News
How Obasanjo’s Diabolical Double-Cross Cost Akande Second Term Aspiration– Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari recalled on Thursday in Lagos how former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s devious double-cross cost Chief Bisi Akande his bid for a second term.
He spoke at the public presentation of Akande’s autobiography, “My Participations,” hosted at the Eko Hotel on Victoria Island in Lagos.
Buhari said Obasanjo’s diabolical acts ended Akande’s governorship aspiration.
“It is common knowledge that Akande was the victim – along with other AD Governors – of a diabolical double-cross which ended his gubernatorial career. Only the steadfast Asiwaju Bola Tinubu escaped the electoral massacre masterminded by President Obasanjo.
”Desperately disappointed though he was, and being a good Muslim, he accepted this setback as part of the trials of life. He looked to the future of service to the country,” he said.
Buhari described Akande as a ‘‘perfect public officer,” and the type of person he could go into the jungle with, saying that he had retained his ‘‘inflexible integrity,” in and out of public office, never accepting or offering bribes.
The President, who lavished accolades on the former governor of Osun State, characterized him as a kind, sincere, and pleasant man, as well as a first-rate administrator, whose leadership characteristics made him the consensus choice as the APC’s first Chairman.
Buhari used the occasion to recount his first meeting with Akande, his love for Nigeria, his accomplishments and disappointments as governor of Osun State, and his many efforts to dethrone the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party.
”My first personal contact with Chief Akande was, if I recall correctly, in 2006 when preliminary consultations were coming to fruition for a grand coalition to unseat the PDP Government.
”Those efforts eventually came to nothing.
”Neither he, nor I, nor many of our friends and associates gave up as, in Chief Akande’s words: “the country was going down and down under PDP” (p.396 of My Participations),” he said.
The President also narrated how Akande had risen to prominence from his participation in the Constituent Assembly established by the Military Government of General Olusegun Obasanjo.
”He was always in the thick of things through the difficulties and political discontinuities of the 1980s and 90s.
‘‘He emerged as Governor of Osun State in 1999 when the military handed over to the civilians.
”Chief Akande had a horrendous baptism as Governor of Osun State with discord from his own party; his State Assembly (including an attempt to impeach him without any reason whatsoever); from the trade unions and from his own deputy Governor!
”On top of that, he inherited a deeply indebted Treasury, huge arrears of salary, allowances, and pensions. Enough challenges to overwhelm many aspiring leaders.
”Bisi Akande stood four square and faced all the challenges head-on and overcame most of them.
”His first action was to stop payment of “critical allowances” a euphemism for government money customarily shared by the big boys in Osun State.
”This set the tone of his Administration,” the President said.
Recounting the achievements of the former Governor of Osun State, President Buhari noted that it is on record that within one year, Akande had paid off all the salary and other arrears, showing his mettle as a competent and serious administrator.
”By 2003 Chief Akande had virtually sanitised governance in Osun State having cleared some of the troublemakers from his government and, though reluctant to serve a second term, he was persuaded to run again,” he said.
Reflecting on the political history of the author, particularly his bid to seek a second term as Governor of Osun, President Buhari declared: ” Reminiscing on APC’s ascent to governance at the Federal level in 2015, President Buhari said:
”Chief Akande was in the thick of further attempts in 2011 and 2014 to fuse together different groups and dislodge PDP from governance.
”The key to his thinking which coincides with mine is that Nigeria can only be successfully managed by alliances between major groups.
”Although we failed in 2011 but by persistence and knowledge that PDP was driving the country towards disaster, several major parties were able to finally coalesce into APC in 2014 .
”Chief Akande was unanimously chosen as the first Chairman of this great coalition.
”Throughout the difficult negotiations, I found Akande truthful, steady and always with an eye to the ultimate goal.
”In or out of office, he has retained his inflexible integrity. On page 400 of his book, he wrote: ‘I never gave to or demanded bribe from anyone all my life.’ A perfect gentleman. A perfect public officer, he said.
Quoting a famous Hausa saying, ”Labarin zucciya a tambayi fuska” (loosely translated -if you want to know what is in a man’s heart watch his face), President Buhari affirmed that Akande has a permanent smile on his face, saying ”He is the type I will go into the jungle with.”
On the book, President Buhari recommended it to students of Nigeria politics and the general public alike.
”This book is a historical document. Students will find this an invaluable source of Nigeria’s politics, notably between 1999 and 2020,” he said.
The Lagos State Government has officially announced the reintroduction of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise, set to resume on Saturday, April 25, 2026.
This marks the return of the state-wide cleaning culture nearly ten years after its suspension in 2016.
Residents are expected to clean their surroundings, clear drainage channels in front of their homes, and dispose of waste responsibly as part of efforts to improve environmental hygiene and tackle waste management challenges.
The Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, on Saturday, disclosed the development in a statement, explaining that the exercise would officially restart later in the year.
“I am pleased to inform all Lagosians that the monthly environmental sanitation exercise will resume effective Saturday, 25th April 2026, holding on the last Saturday of every month from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
“During this period, residents are enjoined to clean their surroundings, clear drainage channels in their frontages, and dispose of waste properly as a civic responsibility.”
Wahab urged residents to view the initiative as a shared duty toward building a healthier city, stressing that the government would ensure strict compliance.
“This exercise is a collective responsibility and a vital part of our commitment to a cleaner, healthier, and flood-resilient Lagos. And it shall be backed with the full enforcement weight of the Lagos State Government,” he said.
Explaining the significance of reintroducing the sanitation culture, the commissioner said the state was returning to a practice that once formed part of Lagosians’ lifestyle.
“Let me formally say this and say it boldly. Mr Governor and his deputy are taking a very audacious step. For those who don’t know, prior to 2016, we had a culture that emphasised cleanliness as next to godliness.
“Once every month, we took our time to clean up our surroundings and then maintain them sparkling. However, for some years, we stopped it.”
He said the absence of the exercise had contributed to mounting environmental pressures in the state.
“Now, waste, debt, and environmental challenges have become an existential challenge to us as a state. It’s taken us over a year to debate, talk, and agree that it’s time to reintroduce a monthly environmental sanitation,” Wahab said.
Appealing to residents for cooperation, he urged Lagosians to dedicate a small portion of their time each month to environmental cleanliness.
“It’s a plea that it is time for us to give up just one or two hours a month. In our marketplaces, every Thursday, we observe environmental cleanliness. But this time, we are saying as a state, let us sit back once a month and observe the cleanliness of our environment as we used to before 2016.”
JomogNews reports that the monthly sanitation exercise, previously held on the last Saturday of every month between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., was suspended in November 2016 following a legal pronouncement restricting movement during the exercise.
The suspension later coincided with growing waste management concerns, including clogged drainage channels and indiscriminate refuse disposal across parts of the state.
President Bola Tinubu has urged the media to extend their scrutiny to State and Local Governments, noting that his administration’s reforms have significantly increased their financial allocations.
During an interfaith breaking of fast with media executives on Friday, the President emphasized that sub-national governments now enjoy greater financial autonomy and should be held accountable for grassroots development.
Tinubu said his administration’s economic reforms, especially the removal of the petrol subsidy, have increased funds available to states.
“We have opened up the principle of federalism to the extent that local governments are now getting their money. But how they use it is in your hands, so don’t bombard me alone. Look at local governments too, and equally, the sub-national,” Tinubu said.
“Today, there is no state that is borrowing to pay the salaries of employees. Yes, we can complain that it is not enough. We can complain we are not where we should be, but we have to manage what we have to sustain today, survive tomorrow, and make progress”.
Tinubu commended the media for criticising his government, saying it challenged and provoked him to serve Nigerians better.
“Thank you for inspiring me and challenging me in critical moments of my life. If I look at various barrages of negative comments as opposed to positive aspects of the assignment, I shouldn’t be standing here. That is the truth,” the president said.
“You didn’t spare me, but you challenged me, provoked that intellectual curiosity of a leader that must perform. There is no morning that I ever leave my house without going through the newspapers. It’s an addiction. I read all of you, it might not be in full detail, but the headlines, the ones that hit me.
“Leadership is about taking responsibility to make decisions at the right time. Otherwise, it’s a failure. At the time, we had to confront the subsidy. Nigeria was on the verge of bankruptcy.
“But having asked for the job and getting it, I cannot look back other than make corrections as I move along, save the nation, bring it back from the brink. Today, I can stand proudly before you that we are back from that brink.”
Tinubu added that he will continue to do his job with “patriotic dedication” to improve Nigeria.
A prosecution witness, Captain Ezekiel Bala-Agaba, testified in a Lagos Federal High Court on Thursday, that he personally delivered $15 million in cash to former NIMASA DG, Patrick Akpobolokemi.
The witness, Bala-Agaba, a former Executive Director of Maritime Safety, Shipping Development and Marine Operations at NIMASA, made the disclosure while testifying before Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
Captain Agaba, who appeared as the 15th prosecution witness, told the court that funds meant for pipeline surveillance were withdrawn from NIMASA’s accounts, converted into dollars, and handed over to Dr Akpobolokemi.
According to him, the money was taken to a Bureau de Change, which converted it into $15 million before the cash was delivered to the NIMASA office on Burma Road, Apapa, Lagos.
He said he subsequently took the money to the office of the then Director-General.
“The money was sent to a Bureau de Change, which later brought the dollar equivalent to our office at Burma Road, Apapa, Lagos. I asked my Personal Assistant, Ekene Nwakuche, to carry the bag and follow me to the Director-General’s office,” he told the court.
The witness explained that he collected the bag from his aide before entering the office.
“When we got to the door of the Director-General’s office, I collected the bag from him and asked him to wait outside. I then personally delivered the sum of $15 million to the Director-General.”
The witness was initially a defendant in the case but later opted to testify for the prosecution.
While being led in evidence by prosecuting counsel, Suleiman Suleiman, he explained the chain of command within NIMASA and how financial approvals were processed in the agency.
According to him, the Director-General is the overall head of the agency and issues instructions to directors, who then implement policies in line with the NIMASA Act.
He told the court that he chaired the agency’s Intelligence Committee, which was responsible for certain security-related operations.
“As chairman of the committee, I oversaw its activities and reported directly to the Director-General, Dr. Patrick Akpobolokemi,” he said.
During the proceedings, the witness was also shown a document containing a letter from Access Bank to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) detailing transactions in NIMASA’s accounts between 2013 and 2015.
When asked how much money he took to the former Director-General, Agaba replied: “$15 million.”
After listening to the testimony, Justice Faji adjourned the matter until April 22 and 23 for cross-examination of the witness.
The EFCC had in December 2015 arraigned Dr. Akpobolokemi and seven others before the court on a 30-count charge bordering on conspiracy, fraudulent conversion of funds and money laundering.
Those charged alongside the former NIMASA boss include, Warredi Enisuoh, Governor Juan, Ugo Frederick, Timi Alari, as well as Alkenzo Limited and Penniel Engineering Services Limited.
They pleaded not guilty to the offences.
The anti-graft agency alleged that the defendants conspired to divert funds running into over N1.15 billion under the guise of providing security intelligence in Nigeria’s maritime domain.
According to the EFCC, the NIMASA Intelligence Committee allegedly received N1,153,000,000 between December 2013 and July 2015.
Investigations further revealed that several companies contracted to execute the intelligence operations were either unregistered or lacked the capacity to perform the services, while some were allegedly linked to the defendants.
The prosecution also alleged that the defendants nominated or owned many of the companies used to execute the contracts.
One of the charges stated that the defendants conspired to commit offences punishable under the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2012.
LASG Announces Resumption Of Monthly Environmental Sanitation For April 25
Just In: Nigerian Football Legend Henry Nwosu Passes Away At 62
States, LGA Now Have More Allocations — Tinubu Urges Media To Demand Accountability
Nigerian Gospel Icon Evangelist Toun Soetan Dies At 73
I Delivered $15m Agency Cash To Ex-NIMASA DG Akpobolokemi, EFCC Witness Tells Court
CBN Bars Chronic Loan Defaulters from Accessing New Banking Services
Makinde Only In PDP Because He’s Not Seeking Re-election – Otitoju
Corruption Probe: Court Grants ICPC Access To Data On El-Rufai’s Seized Gadgets
Beyond My Wildest Dreams: Disu Opens Up During Handover From Egbetokun
