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Atiku raises alarm: Tinubu won’t accept defeat *Plans to go down with Nigeria
President Bola Tinubu is planning to go down with Nigeria if it comes to that rather than leaving office in 2027, Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), alerted Nigerians at the weekend, warning of the consequences.
He said the desperation of the President to retain his office, regardless of the decisions of Nigerians, is manifesting not only through him alone, but acts of his officials, who are also toeing the hardlines by carrying out acts of impunity.
Atiku, former Nigerian Vice President, particularly cited the orders of Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), barring the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), from accessing any venue in Abuja at the weekend, to affirm their presidential candidate.
A contingent of police personnel had cordoned off the original venue the the camp of the former ruling party opposed to the Wike faction, had chosen to affirm the candidacy of Goodluck Jonathan, former President, after warning a day earlier to close down any facility, including hotels and event centres used for the ceremony.
Railing against the action, which forced the party to use an alternative venue, where they hurriedly carried out the ceremony, for fear of being flushed out by the FCT authorities, Atiku, described Wike’s attempt as authoritarian, linking it to Tinubu’s desperation to remain in power by all means.
The former VP, while conveying his disgust at the action through the Atiku Media Office, said: “The action of Minister Wike to deny the PDP the opportunity from holding an event in line with its constitutional right represents a blatant abuse of the party’s rights and an unacceptable infringement on the freedom of association and peaceful assembly as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
“Private and public facilities in the Federal Capital Territory or indeed anywhere in the country exist to serve all Nigerians irrespective of their political affiliation. The Minister’s refusal to allow a legitimate political activity to hold in such a venue is not only discriminatory but also a clear demonstration of partisan interference by the Tinubu administration.
“We have seen a pattern of political interference through public institutions aimed at weakening opposition parties under the current administration. We have also seen, by the case under reference with the PDP, ditto the ADC during its national convention held in April, that the Tinubu government is literally pushing political opposition out of space.
“It was under the same leadership of Wike in the FCT that a sponsored faction of the ADC had a public event a few days ago with no one threatening them. This sets a dangerous precedent that undermines Nigeria’s democracy, the rule of law and the integrity of our elections.
“This high-handed action is consistent with President Bola Tinubu’s emerging pattern of deploying state institutions and resources to frustrate political opposition and weaken the democratic process in the build-up to the 2027 presidential election.
“By weaponizing the FCT administration against opposition parties, the Tinubu administration is revealing its intolerance for political pluralism and its determination to create an uneven playing field that favors only the ruling party and its cohorts.”
The statement further pointed out that Atiku Abubakar, a firm believer in democratic values and the right of every Nigerian to freely associate and express political choices, views this development as part of a broader strategy to stifle dissent and rig the political environment in favour of the ruling party.
The statement added: “Tinubu is a steamroller of impunity who is shamelessly determined to destroy everything our democracy stands for. The Tinubu government is afraid of free and fair elections and their tactics to suppress the opposition will not succeed.
“Nigerians are resolute in their demand for genuine democracy, accountability, and leadership that respects the constitution rather than subverting it. We call on the Minister of the FCT to immediately stop this unconstitutional action and grant all opposition parties unfettered access to public and private facilities for their legitimate political activities.
“We equally urge all democratic stakeholders, civil society organizations, and well-meaning Nigerians to rise against this creeping authoritarianism before it further erodes the foundations of our republic.”
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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