Top Stories
Why I attacked Obasanjo over statement on Buhari – Senator Adamu
Former governor of Nasarawa State and Senator representing Nasarawa West District in the National Assembly, Abdullahi Adamu, has revealed the reason he attacked erstwhile
President Olusegun Obasanjo, over the controversial letter he wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari urging him not to run for reelection in 2019.
According to Adamu, he added his voice to the debate over Obasanjo’s letter because he was part of the current government and any criticism on the Buhari-led administration is also an attack on his personal performance as a top government official.
He also said that nobody deployed him from the backdoor of the Presidency to do the other side of the attack on Obasanjo. Rather, he said that Obasanjo was biased and raised unfounded allegations that necessitated the criticisms he received from him.
He told Daily Trust: “What the government did under the leadership of President Buhari showed optimum maturity. Those of us who are not within the Presidency strongly believe that we have rights to make our opinions known on the issue.
“We are necessary stakeholders in what Obasanjo said about the government. I am among the three arms of government, so when someone condemns the performance of the government, he condemns my performance also. When somebody calls for the president not to contest for election, he is passing a negative verdict on the government of the day, and I am part of this government. So I have every sense of responsibility to stand by this government. I am under oath to be loyal to this country, the flag, and the Federal Government. I believe that the Minister of Information did his job.
“Between me, you and God, I say this with all honour; nobody made me say something about Obasanjo. If anything, I am known for how I stood by Obasanjo and how I supported him. What makes him think that he alone has the solutions to the problems of Nigeria? What qualifications does he have for this? In his first election (1999), he didn’t win one state in the entire South -West of the country, including his own state, Ogun.
“By 2003, he virtually went on his knees and made a deal with some governors that he would support them to get back their seats if they didn’t disgrace him. He betrayed them. The only governor that refused to be hoodwinked was Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who won his seat without the help of Obasanjo. The remaining governors lost their seats.
“When Goodluck Jonathan was in power, he also wrote a letter to him. He believes that the destiny of any president is in his hands. He believes that his support is critical. This must stop.
“I agree with the concept that you “look at the message and not the messenger.” But what is right in what the messenger is saying? For instance, why should he accuse Buhari of nepotism? The constitution of this country is clear enough. Buhari must have at least one minister from each state and he has done that. Take a look at the ministers and the portfolios they hold. I don’t believe that every ministry is equal. You can’t say that the Minister of Finance is on the same page with the Minister of Culture or Minister of Information. None of the key ministries (except that of Education and Agriculture) have leaders of northern extraction.
“If he (Obasanjo) was neutral or didn’t even make false allegations, I may not have responded the way I did. But he is throwing his weight around and people respect him because he is a former head of the country. I am close to him and I know him very well. Every government is not good enough, according to him. If he had solved the problems of this country, why then did he leave Yar’adua to inherit the kind of problems he did? If he succeeded in his economic policies, why did Jonathan have problems with the economy of this country? Obasanjo, in all good conscience, ruled this country for about 11 years and still couldn’t solve the problems of this country.
“I was a governor and I know what he tried to do, and if walls were to speak, go to house number seven in the Villa here and the walls would tell you what transpired there. The walls would tell you that he actually wanted a third term because he made attempts, many attempts to try to amend the Nigerian constitution such that it would enable him have tenure elongation.
“He tried to work on the party’s (PDP) constitution to see what it would be if he didn’t become the president so that he would have what we call soft landing.
“I am not a passerby in this; I was part and parcel of this movement, and we keep this thing because we have a duty to keep it as much as possible, you know. But when he comes to undo a whole government because it is Buhari, it is about this government. I said it in my release, except you want me to repeat it, that to an extent, he has not been called to answer. Look, I did mention Halliburton sometimes. I talked about Siemens. Did he play any role in the accusation of corruption and what have you? If not, let him come out and say he was not aware. There are some cases; what happened to those cases in Nigeria? Some of the people that are involved in those cases are languishing in jail in the United States of America. Some of the cases started here and nobody is hearing about them again.
“If Buhari wanted, if not for the respect he has for his predecessors, he would have put him on trial. What about the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE)? You know the privatisation that took place and got to him; let him come and let’s have an open enquiry on who played what part. What about Transcorp deals and the oil blocks in this country? He wants to tell us that he is a perfect angel, that there is no palm oil on his hands.”
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday held a high-level strategic meeting with the Oyo State chapter of the party as part of efforts to reposition the APC for victory and prevent internal crisis ahead of the polls.
The development was first scooped by OYOINSIGHT.COM which quoted multiple party sources familiar with the closed-door deliberations.
Sources disclosed that the meeting, held in Abuja, focused largely on a consensus arrangement being considered by stakeholders of the party in Oyo State, in line with political templates reportedly being adopted in Lagos and Ogun states ahead of the next electoral cycle.
Party insiders said the move was aimed at strengthening unity within the fold of the opposition party in the state, minimising rancour during the primaries and presenting a formidable front against rival parties in 2027.
It was further gathered that some members of the state executive committee may have been subtly informed about preferred consensus candidates being considered for elective positions across the state.
Though details of the deliberations were still sketchy as of press time, sources hinted that the national leadership stressed the need for cohesion, discipline and strategic alignment among stakeholders to improve the party’s electoral fortunes in Oyo.
Those at the meeting included the Oyo APC Chairman, Moses Alake Adeyemo; the state secretary, Fatai Adesina Adeniyi; the Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare; the Organising Secretary, Aderemi Adepoju; and the Legal Adviser, Sunday Aborisade.
Others were the Women Leader, Adekemi Opatunde; the Youth Leader, Olalekan Oladejo; Joshua Oyebamiji; Tunde Oloyede; Sunday Babalola; Joseph Omoniyi; and Mojeed Adebayo.
As of the time of filing this report, the party had yet to issue an official statement on the outcome of the meeting.
The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Chief Moses Alake Adeyemo, on Monday assured aspirants and party members that the party would conduct transparent, peaceful and credible direct primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Adeyemo declared that no aspirant would be victimised or denied a level playing field, stressing that the party leadership remained committed to internal democracy and progressive ideals.
The former deputy governor spoke while receiving members of the APC Screening and Appeal Committees deployed from the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja at the APC Secretariat in Oke-Ado, Ibadan.
He disclosed that although the party initially explored consensus arrangements across elective positions, prevailing realities indicated that direct primaries would be conducted in some areas, including the governorship contest.
Adeyemo said the party had already put necessary structures in place to ensure a hitch-free exercise capable of strengthening unity within the APC.
He said: “We set machineries in motion for us to achieve the aim of consensus across board but reports available to me indicate that we would have to go by the second option which is direct primary in certain cases including the governorship ticket.
“To this end, we shall work towards organising free, fair and credible exercise in all the affected areas even as we cannot rule out the possibility of some aspirants having a rethink and supporting the consensus arrangement as necessary.
“Where we have more than an aspirant, Abuja would send people to conduct primaries and we at the state level would provide the required support to make everything work out in the interest of our great party.”
The APC chairman explained that all registered party members would participate fully in the exercise at their respective wards on dates to be announced by the National Secretariat.
According to him, affirmation would be adopted in areas where consensus candidates emerge, while voting would be conducted wherever direct primaries become necessary.
“For consensus, members will lend their voices for affirmation while voting will be done in the cases of direct primary,” he added.
Speaking earlier, Chairman of the Screening Committee and former Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Taofiq AbdusSalam, assured party faithful that the committee would carry out a thorough, transparent and unbiased screening process.
He said only eligible aspirants would be cleared to participate in the primaries and eventually fly the APC flag in the forthcoming elections.
Other members of the Screening Committee are Kamal Sanusi (Secretary), Smart Oluwole, Tunde Kolade and Olabamiji Agunloye.
Members of the Screening Appeal Committee are Jibola Oduwole (Chairman), Abimbola Jack (Secretary) and Jelil Jimoh.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress on Saturday zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to Southern Nigeria, declaring that the party’s candidate would serve a single four-year term if elected.
The decision was reached during the party’s national convention held in Abuja amid growing momentum within the opposition platform following a wave of high-profile defections from other political parties.
Announcing the development on its official social media handle, the party stated, “NDC presidential ticket is zoned to the South!!”
The party also resolved that its 2031 presidential ticket would be ceded to Northern Nigeria as part of efforts to maintain regional balance and internal equity.
The convention comes as key opposition figures, including former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and former New Nigeria People’s Party presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, joined party leaders and delegates at the Abuja gathering.
Saturday’s convention is expected to ratify several recent decisions taken by the party’s National Executive Committee, including zoning arrangements, amendments to the party constitution, and the election of new national executives.
According to the convention agenda obtained by journalists, discussions centred on zoning, ratification of the amended constitution, and leadership restructuring ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The NDC has in recent weeks witnessed a surge in defections from rival opposition parties, particularly the African Democratic Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.
On Tuesday, no fewer than 17 members of the House of Representatives defected from the ADC to the NDC.
Their defections were formally announced during plenary at the House of Representatives.
The lawmakers include Yusuf Datti, Uchenna Okonkwo, Adamu Wakili, Thaddeus Attah, George Ozodinobi, Lilian Orogbu, Oluwaseyi Sowunmi, Peter Aniekwe, Mukhtar Zakari, George Oluwande and Munachim Umezuruike.
Others are Emeka Idu, Jesse Onuakalusi, Ifeanyi Uzokwe, Afam Ogene, Murphy Omoruyi and Abdulhakeem Ado.
The defections came barely two days after Obi and Kwankwaso formally joined the NDC from the ADC.
The duo were presented with the party’s membership cards last Sunday shortly after a closed-door meeting with party leaders.
A former Governor of Bayelsa State and NDC national leader, Seriake Dickson, officially welcomed the opposition figures into the party.
Obi had attributed his exit from the ADC to worsening internal crises, external interference and what he described as increasing hostility within party structures.
The former Anambra State governor said Nigeria’s political environment had become increasingly toxic, marked by intimidation, insecurity and sustained scrutiny of opposition figures.
He also lamented that institutions meant to protect citizens were now often deployed against them, while individuals committed to genuine public service faced mounting pressure both publicly and privately.
-
Politics1 day ago2027: Oyo APC Set for Credible Direct Primaries, Says Alake Adeyemo
-
News1 week agoTCN plans power outage in Ibadan over substation maintenance
-
News5 days agoTegbe clarifies: No 3-month promise on power grid, outlines realistic reform timeline
-
News5 days agoYoruba Heritage Festival Honouring Ogedengbe Begins July 29