In Nigeria’s bustling political landscape, few figures captivate public attention as consistently as Asari Dokubo, the self-styled leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force. With his recent, almost ritualistic critiques of President Bola Tinubu on social media, Dokubo has once again thrust himself into the limelight. His unabashed denunciations, sometimes with disarming fervor and unrestrained language, are not merely the grievances of an aggrieved activist, they highlight a deeper, transactional nature of Nigeria’s current political culture. By regularly taking to social media to berate Mr. President and his administration, Dokubo brings to light some troubling facets of Nigeria’s political system, where alliances, loyalty, and vociferous criticism often intertwine in a complex web of expectations and disappointments.

In Nigeria, politics has often been described as an elite game of alliances forged and dissolved by promises, obligations, and compensations. This dynamic, typically referred to as transactional politics, has become the defining hallmark of power relations in the country. Transactional politics in this context refers to a system in which alliances and loyalties are heavily predicated on personal gains and rewards rather than ideological commitments or genuine service to the populace.

Nigerian political figures frequently enter alliances or build support based on the expectation of personal benefits, ranging from political appointments to lucrative contracts. Leaders and influencers use their platforms, including social media, to both vocalize support for and critique powerful figures in government. In a way, the relationship between such political figures and the government is reminiscent of a high-stakes transactional contract: support is expected to yield rewards, while lack thereof can lead to public displays of grievances. Dokubo’s recent outbursts are a classic example of this dynamic at play.

Asari Dokubo is no stranger to the complexities of Nigerian politics. A former militant leader turned political figure and self-described protector of Niger Delta rights, he has long been an active voice in Nigerian affairs. Throughout his career, Dokubo has championed the cause of the marginalized Niger Delta communities, claiming to fight for their rights and better treatment from the federal government. However, his activism is often tinged with personal political motivations, as seen in his shifting allegiances and public displays of dissatisfaction when things don’t go his way.

In the run-up to Tinubu’s administration, Dokubo was a vocal supporter of the president. He used his platform to bolster Tinubu’s campaign, calling him the leader Nigeria needed to address the country’s myriad challenges. Many Nigerians perceived this support as a demonstration of loyalty, a move that would eventually translate into some form of recognition or compensation from the new administration. But when such rewards did not materialize, Dokubo’s tone shifted dramatically.

In recent months, Dokubo’s social media posts have taken a decidedly critical turn. His previous endorsement of Tinubu has now given way to a barrage of complaints and accusations. The once-loyal ally is now one of the president’s most vocal critics, often lambasting him in videos that go viral within hours of posting. In his posts, Dokubo alleges neglect and betrayal by the very administration he once fervently supported. He highlights unfulfilled promises and insists that the president is failing the people who put him in office.

This public dissent is telling. It speaks to a system where political alliances and loyalty are rarely based on shared ideology or a commitment to public service but rather on a perceived expectation of rewards. Dokubo’s grievances, aired in the open forum of social media, suggest that his loyalty was conditional upon certain benefits he expected from the administration, benefits that, in his view, have not been realized.

Dokubo’s outbursts against the president serve as a stark reminder of the deeply transactional nature of Nigerian politics. They highlight a concerning trend where political alliances and endorsements are increasingly seen as commodities to be bought, traded, and ultimately criticized when transactional expectations go unmet. In a political landscape like Nigeria’s, the allegiance of powerful individuals and groups often shifts based on self-interest, with little regard for long-term stability or genuine public service.

This situation has grave implications for governance in Nigeria. When political relationships are driven by transactional expectations rather than genuine commitment to progress and development, it becomes challenging for the government to implement consistent policies. Leaders may feel compelled to appease influential figures to secure support or stave off criticism, even at the expense of national priorities.

Furthermore, transactional politics perpetuates a culture of patronage, where leaders are more focused on satisfying powerful individuals than addressing the real needs of the masses. This undermines the very foundation of democracy, shifting power from the electorate to a select group of individuals whose support or criticism is contingent on personal gain.

In the age of social media, figures like Dokubo have a powerful tool at their disposal to publicly express grievances and garner support for their causes. Social media platforms have become the modern-day pulpit for political discourse, enabling individuals to broadcast their opinions and rally supporters without the constraints of traditional media channels. For Dokubo, social media provides an ideal platform to voice his dissatisfaction and criticize Mr. President in real-time, capturing the attention of millions of Nigerians.

By regularly airing his grievances on social media, Dokubo is essentially leveraging public sentiment to pressure the administration into meeting his demands. His vocal criticisms serve as a warning to the administration and other political figures that failure to uphold transactional agreements could lead to damaging public backlash. In this sense, social media has not only amplified Dokubo’s voice but has also transformed him into a formidable force capable of shaping public perception and influencing political outcomes.

Dokubo’s actions underscore the urgent need for a shift from transactional politics to value-based politics in Nigeria. In a value-based political system, alliances and support are grounded in shared principles and goals rather than personal gains. Such a shift would require political figures to align their actions with the needs of the Nigerian populace rather than focusing on their individual interests. A value-based system would promote accountability and transparency, making it more difficult for powerful figures to manipulate the government for personal benefit.

To achieve this transformation, political leaders and influencers must prioritize the welfare of the citizens they claim to represent. Political appointments and alliances should be based on merit and genuine commitment to public service rather than transactional obligations. By fostering a culture of value-based politics, Nigeria can create a more stable and effective governance structure that serves the collective interest of the nation rather than the individual interests of powerful players.

Asari Dokubo’s penchant for dragging Mr. President on social media provides valuable insights into the transactional nature of Nigerian politics. His criticisms, while ostensibly personal, reflect a deeper issue within the political system: a culture where alliances and support are conditional upon personal gain, and grievances are publicly aired when these conditions go unmet. This dynamic has eroded the foundations of Nigerian democracy, prioritizing personal interests over national progress and compromising the government’s ability to address the pressing needs of the populace.

For Nigeria to move forward, there must be a conscious effort to shift away from transactional politics and embrace a system grounded in shared values and a commitment to public service. Political figures must be held accountable for their actions and alliances, ensuring that the government remains focused on serving the interests of the nation rather than a select few. As Dokubo’s actions continue to draw attention, they serve as a powerful reminder of the consequences of transactional politics, and the urgent need for a value-based approach to governance in Nigeria.

In popular parlance, wherever you turn, you hear: “Naija no dey carry last”. That’s the Nigerian’s way of self-consolation, even self-motivation. In whatever circumstance he finds himself, a Nigerian is supposed to come out tops, whether the playing field is level or not. It is that self-assurance that other Africans mistake for arrogance. It is true that a Nigerian will not tolerate being treated as a second class being, but that’s all there is to his persona. The only problem is that Nigerians are ubiquitous. And that is not their fault. There’s plenty of them – 220 million-plus!

Whether abroad or at home, Nigerians keep an eagle eye on what their government is doing. They are not difficult to please, if one must be honest. Indeed, in most cases, what a Nigerian needs to excel is for the government to get out of his way! When I shared that view with one of Buhari’s ministers about four years ago, he thought it was blasphemous. He has since changed his mind like everyone else in Citizenville.

You Are The Government

Governments succeed or fail on the wings of the behaviour of public officials whose duty is to run the shop. In many cases, those who work for the government don’t know how sacred the trust vested in them is. They think it is just another job. Unfortunately, as far as the people at the receiving end of policies or programmes being implemented by specific officials are concerned, those functionaries are the government. Their actions or inactions determine how their principal or employer (in this case, the government) is perceived.

So, when the citizens are not well served by a particular department of government, for example, they’d say, “This Tinubu government is not competent.” For all they care, if the government was competent, its departments would also be – or, rather, its operatives would be. In these climes, we get used to poor services to such an extent that we almost get embarrassed when we are well served (or ‘over-served’) when we find ourselves in countries where service delivery is top notch.
No patriotic Nigerian would be thrilled to hear that his country is among the 11 worst-governed countries in Africa. However, by the time the doubter passes through one or two police checkpoints, he would probably simply shrug and hiss. There’s so much rot to clean up.

Governance Rating

According to the highly regarded Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), 2024 edition, Nigeria has quite a bit of catching up to do when rated among its peers.
“For 13 countries – Congo Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Somalia, Togo, Zambia – hosting over 1/5th (20.5 percent) of the continent’s population, there has been progress over the decade and the pace of this has even accelerated since 2019.

“Meanwhile, for 11 countries – Botswana, Burkina Faso, Eswatini, Guinea, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda – home to almost 1/3 (29.3 percent) of the population, there has been deterioration since 2014 and the pace of this is even worsening over the second part of the decade.”

Mercifully, Nigeria is not among the 10 most deteriorated countries which are listed as Comoros, Tunisia, Mali, Mauritius, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Namibia, DR Congo, Niger, and Eswatini. However, the report saw Nigeria slump three places from 30th on the continent to 33rd, making it one of the worst-ruled states since 2014.

National Hospital

One institution that has not failed to arouse my curiosity over the years is the National Hospital in Abuja. I have had varied experiences at the institution but none as harrowing as some of the more controversial cases that were reported by the media. Imposing from the outside like any institution claiming to number among the best in the country should be, it suffers the same affliction that many public institutions endure due to organisational spanners thrown into the works.

Anyone familiar with government establishments knows that there is always an in-built self-destruct valve whose activation depends on the disposition of the overall boss. In Nigerian medical institutions, professional and administrative competence sometimes take the back seat because of politics as politicians insist on infesting whatever they touch with their vermin.

The job of medical personnel is difficult enough without adding human barbed wires into the bargain. Without making any excuses for the bad eggs in the sector, one must be candid enough to admit that Nigerian medical personnel routinely wring water out of stone, considering how they still manage to remain sane enough to treat their patients, exuding that practiced neighbourly friendliness as if they didn’t have a worry in the world.

Admitted that some of them advertise their personal problems on their faces, but then, that’s only being human. We have different levels of tolerance. Every challenge that makes like nightmarish for the average citizen makes it doubly so for the medical personnel because in addition to her personal stress, she has to help other people carry their own crosses as well, especially when those crosses are more emotional than physical.

Ali Pate’s Call

It is in this connection that I think that Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, the coordinating minister for health and social services, should step in to clear the human problems negatively affecting service delivery by medical personnel at the National Hospital which has the negative distinction of the following:

Consultant doctors are engaged as locum for several years without any hope of being confirmed as permanent staff while politically connected new staff are routinely engaged.

Some consultants on Level 15 earn less than their subordinate senior registrars who are on Level 15 Step 8. All over the country, consultants are on Level 16.

Morale has been broken by the act of management bringing in FRESH consultants on transfer on level 16 from federal medical centres and teaching hospitals, whilst older consultants who could have supervised their training are kept on level 15, on locum basis. So, the tail wags the dog!

Over the years, tribalism has been entrenched in the administration of the hospital as different ethnicities struggle for dominion. In a medical facility, that ought to be anathema.

The most important challenge confronting the hospital today is not the uncompleted 200-bed extension but improving the welfare of the staff. Unbelievable as it may sound, some of the staff spend the night at the hospital, going home only on weekends. They mix easily with the crowd, so it is difficult to know if they’re on duty or not.

Instances of naked tribalism, nepotism and poor staff welfare may soon be latched on by international rating organisations such as the IIAG to lump us with the wretched among nations. I don’t agree that that’s where we belong. As they argue in Warri, Naija must not carry last.

The National Hospital features in a blog for workplace conversations (glassdoor.com) where a former patient wrote the following review about the facility:

“Some toxic staff, toxic management, bullying culture, poor resources, unsupportive environment, poor compensation and salaries, nepotism and favouritism, some staff are so lazy and well-connected that they get away with bad behaviour. Advice to Management: Could do with reviewing the work culture there.”

A time bomb is ticking. Hon. Minister Ali Pate has the required global exposure to help us civilise the National Hospital before it becomes another beautiful abattoir.

A popular Enugu-based traditional Ogene musician, Okezie Chikezie Mba, popularly known as Igbo-Jah, was shot dead at the premises of the Tactical Squad of Enugu State Police Command late Friday when he reportedly went there for a ‘friendly’ visit.

Reports said Igbo-Jah was leaving the command’s premises after the visit when, for reasons yet to be ascertained, a police inspector fired his rifle, hitting him.

He was immediately rushed to a hospital, according to the police, but was confirmed dead by a doctor. His body was deposited in the mortuary.

The police inspector who killed serves in the anti-cultism squad of the command. He was detained by other police officers.

Spokesman of the command, Daniel Ndukwe, later said in a statement that the incident occurred around 8:10 p.m. on Friday, and the state commissioner of police, Kanayo Uzuegbu, directed the deputy commissioner in charge of the State CID to conduct an investigation into the incident after which appropriate actions would be taken against the police officer.

The commissioner consoled Igbo-Jah’s family, friends and associates, describing the incident as unfortunate and unacceptable. He assured that the police officer and anyone else found culpable would be dealt with in accordance with the law.

“CP Kanayo urges everyone connected to the victim to remain calm and cooperate with the police to ensure that justice is served,” the spokesman stated.

[Leadership]

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has called for urgent removal of the entire electricity value chain from the exclusive list, so as to grant states the power to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity for themselves.

Though Electricity Act has put electricity on concurrent list, but the bulk of power generation and distribution are still within the purview of the Federal Government.

Atiku in a tweet on Saturday, saw no reason why an industrial dispute with the Federal Government in Abuja should affect industrial activities in any of the states or cities of the country.

“Even as we focus on investments in additional generation, there’s a compelling need for capacity for the complementary transmission and distribution infrastructure to transport the supplementary energy produced,” he said.

The former vice president expressed worry that for the past three week, South East and the entire states of the North West and North East that have been in complete blackouts.

He noted that considering that energy opportunities exist in different parts of the country, “the strategy should be a viable mix of renewable (hydro, solar, wind and biofuels) and non-renewable (coal, gas).

“I wish to restate my earlier recommendation to encourage private investors to invest in developing multiple green-field mini-grid transmission systems to be looped into the super-grid in the medium to long term.”

Atiku called every government department responsible for addressing the problem power failure to be quick in its intervention and restore electricity back to the distressed geopolitical zones.

[newtelegraphng]

Many victims are trapped under the debris of a collapsed building in the Sabon Lugbe area of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

Details of the incident are sketchy as of the time of this report, but some social media users said the affected building caved in on Saturday evening.

“People are under this rubble. It is a building under construction.

“We are calling on the government and relevant agencies to come and rescue those who are trapped here,” a witness disclosed to newsmen.

This development follows a similar incident some days ago on Amusu Street, in the Orile Iganmu area of Lagos State, where a two-storey building collapsed.

The building as seen in a trending video, collapsed, leaving residents close to the house to seek for safety.

According to a newspaper report on July 15, 2024, Nigeria experienced 135 building collapse incidents between 2022 and July 2024.

[DailyTrust]

As fuel consumption plummets nationwide due to soaring prices, oil marketers have expressed concerns over significant losses, with around 10,000 oil dealers about to shut down.

Data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority indicate that fuel consumption dropped to 4.5 million litres per day in August 2024, down from 60 million litres per day in May 2023—a staggering 92 per cent decline.

The data also show that only 16 out of the 36 states received fuel from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in August, leading to widespread shortage.

Since President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidy in May 2023, petrol prices have surged by about 488 per cent, rising from N175 to over N1,000 by October 2024.

The continuous price hikes have strained the economy, driving up transport costs and fuelling inflation, as struggling Nigerians lament the hardship. The situation has also forced many motorists to abandon their vehicles, opting instead for public transportation.

The national leadership of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria said the drop in fuel consumption had caused the association huge losses, adding that about 10,000 of its members were on the verge of shutting down.

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, the PETROAN National Public Relations Officer, Dr Joseph Obele, said the cost of a truckload of PMS had moved from N7m to N47m in the last 16 months.

“Three days ago, there was a meeting at the national headquarters of PETROAN. At the meeting, there was, an indication that about 10,000 of our members would quit business in the next 45 days because their trading capital had been severely affected,” Obele stated.

He claimed that the affected marketers had a total staff strength of about one million.

“That was why we wrote a letter to Mr President, dated October 21, requesting a grant of N100bn to save the affected marketers’ businesses from shutting down in the next few weeks.”

The President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Maigandi, also confirmed that there had been a reduction in fuel consumption, adding that members of the union were equally affected.

He said, “There is a drop in consumption and the price of a truckload is higher now. So, we have reduced the quantity of fuel we buy. For instance, someone who bought 10 trucks before can only buy eight now. So, we haven’t been getting the right quantity that we are supposed to get. We sell only the little quantities we get.”

The leadership of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers said the inability of oil marketers to buy products had resulted in job losses for truck drivers and petrol station workers in the country.

In an interview with our correspondent, the NUPENG Secretary-General, Mr Afolabi Olawale, said, “The economy is not smiling at all. Many petrol station owners cannot even buy a single truckload, and this has affected our members. Those of them that are truck drivers hardly get loads to carry anymore. Many petrol stations have closed down and our members who are petrol station workers have lost their jobs.”

When asked to give the actual number of NUPENG members affected, Olawale said, “This is an unfolding situation. It’s evolving, so I may not be able to give you the actual number of people affected now because we have those in the informal and formal sectors. We have people in the upstream, downstream, and midstream. But I don’t have the statistics right here with me to give you.

“Though everybody is affected, those in the downstream are the most affected. It affects those in the downstream sector directly because they are truck drivers, station workers, and the representatives of the marketers at different depots.”

Obele said the hike in fuel price had also blocked the cross-border racketeering of the product.

[Punch]

The death a few days ago of Professor Humphrey Nwosu, the outstanding Nigerian who supervised the famous June 12 1993 presidential election no doubt reminded many Nigerians of how best to organize an election. Although the winner of that election was never formally declared, everyone knew who it was and across the globe, the contest was unanimously accepted as the best Nigerian election in history. The accolade is yet to change.

Those who knew Nwosu’s strength of character especially those of us who worked with him on the elections must have been elated for the first time hearing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a tribute describing Humphrey Nwosu as “as a bold and courageous administrator as well as a patriot and national asset,” who played a major role in shaping Nigeria’s democratic journey. The description was simply apt.

Before Tinubu, all our respective first citizens pretended that the 1993 election deserved no recognition because it was supposedly not concluded and as such had no winner. The nearest the nation heard about the election was President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision in 2018 to bestow on Moshood Abiola, the winner of the election, the highest national award – the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic GCFR reserved for only the nation’s presidents. Those who packaged the award by Buhari must have had their own hidden agenda which portrayed an assumption that there was no need to also honour Humphrey Nwosu for his great performance. Whereas the addition of the legendary Gani Fawehinmi to those honoured along with Abiola was popular and laudable, it was disheartening to see that a few politicians who colluded with the military to jettison June 12 were also honoured.

It is hoped that President Tinubu would find time to offer Nwosu a befitting national honour as well as to name after him a national monument or edifice. Humphrey Nwosu was not just an ordinary chairman of an electoral body; he visibly did a marvellous and persuasive job by applying all his strength and capacity to embrace innovations for achieving his goal. As chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission from 1989-1993, he successfully conducted nationwide local government elections in 1990, governorship elections in 1991, national assembly elections in 1992 and the presidential election in 1993. The problem that was imposed on his last election in 1993 had nothing to do with electoral logistics or processes and procedures; rather, it was a set of military officers along with some politicians and a few traditional authorities that colluded for personal reasons to stop the declaration and swearing in of the winner.

The electoral body headed by Nwosu did more than the conduct of elections as it was also mandated to midwife the entire transition to civil rule political programme. To this end, Nwosu’s team is entitled to taking full credit for the rigorous guidelines it evolved for the emergence of 13 political associations out of which two, the Social Democratic Party SDP and the National Republican Convention NRC were formally given the green light to function as political parties. Unlike what we see today, the electoral commission of the time neither breached its own guidelines nor did it give room for politicians to derail its arrangements. If Nwosu introduced any electoral device it was made available everywhere and diligently implemented nationwide without allowing local prejudices to affect the process – a sharp contrast to devices like Card Reader or INEC IREV that were deliberately configured to be temperamental.

The prevailing circumstances during each election were always taken into consideration in determining electoral guidelines for use each time. For example, the credibility problems created at the beginning of the transition programme as a result of the nation’s long military rule, made Nwosu to introduce the Open ballot system which made it easy for people to accept the simple, credible and on-the-spot results. In due course, with complaints by political analysts that some people were scared of openly voting against their spouses, landlords or teachers etc, the Open-Secret ballot was introduced to ensure that although the casting of ballot was done in the open, each voter was given an opportunity to mark his/her ballot in an enclosed compartment provided by the commission. To ensure the emergence of truly national leaders, what was known as Option A4 was introduced to make winners emerge through several stages from local to national levels.

Different societal institutions such as the judiciary and security agencies assisted the electoral body in our days but none of them was allowed to take over the process. For instance, only the electoral body could postpone an election unlike now when for security reasons unknown to even INEC, election could be postponed. It should also be pointed out that no electoral offender could be apprehended by the police without the consent of the relevant electoral officer thereby keeping the electoral body in charge. In like manner, the judiciary had powers to review our decisions but had no power to stop the commission from performing its duties. Accordingly, when Justice Bassey Ikpeme attempted to stop the June 12 1993 elections a few hours to voting, the fake order was ignored because it was clearly in breach of Section 19(1) of the relevant Decree 13 of 1993.

During Nwosu’s time, the judiciary was allowed to nullify an election which failed the integrity test but no court at whatever level was empowered to determine winners of elections. Unlike what happens these days, the courts were not allowed to use ‘judiciary-mathematics’ to add up figures which ended up producing winners that scored more votes than voters. Instead, where an election was nullified, a repeat election was held to ensure that winners were determined by voters and not by judges. One can predict with ease that we are likely to return to the same situation someday if nothing is done to stop the judicial activity of conflicting orders between state and federal courts. Luckily, Nwosu’s team was not challenged by this practice of using the judiciary to win elections. 

Another advantage which Nwosu’s electoral commission enjoyed was that its members were made up of men and women of transparent integrity in line with international standards which require every umpire to be truly impartial and above board. Today, majority of our electoral commissioners are agents or card carrying members of the ruling parties making it obvious that the expectation of free and fair elections is a tall order. Again, those recruited during Nwosu’s days as ad hoc staff such as returning officers were well known in society for their self-respect, dignity, track record and personal discipline and were thus fit for the job. Today, our returning officers who are top academics announce fake results and argue that they only read what was given to them. No one can say if the same returning officers are not the architects of examination malpractices in our higher institutions.

Against this backdrop, the charge by President Tinubu to our electoral umpires to behave like Humphrey Nwosu as a champion of democracy by upholding “credible, transparent, and democratic elections that embody the people’s right to choose their leaders” is a challenge they can hardly meet if we do not return to the golden days when elections were organized as a game played by its rules. Most importantly, the reference to Humphrey Nwosu by President Tinubu as a bold and courageous administrator would remain eternally remarkable. Until his commission was suspended and later dissolved, Nwosu challenged every wrong step taken by the authorities to intimidate his team. He went to the Court of Appeal to challenge the plan to scuttle his work but had to give up only when the election was instructively annulled a few hours before judgment.

History would no doubt be kind to Nwosu who ran a patently independent electoral commission even though his commission was never formally empowered to act as independent. Indeed, his was an electoral body set by the military and run with decrees. It is hoped that although the president of the day, Ibrahim Babangida took vicarious liability for the unfortunate annulment of the June 12 1993 election, memoirs and books would emerge sooner or later to expose all those who played ignoble roles in the development. Adieu Humphrey, exceedingly brilliant first-class political scientist and innovator who left his name in gold in the history of elections in Nigeria. May his soul rest in peace.  

The camps of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and that of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike, in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have returned to the drawing board to re-strategise ahead of the rescheduled National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for November 28.

Wike had, while addressing his supporters in Port-Harcourt at an event, last week, promised to continue to be “a problem for Atiku, Obi and some PDP governors”, who are politically opposed to him and President Bola Tinubu.

Sunday Vanguard gathered in Abuja that Wike and his loyalists have been holding meetings in Abuja and Port-Harcourt to safeguard what they consider a string of court victories in the intra-party power struggle.

The camp considered it advantageous that the NEC meeting was rescheduled to November because it would save time for its poster boy, the PDP Acting National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum, to remain in office.

In contrast, the Atiku camp has been licking its wounds since the former substantive National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, resigned his position and moves to replace him with a candidate from the North Central has been stalling.

A decision by a Federal High Court in Abuja to restrain the NEC and the party’s Board of Trustees from removing Damagum from office has further complicated matters.

Appealing court order

Party insiders, however, confirmed to Sunday Vanguard, that a team of lawyers under the guidance of two prominent Senior Advocates of Nigeria is being assembled to appeal the court order.

A member of the party’s NEC familiar with this development who spoke on condition of anonymity, for fear of retribution said, “Of course, we are appealing the court order.

“Go back to the resolution of our 98th NEC meeting held on April 18th. It was resolved that the NWC should conduct congresses at the relevant levels in states where the tenures of their executives have lapsed and prepare grounds for a replacement for Dr. Iyiorchia Ayu who resigned from his position.

“But for some strange reasons, Damagum has found one excuse or another to cling to power in an acting capacity by refusing to convene NEC.

“To further complicate matters, he caused his lieutenants in Yobe State, to go to court to restrain the Board of Trustees and NEC from removing him from office.

“This man is still the Deputy National Chairman (North), a position he also holds today.

“How can a man who says he has the party’s best interest at heart, go to court and tie our hands by removing one of the main items on the agenda of our NEC meeting?

“We have news for him, he can’t be acting chairman in perpetuity. That judgement or whatever it is will be appealed and vacated.”

The source further explained that it was out of place for the Wike camp to celebrate the latest shift in the date for the NEC meeting.

Ondo election

The source said, “The shift in the date for the NEC meeting was a win-win for everyone. Irrespective of which camp any of us belongs to, no one wants to be blamed if anything goes wrong with the Ondo State governorship election.

“Yes, the postponement gives Damagum more time but it also affords others the time to go to Court and get the contentious order vacated. “

The North-Central is however not giving up on its demand to produce Ayu’s replacement.

A former PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said it would be wishful thinking for anyone to imagine the zone will give up on its desire to have the letter and spirit of Section 47 (6) of the party’s constitution respected.

He said, “The PDP is a party built on the rule of law as enshrined in our constitution. Our party is the only institution that has survived this long as a political party.

“The reason is simple; we have always bounced back even when some people think we are finished.
“Our demand that the North-Central produce Ayu’s successor to complete what is left of his tenure is intact.”

Already, party chieftains from Benue State where Ayu hails from have started signifying interest in the position.

A former governor of the state, Gabriel Suswam, had told those who cared to listen that he is interested.

Also, a businessman turned politician, Conrad Utaan, who has also declared interest, said the PDP National Chairmanship should not be the exclusive preserve of those who have held one public office or another.

Utaan said, “It is my desire to lead this party with humility, with sacrifice, and the only person who can, the only people who can help me drive this message are you that is sitting here around this table, because I may not have what it takes.”

While recognizing the influence of governors and ex-governors of the party in the scheme of things, he maintained that he would join other stakeholders to ensure the right things were done.

He said, “They could be perceived owners of the party- the governor’s. That’s a huge block that cannot be ignored in the party. But then there’s also an issue of law and morality.

“But maybe I’ve come again to bell the cat. It is not about who is interested in the North Central or not. It is about the law and interpretation of the law, and trust me, we have what it takes to extract that interpretation.”

[Vanguard]

The United States of America team scored once in each half to send Nigeria crashing out of the FIFA women’s under-17 World Cup with a 2-0 defeat in the quarter-final encounter at the Santiago de los Caballeros Stadium, Dominican Republic.

The Flamingos were more fancied but their opponents were tactically outstanding, with Kennedy Fuller and Kimmi Ascanio punishing Bankole Olowookere’s team.

The Americans stifled their Nigerian opponents’ usually creative midfield. They denied the attackers service and found joy in attacking from the wings.

Their perseverance paid off when Fuller evaded Shakirat Moshood and powered into the penalty area before the latter brought her down for a spot-kick awarded following a video assistant referee review.

Fuller dusted herself up and converted for 1-0 to the USA on 43 minutes, taking the lead into the break.

Nigeria was presented the first big chance of the second half when a defensive mix-up allowed Taiwo Afolabi a good opening to equalize but her shot was saved by Evan Osteen, US goalkeeper.

The United States upped the ante and doubled their lead on 71 minutes. Ascanio slotted low into the bottom corner to seal their passage into the semi-finals while the Nigerian team crashed out of the tournament.

[TheCable]