British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday set July 4 as the date for a national election that will determine who governs the U.K., choosing a day of good economic news to urge voters to give his governing Conservatives another chance.

“Now is the moment for Britain to choose its future,” Sunak said as he stood in heavy rain outside the prime minister’s residence.

Sunak’s center-right party has seen its support dwindle steadily after 14 years in power. It has struggled to overcome a series of crises including an economic slump, ethics scandals and a revolving door of leaders in the past two years.

The center-left Labour Party is strongly favored to defeat Sunak’s party.

The prime minister’s announcement was nearly drowned out by protesters blasting “Things Can Only Get Better,” a Labour campaign song from the Tony Blair era.

Bookies and pollsters rank Sunak as a long shot to stay in power. But he said he would “fight for every vote.”

Sunak stressed his credentials as the leader who saved millions of jobs with support payments during the COVID-19 pandemic and got the economy under control. He said the election would be about “how and who you trust to turn that foundation into a secure future.”

The election will be held against the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis and deep divisions over how to deal with migrants and asylum seekers making risky English Channel crossings from Europe.

The announcement came the same day official figures showed inflation in the U.K. had fallen sharply to 2.3%, its lowest level in nearly three years on the back of big declines in domestic bills.

The drop in April marks the greatest progress to date on five pledges Sunak made in January 2023, including halving inflation, which had climbed to above 11% at the end of 2022. Sunak hailed the new figure as a sign his plan was working.

“Today marks a major moment for the economy, with inflation back to normal,” Sunak said Wednesday ahead of the election announcement. “Brighter days are ahead, but only if we stick to the plan to improve economic security and opportunity for everyone.”

Voters across the United Kingdom will choose all 650 members of the House of Commons for a term of up to five years. The party that commands a majority in the Commons, either alone or in coalition, will form the next government and its leader will be prime minister.

Labour leader Keir Starmer, a former chief prosecutor for England and Wales, is the current favorite. The party’s momentum has built since it dealt the Conservatives heavy losses in local elections earlier this month.

The Conservatives have also lost a series of special elections for seats in Parliament this year, and two of its lawmakers recently defected to Labour.

Following on his party’s successes in the local elections, Starmer, 61, last week announced a platform focused on economic stability after years of soaring inflation as he tries to win over disillusioned voters.

He also pledged to improve border security, recruit more teachers and police and reduce lengthy waiting lists at hospitals and doctors′ clinics across the country.

Elections in the U.K. have to be held no more than five years apart, but the prime minister can choose the timing within that period. Sunak, 44, had until December to call an election. The last one was in December 2019.

Many political analysts had anticipated that a fall election would give Conservatives a better chance of maintaining power. That’s because economic conditions may improve further, voters could feel the effect of recent tax cuts, interest rates may come down and a controversial plan to deport some asylum-seekers to Rwanda — a key policy for Sunak — could take flight.

Sunak had been noncommittal about the election date, repeatedly saying — as late as lunchtime on Wednesday — that he expected it would be in the second half of the year.

Although inflation has fallen, Sunak’s other promises — to grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists to see a doctor at the state-run National Health Service and stop the influx of migrants crossing the English Channel — have seen less success.

He has struggled after entering office following the disastrous tenure of Liz Truss, who lasted only 49 days after her economic policies rocked financial markets. Truss had been chosen by party members after Boris Johnson was ousted over a series of ethics scandals.

NEWSNOW

A former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor (retd.), has backed the military for shutting down Banex Plaza in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, over the recent attack on some soldiers by hoodlums.

The former military boss said the plaza should remain closed until those who attacked the soldiers are arrested and brought to justice.

The retired general explained that an attack on any uniformed man remains an attack on the state and as such, Nigerians must condemn the act.

Speaking on Arise TV on Tuesday night, the former military boss said the soldiers would have been lynched if not for the swift intervention of policemen. 

He said, “As a Nigerian who has served in the armed forces, of course, retired now, and at the level I did, it would be inappropriate if I see what is going wrong and I could not talk about it. So, from that context, I would say the Bannex Plaza attack is a sad one. Sad one in the sense that when you see soldiers in uniform, whether armed or not, you raise your hands against that individual. Besides being a soldier, for any uniformed person, as long as he is an agent of the state, any attack on him is an attack on the state.

“As so, every Nigerian of goodwill must condemn such act. As for me, I join to support the closure of the plaza for as long as it takes to have everyone responsible for that dastardly act to be brought to justice. This is because if we fail to do so, then we’ll be calling for anarchy.

“The only men who are sacrificing their lives to ensure our collective goods are men of the armed forces, police, and other security agencies. And on a slight provocation, they are now attacked and if not for the policemen and other private individuals who rescued the soldiers, then we would have witnessed Okuoma II which of course, does not speak good of us.”

He, however, added that Nigerians should be sensitised on the sacrifice being made by the armed forces and why there should be a mutual understanding between the military and the populace.

“In setting agenda for this discussion, it must be to the extent that the populace should be made to understand the place of national security and the responsibility of each and every one of us in preserving the sanctity that seeks to make us live in a very good environment,” Irabor said.

The PUNCH reports that the Army shut down the plaza following an attack on some soldiers last weekend, which they claimed was carried out by a group of hoodlums.

The Army, in its defence, said it temporarily shut down activities in the plaza “to ensure that the hoodlums who have been using the Banex neighborhood as a sanctuary to pose a security threat to the Federal Capital Territory were apprehended.”

It added that it had also commenced an investigation to prevent “such unwarranted attacks on our personnel and other security operatives, as has been observed in other areas, such as the unfortunate attack in Okuama.”

[Punch]

…FG adamant of N54,000, Private sector makes N57,000

IN a bid to shift ground so as to ensure speedy conclusion of negotiation on new national Minimum Wage, the Organised Labour at the ongoing Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage meeting has reduced its demand from N615,000 to N500,000.

A source at the meeting told Vanguard that the government team is adamant about N54,000, complaining of non-availability of fund and the inability of the private sector to pay.

But the private sector has made additional N3,00 taking up its offer to N57,000 from the initial N54,000.

According to the source, “Government has agreed that NLC is using evidence-based presentation. But they argue that eight states are not paying or not fully implementing the 2019 minimum wage.”

The source further said, “Government is talking of non-availability of fund. They are also talking about the inability of the private sector to pay.”

On Labour shifting of ground by the organised labour, the source said, “Labour has been requested to shift in response to the Government. They complied and came down to N500,000.”

He said that the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma was present at the meeting.

“”The Imo State Governor has stepped in. He is not a member of the committee but it is good that there is at least a governor, as the six governors in the committee have been regularly absent.”

[Vanguard]

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says Africa needs a form of “contextual democracy” that considers the past experiences of Africans and their heritage.

Obasanjo spoke in Abuja on Wednesday at a summit on the state of democracy in Africa.

The summit was organised by the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation in partnership with the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library.

The former president, who was the keynote speaker at the summit, said democracy in Africa is breeding dictatorial tendencies and disregard for the interests of the majority.

Obasanjo argued that democracy is not a “static phenomenon,” noting that there is a need to rethink the system to reflect the historical and cultural realities of the continent.

He said Western liberal democracy cannot resolve the governance challenge on the continent.

“Africa’s past and current attempts at democratic governance prove that Western liberal democracy, lock, stock, and barrel, cannot resolve Africa’s governance challenge,” Obasanjo said.

“There is a great need to conceptualise a democracy that adapts to Africa’s historical, cultural, and current realities; a modality that works for African people.

“Perhaps the first step in achieving this is to prevent the privatisation or capturing of the state by our power elites.

“Yes, liberal democracy prescribes elections, but what difference does it make when the power elite rigs the electoral process through policies that make it impossible for the people to choose wisely even in a free and fair election?

“In Nigeria, as in many African countries, money has taken centre stage in elections such that even if elections are free and fair, voters will consider and choose candidates that guarantee their ‘stomach infrastructure’ over and above their more competent choices.”

The former president added that a form of democracy that places “more value on the electoral process than on the end product of the process” cannot be the only option for Africa.

“In all these, we must put our heads together, Africans and non-Africans alike, to devise a form of contextual democracy that will take account of our past experiences and the experiences of others to get a system that is sufficiently democratic, efficient, effective, make use of best within the community and society, leaving nobody out and that will deliver fast to all without exception.

“As we rethink the application of Western liberal democratic models to our continent, let us do so with humility, wisdom, and an unwavering commitment to the welfare of our people.

“We must learn from the successes and failures of others while crafting a uniquely African path to democracy that honours our rich heritage and meets the aspirations of our citizens.”

Obasanjo was elected president of Nigeria in 1999 after the country returned to democratic rule from the military regime.

In the last few months, Obasanjo has been calling for a rethink of the Western form of democracy, which is being practised in many African countries.

[TheCable]

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Engr. Chukwuemeka Woke as the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA).

Furthermore, the President has approved the appointment of Dr. Adedeji Ashiru as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority (OORBDA).

Engr. Woke, besides being an engineer, is an environmental specialist and politician. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical/Petrochemical Engineering, and had served under the Environmental, Safety, and Operations Departments of the then Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

He was Chairman of Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State and Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt, for many years.

Dr. Ashiru holds a Doctorate degree in Engineering from the Common Wealth University, UK, and has led a consortium of blue-chip companies, in addition to earning many stripes in his professional endeavour.

The President expects the new Chief Executive Officers to deploy their competencies to these critical agencies for sustainable gains and turnaround, while maintaining utmost transparency in their operations.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

Crude oil theft in the Niger-Delta region has been a long-standing and challenging issue in Nigeria, leading to significant economic losses and environmental damage and degradation. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that revenues from oil are largely responsible for funding the entire country’s budget and development. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to address such problems and challenges in other developed climes, and should be of interest to the Nigerian petroleum industry , if it intends to seriously address the long standing menace of crude oil theft, which seems to have defied solutions of past governments. This article explores and supports how the current government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu could guide the industry to leverage AI technologies in tackling this festering crude oil theft effectively.

Nigeria is one of the largest oil-producing countries in Africa, with the Niger-Delta region being the heartbeat of its oil industry. However, the region has been plagued by pervasive crude oil theft for many years, with criminal syndicates siphoning millions of barrels of oil annually. This rampant theft not only leads to massive economic losses and deprivation for the Nigerian government and oil companies but also causes severe environmental damage.

AI analysts have commented on the massive deployment of the nascent technology in multi-sector industries across the world, and highlighting how the race of the deployment of AI in all aspects of production is disrupting technology while spending billions of dollars on AI Research and Development.

Although there is a dearth of the infrastructure such as power and water to support the efficient adoption of AI in Nigeria, but it is still imperative that the public, private sectors and the education institutions should collaborate on the effective adoption of AI and the supporting infrastructure put in place would that go along with it in Nigeria, in order to make the AI initiative realizable in ensuring that it curbs the loss of revenue accruing to the country.

For the government to seriously embark on putting a permanent end to this organized criminality of crude oil theft in Nigeria, it must as a matter of urgency consider the use of AI through some of the following mechanisms which the use of AI can enhance, such as detailed here under:

Monitoring and Surveillance: AI-powered drones and satellite imaging can be used to monitor oil pipelines and detect any anomalies or unauthorized activities in real-time. By analyzing the data collected by these technologies, authorities can identify potential theft hotspots and take proactive measures to prevent it.

Predictive Analytics: AI algorithms can analyze historical data on oil theft incidents, weather patterns, and social factors to predict future theft activities. By leveraging predictive analytics, law enforcement agencies can deploy resources more effectively and deter potential thieves before they strike.

Enhanced Security Systems: AI can be used to develop sophisticated security systems that can detect and track suspicious activities around oil installations. For example, facial recognition technology can help identify known criminals, while smart sensors can alert authorities to any unauthorized access to restricted areas.

Collaboration with Tech Companies: Nigeria can partner with local and international tech companies, some of whom participated in the recent National Artificial Intelligence Strategy session for Nigeria, that specialize in AI and cybersecurity to develop customized solutions for combating oil theft in the Niger-Delta region. By leveraging the expertise of these companies, Nigeria can stay ahead of sophisticated criminal networks and protect its oil resources more effectively.

Some of these technologies are not in any way a reinvention of the wheel, or blazing new trails. They are not new, but are already being used effectively in other oil producing countries like, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and the USA.

In Mexico, AI-powered drones have been used to monitor oil pipelines and detect illegal tapping, leading to a significant reduction in oil theft incidents.
The United States Coast Guard has employed AI algorithms to analyze maritime data and predict potential oil theft activities, allowing them to deploy resources more efficiently and combat illegal oil smuggling.

Saudi Arabia, as one of the largest oil-producing countries in the world, employs a variety of technologies and strategies to monitor its crude oil production effectively. The country has a sophisticated monitoring system in place to ensure the smooth operation of its oil fields and to prevent any disruptions or unauthorized activities. Here are some of the key methods Saudi Arabia uses to monitor its crude oil production:

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Systems: Saudi Arabia utilizes SCADA systems to monitor and control its oil production facilities in real-time. These systems collect data from various sensors and equipment across oil fields and pipelines, allowing operators to monitor production levels, detect any abnormalities, and respond promptly to any issues that may arise.

Remote Sensing Technologies: Saudi Arabia leverages remote sensing technologies, such as satellite imaging and drones, to monitor its oil fields and infrastructure from a distance. These technologies enable authorities to conduct regular inspections, detect any leaks or unauthorized activities, and ensure the security of oil production facilities.

Reservoir Monitoring: Saudi Arabia employs advanced reservoir monitoring techniques, such as downhole sensors and well logging tools, to assess the performance of its oil reservoirs and optimize production processes. By continuously monitoring reservoir conditions, Saudi Arabia can make informed decisions to maximize oil recovery and extend the lifespan of its oil fields.

Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence: Saudi Arabia has also started incorporating data analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) into its oil production monitoring efforts. By analyzing large volumes of data generated from production operations, Saudi Arabia can identify trends, predict equipment failures, and optimize production processes to enhance efficiency and reduce costs.

If there is a serious and deliberate commitment and the willingness to invest in the enumerated AI strategies highlighted above, Nigeria would have the unique opportunity to leverage AI to tackle crude oil theft in the Niger-Delta region effectively. It is also important to mention here that the insecurity in the region should also be addressed at the same time. Furthermore, by investing in AI technologies, enhancing surveillance and security systems, and fostering collaboration with tech companies, as earlier stated, Nigeria can protect its oil installations, resources, and effectively promote sustainable development in the entire country and meet its OPEC quota, which it has not been able to achieve in a long time.

Sonny Iroche is in Post Graduate Studies in Artificial Intelligence for Business at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, England, and was one of the participants in the recent Nigeria National Artificial Intelligence Strategy Workshop organized by the Federal Government of Nigeria, in Abuja, April 15-18, 2024

President Bola Tinubu will on Thursday, May 23, depart Abuja for N'Djamena, the Republic of Chad, to attend the inauguration of President Mahamat Déby.

The inauguration of President Déby follows his declaration as the winner of the country's presidential election earlier this month and subsequent affirmation by the Constitutional Court of Chad.

President Tinubu will be accompanied on the trip by senior government officials and will return after the ceremony.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

There is calm these days at the corporate headquarters of NDDC, the 24-year-old interventionist agency established by the Federal Government to fix developmental gaps in the Niger Delta region. The 13-storey edifice, commissioned in 2021, breaks into view as you turn into Eastern bypass in Port Harcourt. Inside, executives are hard at work on the 2025 budget and completing ongoing projects. The rest of the workers are no less busy.

The tranquility is a far cry from the brouhaha that enveloped the commission three years ago in the wake of the forensic audit ordered by the Buhari administration into its affairs. A new management team, headed by Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, seems well determined to leave the ugly past behind. For two weeks beginning Saturday, May 18, NDDC will commission 92 high-impact infrastructure projects executed at over N84 billion across the nine states. They include roads, bridges water, electricity, electrification, a police station, health centres and school blocks.

Among the projects is the 25.7-kilometre Ogbia-Nembe Road, which has created a road link to the ancient city of Nembe in Bayelsa State, for the first time in living memory. It includes 9.15 km of pre-fabricated vertical drains on the swamp and seven bridges. Executed at a cost of N24 billion, the road cuts the travel time to Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital from 3 hours on dangerous water routes to a mere 45 minutes. It also opens up 14 communities for development. The project was executed in partnership with Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), and is regarded as a model of the commission’s partnership approach in tackling the challenges of the region.

Also slated for commissioning is the 132KV Transmission Line and I32KV/33KV Substation electrification project, executed at a cost of N8.3 billion to optimize power supply to five local government areas in the southern part of Ondo State. The project covers the construction of 45km double circuit 33KV feeder lines from Omotosho Power Station (Hook-up point) to Okitipupa and two 30MVA, 132/33KV Injection Substations with breakers, gantry and substation automation. It also includes the construction of a three-bedroom semi-detached bungalow as service quarters.

The capacity of this power station is optimized with the provision of 2 x 60MVA, 132/33KV transformer and other ancillary works at Okitipupa Injection Substation, rehabilitation of 35km 33/11KV transmission from Okitipupa-Igbokoda-Ugbonla and environs and the construction of 1km rigid pavement. The electricity project will complement the Federal Government’s effort in the power sector by improving power supply to Okitipupa, Igbokoda and about 2,000 neighbouring communities in Ondo South Senatorial District with direct value chain in small and medium scale industries, job creation and consequently engender growth and development in Ondo State.

NDDC’s executive director in charge of projects, Victor Antai, sounded ecstatic when I spoke with him early Saturday morning. It is his brief to deliver on all the projects undertaken by the agency. And so, for five months since late last year, Antai has been touring the nine NDDC states, inspecting projects and ensuring that contractors are up and doing. He told me: ‘’As you know, I have been on the road, inspecting these projects, meeting with contractors and the communities, just to ensure that every project is delivered on time. It is the decision of the executive management to deliver dividends to our people.”

Before he assumed duties in November, Antai has been a businessman, a Local Government chairman and a commissioner in Akwa Ibom government. To his folks, he is known for his simplicity, affability and generosity. Unlike many ‘big men’ in public service, Antai has no airs and does not encourage partisan divisions and ethnic bigotry. So, I asked him, among all the 92 projects, which one do you have for Akwa Ibom state?

In Akwa Ibom State, NDDC will commission the 6.87-kilometre Iko-Iwuochang road in Ibeno LGA the southern part of the state. The road project consists of two-lane single carriage way, a 600-metre bridge and side drains. The N10 billion virgin road project links 20 communities, hitherto separated by the Qua Iboe River. Three years ago, NDDC completed and commissioned a 1005-student hostel at the University of Uyo. I attended the event. In Abia State, NDDC will commission the Obehie to Oke Ikpe-road reconstructed at a cost of N3.5 billion. The nine-kilometre road restores the road link between Rivers and Akwa Ibom states, through Abia (Ukwa East/West). It involved the reconstruction of seven kilometres of failed section of the road and the construction of drainage.

It is commendable that Dr. Ogbuku and his team are completing and commissioning these projects, many of which were started by previous managements. It is indeed pleasng that he has not fallen into the temptation to abandon them and start news ones as it has often been the case in public service. Said the chief executive: ‘’The most compelling need in completing and commissioning these projects is to put them for use in the communities and help in renewing hope in the people in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.”

It is also important that the NDDC is now generating more good news than the negative ones. I was in the center of the fight in 2021 during the forensic audit controversies, defending the commission in the media. It is my pleasure to report on the calm and the progress that we now have.

ETIM is a former media consultant to the NDDC

What is politics? According to Professor Harold Lasswell, politics is “who gets what, when, how”. In other words, politics is basically about the allocation of resources. Resources are scare but needs are many, far more than available resources can cope with at any point in time. In economic terms, demand outstrips supply; so, some needs will be met while others will be denied or postponed.

The main duty of the government is to allocate resources: How much will be allocated to defence, to education, to the provision of infrastructure, to energy supply, etc. Will salaries and pensions be paid as when due, will there be training, for what category of officers and at what cost? Will there be a salary review, when and what quantum of increment?

In deciding “who gets what, when (and) how”, those who make the decision set priorities, using differing parameters: national interest; interest of the poor and downtrodden; their own selfish and personal interests; primordial interests such as ethnicity, religion, social status or stratification; political considerations, among others. So, often, the closer you are to those in power, the greater or better your chances of getting values allocated to you or your interests.

Those in the corridors of power benefit more from the privileges the government dispenses than those who are far away from it. You must belong, as they say, to participate in the sharing of the spoils of office. The dividends of democracy can be discriminatory!

Today, in Nigeria, we have a new Sheriff in town: Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He came to town with new faces, as it were; a new set of men and women who now call the shots in various sectors of our national life. Men and women who were nobody yesterday are the Very Important Personalities of today. Together with their principal, they are the ones who, today, make the decisions of “who gets what, when, how” They can decide to favour or marginalize you. They can give or deny you your dues.

If you do not belong in their circles, you will only watch the largesse they dispense waltz its way around you and land on someone else’s lap. Or they may choose to fling it over your head for another person to catch. You can decide to worm your way into their heart by whatever means possible. You may also choose to lie low and allow even this to pass. Nothing lasts forever!

Where are yesterday’s strong men and women? Where is Muhammadu Buhari and his all-powerful coterie of cabals? They are all men and women of yesterday. They have all lost power, relevance and glamour. A little more time and today’s men and women of power will also join them. As Zik told Ukpabi Asika, “No condition is permanent”! And nothing lasts forever!

For the umpteenth time, my good people of Ondo State are complaining of being marginalized by President Tinubu. The first time was when the president chose his ministers, service chiefs and the pillars of his administration. My Ondo state people were miffed that those who did not contribute as much as they did to the making of the Tinubu Administration got far more than Ondo State that contributed far more. In terms of the number of positions given and the importance and relevance of those positions, Ondo State believed it was marginalized.

Many complained to me. Write it, they commanded me! But we counseled restraint and accommodation. Let’s give the president another chance! Let’s allow him time and peace of mind to settle down and gather the levers of power and the reins of office in both hands. One year later, Tinubu’s ice has refused to thaw; his coconut leaves, rather than soften, have gotten more toughened.

That is what my Ondo State people are seeing, and saying, with the recent Board appointments announced by Tinubu. It did not take some people much time before affixing State of origin to the 550 Board appointments rolled out by the president. According to them, Ondo State got only six whereas Osun state got 22.

Why zero in on Osun? I would have loved to see them reel out the allocation to other states. But why Osun is not far to fetch. Osun is Tinubu’s purported state of origin. In the last presidential election, he lost that state and, incidentally, also the Lagos state that he claims, to both Atiku Abubakar’s PDP and Peter Obi’s Labour Party respectively; but he won Ondo state handsomely with a princely 68% of the votes cast. But both Lagos and Osun, two failures, have benefited more in terms of appointments from the Tinubu administration than Ondo that gave its all. Why?

Why is failure being rewarded while success is being derided? And I remembered the street football we played as children called “work-and-eat”. To work for others to eat is a curse. Isaiah 65:22 says: “They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat… My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands”. Ondo state and its people need deliverance from the curse of working for others to eat!

One of the posts I received reads: “Osun, 22; Ondo, 06. The difference is clear (like) 7UP! Who did we offend? What is our offence? Why the discrimination? Why the oppression? Why the shortchange? These and many more questions we ask Tinubu and the APC leadership (and) people (APC leaders) like Chief Pius Akinyelure, Ambassador Sola Iji, our distinguished senators, members of the House of Representatives, Honourable minister, etc.

“Ondo State won (the presidential election for Tinubu/APC) with the highest number of votes (68%). We were given 6 over 550 of the Board appointments while Osun state that lost the election was rewarded with 22 over 550. Where did we get it wrong? Who did we offend? Where is the justice in APC’s motto and slogan? Well, time will tell!”

I was sarcastic in my response to the complainant: “Get an Ondo state person to become president! Also, get the Ondo state indigenes who are close to Tinubu to push harder for the State and not be self-conscious alone. If Aketi had been alive, it most likely would have been different. Aiyedatiwa does not have the same influence Aketi had on Tinubu. Besides, he (Aiyedatiwa) is too engrossed in his own survival battle to have the time to lobby for political appointments for anyone.

“When Buhari was president, Daura and Katsina benefited more than other towns or states in the North. Ditto Jonathan’s time as president. Obasanjo, for obvious reasons, benefited the Igbo more than the Yoruba. Let’s thank Tinubu that, at least, he has not marginalized the Yoruba. Osun is Yoruba. So, we thank Tinubu for little mercies!“

I am sure you know I was just trying to give my people cold comfort. Nothing at all justifies the snobbish treatment and cold shoulders they believe they are getting from a man they supported with all their being.

But if you think the Ondo state people are the only ones complaining, you are mistaken: Some APC women leaders have expressed their grouse that they were yet to be compensated for their contribution to Tinubu’s success at the polls. Many who are hopeful or who have been penciled down for appointment are agitated and apprehensive that time is going. One year is gone already.

But, truth be told, I do not envy the president. To make appointments may appear easy on the surface but, in actual fact, it is not. The pressure, the blackmail, the pull and push are better imagined than experienced, especially with all the rumour flying around about appointments being sold and bought. So, Tinubu has to shine his eyes. I heard that he makes efforts to see everything before anything escapes to the public. That is not going to be a small job.

On top of that, he has other things to contend with: Foreign trips to source for FDI; meetings to attend, ECOWAS wahala, his health to attend to, NLC incessant strike actions, ASUU warming up for its own strike, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar’s ceaseless jabs, etc. He has governance to also attend to. He must also find time to unwind.

Ayo Fayose as governor of Ekiti state told me that if he had a thousand appointments to make, they would not be enough to take care of everyone who contributed to his success at the polls. That is the bitter truth. Everyone who worked for Tinubu cannot get an appointment. Not everyone who worked will have the opportunity to enter the dining room whereas some who did not lift a finger will end up sitting at the head of the table! Such is life!

Imagine how many thousands of candidates must have been screen for the 550 Board appointments! And the uncountable number of interest groups to satisfy! On one corner was the ASUU mounting pressure and threatening another strike action; one of its grievances being the absence of Councils that have slowed down the pace of work in the universities, making a bad situation even worse! I suspect that some of the Board appointments might have been rushed to take the wind out of ASUU’s sail.

That, however, does not excuse the (deliberate or oversight?) marginalization of anyone. Awujale (Ogun state) celebrated 90 years and got GCON. Yoruba leader Pa Reuben Fasoranti (Ondo state) took pains to visit Tinubu on a wheelchair at the Presidential villa but returned empty-handed. Closely thereafter he celebrated 98 years and still got nothing. Pourquoi?