Jonathan, Dangote, Matawalle, Ighodalo, others in the news

The former governor of Edo State and senator representing Edo North in the Red chamber, Adams Oshiomhole, has been in the news this week following the conclusion of the state’s governorship election. Also, foremost industrialist, Aliko Dangote, was in the news due to the feud over fuel prices. The Zamfara banditry feud between Governor Lawal […]

The former governor of Edo State and senator representing Edo North in the Red chamber, Adams Oshiomhole, has been in the news this week following the conclusion of the state’s governorship election. Also, foremost industrialist, Aliko Dangote, was in the news due to the feud over fuel prices. The Zamfara banditry feud between Governor Lawal Dauda and Minister of Defence, Bello Matawalle, has continued to rage on. The controversy around the outcome of the recent Edo State governorship election continued with the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodolo claiming that his mandate was stolen. In addition, the former president, Goodluck Jonathan was in the news over “missing” $49bn.

Adams Oshiomhole and comments on Edo election

Senator Adams Oshiohole was in the news after the results of the Edo State governorship election was announced on Sunday in favour of the All Progressives Congress candidate, Monday Okpebhole. Videos emerged on Monday, September 23 of Oshiomhole and other senators embarking on a victory dance.

Similarly, leading other APC stalwarts to the palace of the Oba of Benin, Oshiomhole went on his knees to beg the monarch for not listening to his advice not to pick Obaseki as a successor in 2016.  But the Oba said he never advised the lawmaker on his choice of a successor.

The monarch said, “But I have to correct it when you said ‘against my advice’. I never said anything against Obaseki when you brought him. You will recall, this one (the Oba pointed to the former chairman of the Edo State Board of Internal Revenue, Elemah, a friend of Oshiomhole) is your witness when you brought him to introduce him to me.”

Oshiomhole was also quoted in a Channels Television ‘Politics Today’ interview as saying that Governor Godwin Obaseki’s political career is dead after the defeat of his anointed candidate, Asue Ighodalo.

He questioned, “How can a sitting governor go to a collation centre? To intimidate or possibly influence the results or to change the results? What was he doing there? How can a governor go to a collation centre when collation is going on?”

Dangote’s fuel price feud with NNPC

Nigeria’s billionaire businessman and the CEO of Dangote Refinery, Aliko Dangote was in the news due to the controversy over petrol price. He raised the hopes of Nigerians that petrol prices will remain stable under the arrangement that sees him supplying the commodity.

He told Bloomberg that the petrol NNPCL imported under the arrangement with him was significantly more expensive than the fuel sold by his refinery, which has a capacity of producing 650,000 barrels per day.

There was also back and forth between both parties. Dangote further called for the total removal of fuel subsidy to solve any discrepancy in consumption figures and also help government save money.

“Once you are subsidising something, then people will bloat the price and then the government will end up paying what they are not supposed to be paying. It is the right time to get rid of subsidies,” he said.  

Ighodalo claims Edo gov’ship mandate stolen

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo was in the news following the conclusion of the governorship election in Edo State after he claimed his mandate was stolen.

There have been reports of how Governor Godwin Obaseki’s anointed candidate suffered from the political actions of his principal and other factors which made the APC candidate, Monday Okpebholo score 291,667 votes to defeat Ighodalo, who secured 247,655 votes.

But Ighodalo said the election was marred by intimidation, threats of violence, harassment, arrests and financial inducements.

“We ran a great campaign, and your overwhelming support was evident in the ballots before our progress was unjustly halted on September 21st, 2024 by people who do not mean well for you or our state,” he said.

“That day will forever be etched in our history as one of our darkest moments, marked by the brazen theft of our mandate and the shameful subversion of the will of the people”, he said.

EFCC’s double charges against Yahaya Bello in one day

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was in the news after a prolonged court proceeding against the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, in one day over the 19-count charges of money laundering valued at N80.2 billion.

The matter started in the morning on Wednesday when the former governor, who was represented by his lawyer A.M. Adoyi, sought to suspend the case pending the outcome of two appeals before the Supreme Court challenging the bench warrant issued against him in April.

Counsel to the EFCC, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) asked for sanctions against Bello’s lawyers for seeking to delay the arraignment despite the Court of Appeal dismissing an earlier appeal challenging the mode of service maintaining that it was proper.

He contended that the court’s orders so far had directed Bello to appear in person before it for the matter and not to visit the EFCC car park.

“He went to the EFCC car park holding the hands of a person with immunity (incumbent Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State) who came with the full complements of the paraphernalia of his office as if there would be a joint arraignment,” he said. 

Continuing, he said, “If there was an attempt to extricate him, that would have been an invitation to anarchy.”

Shortly after the presiding judge, Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the matter to October 30 for ruling on the arraignment, the anti-graft agency filed a fresh 16-count charge before the Federal High Court.

In the latest charge, the EFCC accused Bello and two others of diversion of funds valued at N110,446,270.089 during his tenure.

In the latest charge, the anti-graft agency alleged that Bello, alongside two officials of the Kogi State government: Abdulsalami Hudu and Umar Oricha conspired to use state government funds to acquire properties in high-brow areas within the FCT and in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Bello’s media aides have since described the charges as an attempt to deny Bello of his fundamental rights.

The EFCC was plunged into fresh controversy in the week with the allegation by trans-gender personality, Idris Okuneye, also known as Bobrisky, that she paid N15 million to officials of the commission to dismiss money laundering charges against him.

The revelation was contained in an audio by social media activist, VeryDarkMan, who also claimed one of Nigeria’s foremost legal luminaries, Femi Falana, SAN, and his son, Folarin Falana, Esq were approached to secure a presidential pardon for Bobrisky after he denied the allegation.

Despite Bobrisky describing the audio as “fake”, Falana has since demanded a retraction and an apology from the sources of the allegations while the EFCC and the National Assembly have opened probes into the matter.

Matawalle refutes banditry allegation

The Zamfara feud between Governor Lawal Dauda and Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle brought the latter into the news this week.   

The governor claimed the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and President Bola Tinubu were aware of Matawalle’s alleged involvement with the banditry in the state but the minister denied the allegation .

Speaking on Channels Television, Matawalle challenged the governor and General Ali Gusau (rtd.) to swear by the Holy Quran that they had no involvement in the banditry ravaging the state and the entire North-west region.

Matawalle argued that it was baseless to accuse him of sponsoring bandits because he chose to have a dialogue with bandits as part of efforts to stop killings, which he said, other governors in Niger, Sokoto, and Katsina states did to stop the menace.

He said, “Why only me? Zamfara is a small but complex state with individuals harbouring devilish ideas. The people of Zamfara may dislike me because I confront everyone involved in these heinous acts, including politicians who destabilise the state.

“I swore with a clear mind, and I ensured that all my councillors, chairmen, and commissioners also took the same oath before their appointments. The record is there.”

Shettima at UNGA

Also in the news this week, Vice President Kashim Shettima spoke at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, while representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

There, he called for debt forgiveness to reduce fiscal burdens on Nigeria and other developing nations.

He also asked world leaders to do more in tackling hunger and terrorism to deepen relationships among member states of the United Nations (UN) in line with the principles of inclusivity, equality and cooperation.

A statement by Stanley Nkwocha, senior special assistant to the president on media and communications (Office of the Vice President), in a statement, said President Tinubu, who is being represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, stated that “these will serve as the surest guarantee of global action against existential challenges faced by the international community.”

The president decried the steep descent into singularity and nationalism which, according to him, are undermining the quest for peaceful and collective resolution of global challenges such as terrorism, climate change, poverty, food crises, hyper-inflation, nuclear proliferation and grinding debt burden, among others.

Jonathan speaks on ‘missing’ $49bn

Still in the week, former President Goodluck Jonathan stated that an audit report showed there were no missing $49.8 billion funds as claimed by former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Lamido Sanusi, adding that he did not suspend him in connection with that claim.

Jonathan stated this on Thursday during the launch of the book, ‘Public Policy and Agents’ Interests: Perspectives from the Emerging World, co-authored by former Minister of Finance, Dr Shamsudeen Usman, who also served as Minister of Planning under his administration.

Jonathan was responding to the contribution of the former CBN chief, who claimed in the book that he was removed from office for exposing the alleged disappearance of the money.

Jonathan clarified that Sanusi was not sacked but suspended, adding that such a large sum of money could not have gone missing in Nigeria—whose budget at the time was about $32bn—without immediate repercussions.