Politics

Politics Of A Presidential Team And S’South Dev

Published

5 years ago

November 27, 2020

The meeting was originally scheduled and publicised to hold on Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital and apparent regional headquarters of the South-South geo-political zone. It was, however, botched and some illogical explanations advanced by the Presidency following a barrage of protestations and a demand for an unreserved apology from the Federal Government by governors, governments and peoples of the region.

Exactly one week later, on Tuesday, November 24, 2020, the meeting between the presidential delegation headed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, and a cross section of leaders of the region was reconvened at the Rivers State Government’s seat of power, this time around, without much pre-event promotional publicity that attended the ill-fated one.

Alongside the Chief of Staff on the presidential team were the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Power, Goddy Agba, Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo, Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, the Director General of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Magaji Bichi and the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, amongst others.

Conspicuously absent was the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, in spite of President Muhammadu Buhari’s express directive for all cabinet ministers from the region to be part of the delegation.

In attendance on the side of the South-South region were Governors Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Ben Ayade of Cross River State, Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, Douye Diri of Bayelsa State, Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State (who is also the chairman of the South-South Governors Forum) and other stakeholders like the National chairman of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Idongesit Nkanga.

While there is no indication yet whether the presidency offered the apology earlier demanded by the South-South stakeholders or that the leaders of the region insisted on it, the meeting obviously sailed smoothly.

Intended to identify and deal with latent fundamental issues with the potential of re-enacting the ill-fated #ENDSARS nationwide protests, the meeting, which had also held in other regions of the country, lived up to its billing as it afforded the South-South region’s leaders the opportunity to present nagging socio-political and economic concerns of the people.

Making the presentation on behalf of the governors and peoples of the region, the chairman of the South-South Governors Forum and Governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa demanded the restructuring of the Nigerian Federation to align with the principles of true federalism as a guarantee for peace, security and political stability of the nation.

According to Governor Okowa, only the practice of “True federalism guided by the principle of derivation, revenue sharing and control of resources by each state of the federation as it was the case in the First Republic” would meet the aspiration of the people.

“We are all aware of the huge endowment of this country. As such, it is imperative to stress that with a little bit of effort, imagination, hard work, sacrifice and leadership, every state of the federation, as of today, has the ability and capability to contribute to the national purse. This should be encouraged rather than the whole country depending substantially on a region of the country.

“What is worse and even more painful in this ugly situation is the deliberate lack of understanding, empathy and the uncompromising attitude of some Nigerians, who have refused to understand the challenges of the South-South region of the country, especially, the degradation of the environment and our waters. As a result, most of the demands of the region have remained unattended to while the resources of the region have been used continually to develop other parts of the country”, he said.

While reiterating the agitation for the relocation of the headquarters of all oil multi-nationals operating in the country and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) subsidiaries from Lagos and Abuja to the South-South region, Okowa urged the immediate implementation of the consent judgement delivered in the Supreme Court suit No: SC/964/2016 to enable the South-South region get its share of $55 billion shortfall of collection of deep offshore and inland basin production sharing contracts.

The Governor of Delta State underlined the commitment of the South-South region to the restructuring of Nigeria in a way that guarantees fiscal federalism and devolution of powers to the states to create and manage their own police and security architecture under a federal structure.

He further demanded the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Port Harcourt, Calabar and Warri Seaports in order to enhance the economic development of the region while asking for the immediate privatisation of the Federal Government owned refineries in Port Harcourt and Warri with the states in the region considered for considerable equity in fairness and justice.

In fact, the presentation is captured succinctly in a seven-point demand viz:

1. Immediate relocation of headquarters of oil multinationals to their operational bases in the South-South region.

2. Immediate relocation of government-owned oil subsidiaries from Lagos and Abuja to the South-South region.

3. Immediate completion of the East-West Road under construction.

4. Immediate privatization of the two refineries in Port Harcourt and the one in Warri for efficiency.

5. Release of all funds due the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and that henceforth, all NDDC projects be executed in consultation with State governors.

6. The reactivation of seaports in Calabar, Port Harcourt and Warri, including the realisation of the Lagos – Calabar rail line.

7. The implementation of true federalism, resource control, fair revenue sharing and state police as the way to achieving a better Nigeria.

While promising to present the demands of the region to President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof. Gambari said that beyond the #ENDSARS issues, President Buhari acknowledges that the citizens in the region have also been dealing with other peculiarities such as the degradation of the environment due to decades of neglect, mishandling and non-adherence to environmental sustainability standards.

Many people in the region have since expressed mixed feelings with regard to the meeting as some hold that there was nothing new about the demands and all that was needed to make a difference in the socio-economic fortunes of the people of the region and engender peace, stability and development was the political will to implement the age – old demands.

The question is: What hope is there that this meeting will bring any succour to the suffering people of the oil rich region?

The Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege has already pointed out that much of what is being demanded can only be achieved through a constitutional amendment. However, there are a whole lot of others that can be achieved through the exercise of political will by the President and commander- in-chief of the Armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

For example, while it is true that such issues as resource control, devolution of power and the like may not be achievable by a Presidential Fiat, the completion of the East-West Road, the revamping of the seaports and related others can be done by executive intervention and policy reorientation.

Indeed, the governors and those who represented the people of the region did not make any fresh demands from the Federal Government. They merely repeated what had been the main thrust of the heart cry of the people through the activities and presentations articulated and enunciated over the years by such groups as the Ijaw National Congress (INC), the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), the Traditional Rulers of Oil Mineral Producing Communities (TROMPCOM) and sundry ethnic nationalities, associations and personalities at various official and non-formal fora.

All said and done, the people of the South-South are not asking for special favours from the Nigerian Federation. All they ask of the Nigerian State is fairness, equity, justice and inclusion. And these are the ingredients for a stable and sustainable polity.

By: Opaka Dokubo

Politics

INEC Sets Rivers South-East Senatorial By-Election For June 20

Published

5 days ago

May 13, 2026

The Tide

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled June 20, 2026, for a series of by-elections into vacant National Assembly seats, with particular focus on the Rivers South-East Senatorial District, where the death of Senator Barinada Mpigi has created a significant political vacuum.

The Rivers contest is expected to draw heightened attention in the oil-rich state, as political actors position for influence in a district long regarded as strategic to the balance of power in Rivers State.

INEC disclosed that the by-elections will hold concurrently with the Ekiti State governorship election, underscoring what promises to be a politically charged day across several parts of the country.

Beyond Rivers, the electoral body listed other affected constituencies to include Nasarawa North Senatorial District, Dawakin Kudu/Warawa Federal Constituency in Kano State, Ondo South Senatorial District, and Enugu North Senatorial District.

The vacancies, according to INEC, arose from a combination of deaths, resignation, and other constitutional developments. In Nasarawa, the demise of Senator Godiya Akwashika has left a gap in a district considered a stronghold of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In Enugu, the passing of Senator Okey Ezea has set the stage for a competitive race in the South-East.

Similarly, the Ondo South seat became vacant following the resignation of Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, who now serves as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, while the Dawakin Kudu/Warawa seat in Kano opened up after the death of Hon. Muhammad Danjuma Hassan.

Analysts say the Rivers South-East by-election, in particular, could reshape political alignments in the state, as parties jostle to fill the void left by Sen. Mpigi and consolidate their foothold ahead of future electoral contests.

Politics

2027: Bayelsa Senator Gets Critical Endorsement For Second Term

Published

5 days ago

May 13, 2026

The Tide

Stakeholder from Bayelsa East Senatorial District, on Monday, endorsed the incumbent Senator representing them to run for a second term.

Leading the stakeholders, the former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism and Special Adviser to Governor Douye Diri on Political Affairs (iii), Dr Iti Orugbani, said the reason for the endorsement was based on the federal lawmaker’s trajectory of good deeds and massive execution of projects across communities of the Senatorial district.

Dr Orugbani highlighted some of the projects to include landing jetties, telecommunication masts and town halls amongst others, noting that Sen. Agadaga’s performance has exceeded those of others who hitherto represented the oil rich area.

Bayelsa East Senatorial District comprises Ogbia, Brass and Nembe Local Government Areas of the State.

The Governor’s aide who called on the State’s Eastern political enclave to respect the 2022 new zoning agreement, which guaranteed second term for Senators from the District, stressed the need for political tolerance and peace in the forthcoming 2027 polls.

“In 2022 the leaders and stakeholders across party lines from Bayelsa East held a meeting and altered the old single term for Senators from the district’s agreement and signed that begining from 2023 any Senator emerging from the district must serve for a minimum of two terms.

“In 2023, Senator Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, then an incumbent Senator representing the Senatorial district under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was given a second term ticket by the party. Though he lost to the PDP.

“Now that the entire state is now APC and the District has an APC Senator in the person of Benson Agadaga from Ogbia LGA, why not also give him a second tenure?

“The stakeholders in 2022 changed the old political agreement because they saw that it wasn’t beneficial to the district any longer. And so, because it was Ogbia Local Government Area that started the old zoning arrangement by producing the first Senator in 1999, I want to plead that let Ogbia also begin the new two terms zoning agreement”, he said.

Also speaking, the duo of woman leader of a support group, ‘Agadema Women’, Mrs. Owadaba Jokori and the Information Officer of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Central Zone, Comrade Ikio, stated that the incumbent Senator has done well for the district in the past three years that he has been in office.

They lauded the federal lawmaker for his infrastructure projects, especially the construction of landing jetties in select communities of the three local government areas of the district, commending stakeholders for supporting the lawmaker in his second term bid.

In his remarks, Senator Agadaga thanked the stakeholders for the confidence reposed in him and the endorsements he has received lately from constituents and admirers across political parties.

The lawmaker noted that within the past three years that he has been Senator, he has delivered dividends of democracy to his constituents across the Senatorial District, emphasizing that the call for him to be senator from the Brass Senatorial District came to him as a surprise, noting that he accepted the clarion call when the clamour became so loud.

“I was Chief of Staff to the State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, when various groups from the zone came calling on me to contest the 2023 Senatorial polls.

“Ever since winning the elections as a senator, I’ve continued to deliver on my mandate in both representation, lawmaking, oversight, project execution and support for constituents when called upon. And I shall continue to do more if elected for a second term”, the Senator said.

By Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa

Politics

2027: Court Sets Deadline For Suit Seeking To Disqualify Jonathan

Published

5 days ago

May 13, 2026

The Tide

Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has set May 15 as deadline for definite hearing in a suit filed by a lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi, seeking to stop former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election.

The judge on Monday shifted the hearing date following the absence of the plaintiff, Mr Jideobi, and his lawyer in court without any information.

Apart from the absence of the plaintiff, who is a legal practitioner, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, who are 2nd and 3rd defendants in the matter, were also not in court.

Following the absence of the plaintiff and the two defendants, Chris Uche, SAN, representing Dr Jonathan, applied to the court to strike out the suit for lack of diligent prosecution.

Having joined issues with each other, Mr Uche said, the suit is liable for dismissal with a N5 million cost to be awarded against the plaintiff and payable to Dr Jonathan.

He argued that from all indications, the plaintiff has abandoned the suit and ran away upon sighting the preliminary objections raised against the suit, adding that the court is a busy place and not for unserious matters.

Justice Lifu, however, noted that there was no evidence of service of hearing notice on INEC and AGF to appear in court for the suit, adding that lack of service of hearing notice is fundamental.

The judge said rather than striking out the suit, he prefers to bend backward to accommodate the plaintiff and the two defendants for the last time.

While adjourning the matter to May 15, Justice Lifu ordered that hearing notice be served on the plaintiff and the 2nd and 3rd defendants who were not in court on Monday.

The plaintiff, Mr Jideobi, had filed the case seeking an order to restrain Dr Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party as an aspirant for the 2027 election.

He is also asking the court to stop INEC from accepting, processing or publishing Dr Jonathan’s name as a presidential candidate.