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Osinbajo And The Infidelity Of Integrity

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4 years ago

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By Bala Ibrahim.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has ended all speculations, by formally declaring his intention to run for the President of Nigeria, come next year, 2023. In giving notice of this intention today, monday,11/04/2022, the Vice President said, “In the past seven years, I have served as Vice President under a true Nigerian patriot, a servant of the nation in war and peace, and a man of integrity, President Muhammadu Buhari. I am today, with utmost humility, formally declaring my intention to run for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the platform of our great party, the All Progressives Congress,”

The phrase, “a man of integrity, President Muhammadu Buhari,” aroused my enthusiasm, as a consequence of which, I was encouraged to write this article.

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The dictionary gives integrity as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. People of integrity are expected to be honest, upright and righteous, with high moral rectitude. Integrity therefore, goes hand in hand with honour, or the quality of knowing and doing what is right. This is morality.

Vice President Osinbajo is a lawyer, a law professor and a Senior Advocate, whose major preoccupation should be in the direction of promoting the cause of justice. So he is very much aware of the legal implications of actions. This is legality.

But Vice President Osinbajo is also a Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, whose preoccupation is to provide spiritual leadership to members, including sermons and preaching, through the interpretation of the biblical scripture. So he is very much aware of the moral implications of actions.

I am not a lawyer, but I know the Nigerian constitution has given every person who is entitled to vote or be voted for at an election, the right to vote or be voted for in that election, including the election to the office of the President. This is legal, and as a Nigerian, and one with the requisite credentials, Osinbajo is legally right to contest.

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But as a pastor, with knowledge and experience in the provision of spiritual leadership, God has placed him in a position to juxtapose legality against morality, I think. And this article intends to awaken his moral conscience, as it affects the virtue of loyalty.

This is so because he talked about integrity, the integrity of his boss, President Muhammadu Buhari. But before Buhari became his boss, he was bossed, or even built, by another boss, Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu, commonly referred to as Asiwaju, the Jagaba of Borgu.

Prior to Osinbajo’s declaration of today, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu had long made the same declaration, which he referred to as, his lifelong ambition. And he said, he had informed President Muhammadu Buhari of his ambition to contest the 2023 presidential election. If he had informed the President, and there is one Presidency, it goes without saying, that he had informed the Vice President. So there is a clash of interest here, between Tinubu and Osinbajo, and one that would highlight the clash between legality and morality.

It is imperative to have an overview on the political trajectory of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and in doing that, I would paraphrase an old article taken from the Guardian, which goes thus:

“The emergence and relevance of Osinbajo today in the national arena was powered by the political machinery of Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He is the enigmatic former governor of Lagos state who has built an empire in a scale and magnitude that many before him never achieved as governors of the state by the Lagoon. The empire has political and economic roots in Lagos but with several flourishing branches that have provided and are still providing financial fruits in many parts of the South-west, and other regions of the country. One of these branches is the person of Prof. Osinbajo. Osinbajo emerged in the political scene in 1999, when he was appointed as Lagos State Attorney General & Commissioner for Justice by Tinubu. Tinubu also, single handedly recommended and ensured the adoption of Osinbajo as the running mate of Buhari. So the relationship between Tinubu and Osinbajo should be that of a mentor and a mentee. A benefactor and a beneficiary. A leader and a follower. A relationship that was akin to apprenticeship built on the expectation that one man’s duel will be the cause of the other. No doubt that Prof Osinbajo was a top academic but what he learnt working with Asiwaju, cannot be found in any educational facility with the rich curriculum to have provided him those syllabi and the knowledge garnered in those years of close association, hand holding and mentoring.”

Truly, Vice President Osinbajo is free to contest against any adversary. But from the foregone, if integrity matters, if honour matters, if virtue matters, if humility matters, and if there is respect for correct behaviour, should that adversary be Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu, under whose wings he prospered? To contest against the lifelong ambition of your benefactor?

Like the Julius Caesar’s remark, when he was about to cross the Rubicon, the die is certainly cast. Osinbajo had made a decision with evident irreversible consequences. And that decision is to promote the infidelity of integrity.

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Rivers APC Chapter Rejects Moves to Impeach Fubara

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7 minutes ago

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January 8, 2026

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

 

The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has formally rejected ongoing moves to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, warning that such action would destabilise the state and damage the party’s image.

Nigerian Tracker News earlier reported that the political crisis rocking Rivers State deepened on Thursday as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly commenced impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Oduh.

The move followed a plenary session presided over by the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, during which the Majority Leader, Major Jack, read a notice of allegations and claims of gross misconduct levelled against the governor.

No fewer than 26 lawmakers were said to have signed the notice, which the legislators alleged was in line with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.

Amaewhule announced that the notice would be served on Governor Fubara within the next seven days, in accordance with legislative procedure.

Similarly, the Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Linda Stewart, read out a separate notice of allegations and gross misconduct against Deputy Governor Ngozi Oduh.

In a press statement issued on Thursday and signed by the Rivers APC spokesperson, Darlington Nwauju, the party said its leadership had taken note of the “unfortunate developments” emanating from the Rivers State House of Assembly.

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While acknowledging the constitutional independence of the legislature and its role in checks and balances, the APC said it could not support an impeachment process against a governor elected on its platform.

“Our position as of today on this matter is that we solemnly reject the resort to an impeachment process against our Governor and his deputy,” the statement read.

The party warned against allowing internal disputes associated with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to spill into the APC, describing such a development as unacceptable.

Addressing claims that the impeachment threat is linked to budgetary issues, the APC recalled that during the period of emergency rule, a budget of ₦1.485 trillion was transmitted to the National Assembly by the President in May 2025 and subsequently approved by the Senate on June 25, 2025, and the House of Representatives on July 22, 2025.

According to the statement, the budget was designed to run for one year until August 2026, noting that the governor is not constitutionally compelled to present a supplementary budget if he is satisfied with the existing appropriation.

The party also cited constitutional provisions allowing a governor to spend for up to six months into a new fiscal year.

The APC leadership therefore urged members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, particularly its lawmakers, to resist what it described as “pressures from outside the Assembly chambers” aimed at destabilising the government.

“We will do everything possible to ensure that the Government of Rivers State, which is an APC government, is not destabilised through fratricidal disagreements,” the statement added.

The party called on the lawmakers to immediately discontinue the impeachment process, warning that proceeding with it could tarnish the APC’s image and undermine governance and development in the state.

“Let our state remain a democracy and not a politicocracy,” the statement noted.

The latest development comes amid the lingering political rift between Governor Fubara and his predecessor and political benefactor, Nyesom Wike, which has continued to polarise the state’s political structure.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) had stated that Wike would “certainly be under” his successor, Fubara, should he decide to join the party, underscoring that leadership positions are tied to current office.

The APC Director of Information, Bala Ibrahim, made the comments during an interview on Trust TV.

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How Fubara engaged social media influencers to tarnish image of FCT Minister, Wike -Group reveals

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4 hours ago

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January 8, 2026

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Concerned Rivers People, CRP has revealed how Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara engaged social media influencers to tarnish image of the Federal Capital Territory FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.

This was contained in a statement issued and signed by the CRP’s Director of Communication, Robinson Uke where he stated that:

“Bloggers engaged by public officials to influence politics in Nigeria has become the norm as we are aware of deliberate moves by Fubara to denigrate the hardworking FCT minister before Mr President.

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“This obviously will not fly as we are also aware that some bloggers equally turned down mouth watering offers declaring that the minister has not in any way attacked the Rivers Governor either directly or indirectly.

Uke explained that: “All the FCT minister has said is that an agreement is an agreement, Fubara should swallow his pride and respect the agreement.

“This he has not done yet he is lavishing hard earned tax payers money of the state on social media influencers across the country without an Appropriation Act to back his spending.

“This development raises ethical concerns, as it undermines transparency and accountability in governance.

” The Nigerian government has responded by demanding approval for sponsored posts, citing concerns over misinformation and manipulation.

“We want to specially thank those bloggers who are standing by the truth and refused to be used by the drowning Fubara who has betrayal flowing in his DNA.

“To Fubara we wish him the best of luck in his political sojourn as an African proverb says a child who refuses to allow his mother to sleep, the child too will not sleep.

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JUST-IN: Rivers Assembly Initiates Impeachment Proceedings Against Fubara

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4 hours ago

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January 8, 2026

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Rivers State House of Assembly has begun impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Oduh.

During plenary presided over by the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, according to a live broadcast on Channels Television on Thursday, the Majority Leader, Major Jack, read out the notice of allegations and gross misconduct against Fubara.

“The governor does not even want to present any budget, because if he wanted to, he would have brought it all this while. Siminalayi Fubara is a mistake. Rivers state has never had it this bad,” the Speaker said.

Twenty-six members of the Rivers State House of Assembly signed the notice, which they alleged was against the Nigerian Constitution.

Amaewhule said the notice will be served to Fubara in the next seven days.

The Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Linda Stewart, also read out the notice of allegations and gross misconduct against Oduh.

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Relying on Section 188 of the Nigerian Constitution, Jack reeled out seven points of alleged gross misconduct against Fubara.

Some of the accusations include the demolition of the Assembly Complex, extra budgetary spending, withholding funds meant for the Assembly Service Commission, and refusal to obey the Supreme Court on the financial autonomy of the house.

After Jack laid his notice before the Speaker, who said the notice would be served to the governor in seven days, the deputy leader, Linda Stewart, also brought forward a notice of gross misconduct against Odu.

According to the report, some of the allegations against Odu included reckless and unconstitutional spending of public funds, obstruction of the House of Assembly from performing its constitutional duties as outlined by the 1999 Constitution, conniving to allow unauthorised persons to occupy offices without proper screening by the legitimate House of Assembly.

“Siminalayi Fubara and Ngozi Odu are nothing but a threat to our nascent democracy. If they are allowed to remain in office, I do not know what will become of our democracy. They are moving about from place to place, spending taxpayers’ money without approval,” the Speaker added.

Other allegations were that she approached another group of people for budgetary approval instead of the legitimate Rivers State House of Assembly, seizure of salaries and allowances accruing to the RSHA and the Rivers State Assembly Service Commission.

The move is the second attempt by the lawmakers to impeach Fubara and his deputy, following a similar one in March 2025.

In the notice signed by 26 members of the Rivers Assembly at that time, the lawmakers accused Fubara and Odu of gross misconduct after the governor fell out with the immediate governor of the state, Nyesom Wike.

Following escalating tensions in the oil-rich state, President Bola Tinubu intervened and declared a state of emergency.

The president suspended Fubara, his deputy and the Rivers Assembly and said the development is “required by section 305(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

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