Headline

Agbaje Opens Can Of Worms ” Why Some PDP Elders Worked Against Me”

Published

7 years ago

March 20, 2019

Editor

The Lagos State Governorship Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Jimi Agbaje, has said no one would force him to quit the party.

He attributed insinuations that he had dumped PDP to mischief-makers determined to soil his reputation, provoke crisis within the party and dampen the spirit of party members and his supporters.

In a statement by his Director of Media and Publicity, Felix Oboagwina, Agbaje denied jumping ship, saying, PDP remained his party and went further to reveal why some worked against him

“I have never discussed with anyone any plan to dump PDP, neither has such a prospect crossed my mind” he maintained. “There is no reason for it. It is uncalled for.”

He vowed to remain in the party, despite the campaign of calumny being waged against him in the media by a few leaders.

The PDP flag-bearer said he only on Monday released a message encouraging members to rise above the questionable defeats suffered in the last election and maintain faith in the party, and that it would be contradictory for him to suddenly turn tail and flee the same party.

“For a party that has twice accorded me the honour of running on its platform, I should be regarded as uncharitable to say I am abandoning PDP now,” Agbaje submitted.

According to him, recent vituperations in the Press and social media against his person and his role in the last election were the machinations of political featherweights and did not warrant any response.

Agbaje said: “Suffice to say that Chief Layi Ogunbambi’s claim of being denied funds as Director-General of Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council in Lagos State amounted to attempting to build something on nothing. For starters, the position he lays claim gives him no locus standi as no such formal position existed in the entire campaign structure of PDP in Lagos or any of the other 35 states.”

Reacting to Ogunbanmbi’s angst, Agbaje pointed out that the man who paraded himself as the DG of the Atiku/Obi Presidential Campaign Council, had his wife, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Ogunbambi, contesting as gubernatorial candidate in Lagos State against PDP on another party platform!!Serious Conflict of Interest.

“I, as the gubernatorial candidate of the party in Lagos, was Chairman of the PDP Presidential Campaign in Lagos. Mr. Leke Osikoya was the State Campaign Director. The national body recognised and related with us accordingly. The title of Director General was reserved for the national campaign council. If there was an Atiku/Obi Presidential Campaign it would have, at best, been a Support Group.

“Dr. Ogunbanmbi also went to the extent of stating his contributions financially and policy wise to my campaign. This is news to me. May be he should tell the world his financial contributions to my campaigns. There is no time I have ever sat with Dr. Ogunbanmbi to discuss policy issues.”

Agbaje, also, shrugged off allegations he pilfered campaign funds.

“I was not given one kobo by the party or the PDP Presidential Candidate for the gubernatorial elections. We ran our campaign from beginning to end on a shoe-string budget. You cannot steal or divert what is not given,” he said.

According to him, resources sent for the Presidential and National Assembly elections were disbursed as per instructions received, and the source had shown satisfaction with the exercise.

All the fuss stems from the from the fact that, contrary to the Lagos PDP tradition of sharing money to leaders, Agbaje disbursed funds direct to candidates, as instructed.

His words: “The era of taking a share of what is not ours must stop in our party. The bitterness is from those who find it difficult to believe that money can be channelled without a ‘cut’ being taken. Leaders must lead by example.”

Responding to a former Lagos PDP Chairman, Captain Tunde Shelle, who had accused him of failing to run an inclusive campaign, Agbaje accused him of approaching equity with his questionable records in office.

He said: “That this former Chairman of the party in Lagos state can accuse anyone of mismanagement of funds baffles me. He so mismanaged party funds during his tenor that he ‘forgot’ to keep money aside to pay several years’ rent for the party secretariat! Funds to run rallies in the 20 LGAs during the 2015 campaigns were not forthcoming from the party under this chairman. His ignoble role can never be forgotten. His recent statement confirms that he obviously supported another party candidate for the gubernatorial elections.”

Dismissing other allegations raised against him, Agbaje pointed out that he relinquished the management of his firm, Jaykay Pharmacy Ltd. in 2005 into the post of non-executive Chairman. Notwithstanding, neither he nor the company handled any contract from any State or Federal Government. He is not a government contractor.

He also denied being a mole for APC or its National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, both of whom, he said, suffered from the butt of his campaign.

His words: “My campaigns have been very clear on where the blame of bad governance in Lagos State should lie. It baffles me how the same people I hold responsible for the bondage we find ourselves in Lagos will be funding me to sabotage my party, PDP. I have never collected a single kobo from the ruling party in Lagos State directly or indirectly nor from its leadership or representatives.”

Charging Dr. Dominic with anti-party activities, Agbaje said the man confessed, at an open meeting of leaders, to having worked for another candidate at the polls.

“It is an open secret that a few party leaders took a position not to support my candidature after my victory at the party primary elections. Their song was, ‘Vote Atiku in and forget Jimi Agbaje’,” he recalled.

“Those party leaders who stood on the sidelines or worked against the party in the elections should not be fooled that the loss at the elections was as a result of their negative actions. They should not arrogate to themselves powers they do not have. The elections were lost due to the intimidation of people which in turn led to voter apathy such that Lagos recorded the lowest percentage turnout in the country”.

In the final analysis, it would be foolhardy for any individual or party to write off PDP as a sinking ship, especially in view of the credibility crisis and falsification of results that largely characterised the last elections in places where the party supposedly suffered defeat nationwide.

“PDP remains Nigeria and Lagos State’s best option to the perfidy, corruption and impunity characterising governance today,” Agbaje said. “We have strong hope that some of the wrongs against the party at all levels will be corrected by the tribunals. Truth will prevail.”

Headline

Corruption Allegations: NMDPRA Boss Farouk Ahmed Meets Tinubu, Resigns

Published

3 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Eric

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, has resigned following a meeting with President Bola Tinubu amid corruption allegations.

Tinubu, on Wednesday, summoned Ahmed to the Presidential Villa in Abuja, following allegations of economic sabotage and corruption.

Also caught in the web of resignation was the CEO of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, according to a statement on Wednesday by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy.

Tinubu was said to have nominated successors to the senate for approval.

“Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve the nominations of two new chief executives for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC),” the statement reads.

“The requests followed the resignation of Engineer Farouk Ahmed of the NMDPRA and Gbenga Komolafe of the NUPRC.

“Both officials were appointed in 2021 by former President Buhari to lead the two regulatory agencies created by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

“To fill these positions, President Tinubu has written to the Senate, requesting expedited confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as CEO of NUPRC and Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as CEO of NMDPRA.”

Onanuga said the two nominees are seasoned professionals in the oil and gas industry.

Headline

Alleged Corrupt Practices: Dangote Petitions ICPC Against NMDPRA MD Farouk

Published

1 day ago

December 16, 2025

Eric

Chairman, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has formally submitted a petition to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) against the Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Ahmed Farouk, over alleged corruption and financial impropriety.

The petition, dated December 16, 2025, was submitted through Dangote’s lawyer, Dr. Ogwu James Onoja, SAN, and received at the office of the ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN.

In the petition, Dangote called for the arrest, investigation and prosecution of the NMDPRA boss, alleging that Farouk has been living far above his legitimate means as a public servant.

Dangote specifically accused Ahmed Farouk of allegedly spending over seven million United States dollars on the education of his four children in Switzerland, paid upfront for a six-year period, without any lawful explanation for the source of the funds.

According to the petition, the four children and their respective schools in Switzerland were clearly identified, along with the amounts paid on their behalf, to enable the ICPC verify the allegations.

The industrialist further alleged that Farouk Ahmed had been using his position at the NMDPRA to embezzle and divert public funds for personal gain and private interests, actions which he claimed had recently triggered public protests and widespread criticism of the agency.

Dangote maintained that Ahmed Farouk has spent his adult life working in Nigeria’s public sector, adding that his cumulative earnings over the years could not reasonably account for the alleged seven million dollars reportedly spent on the overseas education of his children.

“It is without doubt that the above facts in relation to abuse of office, breach of the Code of Conduct for public officers, corrupt enrichment and embezzlement constitute gross acts of corruption, for which your Commission is statutorily empowered under Section 19 of the ICPC Act to investigate and prosecute,” the petition stated.

It further noted that under the same section of the ICPC Act, any person found guilty of such offences is liable to imprisonment for a term of five years without an option of fine.

Dangote urged the commission to act decisively, stressing that the ICPC, alongside other anti-graft agencies, is strategically positioned to investigate and prosecute corruption-related offences.

“In view of the foregoing, we call on the Commission under your leadership to investigate the complaint of abuse of office and corruption against Engr. Farouk Ahmed and to accordingly prosecute him if found wanting,” the petition added.

The Dangote Group Chairman also expressed confidence that the matter, being in the public domain, would not be ignored, urging the ICPC to act in the interest of justice and to protect the image of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

Dangote further pledged his readiness to provide additional evidence to substantiate his allegations of corrupt enrichment, abuse of office and impunity against the NMDPRA Managing Director.

Headline

Tinubu Didn’t Win 2023 Election, Will Lose in 2027 – Abaribe

Published

2 days ago

December 16, 2025

Eric

The lawmaker representing Abia South Senatorial District, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, has predicted that it would be impossible for President Bola Tinubu to win second termn in the 2027 presidential election.

Abaribe, who claimed that the President never won the 2023 election, said the level of hardship Nigerians are currently facing has made them more determined to ensure that Tinubu does not return as president after 2027.

Reacting to suggestions that Tinubu has never lost an election, Abaribe, who appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, said, “I do not think so. Everybody loses elections, and you will see when the time comes. He will lose in 2027 because I know what Nigerians are feeling outside.”

He added: “Tinubu never won the 2023 election, and everybody knows it. But we said fine, he has been declared the winner, no problem. We acknowledge him as president, but we are going to meet him in the field, and I will see how he is going to cobble together what will make him win again.

“It won’t work, because this time everybody will be ready. It will no longer be an announcement at 3am before people wake up in the morning. This time, people are ready; we are ready, and the masses are even more ready.”

The senator, who said the economy has collapsed under Tinubu and that the president has yet to solve the problem of insecurity, wondered where he would get the votes to win in 2027.

On the defection of some opposition leaders to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abaribe vowed never to join the wave, saying he would be the last person to do so.

He said that rather than strengthening the APC as a party, the defections would deepen internal divisions and fuel leadership tussles.

“If there is anybody who is going to defect to the APC, I think I should be the very, very last one. By the time I defect, it would mean there are no parties left in Nigeria, including the APC,” he said.

“I have a very simple theory about defections. I think it is very good for us in the opposition that these defections are happening. All the APC is doing is absorbing all the problems it is going to face; they are right inside the party now. Ask yourself, in all the states where there are defections, what is going on there now?”

The lawmaker described the APC as a giant with feet of clay, saying the opposition would target its weak points during the election, leading to its collapse.

Abaribe, who reaffirmed his membership of the opposition coalition, said there is a consensus among opposition leaders to unite in order to dislodge the APC from power.

The coalition has adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the platform for the 2027 elections, but many have claimed the move is a strategy to enthrone Atiku Abubakar and compel all opposition members to support him.

However, Abaribe disagreed, saying the party has yet to release its guidelines and other arrangements ahead of the 2027 elections.