Politics
2019: Guber Aspirant Vows To Rescue Kaduna
The Senator representing Kaduna North in the National Assembly and a gubernatorial aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) , Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi has declared that his gubernatorial ambition is triggered by the urgent need to rescue the state from bad governance it has been subjected to within the last three and half years under Governor Nasir El- Rufai.
Hunkuyi made the avowal as PDP stakeholders across the 11 local governments in Kaduna South Senatorial District expressed their support to his ambition.
Addressing thousands of party supporters in Angwa Wakili in Zango- Kataf Local Government Area of the state over the weekend , Senator Hunkuyi said Kaduna State under El-Rufai, is not only groaning under heavy debts but also retrogressing across the various sectors”.
Hunkuyi was one of the 14 Senators who severed ties with the All Progressives Congress ( APC) on July 24 and joined the PDP.
According to him, one of the hundreds of billions of debts suffocating the state government under Governor Nasir El- Rufai , is the N34 billion owed pensioners alone in terns of their unpaid entitlements like gratuities and monthly pension payment .
Hunkuyi explained that it was for this reason that other Senators from the state and himself kicked against the approval of $350 million foreign loan request the state government forwarded to the Senate through the presidency early in the year .
His words: ” I have no regret whatsoever as a senator from Kaduna State for kicking against the $350m foreign loan request of the state government because the request was not for the interest of the people of the state .
” The three senators from the state and the Senate , after critically looking into the said loan, saw that there was no need for it and that is that aside the fact that there was no iota of sincerity of purpose in the loan request by the governor .
” Within the last three and half years , El-Rufai has been in office, billions and billions of monies in terms of monthly allocations, bail outs from the federal government , remittance from Paris club etc , have been received by him with little or nothing to show for them.
“Most of the roads within the state are bad, state owned hospitals are not functional and well equipped, morale of civil servants very low and so on and so forth”.
He therefore appealed to PDP faithful in the zone to support his aspiration of clinching the party’s gubernatorial ticket in the coming primary election to enable him slug it out with El-Rufai in the March 2, 2019 gubernatorial election .
He assured the people that if elected, all the 800 districts heads across the state relieved of their positions would be reinstated within a week after his swearing in.
This he explained, must be done because government or democracy, is all about people just as he also promised to review cases of 25, 000 sacked teachers along with their counterparts at the 23 local government areas of the state .
Earlier in their expression of support for Hunkuyi’s aspiration, PDP stakeholders from the zone like Hon Sam Bassa of the Zango – Kataf local government and Hon James Bulus from Kachia , assured him of their total support.
Bassa who is the PDP party chairman in Zango- Kataf , said since Hunkuyi was there for the southern Kaduna people in the 2011 general election, when the late governor of the state , Patrick Yakowa , contested for the governorship seat of the state , they will surely reciprocate by voting for him overwhelmingly at both the primary and general elections .
” You have been with us over the years as somebody who attended Kafachan Teachers College and College of Education and most importantly one who stood out firmly from Kaduna North in 2011 to campaign and ensure victory for our late son, Gov Patrick Yakowa in 2011, consolidating the his of a southern Kaduna person becoming elected of the state then.
Nneka Amaechi-Nnadi, Abuja
Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has renamed The Polytechnic, Ibadan as Omololu Olunloyo Polytechnic, Ibadan, in honour of a late former governor of the State, Dr Omololu Olunloyo.
Dr Olunloyo, who died on April 6, 2025, was the pioneer Principal of the Polytechnic, Ibadan, while he also served as Governor of Oyo State between October 1 and December 31, 1983.
Governor Makinde made the announcement at the state interdenominational funeral service held yesterday in honour of the late former governor at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Liberty Road, Ibadan.
Governor Makinde said Dr Olunloyo lived an eventful life, adding that his attainment and personality could not be summarised in one sentence.
“He was not a man we could summarise in one sentence. He was a scholar, a statesman, a technocrat, a lover of culture and, above all, a man of deep conviction.
“While giving the exhortation, I was listening to Baba Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu and he said in 1983, Baba became Governor of Oyo State. Though his time in office was brief, his election victory over a popular incumbent remains a powerful testament to the trust people gave him.
“I talked about preserving and digitising his library yesterday [Wednesday] as a mark of honour to Baba Olunloyo.
“Today, we will be giving Baba another honour to immortalise him. He was the first Principal of The Polytechnic, Ibadan; that institution will now be named Omololu Olunloyo Polytechnic, Ibadan.”
Earlier in his sermon, a retired Methodist Archbishop of Ilesa and Ibadan, Ayo Ladigbolu, described the late Olunloyo as a role model with intellectual inspiration and unassailable integrity.
The cleric said the deceased also demonstrated leadership in most superior quality during his lifetime.
In attendance were the state Deputy Governor, Chief Abdulraheem Bayo Lawal; wife of a former Military Governor of the old Oyo State, Chief (Mrs) Dupe Jemibewon; wife of a former Governor of Oyo State, Chief (Mrs) Mutiat Ladoja; former Deputy Governor and PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja; and former Deputy Governor, Hazeem Gbolarumi.
Others were the member representing Ibadan North-East/South-East Federal Constituency, Hon Abass Adigun Agboworin; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Otunba Segun Ogunwuyi; Oyo State Exco members; Chairman of Oyo State Elders’ Council, Dr Saka Balogun; Chairman of All Local Government Chairmen in Oyo State, Hon Sikiru Sanda; President-General of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), Chief Adeniyi Ajewole; religious leaders and family members, among other dignitaries.
Ten members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC) have countered the Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, on the reinstatement of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary.
The dissenting members, led by the Deputy National Chairman ( South), Taofeek Arapaja, in a joint statement, said no organ of the opposition party could overturn the decision of the 99th meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC).
The dissenting NWC members include Arapaja; Setonji Koshoedo, Deputy National Secretary; Okechukwu Obiechina-Daniel, National Auditor; Debo Ologunagba, National Publicity Secretary; Ologunagba; Woyengikuro Daniel, National Financial Secretary and Ahmed Yayari Mohammed, National Treasurer.
Others are Chief Ali Odefa, National Vice Chairman (South East); Emmanuel Ogidi, Caretaker Committee Chairman (South South); Mrs. Amina Darasimi D. Bryhm, National Woman Leader and Ajisafe Kamoru Toyese, National Vice Chairman (South West).
The group also insisted that contrary to the position of the acting National Chairman, the 100th NEC meeting of the party would be held on June 30 as earlier scheduled.
The statement read: “The attention of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been drawn to a press briefing by the acting National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum, today Wednesday, June 25, wherein he attempted to overturn the resolution of the 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting which scheduled the 100th NEC meeting for Monday, June 30.
“The acting National Chairman in the said press briefing also reportedly announced that Senator Samuel Anyanwu has been asked to resume as National Secretary of the party contrary to the resolution of the 99th NEC meeting, which referred all matters relating to the office of the National Secretary to the 100th NEC meeting.
“The pronouncements by the acting National Chairman have no foundation as no organ of the party (including the NWC), individual or group has the power to cancel, overrule, veto or vary the resolution of the National Executive Committee (NEC) under the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017).
“For the avoidance of doubt, the NEC is the highest decision-making organ of the party, second only to the National Convention. By virtue of Section 31 (3) of the PDP Constitution, the resolution of the NEC to hold its 100th meeting on Monday June 30, is binding on all organs, officers, chapters and members of the party and no organ, group or individual can vary or veto this resolution of NEC.
“Furthermore, the claim by Damagum that Sen Anyanwu has been asked to resume office as the National Secretary of the party is, therefore, misleading being contrary to the resolution of NEC.
“In the light of the foregoing, the 100th NEC meeting as scheduled for Monday, June 30, has not been canceled or postponed.”
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has fired back at former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, following the latter’s scathing criticism of President Tinubu’s administration and his 2027 re-election prospects.
In an interview on live television, Mallam El-Rufai said it would take a “miracle” for President Tinubu to be re-elected in 2027, citing an internal poll that purportedly shows a 91 percent disapproval rating for the president across key regions in the country, including the South-East and the North. He also claimed that President Tinubu’s disapproval rating in Lagos stood at 78 percent.
Reacting on Wednesday via a post on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Onanuga took a swipe at the ex-governor, quoting a harsh assessment of Mallam El-Rufai’s character from former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s memoir, My Watch.
“Nasir’s penchant for reputation savaging is almost pathological,” Mr Onanuga wrote, citing Chief Obasanjo’s words. “Why does he do it? Very early in my interaction with him, I appreciated his talent. At the same time, I recognised his weaknesses; the worst being his inability to be loyal to anybody or any issue consistently for long, but only to Nasir El-Rufai.”
The presidential adviser emphasised Chief Obasanjo’s remarks that Mallam El-Rufai often tries to elevate himself by diminishing others. “He lied brazenly, which he did to me, against his colleagues and so-called friends,” Mr Onanuga continued, quoting the former President. “I have heard of how he ruthlessly savaged the reputation of his uncle, a man who, in an African setting, was like a foster father to him.”
Chief Obasanjo, who appointed Mallam El-Rufai as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory between 2003 and 2007, did not mince words in the memoir, describing Mallam El-Rufai as suffering from “small man syndrome.”
Mr Onanuga’s post is seen as a direct rebuttal to Mallam El-Rufai’s recent criticism and growing opposition role. The former governor is reportedly playing a central role in forming a new coalition to challenge President Tinubu in the 2027 general election.
In March 2025, El-Rufai officially dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP), intensifying speculations about his 2027 political ambitions.
As the political rift deepens, Mallam El-Rufai remains one of the most vocal critics of the Tinubu administration, while Mr Onanuga and other presidential allies continue to push back against what they describe as “reckless” opposition rhetoric.