From Obasanjo and Tinubu camps to Atiku’s war room, by Emmanuel Aziken
Atiku Abubakar’s choice of leaders for his 2027 presidential campaign tells a larger story than the announcement of a campaign council. Its chairman, Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, was once firmly identified with Olusegun Obasanjo. Its deputy chairman, Nasir El-Rufai, served on a panel that examined allegations against Atiku during his bitter struggle with Obasanjo. Both later moved […]
Omokri’s Mockery of Akpabio’s Senate, by Emmanuel Aziken
For a Senate that has not only in herited but arguably worsened its predecessor’s reputation as a rubber stamp, the scene that played out during the screening of President Bola Tinubu’s ambassadorial nominees was bound to be bewildering. Yet, even by Nigeria’s increasingly elastic standards of legislative conduct, what unfolded in Senate Committee Room 211 last […]
Renewed Hope Or Renewed Hypocrisy: Tinubu’s risky politics of redemption, by Emmanuel Aziken
At a time President Bola Tinubu has chosen to nominate some of Nigeria’s most controversial personalities as ambassadors to represent the country abroad, the emergence of his so-called Renewed Hope Ambassadors—appointed to canvass support for his second-term aspiration—has shaken the polity in a manner that many did not expect but which, perhaps, should no longer surprise anyone […]
Ado Doguwa warns of “Blood and Tears” — but his Asiwaju cap tells another story, by Emmanuel Aziken
One of the most articulate men to have passed through the House of Representatives in the Fourth Republic, Alhaji Alhassan Ado Doguwa, again demonstrated his mastery of parliamentary rhetoric last Tuesday as lawmakers debated the worsening insecurity in the country. A former journalist turned politician, Doguwa has walked a path as colourful as it is controversial, […]
Southeast APC leaders and Nnamdi Kanu: The failure of courage, by Emmanuel Aziken
When Senator Orji Uzor Kalu recently paraded himself in an attire emblazoned with “Tinubu 2027” insignia and Governor Hope Uzodimma became a regular sight at the Abuja Airport waving goodbye to President Bola Tinubu or welcoming him back from foreign trips, a certain impression was created. Their public performance of loyalty suggested that the Igbo […]
PDP: The betrayal of Lamido as Mutfwang, Kefas weigh options, by Emmanuel Aziken
One of the most astonishing acts of political absurdity in recent Nigerian politics is the report that the faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, loyal to Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State produced only one set of nomination forms for the now–disputed national convention scheduled for Ibadan today. By this […]
