Sahara Reporters Latest News Saturday 9th November 2019

Sahara Reporters Latest News Saturday 9th November 2019

Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 09/11/19

CDD Releases ‘Godson Turned Godfather’ Report On Bayelsa Governorship Election

The Centre for Democracy and Development has released a report on the political contest ahead of the off-cycle governorship election in Bayelsa State.
The report, titled, The Godson Turned Godfather: Governor Dickson & Bayelsa’s 2019 Election, provided an overview of the electoral process and the dynamics of the political environment in Bayelsa, a summary of it made available to SaharaReporters said.
Although 45 political parties are fielding candidates for the upcoming governorship election in Bayelsa State, the 16 November 2019 election is presumed to be a two-horse race once again. Like the 2015 gubernatorial election, it is assumed to be a straight battle between the two prominent political parties – PDP and APC.
However, unlike the previous elections, the contest is likely to be much closer.
In 2012, thei ncumbent governor, Seriake Dickson, received 89.4% of the votes cast by the electorate amidst turnout of 72%. Even when the election was declared inconclusive by INEC, the incumbent Governor Dickson won 60% of votes cast to defeat, Timipre Sylva of the APC, who fell short with 38%, in the election that followed. The State witnessed a meagre turnout of 37%.
Seemingly, the political hegemony of the PDP in Bayelsa State has remained a tough nut to crack for the APC. Yet, the impressive performance that APC displayed in 2019 general elections where the party won over 35% of the vote and secured a victory in Jonathan’s backyard – Bayelsa East senatorial zone might be a sign that traditional voting patterns are less certain to hold in the 2019 governorship election.
Who’s in the running, and from where
A total of 45 political parties are contesting in the governorship election in Bayelsa State. This represents a significant increase in the number of participating political parties compared with 2015 when just 20 political parties vied for control of the State. In the history of the State, no woman has either been elected governor or deputy governor. In 2019 just three women (7% of the total) will contest for the governorship while 13 (29% of the total) are seeking to be chosen as deputy governor. However, with the two leading political parties – APC and PDP-having no female members of the ticket and having won 98% of the votes cast in 2015, Bayelsa’s two-decade wait for a female governor or deputy is set to continue.
Of the 42 male candidates that are contesting for this election, just 7% are between the ages of 30 and 35. Most (53%) fall into the 36 to 45 categories, with 16% over the age of 55. The governorship candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) is the oldest contestant at 70 years old.
The politics of zoning
Bayelsa Central senatorial district produced DiepreyeAlameiyeseigha, the states’ first governor. He hailed from Ijaw South LGA. Goodluck Jonathan who ruled after him came from Ogbia LGA in Bayelsa East senatorial zone. Timipre Sylva is from Brass LGA, the same senatorial district as Goodluck Jonathan and the incumbent Governor Dickson is of Bayelsa West senatorial district in Sagbama LGA.
Ahead of the 2019 elections, coalitions of interests are clamouring for a shift of power to Kolokuma/Opokuma LGA – the least favoured LGA in terms of political patronage of high-ranking government officials and where the candidate of PDP, Senator DuoyeDiri, hail. The two leading political parties, PDP and APC, factored zoning into their choice of candidate. Both are from the same senatorial district, Bayelsa Central. David Lyon is an indigene of Southern Ijaw LGA, where the State’s first elected governor came from and the LGA which has the second-largest number of registered voters after the state capital, Yenagoa. Lyon named BiobarakumaDegi-Eremienyo, the current Senator representing Bayelsa East who hails from Nembe LGA, as his running mate.
Rancorous party primaries
Primary contests within political parties have become an integral part of Nigeria’s electoral system. It is a process through which members of a political party vote or chose a candidate of their choice to select the flagbearer for an election race. According to Section 87 of the Electoral Act of 2010 (as amended), the procedure for the nomination of candidates by political parties for various elective positions can be by a direct or indirect process. When a political party adopts the direct method, only its registered members are allowed to vote for any candidate aspiring to vie for elective positions. Indirect primaries allow select members of a political party, called “delegates” to elect on behalf of the members.
The PDP ticket: Anointed by the governor
Internal disputes within the PDP are an accumulated crisis that started long before the Bayelsa primary race. However, the primary election conducted in Bayelsa in September 2019 may be the straw that finally breaks the camel’s back. Trouble started brewing in the build-up to 2019 general elections over allegations of a skewed primary election in favour of all the National and State House of Assembly candidates loyal to Governor Dickson’s “Restoration Team”. Despite protests, threats of defection and a petition to the National Working Committee of the PDP, the party-endorsed these aspirants and presented them as candidates in the 2019 general elections. In voting, Senator DouyeDiri beat the other 20 contestants to emerge victorious as the candidate of the party. He polled 561 votes to defeat his nearest challenger TimiAlaibe, who many believed had the support of Goodluck Jonathan, by 196 votes.
The APC ticket: Directly chosen
The APC is faced with challenges concerning the process of the selection of her flagbearer. After postponing the primary twice in compliance with conflicting court judgements over the mode of her party primary, it eventually held direct primaries for the six aspirants on 3-4 September. Oil magnate and philanthropist, David Lyon got most of the votes, 42,138, far ahead of his nearest rival DiseyePoweigha, who won just 1533 votes. Although the election Collation Officer, Senator Emmanuel Dangana under the Chairmanship of Yobe State Governor, Mai-Mala Buni, described the poll as credible and peaceful, others did not agree. One of the aspirants,Prince PreyeAganaba, wrote a petition to the appeal committee set up by the party, claiming that the primary lacked credibility and was rife with irregularities.
Determining the Winner
Political gladiator
Bayelsa State has always been the stronghold of PDP, but the growing popularity of APC in the State could make the election fiercely contested. Having won a senatorial seat, two seats at the House of Representatives and four places in the State House of Assembly in the last general elections, the APC now has its sights set on the governorship. The State could serve as a launching pad aimed at making inroads into the South-South region ahead of the 2023 general elections. It is therefore likely that the federal government will do all that is reasonably possible, and muster all the available resources, to ensure its party wins the governorship seat in Bayelsa.
Fake News Prevails
In Bayelsa, just like in other parts of Nigeria, Facebook and WhatsApp are the two social media platforms most used to peddle fake news and misinformation.This is complemented by fake news entrepreneurs who circulate the information in markets, football viewing centres, motor parks and bars. Fake news spread fast and is a potent security threat to the forthcoming election in Bayelsa State. Of particular concern is the deliberate attempts by the political parties to spread false information and shape the narratives before polling day. Both the APC and PDP in Bayelsa run media hubs dedicated to producing and disseminating misinformation and the spread of falsehoods.
Beyond words, the likelihood of violence
The Niger Delta in general, and Bayelsa State, in particular, have a history of electoral violence. This is not unrelated to established insecurity pervading the region. They include cult violence, piracy, abductions and attacks on oil facilities. Ahead of the election,reported incidentssuch as the stockpiling of arms and weapons, assassination of PDP ward Chairman, SeidoughaTaribi, and sustained and heavy gunfire on 30 September 2019 at the premises of Bayelsa State House of Assembly over its change in leadership, indicate a strong likelihood that electoral violence will be a significant feature of this forthcoming election.The Pre-election violence witnessed is driven by the political contestations and brinkmanship precipitated by the outcome of the party primaries. The accusations and counter-accusations accentuate the threats of violence on Election Day. For instance, the recurrent bickering between the National Publicity Secretary of the APC and his counterpart from the PDP on alleged plans by either party to unleash violence on Election Day is capable of inflaming supporters. In response to the posturing of the political actors, the Nigeria Police Force, the lead agency on election security has announced plans to deploy a total of 31,041 officers for election duty in Bayelsa. According to the authorities, the deployed personnel will protect critical locations during the elections, including polling units, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) offices, the take-off point of sensitive materials as well as INEC offices in the State.
An impartial umpire?
Bayelsa State has a unique geographical terrain. Movement within the State is mostly by limited water transportation, making it challenging to mobilise personnel and materials for elections. This has previously resulted in the late, or non-arrival of logistics and personnel. There have also been situations, as recent as the 2019 general elections, where politicians deliberately sabotage INEC efforts by making it almost impossible for its officials to transport materials to some locations. This emphasizes the need for INEC to consciously guard against situations that could cause this election to reach an inconclusive verdict, like in 2015, and to produce a credible result.

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Kogi/Bayelsa Governorship Elections: Protesters Besiege INEC Office

Protesters, under the aegis of Free Nigeria Movement, Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy and Constitution, and Concerned Nigerians on Friday staged a protest to demand transparency and credibility in the forthcoming Kogi and Bayelsa gubernatorial elections.
Protesting at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission, the coalition urged INEC to act upon recommendations by local and international observers regarding flaws noticed in the 2019 general elections.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition, Raphael Adebayo said, “We have read multiple media reports on your concern that thugs have been heavily mobilized to disrupt the forthcoming Kogi and Bayelsa states governorship elections. While we commend the honesty of the commission in its risk assessment report on the forthcoming elections, we must strongly urge the commission to be firm and unbiased in dealing with any form of electoral misconduct or violence by any of the political parties during the forthcoming elections.”

Adebayo, however, urged INEC to cancel the ballot at the polling unit where violence was recorded.
He added that this would serve as a deterrent to politicians and political parties bent on using violence to undermine elections and subvert the will of the people.

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Turmoil, Volatile Market Affect Billionaires Too

Central banks are betting on gold as a safer investment than dollar

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The world’s richest people became a little less well off last year, according to a report by UBS and PwC, as geopolitical turmoil and volatile equity markets reduced the wealth of billionaires for the first time in a decade.
Billionaires’ wealth fell by 388 billion dollars globally to 8.539 trillion dollars, the UBS and PwC Billionaires Report found, with a particularly sharp decline in Greater China – the second-biggest home for billionaires after the United States – and the Asia-Pacific region more broadly.
Private banks including the world’s largest wealth manager UBS have felt the effects of U.S.-China trade tensions and global political uncertainties, as clients last year shied away from trading and taking on debt in favor of hoarding more cash.
“Billionaire wealth dipped in 2018 for the first time since 2008 because of geopolitics,” UBS’s head of ultra-high net worth clients, Josef Stadler, said in the report published on Friday.
The net worth of China’s richest dropped 12.8 per cent in dollar terms on the back of tumbling stock markets and a weaker local currency and as growth in the world’s second-largest economy slowed to its lowest level in nearly three decades in 2018, the report found, knocking dozens off the billionaires list.
In spite of the drop, China continues to produce a new billionaire every 2-2.5 days, Stadler said.
Worldwide, the number of billionaires fell everywhere except in the Americas, where tech entrepreneurs continued to buoy the ranks of the United States’ wealthiest.
“This report shows the resilience of the U.S. economy,” where there were 749 billionaires at the end of 2018, said John Matthews, head of private wealth management and ultra-high net worth business for UBS in the United States.
While a stock market recovery from a steep drop in late 2018 has helped wealth managers increase their assets, the world’s richest families remain concerned about global affairs from trade tensions and Brexit to populism and climate change and are continuing to keep more of their money in cash.
“It is likely that billionaire wealth will go up again this year,” said Simon Smiles, UBS’s chief investment officer for ultra-wealthy clients, adding it would likely be a more muted increase than the wider financial market rally might suggest.
Culled from NAN

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Nigerian Students Shine At Germany’s Entrepreneurship Competition

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Young entrepreneurs from Government Science School, Agaie, Niger state have emerged winners of the inaugural Student Entrepreneurship Activity Hub (SEA-Hub) national competition, News Agency of Nigeria reports.
The competition which was organised by Deuche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on Thursday in Abuja was titled “Securing the Future of Young Nigerians.
Deuche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) is a development agency owned by the German government.
Government Model Science School, Bida, came second while Government Secondary School, Township in Plateau came third out of the 15 school that participated.
Earlier, Minister of State for Education, Mr Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba said that it was a privilege to be a part of the laudable initiative and commended GIZ for organising it.
He said that in recent years, gross mismanagement of government institutions and resources plus frustration of young Nigerians in the various institutions of higher learning had been a challenge for young people.
The minister said that the stress on young people and their families, due to economic global meltdown was also a challenge for young Nigerians.
Nwajiuba said in order to make life worth living, crucial solutions were being provided by GIZ .
He said that the entrepreneurial skill acquisition which is being carried out in four states of the country is empowering young Nigerians.
According to the minister it is helping them to achieve their full potentials, creating enabling environment for parents to give full support to their children and all round development, thereby giving them an independent life.
Nwajiuba said that the ministry will continue to partner with Sea-Hub to ensure that Nigerian secondary schools develop entrepreneurial skills for self reliance and independent life for the improvement of Nigeria’s economy.
Earlier, the Head of Programmes, Mr Detlev Holloh said GIZ has been committed to sustainable development in Nigeria since 1974.
He said that the organisation has continued to enhance employment and income generation with several programmes and designs like the Pro-Poor Growth and Promotion of employment in Nigeria.
Holloh explained that the programme promotes entrepreneurship through several approaches as the SEA-Hub.
He said that it had direct impart on some of the sustainable development goals and it is inline with Agenda 2030 and Goal 3 of the strategic plan of the Federal Ministry of Education.
He said that SEA-Hub is an extracurricular club created in schools to help young people build life-long skills and prepare them for the future.
“So far, SEA-Hub intervention has reached close to 15,00 students in Edo, Niger, Ogun, and Plateau with support from Federal Ministries of Youths and Sports and Education.
“It is our hope that this event and strengthened partnership, with all our invaluable partners, we can continue to work together at state and national levels to build an inclusive and sustainable future for our entrepreneurs,” he said.

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Lion Air Finds Cracks In 2 Boeing 737NGs

Lion Air has found structural cracks in two Boeing Co (BA.N) 737 NG planes with fewer flights than a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) threshold for checks, Indonesia’s aviation safety regulator said on Friday.
The discovery could make it more likely the FAA will require airline operators to inspect 737 NGs with fewer than 22,600 cycles, which had not been mandated previously.
Each cycle typically represents one flight, with a takeoff and a landing.
The cracks are on what is known as the “pickle fork,” a part that attaches the plane’s fuselage, or body, to the wing structure.
An FAA spokesman said the agency had asked operators to report any cracks so it could assess whether it needed to change its inspection orders.
The Lion Air jets with cracks had fewer than 22,000 cycles and are now grounded for repairs, a spokesman for the airline said.
Lion Air performed the checks even though they were not yet required to “ensure security and safety of the flights,” he said.
One of the airline’s newer 737 MAX jets last year crashed shortly after takeoff from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board and leading to heightened scrutiny on the carrier’s maintenance operations by Indonesia’s safety regulator.
Indonesia’s Director General of Civil Aviation Polana Pramesti said on Friday there were no plans for the country’s aviation regulator to expand the inspections beyond the FAA directive.
The FAA requires immediate checks of aircraft with more than 33,000 cycles and inspections within the next 1,000 cycles for those with more than 22,600 cycles.
Boeing did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
The manufacturer last week said that just over 1,000 planes globally had met the threshold for inspections to date, and of those fewer than 5 per cent had issues.
Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N), Brazil’s Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA (GOLL4.SA), Australia’s Qantas Airways and Korean Air Lines Co Ltd (003490.KS) are among the airlines that have grounded planes after discovering cracks, Reuters and News Agency of Nigeria report.

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Donald Trump Jr. Reveals Whistleblower’s Name As President Trump’s Impeachment Looms

President Donald Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. has triggered a backlash after he revealed in a tweet the name of the alleged whistleblower at the centre of the impeachment probe of his father.
Trump Jr. presented no evidence that the person identified is the whistleblower, although the name has been circulating in right-wing media and on Twitter for several days.
The tweet links to a Breitbart News article that claims the whistleblower worked in the Obama administration and “interfaced” with officials who “played key roles” in facilitating the infamous Trump dossier produced by former British spy Christopher Steele, citing as evidence that the individual’s name appears in email chains related to Ukraine policy.
President Trump on Monday also described the mystery whistleblower as an ‘Obama guy’, perhaps drawing from the report. Trump also desperately wants the person exposed, against the tradition.
In a statement to journalist Yashar Ali, the White House said neither the president nor any senior administration official was aware in advance of Trump Jr.’s tweet naming the alleged whistleblower.
At a Trump reelection rally in Kentucky on Monday, Senator Rand Paul, demanded the media unmask the whistleblower, despite federal whistleblower protection laws.
“Do your job and print his name!” Paul yelled as the president clapped. On Tuesday, Paul threatened to reveal the whistleblower’s name himself.
Many of Paul’s Republican colleagues criticised him, saying the whistleblower deserves to be protected.
“We should follow the law,” said Senator Lamar Alexander, “And I believe the law protects whistleblowers.”

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Sowore Begins Hunger Strike To Protest DSS’ Refusal To Release Him Despite Court Order

Omoyele Sowore

SaharaReporters Media

Pro-democracy activist, Omoyele Sowore, has protested, by refusing to eat any food, his continued detention by the Department of State Services despite a court order sanctioning his immediate release.
Sowore, who has been detained for 98 days by the DSS was granted bail twice by the federal high court in Abuja.
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, who is defending Sowore in court, on Friday told SaharaReporters, “Since yesterday (Thursday) he has refused to come down. He has refused to see anybody and this is in protest that his rights are being violated.”He has not eaten because the DSS don’t feed him and he is rejecting food from the people who usually take food to him in detention.
“Yesterday, he said he didn’t want to see anyone including the people who take food to him because there is a court order asking for him to be released, the second one, so he is protesting this.”

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Nigeria, Other African Nations Need Factors To Fill Trade Finance Gap

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has urged the use of open account terms for trade in Africa in order to facilitate the realization of the intra-African trade aspirations of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and to enhance competitiveness.
Kanayo Awani, Managing Director of the Intra-African Trade Initiative at Afreximbank, told guests yesterday during the opening of the 2019 Afreximbank Factoring Workshop in Durban, South Africa, that while letters of credit were relatively expensive and cumbersome, open account transactions were cheaper and simply involved a business selling its receivables (invoices) at a discount to a third party called a factor.
She noted that access to finance remained a daunting challenge for most African companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and that, according to Global Banking and Finance Review magazine, SMEs face refusal for 53 per cent of their trade finance applications.
“The continent needs factors to fill the trade finance gap and to support SMEs that cannot obtain traditional bank funding,” argued the Managing Director.
Ms. Awani added that factoring was necessary to help deal with the significant reduction in correspondent banking relationships in Africa, saying that sales in open account terms had highlighted that banks and non-bank financial institutions had the capability to access the global correspondent factoring network of Factors Chain International (FCI) to support international trade in a compliant, risk-managed manner.
Afreximbank was continuing to create awareness, demonstrate the relevance, and highlight the potency of factoring in Africa as part of its commitment to supporting the operationalization of the AfCFTA, she said.
That effort was also in keeping with the Bank’s ambition to use factoring as an instrument to implement its Intra-African Trade and its Industrialisation and export Development strategies, continued Ms. Awani.
Aysen Cetintas, Education Director of FCI, gave a rundown of the organisation’s work in support of factoring across the world, explaining that FCI was active in many countries.
Siza Sibande, Head of the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs of Kwazulu-Natal Province of South Africa, told the participants that the province had introduced SME financing in order to boost economic development.
The workshop, with the theme “Promoting Factoring in Support of Intra-African Trade and the African Continental Free Trade Area”, covered such topics as factoring and receivables finance; factoring as a solution to intra-African trade promotion; key success factors in setting up factoring activities; managing risk in factoring transactions; and insurance in factoring.
It featured panel discussions and sessions on Afreximbank’s initiatives for factoring and on the legal and regulatory environment for factoring in Africa.

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Crisis Brewing Over N4 Billion TV Programme By Delta State Government, APC Alleges Scam

Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa

Delta State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has blasted the Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission for allegedly proposing over N4 billion annually for its media activities.Prosper Edo, Special Assistant to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on DESOPADEC Matters, had a few weeks ago announced that the commission’s Managing Director, Askia Ogieh, would embark on a rebranding mission of the commission through a weekly television programme on ChannelsTV, AIT and state-owned broadcasting outfits in Asaba and Warri in an Opa Williams Production.According to a director in the commission, who spoke with SaharaReporters on the condition of anonymity, the programme will cost over N4 billion annually.Condemning the programme, the APC stated that it would not in any way add value to people’s lives.In a statement signed by the state’s Publicity Secretary, Sylvester Imonina, the APC said, “A commission that is supposed to be an interventionist agency for the good of Deltans from oil producing communities is now a cesspool of personal aggrandizement and corruption. While the commoners/the poor from the oil producing communities are wallowing in abject deprivation of social basic amenities such as good schools, good roads, potable water, health care and other basic necessities of life.”The present DESOPADEC budget for oil producing area is about N28 billion. A critical look at the budget shows that N4.6 billion is for media propaganda of things claimed to be done, yet “not done” for the area of the mandate of the commission, for the fiscal year. Why that humongous amount.? A good product does not need advertisement. The claimed projects will advertise themselves through the beneficiaries and not the media hype.”N5.2 billion for the fiscal year, on security in the area of mandate. In other words, over N433 million is budgeted/spent on a monthly basis. N3.6 billion is for Water ways and land security committee. That is, N300 million on a monthly basis. This is a committee that ought to be directly financed by the state government, but same was given to DESOPADEC as an added burden and a pipe for frittering away our commonwealth.”Information available says that the committee is an avenue for empowering some few PDP thugs/members who could not be given the position of Special Assistants and Aides to the Governor. What a way to waste resources of our dear State. Five billion naira for miscellaneous, entertainment and other frivolous things. Who are they entertaining? That is left for Deltans to imagine.”Meanwhile, after the addition of monies for salaries of DESOPADEC staff to the above, what is left for the developmental projects of the oil-producing areas in Delta State is only a meagre sum, around the neighbourhood of N4 billion. This is criminal thievery and neglect of the people who purportedly ‘voted’ PDP into power in Delta state, and it is unacceptable. Deltans never bargained for this.”The party, however, warned that the patience of Deltans should not be taken for granted.
All efforts to contact the Peoples Democratic Party’s chairman and publicity secretary, Kingsley Esiso and Ifeanyi Osuoza, respectively were unsuccessful.
Similarly, DESOPADEC Managing Director, Askia Ogieh, did not respond to calls made to his telephone line.
However, his aide who spoke to SaharaReporters on the condition of anonymity, said there was no going back on the N4 billion earmarked for the TV programme.

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Poll: Would You Resign If You Were Osinbajo? By Fredrick Nwabufo

Fredrick Nwabufo

“But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also” – Jesus Christ in Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:39).
I am not a pastor. In fact, I do not subscribe to the wedges and hedges of religion, but there is, no doubt, wisdom in the teachings of Anobi Isa. The point here is simple, “turn the other check” even when you are persecuted.If I may add, this teaching is cardinally about being meek. And what does Jesus say about the meek. He says, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.”
However, this sermon is not law or a commandment that every “believer” must follow or obey; it is just a principle.
Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, is a man of the cloth and he understands this principle. He has turned a cheek and I believe he will turn the other if necessary again and again.
But to what end? When does turning the other cheek become folly?
In September, President Muhammadu Buhari constituted an economic advisory council to replace the economic management team headed by Osinbajo.
Also, he instructed the VP to seek approvals for agencies under his supervision.
With the directive, Osinbajo seeks approvals for contract awards, annual reports, annual accounts, power to borrow, and power to make regulations, among other key functions.
As I wrote in a previous essay, under the laws setting up the agencies, the President is empowered to give final approvals but this was not adhered to in the era of “change”. It was politically convenient at the time.
As it is, Osinbajo is/was the chairman of the governing boards of the National Emergency Management Agency, the National Boundary Commission, the Border Communities Development Agency and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Ltd.
Currently, NEMA and the National Social Investment Office, which were under his orbit, have been reassigned to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management headed by Sadiya Umar Farouq.
On Tuesday, a report by Premium Times detailed how Abba Kyari, Chief of Staff to the President, allegedly manipulated Buhari to sack Osinbajo from “Ruga projects”.
It really conveyed the pathetic state of the Vice President, who does not even have access to the President.
Really, it appears Osinbajo has been stripped of even peripheral responsibilities such as “condolence visits and food-sampling in markets”. It seems he is no longer considered good enough for even these pettifogging errands.
On Monday, the Deep Offshore Bill was sent to London for assent by a President, who is on a “private visit” to that country. On Tuesday, while in the UK and with Kyari in the silhouette, Buhari sacked 35 aides attached to the office of the VP.
“Osinbajo is hoping that President Buhari will rescind the decision,” a senior presidency official told TheCable, maintaining that the sackings were done by a presidential aide, not the president himself.
Although all aides at the Presidency are appointees of the president, the 35 were said to have been appointed by Osinbajo when he was acting president and were specifically selected by him.
Really, I believe Osinbajo has been functionally sterilised, foreshortened, abbreviated!
But how much should a man take? Should resigning from office be the way out?
Well, I think, it is neither here nor there. As an individual, resigning from a toxic organisation where insubordination is inspired by the chief executive may be a rational thing to do – in the quotidian workplace.
But at the station of the Vice President, there are many layers of consideration to sieve through. The most pressing is public interest. Naturally, the impact of the resignation of a VP will be “tsunamic”, and it will have far-reaching national security implications.
Also, Osinbajo committed to a “complicated relationship” with Buhari; he is a part of the government. He is not absolved of any blame; he shares in the failure of the administration, so “pulling out” may not uncomplicated the complication.
If resigning from office as VP was that idiot-proof, why did Atiku Abubakar not resign under former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s blitz?
In all, the choice is his – to resign or not to resign. But what would you do if you were Osinbajo?
Fredrick Nwabufo is a writer and journalist, @FredrickNwabufo