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Pendulum: Thank God, Our First Lady is Back Home

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By Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, I have never hidden my admiration for our First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari. Although we met only once in London during those days of frenetic campaigning for Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) in 2014, I have followed her closely and therefore almost been in a position as if I know her well. Our meeting occurred when some Buharists had gathered at the Crown Plaza Hotel and Mrs Buhari, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, Mrs Toyin Saraki, Zahra Buhari, and many others came in to speak and cajole us about why Buhari should be our choice and enjoy our support. I greeted her and took some pictures with her very beautiful and amiable daughter. That was the closest I personally got to her, but I have followed her activities with keen interest.

Please, let me digress a bit before I return to Mrs Buhari. My job as a celebrity reporter had always given me access to women of power, fame and wealth, the way sugar attracts ants. Women like their male counterparts love to be written about and photographed, but the difference is they are not ashamed to flaunt this fact whilst the men typically display false humility even though they probably love it even more. Also, my background as a male feminist gave me an uncommon understanding of women issues. In 1988, I wrote my Master’s thesis on the oppression of women in African literature using the lenses of Egypt’s Nawal El Saadawi, Senegal’s Mariama Ba and Somalia’s Nuruddin Farah. What was more, I was solely nurtured by my Mum, after I lost my Dad in 1973.

I landed in Lagos in 1988 and was fortunate to find a job that exposed me to the rich and famous and the high and mighty. My first encounter with First Ladies was with Mrs Maryam Babangida. I wrote several stories on her and there were times I felt I will get into trouble with her because of that sneaky fear that wives of military dictators would most probably be dictatorial. But Mrs Babangida was classy, gorgeous and friendly. She was in the news most times for good reasons than bad ones. She employed very cerebral and intelligent staff. For example, her Spokesperson at a time was Greg Obong-Oshotse, who had bagged a First-Class degree in Political Science, from the University of Ife and had risen to the level of a star writer on the op ed page of Nigeria’s prestigious newspaper, The Guardian, and so on. I knew Greg from our university days at Ife and for this reason had great access to Mrs Babangida and stories concerning her. I got closer to her in London when she received The Hunger Project Award alongside Professor Wangari Mathai of Kenya (they are both of blessed memory). Again we spent ample time together in Monrovia during the inauguration ceremonies of Africa’s first female President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

I didn’t meet Mrs Maryam Abacha until after their departure from power. I was stunned when I got a call from Chief Abiola Ogundokun, who informed me the Abachas had extended an invitation to me to attend the simultaneous weddings of Zeynab and Gumsu Abacha. My initial reaction was, “how can, why me?”, after being forced into exile for three years by dear tough Dad. I consulted my close friends and more of them believed I should not display vindictiveness by snubbing them. “After-all Mandela forgave those who wasted 27 years of his adult life!” That really struck a chord in me. But the clincher was the one that said, “If Abacha had not chased you away, may be there would have been no Ovation!” Oh, my God, I soliloquised. Ovation International was God taking revenge on my behalf, positively.

I travelled to Kano, wow, Kano was still innocent then. I met Mrs Abacha, an incredibly beautiful woman. Then I met Zeynab and Gumsu and they are stunning younger versions of their mother. Radiant and ravishing brides to be. Oh yes, I met Rekiya too. And also, their handsome Brothers. Their Mum was too hospitable. It was as if the family was trying to atone for whatever injury they felt they had inflicted on me. But they need not have worried. My Christian faith had taken over. I read in the scriptures that I should forgive 70 times 7 times. Please, relax, I’m leading you somewhere. We covered the wpedding, gratis. It was our way of thanking God for making us victorious. But we got more than money. Nobody ever saw the indescribable “house of gold” Abacha built in pictures until Ovation published it. Not just that. No one ever saw the mausoleum in which General Sani Abacha was buried majestically, until Ovation Photographer, Ajayi Oyebo, sneaked to the back of the house, like a thief in the night and came back with an uncommon scoop. Mind you, that Edition sold out completely. And that story established us as true professionals who rose above personal squabbles to give the world a masterpiece and collector’s edition. Some vilified us, but many congratulated us for our professionalism and revelations.

Haaa, I miss the Mama Ovation herself, Mrs Stella Obasanjo. Our bond must have been from heaven. She liked Ovation so much and even advised me from time to time on how to improve content and form. I make bold to say Ovation International holds the copyright of her best portrait ever with her husband, President Olusegun Obasanjo. They were returning from a trip to Cuba and I got our audaciously brilliant Photographer, Dragan Mikki, to ambush them at their transit hotel in Gatwick Airport. Little did they realise who was behind the coup. Dragan suddenly blocked Baba as he was about strutting out of the hotel. Before he and his bodyguards could recover from the shock and readjust, Dragan had grabbed a chair and tucked Obasanjo into it like a baby. Dragan was barking orders at Baba and his lovely wife. Their spokesman, Dr Doyin Okupe looked bewildered, but Dragan had already succeeded in hypnotizing and mesmerizing the first couple. The pictures were awesome, and it fetched Dragan an invitation from Canterbury to Abuja and Lagos, where he covered the wedding of Gbenga Obasanjo. We also got the wedding of Kofo Obasanjo in London. Mrs Stella Obasanjo already contacted me about her impending 60th birthday celebration before she went on what would eventually become an eternal journey to Spain, never to return.

After Lady Stella came Mrs Turai Yar’Adua, very pleasant and a bit taciturn. Her husband tried his best for Nigeria, but his health meant that the country never got the best of him. I first met both at the wedding of their daughter to the Governor of Bauchi State, Issa Yuguda and Ovation produced a classic edition to mark the occasion. Everything seemed to be going right for them and the nation until she allowed the Aso Rock cabal of the time to take over the life of her fatally ill husband. It remains a mystery what they promised that got her to play along dangerously with them and practically subvert the Nigerian constitution until things fell apart and the centre could no longer hold. But I believe that unfortunate saga left her in the reclusive state she has found herself today.

Step forward Mama Peace, the unstoppable, the irrepressible, the indomitable, the inimitable Dame Dr Patience Jonathan. She provided her own drama and fanciful lexicon as far as First Ladies go. She really coveted and enjoyed power and could easily have been the de facto President, but she lost power eventually alongside her husband, a perfect gentleman. She remains one of the most controversial First Ladies. Despite having a few mutual friends, we did not meet until after her departure from office. It is unimaginable that the powerful Dame is quietly in this country, although she seems to have embarked on a strange ⁰mission in Bayelsa State by openly working against her Party. The lesson is, time is everything and nobody has absolute control of it. I hope she and others will learn from her experience.

I have gone through this long preamble to show my familiarity with First Ladies. We remember how some made their husbands while others marred theirs. A First Lady is never an accessory of a President but an integral part of the President. As the saying goes, “behind every successful man is a strong, powerful woman”. No President can be happy outside if he is unhappy at home. I think President Buhari started losing a lot of his esteem and popularity when he made that unfortunate statement that his wife belongs in the other room. He upset and antagonised a lot of women and their male supporters and admirers. A good leader must be good at public relations stunts. This was, to put it mildly, a public relations disaster and I am not sure the President has really recovered from it in the public estimation. It is not an act of valour or gallantry to put down your wife in public. Those who disrespected and continue to disrespect our First Lady did and do so because her husband dissed her first. I was always happy whenever I saw them and their children on the Presidential jet travelling abroad. They portrayed the vision of a happy, united and contented family.

The job of a President is too heavy and tedious and requires the support of your closest friends and family. Most hangers on will move on when it is all over and leave the leader to carry his cross alone. Those shouting Hosanna today will scream “crucify him” tomorrow. Lady Aisha’s only offence is her independent mindedness. Those profiting from her husband’s absenteeism and occasional derailments are behind the many difficulties she has faced in trying to be part of the government and give candid advice to her husband. Her detractors and enemies in the government realising her popularity and intelligence needed to separate her and her husband in order to have maximum grip on power. This she would not accept without a fight. It is the reason she has stridently cried for help and ensured that she airs her concerns in the public space.

The same way the Vice President is now being craftily set up to look so bad in the public eye, the First Lady’s own started in a jiffy. Nigeria is a special country where real time movies are staged permanently. Sometimes, I believe our Nollywood is child’s play compared to the reality drama and debacle that our politicians serve up on a daily basis. Thank God, Lady Aisha came back home speedily. Whatever led her to stay away and whatever made her to return, it is clear that she has been greatly missed.  Those holding her husband hostage of sorts will now be uneasy.  This certainly wasn’t the denouement they plotted. Another example of man proposing and God disposing.   Like joke like joke, a wedding may truly happen, by fire by force, but that is immaterial for now. I must confess though that I have learnt not to take anything for granted or to dismiss anything as ludicrous in our country.

Now that she’s back, she should map out an action plan. Her enemies may have retreated, but they are likely to strike again. Those who eye power as they do will not relent merely on account of a simple setback. All she needs is to keep herself busy and pamper her husband more. One of the reasons I will forever love, and support Hilary Clinton is the way she stoutly stood by her man as he was buffeted and savaged by the Monica Lewinsky affair. She was rewarded many times over by this singular feat. Loyalty will always be repaid and both Hilary and Bill Clinton were the winners. I beseech Mrs Buhari to learn from such an experience. Only the President and the First Lady will benefit from such an approach. It will give instant headache, nay migraine to the stupefied foes. I’m happy about the synergy between Lady Aisha and wife of the Vice President, Lady Dolapo Osinbajo. That combination is lethal and they need each other.

Before their very eyes, the years will fly away at supersonic speed. Lady Aisha needs to worry about their Legacy. Walahi, Baba needs all the help he can get because the situation right now is dire, but there is nothing stopping him from achieving those heydays if he listens to the counsel of his obviously smart and cosmopolitan wife. When tomorrow comes, everyone will vamoose, but Lady Aisha and her children have nowhere to go. They must remain steadfast now! As Margaret Thatcher said on another occasion, “the Lady’s not for turning”!

Thank God she’s back to re-energise Baba. They will be in our thoughts and prayers as we all pray for their success and, by implication, our success.

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How APC Apparatchiks Caged Nyesom Wike

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By Eric Elezuo

When the story of former governor of Rivers State, who is currently the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),  Nyesom Wike, is told in the future, one of the many catchphrases that may accompany the narrative may read, here was a man, who lost everything while attempting to grab everything.

Prior to, during and after the 2023 general elections, Wike became a bride of no particular groom, when he chose to hobnob between two political parties, betraying his own party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and working for the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in an alliance that compensated him with the FCT job in the bargain. Technically, Wike remains the only politician who is not identified with any political party as at the moment, a source has told The Boss.

The Boss has also realised, in addition to a recent interview granted by Wike, that the former governor’s inability to declare for one party is rooted in his ambition to make a dash for the Presidency in 2027, banking on the possibility that President Bola Tinubu will not contest in the next election.

But the APC apparatchiks, who would not tolerate the Wike inroads into a political alliance that would not favour them, has constantly put the FCT minister on leash, caging every of his moves, especially with the crises in his home State against his anointed governor, Siminalayi Fubara, who suddenly sought his independence from Wike’s choking hold.

“Wike’s ambition has driven him into claiming the FCT job, and desiring to remain the defacto governor of Rivers State, a move some of the Rivers people have rejected, leading to a political quagmire in the oil rich state. Wike is just using the APC for his future. His target is 2027. But unfortunately for him, a lot of APC bigwigs are wary of his antics, and have created artificial hurdles for him, including the crises in his state. He has been caged,” the source said.

That has primarily explain his continuous face off with Fubara, whom he referred to as the ‘other person’ in a recent interview.

“When some peeople come to talk to me that beg your lawmakers now to do this. I said do you want them to obey me? They say yes. I said fine but what of the other person? He is not obeying me? He should assert his own? He should assert Independence,” he was quoted as saying in the interview that featured selected media houses.

Below are some of the excerpts from the close to two hours interview:

I thought Mr President has sorted it out?

The lawmakers cannot assert independence. You know, we we blow hot and cold. And that’s why I say anybody who supports an ingrate is a natural and ungrateful person.

People feel that agreement is loopsided. That you are not telling the lawmakers to return back to the PDP because every other thing was upturned?

How can the president tell me that I should go back to a party? How can you!
People that resigned were brought back?
For whose interest? Do you know what they said will draw impeachment? Do you know what that is, who benefited from it all? Tell me the truth. Whose office was under threat? When you say these people have gone to a party, it’s a matter of court interpretation. If you say I’ve left the party, it does not rely on you to say I’ve left the party. You need to challenge it in court. The speaker had to hit gavel. It’s not when you have interest, and you don’t want to look at the whole thing. As far as I’m concerned, the lawmakers have respected Mr President when the that agreement was reached. It didn’t take them 24 hours, they would do impeachment notice. What is the point that you brought Commissioners? Are they working? I didn’t know you will go into this kind of discussion, I’m busy! I’m busy with the metro line, how to achieve metro line…I’m busy with other projects, very busy. I don’t even have time to talk about politics. I have time for governance.

Which party do you belong to?

I’m a member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Have you ever seen me change any day?

And you are not interested in the elections in Edo, whether your party wins or not?

The Wike that Nigerians know will always throw his heart behind his party. The one I supported before, what happened? The one I supported before now, what happened? So I have decided take a break now.

From politics?

No! As you see me here, I have decided to carry my cross. You see, at a point I was in PDP, I didnt hide it. When I said I was not going to support their Presidential candidate, is it that I spoke in a way people did not understand? Is it that I acted in a way people did not understand? Even the deaf can hear. What I said, the deaf can hear. But if this is not done, I wont do this.

But the party is to discipline you for that?

Discipline me for who? Who violated the party’s constitution? Who should be dissciplined? I am an advocate for the implementation of the constitution. It was you who breached it, and it still you that want to discipline me? In the first place, you shold have thank Rivers. Assuming we lost the governorship, would they have being talking about Rivers State being a PDP state?

Forget about this peoople who are galivating today who say they cannot serve master and serve boy. Now, they are serving boy on the road now. Like I told you, now is time for governance. Now, it is time to do your own assignment. The President has given me an assignment, and Im busy carrying it out. When the time for politics comes, then we would know who is where and who is not where? Running is not everything. I was a minister of state when I went to run for governorship? Did we not win?

You were the governor for eight years, and now the minister of FCT, which one has been more daunting for you?

Here is Nigeria, I dont have the kind of executive power I have when I was the governor. Most of the things I do here, I must seek the approval of Mr President. And anytime I seek his approval, he has always given me. Which has made my work easier, but I can tell you that it’s not easy. All kinds of people are here, the past presidents are here, former army generals are here, field marshals are here, everybody is here. Senate president is here, speaker is here, chief justice is here…so, it is not like in the state. But for whatever it is, if you have capacity, have capacity. It doesnt really matter where you find yourself.

When I was minister of state education, everybody thought that office is a hard office. When I left somebody was there, and someone said was it not where Wike was? It’s not the office, it is you that will tell us how the office will be.

Thank you honourable minister for this time…

Analysts and stakeholders have said that Wike’s responses betrayed his longing for the presidential ticket, which he lost in May 2022 PDP presidential primary in Abuja, and which he is coming to the realization that the APC will not oblige him come 2026 when the primary election tons are held. Consequently, he is maintaining his cronies in the PDP while frolicking with a very unsupported APC machinery.

As a result, he is making frantic efforts to realign with his colleagues, especially members of the G-5, who lost out in the last election including Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Okezie Ikpeazu and Samuel Ortom, and reaching out to some other governors like Adamawa and Bauchi for additional financial muscle.

“The deal is simple. He is banking on Tinubu not contesting in 2027 so he can unleash his full force on the PDP for the ticket, knowing it will be next to impossible to get the APC ticket. That explains his tenacious and opportunistic hold on two fronts, neither a confirmed member of the APC nor has he officially left the PDP,” The Boss source further alleged.

It is believed that except for Tinubu, no one will match him in resources and Finance, and so explained why APC caged him with the topsy-turvy situation in Rivers.

“So with his being busy in Rivers, which is his golden goose, and managing a complex centre like Abuja, where all eyes including Tinubu’s are on him, it is most unlikely that he can take a queenly step in the chess game playing out. They have reduced him to more of a pun, a disposal knight, especially with Fubara’s perceived independence from him, which is causing rancour. It is even interesting to note that the Tinubu/APC camp is supporting Fubara. They know that a weak Wike will not give them hassles on the national political level,” an analyst posited.

Another source has also claimed that the reason behind the PDP’s inability to call a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting is all boiled down to checkmating Wike’s perceived excesses. The party rather chose to keep the National Working Committee (NWC) intact.

While both stakeholders and analysts believe that 2027 is still far ahead, politicians in the likes of APC apparatchiks and the FCT minister are already locked in a battle of wits to see who holds the upper hand when the time comes. Wike has already said that ‘when 2027 comes, we would know who is who’. Though it was a veiled allusion to the Rivers governor, it still posits a general connotation to the war of relevance that has continually played out since the end of the 2023 political season.

minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), says the 2027 election will be a walk in the park for his political camp. 

At a thanksgiving service by Barinada Mpigi, a federal lawmaker, in Koroma, Tai LGA, where he made the remarks, Wike said the election will be easy for his camp because of the alliance it has forged with other parties as well as controlling the structures of both APC and PDP in Rivers State.

He said the alliance between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers state cannot be challenged.

“With the forces we have, I don’t know of anybody who can challenge us,” Wike boasted.

But time will tell how the whole scenario plays out in this political game of chess involving Wike and the APC, and PDP.

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Enhancing Food Security: Governor Umo Eno’s Worthy Interventions

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By Michael Effiong

 

Today, the biggest threat to the survival of mankind is food security. Indeed, the phenomenon has taken a global dimension and is not confined to the borders of any nation.

 

Growing hunger has been fueled by a toxic mix of climate change, insecurity and a global economic crisis that has exacerbated poverty and inequality, affecting the ability of many families and communities to cope.

 

In Nigeria, at least in the last few months, there is no topic that has been more discussed than that of the rising cost of food stuff and the hunger in the land.

 

As US President John F. Kennedy once said, “The war against hunger is truly mankind’s war of liberation.” This is a war that must be fought with vigor and won.

 

On his visit to Niger State on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called on states to support the federal government’s effort in the area of agriculture and food security.

Interestingly, long before this call by Mr. President, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno has already taken action.

 

How? Well, you can call him the modern day Nostradamus and will not be wrong. It was not that he was clairvoyant but we can adduce it to his power of vision because agriculture was one of his focus areas even before his overwhelming victory at the polls on March 18, 2023.

 

The then candidate Umo Eno had developed an economic blueprint for his campaign dubbed the ARISE Agenda. A of the A-R-I-S-E stands for Agricultural Revolution.

 

Having had this as part of his economic blueprint, it is no wonder that the Umo Eno administration had already hit the ground running and has been laying out plans, programmes and projects that are worthy of emulation in a bid to stem the tide of the current national crisis.

Perhaps what can be described as the most impactful and innovative intervention in the area of food sufficiency and sustainability in the country at the moment was signed into law on Thursday, March 14, 2023 as the Akwa Ibom State Bulk Purchase Agency which aims at ensuring that staple foods are available, accessible and affordable to the most vulnerable in the state.

 

Everyone knows that implementing this kind of programme can be herculean, but the government set up a committee with a well-laid out plan to ensure this works efficiently.

 

This programme, like others the Governor has initiated, would be devoid of any political coloration. Already, government has met with traders and market associations. Foodstuff agents will be selected and trained.  They would all sign an agreement with government and would be the ones to operate branded shops and redemption centres that will be located in selected markets and points across the 31 LGAs.

 

The Agency would use a voucher system akin to the Food Stamps now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the United States.

 

The Akwa Ibom equivalent when deployed, will operate in a similar fashion because it would be strictly for vulnerable indigenes who will exchange the monthly vouchers for staple food items.

 

The beneficiaries would get direct subsidies as they would pay well-discounted prices to the agents for the value of the food item on each voucher. The accredited agents would later present these vouchers to government for reconciliation and reimbursement.

 

Furthermore, the Governor’s 368 Personal Assistants in the wards are to help implement the programme at the grassroots while names of all agents and beneficiaries ( drawn from the state social register which had recently been updated) would be published.

 

It is expected that from this arrangement and involvement of many stakeholders, the Agency’s mandate would be delivered within a short period of time.

 

Knowing full well that the Agency’s work is a short term measure, Governor Eno is also thinking long term and has started preaching the “Back-To-Farm” message. His goal is to inspire Akwa Ibomites from all walks of life to see the benefits of farming.

 

In his words: “Please everybody, no matter how small your land is even if it is just behind or beside your house, sow something. We must return to the farm”

 

Let us cast our minds back to what used to be the norm back in the day. Our parents and grandparents used to have little farms around the house where green vegetables, tomatoes, pepper, okra, maize, yams, cassava e.t.c. were grown. Some even reared chickens and goats too.

Governor Umo Eno signing an MOU with Prof. Godfrey Nzamujo of Songhai Farms Initiatives Nigeria

 

Many may see this as a call to subsistence farming in today’s technologically-advanced world, but in truth, if we are able to grow a few of what we eat, it will not only reduce the hunger in the land in a matter of months, but it will free up funds for people to use for other things.

 

This initiative by the Governor for rural and urban dwellers to go back to the farm is already being practiced by other countries to boost their food supply. It is called urban farming.

 

Countries such as Argentina, Australia, Canada and China are way ahead and have incorporated this into their urban planning and city regeneration projects.

 

A good example of the success of this initiative is the city of Rosario in Argentina. Rosario’s Urban Agriculture Programme (Programa de Agricultura Urbana, or PAU) started small, but now grows nearly 2,500 tons of food each year. What started as a means of feeding the population in the wake of an economy in tatters is now a cornerstone of the city’s food sustainability initiative. This shows that the Governor’s call is a much needed step in the right direction.

Also, the government has commenced Phase II of the AK Cares Programme. Beneficiaries across the 31 LGAs would get farm implements, seedlings, poultry birds or fish juveniles and adequate training.

The Ministry of Agriculture is also being galvanized to distribute improved seedlings and support agriculture cooperatives to help increase their productivity. And the Ibom FADAMA Microfinance Bank has been restructured in line with the present realities.

That is not all, the Governor who takes the welfare of the citizens seriously also signed the Akwa Ibom State Agricultural Loans Law (Amendment) Bill, a private member bill sponsored by Hon. Mfon Idung. The law has increased the amount to be granted as loans to individual farmers, corporate entities and cooperative societies  and would enable them expand their operations, embrace modern farming techniques, boost productivity and ultimately, drive economic transformation.

 

It is worth mentioning also that Governor Eno’s people-centred intervention strategy also includes a rejuvenation of the rural communities through construction of rural roads and provision of key amenities. This idea is well captured in R (Rural Development) of the ARISE Agenda. The nexus between rural development and agriculture are as inseparable as a set of conjoined twins!

This school of thought concerning the importance of rural development as a way of boosting agriculture is also held by former Agriculture & Rural Development Minister and current President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwunmi Adeshina.

He expressed these sentiments most succinctly while delivering his acceptance speech on his conferment with the Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership in Lagos recently.

According to him “Nigeria must completely transform its rural economies to ensure food security for all. A better Africa must start with the transformation of rural economies. That is because some 70% of the population live there. Rural poverty is extremely high. At the heart of transforming rural economies is agriculture, the main source of livelihoods.

“As a young student who attended high school in the village, I witnessed the high correlation of agricultural performance with education. “It was common then to hear the phrase “Agbe lo ba” . (farmers are kings), uttered with great pride

“The transformation of rural economies must therefore be structural, systemic, strategic and comprehensive. Doing so, means agriculture must be turned into a wealth creating sector. Sound public policies transform the lives of people”.

No one can dispute the need for sound policies as enunciated by Dr. Adeshina and this is reason as an ardent advocate of agribusiness and with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 in mind, the Governor’s earliest move in the agricultural sector on assumption of office was to sign an MOU with Songhai Farms for the development of Ibom Model Farms.

 

This long-term partnership is aimed at driving a technologically-driven agricultural revolution that will boost food production, tourism, youth development, knowledge transfer and job creation.

 

While construction has already begun at the first farm located in Nsit Ubium LGA (others will spring up when LGAs make land available), the Governor has shown his seriousness for this project by sponsoring some youths on training programmes in preparation for the Farm’s take off.

With all hands already on deck and machinery put in motion to operationalize the multi-layered approach initiated by the Gov. Umo Eno-led administration, the indigenes of Akwa Ibom State are soon going to heave a sigh of relief. Not only would the issue of high cost of foodstuff be history but food sufficiency would become the new normal in the state.

 

 

.Effiong, a journalist, is Senior Special Assistant (Lagos Liaison) to Governor Umo Eno

 

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Budget Padding Allegation: PDP Condemns Ningi’s Suspension, Calls for Akpabio’s Resignation

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By Eric Elezuo

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the suspension of Senator Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi in the National Assembly, over his allegation that the Senate padded the 2024 Budget with a whopping N3.7trn for non-existent projects, and called for the immediate resignation of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

The Party made its position known via a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, calling for an independent investigation into the alleged budget padding as well as other of Akpabio’s alleged misdemeanor including looting of N108 billion Akwa Ibom fund during his tenure as governor.

In addition, the party insists that the senate president should as a matter of urgency report himself to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The PDP viewed the suspension of Senator Ningi as a ‘desperate move to suppress investigation, conceal and sweep the facts under the carpet,’ and questioned the rationale behind the All Progressives Congress (APC)-Senate leadership refusing to refer the matter to the appropriate Senate Standing Committee for an open investigation in line with the extant Rules of the Senate, adding that it was obvious the leadership of the senate is hiding something.

The statement in details:

Step Aside, PDP Tells Akpabio Over N3.7t Budget Allegation, N108b A/Ibom State Fund
…Says It Stands With Senator Ningi

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) demands that the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio immediately step aside and allow for an independent investigation into the allegation that a staggering N3.7 trillion was discreetly inserted into the 2024 budget for alleged non-existent projects.

The Party also demands that Senator Akpabio immediately reports at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the pending case of alleged looting of N108 billion belonging to the people of Akwa Ibom State under his watch as Governor of the State.

Furthermore, the Senate President should speak out on the reported N86 billion contract scam in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) during his tenure as the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.

The PDP firmly condemns the suspension of Senator Abdul Ningi by the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership in the Senate without a detailed inquest into the issue of budget padding which he raised.

The suspension of Senator Ningi is apparently a desperate move to suppress investigation, conceal and sweep the facts under the carpet.

Moreover, the frustration of investigation by the APC Senate leadership further confirms PDP’s repeated alert that prominent APC officials in the National Assembly and a top official in the Presidency have been using ministers and other government functionaries to siphon budgeted funds from the national coffers.

We ask, why did the APC leadership in the Senate not refer the matter to the appropriate Senate Standing Committee for an open investigation in line with the extant Rules of the Senate? What is the APC Senate leadership afraid of and what is it hiding from Nigerians?

It is even more absurd that instead of recusing himself, the Senate President sat as a judge in the matter; a situation that has the capacity to bring the institution of the Senate to further public disrepute.

This is especially as the issues at hand heavily border on alleged gross misconduct and criminal betrayal of public trust which are serious offenses under our laws.

Nigerians can now see why the APC leadership in the National Assembly, especially in the Senate continues to condone the unbridled looting of public resources including funds meant for palliatives for poor and vulnerable citizens.

This apparent inclination towards covering up sleaze in the polity is already pitching the institution of the Senate against Nigerians who are demanding for answers on the matter. Of course, the widely condemned suspension of Senator Ningi does not provide answers to the budget padding allegation.

It is indeed unfortunate and a huge smear on the image of the Senate, as the highest lawmaking and probity Institution in the country, that its Presiding Officer has found himself in a quagmire of alleged sleaze and betrayal of public trust.

Our Party therefore stands with Senator Ningi for his courage in seeking probity and accountability in the polity.

What Nigerians expect at this moment is for the Senate President to come clean by stepping aside, allowing for an independent investigation into the budget padding allegation as well as clearing his name at the EFCC over alleged looting of N108 billion and N86 billion under his watch as Governor of Akwa Ibom State and Minister of Niger Delta Affairs respectively.

Signed:

Hon. Debo Ologunagba
National Publicity Secretary

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