“I am a defector, my dictionary defines the act of defecting as ‘abandoning a person or a cause, apostacy, revolt, backsliding.’ Not to put too fine an edge on it, I am a traitor…” (Joseph Frolik in ‘The Frolik Defection: The Memoirs of an Intelligence Agent’).

If in 2003 Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu did what Ifeanyi Okowa and the Delta State governor did in April 2025, he would not be president in 2023. Tinubu is president because long ago, he knew the power of staying strong, holding on and rowing hard inside his own boat. He clearly knew that “tough times don’t last, only tough people do.” It is the reason he stands.

If Tinubu had insisted on contesting the presidency in 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019, he would have lost on each of those occasions. And, losing exhausts and dissipates the loser. And, if he lost on those successive occasions, by now, he would be ragged, tired and thrashed. I hope all serial entitled contesters would reflect on this.

If Tinubu had refused to back down on his vice presidential ambition in 2015, and had, in anger, poured salt into the engine of his party, he would not have, in 2023, succeeded the man who jilted him and their agreement.

If Tinubu had vowed ‘Senate or nothing’ in 2007, where would he have been today? He tried going to the Senate in 2007. There was a storm. He used his might to pick the ticket but found it too hot for him to hold without losing his prized Lagos. He weighed the trophies, dropped the Senate ticket for Ganiyu Solomon and retained Lagos. He said: “I had obtained and filled the INEC form to go to the Senate, then I realised that I have a governorship candidate, Mr Babatunde Fashola and Obasanjo was the president, determined to win Lagos State. I told myself, ‘if I go ahead I will strive to win my seat while leaving Fashola to his fate’. Then one morning, I called Gani (Ganiyu Solomon) and told him to follow me to Abuja, we landed and off we went to INEC office, withdrew my form and handed him another form. Gani was shocked, he asked me for what sir, I said fill the form, he did and that was how I was able to concentrate in the governorship election, Fashola won and Gani (Solomon) also won his seat. We must make sacrifices.” If Tinubu had insisted on going to the Senate in 2007 and had lost Lagos that time, he probably would not be president of Nigeria today.

If Tinubu had, like the Delta defectors, feared arrest and trial for his sins (and we are all sinners), he would have abandoned his ACN and run into Goodluck Jonathan’s party in 2011. That was when the Code of Conduct Bureau got him arrested and the Code of Conduct Tribunal docked and took his plea for offending the law. And, if he had caved in that time, he would not be Commander-in-Chief today. Right before him this hour, those who arrested and tried him yesterday are on their knees. With total submission, they bow and pay him in hard currencies of homage and obeisance.

I have always believed that a life of political engagement is full of perks but fraught with risks. People should be ready to take the heat of those risks or they get out of the kitchen.

The vice presidency is just one life away from the very top job. Senator Ifeanyi Okowa almost became our vice president in 2023. Last week, he proved that he was (and forever is) unworthy of being in the presidency. He abandoned the rudder and jumped into the ship of the enemy. If he had been vice president and, like Goodluck Jonathan, become president, he most probably would have pleaded being under pressure and handed over our country to the enemy across the border. A trainee who jumped ship would sell his craft to the enemy if put in the cockpit.

Defectors are deserters. In war, desertion is a capital offence. William May in his ‘The Sin Against the Friend: Betrayal’ holds that betrayal and treason are babies of the same womb. He says: “Every act of betrayal—whether public or private—involves a very simple triad: the betrayer, the betrayed, and the enemy. In its primary form, the sin may be defined as a deed whereby we deliver into the hands of the enemy those who have placed themselves trustingly into our hands.” The Latin root for the terms ‘betrayal’ and ‘treason’, May says, is ‘tradere’ which means to “hand over, to hand on, to deliver, hence to betray.” The Greek word for ‘betray’ is ‘paradidomi’. It also means literally “to hand over or to deliver over” someone or something under one’s care. I heard those who defected in Delta State promising to deliver their people to their enemy in the next elections. Their act, their words and their lineup ghastly define betrayal with all its synonyms.

I heard the acting chairman of the PDP, Umar Damagum, saying the next election won’t be about how many governors a party controls. Really? He referenced Peter Obi, candidate without governors, whose velocity and momentum harvested votes in hurricane proportions in 2023. Perhaps, Obi would have won that election if he had just four governors to write some more election results for him. But he had none to match those who had heist for heist. Regime politicians who are buying governors and ex-governors; who are gathering dry wood and wet wood know the degree of fire they need to cook their enemies in the next desperate contest for food, power and privileges.

All armies know the worth of proven horses of war. That is why no side in war condones defection. A political party is an army just as politics is war. An army properly called, at great and in all costs, forbids desertion. When an army is fissured to the extent that it cannot keep its troops and commanders, its fate won’t be about just losing the present or the next war; it will die. Splits and side switching kill armies and their troops; depletion of human assets pushes a political party into the Intensive Care Unit.

Like Sango, Tinubu falls on his enemies like the blacksmith’s hammer. Bola Tinubu is not yet half-way into his first term but he is already all out buying all sorts of broke and terrified players in the other companies. Even Kwankwaso, owner of Kano and its two million votes, may soon steam his own ship under so that in peace and tranquility Tinubu’s submarine will sail smoothly into 2027. The proprietor of the NNPP was at the Villa a few days ago where he described the president as his brother and friend since 1992. Can the PDP and all who seek to dethrone Tinubu in 2027 find out why people who leave this president’s fold always go back to him and those he takes rarely leave? Why does he not lose his prized officers and men to his enemies?

But how useful will these defectors be to Tinubu’s army? Village nut crackers know what it means to expend energy and resources on nuts that lack kernels. I read stuffs online and listen to informed commentaries in critical circles. One stakeholder agreed that if Tinubu had behaved like the defectors, he won’t be in power today but queried how terrified, captured troops would be able to deliver victory to their captors. He said, “Even if INEC decamps to APC, it won’t change anything. The people will not support them (the defectors) since they did not join APC on account of any sterling performance or out of love for Tinubu.”

Some others say the defection blitzkrieg from the battle tanks of the potentate in Abuja was a counter-offensive. Regime loyalists say the defections were brilliant results of deft moves of the only political genius in Nigeria. A newspaper headline yesterday said ‘Tinubu’s counter-attack scatters opposition.’ The wounded parties say the fisher of men caught his latest captives with bribe or bludgeon – or both. Whichever, the man deserves some applause and I am giving it to him. But that appears to be where it ends.

Why is the genius in politics not felt in governance? Or is politicking both the means and the end of politicking? The World Bank said last week that more Nigerians will fall into poverty in 2027. Every Nigerian knows this projection to be an understatement. The prediction is already true in 2025. Yet, a genius is in charge of our affairs.

As elections come, and elections go, hunger and insecurity worsen for the people; the system decays while politicians who run it get better. Privileged power elite in the south are busy messing up themselves in the banquet hall. From the elite of the north comes a stream of threats of doing Pakistan if this India won’t be theirs to use and keep. The people are not the reason for the threats. The entire north – north west and north east and north central – is wracked by mass poverty, mass hunger, mass death. The United Nations in January this year, in a report, painted a horrific picture of what life and living in Nigeria, particularly in the north, would be this year: “In 2025, 33 million people in Nigeria will face acute food insecurity during the lean season with alarming levels of malnutrition threatening millions of children. In Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, 5.1 million people will be affected.” The report added that 3.6 million people were already in need of life-saving assistance in those states while “a total of 7.8 million people are considered to be in need of humanitarian assistance.” The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall, who read the report said the needs were “driven by conflict, climate shocks, and economic instability”, with the compounding effects of flooding, disease outbreaks, food insecurity and malnutrition deepening vulnerabilities. You won’t hear the elite issue threats because of these; they won’t hold conclaves on these because these problems are not theirs to suffer. Vulnerability is never an elite malaise. They would rather jump ship than suffer any loss of altitude.

“Seasons come and go, but nothing ever happens. We are never saved.” That sums up our situation. It is the simplification – or domestication – of a verse of despair and helplessness in the Bible: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved” (Jeremiah 8:20). The despair in that verse is followed by a barrage of desperate, desolate demands: “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing of the land?” You and I know why there can’t be any healing of this land. If this land is healed and made to walk, our doctors will lose their job, their billions will lose value and their status debased.

The president comes on fiery as Sango. Sango is the spirit that commands relatives of his victims to come give thanks. Worshippers of Sango say he folds his arms deceitfully before causing havoc (Ebiri ká’wó pòn’yìn s’oró). They say he is the owner of the jungle from whom people must run (Oní’gbèé à n sá fún). They call Sango gatherer and keeper of important heads for special use (A sa nlá nlá orí pa mó). He is the one who fights dirty and still maintains his innocence. To President Tinubu I present this tribute. 

A brilliant ex Tribune, ex The Guardian top journalist (now in the US) gasped at the game of Delta. He chose to salute our Sango and his feat in his own words – these: “The Lagosisation of Abuja is fully on course. The judiciary. Checked. The legislature. Checked. The five fingers of a leprous hand, well on course. What’s left? A Daniel Kanu for the mother of all rallies — one million man march! Could anyone have imagined that even Abacha was a learner; that, in the camp of the ‘progressives’ was the ultimate idán gangan? Who cares about food on the table of voters, or jobs, or good hospitals, or fuel prices? All steakholders – sorry, stakeholders – have been taken care of one way or another. The state is me! L’etat, c’est moi! Pure genius!!”

The 17th Headies Awards paid a tribute to the late Afrobeat singer Mohbad, celebrating his life, music and lasting impact on fans.

A video montage featuring his music videos accompanied a narrative that highlighted his journey and influence.

The emotional tribute described Mohbad as a star whose spirit and voice would never be forgotten, noting that his music was more than just sound, it was a movement.

The tribute reads in part: “Some voices are too powerful to be forgotten, some spirits shine so bright they leave a mark that cannot be erased. Mohbad was one of those stars. From the streets of Lagos to the heart of millions, Mohbad’s music was more than sound; it was a movement… Rest in peace, Mohbad, your light will never fade.”

Mohbad was also posthumously awarded the ‘Best Street-hop Artist’ with his song ‘Ask About Me’.

The award was accepted on his behalf by members of his family, including, his wife Wunmi, son, Liam and younger brother Adura.

[TheNation]

Manchester United are continuing their efforts to secure the signing of Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha, with negotiations on final contract details currently underway.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano confirmed the development on Monday via, stating, “Manchester United keep working to seal Matheus Cunha deal very soon, plan confirmed since one week ago.”

He added that the player is “keen on joining the project,” suggesting positive momentum in talks between the two parties.

The latest update follows Romano’s earlier report on April 21, where he noted that Manchester United were leading the race to sign the Wolverhampton Wanderers striker.

At the time, personal terms were being discussed, with United aware that other clubs had also shown interest. Cunha’s contract reportedly includes a £62.5 million release clause.

Romano said, “good feelings” after initial contacts between Cunha and Manchester United, indicating mutual interest in completing the transfer swiftly.

[Punch]

Here are the seven top business stories you need to track this week — April 28 to May 2.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNAL UPHOLDS FCCPC’S $220M FINE AGAINST META 

The competition and consumer protection tribunal has upheld the $220 million fine imposed on Meta Platforms Incorporated by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).

In a statement on April 25, by Ondaje Ijagwu, the agency’s director for corporate affairs, FCCPC said the tribunal also awarded $35,000 to the commission for the cost incurred during the investigation.

The tribunal led by Thomas Okosun ruled that the FCCPC acted within its constitutional and statutory powers in investigating and sanctioning the companies for alleged anti-competitive and exploitative practices.

However, Meta said it will appeal the tribunal’s decision.

IMF PROJECTS NIGERIA’S  ECONOMIC GROWTH RATE TO DROP TO 3%

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Nigeria’s economy will grow at a much slower pace of 3 percent in 2025.

The projection is a downgrade from the IMF’s estimate of 3.2 percent announced in October 2024, according to the fund’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) report presented at the spring meetings in Washington D.C.

The Bretton Woods organisation also expects Nigeria’s economic growth to further slow down to 2.7 percent in 2026, owing to lower oil prices.

FG HALTS  IMPORT WAIVERS FOR THREADED PIPES IN OIL AND GAS SECTOR 

The federal government has banned the issuing of tax waivers for imported threaded pipes into the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), gave the directive to the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) at the commissioning of Monarch Alloys Limited’s concrete weight coating plant in Lagos on April 24.

The plant has an annual external coating capacity of two million square meters and an internal square meters coating capacity of one million square meters.

NIGERIA IN TALKS WITH JP MORGAN TO RE-ENTER BOND INDEX

Patience Oniha, the director-general of the Debt Management Office (DMO), says Nigeria is in talks with J.P. Morgan to be admitted back into its government bond index for emerging markets.

Oniha spoke briefly on April 22 during the Nigerian Investor Forum, held on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank spring meetings in Washington D.C, the United States.

J.P. Morgan, in 2022, removed Nigeria from the list of emerging market sovereign recommendations that investors should be ‘overweight’ in.

The development reportedly followed the country’s inability to capitalise on high oil prices.

NDIC BEGINS PAYMENT OF N46BN TO HERITAGE BANK DEPOSITORS

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) says it has commenced the payment of N46.6 billion from liquidation dividends to depositors of the defunct Heritage Bank.

Hawwau Gambo, acting head of communication and public affairs at the corporation, announced in a statement on Sunday.

Gambo said the funds, being released to depositors with over N5 million deposits, are from the sale of Heritage Bank’s assets and the recovery of debts owed to the institution.

‘FORENSIC AUDIT OF NNPC UNDERWAY’

Wale Edun, the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, says a forensic audit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited is afoot.

Edun spoke on April 22 during the Nigerian Investor Forum, held on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank spring meetings in Washington D.C, United States.

Addressing a group of investors drawn from renowned global financial institutions, including J.P. Morgan, the minister outlined critical reforms the federal government has implemented to reset the economy and restore confidence.

‘NIGERIA’S PETROL STILL PROFITABLE TO SMUGGLE DESPITE SUBSIDY REMOVAL’

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says cross-border petrol smuggling persists in Nigeria despite the subsidy removal due to the difference in prices in Nigeria and neighbouring countries.

Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja on April 22, Adewale Adeniyi, comptroller-general (CG) of customs, said smuggling of petrol is still a profitable business for smugglers.

According to the CG, there has been a reduction in the pump price of petrol in Nigeria recently, ranging from N850 per litre to N900 per litre.

However, Adeniyi said the product is sold at higher prices in neighbouring countries.

[TheCable]

Following the gale of defections sweeping through the ranks and strongholds of the country’s leading opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, the National Working Committee of the PDP has scheduled a meeting for Tuesday to address the wave of defections and other internal crises that have plagued the party over the past years, The PUNCH reports.

The storm had been long speculated before the dramatic defection of the PDP’s former vice presidential candidate, Ifeanyi Okowa; the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori and the entire PDP party structure in Delta, one of the former ruling party’s strongholds.

Delta Deputy Governor Monday Onyeme, state commissioners, local government chairmen, and the state’s grassroots machinery all moved en bloc to the APC after a closed-door meeting in Asaba last week following ‘Hurricane Tinubu’, which had swept the PDP apart, with the opposition claiming the country was drifting towards a one-party state.

The party is facing one of its most difficult times since its formation in 1998. Having lost several members in the federal parliament, the latest being Oluwole Oke, a five-time member of the House of Representatives from Osun State, more defections, as being touted, would place the party at a competitive disadvantage with the ruling APC, with less than two years to the 2027 general election.

Meanwhile, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, recently reaffirmed as National Secretary by the Supreme Court, has vowed to attend the meeting despite the stance of the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed led PDP Governors Forum.

A high-ranking source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to lack of authorisation to comment on the matter, confirmed to The PUNCH that the NWC meeting will address the defection of party members to the All Progressives Congress and explore ways to prevent further defections.

The PDP has faced persistent internal strife both before and after the 2023 elections, leading to increasing instability and divisions across the party.

Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum has faced intense criticisms since taking over from Iyorchia Ayu.

The crisis has disrupted operations at all levels, with most state chapters in disarray and zonal structures—particularly in the South-South—severely weakened.

Conflicts over the position of National Secretary have further split the National Working Committee, leaving it largely ineffective.

Additionally, the terms of many Board of Trustees members have lapsed without replacements, and the few remaining are split into opposing camps.

Amid the ongoing turmoil, a previous exclusive report by The PUNCH on February 18 disclosed that over 300 PDP members switched to the APC between February 2024 and February 2025, mainly due to internal conflicts at both state and national levels.

Likewise, the New Nigeria Peoples Party and the Labour Party have experienced major defections to the APC, with internal disputes being a common reason.

Most recently, on April 23rd, Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his predecessor and PDP’s 2023 vice presidential candidate Ifeanyi Okowa, and all party members in the state officially joined the APC.

NWC meeting

Setonji Koshoedo, the acting Secretary appointed by PDP Governors, confirmed that the National Working Committee meeting will take place in Abuja on Tuesday.

Recall that the Supreme Court ruling on March 21 overturned Anyanwu’s removal, affirming that internal party disputes are not for judicial intervention.

In response to the ruling on April 14, the PDP Governors urged the South East Zone to propose a nominee for the position and announced Koshoedo as acting National Secretary.

Koshoedo in an invitation to NWC members, exclusively obtained by our correspondent, disclosed that the meeting is scheduled for 12 noon.

The notification stated “Based on popular demand and wide consultation, I have been directed to call for an NWC Meeting as detailed below:

“Date:  Tuesday, April 29th, 2025, Venue: National Working Committee (NWC) Hall, Wadata Plaza, PDP National Secretariat, Abuja. Time: 12 Noon Prompt.

“All members of NWC and Cabinet Secretaries should pls note.”

In an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, a source, who is an NWC member, stated that the party leadership is concerned about the current state of the PDP.

He stated “There is nothing the PDP can do to stop those who want to leave. Most of them defect for personal reasons, and some leave because they have issues with anti-corruption agencies. What reason did the Delta State Governor and others give? After all the PDP did for them, they still dumped the party. So obviously, it is difficult stop those who are determined to defect—unless you have the power to fulfill their desires or shield them from anti-graft agencies targeting them or their allies. But we will keep doing our best.

“The National Working Committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to address a range of critical issues affecting the party. During the meeting, we will discuss the ongoing defections, the upcoming Congresses, the forthcoming National Executive Committee meeting, and the National Elective Convention, as well as consider the recommendations put forward by the Governors Forum.

“At this meeting, we will carefully review these matters and devise proactive strategies aimed at strengthening and repositioning the PDP in preparation for future elections.”

Anyanwu also confirmed the meeting and pledged to attend as the party’s National Secretary.

In an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, Anyanwu urged the remaining party members to stay dedicated to strengthening and uniting the party.

He stated “I am aware of the meeting, and I will attend. The Governors Forum’s recommendations are part of the crisis. So, I will attend the meeting and see. We will do our best to ensure that peace reigns in the PDP and that the party is preserved.”

Anyanwu urged PDP members nationwide not to be discouraged by the party’s current challenges, assuring them that all issues will be resolved soon.

“It is time for peace. We have to bring the party together. Everyone must forget about their interests; we must ensure that the PDP is peaceful, united, and progressing before talking about individual interests.

“Defection or no defection, the rest of us must work to unite and reposition the party.”

Meanwhile, PDP NEC members, including Deputy National Youth Leader Timothy Osadolor and former Deputy National Publicity Secretary Diran Odeyemi called on party leaders to align their actions with their words.

They emphasised that broader consultations and reconciliation efforts would help restore confidence among party members nationwide.

In an exclusive interview with our correspondent, Osadolor urged the party leadership to come down from their high positions.

He said, “If there are questions or criticisms about the management style of the party leadership, we should counter them with solutions.

“We have to propose the solutions to the party leadership so that the party itself can self-reform and provide the necessary leadership. There is no perfect organisation or institution on earth. For those saying the NWC, currently led by Damagun, is not performing at its best, I wonder what they want.

“Ambassador Ilya Damagun has preached peace, reconciliation, harmony, and unity within the party. I don’t know if they expect him to go to a market and buy gum to bring the party together.

“The truth is that everyone involved has come down from their high positions to explore ways to advance the party’s interests in a manner that makes the PDP attractive and ready to win future elections.

“To achieve this, all party leaders—whether Governors, NWC members, BoT members, or others—must match their words with actions.”

To stop defections, Osadolor suggested amending Nigerian laws to prevent elected officials from leaving the political platform through which they were elected to join another.

Also, Odeyemi expressed regret that the divisions within all levels of the party contributed to the wave of defections affecting it.

In an interview with our correspondent, the former Deputy National Publicity Secretary urged all party leaders to move beyond just issuing press statements.

He stated “For me, the governors and all organs of the party should go beyond just issuing a press statement. It should focus on tackling the party’s issues.

“If possible, they should put aside their egos and individual differences, and sit down to properly diagnose the problems and move forward. The governors remain the only stakeholders who can design a system or strategy to get the party back on track.

“The NWC, as we know, is polarized. The NEC has not been able to meet. Various dates for the NEC meeting have been proposed but have never worked. This is demoralizing the entire membership of the party nationwide, especially the governors. Some of them are even rumored to be defecting.

“The Governors silence is not helping the party. They need to be more proactive and concerned about the party, not just national affairs. Only when you have peace within your home can you focus on what is happening outside.”

APC welcomes Oborevwori

In a related development, The PUNCH has exclusively learned that Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma and the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje, will lead other party officials, ministers, and others in welcoming Okowa, Oborevwori, and other defectors into the ruling party.

The source revealed that the defectors will be officially welcomed into the party in Asaba, Delta State, on Monday (today).

Confirming this, APC Publicity Director Bala Ibrahim stated that all arrangements have been finalised to welcome the defectors into the party.

Ibrahim, in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, stated, “APC governors, the National Chairman, and some key members of the National Working Committee will be there to welcome them into our party.

“This doesn’t mean that other activities of the party will stand still because of the reception; everything will happen in Delta State, and the party’s National Headquarters will remain operational in Abuja.”

More so, the APC Deputy National Chairman South, Emma Eneukwu, called Delta State Governor’s defection a significant boost, sending positive signals nationwide.

In a letter to the governor, he welcomed the move, noting it strengthens the link between Delta and the Federal Government, bringing more benefits to the people.

The letter read in part, “I write on behalf of the entire Southern chapter of the All Progressives Congress APC, to welcome you to the large and vibrant family of the party and to pledge our commitment to working with you for the benefit of our zone and our nation in general.

“We have watched and followed your outstanding performance and your kind of politics long before you even became be Governor of Delta State.  You have been loyal, dependable, goal getter and a complete gentleman.

“Your joining our party is therefore a major booster to the APC which has room for all and is eager to welcome everyone for us to build the Nigerian dream together.

“We in the APC have never pretended that Nigeria has reached an Eldorado under our watch, but we are very convinced that nation building is a gradual process that requires men and women of good heart and conscience to achieve.”

Eneukwu praised Governor Oborevwori for his infrastructure achievements in Delta State and expressed joy that he, along with his cabinet and key political leaders, joined the APC.

It added “We have no doubt that you will bring your wealth of experience to bear as you contribute more to the centre in terms of robust ideas and strategic engagements as exemplified by the solid infrastructural revolution you have embarked upon since you assume office as Governor of Delta state.

“We are excited that within the short time you have been Governor, you have shown utmost impact and distinction. So we see your coming into our party as a massive political asset and boost.

“To demonstrate your leadership capacity and influence, you did not only come into the APC but you came with all those who matter in Delta politics, your State Executive Council and your entire political structure.  By this act we are gladdened that APC is now firmly in control of the entire Delta state and would clinch all posts in any election. What a feat! We thank you and we are proud of your efforts”

“We also use his medium to welcome former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, your predecessor who also declared for the APC and extend our right hand of fellowship to him.

Presidency reacts

The Presidency on Sunday said the recent en masse defections of heavyweights from the PDP to the APC were of their free will and not coercion from President Bola Tinubu or his allies.

It denied accusations of a one-party state, insisting that democracy was not under threat or undermined “simply because politicians exercise their rights of association.”

“Nigerians migrating to the APC and expressing support for Tinubu are doing so out of their free will, based on the belief that the reforms being executed are in the interest of Nigerians and the unborn generation,” Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement Sunday.

The statement is titled ‘Democracy Strong and Alive in Nigeria.’

Onanuga’s rebuttal follows last Wednesday’s defection, the first time a sitting Delta governor had abandoned the PDP since 1999.

Delta’s wave of defection follows similar realignments in Rivers and Cross River, trimming the PDP’s governorship map to ten states and shaking a region once regarded as a fortress for the opposition.

Feelers from the APC identified Governors Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom, Peter Mbah of Enugu, Aba Yusuf of Kano and the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers, as four new converts expected to join the party in the coming weeks.

The PDP, Labour Party, and NNPP are currently grappling with internal crises compounded by defections to the APC, which has left their parties in disarray.

Some politicians say the crises are being sponsored to weaken the opposition ahead of 2027, a claim the Presidency denied.

“The opposition cannot blame President Tinubu and the governing APC for their poor organisation, indiscipline, and gross incompetence in managing their affairs,” it said on Sunday.

“While the opposition elements are understandably heartbroken and disillusioned over the failure of their fabled grand coalition to gain traction, we find it disturbing that they resorted to peddling false allegations of the promotion of a one-party State against President Bola Tinubu, who is working very hard to reverse decades of economic mismanagement of our country.

“Contrary to the false claims in the sponsored propaganda materials in circulation across mainstream and social media, democracy is not under any threat in Nigeria. Accusations that the administration is moving towards authoritarianism are baseless and exaggerated.

“We must add that no policy, official action, or directive from the Presidency seeks to ‘dismantle democracy’ or ‘weaken opposition or create a one-party state,’” Onanuga added.

The Presidency said accusations of bribery, blackmail, and the weaponisation of state institutions “only exist in the idle minds” of politicians and their agents “who have failed in their assigned duty of opposition.”

“It is certainly not part of President Tinubu’s job to organise or strengthen opposition parties,” it insisted.

It questioned the moral stance of those who celebrated the defection of the former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, to the Social Democratic Party and the formation of a regional grand coalition with the sole aim of defeating President Tinubu in the 2027 election but are “shedding crocodile tears” over Nigeria’s so-called drift to a one-party state and authoritarianism.

It argued that while the “defenders of democracy” raised no anxious voice against the disgruntled politicians cobbling an anti-Tinubu, anti-APC coalition along dangerous regional lines, even before INEC blows the whistle for party politicking, they are quick to ascribe the political shifts in some states to “bribery, blackmail, and coercion” without any shred of evidence.

“Without any equivocation, freedom of association, freedom of speech and freedom of choice are part of the cherished ideals of democracy.  When politicians and citizens can not freely join any association or political party of their choice or cannot openly express their views, democracy is imperiled.

“Those opposed to the Tinubu administration should understand that they can issue diatribes, without fear, against the government because we practice democracy.

“It is hypocrisy writ large when opposition politicians and their collaborators in the ‘human rights’ movement desire that the party of the President should implode so they can gain electoral advantage and cry wolf when their wish does not materialize,” the President said.

It also described as “a gross disservice to democracy” by its accusers to delegitimise the political choices of some Nigerians while upholding the choices of others to form a coalition against Tinubu and APC.

Onanuga opined that under President Tinubu, democracy is strong, and the multiparty democratic system will continue to flourish unhindered.

“His administration remains resolutely committed to upholding and strengthening the democratic foundations upon which our Fourth Republic has stood since 1999. Politicians changing party affiliation are not new or peculiar to Nigeria.

“In more advanced democracies, there are ready examples of notable politicians, statesmen and women who changed their parties,” he added.

The Presidential aide said Tinubu and the APC’s National Working Committee, led by Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, deserve commendation for making the governing party viable and attractive to Nigerians willing to participate in the democratic process.

“President Tinubu is an avowed democrat and a firm believer in multiparty democracy. His political activism and democratic credentials in galvanising and strengthening opposition platforms as a force that defeated a sitting President and the then ruling party attest to his profound credibility as a tested and relentless defender of multiparty democracy.

“We urge all Nigerians to join hands with the administration in protecting our democracy by respecting their choices and giving a wide berth to peddlers of alarming narratives rooted in fiction,” the statement concluded.

Akwa Ibom jigsaw

Meanwhile, all is not well with the PDP in Akwa Ibom State following the alleged planned defection of Governor Umo Eno to the APC.

The governor, elected on the platform of the PDP, recently declared his readiness to support the 2027 re-election bid of President Tinubu.

Widely seen as one of the PDP governors plotting his exit from the party to join the APC in the weeks ahead, things are not panning out seamlessly for the Akwa Ibom governor as planned.

The PUNCH gathered exclusively that Eno’s quest to exit the PDP has not received the backing of his predecessor, Udom Emmanuel, who is said to have told close sources that his loyalty to the PDP remained unshaken.

Our correspondent reliably gathered that though Eno was to quickly follow on the heels of his Delta counterpart, Oborevwori, the unwillingness of Emmanuel to jump ship is making things difficult for him.

A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitive nature, told our correspondent that the different posture between the two Akwa Ibom leaders has left the state chapter of the PDP in disarray.

He said, “Gov Eno has made up his mind to leave the PDP, but the challenge before him is that the man who brought him to power, Udom Emmanuel, is not ready to leave the PDP. Emmanuel is aware of the insults and backlash directed at his former colleague, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, when he led Governor Oborevwori and the PDP state structure to APC on Wednesday.

“It was Okowa who sold the idea of defection to Sheriff because, whether you like it or not, Okowa, for now, holds the key to that structure in Delta State. But in the case of Akwa Ibom, it’s Eno who is seeking the help of Emmanuel to make this move; Emmanuel is not convinced, leaving the governor in a state of confusion. This is the current dilemma Eno has found himself in.”

Asked if Eno was likely to defect to the APC without the support of his predecessor, the source added, “At the moment, Eno cannot boast of more than a few state lawmakers and maybe one or two federal lawmakers on his side. As I said, the structure is with the ex-governor. What would his sole defection do for him? Things were easier in Delta State because the owner of the structure engineered the move to the APC. In Akwa Ibom, it is the governor who is desperate to move. Unfortunately, he does not have the machinery to enable him to call the shots as it were.”

Meanwhile, Osadolor lauded the ex-Akwa governor for his principled stand on quitting the PDP, saying, “His resolve not to be distracted shows his strength of character. We are proud of him.”

The PDP Deputy National Youth Leader dismissed claims that some governors elected on the platform of the party were not in charge of their respective state structures.

“It is strange to hear this because by our convention the governor is the leader of the party at the state level. If, after handing over the party structures to them, they turned back and gave them to their predecessors, that is their business. All we know is that the Delta governor ought to be in charge of the PDP in his state, while Eno should similarly be in charge in Akwa Ibom. If indeed they handed over control to their predecessors, perhaps it is their style and they should accept the responsibility that comes with this.”

[Punch]

The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, is in a celebratory mood as more politicians defect, depleting the ranks of the rival Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

In what was like a tsunami in Delta State, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, his predecessor Ifeanyi Okowa and their political appointees, defected. However, such defections are not unexpected as the ruling party, at any time, controls the resources of the country, including its security apparatus that can be deployed at will even to settle filial disputes.

Essentially, the main political parties in the country are all-purpose electoral vehicles to seize or retain power. So the competition is quite keen. This, of course, is not in the overall interest of the people who have, since the time of military adventurers, become victims, rather than beneficiaries of governance.

What, however, seems to be unusual this time is the concern of some non-politically partisan elites that Nigeria may be heading towards a one-party state.

The impression is given that we run a multi-party democracy, so the defections might be negative.

I respectfully  disagree with such analysis which I think is the product of liberal Western political thought. This presents democracy as a multiparty electoral system rather than being a people-centred participatory system of governance. It is a deceitful political system that gives the impression of a progressive political movement. In reality, it is a stagnant  political system that thrives on form and processes, rather than an empowerment of the populace to actively participate in governance and, ensure all-round development. It is a cyclic Western political tradition that produces a bullying and incoherent Donald Trump, who hands over power to a spineless and cunning Joe Biden who hands the baton back to a triumphant Trump.

When these liberals worry about the possible emergence of a one-party state in Nigeria, I ask, what are we practising? All the main politicians are from the same tradition with a shared manifesto. Let us take the three leading political parties: APC, PDP and Labour Party, LP. They are all agreed on the removal of fuel subsidy, the same that has uncontrollably fuelled inflation since the Buhari presidency. They are all agreed on the so-called floating of the Naira, and the resultant currency devaluation. They are agreed on the privatisation or wholesale of our national wealth to the rich. They concur on the privatisation of electricity  and ever higher tariff. They are all opposed to free, accessible education for  Nigerian children.

In all these, the threesome  hold the constitutional provision that government exists for the welfare of the people in contempt.

Also, they have the same idea about tackling insecurity which is a reactive one. They camouflage ethnic cleansing in the North-West and North-Central as ‘herders-farmers’ clash. Hence, they are treating leprosy as rashes.

In terms of tackling proper insecurity, they leave it to the armed forces that seems overwhelmed; to a policing system that is centralised and excludes the state, local government and communities. All three parties are afraid to allow the populace self-defense. So, the only two armed groups in the country are the Federal Government and the bandits/terrorists.

What further evidence do we need that Nigeria is a one-party state than facts which tell us quite clearly that all the leading politicians in the country have long political affiliations and have belonged to multiple political parties. I am not referring to affiliations from the times of the Babangida regime when politicians like President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar belonged to the same political factions alongside  General Shehu Yar’ Adua.

I am being more contemporary; that is, since the 1999 return to civil rule when the leading politicians have belonged to a minimum three political parties each. For instance, Muhammadu Buhari was the presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, in the 2003 and 2007 elections; that of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, in 2011 and the APC in 2015 and 2019. Today, he is courted as a godfather.

President Tinubu started out from the Alliance for Democracy, AD, on to the Action Congress, AC/ACN, before berthing at the APC. Peter Obi started out from the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, unto the PDP, then the Labour Party. Given the move to register his followers, the Obidients in the LP, and the political crises in the party, it is uncertain if he will stay in the party.

Atiku Abubakar started out from the PDP, which twice gave him the Vice Presidency of the country, before decamping to the AC on whose platform he contested the 2007 presidential election. He returned to the PDP in 2009 then defected in 2014 to the APC , and then back to the PDP for the third time. On that platform, he ran unsuccessfully for the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections. Who knows whether he would remain in the PDP or seek new alliances as we face the 2027 residential election.

Nasir El-Rufai, the estranged political son of Atiku, had moved from PDP, where he was Minister, to the APC where he was two-term governor. Now, he is in the Social Democratic Party where he is seeking new political alliances.

It is not just that the leading parties have the same ideology and similar leaders, they also lack democratic credentials. The APC was unable to hold its quarterly National Executive Council meeting for 18 months, and parades an unedifying national leadership. On its part, the PDP has for years been incapable of putting in place an elected Chairman or Secretary. The Labour Party is a borrowed or hijacked platform with three, or possibly four, national executive councils.

So, what is the fear of a one-party state where what practically emerges after each electoral circle is one party that attracts majority politicians, especially those that have questions to answer for their financial dealings?

The problems of the Nigerian politicians and the people differ. The politicians’ main concern is how to expand their powers or seek better protection under any party ruling the country at the centre. This is not the same aspirations of the Nigerian people. What our people seek is food on the table, shelter over their heads, clothes on their backs, available, accessible and affordable basic healthcare and education for their children. So, while the Nigerian politician is thinking of the next elections, most Nigerians are thinking of the next meal. Where would it come from and how; as a miracle or manna from heaven?

The October 25, 1974 song by Bob Marley aptly presents the thinking of the Nigerian masses: “Them belly full, but we hungry;

A hungry mob is a angry mob.

…Cost of livin’ gets so high,

Rich and poor they start to cry:

Now the weak must get strong.”

On 13 December 1972, Zambia’s founding president, Kenneth Kaunda, signed into law the Constitution (Amendment) Acts, numbers 3,4 and 5 ending the country’s First Republic and ushering in a new constitution for the country, which promised a “One-Party Participatory Democracy” under “one and only one party…., namely, the United National Independence Party (UNIP).” All of this was to be realized under an official ideology of “Humanism.” The previous day, Zambia’s Court of Appeal had thrown out the case brought by veteran nationalist, Harry Nkumbula, in his appeal from the decision of the High Court dismissing his case against the establishment of a one-party state. 

The developments leading to Zambia’s chastening detour into one-party authoritarianism under President Kaunda should offer an object lesson to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and all the people cheering him on in his transparent machinations to turn Nigeria into a single-party experiment denuded of opposition parties. 

Zambia’s march to one-party rule began following the general election in December 1968. At that election, the ruling UNIP of President Kaunda had won an overwhelming majority. The African National Congress (ANC) of Harry Nkumbula came a distant second with a handful of members of parliament confined to Nkumbula’s stronghold in the southern province. 

The constitution adopted at Zambia’s independence in 1964 established a multi-party system of government. In 1940, Godwin Lewanika emerged as the president of the Northern Rhodesia Congress, the first organized political party in the country that would later come to be known as Zambia. 11 years later, the party became known as Northern Rhodesia African National Congress under the leadership of Harry Nkumbula, a teacher. Kenneth Kaunda emerged two years later as the secretary-general of the party. 

As their advocacy against white rule intensified, Nkumbula became more emollient while Kaunda became radicalized. Following a split in the party, Kaunda emerged in 1958 as the factional leader of the Zambia African National Congress (ZANC). In March 1959, the party was banned  and Kaunda herded into jail. UNIP was formed from the ashes of the banned (ZANC) while Kaunda was in detention. Upon his release, Kaunda was installed leader of UNIP. In April 1961, Nkumbula was imprisoned for causing death by dangerous driving. By the time he emerged from jail in January 1962, Kaunda had eclipsed him politically.

Kaunda’s UNIP led the country to independence in 1964, with Harry Nkumbula as leader of the opposition. Following the December 1968 elections, however, speaker of the National Assembly, Robinson Nabulyato, declined to recognize Nkumbula’s ANC as the leader of the opposition claiming that the party could neither form a quorum nor execute the business of parliament or government. In doing this, Speaker Nabulyato channeled his party leader, President Kaunda who, mistaking himself for the country, had declared on the eve of Christmas in 1968: I cannot see how I can continue to pay a police officer or civil servant who works for Nkumbula…. How dare they bite the hand that feeds them? They must learn that it pays to belong to UNIP.”

As President Kaunda centralized power in and around himself, party management became more embittered into a contest between Zambia’s ethnic rivalries. In February 1972, with his most prominent political opponents detained, President Kaunda appointed a Commission to work out the modalities for a new constitution on the basis of single-party rule. 

The job of the Commission was not to inquire whether the country desired to be run on the basis of one-party rule. Kaunda had already decided that it would. The only issue was how to bring that about. Comprising 21 members, Kaunda tapped Mainza Chona, his loyal Vice-President, to chair the Commission. Harry Nkumbula, leader of the ANC, declined his nomination as a member of the Commission. Reflecting the skeptical mood of the country, a basic education teacher advised the Commission at one of its public hearings that “the National Assembly should be turned into flats, since there was a housing shortage in Lusaka (the capital city) and no need for parliament in a one-party state.”

In October 1972, the Mainza Chona Commission reported to President Kaunda. Shortly before receiving the report, Kaunda dismissed opponents of single party rule as “idiots and lost sheep”; told the public service that they existed “to serve the party in power”; and informed “the churches and the judiciary that their continued independence rested on being effective ‘mirror reflections’ of the nation”, which he subsumed in the ruling party. 

Things moved swiftly thereafter. One month after receiving the report, in November 1972, Kaunda issued his white paper on the recommendations of the Mainza Chona Commission. On 8 December 1972, Zambia’s National Assembly did something that observers of Godswill Akpabio’s 10th National Assembly will by now have grown used to: the parliament suspended their rules and standing orders and, in one swift afternoon session, passed three separate bills to amend the constitution, rushing each through first, second and third readings without debate or discussion. 

Four days later, the Court of Appeal perfunctorily dispensed with Harry Nkumbula’s legal challenge. The following day, Kaunda signed the bills into law heralding the arrival of Zambia’s second Republic as a single-party state. 

The new Constitution itself was not published until May 1973. The following month, on 27 June 1973, Harry Nkumbula entered into the so-called Choma Declaration, dissolving his ANC and announcing that he and the remaining members of Parliament from his party had joined Kaunda’s UNIP. His capitulation was complete as was Kaunda’s transformation into the autocrat that he dearly desired to be. Delta’s State’s Sheriff Oborevwori in Nigeria will be relieved to know that he is not without storied predecessors in the pantheon of political harlotry. 

Zambia was not the only country in which the judiciary acted as midwife to dismantling democratic pluralism and replacing it with a one-party autocracy. At its 1965-66 session, Sierra Leone’s parliament adopted a resolution asking the government to “give serious consideration to the introduction of a One Party System of government.” To implement this resolution, in April 1966, the government constituted a committee with the Orwellian mission to “collate and assess all views on the One Party System both in and out of Parliament and to make recommendations on the type of One Party System suitable for Sierra Leone.” 

Three months later, the government issued its White Paper on the recommendations of the Committee. On 3 January 1967, the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone buried the legal challenge to the process of converting the country into single-party rule under a rash of legal technicalities. Unknown to them, Sierra Leone’s descent into eventual conflict in the next generation had begun.

It is impossible to behold the orchestrated emptying of opposition political parties currently on-going in Nigeria without recalling these examples from sister African countries which presaged deeper descent into constitutional instability. The return of President Tinubu to the country after his extended Lenten retreat to the land of the Marian Apparition (in Lourdes) has coincided with a rush of politicians seeking to outdo one another in emptying the country of viable political parties. 

Ironically, President Tinubu himself represents the example of a politician who resisted this tendency. After President Obasanjo’s Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) stole nearly all of the south-west from his Alliance for Democracy (AD) in 2003, Tinubu, then the only surviving opposition governor in the region, refused to give in. It took him two decades of back-breaking rebuilding to work his way to the top of the political grease-pole in the country. As he embarks on his own transparent journey to a “one-party participatory democracy”, President Tinubu may wish to be reminded that of the major misfortunes in life, few are as ruinous as the tragedy of fulfilled desires.

A lawyer and a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

The governor of Anambra state, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, applies the underlying principles of progressive welfarism as his strategic approach to governance. Progressive welfarism entails giving pride of place to the well-being and progress of the people as intrinsic values of a humane administration.

Fully defined, progressive welfarism combines progressive structures with a welfare state. It aims to redistribute wealth through taxation and social programmes, ensuring a higher standard of living for all, especially those with lower incomes. This approach seeks to create a society where everyone’s basic needs are met while generating revenue to fund public services like education, healthcare, and infrastructure, as Soludo, MI Okpara and Awolowo have done, as we will see shortly.

An example of progressive welfarism policy by Soludo was when, in late 2024, its government announced tax exemptions for Ndi Anambra, whose business capital was below N100,000 (One hundred thousand Naira). Soludo knows that no state or country can develop by taxing its citizens beyond their capacity to pay.

In the chequered political history of Nigeria, such progressive welfarist approaches to governance had been espoused by Dr Michael Iheonukara Okpara, the premier of the old Eastern Region, and Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the premier of the then Western Region in the First Republic. In the case of Dr Okpara, who was popularly hailed as MI Power, the focus was on agro policies and industrialisation, which made the Eastern Region of the First Republic to be rated as having the fastest-growing economy in the world in the 1960s following an international peer review, a feat that was botched by the Nigeria-Biafra war. Admirably, Governor Soludo is following Dr. Okpara’s cherished example in aggressively pushing ahead with his agro policies that will, of course, make Anambra State the primus inter pares in agriculture in the foreseeable future.

The other dimension of Governor Soludo’s progressive welfarism is replicating Chief Awolowo’s focus on free education, which has propelled the Western states to take leading positions in virtually all spheres of governance in today’s Nigeria. It is based on this ennobling background that one can see that the applauded inauguration of free, compulsory education from nursery to SS3 by Governor Soludo has institutionalised a progressive welfare state in Anambra State. Mr Governor has also instituted free antenatal care and child delivery up to caesarian sections for all pregnant women in the state with near-zero mortality. Indeed, women and children have never, ever had it so good in Anambra State.

Governor Soludo has lifted a heavy burden off the shoulders of the breadwinners of Anambra families, particularly through free education. Solution is now a way of life in Anambra state, justly lionised as the Light of the Nation.

In his drive toward a progressive welfare state, Soludo has put into full throttle, the Anambra Mixed-Use Industrial City (AMIC), a flagship infrastructure project aimed at accelerating industrialisation and economic development by focusing on enlarging industrial infrastructure. This will serve as the new industrial hub for Anambra and the Southeast.

It needs to be recalled that during the First Republic, the regional governments depended almost totally upon taxation to deliver development. For instance, the Eastern Region, under the exemplary leadership of Dr Okpara, built the cities of Onitsha, Owerri, Enugu, Aba, Calabar, Port Harcourt, Uyo, and Umuahia, etc., with taxes and the money generated locally from oil palm produce. The government was able to supply electricity and pipe-borne water all over the urban centres. It also established industrial corridors and built the University of Nigeria with three campuses, and so on, with taxes collected from peasant farmers.

The coming of the so-called oil boom in Nigeria after the civil war created a rentier culture that destroyed the incentives and institutions for taxation. Now the oil boom has turned to oil doom. States can no longer get adequate allocations from the federal purse in Nigeria’s accursed “feeding bottle federalism”.

Governor Soludo is taking the matter forward without borrowing a kobo from anywhere. He is providing needed infrastructure for the underserved and abandoned parts of Anambra State; for instance, building five brand new general hospitals in Anambra State where the greatest need exists.

Soludo is following the charge of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria, who said, “Show the light and the people will find a way.” As Soludo is showing the light, what needs to follow in due course is for celebrated Anambra State personages of high net worth to follow the lead of Mr Governor’s welfare drive by undertaking public works such as the construction of roads and the building of schools and hospitals in their various communities. The buy-in from the great numbers of Anambra’s captains of industry scattered all over Nigeria and the world will instantly project the state in line with Governor Soludo’s plan of enacting the African-Dubai-Taiwan-Silicon Valley (ADTS) miracle in the homeland and make Anambra a destination and not a departure lounge.

As Leo-Stan Ekeh, the CEO of the trailblazing Zinox Computers, who is not from Anambra State, once said, “The wealth, energy and knowledge per square metre in Anambra do not exist in any other part of Africa.”

Anambra State is poised to turn from being a departure lounge to a destination point, as Governor Soludo has always propounded. The liveable and prosperous homeland planned by Governor Soludo will, in due course, become a reality before our very eyes. The dawn of Anambra as a welfare state is here.

Like MI Okpara, who focused on people-centred development and industrialisation, and Awolowo, who also focused on education in the Old Western Region, among other people-centred policies, Soludo is, through intentional and transgressive leadership, transforming Anambra into a welfare state.

Law Mefor, PhD , is the Anambra state commissioner for information