Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has disclosed that President Bola Tinubu sent his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, to ask him to reconsider his decision to leave Nigeria following the election victory.

Vanguard reported in 2022 that after Tinubu announced his presidential bid in January, George threatened to leave the country.

His words: “I will move away from Nigeria. I’ll leave because he will be your representative on the international plane. Which investment will he bring here? I am not talking because I have any hatred for him.

“This is not the kind of person we can hand over this massive country to manage. He will be the greatest joke on the international plane. We should bother who should lead us.

“If by whatever chance he gets to the villa, I won’t be part of this country. And I am not joking. I can go to Ghana and be watching with binoculars from afar. You will see what will happen.”

Reflecting on the development, George, during an appearance on Arise TV on Wednesday, recounted how Gbajabiamila visited him with a message from Tinubu, urging him to reconsider his position.

“During the campaign period, I stated it and I meant it—that if by whatever measure Bola Tinubu wins this election, I was going to get out.

“Once they heard that, Tinubu sent his chief of staff, who is my little brother from Lagos State, Femi Gbajabiamila, to appeal to me.

“He came to say, ‘My boss said I should tell you, please be calm’. They knew they had wronged me. They said they were sorry.”

Speaking further, George stated that the crisis within the PDP emerged during the lead-up to the 2023 presidential election. He highlighted how internal tensions and disagreements intensified, urging aggrieved factions to sheathe their sword.

“The last convention, the presidential convention, was when everything started, and instead of arresting it, they were exacerbating it.

“With all that, you cannot have the chairman of the party and the presidential candidate from one side of the divide—they didn’t listen.” 

He also recalled how he confronted Iyorchia Ayu, the former party chair, regarding his commitment to step down if a northern presidential candidate was nominated.

“Ayu made a public statement that peradventure the presidency comes from the north, he would resign. But when the results were announced, he said, ‘I have four years; I’m not going anywhere’.

“This is breach of trust! Of course, people would react to that. It’s against the party constitution to have the chairman of the party and the presidential candidate from the same zone — it is an anomaly.

“I want to appeal to the leaders of the various groups in the party that it is time to shelve your personal ambitions and let us rebuild the party.

“There is no organisation in the world without crisis, but the ability to rebuild the crisis is needed.

“This crisis didn’t start now; it started from the presidential convention and nobody was able to manage it.

“Atiku and Wike should calm down and let us go to the elders meeting where we would start this discussion, to trace this crisis back to that convention, because that was where everything started going in the wrong direction.”

Former Vice President of the Living Faith Church, also known as Winners Chapel, Bishop Thomas Aremu has clarified that he will remain a member of the church despite his recent retirement.

His statement comes in response to rumours suggesting that he and Bishop David Abioye, another former vice president were planning to retire from the church to establish their own ministries.

Speaking on Tuesday during his valedictory service at Winners Chapel, Bishop Aremu addressed the speculations, emphasizing that he has no intention of founding a new church.

However, he mentioned the possibility of teaching in other churches and said his messages would be consistent with the doctrines of the Living Faith Church.

“Even after retirement, I don’t have a church, and I cannot have a church because God has not infused me with the capacity to do so. This is my church; even after retirement, I shall remain in the Winners family. 

I may be privileged to bless other churches that are not Winners, but there is nothing I’m going to teach them than what I have learnt in Winners.”.

“I will also be privileged to document some of the virtue and values God has invested in me for the upcoming generation. I will continue to practice liberty and charity to the poor, needy widows, orphans, and fatherless as God will enable me.”

Olisa Agbakoba, a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), says the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was not constitutionally established.

Agbakoba stated this in two separate letters dated October 14 and addressed to the senate and house of representatives.

The letters were addressed to Barau Jibrin, deputy senate president; and Benjamin Kalu, deputy speaker of the house — chairs of the senate and house committees on constitution review, respectively.

Agbakoba highlighted constitutional concerns regarding law enforcement agencies in the country, pointing out factors hindering the government’s efforts to eliminate corruption, as outlined in Section 13 of the 1999 Constitution.

In the letter to the deputy senate president, Agbakoba said: “I write to draw attention to certain constitutional issues on matters related to law enforcement agencies.

“As you are obviously aware, the fundamental objective of the government is to abolish corruption,” he said.

“But from my observation, there is no harmony amongst law enforcement agencies on corruption. They all appear to be working at cross purposes.

“This has been confirmed by the supreme court in so many cases.

“The supreme court has consistently sanctioned the EFCC for its conduct and questioned if the EFCC can in fact validly do what it does.

“I will go further to say that I very strongly believe the EFCC is unconstitutionally established.

“The powers under which it was established go beyond the powers of the national assembly. The EFCC is an unlawful organisation.

“I am very delighted to note that many states have finally taken it upon themselves to challenge the constitutionality of the EFCC.

“This will put to rest the question relating to the validity of the EFCC.

“Whilst we await the decision of the supreme court as the final court on the matter, I respectfully request that the Senate convene a public hearing to consider these constitutional issues.

“Such a hearing would provide an invaluable platform for stakeholders to discuss the reforms needed to strengthen Nigeria’s legal and institutional frameworks for law enforcement and anti-corruption.

“This will meet the stated and laudable objective of the government to abolish corruption as stated in Section 13 of the Constitution.”

The supreme court has fixed October 22 to hear a suit filed by the attorneys-general of 16 states of the federation.

The suit is challenging the constitutional powers of the national assembly to establish the EFCC and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), and the powers of these agencies to investigate and prosecute matters related to the misappropriation of state funds.

The EFCC was founded in 2003 during the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo.

A bill seeking the creation of Ogoja State has scaled second reading in the House of Representatives on Thursday.

The bill, sponsored by Godwin Offiono and three other on during plenary.

The constitution alteration bill seeks to amend the 1999 Constitution to create an additional state in the South-south region. 

Moving the motion, Mr Offiono said the “essence of this bill is rested on equity.”

If the bill is passed into law, it would bring the number of states in the South-south region to seven.

The bill scaled second reading without any opposition from members and was referred to the House Committee on Constitution Review.

The World Bank has urged Nigerians to support the ongoing economic reforms, warning that opposing or reversing them could have serious negative consequences for the country.

Speaking at the launch of the Nigeria Development Update (NDU) report in Abuja, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Dr. Ndiame Diop, emphasized that while the reforms may be challenging, they are crucial for the nation’s long-term stability.

Dr. Diop cautioned that rolling back these reforms would be detrimental, saying, “Reversing the reforms would spell doom for Nigeria.”

In the same vein, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, reiterated the importance of staying committed to the reforms. He stated, “Any effort that is not sustained will be a waste. Together with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Minister of Budget and National Planning, we’ve been discussing how to stay on course.”

Edun further explained that the government’s focus is on reducing inflation while ensuring investments flow into critical sectors such as industry, where jobs can be created. “We are prioritizing market pricing and sat down with labor unions to explain why we cannot afford to let this opportunity slip.”

On the removal of subsidies, Edun noted, “Every day without subsidies means more funds available for education, healthcare, and other essential expenditures.”

Also speaking, Central Bank Governor Mr. Olayemi Cardoso highlighted the importance of promoting exports in light of the exchange rate adjustments. “The moderation in the FX rate should make our goods more competitive for export and discourage the importation of unnecessary goods,” he said.

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 21st September election in Edo State, Asue Ighodalo, has expressed his absolute confidence in the judiciary, describing it as the last hope of the common man.

Ighodalo, speaking on a television programme in Benin on Wednesday, stated that, despite public perception, his 40 years of experience as a lawyer have reinforced his unwavering faith in the judiciary’s ability to correct any injustice.

He noted the legal challenges following his nomination as the PDP candidate, expressing optimism that he would obtain justice at the tribunal.

He said, “I won all 15 cases brought against me from the primary election. So, I cannot say I don’t have faith in the judiciary. I certainly do. It remains the last hope of the common man.” 

He condemned the harassment and arrests of PDP supporters based on spurious allegations before and during the election.

He accused the All Progressives Congress in the state of colluding with the Nigeria Police Force and some compromised officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission to manipulate the election results that were in favour of him and his party.

He added, “Some APC chieftains, in collaboration with compromised INEC staff and police officers, subverted the will of the people. They are enemies of democracy in Nigeria. I will use every lawful and legitimate means to retrieve and reclaim the mandate from those who shamelessly stole it.”

Reflecting on his experience during the material inspection, he criticised INEC’s undue sympathy towards the APC, despite the PDP having a legitimate court order allowing the inspection of materials needed to support the filing of his petition.

He pointed out that election observers had rated the collation process poorly, and noted that the evidence proving he won the election was indisputable.

Ighodalo dismissed claims that the PDP lost the election due to internal conflict, describing such assertions as an afterthought by APC sympathisers to justify the electoral malpractice that occurred on 21st September in Edo State.

When asked if he would accept the court’s verdict should it not align with his expectations, he responded that, if the Supreme Court eventually rules otherwise, he would abide by the decision. However, he stressed that, based on the evidence gathered and the expertise of his legal team, he was confident of winning the case currently in court.

He added, “Do you congratulate a thief who has come to your house and stolen your goods? It’s all propaganda. Didn’t you hear or read that I was preparing to run for the Senate? They are the worst propagandists in this country. Some of them speak before they even think.”

Ighodalo warned that if electoral malpractice, such as that witnessed in Edo, continues, democracy in the country will be at risk of extinction.
He expressed gratitude to the people of Edo for their support and urged them not to be provoked by the actions of those who do not have their best interests at heart.

The governor-elect of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has warned banks and other financial institutions against granting last-minute loans and financial instruments to the outgoing administration in the state.

In a statement issued Wednesday night in Abuja, Senator Okpebholo also alleged that barely a month to handing over of power to him, there are reports of massive looting of government funds and properties by some state officials.

He urged security and anti-graft agencies to help in halting the trend.

The governor-elect accused the outgoing Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration of taking unscrupulous loans from banks and other financial institutions, while some unnamed government officials were also feasting on properties including vehicles, furniture and palliatives such as rice.

However, the Edo State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Chris Nehikhare, said the state government will respond to the allegations.

“I’ll respond to the allegations on Thursday,” he said.

‘Widespread looting’

Okpebholo in his statement said: “With great shock, we regret the widespread reports of looting of government funds and properties by officials of the outgoing administration from the Government House, Benin City.

“It is sad that barely one month to handover, the outgoing administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki is still allegedly obtaining loans from banks and other financial institutions under very shady headings.

“We are also aware of the massive looting and vandalism of properties including vehicles, furniture, gadgets, household utensils and even carpets from offices and residences of Edo State government.

“This unacceptable behaviour undermines the trust and faith of our citizens in those entrusted to serve them in the past eight years.”

The governor-elect consequently called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, Police and Department of State Services, DSS “to investigate the allegations thoroughly and ensure that those found guilty are held accountable while protecting the Government House and offices from vandals.” 

Sounding a note of warning, the statement added that “banks and other financial institutions are by this notice, cautioned to desist from any dealings that will undermine the finances of the state, especially giving out of loans to government at this period of transition.

“The Accountant-General of Edo State, is hereby advised to uphold the principle of integrity in his duty, as the only act that will put his name in gold.

“There will be dire consequences for any act of impunity and stealing on any person or institution found wanting in this regard.” 

Okpebholo, however added that the incoming administration will continue to monitor the situation until the last day of the outgoing administration, adding that he will not condone any form of unethical behaviour and stressed zero-tolerance for corruption.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is still the sole off-taker of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery despite the recent directive of the Federal Government that other oil marketers were free to start loading PMS from the plant.

Oil marketers revealed on Wednesday that NNPC would continue to be sole off-taker of the product from the $20bn Lekki-based plant until its agreement with the Dangote refinery as regards the lifting of PMS terminates.

They, however, did not tell when the agreement between both organisations would end. Officials of NNPC and the Dangote refinery also did not respond to enquiries on when the agreement would end.

On October 11, 2024, the Federal Government in a statement from the finance ministry, announced that oil marketers were now free to negotiate purchase of petrol directly from the Dangote refinery without recourse to NNPC.

“Moving forward, petroleum product marketers are now able to purchase PMS directly from local refineries without the intermediary role of NNPC. Marketers are encouraged to initiate direct purchases from refineries on mutually negotiated commercial terms, which will promote competition and improve market efficiency,” it stated in the statement.

But after meeting with officials of the Dangote refinery on Tuesday, members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria revealed that NNPC was still the sole off-taker of Dangote petrol pending the termination of an agreement between Dangote and NNPC.

In a notice to IPMAN members in the Western Zone, issued by the Zonal Chairman, South-West, Dele Tajudeen, the association said, “The IPMAN National Vice President, Zonal Chairman of Western Zone, IPMAN members, and PTD Zonal Chairman met with the Vice President of Dangote Group and many other notable staff members of the Dangote refinery yesterday, October 15, 2024.

“We had a very useful and fruitful discussion on the direct purchase of products from the Dangote refinery.  The Vice President of Dangote confirmed that the Minister of Finance/ Coordinating Minister of the Economy, and the Minister of Petroleum Resources have directed them to commence sales of products to marketers who have duly registered with the refinery, but they are still having a pending agreement with NNPC Ltd which still subsist.

“Until and when the agreement is terminated by either party, the direct sales will still be on hold.”

The notice stated that the IPMAN National Executive Council would hold a meeting in Abuja on Wednesday “in that respect.”

It added, “In view of this, marketers who are yet to officially register as IPMAN members should do so without wasting time as such marketers will not benefit from this opportunity when we eventually commence lifting from the Dangote refinery.”

Both the Dangote refinery and NNPC did not respond when contacted to react to the development.

However, major oil marketers told our correspondent that they were still lifting products from the Dangote refinery through the deal between NNPC and the Lagos-based refinery.

“There is a subsisting deal between NNPC and Dangote refinery and it is based on that deal that we major marketers are lifting PMS from the refinery using PFI (proformer invoice),” a major dealer who spoke in confidence due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.

The value of the naira depreciated at the unofficial market on Wednesday as it traded at  1,705/dollar, according to Bureau De Change operators in Lagos and Abuja.

A BDC operator in Lagos, Aliyu Sani, told The PUNCH that he sold dollars for N1705, and bought at 1,695/$. In Abuja, the rate was lower at N1,700.

A currency trader,  Suraju Ajao, said that he sold dollars for 1700/$  and bought at 1,690/$.

On the Nigerian Autonomous Forex Exchange Market domiciled on the FMDQ Securities, the naira closed trading at 1659.69/$, indicating a 0.04 per cent depreciation from 1658.97/$ that it traded on Tuesday.

On the official market, the naira traded at a high of 1,682/$ and a low of 1,562.97/$.

The daily turnover dipped to $177.10 from $217.86m on Tuesday.

The value of the naira reached a new low on Monday, closing at 1,700/dollar, a 0.29 per cent decline compared to N1,695 to the dollar, which it exchanged last week Friday.

The World Bank has recently listed the naira as one of the worst-performing currencies in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2024

As of August, the local depreciated by approximately 43 per cent year-to-date, ranking it among the weakest currencies alongside the Ethiopian birr and the South Sudanese pound.

The decline is attributed to surging demand for U.S. dollars in Nigeria’s parallel market, limited dollar inflows, and slow foreign exchange disbursements by the central bank.

•His call is in order— YCF, OUPA

•We’re not interested in break up— YCE

•Restructuring is a better Akintoye’s option —Amb Farounmbi

The echoes of the separation of the Yoruba Nation from Nigeria, again, reverberated as the visible proponents of the call, Professor Adebanji Akintoye and Chief Sunday Adeyemo also known as Sunday Igboho have submitted a petition to the United Kingdom Prime Minister, Keir Starmer on their quest to exit Nigeria.

According to information, other people of Yoruba extraction who went with Sunday Igboho were Vice President of Ifeladun Apapo, Mr Fatai Ogunribido, General Secretary of Yoruba World Media, Alhaja Adeyeye, Prophet Ologunoluwa, Diaspora Youth Leader and Paul Odebiyi who is member of Yoruba Nation Movement.

The duo of Professor Akintoye and Sunday Igboho have been working together on the call for the Yoruba ethnic group to secede from Nigeria.

The renowned historian had persistently said the treaty signed with Nigeria had expired and felt that Yoruba should exit from Nigeria.

Professor Akintoye had also alleged that a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai(rtd) came to Igboho while in prison with a promise to pay him billions of naira to shelve his call for Yoruba separation.

Confirming the letter, Sunday Igboho’s spokesperson, Mr Olayomi Koiki said, the letter was actually submitted to UK Prime Minister but refused to disclose the contents of the letter to Vanguard.
Reacting in a terse message to Vanguard, Koiki said, “We can’t give anyone the content of the letter but it has to do with our quest to exit Nigeria”.

Though the Federal Government has kept sealed lips over the repeated call, like incurable optimists, the duo have never given up.

Akintoye’s earlier message

Akintoye, in another lengthy piece, reeled out perceived atrocities of the Fulani people and concluded that the only antidote to stop the perceived injustice is for Yoruba to cut the umbilical cord that has tenaciously held the various ethnic groups together since 1914 Lord Lugard’s amalgamation.

Declare Sept 23 Yoruba unity, Akintoye tells S-West govs, monarchs

The retired University don, who claimed the Yoruba Unity Day was marked in Ile-Ife and Ibadan, called on the six governors in the South West to continue to mark the day every 23 September.

He said: “Our whole Yoruba nation, our Obas, the Fathers of our nation, our State Governors, should adopt this Yoruba Unity Day for all our states.

“Yoruba are one of the most truly united nations in the world. The essential roots of our Yoruba national unity are firm and solid. All of us Yoruba people are proud of our Yoruba culture.
Yoruba has distinctive superiority in crucial matters.”

He went further to say the position of Yoruba in the country is very visible noting, “We are proud of our nation’s distinctive superiority in crucial matters, including love of community harmony, serious acceptance of religious tolerance and harmony, acceptance of hospitality towards strangers and foreigners, avoidance of cheap conduct in the quest for anything, love of enterprise and achievement, a fundamental belief that power in society belongs to the people and that government exists only to serve the wellbeing of the people, a sincere belief that everybody, young and old, has the right to be respected and the right and duty to contribute his or her wisdom to the affairs of his or her society, an essential nobility of character.

“Our apparent difficulty in finding unity over matters is not a sign of lack of unity; it is a product of our deep belief that every individual has some wisdom (no matter how little) to contribute and that everybody therefore deserves to be heard. In short, we are an ancient civilization that, for millennia, has placed serious emphasis on self-respect, respect for the individual, the duty of mutual respect, duty of consciously deep thought in matters affecting humans and society. An unreasoning and emotionally charged group is difficult to find among us Yoruba.”

Alleged atrocities of Fulani bandits

The self-determination proponent reasoned that “there is a good reason to fear now that the Nigerian situation could destroy our Yoruba nation. In the rural areas of our homeland, where probably the majority of our people live, the Fulani people who are determined to seize land for a homeland of their own, are daily killing our people, have killed a roughly estimated 29,000 of our people, are raping our women, kidnapping men, women and children, extorting millions of Naira in ransom for the kidnapped, destroying farms, food barns and villages. For over nine years now, they have been forcing our farmers to abandon farming, and by now, most of our farmers have abandoned farming, and many of such farmers have been migrating with their families to Benin and Togo Republics. Our nation faces the doom of a serious lack of food for years and years to come. This horror is increasing. It has risen to the killing of our Obas by the Fulani.

Akintoye’s call in order— YCF, OUPA

Surprisingly, two groups from the zone, Yoruba Commitment Forum led by Otunba Tayo Onayemi and Oduduwa United People Association, founded by Chief Jimoh Taofeek, aligned with Prof Akintoye.

In his submission, Chief Taofeek said the only permanent solution to the Fulani herders’ invasion of Yoruba land is the separation of ethnic groups in the country.

He said: “The only way to proffer lasting solution is for each interested region clamouring for disintegration to do so peacefully, through national dialogue and in accordance to international practices.

“This singular act, if it can be considered for implementation in my view, will strongly create an avenue for inter-regional positive competitions that will adequately strengthen the security, promote peace and stability, enhance rapid growth and development in all aspects of natural, physical and human resources within each region to add more meaningful value to the economy.”

Similarly, Otunba Onayemi supported the call for a free Yoruba Nation, a separate Arewa Nation as well as a Biafran country for peace to reign.

Onayemi said: “Prof Akintoye has only touched a portion of the looming danger leaving the other portion yawning for inclusion. And that’s the aggressive and well-coordinated Igbo’s desire for expansion and repeatedly announced acquisition threats to Yorubaland.

“Holistically, Nigeria today is sitting on a keg of gunpowder which may go off anytime while the leaders and elites, who know the true situation, keep pretending and they deceive the populace to their perils too.

“This is so because, once the bubble bursts, no one will be entirely safe. To avoid pogrom, massive deaths and a disaster, Nigeria should urgently consider unbundling or devolving powers to the former three regions of the West, the East and the North with a provision that ethnic nationalities caught up in the web of the unbundling, should be free to choose their affiliation course.

“I support the calls for a free Yoruba Nation, a separate Arewa Nation as well as a Biafran country for peace to reign, avoid unnecessary calamities and to foster good relationships among the three countries living in deceit, hatred and suspicion in Nigeria.”

We’re not interested in break up — YCE

For the second time, the Yoruba Council of Elders, YCE, through its Secretary General, Chief Oladipo Oyewole sees the call for separation as a wrong approach to the alleged atrocities against the Yoruba.

He said, “YCE has again reviewed the Nigerian situation and our conclusion as a body is that cutting off the head is not a remedy, not a panacea to a serious headache. The agitation for a breakup or breakaway from Nigeria by some Yoruba (because not all Yoruba are part of the agitation) is an action likely to put Nigeria in unending turmoil.

“As elders, the YCE would rather go the way of ensuring a correct place for Yoruba in the comity of the assembly called Nigeria. We, of the YCE, have severally asked for the review of the 1999 Constitution. We have consistently asked for a Constitution that will protect us. We have asked for a viable right of place in the scheme of appropriation of our commonwealth in Nigeria.

“Until now, we have asked for restructuring. We will, as a body, continue to seek peace and ask for all that will make us comfortable as stakeholders in the confederation.

“The YCE is not interested in the break up of Nigeria. Accordingly, let us put heads together to map out a course to make each region viable and promote self-reliance to provide economic satisfaction for all Nigerians progressively.”

“As for the perceived harassment of President Bola Tinubu by northern leaders, the President is a manager with the instruments of office. He surely knows what to do and how to achieve his goals.”

Where’s need for it —Olajide, ex-YCE Scribe

But a former Secretary of the YCE, Dr Kunle Olajide said there is no basis for Professor Akintoye to make such a call.

Olajide said: “How does he expect us to go about it? A Yoruba man is the President of this country today. In my opinion, in unity lies strength; so I don’t subscribe to that. And I haven’t read what he said about secession recently. But in my opinion, the country is stabilizing and making progress.”

Restructuring is a better option —Amb Farounmbi

On his part, a former Nigerian Ambassador to the Philippines, Dr Yemi Farounmbi disclosed that the call for restructuring remains a better option than secession.

Farounmbi said: “I think there is confusion in the way he presented his matter. My understanding of what it stands for us as a Yoruba nation is a nation that breaks out of Nigeria remains independent and is no longer part of Nigeria. But we have a President who says he will uphold the unity of the country.

“So, I cannot find the commonality in what he has said. What is appealing is the call for restructuring of the country, where each ethnic nationality governs itself in line with its characteristics, history, nationality, culture and traditions.”