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Who’s Blaming Who? The Sad Tales of APC

Published

2 years ago

February 25, 2024

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

The Nigerian nation is today polarized across three divides; those that believe that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, has failed woefully, just nine months after assuming power; those that believe that he can still turn the table around and spring a positive surprise, and those who are standing aloof, unconcerned of whether the administration succeed or not.

One thing is however, certain, and that is the fact that all believe that the country has dived into an abyss of exigency of which recovery may have become a mirage.

Across the country, and in hidden corners, cries of agony, sorrow, hunger and death continue to reverberate. The masses, going by utterances, actions and protests, seem to have had it where it hurts most. But even as the hunger bites harder in the land, with the prices of food items hitting the roof, the naira crashing miserably against other currencies of the world and people dropping dead from insecurity, the government of Bola Tinubu, has yet to cease blaming the government of the immediate past administration, his predecessor and fellow party man, Muhammadu Buhari.

Just like Buhari spent eight years to blame the 16 years of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rule, with special emphasis to the former President Goodluck Jonathan era, the Tinubu administration has not ceased to blame the immediate past Buhari administration for its inability to hit the ground running, leading to the hardship that has engulfed the length and breadth of the country since May 29, 2023 when he was inaugurated as president.

It would be recalled that stakeholders, analysts and followers of the eight years of Buhari administration, an era referred to as ‘regime’ by The Punch Newspaper, have unanimously agreed that the period qualifies as the darkest age of Nigeria’s administration. Many has said that the ‘regime’ borrowed much more than all the administrations that have ever existed in Nigeria combined.

“Buhari, in a nutshell plunged the country into a quagmire of incomparable mess,” various political analysts have said at various fora.

As the blame continues, Nigerians have recalled that the present administration of Bola Tinubu had vowed to continue where the Buhari era ended, given the impression that the APC as a party has an agenda that is not pro-welfare, especially with the flippant way with the petroleum subsidy was removed, and naira floated.

Tinubu, while addressing participants at the third Ministerial Performance Review Retreat currently at the State House, as the presidential candidate of the APC, said that if elected, he will show due honour to the efforts and legacies of Buhari, and work in the spirit of unity, national purpose that informed the creation of the party.

Tinubu had said his government will be devoted to continuity, particularly of projects that will bring prosperity to the citizens, while his guiding principle will be hinged on providing the best of progressive governance and reform the nation. But all that seems to be promises made under duress.

“Tinubu completely exhibited the prowess of a warlord, who is unaware of the challenges ahead of his troop, inexperienced and lacking in ability to launch or organise. Otherwise, he would have been more mature when he made his inauguration speech; a speech that destabilized the whole country from his day one in office,” a source told The Boss.

Wver since the advent of the administration of Tinubu therefore, the blames have continued to be traded between the immediate past and the present with each throwing tantrums at the other in as a much as both sides of the divide are members of the APC party. While the Tinubu camp has alleged that Buhari and his men wrecked Nigeria to near irredeemable, the Buhari camp has maintained innocence, accusing the present of inability to perform.

“We are talking about the same party. The same people that inordinately supervised and is supervising both the past and present administrations,” a legal officer, who wished anonymity mocked.

Recall that earlier in the life of the administration, a former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who is now the National Security Adviser (NSA) admitted that Tinubu inherited a bad economy from President Buhari administration that he is working hard to fix, underscoring Buhari’s boast in his final broadcast to the nation, that “I am confident that I am leaving office with Nigeria better in 2023 than in 2015.”

But Ribadu, while addressing a meeting of the Presidential Steering Committee on Palliatives at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in August 2022, admitted that “We inherited a very bad situation,” and pleaded with organised labour to give the administration little chance to fix the battered economy.

It is known that during the 2023 election, Tinubu had hailed economic progress of the Buhari administration and attacked the opposition parties for underscoring the failures of eight years of APC rules and proposals on the economy and the social welfare of the citizens.

“We inherited a very bad situation. Most of the problems people are talking about are not a creation of this government. This government is barely two months old and since we have been facing these difficulties and challenges, we have a listening and engaging President, a president who will want to have a conversation and react.

“He is truly, genuinely, honestly doing it. Our appeal is please Nigerians give us the support that is needed and required, we are working, we are trying to change things. We inherited a very bad situation, we are trying to stop all those things we witnessed in the past, we are trying to stop the killings, stop the attacks on trains, stop attacks on prisons, stop IPOB what they are doing, stop bandits, stop Boko Haram,” he said.

However, seven months after Ribadu showered attacks of blame on Buhari, the country continue to sink deep into the quagmire of want, lack and hardship.

The body language of the Tinubu administration has directed every attack of ineptitude and incompetence at the Buhari regime. But what has remained a poser is the fact that majority of the officers, who supposedly ‘wrecked’ the economy of the country during the Buhari years, are also officers in the Tinubu administration. Some of them are the former leaders of the 9th National Assembly; the duo of the former Senate President, who is still a serving Senator, Ahmed Lawan, and the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, who is now the Chief of Staff to President Tinubu, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila.

“There has been a recycle of incompetence, and this is a situation where new incompetence is blaming its old self of incompetence. It’s like someone looking himself in the mirror, and telling the one in the mirror that he is a failure. It’s a case of APC talking to itself. Telling itself how it has wrecked the life of Nigerians in as many years,” a political analysts said.

Recently at a Senate seating, the members resolved to probe the N30trn Ways and Means spent by Buhari-led Federal Government which according to it, was recklessly spent.

It further stated that reckless spending of the overdraft collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria under Godwin Emefiele largely accounted for food and security crises currently facing the country.

The Red Chamber then resolved to set up an ad-hoc committee, to carry out an investigation on what the N30trn Ways and Means were spent on by the immediate past government since details of such spending were not made available to the National Assembly.

The ad-hoc committee will also probe the N10tn expended on the Anchor Borrowers Scheme, the $2.4bn forex transaction out of $7bn obligation made for that purpose as well as other intervention programmes.

Senate’s resolutions on planned investigations followed consideration of report of its joint Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Finance, National Planning, Agriculture and Appropriation on State of the Economy after interactive sessions with the Federal Government’s economic management team .

The plenary later became stormy with accusations, counter accusations and barefaced blames by senators on why and how the N22.7tn Ways and Means was passed by the 9th Senate in May 2023 and additional N7.2tn passed on December 30, 2023 by the 10th Senate.

The 9th and 10th Senate were proved to be wasteful and therefore, contributed in the wrecking of the nation’s economy, which culminated in the present economic umpasse, trickling down to the regular man in the street.

In his blame argument, the Senate Whip, Senator Ali Ndume (APC Borno South), attacked the Senate for approving the request without details from Buhari. He was however, reminded that he was part of the system then and now.

Note that Ndume was vocal in defending the allocation of N160 million to senators for a car in the midst of economic hardship. The money was even spent on camry cats, not Nigerian made cars.

Ndume said, “When the N22.7trillion Ways and Means approval request was brought before the 9th Senate, I insisted that details of spendings made with it , should be provided before approval but the Senate then went ahead and approve it.”

It was every man for himself while the APC members traded blames.

In his defence, the former Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, who supervised the process, claimed that the Ways and Means was in the past and urged the Senate to focus on the present.

“All of those is in the past, we must focus on the present which is the fact that people are hungry and they are crying. That’s what we should focus on.”

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, in his remarks said, as recommended by the committee , and supported by most of the Senators, thorough probe must be carried out on the N22.7tn Ways and Means approved in May 2023 by the 9th Senate which later increased to N30tn , with passage of the N7.2trillion accrued interest forwarded for passage in the December last year .

Akpabio said, “The food and security crises confronting the nation now are traceable to the way and manner the said Ways and Means was given, collected and spent .

“Details of such spendings must be submitted for required scrutiny and possible remedies because what Nigerians want now is food on their table which must be given.”

Lawan was noted to approve every proposal brought before it by the executive, often boasting that he was not sorry to approve every of Buhari’s request.

Most of the APC stalwarts, who served in the Buhari administration are facing one form of persecution or another. Some of them are a former Accountant General, Ahmed Idris; a former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, former Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele, and a former Minister of Aviation, Hadid Sirika. These men are said to have been involved in huge financial crises.

The former Accountant General is said to have stolen a whopping N109 billion, and was arraigned on a 13-count charge bordering on alleged misappropriation.

In one of the charges, the EFCC said between February and December 2021, Mr Idris accepted from Mr Akindele, a gratification of N15.1 billion, which sum was as a motive for accelerating the payment of 13 per cent derivation to the nine oil-producing states in the Federation, through the office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

Also, it alleged that N84.3 billion from the Federal Government’s account was cornered by Mr Idris and the second defendant (Mr Akindele) between February and November 2021.

According to the charges, the alleged offences violate sections 155 and 315 of the Penal Code Act Cap 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990.

Idris, according to the EFCC admitted to all the charges, and agreed to a plea bargain. He however, claimed he was deceived to admittance by the EFCC.

On his part, the former Aviation Minister, sold the nation a bogus national carrier, and ‘pocketed’ N85.42 billion for eight years while working on Nigeria Air that never was.

Data by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Compilation of Budgetary Allocations show that the Federal Government spent N85.42billion on transaction advisers, working capital and consultancy bills for Nigeria Air between 2016 and 2023.

Despite the huge amount spent on the national carrier, the airline has not only failed to secure Air Operating Certificate, an approval granted by a Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it use aircraft for commercial flight operations, but has also not secured a single aircraft for its operations.

As Buhari’s administration was close to winding up, stakeholders reminded Sirika of the monies spent on the national carrier and his promise to deliver the project before the administration was over.

Findings show that the former minister of Aviation had contacted Ethiopian Airlines few days before the handover, to provide an aircraft that would be presented to Nigerians as an aircraft belonging to Nigeria Air.

Ethiopian Airline had obliged by repainting and rebranding one of its Boeing 737-860 Max aircraft.

Investigations show that the Boeing 737-800 aircraft has registration Number ET-APL, Mode S Q4005C and serial number: 40965/4075.

The entire process was orchestrated by Sirika to hoodwink Nigerians.

The list of blame games is endless, making Nigerians to wonder if the same men that wrecked the country can repair it, and how long before the regular citizens have a lease a fresh air one more time.

But as it is today, the future awaits a miracle to normalize as it appears bleak.

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Opposition Parties Reject 2026 Electoral Act, Demand Fresh Amendment

Published

9 hours 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.

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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

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Unlawful Invasion: El-Rufai Drags ICPC, IGP, Others to Court, Demands N1bn Damages

Published

4 days ago

February 23, 2026

Eric

Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has slammed a ₦1 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for what he claimed was an unlawful invasion of his Abuja residence.

El-Rufai, in a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, also listed the Chief Magistrate, Magistrate’s Court of the FCT, Abuja Magisterial District; Inspector-General of Police, and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as 2nd to 4th respondents respectively.

According to the suit filed through his lawyers, led by Oluwole Iyamu, El-Rufai prayed the court to declare that the search warrant issued on February 4 by the Chief Magistrate, Magistrate’s Court of the FCT (2nd respondent), authorising the search and seizure at his residence as invalid, null and void.

Security operatives had stormed and searched the former Governor’s residence in the ongoing investigations against him.

However, he argued in the case marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, that the search was in violation of Section 37 of the Constitution, and urged the court to declare that the search warrant was “null and void for lack of particularity, material drafting errors, ambiguity in execution parameters, overbreadth, and absence of probable cause thereby constituting an unlawful and unreasonable search.”

In the suit dated and filed February 20 by Iyamu, ex-governor, who is currently under detention, sought seven reliefs.

He prayed the court to declare that the invasion and search of his residence at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, on Feb. 19 at about 2pm and executed by agents of ICPC and I-G, “under the aforesaid invalid warrant, amounts to a gross violation of the applicant’s fundamental rights to dignity of the human person, personal liberty, fair hearing, and privacy under Sections 34, 35, 36, and 37 of the Constitution.”

He urged the court to declare that “any evidence obtained pursuant to the aforesaid invalid warrant and unlawful search is inadmissible in any proceedings against the applicant, as it was procured in breach of constitutional safeguards.”

El-Rufai, therefore, sought an order of injunction restraining the respondents and their agents from further relying on, using, or tendering any evidence or items seized during the unlawful search in any investigation, prosecution, or proceedings involving him.

“An order directing the Ist and 3rd respondents (ICPC and I-G) to forthwith return all items seized from the applicant’s premises during the unlawful search, together with a detailed inventory thereof.

“An order awarding the sum of N1,000,000,000.00 (One Billion Naira) as general, exemplary, and aggravated damages against the respondents jointly and severally for the violations of the applicant’s fundamental rights, including trespass, unlawful seizure, and the resultant psychological trauma, humiliation, distress, infringement of privacy, and reputational harm.”

The breakdown of the ₦1 billion in damages includes “a N300 million as compensatory damages for psychological trauma, emotional distress, and loss of personal security;

“A ₦400 million as exemplary damages to deter future misconduct by law enforcement agencies and vindicate the applicant’s rights.

“A ₦300 million as aggravated damages for the malicious, high-handed and oppressive nature of the respondents’ actions, including the use of a patently defective warrant procured through misleading representations.”

He equally sought ₦100 million as the cost of filing the suit, including legal fees and associated expenses.

Iyamu argued that the search warrant was fundamentally defective, lacking specificity in the description of items to be seized, containing material typographical errors, ambiguous execution terms, overbroad directives, and no verifiable probable cause.

He added that the warrant violated Sections 143-148 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015; Section 36 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC) Act, 2000, and constitutional protections against arbitrary intrusions and several other constitutional provisions.

“Section 146 stipulates that the warrant must be in the prescribed form, free from defects that could mislead, but the document is riddled with errors in the address, date, and district designation;

“Section 147 allows direction to specified persons, but the warrant’s indiscriminate addressing to “all officers is overbroad and unaccountable.

“Section 148 permits execution at reasonable times, but the contradictory language creates ambiguity, undermining procedural clarity,” he submitted.

Iyamu stated that the execution of the invalid warrant on Feb. 19 resulted in an unlawful invasion of his client’s premises, constituting violations of the rights to dignity (Section 34), personal liberty (Section 35), fair hearing (Section 36), and privacy (Section 37) of the Constitution.

He further argued that the search was conducted without legal justification and in a manner that inflicted humiliation and distress.

“Evidence obtained without a valid warrant is unlawful and inadmissible, as established in judicial precedents such as C.O.P. v. Omoh (1969) NCLR 137, where the court ruled that evidence procured through improper means contravenes fundamental rights and must be excluded,” he said.

In the affidavit in support of the application, Mohammed Shaba, a Principal Secretary to the former governor, averred that on Feb. 19 at about 2p.m., officers from the ICPC and Nigeria Police Force invaded the residence under a purported search warrant issued on or about Feb. 4.

According to him, the said warrant is invalid due to its lack of specificity, errors, and other defects as outlined in the grounds of this application.

He said the “search warrant did not specify the properties or items being searched for.”

Shaba stated that the officers failed to submit themselves for search as provided by the law before proceeding with the search.

“That the Magistrate did not specify the magisterial district wherein he sits.

“That during the invasion, the officers searched the applicant’s premises without lawful authority, seized personal items including documents and electronic devices, and caused the applicant undue humiliation, psychological trauma, and distress.

“Now shown to me and marked as ‘EXHIBIT B’ Is the list of the items carted away.

“That no items seized have been returned, and the respondents continue to rely on the unlawful evidence.

“That the applicant suffered violations of his constitutional rights as a result, and this application is brought in good faith to enforce same,” Shaba said.

Source: Naijanews.com