Politics
Wike, Most Ogoni Friendly Governor -Hon Loolo
Against the claims of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) of having a strong followership in Ogoni and other parts of Rivers State, major stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Ogoni exaction have insisted that Ogoni and by extention, Rivers State in general is a strong hold of the PDP.
A stalwart of the ruling party in the state and former state lawmaker, Hon Dinebari Loolo has faulted the APC’s claim declaring the Party as dead and bareft of functional activities in Ogoni and the entire Rivers State.
Hon Loolo, who represented Khana Constituency II, and served as Deputy Leader of the State Legislature during his brief stint in the Assembly, said Ogoni people have rejected the APC because they have nothing to offer the people.
The Ogoni born politician and lawyer, who spoke with The Tide in an exclusive interview in Port Harcourt recently, said Ogoni have witnessed a more visible state of infrastructural transformation within the past three years of Governor Wike’s administration than at any other time their history.
Loolo who described Governor Wike as the most Ogoni friendly Governor noted that the immediate past administration in Rivers State used the Saakpenwa-Bori road as a basis of political campaign but the road remained in a deplorable state throughout that administration.
The former lawmaker vehemently rebuffed the APC over their boasts of offering a better alternative for the political emancipation of Rivers State.
According to him such claims of political propriety is self serving and evidently exposed by the “lacklustre political posture of the party in the country.
He said the APC has offered lies to Ogoni people, as exemplified in the indifference and lack of commitment of the Federal Government towards the implementation of the United Nations Environmental Project, (UNEP) report on the Ogoni clean up exercise.
Loolo who commended GovernorWike for fulfilling his promise to the Ogoni people, said the soaring political profile of the Rivers State Governor earned through his passion to cater for the interest of the people, this he said the Governor has demonstrated through his numerous people oriented projects across the state.
He explained that the construction of Kpobie-Bodo road, Bori General hospital, Saakpenwa-Bori road, Birabi Memorial Grammar school, and the planned construction of the Kira-Eteo and Wiyaakara-Kono roads has opened up Ogoni for development.
The PDP Chieftain called on Ogoni people to take advantage of the strategic importance of the projects to promote economic development in the area.
“Of all the projects executed by the Rivers State Governor, in the State, the drive towards the transformation of the rural areas to economic hubs is more important. Rivers people should take advantage of the opportunities created to enhance economic activities in the rural areas. This will make the people earn quality living in the rural areas and stem unnecessary urban migration”, he said while accusing the APC in Rivers State of contending themselves with belching fire and boasting of federal might, he said the PDP in the State is rooted in active grassroots involvement and mobilis-ation.
Loolo whose foray into partisan politics was shortlived in December 2016, following what he described as “the stealing of my mandate by brute force and military invasion”, pointed out that such abrasive insult on the sensibilities of the people will not repeat itself, as the people have learnt their lessons, and were already cautious of the “planned political perfidy of the APC, against the will of the people in the 2019 general elections”.
He said Ogoni people were adequately mobili-sed to defend their mandate from, “political scavengers whose primary objective in to seize political power through the barrels of the gun and not the ballot box”
According to him the penchant for autocracy on the part of the APC has plunged the party into debasing the country’s hard earned democracy.
He however urged Nigerians to be cautious against such “Viscious political unslaughts and morbid desires to set Nigeria on the path of political gloom and anarchy”.
“Nigerians are still battling with the inglorious years of military rule which observed the democratic landscape, it will be a thing of shame for the APC to plunge the country to anarchy through their desperate political misadventure. Nigerians should take it as a national emergency to vote out the APC at all levels of government. 2019 should mark the total eclipse of APC”, he insisted.
Loolo expressed dismay over the conduct of the Ekiti governorship election which he said was fraught with the use of military force to subdue the people’s will.
He noted that the Ekiti debacle was a rehearsal of the plot of the institutional conspiracy by the ruling APC , to set the security agencies against the people and upturn Popular Political will. The former lawmaker was also particularly impressed about the inauguration of substantive executive governments at the Local Government System in Rivers State.
He advised the council chairmen in the 23 Local Government Areas to complement the development efforts of the Governor through the execution of people oriented projects in the rural areas.
“It is a thing of joy that we now have executive Chairmen at the Local Governments, the various Local Government the various Local Government Chairmen and councilors should ensure that they manage the available resources to create the desired development impact at this important level of government.
The essence of holding political officer is to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people.
The Local Government Chairmen must maintain regular interface with the people and build popular confidence, through credible leadership”, he said.
Commenting on the security situations in the country, Hon. Loolo emphasized the need for state police as a panacea for the country’s security challenges. He commended the National Assembly over their recent endorsement of State police and called for the implementation of the policy.
Hon Loolo is also a strong adherent of restructuring and devolution of power as the yardstick for true fiscal federalism in the country.
He said the constitution in operation in the country lacked the imput of Nigerians as it is an improvised document forced on Nigeria by a ruling cabal of vested interests.
He called for the amendment of the Nigerian Constitution to be more reflective of democratic tenants and principles in the process of National Administration.
“Nigeria is a country of diverse ethnic and socio-political interest. The various component units that make up the country should be allowed to participate actively in the process of their economic development . The prevalence of a unitary and behemoth federal system is a disincentive to democracy. The constitution should guarantee the rights of the component units to explore their natural resources for comprarative economic development. It is wrong for the states to go to Abuja on monthly basis for sharing of federal allocation,” he said, adding that. “The Nigerian Constitution must be reflective of the yearning and aspirations of the various component units, in pursuance of their inalienable rights to good life and economic freedom”.
Taneh Beemene
A senator who represented Taraba Central, Mr Abubakar Yusuf, has declared that the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu are not yielding the expected results.
His comment is one of the strongest internal critiques yet from within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The comment underscores the growing dissatisfaction within sections of the ruling party over the direction and impact of the administration’s economic reforms amid rising living costs and fiscal pressures across the country.
Mr Yusuf, who served in the Senate between 2015 and 2023 under the platform of the APC, made the remarks during an appearance on national television.
Responding to a question on whether the administration’s economic direction, often referred to as Tinubunomics, was working, Mr Yusuf answered in the contrary.
“For me, it is not working. I am a member of the APC. I would be the last person to hide the facts”, he said.
He said while the government might be operating diligently within its policy structure, the framework itself is ill-suited to Nigeria’s current realities
“Within the policy framework, yes, they are doing their best, but it is not the framework that is suitable for Nigeria at the point in time that President Asiwaju came into power,” he said.
Mr Yusuf criticised the immediate removal of fuel subsidy on the day the president was sworn in, arguing that the decision lacked sufficient consultation and planning.
“I am one of those who say President Asiwaju ought to have waited. Not on the day he was sworn in to say subsidy is gone. On what basis?”, he asked.
He urged broader engagement before major fiscal decisions are taken.
“Sit down with your cabinet, sit down with your ministers, sit down with your advisers,” he said, dismissing the argument that subsidy removal was justified solely on grounds of corruption.
The former lawmaker identified “structural flaws” in the country’s budgeting system, particularly the envelope budgeting model.
“One of the basic problems is that before you budget, you should have a plan. The envelope system we have been operating has been you budget before you plan. That has been a major issue”, he said.
He argued that allocating spending ceilings without aligning them to concrete development strategies inevitably weakens implementation and delivery.
“If you give me an envelope which is contrary to my plan, whether it is plus or minus, there is no way I am going to implement my plan. It is bound to fail,” he said.
Mr Yusuf called for the scrapping of the envelope budgeting system, noting that he had consistently opposed it even during his years in the National Assembly.
“It is not good for us. It is not going to work well for us,” he said.
He further blamed poor capital releases and persistent deficit financing for undermining budget performance over the years.
“We could not meet 60 percent of our capital budget in all these years. No releases. If you make a budget and the release is very poor, there is no way the budget will be executed”, he stated.
According to him, weak fund disbursement mechanisms and reliance on deficit financing have entrenched a cycle of underperformance.
“Our budget ought to have been a surplus budget, but all our budgets have always been deficit financing budgets,” Mr Yusuf added.
The Nigerian House of Representatives has resolved to reconvene for an emergency session tomorrow February 17, 2026, to deliberate on issues arising from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) release of the timetable for the 2027 general elections.
The decision was disclosed in a statement issued by the House Spokesman, Rep. Akin Rotimi, who described the electoral body’s announcement as one of “constitutional and national significance.”
INEC had fixed February 20, 2027, for the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
According to the statement, members of the Green Chamber were notified of the emergency sitting through an internal memorandum from the Speaker’s office.
The session is expected to focus on legislative matters connected to the newly released timetable, reflecting the House’s resolve to act promptly on issues affecting the nation’s democratic process.
Rep. Rotimi noted that all related businesses would be treated with urgency and urged lawmakers to prioritise attendance in view of the importance of the deliberations.
INEC had on Friday formally unveiled the comprehensive schedule for the 2027 polls, including timelines for party primaries slated for July to September 2026, as well as the commencement of Continuous Voter Registration in April 2026.
The development comes amid ongoing consultations and proposed amendments to the Electoral Act ahead of the 2027 general elections.
As the controversy over the transmission of election results continues across the country, the Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), a pro democracy organisation in the country, has criticised the National Assembly for not giving express approval to real time transmission of elections results.
To this end, the group is calling on all civil society organisations in the country to mobilise and push for a better Electoral Reform in the country.
This was contained in a press statement titled, “Defence For Human Rights and Democracy Demands Real Time Election Transmission of Result”, a copy of which was made available to newsmen in Port Harcourt.
The group described the refusal of compulsory real time transmission of result results by the Senate as undemocratic, adding that the situation will give room for election manipulation, rigging and voters apathy.
It said that the provision of mandatory real time transmission of election results would have significant improvement on the nation’s democracy.
According to the statement, “Since the return of democracy in 1999 to date, it is 27 years, so our Democracy has metamorphosed from being nascent and as such significant improvement should have been recorded.
“Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), is really disappointed at the National Assembly, especially the upper chamber (Senate) for not approving ‘Real Time Electronic Transmission of Election Result’.
“This undemocratic act of theirs, if not tamed, will give room for election manipulation and rigging’”.
Signed by Comrade Clifford Christopher Solomon on behalf of the organisation, the statement further said, “The Defence For Human Rights and Democracy unequivocally supports real time transmission of election result”, stressing that his group will resist any act by the National Assembly to undermine the nation’s democracy.
“DHRD,unequivocally supports ‘True Democracy’, which is Government of the people, by the people and for the people.
“Therefore, anything that will crash the hope of Nigerians to Freely, Fairly and Transparently elect candidates of their choice in any given election should and will be vehemently resisted because good governance begins with leaders elected through credible process. By so doing, leaders have entered a social contract with the citizens to equitably manage their affairs and abundant resources”, the statement added.
It urged the National Assembly to revisit the issue in order to avoid civil unrest.
According to the DHRD, “To avoid civil unrest,voters apathy, election rigging and manipulation, rather to promote citizens participation, advancing our Democracy and entrenching free, fair, credible and acceptable electoral outcome, the National Assembly should amend the electoral act in a manner that will deepen our democracy and boost citizens confidence.
“On this note, The Defence For Human Rights And Democracy (DHRD), is calling on all other civil society organisations (CSOs) to mobilise, organise and push for a better electoral act amendment by the National Assembly”.
By: John Bibor