Headline

Gang Up Against Oyegun: Is History Repeating Itself?

Published

8 years ago

April 29, 2018

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

In what look like a repeat of the sequence that saw the defeat of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is fast heading for destruction as a gang up initiated to remove the incumbent chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, is fast gaining momentum, TheBoss can reveal.

The notion to either retain or remove Oyegun has created a deep gulf in the ruling party leading to sectionalisation of the different forces for and against the embattled chairman.

In a resolution reached on February 27, 2018 at the meeting of stakeholders of the party, leaders as well as governors on the ticket of the party had cast a vote of confidence on the chairman and his group, urging them to accept tenure elongation of up to one year as against a possible convention of the party later scheduled for May 14 when the present crop of party leaders on all fronts was supposed to relinquish power.

Oyegun’s endorsement also received the blessings of committee of APC local government chairmen and wait for this… President Muhammadu Buhari himself.

Those were the days when the going was rosy for the now disturbed chairman. He was practically riding high and enjoying the support of the party at the highest level, all to the detriment of a national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Tinubu has not played down his reservation for the person of Oyegun and the position he occupied since their battle for the soul of Ondo State, which Oyegun won.

Both party bigwigs had argued over the choice of the candidate for the APC during the Ondo State Governorship election. Tinubu’s choice of Segun Abraham was set aside by Oyegun as Rotimi Akeredolu was presented, and he eventually won the election. He demystified Tinubu’s invincibility in South West politics, and that temporarily put paid to his commandeering status of a political stalwart.

However, in a twist of fortune, President Buhari, in his address at the APC’s National Working Committee (NWC) on March 28, 2018, reclined his support for the tenure elongation of Oyegun and his co-travellers. He cited his turnaround decision on advice given to him by the Attorney-General of the Federation.

“But Oyegun’s problems were far from over as Electoral committee of the party hastily released a timetable that perfectly took care of the impending election, stating that a change of leadership was obvious. Oyegun’s fate was sealed. The gang up went a step further to put forward a formidable candidate in the person of the former Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole”

The president’s turn-around, in the real sense, was seen as a capitulation to Bola Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor and prominent party leader, who has been pushing hard to ease Oyegun out of office. Observers say that he was able to get the President’s attention to do his bidding because of his ambition to seek a second term in office which it is believed Tinubu can conveniently bring about.

The President’s declaration pitched him against Oyegun and in favour of Tinubu. It was not long before all those who sang Oyegun’s praises just a month before turned around and screamed ‘crucify him’; it was a case of whosoever the president be for, no partyman can be against him.

Much as the Oyegun-camp fought spiritedly, obtaining a resolution that was reportedly adopted unanimously by members of the All Progressives Congress National Executive Committee (APC-NEC), giving the current National Working Committee (NWC) an approval to continue overseeing the affairs of the party for another one year in the absence of a valid convention, the status quo has refused to change.

Though the resolution could see Oyegun remain the chairman of the party until after the 2019 elections, it was seen as faulty by those who want him out of office.

“If for reasons of inability to fulfill constitutional and or legal conditions requisite for the conduct of a valid elective congress or convention, then the party may as a last resort leverage on the NEC resolution of February 27, 2018 which in our view is lawful in the circumstances,” one of the resolutions stated.

But Oyegun’s problems were far from over as Electoral committee of the party hastily released a timetable that perfectly took care of the impending election, stating that a change of leadership was obvious. Oyegun’s fate was sealed. The gang up went a step further to put forward a formidable candidate in the person of the former Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

Oshiomhole’s choice received the blessings of South-South Leaders of the APC including the only governor of the party from the region, Chief Godwin Obaseki in whose domain the meeting to endorse the former labour leader, was held.

National Vice Chairman of APC in South-South Zone, Ntufam Eta, said majority of South-South Zonal executive committee members present at the meeting agreed to deliver Oshiomhole ahead of APC national Convention.

“The Edo State chapter, led by its Chairman, informed us that the decision was unanimously accepted by the Edo APC Caucus. During the deliberation, the delegation from Rivers State kicked against Oshiomhole’s candidacy, but the voice vote of the zonal executive committee defeated their position, while that of Adams Oshiomhole prevailed and stood as the position of the zonal executive committee of the Party.

“We have done our part. It is now left for the membership of the National Convention to do theirs and we pray that they follow our lead. This is our honest prayer”, he said.

Oyegun was absent at the deliberations though it was said that an invitation was extended to him.

The gang up took a new dimension earlier with a bloc that wants the embattled national chairman of the party out of the office taking their case to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Coming under a group which tagged itself, the “Buhari/APC Anti-Corruption Support Group”, Oyegun’s opponents had stormed the EFCC with a petition accusing the national chairman of corruption.

It was revealed that the protest at the EFCC secretariat was part of a well-coordinated plot to discredit the party chairman against his wish to remain the chairman ahead of the 2019 general elections.

The petition taken to the EFCC, it was further revealed was a follow up to a recent protest memo addressed to the national chairman of the party by its six zonal chairmen.

Bearing placards with the inscriptions such as “EFCC Must Probe Oyegun Now!” “Audit APC’s Account Now’’, and “Oyegun is Killing the Anti-Corruption Policy of Buhari,” members of the group, led by Ishola Adeshina, asked the anti-graft agency to probe the accounts of the ruling party, alleging that Oyegun had been running the accounts of the party without a recourse to majority of national officers of the party.

In his reaction, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Bolaji Abdullahi said that the NWC was “not miffed” as he noted that it was within the right of the petitioners to demand for accountability on the finances of the party. He, however, submitted that they were wrong to have engaged in street protests in Abuja.

He said: “I haven’t seen the petition. But if they are asking for a probe of the national working committee, I don’t have any objection. But there is a laid down procedure in the party for demanding for accountability, not street shows.

In the memo, they accused Chief Oyegun of usurping their functions and of alleged financial misdeeds.

In the petition dated January 17, 2018, and signed by Chief Pius Akinyelure (South-west), Comrade Mustapha Salihu (North-east), Alhaji Zakari Idde (North Central), Inuwa Abdulkadir (North-west), Hon. Emma Eneukwu (South-east) and Ntufam Hilliard Eta (South-south), the zonal chairmen alleged that the income and expenditure of the party had never been brought to the consideration and approval of the NWC. The chairmen further argued that ‘’issues about the finances of the party, have been shrouded in secrecy, saying “Article 14b (iii) of the party’s constitution on finances has been grossly abused since the inception of this body. The state of the financial affairs of the party is shrouded in secrecy and lacking in transparency such that it makes it virtually impossible for members of the National Working Committee to authoritatively defend the various expenditure and incomes.”

If the APC succeeds in removing their chairman before or in June, when a national convention is supposedly billed to take place, they would’ve toed the line of the PDP which fought tooth and nail to remove its chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur in 2014, just months before the party was defeated in the 2015 general elections.

It would be recalled that the clamour for the removal of Tukur led the forming of the newPDP and the subsequent defection of five governors and a host lawmakers from the party. These eventually led to the defeat of the party at the national level.

“The gang up took a new dimension earlier with a bloc that wants the embattled national chairman of the party out of the office taking their case to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)”

However, the endorsement of Oyegun by some leaders of the party from North-East, North-West and North-Central, recently could create a poser in the equilibrium as the convention draws closer in June.

The leaders, who also called on Tinubu and other APC leaders in the South-West to back Oyegun’s candidacy praised Oyegun for unifying the ruling party, fostering collaboration and encouraging engagements that neither diminishes others moral worth.

The stage is set for a major political intrigue!

Headline

Parties’ Deregistration: ADC, Not NDC, is the Target

Published

20 hours ago

June 29, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

As the 2027 presidential election draws closer, intrigues, manipulations and maneuvers have continued to be the order of the day as political parties engage in one gimmick or another to outdo and undo one another.

While some are playing politics of numbers and conviction, others are engaging tendencies that tend to question the status quo and established principles under which genuine democracy is formed. As a matter of fact, fingers have been pointed at the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal government as the brain behind all machinations that have attempted to derail multi-party democracy, and institute a one-party state, which is alien to the Nigerian democratic roots. This is as a result of the constant imbroglio that has consistently engulf almost all the major political parties in the country.

Fresh facts have however, emerged to prove that every act of frustration thrown at the opposition has been indirectly aimed at the main opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

According to reliable sources, the recent deregistration of parties, especially the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), was actually targeted at the ADC.

Recall that the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, on June, 26, set aside its earlier judgement directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party. A ruling that put a question mark on the eligibility of the party presenting candidates in the forthcoming 2027 elections

The presiding judge, Isah Dashen, held that all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the matter.

The court upheld the application filed by a certain organization, the Peace Movement Party (PMP), ruling that the party was a necessary party to the suit.

According to the judge, the earlier judgement was constitutionally defective as it was delivered without hearing from all interested parties.

He declared that such an omission rendered the entire process null and void.

Mr Dashen further ruled that the status quo be restored to what it was before the December 10, 2025 judgement, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

He also observed that certain material facts were suppressed in the earlier proceedings, which justified the decision to set aside the judgment.

Consequently, the court ordered that the substantive suit should begin afresh, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PMP and the NDC as parties to the case.

According to NAN’s reports, the applicant’s lawyer, Chikezie Ekeocha, told journalists that the PMP approached the court after discovering that NDC’s registration was based on a logo it had previously submitted to INEC before the commencement of the suit.

According to Mr Ekeocha, the court agreed that the applicant’s rights had been affected and consequently vacated the earlier judgement.

“The court has ordered all parties to return to the position they occupied before the judgment of 10 December 2025, and directed the claimants to join all necessary parties to ensure the issues in dispute are effectually and completely determined,” he said.

He explained that the implication of the ruling is that every action taken by INEC in compliance with the now-vacated judgment stands reversed.

“The recognition of the NDC, the issuance of its certificate of registration, its inclusion in INEC’s records, and any appearance on ballot papers arising from that judgement must be withdrawn pending the final determination of the substantive suit,” Mr Ekeocha stated.

He, however, clarified that the substantive case remains before the court and has not been decided.

“The matter has not been concluded. The court merely set aside its previous judgment and directed that the party whose interests were affected be joined so that all sides can be heard before a fresh decision is reached.”

Mr Ekeocha also dismissed suggestions that the court merely ordered parties to maintain the status quo, insisting that the ruling specifically directed a restoration of the position that existed before the 10 December 2025 judgement.

The ruling effectively returns the dispute over the registration of the NDC to the Federal High Court for a fresh hearing, with all relevant parties expected to participate before a new determination is made.

It would also be recalled that a few weeks earlier, the Federal High Court in Abuja, had ordered the deregistration of five political parties including the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The others are Action People’s Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Accord Party.

However, on June 16, the Court of Appeal in Abuja halted the enforcement of the judgement, ruling that it violated its earlier ruling staying proceedings before the Federal High Court.

While INEC awaits the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment to deregister the NDC, the NDC has reacted, rejecting the judgment as travesty of justice.

Lending credence to the notion that the President Tinubu-led administration is basically targeting the establishment of the ADC as a party, and the candidature of its presidential flagbearer, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who is also the presidential candidate of the ADC, has stated categorically that there are plots to prevent the party from participating in the 2027 general election.

Atiku’s position is stated in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu on Monday, notifying the public that he had received credible information suggesting that political and legal manoeuvres were being deployed against the ADC, stressing that the persecution that has been thrown towards the NDC was a clear distraction as the main target is the ADC.

Atiku alleged that anti-democratic elements within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were working to ensure that the ADC is excluded from the ballot.

“We are fully aware of their plots. While they seek to sow confusion within the opposition, we know their real target is the ADC because it represents the most credible alternative,” he said.

Atiku called on Nigerians to reject any attempt to determine which opposition parties participate in the election.

“We therefore call on all Nigerians — not just ADC members and supporters — to rise in defense of democracy and reject any attempt by the ruling party to cherry-pick which opposition parties are permitted to participate in the next general election,” he said.

“Our message to the APC and the hooded men plotting in dark chambers is simple: you may conspire, but you will not succeed.

“If the APC is truly confident in its popularity, why is it so terrified of the ADC?”

He said he hoped the information available to him would not materialise but argued that recent political developments made such concerns difficult to dismiss.

“The pattern has become all too familiar. First, institutions that ought to be neutral are drawn into partisan contests,” he said.

“Then, frivolous litigations suddenly gain unusual momentum. Administrative powers are selectively deployed.

“Political pressure is mounted behind closed doors. Before long, democracy itself becomes the casualty.”

Atiku alleged that the ruling party has focused more on weakening the opposition than addressing the country’s economic and security challenges.

“The obsession with silencing the opposition has become so consuming that governance itself has taken a back seat,” he said.

“At a time when Nigerians are battling hunger, inflation, unemployment, insecurity, and collapsing purchasing power, those entrusted with public office appear preoccupied with political survival rather than national survival.”

Nigerians recall that ever since the official rejuvenation of the ADC in June/July of 2025, where the duo of Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola emerged as the party’s chairman and secretary respectively, the party has not known moments of peaceful coexistence as litigations from corners unknown have sprang up in a bid to destabilize the party and deprive it of the opportunity of featuring on the ballot paper come 2027.

ADC, as a child of circumstance emerged from the rumbles of the litigation-ridden former main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where two factions have consistently remelained at loggerheads over leadership. While the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who is working assiduously to ensure the reelection of Bola Tinubu, leads one faction, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who became a defacto head, leads the other faction. In all, PDP appeared to have no direction, forcing many of its members to jump ship, thereby birthing the ADC, and to a large extent, the NDC, which is presenting Peter Obi as the presidential candidate, with former Kano governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as his running mate.

Sources also informed The Boss that the hasty reading and passage of the Electoral Act 2026 by the Godswill Akpabio-led National Assembly, with many great areas left unattended to, were also part of the grand design to deprive the ADC the constitutional rights of presenting candidates for the 2027 elections.

But both the ADC and the NDC has vowed that they would follow every process to ensure that the crackdown on opposition parties by the Tinubu administration comes to an abrupt end.

But beyond the intrigues, Nigerians are gearing up to participate fully in the forthcoming election with cross sections of the population either hailing Tinubu for his policies or knocking him for the untold hardship in the land.

Headline

South Africa Nothing Without Africa – MTN Boss, Mcebisi Jonas

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The MTN Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, has condemned the ongoing anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa, describing it as a symptom of State failure being cynically exploited by politicians with no interest in genuine solutions.

The speech is seen as one of the most substantive interventions by a senior business figure into xenophobic crisis currently plaguing South Africa.

Delivered during the funeral service of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant, Thokozani Damasane, Jonas’ words have sparked a wave of discussion across South African civil society.

“I was thinking, what is home to Damasane?” he said. “Because I understand, and I understood very early in life, that home is where humanity is. Home is about humanness. It is about the good of humanity and striving for the good of humanity.”

Thokozani Damasane was born and educated in Zimbabwe before relocating to South Africa during the post-apartheid transition period. Jonas described him as arriving “as an outcast” into a country still finding its post-liberation footing – and choosing, nonetheless, to commit himself entirely to its struggles and its people.

“He immersed himself deeply into the struggles, into the pains of South Africans, and he became one of us,” Jonas said.

“In Damasane’s strength, our strength as South Africa and South Africans is reflected. And in his weaknesses, our own weaknesses are reflected.”

Speaking further, Jonas blamed the state for the failure being witnessed, emphasising that if foreigners leave South Africa today, the country’s problems will still persist.

“Foreigners can leave tomorrow – inequality will be with us,” he told the congregation.

“Foreigners will leave tomorrow – unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our police will remain corrupt. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our politicians will still be concerned with one thing: being elected and re-elected.

“The problem is the failure of the state. The State doesn’t manage immigration. It doesn’t manage its borders. It doesn’t enforce
law enforcement. It doesn’t manage education. What are you expecting?”

Jonas argued that this failure created fertile ground for political manipulation. “When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected. Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us – it is foreigners.”

Jonas recounted a conversation he had witnessed between Damasane and a young man who had challenged the right of foreigners to be in South Africa. Damasane’s response, Jonas said, had stayed with him ever since.

“Damasane said to this guy: Just wait fifteen or twenty years. You will also want to leave your country.”

Jonas told mourners those words now carry a weight Damasane may not have anticipated. “As I stand up today, I look at South Africa. The level of oppression and inequality, the level of exclusion of our people, the level of corruption, the betrayal of the dream of liberation – those words of Damasane ring very loud in my ears.”

South Africa is nothing without Africa

Jonas closed with a call for what he described as a return to “national consciousness” – one rooted in continental solidarity and economic interdependence rather than ethnic exclusion.

“We are a nation embedded in Africa,” he said. “And without Africa, our growth as a country – economically – our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa. South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa.”

He also reframed the question of legacy and identity for Damasane’s children, who were present. “Sometimes this thing called meritocracy is measured in wealth. No. It is values, it is principles, it is integrity. And your father had all of that.”

“We cannot judge people by their origin,” he told mourners. “We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin.”

Headline

NDC Rejects Court Ruling on Party’s Registration, Heads to Appeal Court

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Friday, vowed to challenge the judgment nullifying its registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting that it would exercise its constitutional right of appeal.

Reacting to the ruling on Thursday, the party’s spokesman, Osa Director, said the NDC was still awaiting the certified copy of the judgment before making a comprehensive statement on the court’s decision.

He, however, confirmed that the party had resolved to head to the appellate court.

“We are still waiting to obtain a copy of the judgment. After reading the comprehensive judgment, we will make a detailed statement,” he said.

The spokesman added: “For now, what is certain is that we will exercise our right of appeal.”

Insisting that the party would challenge the ruling, he said: “It is our constitutional right to appeal, and we intend to exercise that right.”

When asked specifically whether the NDC would appeal the judgment voiding its registration, the spokesman replied: “Yes, the party will appeal the case.”

The party’s reaction came shortly after a Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, in a judgement that nullified its registration by INEC, a development that could have significant implications for the NDC’s participation in the country’s political process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The NDC, however, maintained that it would refrain from making further comments on the substance of the judgment until it had studied the full text of the court’s decision.

The party’s planned appeal is expected to set the stage for a fresh legal battle over its status and continued existence as a registered political party.