Headline

Your Visit to Nigeria a Charade If…, Akintoye Tells UN Chief, Antonio Guterres

Published

4 years ago

May 4, 2022

Eric

Foremost Yoruba self-determination nationalist and leader of Ilana Omo Oodua, Professor Banji Akintoye, has advised the visiting UN Secretary-General, Antonio Gutteres, to make his fact-finding visit to Nigeria meaningful, impactful and worth the while by seeing facts on the ground and not fiction that the Muhammadu Buhari administration has packaged for the august visitor.

In a statement released in Lagos on his behalf by his Media and Communications adviser, Maxwell Adeleye, the Yoruba leader said Guterres must resist attempts by the Buhari administration to pull the wool over his eyes, sell him dummies and lead him by the nose in the wrong direction.

“The Buhari administration has started doing that already by preventing the UN chief from meeting the right people and from going to the right places.

“He is being shielded from the truth and from the reality on the ground.

“He is being deceived not to see the atrocities and deceit of the Buhari administration.

“At the eleventh hour, Guterres’s itinerary has been amended to divert him from the theatres of the atrocious bestiality of killers, murderers, bandits, herders and kidnappers that the Buhari administration has treated with kid gloves.

“The pedigree, antecedents, spoken words and body language of Buhari as a person supports Islamic fundamentalism.

“The policies and politics of his administration give fillip to the same.

“Buhari is the reason why Nigeria is on fire. In a supposed democracy, Buhari’s government is government of the Fulani by the Fulani and for the Fulani.

“Interestingly, the Fulani are a miniscular ethnic group of a few million people in a country of over 200 million people of diverse ethnic nationalities.

“Interestingly, too, the Fulani are not authoctonous to Nigeria. Their history is as recent as the 19th century whereas the other nationalities have inhabited the political space called Nigeria from the beginning of time.

“The coming of Buhari and his nepotistic tendencies, his Fulanization agenda, and his contempt for the fundamental and inalienable rights of other Nigerian ethnic nationalities is why the country may explode in his face sooner than later.

“This is why we the Yoruba, after deaf ears have been turned to our cries for justice, equity and fairness in a country we call ours, have decided to opt out of Nigeria and form our own Oodua or Yoruba nation.

“As Your Excellency is very much aware, these are our God-given and inalienable rights under the Constitution of the UN over which you superintend and the Charter of Indigenous Nationalities and People’s rights.

“Pursuant to these, we the Yoruba people have registered with the UNPO and are vigorously pursuing our goal of extricating ourselves from the contraption called Nigeria through legal and peaceful means.

“We need not tell Your Excellency that the UN has an obligation to assist us in this regard.

“We cannot continue to be treated as slaves, as conquered people and as second-class citizens in our own country.

“Your Excellency, permit me to say that the UN should act while there is still time for a peaceful resolution of the Nigerian quagmire.

“We have so far restrained our people from taking the law into their own hands. But time is running out! And the arrogance, imprudence and impunity of the Fulani edged on by their patron, Muhammadu Buhari, has not helped matters”

Prof. Akintoye then regretted that whereas the coming of the UN scribe to Nigeria was for him to get first-hand information of the time bomb that the Nigerian situation truly is, the Buhari administration has, through subtilty and guile, frustrated the effort of the global organisation.

“Your Excellency cannot get the true picture of how close to the precipice Nigeria is unless you visit the theatres of the criminality of this government.

“Visit the Middle Belt, behold the atrocities of Fulanii herdsmen and marvel.

“Visit the Southwest; if you will not talk to anyone at all talk to Chief Olu Falae, a one-time Secretary of the Federal Government, one-time Minister of Finance and presidential candidate and listen to his harrowing multiple experience in the hands of rampaging Fulani herdsmen.

“Speak with octogenarian Pa Reuben Fasoranti, erstwhile leader of Afenifere, whose daughter was murdered in her prime by Fulani herdsmen.

“Visit Ifon, also in Ondo State, whose traditional ruler was murdered by Fulani herdsmen.

“Visit Southern Kaduna where ethnic cleansing is a daily activity of the murderous Fulani nihilists. Same thing is happening in Taraba, Plateau, Niger, Ogun and Oyo states where Fulani herdsmen maim, rape, kill farmers and destroy farmlands in their land grabbing drive across the southern region of the country.

“Your Excellency, the list is endless! And the atrocities have not abated.

“The Buhari administration refuses to allow the victims arm and defend themselves whereas the murderers are allowed to roam about with AK-47 looting, raping, maiming, and killing.

“Your Excellenvy must speak with the right people who will paint the correct picture of our parlous situation: a parlous and debt-riden economy; restive and restless youths; collapsed educational system, hyperinflation, runaway unemployment, insecurity, corruption never before witnessed in this country, and a country divided than even during its Civil war period.”

Prof. Akintoye then advised the UN chief that if he wants to get a true picture of the country’s situation, he should have an audience with the likes of himself (Akintoye), the Afenifere leader, Pa Ayo Adebanjo; Bishop Matthew Kukah, Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue State and the leadership of IPOB.

“You must be aware of how the secret security service (DSS) of the Buhari administration invaded the home of Yoruba self-determination activist, Sunday Adeyemo, killing and maiming innocent and law-abiding citizens and destroying property worth millions of dollars.

“The Nigerian court system has described the invasion as lawless and vigrant violation of Igboho’s rights. Costs running into billions of Naira were awarded against the Nigerian government.

“But the Buhari government is lawless and cherry picks which court decisions to obey and which to disregard.

“In saner climes which I am sure you are familiar with, the law is no respecter of persons and court judgments are binding on all. Not so the Buhari administration!

“Hence, the generally acclaimed estimation of Nigeria today as a failed state.

“But before the situation gets out of hand, please act quickly!

“Before war breaks out in Nigeria with the humanitarian crisis this portends for the entire West African subregion and even beyond, please act decisively.

“A stitch in time, as they say, saves nine.”

Headline

Why Nigerians Must Reject INEC’s Revised Timetable – ADC

Published

4 days ago

February 28, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), during the week, released a fresh elections timetable, with major amendments to accommodate the just passed and signed Electoral Act 2026 by the National Assembly and President Bola Tinubu respectively.

Following the repeal of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the enactment of the Electoral Act, 2026, which introduced adjustments to statutory timelines governing pre-election and electoral activities, the Commission has reviewed and realigned the Schedule to ensure full compliance with the new legal framework.

Accordingly, the Commission has resolved as follows:

Presidential and National Assembly Elections will now hold on Saturday, 16th January 2027 as against the earlier stated February 20, 2027
Governorship and State Houses of Assembly Elections will now hold on Saturday, 6th February 2027 as against the former date of March 6, 2027

Also in accordance with the approved Schedule of Activities, the electoral bidy noted in the revised timetable that:

Conduct of Party Primaries, including resolution of disputes arising from primaries, will commence on 23rd April 2026 and end on 30th May 2026.

Presidential and National Assembly campaigns will commence on 19th August 2026.

Governorship and State Houses of Assembly campaigns will commence on 9th September 2026.

As provided by law, campaigns shall end 24 hours before Election Day. Political parties are strongly advised to adhere strictly to these timelines. The Commission will enforce compliance with the law.

But in a swift reaction, the opposition coalition, African Democratic Congress (ADC), rejected the revised 2026–2027 general election timetable, describing it as a politically biased schedule designed to favour the re-election agenda of President Bola Tinubu, and calling on all Nigerians to speak up enmasse to reject the revised timetable.

The ADC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, on Friday argued that the new deadlines and compliance requirements under the Electoral Act 2026 create near-impossible hurdles for opposition parties seeking to field candidates.

On February 13, INEC initially scheduled the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections for February 20, 2027, while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections were fixed for March 6, 2027.

The timetable, however, faced objections from some Muslim stakeholders who noted that the dates coincided with the 2027 Ramadan period.

Following the concerns, the National Assembly amended Clause 28 of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, reducing the required election notice period from 360 to 300 days, allowing INEC to adjust the election dates.

Subsequently, INEC released a revised schedule on Thursday, signed by its Chairman, Joash Amupitan, moving the Presidential and National Assembly elections to January 16, 2027, and the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections to February 6, 2027.

Reacting, the ADC said the requirement that political parties submit a comprehensive digital membership register by April 2, 2026, effectively bars opposition parties from participating.

The party stated: “The African Democratic Congress rejects the updated 2026–2027 electoral timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission. What has been presented as a routine administrative schedule of the upcoming general elections is, in fact, a political instrument carefully structured to narrow democratic space and strengthen the incumbent administration ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“According to the timetable, party primaries are to be conducted between April 23 and May 30, 2026, just 55 to 92 days from today. However, more significant is that, pursuant to Section 77(4) of the Electoral Act 2026, political parties are required to submit their digital membership registers to INEC not later than April 2, 2026.

“That is only about 34 days away. Section 77(7) further provides that any party that fails to submit its membership register within the stipulated time shall not be eligible to field a candidate. These are not routine administrative rules but are deliberately constructed barriers designed to exclude the opposition from participating in the election.”

The party further noted that Section 77(2) of the Electoral Act 2026 requires the digital register of members to contain name, sex, date of birth, address, state, local government, ward, polling unit, National Identification Number (NIN) and photograph in both hard and soft copies, while Section 77(6) prohibits the use of any pre-existing register that does not contain the specified information. It warned that failure to meet these requirements would lead to disqualification.

The ADC questioned the fairness of the digital membership requirement, noting that the ruling All Progressives Congress began its registration process in February 2025, long before the requirement became mandatory.

“It is not a product of foresight but insider advantage. They knew what was coming. They therefore had one full year to carry out an exercise that other political parties are expected to complete in one month, during which they must collect, process, collate and transmit large volumes of digital data to INEC under the threat of exclusion. This is practically impossible.

“Democratic competition is based on a level playing field that does not give any contestant an undue advantage. A system where one party exploits incumbency to gain a one-year head start on a requirement that other parties only became aware of when it was nearly too late is a rigged system.”

The ADC said it has joined other opposition parties in rejecting the Electoral Act 2026, adding that the INEC timetable is equally rejected as it appears designed to serve what it described as a self-succession agenda.

“Let it be clear that ADC will not take any action that appears to confer legitimacy on a fraudulent system. We are reviewing our options and will make our position known in the coming days,” the party said.

The party also called on civil society organisations, democratic stakeholders and Nigerians to scrutinise the timetable and demand fairness, stressing that democracy cannot survive when electoral rules are structured to produce predetermined outcomes.

The party has consistently accused the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) of scheming to silence the opposition as the 2027 General Elections draw closer, citing his manipulation of state governors and Assembly members from jumping ship, and settling with the ruling party.

Presently, the president’s party has a total of 31 out of 36 states governors, more than majority of the national and states Houses of Assembly.

A frontline publisher and chieftain of the ADC, Chief Dele Momodu, has warned that Tinubu is gradually transforming into full-blown dictatorship, stressing that his second term in office would turn state governors into ‘total slaves’.

Headline

Second Term for Tinubu Will Turn Governors into Total Slaves, Dele Momodu Warns

Published

4 days ago

February 28, 2026

Eric

Chairman, Ovation Media Group, and former presidential aspirant, Aare Dele Momodu, has expressed strong concern over what he described as growing political support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu among state governors across the country.

Speaking during an interview on News Central TV, Momodu said he was shocked by the level of backing the president is reportedly receiving, warning that Nigeria’s democracy could face serious risks if the current political trend continues.

The media entrepreneur cautioned that allowing Tinubu to secure a second term in 2027 could, in his view, lead to excessive concentration of power. He particularly criticized what he described as a growing wave of opposition figures aligning with the ruling All Progressives Congress> (APC).

Momodu referenced reports of opposition governors, including Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, allegedly moving closer to the ruling party, describing the development as politically troubling.

According to him, some governors are allegedly competing to demonstrate loyalty to the president ahead of future elections.

“The governors are fighting to ensure Tinubu wins a second term, fighting to be the biggest thug for him. If a man in his first term can capture the bodies and souls of Nigerians this way, imagine what he would do with a second term. It will be a full-blown dictatorship, and the governors will regret it as they become total slaves to him,” Momodu said.

He concluded by urging Nigerians to remain vigilant and actively protect democratic institutions, warning that unchecked consolidation of political power could threaten the nation’s democracy and future stability.

Gistmania

Headline

Court Validates PDP 2025 Convention in Ibadan, Affirms Turaki-led NWC

Published

5 days ago

February 27, 2026

Eric

The Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has affirmed the validity of the 2025 Elective Convention of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), which produced Dr. Kabiru Turaki as the substantive National Chairman of the party.

Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Ladiran Akintola upheld the convention in its entirety, ruling that it was conducted in full compliance with the relevant constitutional and statutory provisions governing party elections in Nigeria.

The decision marked a significant legal victory for the party’s leadership and brought clarity to the dispute surrounding the convention’s legitimacy.

The ruling followed an amended originating summons filed by Misibau Adetunmbi (SAN) on behalf of the claimant, Folahan Malomo Adelabi, in Suit No. I/1336/2025.

In a comprehensive judgment, the court granted all 13 reliefs sought by the claimant, effectively endorsing the processes and outcomes of the Ibadan convention.

Justice Akintola held that the convention, organised by the recognised leadership of the party, satisfied all laid-down legal requirements as stipulated in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended), and the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.

The court found no breach of due process or statutory non-compliance in the conduct of the exercise.

In the same proceedings, the court dismissed the Motion on Notice seeking a stay of proceedings and suspension of the ruling, filed by Sunday Ibrahim (SAN) on behalf of Austin Nwachukwu and two others. The applications were described as lacking merit.

Earlier in the proceedings, the court had also rejected a bid by Ibrahim to have his clients joined in the suit.

Justice Akintola ruled at the time that the joinder application was unsubstantiated and consequently dismissed it.