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Arthur Nzeribe Who Set The Pace For Annulment Of June 12 Dies At 83

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Late Arthur Nzeribe

 

 

Na’Allah Muhammad Zagga

Controversial Nigerian politician Chief Arthur Nzeribe has died at the age of 83. He thrived on controversy and this record will haunt his memory. Speaking of a man’s record doesn’t mean speaking ill of the dead. It’s impossible to reflect on a man’s memory without talking about his record, even if it’s unflattering.

Nzeribe will be remembered as the politician who set the stage for the annulment of the June 12 presidential election of 1993, which was widely believed to have been won by Chief Moshood Abiola.

He went to court to seek the annulment of the election on frivolous grounds and Justice Bassey Ikpeme(now late) granted the request, setting the stage for scuttling the will of the people. The then chief Judge of Abuja Dahiru Saleh was also retired by the Obasanjo administration for his role in the June 12 annulment scandal.

June 12 had almost resulted in the disintegration of Nigeria. Haunted by the fear of imminent war, the country witnessed an exodus of its own citizens returning to their states of origin.

Democracy Day: Initial plan for hand over was June 12 ,1999 not May 29- EL RUFAI.

In fact, the June 12 unleashed a Pandora’s box that forced former self-styled military President General Ibrahim Babangida to unceremoniously quit office and hastily putting together an Interim National Government, headed by the late UAC chairman chief Ernest Shonekan.

Shonekan’s government collapsed within 82 days because of its weak legal foundation. It was declared illegal by a court judge. Confusion and uncertainty set in. General Sani Abacha, the then Defence Secretary under the Interim Government, advised Shonekan to resign. It was a coup d’etat in disguise.

Abacha initially pretended that he took over to restore order and stability to the country, and restore democratic order. But it ultimately became obvious that he didn’t take over to restore Abiola’s mandate.

He declared war on the press and political opposition groups such as NADECO. He took advantage of regional sentiments to divide public opinion on June 12 annulment. June was supposed to be a national cause, but they turned it into a Yoruba problem. That was the damage our opportunistic politicians had done to our democracy.

The biggest blow to the June 12 struggle for the restoration of Abiola’s mandate was the opportunism of the country’s politicians. Members of Abiola’s own party SDP took up appointments as ministers under Abacha’s military regime. In fact, Abacha recruited these political snollygosters for the realisation of his own self-succession agenda.

Abacha’s self-succession agenda created a Political crisis and uncertainty of its own. Divine intervention on June 8, 1998, following the sudden death of General Sani Abacha, appeared to have reversed Nigeria’s journey into madness and uncertainty. General Abdulsalami Abubakar who succeeded Abacha released political prisoners and created a 9-month transition programme and faithfully kept to it, resulting in the election of General Olusegun Obasanjo as President in 1999.

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FG proposes N47.9trn as the 2025 budget

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President Bola Ahmad Tinubu

 

The federal government has proposed N47.9 trillion as the total expenditure in the 2025 budget.

Atiku Bagudu, the minister of budget and economic planning, told journalists on Thursday, after the federal executive council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu.

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Vaguely said the council approved the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) for 2025-2027.

He said the government pegged the crude oil benchmark at $75 per barrel and oil production at 2.06 million barrels per day (bpd)

The budget minister said the exchange rate was pegged at N1,400 per dollar, noting that the government is targeting a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 6.4 percent.

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Government Declares Public Holiday

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Ondo state government has declared Friday a public holiday to enable civil servants and others to travel to various communities to exercise their civic responsibilities.

This was contained in a statement on Wednesday evening signed by O.F. Ayodele, Permanent Secretary, Office of the Head of Service.

The statement reads, “The 2024 Governorship Election in Ondo State has been scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be held on Saturday, 16th November 2024.

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To this end, the Ondo State Government has declared Friday, 15th November 2024 as Work-Free Day for Public Servants in the State to enable them to travel to various communities to exercise their civic responsibilities.

“All Accounting Officers are to note the content of this Circular and disseminate same to all staff of their respective Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

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Atiku Has No Chance In PDP, Won’t Get 2027 Presidential Ticket ,Says Wike

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Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), recently cast doubt on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s prospects of securing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nomination for the 2027 presidential race.

During a live media interview on Wednesday in Abuja, Wike pointed out that Atiku’s policy proposals have been repeatedly presented to the Nigerian people and consistently dismissed by voters.

It can recalls that Atiku, the PDP’s presidential candidate in 2023, recently asserted that his administration would have provided relief from the current hardships faced by Nigerians under President Bola Tinubu.

Responding to this, Wike questioned the viability of giving Atiku another chance, saying, “Did he (Atiku) not present his blueprint to Nigerians? Did they choose him?”

“He is lobbying for another chance, but that chance will not be there. In which party? How can we rely on one individual for so many years?”.

Drawing an analogy with U.S. politics, Wike compared the decision-making process to American voters’ choices, emphasizing that citizens often prioritize the nation’s welfare when casting their ballots, regardless of individual opinions on candidates.

He suggested that while criticisms are part of the democratic landscape, the Nigerian public had assessed Atiku’s vision in 2023 and opted for a different path.

Politics Nigeria

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