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Elections: Don’t Obey Illegal Directives Issued in Buhari’s Name, U.S. Cautions Officials

Published

7 years ago

February 8, 2019

Eric

The United States has again warned Nigerian political leaders of severe sanctions if their comments incite the people to violence that disrupts the smooth conduct of the general election.

The U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, also warned public officials not to be deceived by politicians who may issue illegal directives to them using the name of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mr Symington gave the warning on Thursday in Makurdi, Benue State. He was speaking with journalists after his meeting with the state governor, Samuel Ortom.

According to a report of the encounter monitored on Channels TV, Mr Symington cautioned against taking implementing illegal directives to manipulate the elections.

He said political leaders have a responsibility to ensure that the elections this year are free and fair

“If anybody asks you to do something that is not right and says the boss wants you to do it, or the person at the top wants you to do it, don’t believe him; because the person at the top is honestly saying they want to win a fair election. There is a reason not to believe them,” the envoy said.

Although Mr Symington did not mention President Muhammadu Buhari by name, the president has repeatedly expressed his commitment to free and fair elections. He, like other top presidential candidates, also signed a peace accord, pledging his commitment to peaceful and non-violent conduct irrespective of the outcome of the elections.

On Thursday, Mr Symington advised Nigerians not to believe those who may want to compromise the electoral process. He warned that people are responsible for their own actions.

“The citizens are responsible to their God, second to their conscience and third to the laws of Nigeria, fourth to the court of public opinion in Nigeria and finally international law and the rest of us,” he said.

He said in the few days to the election, people will say things irrespective of their intentions, “either to hate or to stir up violence”.

He warned that such people would be held to account.

Mr Symington spoke two days after a statement by Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, that any military intervention in Nigeria would be resisted.

The statement made by the governor on a national television programme ignited an outcry, with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party warning it may withdraw from the peace accord the political parties signed to promote violence-free elections.

On Wednesday, the European Union election observers reacted to Mr El-Rufai’s remarks by stating that they were in Nigeria on the invitation to monitor the processes of the election and not to interfere in the affairs of the country.

Earlier last month, the US and its western allies, the United Kingdom and the European Union, gave a similar caution following the furore that greeted President Muhammadu Buhari’s suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen.

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

Published

2 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

8 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

10 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.