News
Okorocha, Oshiomhole, Oyofo clash at Lamai lecture in Abuja
Former Governor of Edo State and Senator-elect, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole had a public spat with former Imo State governor, Senator Rochas Okorocha and a former Senate Chief Whip, Senator Victor Kassim Oyofo, at a public event yesterday in Abuja.
The trio exchange words at the first Senator Ekpemoriri Lamai Memorial Lecture organised by Senator E. A Lamai Foundation, with the theme ‘Nigerian Senate and the Quest for Nation Building: 1st-4th Republic.’
Lamai, a First Republic Senator from Fugar, Etsako Central Local Government Area, Edo State, died on May 14, 2009.
Oshiomhole who said his differences with Owelle Okorocha was purely on issue of obeying the law and nothing personal, also tackled former Senate whip, Senator Victor Kassim Oyofo for alluding that former governors go to the Senate to display opulence.
Okorocha who was one of the panelists had joking alleged that Oshiomhole was one of the problems of the country and thank God that he would be going to the Senate to fix the problems.
The comment seems not to have gone down well with Oshiomhole, who said, “My brother (Okorocha) said I am the problem of Nigeria and he is happy that I am going to the Senate. I take the last part. He is happy for me so he would organise a dinner in my honour. There will also be a dinner to mark your exit. So as you are going, I am coming in.
“When people say small man like me, because big people think that mere reference to their size should not obey law when a small man is presiding. And when they say we are short, I hardly see what am short off. There is nothing anybody has that I don’t have. When they talk about economies of scale they don’t also forget to talk about dis-economics of scale.”
Turning to Okorocha, he said, “My brother, my brother, you know what caused our misunderstanding. You are my good friend till tomorrow. It is just that for me, laws are meaningful when those who are powerful are subjected to obey the law.
“So sir, be rest assured, I appreciate you, I respect you but you must learn to obey the law. Don’t look at my size particularly, when I am obliged to take an oath that I shall defend the constitution. Once we go out now, I am going to hug you and I must insist you organise a dinner for my coming to Senate.”
Oshiomhole who seems not to also enjoy the remark of the Chairman of the day, Senator Oyofo, who said governors retire to Senate to live life of opulence fired back.
He said, “Nigeria was already on its way to Zimbabwe when you have a life president. When President Obasanjo wanted to amend our constitution, which should have been the beginning and the end. No gun was shot, just the power of AIT and other media, covering the session life to the credit of the National Assembly they shut down that third term bid. But the other thing with my big brother. My pension is N1.250, 0000.
“So when you talk of opulence and corruption is not something that is restricted to government. For every government official that is corrupt, there are three, four, five businessmen who are even much more corrupt. They are the treasurers of public officers.
“So if my brother left the oil industry wealthy, and went to the Senate to live in luxury then why are you envious of me that left the Labour. One kobo gratuity I did not receive, even my official car, I handed it over, because that is the rules of Nigeria Labour Congress. We used the word struggle.
“So when we make sweeping generalisation about people living in wealth going to the Senate to leave in luxury.
“When I knew you as a Senator, I did not see you in luxury. I thought you were working. Actually that is what you told our people. It was only today you say it that the place is for luxury.”
But, Oyofo in his response said a Google search be made between himself and Oshiomhole to know who made money from government.
He said, “Google my name and say what is the net worth of Senator Oyofo, they will tell you. In the same manner, Google the name of Oshiomhole and say how much is he worth, Google will tell you then you can be approaching the issue of defining corruption. So it is not about just standing making things look like a joke.
“The truth is that we are in the grip of corruption and unless we stand up to it and admit it, we are going to pay dearly. It is not a laughing matter or a joking matter.
“Anybody you know his name in Nigeria, ask Google what is the net worth and search for profession they belong to and what they were doing whether they own businesses. I worked for 30 years finding oil for Nigeria,” Senator Oyofo said.
Oyofo had earlier in his opening remarks advocated for part-time legislators for the country, saying the cost of governance is bloating every day.
The former Senate Chief Whip of the Senate who chaired the lecture quoted #openNass, which stated that in 2017 alone, the lawmaker cost the taxpayers $54,000 each.
He said, “After more than 20 years, it has proved ineffective and expensive. According to #openNass organisation, in the year 2017 alone, a lawmaker cost the taxpayers $54,000 each this is 10,000 times more than the minimum wage and 200 times the National Gross Domestic Product per capital.
“This leads to unemployment, insecurity. The trend should not be allowed to continue. If it continues, it will create insurmountable problems that will consume the nation.
“It has become obvious that politics is the quickest way to an unearned wealth. The situation was execrated by immunity clause which allows governors to be immune from closer examination. Many for example have treated their security votes which amount to billions as pocket money.”
“This trend is not unnoticed by the populace, even if they appear hopeless and speechless. Common sense would say that events we are growing as they are already manifesting in the killing of citizens and insecurity.
“What the senators must do now is to examine the country critically, and the Presidential system that we have adopted without any cloud in their eyes.
“They must have the courage to chat a different course all together and restructure the country for productivity and continuation for joy and happiness and for purposeful existence.”
However, former Edo State Governor, Senator Oserheimen Osunbor, disagreed with him as he said that it is not the budget of the National Assembly that is responsible for the magnitude of the challenges confronting the country.
Osunbor also said that the nation is better off with a bicameral legislature other than a unicameral legislature.
He stressed the importance of the Senate to democracy, saying it is what gives the states equal representations.
Another panelist, Senator Abubakar Umar Gada said the problem is not the senate but corruption which has become endemic.
Gada said the budget of the Senate is just 2.5 percent of the National budget.
In his address, the Executive Director, Senator E.A. Lamai Foundation, Chief Richard Lamai, said the senate and other legislative arms were the only distinctive organs differentiating other forms of government.
“As our nation enjoys uninterrupted period of participatory democracy in this 4th Republic, it is apt to analyse the effect of democratically derived legislation and policies by the senate on the development envisioned by the likes of my father, Senator E.A Lamai through this lecture by eminent experts in jurisprudence, constitutional, commercial law, executive and renowned business gurus,” Lamai said.
Delivering the lecture titled ‘X-raying the Nigerian Senate (1st-4th Republic) as a Tool for Nation Building,’ Chief Mike Ozekhomhe (SAN), said the Nigerian Senate holds a crucial position as the upper chamber of the country’s bicameral legislature, actively shaping the nation’s political landscape and policy framework.
“Throughout Nigeria’s history, from its first Republic to the present day, the Senate has served as a significant platform for national deliberation, legislation, and representation,” Ozekhomhe said.
Senator Shehu Sani has downplayed ex-governor Nasir El-Rufai’s defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the move won’t impact the ruling party’s fortune in the coming elections billed for 2027.
El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna State on Monday left the APC, a party he was a founding member, and pitched his tent with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in a move pundits believe will change the political texture of the country.
But Sani, who is also from Kaduna like El-Rufai, believes the former Minister of the FCT holds no political relevance.
“Well, first of all, for those of us from Kaduna State, it [his defection] is a good riddance because he stands as a liability to the party in the state,” the former Kaduna Central senator said on Monday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today, citing the APC’s losses under El-Rufai.
“I can back this with facts. In 2015, APC had two senators. By 2023, all the senatorial zones were taken over by PDP. Out of the 14 House of Representatives seats in Kaduna State, by the time he left [office as governor], almost nine of the seats were won by PDP, two by the Labour Party, and then three by APC. With him as a governor, the APC also lost the presidential election in Kaduna State.”
El-Rufai had cited the party’s departure from progressive ideals as his reason for defection.
“At this point in my political journey, I have come to the conclusion that I must seek another political platform for the pursuit of the progressive values I cherish,” the former governor said.
The former FCT minister was a founding member of the ruling party. He was instrumental to APC’s victory in the 2015, 2019, and 2023 presidential elections. His relationship with the party, however, soured after he was not screened for a ministerial role.
But Sani, who recently returned to the APC, accused El-Rufai of destabilizing the party and believes his defection offers an opportunity for the APC to rebuild and come out stronger.
“So, you can see that by the time he left, already the party was an unpopular platform in the state. So his exit now is an opportunity,” the APC chieftain said.
“For the governor and party leaders of the state to embrace the people of the state and to reconfigure and reset the party towards the next election.”
Oby Ezekwesili, former minister of education, has urged Senate President Godswill Akpabio to step aside until an investigation into Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claims against him is concluded.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator representing Kogi central, had accused the senate president of sexually harassing her.
The allegation followed a heated argument between Akpabio and Akpoti-Uduaghan over seating arrangement.
Subsequently, the senate referred Akpoti-Uduaghan to the committee on ethics, privileges, and public petitions for disciplinary review.
The senator was thereafter suspended for six months.
In a statement on Monday, Ezekwesili demanded that Barau Jibrin, deputy senate president, should preside over a session tasked with conducting a swift and independent investigation into Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition.
The former minister said the senate should reverse the suspension of the senator and retract all punitive measures imposed on her.
“The senate president steps aside, and the deputy senate president immediately convenes a session that rescinds the unconstitutional and illegal suspension of senator Akpoti-Uduaghan and reverses all punitive measures imposed on her so she resumes her duties as a duly elected senator representing her Kogi central constituency and gets the fair hearing due her within senate processes,” Ezekwesili wrote on X.
“Resolve and announce that a prompt independent investigation into the resubmitted petition by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan is imperative and swiftly request ICPC to designate the Independent Investigation consistent with the ICPC Act which designates sexual harassment as one of the corrupt practices it can investigate and prosecute.”
Ezekwesili urged the senate to restructure its ethics committee in response to the allegation, harping on the need to appoint an independent investigator to thoroughly examine the matter.
“Reconstitute the senate ethics and privileges committee under a new chairperson with the mandate to commence a public hearing on the resubmitted petition on sexual harassment by the senate president Akpabio,” she said.
“The committee receives informed recommendations from the Independent Investigation by ICPC-appointed investigator and appearances/oral and written testimonies and evidences from the two parties to the matter — Senators Akpoti-Uduaghan and Akpabio respectively.”
She advised that the findings of the committee should be referred to the attorney-general of the federation for action.
“The senate in plenary receives the report findings and recommendations of the ethics committee, debates and refers the matter to the attorney general as may be appropriate,” she added.
“The senate and HoR partner with women in Nigeria groups and other relevant stakeholders like NBA and Nigeria police to launch a comprehensive diagnostic review of laws, regulations, policies and procedures that prevent SGBV and protect the rights of women in public and private spaces, identify existing barriers and gaps, develop and implement specific action plan on a fast track timeline.”
The Akwa Ibom police Command has arrested one Victor Okon, 42, for the alleged gruesome murder of his wife, Victoria Okoh, 38, at their residence in Oron.
The police public relations officer, DSP Timfon John, disclosed this in a statement in Uyo, the state capital, on Monday.
Ms John said the command’s operatives swiftly responded to a distress call from concerned residents at 05:20 p.m. about the incident.
“On arrival at the scene, the officers discovered the mutilated body of the deceased lying outside the house she shared with her husband,” Mr John said.
She said preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect had allegedly attacked his wife with a machete over accusations of infidelity.
Ms John said further reports indicated that the suspect hid in the ceiling of the house in an attempt to evade arrest.
The PPRO said the officers went into the building and apprehended the man.
“The machete used in committing the crime was recovered by the police, and photographs of the scene were taken for investigation purposes,” she said.
Mr John said the remains of the deceased had been deposited at the state’s General Hospital morgue for an autopsy.
She said the suspect would be charged to court soon.
Ms John quoted the commissioner of police, CP Baba Azare, to have condemned the act and assured the public that justice would take its full course.
Mr Azare warned against all forms of domestic violence and called on residents to seek lawful means of resolving disputes rather than resorting to violence.
He pledged the commitment of the command toward ensuring the safety of citizens.
Mr Azare also urged the members of the public to promptly report any suspicious activities to the nearest police formation.