Television Nigerian

President Bola Tinubu’s first trip to the Southeast in 2025, which lasted only one day, was not your typical trip. From the exuberant response to the ensuing nice remarks, it was full with meaning. No one was unaware of the significance of this visit or its many noteworthy features. Although the visit has been well received and praised by many, it also raises some concerns.

Is President Tinubu’s visit to Enugu, the former Southeast capital, on January 4, 2025, marking a new phase in his connection with the Southeast geopolitical zone? During his tour, he made significant announcements and officially opened the historic projects of Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah.

Does the President’s trip across the Niger shift the course of events and serve as a subliminal clue as to what the South East’s citizens would expect from him going forward?

Similar to President Muhammadu Buhari, the Southeast has not been thrilled about President Tinubu. Naturally, the zone’s political distance from the two leaders is evident from the outcomes of the elections in 2015, 2019, and 2023.

Following events leading up to the 2023 presidential election and the outcomes that followed, the Southeast was especially unimpressed with Tinubu’s presidential ambition. The Southeast threw all of its political eggs into the basket of homeboy Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra State, who had defected from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to become the Labour Party’s presidential candidate.

The Southeast had been somewhat captivated by the raucous behavior of the Obidients, as Peter Obi’s fans had called themselves. In the 2023 election, any Igbo who sung a different tune was viewed as an outsider.

The kind of harmony that ought to have prevailed was not permitted by Peter Obi himself. In order to gain political advantages, he openly proclaimed his Christian beliefs and ran on the basis of his Igbo ethnicity. The Igbo cast their votes for him in large numbers throughout the election, indicating a close relationship between Nigerian elections, religion, and geography.

Obi and his LP received 1,952, 998 votes from the five Southeast states, accounting for an astounding 89.62% of the region’s total votes, according to a geopolitical analysis of the results of the 2023 presidential election. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, received 90, 698 votes, or a pitiful 4.16% of the vote, while President Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress received 127,370 votes, or a pitiful 5.85% of the vote from the region.

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Obi’s 2023 presidential campaign was mostly a Southeast affair, notwithstanding his remarkable achievements outside the region, like as his victories in Lagos, Nasarawa, Edo, Delta, Plateau, Cross River, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.

He and his ethnic supporters stayed in their cocoons, or the false reality they created, following the election. They denied victory but pretended that Obi had won the election. The Obidients didn’t appear to want to hear the term Asiwaju Tinubu, much less President Tinubu. Even after Obi’s legal challenge to President Tinubu’s win was unsuccessful, this pattern persisted. Every action taken by the president was criticized and denounced.

President Tinubu made concessions to the region when he took office. For example, he appointed Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, an Enugu native, as Chief of Naval Staff. He also appointed important ministers, including Senator David Umahi from Ebonyi State as Minister of Works, Hon. Uche Nnaji as Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, and Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, the first Minister of Trade and Investment who is now Minister of State for Finance.

Interestingly, Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu and Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the late Ikemba Nnewi’s wife, were among those appointed by the president when he reorganized his cabinet in October of last year. She was given the position of Foreign Affairs Minister of State. In an important step to encourage and quicken the development of the area, President Tinubu also created the Southeast Development Commission.

Those two appointments were enough to pardon President Tinubu’s alleged transgressions against the Igbo, according to a prominent journalist who is friends with him from the Southeast and a fervent Obidient who had never concealed his distaste for Tinubus.

In light of this, President Tinubu agreed to Governor Mbah’s request to launch a few of his initiatives in the upcoming year.

President Tinubu delivered important remarks that made the Igbo people happy during the opening of Governor Mbah’s projects and during a meeting with Southeast leaders.

The President emphasized during the Command and Control Center’s inauguration how crucial it is for the federal government and the subnationals to work together in order to propel growth.

Promotion
“This Command and Control Center is a powerful example of what we can do when we work together. It gives me comfort to know that more money coming to local and subnational governments is being used for development rather than waste.

“We have dedicated leaders like Peter Mbah who are guiding Enugu toward the growth of the twenty-first century, elevating the city to new heights, and creating our tomorrow now.

“The sight of the kids I just met at the Smart Green School will never leave me. I’ve witnessed vehicles and devices equipped with 21st-century technology. Indeed, you are working for the present, the future, and tomorrow.

The International Conference Center, the Command and Control Center, New Haven/Bisalla Road, the GTC Smart Green School, and 150 patrol cars equipped with security cameras were also opened by the president. At the Enugu State Government House, he also virtually launched other noteworthy projects.

Later, during an interactive meeting with leaders of the Southeast, President Tinubu pledged that his government would support the development of the Anambra Basin as a major energy reserve that could contain up to 30 billion cubic feet of gas and one billion barrels of oil, as well as finish the Eastern Rail line that would connect Port Harcourt to Maiduguri. During the interactive session, he made the pledge in response to appeals from Chris Ugoh, an Enugu State native, and Professor Chinedu Nebo, the former minister of power.

Nebo had praised the Tinubu administration for finishing the Port Harcourt to Aba segment of the Eastern rail line and had urged the President to give the remaining rail link segments top priority in order to promote non-oil product exports and spur regional development.

Governors, traditional leaders, business leaders, and current and previous National Assembly presiding officers from the region, including former Senate President Ken Nnamani, were among the dignitaries who attended the session.

President Tinubude displayed political maturity and his commitment to supporting developmental strides from any section of the country, by any governor, or by any stakeholder, with his visit to Enugu and the emphasis he placed on the invitation from PDP Governor Mbah. His determination to prioritize the nation and his nonpartisan disposition were boldly demonstrated by the visit. He praised Governor Mbah profusely for exhibiting “an irrevocable commitment to human development.”

In a similar spirit, President Tinubu declared, “I don’t care which party you come from; you are my friend,” after spotting Abia State Governor Alex Otti at the Enugu event. Abia State’s Alex Otti is also performing admirably. It has nothing to do with linguistic and geographic distinctions.

“The mother tongue is not under our control. God made us, and you might be in Lagos, Onitsha, or Enugu. Although we all reside in separate rooms of the same house, we are all part of the same large family known as Nigeria. In order to meet our present and future demands, we must construct this home.

Governor Mbah had characterized President Tinubu as a true federalist dedicated to Nigeria’s development prior to the launch of his projects.

Your credentials as a true federalist are impressive, and your accomplishments will garner you a lot of praise for a long time.

“You liberalized the production, transmission, and distribution of energy by signing the energy Act (Amendment) Bill. He added, “It is significant that Enugu State was the first sub-national to which the NERC transferred regulatory oversight of the local electricity market. That one act will always stand as an enduring legacy.” That illustrates how quickly we are working toward our objectives.

The governor stated that the Southeast Development Commission would complement the numerous development advancements taking place throughout the state by addressing the ecological and infrastructure issues in the area.

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Perhaps the visit’s main themes were development and governance. However, considering everything that happened during the visit, observers believe that President Tinubu and the Southeast geopolitical zone may have unintentionally launched a new chapter in their relationship. They note that this reunion could be a precursor to more significant developments for President Tinubu from the zone, especially as we approach the 2027 election.

*Rahman serves as the President’s Senior Special Assistant for Media Affairs.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) group led by Dr. Mustapha Inuwa filed a lawsuit against the state’s ward, local government, and state congresses, but the Katsina High Court rejected it.

The conduct of the July and August 2024 PDP congresses held in the state has been the subject of a legal dispute between Inuwa’s supporters and those of Senator Yakubu Lado, a candidate for governor.

Along with eight other people, Inuwa, a former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), filed a lawsuit in the state High Court, requesting that the court prevent the party from holding congresses due to their inability to obtain the necessary documents.

According to the plaintiffs, they brought the lawsuit on behalf of 7,905 other party members who were unhappy with how the state’s congresses were run.

However, the PDP, the suit’s respondent, submitted a preliminary objection through its attorney, Isaac Nwachukwu, asking the court to dismiss the case on the grounds that the plaintiffs had the necessary authority and competence to bring the lawsuit.

Justice Abbas Bawale, the presiding judge, rejected the plaintiffs’ application in his ruling yesterday, stating that the court lacked the authority to consider the case.

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Citing pertinent sources, the judge decided that the party’s congresses were mostly internal issues that the court shouldn’t become involved in.

He went on to say that the court only considers cases based on complaints from party primaries in compliance with the country’s Electoral Act, 2022, as modified.

But when contacted, Mustapha Shitu-Mahuta, the plaintiffs’ attorney, claimed that the state PDP congresses were unlawfully held and flagrantly violated the party’s constitution.

Shitu-Mahuta pledged to appeal Justice Bawale’s decision to the appellate court while voicing his clients’ displeasure with the ruling.

On Friday, it seemed probable that the US Supreme Court would uphold a regulation that would compel ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, to either sell the enormously popular online video-sharing platform or shut it down.

The majority of the nine-member bench’s conservative and liberal justices seemed dubious of claims made by a TikTok attorney that compelling a sale violated the company’s First Amendment right to free expression.

The rule, which was signed by President Joe Biden in April, would prevent TikTok, which has 170 million members in the US, from accessing US app stores and web hosting services unless ByteDance sells off its stake in the social media company by January 19.

According to the US government, TikTok serves as a platform for propaganda and gives Beijing permission to gather information and spy on users. ByteDance and China vehemently refute the allegations.

During two and a half hours of oral arguments, TikTok attorney Noel Francisco stated, “This case ultimately boils down to speech.” Ideas are what we are discussing. The government cannot censor speech, if the First Amendment is to be believed.

Citing TikTok’s Chinese ownership, a number of the justices objected.

Justice Samuel Alito stated, “There’s a good reason for saying that a foreign government, especially an adversary, does not have free speech rights in the United States.” Why would everything change if it were only concealed under a phony corporate structure of some sort?

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh brought up the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act’s national security implications.

“I believe the president and Congress were worried that China was gaining access to data about tens of millions of Americans, including teenagers and people in their twenties,” Kavanaugh stated.

“That they would use that information over time to develop spies to turn people, to blackmail people, people who a generation from now will be working in the FBI or the CIA or in the State Department,” he continued, was their worry.

Is the court “supposed to ignore the fact that the ultimate parent is, in fact, subject to doing intelligence work for the Chinese government?” Roberts questioned the TikTok attorney.

Francisco claimed that Congress had alternative options for resolving its issues, like mandating that information from TikTok users in the US not be shared with third parties.

He said, “They never even thought of that most obvious alternative,” which is to say, “You can’t give it to China, you can’t give it to Google, you can’t give it to Amazon, you can’t give it to ByteDance.”
Francisco was questioned about what would happen if ByteDance decided not to sell TikTok after January 19.

He declared, “We go dark.” “The platform basically shuts down.”

Justice Amy Coney Barrett took issue with Francisco’s characterization.

“You keep saying shut down,” Barrett said. “The law doesn’t say TikTok has to shut down. It says ByteDance has to divest. If ByteDance divested TikTok, we wouldn’t be here, right?”

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, representing the Biden administration, also raised national security concerns, calling Chinese government control of TikTok a “grave threat.”

“The Chinese government could weaponize TikTok at any time to harm the United States,” Prelogar said. “There is no protected First Amendment right for a foreign adversary to exploit its control over a speech platform.”

The potential ban could strain US-China relations just as Donald Trump prepares to be sworn in as president on January 20.

Trump, who has 14.7 million followers on TikTok, has emerged as an unlikely ally of the platform — in a reversal from his first term, when the Republican leader tried to ban the app.

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Trump’s lawyer, John Sauer, filed a brief with the Supreme Court last month asking it to pause the law, “thus permitting President Trump’s incoming Administration the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case.”

In an 11th hour development on Thursday, US billionaire Frank McCourt announced that he had put together a consortium to acquire TikTok’s US assets from ByteDance.

“We look forward to working with ByteDance, President-elect Trump, and the incoming administration to get this deal done,” McCourt said.

AFP, among more than a dozen other fact-checking organizations, is paid by TikTok in several countries to verify videos that potentially contain false information.

Major General Oluyinka Soyele, the Theatre Commander of Joint Task Force North West Operation Fansan Yamma, has reiterated that troops are prepared to take on the terrorist organization Lakurawa near the Nigeria-Niger border.

This statement was made on Friday while on an operational visit to the DHQ Special Operations Brigade’s tactical headquarters, which is located in Balle, Gudu Local Government Area, Sokoto State.

Soyele emphasized that the troops involved in Operation Flush Lakurawa Out must be committed.

He emphasized how crucial it is to preserve Nigeria’s territorial integrity, calling it “non-negotiable.”
He urged the troops to be vigilant and resolute in their efforts to undermine the criminal organization’s power, which endangers the safety and tranquility of the border villages.
Soyele made contact with the local populace and asked for their assistance in combating terrorism.

He called on citizens to actively cooperate with security forces, emphasizing the vital role that local support plays in the accomplishment of military operations.

He said that “a solid alliance between the community and the troops can improve operational effectiveness and promote a united front against terrorism.”

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In order to properly handle the difficulties posed by insurgency and ensure long-term peace, the Theatre Commander emphasized the importance of intelligence sharing and community participation.

According to him, “the mission to flush out the group aims not only to restore security but also to facilitate a stable environment conducive to community development and prosperity through clear communication and collaborative efforts.”