News
Wike fires back at Bode George: If you’re old without a job, sit down and read papers!
Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Monday, took another swipe at Bode George, former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), over the latter’s criticism on the sealing of the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
George, former military governor of Ondo State, had said Wike’s decision to seal the building, betrayed his lack of gratitude to a party that made him what he was today, especially when he could himself capable of paying off the N7.5million that was at stake as ground rent.
He said: “We were told we had not paid ₦7 million and so, we defaulted on the ground rent. The painful part of it is that the minister is also a member of our party. They waited until the day we were to hold our NEC meeting to shut down the place.
“Talking as an African, culturally, let us look at it as his father’s house where he grew up, where he went to school and became a public personality. What do you do to pay back that family? What is ₦7 million? He should have just said to them, ‘Okay, ₦7 million, I’ll pay from my pocket. Take the receipt back to the party’s secretariat. You see, you people are foolish.
“‘I’m completely committed to this house; I am completely loyal to this house. I will not decimate it. This is the receipt, give me back my money.’ That is what you call a true son of that family.
“Wike was a major beneficiary of the PDP, having been allowed to serve in various political positions, and therefore should have demonstrated that he was a true party man. I call him my political son. He was, on his first political outing, elected on the platform of this party as a local government chairman. Later, he became Chief of Staff to an elected governor of this party, then (former) President (Goodluck Jonathan) appointed him as a minister of state for education in our party, then became a governor for eight years on the platform of this party.”
But in his riposte on Monday, Wike, though acknowledging that he benefitted from the party, told reporters he hosted in his house in Abuja that in terms of who made the other it was actually the other way round as he was the one that made the PDP and not the PDP making him.
Berating the former PDP boss and leader of the party in Lagos, Wike said of George: “If an old man has no job, Bode George should sit in his house and read newspapers. Bode George said PDP made me by giving me a national name – I agree, but the party can’t make you; you are the one who will make the party win elections.
“Ask Bode George who PDP made popular in Lagos since 1999? Then you are talking to me, who has labored and campaigned for the party to be the major party at the state and national level.
“While in your state, the party has been crying daily. Even when Jonathan was in power, we knew what we did for PDP to take over power, but it didn’t work.”
“Bode George said the PDP made me; it gave me a national name. I agree. The party cannot make you; you’re the one who makes the party popular to win elections. The party cannot say we are popular; it is you, individuals, who make the party popular. Since 1999, not one assembly, not one house of rep, not senate, not anything. And then, you’re talking to me who has laboured, campaigned and worked for the party to be the major party in the state and at national level.”
Speaking further over the PDP secretariat issue, Wike said his predecessors in the FCT including now Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed lacked the courage to compel political bigwigs who own structures in the nation’s capital to pay their annual ground rent.
He said: “Look at what we are doing differently. People have said that FCT was not working (but) now it is working which means I’m doing things that they (past FCT ministers) refused to do.
“I found out that most of them didn’t have the courage to annoy people, to step on toes but I take joy when I step on the toes of big men; those who say nothing will happen but I say something will happen. It makes me happy.
“All they want me to do is to make decisions against poor people saying nothing will happen to them but I say something will happen. That is why we making results. If you don’t do the right thing, too bad. I don’t care.”
It was another day of misery in Kwara State, when daredevil terrorists reportedly stormed Yashikira Community in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, and as has been the case in many of the attacks, abducting scores of residents including women and children.
But, apparently to register their authority, the gunmen, who were said to have operated for hours without challenge from the security operatives, were said to have torched the palace of the Emir.
The attackers, which reportedly occurred late Sunday night were said to have announced their presence through heavy firing and after storming the palace of the monarch during the period, set it on fire before whisking away their victims, but a similar attempt at the police station in the community, was repelled.
While some of the residents, narrated how the spent hours without resistance, leaving behind destruction and fear in the border community, another account said the villagers were caught unawares as the gunmen invaded the town under the cover of darkness.
However operatives made up of the police and military personnel, were said to have launched a manhunt immediately for the immediate rescue of the victims, including throwing a cordon in the area as part of the mission.
“The suspect offered ₦500 million to the SPU commander in an attempt to make the team stand down and allow him to contact his associates to move the consignment elsewhere. The offer was rejected immediately and properly documented for further investigation.”
These were the exact words of Olohundare Jimoh Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), with which he detailed how operatives of the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) scoffed at a N500million bribe to turn their eyes off the importation of a huge consignment of drugs imported into the country.
This was part of the details of a major breakthrough by the operatives after bursting a major drug trafficking syndicate in Lagos, which led to the seizure of suspected illicit drugs estimated at ₦7.8 billion and arresting several suspects, including the alleged kingpin.
In the operation, reportedly carried out by officers of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) in collaboration with divisional police detectives, the operatives, were said to have stormed a house in Mende, Maryland area of Lagos, following months of surveillance and intelligence gathering coordinated by the Zone 2 Headquarters.
The recovered drugs consisted of hundreds of bags of suspected Canadian Loud, allegedly stored in the residence of the prime suspect, Jimoh, said disclosing that the suspect was apprehended on May 19 after weeks of strategic monitoring by operatives.
Offering further details, he said the operation was executed with technical support and guidance from the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, alongside coordinated efforts between the SPU and divisional police teams.
Jimoh revealed that during the operation, the suspect allegedly attempted to bribe the SPU commander with ₦500 million to compromise the mission and allow the movement of the drug consignment.
The AIG described the development as a reflection of the renewed professionalism and operational discipline being entrenched in the Force under the current policing strategy.
He noted that the success of the operation underscored the importance of deploying specialized police units alongside conventional divisional teams in tackling organized crime.
According to him, the operation demonstrated the effectiveness of rapid containment strategies, intelligence-led policing, and professional conduct among the operatives involved in the raid.
“Rapid containment was achieved as the Special Protection Unit worked with divisional teams to secure the perimeter and prevent escape or interference with evidence.
“The operation was intelligence-driven, following months of surveillance and technical monitoring before the raid was carried out.
“The immediate rejection and documentation of the bribe attempt also reflect the standard expected from redeployed personnel at the divisional level,” Jimoh added.
Reacting to the development, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, commended the operatives for their professionalism, saying the success of the operation validated the ongoing redeployment of personnel to divisions and units across Lagos and Ogun states.
The IGP noted: “Policing must be close to the people, and our specialized units must work side by side with divisional teams on the ground.
“The professionalism shown by the SPU commander in rejecting a ₦500 million bribe and following due procedure is the standard we expect. It shows that when you put your best foot forward at the grassroots, you get results and restore public trust.”
Disu further assured that the Force leadership would continue to reward integrity while holding officers accountable to the highest ethical standards.
Police authorities said exhibits recovered during the operation have been properly documented and will be tendered in court. The suspects are currently in custody while investigations continue to track down other members of the drug trafficking network.
Slavery is a wound on the memory of the Universal Church, Pope Leo XIV, said on Monday, as he issued a fresh apology over the participation of the the Catholic Church in the centuries-long delay in condemning slavery.
The pontiff stressed the position of the church after his predecessors had offered similar apologies, said: “For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”
Writing in a major text that warned about “new forms of slavery” behind the digital economy, the joined John Paul II, who denounced slave trade in 1992 before issuing a sweeping request for forgiveness for historical injustices in 2000 and Pope Francis who also repeatedly denounced contemporary forms of slavery.
In his own vein, Pope Leo, pointed out that the Church owned slaves until the Middle Ages and it also advised European sovereigns on how to justify the enslavement of “infidels.”
He stressed in “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), a document focused primarily on the rise of artificial intelligence, that it was only in the 19th century that “a formal, absolute and universal condemnation of slavery was clearly articulated.”
Hear him: “It is true that past events cannot be judged anachronistically, as though the moral criteria that matured over time had always been available. Yet neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery. This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached.”
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