By Tunde Rahman Empathy is a defining feature of leadership and one of the qualities a good leader must have. How a leader acts at every point always gives us a sense of how he has internalised and embraced this important virtue. On Tuesday, February 4, President Bola Tinubu approved a whopping N758 billion to settle longstanding pension liabilities under the Contributory Pension Scheme for federal workers nationwide. The approval, given during a Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja, was a historic decision. It marked a watershed moment in Nigeria’s pension administration. It was the first time the Federal Government…
Author: Michael Chibuzo
As President Bola Tinubu marked his 73rd birthday celebration, his predecessor, former President Muhammadu Buhari penned down a birthday tribute to the President in a statement released by Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Garba Shehu. Former President Muhammadu Buhari, according to Garba Shehu, “underscored the bond between him and the President with a call, joining the family and the nation in celebrating the birthday of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu.” He said that in a telephone call on Friday, the former President said he and the members of his family are in prayers for Tinubu for long life, good…
By Michael Chibuzo In the past few days, a raging national debate of whether to immortalise the late Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC), Prof. Humphrey Nwosu or not has taken hold with many individuals taking strong positions on either side of the debate. It all started when Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe moved a motion to immortalise Prof. Humphrey Nwosu by renaming the INEC headquarters in Abuja after him. The contents of the motion elicited debate on the floor of the Senate with many senators speaking in favour or against the motion. Eventually the motion was rejected and Sen.…
By Tunde Rahman As the leadership crisis rocking Rivers State escalated into the destruction of vital oil and gas infrastructure amid looming impeachment threats against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy Ngozi Odu, President Bola Tinubu wielded the big stick last Tuesday imposing a state of emergency on the oil rich state. He suspended the governor, his deputy and the inflexible state House of Assembly for a period of six months, and appointed former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), as the administrator of the state. Following his inauguration on Wednesday, Ibas has begun the critical assignment.…
By Michael Chibuzo No one saw it coming. It started on Tuesday with a short notice from the state house announcing a presidential broadcast scheduled for 7pm. After few paragraphs of President Tinubu’s national broadcast, it was obvious to keen observers that he was going to declare a State of Emergency in Rivers State. And so he did. But how did we get here? BACKGROUND TO THE WIKE VS FUBARA GAME OF THRONES The genesis of the Rivers State political crisis can be traced to a falling out between a political godfather and his godson in 2023. For whatever reason,…
…protesters demand removal of Olu Agunloye as SDP national secretary Few days after former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), crisis has hit the SDP following calls by forces loyal to El-Rufai for the SDP National Secretary, Ola Agunloye to resign. On Wednesday, some protesters stormed the national secretariat of the Social Democratic Party in Abuja demanding the removal of Olu Agunloye as the party’s national secretary. The protesters accused Ola Agunloye, who is a former Minister of Power and Steel under the administration of President…
…harps on the need to always uphold the rule of law President Bola Tinubu, addressing political leaders from the South-South on Tuesday in Abuja, emphasised the critical need for adherence to the rule of law in Rivers State to ensure lasting peace and prosperity. During a meeting with representatives and leaders of the Niger Delta under the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), President Tinubu reiterated that respect for the judiciary is crucial in upholding democracy and fostering harmony. The President advised the leaders to be more broadminded, selfless and focused on the larger vision of salvaging the region, politically and economically,…
As the storm generated by comments made by Bashir El-Rufai regarding insecurity in Southern Kaduna continues to rage, online tweeps have unearthed past posts on X (formerly Twitter) made by the son of the former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai weighing in on the disappearance of Idris Abubakar popularly known as Dadiyata in 2019. On 2nd August 2019, unidentified men abducted Dadiyata at the entrance of his home in the Barnawa neighbourhood of Kaduna metropolis and since then his whereabouts has not been established. Dadiyata was a vocal critic of the government. Following his abduction and disappearance, an online campaign…
Bashir El-Rufai, one of the sons of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai has made veiled threats against residents of Southern Kaduna in an online spat with an X (formerly twitter) user. Bashir El-Rufai in response to a quoted post by a handle called AIG (@qykali), said: It is your stupid mother that is an elephant. And Southern Kaduna residents will keep seeing sheghe if they continue to attack indigenous Fulani herdsmen. Oloshi Bashir El-Rufai had earlier made a post in which he said, “conspiracy theories flying about Pablo’s former ties with SDP, then that must mean he/they have moles…
The Tinubu administration will soon begin mass electric vehicle transportation in northeast Nigeria, following the approval of a couple of electric vehicle procurement contracts by the Federal Executive Council. According to the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, last week, FEC approved contracts worth almost $100 million, or N151.9 billion, to supply buses and tricycles and establish charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. According to him, the council approved the contract for the supply of ten 17-seater electric buses. Bluecrest Integrated Concept Limited, the beneficiary, will supply the buses within six months for N2.9 billion. “Messrs…