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Highway Contract Row: Afenifere Calls For Tinubu’s Impeachment

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Highway Contract Row: Afenifere Calls For Tinubu's Impeachment

A faction of the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has called on the National Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings against President Bola Tinubu over an alleged conflict of interest in the award of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway contract.

The leader of the group, Oba Oladipo Olaitan, in an interview with newsmen, condemned Tinubu’s recent public declaration that the contractor handling the project, Gilbert Chagoury, was his partner during the inauguration of the 30-kilometre Phase 1, Section 1 of the coastal highway project.

President Tinubu, while inaugurating the project last Saturday, praised the Chagoury-led Hitech Construction Company for its work on the road, which he described as a “symbol of courage and commitment.”

“To the contractors and my partner in daring, it was tough for us… We came together to tame the Atlantic,” Tinubu said.

The highway is being executed by Hitech Construction, a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group, which also spearheads the Eko Atlantic City project, an ambitious real estate development built on reclaimed land from the Atlantic Ocean.

Commenting on Tinubu’s statement, Oba Olaitan expressed disappointment at what he described as a blatant admission of conflict of interest, stating that the road was awarded without competitive bidding and appeared tailored to benefit the privately owned Eko Atlantic City.

“All President Tinubu is doing is building a road to his own Atlantic City. He openly said the contractor is his partner. That means he awarded a federal contract to himself.

“That road was not advertised for public bidding. It is a national shame. If we had a truly independent and vibrant National Assembly, they would have begun impeachment proceedings immediately.”

He also questioned the rationale behind commissioning just a small portion of the highway, suggesting the government may have no further intention of pursuing the full stretch once the part leading to Atlantic City is done.

“Why commission just four per cent of the road? That road leads straight to their private development. If that part is done, they may abandon the rest. This is a clear conflict of interest,” the Afenifere leader insisted.

Calling on lawmakers to take action, Olaitan said, “The National Assembly must prove that it is not complicit. If they are truly independent, they must act now. We cannot condone this. This is not how to run a democracy. The president has admitted to a breach of public trust.

“I am calling on the National Assembly to start the impeachment process now if they are a truly independent and vibrant National Assembly and if they are not equally complicit. We can’t condone such a thing.”

Reacting, the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress said the call for Tinubu’s impeachment lacked substance and was “a joke taken too far.”

Speaking in an interview on Friday, Lagos APC spokesperson Seye Oladejo described the allegation as a deliberate misinterpretation of the President’s comments.

“I will just regard that as a joke taken too far. Maybe they need to consult their dictionary to understand what ‘partner’ means. Did he say business partner? He didn’t say they have any relationship or any incorporated firm where they both have shares. He called them ‘partners in daring’; people who believed in his vision and joined in pursuing it,” he said.

Oladejo added there was no basis for linking the remarks to a business arrangement, saying due process was followed in awarding the contract.

“Relevant authorities handled the contract process. If there’s any issue, it should be addressed through the appropriate channels, not through calls for impeachment,” he added.

Businessday.ng

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BREAKING: Winner Emerges In Kano Bye-Election As APC, NNPP Lock Horns

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) has emerged winner of the Ghari/Tsanyawa supplementary election in Kano state

The returning officer, Professor Muhammad Waziri of Bayero University, declared Garba Ya’u Gwarmai of the APC winner with 31,472 votes

Waziri defeated the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Yusuf Ali Maigado, who polled 27,931 votes

2027: Pat Utomi Opens Up On working On A New Mega Party
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has secured victory in the Ghari/Tsanyawa supplementary election held in Kano state.

Announcing the results on Sunday morning, August 17, the returning officer (RO), Professor Muhammad Waziri from Bayero University, declared APC candidate Garba Gwarmai the winner with a total of 31,472 votes.

He defeated the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Yusuf Maigado, who polled 27,931 votes, according to The Punch.

The supplementary poll was conducted after the initial election in the constituency was declared inconclusive. With a margin of 3,541 votes, Gwarmai’s victory marks a key win for the APC as the party continues to reinforce its influence across the state.

Meanwhile, the NNPP won the Bagwai/Shanono state assembly by-election in Kano state.

Daily Trust and Vanguard noted this update.

Announcing the result at 12:36 a.m. on Sunday, August 17, the RO for the election, Prof. Hassan Adamu Shitu, declared the NNPP candidate, Ali Hassan Kiyawa, winner with 16,198 votes, defeating the APC candidate, Ahmad Muhammad Kadamu, who polled 5,347 votes.

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Tinubu’s Government Lacks Effective Communication Strategy  - Babangida

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Nigeria, Benin Sign Integration Pact

Former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, has said that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is performing well but lacks an effective communication strategy to relay its achievements to Nigerians.

Aliyu made the statement on the Thursday edition of Arise Television’s ‘The Morning Show’, while reacting to the outcome of a recent public accountability session held in Kaduna.

Aliyu, reflecting on the discussions at the Kaduna Forum, said the government is facing public dissatisfaction not because it hasn’t delivered, but because it is failing to tell its own story effectively.

The ex-governor said it is proper for political leaders in the North to make demands from Tinubu’s administration since the bulk of the votes that took power came from the region.

“Let the people understand what is happening on the ground. If by what we say that 63/64 percent of the vote came from the north, it is only logical that the north will be expecting so much from the government.

“But from what we have seen so far is that the government is doing well but they do not know how to communicate very well,” he said.

 

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New Twist As El-Rufai Snubs ADC, Announces Another Party To Vote In Kaduna Bye-Election [ Video Trends]

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Former Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, appeared to have taken a reverse from the coalition’s adopted political platform, ADC

This is as the former governor took to social media and asked the people of Zaria, Chikun to vote for another party in the Saturday, August 16 (today), bye-elections in the constituencies in Kaduna

Recall that the former governor recently visited Sokoto to canvass support for the ADC, while criticising President Bola Tinubu and the APC government.

Click to watch El-Rufai’s video here

Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna, has fueled speculations that he dumped the recently adopted coalition political platform, African Democratic Congress (ADC), as he called on the people of Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency and Zaria Kewaye and Basawa state constituency to vote for the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

However, in a dramatic turn, the former governor urged the people of Zaria and Chikun to vote for the SDP in the Saturday, August 16, by-election, a poll which was meant to test the opposition’s strength ahead of the 2027 general election.

Recall that El-Rufai defected to the SDP after dumping the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), but soon after joining the party, the SDP fell into a leadership crisis, and the former governor has been silent on his membership and allegations against him.

El-Rufai recently visited Sokoto on a mission to gather support for the ADC. He described his action as a patriotic one to rescue Nigeria from the grip of ‘nepotism’ and ‘incompetence’.

During his visit to Sokoto, the former governor attended two important events meant to sensitise the people and political stakeholders working to achieve the agenda of sacking President Tinubu and the APC in the next general election.

During his address at the event, the former governor lambasted the ruling party and called them ‘a failed, clannish, and visionless administration that has plunged Nigeria into deeper socio-economic misery’.

He declared that it was time for Nigerians to rise against the APC and accused the party of ‘broken promises and elite conspiracy’. He warned that any move to vote for the APC beyond 2027 would be a greater doom for the country.

However, in a sharp turn, the former governor, in a video posted on his social media page ahead of the by-election, urged the people in the constituencies where the poll will be held in Kaduna on Saturday, August 16, to vote for the SDP rather than the ADC he went to Sokoto to canvass for.

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