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Oshiomhole Makes U-turn, Says Ortom Has Failed in Benue

Published

8 years ago

July 28, 2018

Eric

A week after he appealed to the Benue State Governor not to leave the APC, Adams Oshiomhole now says the governor is a failure and he is relieved the governor left.

Mr Oshiomhole, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said that the party was relieved that Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue defected to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“I am relieved as national chairman, and I believe that the leadership of the party in Benue is also relieved that Ortom has left the party and returned to the club he belongs,” Mr Oshiomhole said in an interview with journalists on Friday.

Mr Oshiomhole lampooned the PDP as a “club whose philosophy is to share the money and not develop communities”.

“We now have a clean platform to search for a clean and credible candidate from Benue, a candidate that can provide leadership that the great people of Benue state deserves. And not someone who seeks to make political capital out of human graves and celebrating the death of his own people,” he said.

Mr Oshiomhole added that as a party, the APC condemns killings by any criminal whether in Benue State or any other part of the country.

He said that the APC accepts that government’s responsibility must be to protect lives and properties.

However, the party will condemn in strong terms anyone in government that seeks to get political capital from the shedding of blood, he said.

He stressed that governments at all levels have shared responsibility of protecting Nigerians irrespective of religious, social and political status.

Mr Oshiomhole accused the Benue governor of ineptitude in the discharge of his duties as chief security officer of his state and insisted that Mr Ortom got the party’s ticket,”on a platter of gold.”

This, he said, was especially so, because the governor never participated during the process of the party’s formation.

He added that the party would, henceforth, be more thorough on its choice of candidate.

“He became a candidate by accident and the lesson for our party is that never again should anyone become a candidate on our platform by accident.

“It has to be by conscious choice, my aim is that we will have a political party that is defined by clear cut ideology and people will join or abstain from joining on the premise of conviction,” he said.

He added that it was unfortunate that while President Muhammadu Buhari had been to other states in the federation to commission projects, there has been none to commission in Benue.

This, Mr Oshiomhole said, was so because Governir Ortom had not developed any project since he assumed office, adding that this was one of the complaints the Benue APC leaders brought against him.

The APC national chairman also accused Mr Ortom of making political gain on the security situation in his state, after allegedly spending heavily on security.

He said that the Benue governor when asked to defend himself following the accusations against him, could not give reasonable explanation.

“Whereas the President and Vice President had visited other states to commission projects, they had only visited Benue on condolence visits.

“It is OK to lament that there is no federal presence. Where is the explanation for the absence of projects in Benue State?

“Ortom’s argument is that he had diverted a lot of funds to security issues,” Mr Oshiomhole said.

He added that the governor’s claim of spending so much on security in the state raises more questions.
He noted that while the governor claimed that he had spent N22 billion received from the federal government on security, the people of the state were more and more insecure.

Mr Oshiomhole said he felt scandalised watching Mr Ortom on television saying he had to leave the APC because the party could not protect the state.

Mr Ortom on Wednesday l defected to the PDP even though he had provided hint of his defection last week.

After meeting Mr Oshiomhole last week, Mr Ortom walked back on his hint, saying he may no longer defect.

Mr Ortom’s Benue State is one of the most affected by violence involving armed herdsmen leading to hundreds of deaths.

He has accused the federal government, which controls all security agencies, of not doing enough to stop the killings.

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Tinubu Nominates Oyedele As Minister of State for Finance, Moves Anite-Uzoka to Budget Ministry

Published

12 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, has announced that “President Bola Tinubu has nominated Taiwo Oyedele as the minister of state for finance, replacing Doris Anite-Uzoka.

“Mrs Anite-Uzoka will now move to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, as the Minister of State, her third portfolio in the administration.

“President Tinubu has today conveyed the nomination of Mr Oyedele to the Senate for confirmation in a letter to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

“Until President Tinubu nominated him as a minister, Mr Oyedele from Ikaram, Akoko, Ondo State, was the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, which overhauled Nigeria’s tax system.

“Mr Oyedele, 50, is an economist, accountant and public policy expert.

“He attended Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma (HND) in accountancy and finance. He attended Oxford Brookes University and earned a BSc in applied accounting.

“He also completed executive education programmes at the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.

“Mr Oyedele spent 22 years of his working career at PwC, joining in 2001 and rising to become the Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.

“Mr Oyedele is also a professor at Babcock University in Ogun State and a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.”

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Defection: Atiku’s Son, Adamu, Resigns As Adamawa Commissioner

Published

17 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Adamu Abubakar, the first son of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has resigned as Adamawa State’s commissioner for works and energy development, days after Governor Ahmadu Fintiri defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.

Abubakar’s resignation letter, dated 2 March 2026, was addressed to the governor through the Secretary to the State Government. He gave no reason for his departure.

The timing is pointed. Fintiri announced his defection to the APC in a statewide broadcast last Friday, saying his cabinet and the PDP’s state structure had moved with him. Within 24 hours, 22 commissioners and special advisers publicly announced they were following suit. Abubakar, whose father remains one of the PDP’s most prominent national figures, was not among them.

In a statement issued Monday night, Abubakar’s media aide Abdulaziz Jauro said the former commissioner thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve and pledged continued loyalty to the administration’s developmental agenda. He also expressed gratitude to his father “for granting him the moral support and blessing to serve the people of Adamawa State” — a line that, read in context, suggests Atiku was consulted on the decision.

Abubakar said his resignation was not a withdrawal from public life. “This does not mark the end of his commitment to public service,” the statement read, “but rather the beginning of new avenues for developmental collaboration.”

The resignation leaves unresolved the question of whether it reflects a political break with the governor over his defection or a personal decision unconnected to the broader party realignment now reshaping Adamawa’s political landscape.

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DSS Nabs Man over Assassination Attempt on Peter Obi

Published

19 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has detained a man in connection with the recent attack and alleged assassination threats targeting Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

According to AIT, the shooting incident took place on February 24, 2026, in Benin City, Edo State, during a political gathering attended by Obi and several figures from the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The meeting was hosted by former APC National Chairman, John Oyegun. Gunmen reportedly opened fire at the venue, causing panic and forcing attendees to disperse for safety.

According to security sources, shortly after the attack, an individual identified as Udeme Monday Stephen allegedly took to social media claiming responsibility and issuing additional threats against Obi, warning of further violence.

Intelligence officials reportedly initiated swift investigations, employing digital tracing and forensic tools that led to the arrest of the 26-year-old suspect in Rivers State. He is said to be a teacher at a private secondary school in the Eliozu area of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area.

The suspect remains in DSS custody and is expected to face prosecution. The agency reiterated its commitment to responding to credible threats and safeguarding lives and national interests without bias.