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Hold IG Idris Responsible if anything Untoward Happens to Me and My Family – Saraki

Published

7 years ago

January 12, 2019

Eric

The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, on Friday raised concerns over his safety and those of his political supporters in Kwara State.

Saraki, Director-General of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation, at a news conference in Abuja, accused security agencies of giving cover to people who were allegedly unleashing violence on the supporters of the PDP across Kwara State.

A similar allegation had been made by the opposition All Progressives Congress members in the state, who alleged that PDP thugs destroyed billboards and posters across the state and, in one instance at the Emir’s Palace in Ilorin, prevented the APC governorship candidate, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, from making a speech.

Saraki alleged that the Police had continued to show hostility towards him and his supporters in Kwara State as part of efforts to jeopardise and undermine his personal security and that of his immediate and larger family.

The Senate President cited three incidents to illustrate his fear about his security, saying that on Thursday, alleged supporters and thugs of the APC attacked PDP supporters at Adewole/Adeta, Ilorin, who were holding their weekly ward meetings.

“They disrupted the meetings by shouting their party slogan and when our people responded by mentioning our own slogan, they fired gunshots into their midst in Adewole/Adeta.

“They also inflicted machete cuts on some of them. As a result of this attack, two people suffered bullet wounds.”

Saraki added that on Thursday, the same set of thugs went to his family quarters in Agbaji in Ilorin and vandalised houses, shops and inflicted machete wounds on three persons.

“All this destruction took place in the presence of policemen who came with them but watched without any care, as the APC thugs and supporters unleashed violence on our people.

“For me, personally, I believe the decision to attack people and properties in my family ancestral compound is a direct affront and attack on my person.

“And whatever signal these APC elements with support from the Police believe they are sending is definitely sinister, uncivilised and unfortunate.

“Our people have filed reports of the incidents in relevant Police stations in Ilorin, but we have doubts that anything tangible and constructive will come out of these reports.”

Saraki added that the same Police under the directive of Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, on Thursday commenced the transfer of Divisional Police Officers out of Kwara.

The Senate President said that while the Police were free to take decisions on the deployment of their personnel, he found the postings in Kwara State strange and more than a mere coincidence.

“It should also be noted that IGP has posted three different Commissioners of Police to Kwara State in the last six months.

“In fact, the previous and current Commissioner of Police in the State got strict instructions from the IGP not to relate or engage with the Senate President.

“The usual practice has been that the Commissioner of Police personally ensures the security of the Senate President whenever he visits his home state. That was the practice during the period of my predecessor and in my first year in office.”

Saraki said that now that he is set to begin ward-to-ward campaigns in the state, he is not sure what instructions the IGP had given to the Police Command in the state.

“Thus, the entire world should hold the IGP responsible if anything untoward happens to members of my family and myself.”

“A situation where political thugs and operatives attack opponents of the APC under the watch and protection of law enforcement agents does not present Nigeria well in the comity of nations,” Saraki said.

(NAN)

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

Published

1 day 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

1 day 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

1 day 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.