…Zimbabwe Vow To Defeat Eagles

Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle has banned visitors, and Sports Journalists from the team’s camp ahead of the clash against Zimbabwe on Tuesday.

The team’s media officer, Promise Efoghe confirmed that the coach demanded full concentration from the players as the team round up preparations for the encounter.

Efoghe said: “Coach Eric Chelle is not carried away by the win over Rwanda and he is demanding maximum concentration from the players prior to the next game (vs Zimbabwe).

“To this end, he has imposed restrictions in and around the team’s camp, no visitors, no journalists.

“Monday’s session will be open for the mandatory 15 minutes and this will be shortly after the official press conference. Provisions will be made for mixed zone interaction with the players on match day.”

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe coach, Michael Nees has urged his players to work hard to earn the maximum points against the Super Eagles in Uyo on Tuesday.

Both sides will meet at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo in the second leg of their World Cup qualifiers clash.

The visitors are in search of their first win in the series as they aim to climb out of the bottom position.

Nees admitted that the Super Eagles parade world class players but he is confident that his players can get a positive result if they can fight hard in the encounter.

He said: ”Benin Republic was really strong but with Nigeria and the names they parade is top class and they messed their campaign at the beginning really up, it’s the third coach now involved in this campaign, they won away in Rwanda which was always a difficult opponent so they will come against us with confidence and all their power to turn this campaign around so do we.

“It would be an exciting game, we have to perform to our maximum, but we should expect a really tough opponent who would give everything and must also give everything and we will.”

“We must accept the challenge, the climate, the pace, the conditions, they must accept the challenge and enjoy it, we mustn’t be afraid of anything, we can play football, we will analyze opponents, we would analyze our game, the players don’t need to be nervous. They’ve shown it many times that they are very good players, I’m really looking forward to this match.”

Similarly, Zimbabwe winger Tawanda Chirewa has revealed that the team has no reason to fear the Super Eagles.

He said: “I am just looking at recovery and going again on Tuesday against Nigeria, which is a very good team.

“A lot of players play in England and Europe. Obviously I want to go out there and show what I can do. Our team has got so many good players as well so we can’t fear Nigeria.”

This will be the fourth World Cup qualifier meeting between the two sides, with the Super Eagles emerging victorious in two of the previous three encounters.

The Presidency has alleged that militants in Rivers State were on standby, awaiting directives from Governor Siminalayi Fubara to launch attacks on oil pipelines before President Bola Tinubu foiled their plans by declaring emergency rule in the state.

The state of emergency was declared on March 18. Tinubu invoked Section 305 of the Constitution and appointed retired Chief of Naval Staff Ibok-Ette Ibas as the state’s sole administrator. The National Assembly approved the emergency rule two days later, despite opposition from some lawmakers.

The emergency rule suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the state House of Assembly for six months.

According to President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, his principal’s intervention prevented threat to the country’s oil production and economic stability.

Onanuga stated this in an opinion piece defending the declaration of the state of emergency in the oil-rich state amidst criticism from different quarters.

According to him, intelligence reports confirmed that militants had been mobilised and were waiting for Fubara’s signal before carrying out the attacks.

Onanuga stressed that President Tinubu’s action was justified by the political crisis between Governor Fubara and the state House of Assembly which had spiraled out of control and grounded governance in the.

“A responsible leader like President Tinubu, who swore an oath to protect the constitution and corporate existence of the country, can not fail to act when a constituent part of the Federation is careering towards the precipice. The political crisis in Rivers State between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and members of the State House of Assembly who owe allegiance to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, that blew open barely six months into the administration of the Governor has degenerated by 18 March. A chain of events since the war of attrition started 14 months ago among the combatants had indeed paralysed the government of Rivers State to the point where Fubara, copying from the bad book of former Governor Obaseki in Edo, emasculated an arm of government entirely. This reality informed the Supreme Court’s damning verdict about the absence of government in the State as enshrined in the 1999 constitution of Nigeria, as amended. The court also excoriated Fubara for acting like a despot.

“Rivers was in a grave situation, as the combatants refused to allow reason to prevail, even after the Supreme Court judgment, before President Tinubu declared a state of emergency on 18 March. The President took action in the best interest of the people of the State, who had become victims of the warring politicians, the people they elected to serve them. President Tinubu needed to act. He chose prevention over cure,” he wrote.

Onanuga reaffirmed that President Tinubu’s actions were in line with his constitutional responsibility to maintain national stability.

He dismissed claims that the intervention undermined democracy, arguing instead that it was meant to preserve democracy.

“Section 305 of Nigeria’s Constitution empowers the President to act when the nation faces a breakdown of law, order, and economic security —precisely the case in Rivers, a bastion of Nigeria’s oil-dependent economy. Intelligence confirmed militants, told by Fubara to await signals, were already targeting pipelines, risking a collapse in output and a Niger-Delta domino effect.

“Historical precedents, such as the past emergencies in Plateau and Borno and the doctrine of necessity, support the President’s proactive measures to avert disaster. The President’s oath demands he must not fail in his sacred duty to safeguard national stability, not watch idly as partisan strife strangles our democracy and the material well-being of Nigerians, whose prosperity depends on the social and economic interdependence of every part of the country. Rivers State is a significant hydrocarbon economic artery in Nigeria, and any dislocation and politically motivated disruption of the oil industry in the state will have ripple effects on the national economy,” he wrote.

Responding to critics of Tinubu’s action, Onanuga added: “Critics claim the emergency rule in Rivers undermines democracy. Their position misrepresents reality. The intervention is temporary, surgical, and aimed at restoring—not replacing—democratic institutions. The suspension of political actors for six months is no power grab; it is not a permanent removal but a reset to disarm warring factions. Notably, the same critics who assailed the President’s action for suspending the political actors remain silent on Governor Fubara’s refusal to collaborate with the legislature, exposing their partisan bias. Democracy can not thrive amid lawlessness—anarchy.”

Tinubu’s action had drawn criticism from former President Goodluck Jonathan and Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka.
Jonathan, speaking at the Haske Satumari Foundation Colloquium in Abuja, condemned the suspension of democratic governance in the state.

He expressed disappointment that elected officials, including Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the state House of Assembly, were removed from office.

Jonathan warned that such actions could damage Nigeria’s reputation and deter investment, blaming all three arms of government for engaging in abuse of power.

“These actions by key actors in the executive and legislative arms of government paint the country in a negative light,” Jonathan, who was the chairman of the colloquium, said.

“The key actors in Nigeria from the executive to the legislature and the judiciary know the correct thing to do but they are refusing to do it; they are pretending to sleep, and waking such a person is extremely difficult because the person knows the right thing.

“A clear abuse of offices, clear abuse of power, clear abuse of privileges, cutting across the three arms of government — from the executive through the parliament and to the judiciary,” Jonathan said.

Soyinka had also criticised the move in an interview The Africa Report, saying the emergency rule was against the principles of federalism.

He argued that the 1999 Constitution grants excessive powers to the president and called for a national discussion to amend the Constitution to ensure true federalism.

In response, President Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, dismissed the criticisms as personal opinions.

“Professor Wole Soyinka and former President Goodluck Jonathan are respected statesmen. Like many Nigerians that have offered varied opinions on the President’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, the two distinguished Nigerians have also offered their own opinions too.

“President Tinubu has a country to govern, and he has exercised his power under the 1999 Constitution as amended.

“President Tinubu has a duty to preserve the corporate existence of Nigeria. He won’t allow any part of the country or state to descend into chaos.

“The Supreme Court ruled that there is no functioning government in Rivers State known to the constitution of Nigeria. President Tinubu won’t fail in his sacred duty to protect and preserve the country,” said Ajayi.

•NNPP yet to decide on alliance —National publicity secretary

THE Patriots, a body of elder statesmen and leaders of thought in the country, at the weekend, explained why it could not be part of the ongoing efforts by some opposition politicians that unveiled a coalition to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the All progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 presidency.

The organisation spoke against the backdrop of the unveiling of the coalition in Abuja last week by former vice president and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2023 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. 

Other prominent politicians who attended the conference included the immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachair Lawal.

In an interaction with the Nigerian Tribune at the weekend, the Secretary General of The Patriots, Comrade Olawale Okunniyi said there was no relationship between The Patriots Organisation on formed by the opposition politicians.

He said the leaders of The Patriots were preoccupied with “bringing about a new Nigeria that works for all as a pan-Nigerian organisation.

According to Olawale, The Patriots, under the leadership of a former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, had succeeded in getting the buy-in of other stakeholders on the advocacy for a constitution that would reflect the wishes and aspirations of the diverse people of Nigeria.

In October last year, The Patriots inaugurated Zonal Advocacy Committees across the six geo-political zones to collect the inputs of stakeholders towards the actualisation of what the group called a People’s Constitution for the country.

The national chairman of Patriots’ Strategy and Advocacy Committee on constitutional reform of Nigeria, Professor Anthony Kila and the national secretary of the committee, Dr Bilikisu Magoro, had explained that the political reform advocacy was devolved to the zones, with members from each state and diverse groups in Nigeria.

Comrade Okunniyi referenced the setting up of the zonal committee while speaking to the Nigerian Tribune on the formation of the coalition by the opposition politicians ahead 2027, stressing that The Patriots remained focus on its strategic aim of bringing about a new Nigeria.

 “The Advocacy and Mobilisation Committee of The Patriots have already enlisted the commitment of formidable voices in the six geo political zones of Nigeria to mobilise critical stakeholders and the general public to buy into the longstanding advocacy in Nigeria for a new democratic people’s Constitution for Nigeria towards resolving Nigeria’s national democratic and constitutional challenges

“To this end, Zonal Advocacy Committees have been constituted and inaugurated in the six geo-political zones since November last year and these have been holding strategy and consultative meetings and now rearing to launch nationwide outreaches in April this year

“However, the new coalition of opposition forces has no relationship with the Patriots as the Patriots as a body of eminent Nigerians, is a non-partisan, pan-Nigerian intervention group of eminent leaders of thought, statesmen and women, who are only committed to bringing about a new Nigeria that works for all via a popularly agreed Constitution by the diverse stakeholders and citizens of Nigeria. So the Patriots as a group will never entertain or embrace partisan politics.”

While inaugurating the People’s Constitution Strategy and Advocacy Committee of The Patriots in August, the Chairman of The Patriots, Chief Emeka Anyaoku (former secretary general of the Commonwealth of Nations) stated that the Advocacy Team Co-Chaired by Senator Shehu Sanni would be reaching out to various sectors of the peoples and citizens of Nigeria for buy-in and support towards actualising a new democratic people’s Constitution for Nigeria as

It would be recalled that The Patriots had earlier visited President Bola Tinubu to make a firm case for a legitimate federal constitution that can make Nigeria work for all.

In the meantime, there are indications that the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) is yet to make a firm commitment to the coalition announced last week in Abuja by Atiku.

This indication emerged at the weekend following inquiries made by the Nigerian Tribune from the national publicity secretary of the party, Mr Ladipo Johnson, on whether NNPP was a part of the coalition since the party was not represented at the unveiling of the coalition.

He said the party leaders were still holding consultations with other groups for the purpose of broadening the base of a platform capable of challenging the ruling APC in 2027, adding the question of being part of a coalition would come at a most auspicious time.

“The opposition platform is a very wide spectrum in this country. What I can assure you is that the NNPP members are also in talks with various groups and we choose to keep our interactions at this stage under wraps until positive decisions and timely decisions have been taken,” the NNPP spokesman said.

“Furthermore, looking at the opposition coalition announced by Atiku Abubakar, you would agree with me that people, groups or parties can join a coalition almost at any time.

“Some people or parties might decide that they are still in talks with some others. When the others come on board, you might decide that you want to join even a broader coalition or otherwise.

“So, I assure Nigerians that the NNPP is in consultations far and wide to ensure we contribute our bit to bringing about good governance in this country that will improve security; that we are working towards ensuring that the value of the Naira gets stronger, inflation is reduced and we give our youths and women the hope that the economy will improve and they will be able to make positive impacts on their entrepreneurship.

“This is what we believe and this is what we are working towards.”