The decision of the Umo Eno administration to complete the long-abandoned 200-room hotel and a 5,000-capacity convention centre at the Tropicana complex in Uyo is a clear testament to the governor’s maturity; good intentions and good conscience. For the first time in a long while, we have a leader who is not driven by pettiness and meanness in the course of running the government. The Tropicana Complex was initiated by the Akpabio administration in 2008 as a major entertainment and shopping centre, but it was steeped in controversy right from inception. Former governor Attah lampooned the project, arguing that the location was not suitable for such a big multipurpose construction. Attah’s criticisms embarrassed Gov. Akpabio and Akwa Ibom people lost interest in the project. Obong Attah is a strong voice in the state, and when he speaks, many listen.

The failure of Gov. Akpabio to deliver the project before he left office only reinforced Attah’s criticisms. Only the cinemas were functional when Akpabio left. The convention centre was abandoned at the foundation level. The hotel appeared fully built, but it was not open. The children’s park was abandoned with some equipment uninstalled. Rumours flew all over the place on why the Tropicana was abandoned. Some claimed that tests conducted had revealed that the soil condition was not suitable for the construction of a high-capacity project like the convention centre. There were also rumours that the hotel was sinking and would collapse in two years!

Sometime in 2019, I confronted Akpabio with these stories. He debunked the rumours, and told me that the hotel was fully completed and the furnishings he ordered had arrived in 40 containers; and that his successor had deliberately refused to furnish the hotel and open it for business. ‘’But I hear that the building is sinking, Senator’’, I pushed back. ‘’That’s a lie’’, Akpabio countered, adding ‘’the place is solid. I awarded the contract for the furnishing of the hotel to your friend’s wife (he mentioned her name). The containers had arrived, but my successor has deliberately refused furnish the hotel and open it hotel for business’’. With so much money spent on the project, the Tropicana Complex became the single biggest and costliest abandoned project in Akwa Ibom. It was synonymous with corruption and wastes.

I was personally pained by the abandonment of the Tropicana because I had supported and endorsed the project in a series of articles I wrote then, distancing myself from Gov. Attah’s trenchant criticisms. I flew in from Lagos through Port Harcourt to attend the flag-off of the construction of Tropicana by President Yar’Adua. It was obvious that the President was not in good health, but he managed to attend the ceremony in person. The air was thick with expectation and the excitement was palpable. Women sang, danced and the speeches were energetic. Akpabio described the project as unique, noting that it would offer a complete family package of shopping and entertainment - while the children would be playing in the water parks, their parents would be shopping in the malls. The Tropicana was presented as our answer to the Tinapa in Calabar, which was created by another youthful governor, Donald Duke, as Nigeria’s answer to Dubai! But while the Tropicana limped along, the Tinapa flopped soon after Duke left office in 2007.

Gov. Udom Emmanuel added value to the Tropicana by renovating it, creating more malls and inviting a supermarket chain, Grand Square, as the lead retailer. Together with the cinemas, the place then became the best leisure and shopping destination in Uyo. But the hotel and convention centre remained abandoned. Instead of completing the two projects, Gov. Udom Emmanuel chose to build a 21-storey building a few meters from the hotel.

Each time I drive on Udo Udoma Avenue, the sight of the abandoned 12-storey hotel and the thoughts of the billions that went down the drains would tug at every strand of my being. I would then remember the promise made by Ben Murray Bruce, one of the major contractors of the Tropicana on the day of the flag-off. ‘’Mr. President’’, Bruce addressed President Yar’Adua at the ceremony, ‘’this convention centre will be so beautiful that you will want to host the PDP National Convention here when it is completed’’. He went on: ‘’Mr. President, before now, there were some petty farmers on this land, growing various crops, but we have assured the farmers that we shall extend scholarships to their children for relocating them from this location’’. That was in October 2008 during the fag-off of the project. President Yar’Adua died less than two years after the ceremony; and the Tropicana remained uncompleted as a symbol of official depravity.

Then came Saturday, May 24, 2025. Gov. Umo Eno went to the Tropicana to flag-off the construction of the convention centre and the completion of the 200-bed hotel. Both would be completed and put to use next year. The governor said he chose to complete the long abandoned projects because ‘’I came not only to deepen peace and unity in my state, but to deploy my finisher’s anointing, especially on projects that may have gulped billions of our state’s resources already’’. He spoke of the benefits of the hotel and the convention centre as important elements of the tourism industry which he is reviving in the state; and noted that together with the ARISE Park he’s building, Uyo will be a preferred destination for conferences; leisure; recreation and pleasure. Of course, our world-class stadium has made us the football capital of the country already.

Gov. Eno deserves our commendation for electing to be a statesman; instead of a politician. He does not talk of Attah’s project; Udom’s project or Akpabio’s project. For him, all abandoned projects were funded by the people’s money and should be completed and put to use for the benefit of the people. This is the mark of a true and genuine leader who has the love of the state at heart. Eno is not interested in self-glorification and aggrandizement. He only wants to leave the state better than he met it. That is true leadership.

At the Alaafin’s Garden Hall in Oyo on 6 November, 1934, Alaafin Siyanbola Ladigbolu held a storming meeting with the Resident of Oyo Province, the Honourable Mr. H. L. Ward-Price. The Resident was the equivalent of today’s governor; the Province equated today’s state. That meeting was called to discuss the news filtering out that the white man was moving the capital of Oyo Province from Oyo town to Ibadan. 

The meeting was held in a very tense atmosphere. The Lagos Daily News of 13 November, 1934 carried the proceedings verbatim. There is an excerpt here:

The Aláàfin: I summoned this meeting with a view to ascertaining whether the ugly rumour of your impending removal from Ộyó to Ibadan was true or not as I have not been authoritatively informed by you.

The Resident: Who told you that I am removing to Ìbàdàn? 

The Aláàfin: No one did but it is a general talk among my people that you are packing up. 

 The Resident: But who told you that? The Aláàfin should not believe foolish talks and rumours. 

The Aláàfin: If you want to prove the veracity of my statement, just give three pence to a small boy in the street with the request to bring in as many persons as he can find talking on this subject. You will be surprised at the crowd that will throng this place in a minute. It is a common saying everywhere.

The Resident: Anybody can say what he or she likes but I do not think the Aláàfin believes everything he hears. 

The Alâàfin: I do not believe everything but this is too general to be a lie. I and my people do not want you to go. But if you say that you are not leaving Oyó, I am satisfied.

The Resident: I am transferring my Provincial Office to Ibàdàn. That is, my clerks are going to Ibàdàn and I am going to make Ibàdàn my business place. But I shall be living in Ộyộ. 

The Aláàfin: How is it then that you say just now that you are not leaving Ộyó? This is rather suspicious. I do not like it.

The Resident: But can’t the Aláàfin see the difference between the Resident and his staff? I am not removing from Ộyộ; my clerks are. 

 The Aláàfin: I do not want you or your staff to leave Ộyó. Why? I am not pleased at the mere suggestion of it.

The Resident: You see, at Ộyó I have so much work to do through my mails coming in in great abundance. The mails are received twice weekly. Replies to some letters are sometimes delayed through that cause. Whilst at Ibàdàn I can get my mails every day and writing can be reduced or facilitated by the use of phone messages. Letters come from Forestry Department, Agricultural Department, etc., etc. which can be answered at once. 

The Aláàfin: But you are not the first Resident to experience the difficulties of which you now complain. How is it that your predecessors never complained of this and were able to satisfy all concerned? Besides, these difficulties can be easily adjusted. I am not pleased that you should go to Ibàdàn for that reason. 

The Resident: As I have said, while my office remains at Oyó, I shall never have to know the people of Oyó very well. Even some of the chiefs before me now (referring to the Ộyó chiefs present) are not well known to me because I am constantly engaged upon my work at the Residency. But if I go to İbàdàn, then my work is over. I can come to Ộyo two or three days. I shall then be able to devote more time to Oyo affairs than I have hitherto done.

The Aláàfin: This sounds strange! But you are known and addressed as the Resident of Oyo not of Ibàdàn. 

The Resident: I am also Resident for Ibàdàn, Saki, Ifè, etc., etc. as well. 

The Aláàfin: Exactly so by virtue of my position as the overlord of the places cited. But Oyó is your home. You are my Resident. 

The Resident: Yes, I admit that Ộyo is my headquarters and I shall continue to reside there when I finish my work at Ibàdàn. At least I wish to try it; if not successful, I shall bring back my office. I have no mind of changing my headquarters. Do you think I can change that without the sanction of the Governor?  

The Aláàfin: All right. But I am not pleased.

The Resident: Yes, the Aláàfin and the chiefs need not entertain any fear as I shall continue to carry on my work as usual. 

The Aláàfin : All right, let us hope so.

It happened. If Ibàdàn was the capital of the old Western Region and the old Western State and is the capital of Oyo State today, the above is the story as told by J. A. Atanda in his ‘The Divisional Power Structure in the New Oyo Empire, 1914 – 1934’. The article deals with so many issues including the troublous Ibadan-Oyo relations. 

As it turned out, the Resident moved the capital from Oyo to Ibadan without approval from Lagos. And he got away with it. The Aláàfin believed he did it because ‘rebellious’ Ibadan had won him over. The truth was that the Aláàfin had become too hot for everyone to handle and relate with. Ward-Price did it because he thought the Aláàfin was behaving as if he was the boss of everyone – including even the Resident. A month earlier (October 1934), the Aláàfin had reportedly declared that “I know that there is no (one) else besides me but God.” The Resident was supposed to be Alaafin’s boss; he was today’s governor. The man had powers and he used it to teach some lessons in power relations.

Earlier still in 1934, that same Resident had told Oba Aromolaran I, the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, in his palace in Ilesa that “white ants are eating the legs of the Aláàfin ‘s chair without his knowing.” It was interpreted in Yoruba to the Owa who did not ask the white man to explain what he meant. The oba knew that it was an official acknowledgement of a gradual setting of the sun of what historians call the New Oyo Empire which started with the founding of a new Oyo town in about 1830. Mr. Emmanuel Adedeji Kayode was the orderly (asojú) to the Owa Obokun from 1920 to 1942. He listened to that conversation between Ward-Price and Owa. He retold it to Professor J. A. Atanda in an interview held at his Ereja Quarters residence in Ilesa on 13 June, 1966. 

I do not know in person the present Aláàfin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade. I have not met him but the first and the only newspaper interview he has granted since his choice as the Aláàfin was conducted by me – on the phone. He sounded calm and humble throughout that interview engagement. He spoke on his expectations and laid out his plans for his people. I think I was impressed. Although I know that like an aircraft, the take-off is always difficult, still I feel there are already too many negative vibes since this oba’s coronation. I am writing this today as my own incision in his occiput on how he flies his plane, particularly his handling of the current crisis over the composition and chairmanship of the Oyo State Council of Obas. 

The contentious Oyo State Council of Obas bill was passed some days ago. The new Aláàfin and his townspeople are not happy with that bill. But the authors of the bill originally proposed making Aláàfin the permanent chairman; in his absence, Olubadan and Soun were to serve as concurrent chairmen in that order of ranking. Very loud protests by Aláàfin’s people that their king would not share the seat with anyone even when he is absent woke up the other side – Ibadan and Ogbomoso. They reacted by rejecting the bill as originally drafted, and demanded a rotation of the chairmanship. They will share the seat two years apiece. Now, they’ve won. 

They would win. In particular, the Ibadan would win. They have so much resistance and activism in their checkered history to guide them. Besides, they are brave and daring in reaching for whatever they covet. Their ancestors had it. At the beginning of the Ibadan-Ijaye war in 1861, an Ibadan General who later in life became famously known as Basorun Ogunmola, was reported to have boasted a promise that: “After shaving the crown of the head (Ijaye), he would shave the occiput (Abeokuta).” That was the Ibadan warlord’s way of promising to destroy one enemy after the other. He did not mention Oyo and its king, the Alaafin, but it is there in history that when it was his time to be Baale of Ibadan, Ogunmola told the Alaafin that the title he wanted was that of Basorun, Oyo’s prime minister. And he had it even while someone was holding the title in Oyo. 

Professor Bolanle Awe in a 1965 piece wrote that Ogunmola and, much later, Aare Latosa while establishing an Ibadan empire stretching over the whole of Yorubaland “openly discarded the support and friendship of the Alaafin of Oyo. Of the two leaders, however, Ogunmola was the wiser, in that he replaced the Aláàfin’s friendship with that of the British government…” (See Awe’s ‘The end of an experiment: The Collapse of the Ibadan Empire, 1877-1893’). The effect of that foundational friendship with the new power, the British, is what we see later in the colonial government acknowledging Ibadan over Oyo as the new power centre. 

Potshots aimed at Oyo are Ibadan’s regular bugle songs of freedom. A conference of Yoruba Chiefs was to be held in Ibadan in May 1939. Then a storm ensued over a custom-made damask cloth for the conference. The cloth had the photograph of Olubadan Abasi Alesinloye holding a tiger on a leash. The Aláàfin protested vehemently and the government banned the cloth from being sold and worn throughout the province. Why did the Aláàfin protest? Ruth Watson explains in her ‘Civil Disturbance is the Disease of Ibadan’ (2003, page 159) quoting Olubadan’s driver: “Abasi was holding a tiger, that signifies Oyo under Ibadan because that tiger sign (symbol) belongs to Alaafin. He had rope tied around that tiger’s neck, it was pulled tight.” Between that time, 1939 and now, so many events have occurred which have served to relive that experience of a tiger on a leash. Many more will happen. 

The present Ibadan-Oyo crisis over the chairmanship of Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs I find very vexatious and unnecessary. The new Aláàfin should shake off suffocating creepers from his orange tree and own himself. He should move closer to his ancestor, Atiba, and ask him how he used diplomacy to make the Ibadan serve his purpose; how his son, Adelu, got the Ibadan fight his wars, particularly the decisive one against Kurunmi of Ijaye in 1861-1862. The Aláàfin needs Ibadan and other Yoruba towns more than they need him. I pray for his success but the current noise so early in his reign is very distracting and unnecessary. In fact, if I were the Aláàfin, I would call a strategic, unilateral ceasefire on this council of obas thing; I would withdraw my troops while I reach out to rival kingdoms. There are greater things ahead to do together. 

“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others” (Jonathan Swift). Yoruba ancestors saw today and made it a rule of behaviour that obas must never leave their kingdoms. They also decreed it a taboo for obas to meet face to face. Throughout the period of obedience, no oba compared his height with another and none talked down on another. But the British broke the pot, first in 1886 to sign a treaty; second in 1925 at a durbar for the visiting Prince of Wales. The really bad one was in 1937 when the British called and held a Conference of Obas of Western Province. Since then, intrigues and fights over who sits where have combined to ruin the family. 

What do our obas really do with the present so-called council of obas? What will happen if a state does not have that council? I do not want to ask what will happen if there really is no oba in a town. Should custodians of culture be found fighting over a council that is practically powerless and of no developmental value to the society? Besides, and this is important: Is there an oba today whose kingly arms reach out beyond his kingdom? There was an Oyo Empire at a time when there was no Ibadan. There was an Ibadan Empire which succeeded Oyo Empire at the demise of Oyo and its powers. Today, neither exists. 

From the epochal 1934 to date, Ibadan has not stopped insisting that the present Oyo is not the Old Oyo to which their ancestors belonged and which they served. The British in the 1920s set up a court of appeal for Oyo province and made the Aláàfin its chairman. What was the reaction from Ibadan? Ibadan people refused to take their cases to that court. I got an interesting paragraph from Professor Toyin Falola: “The Aláàfin ‘s Appeals

Nigeria is a nation of parties—literal and metaphorical. It is a Nation too vibrant for monolithic politics. From the fiery debates over whose jollof rice reigns supreme to the cultural pride in regional delicacies like Amala, Tuwo, and protein-laced soups, Nigerians are wired to reject monotony. This culinary diversity mirrors the country’s political appetite: a craving for choice, competition, and flavor. The idea of a one-party system? As implausible as a national consensus on the “best” dish. The 2023 presidential election results, and the political drama unfolding since, only reinforce this truth.

While it is a feast of fractured mandates, a look at the 2023 verdict—whether court-backed, IREV-maligned—reveals no landslide, only a smorgasbord of lessons. The figures speak plainly. President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) secured 8,794,726 votes (37% of valid votes), narrowly defeating Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with 6,984,520 votes (29%) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) with 6,101,533 votes (25%). Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) trailed with 1,496,687 votes (6%). Tinubu’s victory was neither a sweep nor a mandate of invincibility. Notably, Atiku and Obi’s combined votes (13 million) dwarfed Tinubu’s tally, underscoring a fragmented opposition’s self-inflicted defeat. Had Kwankwaso aligned with Obi or Atiku swallowed his ambition to back a single challenger, the APC’s grip might have snapped.

But let’s not sugarcoat it: the opposition’s failure wasn’t just tactical—it was existential. The PDP, once a behemoth that governed for 16 years, now resembles a retirement home for recycled ideas, while the LP’s surge, though impressive, relied more on Obi’s cult of personality than institutional depth. The NNPP? A regional footnote. Meanwhile, Tinubu’s 37%—the lowest winning share since 1999—exposes a leader ruling with a fractured mandate in a nation where 63% voted against him.

We see a geography of discontent with the nation sliced three ways, such that it further diluted Tinubu’s dominance. He won 12 states, the same as Atiku, while Obi clinched 11 states plus the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This regional split—Tinubu in the Southwest, Atiku in the Northwest/Northeast, Obi in the Southeast/South-South—reveals a nation divided yet defiant against hegemony. In Lagos, Tinubu’s “kingmaker” aura cracked as Obi snatched the state, a symbolic blow to the godfather’s invincibility. In Kano, Kwankwaso’s NNPP trounced APC, proving that even the North’s political machine isn’t monolithic.

But here’s the rub: Nigeria’s voting patterns are less about ideology and more about identity. Ethnicity and religion still dictate ballots, with parties serving as vehicles for regional champions. The Southeast’s embrace of Obi, a Christian Igbo, and the North’s loyalty to Atiku, a Fulani Muslim, underscore this reality. Tinubu’s “national” victory? A patchwork of backroom deals, not a unifying vision.

For APC, it must be a gathering storm or a gathering rot, two years is a lifetime in Nigerian politics. The PDP’s 16-year rule collapsed in 2015 under the weight of arrogance and corruption. Today, the APC faces similar vulnerabilities, even as it parades new defectors. Since 2023, the party has absorbed governors, senators, and influencers from the PDP and LP—a trend it touts as strength. But history warns otherwise.

Defectors in Nigerian politics are political nomads, driven by opportunism, not ideology. Recall how Governor Godwin Obaseki defected from APC to PDP in 2020, only to later feud with his new party. Or Senator Dino Melaye, a serial defector whose loyalty shifts with the wind. These “fair-weather allies” dilute party cohesion, breeding internal strife and policy paralysis. The APC’s swelling ranks now resemble a crowded marketplace—full of noise, low on trust. Is this a Trojan horse strategy to implode the party from within? Perhaps. After all, a party bloated with rivals becomes a theatre of war.

It is also important to note that there is also the opposition’s inertia, more like the art of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. While the APC grapples with defection-driven chaos, the opposition’s inertia is equally glaring. Beyond critiquing the APC’s failures—rising insecurity, economic ruin, corruption—the PDP and LP offer little innovation. Their playbook? Recycled promises from the 1990s. Where are the bold visions for Nigeria’s 21st-century crises?

Take youth unemployment: 53% of young Nigerians are jobless, yet neither PDP nor LP has articulated a credible plan to harness this demographic time bomb. Where is the Marshall Plan for renewable energy in a nation where 92 million lack electricity? Or the blueprint for healthcare in a country losing doctors to global brain drains? Instead, opposition leaders recycle slogans like “restructuring” and “unity,” buzzwords as empty as a campaign promise.

Peter Obi’s 2023 momentum, fuelled by youth disillusionment, exposed a hunger for fresh faces. Yet, the LP’s post-election strategy has devolved into legal theatrics and social media hype. Meanwhile, Atiku, 77, clings to his perennial candidacy like a relic, oblivious to a nation where 63% of the population is under 25. The opposition’s fatal flaw? Mistaking anti-APC sentiment for pro-opposition fervor. Nigerians crave solutions, not slogans.

Scary for analysts like us, is the silent majority, the 36 Million ghost voters and our democracy’s unseen crisis. They are perhaps the loudest message from 2023, the 36 million registered voters who stayed home. With just 24 million votes cast (29% of 93 million registered voters), apathy overshadowed enthusiasm. In 2015, turnout was 44%; by 2023, it plummeted to a historic low. For many, politics feels like a choice between “the devil and the deep blue sea.”

But apathy isn’t indifference—it’s dissent. Nigerians are protesting a system rigged against them: a 2023 election marred by voter suppression, technical glitches, and allegations of judicial complicity. Why vote when the courts “correct” the people’s “mistakes”? Why engage when politicians swap parties like runway models change outfits?

This disillusionment is a tinderbox. If 2027 mirrors 2023’s apathy, Nigeria risks a legitimacy crisis—a government elected by a minority, ruling over a seething majority. The stakes? Not just democracy’s survival, but social stability in a nation where 70% live in poverty.

Yet, Nigerian politics thrives on chaos and surprise. Today’s underdog could be tomorrow’s kingmaker. President Muhammadu Buhari lost three elections before clinching power in 2015. Peter Obi rose from LP’s obscurity to win 25% of the 2023 vote. Who’s next?

Watch the youth. With 42% of Nigerians under 14, the next generation is a sleeping giant. Movements like #EndSARS proved their power—and their rage. A candidate leveraging youth angst, tech, and social media could redraw the political map. Imagine a “zebra” candidate—an outsider like #EndSARS activist—channelling this energy into a presidential bid.

Or watch the states. Governors like Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos) or Alex Otti (Abia) are building subnational legacies that could eclipse federal failures. A coalition of progressive governors might just bypass Abuja’s dysfunction altogether.  I believe that there are wildcards and game-Changers—the zebras in the room.

The kitchen is still hot: No One-Dish Democracy. Nigeria’s political menu will never be a one-dish affair. The APC’s current lead is no guarantee of 2027 success, just as the opposition’s disarray isn’t permanent. For democracy to thrive, parties must evolve beyond transactional defections and tired rhetoric. Voters, too, must re-engage, turning apathy into accountability.

To the political class: Adapt or perish. The youth are watching, the hungry are waiting, and the clock is ticking. To Nigerians: The 2027 pot is simmering. Will you add your ingredient, or let others dictate the flavor?

As the dance toward 2027 begins, one truth endures: in a nation where jollof rivalry sparks passion, political complacency is a recipe for disaster. Nigeria’s democracy, like its parties, thrives on vibrancy, not monochrome. The next act awaits—and the audience is starving for change—May Nigeria win!

Prince Charles Dickson PhD

Matthew Kukah, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, said the election of a Catholic pope is not based on the ideology of ’emi lokan’.

Kukah spoke on the subject during a Channels Television interview that aired on May 21.

‘Emi lokan’ is a Yoruba phrase which means ‘it is my turn’. President Bola Tinubu popularised the phrase in June 2022.

Tinubu, then an APC presidential candidate, had said it was his turn to become president after his political support for former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The phrase has since become common in the country’s political discussions.

On May 18, Pope Leo XIV became the leader of the Roman Catholic Church following the death of Pope Francis.

Before the new pope’s election, social media discussions focused on the possibility of an African becoming the pope.

Asked for his take on the discussion, Kukah said human calculations do not determine a pope’s election. He added that Africa should first win the World Cup.

“I think we still have a long way to go. I did write an article in the course of all of this, and I remember remarking on something that happened when Pope John Paul II died and the speculators thought that Cardinal Arinze came very close,” he said.

“But as you know, electing a pope is not like that, it’s not an ’emi lokan’ scenario in which you say, ‘these people have had their turn, now it’s our turn’.”

“No, it doesn’t work like that. And then the pundits who think that this is like betting on a horse or whatever. You always notice that by and large, when people begin to make their speculations, they are using human parameters of their calculation, and very often, most of those who make these calculations simply accumulate their data and suggest this is where it’s going to go.”

“But always, people are shocked in part because the election of a pope is not like any other election anywhere in the world.”

Kukah said the Catholic Church believes that the Holy Spirit chooses the cardinal who becomes pope.

He added that, unlike African politics, there are no special benefits given to the pope’s home country.

[BusinessDay]

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has mandated telecom licensees in Nigeria to inform consumers of major service outages on their networks through media channels, stating the cause(s) of the service interruption, and the area(s) affected by the service interruption/outage, as well as the time that would be taken to restore service.

Consumers must also be informed one week in advance where operators have planned service outages.

This development, contained in the “Directive on Reportage of Major Network Outages by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs),” is part of the Commission’s drive to ensure timely resolution of outages, enhance quality of experience for telecom consumers, and keep consumers informed.

In the directive issued late yesterday, signed by Ag. Head, Public Affairs, Mrs. Nnenna Ukoha, MNOs, Internet Service Providers and other operators that provide last mile services will also provide proportional compensation, including extension of validity, as may be applicable and in line with the provisions of the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations, where any major network outage continues for more than 24 hours.

NCC identifies three types of major outages to include: Any network operational condition such as fibre cut due to construction/access issues/theft and vandalism and force majeure that impacts five per cent or more of the affected operator’s subscriber base or five or more Local Government Areas (LGAs); having an occasion of unplanned outage of, or complete isolation of network resources in 100 or more sites or five per cent of the total number of sites (whichever is less) or one cluster that lasts for 30 minutes or more; and lastly, any form of outage that can degrade network quality in the top 10 states based on traffic volume as specified by the Commission from time to time.

In furtherance of this, the Commission has further directed that all major outages are to be reported by operators through the Commision’s Major Outage Reporting Portal, which is accessible to the public through the Commission’s website, www.ncc.gov.ng. The portal additionally discloses the identity of the culprit responsible for the disruption.

Commenting on the Directive and the Major Outage Reporting Portal, the Director, Technical Standards and Network Integrity, Edoyemi Ogor, stated that, “The Commission has trialled the reporting process and portal with operators for some months now before issuing the directive.

“By providing consumers and stakeholders in the telecommunications industry with timely and transparent information on network outages, we are entrenching a culture of accountability and transparency. This approach also ensures that culprits are held responsible for sabotage to telecommunications infrastructure.

“This also aligns with our broader commitment to the effective implementation of the Executive Order signed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which designates telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII). It reinforces the need to safeguard these assets, given their centrality to national security, economic stability, and the everyday lives of Nigerians,” Ogor, an engineer stated.

[Guardian]

Super Eagles defender Zaidu Sanusi is set to leave Portuguese club, FC Porto this summer.

According to Portuguese news outlet, A Bola, FC Porto are willing to listen to offers for the left-back.

Sanusi suffered an ACL injury in February 2024 and only returned to action in the second half of the current campaign.

The 27-year-old made just two appearances for Porto in the 2024/25 season.

The player reportedly has suitors in Portugal and Europe.

Sanusi linked up with the Dragons from another Portuguese club, Santa Clara in 2020.

[Leadership]

The announcement of the shutdown of the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) otherwise known as Port Harcourt Refinery by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has continued to generate angry reactions from industry stakeholders and analysts who reiterated calls for a full privatisation of the government-owned refineries to achieve efficiency and optimisation in the operation of the refineries.

On Friday, the NNPCL announced the shutdown of the refinery with effect from Saturday for scheduled maintenance.

This is coming six months after the refinery commenced truck loading of petroleum products following a rehabilitation programme that gulped $1.5 billion.

Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Femi Soneye, who confirmed the shutdown in a statement, added that the shutdown was part of a planned maintenance and sustainability assessment aimed at ensuring optimal performance of the facility.

The statement reads: “The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) wishes to inform the general public that the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) will undergo a planned maintenance shutdown.

“This scheduled maintenance and sustainability assessment will commence on May 24, 2025. We are working closely with all relevant stakeholders, including the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), to ensure that the maintenance and assessment activities are carried out efficiently and transparently.

“NNPC Ltd remains steadfast in its commitment to delivering sustainable energy security.”

What to know about the refinery?

When the refinery was revamped in November 2024 after the rehabilitation programme, there were doubts about the operation of the refinery amidst allegations that it was a mere blending plant.

But the NNPCL insisted that the 60,000 barrels per day Old Port Harcourt Refinery was up and running, with loading operations in full swing, contrary to insinuations in certain quarters.

The Port Harcourt Refineries consist of two units, with the old plant having a refining capacity of 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) and the new plant 150,000 bpd, both summing up to 210,000 bpd.

The refinery was shut down in March 2019 for the first phase of repair works after the government secured the services of Italy’s Maire Tecnimont to handle the review of the refinery complex, with oil major Eni appointed technical adviser.

The Port Harcourt refineries are among the four refineries operated by the national oil company, which has gulped billions of dollars in turnaround maintenance (TAM). The other refineries are the Warri and Kaduna refineries.

The Port Harcourt refinery, which was shut down for maintenance, had gulped over $1.5bn for rehabilitation.

In fact, the federal government had spent billions of dollars on the refineries amidst calls for privatisation to reduce the amount of public spending on the refineries.

In May 2023, the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on the State of Refineries in the country said the federal government spent over N11 trillion on the rehabilitation of the refineries from 2010 to 2023.

Case for privatisation

Daily Trust reports that the debate over the privatisation of the refineries had raged over the years. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had sold the refineries to a group of private investors led by the President of Dangote Industries Limited, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, at $750m, but the money was refunded to them by his successor, late Alhaji Umar Musa Yar’Adua.

An investment analyst, Nnaemeka Obiaraeri, said the government should stop wasting money on the refineries, saying billions of naira had been sunk into the four state-owned refineries without results.

According to him, the decision by former President Obasanjo to sell off the refineries was the best and shouldn’t have been reversed.

In an interview on News Central monitored by our correspondent, he said, “We keep on wasting our time in this country, we keep on romancing and praising the incompetence and inefficiency in the public sector. We keep on wasting our precious time as a nation.

“The truth is, and I dare repeat it again. We wasted billions of dollars, trillions of naira, trying to fix these refineries since 1999. Obasanjo did the right thing in 2007 when he privatised the refineries to the team led by Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola and the rest of the corporate czars.”

He claimed that N4 trillion was wasted under the last NNPC leadership on the refineries.

He added, “Of course, it has always been said that the thing (Port Harcourt refinery) was not revived; they only did it to be a blending plant. The truth is that those refineries will never work under the public sector control of the NNPC. For those refineries to work, we must do what we did at the Eleme Petrochemical Plant. The federal government must sell 80 per cent of the NNPC shareholding in those refineries to deep-pocketed private sector investors who would take 30 per cent, then the rest to Nigerians.

“Sell 50 per cent to Nigerians, list on the floor of the exchange and I tell you this, within the next one year, those refineries would begin to operate at optimum capacity.

“Dangote started its own refinery in 2015 and today, it is the largest single train refinery in the whole world, moving efficiently, no stories, no games.”

According to him, Kaduna Refinery should be scrapped and turned to a depot because the gas supply channel has been compromised.

He said both Warri and Port Harcourt would “Become an investors’ delight to buy those refineries.”

“Those refineries have existing facilities. To collocate a brand new 160,000-barrel-a-day refinery would take about $8bn. Because of the already existing facilities within Warri and Port Harcourt, it would cost that amount of money.”

Shutdown unexpected

On his part, former Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mike Osatuyi in a chat with our correspondent described the shutdown of the Port Harcourt Refinery as an embarrassment to the government and Nigeria as a country.

In a chat with our correspondent, Osatuyi stated that the NNPC needs to come out openly and explain what led to the shutdown.

He said, “It is an embarrassment to the government and Nigeria. We felt it was brand new. We didn’t expect it to be shut down like that. What is worth doing at all is worth doing well. After postponing the opening more than six times, they need to come and explain to Nigerians what the problem is.”

According to him, the amount spent on turnaround maintenance is enough to build two brand new refineries at a time naira still had value.

“This amount is more than what we can use to build two refineries when the naira still had value. This is where we are. Because it is government property and government business, people do what they like. If it were a private business, it would not be like this. Only God knows how much they would come up with to bring it back again.

“We don’t have a conscience. If we have conscience, we cannot spend $1.5bn and then, you come back to complain. This wasn’t how it was in the 70s.”

Osatuyi stated that the coming of the Dangote Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, was the saving grace for Nigerians.

“With Dangote coming up, we are self-sufficient in terms of local consumption. Dangote can load 2,800 trucks per day with two gantries. He has the capacity and what it takes to meet up with our demands,” he added.

‘Incompetence behind shutdown’

The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) said the real reason behind the shutdown of the refinery after spending $1.5 billion on its rehabilitation is incompetence.

The National President of PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, said, “The shutdown of the state-owned refinery showed that the managers of Port Harcourt Refinery are incompetent and insincere all along,” he said.

It would be recalled that the Host Community Petroleum Bulk Retailers of Port Harcourt refinery Depot through its Board of Trustees’ Chairman, High Chief Sunny Nkpe had earlier raised an alarm over what it called “sinister motive” to shut down the refinery.

[DailyTrust]

As the coalition drive to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027 continues to gain momentum across the country, the ruling All Progressives Congress seems unsettled.

DAILY POST reports that some bigwigs in the opposition political parties and aggrieved members of the APC are currently teaming up ahead of the election, aiming at sacking the present administration.

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last election, Peter Obi, former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-rufai, former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal are among notable opposition figures spearheading the coalition talk.

National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Ralphs Okey Nwosu is also one of the key personalities in the coalition movement.

Obi and Atiku candidacy

There are reports that Peter Obi may deputize Atiku in the 2027 presidential election.

The duo had contested for the nation’s number one seat in 2019 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, against the then incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari.

Opposition figures, who believed that the election was rigged by the ruling APC, had challenged the outcome, insisting that Obi and Atiku won the election.

However, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Obi and Atiku (PDP) won 18 states, while the ruling party won 19 states, respectively.

INEC declared that PDP garnered 11,262,978 votes, losing the position to Buhari, who scored 15,191,847 votes.

In 2023, Obi and Atiku contested the “election on solo”. While Obi was the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Atiku had the PDP ticket.

Although President Tinubu won the election with 8,794,726 votes with Atiku and Obi scoring 6,984,520 and 6,101,533 votes each, the election was challenged up to the Supreme Court.

According to some political analysts, if Obi had contested the election as Atiku’s running mate, the duo may have scored over 13 million votes to sack the ruling party.

APC fidgets

DAILY POST gathered that the alignment of the opposition forces is not seating well with the ruling party.

It was gathered weekend that APC has formulated more cogent strategies to attract more governors and lawmakers into the party in a bid to have a stronger structure that would resist the coalition.

A source, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said APC has resolved that “all first-time governors will have automatic tickets” to run for the 2027 elections”.

According to him, “the decision is that all first-time governors will be given automatic tickets and it’s not just a ticket, the party will fight for such a governor to ensure his re-election.

“So, most governors from the opposition parties, who are not sure of their victory are joining our party.

“For example, Akwa-Ibom and Delta State governors would have lost their re-elections if they remained in the opposition parties.

“In Delta for instance, Tinubu had settled for Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo as the next governor of the state.

“The governor knows that he cannot beat Keyamo, especially when backed by Tinubu so he decided to defect to APC.

“Regarding Akwa-Ibom State, if the Governor had refused to join APC, Akpabio could flush out his government by 2027. At the end of the day, it is all about personal interest”.

According to the source, the governors have also been allowed to handpick candidates for the national assembly.

Coalition faces setback

Some setbacks have started creaping into the proposed coalition particularly due to the choice of political party to be used as umbrella for the coming election.

DAILY POST gathered that following viral reports that the coalition adopted ADC, the party secretly amended its constitution to grant equal rights and privileges to incoming members.

The move was interpreted by insiders as a strategic step to accommodate high-profile defectors like Atiku, Obi and others ahead of the coalition.

However, the decision sparked resistance among some powerful stakeholders, especially from states, vowing that they will not relinquish their positions to new entrants.

Also, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Prince Adewole Adebayo, in a recent interview, ruled out the possibility of him stepping down for another candidate ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In another confusing development, Peter Obi in a viral video on Friday said he would contest the 2027 election on the platform of the Labour Party, fueling speculations that the coalition may adopt LP.

However, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh told DAILY POST weekend that the Labour Party is not aware of any coalition going on.

He insisted that the LP has no plan to accommodate other political parties.

According to him, “we are contesting the election on solo and we have said before that there would be no automatic ticket for anybody.

“If Peter Obi chooses to contest via the party, he will follow due processes right from the primary election. We have said earlier that there will be no automatic ticket for anybody.”

On Obi deputizing Atiku, Yunusa Tanko, the National Coordinator of Obidient Movement, told DAILY POST that Obi is yet to decide.

“What I know is that Peter Obi has not told anybody that he is going to be a vice presidential candidate. He stands to contest as a presidential candidate.

“What we are having now is politicians who have a common interest coming together to plan ahead of the 2027 election”, he said.

[Daily Post]

Politics in Nigeria over the years has always been denominated by notable peculiarities. This of course is relative to time and season. The gamut of its aesthetics resides in the frills and thrills, dramas and theatrics, which it throws up. Electioneering engenders colourful rallies in stadia and open arenas, complete with songs, chants and dance. Oftentimes, such events build up into resplendent carnival crescendos in the African sunshine. Roadshows offer similar excitement, music booming and blaring from loudspeakers mounted on branded automobiles, electrifying the streets and cities, as huge processions accompany mobile platforms. It is the season when aliases are minted and sobriquets conjured, when major political dramatis personae are conferred with novel honorifics and nomenclatures.

Nigeria’s First and Second Republic politics featured notable legends like Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo; Samuel Ladoke Akintola; Augustus Meredith Adisa Akinloye; Moses Adekoyejo Majekodunmi; Busari Adelakun and Adeniran Ogunsanya, from Nigeria’s present day South West. From the South East came icons like Alvan Azinna Ikoku; Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe; Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe; Michael Iheonukara Okpara, while today’s global North had the Abubakar Tafawa Balewas; Sa’adu Zungurs; Aminu Kanos; Yusuf Maitama Sules, among others. Awolowo was nicknamed Awo evidently derived from the full spelling of his surname, while the fearless, daring Adelakun was festooned with the alias Eruobodo, which means the “river fears no one.” For his pan-Africanist endeavours, Azikiwe was commonly referred to as Zik of Africa, while Aminu Kano was the Baba’n Talakawa, on account of his strident advocacy for the proletariat, the down-trodden.

Aliasing on the political trail subsists even up until the present. Lamidi Adedibu a colossus in the politics of Oyo State in his time, was reputed for his affinity with the underprivileged. As many urchins and street kids who accessed his expansive home in Molete, Ibadan, were assured of regular meals, the staple being amala, yam flour. While Adedibu in one breath was the exemplar of amala politics, he was also famously known as Alaafin Molete. Alaafin is the title of the king of Oyo, a foremost kingdom in Yoruba and Nigerian history. Adedibu was said to have been eminently influential in his district, Molete, Ibadan, his hands strengthened by the swarming army of youngsters beholden to him as their ultimate benefactor. His wishes were his commands. The title of Alaafin, arguably the Number One royal in Oyo State, was therefore appropriated and honorarily bestowed on him. For as long as he lived, Adedibu was a major factor in the politics of Oyo State, whose voice indeed echoed in Aso Villa, seat of national governance.

Nigeria’s botched Third Republic brought forth Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke as Governor of Osun State, in January 1992. He was a very cosmopolitan and charismatic personality who was born in Enugu in Nigeria’s South East. He was noted for the remarkable styling of his headgear, which pointed skywards like that of a chef, as against the norm in Yoruba land. He contested for the governorship of Osun State on the platform of the extinct Social Democratic Party, (SDP) and won, just months after the creation of the entity in August 1991. The manner of his first time sweep of the gubernatorial poll earned him the sobriquet Serubawon, the one dreaded by his adversaries. Isiaka Adeleke’s younger brother, Ademola Adeleke who like his older sibling is Governor of Osun State, has since adopted and popularised his brother’s signature cap. Such are the variegated spin-offs of politics in our own part of the world.

Conversations around Nigeria’s 2027 presidential poll have begun rather early. The administration of President Bola Tinubu is barely two years in office, yet the national space has been drowned in the din of an election which is more than 700 days away. Cross-carpeting and defections have assumed fever-pitch as politicians try to secure their places in the political scheme, post-2027. Governors, parliamentarians, government appointees, serving and retired continue to move around like yo-yos. Their whole lives, their eternal relevance seem solely predicated on the sustenance of their proboscis, deep inside the torso of our collective patrimony. Many politicians in the present milieu have become permanent fixtures in our politics. As though they are the only Nigerians capable of adding value to governance and nation-building.

Proclamations about Tinubu being the sole presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) in the 2027 presidential ticket have been made. He will run unopposed. Olusegun Obasanjo, the First President of the ongoing Fourth Republic, was challenged at the 2003 presidential primary of his party at the time, the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), by no less a politician and statesman, than Alex Ekwueme, Nigeria’s Second Republic Vice President, a foundation member of the PDP. This underscores the politics of accommodation promoted by Obasanjo a strong President in his own era. Affirmations are equally being chanted, as affixture to the on your mandate we shall stand chant, popularised by Tinubu promoters during the 2022/2023 electioneering exercise. Mere mortals are making matter-of-fact declarations and pronouncements with the manner of certitude and conviction about the future which presupposes they know the plans and workings of the mind of the Almighty God Himself.

Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has remained a very formidable factor in Nigeria’s politics since the days of the primordial SDP, back in 1992. Despite being a newcomer to partisan politics having just retired from public service at the time, Atiku posted a notably strong performance for a newbie at the party’s presidential primary in 1993. This ensured he was a decider in the subsequent emergence of Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, (MKO), as presidential candidate of the SDP. Abiola beat Baba Gana Kingibe, in the runoff between both men, in Jos that year, largely because of Atiku’s personal sacrifice. Atiku continued to hone his skills as a politician, build cross-national friendships and relationships and to align with democratic elements even under the dreadful regime of Nigeria’s former pseudo-maximum ruler, Sani Abacha. He was tracked to his Kaduna home by Abacha agents and attacked. A number of armed security operatives on guard in his house were neutralised just as he escaped by the whiskers and went into exile.

Atiku was Governor-elect of Adamawa State, early 1999. He was awaiting inauguration when he was chosen to pair Obasanjo’s presidential ticket, after the PDP presidential primary. Instructively, the primary took place in Jos, where the SDP presidential primary in which he previously participated, held six years before. The Obasanjo/Atiku ticket won the presidential election proper and Atiku Abubakar became the First Vice President of Nigeria subsisting Fourth Republic. Talk about one politician who has friends and associates across all of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas and you find that in Atiku Abubakar. He needs not grope in the dark searching for acolytes. And because he is ever in touch with his affiliates and foot soldiers, they rally spontaneously to his beckoning and causes.

If there is one politician today whose name evokes trepidation in the ranks of the establishment, that person has to be Atiku Abubakar. His vast public service experience; his successful forays into the private sector; his profound knowledge of the Nigerian conundrum; his deft organisational skills; his flexibility as a team player; his charm and charisma, combine to underline his formidability. Concerned Nigerians in recent weeks and months, have been reaching out to Atiku to lead the charge for change in the nation’s political leadership. While the overall socioeconomic health of the nation is draped in gloss and fine print by incumbents, the situation is excruciating on the streets. There is palpable hunger, worsened by skyrocketing inflation. Insecurity continues to pummel the citizenry by way of kidnappings, banditry, insurgency and wanton killings across the breadth of the country. Depression has accentuated suicide rates as many succumb to despair and despondency. The national space is thick and dark with tangible foreboding.

True, Nigeria’s opposition parties are almost irredeemably discombobulated as we speak. The very thought of Atiku commitedly attempting to sew a pathway out of the tatters, however, is very concerning to the status quo. The experience of the 2023 presidential election where the APC capitalised on the fact of the dismemberment of the PDP behemoth into three political smithereens remains very fresh. Hopefully, political archaeologists will some day unearth the debauchery and chicanery which attended the tallying of the final results of that election. To forestall a recurrence of that incident, a viable cross-party partnership is being conceived to rescue Nigeria from its present abyss, as Nigerians continue to agonise about the glaring failures and failings of the incumbent regime. This underlines mass angst, with the Tinubu administration consistently fingered for excruciating hardship and the attendant national lachrymose.

The evolving political alliance calculated to confront the incumbent dispensation, is gathering adherents by the day. At the centre of this movement is Atiku Abubakar whose every guest, every visit to like-minded politicians, every event he participates in, evokes interest and debate, in opposing political quarters. Atiku is fittingly the contemporary Serubawon. He is the one whose sneezes reverberate across the political sphere, causing tremors in the ranks of his adversaries. The journey to 2027, by the way, is just beginning. There are no foreclosures as yet. Not at all.

Olusunle, PhD, Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors, (FANA), is an Adjunct Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Abuja

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has explained why he may not be able to contest for presidency after 2027.

He said the 2027 general elections may be his final shot at the presidency.

Obi confirmed he would contest in 2027 on the LP’s platform and hinted at a possible exit from active politics after that.

He spoke in a seven-minute, 16-second video clip that has since gone viral. Obi’s media aide, Umar Ibrahim, confirmed the video saying “it was recent.”

Obi explained that he would be 65 in 2027 and might not be willing to pursue public office beyond that age.

He said: “I believe we should have a retirement age for politicians. By 2027, I will be 65.

“If the presidency goes back to the North in 2031, it may not return to the South until 2039 — by then, I will be 77. I wouldn’t want to run for office at that age. It would make a mess of everything”

Obi assured his audience of continued support for young Nigerians who are serious about national transformation.

“Even if I’m not contesting, I will always support those of you who are committed to real change, with whatever resources I can provide,” he stated.