News
I didn’t wrong my deputy, but he wants to join APC – Obaseki
Published
4 months agoon

Philip Shaibu is running from his shadows Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, said on Monday, denying the allegation that he was planning the impeachment of his deputy with whom he fought in the trenches in the political battle that saw him returning to power for the second term some three years back.
Rather, he accused the Deputy Governor of contriving a story of his impeachment, for which he has filed an application at Abuja High Court, to halt, as a ploy to cover his intention to join the All Progressives Congress (APC), which he has been negotiating for a while.
It is the first time the governor would be speaking on the issue after Shaibu’s surprise move last week, in the case where he joined the governor after urging the court to stop the Edo State House of Assembly from moving against him through impeachment.
In a video that went viral last week, the former labour activist, had complained that the governor was not only trying to betray him, but engineer his impeachment, even with all he did to protect their relationship, including rejecting teaming up with Adams Oshiomhole to remove him from office and usurp his office.
But in a his own riposte, Obaseki, noted that the move by Shaibu seeking a court order to stop his purported impeachment was preemptive ahead of his alleged plan to defect to the APC.
He told reporters in Benin City during a visit by the Edo North leaders, that the deputy governor had been actively engaging with senior actors both at the national and state level of the APC, negotiating his way into their party, adding that he was on the verge of finalising moves to defect to the APC.
His words: “Let me put it on record that I am not aware of any plot or any scheme to impeach the Deputy Governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu. I have also checked and there was no such plan. So, the court action taken, for me, is a thing of shock and disappointment.
“I am trying to reflect on the move made by somebody that I have given a broad latitude to do his work as deputy governor. So, for him to take this kind of action is shocking. The last time we spoke of my successor after the House of Assembly election, I did say that we should be patient and that our task is to try and finish well and conclude all our projects we started. It’s only when we do this right that we will have the support of the people for my successor.
“I believe that this action by him is a preemptive move to get a court order, keep his ticket and move to another party. I think it’s unfair for our party. We don’t need this sort of crisis. I have been getting calls all over the world and it’s rather sad that somebody who is part of an administration will do this to the administration because of his personal ambition. But I’m not angry, but naturally I should be disappointed.”
Though no mention of impeachment move against Shaibu came up at the House of Assembly on Monday, before it adjourned the plenary till next Monday, August 14, former Speaker, accused him of embarrassing the people of the zone, adding the group could not keep quiet on the current political happenings in the state expressing disbelief over the imbroglio.
He said: “We have watched in utter disbelief the self-contrived rift between our governor, Godwin Obaseki, and our son, the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Rt Hon Comrade Philip Shaibu. Afemai people are a very hard-working, patriotic and loyal race.
“We recall that our two distinguished sons, who are former deputy governors, Reverend Peter Obadan and Mike Oghiadomhe, cooperated with their bosses and demonstrated the loyalty that the Afemai race is known for. We are surprised and embarrassed by the behaviour of Deputy Governor Shaibu in his ill-advised mission to govern the state by all means.
“Mr Godwin Obaseki has been magnanimous more than any governor in Nigeria, and has saddled our son, the Deputy Governor with the highest number of responsibilities, ranging from sports, internal revenue, boundary committee, immunisation, to mention but a few, which has earned him a name ‘the busiest Deputy Governor in Nigeria’.
“The court action is not only speculative but baseless and highly embarrassing. We are coming out today to disassociate the Afemai people from this ill-conceived action, and to also apologise to the governor of the state for this unfortunate incident.”
You may like
-
N15billion VP’s residence: Stop whining, you’re a hypocrite, Shettima attacks Obi
-
South East roads: Will Umahi make or mar them?
-
Kaduna bombing: How I lost 34 family members – witness *After the first, they returned to cause the main havoc
-
Trouble looms in Kirikiri prison, as black inmates protest separation from white man
-
Kaduna bombing: We’re sorry, we thought they were bandits – army *COAS visits victims
-
BREAKING: S’Court hammers Ozekhome with N40million fine for trying to unseat Uzodimma
News
N15billion VP’s residence: Stop whining, you’re a hypocrite, Shettima attacks Obi
Published
22 hours agoon
December 6, 2023
“President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima have left no stone unturned since they assumed office in the bid to wriggle the country out of the economic and social morass it had been enmeshed in. Under their watch, within a period of seven months, Nigeria’s foreign policy process and international relations have been reinforced with commendable results.”
These were the exact words, with which Vice President, Kashim Shettima, pushed back against attacks from Nigerians over the N15billion proposed by Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), for the completion of the official residence of the Vice President in Abuja, saying those kicking against the project, were not being sincere.
He particularly lashed out at Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State and presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the February 25, 2023 election, accusing him of speaking out of the pains he still felt over his defeat by President Bola Tinubu and himself, who ran on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The VP wondered why the same Obi, who had as governor, ordered the completion of abandoned projects during his tenure in Anambra would rail against the same move by the Tinubu administration, saying it smacked of hypocrisy on his part, as the project in question came about not because he wanted to live in a new house but that the current government at the federal level desired to complete projects abandoned by previous governments.
In a statement signed by Stanley Nkwocha, his spokesman, the VP, admonished Obi to quietly lick his wounds from his defeat rather than whining endlessly over every move of the Tinubu administration, which he said were bold steps being taken in its determination to turn things around for the country.
The full statement, read: “We have taken note of statements credited to presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi, in which he made yet another frail and futile attempt to paint the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration in bad light.
“For good 24 hours, Obi danced naked in the public square, trying to curry the attention of those who care to listen to his falsehood and warped opinions about waste. On Sunday, he accused the current administration of sponsoring over 1,400 delegates to Dubai for COP28.
“The next day, being Monday, the subject of his new found passion – armchair criticism – after his colossal loss at the presidential poll was the proposed N15.5 billion budgeted by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to renovate the house of the Vice President, which he claimed would pay the annual salary of 3,000 University Professors.
“Ordinarily, we wouldn’t have bothered to gratify Peter Obi with a response, especially when it is obvious that the Labour Party candidate is an unhealthy subject to post-election trauma.But it has become necessary to put the records straight. In his recent tirade against President Tinubu and his deputy, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Obi started another series of self-aggrandizement aimed at convincing Nigerians that he is the only person who has their interest at heart. But a clear shift of the veil will reveal deeply a man who is still sobbing after his woeful loss in the 2023 presidential election.
“For the records, unlike the “most brilliant, all knowing and Nigeria’s mirific but never-had President,” Mr Peter Obi, both President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, have never claimed to know it all or exhibit anything close to perfection in their dealings. If anything, they have always submitted to their human nature, leaving perfection to the Almighty God only.
“Giving the reactions and invocations generated by Mr Obi’s comments, however, it is necessary for the sake of history to clarify that the proposed plan for the construction of the Vice President’s official residence, for which budgetary allocation was made in the 2024 budget by the FCT Administration, was awarded by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. It was not originated by the present administration. This, Mr Obi, knows but chose to play dumb all in a bid to inflamate a targeted group of Nigerians and, as usual, score cheap political goals, accolades and praises.
“The project, which was reinitiated in 2010 and was funded by the Jonathan administration, was abandoned. Appalled by the sorry state of the uncompleted building that was now overtaken by weeds and reptiles over a decade after construction started about 13 years ago, the current FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, felt it would be a waste to allow such a project started with public funds to continue to lie fallow; thus, in his wisdom and without the prompting of the Vice President, decided to resuscitate the building.
“We invite more cerebral Nigerians to crosscheck properly which should be considered a waste between Obi’s tantrums because the project has attracted government’s attention, given the decision by the current administration to complete vital abandoned projects. What is more wasteful and reckless than abandoning an edifice to rot and depreciate despite the amount that has been sunk into it over the years?
“We recall that while Obi was governor of Anambra State, he had insisted that contractors should return to site to complete abandoned projects, which he then never considered as a waste. If he did this while deploying ‘entailed wisdom and leadership’ to Ndi Anambra as a governor, the question now is: why should the same action by the Tinubu administration now be termed blue murder?
“Nigerians know that the issue of a befitting residence for the Vice President had been a recurring decimal in the budget of Nigeria since 2007. It did not start today, same for residences of the Senate President and the Speaker. The array of abandoned Federal Government projects littered all over the country is a national embarrassment that the current administration has taken a bold step to save the country from. This is why it has made it a priority that all abandoned projects must be completed before new ones are initiated, save for some on exceptional basis, either because of the need for strategic alignment or economic significance.
“Comparing the amount budgeted for the residence of the VP and salaries paid to Professors is an analogy taken too far. This is the only government that has repeatedly made it clear that the welfare of lecturers is paramount and the need to increase the budget of the educational sector is a gradual process in the face of the daunting security challenges it met on ground.
This same government directed that the backlog of salaries owed both teaching and non-teaching staff of universities be paid immediately despite the ‘no work, no pay’ order, while negotiations for their welfare continue in view of a wage package in 2024. The introduction of a student’s loan scheme is also a masterstroke that is targeted at ensuring that nobody, no matter his/her status, will be denied the right to quality education.
“Taking into cognisance the recent inflation rate, which has become a global phenomenon that Nigeria is not immune to, budgetary provisions are estimates aimed at advancing monies to complete projects that have bearings on the lives of the people. That the amount budgeted for various sectors are deemed to be on the high side is not unconnected with inflationary trends as being witnessed the world over. And since Mr Obi has qualms with this, he may as well explain to Nigerians why despite being a self acclaimed billionaire he and his likes continue importing all manner of junks, including toothpicks to sell to Nigerians all in a bid for his NEXT business empire to flourish at the detriment of our foreign exchange and economy.
“Curiously, it is under the Tinubu administration that Obi has suddenly “become a man,” with a shrill voice in the opposition camp. His claim about Nigerians needing leaders willing to make sacrifices for the nation’s development smacks of hypocrisy of the highest order. It appears the former Anambra State governor has forgotten so soon reports about the plethora of contracts he awarded in the twilight of his administration, including road contracts worth over N30 billion he awarded within a record period of three weeks.
“Nigerians have also not forgotten the investigation by the global International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)-led Pandora Papers project which linked Obi to a number of secret business deals and relationships that he kept top secret, including businesses he surreptitiously set up and operated overseas. He later admitted that he did not declare these companies and the funds because he wasn’t aware that he was expected to declare assets or companies he jointly owns with his family members or anyone else as provided by the law.
“There is no other context to situate Obi’s sermon about waste other than the fact that he has refused to swallow the bitter pills of reality. It is pitiful that since he was mercilessly defeated by President Tinubu, he and his army of social media cohorts have continued to brazenly unleash a campaign of calumny against the President and now, his administration.
“But despite Obi’s divisive rhetoric, Nigerians have since put a final seal on religious and ethnic politicking so that the country can move forward against the wish of certain persons in the mold of Obi who have continued to fan the embers of division and falsehood just to create tension and spurn vexatious narratives in the polity.
“They have turned themselves into marketers-in-chief to attract direct foreign investments, all in a bid to turn around the nation’s economic fortune for good. But the likes of Obi have not for once applauded these efforts. Still labouring under post-election trauma, the Labour Party candidate and his ilk are bent on pulling down the Tinubu administration at all cost.
“We advise him and his fellow travellers in the opposition to accept defeat honourably, and put the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians first as patriotic citizens they claim to be. Nigerians are not so gullible to be hoodwinked by statements that fly in the face of common sense. Our candid advice for him is that he should join hands with the current administration in nation building instead of all these red herrings he is throwing around.
The Vice President is a very busy man. He has committed himself to serving Nigeria and helping President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to achieving his set goals and objectives. As his work attitude and skills speak to, Senator Kashim Shettima is a very serious-minded leader. He is not into dubious or phony politics of statistics manipulation or mind games. Leadership, to him, is a serious business and not a circus show!”




News
Kaduna bombing: How I lost 34 family members – witness *After the first, they returned to cause the main havoc
Published
1 day agoon
December 5, 2023
“As we rushed to aid the injured, the jet returned, unleashing a second bomb, this time, many of those who had come to help were among the casualties,” were the exact words with which Idris Dahiru used to paint the gory incident of the massacre of his kinsmen after the bombing of his community by soldiers from the Nigerian Army.
Dahiru, who claimed he lost 34 of his family members in the incident to which Taoreed Lagbaja, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), attributed to mistaken identity as the operatives mistook them for bandits, said there was an initial attack in which the first set of victims were torn to shreds where others escaped death by the whiskers.
Stating that it was when rescuers from the village, who initially dispersed for dear life, returned to help the wounded that the more devastating attack happened as the soldiers returned to drop more bumbs.
Lagbaja, a Lieutenant General, who led other military top brass to commiserate with the community, where he donated N10million to help victims of the attack which occurred on Sunday, had told his hosts, “Having trailed them for sometimes, the decision was taken to conducts a strike based on the observations of tactics usually employed by bandits. Unfortunately, the report we got thereafter revealed that it was innocent civilians in Tudun Biri that the drone carried out the strike on.”
Stating that the reason for the urgent and essential visit to the village was to commiserate with the community on the unfortunate incident, Lagbaja assured them that a thorough investigation had commenced on the matter even before the directive to that effect by President Bola Tinubu.
Dahiru, who spoke with the BBC Hausa, said the bombing, which went off without notice killing many people, disrupted their Maulud celebration, adding: “Unexpected airstrikes shattered our annual Maulud celebration. The first bomb exploded without warning, killing innocent people, including women and children, the blast tore apart some victims.
“My family alone has lost 34 members in this tragedy. We have 66 loved ones receiving medical care at Barau Dikko Hospital.”
December 6, 2023 10:00 pm


N15billion VP’s residence: Stop whining, you’re a hypocrite, Shettima attacks Obi

South East roads: Will Umahi make or mar them?

Kaduna bombing: How I lost 34 family members – witness *After the first, they returned to cause the main havoc

BREAKING: Supreme Court on fire! Judges’ offices razed days after Atiku, Obi’s appeal!

Soyinka, Obi, Tinubu: When repayment of mafia debt is inescapable

In the military, INEC boss and his team would be executed – Bode George *Why put Tinubu’s boy in charge of IT?

Trending
-
News4 weeks ago
BREAKING: Another Anambra girl in fresh academic feat! *Emerges overall best in NECO *Gets national award
-
News3 weeks ago
Tell the world how I made you, Adesuwa, Ighalo’s estranged wife tells ex-international
-
News1 week ago
BREAKING: Kyari returns as MD, as Tinubu appoints new NNPC board
-
News4 weeks ago
S’Court: Obi spoke my mind – Kuhah *Nigerians must say no to injustice
-
News3 weeks ago
INEC has reached a dead-end, now a danger to Nigerian democracy – Nwankwo
-
News1 week ago
Diezani a disgrace to womanhood – Danjuma *Says, ex-Minister excelled in corruption
-
News1 week ago
Adamawa invasion: Soldiers acted like Boko Haram – IG *Takes matter to Tinubu
-
Entertainment3 weeks ago
BREAKING: ‘OLADIPS’ another popular Nigerian musician dies at 28