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Fuel Subsidy: Patrick Obahiagbon Speaks On Tinubu’s Directive
In a recent interview, Patrick Obahiagbon, renowned politician and former campaign manager, shared his thoughts on various aspects of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s leadership, including his victory in the presidential election and his stance on fuel subsidy removal.
On the topic of President Tinubu’s position on the removal of fuel subsidy, Obahiagbon expressed his surprise at the criticism.
“Am maniacally bewildered that the righteous position of Mr. President on subsidy has generated some verbal animadversion from some censorious analysts. What did the President say that was new? Mr. President only gave a Presidential obiter dictum to what was already a self-fulfilling reality. It just goes to demonstrate the fact that we are our problems in this country.” He remarked (Most people knew subsidy would be removed so President Tinubu merely did the obvious)
Regarding concerns about Tinubu’s statement causing chaos and panic, Obahiagbon responded, “It verges on hair-splitting and sciamachy for critiques to go to town calumniating Mr. President as being culpable for the pandemonium that greeted his statement when he said at the presidential inauguration that the regime on subsidy has come to an end. He was only echoing a legal reality that the Buhari government has enthroned.
“Has there not been regular chaos in this aspect of our lives before Mr. President’s statement? There was no basis for the chaos following his speech since this was a situation the nation was well aware of. Let us blame our mephistophelian profiteers, philistine carpet baggers, and prebendal homo-sapiens,
“What we need right now is an audacious leader capable of providing himself as a political minesweeper and taking the big decisions. So from that point of view, Mr President’s asseveration on the subsidy indaba was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Obahiagbon asserted. (What he means is that Tinubu’s decision on subsidy is great but we should blame profiteers for the initial chaos)
He further stated that “My sense of fulfillment can be announced at mountain Olympus. The presidential campaign was quite enervating and mentally sapping no doubt but I was not didymusian that we were going to huzzah a political eureka at the terminus ad quem with a clinical and unstoppable presidential victory for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” expressed Obahiagbon confidently when asked about Tinubu’s presidency. (He’s simply saying that he was sure of Tinubu’s victory).
Regarding the claims of flawed election processes made by the Labour Party (LP) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Obahiagbon responded, “The claim by both the LP and PDP that the election was rigged falls flat in the face of a cornucopia of objective realities. So President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu had the leverage of rigging the Presidential election and he did not factor in Lagos state in the rigging plan? So there was a rigging agenda and former President Muhammadu Buhari who was then the Commander-in-Chief did not factor in Katsina state in the agenda? So when the Labour Party had a clean sweep in the South East and the Christian middle belt, there was no rigging?
“The truth of the matter is that President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the most politically prepared and as someone who joined other’s in managing the presidential campaigns all over the country, I can pontificate on the fact that he was not only the one who worked the most but he was the only presidential candidate that broke the shackles of meningistinal statism, ethnocentric chauvinism, gangrenous parapoism, syphilitic tribalism and all other fault lines of our national ossification and prebendalism.
“How could the Labour Party have won the election with no national political architecture and how was PDP going to win with its political house enveloped in a state of political topsy-turvydom and especially when it was inebriated in a Frankenstein aqua? (LP didn’t have the structure and PDP was disunited)
When asked about his confidence in Tinubu, Obahiagbon stated, “My great sense of aplomb was situated in political pragmatism and historical realism from the point of view of the fact that it was audible to the deaf and visible to the blind that the People’s Democratic Party came into the contest corrosively decimated, performatively macadamized and centrifugally lacerated that it did not stand any chance.
“It was also pellucid to me that historically speaking, the Labour Party stood a ramshackle chance since it ran its campaign on the marshmallow of ethno-religious fault lines and the whirligig of the prevalent youth recusancy.”
Expressing his confidence in Tinubu’s abilities as President, Obahiagbon stated, “Am supremely confident he has the requisite mental pabulum, the leviathan sense of magnitude, and sheer audacity to take both the right and big decisions that will lift the country from the bootstraps of economic quagmire, political phantasmagoria, and social atrophy.
“His political history also proves that he is a political agglutinant with a gargantuan drive to provide the much-needed anodyne that would heal our pestilential and pestiferous national proclivities.” (He is saying Tinubu will perform)
When it comes to concerns about Tinubu’s age and health, Obahiagbon dismissed them, saying, “Again people are playing god here. Life and health are absolutely in the hands of the Great Architect of the Universe.
“In any case, with my impressions of him during the presidential campaign, he unmistakably comes across as a President that is as fit as a fiddle. Don’t forget that the Presidential campaign was one of the longest in our electoral history, and yet he went through it with a eulogisable regime of mental magnitude and physical agility.
“I don’t worry for his health, and let nobody be thrown into a state of heebie-jeebies on account of that.” (meaning Nigerians should not worry, Tinubu is fit and strong to deliver)
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Nigerian Man Dies In Ethiopian Prison After Being Denied Medical Care
Basil Ilobi Lawrence, a Nigerian inmate at the Kaliti maximum-security prison in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, has died.
Lawrence, who hailed from Delta State, passed away on Sunday night, January 25, after battling deteriorating health conditions that inmates claim were ignored by prison authorities.
Lawrence’s death highlights ongoing concerns about the treatment of Nigerian prisoners in the facility, which houses approximately 300 Nigerians.
Inmates allege that Lawrence was left untreated despite suffering from high blood pressure, which eventually led to a stroke.
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One inmate described the harsh conditions they endure: “Several inmates in the facility have fallen ill due to malnourishment. We’re fed once a day with white rice, without sauce, all year round.”
The inmate revealed that Lawrence’s declining health was previously reported but no medical assistance was provided. “One of our Nigerian brothers, Basil Lawrence Ilobi, is still down with a stroke, yet no treatment,” the source said last week.
On Monday, the same source confirmed Lawrence’s death, attributing it to neglect.
“Basil Lawrence Ilobi, our Nigerian brother who you reported was sick last week, is dead. He died in the Ethiopian prison on Sunday, January 25. He died as a result of untreated HBP (high blood pressure) which he developed in prison. The high blood pressure degenerated into a stroke. No food, no medicine, no treatment,” the inmate lamented.
This marks the third reported death of a Nigerian inmate at Kaliti Prison in two years. In 2023, two Nigerians, Chizoba Eze and Uchenna Nwanneneme, also died under controversial circumstances involving alleged physical aggression and lack of adequate medical care.
Inmates are appealing to the Nigerian government to intervene and improve their conditions. “Our government should please come to our rescue,” the source pleaded.
The Nigerian government is yet to comment on Lawrence’s death.
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TCN Completes Relocation Of 8 Towers, Ends Power Rationing In Abuja
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced the successful relocation of eight 132kV and 33kV transmission towers along the Kukwaba/Apo 132kV transmission line, bringing relief to residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
This development, completed three days past the scheduled deadline, has also restored full bulk power to the 132/33kV Apo Transmission Substation, enabling the resumption of normal power distribution in the area.
In a statement signed by Ndidi Mbah, TCN’s General Manager of Public Affairs, the company explained that the relocation became necessary due to the Federal Capital Development Authority’s (FCDA) road dualization project along the Southern Expressway.
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The relocation work began on January 6, 2025, and involved dismantling and reconstructing the affected towers, as well as restringing power cables to ensure uninterrupted power flow.
To facilitate this, a planned power outage was implemented from January 6 to January 20, 2025, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily.
“The Transmission Company of Nigeria is pleased to announce the restoration of full bulk power to its 132/33kV Apo Transmission Substation, effective Thursday, January 23, 2025,” the statement read.
“This restoration follows the successful relocation of eight 132kV and 33kV towers along the Kukwaba/Apo 132kV line (Southern Expressway route), necessitated by the Federal Capital Development Agency’s road dualization project along the Apo axis.”
TCN thanked residents and electricity consumers for their patience during the period of power rationing, noting that Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) can now resume normal electricity supply to customers in the affected areas.
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Davido Is Richer Than His Billionaire Father – Ibrahim Chatta Claims
Renowned Nollywood actor, Ibrahim Chatta, has sparked conversation by claiming that award-winning singer Davido is richer and more influential than his billionaire father, Dr. Adedeji Adeleke.
Chatta made this statement while addressing the importance of respecting individuals in positions of authority, regardless of their age. He argued that accomplishments, not age, determine who an elder is. Using historical references, Chatta cited Alexander the Great, who achieved incredible feats before his death at 33, as an example of youthful greatness.
“God purposely placed some certain people in some positions, but you guys are looking at their age. It’s not about the age; any younger person that possesses things that belong to elders, is an elder,” Chatta said.
The actor emphasized that Davido’s wealth and influence surpass those of his father, despite Dr. Adeleke’s established status as a billionaire. Chatta highlighted the global recognition and adoration Davido commands, describing the singer as someone who garners immense loyalty and admiration.
“I was just looking at the numbers of people surrounding Davido the day I sat with him, I was just seeing how people were ready to be killed just to get to him. He is an elder. Davido’s father is a billionaire that has been doing big things before the singer’s arrival. His father is rich but not as Davido. If his dad is passing by, you might not recognise him, but if Davido passes here, a stampede will happen.”
Chatta’s remarks have stirred reactions across social media, with many debating whether fame and influence should outweigh wealth in defining success.