Politics
Go and start as councillor – Shittu, Sowore in verbal war
There were verbal exchanges of hard words on Saturday between the Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu and the Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Mr. Omoyele Sowore over the 2019 general elections and the performance of President Muhammadu Buhari.
They clashed during a public affairs radio programme, tagged “Political Circuit” on Fresh FM in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.
DAILY POST correspondent who monitored the program learnt that Sowore, a Presidential aspirant, was in Ibadan in continuation of his campaign movement.
Shittu, who was the first to arrive the Felele studio of the private radio station owned by popular juju musician, Mr. Yinka Ayefele suddenly became uncomfortable when the young Presidential aspirant arrived.
Sowore who was the first to greet the Minister said, “Minister, it is great to see you. This is the minister of an outgoing regime; the Buhari regime will be kicked off power by 2019″.
He had barely concluded his introductory statement when the Minister fired back, saying “You are a dreamer. By your wish or by God’s wish? You are just dreaming. You are a day dreamer”.
Sowore in his reply said “By the wish of the people of Nigeria, Sir. It is not a dream. It is the realisation you’d wake up to on February 15.”
Shittu in his own response then mocked Sowore, saying he does not have any electoral value.
He said “Sowore, what is your electoral worth? Whether in your Ife, home or any part of this country.”
Sowore who said he have enough electoral value to chase out the Buhari administration said, “My electoral worth brought you to power in 2015. Nobody even heard about many of you in 2014.”
The minister thereafter said the Sahara Reporters publisher didn’t know about him because he was inconsequential in politics.
The Minister said, “You are inconsequential.
“That’s rubbish. I have been in politics since you were born. For forty years, I have been in politics and I was already a lawyer before I joined politics forty years ago. You can’t be here and talk rubbish.
“This is rubbish! You want to become president? You are a day dreamer. Who will make you president? You will be president of your Ife… not Nigeria. Go and be president in Ife. You think it is cheap as that? We will see.
In defence, Mr Sowore said he was consequential because Shittu and others came to power by the efforts of young Nigerians like him.
“I am consequential because you came to power on my back, on our back… on the back of young people who invested a lot of hope.”
In response, the minister described the publisher as a mere noise-maker.
He said “What did you invest? Did you invest more than me, No? I will not sit here and allow someone make noise…You are just a noisemaker. You are just a noisemaker.”
Sowore then warned that the minster’s conduct was typical of the same way handlers of former President Goodluck Jonathan treated Nigerians before they were defeated at the polls in 2015.
He said, “This was the same way Jonathan people were sounding in 2014… you are gonna be shocked in 2019, the Nigeria of the future is for dreamers like me.”
The angry Minister then maintained that,“You think the presidency is for people like you? Go and start from being a councillor. I have been a member of the House of Assembly, I was a commissioner twice, I was already a lawyer… you wouldn’t know, you were too small.
“How old are you? How old are you? This is not a platform for minions like you to come… you think the presidency is something you can just buy in a market place? You are a giant in university politics (and) by the grace of God you will be put to shame.”
Shittu accused the publisher of publishing falsehood against him without contacting him to verify the fact, an accusation to which Mr. Sowore replied by saying the minister barely picked his calls nor replied his messages.
It took the anchor of the program, Mr. Isaac Brown and other analysts on the program more than five minutes to bring the situation under control.
When asked to explain the rationale for vying for the presidency, the 47-year-old publisher said he had been around for thirty years fighting for the betterment of the country. He also said he had built a media platform whose reportage help bring the present government into power.
On the NotTooYoungToRun initiative, Mr Sowore said it was not enough for the youth to simply contest on the basis of their being young.
“You have to take power because we are responsible and should be responsible for it. That’s why we are having a heated argument here. I have been doing this for thirty years; by next year, it will be thirty years. We are the ones that fought for the democracy they are enjoying today.
“We do (contact affected parties in a story for reaction) but they don’t react until they get into trouble. I have your (Mr. Shittu) telephone number, I called you. I had sent you text messages even before now but because you think I am inconsequential, you ignored me,” he said.
Shittu, who said Sowore needs ‘mentoring’, thereafter threatened to sue the Sahara Reporters publisher over the said publication.
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Adewole Adebayo, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has declared his willingness to step aside in the 2027 elections if a stronger candidate emerges to lead the party.
Adebayo made this statement on Sunday during an appearance on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political programme aired on Channels Television, monitored by Mega Icon Magazine.
“Everybody knows that I have an aspiration. I’m working on it, but God is the author of tomorrow; we don’t even know who is going to be around in 2027,” he said.
The lawyer and politician emphasised that his ambition would not stand in the way of a more capable leader who could address Nigeria’s challenges.
“It is my prayer to God that if there is a person who God thinks is better than me to fix the problem of Nigeria, my ambition should not stop that person because we want a country that works. That is the kind of thing we are working on at this time,” he added.
Adebayo assured Nigerians that the SDP would present a candidate worthy of national support, capable of unseating President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the next election.
He further stressed that the SDP would avoid divisive politics based on religion and ethnicity.
“What used to be an easy discussion – with religion and ethnicity – has become explosive now. So, we will not use the SDP forum to try to bifurcate our people into different zones,” he noted.
According to him, the party aims to produce a candidate whose emergence will be met with widespread approval.
“When we make a choice in the SDP, there will be resounding joy outside the SDP, and Nigerians will say: ‘Okay, finally, this platform has given the country a chance’,” Adebayo said.
The lawmaker representing Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency, Engr Aderemi Oseni, has congratulated the Oyo State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Moshood Olayide-Abas on his appointment as the Board Chairman of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kaduna, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Oseni, who also serves as the Chairman of the House Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), described Olajide’s appointment as a recognition of his dedication to the party and his contributions to its growth in Oyo State.
In a statement issued on Saturday by his media aide, Idowu Ayodele, the lawmaker commended President Tinubu for considering competent and loyal party members for key federal appointments.
“I extend my heartfelt congratulations to our leader, Prince Abas Olajide on this well-deserved appointment. His leadership and commitment to the APC in Oyo State have been exemplary. I have no doubt that he will bring the same level of dedication to this new role,” Oseni stated.
He also congratulated other notable figures from Oyo State who were appointed to federal boards, urging them to justify the confidence reposed in them by delivering on their mandates.
“This is not just an opportunity but a call to service. I encourage all appointees to work diligently in support of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” he added.
Oseni expressed optimism that these appointments would further strengthen governance at the national level and reinforce the APC’s political structure in Oyo State.
Less than a month after former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai left the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the party’s North-West leadership has denied that he is a registered member.
In a statement issued in Kaduna, the North-West Assistant Secretary of the SDP, Idris Inuwa, asserted that neither the ward nor the state chapter of the party has any record of El-Rufai’s membership.
“It has come to our notice that certain individuals, including Nasir El-Rufai, are being rumoured to have joined the SDP. However, neither the chairman of Kaduna North Local Government in Kaduna State nor the leadership of Unguwar Sarki ward has any record of these memberships,” he stated.
Inuwa, therefore, urged El-Rufai and other prospective members to follow the proper membership process if they wish to officially join the SDP.
“We advise him and any other interested individuals to adhere to the established procedures for membership registration,” he added.
Furthermore, the North-West Zonal Assistant Secretary rejected the dissolution of the Kaduna State working committee of the SDP by the party’s National Working Committee.
“While we recognise the growing interest of individuals and groups in joining the SDP, we emphasise that there are well-defined guidelines and constitutional provisions governing membership admission. The Kaduna State chapter of SDP remains open to all prospective members who comply with the established procedures,” Inuwa stated.
It will be recalled that El-Rufai resigned his membership of the APC and defected to the SDP on 10 March 2025.
In his resignation statement, El-Rufai cited concerns over what he described as the “capricious trajectory” of the ruling party, which he alleged the leadership had failed to address.
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