Connect with us

News

Political War Erupts as Kwankwaso Rubbishes Marafa’s Call to Sack Matawalle

Published

on

The Director of Finance and Administration of the Hadejia–Jama’are River Basin Authority, Hon. Musa Iliyasu Kwankwaso, has dismissed as futile the call by former Senator Kabiru Marafa for the removal of Dr. Bello Matawalle as Minister of Defence, insisting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains fully satisfied with Matawalle’s performance.

Kwankwaso made the remark while addressing journalists at a press briefing in Abuja, describing Marafa’s demand as unfortunate, baseless and driven by personal bitterness, and stressing that it would not influence the President’s decision.

He said it was disturbing that a politician from the same state as the minister, Zamfara, would publicly attack Matawalle despite the minister’s commitment to national service.

“I was truly shocked when I heard the comments of former Senator Kabiru Marafa calling for the removal of the Minister of Defence, Dr. Bello Matawalle, even going as far as fabricating lies and false allegations against him. These statements are clearly driven by confusion and jealousy, and Mr. President will never accept them from enemies hiding behind criticism,” Kwankwaso said.

Advert

 

Hon. Kwankwaso further argued that Marafa lacks the moral standing to speak on security matters, citing a controversial traditional title allegedly linked to criminal elements within Marafa’s immediate circle.

“Besides jealousy and bitterness, Marafa has no justification to speak on security issues. A close relative of his senior brother was said to have been involved in helping to confer a traditional leadership title on the notorious bandit leader, Ado Aliero, in Yandoto. It was during Dr. Bello Matawalle’s tenure as governor that the title was subsequently suspended. So I ask: if he truly has a conscience, does he really have the right to speak on security?” he queried.

 

Kwankwaso also recalled past political comments credited to Marafa, in which the former senator reportedly vowed to defeat President Tinubu politically, questioning the sincerity of his present demand.

“Not long ago, Marafa openly said he would defeat Tinubu and cause him a one-million-vote loss. Now the same person who once wished the President’s failure is calling on the President to remove someone who is working for the success of his administration. That contradiction exposes the real motive behind these attacks,” he added.

 

He maintained that President Tinubu’s confidence in Dr. Matawalle remains firm, noting that no amount of pressure, manipulation or political jealousy would force the President to act against his judgment.

In his concluding remarks, Kwankwaso cautioned Northerners against what he described as a growing culture of destructive rivalry and bitterness, where individuals seek the downfall of others simply because they have lost political relevance.

He warned that those currently calling for Matawalle’s removal might be the same people who would later accuse the President of marginalising the North should he appoint someone else from outside the region.

News

You’re a Hypocrite!” – Bashir el-Rufai Goes Nuclear on Brother Bello Over Uba Sani Loyalty

Published

on

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

 

Bashir el-Rufai, son of former Kaduna governor Nasir el-Rufai, unleashed a barrage of slurs at his brother, Bello, on Saturday morning.

Bashir, in a series of expletive-laden posts on X, attacked Bello over his recent political moves, accusing him of abandoning the family while he was aligned with Uba Sani, his father’s successor.

Sani, the incumbent governor of Kaduna, was a former ally of el-Rufai, but both men fell out after the former won the 2023 governorship election.

Advert

Following el-Rufai’s resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in March 2025, Bello, who represents Kaduna north federal constituency, remained in the ruling party.

However, on May 7, 2026, Bello eventually defected from the APC to join his father in the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Commenting on Saturday, Bashir alleged that his brother remained loyal to Sani until he realised he was being “dumped”, after which he began talking about family loyalty.

“Stuck with Uba Sani until he realized he is being dumped then suddenly remembered family loyalty and moved to ADC. Where was he since? Purely serving his interest,” Bashir wrote.

He accused his brother of being neutral while others criticised the Kaduna state governor.

Bashir also alleged that Bello asked him to “pipe down my criticism of his former boss,” presumably Sani.

One of Bashir’s tweets. The expletives have been redacted.
“At this stage in my life, I hate nonsense,” he added, while calling his brother a hypocrite.

Bashir also made several other allegations against his brother in the X posts, some of which were later deleted.

The allegations bordered on fertility status and unsubstantiated drug use.

Their father, el-Rufai, has been in custody since February 2026 over alleged financial impropriety during his tenure as governor of Kaduna between 2015 and 2023.

On April 13, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) arraigned him at the Kaduna high court on an amended nine-count charge bordering on alleged fraud and abuse of office.

The Department of State Services (DSS) is also prosecuting el-Rufai before the federal high court in Abuja over allegations of wiretapping.

Continue Reading

News

Court Ultimatum Forces FBI to Hand Over Tinubu’s Fraud Records to Judge—But Keeps Them Hidden from Public

Published

on

 

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has hand delivered records of President Bola Tinubu’s 1993 drug-trafficking and money-laundering case to Judge Howell Beryl of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, saying they are for her eyes only, court filings seen by Peoples Gazette indicated.

The FBI secretly submitted the records on Friday to avoid disobeying a court order while sidelining transparency campaigner, Aaron Greenspan, who petitioned the Bureau for the Nigerian leader’s records in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.

Following years of foot-dragging on a FOI petition filed by Mr Greenspan in 2023, the FBI on Friday complied with a court order directing it to release Mr Tinubu’s records. Mr Greenspan worked with Nigerian journalist, David Hundeyin, to file the petition in 2023.

Advert

The records submitted as “under seal, ex parte, in camera declarations were hand delivered to the Court on August 28, 2026 in compliance with this Court’s Minute Order dated August 20, 2026,” filings showed.

Mrs Beryl lost her patience with the FBI after the bureau missed several deadlines , giving excuses on why it could not immediately provide the records.

She issued August 28 as the final ultimatum to the FBI, which prompted the FBI’s decision to comply, showing it “in camera” to the judge alone, without carrying along the petitioner.

Earlier this week , FBI claimed that submitting the records would violate Mr Tinubu’s privacy and argued that FOI was established to screen the operations and records of government institutions, not necessarily private individuals.

For decades, Mr Tinubu has avoided speaking on the drug affair, refusing to clarify controversies surrounding his involvement in a case that saw him forfeit hundreds of thousands of dollars to the U.S. government.

Mr Tinubu also sought to block the release of his records, asserting his rivals only sought to use them to discredit him in a Nigerian presidential election. He begged the court to protect his privacy rights.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 2023 released documents holding Mr Tinubu’s encounter with American authorities over allegations of narcotics trafficking and money laundering.

 

 

 

 

Continue Reading

News

NFF President Gusau Resigns

Published

on

 

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Nigeria Football Federation President, Ibrahim Gusau, has resigned from office, announcing his decision during a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.

According to the Super Eagles news account on X (@SSE_NGA), Gusau was joined by board members of the Executive Committee in resignation.

The crisis follows the Super Falcons’ failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, a first in Nigeria’s history, after a 2-1 defeat to South Africa in the play-off.

Advert

The Falcons had earlier been knocked out of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations at the quarter-final stage by Cameroon. The Super Eagles also failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

The NFF has separately faced scrutiny over its handling of a ₦17bn Federal Government intervention fund released in 2024, as well as a fact-finding committee report alleging that board members and officials influenced national team invitations for financial gain.

Gusau’s exit comes ahead of the NFF’s elective congress, scheduled for September 27 in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

Continue Reading

Trending