Author: oduduwanews

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate in the forthcoming governorship election in Ekiti State, Chief Segun Oni, has petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP, Usman Baba, and the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Magaji Bichi, over alleged assassination attempt on his life by political thugs.

The 18-paragraph petition dated April 7, 2022, titled ‘Re: Attempted Assassination of Engr. (Chief) Olusegun Oni, former Governor of Ekiti State and Gubernatorial Candidate of Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Ekiti State in the forthcoming Governorship Election in the state’, was signed by Mr. Owoseni Ajayi, the principal partner of Owoseni Ajayi and Associates of Equity Chambers.

In the petition, which was made available to journalists by the Media Director of his Campaign, Mr. Jackson Adebayo, in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, Oni urged the heads of the security agencies to strengthen his personal security in view of the attack, which he described as politically motivated.

He urged the police to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the mayhem that happened on Wednesday April 6, 2022 at Efon Alaaye, which was allegedly led by the All Progressives Congress (APC) youth leader in the local council.

According to him, the attempt was meant to assassinate him because of his growing popularity. He urged the security agencies to immediately bring the culprits to book to serve as a deterrent to others who may want to disrupt the peaceful conduct of the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state.

The petition read in part: “We are counsel to Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Ekiti State whose gubernatorial candidate in the forthcoming gubernatorial election is the former governor of Ekiti State, Engr. (Chief) Olusegun Oni. On their behalf and instruction, we write this letter as follows:

“That since the campaign had been declared open for the gubernatorial election in Ekiti State by the INEC, the SDP led by its flag bearer, Oni, had commenced its campaign starting with Town Hall meetings at the headquarters of the respective local governments in the state.

“That the campaign itineraries are with the full observance of due process, which include: (i) Written information to the police including its Divisional Police Headquarters for security cover. (ii) Written security cover information to the INEC. (iii) Peaceful conduct of its members.

“So far, the campaign had visited seven local government headquarters to hold the Town Hall meetings with its members with the massive turnout but without any hitch.

“That on Wednesday, April 6, 2022, it was the turn of Efon Alaaye Local Government, Efon.

“That at about 3pm, the venue for the reception of Engr. Segun Oni and his entourage was set for their arrival.

“That at about 3.30pm, the gubernatorial campaign team led by its candidate arrived at the venue.

“That as the team was about embarking from their various vehicles, the APC hoodlums led by its Youth Leader in the local government, Mr. Oluwafemi Gbenga, a.k.a Owolesu attacked the ground venue with dangerous weapons like gun, machetes, charms.

“That in the process of the attack, several people were wounded and vehicles vandalised.

“That it took a later intervention of a detachment of police men from the Division Station at Efon before the hoodlums were overpowered because they initially overwhelmed the policemen stationed at the venue.

“That the gubernatorial candidate, Engr. Segun Oni escaped death by whisker as his vehicle was attacked.”

I don’t know why Yemi Osinbajo is running kitikiti, running katakata, “no fit drink water drop cup” (apologies to Goya Menor) since I wrote just two articles about him that merely scratched the surface of his deep-seated bigotry, especially for someone who wants to be president.

He is now spending millions to invite Imams and Islamic scholars to deodorize his bigotry, to sponsor tafsirs in mosques and radio stations, and to pay northern Muslim PR hacks to attack me in order to deflect attention from his past exclusivist, particularistic politico-religious rhetoric.

What’s that intended to achieve? He can commission a troll factory of mercenary and mediocre imbeciles to write juvenile screeds against me. It’s like water off a duck’s back. I don’t even read them.😂

It is Osinbajo who should explain to Nigerians why he sees the RCCGification of Nigeria (starting with Yorubaland) as his raison d’être for being in government in a country fragmented by religious division.

He should explain why, even as Vice President, he doesn’t pretend to see the entire Nigeria as his constituency, particularly in appearances at Christian functions.

To give another example hiding in plain sight, during a speech he gave at the Coalition of Nigerian Apostolic Leaders in Lagos, according to a Nov. 4, 2016 Vanguard story titled “Tinubu nominated me for Vice President- Osinbajo,” he said his election as Vice President was an opportunity for Christian leaders.

“I was a product of this system [i.e., Christian Apostolic leaders],” he said. “The Church was reluctant, and I understood why the church was reluctant; the church was looking at the head of the ticket [i.e., Muhammadu Buhari who has been portrayed as a Muslim fanatic who’d Islamize Nigeria]. This is our first opportunity. This is our first shot at it. We need to maximize it and do the best we can. I think what my nomination and appointment have done is that it has open [sic] the door for us. We can do it and we can be influential in doing it.”

Now, tell me which other vice president in Nigeria’s history has ever talked like this publicly.

After saying Buhari (whom he called “the head of the ticket”) is the reason the Church initially didn’t want him to run in 2015, Osinbajo then basically said his vice presidency is the “first opportunity” for Christian leaders and that they need “to maximize it” and be “influential in doing it.”

Never mind that, by his own admission, it was a Muslim (whom he is now fighting using religion) who nominated him for the position.

Osinbajo’s records show that he sees himself as a Christian leader in government out to advance the cause of his religion to the exclusion of others. So, why is he running away from his records? Why is he now pretending to be who he is not because I blew the lid off his bigotry of which he had been proud?

Up to 90 percent of his discretionary hires (forget the employees imposed on him by the presidency and the federal civil service) reflect the mindset of a person who wants to “maximize” the “first opportunity” of a Christian leader in government and who is “influential in doing it.”

Just take a look at the list of the 35 aides of his that the Buhari cabal fired in November 2019. (I’ve provided a link to the list in the comment section.) It tells you all you need to know.

He has even been credibly accused of “maximizing” his position as VP to “influence” the choice—or, more accurately, the RCCGification— of traditional rulers and vice chancellors in the Southwest. There’s more, but it’s unnecessary at this point to belabor it.

Why would anyone want to elect as president someone who, even as an elected vice president, repeatedly and publicly proclaims himself as the representative of a narrow, divisive constituency?

When Buhari started his administration in 2015 by disproportionately appointing northern Muslims into important positions, I was one of the first people to call him out at a time it was dangerous to do so, especially for a northern Muslim. Read my September 05, 2015, Daily Trust column titled “Buhari is Losing the Symbolic War.”

On February 02, 2019, I wrote another column titled “Even Ahmadu Bello Would Be Ashamed of Buhari’s Arewacentricity.”

When Buhari appointed another Northern Muslim to be Inspector General of Police in January 2019, I wrote a viral post titled “New IGP: Why Progressive Northerners Should be Embarrassed.”

In December 2017, I shared a video that a northern Fulani Muslim secretly sent to me where Buhari thanked Kano people for coming out in large numbers to welcome him and said, “saboda yan kudu su san har yanzu ina da gata.” Rough translation: “… so that Southerners can see how favored I still am.” I called it an “indefensible, gratuitous dichotomization of the country by a sitting president.”

When I relentlessly exposed and condemned Buhari’s subnationalist utterances and actions, hordes of Christians and southerners praised me to high heavens. But several of them now expect me to look the other way when one of their own is guilty of similar indiscretions.

How do you expect me to respect people like that? How can I resist looking down on such peevishly infantile bozos? And how do you expect me to be bothered by what they write and say about me? You only worry about the negative opinions of people you respect. How can I respect cognitively subnormal fatheads who haven’t outgrown the pediatric emotional stages of their toddler years?

The truth is that Osinbajo is temperamentally incapable of even pretending to be president of all of Nigeria, and has no business vying for one. He is culturally insular, lacks a critical intellect, and has the emotional maturity of a 10-year-old.

He would make a great president for the Pentecostal Republic of Nigeria, though.

Wife of Ondo State Governor, Mrs. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, has joined the 2023 Senatorial race.

Addressing journalists in Owerri, Imo State capital, on Friday, the Ondo First Lady said she has interest in representing Imo East Senatorial District because she wants to make a difference.

Mrs. Akeredolu, who spoke to members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Owerri, said Owerri West senatorial zone has received the poorest representation in recent times.

She said successive administrations in Imo state have neglected the zone, stating she was out to fill the years eaten by the locusts.

Fondly called ‘Ada Owere’ (Owerri First Daughter), Akererdolu pledged to tackle the worrisome cases of infant and maternal mortality arising from minor or major complicated pregnancies, non-availability of functional health care centres and life-saving equipment.

She said that she would rely on her experience within and outside the country to bring to bear on the development of the zone.

She said that she’s been in constant touch with her people and if elected as a senator, she would strengthen that links.

She said that as a village girl who has taken a critical appraisal of their challenges, she would embark on human capital development, provision of basic necessities of life, stop the pollution of the Otamiri river and also ensure regular evacuation of refuse in all looks and crannies of the zone.

Additionally, she would take steps to assist rural farmers with modern agricultural implements, promote girl child education, stem child killer disease, youth unemployment and restiveness.

“There is lack of compassion and understanding of how life can be made meaningful for our people in this century hence the need for a wake up call, Leadership should be not be gender based but neutral,” she said.

On whether her marriage to a non-indigene of the state would impede her ambition, the Ondo First Lady argued that being a bonafide indigene of the state who has already endeared herself to the people and has touched many lives, she was emboldened to join the race to enhance their wellbeing.

Akeredolu’s wife joined the race after Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano, wife of the immediate past governor of Anambra, purchased nomination form for the senate.

Noble Laureate, Wole Soyinka Has Said That He Never Told Nigerians To Vote For President Muhammadu Buhari In 2015. Speaking At A Media Briefing In Lagos On Thursday April 7, He Disclosed That He Only Told People Not To Vote For Jonathan Because He Had Lost Confidence And Trust In The People.

He Said; “Jonathan Had A Chance To Win That Election And I Told Him This. He Blew It. He Really Blew It On Many Levels. Before The Election, I Told Him Frankly. I Told Him Why I Was Not Going To Vote For Him Or Support Him Because He Lost The Confidence And Trust Of The People — A Couple Of Actions And Inactions, Including His Failure To Tackle Corruption. Despite That, It Is False To Say That I Supported The Election Of Buhari.

The Prof. However Used the medium to challenge APC National Secretary to institute legal action against him on the statement credited to him on his alleged involvement in the murder of former Attorney General of the Federation, Bola Ige SAN.

“If I Believed That Is What I Should Do, I Would Not Hesitate One Moment To Come Out And Say This Is The Candidate. I Challenge Anyone To Say Where Did I Say Vote For Buhari — When, What Occasion And In What Language? What I Said Very Distinctly Is ‘Do Not Vote For Jonathan’. I Don’t Regret That Because The Level Of Corruption At That Stage Was Such At Number One.

“It Is A Shame That One Has To Recall Negativities. At No Time Did I Ever Say ‘Vote For Buhari’. You Can’t Find It Anywhere. I Did Not Vote For Buhari. If You Do Not Believe Me, Go And Ask The Security Man In Abeokuta Who Used To Accompany Me If I Left My House That Day.”

IThe former Senator representing Kogi West, Senator Dino Melaye has attributed the recent declaration of ex-Ekiti Governor, Ayodele Fayose as a joke taken too far.

This was contained in a statement released and shared today on his Twitter account as read in part:

“Inebriated by several wraps of Amala in Abuja, former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, in his characteristic exuberance directed indecent and indecorous attacks at two serious contenders for the Presidential ticket of the People’s Democratic Party, HE Atiku Abubakar and HE Bukola Saraki.

“Incidentally, the mauling of Amala gained more publicity over the collection of the Presidential nomination form, in a pretentious exhibition of dining with the masses. This frugal populism has since been deflated by allegations of charges for the ferreting of billions of naira from public coffers in Ekiti State. Is Amala and Abula so expensive?

“The issue before Nigerians now is not who can eat more , but who can produce food. That is why the attempt to tar the outstanding achievements of Atiku Abubakar as former Vice President and Bukola Saraki as former Senate President by Fayose would be discounted as the belching perfidy of a Presidential gambler.

“It is clear from the verbal missiles deployed by Fayose that he was simply de-marketing frontline aspirants in PDP as a
counterintuitive strategy to shore up the chances of his political godfather in APC.

“It is amazing that Fayose who could not manage and retain a PDP state now aspires to lead a behemoth structure like Nigeria. Today, Ekiti is stripped of all vestiges of PDP; no PDP Senator, no PDP House of Representatives Member, no House of Assembly member, no Local Government Chairman, and not even a Councillor. He left Ekiti State worse than he met it. How could he fail in the state and expect promotion to the National?

“The contest for the ticket of PDP and the Presidency of Nigeria is a serious engagement. Those who aspire to the position must elevate themselves above pedestrian conduct and address real issues, rather than dwelling on inconsequential inanities.

“The National Leadership of our great Party should call Fayose to order, by curtailing his unproductive verbiage against serious contenders. Having failed to upgrade from local political space to the National stage Fayose may indeed be assisted to undertake a week-long orientation session on the ethics and codes of peer relations on a Presidential canvass.

“Nigeria is in dire straits at the moment. It is beyond the call of jesters in the corridors of elevated governance”.

Oyo State Governor, Engineer ‘Seyi Makinde has officially declared to run for a second term as the Governor of the State in the forthcoming general elections.

The Governor made the announcement this evening in his bimonthly newsletter and on his verified social media platforms.

In the letter, Governor Makinde said: “I promised in my last newsletter that by the time you receive this one, I would have decided whether to run again for office.

Sometime last week, I picked up the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms for a second term as the elected Governor of the good people of Oyo State.

“In the last three years, Oyo State has seen unprecedented development in all sectors with no zone left behind.

We have worked hard in all the four pillars upon which our Roadmap to Accelerated Development in Oyo State 2019-2023 is built. We are engineering a modern Oyo State.

But as every engineer would tell you, our work is not done until all problems are addressed. We believe we have laid a solid foundation for solving the problem of moving the good people of Oyo State from poverty to prosperity. We would love an opportunity to build on that foundation. So now, the ball is, once again, in your court. If you, the good people of Oyo State desire it, then we will serve you for four more years”, he said.

The Governor had in his last newsletter, promised to reveal his decision on contesting for a second term in office in his next newsletter.