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Odili, the coward, sycophant, displayed my picture in his toilet – Wike
“When I was governor, my pictures everywhere in his house. Sitting room, bedroom, kitchen, even in the toilets. My pictures were everywhere. But today, all the pictures have been removed,” were the words with which Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), emphasised the extent Peter Odili, former Governor of Rivers State in kowtowing towards any government in power for his personal gains.
Wike in an immediate clapback to the lacerating comments Odili, civilian governor of the state between 1999 and 2007, accusing him of wedging a war against Sim Fubara, his successor and incumbent, for denying him the opportunity of pocketing the resources of the state, said if anyone was guilty of greed and avarice, he (Odili), should carry the trophy.
Odili, who spoke at a Christmas ballad he organised in honour of Fubara and his family, had praised his guest for summoning an unusual fortitude to confront Wike’s alleged desire to capture Rivers State through ferocious but unnecessary political war, wondering why the FCT Minister would be so greedy to attempt to destroy the state.
“it is now over 12 months, since the 25th October 2023, when a fierce existential fight, though unnecessary, was waged against Governor Fubara over the soul of Rivers State. Governor Fubara confronted the challenge, prevented the quest by one man to capture the State as a private estate, emancipated Rivers people, steadied governance and made civil servants and Rivers people happier as it used to be until he left office in 2007,” Odili was quoted.
But at a thanksgiving service organised by Martin Chike Amaewhule, factional speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Wike fired back at the former governor, in which government he served as a local government chairman, describing him as a coward who chickened out of his quest to become President because of the fear of former President, Olusegun Obasanjo.
Also stressing Odili’s alleged sycophancy and greed, which had made him to praise any governor in the state to high heavens for his personal gains, such as he was now showing to Fubara, his new find, the Minister asked: “Must you be a trader all the time? As governor for eight years, what else are you looking for?”
Regretting the situation he accused Odili of dragging himself, he added: “You know, I didn’t want to say anything but somebody called me last night, and told me what someone said in the social media. I said until I read it myself. This morning, I read in the newspapers what our former governor, Sir Dr Peter Odili, said.
“What did he say? He said that the present governor has been able to stop one man who wanted to convert Rivers State to his personal estate. ’Between him and myself, who has turned Rivers State to his personal estate? His wife is a Chairman of Governing Council, his daughter is a commissioner, his other daughter is a judge and he is the general overseer. Who has now turned Rivers State to his private estate? I am sure if care is not taken, if there is a chance, he can even arrange a marriage for the governor.
“It was his nephew, his late elder brother’s son who was recommended for commissioner. He took the slot and gave it to his own daughter. Someone who didn’t remember to stand for the son of his late elder brother, is that an elder statesman? It is painful that Dr Odili, out of political sycophancy, had forgotten all he said in the past.
“All of you here remember when I was governor, this same Odili praised me to high heavens. In fact, he said then that all past governors in Rivers State combined did not do better than me. In 2007, after he left office, he couldn’t come near power in the state because Amaechi was the governor then. He was gone! Like somebody said that God will use someone to lift up someone. When I came in as governor in 2015, I won’t use the word resurrected, but I brought him back to life.
“All of us know about PAMO University. But for us, there wouldn’t have been anything called PAMO University. Rivers State was sponsoring 100 students per session and for every semester, each of the students was paying nothing less than N5m. Then, Rivers people were attacking me up and down. I personally called Julius Berger to build a mansion for him to live. He was calling everyone to the house then, telling them, come and see what Wike has done for me. Wike has shown me love. He was taking them round the house.
“Now, because you have organized a Christmas carol for the governor, I didn’t say you should not do your Christmas carol, but why reduce yourself to such a laughing stock? People will still see it on television how he was telling the whole world then how God used me to bring him back to life politically. Why not do your Christmas carol, collect what you can collect and leave me alone? The governor, who all of us made, has not spent one year in office and the same Odili was already saying the governor has beaten the records of all the past governors of Rivers State.
“When I was there, he said I had surpassed the records of all the past governors, including himself. What can he even show that he did in his eight years as governor? But a governor has not spent one year, you are saying he has done more than all the past governors. You spent eight years as governor and someone who hasn’t spent one year has surpassed your records? What manner of elder talks like that? Is that what an elder statesman should be known for?
“What can I learn from this kind of elder? What kind of advice can one get from him? This moment you are saying something, the next moment you are saying something else. You see, if your children begin to ask you, is this not the same man you were praising before? What would you tell them? When I was plotting who will be governor after me, was he (Odili) there? Then, he complained about this governor, saying he couldn’t stand to talk to the public. But today, he is organizing Christmas for the same governor he was against then.
“He has forgotten all that he said in the past. I named this after you, I named that after your wife. What have I not done? You said we should not be part of the government, we have left. We are managing, you have taken assembly money, they are not dying of hunger and they will not die of hunger. We are okay.
“I am focusing on my job in Abuja and all these sycophancy won’t take him to the level I have attained. This is a man who wanted to run for president then, he didn’t have the balls, and he chickened out. Simply because Obasanjo said no, he would not contest, he ran away. Because of him, I never invited Obasanjo to Rivers State to commission projects. I felt it would humiliate him.’’
Nothing outside external intervention free from direct and indirect government influences, will assuage the feelings of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), in his current ordeal with the Federal Government
He wants President Bola Tinubu to constitute an independent, multi-stakeholder investigative panel to probe the controversy surrounding the council and the alleged N1.3 billion budget allocation.
Adeyemi, who made the request through an open letter to the President is emphatic that the current efforts by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the PFIPC scandal, would yield little positive result.
Maintaining that he did not believe the agency would come up with the true picture of what transpired, in the saga, which has seized the national space in the last three weeks, Adeyemi, said impartiality under the current framework of ICPC was almost zero.
In the letter copied to both Nigerian and global institutions, he wrote: “I commend your recent directive tasking the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) with investigating the circumstances surrounding the PFIPC Scandal and ₦1.3 billion allocation inserted into the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
“This directive is a vital first step, but the structural realities of this investigation compel me to speak out of a profound desire for absolute transparency.
“Under the current framework, obtaining a truly impartial hearing presents severe structural challenges. The public narrative emanating from official channels remains heavily weighted toward my immediate arrest, effectively overshadowing the gravity of the systemic vulnerabilities and high-level involvement I have brought to light. True accountability cannot be achieved when the agency conducting the investigation answers directly to the branch of government within which the core allegations lie.
“Furthermore, I must state clearly that walking freely into custody under the current arrangement poses an immediate, existential threat to my life. I have received verified, highly reliable intelligence indicating that I am targeted for elimination the moment I surface in an unmonitored environment.
“This is not an unfounded fear. My concerns are deeply validated by the highly alarming events surrounding Mr. Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola, a central intermediary in this matter.
Official reports claim Mr. Tanimola tragically died in a sudden fire incident at Kachi Hotel in Utako, Abuja. Yet, there remains a total absence of independent eyewitness or media verification of any such inferno.
“More disturbingly, under highly unclear circumstances and without the official involvement of any federal capital regulatory agency, the entire Kachi Hotel structure was swiftly invaded by unidentified armed actors and manually demolished down to the rubble days later — effectively erasing a vital physical crime scene and erasing material evidence.
“Following this calculated destruction of a key locus of this investigation, alongside multiple direct attempts on my life and the safety of my family, I am forced to communicate from a secure, undisclosed location.
“If this investigation is to command the absolute trust of the Nigerian public and the international community, it must transcend standard bureaucratic boundaries. Therefore, I respectfully urge Your Excellency to expand the scope of this inquiry by establishing an independent, multi-stakeholder investigative panel.
“To guarantee complete neutrality, this panel should comprise:
- Civil Society Organisations: Specifically Amnesty International, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and other transparency Organisations.
- The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA): To guarantee strict adherence to constitutional due process.
- Independent Media Representatives: Selected members from reputable print and broadcast institutions to ensure unfettered, transparent access to documentation.
- International Financial Observers: Representatives from the World Bank and the IMF, given that the funds in question tie directly to multilateral credit frameworks.
- Human Rights Observers: Amnesty International, to monitor compliance with international safety and legal standards.
- Diplomatic Observers: Representatives from the United Nations, United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, ECOWAS and the African Union.
- Statutory Enforcement: The ICPC and EFCC, serving as technical partners within this broader, independent coalition.
“The moment this independent, multi-stakeholder panel is constituted, I will immediately step forward to present comprehensive documentation and verifiable evidences. A system cannot credibly investigate itself when its own key actors are central to the discourse.
“By broadening this panel, you will demonstrate to the world that your administration’s commitment to anti-corruption is absolute, institutional, and above palace politics. The international community is closely watching how Nigeria handles this test of fiscal integrity and governance.
“I remain fully prepared to present the facts and cooperate entirely with a balanced, secure and independent panel.”
All is now set for the wholesome debate on President Bola Tinubu’s proposal for the creation of state police, with members of the House of Representatives, abandoning their own version of the pitch in favour of that of the executive.
The development, which was part of Tuesday’s plenary, saw the members began an accelerated hearing on the version of the legislation submitted by the President recently, leading to its speedily racing through the first and second readings to rest at the committee stage.
After the Green Chambers adopted the presidential version, effectively suspending the House’s earlier proposal, and attention shifted to the Executive-backed amendment, the document was transported to the House Committee on Constitutional Review for further legislative action.
The Executive bill is expected to undergo detailed scrutiny at the committee stage, where lawmakers will examine its key provisions before it is returned to the floor for further consideration.
Atiku Abubakar seventh attempt at the presidency has been halted by the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which held that David Mark is not the fit and proper person to assume the position of the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) – the camp that produced the former Vice President as candidate of the party.
Hours after the former VP, who had attempted the bid for the nation’s number one job and is on the seventh edition by virtue of his nomination for the 2027 presidential election by the Mark, agreed with the position of the Federal High Court, Abuja, restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising or participating in any state congresses organised by the former Senate President.
Justice Okon Abang, while reading the lead-judgement in the three-to-one split, said there was no reason for the appellate court to set aside the April 29 order by the lower court, adding that Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, who barred Mark and his executives from interfering with the tenure and functions of the party’s elected state executives, was in order.
Agreeing that the responsibility for conducting state congresses of political parties rested with elected state executive committees and not with the national leadership, he ordered INEC not to recognise the executive produced as a result of the defective process.
Though his position was echoed by Donatus Okorowo in the majority, Justice Abba Mohammed, who disagreed sharply, with a dissenting judgment, held that the case that precipitated the restraining order bordered on a non-justiciable internal affair of a political party, adding that lower court was wrong to have assumed jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
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