News
2019: I’ll Do Everything Possible To Ensure Buhari’s Defeat – Obasanjo
Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has said that he would do everything ‘humanly’ possible to protect and safeguard the nation’s nascent democracy current under threat in the hands of the All Progressives Congress-led government.
He spoke yesterday at the public presentation of a book, “Politics As Dashed Hopes in Nigeria” authored by Dr Auwalu Anwar, where he was the chairman of the occasion.
He said while President Muhammadu Buhari and APC should be given the credit for the ouster of the former President Goodluck Jonathan and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led government when Nigerians were disenchanted, noted Buhari has failed in all indices of development.
He noted that President Buhari has failed in almost four years into his administration to provide security, fight corruption and create jobs for teeming Nigerians youth as clearly pointed out by the author in his book.
He congratulated the author for the courage, the discipline and the research work he undertook to write the book.
Obasanjo said he attempted to read the book and saw what he termed the author’s frustration which led to a somewhat melancholic title of the book.
He said even though he was not at the occasion to review the book but to speak on some issues since the book is about Buhari Campaign Organisation (BCO) Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Progressives Congress (APC) and Buhari’s political life, up to second years of Buhari’s administration.
He said: “I will touch on three or four points that will be of interest for all of us at this juncture. Dr Anwar pointed out that President Buhari served the purpose of galvanising efforts to get Jonathan and PDP out of office.
“Buhari and APC must get the credit for that have strengthened our democracy. Because democracy without strong opposition is like marriage without the bridegroom to consummate the marriage.
“But on the mid-term scorecard, Dr Anwar pointed out three significant and tangible areas of failure- security, fighting corruption and job. creation. As at today, these three areas are still where they were at mid-term, not yet a success story.
“Dr Anwar also touched on three critical but intangible areas of failure, which includes reciprocal loyalty, exemplary leadership which include character and power for its sake or what I may call power for self-aggrandisement.
“Well, I understand where Dr Anwar is coming from to get the title of his book. But we must replace despair with optimism.
“Only last November at the launching of the Africa Progressive Group (APG), I raised five pillars African development, growth and progress as politics, population, protection, prosperity and partnership.
“Politics which is essentially governance has overarching importance over other four pillars but I am not in despair. And I will ask Dr Anwar and the rest of us not to be in despair because our hope lies in democracy,” he said.
He noted that the hope of the nation lies in a democracy with good governance, which the hallmark is a free, fair, transparent and credible election.
He disclosed that elections would take place in four significant countries in West Africa between now and next year -Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire. In the four cases, the incumbents were in opposition and took over from the ruling parties.
He said that was good for strengthening and deepening of democracy, saying the world was watching how the elections in these countries would cumulatively strength, deepen and stabilise democracy in the four countries.
“As for me, I will do everything humanly possible to safeguard democracy in Nigeria and I believe that is the main purpose of Dr Anwar’s book,” he said.
He warned that there was no need for any Nigerian to stand aloof when evil is perpetrated, saying anybody who cherishes democracy must work hard to safeguard it.
Obasanjo said that the time has come when every Nigerian must have a Nigerian dream where there must be some commonalities, even as he said that in assessing the mid-term government of Buhari, security, fighting corruption and job creation remain where they were when the government started as it was not yet a success story.
According to him, if Nigeria as a country must get it right, especially entrenching good democracy, there must be good governance, free and credible elections.
Speaking, yesterday, at the Public Presentation of a book titled, “Politics As Dashed Hopes In Nigeria”, by Dr. Auwalu Anwar, Obasanjo, however, urged Nigerians to rise and defend the country’s fledgling democracy.
The former President said that he would do everything within him that was humanly possible to safeguard democracy for good governance in Nigeria and for all Nigerians, just as he said that in the next couple of months, four West Africa countries of Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire will be having their elections, adding that one common feature is that the four incumbent presidents were in the opposition and people voted for them.
He said that the world is watching to see how they would strengthen democracy in their respective countries.
Obasanjo, who was the chairman of the book presentation at the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, said that democracy without a strong opposition is akin to a marriage without a bridegroom to consummate the marriage.
The book, which is published by Safari Books, is made up of 22 chapters, with 614 pages.
The former President said, “I am not in despair and I would ask the rest of us not to be in despair; our hope lies in democracy with good governance as one of the hallmarks which is free, fair, transparent and credible elections.
“What should be our take home; yes things may be gloomy, things may not be what they should be, yes leadership may be underperforming, we must not lose hope, that is the first thing.
“The second is that I believe we must have some commonalities that we will all hang on to. One our common nationality, Nigeria; this is the time when we must have a Nigerian dream, what is Nigerian dream, what can I hang on to? Yes, I am a Nigerian and because I am a Nigerian I expect this.
“And I believe if we all see ourselves first as Nigerians and then we enunciate for ourselves the Nigerian dream, a land flowing with milk and honey, a land of opportunity, a land that gives you a stake in all that it is, I think, we will have a country that we can all be proud of.
SERAP, in a statement released by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, yesterday, said the allegations involved the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Cash Transfer Office and the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office.
The allegations were documented in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2024 Annual Report, published on August 7, 2026.
According to the report, the findings covered various periods between January 2023 and December 31, 2024.
In the suit, marked ECW/CCJ/APP/42/26 and filed last week, SERAP is seeking a declaration that the government’s failure to account for the funds violates Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
The organisation is also asking the court to order the government to provide a comprehensive account of the questioned funds, investigate the alleged irregularities, recover any money improperly spent or diverted where established, and strengthen financial oversight of social-protection programmes.
SERAP argued that the alleged financial irregularities could undermine the rights of vulnerable Nigerians to social security and an adequate standard of living, including access to food, clothing and housing.
The statement party read, “The funds were intended to benefit over 3.2 million households across 35 states, whose access to financial assistance has been affected by the allegations made by the Auditor-General.”
The suit, filed by SERAP’s lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Kehinde Oyewumi, stated that the government’s failure to investigate the allegations and recover any improperly spent funds violated its obligations to protect vulnerable households.
“The failure to investigate the N78.8 billion cash-transfer scandal, account for the questioned funds and recover any unlawfully spent amounts violates Nigeria’s obligations to protect the human rights of vulnerable households,” the suit partly read.
The organisation said it instituted the case to protect affected households and ensure accountability for public funds allocated for their benefit.
“SERAP brings this public-interest case to protect the interests of affected households and ensure accountability for public funds allocated for their benefit,” it stated.
The organisation maintained that cash-transfer programmes could help address extreme poverty and enable vulnerable people to meet their basic needs, but argued that the government had a duty to ensure the funds were properly managed.
“The right to social security cannot be effectively realised merely by establishing a formal cash-transfer programme where the State fails to maintain reasonable systems for identifying beneficiaries, maintaining records, reconciling disbursements, monitoring expenditure, investigating irregularities and remedying losses,” the statement further stated.
According to SERAP, the Auditor-General questioned approximately N33.751bn reportedly transferred to more than 3.2 million households across 35 states in 2023, noting that adequate records to verify the payments and reconcile beneficiary records were not provided.
The report also identified N36.744bn in payments allegedly made without prepayment audits, N4.616bn in unsupported expenditures, N350.182m for enrolment, N89.511m for store purchases and N17.422m in diesel advances.
SERAP said the suit was brought under Article 9(4) of the ECOWAS Court Protocol to protect affected households and ensure accountability for public funds intended for social protection.
“The issue is whether the government has discharged its obligations under applicable human-rights treaties to safeguard resources allocated for social protection, investigate documented financial irregularities, provide effective remedies and ensure that those resources are applied for their intended purposes,” it stated.
The organisation also cited the constitutional responsibility of the Auditor-General to audit and report on the public accounts of the Federation and the offices and agencies of the Federal Government, describing the findings in the annual report as important official records of public expenditure.
It relied on Articles 1 and 2 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, arguing that the government had obligations to give effect to protected rights and ensure that failures in administering social-protection programmes did not result in discriminatory exclusion or unequal access to benefits.
“The Nigerian government has the obligation to take effective measures to prevent and address corruption and related misuse of public resources. The government has failed to take appropriate measures in response to the allegations made by the Auditor-General”, the statement added.
SERAP said it had previously urged President Bola Tinubu and relevant authorities to account for the questioned funds, publish audit records, investigate irregular expenditures, recover any funds unlawfully spent or diverted and take appropriate action against those responsible.
Following the publication of the Auditor-General’s report, the organisation issued a public statement and sent a letter dated September 5, 2026, requesting action on the findings. It also sought payment and beneficiary records, verification documents and an explanation for the missing REMITA records.
“The deadline given to the government to address the Auditor-General’s findings had elapsed without adequate action,” it stated.
The organisation further cited Articles 1 and 21 of the African Charter, alongside Article 9 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, as requiring effective measures to protect rights and resources, promote transparent public financial management, investigate irregularities and recover public funds where losses or improper expenditure were established.
SERAP also relied on the works of legal scholar Kolawole Olaniyan, including Corruption and Human Rights Law in Africa, published by Hart Publishing in 2014, and Ownership of Proceeds of Corruption in International Law, published by Oxford University Press in 2023. It said the publications provided persuasive academic authority on corruption’s effects on human rights, public resources, accountability and international legal remedies.
“SERAP accordingly submits that the Auditor-General’s findings cannot be treated merely as administrative irregularities where public funds allocated for social protection may have been lost, improperly spent or left unaccounted for, and the government fails to take effective corrective action,” the statement added.
SERAP is asking the court to direct the government to conduct an independent, prompt and effective investigation into the identified irregularities, recover public funds improperly spent, diverted or lost where established, and take appropriate legal or administrative action against those found responsible, in accordance with due process.
It also wants the government to strengthen financial accountability, beneficiary verification, auditing, reconciliation and oversight mechanisms to prevent a recurrence of the alleged irregularities and ensure that eligible vulnerable households receive their intended benefits.
The organisation is further seeking an order restraining the government from administering or disbursing cash-transfer and social-protection funds without adequate accountability and oversight mechanisms, as well as appropriate remedies for any established adverse effects on beneficiaries’ protected rights.
No date has, however, been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
The intervention covers 79 universities, 46 polytechnics and 41 colleges of education, with universities receiving the largest share of the allocation.
The Federal Ministry of Finance disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday by its Head of Media, Efe Ovuakporie, explaining that the funds would support approved projects in beneficiary institutions.
The statement read, “The Federal Government has disbursed N38.93bn to 166 public tertiary institutions nationwide under the Needs Assessment Revitalisation Fund.”
According to the ministry, the university component accounts for N28.5bn, while N5.8bn has been allocated to polytechnics and N4.7bn to colleges of education.
According to the ministry, the university component accounts for N28.5bn, while N5.8bn has been allocated to polytechnics and N4.7bn to colleges of education.
An analysis of the allocations by PUNCH Online showed that universities would receive approximately 73.2 per cent of the announced N38.93bn intervention, making them the largest beneficiaries.
Polytechnics would account for about 14.9 per cent, while colleges of education would receive approximately 12.1 per cent.
The ministry explained that the intervention was intended to address longstanding infrastructure challenges in public tertiary institutions and support the implementation of agreements reached between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
It stated, “The intervention forms part of the Federal Government’s efforts to address the needs of public universities and support the implementation of agreed measures under the Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities.”
The Needs Assessment Revitalisation Fund is designed to support improvements in institutional infrastructure and other identified needs, particularly in public universities, where inadequate facilities have remained a recurring concern in negotiations between the government and academic unions.
The ministry said the latest disbursement would enable beneficiary institutions to begin new projects or continue previously approved interventions aimed at improving their operational capacity.
“The funds are expected to enable beneficiary institutions to commence or advance approved projects addressing critical infrastructure and other identified institutional needs, with the overall objective of strengthening the quality of tertiary education in Nigeria,” it added.
The government also emphasised the need for coordination among the Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Ministry of Education and beneficiary institutions to ensure that the released funds produced measurable improvements.
It noted that effective collaboration would be necessary to translate the financial intervention into improved infrastructure, institutional capacity and learning conditions.
The Bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Federal Universities of Agriculture Act, Cap. F22, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2024” was sponsored by Senator Ipalibo Harry Banigo representing Rivers West Senatorial District.
The bill seeks to amend the existing Federal Universities of Agriculture Act to provide for the establishment of the proposed institution in Emughan community in Rivers State.
The passage of the bill by the Senate marks a significant legislative milestone towards the establishment of the proposed university.
When established, the institution is expected to expand access to higher education, promote agricultural research and innovation, develop skilled manpower, and contribute to the economic growth of Rivers State and Nigeria at large.
According to a statement made available to The Tide, the bill, having passed the Third Reading in the Senate, will now proceed to the House of Representatives for concurrence as part of the legislative process towards its enactment into law.
The bill underscores Senator Banigo’s commitment to advancing educational opportunities and strengthening agricultural development in Rivers State.
By: Kevin Nengia
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