, said this had led President Tinubu to aggressively build his support base in the South-South and South-East zones.

The aggressive drive led Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his predecessor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa and other PDP stakeholders to defect to the APC in Delta State.

LegendHero:
God bless you.

As in Nigeria media are useless people and that is exactly why government don’t usually take them serious.

If it took us just 5min to validate info and factcheck immediately, how exactly do they just write useless headline just to paint wrong scenarios everytime

LegendHero:
Nigeria media are bunch of useless organization that cannot do simple research.

Below is IMF official website showing the total debt owed to them by country. As at March 2025, we only ow $307 million to IMF.

In Naira, @1600 to $1, that is N491 billion.

https://www.imf.org/external/np/fin/tad/balmov2.aspx?type=TOTAL

owobokiri:
He used to ask; "are we the cause or are we cursed? Obi is now the curse. . This clowns 8 years in office have brought nothing inventive or spectacular to that state. In fact his last minute contract awards and construction works over the last few months might be more effective than whatever he did in the past 7 years. It makes you wonder what he has been doing with the states resources these past years. From day 1, he was banking with Fidelity bank! How can a state chief executive channel the state funds to his bank with a straight face and still rant endlessly about fighting corruption? Is there no clash of interest there? How can a man be so totally selfish in the way he runs a state? Now he is going to put his "nwa boy" there ala Obasanjo and Andy Ubah. This wont happen in Imo state. All the former governors of Imo tried stuff like this and were all forced to eat the humble pie. Anambra people should make his last days in office very painful.

Daniel Bwala, presidential spokesperson, has said that Nigerians claiming President Bola Tinubu has no tangible achievements since assuming office are “either blind, deaf and dumb".

Mr Bwala, in an interview with TVC on Monday night, said the Tinubu-led government has increased Nigeria’s foreign reserves despite paying off a huge debt inherited from his predecessor.

“Those who say there are no achievements, it is either they are blind, deaf or dumb, but I’ll help them today,” said Mr Bwala when asked to respond to criticisms that Mr Tinubu has no achievement since he assumed office about two years ago.

He added, “Look at our foreign reserve. You can see how we are having increase. We are increasing the foreign reserve, while we are paying the debt on our neck.”

Mr Bwala argued that another achievement of Mr Tinubu’s government is the increased monthly allocation to states, adding that 27 states were bankrupt and could not pay salaries before Mr Tinubu assumed office.

“When the president took oath of office, 27 states of the federation were reported to have gone bankrupt, meaning they could not pay salaries. They virtually could not do anything at all. Today, there is no state that is bankrupt or incapable of paying salaries,” Mr Bwala said.

“Rather, state governors have gone beyond that to deliver on good governance and projects.” He added, “Few days ago, we were in Katsina, the governor reaffirmed this same view thay before now governors didn’t have enough to pay salaries.

Even in PDP states, Enugu and even Abia, they acknowledged that the policies of the president have increased their allocations so that they can now deliver on good governance to their people. Fundamentally, that is achievement number one.”

The presidential spokesperson also cited the student loan policy as another achievement of the Tinubu-led government, saying,

“Look at the NELFUND, now the son of indigent, who has dreams, can now have access to funds to fund their education.” Mr Bwala said,

“These are few of many achievements of Mr President, when they blow the whistle and say let’s go to campaign, we will bring them to the table. They are ascertainable, relatable and touchable.”