I was abroad when the CBEX scandal broke: somehow, I tend to be out of town when Nigerians get into very serious trouble but it has been my singular misfortune, and this has happened so many times for close to four decades, to discuss other people’s misfortune. Occupational hazard, I guess. The choice I have made. The job that I do- worrying about community headache, including other people’s self-inflicted migraine for which my job requires me to take analgesics on other people’s behalf. The story as told is that a group of con artists operating under the auspices of a group registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) as ST Technologies International Limited, even listed with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering had set up fancy offices in Lagos and Ibadan, recruited staff, and asked Nigerians to bring money and get 100% returns on investment in 30 days. Nigerians rushed to CBEX, that is Crypto Bridge Exchange. They talked about the beautiful offices and the certificates of registration that they saw. They invested money, which as at the last estimate stood at N1.3 trillion. Even when they were warned in April 2024 by Hong Kong financial authorities that CBEX was a Ponzi scheme, a fraudulent financial arrangement, Nigerian investors and the regulators failed to heed the warning. They took their money to CBEX. One morning, the CBEX system stopped working. The investors and depositors could not gain access to their investments. Over N1.3 trillion was lost. The fancy offices of CBEX suddenly shut down and the managers disappeared into thin air. 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has now declared about eight of the CBEX managers wanted. They are reportedly on the run, of course with their loot. The fact that this has happened under the watch of the security agencies, and the regulators, specifically the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), whose officials failed to do due diligence and placed Nigerians at risk is scandalous enough. It speaks to the failure of law enforcement, regulation and institutions in Nigeria.  

But the deeper issue is the greed and poverty of the average Nigerian. Our people are so poor that they would do anything to make the extra buck. The menace of rape, kidnapping and ritual killings has been linked for example to the shamanist belief that you can become rich overnight by using harvested human body parts. Traditional spell-binders deceive those who want to get rich quick with that story and there have been killings in the land. Prosperity pastors tell the congregation that the church is not for the poor, and that even our Lord Jesus Christ had no serious interest in the poor. These same prosperity pastors in Nigeria have not said much about the Catholic Pontiff, Franciscus, who was buried over the weekend and who was known for his simplicity, humility, and commitment to the values of peace, equality, justice, and inclusion. Once upon a time in Nigeria, ordinary people questioned the source of anybody’s wealth, but now, you just must be rich to be considered a citizen who deserves the community’s attention. The emergent nouveaux riche class in Nigeria may not have an evident means of income, they spend money for a living, they marry the most beautiful girls in town, and they are better secured than the Nigerian state itself.  It is this collapse of everything sane and sensible that has driven the average Nigerian to the embrace of CBEX and similar schemes.  Wealth by any means possible is Nigeria’s national ethic codified in the reign of 419 as it is called, and the triumph of laziness and ostentation. 

There is also something tragically wrong with public memory.  In the 1980s, a certain fellow - Umanah Umanah introduced a Ponzi scheme called MMM. By 2016, MMM crashed after the managers had stolen over N18 billion. The people cried and protested as they are doing now. But by 2022, another Ponzi scheme, MBA Forex had again swindled the people of amounts close to N213 billion. The story is the same. People weep. A few persons commit suicide. Everyone laments, but when another Ponzi scheme shows up, the same fortune chasers of Nigeria, who would rather gamble than work harder and be honest. They would look for quick, unreasonable profit, and they would get swindled again. The IMF/World Bank at the end of the recent Spring Meetings in Washington DC warned that poverty is bound to get worse in Nigeria by 2027 – 57% of the population would live below the poverty line. The tragedy of this, already well lamented by NACCIMA and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) is that more Nigerians would become desperate, seek unorthodox means of getting rich, and gamble away their lives. This is why I think that public advocacy is important: to let young persons who appear to be the most vulnerable know that there are no short, overnight cuts to success or financial gain. 

There should be a national programme on financial intelligence and investment, and even more so, we need to address the people’s lack of trust in Nigeria’s financial system. The banks are not serving us well! Nigeria is probably the only country in the world where people deposit their hard-earned income, and they end up daily being told that there is no money in the bank vaults whenever they go to the banks to withdraw money.  A few years back, Nigerians were encouraged to embrace digital banking, and financial inclusion. Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) were introduced, and crowds were reduced in the banking halls. But the ATMs no longer work satisfactorily, the charges for basic transactions have been increased, the people have found better service in alternative banking services. The irony is that the banks are posting huge, alarming, end-of-quarter profits, and those who work in the banks appear far more prosperous, happier and more joyous than the hardworking people who ask them to help keep their money. There is a moral crisis in Nigerian banks. We would need to reassure the people, and rebuild their faith in the financial intermediation system. 

It is in this context that I consider recent attempts to strengthen the Nigerian Deposit Investment Corporation (NDIC) instructive.  Established in 2006 (NDIC Act No 16 of 2006), the agency is a regulatory body with the responsibility to protect depositors’ funds, and ensure that when and if a bank fails, the customer is at least entitled to some form of protection. There is a devil in the amount of insurance that the NDIC can guarantee, sometimes less than one percent of a liquidated bank customer’s deposit, or the maximum insured limit of N5 million - but the principle is that the customer is assured of a certain level of protection. The NDIC is a liquidator, with the mandate to look into the assets and liabilities of a failed bank. It also acts as some kind of moral and legal police. The high and mighty in Nigeria like to take loans from the banks, in fact many of them are habitual debtors – they borrow money and they insist that because of their position in society, they are entitled to borrow other people’s money and refuse to pay back. 

The NDIC has had cause to intervene in such cases in the past, collaborating with the Central Bank of Nigeria, to protect depositors. At the moment, to be precise since Friday, April 25, 2025, the NDIC began the disbursement of N46.6 billion as the first tranche of liquidation dividends to depositors of the defunct Heritage Bank, including funds exceeding the insured limit of N5 million. There are about 50 Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) currently in liquidation, 546 Microfinance banks, and 55 Primary Mortgage Banks. NDIC recovers assets, takes back loans and advances from debtors by deploying Debt Recovery Agents (DRAs) and assists depositors to realize their investments. Between January 2024 and February 2025, the NDIC has recovered over N35 billion in assets – risk assets, physical assets and investments. 

Those who patronize Ponzi schemes, overnight millionaire, money doubling, betting outfits do not have this kind of protection. There is a body called the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which regulates the capital market, but it looks like they are asleep for the most part in that agency and would seem helpless where Ponzi schemes such as CBEX are involved.  Regulatory and law enforcement agencies must be alive to their responsibilities to protect the common good. Their regulatory frameworks and the enabling Acts need to be reviewed. There is a sense in this latter regard that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can learn from the example of the NDIC. I mentioned that there was a devil in the operations of the NDIC, but what may appear as an improvement in that agency’s operations can be traced first to leadership, and second to the strengthening of the framework which grants NDIC a broader scope for operation, to wit - the enhancement of the asset recovery and powers of the agency by the NDIC Act of 2023. 

The Act was signed into law on May 26, 2023 by President Muhammadu Buhari basically as it were to strengthen the NDIC in the discharge of its mandate – one of the very few good things that Buhari did when he was alert enough to pay attention! The relevant amendments are in Sections 26 which deepens NDIC’s powers to set off debts, 27 which grants the agency powers to call up Bank Verification Numbers (BVN), 48 – on powers to foreclose legal or equitable mortgage where an obligor fails, and the power to take possession and foreclose or sell. Sections 57, 76 – powers to act as liquidator, Section 58 – appointment of Debt Recovery agents; Section 64 – powers to freeze assets of debtors, and 66 – power to track and trace assets and debtors.

The caveat must be added however that while a stronger legal framework can enhance the effectiveness of regulatory agencies and public institutions generally, leadership also matters. The best practice legal backing for an institution would yield no positive results if the leader of the agency does not function and the institution itself is not primed for success. Nigeria has been revising its electoral law since 1999, for example, virtually all the issues about representation, technology, process, verification, eligibility, procedure and collation of results have been debated, but two years to the next general elections, we are still on the same question of electoral reform. It is a reflection of the episodic, ad hoc, manner in which Nigeria functions that long after 2027, we would still have cause to ask for further reforms. The Nigerian professional political elite is not willing to change its colours. Leadership counts. But Nigerian politicians will always try to game and cheat the system. This is the DNA of Nigerian politics and it would never change. The personalities will change though. Every season, a new set of characters would show up at all levels, play their part, and as Shakespeare tells us, they would make their exits and entrances forever for good or ill. 

Nonetheless, our argument is focused on the need to give government agencies teeth to be able to fulfil their mandate. The NDIC has been strengthened, and its current leadership has been proactive in applying the laws to promote a stable financial system and provide guarantees for bank depositors as it collaborates in doing so with the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). There is an unresolved argument about whether or not there is an overlap in the functions of the NDIC and AMCON, but they seem to complement each other. Depositors and investors’ funds are too critical to be left in the throes of the kind of ambiguity that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been projecting. We may have very little sympathy for the people who lost money in the CBEX scheme, but I can understand the desperation of those who are looking for quick prosperity in a very religious country where persons are now being told by at least one Port Harcourt Pastor that the poor do not have a place in the Nigerian church, or with Jesus Christ, and the World Bank is saying that more people will become very poor very soon. Soon, a Nigerian rich man of today may find it very difficult to drive on the streets tomorrow, and that makes him poor within the context of what has been described as multi-dimensional poverty. The poor Nigerian who wants to patronize Ponzi schemes, gambling and betting haunts and dubious investments also needs to be protected. SEC should be strengthened. It needs a root canal to rescue its teeth. 

The speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has warned that wealthy individuals are turning political parties into personal investments, undermining the democratic process.

Speaking at a technical workshop on the Political Parties Bill (HB1862) in Abuja, Abbas highlighted the absence of ideological foundations in Nigerian political parties, describing them as vehicles for power control rather than democratic institutions.

The workshop, organised by Yiaga Africa and The Kukah Centre with funding from the European Union, focused on addressing gaps in political party regulation.

Represented by Hon Ishaya David Lalu, Abbas stressed that democracy cannot thrive without internal democratic processes for candidate selection.

“In Nigeria, political parties are not founded on any principle or ideology,” he said, noting that they often serve as platforms for power-sharing among elites rather than promoting public interest.

The proposed Political Parties Bill aims to enhance transparency and accountability by establishing an independent body to regulate party activities, including campaign financing.

Abbas argued that such measures would curb the influence of “moneybags” who hijack parties or impose candidates during elections.

He cited the United States’ Federal Election Commission and the United Kingdom’s Electoral Commission as models for effective regulation, contrasting them with Nigeria’s current system, where the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) lacks robust legislative backing to oversee party funding.

In his welcome remarks, Hon. Zakari Dauda Nyampa, chairman of the House Committee on Political Matters, echoed Abbas’ concerns, noting that unregulated primaries often lead to crises within parties.

“This bill is key to ensuring accountability, transparency, and proper regulation of political party funding,” he said, underscoring its importance for Nigeria’s evolving democracy.

In his goodwill message, Samson Itodo, executive director of Yiaga Africa, emphasised Nigeria’s strategic importance in African politics and warned that weak political parties undermine democracy.

“Our parties are built around individuals, not institutions, making them easily captured,” Itodo said, advocating for stronger systems to ensure ideological coherence and public participation.

Also at the event, Alhaji Yusuf Dantalle, national chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), called for greater public engagement with the bill, noting that it has yet to be uploaded online for scrutiny.

He stressed the need for stakeholders to thoroughly assess the legislation to ensure it reflects citizens’ aspirations. IPAC plans to convene a General Assembly to discuss the bill and present its position to the National Assembly.

On his part, Fr. Atta Barkindo, executive director of The Kukah Centre, described the bill as a timely opportunity to strengthen internal democracy and institutionalise overdue reforms.

“The quality of political party operations directly impacts the integrity of our elections,” he said.

A General Court Martial (GCM) sitting at the Headquarters of 82 Division of Nigerian Army in Enugu has sentenced a soldier, Private Adamu Mohammed to death by hanging for killing his girlfriend identified as Miss Hauwa Ali, in April 2024.

The military court also sentenced another soldier, Private Abubakar Yusuf to 10 years imprisonment for robbery.

A statement by the Acting Deputy Director 82 Division, Lt.-Col. Jonah Unuakhalu said the sentences followed due consideration for the offences of murder and robbery for which the soldiers stood trial.

The General Court Martial which composed of 11 members was inaugurated by the General Officer Commanding, 82 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Oluyemi Olatoye on February 18, 2025 to try erring personnel within the Division for various offences.

The President of the GCM, Brigadier General Sadisu Buhari, while delivering the judgment on the first accused, Private Adamu Mohammed, declared that he was found guilty of killing his girlfriend, Miss Ali, an offence punishable under Section 106 (a) of the Armed Forces Act, Cap A20 LFN 2004.

The judgement, which was unanimous, he explained, was arrived at after careful review of the facts before the court, the career and service record of the soldier, and the compassionate plea for mitigation presented by the accused and his counsel.

However, the Court noted that in the interest of societal decorum and justice for the deceased, the law had to be applied to its fullest.

“Given this, the GCM has determined that the accused soldier, 21NA/80/6365 Private Adamu Mohammed, is hereby sentenced to death by hanging for the charge of murder,” Brig.-Gen. Sadisu ruled.

Relatedly, the GCM equally sentenced another Private Yusuf to 10 years imprisonment for robbery at a mall within Enugu.

The Court stated that the panel found Private Yusuf guilty of robbery, punishable under Section 107(1)(b) of the Armed Forces Act, Cap A20 LFN 2004.

“Although the court attentively considered the plea in mitigation presented by the accused and his counsel for leniency, the law was applied to uphold societal decorum and protect the reputation of the army.

“However, due to the inability of the GCM to reach a unanimous decision required to impose the maximum mandatory punishment prescribed under Section 107(2) of the Armed Forces Act, Cap A20 LFN 2004, the GCM, relying on the provisions of Section 140 (3) of the Armed Forces Act, hereby sentences the accused soldier, 23NA/85/12116 Private Abubakar Yusuf to 10 years imprisonment,” Buhari said.

He emphasised that the findings and sentences pronounced for both soldiers remain subject to confirmation by the endorsing authority, marking the conclusion of their trials.

The Nigerian Army reassured the public of its unwavering commitment to upholding the highest standards of ethics and professional conduct in the discharge of its duties.

“While the wrong actions of a few do not reflect the values of the institution, swift and decisive measures are always taken to ensure accountability and justice,” he said.

He added that the Army remains dedicated to maintaining discipline within its ranks, protecting the integrity of its operations and fostering trust and confidence among the people.

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Johnson Asiama, has announced that the central bank is set to begin regulating cryptocurrency and related platforms by the end of September 2025.

Speaking at the African Leaders and Partners Forum, organized by the EBII Group during the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., Dr. Asiama explained that the move depends on the passage of the Virtual Asset Providers Act.

This legislation will enable the Bank of Ghana to license and regulate platforms and entities operating within the virtual asset space. 

“To enhance the regulation of these platforms and assets, the Bank of Ghana is establishing a dedicated unit focused on digital assets,” Dr. Asiama revealed.

“This is a technology we cannot prevent, hence the need to move fast to regulate it.”

The forum, which brought together stakeholders from finance, trade, and agriculture across Ghana, the U.S., Europe, and the Americas, aimed to explore strategies to improve trade and investment between Africa and the United States.

A Nigerian couple has been jailed in the United Kingdom after attempting to illegally bring an orphaned baby girl into the country using falsified documents.

Raphael Ossai and Oluwakemi Olasanoye were arrested at Manchester Airport, per a BBC report, after Border Force officers noticed unusual behavior between the pair and the infant they claimed as their own.

Initial checks revealed inconsistencies, prompting further investigation. 

Ossai presented a birth certificate listing Olasanoye as the mother, but officers later uncovered a second birth certificate hidden in the couple’s luggage, naming Ossai’s British wife as the child’s mother.

The incident triggered a complex inquiry into the child’s true identity, which remains unresolved. DNA testing later confirmed that Lucy—an alias given to the girl by authorities—is not biologically related to Ossai, Olasanoye, or Ossai’s British wife.

It was established that Lucy was born in rural Nigeria in September 2022 and placed in an orphanage days after her birth by a young student mother.

Ossai and Olasanoye pleaded guilty to immigration offences and were sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by deportation.

Throughout court proceedings, it emerged that Ossai and his wife had been seeking to adopt a child and had obtained permission to foster Lucy, but did not have the legal right to adopt her or remove her from Nigeria.

Social workers described signs of serious neglect during Lucy’s early months in the UK, noting that the child was emotionally withdrawn, underfed, and struggled to form secure attachments.

Although Ossai and his wife appealed to the High Court to be assessed as Lucy’s carers, citing concerns over her cultural identity if placed with white foster families, the court rejected their application.

Justice Sir Jonathan Cohen ruled that the couple’s deception and unlawful actions had caused Lucy “very significant emotional harm” and ordered that she be placed for adoption within the UK.

Lucy, who has been moved between multiple foster homes since her arrival, will be provided with information about her heritage as part of her upbringing.

The Nigerian High Commission was said not to have responded to repeated requests for assistance during the High Court proceedings, leaving questions about Lucy’s full background unanswered.

The Home Office declined to comment on the individuals’ deportation status but reiterated its commitment to removing foreign nationals who break the law.

…2027 will determine whether Nigeria ‘ll continue to sink under incompetence

…Why I disagreed with some things going on 

…I expected Tinubu to correct Buhari’s govt 

…Presidency isolated itself to be advised

…This administration lacks quality, competent hands

…Nigeria can’t survive under present leadership

Hakeem Baba-Ahmed recently resigned his appointment as Political Adviser to the President in the Vice President’s Office. The former Publicity Secretary of the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, who has been a critic and vocal voice against bad governance, in this interview, revealed that he never had a place in the Bola Tinubu administration.

He also speaks on the 2027 election, why Nigerians should not trust the drivers of the planned coalition and what is expected of Nigerians. Excerpts:

As a Political Adviser to Mr. President, in the office of the vice president, what were some your experiences? 

I did my job as best as I can when I worked with the Vice President.

I believed the administration could have used people like me better, we were never in the mainstream of policy design, policy implementation, policy monitoring, mitigation of aura, steps and errors, building bridges with the communities and more importantly giving advice consistent with my mandate which is to give advice on political matters, I don’t think the administration had enough interest in what we could do.

But to the degree that I was available and I was there, I did my best and at the the end, I found that I really had no place in the administration. Many things that I could have advised on were going on, it didn’t look like my advice was necessary and I also disagreed with many of the things that were going on and the best way to deal with this kind of thing is to leave. But I left, I expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve my country through the administration. I got to respect a lot of people in the government, forgive me if I don’t mention names. And ifI am also to be honest with you, I was disappointed that the administration has an opportunity to correct the ills and mistakes of the Buhari administration and it hasn’t, that’s all.

Can we know some of the pieces of advice that you gave to the government as political Adviser that were ignored?

No, maybe perhaps you read my open letter to the President wrongly. I never said I gave advice which were ignored. I said those who were involved in advising government or implementing the policies of the government were not of the calibre and the quality that an administration like President Tinubu’s, which was dealing with a very bad inheritance and which faced a lot of challenges which has created its own challenges, should have.

It wasn’t formed by the realities on the ground and he (Tinubu) and the presidency itself was isolated to be available to be advised, I think that was the point I made.

What are the areas you think that if the government takes positive steps to address will improve the lives of the citizenry?

I think they need to review their entire mandate, they should look at Nigeria as it is now and not just simply push out press releases and press statements.

They are spending a huge amount of energy celebrating, getting people who have brought the country to its knees to now join them. If this government thinks that getting defectors from parties that have failed the country, people, who have failed the country who are now looking for refuge and getting them to join their party, they are making a terrible mistake.

The future doesn’t look healthy with the APC which is overburdened by its own liabilities as well as the liability from other parties. They should look at where they are now. They still have two years, they can work very hard but the most important advice I gave in my open letter is that President Tinubu should work very hard to address the current challenges, to find younger people, more energetic people, people with the vision to fix the country.

People who recognise the fact that the future belongs to them and assure them. And then create a generation of politicians that will take over from him and people like him who just live in a small room called APC. All these huge number of people who have questions to answer on the way they run this country, have no business asking us to trust them again. They should look for younger people, people with more experience, people with more knowledge, people with the vision and passion to fix Nigeria. Those are the people I think President Tinubu should encourage his party to entrust the responsibilities .

As a seasoned politician are you ready to join the coalition so that the country will perhaps get it right?

Let me correct you, I am not a seasoned politician, I have been a public servant, what other people call as a technocrat virtually all my life. I have also been a critic of poor and bad administration. I am not interested in joining any coalition of people who have wrecked the country and who are looking for refuge and other opportunities to continue to do what they were doing before, I am not interested in that kind of politics.

Nigerians bear the brunt of any good or bad government, as the 2027 election draws near, what is your advice to them?

I will tell them to open their eyes and be very careful. 2027 will be a very, very important and decisive election. It will determine whether we will continue to sink under the incompetence and indifference of the last 12 years, eight years of Buhari and now four years of Tinubu, or we want to recreate Nigeria and re-engineer it so that it can address the problems of insecurity and poverty and deterioration of inter community relationship.

Nigeria can survive and can overcome its problems but it certainly cannot do so under the present leadership or the kind of coalitions of all these politicians who are desperately clinging to power, making it to appear as if the future belongs only to them. The future belongs to Nigerians. Nigerians should be very careful, they should not be carried away by all this business of North and South, ethnicity and religion. Everybody is a victim of the same problem created by the same people who are now asking us to trust them, they should not trust them.

At least 14 dead bodies of mourners were recovered, with others sustaining gunshot injuries, when suspected members of the dreaded Boko Haram terrorists invaded Kopl village, Chibok local government area of Borno state. 

The incident is coming barely 24 hours after dozens of motorists and passengers were killed along the Gamboru Ngala -Kala Balge road after stumbling on an Improvised Explosive device, IEDs planted by terrorists, with others sustaining serious injuries. 

Initially, the Chairman of Chibok local government area, Hon. Modu Mustapha, told Vanguard Yesterday (Monday) that 7 people were confirmed dead, while search and rescue ongoing. But in a telephone call on Tuesday morning said, 14 dead bodies had been found so far, with a fear of more.

“I called you to inform you that the Kopl attack on mourners by Boko Haram terrorists is very devastating, because, as at this morning, 14 dead bodies were recovered.

“The terrorists also set ablaze a Church and over 10 residential houses. The entire community is Displaced without confrontation from security agencies.

The latest Chibok community incident in Kopl took place at about 6:pm on Monday when armed terrorists descended on some mourners who were gathered for a final day prayer of one of their loved one who died last week.

Many of the victims who sustained injuries in the attack were evacuated to Mubi General Hospital in nearby Adamawa state for treatment.

Responding to the renewed escalating attacks, especially in Southern Borno Senatorial District, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume described the situation as pathetic and beyond human imagination.

He added that, even yesterday, he received a distress call that over 10 members of vigilantes were killed in a community between Hawul local government area of Borno state and Garkida town in Adamawa state. 

” My people are into severe casualties with no confrontation almost on daily basis. In the last one month, over hundred were killed in several and coordinated attacks in Sabon Gari, Izge, Kirawa, Pulka, Damboa, Chibok, Askira Uba and too numerous to mention”. Ndume lamented.

…More govs ‘ll move — Oborevwori; Our decision for the good of Deltans — Okowa

…Defection of high-profile politicians, govs widely exaggerated, has no electoral value — El-Rufai

AS the defection from Delta State, one of the traditional strongholds of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, continues to stir debates in the polity, President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, said a political tsunami which saw Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his predecessor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, and the PDP structure defect to the All Progressives Congress, APC, has never happened in the country.

He spoke on a day former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, dismissed the relevance of high-profile defection of politicians, describing same as widely exaggerated and doesn’t add any electoral value.

Tinubu’s declaration came at the official defection of Governor Oborevwori and other PDP members in the state to the APC held at the Cenotaph in Asaba, Delta State.

The defections of Oborevwori, Okowa and other major PDP stakeholders ended the almost 26-year reign of the party in the state.

Among those present to receive the decampees were Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who represented the President; National Chairman of the APC, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje; Governors Hope Uzodinma (Imo), Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), Bassey Otu (Cross-River), Monday Okphebholo (Edo), Ahmed Ododo (Kogi), Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara), Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Dikko Radda (Kastina) and Mohammed Yahaya (Gombe).

Also present were former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege; Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Olorogun Festus Keyamo; Senators Ned Nwoko, Joel Onowakpo-Thomas and Ede Dafinone, among others.

Addressing the crowd, Tinubu said: “What can be greater than the promise of this day? This is a political tsunami of unimaginable proportions that has never happened in the history of the South-South and this country.

“A political tsunami of this proportion, where all the members of the upper chamber of the National Assembly are in the APC, has never happened.

“So many members of the House of Representatives, the governor, his entire cabinet and 500 councillors across the 25 local government areas of this great state. What testimony do you have greater than this?

“The true measure of a political party lies not merely in the industry, the very name of its members, but in the conviction. It is, in fact, among those who once stood across from them.

“This vindication is even more fundamental when those who once saw us as outsiders and opponents crossed the lines of difference to become part of the enduring family we have built. “

He commended the immediate past governor of the state, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, for the “wonderful” relationship that existed between him and his successor, describing him as a great leader.

More govs’ll move — Oborevwori

While justifying his movement to the APC, Governor Oborevwori said the movement was not only for them in Delta State.
Oborevwori, who was quick to add that other opposition governors will soon join the APC, said: “It is a statement and I believe that other governors will join. It is a movement and when you have a movement, you cannot fail.

“This is Delta State; Delta cannot carry last. We have been in opposition for almost 10 years; do we need that? Mr. President has supported us, he has shown us love; we cannot face him in 2027 and work against him.

“That love that he has shown to us in Delta State, we must reciprocate. We cannot do that in our old party, we have to be inside to do it and do it well.”

The governor also doused speculations that the APC in Delta State was factionalised.

“I want to assure our national chairman because there are things people say in the newspapers, that there is confusion and faction. As I have come, there will be no more faction again.

“Let me tell you, APC is not like PDP. Let me tell you, the governor takes charge and we are taking charge. Whether the faction of Ovie Omo-Agege or that of Festus Keyamo, I don’t believe in any faction.

‘’Everybody must queue and unite to move the state forward for the benefit of the state and bring development and peace to Delta State and Nigeria.”

Our decision was for good of Deltans — Okowa

In his remarks, immediate past governor of the state, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, said their decision to dump the PDP for APC is for the common good of the people.

He explained that his defection to the APC was motivated by the desire to connect the state to the seat of power in Abuja.

Okowa said: “When the news broke on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, that we have decided to change our path, people wondered why.

“One thing is very important in the history of a people; there is always a time to change their path for the common good of the people and whatever decision we took was based on that common good and the need to change our path in the interest of the state.

“As I did tell people on that day, it was not about me; it was not about the governor but the fact that there is need for us to connect to Abuja. That goodwill that we see in Abuja to which Delta State is a large contributor, there is a need to connect to it.”

It’s a political legacy —Ganduje

Receiving the governor and other decampees into the APC fold, the National Chairman of the party, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, while describing the occasion as a historic one, said: “This occasion today is a political legacy laid by the governor of Delta State.

“I thank President Tinubu for providing good leadership in Nigeria that has greatly added value to our dear party, the APC. This added value is attracting other political parties to be attracted to our great party.

“Our core value in the APC is progressive leadership, and coincidentally, from what we are seeing on the ground in respect of your programmes and projects, you are a progressive governor, so we are welcoming you for coming home.”

Earlier in his remarks, Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Governor Hope Uzodimma, commended Oborevwori for the infrastructural development of the state, saying that what the APC is known for what the governor is already doing in Delta State.

Ogboru welcomes decampees to APC

On his part, the 2019 governorship candidate of the APC, Chief Great Ogboru, welcomed the decampers, describing it as a historic move not only for APC but also for the state.

Ogboru, in a statement, said the decision of the governor and others to defect to APC signified a turning point in Delta State’s political history.

He said; “I welcome Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, former governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, and other political heavyweights of PDP to Delta APC.

“This is a defining moment for Delta State and Nigeria. It signifies a turning point in our state’s political history because Oborevwori’s decision will further reunite our people and fasten development and progressive governance in the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.

“With Delta State aligning with the party at the centre, it is certain that a new chapter has been set for greater collaboration, impactful governance and a more inclusive political process.

‘’This synergy between the federal government and Delta State will ensure significant benefits to our people in Delta State in terms of infrastructure and human capital development.

“Together, we will build the Delta State of our dreams and write a new chapter in Delta State’s political history. Together, we shall steer the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu to greater heights. Together, we will work tirelessly to achieve greatness for Delta State and Nigeria.”

Defection of high profile politicians, govs widely exaggerated, has no electoral value — El-Rufai

Meanwhile, former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has described the recent defection of high profile politicians in the country as widely exaggerated and doesn’t add any electoral value.

El-Rufai, who stated in an interview with newsmen in Kano State yesterday, said the defection of a high profile politician or governor doesn’t determine election results.

He said: “As far as I’m concerned, the defection of high profile politicians is not the issue. These high level defections are widely exaggerated. It’s good for headlines. It’s good to sell your media.

“But on the ground politically, if you don’t have the people, you can have as high a profile as possible. You are nothing.

“We want to return politics to the people, not to godfathers, not to high profile politicians. We want to return politics and political decision making to the people that have the vote. That’s the objective of the SDP.

“The fact that one governor from PDP has defected and so on, it’s nothing. We are not looking at governors, we are trying to offer Nigeria and Nigerian voters an alternative.

“A governor has only one vote. Nigerians have many more votes than one governor or 36 governors. It doesn’t matter if you collect 36 governors, if the people of Nigeria say we are not with you, it’s over.

“The president had a sitting governor and he lost Lagos. So what is the value of a governor? I was the governor of Kaduna State, I fought hard to deliver the president in my state, but I lost.

“Governors don’t determine election results, the people do. This is what many Nigerians forget.’’

The two-term former governor, however, said he joined the Social Democratic Party, SDP because of its potential to provide credible alternative to the APC, and People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

He said both parties had been pocketed by some persons and also ravaged by crisis but noted that Nigerians are yearning for something different.

“I believe very strongly that the SDP provides the potential to recreate a major political party. But with the support of some of the opposition groups, we will not get all. But most importantly, the people of Nigeria need a credible alternative.

‘’I use the phrase credible alternative very, very carefully because PDP had run the country for 16 years. Nigerians know what it is, even though it’s a long time. Many may have forgotten. APC has run the country for 10 years. And most people want something different. Most people want a new brand of politics, a new style of governance, and new faces.

“I believe SDP can be the party that gives that alternative to Nigerians, a party that is not controlled by anyone, that is not pocketed by anyone, a party that will provide a level playing field to any person who wants to aspire for leadership, either in the party or in the government. Okay?

‘’What has destroyed political parties in Nigeria is lack of internal democracy and godfatherism. We want to eliminate that in SDP.

“The APC started well but has ended up being pocketed by one or two people. We want to avoid that. So we want a party that no one owns, that no one controls. And the SDP has that pedigree and history.

“If all the major opposition groups go into that party as equal partners and invite Nigerians that want real change to join the party, and we have different rules of engagement, no godfathers, no impositions, competition for every position, I think we will give Nigerians an opportunity to join a party they can claim is their own, not somebody’s own,” El-Rufai stated.

El-Rufai, who was also former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, said they were currently at the point of building the party, adding that the target is to woo and register three million electorates in Kano State.

Some children of the legendary juju musician, Sunday Adegeye, aka King Sunny Ade, are currently at loggerheads over his well-being and whereabouts.

A daughter of the singer and guitarist, Damilola Esther, took to social media to accuse her step-brother, Dayo, of holding their father hostage, and also booking him for events without honouring the engagements.

In a series of social media posts, she also called for her brother, who she referred to as his manager, to be apprehended for “stealing” from KSA.

One of the posts read, “Dad told my brother that he wants to go home. Where is he? Where are his phones? He has not been online or picking his calls. Where is he?” 

Another one read, “I want Dayo (manager) apprehended. I want him to provide all the money they have been stealing from him. He has a UK visa, thinking he can run.”

However, in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, Dayo said their father was hale and hearty.

He maintained that he was not the father’s “official manager” but was only helping out his dad in that regard.

He said, “The allegation is false. On Saturday (April 26, 2025), my dad performed at the 60th birthday party of a fan. The event took place at 16 Musa Yar’Adua Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. He still had rehearsals with members of his band last week. He will perform in Akure (Ondo State capital) on May 1.

“She (Damilola) is not in the right frame of mind for her to have made those posts. On Easter Sunday, she called me and said she wanted to speak with dad, because she doesn’t live in Nigeria. I gave the phone to my dad, and they spoke for about 30 minutes. I then told her that if she wanted to see him, she could come to Nigeria.

“The moment she started making nasty comments about dad, she crossed the line. You cannot speak ill of my father and expect me to still reckon with you, no matter who you are. Even my mother wouldn’t do that. Why would you (Damilola) go on social media and call daddy names?”

Dayo also stated that KSA would release a statement to clear the air and put things in perspective.

 “Kindly ignore all she has said. KSA will release a statement on social media within 24 hours.  And if you are free, you can join him in Akure for his performance on May 1. He will be glad to have an interaction with you, and answer questions on what you have heard on social media about him,” he said.

Clarifying that he was not KSA’s manager but was only “helping out” in the absence of one, Dayo told our correspondent, “I am not an official manager. I just assist my father. I have my businesses. As I explained to her (Damilola), I don’t have any employment letter, and I am not on the payroll.

“I am just helping my dad, like the Scripture commands. This arrangement was not even planned but was necessitated by some developments. He (KSA) asked me to help him handle certain things, pending the time he gets someone in that position. And, he feels extremely comfortable with what I have been doing, and he said I should continue doing it.

“This is like paying him back for all the things he has done for me. One of the things he loves the most is going on stage to perform, and that is what he has been doing for the past 59 years. We cannot just ask him to stop doing that.”

Another son of the iconic musician, David, asserted that Damilola was making things up.

In a separate interview with our correspondent, he said, “As I’m speaking with you, daddy is fine. He is not working under duress. He just finished an event. I can tell you with proof and evidences that he is fine.”

David also noted that he was ready to volunteer more information to prove that their daddy was fine, and there was no cause for alarm.

However, a respected journalist, Olawale Olaleye, claimed that KSA was no longer accessible to people who used to be in contact with him.

In a social media post, he noted that Damilola reached out to him with the claim that something sinister was going on with her dad, and that he was not reachable.

He stated that another associate reached out to him and asked for his help in getting across to KSA to book him for an event.

According to Olaleye, he tried different means of getting across to KSA but all were to no avail.

He added, “Curiously, everyone who could reach KSA at a dial could not anymore. And at that point, I gave up and continued with my life of hustling…”