Headline

Presidency: Why Nigerians Should Vote Atiku Abubakar – Yakubu Dogara

Published

3 years ago

February 20, 2023

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

The immediate past Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Yakubu Dogara, has once again said that Nigerians should consider voting the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, insisting that the former Vice President is the most suitable candidate among the lot for the presidency as he has the the most transparent manifesto to take Nigeria and Nigerians to the level of immense comfort.

Dogara reiterated the remarks in a statement while appreciating President Muhammadu Buhari for for stamping his feet to stamp out vote buying through the redesigning of the naira notes and phasing out of the N1000 and N500 notes from circulation. He praised the president for the initiative, saying he deserve a thunderous applause.

The former Speaker described Atiku as a statesman like no other and a father in every sense of the the word and a demonstrable source that gives life to everything around him, highlighting the very many administrative decisions that Atiku had taken in the past, which have made him a household name in government and business.

Dogara captured his descriptions of the Wazirin Adamawa in the following words:

I want to specifically commend President Buhari over the initiative to curb vote buying in the forthcoming general elections. I am not uninformed of nor unaffected by the hardship caused by the Naira redesign and swap policy but I want to plead with Nigerians to endure it for this few weeks as sacrifice for a free, fair and credible election.

It’s a life lesson: that just as injury has pains so also recovery has pains. But if we have to get healed, we have to endure the pains. I urge us all to trudge on in the hope that these pains may truly be the birth pangs we may endure for a New Nigeria to be born.

For those criticizing the President on the issue of timing, I want to remind them in the words of Dr King Jnr that time is eternally neutral and, “the time is always ripe to do right.“ Let me end by calling on CBN to ensure the redesigned notes are made available to our people but even if the CBN failed to do so, my plea to all Nigerians is to endure the pains for few more weeks for our votes to count and for us to elect a President we truly deseve.

Let me emphatically say that the President has the sole Constitutional powers over currency matters and all those busy running their mouths because they have been denied the opportunity to deploy the ill gotten naira they have stashed to buy votes, that they are committing treason. The President is absolutely right not to have given in to the greed of the few against the needs of the many. While the President is right to have acted on what he knows and in the best interest of the country, his traducers are petty, unpatriotic, treacherous and grossly irresponsible.

Therefore, Mr President deserves our thunderous applause. Whoever writes it, history will be kind to Mr President if he doesn’t give in or give up on his resolve to ensure a free, fair and credible democratic election no matter the cost on the 25th Febuary, 2023 as scheduled by INEC.

Let me remind us that Nigeria is tottering on the precipice and for everyone who has ever wondered how the bottom looks like, this is it! No doubt these are moments of national peril! That is why we need a President who will hit the ground running from day one. If we love Nigeria, we can not afford to foist a rookie on her as President.

Tell me if any of the candidates comes close to HE Atiku Abubakar in terms of readiness to hit the ground running from day one. In case you dont know him, let me attempt the impossible task of introducing him to you.

HE Atiku Abubakar, the Wazirin Adamawa is a statesman like no other and a father in every sense of the the word, Abba. He is a demonstrable source that gives life to everything around him.

1. Give him pure water and he’ll turn it into Farro water
2. Show him a Primary school and he’ll turn it into a world class univeristy
3. Show him a jetty and he’ll turn it into a world class port
4. Give him a bull and a heifer and just few years and he ll give you a herd
5. Give him a bag of chaff and he’ll mill it into animal feed
6. Give him a bottle of bala blue and he’ll turn the cream to farro juice
7. Give him a home and he’ll bring Nigeria into it as family members
8. Make him walk into an environment where there is contention and fight and see how they fade into peace.

That is the rich pedigree that HE Atiku Abubakar will bring to the table as President.

We need a steady hand not a hand that must always be steadied because only a steady hand can steady a volatile Nigeria. We need a hand on which nothing dies not the hand that spills everything that is placed on it if we do not want our collective national destiny to be spilled.

We need a grounded leader not a feckless gormless pretender who has become a perfect gift to every level of comedy both local and internationally. By our votes, let us send a strong and clear message to those who want to foist this tasteless joke on us that Nigeria is no Comedy Cellar or Viva Blackpool.

Therefore:

For national healing and recovery, let us vote for Atiku

To end terrorism, banditry, insurgency, kidnap for ransom and sundry acts of criminality, let us vote for Atiku.

To rebuild shattered trust and strengthen national unity, let us vote for Atiku.

To bring order to national chaos, let us vote for Atiku.

To end religious divisions and engender religious harmony, let us vote Atiku.

To enthrone merit over mediocrity and nepotism, let us vote Atiku.

To permanently close IDP camps and ensure full resettlement, let us vote for Atiku

To create jobs and end youth unemployment and restiveness, let us vote for Atiku.

To ensure prosperry for all not prosperity for some, let us vote for Atiku.

To grow the economy and create jobs, let us vote for Atiku.

For a strong naira, let us vote for Atiku.

To lift millions of youths and women out of poverty, let us vote for Atiku.

To put an end to our oil and gas revenue addiction, let us vote for Atiku.

For a robust and functional physical and government infrastructure (roads, air, land, sea and rail transportation, electricity, ICT, e-government; etc), let us vote for Atiku.

To reduce our housing deficits, create and deploy a functional, affordable and efficient mortgage system, let us vote for Atiku.

For provision of not just education but qualitative education, let us vote for Atiku.

For provision of primary health care and affordable health insurence for all citizens at all levels, let us vote for Atiku

For agricultural revolution in order to grow what we eat and eat what we gow, let us vote for Atiku.

For Nigeria to be a global tourists destination, let us vote for Atiku.

To elect a President who is a cultural architect that creates the atmosphere for every Nigerian to become more and with whom less becomes more, let us vote for Atiku.

To elect a President who understands that compassion is not tossing a coin at a begger but pulling down the system that produces beggars, let us vote for Atiku.

To elect a president who will end rent seeking as a business and inspires us to go into manufacturing and production because he is into to it himself, let us vote for Atiku.

To elect a President who is not looking for electricity to roast corn but is already turning corn into meal for humans and animals, let us vote Atiku.

To elect a President who will rally us to action in poetry and govern us in prose not someone who does not understand the difference between the two, let us vote for Atiku.

To elect a President who clearly understands what he is promising not someone who is making promises to fictional groups like,“wives of widows”, let us vote for Atiku.

To elect a President who does not claim it is his turn to chop but realises he has to go to work to produce the food Nigerians deperately yearn for, let us vote for Atiku

To elect a president who knows that only God gives power and that it is never anyone’s turn to take power, let us vote for Atiku.

To elect a President who will hold his ground, not one that the ground must hold, before any audience in the world and bring honour not shame and dignity to all Nigerians, let us vote Atiku.

And for Atiku’s covenant with Nigeria, the implementation of which will unlock Nigeria’s manifest glorious destiny, let us vote for Atiku.

It was Victor Hugo who reminded us that, “All the forces in the world are not so powerful as an idea whose time has come.” Atiku represents an idea whose time has come. By the grace of God, who alone gives power, Atiku will soon be President – elect and Mr President by May. Let us go from here determined to be intruments in God’s hand to make it happen. Come on, friends, we are well able. See you on inauguration day!

God bless you and may God bless our country Nigeria.

The 2023 presidential election holds on Saturday, February 25, 2023.

Headline

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

Published

7 hours 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.

Headline

Opposition Parties Reject 2026 Electoral Act, Demand Fresh Amendment

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Eric

Opposition political parties have rejected the 2026 Electoral Act recently passed by the National Assembly, which President Bola Tinubu swiftly signed into law.

The parties called on the National Assembly to immediately begin a fresh amendment process to remove what they described as “all obnoxious provisions” in the law.

Their position was made known at a press briefing themed “Urgent Call to Save Nigeria’s Democracy,” held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja on Thursday.

In a communiqué read by the Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) Ahmed Ajuji, the opposition leaders stated:

“We demand that the National Assembly immediately commence a fresh amendment to the Electoral Act 2026, to remove all obnoxious provisions and ensure that the Act reflects only the will and aspiration of Nigerians for free, fair, transparent and credible electoral process in our country. Nothing short of this will be acceptable to Nigerians.”

Some of the opposition leaders present in at the event include former Senate President David Mark; former Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi; and former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, all from the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The National Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Ahmed Ajuji, and other prominent members of the NNPP, notably Buba Galadima, were also in attendance.

The coalition said the amended law, signed by Bola Tinubu, contains “anti-democratic” clauses, which they argue may weaken electoral transparency and public confidence in the voting system.

At the centre of the opposition’s concerns is the amendment to Section 60(3), which allows presiding officers to rely on manual transmission of election results where there is communication failure.

According to the coalition, the provision weakens the mandatory electronic transmission of results and could create loopholes for manipulation.

They argued that Nigeria’s electoral technology infrastructure is sufficient to support nationwide electronic transmission, citing previous assurances by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The parties also rejected the amendment to Section 84, which restricts political parties to direct primaries and consensus methods for candidate selection.

They described the change as an unconstitutional intrusion into the internal affairs of parties, insisting that indirect primaries remain a legitimate democratic option.

The opposition cited alleged irregularities in the recent Federal Capital Territory local government elections as evidence of what they described as a broader pattern of electoral compromise.

They characterised the polls as a “complete fraud” and said the outcome has deepened their lack of confidence in the ability of the electoral system to deliver credible elections in 2027.

The coalition also condemned reported attacks on leaders of the African Democratic Congress in Edo State, describing the incidents as a serious threat to democratic participation and political tolerance.

They warned that increasing violence against opposition figures could destabilise the political environment if not urgently addressed.

In their joint statement, the opposition parties pledged to pursue “every constitutional means” to challenge the Electoral Act 2026 and safeguard voters’ rights.

“We will not be intimidated,” the leaders said, urging civil society organisations and citizens to support efforts aimed at protecting Nigeria’s democratic system.

On February 18, 2026, President Bola Tinubu signed the Electoral Act (Amendment) 2026 into law following its passage by the National Assembly. The Act introduced several reforms, including statutory recognition of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and revised election timelines.

However, opposition figures such as Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi have also called for further amendments, particularly over the manual transmission fallback clause, which critics say leaves room for manipulation.

The president said the law will strengthen democracy and prevent voter disenfranchisement.

Tinubu defended manual collation of results, questioned Nigeria’s readiness for full real-time electronic transmission, and warned against technical glitches and hacking.

The Electoral Act sparked intense debate in the National Assembly over how election results should be transmitted ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Civil society groups under the “Occupy NASS” campaign demanded real-time transmission to curb manipulation.

In the Senate, lawmakers clashed during consideration of Clause 60, which allows manual transmission of results if electronic transmission fails.

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (ADC, Abia South) demanded a formal vote to remove the proviso permitting manual transmission, arguing against weakening real-time electronic reporting.

The move led to a heated exchange on the floor, with Senate President Godswill Akpabio initially suggesting the demand had been withdrawn.

After procedural disputes and a brief confrontation among senators, a division was conducted. Fifteen opposition senators voted against retaining the manual transmission proviso, while 55 supported it, allowing the clause to stand.

Earlier proceedings had briefly stalled during clause-by-clause review, prompting consultations and a closed-door session.

In the House of Representatives, a similar disagreement came up over a motion to rescind an earlier decision that mandated compulsory real-time electronic transmission of results to IReV.

Although the “nays” were louder during a voice vote, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas ruled in favour of rescinding the decision, triggering protests and an executive session.

Headline

AFP: How Tinubu’s Govt Paid Boko Haram ‘Huge’ Ransom, Released Two Terrorists for Kidnapped Saint Mary’s Pupils

Published

3 days ago

February 24, 2026

Eric

The Nigerian government paid Boko Haram militants a “huge” ransom of millions of dollars to free up to 230 children and staff the jihadists abducted from a Catholic school in November, an AFP investigation revealed Monday.

Two Boko Haram commanders were also freed as part of the deal, which goes against the country’s own law banning payments to kidnappers. The money was delivered by helicopter to Boko Haram’s Gwoza stronghold in northeastern Borno state on the border with Cameroon, intelligence sources told AFP.

The decision to pay the militants is likely to irritate US President Donald Trump, who ordered air strikes on jihadists in northern Nigeria on Christmas Day and has been sent military trainers to help support Nigerian forces.

Nigerian government officials deny any ransom was paid to the armed gang that snatched close to 300 schoolchildren and staff from St. Mary’s boarding school in Papiri in central Niger state on November 21. At least 50 later managed to escape their captors.

Boko Haram has not been previously linked to the kidnapping, but sources told AFP one of its most feared commanders was behind the mass abduction: the notorious jihadist known as Sadiku.

He infamously held up a train from the capital in 2022 and netted hefty ransoms for the release of government officials and other well-off passengers.

Boko Haram, which has waged a bloody insurgency since 2009, is strongest in northeast Nigeria.

But a cell in central Niger state operates under Sadiku’s leadership. The St. Mary’s pupils and staff were freed after two weeks of negotiations led by Nuhu Ribadu, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, with the government insisting no ransom was paid. Nigeria’s State Security Service flatly denied paying any money, saying “government agents don’t pay ransoms”.

However, four intelligence sources familiar with the talks told AFP the government paid a “huge” ransom to get the pupils back. One source put it at 40 million naira per head – around $7 million in total.

Another put the figure lower at two billion naira overall. The money was delivered by chopper to Ali Ngulde, a Boko Haram commander in the northeast, three sources told AFP.

Due to the lack of communications cover in the remote area, Ngulde had to cross into Cameroon to confirm delivery of the ransom before the first group of 100 children were released.

Nigeria has long been plagued by mass abductions, with criminals and jihadist groups sometimes working together to extort millions from hostages’ families, and authorities seemingly powerless to stop them.

Source: Africanews