Headline

Pendulum: Twenty Years of Democracy in Nigeria

Published

7 years ago

December 7, 2019

Eric

By Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, just yesterday, the University of Oxford organized a worthwhile conference on 20 years of Democracy in Nigeria. The one-day conference which took place at two venues Oxford University, at St Anthony’s College and at the Blavatnik School of Government was organised by the African Studies Centre of the University of Oxford. The Convener of the Conference was the highly cerebral and erudite Professor Wale Adebanwi, the Rhodes Professor of Race Relations, who heads the Centre. The Conference Administrator was Brenda McCollom a recently graduated Master’s degree holder from the Centre.

The event which featured several notable speakers from both the academics and the public of private sector in Nigeria and internationally could not have come at a more auspicious time when the nations nascent democracy is seemingly under threat. The conference was broken into 3 sessions with the highlight of the conference being the evening session when two of Nigeria’s 36 Governors were invited to deliver addresses to wrap up a thoroughly interesting day in which speakers and participants sought to assess how far democracy had progressed in the 20 years of the 4^th Republic. Governors Kayode Fayemi and Aminu Tambuwal, Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Governors’ Forum respectively acquitted themselves very well as they were frank and honest in their assessment of democratic progress in the country. In short, Oxford University and Professor Adebanwi, in particular, could not have made better choices in those to present special guest speeches at the conference. Both Governors are relatively young, smart, experienced and exposed and they gave very good accounts of themselves.

The well-attended and brilliantly organised conference afforded us the opportunity to listen attentively and interact closely with distinguished politicians and famous scholars alike. I’m glad I attended. Unfortunately, as we savoured the well-researched presentations, bad news flew across the oceans from Nigeria. The terrible videos even made matters worse. I didn’t know when tears welled up in my eyes as I watched with mouth agape and ajar, one of the greatest rapes of democracy ever witnessed in any civilised country. The brutalization of our hapless outspoken Brother and colleague Omoyele Sowore was not just an attack on a notable member of the Fourth Estate of the realm, it was an assault on one of the fundamental pillars of our democracy, freedom of speech and expression. But what was worse was the violent, unbridled and damaging continued onslaught on one of the tripods of any democratic nation, the judiciary. I had thought that the carnage being wreaked on the seemingly defenceless judiciary and its personnel had reached a crescendo with the removal of the Chief Justice of the Federation just before the 2019 elections, in the government’s rabid bid to silence all opposition and take control of all the appurtenances of government and law enforcement. I did not believe that any government, would stoop so law as to allow security operatives to shatter the myth and invincibility of the judiciary by taking its battle with a weak political opponent, a tyro in politics and a minnow now made a giant of the democratic struggle by the government’s crass handling of what has now snowballed into a calamitous crisis, into the sacred and hallowed chambers of a courtroom. The stories of the Judge, Ijeoma Ojukwu scurrying dishevelled, with her tail between her legs, into the presumed safety of her private chambers in the Court premises was too much for me to bear. The whole world was confronted with the shocking images of the manhandling beating and choking of the helpless Sowore and those seeking to assist him in the courtroom. It was like a macabre dance of juggernauts as both the hunter and the hunted were locked and joined in a frenzied, frenetic dance of lunacy. I wept for my dear country as the revered and sanctified recesses of a court was being violated and desecrated. Eventually, all I could do was sigh, as always. Whenever I thought we can never go lower, something happens to dampen my spirits, shock my sensibilities and teach me the lesson never to say never. I await the reaction of lawyers and Judges in particular to this latest act of insanity by government goons. If ever there was contempt in the face of the Court, this was a brazen example. Let us see wither democracy!

It seemed apt that the circumstances in which this appalling news came to me was at a time when we were at this conference. Here we were at Oxford University, one of the oldest, most unique and respected citadels of learning discussing Democracy and all we were getting was opposite news from home about civilian dictatorship and autocracy. Interestingly, the keynote speaker, the widely acclaimed and respected scholar, Professor Larry Diamond, of Stanford University, gave kudos to Nigeria for promoting Democracy despite its imperfections. He spoke about the salutary efforts of fighting corruption by the Buhari administration. His submission did not write off Buhari but said he can do much better. How I wished the President and his people resisted the temptation of this sporadic descent into brash trampling on fundamental human rights and the pillars of democracy and democratic institutions. I have good news for him, it is not too late to embrace true Democracy and return to the path of peace and jaw jaw rather than that of high-handedness and war war. There is so much to gain. I confess that I have been strident in my criticism of the Buhari administration in recent times. I have been concerned about the debasing of most, if not all of our democratic institutions. Professor Diamond, a foreigner made me stop to think that despite all the failings of this administration, all is not lost because we have indeed made some gains in the democratic sphere. We have had uninterrupted civilian rule for the longest period in our history, the fear of another military intervention has receded although for the most part of this latest democratic dispensation we have been ruled with an iron fist by military generals. Nonetheless, we must not consider that all is lost, even if some of the gains have been tarnished, we must still admit that we remain on the right path and we must salute ourselves and our civilian leaders, past and current for this feat. A true democrat and critic must be willing and prepared to make concessions where appropriate and I do so in this regard not because I believe that what is happening is good for our democracy, but because I appreciate that we are at least still paying lip service to that democracy and ultimately whenever this government leaves, it is my hope and prayer that a better government will be properly elected.

One of my favourite papers at the conference was presented by Professor Eghosa Osaghae, former Vice Chancellor of Igbinedion University, under a panel session titled “The Nigerian State: Structure, Agency and Institutional.” His own paper was titled “Reconstructions, Resilience and Relevance: Political Elites and Ethnic Mobilization, 1999-2019.” He was simply brilliant. He later spoke to me about writing a paper to develop my theory of why people steal in arrears and in advance, the first as reparations for years of suffering and the latter as consolidation for the unknown future.

Rotimi Suberu of Bennington University, Vermont, USA, spoke on “Federalism, Constitutional and the Elusive Quest for ‘Political Restructuring’ in the Fourth Nigerian Republic. Next was the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Aliyu Modibbo Umar, of The African Studies Centre, University of Oxford, UK. His paper was well applauded for the way it broke down the giddiness of power and how the people can advertentlý or inadvertently make a leader swollen headed and begin to misbehave. The other seminal papers in this panel session made for sombre thought and reflection on why things have gone wrong and how they may be redressed. Thus, Professor Adigun Agbaje of the University of Ibadan, spoke on the topic “A Republic of Dashed Hopes? Party Politics and 20 years of the travails of Democracy in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. The last paper for that panel session was a poignant reminder for those of us who had been in the trenches in the dark days of the Abacha administration and the stark and startling resemblance of those heinous days with events unfolding in our polity today. The paper, delivered by Matthew T Page of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC, was aptly titled “Today’s Nigeria resembles Abacha’s Nigeria. Why does the international community treat it so differently”?

The second Panel session dealt with the economy and Nigeria’s economic mainstay, oil. It seems apposite to me that majority of the speakers in this session were expatriates. Our oil resources have been much denuded and filtered away by the International oil companies and multinationals. They have not done us a favour but fleeced and impoverished us because our communities have been laid to waste and there has been hardly any technological transfer. Much of our economic woes have been caused by the manner in which foreigners have dealt with our oil. Most of them are responsible for the blight that oil has caused on our political, social and economic landscape. The first paper in the session was from Peter Lewis of John Hopkins University in America and it was titled “Politicians and Oil” in keeping with the theme of the impact of 20 years of democracy. The second paper titled “The Political Economy of Nigerian Oil Trading” was delivered by Ricardo Soares de Oliviera of the University of Oxford, whilst the third speaker was Dr Zainab Usman of the World Bank and her topic was “From Diversification to Decentralisation: The Sub-National Roots of Transforming Nigeria’s Oil Economy”. The last paper of the Session was one which portends grave danger for our economy if we do not shift our focus and reliance on oil to other productive and financially rewarding sectors of the economy. It was gloomingly and fittingly titled “Nigeria: No Longer an Oil State” and was written by Oliver Owen and Sarah Burns, both of the University of Oxford.

The Third Panel session in the late afternoon dealt with Electoral Governance, Civil Society and (In)Security. Papers were delivered by Okechukwu Ibeanu of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on “Theorizing Electoral Democracy in Nigeria: Elections, Representation and Accountancy”; Jubrin Ibrahim of the Centre for Democracy and Development, Abuja “The 2019 General Elections in Nigeria: An Assessment”; Ebenezer Obadare, of the University of Kansas “Resistance in the Age of Democracy: The Changing Parameters of Civil Society in Nigeria”; Idayat Hassan of the Centre for Democracy and Development, Abuja, “From Human Rights Movement to Civil Society: A Review of Twenty Years of Democracy in Nigeria”; Nic Cheeseman of the University of Birmingham, “Political Communication in Nigeria: From Radio to WhatsApp”; and Adam Higazi of the Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola and the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands “The Political Economy of Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency in North-East Nigeria”.

The Fourth and Final Session was the evening Panel Session which featured the political gladiators and big masquerades, Governors Fayemi and Tambuwal. Both spoke ardently and fervently about the Nigerian Nation. Both were concerned about Constitutional reform and the structural re-adjustment and re-alignment of the Nigerian nation. Both of them indicated their preference for resource control by the States and a clear need for the decentralisation and dismantling of power at the centre. Tambuwal stress the need for enduring institutions as one of the practical solutions to seemingly intractable political conundrum.

At the end of the conference, it was clear that all the participants believed that though democracy was becoming entrenched in the Nigerian psyche, it is not yet Uhuru because a lot still remains to be done before we can truly consider the country a democratic country in terms of principle and practice. It was certainly kudos for a job well done to the organisers and the speakers who came from diverse and disparate backgrounds. It was obvious that they all had one thing in common, the desire that Nigeria should take its deserved place in the comity of democratic nations being one of the biggest and most populous countries in the world.

Headline

GbajaGate: I’ve Done No Wrong, Govt Playing to Shut Me Up – Adeyemi Matthew Speaks from Hiding

Published

1 day ago

July 2, 2026

Eric

Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, the man alleged to have forged government appointment letters and falsely paraded himself as the Director-General of the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) and Presidential Economic Advisory Council, has denied the allegations against him, claiming the Presidency is attempting to silence him.

Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES from an undisclosed location on Thursday, Adeyemi insisted he had done nothing wrong and described the government’s actions as a “defence mechanism.”

“You know the government we have. They are just playing a defence mechanism to shut me up. My organisation was set up in 2024,” he said.

Adeyemi declined to disclose his whereabouts, saying he had gone into hiding because his life was under threat.

“They are now after my life. I have gone into hiding. I’m underground,” he said.

When asked whether he had fled the country, he declined to respond directly.

“I will not be able to disclose any information now. I don’t consider myself safe,” he added.

The embattled suspect also declined to provide his alleged appointment letter or any document to support his claim that he was legitimately appointed, saying his lawyers had advised him not to discuss the matter publicly.

“I just decided to speak to you out of respect. My lawyers are working on something. Whatever they say, I will let you know,” he said.

The Presidency has accused Adeyemi of forging appointment letters and other official documents while falsely presenting himself as Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, agencies it insists do not exist.

Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said Adeyemi and two others have been charged before the Federal High Court on an eight-count charge bordering on forgery, impersonation and related offences.

According to the Presidency, concerns first emerged after the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission reported that another body appeared to be performing functions similar to its statutory responsibilities.

The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, subsequently petitioned the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force, alleging that forged appointment letters bearing fake signatures, official seals and reference numbers had been used to create the impression that the suspects were presidential appointees.

The Presidency said investigations revealed that Adeyemi and his associates allegedly operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, held meetings with Nigerian and foreign officials and sought diplomatic support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for visa applications.

According to the Presidency, police arrested Adeyemi on October 27, 2025, after which searches conducted at his office and residence allegedly yielded forged government documents.

Investigators also alleged that financial intelligence uncovered 34 bank accounts linked to Adeyemi, including accounts allegedly opened in the names of purported government agencies.

The Presidency further claimed that Adeyemi used forged documents to open an account with the Central Bank of Nigeria in the name of the alleged agency, although investigators found that no public funds were paid into the account.

Onanuga also dismissed allegations that Gbajabiamila demanded money from Adeyemi, saying the accusations surfaced only after the suspect was granted police bail.

The case is scheduled to come up before the Federal High Court on July 27.

Headline

Court Dismisses Abejide’s Suit, Upholds Mark-led Leadership of ADC

Published

1 day ago

July 2, 2026

Eric

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday affirmed Sen. David Mark’s leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Justice Musa Liman, in a judgment, also dismissed the suit filed by Rep Leke Abejide challenging Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as national chairman and national secretary of the party for lacking merit.

Justice Liman upheld the preliminary objections filed by ADC, Chief Ralph Nwosu, Mark and Aregbesola which challenged Abejide’s suit.

The judge held that the court lacked the jurisdiction to dabble in the internal affairs of ADC, as the suit was non-justiciable.

He also held that Abejide lacked the legal right to have instituted the suit, having failed to show to the court that his rights had been violated in any way as a result of the emergence of Mark-led leadership.

He equally held that Abejide, who is a member of the House of Representatives, failed to explore the party’s internal mechanism for dispute resolution.

Justice Liman also resolved the three issues in the substantive suit in favour of the defendants.

On whether Mark, the former Senate president and Aregbesola, who was the former Governor of Osun, emerged as leaders of the party in compliance with the enabling laws, the judge resolved this against Abejide, the plaintiff in the suit.

He held that the handing over of the leadership of the party by Nwosu to Mark did not violate the provisions of the party’s constitution.

The judge agreed that the disputed July 2, 2025, meeting of the party was a stakeholder meeting which preceded the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on July 29, 2025, which produced Mark and Aregbesola as the party’s leaders and was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Justice Liman, therefore, declared that the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola as leaders of ADC was valid and in accordance with the constitution, the Electoral Act, 2026 and the party’s law.

The judge consequently awarded a fine of N2 million each in favour of all the defendants which shall be paid by Abejide.

He also awarded a N10 million fine against Abejide’s lawyer in compliance with the Electoral Act, 2026.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Abejide had instituted the suit to stop the Mark-led leadership of ADC.

In the originating summons, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, filed on Feb. 15 by Idris, the lawmaker sued ADC, Ralph Nwosu, Mark, Aregbesola and INEC as 1st to 5th defendants respectively.

NAN reports that Nwosu was the former national chairman of ADC who stepped down for Mark, the ex-Senate president.

Abejide, among the eight reliefs, sought an order nullifying Nwosu’s handover or transfer of ADC’s leadership to Mark and Aregbesola as interim national chairman and interim national secretary respectively on July 2, 2025, at Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre, Abuja, for being illegal, unlawful, null and void.

He sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as leaders of the party “as their purported appointment, selection or election was unlawful, illegal, null and void.”

He also sought perpetual injunction restraining INEC from recognising Mark and Aregbesola as ADC’s interim national chairman and interim national secretary.

He alleged that their appointment, selection or election did not meet the requirements of Section 82 of the Electoral Act, 2022, among other prayers.

NAN

Headline

Alleged N27.4bn Scandal: Presidency Exonerates Gbajabiamila, Says Adeyemi Matthew is a ‘Con Artist’

Published

1 day ago

July 2, 2026

Eric

The Presidency has volunteered details on how a certain Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew, allegedly built an elaborate web of forged documents, fake government appointments and fictitious agencies to deceive public officials and present himself as a senior presidential appointee under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

The Presidency, in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described Adeyemi as “a con artist” who allegedly used forged appointment letters bearing the name of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, to create and operate a non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, later referred to as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.

According to the statement, the alleged scam was uncovered after officials of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council raised concerns that another purported government agency appeared to be operating alongside it.

The Office of the Chief of Staff subsequently alerted security agencies, accusing unnamed individuals of forging official appointment letters purportedly issued from his office.

“The attention of this office has been drawn to the activities of certain individuals and groups engaged in the forgery of official appointment letters purportedly issued from my office,” Gbajabiamila said in a petition dated October 17.

“The fake documents, bearing falsified signatures, reference/folio numbers, and seals, have been used to claim leadership appointments to non-existent entities, with particular reference to the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.”

The Chief of Staff disclosed that Adeyemi had allegedly established an office at the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja, where he reportedly hosted meetings with Nigerians and foreign nationals while presenting himself as the Director-General of the fictitious agency.

According to the petition, the group even sought diplomatic support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate United States visas for its purported staff.

“The above development not only constitutes a serious criminal act but also undermines the integrity of the Presidency and the credibility of official government communication,” Gbajabiamila wrote.

“I therefore urge you to initiate a thorough investigation to identify and apprehend those involved and also to uncover the network facilitating the forgery.”

Foreign Affairs Ministry raises red flag

The statement revealed that concerns over Adeyemi’s activities had also reached the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs after he reportedly convened a meeting with ambassadors at the Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments in Abuja on October 10, 2025, without the ministry’s knowledge.

In a letter dated October 15, 2025, signed by Ambassador Anderson Madubuike and addressed to the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Office of the Chief of Staff, the ministry sought clarification regarding the status of the purported agency.

“This act contravenes extant rules and regulations guiding diplomatic practices globally,” the ministry stated.

The enquiries triggered correspondence among the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Office of the Chief of Staff.

Responding to the enquiries, Gbajabiamila categorically denied appointing Adeyemi or recognising the agency.

“Prince Adeniyi Matthew, Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, is unknown to any office, nor do we have any dealings with the said council,” he wrote.

“My attention was drawn to a letter of this purported application, which is fake, and my office has instructed the police and other relevant security agencies to carry out investigations on the person and the entity he claims to represent.”

The Presidency stressed that the Chief of Staff could not have issued any appointment letter because appointments into government offices are the exclusive responsibility of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Police uncover alleged forgery network

Following the petition, the Police launched an investigation and arrested Adeyemi on October 27, 2025, at the Abuja office from where he allegedly operated the scheme.

Searches conducted at both his office and residence in Suleja reportedly yielded several documents and exhibits believed to be connected with the operation.

Investigators said Adeyemi claimed that one Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola assisted him in procuring the forged appointment letter.

However, police investigations established that Tanimola had died in a fire incident at Kachi Hotel in Abuja on October 22, 2025, five days before Adeyemi’s arrest.

According to the State House, investigators established that the agency Adeyemi claimed to head never existed, while the appointment letters and several official documents recovered during the investigation were allegedly forged.

Police also accused him of falsely presenting himself as a presidential appointee and fraudulently requesting a diplomatic note verbale from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate visa applications for himself and members of his organisation.

Investigators further alleged that Adeyemi operated no fewer than 34 bank accounts, including nine accounts opened in the names of fictitious organisations, including the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and Public Private Partnership (FIPA-APP).

The investigation also found that he allegedly succeeded in opening a Central Bank of Nigeria account by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation using forged documents.

The Presidency, however, noted that investigators confirmed no government funds were ever paid into the account.

“The act of the suspect constitutes criminal forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence, thereby bringing the office of the Chief of Staff to the President and the Presidency to disrepute before the public and international community,” the police report stated.

Eight-count charge filed

Based on the outcome of the investigation, police filed an eight-count charge before the Federal High Court in Abuja against Adeyemi and two alleged accomplices on November 27, 2025.

The matter is scheduled for hearing on July 27.

According to the Presidency, Adeyemi, while on police bail, recently resurfaced with fresh claims that the Chief of Staff had genuinely appointed him as Director-General of the agency.

The statement noted that the claim directly contradicted the statement he voluntarily made to investigators during the police probe.

It said the renewed allegation prompted Gbajabiamila to issue another public disclaimer on June 8, reaffirming that Adeyemi was an impostor.

Presidency urges caution

The Presidency said Adeyemi had a history of alleged fraudulent misrepresentation, recalling that in 2016 he allegedly presented himself as President-General of the World Youth Organisation, claiming it was affiliated with the United Nations before the UN reportedly disowned the organisation.

Describing the case as that of “a con artist who appears to have built a web of false claims to deceive unsuspecting government officials and the public,” the Presidency urged politicians and members of the public to avoid drawing conclusions before the ongoing criminal trial is concluded.

It further advised that, since the matter is before the court, interested parties should allow the judicial process to determine the allegations against Adeyemi and his co-defendants.