Former Nigeria’s Vice President Atiku Abubakar has made it clear that any attempt by the All Progressives Congress (APC) “to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat will be resisted with every legitimate and democratic means at our disposal.”
Reacting to yesterday’s governorship election in Osun State which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has today, Sunday, declared inconclusive, Atiku, who is a presidential aspirant in the PDP, asked INEC “to resist any and every temptation to be used to tamper with the will of the people of Osun State.”
He assured the PDP governorship candidate in the inconclusive election, Senator Ademola Adeleke that he stands with him and the people of Osun.
“In good times and bad times, the PDP and I will always be with Senator Adeleke and the good people of Osun.
“I hereby offer Senator Adeleke and the Osun State chapter of the PDP my right hand of fellowship as they work to retrieve their victory, which is already in sight.
“The vote against APC was overwhelming; the people are not happy with status quo.
“We must all stand united at this point in time. The PDP secured a simple majority, even with the ₦16.7 billion that the federal government surreptitiously paid to the incumbent Osun State APC government, and the desperate Tradermoni bait that Vice President Osinbajo dangled at the electorate in Osun. This is a testament to the fact that the APC has lost favour all over Nigeria.
“What has happened in Osun State is a turning point and our people have spoken and democracy is safe. INEC must do the needful.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) has declared the governorship election conducted in the state yesterday, Saturday inconclusive evn though the candidate of the People Democratic Party won by a few marging.
Announcing the results of the election today, Sunday, returning officer of the Commission, Professor Joseph Adeola, said that PDP led with a total votes of 254, 698 while the All Progressives Congress (APC) followed with a total of 254,345.
Professor Adeola said that the margin between the PDP and APC which is 353, and the total cancelled ballots totalling 3348 will not make any party a winner of the contest, in line with electoral act.
He, therefore, declared the election inconclusive, as he said the exact date for rerun will be announced soonest.
Nigeria Police has announced the arrest of a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Adeagbo Wasiu and two suspects for alleged vote buying in the governorship election that was conducted in Osun state today, Saturday.
The police gave the names of the other two suspects that were arrested as 61year old Muriat Olalekan and 65 year old Hamzat Muniru, adding that the sum of N604,000.00 was recovered from them.
The police said that when the house of the PDP Chieftain was searched, the sum of N116,000 was recovered from him.
“Investigations into the cases are ongoing and suspects will be arraigned in court on completion of investigation.”
President Muhammadu Buhari is scheduled to leave Nigeria for New York, the United States of America tomorrow, Sunday, to participate in the 73rd Session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA73) which officially opened on September 18.
The theme for this year’s Session is: “Making the United Nations relevant to all People: Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Peaceful, Equitable and Sustainable Societies.”
According to a statement today, Saturday by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, the highpoint of President Buhari’s participation will be his address on Tuesday to the General Assembly on the opening day of the General Debate.
Adesina said that the President’s presentation of Nigeria’s National Statement is expected to reaffirm the nation’s commitment to international peace and security; sustainable socio-economic development; disarmament and denuclearisation; youth and women empowerment; climate change; rule of law and human rights; among others.
“He is also expected to particularly canvass international support for the fight against corruption; the return of illicit assets; counter-terrorism and insurgency; curbing irregular migration; re-settling Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs); recharging the receding Lake Chad; and calls for the reform of the United Nations, especially the expansion of the permanent membership of the Security Council to make that vital principal organ of the global organisation reflect regional and equitable geographical representation.
“The President and his wife, Aisha, will also attend a welcome reception hosted by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres and his spouse for Heads of State and Government and their spouses.
“The Nigerian leader and his delegation will participate in a High-Level meeting on the Fight against Tuberculosis organised by the World Health Organisation as Nigeria currently ranks seventh amongst the high TB-burden countries globally, and second in Africa.”
The statement said that Nigerian delegation is expected to attend the Mandela Peace Summit, which is a High-Level Meeting on Global Peace in honour of the centenary birth of the late South African President and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nelson Mandela.
Other side-events lined up for the Nigerian delegation, he said, include High-Level Meeting on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit; the Second Annual Bloomberg Global Business Forum; High-Level Meeting on Action for Peace-Keeping; Commemoration and Promotion of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons; High-Level Meeting on the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa; and Pathway to Localising a Global Agenda.
“During the course of his stay in New York, in addition to the audience with the UN Secretary-General, the Nigerian President is also expected to have bilateral meetings with African and world leaders including Bill Gates with a view to promoting national and African interests.
“He will also grant audience to a select group of Nigerian professionals based in the United States.
To accompany President Buhari are Aisha Buhari, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma; and the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibrin.
Others on the presidential entourage are the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd); Director-General, National Intelligence Agency, Ahmed Abubakar; Comptroller-General, Nigeria Immigration Service, Mohammad Babandede; and the Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu.
He’s popularly called Nollywood bad boy, and his actions say it all. Jim Iyke came into limelight riding on the crest of controversy.
In fact, since he came into prominence in 2001, featuring in over 200 films, Jim Iyke has always been in the news for the wrong reasons.
Jim Iyke After his alleged beef with Emeka Ike, another controversial actor over an actress in 2008, and the grave allegation levelled against him by actress, Ini Edo’s ex-husband’s former wife, Ruth Okoro that he wanted to date her following his desperation to have an American green card, Jim Iyke has not stayed out of controversy.
The actor’s controversial lifestyle has continued to reek to high heavens and he’s not giving a damn. Yet , the Enugu State-born actor is largely considered as one of Nigeria’s finest actors who has not allowed his lifestyle to overwhelm his acting career. But whichever way you want to look at it, Jim Iyke’s name is synonymous with controversy.
His recent arrest at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, for allegedly slapping a Dana Airline worker, only reminds one of the adage that ‘a leopard hardly changes its spots.’
As usual, Jim Iyke made headlines in some national dailies, and despite his efforts to refute the report, it’s only natural that the actor’s fans would prefer to believe lies than to take sides with him. He received an endless amount of backlash on social media for the alleged action.
He later apologized to the management of the Airline. But interestingly, Jim Iyke is one that cannot be tamed or ignored even as he can drum up controversy at the slightest provocation. The bad boy actor is not a stranger to controversy.
Fans are still buzzing about his widely publicized break up with his Jamaican girlfriend, Keturah Hamilton. Between 2009 and 2014, Jim Iyke was over the moon following Keturah’s love for him. In one of his interviews then, Jim Iyke revealed that he was trying to show the world the real him, aside from what they see on the screens.
“Yes, it is true. I have found the woman of my dreams and we are in love in totality. She is the embodiment of all that I have been looking for – a tall, pretty, exotic and supremely intelligent woman,” he was quoted as saying.
Jim Iyke However, soon after the Nollywood bad boy made this open declaration of love for the Jamaican damsel, he broke her heart without repairs.
The aggressive actor reportedly fought the Jamaican model and actress in public following allegations of flirting with other girls. He was filmed in a public, where he was having verbal fight with the model who accused him of ignoring her and flirting with other girls. The brawl was aired in his now rested ‘Jim Iyke Unscripted reality TV series.’
Their romance was described as one of the ‘strongest’, even as Jim Iyke revealed his plans to walk down the aisle with the Jamaican damsel, having travelled round the world with her. But it never happened as the playboy actor ended their six year-old affair in a most devastating manner, leaving his once loved Jamaican beauty heartbroken.
“He had told me a number of times that in Keturah, he had found “a perfect mate – someone who was “sexy, intellectually curious, exotic and edgy” devastated Keturah recalled then.
Jim ‘bailed’ out of the affair and appeared to have acted out some of the elements in their joint reality show “Jim Iyke Unscripted.”
However, while Keturah was disappearing from the scene, Ghanaian actress and a mother of a set of twins who also featured in “Jim Iyke Unscripted”, Nadia Buhari surfaced from nowhere. And like Keturah, Jim was all over Nadia, as their romance was also celebrated on social media. But when many thought the lovebirds would be getting married soon, the unexpected happened and Jim was forever beaten to the game by another smart man who snatched the love of his life away from him.
That was not all. Just before the actor took a break from acting, a PR Manager, simply known as Baudex, accused Jim Iyke of not paying for the services he rendered to the actor. The said Baudex who claimed to be the actor’s social media PR Manager, alleged that the actor owed him some amount of money which he refused to pay, stating that Jim decided to block him on his social media applications because he was avoiding his calls to ask for the balance of his money. The allegation was one of the many controversies that have trailed Jim Iyke’s acting career.
It has equally endeared him to many admirers. Then, it was one trouble after another. But the one that really hit the actor most was the case of the daughter of a Lagos-based businessman who claimed that Jim Iyke impregnated her.
Her pregnancy became a subject of controversy, even after the father reportedly made the lady confess who was responsible for the pregnancy. She still claimed she had been having a secret affair with Jim Iyke. Also, there were the N15 million fraud allegation, which went viral on social media, as the actor was dragged to court then and the news of Jim being beaten by military men in Cameroon .
These were controversies that could not tame the most daring actor in Nigeria. On the N15 million fraud allegation, which he settled out of court in 2012, Jim blamed the case on himself. In his words, “I stubbornly refused to iron things out. But the lady in question is my sister’s best friend and we have sat down like a family and settled the issue out of court.
“While the ripples generated by the fraud allegation had hardly died down, Jim was embroiled in yet another fresh scandal that almost ruined his career. This time, he was attacked by his fans following his august visit to Prophet TB Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations, in Lagos, in search of deliverance from ‘demonic spirits.’
Feeds received then from online media of the Synagogue Church Of All Nations revealed that popular Jim Iyke had just been delivered of an evil spirit while attending the church. Immediately, social media caught fire. As dramatic as the video was, far reaching comments greeted the announcement.
While some congratulated the actor on his new found salvation, others dismissed it as a mere ‘act’. Some even went as far as saying that the whole story was stage-managed, while some questioned the genuineness of Prophet Joshua. While the drama lasted, the actor was busy sharing his experience on Twitter, even as singer Dencia also tweeted on the subject of ‘false prophets. But few months later, the actor denied the incident, claiming that his quest to find healing for his ailing late mother took him to the church. Responding, Prophet TB Joshua said, “ The young man was busy defending himself on social media.”
But despite the controversies, Jim Iyke still ranks among the top and most successful Nollywood actors. He’s a style icon and every ladies man.
While he has since gone underground after so much troubles, the aggressive actor hit the headlines again, embroiled yet in another controversy that has left much to be desired. It all goes to say that Jim Iyke is not only a product of controversy, he is also proudly Jim Iyke
A budding Actress and professional model, Adebimpe Oyebade popularly known as Mobimpe has made it clear that she is single but not searching.
“I’m very single and not searching. I’m focused on my career so I don’t need any man.”
Adepimpe, who spoke to news men shortly after being crowned as ‘The Best New Actress 2018’ in the Yoruba sector, said however that if she meets someone today and she likes, she will succumb.
“What I’m trying to say is that I’m not desperate to be in a relationship.”
On what type of man catches her fancy, she said: “I like a God fearing and a supportive man. Considering the nature of my job I need someone who will support my career.”
She said that she didn’t know if she can be with an entertainer because she has not tried dating one.
“I’m an entertainer, therefore, I’m not against dating another entertainer, it depends on the person’s personality and not what he does.”
Legends they say, are not born every day neither do they die as they live forever, encircling our times and space with their memories and chivalry by which we remember them.
Same goes for Dr Chuba Wilberforce Okadigbo, a legend in all modes by which legends are identified and cast. Okadigbo, towers above a number of statesmen, dead or alive who traversed the earth. Stamping his imprint upon our weathers, he did not do this with machetes, guns or magic, though he was magical and dazzled many with it; it was not the magic of the dark arts, no! Okadigbo was simply brilliant! But brilliance wasn’t his only value; permit me to add intelligent and unsatisfied, allow me to say he was the most colourful politician in Nigeria after Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe. He was our mixture of Steve Thaddeus, Ted Roosevelt and John Dewey.What shall I, as a young man, not say of Chuba?
I was not yet born when he had started waltzing through the Nigerian political trail as a man determined to etch his name in the sands of time, however, as I came of age, I came to see him as a gift to this country, one that was rare indeed. Sadly, since this brilliant mind passed on, there has been no attempt at a memorial, no lecture, no colloquium in his name. One would have expected that several schools in the country would have honoured the legend with a department, an institute or even had a name change for the university.
There is no plaque or statue despite the luminous ideas he helped churn out, ideas which helped in catapulting the Igbos from near obscurity in the aftermath of the civil war to game changers in the Second Republic. Ideas, which helped, form the first party in Nigeria that was national in spread (NPN).
Ideas, which made the Second, Third, and Fourth Republics tick! In other countries, the likes of Chuba would have a number of memorial lectures in his honour; there would be busts of him grinning handsomely.
There would be streets, boulevards, monuments and institutions named after him as well as Academic Chairs. Maybe we have forgotten how, at the young age of 32, he had already become an Associate Professor of Philosophy by the University of the District of Columbia, Washington DC or that he blazed the academic trail in far away America where he served as adjunct assistant professor of politics, the Catholic University of America, Washington DC and Howard University, Washington DC.
Are we so quick to forget Chuba’s role in bringing NdiIgbo back to political limelight after the civil war via his negotiating with Zik’s NPP to enter the accord, which preserved the Second Republic for at least four years, or the dexterity he employed in ensuring that one of our illustrious sons, Dim Ikemba Odimegwu Ojukwu, who had been away on exile returned? Do we suffer from amnesia that we forget that he offered to lecture students of political science in a number of universities for free imparting in them knowledge that many in other climes would have paid millions for.
Or can we forget the many children he sent to school to earn the golden fleece, children whose parents could not eke out a meal, children who today, are the stars in their society, courtesy Chuba! Maybe our memories are so short, that we cannot remember Chuba’s membership of the 3rd and 4th national assemblies where he was a senator and senate president. Maybe we have forgotten the brilliance by which he marshaled out his debates, like Thaddeus Stevens (US Congressman, 1792-1868), the oratory, permit me to use the modern day street terminology, the swag! We cannot forget the panache with which he led the Senate then, the knowledge and fiery intellectualism he deployed to the extent that his tenure though short-lived, is described as an extraordinary epoch in the history of legislative bodies in Nigeria. Chuba fought for democracy, he stood for its norms, while others played deaf and dumb under civilian dictatorship as characterized by the Obasanjo administration, Chuba would have none of it and though he paid for it, he remains an example of a profile in courage.
Let’s remember that Chuba was a nationalist, an icon of nation building. He believed in building political bridges nationwide, thus his choice of NPN as against NPP, the ANPP as against APGA. That even the emergence of President Buhari, though in 2015, can actually be said to have been given birth to in 2003 when he and Chuba teamed up to offer Nigerians a better option. May we not also forget that it was in the struggle for a better Nigeria, that struggle against the forces of totalitarianism, that Chuba died that democracy may thrive! Chuba Okadigbo surely lives on, but there are more ways to honour this son of our great nation!
Three members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), defied the plea by the Board’s chairman, Senator Walid Jibrin by attending the inauguration of Atiku Abubakar as the party’s Presidential aspirant.
Senator Jibrin had asked members of the BoT to be neutral and not declare any private or public support for any of the party’s 13 presidential aspirants. He asked them to be the one to adjudicate on matters brought before the board by any of the aspirants in case there are any grievances before or after the presidential primary slated for October 5 and 6 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
But at the inauguration of Atiku Abubakar, in Abuja yesterday, Thursday, John Nwodo, Vincent Ogbulafor, who was both former National Chairman of the party and a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Tom Ikimi.
This was against the warning by Senator Walid Jibrin that members of BoT should not move about with any aspirant.
“If we are really the conscience of the party, we should not move about with aspirants. That was what happened during the last national convention when we elected the national chairman.
“Some of us went and pitched camp with aspirants, taking them all over the place. This time, we will not allow that to happen.
“Anyone of us who move about with any aspirant should resign from the BoT. We are the one that will settle the complaints.
“But if we are involved, it will not be fair. So, we have told the members not to campaign with the aspirants; we are also the delegates. ”
Jibrin, who spoke on the flouting of the board’s directive by the members, said simply said that he would address the matter today, Friday.
“We will address it on Friday when I will be briefing you on the outcome of our meeting with the aspirants.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the establishment of Polaris Bank to take over Sky Bank which it said, has been incapable of recapitalizing to continue in business.
The CBN Governor, Godwin I. Emefiele, who announced this today, Friday, when he addressed news men in Lagos, assured all depositors of Sky Bank that under the new arrangement, their deposits shall remain safe and that normal banking services shall continue in the new bank on Monday, 24th September, 2018, to enable customers to transact their businesses seamlessly.
“Thus, all customers of Skye Bank shall be automatic customers of the new bank and their accounts and records duly purchased by Polaris Bank.”
Emefiele recalled that the result of the apex bank’s examinations and forensic audit of the Sky Bank revealed that it required urgent recapitalization “as it can no longer continue to live on borrowed times with indefinite liquidity support from the CBN. The shareholders of the bank have been unable to recapitalize it.
“As a responsible and responsive regulator and in consultation with the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), we have decided to establish a bridge bank, Polaris Bank, to assume the assets and liabilities of Skye bank. The strategy is for the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) to capitalize the Bridge Bank and begin the process of sourcing investors to buy out AMCON. By this decision, the licence of the defunct Skye Bank is hereby revoked.”
He recalled that on 4th July 2016, CBN took a regulatory action on Skye bank Nigeria PLC, which led to the resignation of the Chairman, all Non-Executive Directors on the Board as well as the Managing Director, Deputy Managing Director, and the two longest-serving Executive Directors on the Management Team.
“At that time the proactive action was informed by unacceptable corporate governance lapses as well as the persistent failure of Skye Bank PLC to meet minimum thresholds in critical prudential and adequacy ratios, which culminated in the bank’s permanent presence at the CBN Lending Window.
“The focus of the action then was to save depositors’ funds and to ensure that the bank continued as a going concern, being a systemically important bank. Part of our intention was also to stem the imminent job losses to staff if a liquidation option had been adopted. These objectives have been fully achieved and the bank has been able to meet customer obligations, having curtailed the liquidity haemorrhage and restored depositor confidence.
The CBN Governor said that given the good performance of the board and management, the CBN shall retain them in the new bank, adding that all employees of Skye Bank shall be absorbed by Polaris Bank under a new contract unless any employee decides to opt out.
“We wish to assure the general public that the Nigerian banking industry remains safe and resilient and that the CBN will continue to live up to its responsibilities of promoting stability in the banking and financial system.”
The Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has denied what it called ‘misplaced’ allegations by the Nigerian Police that it has recovered $470.5 million and N8 billion NNPC funds hidden in commercial banks.
The NNPC said that it has never in any way hidden any funds in commercial banks, adding that it is not aware of any change in the subsisting Presidential directive to the effect that all the US dollar balances must be transferred to NNPC’s CBN Treasury Single Account in US dollars.
In a statement, the NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ndu Ughamadu said: ”in addition, no such funds have been deposited into the Corporation’s CBN Treasury Single Account.
” Consequently, NNPC’s record of the US dollar funds still yet to be transferred by a few commercial banks cannot reflect the said recovery.
”While the Central Bank of Nigeria executes the Presidential directive to ensure complete transfer of US dollar funds to the Corporation’s CBN Treasury Single Account, it is pertinent to reiterate our earlier position that NNPC will resist every attempt to subject these funds, which have been in the full view of Government, to five percent whistle blowing fees as this would be unreasonable and a sheer waste of public funds.”
Ndu confirmed however that a few commercial banks are yet to complete remittance of US dollar deposits to the Treasury Single Account (TSA), saying that the Corporation had no funds hidden in any commercial bank as the Presidency, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, (AGF) and the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) are fully aware of, and received periodic status reports on balances yet to be remitted to TSA by commercial banks.
According to him, following TSA implementation, the Corporation had made a report to the Presidency on the failure of some commercial banks to complete transfer of US dollar deposits and a Presidential directive was issued for the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure that the funds were completely transferred to the Corporation’s Treasury Single Account in US dollars.
The NNPC said that as an entity with fiduciary responsibility to the government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, its commitment to transparency and accountability remains unwavering.
“Most of the commercial banks have since complied with the Presidential directive and completed transfer to the Corporation’s Treasury Single Account in US dollars, including the reported $470.5 million.”
The NNPC said that the Nigeria Police report is misleading and stark contrast of the way the corporation is being run by the Baru leadership.
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President Muhammadu Buhari is scheduled to leave Nigeria for New York, the United States of America 
A budding Actress and professional model, Adebimpe Oyebade popularly known as Mobimpe has made it clear that she is single but not searching.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the establishment of Polaris Bank to take over Sky Bank which it said, has been incapable of recapitalizing to continue in business.
Chuba Okadigbo: Lest We Forget, By Igboeli Arinze
Legends they say, are not born every day neither do they die as they live forever, encircling our times and space with their memories and chivalry by which we remember them.
Same goes for Dr Chuba Wilberforce Okadigbo, a legend in all modes by which legends are identified and cast. Okadigbo, towers above a number of statesmen, dead or alive who traversed the earth. Stamping his imprint upon our weathers, he did not do this with machetes, guns or magic, though he was magical and dazzled many with it; it was not the magic of the dark arts, no! Okadigbo was simply brilliant! But brilliance wasn’t his only value; permit me to add intelligent and unsatisfied, allow me to say he was the most colourful politician in Nigeria after Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe. He was our mixture of Steve Thaddeus, Ted Roosevelt and John Dewey.What shall I, as a young man, not say of Chuba?
I was not yet born when he had started waltzing through the Nigerian political trail as a man determined to etch his name in the sands of time, however, as I came of age, I came to see him as a gift to this country, one that was rare indeed. Sadly, since this brilliant mind passed on, there has been no attempt at a memorial, no lecture, no colloquium in his name. One would have expected that several schools in the country would have honoured the legend with a department, an institute or even had a name change for the university.
There is no plaque or statue despite the luminous ideas he helped churn out, ideas which helped in catapulting the Igbos from near obscurity in the aftermath of the civil war to game changers in the Second Republic. Ideas, which helped, form the first party in Nigeria that was national in spread (NPN).
Ideas, which made the Second, Third, and Fourth Republics tick! In other countries, the likes of Chuba would have a number of memorial lectures in his honour; there would be busts of him grinning handsomely.
There would be streets, boulevards, monuments and institutions named after him as well as Academic Chairs. Maybe we have forgotten how, at the young age of 32, he had already become an Associate Professor of Philosophy by the University of the District of Columbia, Washington DC or that he blazed the academic trail in far away America where he served as adjunct assistant professor of politics, the Catholic University of America, Washington DC and Howard University, Washington DC.
Are we so quick to forget Chuba’s role in bringing NdiIgbo back to political limelight after the civil war via his negotiating with Zik’s NPP to enter the accord, which preserved the Second Republic for at least four years, or the dexterity he employed in ensuring that one of our illustrious sons, Dim Ikemba Odimegwu Ojukwu, who had been away on exile returned? Do we suffer from amnesia that we forget that he offered to lecture students of political science in a number of universities for free imparting in them knowledge that many in other climes would have paid millions for.
Or can we forget the many children he sent to school to earn the golden fleece, children whose parents could not eke out a meal, children who today, are the stars in their society, courtesy Chuba! Maybe our memories are so short, that we cannot remember Chuba’s membership of the 3rd and 4th national assemblies where he was a senator and senate president. Maybe we have forgotten the brilliance by which he marshaled out his debates, like Thaddeus Stevens (US Congressman, 1792-1868), the oratory, permit me to use the modern day street terminology, the swag! We cannot forget the panache with which he led the Senate then, the knowledge and fiery intellectualism he deployed to the extent that his tenure though short-lived, is described as an extraordinary epoch in the history of legislative bodies in Nigeria. Chuba fought for democracy, he stood for its norms, while others played deaf and dumb under civilian dictatorship as characterized by the Obasanjo administration, Chuba would have none of it and though he paid for it, he remains an example of a profile in courage.
Let’s remember that Chuba was a nationalist, an icon of nation building. He believed in building political bridges nationwide, thus his choice of NPN as against NPP, the ANPP as against APGA. That even the emergence of President Buhari, though in 2015, can actually be said to have been given birth to in 2003 when he and Chuba teamed up to offer Nigerians a better option. May we not also forget that it was in the struggle for a better Nigeria, that struggle against the forces of totalitarianism, that Chuba died that democracy may thrive! Chuba Okadigbo surely lives on, but there are more ways to honour this son of our great nation!