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Osun Clarifies Iragbiji Chieftaincy Declaration

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Four gang-killed two in Osun, destroy N8M properties

 

The Osun State government has responded to the allegations of bias and illegality levelled against it by the Aragbiji of Iragbiji.

The position of the state government was contained in a statement on Saturday, in Osogbo, by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon Dosu Babatunde.

Babatunde accused the monarch of twisting facts and playing politics with a matter of justice and equity in the Iragbiji kingship system.

He went on to absolve Governor Ademola Adeleke of any partisan interest in the matter as reprehensibly alleged by the Aragbiji.

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He noted that the administration has all the legal rights and powers to act on State matters including revision of previous decisions if situation calls for it.

The state government posited that the decision of the State Executive Council only reversed a previous state action which apparently denied a ruling house the due rights to be included in the chieftaincy declaration, rebuking the Aragbiji for wilfully and disrespectfully violating protocols by leveling baseless allegations and insults on the state Governor.

The statement which debunked the Monarch’s accusations that the Governor did not like Iragbiji sons and daughters listed several road projects ongoing in the town, the directive of the Governor for upgrade of tourists sites in the town and a recent personal presence of the Governor at Iragbiji for an SDG event.

According to the statement, the Aragbiji is guilty of willful incitement of the public against the State Governor even as it provides the following facts and details on the decision of the State Executive Council:

“The administration of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola in 2010 set up a One Man Judicial Panel of Inquiry into the Aragbiji of Iragbiji Chieftaincy Declaration to include Lagbua Family as a Ruling House. The Panel was headed by a serving Judge of the Osun State High Court of Justice, Osogbo; Hon Justice Dr A.A Aderibigbe and its setting up was as a result of sustained agitation by the Lagbua Family of Iragbiji to the Government.

“The Panel sat between March 8 and 31, 2010 at the High Court Hall, Osogbo and all relevant stakeholders in the Aragbiji of Iragbiji Chieftaincy testified before the Panel. It submitted its report to the Government on 28th July, 2010 but the report was not considered by the State Executive Council until April 3, 2013 when in its wisdom, the then Executive Council rejected the Panel’s recommendation on the basis that the request of the Lagbua Family was in the remote past. The decision was then published in the Government Official Gazette.

“It should be noted that as at the time when the State Executive Council met in 2013, an Iragbiji son was the Chief of Staff to former Governor Aregbesola. Reports then indicated that the Council was largely influenced to ignore the merit of the panel’s report by simply throwing it out.

“However, the Lagbua Family continued its agitation and appealed to the present administration for redress. His Excellency, the Executive Governor later approved the constitution of a Committee to come up with a White Paper on the Report of the One Man Judicial Panel composed of senior technocrats in Government.

“The new Committee recommended that the Government should set aside the decision of the then State Executive Council which rejected the recommendation of the One Man Judicial Panel of Inquiry and implement its recommendations on the basis that:

“The reason for the rejection of the Panel’s recommendation had ab initio been addressed and resolved by the Panel of Inquiry which took judicial evidence from all the parties. The Panel of Inquiry in one of its findings agreed that the claim of the Lagbua Family is not remote because they have consistently been agitating for their inclusion in the Chieftaincy Declaration of Aragbiji of Iragbiji, having written series of letters and petitions to the Governments of Western Region, Western State, Oyo State and Osun State.

“The Panel found that Lagbua Family was included in the draft Aragbiji Chieftaincy Declarations of 1951 and 1956 but was excluded when the Declaration was to be registered in 1958.

“Furthermore, in arriving at its recommendation for the inclusion of the Lagbua Family in the Aragbiji of Iragbiji Chieftaincy Declaration, the Panel found that as recent as 1942, one Oyekanmi, a member of the Lagbua Family was an Elemo, Head of all the Princes in Iragbiji, a position recognized in the present Chieftaincy Declaration.

“Based on these already established facts, the State Executive Council at its meeting of Wednesday 29th January, 2025 vacated the earlier decision of the State Executive Council of April 3, 2013 and approved the recommendation of the One Man Judicial Panel of Inquiry that the Lagbua Family be included in the Aragbiji of Iragbiji Chieftaincy Declaration.

“To ensure that the rights and privileges of the existing four ruling Houses are not jeopardized, the Government further directed that in the new order of rotation, Lagbua should be the fifth and last Ruling House.

“These are the facts of the matter and they are laid bare to the public to show that this present administration does not operate on sentiments but on well laid out facts and in the spirit of justice and fair play”, the statement noted.

The state government reassures the public that its decision on the Iragbiji Chieftaincy Declaration is not targeted at anybody and is not meant to disrupt public peace. The intention as can be seen from above is to enforce equity and fairness, the Commissioner assured.

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2027: Tinubu Will Beat Atiku, Obi by Wide Margin, Says Bwala

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Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, has predicted that President Tinubu will defeat his major challengers by a wide margin in the 2027 presidential election.

Bwala made the prediction on Wednesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he discussed the political strength of the Tinubu administration and the state of the opposition ahead of the 2027 elections.

He said the margin of victory for Tinubu would be so wide that Nigerians would be surprised.

SEE ALSO: Tinubu Celebrates Adviser Daniel Bwala On 50th Birthday

“Let me tell you, and let me say it categorically, and I’ll be happy to come back. The margin of gap that President Bola Tinubu will give each and every one of these candidates will be so much that you won’t believe it,” Bwala said.

Explaining the basis for his prediction, Bwala pointed to the number of governors he said had aligned with the president, arguing that governors control important political structures within their respective states.

“No, I am saying—you asked me to give data now. So this is data. You used to conjecture, I speak to data,” he said.

“Since then, President Bola Tinubu has got how many governors on his side? How many governors have joined him? The governors are the chief executive officers of their respective states. They coordinate the structures of the state. They won their own election to be governors.”

Bwala said the support of the governors would translate into political structures, resources and goodwill for Tinubu ahead of the election.

“These people say, ‘We are putting our goodwill, our resources, our structure, and our support to the President.’ You multiply that by the number of people that have come to him, then you stretch it further by the people who are impacted positively by his… what do you call it? By his policy,” he added.

The presidential aide also cited what he described as progress under Tinubu since 2023.

“Then you look at how his… Before he became President, the Naira… you couldn’t trade with the Naira around the world. You can do it now!” he said.

“So these are facts, verifiable data to suggest that President Bola from 2023 to now has made a marked progress.”

Bwala Claims Atiku, Obi Have Lost Key Supporters

Bwala also turned his attention to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, who are among the prominent opposition figures expected to feature prominently in the 2027 presidential contest.

He claimed Atiku had lost a significant number of key political figures who previously worked with him.

“But in terms of the other candidates who said he will not win: Atiku Abubakar lost close to 35% of key people that you know around him,” Bwala said.

“All the governors that worked for him that time are not going to be with him, I need you to know that in case you don’t know.”
Bwala also claimed Obi had lost most of the critical figures who supported his 2023 presidential campaign.

“Peter Obi lost 75% of the critical people that carried his campaign—they’ve all disappeared,” he said.

“And some of them went to Atiku, some of them went wherever they could go to. In terms of the other candidate, they just came to mark presence there.”

‘They Lost the Election Already’

Bwala further accused some opposition politicians of displaying what he described as a “defeatist attitude” ahead of the 2027 election.

“But I’m talking of these people that you think they are making a case—what they have is what we call defeatist attitude,” he said.

“How can you in one breath say you’re winning election, and in another breath you’re already threatening Nigeria will be… there will be no Nigeria, there will be all those things?”

He added: “Even the talking points of their campaign will suggest to you that they’ve lost the victory. They lost the election already.”

Bwala Defends Tinubu’s Policies

The presidential aide also defended the administration’s policies, arguing that they were improving the lives of Nigerians, particularly those in the informal sector.

“See, how can our policy… Our policy is raising a lot of people from the doldrums,” Bwala said.

“Look at the people in the informal sector of the economy, the women… You need to see—some of these your news media have been covering it.”

He also questioned the level of engagement some opposition politicians had with ordinary Nigerians before becoming prominent political figures.

“In terms of these people you’ve mentioned, tell me the last time they were actively involved in caring about the internal… When was the last time Amechi, before today, before he was made Vice President, that he had any engagement with the masses?” he asked.

“So you can come overnight, immediately, and just start talking?”

 

 

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2027: I’ll Bring Petrol Price Down to ₦300, Says Donald Duke

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My Image Being Used As 'Young Tinubu' In Documentaries - Donald Duke

Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate, Donald Duke, has said he would bring the price of petrol down to about ₦300 per litre if elected president in the 2027 general election.

Duke disclosed this on Wednesday while explaining his proposed approach to crude oil production and domestic fuel supply.

ALSO READ: 2027: INEC Must Prove Nigerians Wrong on Election Credibility — Donald Duke

When asked about the realistic price of petrol under his presidency, the former Cross River State governor said his target would be to reduce the pump price to about ₦300 per litre.

“To bring it to about 300 Naira. I’ve told you… it sounds so outlandish, but I’ve given you the arithmetic,” Duke said.

He explained that his proposal would be based on allocating a portion of Nigeria’s crude oil production for domestic consumption and selling the remaining volume.

According to him, if the country’s daily consumption requires 600,000 barrels, that volume would be allocated for domestic use, while the remaining one million barrels would be sold.

“Because I allocate 600,000 barrels if that’s what you consume daily. Allocate that to yourself. The other one million, you can sell,” he said.

His proposal comes as the cost of petrol remains a major issue in Nigeria, with fuel prices having significant implications for transportation, businesses and household expenses.

Duke is seeking the presidency on the platform of the PRP in the 2027 general election.

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2027: INEC Must Prove Nigerians Wrong on Election Credibility — Donald Duke

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My Image Being Used As 'Young Tinubu' In Documentaries - Donald Duke

Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate for the 2027 general election, Donald Duke, has challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to prove to Nigerians that it can deliver a free and fair election.

Duke made the call on Wednesday while speaking about the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral process and public confidence in INEC.

The former Cross River State governor said the onus was on the electoral commission to convince Nigerians that the 2027 election would be free and fair, noting that previous developments had left many citizens sceptical about INEC.

SEE ALSO: 2027: Donald Duke Reveals Why He Wants to Be Nigeria’s President

“INEC has to prove… the onus is on them actually to convince Nigerians that there will be a free and fair election,” Duke said.

He recalled the postponement of the 2019 general election, which was announced just hours before voting was scheduled to begin.

According to him, the development contributed to Nigerians’ growing distrust of the electoral commission.

Duke said INEC had assured the public of its preparedness for the election before the postponement, which was announced around 4am on election day.

He criticised the explanations given for the postponement, saying the commission should have taken responsibility for the situation.

The PRP candidate, who contested the 2019 presidential election on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), said he was on the ballot at the time but did not participate because his party was involved in court proceedings.

Duke further said the fact that the same electoral institution remains responsible for conducting elections means INEC must now work to restore public confidence.

“That same INEC, the institution still exists, so the onus is on them,” he said.

He added: “The onus is really on INEC. They’ve got to prove the skeptics wrong. But so far, their records in the past, there’s a lot to… expectations are poor.”

Duke also recalled concerns surrounding the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) during the 2023 general election.

“The last election in ’23, the BVAS suddenly stopped working. Now, he says it’s going to work. Let’s see,” he said.

The PRP candidate’s comments come as political parties and candidates intensify preparations for the 2027 general election, with INEC expected to conduct the presidential and National Assembly elections in January 2027.

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