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My Remarks Consistent Whether in or out of Tinubu’s Govt, El-Rufai Replies Bwala

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Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai on Thursday noted that if he were in the President Bola Tinubu-led government, his remarks about the administration would remain unchanged.

This was in his response to the President’s Special Adviser on Policy Communications, Daniel Bwala.

El-Rufai had described the state of governance and opposition in the country as a “national emergency” at a national conference in Abuja on strengthening democracy in Nigeria on Monday.

The former governor also lamented the lack of internal democracy and active party structures within the All Progressives Congress, saying, “I no longer recognise the APC. No party organ has met in two years—no caucus, no NEC, nothing. You don’t even know if it is a one-man show; it’s a zero-man show.’

In its response, the ruling APC knocked El-Rufai, as it accused him of treachery over how he had been dragging the Federal Government and the ruling party recently.

This prompted Bwala’s question to the APC chieftain via his X handle, saying, “My Senior brother if you were to be in the government and cabinet, would you have held and expressed the same position?

“History is replete with examples. It is a government you participated in its formation, that you now want to unseat. Haba Mallam, a Ji soron Allah mana.”

On Thursday, the former governor, via his X handle, asserted his stance, as he called out “latter-day converts” to the Tinubu administration for insisting he wanted to serve as a minister in the current government.

“Good morning, #BwalaDaniel, I was cabinet minister 22 years ago and was clear to Asiwaju that I was not interested in any position in his future government. The pathetic manner all of you latter-day converts to the Tinubu government make an issue of something that I never wanted in the first place is perhaps a reflection of the level of your moral flexibility.

“If I had remained in the Tinubu government, I will say or do the same on the tragedy within a party I was a founder, and the government that emerged from it – first in private sessions with those concerned, and then go public if no remedial actions are taken. Go and check my public service record from 1998.

“I am only responding to you because I still think you are a decent person who may need a job, and not in the class of Wendell Simlin and that Kaduna pretender that our voters retired in 2019 – these clowns are political mercenaries that receive humongous monthly stipends from the security vote to be the first to jump on X and other platforms to defend everything the Asiwaju government does or fails to do, no matter how indefensible it may be.

“Enjoy your special adviser position, my brother, but remember that allegiance to God and country comes first in the human scale of accountability, before any person or authority.”

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Decomposing Body of Kidnapped Anambra Lawmaker Found on 2nd Niger Bridge

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The decomposing body of a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Justice Azuka, has been discovered on the 2nd Niger Bridge.

Azuka’s body was discovered by a combined team of security agencies.

The lawmaker representing Onitsha North Constituency 1 was kidnapped on December 24, 2024, along Ugwunabankpa Road, Inland Town, Onitsha.

After weeks of investigation, security operatives from Abuja apprehended the suspects late Wednesday. The arrested individuals later led authorities to the location where they had dumped the lawmaker’s remains.

Police authorities in Anambra State said details of the incident are sketchy.

However, the spokesman of the command, Tochukwu Ikenga, said police operatives have been deployed to the scene.

According to him, further details would be made known to the public in due time.

The incident marks the second kidnapping and murder of a sitting Anambra lawmaker in recent years.

In 2022, Okey Okoye, popularly known as “Okey Di Ok” from Aguata, was abducted and beheaded.

His body was later found around the Nnobi axis of the South-East state. The region has experienced a slew of violence in recent years. Gunmen have at various times attacked public facilities and killed scores of persons despite repeated assurances from government and security agencies.

The calls for secession have also reached new highs in the region in recent years. But no group has claimed responsibility for the wave of violence in the South-East.

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EFCC Boss Knocks Nigerians for Celebrating Corrupt Leaders

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Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has argued that Nigeria’s under-development would be a thing of the past if everyone begins to see corruption as a common enemy and tackle it.

He stated this on Friday when officials of the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) led by the Director of its Board of Trustees (BoT), Major General Chris Olukolade (rtd) paid him a courtesy visit at the EFCC corporate headquarters, Abuja.

He said: “One of the major problems in Nigeria which when tackled, will make under-development a thing of the past, is corruption and financial crimes. A society that is ready to move forward is a responsibility not only of the government, but of the citizens. This is what has actually led some of us to be very committed to this cause.

“We are ready to go the whole hog to do what we need to do within the confines and provisions of the law and the power that the Constitution has conferred on us. If everybody makes up his or her mind to do the right thing, we’ll move forward in this country.”

Olukoyede, who expressed delight at the proposal of the CCC delegation for collaboration and synergy in the areas of strategic communication and public engagement, re-emphasized that the work and successes of the EFCC run on the wheels of public engagement and advocacy.

“We thank you for proposing a synergy and collaboration with us to support the work we do. One of the strong pillars of our mandate is the issue of public engagement and public advocacy. We will partner with you in that respect. We have so many projects and programmes with respect to letting the public know what we’re doing and we are doing everything possible to ensure that we create awareness on the part of Nigerians with respect to the need for us to be careful and play by the rules.

“However, it is so unfortunate that the same people who approbate also reprobate at the same time. Everybody is crying that Nigerians are corrupt, that the system is corrupt; that corruption is killing us and destroying our system, but when we investigate high profile cases and arraign people in court, the same people will carry placards and be supporting corrupt leaders.

“It doesn’t show that we are serious about this fight. The fight is supposed to be a collaborative effort. No single agency can do it alone. It is practically impossible for us as EFCC to fight all the battles. The society has a role to play; policy has a role to play and the issue of welfare of the citizens has a role to play,” he said.

Speaking on the trajectory of his leadership, he disclosed that he has prioritized prevention over enforcement since coming on board.

“Now we are laying more emphasis on prevention which is a critical aspect of our mandate. We don’t have to always be waiting for money to be stolen before we start working in EFCC. To drive prevention, I established a new directorate called Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, FRAC and now we are doing more of blocking of the leakages. We have access to GIFMIS (government payment platform). We want to track and see where every money released is going.

“We want to ensure that every capital project is executed. With prevention, we discovered that there will be less to enforce. We are not dropping our mandate on enforcement. As a matter of fact, we are scaling it up. But we believe that it is important for us to prevent because it costs less to prevent than to react when the deed must have been done. So that is one of our areas of focus as of now.”

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Gunmen Abduct Abia Electoral Commission Chairman

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The Chairman of Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ASIEC), Professor George Chima, has been abducted by gunmen.

A family source said Chima was abducted on Friday from his Okigwe residence in Imo State while hosting some lecturers from Abia State University, Uturu.

Spokesperson of the State Police Command, DSP Henry Okoye, confirmed the incident, adding that the police are on the trail of the hoodlums with the aim of rescuing the victim.

He said “Yes, we are aware of the kidnap of the Prof and we have commenced investigations.

“As I speak to you now, the Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma, personally led the team of police operatives to Okigwe.

“The police are assuring all that we will catch the kidnappers,” Okoye said.

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