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Nigeria’s Next President Should Be In His 60s – Ibrahim Babangida
Former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has suggested that the next president of Nigeria come 2023 should be in his 60s because of the nature of the work of the country’s leader.
Babangida spoke during an exclusive interview with Arise Television on Friday morning.
Babangida, popularly known as IBB, said one of the reasons Nigeria has refused to progress and achieve the dreams of the founding fathers was because Nigerians no longer believed in the future of their own country.
Although Babangida did not mention any names as ineligible for the nation’s number one seat, he however suggested that individuals in their 60s should be the focus of Nigerians as potential presidential candidates in 2023.
Babangida said he was confident that the nation is endowed with both human and natural resources, hinted at a few individuals, whom he said were in their 60s, had the capacity to become president and could effectively run the country.
The former leader, who accused the Nigerian people of creating and at the same time, destroying their own country, identified bad leadership as yet a major reason for the socioeconomic challenges facing Nigeria.
Talking about the presidential hopefuls he had in mind, IBB said they were persons in their 6os with contacts across the nation and who had been traversing the geo-political zones marketing their acceptability and capacity.
IBB said: “If you get a good leadership that links with the people and tries to talk with the people; not talking on top of the people, then we would be okay.
“I have started visualising a good Nigerian leader. That is, a person, who travels across the country and has a friend virtually everywhere he travels to and he knows at least one person that he can communicate with.
“That is a person, who is very verse in economics and is also a good politician, who should be able to talk to Nigerians and so on. I have seen one, or two or three of such persons already in his sixties.”
But when asked if the person could emerge victorious in the 2023 presidential election, the Minna-born former military leader said, “I believe so if we can get him.”
Responding to a question on whether or not he still believed in the future of Nigeria, the former military president, who turns 80 on August 17, 2021, said: “I do believe in the future of Nigeria, but Nigerians don’t believe in the future of their country. They created and they destroyed.”
Reiterating his belief in the future of Nigeria and urging Nigerians to remain patriotic, Babangida, who claimed to feeling good as he was about to turn 80 years, with gratitude to God for sparing his life, advised Nigerians to go for the person that has what it takes to transform the country when the time comes.
Credit: Tribune
Aliko Dangote, Chairman of Dangote Industries, through his legal representative, has formally submitted a corruption petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Farouk Ahmed, the former Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
This was disclosed in a statement made available to our correspondent by the Dangote Group media team on Friday.
Recall that Dangote had earlier petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate Ahmed for allegedly spending $5 million on his children’s secondary education in Switzerland. He withdrew the petition a few days ago, even as the ICPC vowed to continue with its investigation.
The statement on Friday said Dangote’s petition to the EFCC followed “The withdrawal of the same petition from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, a strategic decision aimed at accelerating the prosecution process.”
In the petition, signed by Lead Counsel Dr O.J. Onoja, Dangote urged the EFCC to investigate allegations of abuse of office and corrupt enrichment against Ahmed, and to prosecute him if found culpable.
The petition further stated that Dangote would provide evidence to substantiate claims of financial misconduct and impunity.
“We make bold to state that the commission is strategically positioned, along with sister agencies, to prosecute financial crimes and corruption-related offences, and upon establishing a prima facie case, the courts do not hesitate to punish offenders. See Lawan v. F.R.N (2024) 12 NWLR (Pt. 1953) 501 and Shema v. F.R.N. (2018) 9 NWLR (Pt.1624) 337,” the petition read.
Onoja further urged the commission, under the leadership of Mr Olanipekun Olukoyede, “To investigate the complaint of abuse of office and corruption against Engr. Farouk Ahmed and to accordingly prosecute him if found wanting.”
The Rivers State House of Assembly formally recommenced impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu.
This marks the second time within ten months that the state legislature has initiated such a move.
At a plenary session presided over by the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule, the Majority Leader of the House, Major Jack, formally read the notice detailing allegations of gross misconduct against Governor Fubara.
The notice, which was endorsed by 26 lawmakers, accused the governor of actions allegedly in violation of the Nigerian Constitution.
Amaewhule announced that the notice would be served on the governor within the next seven days.
During the same sitting, the Deputy Majority Leader, Linda Stewart, read the notice of allegations and gross misconduct leveled against Deputy Governor Ngozi Oduh.
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Supreme Court: President Has Power To Declare Emergency Rule, Remove Elected Officials
The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that the President holds the constitutional power to declare a state of emergency in any state where circumstances threaten public safety or governance.
According to the ruling, this authority may be exercised to prevent a serious breakdown of law and order or to stop conditions from deteriorating into chaos or anarchy.
The court emphasized that such powers are intended to safeguard national stability and ensure the continued functioning of democratic institutions when extraordinary situations arise.
It noted that emergency measures are justified only in exceptional cases where normal governance mechanisms are unable to effectively address escalating crises.
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