Headline

APC Governors Divided Over Oyegun’s Tenure Elongation

Published

8 years ago

April 4, 2018

Eric

Governors elected under the platform of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), were on Tuesday divided over the tenure elongation of the John Odigie-Oyegun led executive and other party officials.

The governors refused to speak with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday.

The meeting, which held inside the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa to resolve the impasse, lasted for over one hour.

At the end of the meeting, both the chairman of APC Governors Forum, Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, and the chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State, declined comments.

Governors Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna and Simon Lalong of Plateau simply said they (governors) have agreed “not to speak to the media.”

It was reported that the governors had a heated debate over the tenure elongation of party officials.

“I am not sure what happened inside the Chamber could be called a real meeting, they were simply fighting,” the source, who declined to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media said.

The meeting discussed the decision of President Buhari who asked the party to rescind its earlier decision to extend the tenure of party officials. Buhari said the tenure extension was undemocratic, violates the constitution and may attract needless legal tussles.

The president on March 27 shocked members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of his party when he called for the cancellation of the tenure extension for party officials.

The APC had earlier at its NEC meeting on February 28 extended the tenure of members of National Working Committee (NWC) led by Odigie-Oyegun by one year.

The decision did not go down well with a national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu, who had been in conflict with the national chairman of the party.

Speaking shortly before the commencement of NEC meeting, Buhari told a packed hall at the APC national secretariat to consider cancelling the tenure extension decision because “it is against the party constitution and the Nigerian constitution.”

Rattled, Buhari’s entreaties led to the formation of a ten-member committee by the NEC to look at the proposal by the president.

The committee has the Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong as chairman.

Mr Buhari’s position clearly polarised APC governors which led to Tuesday’s meeting.

Going by the mood of the governors as they filed out of the Villa, it was apparent that no common ground has been forged on the contentious matter.

Premium Times

Headline

UK Court Acquittal: Diezani Goes Spiritual, Says God Will Always Be God

Published

3 days ago

June 18, 2026

Eric

Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has reacted to her acquittal by a London court after bribery charges brought against her were dismissed.

The Southwark Crown Court in London, United Kingdom, on Wednesday acquitted the former minister of all charges, including five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.

Reacting to the judgment, Alison-Madueke expressed relief and said she and her family had endured years of emotional distress over the case.

Speaking to News Central, she said she has remained in the United Kingdom since the legal proceedings began 11 years ago.

She said: “I’m just thankful to God, it’s been arduous, almost 11 years. It’s been traumatic not just for me but for my family, friends, my 93-year-old mother in Port Harcourt and for my son.

“It has been a hard journey, but I tell you this, God will always do as He will. God will be God and God is not a man that He should lie; when He promises you something, He will see it through.

“For almost 11 years I have been here. I did my job to the best of my ability.”

Headline

I Never Saw Report that Led to Natasha’s Suspension, Says Ireti Kingibe

Published

3 days ago

June 18, 2026

Eric

The lawmaker representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), at the Senate, Ireti Kingibe, says she did not see any report that led to the suspension of Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Kingibe made this disclosure on Wednesday when she featured in an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time’.

She said she was at a retreat with Edo North Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, when she heard about the report.

“I never saw the report that led to Natasha’s suspension. I was at a retreat. I had earlier stated that I was there with three or four other senators who are members of the committee.

“We attended the Committee on Petitions and Public Complaints, signed the attendance register, and I later left for the tax reform retreat, which I considered more important at the time.

“It affects my constituents much more than disciplining a senator, and I figured that the other people who were not part of that committee would take care of it.

“I even complained to other Senators, specifically to Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe. I complained to him very bitterly that I had not seen that report. I didn’t see it then. I have not seen it till now,” she said.

Headline

UK Court Clears Ex-Petroleum Minister Alison-Madueke of All Corruption Charges

Published

4 days ago

June 17, 2026

Eric

Former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke was on Wednesday found not guilty by a London jury of six bribery charges, after ‌a rare corruption trial of a high-profile former energy official.

Alison-Madueke, minister for petroleum resources between 2010 and 2015 under then-president Goodluck Jonathan, stood trial charged with five counts of accepting bribes and a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery, which she denied.

Prosecutors ⁠alleged Alison-Madueke, 65, was given “a life of luxury” in London from oil and gas industry figures seeking lucrative contracts in Nigeria, which has long grappled with mismanagement and corruption.

But the former minister, who was also briefly president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said she never took any bribes and had no real influence over the awarding of lucrative government contracts.

After a trial at London’s Southwark ‌Crown ⁠Court, Alison-Madueke was acquitted by a jury of all six charges she faced after more than 46 hours of deliberation.

The not guilty verdicts are a major blow to British authorities, which began their investigation into corruption allegations against Alison-Madueke ⁠more than a decade ago.

Alison-Madueke stood trial alongside oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, who was charged with one count of bribery relating to Alison-Madueke ⁠and a separate count of bribery of a foreign public official.

Alison-Madueke’s brother Doye Agama, 69, was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery ⁠with his sister relating to payments made to Agama’s church.

Both Ayinde and Agama denied the charges against them and were also acquitted by the jury.

Source: Reuters