Politics
Impeaching Buhari is as impossible as it was with Obassnjo, APC Chiefs
Ethnic and religious sentiments are bound to frustrate plans to remove President Muhammadu Buhari from office, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe has inferred.
He spoke against the background of what he admitted as the ethnic considerations that overshadowed the only serious plot ever taken to remove a president of Nigeria from office during the first term of the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency in 2002.
Ogunlewe, an All Progressives Congress, APC chieftain in Lagos State spoke on Arise Television on Thursday where he, however, sharply contrasted with another APC chieftain, Mr Adegoke SAN who affirmed that the Muhammadu Buhari government has grossly failed in its basic responsibility of protecting lives and property in Nigeria.
While Senator Ogunlewe blamed members of the National Assembly for not stemming the spate of insecurity, Adegoke on his part put the blame squarely on Buhari, saying that he could not leave the head to blame the neck for not thinking.
Ogunlewe spoke from a background of experience. He was elected to the Senate in 1999 on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy, AD and was a close associate of the former and popular Lagos politician, Funso Williams.
Following the then Governor BolaTinubu’s dominance of the party structure in Lagos towards the end of his first term, Ogunlewe and Williams exited the party to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Ogunlewe was appointed by President Olusegun Obasanjo as minister of works and became a thorn in the flesh of Governor Tinubu. He remained a chieftain of the PDP until just after the 2019 election when he defected to the APC.
Speaking against the background of the insecurity in the nation and the recent call by the minority elements in the Senate for Buhari to leave office, Ogunlewe in the interview smacked his former party stalwarts saying that their efforts would be in vain.
Speaking on the challenges involved in removing a president, he said the presiding officer, that is the Senate President or the Speaker would be pivotal to such a decision.
“The role and conviction of the presiding officer, the Senate President is very important. If he is not convinced that the process should go ahead, it is dead on arrival. So, he is the presiding officer and there is hardly anything anyone can do on the voice of the presiding officer.”
Noting the domineering influence of the Northern caucus and the ethnic flavours involved, he said:
“When it comes to impeachment and northern interest, it is a different kettle of fish entirely. They (northern caucus) would hold meetings at night and override you because they have the majority. So it is better for them to make the noise but my view is that it is just impossible.”.
Noting the ethnic factors that played out in the 2002 impeachment threat raised against Obasanjo in the Senate in 2000 and then more seriously in the House of Representatives, in September 2002.
Saturday Vanguard reports that the House of Representatives had prepared for the impeachment process by first appointing Hon. Farouk Lawan as the spokesman of the House who regaled the nation with several impeachable offences against Obasanjo.
Hon. Nduka Irabor, though seen at that time as part of the brain box of the House, had, however, called for caution from all sides saying that Obasanjo was like a Bull in a china shop who must be managed well in the interest of the nation.
Speaking of that plot against Obasanjo in the Senate, Ogunlewe said:
“It was externally motivated. Some power blocs wanted him out. We were only 19 AD Senators and the ANPP was also there. We were in a very bad minority and they held meetings at night and decided to impeach President Olusegun Obasanjo and they already had the numbers, the two-third majority to do so and they were in the process of consummating it on a Thursday morning and our leader, Senator Mojisola Akinfenwa called us together and asked “how do we save Olusegun Obasanjo, being from the Southwest of Nigeria and we said, ok, let’s abort the plan for Thursday and give us time before the next Tuesday and see how we could salvage the situation and that was what we did.
“Immediately that was done, we now sent an emissary to tell him the position of things and as bad as they were and that he should go and see the Emir of Kano where Na`abba (Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Umar Naabba) came from and see all the traditional rulers in the Southeast where Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, (Senate President) came from so that they could douse the tension and call their people.
“The people in the National Assembly consult very well at home and that was what Obasanjo did and they had to contact those external people and that was why he was able to escape. But if not for the decision of the AD Caucus to inform him (Obasanjo) of the position of things he would have been impeached. But that is not what is happening now.”
Upon that claim, he affirmed that “the majority APC members will never allow an impeachment in the year of election.”
According to him the impeachment of Buhari irrespective of his guilt would be an indictment of the ruling APC which has the majority in the two chambers of the National Assembly.
Ogunlewe, remarkably, said that President Buhari had not committed any impeachable offence.
The former lawmaker even while admitting several security breaches and failures in governance, put the blame on the National Assembly.
According to him the legislators failed in their duties by apportioning more money for the military instead of the police. He said that the focus on the military is what has caused the insecurity in the land to fester.
“Things began to wobble when the National Assembly concentrated on the military at the expense of the police. It is the duty of the police to protect the citizens within the country but everybody shifted attention to the military, gave them more money including $1 billion at the expense of the police,” Ogunlewe submitted.
Adegoke, also an APC chief and leader, however, disagreed sharply with Ogunlewe, saying that the issues were beyond partisan politics. According to Adegoke, the Buhari led government has failed in its fundamental duty of securing lives.
“I am a member and leader of the APC in my own right and I do not think we should reduce everything to politics, we must speak the truth. If my children were the ones abducted, if my wife was the one being violated, if my family members were attacked and if I were the one daily being subjected to threats along the roads of Makurdi, Adamawa and different parts of the country, would I be comfortable to still give pass mark to somebody elected to guarantee my security and guarantee the security of my family?
“The fact that it has not affected us so much in Lagos does not mean that we should close our eyes to what is happening to other people in other parts of the country.
“If these were the things we condemned President Jonathan for and under our own party’s leadership we have not been able to achieve it, let us be honest to ourselves, whoever ought to have resigned should resign and get out office and let someone else do the work.
“We have our president jetting out of the country at every opportunity, sightseeing, moonlighting. I don’t think that is a proper government that we deserve in Nigeria or in any part of the world.”
The learned silk while urging Nigerians to put aside tribal sentiments in the consideration of the assessment and fitness of Buhari in office, said:
“We must be honest to ourselves, there is no nation, no group of people who will be satisfied with the kind of insecurity playing out in the nation today. However, we must realise that Nigeria is a funny country where all manners of primordial sentiments infiltrate into public discourse.
“We cannot rule out the influence of religious considerations becoming the cornerstone of some peoples thinking.”
Adegoke, however, surmised that the lawmakers would not assess Buhari without putting sentiments of tribe and religion into consideration.
“I do not believe that the majority of them do have the capacity to critically consider this issue from a detached point of view.”
In his opinion, the APC, chief, however, summarized Buhari as having failed saying he should take the fall.
“I do not think that it is right to put the blame at the door of the National Assembly in this instance. There is no way you leave the head and be blaming the neck for what is going wrong in the thinking process of a human being. I believe that the president has fallen below par, he has performed well.
“We elected Mr President in the belief that as a former general in the army, as someone who has led this country before that he had a solution to the insecurity problems we were having under President Jonathan. We all trooped out, I was among those who trooped out when students in Northern state of Borno were abducted and if today we are talking of this problem in a grosser dimension definitely it would be mischievous for me to join the group of people who would be giving Mr President pass mark and condemning someone else. The bulk stops at the president’s table.
“If there is a challenge confronting him, making it impossible for him to perform his duty, this ought to have been made known to Nigerians.
“No matter who voted for him or who did not vote for him, the fact that he emerged the first and the second time as president means that Nigerians invested their expectations, their hopes in his regime. And as at this moment if we are still talking of Boko Haram terrorists, bandits invading Abuja and knocking on the door of the president telling him we are coming to abduct you, definitely that government cannot be said to have done well, it is a failed government.”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is scheduled to depart Abuja on Thursday for Makkah, Saudi Arabia, to perform the Islamic pilgrimage of Umrah, during which he will offer prayers for Nigeria’s peace, unity, stability and progress.
The Presidency announced the trip in a statement issued on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to the statement, the visit will provide the President with an opportunity for spiritual reflection and devotion as he seeks divine intervention in the affairs of the country.
“While in Makkah, President Tinubu will perform the religious rites associated with Umrah, seeking Allah’s guidance and blessings for Nigeria and its people,” Onanuga stated.
The President’s planned pilgrimage comes amid mounting expectations from Nigerians for concrete government interventions to address prevailing economic hardship, insecurity and other challenges confronting the nation.
Before departing Abuja, Tinubu is expected to commission equipment acquired by the Nigerian Air Force to strengthen its operations at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
The Presidency, however, did not provide further details on the newly acquired equipment or its operational capabilities.
Onanuga disclosed that the President would return to Nigeria next week after completing the religious exercise.
No specific date was given for his return, while the statement was also silent on whether he would undertake other official engagements during his stay in Saudi Arabia.
Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, has cautioned opposition political figures against making defamatory statements, dismissing allegations that he ordered a private facility to deny a political party access for its proposed town hall meeting.
The governor issued the warning while reacting to a viral social media video alleging that he personally directed the management of the facility not to host the opposition party’s event.
In a statement, Mbah described the allegation as baseless and a deliberate attempt to misrepresent his administration.
“My attention has just been drawn to a video circulating on some social media platforms, alleging that I gave an order denying a political party use of a private facility for their townhall event. This is preposterous and utter falsehood, because I did not,” he stated.
The governor criticised what he described as the opposition’s desperate attempt to attract public attention through unfounded allegations.
“This is shameful and reveals a desperate pattern adopted by the opposition to attract attention,” he added.
Mbah maintained that while democracy guarantees freedom of expression, such freedom should not be misconstrued as an unrestricted licence to malign or defame others.
“There’s no doubt that democracy guarantees freedom of expression. It should be noted, however, that it does not grant anyone the right to defamation,” he warned.
He further reminded political actors that democratic institutions provide legitimate avenues for seeking redress whenever they feel aggrieved, rather than resorting to what he described as defamatory accusations.
“Democracy also offers avenues to seek redress. So, let it be known that there are redlines that should never be crossed,” the governor declared.
Mbah reiterated that he had no involvement in the alleged denial of the facility, distancing himself from claims linking his administration to the controversy.
By Okey Maduforo Awka
Anambra state chapter of the Nigeria Democratic Congress NDC has described as false narrative the trending story that the trio of Presidential candidate Mr Peter Obi, Sen Victor Umeh and Sen Tony Nwoye are currently at daggers drawn following the alleged doctoring of the list of candidates for the 2027 general election in Anambra North Senatorial District.
It is being alleged that the doctoring was executed by Sen Tony Nwoye representing the Senatorial District which resulted in the withdrawal of names of nominees of Nwoye for the Presidential Campaign Council of the party .
Dismissing this narrative, the Anambra state Chairman of the NDC , Hon Ikem Uzoezie stated that the report is not only fales but unfounded contending that it is a recipe for those who are apprehensive of failure in the coming election.
“One would have chosen to keep quiet over this issue but it is important to that we as a party make the following clarifications;
“There is no such thing in our great party the NDC and there can never be and the party is more focused in executing the 2027 general elections and we do not need to be distracted by the machinations of the opposition who are apparently awear of the obvious fact that they have lost the election ”
Uzoezie described the party as one that has respect for rules and guidelines in respect of the the nomination of candidates and we indeed did the needful which can be verified at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“For those who have chosen name dropping and name calling as a trade, we urge them to desist from such unlawful act and the party would not hastate to take appropriate actions in that regard”
Uzoezie advised party faithfuls not to allow themselves to be used as a tool in distabizing the party urging them to remain focused.
The Federal Government has approved a monthly transport allowance of N70,000 for public servants as part of measures to cushion the effects of the rising cost of living across the country.
The intervention, which will run for six months beginning in November 2026, is expected to provide eligible workers with a cumulative sum of N420,000 each by April 2027.
The approval followed a conciliation meeting between representatives of the Federal Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), held in Abuja on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.
According to the memorandum reached at the meeting, the transport support will apply across all levels of the federal public service, while state and local governments are encouraged to participate in the intervention.
However, the agreement did not specify the exact payment dates, disbursement channels or whether beneficiaries would receive the allowance alongside their monthly salaries.
The N70,000 transport support is separate from the existing national minimum wage and is designed as a temporary intervention to ease workers’ transportation expenses.
Beyond the transport allowance, the government also approved the settlement of outstanding peculiar allowance arrears, effective from May 1, 2026.
Payment of the arrears is scheduled to commence in November and will be spread across three equal monthly instalments.
In another development, the Federal Government agreed to clear 19 months of outstanding allowances owed to health workers within three months, beginning in December 2026.
The National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission was equally directed to conclude its assessment of the financial implications of adjusting the Consolidated Health Salary Structure within three weeks.
On the lingering minimum wage issues, both parties agreed to establish a Minimum Wage Negotiation Committee, which is expected to commence deliberations immediately.
The meeting also considered outstanding hazard allowances for agricultural officers, with the verification of eligible beneficiaries and associated financial implications expected to be completed within two weeks.
Similarly, a proposal seeking tax relief for workers will be forwarded to the National Executive Council for consideration.
The Federal Government and the NLC are expected to reconvene after one month to assess the implementation of the resolutions.
Meanwhile, workers in state and local government services may have to await further directives from their respective authorities, as the agreement does not automatically establish that all states have approved the N70,000 monthly intervention.
Politics
Nnamani, Nwobodo, Chime, Ugwuanyi, Arthur Eze, Get Advisory Roles As Mbah Unveils Campaign Council
…Council to Be Inaugurated Tuesday at Enugu International Conference Centre
The Enugu State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has unveiled a formidable campaign structure ahead of the 2027 general elections, with Governor Peter Mbah emerging as Chairman of the Campaign Council comprising 51 directorates.
The council, unveiled on Monday, October 26, brings together prominent political figures, former governors, serving lawmakers, technocrats and party stakeholders in what appears to be a major political mobilisation drive ahead of the elections.
Among those listed for advisory roles are Senator Ken Nnamani, Senator Jim Nwobodo, former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani, former Governor Sullivan Chime, immediate past Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Professor Bart Nnaji, business mogul Arthur Eze, Frank Nweke Jr. and Madueke, among others.
According to the list jointly signed by the state APC Chairman, Dr. Martin Chukwunweike, and Secretary, Hon. Chukwudi Nnadozie, Deputy Governor Ifeanyi Ossai, the APC Deputy National Chairman (South), Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Uchenna Ugwu, and Chukwunweike will serve as Vice Chairmen.
Chief Charlie Mbah was appointed Director-General of the Campaign Organisation, while Dr. Eric Oluedo will serve as Secretary-General.
The campaign structure also provides for three Deputy Directors-General representing the state’s senatorial districts.
They are Deacon Okey Ogbodo for Enugu East, Dr. Dan Shere for Enugu North and Hon. S.K.E. Udeh-Okoye for Enugu West.
In the media and publicity directorates, Barr. Steve Oruruo was named Campaign Spokesperson and Director of Public Communication, with Dr. Austin Okolie serving as Co-Spokesperson and Dr. Malachy Agbo as Secretary.
Two members of Governor Mbah’s media team, Mazi Uche Anichukwu and Dan Nwomeh, will head the Directorate of New Media and Strategic Communication and the Directorate of Mainstream Media, respectively.
Dr. Collins Ogbu will serve as Secretary of New Media and Strategic Communication, while Dr. Reuben Onyishi takes the corresponding position in Mainstream Media.
Other key appointments include Barr. Victor Udeh as Director of Administration, while former APC State Chairman, Dr. Ben Nwoye, will head the Fundraising Committee, assisted by Arc. Uche Nwatu as Co-Director.
Former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ikechukwu Ogalla (Rtd.), was appointed Chairman of the Security Directorate, with former Inspector-General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo (Rtd.), serving as Secretary.
The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology will oversee the Directorate of Government Appointees Coordination, covering federal and state appointees, while Prof. Chidiebere Onyia will serve as Secretary.
Former Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Eugene Odoh, was appointed to head Inter-Party Affairs.
For senatorial coordination, Senator Osita Ngwu will oversee Enugu West, Senator Ikeje Asogwa will coordinate Enugu North, while Senator Kelvin Chukwu takes charge of Enugu East.
Explaining the composition of the council, Chukwunweike and Nnadozie said the extensive campaign structure was deliberately designed to accommodate diverse political interests and ensure grassroots participation across the state.
According to them, the 51 directorates reflect the party’s determination to involve communities, wards, local government areas, professional associations, women, youths, elders and support organisations in its preparations for the 2027 elections.
They stressed that appointments into the council should not be regarded merely as political recognition but as responsibilities requiring commitment and measurable results.
“Appointment into the campaign structure is therefore not merely an honour; it is a call to duty, accountability and measurable contribution,” the statement read.
The unveiling marks a significant organisational step for the Enugu APC as it moves to consolidate its political machinery ahead of the next general elections.
The Campaign Council will be formally inaugurated on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, at the International Conference Centre, Enugu.
All appointed members have been directed to be seated before 3pm.
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