Saraki's Camp In Disarray As Ekweremadu In Secret 'Coup' To Oust The Senate President, You'll Be Shocked At This Revelations

Report according to Ripples Nigeria has it that what began as an innocuous award to Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, on Tuesday has created serious unease in the camp of Dr. Bukola Saraki, incumbent leader of the Senate, who is currently facing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal for false declaration of assets.

The award, ‘Anti-corruption Ambassador,’ which is now mired in controversy was reportedly cooked for Mr. Ekweremadu by the Liaison Officer of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the National Assembly, Mr. Sulaiman Bakari. The agency has since denied the said staff, leaving the Deputy Senate President thoroughly embarrassed and feeling that he may have been scammed.

Sources close to Senator Saraki say that the anti-corruption crusader award bestowed on his deputy took his camp by surprise, coming at a time the Senate President’s integrity was being questioned both at the tribunal and in the Panama Paper leaks. Saraki’s loyalists are now querying the original intentions behind the Ekweremadu misadventure, a source confided in Ripples Nigeria.

What has emerged is that the Saraki and Ekweremadu camps are heading for an apparent showdown as mutual distrust sets in. The Saraki camp is alleging underground moves to unmake their principal via a ‘timed coup’.

The unease among the Saraki elements heightened on Wednesday when the Deputy Senate President emerged from a closed-door session of the Senate to announce that the upper legislative chamber was reversing some of its earlier decisions which had drawn the ire of Nigerians and made Saraki even more unpopular.

Among others, Ekweremadu said the Senate was suspending further debate on amendments proposed for the Code of Conduct Act which many believe was instigated by Saraki to extricate himself from the CCT trial.

He also announced that the Senate was standing down the suspension clamped on Senator Kabir Marafa, a known Saraki critic who wanted the Senate President sacked soon after he was elected.

He added that the Senate had also resolved that all members who had cases instituted in the courts against their colleagues should have same withdrawn, emphasizing that the Senate was now more united than before.

Finally, he said that Senators will stand by their embattled President all through the course of the trial at the CCT. While many at the Senate closed-door session cheered, reports say that die-hard Saraki loyalists were not amused and have since drawn a battle line.

Our source said, “We are surprised at the Deputy Senate President. We believe that the award was an orchestrated move to rubbish Dr. Saraki and position himself as a saint. We see through this charade, and are not impressed.

“We smell a dirty plot, a timed coup to stampede Oga out of office.

“We think Ekweremadu is in a hurry to be Senate President. They should allow the law to run its course. Dr. Saraki has said he would not resign and is ready to face trial. This set back is only temporary. We are confident he will prevail in the end”, he said.

Last week, the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Odigie John Oyegun, sent the clearest signal till date of the party’s resolve to sack the troubled Senate President. He had given indications that the APC would spare nothing to oust Saraki.

Analysts believe that Ekweremadu’s succession plots may have been bolstered by Oyegun’s pronouncements.

One commentator told Ripples Nigeria, “The man has a right to aspire. There is a gap to be filled, and this has been made manifest by APC chieftains who have come out to say that they do not want Saraki anymore.

“Politicians are the same everywhere. They are all opportunists and would seize the moment if an opportunity presents itself. Ekweremadu cannot be an exception. He has been lying in wait for long.

“I think he is being edged on by permutations that the opposition party, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have a comfortable standing in the Red Chamber and only require a few disgruntled APC Senators to climb the throne”, he noted.

The apprehensions in Saraki camp, reports say, are the reason behind the latest plot by his legal team to cause further delays in his trial.

On Wednesday, the Agabi-led legal defence force got their principal to formally request that the CCT Chairman, Danladi Umar, quit the trial on grounds of alleged bias against Saraki. There are speculations that Saraki’s camp won’t take matters lying low and are preparing to unleash a media war against all perceived enemies, with Ekweremadu no exception.

Though no official words have come from either camp, the Deputy Senate President, it is gathered, has reached out to Saraki to reassure him that he means well. An inside source said, “Yes, he called to let him into all the goings-on in the Senate and all is well between the Senate President and his Deputy. He is privy to all that transpired.

“It is very clear that there is no love lost between the two. We will stand by our leader, no matter what,” he said.

Source: Ripples Nigeria

It's Too Early To Condemn Buhari - PDP Chieftain, Bode George

Chief Olabode George, a former southwest Vice-Chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has said it is too early to batch President Muhammadu Buhari-led government of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

Chief George in an interview with the Daily Sun opined that the President grap­ples with the myriads of problems confronting the country urged Nigerians to be patient with Buhari. He said  he has refrained from joining is­sues with him because, “it is just a year and person­ally, I don’t believe this is the time to start kicking them”, described Nigeri­ans as “ very impatient.”

He, however, identified the con­gregation of different groups in the party which has defied proper fusion as the major cause of the many problems afflicting the government which has slowed down progress. Describing the President’s All Progressives Congress (APC) as a “congregation of strange bed fellows”, he averred that the instabil­ity in the party has frus­trated the expectations and hopes of Nigerians on the government, adding that, “if you don’t have a solid political foundation, for­get about any economic growth.”

George further advised the APC not to make the mistake of the PDP by al­lowing these crises and di­visions, which he blamed for the latter’s ouster from government in the 2015 presidential elections.

“For me, it is still too early. Understandably, they came from differ­ent groups that make up the party. They are still struggling…politics and political activities are the foundations for economic growth.

“If you don’t have a solid political foundation, forget about any econom­ic growth. It is sine qua non. There is CPC, ACN, APGA, nPDP. It is a con­gregation of strange bed­fellows. It will take time for them to melt together.

“We don’t want to go into that crises and the divi­sions, because we know what happened to our party that we got a bloody nose. Thank God it was not a technical knockout”

Excerpted From Daily Sun

David Mark REJECTS Offer To Replace Saraki, Declares Support For APC; 4 Names Shortlisted

Tense mood pervaded the Senate proceedings on Tuesday, following the departure of the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, to attend the sitting of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), in respect of his ongoing trial for false asset declaration.

The Nigerian senators were said to be unhappy at the development, especially with the symbol of the institution being kept in the dock during Senate sittings.

“We cannot shave someone’s head in his absence,” said a lawmaker, who added that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has not debated the issue of who replaces Saraki if he is possibly swept aside through the ongoing trial,” sources said.

The lawmakers said the issue of who takes over at the helm of the Senate would only be taken within a few days when it became obvious.

The development was coming on the heels of the revelation that the immediate past Senate president, Senator David Mark, has rejected subtle offers that he takes over from Saraki, in case the Senate president is removed.

Sources close to the former Senate president told the Nigerian Tribune in Abuja that Mark was content with playing the role of an elder in the Senate, adding that he would continue to be a guide to the Senate at critical times.

“I can tell you that the former Senate president is content with his role as the conscience of the eighth senate. He is of the view that the PDP should allow the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) run the show, so that the former ruling party could play its role as opposition.

“We in the PDP have had our time and Senator Mark is of the view that the APC should be allowed to run its government, so that they don’t turn around and blame anyone for obstructing them,” the source said.

It, however, emerged that the pro and anti-Saraki forces have continued their strategy meetings despite the daily sittings at the CCT.

While some members of the SUF, who have clamoured for a united APC caucus in the Senate, had also canvassed the emergence of a unity candidate in case Saraki was removed, the Like Mind Senators, the group loyal to Saraki, had continued to bank on the support of the PDP to dictate the pace.

It was gathered that the groups had agreed to field a unity candidate if Saraki was removed.

“One of the issues said to have been agreed to at the different caucus meetings is the fact that a unity candidate should emerge and that could lead to the emergence of a compromise candidate,” a source said.

It was gathered that some names had been thrown up, but no conclusion had been reached so far.

Those being mentioned included Senator Shaba Lafiaji (Kwara), Barnabas Gemade (Benue), Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa) and the Deputy Senate President, Ekweremadu (Enugu).

In another development, the Senate announced on Tuesday that the National Security Adviser and service chiefs would appear before the lawmakers today.

Their appearance was in connection with the summon extended to them last week by the Senate over the  missing Chibok girls, kidnapped by Boko Haram elements in 2014.

Ekweremadu, who presided over the sitting, said the NSA and the service chiefs would be in the chamber by 10.00 a.m., while urging the senators to be punctual.

Ekweremadu said that the Senate was worried at the continuous disappearance of the abducted girls and apparent lack of information on what the security agencies were doing to secure their release.

In another motion passed on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, the lawmakers approved the continued importation of used tyres, popularly called Tokunbo, into the country through land borders.

The motion followed the passage of the motion, entitled: “the use of substandard or used tyres on Nigerian roads,” sponsored by Senator Shehu Sani.

Sani, in his motion, expressed worry about the growing deaths from road traffic accidents.

He said from 2010 to date, statistics had shown that over 5,000 lives had been lost on Nigerian roads as a result of burst tyres.

He said the development was either due to low quality or over-use of the tyres.

But the Senate failed to empower the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC) and Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) to conduct a random checks on tyres in use across the country.

Nigerian Tribune

'To Hell With You', I'll Work With Whomever I Chose - Kogi Gov. Bello Dares APC

In a daring manner, the Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has said it is his constitutional right to appoint his personal aides without any recourse to any group of people, provided the individuals meet up the requirement as stipulated by law of the land, Ripples Nigeria reported

The ‎governor speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Mallam Abdulkarim Abdulmalik, at the weekend was reacting to an alleged letter purportedly written by the State Executive of All Progressive Congress, APC, to the national leadership of the party.

The Governor said he was yet to be informed by the National Secretariat of the ‎APC about the petition, adding that he is running an all-inclusive government and the APC leadership are free to recommend any body for any appointment provided the person meets certain criteria for such positions.

He said his government is working towards unity and as such his doors are always open to accommodate everybody irrespective of religion, ethnic and political differences.

The governor accused the State Chairman of the APC, Alhaji Haddi Ametuo, of hiding under the party to play clannish games and PDP card against his government because his favoured choice, Honourable Jimoh Lawal, was removed as Speaker of the House of Assembly by the lawmakers.

Bello said his administration has demonstrated commitment towards rebuilding the state and unite the people for peaceful co-existence through people-oriented policies and programme.

This according to him attested to the warm reception accorded him at Okene when he was recently received by a large crowd that thronged the city square to rejoice with him over his victory at the polls.

“I will not behave like the past leaders, who now regret not doing the right thing while in office due to selfish pressure mounted on them by some people. Anybody with impeccable credentials and feels that he has something to offer the state can come forward,” Governor Bello stated.

The Governor further explained that his government will continue to accord respect to every citizen of the state adding that the day of ethnicity and inter-tribal crisis are over.

Source: Ripples Nigeria

Osun Speaker Faults Senate CCB/T, ACT Acts Amendment

Speaker, State of Osun House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Najeem Salaam has expressed his objection to the amendment of Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) acts coupled with Administration of Criminal justice act being currently undertaken  by the Senate, saying the timing was wrong and the perception was negative.

In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Goke Butika, Speaker Salaam stressed that the insensitivity displayed by the sponsor of the bills has further aggravated the misconception of the people about the disposition of the National Assembly towards the anti-corruption fight of President Muhamnadu Buhari led government.

He charged the lawmakers of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to as a matter of duty, address the world Press conference and disassociate themselves from the legislative rascality being championed by some Senators who enjoyed confrontation with the executive, in order to be seen and be believed to be working on the same page with the President, and to make a statement that they would support any action suggesting changing of the goal post in the middle of the game.

He said: "Our party promised to be fair and just to all Nigerians irrespective of party affiliation, and the potent way to do that is to allow the course of justice to run without fair or favour, but for some Senators to now come up with controversial bills that would be perceived to be designed for personal interest of an individual suggests that some people are enjoying the raging confrontation between the National Assembly and the Executive, and any progressive minded APC lawmaker must not be found in that mode."

Speaker Salaam then clarified that there was no crime in sponsoring bill, but the two bills slated for amendment were crucial to the trial of the Senate President Bukola Saraki, despite the fact that they would not have retrospective value to the case at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, but the timing of the amendment would push Nigerians to hold the National Assembly in contempt, and could have a trickle-down effect on the perception of the people at the state legislature.

He asserted that there could be a genuine friction between any of the two arms of government, but the disagreement must be on principles of national interest, saying that Nigerians were suffering, and would want the legislature and the executive to operate on the same wavelength in order to deliver palliative measures and good governance that would generate life abundance for citizenry; saying that was the credible way to assert independence of institutions, not a celebrated crisis in the media.

Signed:

Goke Butika

CPS to the Speaker

CCT Trial: Saraki Dumped In Pool Of Own Fate; Dino Melaye, Goje, Wammako, Others Back Down as Camp In Disarray

The Nation - Hours after the refusal of the fundamental rights application by Senate President Bukola Saraki to stop his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) by a Federal High Court in Abuja, there were signs at the weekend that some of his prominent loyalists within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may be retracing their steps.

There were strong indications that they may be opting to support an ongoing move by the leadership of the party to unite the party’s caucus in the national assembly.

Reliable national assembly sources told The Nation yesterday that prior to the judgment delivered by Justice Abdul Kafarati on Friday, some frontline supporters of the embattled Senate President have resolved to withdraw their support for Saraki in his bid to remain in office as Senate President while his trial at the CCT lasts.

In the meantime, the National Chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has ruled out the possibility of the party losing the senate presidency to the opposition. In an interview with an online medium, The Premium Times, he said, “We don’t take anything for granted. As they are planning, we are also planning. The situation is under control.”

He insisted that the party is not likely to lose the position to the opposition, but noted that should this happen, it will have to be the ‘price’ for the desired ‘change’.

It was also learnt that some members of the Senate President’s camp in the national assembly are now of the view that the incessant face-off between the legislature and the presidency allegedly being generated by Saraki’s trial at the CCT, is needless and avoidable.

“Hence, some of them are ready to support a change in the leadership of the senate to save the ruling party from further crises and at the same time represent the yearnings of their constituents for good governance by ensuring strict adherence to the provisions of the laws of the country,” our source, a Senator from Lagos State, said.

“Mr. Senate President is currently facing charges that borders on false declaration of assets … The issue has gone beyond mere accusations as he has already gone down in history as the first serving Senate President in the country to be docked in a competent court.

“Sadly, one recalls that there is a way these things have been handled in the past to save the national assembly, and by extension, the government, from unnecessary embarrassment. All former presiding officers of the National Assembly, who were faced with similar charges, first resigned their positions in order to protect the integrity and sanctity of the country’s hallowed chambers.”

The senator regrets that what has been happening in the last few months “were blatant display of disregard for the sanctity of the senate by some misled and confused senators whose loyalty is not to the country, but to an individual or group.”

The senator added, “But one is happy today, to tell you that things are changing for better. For one, I can tell you the APC caucus in the senate is working towards uniting all. We are healing the divide imposed on us by self serving individuals. We are all returning our loyalty to the party and the government.”

The Nation gathered that attendance at the regular and emergency meetings  of the ‘Like Minds Senators’, the group of senators loyal to the President of Senate, has plummeted in recent times, giving credence to talks about serious cracks in the ranks of Saraki  loyalists.

Senate sources put the reduction in attendance to the activities of a committee instituted by the APC caucus in the national assembly to unite the legislators elected on the platform of the ruling party. According to reliable sources, the committee, that has core Saraki allies in the likes of Senators Aliyu Wammako, Danjuma Goje, Kabiru Gaya, Ahmed Yerima and Adamu Aliero, as members, is championing a united APC caucus that is loyal to the party and government as against the current arrangement of a divided caucus.

For instance, a meeting called yesterday at the residence of Saraki in continuation of the one held earlier in the week recorded abysmal attendance in spite of the fact that it was scheduled early enough and a text message was sent few hours before the kick off to remind senators.

Not only was the attendance low, the discussion, we learnt, was unimpressive. Those who attended, it was said, were downcast and disturbed. The meeting, unlike the one a few days earlier where the decision to review the laws establishing the CCT was taken, was devoid of the usual vibrancy, our source added.

The Nation also gathered that the text message reminding Like Minds Senators of the meeting was, unlike the previous ones, sent by an aide of the Senate President. A prominent Senator from Kogi State is known to have sent invites to such meeting before now.

“What we heard was that the Senator who used to do the invite tactically avoided doing same for the last meeting. To further cause anxiety in the Senate President’s camp, he was absent at the meeting where he was scheduled to brief the Senators on certain steps taken to advance the cause of the group. His action and absence formed the chunk of the discussion at the unimpressive meeting,” our source added.

It was also gathered that the APC caucus in the lower chamber recently met to discuss the crises in the national assembly and resolved that members of the caucus must desist from taking side in the Saraki saga.

“The House caucus took a decision that none of us should drag the lower chamber into the senate crisis by making inflammatory statements. Specifically, we are to henceforth toe the party’s line in all matters. The meeting also resolved that there should be no division within the caucus.”

Another member of the lower chamber from Kogi State told our correspondent that effort to unite the APC caucus in the national assembly is yielding fruit to the detriment of the camp of pro-Saraki hardliners. According to him, it is only a matter of time before a final position on the various bones of contention in the national assembly is announced.

The Nation also gathered that the dwindling fortunes of the Saraki camp is responsible for its inability to push through the suspension plot allegedly instituted against the Senator representing Zamfara Central, Kabir Marafa, an unrepentant critic of the Senate President.

Weeks after the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, submitted its report on its investigation on Marafa, the Senate has failed to deliberate on the panel’s recommendations. Marafa was accused of granting a press interview to allegedly mislead the public about the senate.

Marafa, a second-timer at the upper chamber of the National Assembly, served as the mouthpiece of the Unity Forum, an umbrella of senators that worked for Senator Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North), the preferred candidate of the APC for the plum job.

Following the Supreme Court verdict on the appeal of Saraki on his CCT trial, Marafa demanded the resignation of Saraki. He had said, “What is happening in the CCT is personal to Saraki and has nothing to do with his position as the Senate President. It has now reached the time when Saraki should take a bow to enable him concentrate on his case at the CCT.  I don’t have anything against him as a person.”

Expectedly, pro-Saraki Senators made a huge show of the interview and demanded the immediate suspension of the Zamfara senator. But following an unexpected show of support for Marafa by other senators across party lines, Saraki referred the matter to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions.  He asked the committee to report back a week later.

According to senate sources, the Senator Samuel Anyanwu (PDP, Imo East)-led committee has recommended Marafa’s suspension but the development has failed to receive the blessing of majority of the members of the senate as many feel Marafa has not done anything wrong that would warrant any punishment.

Our source also attributed the new thinking in the national assembly to both the effort of some party leaders in senate and the failure of Saraki to stop his trial at the CCT in spite of several efforts to get competent law courts to declare that he shouldn’t be docked.

Kafarati’s judgement on Friday put paid to earlier optimism that the Senate President will get a reprieve. The judge held that the reliefs prayed for by Saraki “are not cognisable under Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution”, which lists the fundamental rights of citizens.

Saraki had, for the umpteenth time through his counsel, Ajibola Oluyede, filed the application challenging the trial at the CCT for falling short of Article 3 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution. He argued that the prosecution wants to achieve the political objective of the All Progressives Congress (APC)

Saraki’s counsel, Oluyede has indicated intention to appeal the verdict of the court before the Court of Appeal.

The APC chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun has declared that a political solution may not be in sight for the ongoing Senate President’s trial at the CCT.

According to him, a purported political solution as is being bandied by a section of the political class will negate the change philosophy upon which the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC government was voted into power last year.

He said “The President is certainly not the type who will interfere in a judicial matter,” as that would also negate his straight personality.

“Things must be done normally. And that is part of the change mantra that we must play by the rule so we don’t truncate the processes.”

Odigie-Oyegun explained that “People don’t seem to internalize what change is. If the President says “court, free that man”, the same president can say “court, imprison that man.” Is that the Nigeria you want? No! Change means allowing the law to take the proper course. I can tell you the President won’t interfere. The President is straight definite, straight and firm in all facets.”

On the possibility of the party losing the senate president position to opposition PDP, Oyegun said, “We don’t take anything for granted. As they are planning, we are also planning. The situation is under control.”

He said, “I don’t think we will lose that position. But sometimes, for change to take place there is price you have to pay. So losing the position may be sacrifice for change.”

On speculations of in-fighting in the party, Oyegun said this is normal as there are always different views. “Interests differ. Some feel they are not sufficiently rewarded or consulted. So, it happens. We are just barely one year in power.”

On complaints that Nigerians have yet to feel the much-touted change, the APC chairman said change is a ‘process’ and a ‘progressive’ phenomenon. “When the process fully completes, we will have a totally new Nigeria.”

FG Approves $25 Monthly Stipend For The Poor, Puts 500k Graduates On payroll

The Nigerian government plans to make cash payments to poor people of about $25 per month to try to ease poverty and stimulate the economy, the vice-president said on Thursday, a plan that would cost a total of about $300 million per annum.

President Muhammadu Buhari won election in March 2015 on a promise to fight poverty and corruption, which has held most of Nigeria’s 180 million people in poverty despite its oil wealth.

“One million poor and vulnerable Nigerians would receive 5,000 naira ($25) monthly,” Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said in a statement outlining government priorities for the next 12 months.

Nigeria’s annual per capita income in 2014 was about $3,200 according to the World Bank.

The government will also employ 500,000 graduates as voluntary teachers while they seek jobs in their chosen careers, he said.

The initiatives were part of Buhari’s election campaign. The former military ruler has come under pressure in recent weeks due to fuel shortages. 

The economy, Africa’s largest, is also suffering from the global slump in oil prices.

Osinbajo did not say how these benefits would be funded, saying only there were part of a 6.06 trillion naira record budget for 2016 which parliament passed last month. Buhari still has to sign the bill.

The government has said it wants to borrow as much as $5 billion abroad but has not detailed how it wants to plug a budget deficit which officials have put in the range of between 2.2 trillion and 3 trillion naira.

Buhari has rejected a devaluation of the naira, which would hit poor people as Nigeria needs to import much of its food needs.

REUTERS

WANTED Tompolo Writes Buhari, Names 'Cabals' Behind Pipeline Vandalism

Government Ekpemupolo popularly known as Tompolo, the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, has boldly alleged that the Governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC, in Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva along with some other party members in Delta State are the chief major sponsors of the attacks on oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta area.

The wanted fugitive, Tompolo in a statement addressed to the President, Muhammadu Buhari added that the recent attacks on the oil and gas facilities were only aimed at smearing his name.

He continued in the statement; “They are doing this in connivance with an EFCC lawyer, who is also a member of your party; he is at the forefront of prosecuting me because I refused to buy property from him.

“The crux of this letter is to let you know them, that they are dubious, mischievous, desperate, pretentious, manipulative and corrupt, therefore, do not share the same vision and mission with you, as well as do not believe in good governance. I will briefly tell you some of their antecedents in this letter.”

He further added; “I wish to inform you that it has come to my knowledge that the leader of your party and governorship candidate of the APC in Bayelsa State and a few young men from Warri South West LGA of Delta State, who joined the party from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) after the 2015 presidential election, are hell-bent on linking me to the renewed vandalism of oil facilities in the Niger Delta region whereas they are the ones carrying out the acts to smear my name.

“The leader of your party in Bayelsa State approached me shortly after my meeting with you in Abuja, that I should accompany him to meet you and plead for him to be appointed as Special Adviser (SA) and Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme Committee, which I refused to do because of his antecedents, as not being a reliable and trustworthy person.

“It was thereafter he forced his way into the governorship election of the state, which almost tore the state apart with violence, beginning with the party primaries in which he demonstrated a high level of desperation as was recounted by the chairman of the committee and governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

“Mr. President, as for the members of the party from my local government area, Warri South West, they have been involved in illegal bunkering and oil theft activities over the years, which I have been fighting against because of my love for the country. They know me as a no-nonsense person.

“There is this particular one from the same Gbaramatu Kingdom with me who has sworn to kill me because I refused to manipulate the ascension to our traditional stool in his favour when he was not even qualified for it. And so, he looks for any opportunity to deal with me,”

Herald NG