NEWS
2023: Okupe resigns as Baba-Ahmed emerges as Obi’s running mate
By Paul Eso
Baring any last minutes changes, Dr. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, will on Friday, be announced as the vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party’s candidate, Mr. Peter Obi
The choice of running mates has become a big issue for presidential candidates and their parties including the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, warranting most of them to resort to what’s now known as ‘placeholders’.
Okupe withdraws
The Director General of the Peter Obi Campaign Organization, Dr. Doyin Okupe, who has been a VP candidate placeholder, has withdrawn from the presidential race. His resignation was to make way for the substantive running mate from the north to balance the geopolitical and religious considerations.
Okupe in a tweet Thursday via his verified Twitter account, said: “This afternoon, I submitted my withdrawal letter from the position of the Vice Presidential candidate of the Labour Party to INEC. A replacement will be announced by the national chairman of the party shortly. I feel greatly blessed to have been part of the foundation of success for the LP”
The LP entered into merger talks with the Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso’s New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP. However, the talks collapsed due to the inability of the parties to agree on who would be the eventual standard flag bearer if the merger arrangements scaled through.
Obi’s candidacy has received massive acceptance across the country especially among the youths and has metamorphosed into a movement known the OBIdient Movement with the slogan: #TakeBackNaija.
Speaking on his choice of running mate on a television interview on Wednesday, the LP presidential candidate disclosed that he preferred a younger person. Therefore, it was not surprising to many when the name of 46 years old cerebral academic was reported as the potential VP candidate.
Who’s Baba-Ahmed?
Sen. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed is a 46 year old Academic, Businessman and Nigerian politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2007, and was elected Senator for Kaduna North, in Kaduna State, Nigeria in April 2011 running on the Congress for Progressive Change ticket, with a remarkable record of the credit of sponsoring important legislation in a very short time.
Baba-Ahmed has four degrees; a BSc and MSc in Economics from University of Maiduguri, a MBA from University of Wales, Cardiff and in 2006, he successfully completed his PhD studies, earning the title of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Westminster.
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After his service year at University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Ogun state, he worked as Projects Co-ordinator, Baze Research and Data Services Ltd. and as Officer II in the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company, Lagos. He worked as a Banking Officer, First Bank of Nigeria Plc from July 1997 to Dec 1998 and then came back to become the Managing Director of Baze Research and Data Services Ltd in July 1999 – January 2003, before venturing into politics.
In 2011, Sen. Baba-Ahmed established Baze University, an independent University located in Abuja, and Baba-Ahmed University, Kano (Awaiting License). Using his studies abroad as a benchmark, he noted that the Nigerian educational system was “appalling”. This inspired the birth of Baze University, “to contribute towards fixing the system in order for Nigeria to realize its potentials and address various challenges”.
He’s the Pro-chancellor of Baze University Abuja where the Baze University Hospital which is said to be the biggest private hospital in Africa is domiciled.
Sen. Datti is a well accomplished philanthropist. Among many of his corporate social responsibility projects; he built and donated two junior secondary schools with total capacity of 4,000 students. It is worthy of note that the schools have graduated over 6,000 students to date.
In 2015, Baba-Ahmed was appointed as Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT) of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Hope Alive Foundation – which campaigns for post-service economic survival of corps members who suffered permanent disability during service.
Baba-Ahmed was popular for his principled activism. During the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, he was among lawmakers who opposed letting Obasanjo run for a third term.
In May 2006 he said he would not run for reelection unless action was taken to investigate allegations that members had been bribed to support the constitutional changes needed for a third term presidency.
In 2007 he took the Independent National Electoral Commission to court over conduct of past elections. He was known for speaking out against corruption.
Sen. Baba-Ahmed is currently the Pro-Chancellor of Baze University, Managing Director, Baze Research & Data Service Ltd, Chairman, Baze Construction Ltd. His companies employ a total of over 1000 people including expatriates, and highly skilled professional Nigerians from the Diaspora.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has criticized the federal government’s plan to secure an additional N1.7 trillion loan through Eurobonds to cover a shortfall in the 2024 budget, describing the borrowing as unsustainable and harmful to Nigeria’s economy.
In a statement shared on Thursday via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Atiku accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of burdening Nigerians with debt while failing to provide clear answers about the country’s fiscal challenges.
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He also faulted the National Assembly for enabling what he called a “voracious appetite” for loans.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate expressed alarm over a recent World Bank report ranking Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), calling the development troubling.
“The recent report released by the World Bank, showing Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), is very concerning,” Atiku stated.
He raised further concerns about the government’s decision to benchmark the proposed loan at an exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate being over N1,600.
“What makes this particular loan proposal even more concerning is that it is benchmarked at the exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, whereas the current exchange rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria stands at over N1,600 to 1 USD,” he said.
Atiku questioned the need for additional borrowing, given the government’s earlier claims of record-high revenue collection.
“In July this year, Tinubu boasted that the FIRS and Customs under his watch had collected all-time high revenues to finance the budget. Why are they still borrowing?” he said
He accused the government of a lack of transparency, describing the borrowing spree as detrimental to Nigerians already struggling under economic hardship.
“There is something that they are not telling Nigerians, even as they are being crushed by a combination of their failed trial-and-error policies and loan rackets.”
Atiku also referenced a report by BudgIT, a budget monitoring group, which criticized the 2024 budget for its inefficiencies.
He alleged that corruption, rather than infrastructure or development needs, was driving the government’s borrowing decisions.
“These loans are powered by corruption and not for infrastructure and development needs. This voracious appetite for humongous loans is deeply concerning,” he said.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s financial history, Atiku lamented the return to significant foreign indebtedness just years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration cleared the country’s debt.
“It is agonizing to see that just a few years after the Obasanjo administration took us out of foreign indebtedness, we are today back at the top spot in the same conundrum,” he stated.
He called for a more cautious approach to borrowing, urging the government to prioritize fiscal responsibility and transparency to avoid worsening Nigeria’s economic challenges.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken a historic step, issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The charges include crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during Israel’s recent assault on Gaza.
In a detailed statement, the ICC accused the Israeli leaders of “intentionally and knowingly depriving the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
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The ICC’s move marks a significant escalation in international scrutiny of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu and Gallant are alleged to have orchestrated policies that caused severe harm to the civilian population in Gaza, leading to widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.
Alongside the charges against Israeli officials, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Deif has long been a central figure in Hamas’s military operations. Israel’s military claims to have killed him in a July airstrike, although this has not been independently verified.
The warrants highlight growing calls for accountability amid the ongoing conflict in the region. The ICC’s actions are likely to provoke heated debate and may complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.
With the warrants issued, global attention now turns to how the international community will respond and whether any practical steps will be taken to enforce them.
Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has inaugurated a 12-member committee tasked with recovering government vehicles reportedly in private hands.
The committee, led by Kelly Okungbowa, has been given a two-week mandate to retrieve the vehicles and ensure their return to the state government.
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Speaking during the inauguration ceremony in Benin City, Governor Okpebholo emphasized the importance of accountability in the management of public resources.
He urged the committee to carry out its assignment thoroughly and within the bounds of the law.
In his response, Okungbowa expressed gratitude to the governor for entrusting the team with the assignment, vowing to deliver results within the stipulated timeframe.
“A lot of vehicles used by the past administration are missing, as those in custody of the vehicles have refused to return them,” Okungbowa said.
“The governor deemed it fit to inaugurate us today with a mandate to recover all government vehicles in private hands.”
The committee, which includes representatives from Edo’s three senatorial districts, is set to investigate and recover the vehicles based on credible intelligence already at their disposal.
“We already have vital information regarding some persons still holding government vehicles,” Okungbowa stated. “We will do the job according to the law, and both the government and the people will be satisfied with the outcome.”
He also called on members of the public to assist the committee by providing information about any government vehicles that may still be in private possession.
“We want to appeal to members of the public who might be aware of anyone still keeping government vehicles in their houses to please inform us to enable the committee to recover such for the Edo State Government,” Okungbowa said.
The committee’s vice chairman, Rt. Hon. Victor Edoror, a former Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, will work alongside other members to ensure the success of the initiative. The public can reach the committee at 08110165121.
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