Seyi,the  son of President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu,is currently in the eye of the storm,since the story broke out,of how he is linked to the purchase of a London mansion under fraud investigation by the federal government of Nigeria. Seyi reportedly bought the house in 2017 for $10.8m through his firm, Bloomberg reported.Citing previously unreported UK company documents, the report said the property, acquired by Seyi’s firm was part of the biggest corruption scandals the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was seeking to probe.

The documents seen by Bloomberg show the President-elect’s 37-year-old son is “the main shareholder of Aranda Overseas Corp., an offshore company that paid £9million ($10.8 million) to Deutsche Bank for the property in north London in late 2017.”“The private three-floor residence in St. John’s Wood — a district favored by American bankers — is equipped with an eight-car driveway, two gardens, electric gates and a gym,” the report said.It said at the time of the purchase, Nigerian government was seeking to arrest the house’s former owner, accusing him of going on the run while owing the country an oil-trading debt worth more than $1.5 billion.“The state was also attempting to confiscate the upscale real estate and other assets it suspected had been acquired by the businessman, Kolawole Aluko, with the profits of crime,” the foreign newspaper said.

This is coming at the time the President-elect is preparing  to succeed President Buhari on May 29.

“There’s no suggestion that President-elect Bola Tinubu was personally involved in the acquisition of the UK property in 2017. Current President Muhammadu Buhari visited him there in August 2021, nearly four years after the purchase took place. Tinubu, who will take over as head of state this month, has long been questioned about the source of his family’s wealth, including throughout the recent election campaign, when he and his representatives were pressed about it by local and international media.

“He and his campaign have said he made his fortune before going into politics by inheriting real estate, investing well and working as an accountant at Deloitte LLP and an executive at the Nigerian subsidiary of Mobil Oil in the 1980s and early 1990s. In an interview with the BBC in the run-up to the election, Tinubu cited Warren Buffett as an example he followed to become rich,” the report added.

Bloomberg said Tinubu’s spokesman and Seyi did not respond to emails, phone calls and text messages seeking comment. It also said a British lawyer listed as Aranda’s agent in the UK declined to comment citing confidentiality rules.

The report recalled that Buhari’s administration had initiated legal cases against former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke and two businessmen — Aluko and Olajide Omokore — who won lucrative contracts during her tenure.

The US government said in a 2017 forfeiture lawsuit filed in Texas that the pair bribed the minister by funding her “lavish” lifestyle and failed to pay the state energy company for most of the crude they received.

The report further stated, “Alison-Madueke, who is based in London, has denied the allegations. She is challenging multiple forfeiture orders issued by Nigerian courts and has accused the anti-corruption agency of blocking her efforts to defend herself in criminal proceedings.

“In June 2016, a federal judge in the capital, Abuja, granted a request by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to seize more than a dozen properties that Aluko had acquired in Nigeria and abroad, including the one in St. John’s Wood. That forfeiture order was still in force when Tinubu’s son bought the house out of receivership 16 months later.

The ruling was made on an interim basis pending the conclusion of an investigation into Aluko that was still ongoing as of at least the end of 2018, according to court filings. Aluko can’t comment on the forfeiture case because it is still “sub-judice,” his lawyer Tokunbo Jaiye-Agoro said by email.”

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Ayobami Adedeji Politics 2023-05-03

In the game of politics, power and excellence do not usually mix because as they say, power corrupts. This is why politicians all around the world endure harsh scrutiny irrespective of their use of power, achievements and general actions in and out of the political space.

A close look at the man Nigerians have come to know as OGD may reveal why he faces even harsher scrutiny. This is because he defies all available stereotypes of career politicians.

A brilliant engineer with proven and visible results over the years, OGD seemed to have always been marked for success.

Long before the beginning of his political sojourn, Otunba Gbenga Daniel (OGD) had made a name as the owner of Kresta Laurel, an electro-mechanical engineering company, which he started in 1990. The company eventually grew to become one of the biggest companies in Nigeria, and by age 40, he was already rated one of the richest men in Nigeria by Newswatch.

In his early years as an undergraduate, he had won several scholarships and was so much of a prodigious student that during his year as a National Youth Service Corp member at the School of Engineering of the Lagos State Polytechnic, he supervised the construction of the Engineering complex and also conducted the semester examinations for the School of Engineering. An unrivalled feat for one at his level, he swiftly followed up with a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Lagos. In later years, he crowned his business studies with an executive programme in 1990 at the Lagos Business School.

While growing a reputable career, all of which prepared him for the rigours of politics, OGD worked at Metal Construction (W/Africa) Limited as the Assistant Commercial Manager. In 1983, he joined the then multinational company, H.F.SCHROEDER West Africa Limited, Lagos and as a result of his diligence, rose to the position of deputy managing director at Schroeder, becoming the first African to hold such a position in the company’s history.

Kresta Laurel, his brainchild that specialised in elevators, overhead travelling cranes and hoists was a consolidation of his abilities and vision as an engineer.

As a man who loved to craft, build or bridge gaps, OGD had always operated at the fringes of Nigerian politics, always doing his bit for his country.

After graduation and his consolidation as a business-minded engineer, OGD joined the Yoruba social-cultural group Afenifere under the then leadership of Pa Abraham Adesanya. During the struggle against the military juntas and campaign for the reinstatement of the annulled June 12 election, Gbenga Daniel became one of the financiers of the National Democratic Coalition (Nigeria) NADECO providing support to members who were fleeing the country to seek asylum abroad.

In 2003, he finally threw his hat into the political ring to vie for the office of the governor of Ogun State. His campaign strategy at the time of meeting with every stakeholder of every street and area in the state to sell his ideas redefined campaign trends in Nigeria. It was therefore not much of a surprise when in a landslide manner, he defeated the incumbent Governor Olusegun Osoba with the widest margin ever at the time in the Ogun State governorship race.

As governor, his unique insight saw him run an open government that allowed the people access to their leaders and this became the yardstick for subsequent officeholders. This, among other things, secured his return for a second term, which secured his win against a new opponent.

Since he left the number one seat of the Ogun State government, he has sustained his relevance in the business and political world with impressive grace.

In 2016, he was elected president of, the Nigerian-Finnish Business Council, which was established to foster business relations between Nigerian companies and their counterparts in Finland to encourage trade and investment. Never one to rest on laurels, he started KLL Construction Limited in 2017 to present a new kind of construction company culture in Nigeria.

In addition to relevance, despite all political persecution, the enigmatic founder of Conference Hotels was one of the only office holders not prosecuted by the EFCC despite repeated scrutiny and is as a result headed back to the Senate as a free man to serve his people once again.

Beyond politics, OGD is a tried and tested leader, with a proven interest in growth with or without the backing of political power. As he begins his sojourn into the Nigerian Senate, his antecedent proves that not only is he the right fit for the people of Ogun and all patriotic Nigerians, he is a man to be honoured, emulated and celebrated as he clocks 67.

Seun Oloketuyi,Convener,Best of Nollywood,writes from Lagos.

By

Ayobami Adedeji Politics 2023-04-06

 Tunde Rahman, a media aide to Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, says his principal has traveled to Europe.

In a statement on Wednesday, Rahman said Tinubu departed Lagos on Tuesday night for Paris to rest and prepare for lesser hajj in Saudi Arabia and Ramadan fasting that would commence on Thursday.Debunking speculations the President-elect,has been rushed abroad for medical treatment.

The media has been awash with news of the former Lagos governor’s alleged illness and how he was flown to London, United Kingdom, late on Tuesday night.

The spokesperson said the president-elect would also use the opportunity, while he is out of the country, to plan his transition programme.

“The president-elect decided to take a break after the hectic campaign and election season to rest in Paris and London, preparatory to going to Saudi Arabia for Umrah (lesser hajj) and the Ramadan Fasting that begins Thursday,” Rahman said.

“While away, the president-elect will also use the opportunity to plan his transition programme.

“He is expected back in the country soon.

“We enjoin the media to stop publishing rumours and unsubstantiated claims and to always seek clarifications from our office.”

 

The development will lay to rest the speculation as to the whereabouts of the president-elect.

Tinubu has not made any public appearances for some days, fuelling speculations that he might be out of the country.

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Ayobami Adedeji Politics 2023-03-23

It was rousing welcome for  Nigeria's President Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,as he touched down in Abuja,on Monday afternoon,after spending one month to rest in France.

The Jagaban arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja,to the reception of a mammoth crowd of supporters.

The president-elect arrived from France in the company of his wife, Oluremi Tinubu, at the presidential wing of the airport to a rousing welcome by party faithful and supporters who had been anticipating his arrival.

This is barely 35 days to his inauguration on May 29,if you recall  Tinubu left the country for France on Tuesday, March 21 to rest and plan the transition programme ahead of his inauguration on May 29.

The Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, was also among the supporters and top members of the All Progressives Congress who received Tinubu.

Announcing his arrival on Twitter, Bayo Onanuga, the Head of Media Publicity, wrote; “Jagaban lands in Abuja!”

By

Ayobami Adedeji Politics 2023-04-24

Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to his alleged role in hush money payments toward the end of his 2016 presidential campaign — the first time a former president has had to plead to criminal charges. 

The indictment was unsealed in a brief proceeding before Judge Juan Merchan. Trump was flanked by his lawyers inside the courtroom as prosecutors outlined their case against him, alleging he made covert and illegal payments in order to impact the 2016 election.

The statement of facts compiled by prosecutors in conjunction with the indictment said Trump "repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election."

The statement of facts included information about hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, Playboy model Karen McDougal and a former Trump Tower doorman who'd claimed to have a story about a child Trump had out of wedlock.

Daniels was paid $130,000 by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, while McDougal and the doorman were paid $150,000 and $30,000 respectively by AMI, the publishers of the National Enquirer.

Asked for his plea, Trump answered, "Not guilty."

Prosecutor Chris Conroy also told the judge they were “very concerned” about Trump's inflammatory social media posts about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, other prosecutors and the judge, saying they could have an impact on potential effects on jurors and witnesses.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche told the judge his client is "upset" and was simply exercising his First Amendment rights. The judge warned both sides against escalating their rhetoric, but did not issue any type of gag order. 

Trump arrived at the courthouse at 100 Centre St. in lower Manhattan in a presidential-style motorcade from Trump Tower in midtown, where he’d stayed overnight. He was informed he was under arrest, fingerprinted and processed ahead of his arraignment.

"Seems so SURREAL — WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can’t believe this is happening in America," //truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/110141697788154293" target="_blank" data-activity-map="article-content-link-6">he said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social that published as he was arriving at the courthouse.

With a media circus outside, Trump was escorted out of the courthouse and back into his car afterwards. He’s expected to address reporters about the charges in remarks at his Florida home Tuesday night.

Live updates: Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony charges 

In a statement, Bragg said his office alleges Trump "repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.”

He said "the trail of money and lies exposes a pattern that, the People allege, violates one of New York’s basic and fundamental business laws. As this office has done time and time again, we today uphold our solemn responsibility to ensure that everyone stands equal before the law.” 

Blanche called the charges "really disappointing." "It’s sad and we’re going to fight it hard," he said, saying the former president is "upset and frustrated and disappointed and mad that this happened." 

The legal troubles, media spectacle and porn-star-hush-money salaciousness at the heart of the case are a new chapter for the New York tycoon-turned-TV-star-turned-politician, whose career has careened from scandal to success for four decades. This time, unlike his bankrupted casinos or failed marriages, many of Trump's supporters and detractors argue that the fate of American democracy is hanging in the balance as the former president increasingly conflates any legal woes as an effort to illegitimately deny him a return to power.

With the failures of Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot still fresh in officials' minds, security was high in the courthouse and nearby areas as the police department, court officers and Secret Service braced for protests amid the unprecedented arraignment of a former president.

While police shut down streets and the sound of a helicopter buzzed overhead, news outlets from around the world set up cameras near long lines of spectators, some of whom had camped out overnight in the hopes of getting a coveted seat inside.

The judge barred TV cameras from inside the courtroom but decided to allow some photographers in, images that are likely to appear in election-season ads and in future history books.

"I think we’re on the eve of destruction. It’s just like surreal to me,” Trump attorney Joe Tacopina said Monday on Fox News.

'Indict himself'

Trump last month called for “protests” in the event of his arrest, and he later ratcheted up his rhetoric, warning of "potential death and destruction" if he was charged. He continued to post overnight on Truth Social, leveling criticism at the prosecutor.

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Ayobami Adedeji Politics 2023-04-04

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, was detained by the United Kingdom’s immigration authorities during the Easter break over offences believed to have been committed by an imposter, the party’s Presidential Campaign Council said on Wednesday.

The LP PCCC, in a statement by Diran Onifade, the Head of the Obi-Datti media team, said Obi was detained for questioning on Good Friday, April 7, 2023, when he arrived at Heathrow Airport in London from Nigeria.

The statement added that he was later let go after Nigerians, who witnessed the incident, raised an uproar.

The statement read in part, “The LP Presidential candidate in the February 25 Presidential poll arrived the Heathrow Airport in London from Nigeria on Good Friday, April 7, 2023, and joined the queue for the necessary Airport protocols when he was accosted by immigration officials who handed him a detention note and told him to step aside. He was questioned for a long time and it was very strange for a man who lived for over a decade in that country.

“Since Obi’s face was already an international frame, especially for Nigerians, Africans home, and in the Diaspora who are likely to be Obidients, the people quickly raised their voices wondering why he was being delayed.

“The immigration officials who were also taken aback at the reaction of the people were forced to reveal that Obi was being questioned for a duplication offense, meaning that someone has been impersonating him in London.

“The high implication of the offense is that the impersonator could be committing all kinds of weighty crimes and other dubious acts and it would be recorded in Obi’s name.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Obi third in the February 25 presidential election after polling 6,101,533 votes, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party came second with 6,984,520 votes and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress was declared winner of the poll with 8,794,726 votes.

He also scored over 25 per cent of the votes cast in 30 states, more than the 24 states constitutionally required, to meet the requirement.

Obi and the Labour Party have since challenged the results at the tribunal.

By

Ayobami Adedeji Politics 2023-04-12

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, of Lagos,has felicitated Muslims faithful across the country, especially in Lagos State on the commencement of the holy month of Ramadan.

He urged Muslims to use the holy month to pray for peace in Nigeria and Lagos in particular, adding that the Ramadan period should be used to exhibit the best virtues that Islam teaches. 

Governor Sanwo-Olu in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, on Thursday, implored Muslims, as well as Christians and other religious groups to demonstrate love, tolerance, empathy, compassion, and peaceful coexistence in this month of Ramadan, which coincides with the Church Lenten fasting season.

He said: "I want to congratulate Muslim faithful across the world, especially in Nigeria and Lagos in particular on the commencement of the holy month of Ramadan. As we begin this holy month today, I pray that Almighty Allah will grant us good health and strength to observe the fasting and other acts of worship associated with it.

"I want to also urge Muslims and Christians as well as other religious denominations to avail themselves of the teachings and serenity that the fasting season affords to cleanse their hearts, enrich their souls with virtues, and dedicate themselves to the good of humanity and the development of Lagos State and Nigeria.

"Let us also use this period to commit ourselves, our dear Lagos State, and our country to serious prayers for peace, development and growth as we prepare for the May 29 handing-over ceremony at the federal and state levels. We should also pray for continuous peaceful coexistence among all ethnic and religious groups in our State."

By

Ayobami Adedeji Politics 2023-03-24

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Friday, set aside the tribunal judgment that nullified the election of Ademola Adeleke as governor of Osun State.

The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of justices, led by Justice Mohammed Lawal, held that the appeal lodged by Adeleke to challenge his sack by the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal was meritorious.

The court also held that the sum of N500,000 is awarded as a cost against the All Progressive Congress, APC, and its candidate, Gboyega Oyetola.

During the ruling, the justice resolved that the preponderance of proof that there was over-voting in the elections rested on the petitioner.

The court also maintained that “the party alleging non-compliance with the electoral act must prove its case without merely relying on the weakness of the other party.”

Delivering judgment, Justice Mohammed Shaibu overruled the judgment of the governorship election tribunal that nullified the outcome of the July governorship polls.

The three-man panel revoked the tribunal’s order which directed that a Certificate of Return be withdrawn from Adeleke and issued to his predecessor and All Progressives Congress candidate, Oyetola.

The Osun tribunal had annulled Adeleke’s victory and affirmed Gboyega Oyetola of All Progressives Congress as the authentic winner of the poll after the Independent National Electoral Commission had returned Adeleke as the winner of the poll.

INEC said Adeleke polled 403,371 votes to defeat then-incumbent Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of the APC, who got 375,027 votes

But Oyetola and the APC rejected the result of the poll and headed for the tribunal.

In its January 27, 2023 majority verdict, the Justice Tertse Kume-led tribunal annulled Adeleke’s victory and declared Oyetola the winner of the poll.

However, a minority judgment by Justice B. Ogbuli affirmed Adeleke as the winner of the poll.

Displeased, Adeleke and the PDP headed for the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal heard the appeal on March 13 and reserved its judgment.But the court of Appeal on Friday set aside the tribunal judgement, affirming Adeleke as the authentic winner and governor of Osun State

By

Ayobami Adedeji Politics 2023-03-24

Abdullahi Adamu, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says the leadership of the party in collaboration with Bola Tinubu, president-elect, is working on a “sharing formula” of leadership positions in the national assembly.

Speaking at a meeting with national assembly members-elect at the Aso Rock villa in Abuja on Monday, Adamu said the party should avoid what happened in 2015.

If you recall,Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara ignored the party’s wish and became senate president and speaker of the house of representatives respectively.

The APC had wanted Senate President Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila, incumbent speaker, for the positions at the time.

The APC chairman said members-elect have the right to seek positions in the assembly but it should not cause a rift in the party.

“People have the right to struggle for positions of leadership for which they believe they are eminently qualified,” Adamu said.

“But we, in the national working committee of the party, are not comfortable with the tone adopted by those who seek those offices. Those offices are not tribal or sectional rights and must not be so portrayed.

 

“We would like to offer a word of caution to all of you in this regard. It may be good to start early but sometimes when you start too early you jump the gun and court unintended consequences that may cause nasty divisions in the party and thus affect its health.

“Leadership positions at the national level is a delicate matter and must not be approached with levity or lack of seriousness.

“It may be good to start early but it is wiser to be patient. Some of you may recall what happened to the party and the National Assembly in 2015 when some members of the national legislature chose not to wait for the decision of the president and the party in sharing those offices.

“It created bad blood within the party and between the executive and the legislature. I urge us not to regress.

 

“The president-elect and the party leadership will make appropriate consultations in working out a formula for sharing those offices. I assure you that whatever sharing formula the Party and the President-elect arrive at will be fair, just, equitable, and satisfy the majority of our members.”

The chairman asked the member-elect to work for the victory of the party in the governorship elections.

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Ayobami Adedeji Politics 2023-03-14