The pro-El-Rufai group argues that Agunloye’s ongoing trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) could be used by the Federal Government to undermine the party.

Meanwhile, SDP’s National Legal Adviser, Aderemi Abimbola, clarified to The Guardian that, contrary to speculation, only El-Rufai has formally joined the party, though discussions are ongoing with other political figures.

He revealed that the party has been receiving defectors from various northern states since the start of the year, adding that a group of APC supporters from Gombe recently visited the SDP headquarters.

“Just yesterday, supporters of the APC in Gombe were here. These were once key figures in the governor’s campaign. The situation escalated to the point that when the governor saw them on an aircraft, he was so frustrated that he wanted to slap one of them,” Abimbola recounted.

The legal adviser described El-Rufai’s move as a “major boost” for the SDP, noting that the former governor commands a strong political following, particularly in the North.

“Even before he officially joined, his supporters were already defecting to our party. His presence will strengthen the SDP significantly,” he said.

On demands for balancing the NWC membership, Abimbola dismissed the idea, stating:

He said: “There is no vacancy in our NWC, and no one can join SDP expecting an automatic ticket. Every candidate must contest in the primaries. Those who defect must understand they are joining as members first.”

Regarding speculation that former Sokoto State Governor Attahiru Bafarawa is considering joining the SDP, Abimbola said: “Until he publicly declares his membership, it remains a rumour.”

He also refuted claims that President Bola Tinubu controls the SDP, insisting, “If that were the case, I wouldn’t be here working under difficult conditions.”

At the party’s headquarters, pro-El-Rufai protesters carrying placards called for Agunloye’s removal, accusing him of mismanaging the party and arguing that he should clear his name over corruption allegations before continuing in office.

[NaijaNews]

…Imports from Thailand jump 60-fold in one year

…Over 50 small-scale millers shut down in 2024- RIMAN

The gains recorded in the Nigerian rice industry are fast fading as high production costs squeeze local millers, leaving room for foreign varieties to flood the markets across the nation.

Apart from the spiraling production costs, experts also attribute the influx of foreign rice to quality concerns of some local varieties as well as porous borders, especially in northern Nigeria.

Nigeria’s rice imports from Thailand surged 60-fold in one year, hitting 34,855 metric tons (MT) in 2024. This is the highest since 2017, according to data from the Thai Rice Exporters Association.

Data also show that Togo and Benin’s imports into Nigeria surged 175 percent and 105 percent to 144, 552 and 286,649 metric tons (MT) respectively in one year, with much of the rice smuggled into Nigeria through porous borders.

BusinessDay surveyed key rice markets across Lagos and found that more foreign parboiled varieties were on traders’ shelves than local brands.

Paddy rice isn’t enough

Peter Dama, national chairman of Rice Millers Association of Nigeria (RIMAN), said despite efforts by the government to promote domestic production, paddy output remains insufficient to meet the demand of millers.

“Rice millers cannot ramp up production and compete with cheaper imports with the high cost of paddy, energy costs and interest rates,” he said, noting that over 50 small-scale millers shut down operations last year.

He faulted the federal government’s duty-free import policy for rice exporters, noting that it might lead to the collapse of the local industry.

Nigeria needs 11 million MT of paddy to meet current domestic consumption but it produces about 4.8 million metric tons or 2.64 million metric tons of milled rice, according to the Rice Processors Association of Nigeria (RIPAN).

The association, in a 2023 snapshot report, said most millers had large unutilised capacity and hence huge overheads per unit of capacity utilised owing to macroeconomic challenges and scarcity of paddy that year.

Preference for foreign rice

Bashir Ismail, chief executive officer of Bashir Rice, said several millers, including Bashir Rice, shut down their operations in 2024 owing to paddy scarcity amid surging production costs.

“We have shut down our mill and we are now into the distribution of agro-inputs and commodities,” Ismail said. “Our rice cannot compete favourably with imported varieties and Nigerians still prefer to consume foreign rice than locally produced ones,” he noted.

According to him, the country’s rice production will decline with imported varieties filling the gap as the federal government cancelled the Anchor Borrowers Programme – a subsidy initiative for rice farmers.

“Our rice production has been declining and with the cancellation of the Anchor Borrowers Programme, it will drop further,” he noted.

Data from a new report by the United States Department of Agriculture on Nigeria’s rice production show that the country’s rice production declined by 6.7 percent in the 2024/2025 season to 5.23 million metric tons (MT) from 5.61 million MT in 2023/2024 season.

The data further indicate that the figure is the lowest the country has recorded since 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic obstructed farming activities.

Chukwudi Ojinnaka, group managing director of Stine Rice, said most of the rice tagged as foreign in markets are local varieties rebranded as foreign owing to Nigerians’ high preference for foreign rice.

More groups are voicing out their anger over the alleged plans to use the Rivers State House of Assembly to remove Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

The latest group, the Ijaw National Congress (INC), yesterday, asked the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to allow Governor Fubara to concentrate on leading Rivers State to prosperity while at the same time advised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to call the former governor to order.

Speaking on Wednesday with News Night on Arise Television, the President of INC, Professor Benjamin Okaba, said something urgent must be done by the federal government to avert disaster.

He spoke in the wake of a stalemate after Governor Fubara was denied access to the Rivers State House of Assembly complex to present the 2025 budget to the lawmakers who are loyal to Wike.

Daily Trust reports that Governor Fubara is of Ijaw ethnic group.

Professor Okaba said: “President Tinubu has the choice of choosing between Wike and Ijaw Nation. Let him be encouraging him (Wike) to mess up himself in public.

“Let him encourage him to be insulting people. But should the otherwise happen, they should not hold the leadership of Ijaw nation responsible. So far he wants as many structures as possible to fall and die with him, we shall help him.

“He is frustrated and becoming so desperate because the political economy of Rivers State is slipping off; he will not win. Wike will not win; government is not about individuals. One person cannot be more powerful than an institution. That is the statement we are making.

“We have not seen any error or crime committed by the governor. And as a true son of Ijaw nation, the INC shall apply every legitimate effort to support and defend our own,” he said.

There are fears in many quarters that the crisis in Rivers State has the potential to obstruct the peace in the oil rich state, the Niger Delta and by extension, Nigeria as a whole.

Also on Wednesday, an elder statesman and member of the Rivers State Elders and Leaders Forum, Anabs Sara-Igbehas, condemned the action of lawmakers of the Rivers Assembly for denying Fubara access to present the state budget to them.

Sara-Igbe, who is the pioneer spokesman for the Pan Niger Delta Forum, described the action of the lawmakers as provocative and an insult to Rivers people.

Speaking in Port Harcourt, Sara-Igbe, who is the National Chairman of South South Elders Forum, said denying the governor access to the Assembly complex was not an insult to Fubara as a person, but to the people of Rivers State.

He said, “The governor was elected by millions of Rivers people. As the chief executive officer of the state, he has unhindered access to all the facilities within the state. Blocking him from entering the complex is a direct insult and embarrassment to the people of Rivers state.

“It is now very clear that the governor is ready for peace. But these people are not ready for peace.

Sara-Igbe further said that Fubara has always wanted peace; hence on the advice of President Bola Tinubu, he withdrew the case he had against the lawmakers last year even when they refused to withdraw theirs.

On the comment by Wike, who during a media chat on Wednesday morning said Fubara can be impeached and “heaven will not fall”, the elder statesman reminded that pouring insults on the Ijaw people will not help the former governor and the current political situation in the state.

“He should remember that during the time of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, the production rate of crude dropped drastically from 2.4million barrels per day to a paltry 700,000bpd until the elders of the Ijaw nation and the Niger Delta pleaded with the various militant groups including the Avengers, movement for the emancipation of the Niger Delta, among others to stay action.

“The nation’s economy today is at a sad point. We don’t want anything to happen to the crude oil production. The minister should be mindful of his utterances. While we plead for all parties in the crisis to follow the path of peace, we all should also mind what we say per time,” he said.

Wike had also dismissed the group, saying it is not a major ethnic entity in the Niger Delta region.

Daily Trust recalled that last week, leaders of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) also warned that they will resist any forceful attempt to remove Fubara from office.

The group said that should those threatening impeachment against Fubara carry out their threat, the youths of Ijaw nation will be left with no other options than to shut down all the flow stations in the Niger Delta.

President of IYC, Theophilus Alaye, in a statement, said those threatening impeachment against Fubara should be careful because any forceful attempt to remove him from office will be resisted.

He also warned that it was the fierce quest of the then National Party of Nigeria (NPN) to take over opposition controlled states that led to the military take-over in 1983.

Alaye urged the Tinubu government not to create situations that would destroy the current democratic experience.

Position of Rivers in Nigeria’s economy

Daily Trust reports that Rivers State is one of Nigeria’s top oil-producing states, playing a crucial role in the country’s petroleum industry. It is home to major oil fields and facilities operated by international and local oil companies, including Shell, TotalEnergies, Agip, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).

Rivers State consistently ranks among the top oil-producing states in Nigeria. The state hosts the Port Harcourt Refinery, one of Nigeria’s major refineries.

The state also has key export terminals, including the Bonny Oil & Gas Terminal, which is one of Nigeria’s largest crude export hubs. It also hosts the Nigeria LNG (NLNG) plant in Bonny Island, which is crucial for the country’s gas exports.

Also, the oil industry in Rivers State provides jobs and drives economic activities.

“It will be suicidal for the federal government to allow Rivers State to go in flames politically,” said Abdullahi Aliyu, who works with one of the oil majors.

“Any crisis in Rivers will have enormous negative consequences on oil production, and by extension revenue generation. This will have adverse effect on the whole of Nigeria,” he said.

How Assembly shut gate on governor

Daily Trust reports that the political crisis in Rivers State escalated on Wednesday when Fubara was barred from entering the Rivers State House of Assembly complex, where he had gone to present the 2025 appropriation bill.

Recall that the Supreme Court recently reinstated the Martin Amaewhule-led leadership of the Assembly, dismissing Fubara’s appeal challenging the legitimacy of 27 lawmakers. Following the judgment, the Assembly, loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the governor to submit the 2025 budget.

However, when Fubara arrived at the temporary assembly complex on Port Harcourt-Aba Road, he found the gates locked. Assembly sources claimed the governor did not officially inform lawmakers of his visit despite a leaked letter dated March 11 informing the lawmakers of the visit.

Speaking to journalists, Fubara accused Speaker Amaewhule of deliberately avoiding him, stating that calls to the lawmaker went unanswered.

“Before my arrival here, I made several attempts to speak to the speaker. I also sent a letter transmitted for this particular invitation. Unfortunately, at the gate, you can see that the place is completely sealed, and there is no sign that anything is going to happen today,” Fubara said.

The governor insisted his actions were in the public’s interest, adding, “The reason why we are doing this, I have always said, is in the interest of our people, which is the most important thing. I don’t think there is anything to worry about. I expect to hear from them after today.

“I still believe, maybe, they might be instructed later. If they are instructed, I’m still ready to come any day to get this particular issue sorted out,” the governor said.

Amaewhule reconvenes house, calls for EFCC probe of RSIEC boss

Soon after Fubara left the Assembly premises, Speaker  Amaewhule reconvened the House, where lawmakers resolved to call on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate Retired Justice Adolphus Enebeli, Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), over the commission’s financial activities.

Speaking on the motion, Amaewhule cited Section 128 of the 1999 Constitution, which empowers the House to investigate any person, ministry, department, or agency within its legislative jurisdiction. The House, thereafter, voted in favour of the motion, adopting all its prayers.

We’ll respond soon, says PDP

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) said yesterday that it was closely monitoring the political crisis in Rivers State as impeachment threats against Governor Siminalayi Fubara intensify.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, told Daily Trust on Wednesday that the party would respond to developments at the appropriate time.

Speaking on the Rivers State House of Assembly’s decision to bar Fubara from entering the complex, Ologunagba said he needed to gather all the facts before commenting.

“I don’t have the whole information about what happened yet. When I have the facts, I will speak with you. As the situation develops, we will get the facts and respond as a party. We will not shy away from that,” he said.

Ologunagba emphasised the PDP’s support for Fubara, describing him as a governor who is “doing a good job.”

“Our party is solidly with the governor because he is doing a good job, and we are one united party,” he added.

Legal expert: Only compromise can resolve deadlock

A legal expert, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, said the governor’s visit to the assembly when the lawmakers were yet to respond to his request to visit could be interpreted as a breach in protocol.

“I don’t think it was a good move for the governor to have visited the Assembly when the lawmakers had not responded to his request. Under our system, a governor does not just walk into the Assembly unless it is for specific constitutional duties like the budget presentation,” Obono-Obla said.

He urged Fubara to prioritise reconciliation and extend an olive branch to his political adversaries.

“The governor, as the chief executive, has a duty to extend an olive branch to his antagonists and work towards peace. In the course of this crisis, he has made some mistakes and even constitutional infractions. He should explore ways to mend fences and find a compromise with the legislature,” he added.

Assembly must balance legal advantage with political wisdom – SAN

Similarly, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Salman Jawondo, cautioned the pro-Wike lawmakers against overplaying their legal advantage, warning that their Supreme Court victory could become a political liability.

“The threat of impeachment against Governor Fubara is not an easy option. They need the endorsement or input of the state attorney general, and they also require cooperation from the judiciary,” Jawondo said.

He argued that Fubara’s strategy of positioning himself as a victim of political persecution is gaining public sympathy.

[DailyTrust]

A lawyer, Kenneth Amadi, has written to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to commence recall proceedings against the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule.

The development is the latest twist in the protracted political crisis in Rivers State, which ensued after Fubara fell out with his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, currently minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

Amaewhule’s seat and that of 26 others pro-Wike members of the Assembly were declared vacant by lawmakers loyal to Fubara following their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

As a result of the development, Fubara worked with the Victor Oko-Jumbo-led three-man faction of the Assembly.

Fubara presented the budget to the Oko-Jumbo group, and they also confirmed commissioner nominees and other appointments coming from the governor.

However, Amaewhule and the 26 others later renounced their defection and the Supreme Court, in a judgement on 28th February, 2025, ordered that they should resume sitting immediately.

The apex court also ordered the governor to represent the 2025 budget to the State Assembly, under Amaewhule’s leadership.

Meanwhile, a letter obtained by DAILY POST on Wednesday, 12th March, 2025, showed that proceedings have been initiated to recall Amaewhule from the Assembly.

The letter, dated 7th March, 2025, and addressed to the Resident Electoral Commissioner, INEC, Rivers State, was titled, ‘Pre-Action Notice: Request made pursuant to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, and Freedom of Information Act, 2011, for a certified true copy of the verified voter register for Obio/Akpor Federal/State Constituency, Rivers State as preliminary steps towards the recall of Martins Amaewhule, the legislator representing Obio/Akpor State Constituency at the Rivers State House of Assembly’.

A stamp on the acknowledgement copy of the letter showed that it was received by the INEC office on 11th March, 2025.

The lawyer, Amadi, explained in the letter that he is the lawyer to several indigenes of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, Amaewhule’s constituency.

He further explained that the request is in accordance with the FOI Act, 2011, and sections 69 and 110 of the 1999 Constitution, as well as Section 116 of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) which empowers INEC to conduct recall proceedings against a member of the National Assembly or State Assembly, or Area Council of the FCT, “upon the receipt of a valid petition alleging a loss of confidence in the member by more than 50% of voters registered to vote in that member’s constituency”.

Parts of the letter read, “I write in my capacity as a lawyer to several indigenes of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State who are desirous of initiating a recall of Martins Amaewhule for the following reasons:

“Defection from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress in December 2023.

“Failure to provide effective representation for the majority of the public interests of constituents, instead focusing on his own personal interests and the interests of his political godfather.

“Consistent involvement in undemocratic, illegal and violent impeachment activities since the year 2013 when he moved the motion for impeachment of a duly and legally appointed Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

“Disobedience to the judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria delivered on 28th February 2025 which directed all parties to await the final determination of the legal status of Amaewhule and 26 other law-makers of the Rivers State House of Assembly who defected in December 2023.

“Illegal usurpation of the duties of His Excellency, Governor of Rivers State by amendment of certain laws of Rivers State to confer upon himself the powers to extend the tenure of Chairmen of the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Rivers State and appointment of Commissioners of the Rivers State House of Assembly Service Commission (just to mention a few).

“Failure to fulfill his campaign promises to build agriculture and aquaculture farms for youths of Obio/Akpor State constituency, just to mention a few.

“Failure to publish and comply with a legislative agenda of the Rivers State House of Assembly as is the legislative practice of the National Assembly.”

The letter warned that if the requested CTC of the voter register is not made available within seven days, the constituents will take legal action to enforce their legal rights.

Speaking further, Amadi said Amaewhule has serially violated court orders since he was restored as the speaker of the Assembly.

The lawyer added that the business of lawmaking had come to a standstill, as the Amaewhule-led Assembly is only interested in fighting the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC.

“In the days immediately after the Supreme Court of Nigeria judgment of 28th February 2025, Amaewhule has issued several ultimatums against the Chairman of RSIEC and more recently a bench warrant for the arrest of the chairman and commissioners of the RSIEC.

“This is in spite of a valid injunction of a High Court of Rivers State that prevents Amaewhule and the Rivers State House of Assembly from doing anything against the said Chairman of the RSIEC pending the hearing of the ongoing lawsuit that the said chairman of the RSIEC filed against Amaewhule and his 26 lawmakers,” he said.

Amadi added that the “uncommon and exuberant zeal that Amaewhule and his 26 lawmakers are expending upon the RISEC alone since their resumption since after 28th February 2025 raises a lot of suspicion and worry”.

“This is because it appears that the entire business of lawmaking of the Rivers State House of Assembly has come to a standstill, there is no mention of any other activities such as Bills that undergo first or second reading, there is no mention of constituency projects or visits to constituencies, and certainly no mention of oversight functions.

“The only activity that we hear and read about as the function of the Rivers State House of Assembly is ultimatums and bench warrant for the arrest of the Chairman and Commissioners of the RISEC,” he further observed.

DAILY POST reports that the political crisis in Rivers State further escalated on Wednesday, 12th March, 2025, with Governor Sim Fubara prevented from gaining access to the Assembly quarters to present the 2025 budget to the lawmakers, as ordered by the Supreme Court.

Despite a letter forwarded by Fubara to the Speaker, Amaewhule, dated 11th March, 2025, which notified the lawmakers of the governor’s intention to present the budget on 12th March, 2025, the gates of the Assembly quarters were locked when Fubara and other government officials arrived for the function.

The governor left without presenting the budget, leading to another impasse in the already protracted political crisis.

Speaking after the incident, Fubara accused Amaewhule of deliberately avoiding him.

He said he called Amaewhule severally but the Speaker refused to answer.

[DailyPost]

In the latest plot twist in the case involving Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Senate President Godswill Akpabio, it turned out that the head of the Ethics Committee, Senator Neda Imasuen, who read out the punitive statement against Akpoti-Uduaghan has a soiled professional record. Yes, the man who claimed a woman had to be punished for “bringing the Senate’s presiding office and the entire Senate into public opprobrium” is a walking bag of ethical violations, alleged fraud, and fugitive? Who could have thought?

First, I must confess a grudging admiration for Imasuen. It takes chutzpah to speak so self-righteously about a colleague whose supposed sins pale beside yours. The confidence with which he read the statement shows he has learned that the best way to deflect from the log in one’s eye is to shout the loudest at the appearance of a speck in another’s eye. We must thank him for exposing himself. If he had managed to keep his head down and his mouth shut, perhaps the can of worms spilling out of his orifices would have stayed within. It is bad enough that a character like that was elected a senator, but it is far worse that he also heads the ethics committee! Is it not too much of an irony that the sundry allegations against him were also about ethical violation—first disbarred for professional misconduct and absconded from the USA shortly after the FBI linked him to a multi-million dollar fraud? And only God knows what other scandal will come out of him if you keep shaking!

It would have been shocking if this was an isolated case, but no, the Senate that threw a fit over Akpoti-Uduaghan’s supposedly bringing them to disrepute is full of unsavoury characters like Imasuen. Even Akpabio himself has an extended record of corruption allegations that have been put in abeyance. As long as he continues to play the obsequious politics his handlers need him for, his case with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission remains frozen. His status and influence are tied to his serving the President rather than democracy.

Imasuen’s case is, of course, also similar to that of former Speaker of the House of Representatives and current Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila. He too was a lawyer in the USA suspended (and later disbarred) for violating professional trust. The decision to permanently terminate his law license was ratified the same year he became the chief of staff. Nobody, of course, is naïve enough to wonder for even a minute why the President would keep someone so tainted that close. The reason birds of the same disreputable feather must flock together is self-evident.

Imasuen knew who he was and what he had to hide, and that was why he could proclaim that the petition accusing Akpabio of sexual harassment was “dead on arrival”. To scrutinise the conduct of the Senate’s presiding officer was to risk exposing his unflattering flank. Despite the precedents that should have instructed the committee that suspending a senator for six months is unconstitutional, they insisted on towing a discredit path. Rather than at least giving Akpoti-Uduaghan a fair hearing, he pronounced an unnecessarily harsh punishment. He is another legislative officer merely playing quid pro quo with the tools of the institution.

Now that Imasuen had no moral standing to either sit on a committee regulating the ethics of the National Assembly or pronounce judgment on a colleague, can the decision on Akpoti-Uduaghan now be rescinded? That will be the fair thing to do in the light of developments.

It will be too complicated to get him out of the Senate based on the allegations of the crime committed elsewhere (which should have been raised before his election), but someone that ethically tainted is too unfit to have the privilege of regulating the ethics of an institution like the Senate. He should be removed from leadership positions and consigned to being just a floor member. If the concerns that certain actions by lawmakers can bring the Senate to disrepute are sincere, then Imasuen should be yanked from every position of responsibility. If the Senator’s case against Akpoti-Uduaghan was truly about instituting the rules she supposedly violated and not a personal attack on her, then the Senate should immediately move to relieve Imasuen of his position and recall every decision he made as the ethics committee leader.

That brings me to another point about the misogyny that has attended the Akpoti-Uduaghan case. I never knew so many bad-mannered and uncouth men could still appear on television in 2025 until recently. Under the pretext of commenting on legislative issues, all manner of scum bags went on TV to pour their misogynistic innards into the public space. It was a shame to see.

The most irritating commenter of the misogynistic lot is Mrs Oluremi Tinubu who thinks women suffer sexual harassment because they invite it. But when she had an altercation with fellow Senator Dino Melaye in 2017, and he made some demeaning comments bordering on sexual assault about her, was it also because she failed to set boundaries with him? Women like Mrs Tinubu are the exact reason I do not believe that pushing more women to occupy leadership positions will necessarily lead to female progress in the country. Those kinds of women play identity politics just to get into places of power only for their politics to pander to oppressive norms rather than disrupt them. Their understanding of “gender empowerment” never goes beyond the rudimentary idea of gifting women money and a few household items. Advocacy for women would be better off soliciting reasonable men than relying on these “pick me” women whose ideological incoherence set the course of feminine progress back by a century.

She is not the only woman whose intervention on this issue has been more of indulging male sensibilities than offering insights. I wished the women who appeared on television to speak on this issue had spoken the way some of the men did rather than merely pander. When men have gone on television to talk about this issue, some of them said the worst things and with utmost confidence too. I wish the women who got a chance did the same. Those men could say misogynistic things on television because they have never heard their stupidity echoed back at them. Women need to speak like them for them to get it.

For instance, if a man can say a woman’s beauty is a problem for her, then women too should point out how a man’s ugliness can also be a source of his problem! Another moron, seeking to delegitimise Akpoti-Uduaghan, blatantly lied that she has had six children by six men. Akpabio also once pulled that card on television when talking about a woman. If men can be so confidently coarse, women should be able to mirror their words back to them rather than being apologetic. Talk about the number of children the man has out of wedlock; ask him if he has stopped cheating on his wife. When they go low, do not go high; kick them in the face like rabid dogs.

One simpleton said this issue of sexual harassment undermines the credibility of women in politics, and it might get to a point where they ought to be tested for emotional stability to qualify for leadership. But does Imasuen’s case also not prove that men are professionally and ethically unqualified? From Bola Tinubu to Akpabio to Gbajabiamila, there is far more evidence to prove that men are too unscrupulous, venal and felonious to be leaders. It is not women who should be examined for mental stability before they are elected; it is men who should be made to undergo a virtue test with a psychiatrist to determine if there is something about their male hormones that predisposes them to avarice.

If women talk about men the way men talk about women, it will get to a point where obtuse men will finally begin to realise how ridiculous they sound when they talk about women.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described the N15.6tn Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway project as wasteful and corrupt.

He equally slammed the President Bola Tinubu administration for spending N21bn on a new official residence for Vice President Kashim Shettima, calling it a misplaced priority and conduit designed to embezzle public funds.

The ex-leader disclosed this in chapter six of his new book, ‘Nigeria: Past and Future’ where he painted the portrait and characters of chief executives at both the federal and state levels.

The book was one of the two new books unveiled to mark Obasanjo’s 88th birthday last week. 

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, had revealed that the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will cost N4.93bn per kilometre, stating that the contract was awarded on a counterpart-funding basis and not a Public-Private Partnership.

About N1.06tn has been released for the pilot phase, or six per cent of the project, which begins at Eko Atlantic and is expected to terminate at the Lekki Deep Sea Port.

Many prominent Nigerians, including the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar, have questioned the Federal Government’s decision to award the contract to Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech Construction Company without competitive bidding.

Chagoury is believed to be Tinubu’s long-time business partner and friend.

Assessing the two years of Tinubu in office, Obasanjo said it appears that the game of short-changing the over 230 million Nigerians would continue because “Everything is said to be transactional and the slogan is ‘It is my turn to chop.’’’

Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, declined to react to Obasanjo’s criticism of his principal when contacted on Wednesday night.

The former President said the majority of those who have been opportune to hold leadership positions in the country as governors, presidents, ministers, commissioners even as local government chairmen are ill-prepared, satanic, self-centred and are all out to corruptly enrich themselves while the nation continues to wallow in abject poverty and condemnable underdevelopment.

Obasanjo said that many clamouring to be governors or lead the country in one form or the other are only interested in using their offices to enrich themselves and their cronies and then leave the country worse than they met it.

The former President pointed out that most office-seekers in the country would go as far as obtaining loans of billions of naira believing that paying back from the public funds after being elected won’t be a problem.

He stated, “How do you explain the situation of a chief executive, a governor, whose business was owing the banks billions of naira and millions of dollars before becoming a governor and within two years of becoming governor, without his company doing any business, he paid all that his businesses owed the banks.

“You are left to guess where the money came from. Having got away with that in the first term, he consigned to himself almost half of the state resources in the second term. He was a typical example of the goings-on at that level almost universally in the country with only a few exceptions.

“State resources are captured and appropriated to themselves with a pittance to staff and associates to close the mouths of those that could blow the whistle or raise alarm against them while in office and when they are out of office.’’

He further noted that “The ones that are criminally ridiculous are the chief executives that deceive, lie and try to cover up on the realities and truth of action and inaction on contract awards, agreements, treaties, borrowings and forward sales of national assets. Such chief executives are unfit for the job they find themselves in.

“Typical examples of waste, corruption and misplaced priority are the murky Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road on which the President had turned deaf ears to protests and the new Vice-President’s official residence built at a cost of N21bn in the time of economic hardship to showcase the administration hitting the ground running and to show the importance of the office of the Vice-President. What small minds!”

To address some of the challenges facing the country, the former President said that there is a need to interrogate the Western liberal democracy being practised and see how it could be reviewed to reflect African peculiarities.

“If the West, from where the liberal democracy started should complain about it not working well for them, we should be wise enough at this stage to interrogate, carry out introspection, internal analysis and realise that Western liberal democracy is not working for us and is not delivering apart from the shortcomings of the operators.

“We should seek democracy within African history, culture, attributes and characteristics, one that will take necessary African factors into consideration. Until we can get a better word or description for it, let us call it Afrodemocracy.

“It is from Afrodemocracy that we will draw up an African people’s constitution for any African that chooses to go the way of Afrodemocracy, which will avoid most, to all, the faults we have found in Western liberal democracy,” he suggested.

[Punch]

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) says the number of prisoners on death row rose from 3,590 in September 2024 to 3,688 in March 2025.

Sylvester Nwakuche, the acting controller-general of NCoS, spoke on Wednesday while being screened by the senate committee on interior.

He said the new data represents a 2.73 percent increase, or 98 prisoners, within six months.

“Inmates on death row are now 3,688, from 3,590 in September 2024. State governors are part of our challenges,” he said.

“They refuse to execute inmates on death row; neither do they commute their death sentence to life imprisonment.

“If they commute death sentences to life imprisonment, it is easier for us to distribute them to rural correctional facilities, which are not as congested as those in urban correctional facilities.

“This is because the issue of congestion is a major urban phenomenon. Our correctional facilities in urban centres are more congested than those in rural areas. If we commute them to life sentencing, we will be able to distribute them equitably”.

He called for collaboration and synergy with security agencies to address the challenge of awaiting trials in all the correctional facilities nationwide.

“This is very important for any establishment to forge ahead. An establishment like correctional centres cannot do anything without collaboration. We are the one at the receiving end of the products of all the prosecuting agencies,” Nwakuche said.

“The Nigeria police, EFCC, DSS, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, and ICPC will bring all these products to our doorpost.

“They expect to turn around and push them into society and be law-abiding citizens. If we must meet this expectation, we need to collaborate more meaningfully.

“When I met with the inspector-general of police, I said some of your inmates are in our facilities. They have stayed up to five or six years. Some of them are not needed to be in our facilities any longer.

“If they have been sentenced, some of them will not spend up to two to three years in prisons.

“But they have stayed in our facilities for six years. For me, such persons should be discharged and acquitted. That is one area we must collaborate to decongest our facilities.

“I also met the director-general of DSS on the need for collaboration. I met the attorney-general of the federation for the same reason. Some of the inmates are waiting for the advice of the director of public prosecution.

“If we do not reach out to these agencies, our people will continue to be in prisons unnecessarily.”

Adams Oshiomhole, chairman of the senate committee on interior, said the panel would submit its report based on the performance of Nwakuche.

[TheCable]

Last Thursday, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for six months by the Senate for violating its rules. But with the disciplinary action coming after she had formally submitted a petition alleging sexual harassment against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, it is the chambers that is now on the defensive. The highest legislative body in the country is being inadvertently perceived as aiding and abetting predatory behaviour against women, even among its own members. It is a self-inflicted problem. A more circumspect Senate would have put the disciplinary matter against Akpoti-Uduaghan in temporary abeyance by first dealing with the sexual harassment allegation against its presiding officer; after all, as a Yoruba adage says, if tree falls on tree, conventional wisdom teaches that you start the clearing process from the top.

At the Women in Parliament session held at the Inter-Parliamentary Union Meeting (IPU) in New York, United States, on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan internationalised not only her ordeal but also used the platform to speak for Nigerian women. “I was suspended illegally because I submitted a petition for sexual harassment against the President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio,” Akpoti-Uduaghan said. “I thought that by submitting the petition, he would recuse himself and both of us would submit ourselves to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions for a fair, transparent investigation. But unfortunately, I was silenced, and I was suspended,” she told the gathering. “That means I’m here illegally…It depicts the crisis of women’s political representation. My suspension is not just about me. It’s about the systemic exclusion of women from political leadership in Nigeria.”

Considering what many of the male Senators have been saying on this crisis, it is almost difficult to fault Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claim that her ordeal has to do with her gender—regardless of whether her allegation against Akpabio is true or false. In asking that the suspension be reduced from six to three months, Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro—leader of her own party, the main Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that ought to be in her corner—compared Akpoti-Uduaghan to a ‘recalcitrant child’ that you sometimes ‘beat’ when they misbehave. The Deputy Chief Whip, Senator Onyekachi Peter Nwebonyi made matters worse by going on air to retort that Akpoti-Uduaghan has “six kids from six different men”, a false claim; and that her “lifestyle is blocking the chances of other women who want to enter politics.”

I wonder why the Senate cannot understand that the entire saga has gone beyond the person of Akpoti-Uduaghan or the veracity of her allegation. It is not for nothing that the United Nations has devoted several days in a year to remind the world of impediments against the female gender. The last four months provide a ready example. Between 25th November and 10th December 2024, we had the annual global 16 days of activism which basically just called for an end to violence against women and girls. Then on 6th February this year, we had the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. Five days later, on 11th February, was the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Of course, we were all aware that last Saturday, 8th March, was 2025 International Women’s Day. But I doubt if many were aware that Monday, 10th March was also the International Day of Women Judges.

To mark the event, the United Nations Office for Drug and Crimes (UNODC) published a feature story on a female judicial officer in Kenya, Christine Njagi with the headline, “‘Be the headliner, not the footnote’: Women in Justice/for Justice.” While sharing her experiences on the challenges women and girls face in Kenya, Njagi said in whatever situation women find themselves, they should strive to be the headliner and not the footnote. “Don’t be afraid at times to swim against the current—you might be the one who will change the flow of the river,” Njagi admonished. That appears to be the manual from which Akpoti-Uduaghan draws her inspiration. Whatever may be her motivation, the moment she was shut down by Akpabio while protesting the seat-change, she had elected to be the headliner rather than the footnote in the battle she knew was coming. By suspending her, after she had formally submitted her petition on sexual harassment, the Senate has only played into Akpoti-Uduaghan’s hands.

It is possible, as Senator Nwebonyi said, that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegation against Akpabio “is a case of personal, unsubstantiated, and conveniently timed accusations—claims of sexual harassment that supposedly took place over a year ago but surfaced only after the accuser was summoned for disciplinary action.” But not many people really care anymore, perhaps because of the way the Senate handled the issue. When the holder of a superior power position is accused of sexual exploitation, intimidation, or implicit threat, there is an obligation on that institution to treat such allegation, especially coming from a member, with seriousness. That perhaps explains why for many, the real issue is no longer whether Akpoti-Uduaghan’s sexual harassment allegation against Akpabio is true but rather that the Senate, in suspending her—even if for another ‘offense’—has denied her the opportunity of a fair hearing.

My position on the former ‘uncommon transformer’ of Akwa Ibom State is well-documented on this page, and one of my recent columns on him, ‘Akpabio: A Man for Every New Season’ has been trending on WhatsApp since this crisis started. I have also received suggestive messages from readers about what I should ‘write on Akpabio’. But that is not my way. I have nothing personal against the senate president. No matter what some of us may think of Akpabio, it would be unfair to jump to any hasty conclusions based on a claim that has not been proved to be true. Besides, removing Akpabio as Senate President will not resolve a problem that is institutional. What we must ensure is that women and girls who find the courage to raise an alarm relating to sexual harassment are respectfully listened to and not intimidated into silence. We must find a way of supporting a fair and discreet interrogation of such issues, without humiliating either party. This is because we live in a patriarchal society where women who refuse to accede to sexual demands from their superiors could easily have their careers delayed or truncated with irreparable damage done to their self-worth, sometimes for life.

To mark the 2025 International Women’s Day last Saturday, platitudes eulogising women in Nigeria  were offered by our men in positions of power. But the reality is that we operate a system patently skewed against women. At the Women in Parliament session attended by Akpoti-Uduaghan on Tuesday, a new IPU report, ‘Women in Parliament, 1995-2025’ was released to commemorate 30 years since the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The report reveals that the percentage of seats held by women in national parliaments has risen from 11.3% in 1995 to 27.2% in 2025. Meanwhile, in 15 States Houses of Assemblies across Nigeria today, there is not a single female lawmaker! Let’s not even talk about how a female lawmaker who was elected Speaker by 90 percent of the membership in a State House of Assembly was arm-twisted to surrender the gavel to the unpopular man she displaced. Even if the decision was not taken because she is a woman, the signaling was bad considering the overwhelming support she enjoyed from her colleagues.

The situation is only slightly better at the centre. In the current Senate, there are only four members among 108 Senators. Among the 360 lawmakers in the House of Representatives, there are only 16 female members. But the real problem is that even those few members are most often treated with disrespect. Exactly nine years ago, I wrote about this in a column titled, ‘In Defence of Nigerian Women.’ Interestingly, it is the current First Lady of Nigeria, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu who provoked my column at the time.

Presenting a motion to mark the 2016 International Women’s Day with the theme, ‘Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality’, Senator Tinubu (as she then was) had argued, “We represent courage and resilience; without us (Nigerian women) I don’t think this country will move forward.” The contributions that followed from some of the male senators were, to put it mildly, reckless. Eight months ago, I rehashed most of my arguments in another column, ‘For Akpabio, A Teachable Moment’, after he tendered a public apology to Akpoti-Uduaghan on the floor of the senate for demeaning her with a biting remark that the Senate is not a “nightclub”. What that episode and the earlier one that elicited my column nine years ago reveal is that when those who make laws for society act in ways that suggest a lack of respect for women, there is a problem.

That precisely is why many women, including those who may habour doubts about Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claim against Akpabio, are angry about the way the Senate has handled the matter. But it is not too late to make amends. The suspension of Akpoti-Uduaghan should be lifted. She should also be availed the opportunity to prove her sexual harassment allegation against Akpabio before the Senate Committee on Ethics. If she cannot provide evidence, Akpabio reserves the right to sue for damages. For any family man, the psychological wound of being falsely accused of sexual offense is deep and it is not something that should be taken lightly. For that reason, I am delighted by the way the IPU President, Ms Tulia Ackson, who is also the Speaker of the Tanzania National Assembly, handled Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegation. She said they have only heard one side (from Akpoti-Uduaghan) hence would also need to hear the other side (from Akpabio and Nigerian Senate) before they could draw any conclusion. Keeping an open mind is exactly what is required on such an allegation until all sides are heard and the person who asserts can prove.

Meanwhile, my counsel for Akpoti-Udughan is to return home for the new battle ahead. All the white, black and red lions she defeated to get to the Senate have launched a subterranean but well-funded campaign for her recall. However, since the larger issue that has been thrown up is about gender inclusion in Nigeria, let me also conclude with the last paragraph of my 2016 column which still resonates, especially for our lawmakers. It will serve the Senate and also the larger Nigerian society: The recent obsession of some senators with the denigration of a vital segment of our populace indicates something more sinister about the state of our legislature. In a country beset with so many pressing existential issues requiring legislative intervention, it is a negative testimonial that some of our lawmakers can only find relevance in denigrating women. I therefore do not hesitate to say to the unrepentant chauvinists in our midst: Next time you think about Nigerian women, think of your mother and please mind your language!

Adieu Dubem Onyia

It was a sobering moment for us on Monday afternoon at the General Hospital in Maitama, Abuja, as we watched the body of the late former Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Chief Dubem Onyia, being wheeled to the morgue. Only two hours earlier, the Director, Programmes and Administration at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Mrs Vivian Emehelu, had left the office abruptly after receiving the sad news about her father’s passing. So, I joined the Centre’s Director, Partnerships and Development, Amara Nwankpa and Director, Finance, Babatunde Ahmadu, to support Vivian and her family through the initial post-mortem procedures at the hospital. Yesterday, I also joined members of the Centre’s Board led by its chairman, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to visit the bereaved family. Onyia was a very pleasant man with whom I related very well for almost two decades. He was also a strong advocate for peace, cooperation, and African self-determination both at home and abroad. May God comfort the family he left behind.