Tag: Reuben Abati

2023 Elections and the Danger of Violence,by Reuben Abati

Emporium Reporters

In Africa, this year, there would be a total of more than 10 general elections in countries across the continent, particularly Sierra Leone in June, Sudan in July, Zimbabwe in July, Liberia in October, Gabon in October, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in December but Nigeria’s general election, the seventh in the cycle since the country’ return to civilian rule in 1999 is the bellwether election, given Nigeria’s leadership position in the continent, the country’s population which grants it many automatic advantages from market to political leverage, and that makes…

INEC, CBN And The Weekend of Extensions ,By Reuben Abati

Emporium Reporters

Over the weekend, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) decided to extend the deadline for the collection of Permanent Voters Cards (popularly known as PVCs) by an additional week. The PVC collection that was scheduled to end on January 29, was extended till February 5, according to a statement by the INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye. INEC further extended collection hours by an additional two hours, from 9 am till 5 pm including Saturdays and Sundays. It was the second time within a…

Return Of The Abuja-Kaduna Rail Line,by Reuben Abati

Emporium Reporters

On March 28, 2022, a Kaduna bound train from Abuja, was attacked at a place called Katari in Kaduna State around 7: 45 pm. As is the case with many things in Nigeria where documentation is poor and students are just about to start learning history again after more than 10 years of the subject being excluded from the curriculum, till date nobody can give the exact figure of the number of passengers on that ill-fated train. What we all know is that it was attacked by rampaging bandits and…

On Local Governments’ Autonomy,by Reuben Abati

Emporium Reporters

President Muhammadu Buhari hit the nail squarely on the head last Thursday, when he told members of the Senior Executive Course No 44 (2022) of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), Kuru that state Governors are stealing funds meant for Local Governments. The President’s assertion came about a day after the Minister for Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba had accused state Governors of being responsible for the high level of poverty among Nigerians, the majority of whom (72%) live in rural areas, and had been neglected.…

The Speakership crisis in Ekiti State, by Reuben Abati

Emporium Reporters

On October 16, 2022, former Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State handed over power at a colourful ceremony attended by big wigs of the All Progressives Congress and others to Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, the former Secretary to the Ekiti State Government, who emerged as Governor-elect in the state’s June 18 governorship election. Fayemi had completed his maximum two terms as Governor. He served as Governor, 2010 -2014, and also from October 2018 to October 2022. In-between, he was Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development.   But since his departure in…

Tinubu and the APC Muslim-Muslim ticket, by Reuben Abati

Emporium Reporters

The ruckus that has been generated by the announcement of former Borno State Governor, Senator Kashim Shettima, as running mate of the presidential standard bearer of the ruling All Progressives Congress for the 2023 presidential election, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is a perfect illustration and yet another sharp reminder of how religion has driven a wedge among Nigerians. Religion, etymologically, is derived from the Latin word, “religare” which means “to bind together”, but rather than bind the people of Nigeria together, religion has divided them along sectarian lines. It is…

Interviewing President Buhari By Reuben Abati

Emporium Reporters

I have been privileged to interview quite a number of world leaders in the course of my journalism career. These include President Olusegun Obasanjo, President Ketumile Masire of Botswana, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Commonwealth Secretary General Shridath Ramphal, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan etc..not to talk of holding the microphone across the world in the presence of countless Presidents in my then capacity as President Goodluck Jonathan’s spokesperson. But no other encounter held as much memory and nostalgic feelings for me as my return to the Aso Rock Presidential Villa…

The Nigerian Diaspora Vs. Deputy Speaker Idris Wase By Reuben Abati

Emporium Reporters

Idris Wase is the Deputy Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives. There is a video in circulation that shows him presiding over a session of the House of Representatives in the absence of the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila. The matter before the House was the attempt by Rep. Mark Terser Gbilah representing the Tiv Federal Constituency to present a petition by his constituents writing under the umbrella of the Mutual Union of Tivs in America (MUTA). These concerned citizens in the said petition sought to register their…

Effiong Akwa And The NDDC By Reuben Abati

Emporium Reporters

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was in the news for all the wrong reasons in the year 2020. The agency that was established 20 years ago to bring development to the nine oil-bearing communities of the Niger Delta became an embarrassment to the Nigerian government. In 2019, President Buhari had ordered a forensic audit of the agency’s accounts, a move that was hailed as long overdue by many Nigerians. This was also said to be consistent with the administration’s anti-corruption campaign. What should be a smooth administrative process however,…

Supreme Court and the Atiku Election Petition, By Reuben Abati

Emporium Reporters

Last week, The Supreme Court of Nigeria announced its verdict in the matter between Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and President Muhammadu Buhari, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). After the February 23 Presidential election and the declaration by INEC, of incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari as winner of that election, the PDP and its Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar went straight to the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to challenge the result. INEC not only declared Buhari winner of that election.…