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“In Enugu There is No Honour Among Political Thieves”, Say State Stakeholders
Enugu State stakeholders have described the absence of erstwhile Governor Chimaroke Nnamani at the inauguration on Monday of Peter Mbah as the new state governor as a manifestation that there is no honour among those they call political brigands in the state.
“There is honour even among thieves, but it is not so among the swindlers in our state who robbed the people of the mandate they freely gave the Labour Party on March 18”, declared the Enugu State Stakeholders Forum (ESSF) in a statement today signed by its president, Professor Joseph Aneke, and the secretary, Dr Ifeanyi Agbo.
Outgoing Senator Nnamani brought out the “purported governor-elect from nothing and placed him on a high pedestal”, observed the stakeholders,“ yet he did not find it worthy of attending Mbah’s swearing-in as governor because they could not keep their agreement to shortchange the Enugu people”.
The stakeholders recalled how the then-governor made Mbah his Chief of Staff fresh from school and later appointed him the Commissioner for Finance.
The statement alleged that Mbah and Nnamani, both from the Nkanu sub-ethnic group, parted ways even before the conclusion of the 2023 general elections because of their “crass selfish interests which turned out to be mutually exclusive”.
The former governor has publicly been accusing fellow PDP leaders in the state of betrayal since he lost the Enugu East senatorial race on March 18 to little-known Sir Kelvin Chukwu of the Labour Party, a younger brother of Chief Oyibo Chukwu of Labour Party who was assassinated three days to the National Assembly poll, a development which compelled the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the Enugu East senatorial election to three weeks later.
Dr Nnamani has in a series of statements accused the immediate past governor, The Right Honorable Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and Mbah of masterminding the rigging of the gubernatorial poll in favour of their party but refused to rig for him during the senatorial election for fear that the reaction of the people would be too severe for the PDP to bear.
“It was Senator Nnamani who convinced Ugwuanyi that Mbah is the right person to protect his interests after leaving office on May 29 as governor and should, therefore, anoint him as his successor”, claimed the stakeholders.
“Still, both Mbah and Ugwuanyi had no scruples in ditching him when it mattered most because there is no honour among the political scavengers of our state”.
The ESSF described the parting of ways between Mbah and Nnamani as paradoxical because Mbah stoutly refused to betray him when he was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after serving as the finance commissioner.
Though a lot of assets including a number of properties, a radio station and a telecommunications company belonging to Dr Nnamani were confiscated by the EFCC which told the court that they were acquired with proceeds from corruption, Mbah is reputed to have done well to avoid implicating his former boss.
“His performance at the EFCC impressed Nnamani so much that he decided to reward him with a higher political position at the right time”, said the stakeholders.
“He had no difficulty convincing the then governor to adopt Mbah as his candidate in the PDP primaries, all the more so since Mbah has made so much money through his Pinnacle Oil and Gas Company and was eager to spend a lot of it in order to become the Enugu State governor”.
With Ugwuanyi’s support, Mbah secured the PDP gubernatorial ticket by a landslide on May 26, 2022, at Nnamadi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu, scoring 790 out of the 807 votes.
The ESSF advised Senator Nnamani to testify honestly at the Enugu State Election Petitions Tribunal where Chijioke Edeoga, the Labour Party gubernatorial candidate, is contesting the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC’s) declaration of Mbah as the elected governor.
“The testimony will not be borne out of vengeance against his party but to free his conscience and help liberate the state from brigandage”, stated the stakeholders.
News
JUST IN: Tinubu Departs Paris for Nigeria After Extended Vacation
President Bola Tinubu has ended his working vacation in Europe and departed Paris for Nigeria on Tuesday, with his aircraft expected to land at Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos later in the evening.
The announcement was made by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. Tinubu left Abuja on August 30 for what was initially billed as a three-week working vacation.
He spent one week in London before proceeding to Paris. The trip was later extended, bringing his total time abroad to about 30 days.
The President chose to return through Lagos rather than Abuja to honour the memory of the late Chief MKO Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
On Independence Day, October 1, he is scheduled to attend the premiere of a movie celebrating Abiola at the Wole Soyinka National Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos.
While in Lagos, Tinubu will hold strategic meetings with political leaders and associates over several days as preparations for the 2027 general elections intensify. He is expected to return to Abuja after those engagements.
During his stay in Paris, the President attended a private dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron and held meetings with business leaders, including Vincent Bolloré of the Bolloré Group.
He also met with First Holdings Chairman Femi Otedola and witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ogun State Government and DP World for a deep seaport and Blue Marine Economic Zone.
News
National Assembly Plans to Translate Laws into Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba
The National Assembly plans to translate Nigerian laws into Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and other indigenous languages as part of a broader effort to digitise parliamentary records and make legislation more accessible to citizens.
Henry Nwawuba, Executive Secretary of the National Assembly Library Trust Fund, announced the initiative on Monday in Abuja while declaring open the 2026 National Assembly Library Week. The event was themed “Parliamentary Memory: Connecting Records, Legislation and the People.”
Nwawuba said the translation would help more Nigerians, especially those not proficient in English, understand the laws that affect their daily lives. He described the library as the knowledge infrastructure of the legislature and a repository of its institutional memory.
The move forms part of a digital overhaul that includes upgrading the e-library, creating electronic repositories, developing a National Assembly Library mobile application, and introducing a Bills Tracker to allow the public to monitor the progress of proposed laws in real time.
The library will also produce infographics, audiovisual materials and short video explainers to simplify bills, Acts and legislative procedures. Officials said the upgrades would help curb the spread of fake or unverified legislative documents online.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, represented by Senator Osita Ngwu, and Speaker of the House of Representatives Abbas Tajudeen, represented by Professor Julius Ihonvbere, both stressed the need for lawmakers to use the digital tools while prioritising cybersecurity.
News
BREAKING: Court Order Threatens Dangote Kenya Refinery Launch
A Kenyan court order requiring parties to maintain the status quo on disputed land has cast uncertainty over the planned groundbreaking of Aliko Dangote’s multi-billion-dollar oil refinery in Lamu, scheduled for Wednesday, September 30.
The Malindi Environment and Land Court, in an order dated September 25 and made public this week, directed that the existing situation on Land Reference No. 13061 in the Hindi/Manda Magogoni area be preserved until a hearing on October 14. The order followed a petition by 133 residents of Chandavai in Lamu County, who claim the land is ancestral property their families have occupied, farmed and developed for generations. They allege inadequate recognition, compensation and resettlement in the acquisition process.
Judge Jane Onyango declined to certify the application as fully urgent in a way that would explicitly cancel the ceremony and refused a separate request to restrain the Office of the President, Dangote Industries, the Lamu County Government and other respondents from proceeding with the groundbreaking. However, the status quo directive bars clearing, excavation, fencing, demolition, construction or other interference with occupied portions of the land in the interim.
Dangote Group said the ruling has not halted the groundbreaking ceremony itself. “The court has not halted the groundbreaking ceremony of the refinery at this stage. However, activities at the site may be affected by the ruling as both parties are required not to carry activities until the case is heard on 14th October,” the company stated.
Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi confirmed the ceremony would proceed as planned. Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, downplayed the development while speaking to investors in Nairobi, describing such legal challenges as “normal for us in Africa” and comparing it to past disputes elsewhere on the continent. He insisted the project would continue.
The proposed facility is a 700,000-barrel-per-day greenfield oil refinery and petrochemical complex estimated to cost $15–16 billion (roughly Ksh2 trillion). It is intended to process crude from Kenya’s Lokichar fields and other East African sources, reduce the region’s heavy reliance on imported fuels, create jobs and support industrialisation. President William Ruto is expected to attend the ceremony alongside Dangote. Heavy equipment has already begun arriving at the Port of Lamu.
The case returns to court on October 14, when respondents will have the opportunity to file responses and the matter will be heard inter partes. Until then, the legal constraint on site activities remains in force even as organisers press ahead with the ceremonial launch.
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