Farouk Ahmed, Aisha Buhari, Abaribe, Doguwa, Lai, Amupitan in the spotlight
The resignation of NMDPRA chief Farouk Ahmed amid corruption allegations, revelations by former First Lady Aisha Buhari about life inside Aso Rock, and Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe’s prediction of President Bola Tinubu’s defeat in 2027 all sparked intense public debate. Meanwhile, reflections from former Information Minister Lai Mohammed, assurances from APC stalwart Hassan Doguwa on the […]
Farouk Ahmed, Aisha Buhari, Abaribe, Doguwa, Lai, Amupitan in the spotlight
The resignation of NMDPRA chief Farouk Ahmed amid corruption allegations, revelations by former First Lady Aisha Buhari about life inside Aso Rock, and Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe’s prediction of President Bola Tinubu’s defeat in 2027 all sparked intense public debate.
Meanwhile, reflections from former Information Minister Lai Mohammed, assurances from APC stalwart Hassan Doguwa on the legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, and INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan’s intervention in the PDP leadership crisis, also dominated the media space this week.
NMDPRA’s boss resigns amid Dangote’s corruption allegation
The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engineer Farouk Ahmed, has resigned from office amid a corruption allegation recently levelled against him by the Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally notified the Senate of Ahmed’s resignation while forwarding a request for the confirmation of a replacement to lead the regulatory agency.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to the statement, the President has nominated Engineer Saidu Aliyu Mohammed as the new CEO of the NMDPRA and has asked the Senate to consider and approve the appointment.
Ahmed’s resignation comes after Dangote petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), alleging that the former NMDPRA chief lived beyond his legitimate means as a public officer.
He was appointed in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to head the NMDPRA, one of the two regulatory bodies established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
In the same correspondence to the Senate, President Tinubu also requested the confirmation of Oritsemeyiwa Amanorisewo Eyesan as CEO of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), following the resignation of its former boss, Gbenga Komolafe.
The Presidency described the nominees as experienced professionals in the oil and gas sector.
Mohammed, a Chemical Engineering graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has previously served as Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company and the Nigerian Gas Company.
He also held board chairmanship positions in several energy-related institutions and recently emerged as an independent non-executive director at Seplat Energy.
Eyesan, an Economics graduate of the University of Benin, spent nearly 33 years with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries, retiring as Executive Vice President, Upstream, after serving in several strategic management roles.
Aisha Buhari: My late husband believed I planned to kill him
Former First Lady Aisha Buhari has disclosed that rumours within the Presidential Villa once led her late husband, Muhammadu Buhari, to suspect that she planned to harm him.
She said the development disrupted his feeding routine and contributed to the health crisis that kept him away from office for months in 2017.
Her account is contained in a newly published biography titled From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari.
The book, authored by Charles Omole, was launched at the State House on Monday.
According to the book, Mrs Buhari said gossip and fear mongering within Aso Rock briefly created mistrust between her and the President.
She said it caused him to alter his personal habits, including locking his room and missing meals.
The former first lady said the disruption of a carefully managed nutrition schedule marked the beginning of his illness.
Mrs Buhari explained that for years she had personally supervised Buhari’s meals and supplements, a routine she said was necessary to support his health.
“This is given his long history of nutritional challenges. Buhari’s illnesses were neither mysterious nor the result of poisoning”, she said.
The book stated that after relocating from Kaduna to the Presidential Villa, responsibility for Buhari’s feeding routine shifted to official handlers, leading to delays, skipped meals and the suspension of prescribed supplements.
According to Aisha in the book, for nearly a year, the President did not take lunch regularly, adding that the breakdown in dietary management weakened him significantly.
She said the deterioration eventually led to Buhari’s prolonged medical trips to the United Kingdom in 2017, totalling 154 days, during which he transferred presidential authority to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Upon his return, Buhari publicly admitted that he had never been so ill and confirmed receiving blood transfusions during treatment abroad.
The biography noted that his absence from the country fuelled widespread speculation and conspiracy theories, including claims of poisoning and allegations that he had been replaced by a body double.
I nearly resigned as minister – Lai Mohammed
A former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said he nearly resigned from office during what he described as the most difficult period of the administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mohammed, who served two terms in Buhari’s cabinet, made the disclosure on Wednesday in Abuja at the launch of his book: “Headlines & Soundbites: Media Moments That Defined an Administration”.
He said, “The toughest decision I took as minister was at a moment when I almost resigned,” noting that his prolonged access to government decision-making placed a responsibility on him to preserve an accurate historical record and correct long-standing misconceptions.
He explained that the book offered an insider account of how narratives of the Buhari administration were shaped, defended and communicated, often amid crises, misinformation and intense public scrutiny.
He said, “For almost eight years, I was at the centre of government communication, crisis management, national orientation, culture and tourism. I saw how decisions were made and how misinformation often overshadowed facts.”
He added that the decision to document his experience was driven by his belief that Africans must tell their own stories or risk having their histories distorted.
The publication, he said, was written to provide context, correct misconceptions and offer firsthand insights from his years in office.
Reviewing the book, a former presidential spokesman, Mr Segun Adeniyi, noted that some controversial issues such as the Twitter suspension and the
Abaribe predicts Tinubu’s defeat in 2027 election
The lawmaker representing Abia South Senatorial District, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, has said it would be impossible for President Bola Tinubu to win re-election in the 2027 presidential election.
Abaribe, who claimed that the President never won the 2023 election, said the level of hardship Nigerians are currently facing has made them more determined to ensure that Tinubu does not return as president after 2027.
Reacting to suggestions that Tinubu has never lost an election, Abaribe, who appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, said, “I do not think so. Everybody loses elections, and you will see when the time comes. He will lose in 2027 because I know what Nigerians are feeling outside.
He added, “Tinubu never won the 2023 election, and everybody knows it. But we said fine, he has been declared the winner, no problem. We acknowledge him as president, but we are going to meet him in the field, and I will see how he is going to cobble together what will make him win again.
“It won’t work because this time everybody will be ready. It will no longer be an announcement at 3 a.m. before people wake up in the morning. This time, people are ready, we are ready, and the masses are even more ready.”
On the defection of some opposition leaders to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abaribe vowed never to join the wave, saying he would be the last person to do so.
Buhari’s loyalists will continue to speak truth to power, says Doguwa
A member of the House of Representatives from Kano State and Leader of the Northern Caucus in the Green Chamber, Hon. Hassan Doguwa, has said loyalists of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari will continue to speak truth to those in power to ensure the ruling party remains accountable ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Doguwa spoke on Wednesday in Abuja at the public presentation of a book titled, “Headlines and Soundbites: Media Moments that Defined an Administration”, authored by former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.
According to him, Buhari’s associates remain firmly rooted in the All Progressives Congress (APC) and are committed to offering honest counsel to the government in the interest of the Nigerian people.
“We wish the government well and we wish Nigeria well. On behalf of all of us who are associates of Muhammadu Buhari, we remain steadfast in the ruling APC,” Doguwa said.
“We will continue to tell the government and those in power the right thing to do for the people, so that when election time comes, we will not have uncomfortable questions to answer at the polls,” he added.
The lawmaker stressed that the late president died as a proud member of the APC, noting that Buhari never renounced his membership of the party.
He said this remains a strong point of reference for his supporters, particularly in the North.
“For those of us in the North, we will continue to identify with the APC and the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because our leader died as a proud member of the party,” he stated.