Blog

I Didn’t Sue Atiku, PDP, Says Wike

I Didn’t Sue Atiku, PDP, Says Wike

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has disowned the court case purportedly filed by him seeking the removal of Atiku Abubakar as presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in next year’s general election. The Governor who spoke to Thisday Newspaper on Friday afternoon denied knowing anything whatsoever about the purported suit or even knowing the lawyers who filed the suit in the first instance. “I don’t know anything about the so called suit. I did not ask anyone to file any suit for me” The media was on Friday morning awash with reports that Governor Wike and one…
Read More
Niger Republic as Nigeria’s 37th state

Niger Republic as Nigeria’s 37th state

No matter how hard this government tries to rationalize Buhari’s unforced leadership gaffes, the president’s illicit dalliance with Niger Republic at the expense of Nigerians is the stuff quislings are made of. By Ikechukwu Amaechi Constitutionally, Nigeria has 36 states and a Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. But under President Muhammadu Buhari’s watch, the country seems to have added one more state – Niger Republic – making it 37. The 37th state, ironically enjoys more federal attention and presence than some of the country’s bona-fide states. Nigeriens in their country enjoy more dividends of democracy, courtesy of the munificence of…
Read More
God Save the Jagaban

God Save the Jagaban

By Victor Anazonwu In a proper democracy, the APC would not be contesting Nigeria's Presidential Elections in 2023. Not in any real sense. It would, quite rightly, consider 2023 a lost cause. It would be content to take a few seats in the Senate and House of Representatives. And maybe a few governorship stools also. The party would be in deep anguish and sorrow, begging for forgiveness, groveling to rebuild its tattered image and depleted human stock. It would be hoping to groom some decent candidates with whom to make a fresh bid, perhaps in 2027 or 2031. By which…
Read More
BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE: For ‘2Cigar’, The Future Holds Bright

BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE: For ‘2Cigar’, The Future Holds Bright

SYDNEY EZENTA writes on the birthday of one of Enugu state's flamboyant grassroots politicians His name is Prince Chidiebere Okoh but many in Enugu, the Coal City and beyond, know him as 2Cigar. He is a well-known socialite and fitness enthusiast but most importantly, he is a grassroots politician who has made his mark in Enugu politics since 1999. He didn't just jump into politics; public service and philanthropy have been part of his upbringing and passion as a man. He was born into a modest but famous family in Okpebe, Amodu in Nkanu West Local Government Area, where he…
Read More
Still On Sam Omatseye’s Obituary

Still On Sam Omatseye’s Obituary

Being in the crosshairs of Tinubu’s vaunting political ambition is the only excuse that Omatseye needs to assume the role of a vicious attack dog. By IKECHUKWU AMAECH When a friend of mine called on Monday afternoon to ask if I had read Sam Omatseye’s obituary in The Nation newspaper, my heart skipped a beat. I have not seen The Nation newspaper’s editorial board chairman this year and not being one of my favourite columnists because of his penchant for puerile exuberance and indecency, I hardly read him. His solecism in the guise of intellectualism puts me off. Did I…
Read More
SAM OMATSEYE – A Matter Of Character

SAM OMATSEYE – A Matter Of Character

By VICTOR ANAZONWU I have carefully read Obi-tuary by Sam Omatseye. I must say that, once again, Sam did not disappoint as an elegant purveyor of prose. But beyond his effervescent style and intellectual sophistry, Sam came up morally short. He set out to portray Peter Obi and the emerging Obidient Movement as a narrow ethnic (Igbo) affair and as separatist militancy in disguise. He failed woefully. Linking Peter Obi with IPOB is as logical as linking Bishop Hassan Kukah with Boko Haram. Saying that OBIDIENCE is a strictly Igbo movement is an insult to the intelligence of millions of…
Read More
(OPINION) Everyone’s Obituary Is Inevitable

(OPINION) Everyone’s Obituary Is Inevitable

By CHUKS ILOEGBUNAM Chuks Iloegbunam tells Sam Omatseye to cleanse his journalism_ Some have called you foolish, dear Sam Omatseye. Others insist that you are plain stupid. There are those who hold you to be beneath contempt. Their howls of execration upon you are in reaction to your August 1, 2022 article entitled Obi-tuary (https://thenationonlineng.net/obi-tuary/). For me, however, you are a dear friend. Our friendship started in the 1980s at Newswatch magazine where both of us practiced journalism before you travelled to the United States for further studies. It continued upon your return and strengthened to the point that, sometimes,…
Read More
2023: Party National Chairman, Organising Secretary, In Forgery Mess

2023: Party National Chairman, Organising Secretary, In Forgery Mess

By Sydney Chux Ezenta The crisis in the National Rescue Movement (NRM), has taken a new turn as indication has emerged that the police may arraign the party's suspended National Chairman, Chief Isaac Chigozie Ude and the suspended National Organizing Secretary, Hon. Dirisu Issa Mohammed on allegations of forgery and falsification of official documents. Ude and Issa Mohammed were alleged to have forged the signature of the party's presidential flagbearer, Mazi Okwudili Nwa-Anyajike and written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), purporting that he has withdrawn from the 2023 presidential contest. In a letter to the Chairman of INEC,…
Read More
Asking For Trouble

Asking For Trouble

By Azu Ishiekwene Nigeria’s political class has been largely irresponsible, having neither the aptitude to understand and tackle insurgency nor the honesty to admit its complicity. That is why the problem has grown from a few misguided itinerants proselytising for a theocratic state to armed terror. After BBC Africa service promoted a story on Friday of an interview with the bandit warlords of Zamfara State, a senior Nigerian journalist, Kadaria Ahmed, called out the broadcaster in a tweet. Kadaria, an ex-Beeb, said the interview would give the terrorists oxygen, stoke hysteria and bring nothing but pain and misery to hundreds…
Read More
Osun APC Crisis Far from Over As Aregbesola ‘Boycotts’ Election

Osun APC Crisis Far from Over As Aregbesola ‘Boycotts’ Election

Rauf Aregbesola, minister of interior and former governor of Osun, did not vote at the state governorship election on Saturday. Residents, who spoke to journalists in Ifofin, Ilesha area, where Aregbesola was expected to cast his vote, said it is “unlike the minister” who always arrives in his hometown on the eve of an election. “By now, everywhere will be bubbling with activities because Aregbe would have entered since Friday,” a resident said. Voting has since concluded at the minister’s polling unit at Isare ward 8, Ilesha east, with the All Progressives Congress (APC) winning with 164 votes, while the…
Read More