Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has countered the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume on his admonishment to the North to stay off the 2027 presidential election.

Akume had, in an interview with Television Continental (TVC) on Sunday, declared that northerners seeking election to Aso Rock should wait till 2031 and allow President Bola Tinubu re-contest in 2027.

“Today, it’s what I said at the convocation of Nile University, where I was given an honorary doctorate. I appealed to my brothers in the north to wait till 2031 to run for presidential election.

“It is not yet the time for the north to throw in the hat in the ring. It’s not yet the time.

“This has been my appeal to them. Let us not destroy our country because of personal ambition.

“Tinubu, as a southerner, should be allowed to have a second term, meaning that those eyeing the presidency from the north in 2027 should look beyond that year by waiting till 2031.

“If it is the will of God for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to be president of Nigeria, even at the age of 90 years, he can get it, but he and other northerners, eyeing the office now, should look beyond 2027.

“But my advice, and this has been consistent, is that let us not rock the boat.

“Let us allow this power to reside in the south for eight years, and from there it will come to the north. To do otherwise, honestly, is to destroy this country.”

However, Atiku, in a reaction on Monday, queried the grounds of equity and fairness in Akume’s admonishment.

In a statement by his Media Adviser, Mazi Paul Ibe, he pointed out that the South has had more years on the presidential seat than the North, counting from 1999.

Atiku said, “Where, then, does true equity and fairness reside? By the year 2027, the South will have enjoyed 17 years of leadership — eight years under Obasanjo, five years under Jonathan, and four years under Tinubu — while the North will have experienced only 11 years, with Yar’Adua serving three and Buhari eight. This results in a disparity of six years between the North and South, casting a shadow over the balance of power.

“In any case, the power to elect and vote out their government lies firmly with the Nigerian people, entrusted to them upon the government’s ability to prove itself worthy of the people’s ballot. But has the Tinubu government demonstrated that it deserves to be re-elected? The answer, alas, is as clear as the heavens themselves — God forbid!”

Tinubu had defeated Atiku in the 2023 presidential election, even as the latter challenged the president’s electoral victory up to the Supreme Court which eventually affirmed Tinubu’s victory.

Atiku’s response may have confirmed his widely perceived desire to contest again in 2027, a contest he lost in 2007, 2019 and 2023.

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has condemned the Presidency for stating that President Bola Tinubu would stay in power till 2031.

Recall that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, had asked northern political leaders preparing to run for the 2027 Presidency to shelve their ambition and wait till 2031 when President Tinubu would have finished his second term.

Reacting to the AGF’s submission, Arewa admonished the incumbent adminstration for obsessing over the 2027 election instead of focusing on delivering good governance to Nigerians.

Speaking to Punch, the ACF National Publicity Secretary, Tukur Muhammad-Baba, insisted that the talk about the 2027 Presidency was a distraction from the more pressing issues facing the country.

Mohammad-Baba emphasised that the ACF won’t take a partisan stance on who should be voted for or against, noting that its primary concern was the wellbeing of the electorate.

He said, “So far, we have not issued any stand one way or the other on the issue. We thought concentration should be on good governance and delivery of services to the electorate.

“Our position is that it’s too early to debate the 2027 Presidency. We think the focus should be on good governance and the delivery of good dividends of democracy to the people.

“This talk of 2027 is too early, and it’s a distraction to the dialogue that should be taking place. Is democracy paying off for the people? Should the government do something for the people? This is what should preoccupy the minds of Nigerians, not the 2027 Presidency.”

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has called upon landlords and property owners in Lagos State to avoid raising their rents and property values.

Sanwo-Olu’s message to the landlords and property owners comes following the recent inauguration of major infrastructure projects in the Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area.

In his address during the launch of the Abiola-Ajayi-Ogba and Obawole-Iju-Ishaga road projects on Monday, Sanwo-Olu emphasized that these developments are designed to address the difficulties faced by residents rather than to worsen them.

The newly inaugurated 643-meter road, which includes a bridge and slip roads, provides connectivity to areas that were previously accessible only through temporary wooden bridges that required a crossing fee.

“I appeal to landlords and landowners: do not increase your rents and property prices. The essence of the infrastructure built is to bring relief to the people and not burden residents,” Sanwo-Olu stated.

The Lagos State Governor added: “I am committed to addressing the long-standing problems of communities, including flooding and commuting. These projects symbolise our dedication to improving Lagosians’ daily lives.”

2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has met with Nigerian Senior Advocate, Afe Babalola, SAN, in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

The former governor of Anambra State met with the Nigerian legal luminary on Monday concerning human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, currently at the Ekiti prison.

Social activist, Moses Paul, who shared video and photos of the visit via his X handle, said Peter Obi and Afe Babalola reportedly had in-depth discussions, including on Farotimi’s matter.

Moses wrote, “Today, Mr. @PeterObi travelled from Lagos to Ekiti State, dedicating the entire day to meaningful engagements. He visited Aare Afe Babalola at his office within the Afe Babalola University, where they had in-depth discussions on critical issues, including the situation of activists and lawyer @DeleFarotimi.

“Following this, Mr. @PeterObi proceeded to the prison facility where @DeleFarotimi is being held. In a private meeting, he expressed solidarity and engaged in a candid exchange aimed at addressing the prevailing challenges.”

According to SaharaReporters, sources at the meeting confirmed that Peter Obi begged Afe Babalola on behalf of Farotimi.

Recall that Farotimi was remanded following allegations of defaming a prominent legal figure and founder of Afe Babalola University, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN.

Naija News reports that the activist is accused of damaging the reputation of Afe Babalola through statements made in his recently released book, ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System.’

Farotimi, who was arraigned last Wednesday, pleaded not guilty to all sixteen charges against him.

Police prosecutor, Samson Osun, requested that the defendant be held in custody while further investigations are conducted, citing the need for maintaining public safety.

In response, the defendant’s attorney, Dayo Akeredolu, contested this request, urging the court to grant bail under lenient conditions and based on self-recognition.

He emphasized that the case is eligible for bail and that the defendant is a well-known individual who does not pose a threat.

There seems to be an emerging pattern in some of the major elections conducted in Africa so far, hinting at an emergent character of democracy in the continent, and this would seem to be the people’s seeming determination to change incumbent ruling parties or whittle down their influence or remove them altogether, and at the base of this is a certain streak of nostalgia for the past.  In May, South Africa held its general elections and for the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) lost its parliamentary majority, receiving less than 50% of the votes. It therefore found itself in the uncomfortable situation of having to negotiate with the centrist Democratic Alliance, the Jacob Zuma-led uMkhonto Sizwe (MK), the Inkatha Freedom Party and the Patriotic Alliance (PA) to be able to form a national unity government. Former President Jacob Zuma said he and the MK would not be part of any alliance. Zuma was indeed the nemesis of the ANC. 

He is the overlord of politics in KwaZulu Natal, having left the ANC in December 2023. Ramaphosa survived the anti-ANC onslaught but it remains to be seen for how long the government of national unity would last, a similar arrangement having failed in the past. There was yet another upheaval in Botswana in   October 2024 when the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) which had ruled the country since independence in 1966, lost woefully to the Umbrella for Democratic Change Coalition, producing Duma Boko (54) as President, with a majority 36 seats in the 61-seat parliament. The BDP was reduced to four seats! Former President Ian Khama (2008 – 2018) was, as in South Africa with Zuma, a major factor in the Botswana election.  He had appointed Mokgweetsi Masisi as Vice President in 2014, and when his tenure expired in 2018, Khama supported Matsisi to succeed him. When Matsisi assumed office, however, he simply went after Ian Khama, and ended up reversing his policies, and drove him into exile in 2021. In October 2024, Khama returned with a determination to unseat Matsisi. It was not his candidate that won in the end, but he achieved his aim all the same and the Umbrella for Democratic Change was not unknown to him, having worked with that same party in 2019 to secure victory for Matsisi. And now in Ghana, over the weekend, former President John Dramani Mahama has been overwhelmingly re-elected as President for another term of four years. The people of Ghana looked back and looked into the future and concluded that Mahama is best suited to take them into the future.

Beyond the conflict of political interest and power blocs in the three countries isolated for illustration is the resolve of the people to defend their votes and make a choice, by trying possible alternatives. In Botswana, the economy was in the doldrums, the government’s treasury was almost empty. Government hospitals had run out of funds and facilities.  Corruption was on stilts, institutions were prostrate. In other words, the state of the economy was a major issue in Botswana as it was also in South Africa. Over 80% of the registered voters in Botswana turned up on polling day.  In June, in South Africa, voter’s behaviour was dictated not strictly by the in-fighting within the original ANC but by a number of complex and related factors, top of which is the fact that the people’s expectations had not really been met by the ruling ANC. The people wanted jobs and a better life. The ANC had offered them a high unemployment rate with many of the youths jobless.  Trust in the ruling party is also important to the electorate, and the people were no longer as trustful of Ramaphosa and the ANC to create jobs, get them the social grants that they need and address corruption in official corridors. On election day, voter turnout was 58.6%, the lowest ever in 30 years, a reflection of the people’s discontent. The ANC got 40.18% of the votes, and Ramaphosa returned but the people had made a statement about their discontent.  Last Saturday in Ghana, voter turn-out was estimated at 61%, and that is considered the lowest in that country in the last three elections. Outgoing President Nana Akuffo-Addo presided over such a bad economy in a generation with high inflation, unemployment and huge, almost unpayable debts that the people angrily voted out his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP).  

The only exceptions to the pattern described so far would seem to be the general elections in Mozambique on October 9, 2024, and in Namibia, 27 – 30 November 2024. Turn out in Mozambique was put at 43%, with many outrightly boycotting the election in the North and in Namibia, turnout was 76.48%. In Mozambique, FRELIMO retained its 58 years of authoritarian hold on the country, and in Namibia, SWAPO remained immovable even if it produced its first female President, incumbent Vice President, SWAPO veteran, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. Analysts have noted that the elections in both countries cannot be considered free and fair, but where the voters were allowed to choose and defend their votes, the people spoke loudly through the ballot to the key point that the people are the mainstay of the democratic process. The challenge for African leaders is to provide an enabling environment for democracy to thrive, for good governance, and for building trust with the people. And when it is election time, to allow the people to make their choice.  

There have been many comments on the just concluded elections in neighbouring Ghana, focusing on the lessons that Nigerians can possibly learn from Ghana. I think there are lessons both ways, starting with the Nigerian example. It is refreshing to see that even long before the Electoral Commission of Ghana announced the final results and declared the winner, the candidate of the ruling party, NPP, and incumbent Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia conceded defeat and congratulated President John Mahama, his main opponent of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). “The people have voted for change”, Bawumia said. This display of sportsmanship reminds us of the example of President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 general elections in Nigeria. President Jonathan not only congratulated General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he also said famously that his political ambition was not worth the shedding of anyone’s blood. In 2016, a year later, when President John Mahama lost Ghana’s Presidential election of that year, he also quietly relinquished power and handed over to President Nana Akufo-Addo. Between the two countries, there seems to be an emerging realization that the people’s will, whatever may be the circumstances, must be respected. President Jonathan has since gone ahead to build a stronger reputation as a democrat and elder statesman in the West African sub-region and beyond.  In an election cycle when we have seen a former President, Donald Trump returning to power in the United States, and President Mahama in Ghana, it is not impossible that there would be some Nigerians out there saying that President Jonathan is entitled to an out-standing possible second term and should also make a bid to return to office as Nigeria’s President. This would however depend on an interplay of factors. The onus is on President Tinubu and the APC not to unwittingly invoke a nostalgia for either President Jonathan and/or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) among Nigerians.

The second lesson that Ghana had supposedly learnt from Nigeria was pointed out by the Chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu who was in Ghana as a guest and observer. In a widely circulated video, he said Ghana has learnt from Nigeria how to manage constituency election results. Results are announced in the constituencies. Only Presidential election results are sent to Accra for announcement. This comment has drawn a backlash, with many of Professor Yakubu’s critics telling him that on the contrary he is the one who needs to learn lessons from Ghana’s management of the electoral process. For example, voting materials arrived early and the voting process was smooth. In Nigeria, voting is always a tug of war. In Ghana, even if there were scuffles in some constituencies, this was nothing compared to the Nigerian situation where persons resort to raw violence. Election in Nigeria is often a security operation, heavily militarized. In Ghana, the people drove soldiers away from polling stations. They insisted that an election should be a civilian operation. In places where the soldiers were confronted and scuffles ensued, we saw the Ghanaian soldiers not shooting anyone, even when they carried weapons. If any Nigerian voter displayed such boldness to challenge Nigerian soldiers at a polling unit, there would have been bloodshed! The Electoral Commission of Ghana also deployed technology, but this did not become an excuse for abuse as has been the case repeatedly in Nigeria. Those voters whose names were missing in the register on polling day, were still accredited through a back-end database, and allowed to vote. In Nigeria, it is either the notorious BVAS would fail or the INEC server would malfunction due to “technical glitches”. There have been no deafening reports of vote buying indicating that the Ghanaian voter is far more sophisticated, and that democracy in Ghana is more stable. A total of 18. 6 million registered voters, 13 candidates representing nine political parties, 4 independent candidates, with the NPP and NDC emerging as the. dominant two parties – the option of independent candidacy is an area in which Nigeria can learn from Ghana to make our political process more inclusive. 

Despite the push-back that Professor Mahmood Yakubu may have received, he identified a lesson for Nigeria that seems noteworthy: which is his comment that politicians in Ghana are faithful to their political parties. They do not move from one political party to the other every election season. The reverse is the case in Nigeria because here, our political parties are Special Purpose Vehicles, organized to win by any means. Nigerian politics is not ideology-based. Politicians would rather use any political platform that would get them into power. Nigeria’s political parties are united by this singular aim, and that is why after every general election, it doesn’t take long before our politicians migrate into the ruling party. In Ghana there is a more enduring tradition of political identity.  Prof. Yakubu obviously knows what he is talking about in this regard: names are constantly moving around on the INEC register.  President John Mahama lost election in 2016 on the platform of the NDC, he lost again in 2020 on the platform of the same party, and now in 2024, at third attempt, he has emerged victorious. If he were a Nigerian politician, he would have been all over the political space, gambling for opportunity. But he stayed within the NDC, and helped to build it into a winning machinery. 

We join others in congratulating him. His victory has resulted in much singing and dancing across Ghana. There are no politicians threatening to contest the outcome in the courts. The people of Ghana, however, should be cautiously optimistic. When President Mahama lost his bid for a second term in the 2016 general election, the key reason was the poor state of the Ghanaian economy, high unemployment rate and the failure of the country’s electricity system. Those problems have not disappeared, they only became worse under President Nana Akuffo-Addo who got so distracted he even commissioned a statue in his own honour in Sekondi in the Western Region. That statue must fall. It must be pulled down, to purge Akuffo-Addo of his own delusions. President Mahama also has to manage the people’s expectations.   Ghanaians are looking for a miracle-working President who will offer them a better life. But there are no miracles anywhere. It is a good thing that Mahama has significant experience on the job having been President (2012 -2017), Vice President (2009 – 2012), Minister for Communications (1998 -2001), Deputy Minister for Communications (1997 – 1998), and Member of Parliament for Bole (1997 -2009). He knows the system. He knows Ghana. He has proven ability. Still, he must act carefully. He must resist the temptation to over-promise and seek to over-impress. He must take his time to study the same system that he is familiar with all over again. He knows Nigeria, being a High Chief of Offa Kingdom in Kwara state -Aare Atolase of Offa - and given his close relationships with the country, for a start, he should reflect on the experience so far of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Tinubu was in so much of a hurry, he started introducing reforms from his very first day in office, reforms which have now thrown the people into the deep end. The best reform that a leader can embark upon is in the minds of the people: to build trust and deliver the fruits of good governance.  President Mahama should run an inclusive government, and accommodate the finest shades of opinions.    

Students of Ghana’s politics and history would be better placed to give a more definitive history of President Nana Akufo-Addo’s legacy, a verdict which should be kinder in good time - his commitment to democracy, his Pan-Africanism, his Ghana beyond aid rhetoric, his management of the COVID-19 challenge, his establishment of six additional regions and his robust presence in international affairs. With Mahama, as President, Nigerians can have their own expectations too: better relations with a country with which we share so much in common. Our brother from Offa, has won 6.3 million polls, a historic 56.55% of the votes, an emphatic victory. President Mahama has been given an opportunity to rewrite his own legacy: at home and abroad. He should not squander it.  

The United Kingdom has issued 300,000 new visas to Nigerians in the past few years, according to British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery.

Despite criticisms of the UK’s immigration policies, Montgomery stated that Nigeria has greatly benefited from these policies, especially following Brexit.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, he explained that Nigeria now holds a leading position in terms of the number of visas granted by the UK.

“I have to contest this picture because the UK in the last couple of years has granted around 300,000 new visas to Nigerians which far exceeds any other visa relationship which Nigeria has with any other country.

“The trends have been really positive post-Brexit. Nigeria has been a major beneficiary of the post-Brexit migration visa rules,” Montgomery said.

He emphasized that Nigeria accounts for about 10% of all UK visas granted in the last two years, surpassing any other visa relationship that Nigeria has with other countries.

In addition, Montgomery praised the contributions of Nigerians in the UK, particularly in vital sectors like social care, where they play a crucial role.

“And if you look at say the number of people getting work visas in the UK, these people play an incredibly important role in certain sectors, particularly our social care sector.

“So, I would like to emphasize how huge the relationship is. It outstrips any other visa relationship that Nigeria has with any other single country in my understanding,” Montgomery said on the breakfast show.

The High Commissioner also addressed the high approval rate for UK visas, emphasizing that applications with proper documentation have a high chance of success.

“If you apply with the right documentation and the right evidence, the approval rate is very high,” Montgomery added.

He also pointed out that the number of Nigerians granted work visas has significantly increased, from around 10,000-20,000 six or seven years ago to nearly 80,000-90,000 annually in recent years.

However, Montgomery acknowledged a decline in student visa applications compared to previous years.

A United Kingdom upper tribunal has reversed a previous ruling that stopped the deportation of 43-year-old Nigerian Olutobi Ogunbawo.

The decision comes after his wife, Maria Adesanya, claimed that in vitro fertilisation treatment was unavailable in Nigeria, a key argument in their defence.

Ogunbawo, convicted in 2019 for immigration offences related to conspiring with a British citizen to claim paternity falsely, had served a three-year prison sentence.

Following his release, he faced deportation proceedings. In January 2023, a first-tier tribunal judge ruled in his favour, citing the impact of deportation on his wife’s ability to conceive a child through IVF.

Maria testified that IVF, essential to their efforts to start a family, was not an option in Nigeria.

However, the secretary of state for the Home Department challenged this claim, arguing that the tribunal’s reliance on her testimony lacked supporting evidence.

The upper tribunal reviewed the case and, on November 4, 2024, ruled that the initial decision was flawed.

It was found that the first-tier tribunal judge failed to seek objective evidence to verify Maria’s assertion.

The upper tribunal noted that a simple internet search could confirm the availability of IVF services in Nigeria, undermining the couple’s argument.

The judgment criticized the earlier ruling, stating: “We conclude that the judge erred in exclusively relying upon Ms A’s (referring to Maria) personal evidence when finding as a fact that IVF treatment is unavailable in Nigeria,” the upper tribunal ruled, according to Daily Mail on Sunday.

The tribunal set aside the earlier decision and ordered the case to be reheard by a different judge.

“We observe the Secretary of State’s unchallenged assertion before us that even the most basic Google search reveals the existence of IVF treatment in Nigeria.

“The Secretary of State’s appeal is allowed to the extent that the decision of the First-tier Tribunal is set aside in its entirety.

“The appeal is to be remitted to the First-tier Tribunal to be heard by any judge other than First-tier Tribunal Judge Malone,” it added.

The Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi State, Comrade Richard Nwafor, has advised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar against pursuing a candidacy in the 2027 presidential election, saying the party needs a new breed of people to mount its leadership position.

He urged Atiku to stop his alleged attempt to lure 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, into alliance ahead of the next general election.

Nwafor stated this during a press briefing yesterday in Abakaliki, the capital of Ebonyi State.

He reminded that Atiku participated in the 2023 presidential election under the PDP banner but was unsuccessful.

The PDP leader also pointed out that Atiku had previously contested in presidential elections before the last one, during which he selected Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, as his running mate, yet faced a significant defeat.

Nwafor expressed confusion over the recent speculation regarding Atiku’s intentions to seek the presidency in 2027.

He emphasized that numerous attempts were made in 2023 by PDP members, particularly those from the southern region, to persuade Atiku to permit southern party members to secure the presidential nomination, asserting that such a move would have promoted equity, fairness, and social justice within the party.

“Since the dinner in Yola, Adamawa State, I decided to keep mute and watch as it unfolds.

“However, let it be very clear to those concerned that His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, a man I respect so much, should bury the idea of a 2027 presidential ambition and support a southerner instead of romancing Obi when the two of them couldn’t reach an agreement on or before the 2023 election.

“This opinion is personal and doesn’t represent the generality of my office.

“Those close to His Excellency should relate my message to him because the 2027 presidential ticket needs to be zoned to the southern part of Nigeria despite all odds.

“We need fresh people to mount the podium of leadership in our great Party (PDP),” Nwafor said.

Award-winning actresses and filmmakers Funke Akindele, Mercy Aigbe, and Toyin Abraham are gearing up to release their highly anticipated movies in December. 

Funke Akindele’s “Everybody Loves Jenifa” and Mercy Aigbe’s “Thin Line” are scheduled to hit cinemas on December 13, 2024, while Toyin Abraham’s “Alakada Bad and Boujee” will follow on December 20, 2024.

Fans worldwide are eagerly awaiting the release of these movies, which promise to deliver top-notch entertainment, captivating storylines, and outstanding performances. 

The simultaneous release of these films further showcases the growth and vibrancy of the Nigerian film industry. 

With these three talented actresses and filmmakers at the helm, December is shaping up to be an unforgettable month for movie lovers.

Funke Akindele recently announced that “Everybody Loves Jenifa” will be available for worldwide viewing in countries like the United States, Canada, Rwanda, South Africa, Gabon, Benin, Ivory Coast, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Belgium, United Kingdom and more. 

This move is expected to further expand her global fan base and solidify her position as one of the leading ladies in Nollywood. 

Akindele’s dedication to her craft and her ability to connect with audiences have made her a beloved figure in the entertainment industry.

Mercy Aigbe’s “Thin Line” is also generating significant buzz, with many anticipating a charged cinematic experience. 

Aigbe’s reputation as a talented actress and filmmaker precedes her, and fans are eager to see her latest work. 

Toyin Abraham’s “Alakada Bad & Boujee” is the third highly anticipated movie set to hit cinemas in December. 

Having faced backlash in the past, Abraham’s loyal fans are excited to see her reprise her role in the “Alakada” franchise. 

The release of these movies is a significant event in the Nigerian entertainment industry, and fans are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to experience the latest works from these three talented filmmakers. 

With their combined talent, dedication, and passion for storytelling, Funke Akindele, Mercy Aigbe, and Toyin Abraham are poised to make December a memorable month for movie lovers.