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‘He stopped picking my calls’ – Dele Momodu explains why he fell out with Wike

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A journalist-cum politician, Dele Momodu, has explained why he fell out with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

He said he was a close friend to Wike but their relationship became strained after he informed the former Rivers State governor of his intention to contest for president.

He explained that Wike, who was also secretly nursing his own presidential ambition then, was angered by the information and stopped picking his calls.

Speaking in a recent episode of The Honest Bunch podcast, Momodu said, “I was very close to [Nyesom] Wike.

We are no longer close. Troubles started the moment I declared interest in the presidential election.

“He had not told anybody he wanted to contest but I was suspecting because of the branding and how much he was spending on journalists. He had PR deals with many media houses.

“Those things are not cheap but he was getting good results; everybody was talking about him.

“So, I met him and informed him that I would be contesting for the presidency and I would need his support.

And before then, I had consulted nationwide, I had met Emirs, the Sultan and everybody.

“The general impression I was getting was that if Wike wants to run, he would have problems, especially in the North. The Northerners would support anybody but not Wike.

“I tried to tell him that this is what I had picked up and in case you are unable to run, would you kindly support me? What’s the crime in that?

“I already considered you my friend. He stopped picking my calls, he told people even live on Channels, when an interviewer asked for his opinions on new entrances like Dele Momodu, he said, ‘Which Dele Momodu? Get serious!’

“I was shocked. Wike that told me that he used to watch myself and his boss, [Rotimi] Ameachi when we are flying helicopters, he would be down saying, ‘See these people, they’re enjoying o!,’ is now disrespecting me simply because he has now made money, and power.”

Reacting to former president Ibrahim Babangida’s admission of regret for annulling the June 12 elections in 1993 during his book launch titled, “A Journey of Service” in Abuja last week.

Momodu said he believes that a sincere and “unconditional apology” from the former president was all that was needed to acknowledge the injustice and fully heal the nation.

“I was hoping that we would be able to bring some form of closure to the June 12 crisis. All that we needed to do that day was to get a full unconditional apology for what happened,” Momodu stated.

“The moment I started hearing excuses about how we did it in the national interest, we did it so our democracy could survive. I don’t think what we have today is a proper democracy,” he noted.

Momodu criticised the current political landscape, arguing that it has strayed from true democratic values, pointing out that governments at all levels manipulate elections, leaving no room for real competition.

“It’s become a sham where the federal government wants to win every election, the state government wants to win every election, the local government is in disarray. So at the end of the day, what have we gained?” he asked.

Watch full interview below at Glitch Africa Studio: “The Honest Bunch”

Video credit: Honest Bunch

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2027: Hurdles Before The Coalition, By Emeka Monye

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The 2027 presidential election in Nigeria is shaping up to be a crucial contest between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and a potential coalition of opposition parties. Several hurdles need to be overcome for the opposition coalition to succeed.

The political class is already preparing for this quadrennial event, holding consultations, meetings, negotiations, among other contending factors.

The ruling party, The All Progressive Congress, appears to be the most beautiful bride at the moment as members of other opposition parties have been courting the party, in a gale of defections, in what many political pundits and analysts described as a political tsunami.

While the APC seems to be enjoying the foray of defections by other party members into their fold, the main opposition party, The Peoples Democractic Party, PDP, appears to have lost its steam in the run of play.

The once dominant party is plagued by a series of internal crises which many political analysts believe will be the party’s undoings.

The once largest political party in Africa and oldest in Nigeria since it was created in 1998 by some elder statesmen, is now a shadow of itself, living in past glory and trying to win its way back to national prominence.

Already, some past and present leaders of the party have been consulting, negotiating, discussing, even though they have agreed yet, all in a bit to wrestle power from the stronghold of the Bola Tinubu-Led APC at the centre.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Former Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 General elections, Peter Obi, former Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai, among other bigwigs, are believed to be in talks with one another of how to build a possible coalition to edge the ruling APC in the power game.

Although, no concrete decision has been reached by the major actors, their negotiations and their inability to reach a consensus remain critical factors that might endanger the birth of a viable coalition.

Factors like who will step down for who as the realignment begins, remains a major issue, taking into consideration their individual experiences, exposures, skills, knowledge, capacities and egos.

Except this issue is resolved in the run up to the 2027 presidential polls, it will be a mirage for them to unseat the Tinubu-Led government.

While the running party is busy strategizing ahead of the 2027 presidential polls, the other parties are still grappling with their internal crisis.

Some analysts believe that Atiku’s past experience as Vice President under the regime of Olusegun Obasanjo, might give him an edge, while others think Peter Obi’s popularity in the South could bring a geographical balance to the ticket.

For them to form a strong force against the APC, then, they must find common platform and agree on a candidate, which might be challenging given their different ideologies and interest.

Other factors which some political analysts have highlighted that may pose as a stumbling block agents the coalition is the timing. The time between and 2027 is quite a short time for the coalition to gather and make the desired impact.

This of course, is no brainer. Any merger of alliance must be arranged within a reasonable timeframe to be effective. Also, the coalition will have to convince the Nigerian voting public of its purpose and demonstrate a clear vision for the country’s future, particularly in the area of addressing the economic misfortunes of majority of the people. Another hurdle that would be staring the coalition in the face remains the issue of power rotation.

While the south believe it’s that turn to complete their second term in 2027, the north on the other hand argue that they have been short-changed in the governance structure of the country – in terms of number of years – since the return of democracy in 1999.

Out of the total 26 years, the north has ruled for 11 years, with the south 15 years. The issue remains a key factor that would affect the coalition to birth.

The coalition, must as a matter of urgency, decency decide on this unwritten agreement about rotating power between the North and the South, potentially present a southern for one term to allow the South to complete its own two terms for the office of the president.

In conclusion, the coalition, if it really wants to win power in 2027, must make a compelling case for itself, highlighting its unique strengths and vision, rather than just criticizing the incumbent.

It needs to differentiate itself and show Nigerians that it has a better alternative.

Emeka Monye Is A Journalist And Works With ARISE NEWS.

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Mauritania’s Tah succeeds Adesina as 9th AfDB President

Tah was elected to succeed Adesina after rounds of voting conducted by the AfDB Board of Governors during the Bank’s Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

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Mauritania’s Sidi Ould Tah has been elected as the ninth president of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) as Nigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina prepares to bow out.

The Bank announced his election on its website on Thursday.

Adesina’s 10-year tenure will end this year and Tah is expected to assume office on September 1, 2025.

Tah was elected to succeed Adesina after rounds of voting conducted by the AfDB Board of Governors during the Bank’s Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The Board comprises finance ministers and central bank governors from the Bank’s 81 member countries.

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JUST IN: Appeal Court Affirms Okphebholo as Edo Governor

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‎‎The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed Monday Okphebholo as duly elected in the September 21, 2024 Edo Governorship polls, as it affirms the decision of the Tribunal which on April 2 dismissed the petition of Asue Ighodalo of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for lacking merit. ‎‎

A three-man panel of the Appeal court, presided over by Justice Mohamed Danjuma, restated the position of the Tribunal which held that the PDP failed to provide sufficient and credible evidence to substantiate their claims of electoral malpractice, irregularities, and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.‎‎

The panel held that the PDP failed to provide sufficient and credible evidence to substantiate their claims of electoral malpractice, irregularities, and non-compliance with the Electoral Act. ‎‎

The Appellate Court agrees with the Tribunal that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) Machines which the appellants tendered were merely ‘dumped’ as they weren’t demonstrated to prove overvoting.

‎‎This the Court held after it earlier expunged the 133 BVAS machines admitted in evidence at the Tribunal stage of the Governorship tussle. ‎‎

Ighodalo and the PDP were further faulted by the Appellate Court for failing to tender the voter register to prove overvoting.

The Court further adds that BVAS extract doesn’t constitute items with which to prove overvoting. ‎‎It says the documents tendered by the PDP at the Tribunal did not, on their own, prove overvoting, non-holding or cancellation of elections at the polling units.

‎‎To further puncture the case of the PDP, the panel says the 19 witnesses called by the appellants during the Tribunal hearing didn’t help their case.

It says the majority of them did not witness what they spoke about. Moreso, it adds they were insufficient to prove irregularities in polling stations at over 4,000 locations.

‎‎Nigeria’s electoral body, INEC, had declared Okpebholo the winner with 291,667 votes, against Asue Ighodalo of the PDP who garnered 247,274 votes.

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