Politics

Atiku blasts President Tinubu over economic policies, says Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road done purely because of Tinubu’s business relationship with Gilbert Chagour.

Published

12 months ago

May 7, 2024

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In a statement released by Atiku’s media adviser, Paul Ibe, on Sunday, Atiku alleged that the Coastal Highway project is being expedited solely due to the business ties between President Tinubu and Gilbert Chagoury, the owner of Hitech, the contractor responsible for the highway project.

– Atiku said the contract was granted in violation of procurement regulations.

– Atiku disclosed that the involvement of President Bola Tinubu’s son and his associates on the boards of companies belonging to Gilbert Chagoury presents a clear conflict of interest.

– Atiku also claimed that Tinubu’s son, Seyi Tinubu, is a director on the board of CDK Integrated Industries, a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group, which manufactures ceramic tiles and sanitary towels.

– Atiku added that instead of enhancing the ease of doing business, the Tinubu government had allegedly demonstrated to the global community that his business endeavours and those of his family would consistently take precedence over national interests.

– Atiku claimed that project that is being done with more than $13bn was awarded without competitive bidding.

– Atiku also claimed that the ‘so-called’ Badagry-Sokoto highway would be awarded similarly at an enormous cost to taxpayers purely because Tinubu has put his interest ahead of the Nigerian people.

– Atiku said the demolition of tourist and recreational facilities and other properties within the Oniru corridor, including parts of Landmark, without ample notice, is one of the reasons foreign direct investments continue to elude the country.

– Atiku said that in more orderly environments, establishments like Landmark would have been provided with a minimum of two years’ notice to facilitate proper planning.

– The former PDP presidential candidate mocked Tinubu who has been globetrotting in search of foreign direct investments. Atiku said Tinubu claims to have secured over $30 billion from various companies, but none has been forthcoming.

Rather, all manufacturing firms have been posting heavy losses while some are exiting due to his poorly implemented exchange rate unification policy with even Aliko Dangote describing it as a huge mess at the recent annual general meeting of Dangote Sugar Refinery.

– Atiku also added that the awarding of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway was rushed.

He said the environmental impact assessment report was not even completed and the right of way for the 700 km stretch of the highway project was not secured.

– Atiku said the project was converted from a PPP to a government-funded project within the twinkle of an eye.

– Atiku also revealed that the N500m that was approved by the National Assembly for the project was ignored, while over N1tn was released by Tinubu’s administration without approval from the National Assembly.

Politics

SENATOR NATASHA TENDERS HILARIOUS APOLOGY TO AKPABIO

Published

4 hours ago

April 29, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

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By Lizzy Chirkpi

A wave of controversy has swept through the land following the release of a satirical “apology letter” penned by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The letter, addressed to Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, drips with sarcasm and levels thinly veiled accusations of impropriety, further escalating tensions within the upper legislative chamber.

The Senate had earlier handed down a six-month suspension to Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan for breaching Senate rules and Standing Orders.

The letter, which has circulated widely on social media, pulls no punches in its critique of the Senate President and, implicitly, the prevailing power dynamics within the Red Chamber.

The full text of the letter reads:

“Dear Distinguished Senate President Godswill Akpabio, It is with the deepest sarcasm and utmost theatrical regret that I tender this apology for the grievous crime of possessing dignity and self-respect in your most exalted presence.

“I have reflected extensively on my unforgivable failure to recognize that legislative success in certain quarters is apparently not earned through merit, but through the ancient art of compliance — of the very personal kind.

“How remiss of me not to understand that my refusal to indulge your… “requests” was not merely a personal choice, but a constitutional violation of the unwritten laws of certain men’s entitlement.

“Truly, I must apologize for prioritizing competence over capitulation, vision over vanity, and the people’s mandate over private dinners behind closed doors.

” I now realize the catastrophic consequences of my actions: legislation delayed, tempers flared, and the tragic bruising of egos so large they require their own postcodes. For this disruption to the natural order of “quid pro quo,” I bow my head in fictional shame.

“Please find it in your magnanimous heart — somewhere buried deep beneath layers of entitlement — to forgive this stubborn woman who mistakenly believed that her seat in the Senate was earned through elections, not erections.

I remain,

Yours in eternal resistance,

Senator Natasha H Akpoti Uduaghan

Unafraid, Unbought, and Unbroken”

Senator Akpoti was suspended in March, 2025 following her dispute with Senate President Godswill Akpabio who she accused of sexual harassment, a claim the latter has denied.

“That the Senate do suspend Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months for her total violation of the Senate Standing Rules (2023 as amended for bringing the presiding officer and the entire Nigerian Senate to public opprobrium,” Senate President Godswill Akpabio said while reading out the recommendations of the Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Code of Conduct probing her claims.

Despite efforts by some senators to reduce the suspension period to three months, the Senate, in a majority vote, sustained the initial decision.

However, the lawmakers ruled that the suspension could be lifted or reduced if she tenders a written apology.

Politics

Biafra agitators ready to dialogue with Nigerian Govt – Ohanaeze’s Isiguzoro

Published

10 hours ago

April 29, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

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Apex lgbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigb has disclosed that Biafra agitators are ready to dialogue with the federal government on the way forward.

In a statement on Tuesday by Ohanaeze’s factional Deputy President General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the apex body noted that the dialogue has the potential to usher in monumental changes, including the release of all prisoners of conscience, notably Nnamdi Kanu, the reopening of the Eastern Economic Corridor, and an unequivocal end to violence disguised as agitation.

“It is our earnest hope that those misled into cycles of violence and armed struggle will choose to abandon their hostile actions, paving the way for a peaceful and prosperous Southeast.

“In a significant and historic turning point for the geopolitics of Nigeria, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex sociocultural organisation representing the Igbo people, formally acknowledges the courageous decision of the Nonviolent Pro-Biafra Agitators to extend a hand of peace towards the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“Following twelve years of relentless diplomatic pressure from the international community and numerous United Nations-affiliated peace groups, urging these advocates for self-determination to embrace peaceful negotiations, this moment is both profound and transformative.”

Ohanaeze proclaimed that the acceptance by the non-violent Pro-Biafra agitators to offer a dove of peace and a hand of friendship to the federal government was a pivotal moment in Nigeria’s historical timeline.

Isiguzoro said, “this forthcoming dialogue is anticipated to mirror the earlier discussions held at Aburi, Ghana, now reborn as the ‘Abuja Accord’.

“This initiative aims explicitly to address and resolve the long-standing grievances that have birthed the Biafra agitation since the cessation of hostilities in the Nigerian Civil War in 1970.

“The non-violent Pro-Biafra agitators have extended an olive branch to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, inviting the federal government to engage in a constructive dialogue over the nagging ‘Igbo Question’.”

He said the dialogue sought to confront the unresolved issues stemming from the unimplemented policies of reconciliation, reconstruction, and rehabilitation envisioned by General Yakubu Gowon following the war.

Politics

APC will capture 3 remaining S’South states – Gov Otu

Published

11 hours ago

April 29, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

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Leader of the national ruling party in South South geopolitical zone in Nigeria, Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State has assured that APC will surely capture the remaining three states governed by the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Governor Otu emphasized that Cross River, which for years stood as the lone APC-governed state in the South-South, now proudly shares the progressive banner with Delta and Edo States.

Recall that yesterday the Vice President Shettima Kashim, national chairman of APC, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, and Gov Otu formally received Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, into the APC family.

The three states ruled by PDP presently include Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers State, although now under emergency rule of a sole administrator for six months following suspension of Governor Sim Fubara.

Otu, who spoke on his return to Calabar, the Cross River capital, said: “An increasing number of South-South states under APC governance is a dream realized.”

Governor Otu noted that when the other three states are finally captured, it will set the stage for deeper regional collaboration, accelerated economic development, and greater political stability.

Otu, who is also the Vice Chairman of the South-South Governors’ Forum, urged Governor Oborevwori, other political stalwarts, and their supporters who have now joined the APC to bring their wealth of experience and grassroots mobilization strength to bear in advancing the collective quest for a flourishing South-South and a renewed Nigeria.

Governor Otu assured that together in APC, “the six states shall chart a new course of greatness for the region and our nation.”