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2027: Grand conspiracy against Tinubu will fail in N’Delta – Akpabio
If the words of Godswill Akpabio, Senate President, indicate the true feelings of the people of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu will make a clean sweep of the votes available in their land in 2027, should he decide to go for re-election.
Akpabio, a day after assuring of the votes of his native Akwa Ibom for the President, during a stakeholders meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC), upped the ante on Saturday, with the assurance that the people of the oil-rich region, had also signed in to the Tinubu re-election project, because of the goodies the President had brought to the people.
At the grand finale of the 25th anniversary of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State as part of the activities to round off the week-long celebration, he told his audience that the people had decided to support Tinubu to continue in office beyond 2027 because of the projects that the administration had brought to the zone.
In the audience were Goodluck Jonathan, former President, George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), who represented Tinubu, Ibok-Ette Ibas, Administrator of Rivers State, lawmakers, traditional rulers, ministers, and key figures from across the Niger Delta.
Anietie Ekong, his spokesman quoted the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State and currently Chairman of the National Assembly, as recalling how the region was handed the short end of the stick in the affairs of the country, despite being the major revenue earner and how Tinubu had redeemed the ugly situation in the last two years, hence the resolve to pay him back handsomely with their votes in 2027.
Hear him: “In the past the Niger Delta was used as the goose that produced the golden egg with nothing to show for it. Today President Tinubu has set up an Environmental Sciences University in Ogoni land to take care of the environment which had been degraded as a result of oil pollution.
“He has also set up a Maritime University, signed it into an Act of Parliament in Okerenkoko in Delta State. He has given us several tertiary institutions in Agriculture, Technology and lots of others. So, it is not only in terms of appointments but various projects. This is the region that produces the wealth of the nation. We have the right to choose who manages our resources. So, people should not think that anybody can just come and become the President without consultation with the people of the Niger Delta.
“We the people of the Niger Delta have assessed President Tinubu and have found him fit to continue in office beyond 2027. So let the people who are conspiring against President Tinubu hear this. They did it before and conspired to remove our son, President Goodluck Jonathan. This time around the entire Niger Delta region has decided to speak with one voice. And we are telling the President ‘on your mandate we stand.’ No conspiracy formed against this Government that has recognised the Niger Delta shall prosper.”
Akpabio, however, decried the high turnover of management team of the NDDC which he said had slowed the pace of development of the oil-rich region, stressing that the outcome, also created endless cycles where new leaders were removed before finishing projects, leaving thousands of initiatives abandoned and wasting billions meant for development
He however extolled the present team led by the Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, for adhering to the vision of the founding fathers of the interventionist agency by embarking on projects that had impacted positively on the lives of the people of the region.
His words: “There were many reasons we have had so much problems in NDDC. Part of it was leadership tussle. In the Niger Delta region, we have what we call ‘periwinkle politics.’ This is politics where everybody bears the same head. Nobody wants to wait for his turn. Everybody feels that he should be there and not the other person.
“So there was always this conspiratorial situation. Each management in the NDDC would conspire against themselves and ofcourse the staff will assist them to quarrel and shortly after they will sack the management. And one of them would become the acting Managing Director.”
Akpabio, who was also the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, at a point, which oversaw the commission recounted how for over 20 years it could not complete its headquarters building until he took charge of the Ministry and gave a marching order to its leadership to complete the hitherto long abandoned project.
Recalling also how the Commission left behind over 14,700 abandoned projects because regime change brought with it new projects, he explained that having discovered such a lapse and how it retarded growth Tinubu found it worthy to allow Ogboku complete his tenure.
“I salute the present management,” he said, particularly enthusing on how Ogbuku, and his team brought stability to the commission, while urging it to break away from endless cycles of sabotage and focus on continuity so that development projects can be completed.
Jonathan, who also commended Tinubu for continuing with the present board of the commission, noting that development would engender sustainable development of the region, which he acknowledged, remained pivotal to the region’s economic growth and material well-being of the people.
Hours after Mohammed Hayatu-Deen did, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, on Tuesday, also flatly rejected the outcome of the presidential primaries, of the African Democratic Congress, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement and electoral malpractice.
Amaechi former Minister of Transportation and former Governor of Rivers State, described the announced results as “concocted,” insisting that the process failed to meet the standards of transparency and fairness earlier promised by the party.
He said in a statement: “I unequivocally reject the concocted results being announced,” Amaechi stated.
He said he had previously maintained that he would only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair and transparent, stressing that the exercise did not reflect the democratic values the ADC claimed to represent.
“I will not accept results from a process that does not reflect the values that the ADC had pledged to uphold, to rescue Nigerians from the impunity and gross mismanagement that our country is currently facing in the hands of the ruling party,” he said.
Amaechi alleged that a significant number of party members were denied the opportunity to vote during the exercise.
“There’s no way that about eighty percent of members of the party were not allowed to vote, and you expect me to accept such results,” he stated.
The former Rivers State governor questioned the moral basis of the ADC criticising the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over alleged electoral malpractice while allegedly engaging in similar conduct internally.
“A party that criticizes the ruling APC and INEC for vote buying, rigging and writing of results, cannot be engaged in vote buying, writing of results, and other electoral malpractices that leads to the disenfranchisement of voters who are party members. This is not acceptable!” he declared.
Amaechi said the ADC was envisioned as a platform to amplify the voices of ordinary Nigerians and provide credible political alternatives irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social background.
His rejection of the outcome is expected to deepen tensions within the opposition party following the conclusion of its presidential primary election.
“These timeless virtues of devotion, selflessness, and submission to divine will are values our nation desperately needs today,” were the exact words with which Godswill Akpabio, attempted to rouse Nigerians to the ethos of unquestionable faith and service to the country.
Akpabio, Chairman of the National Assembly, who drew example from Prophet Ibrahim, admonished Nigerians to emulate his unwavering faith, obedience, and willingness to sacrifice for the sake of Almighty Allah.
The Senate President, who conveyed his sentiments via a statement by Eseme Eyiboh, also used the specifically hail President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his vice, Kashim Shettima and Muslim faithful in Nigeria and around the world as they celebrate Eid El Kabir.
Stressing that the occasion called for prayer and sober reflection on the theme of sacrifice, he added: “This sacred occasion reminds us of Prophet Ibrahim’s unwavering faith, obedience, and willingness to sacrifice for the sake of Almighty Allah.
“To our dear President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his vice, Senator Kashim Shettima and Muslim brothers and sisters, I felicitate with them on behalf of my family, constituents and the Senate on this blessed Eid. May the lessons of sacrifice, compassion, and generosity that define this season strengthen your faith and bring peace to your homes.
“As you share with the less privileged and extend love to neighbours of all faiths, you embody the true spirit of Nigeria. To all Nigerians, I urge us to use this solemn period to pray fervently for peace, security, and prosperity in our land. Let us pray for our troops in the frontlines, for farmers to return safely to their fields, and for unity to prevail over division in our Nation.
“Eid El Kabir also calls us to deep reflection on the future of our country. Just as Prophet Ibrahim was tested, Nigeria is in a season of testing. The sacrifices we make today in patience, in tolerance and in choosing hope over despair will determine the Nigeria our children inherit.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda of this administration, supported by the National Assembly, is anchored on that same principle: that meaningful progress often requires collective sacrifice.
“May Almighty Allah accept your prayers and sacrifices. May He heal our land, guide our leaders, and bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Barka da Sallah. Eid Mubarak.”
“I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps.”
These were the exact words of Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, one of the presidential aspirants of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), with which he cast a slur on the ongoing presidential primaries of the party, hinging his position on reports of fraud trailing the exercise.
Hayatu-Deen, a second timer in the search for the nation’s number one job, ran against Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Vice President and Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation.
In a statement on his assessment of the exercise which began on Monday, the renowned economist Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), used his X platform to convey his dissatisfaction with the process.
The ADC which said the collation for the exercise would take place in Abuja had urged aspirants, party leaders, delegates, and members to conduct themselves peacefully and uphold party unity.
Bolaji Abdullahi, its spokesman, who described the exercise as a defining moment for both the ADC and Nigerians seeking a credible political alternative, maintained that it remained committed to internal democracy and a transparent leadership selection process.
“The ADC remains proud to stand today as the only truly democratic party in Nigeria because it is the only political party whose choice of presidential candidate is determined through open primaries,” he said adding that the conduct of aspirants and party members during the exercise would reflect the leadership culture the ADC seeks to promote.
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