The words in the image below are those of the senator who had an almighty spat with Mrs Oby Ezekwesili. The former minister appeared to think that Nwaebonyi and nwa boi are interchangeable and that entitled her to speak to the guy like he’s an oso ahia. Of course, Nwaebonyi refused to be castrated by the glowering Oby and gave as much as he got or a likkle more.

While doing so, he kept reminding all and sundry that he is a sitting senator, as though it is alright to shoot insults at anyone aside from a sitting senator. He could have stood up to be a standing senator. I think he’s more pained by the fact that he was insulted, very unfairly, as senator, not as a human being.

The evidence of that is what you find in the attached image. He thinks he is a few streets ahead of Ezekwesili, who was a minister. I suspect he’d have no respect for her or anyone who has never been in public office.

Oby has also continued sprinkling bilge all around by inanely flipping Nwaebonyi’s refusal to be treated with the dignity of a garbage bin as reflective of men’s disdain for women. She has conveniently forgotten she instigated the explosion of rage.  She probably remembered, but thought that flecks of anointing from her church’s 100-day fasting would stun Nwaebonyi into speechlessness. Women, she obviously thinks, are entitled to lavish hugs, fist bumps, back pats or the quasi-poetic “your waist will make good movements” when they say “shut up; you’re a hooligan” to men.

READ ALSO: Ogun: Govt announces outbreak of Lassa fever, confirms one dead

I doubt Oby wouldn’t go bald with anger within minutes if she was told to please shut her gob and got called a hooligan by a woman. If a man did that, she’d have been belching tanker fire-size flames.

Back to Nwaebonyi. Something is wrong with the guy. Natasha, he went on to say on TV, isn’t one of Nigeria’s most beautiful women. I disagree with that because she looks 10/10 to me and we can have a lengthy debate, but I wonder why this had to come up at all. A little worse also came up and for which the Senate needs to take him to an eye clinic.  He described Natasha’s complexion as “chocolate colour”. Iyen Natasha to pon bi oole aawe?  The guy na maikafo.

The post EXTRA: That spat between Ezekwesili and Nwaebonyi… appeared first on Frontpageng.

The establishment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission by an Act of the National Assembly on December 12, 2002 and subsequent amendment in 2004 remains Nigeria’s boldest and most significant step towards achieving a graft-free society. However, notwithstanding this move, corruption continues to afflict the country like a malignant tumour requiring more than a simple surgical operation to stop its growth.

It should be noted that beside the fact that the creation of the Commission had been an expedient necessity for the nation, it was also partly in response to pressure from the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, also more commonly known by its French name, Grouped’action financière, which had listed Nigeria as one of its Non- Cooperative Countries and Territories. In 2006, shortly after the operation of the Commission kicked off, FATF removed Nigeria from the list.

The coming of the EFCC was indeed a relieving breather. Corruption has been a major national headache since independence. In 2012, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, a former Education Minister and a former World Bank Vice President for Africa, reported that Nigeria had lost up to $400 billion of her revenue to corruption since 1960. This amount could have conveniently paid off the nation’s debt to the Paris Club (which was eventually paid off in October 2005) and provided needed infrastructure to accelerate the country’s progress towards industrialisation and self-sufficiency.

The EFCC began with a bang. Its pioneer Chairman, Mallam Nuru Ribadu, a senior police officer, moved swiftly against many hitherto invincible corruption kingpins who had been on a free rein on the scene. Many of them were arrested, tried and successfully convicted. Backed by the media and encouraged by the political will of the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, the EFCC made substantial progress against corruption and corrupt government officials and individuals.

Expectedly and most significantly, there have been criticisms against the Commission’s use of the media to try suspects even before they were arraigned in court. However, the media attention it created and enjoyed had a substantial positive effect on the country’s Corruption Perception Index.

In 2014, Transparency International, an international association set up to combat global corruption, ranked Nigeria 136, up from 144 in 2013. In 2020, the country’s ranking had climbed to 149, signalling that in spite of the tireless and relentless activities of the EFCC, the country needed a new approach in the fight against financial and economic crimes.

Over the years, the choice of an Executive Chairman to lead the anti-graft agency has attracted national attention because of its consequences. First, the choice signals the intention and determination of the political administration in power and secondly because the Executive Chairman is the arrowhead of the agency’s anti-corruption drive. It is in the light of this that Barrister Ola Olukayode’s appointment becomes most significant because of its consequence on the fight against corruption.

Barrister Ola Olukoyede’s appointment

Ola Olukoyede emerged the fifth Executive Chairman of the EFCC following his appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on October 12, 2023. He became the first person from the southern part of Nigeria to serve as Executive Chairman of the Commission. Also of note is that he is the first Executive Chairman of the EFCC without a Police Background or without a cadet training from the Commission – AIG Mallam Nuhu Ribadu (retd – 2003-2007), AIG Farida Waziri (retd – 2008-2011), DIG Ibrahim Lamorde (retd – 2012-2015) and AIG Ibrahim Magu (retd – 2015-2012) served the Commission as serving police officers except AIG Farida who was already retired before her appointment.  Olukoyede’s immediate predecessor, Abdulrasheed Bawa (2021-2023), was the first cadet-trained officer of the Commission to be appointed Executive Chairman.

READ ALSO: Tinubu appoints seven executive directors for NTA

Olukoyede is eminently qualified to lead the Commission. He has 22 years experience in law practice, compliance management, corporate intelligence and fraud management.  Before joining the EFCC as Secretary of the Commission in 2018, he had worked as a lawyer at the law firm of former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN). He is an alumnus of the Lagos State University; University of Lagos; Institute of Arbitration ICC ,  Paris, France; and University of Harvard (Kennedy School of Executive Education) and a member of the Fraud Advisory Panel (UK). Olukoyede is also a pastor at the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

Going forward, while the Chairman will need to up his efforts in the fight against corruption, he will also need the understanding and support of the media and all Nigerians. Corruption affects us in ways we cannot imagine. In spite of the prospect of economic prosperity that the nation can achieve, corruption will keep the nation down and hinder the reforms of the President Bola Tinubu administration.

Sailing through the storm

Since assuming office, the Chairman has expectedly and unsurprisingly been in the eye of the storm. Anti-graft fight is always a difficult and delicate issue in any terrain. There is a burden of expectation that comes with occupying the position. He will be hated by the corrupt and treated with suspicion by many. The Chairman is always overburdened with a load of expectations. His first unspoken responsibility is to prove he is not an appendage of the Presidency. The political class, including members of the ruling party, expect to be treated with kid gloves. People expect him to be brutal in his approach by hounding suspects into detention without respect for the rule of law. These issues are typical with the position of the nation’s head of its anti-graft agency.

Raids of Yahoo Boys hideouts

Over the years, one of EFCC’s major focus in the anti-graft war is the menace of online scammers. It was therefore not surprising when the Commission raided some hotels in Akure, Ondo State and Lagos State accommodating suspected Ýahoo Boys in June 2024. Nigerians have a culture of hard work and integrity. There are however a small set of people who have entrenched themselves in online scams, popularly called Yahoo Yahoo. The phenomenon is so concerning that some Nigerians with shady characters have been arrested and are serving prison terms in foreign countries. Additionally, the average Nigerian traveller is wrongly profiled leading to embarrassing treatments in the hands of immigration officers and other law enforcement agents.

The increase in the number of these cases has been a source of worry to all Nigerians. The initial raids on the hideouts of the ‘boys’ were greeted with a lot of criticisms, some of these very well justified. Claims of operatives’ high handedness resulting in injuries to innocent citizens and damage to properties of hotel management have probably slowed down these raids. We expected in strategy rather a slow down of the onslaught against online criminals.

Putting religious leaders on the spot

On July 14, 2024, Olukoyede, an RCCG pastor himself, at a Redeemed Christian Church of God leadership conference in Lagos, revealed that his organisation recently recovered “many millions from a religious organisation”. Earlier in January 2024, the Commission claimed it uncovered a religious sect laundering money for terrorists in Nigeria. The Chairman has received media attacks for daring to call out religious leaders. Well meaning Nigerians must stand with the Commission if the country is determined to combat corruption. Graft is an evil which affects us all and any fight against the menace must be embraced by all.

Yahaya Bello’s case

This is the first high profile case and probably the toughest test Olukoyede will face as Chairman of the Commission. Incidentally, this is arguably the first time the Commission will be dealing with a former governor who has refused to honour its invitation. The issue has been dragged for months, weeks and days on end. On April 24, 2024, Olukoyede vowed to resign if he does not bring the former governor to book. After declaring him wanted and after several weeks of hide-and-seek between operatives of the Commission and Bello, the former governor claimed to have “visited” the EFCC head office in Abuja on September 18, 2024. In a counter claim, the Commission stated that the former governor remained a wanted person. The Commission will need to prove beyond doubt that it will not protect any sacred cow in the fight against corruption in the country.

Going forward, while the Chairman will need to up his efforts in the fight against corruption, he will also need the understanding and support of the media and all Nigerians. Corruption affects us in ways we cannot imagine. In spite of the prospect of economic prosperity that the nation can achieve, corruption will keep the nation down and hinder the reforms of the President Bola Tinubu administration.

Subsequently, we will be highlighting the place of media sensitisation and patriotism in our collective fight against corruption. It is of great importance that all Nigerians rally round the Chairman and the Commission so we can win the fight against corruption.

The post Ola Olukoyede: Sailing through the storm, By Shina Philips appeared first on Frontpageng.

Mmesoma, who is from a poor background in Anambra State, claimed that she scored 362 marks in the examination, prompting many to celebrate her brilliance, with Innoson Motors, an indigenous vehicle manufacturing company, rewarding her ‘hard work’ with N3 million.

In an attempt to do same, the Anambra State government tried to validate her claims through a letter to JAMB, but the bubble burst when JAMB wrote to the Commissioner for Education in the State, stating that the result that Mmesoma was parading was fake.

Now is the time for Nigerians to recognise and reward the efforts of Miss Umeh, who scored the highest marks in this year’s JAMB, as we should not allow the impasse created by Mmesoma to rob her of her deserved honour and recognition.

But with an unassuming personality, Mmesoma did not come across as someone who would want to play a fast one on JAMB but she got embroiled in the raging controversy after her fraud was exposed due to layers of technology deployed by the examination body to detect anyone desperate enough to compromise the integrity of the exam body.

The young lady appeared determined to use technology to make a claim not knowing that JAMB had deployed a far higher level of technology to prevent such. It was later revealed in the course of investigations that Mmesoma scored 249 in the UTME. Even with her intention to study Pharmacy at the University of Lagos, that score was enough to secure her admission into UNILAG if she gets distinctions in five core subjects in addition to the UNILAG post-Jamb examination.

What appears puzzling to most is why the young lady wanted more by trying to project herself as the overall best student. Couldn’t she have waited for the examination body to declare to Nigerians who got the highest marks in the examination? Mmesoma used a template last used in 2021 to forge the 362 score.

However, many Nigerians appear to be sympathetic towards her since the dilemma broke out. To them, the exam body was, by their story, simply out to tarnish the image of the aspiring young girl and to deny the Igbo another ‘glory’.  In spite of the announcement by JAMB that the candidate that scored the highest mark was one Miss Kamisiyochukwu Nkechinyere Umeh, also from Anambra State, but based in Ogun State, with a score of 360, some Nigerians, especially her Igbo-speaking brothers, and sisters, are ready to tear JAMB to pieces.

The internet warriors among them turned what appears to be a case of fraud into tribal warfare, to the extent that a lawyer among them gave the examination body 48 hours to apologise to Mmesoma or face legal action. Another ‘money miss road’ among them promised to get her out of the country by offering her a scholarship to study in either the United States of America, Canada, or Britain. She only has to mention the country of her choice and it would be done.

The tribal sentiment made a former Minister in the country to write that JAMB was wrong in its treatment of the young lady. Oby Ezekwesili in actual fact, put a call through to the Registrar of JAMB, Professor Isiaq Oloyede, asking for a review of the case and calling for an independent body to probe it. She only stopped short of rubbishing an institution of government she presided over as Minister of Education.

It wasn’t until JAMB came up with incontrovertible evidence to prove that Mmesoma actually forged the 362 mark; came out with her actual score, and provided evidence of her several attempts to lodge into the JAMB portal with the fake result – and wait for it – Mmesoma’s admission on TV that she actually scored 249 – that her defenders relented.

Again, a probe panel set up by the Anambra State Government came up with a damming report that Mmesoma actually forged the 362 mark she claimed and that she has confessed to the fraudulent act.

Although some of her fans have actually apologised to JAMB and Nigerians, many still continue in their persecution of JAMB. Some of her defenders-in-chief however gave themselves a ‘soft landing’ by postulating that she must have done what she did because she learned from our leaders who they claim are experts at cheating and lying to Nigerians.

What the whole Mmesoma/JAMB imbroglio has shown is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has a big task ahead of him. He is presiding over a divided nation. We have never had it so bad. Nigerians are no longer acting and speaking with one voice, nor share the same values. We are quick to take sides with the alleged victim in any case based on his/her ethnic background. Our fault lines as a nation are now so glaring that it could endanger national development. How did we get to this sorry state?

READ ALSO: FOR THE RECORD: Panel report on Mmesoma UTME score issue

Though those fault lines have been there for quite some time, they became manifest months before the 2023 general elections. In a nation made up of three major ethnic groups, winning an election in Nigeria has always been for two major ethnic groups to form an alliance in order to win. It was so in 1979, 1983, 1999, and in all previous elections. But the 2023 general elections came with unique features. Each of the three leading tribes came up with a presidential candidate. What gave Tinubu the edge was the fact that his ruling party agreed to a power shift to the South after the North has been at the helm of affairs for eight years through Muhammadu Buhari. The candidate of the leading opposition party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, comes from the North but many of his compatriots felt that the North retaining power for another eight years may create a crisis for the country.

Peter Obi, who was the flag bearer of the Labour Party was initially part of the PDP but he felt that it was time for the South East region to produce the President of the country.

Obi and the southeast have a genuine case but he was unable to build any alliance with other regions. Rather, he felt that he could win the presidency on his own without the buy-in of other regions. Again, due to the fact that the Igbos can be found in all the states of the federation, he felt that their votes were enough for him.

Even before the poll, the Governor of Anambra State and Obi’s brother, Charles Soludo, had warned that the tactics deployed by his people, harassing and bullying those who were not in support of the candidacy of Obi would be counter-productive for Ndigbo but he was also shouted down. They called the Hausas names and abused the hell out of Tinubu and the Yoruba. Many who don’t even like Tinubu eventually queue behind him when Ndigbo turned Obi’s project into an Igbo affair.

We all know how the actions of the Ndigbo played out in the election results. The declaration of Tinubu as the President is still being contested at the tribunal and it may go all the way to the Supreme Court. For now, Tinubu is presiding over a divided country and he must do all within his power to unite the nation. He must ensure that the Igbos are carried along in the scheme of things for peace to reign in the country.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari felt let down by Ndigbo in the 2015 and 2019 general elections due to the block votes the region gave to the opposition, the PDP, and he practically shut them out of his government. Tinubu also got the same treatment at this year’s polls but he should be magnanimous in victory and should carry every ethnic group along in his government. He started well by appointing an Igbo man as the chief of Naval Staff, and we hope that he will continue along that line when Ministers and Board appointments are made. Aside from that, he could also endear himself to Ndigbo by being magnanimous and releasing Nnamdi Kanu from prison. All he has to do is to discontinue the trial and hand over Kanu to the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo so that the tension and senseless killings going on in the Southeast will abate.

He could also use the opportunity of Kanu’s release to canvass for Ndigbo to put a stop to the call for a separate country-Biafra, a project that I believe will not fly, as we are too interwoven as a nation and people for any of the regions to be agitating to stand alone. One needs to visit cities like Lagos and Abuja to see the number of inter-tribal marriages between Igbo and other ethnic groups across the country. What will happen to a Yoruba man married to an Igbo lady and their offspring living in Lagos or Abuja if the Igbo have to go their separate ways? What will become of the thousands of properties owned by Igbos in Lagos and Abuja? It is time for us to start speaking in one voice and shun issues that could further polarize us as a nation.

What the whole Mmesoma/JAMB imbroglio has shown is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has a big task ahead of him. He is presiding over a divided nation.

While the House of Representatives has called on JAMB to seize fire and hold on from further punishing Mmesoma following its ban on her from writing the exam for three years, it is time for the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), and the federal government to wield the big stick by deactivating all known Apps on social media used by students to fraudulently upgrade their marks in public examinations. Mmesoma is not the only culprit involved in this shady practice and all those involved should be identified and sanctioned. It is when the foundation of a nation is strong that it would be able to withstand any turbulence in the future. Our children are the foundation we need to build a strong society in the future. And we need to start building that strong nation through the sound and moral upbringing of our youths.

Now is the time for Nigerians to recognise and reward the efforts of Miss Umeh, who scored the highest marks in this year’s JAMB, as we should not allow the impasse created by Mmesoma to rob her of her deserved honour and recognition. Congratulations, girl!

See you next week.

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The launch of the photobook, which highlights and celebrates the resilience, grit, and courage of 30 women and their life-changing journey with Grooming Centre, was held at the Grooming Centre Multi-purpose Hall in Ejigbo, Lagos, on Thursday, April 28.

Speaking at the event, Dr Akindele Akinsoye, the CEO of Platform Capital, co-sponsors of the event eulogised women for whom he said the future belonged.

“The work that Grooming Centre is doing is very important because by helping women build sustainable enterprises, tooling them, scaling them, skilling them, they are preparing them to build bigger businesses in the future, being that the micro segment is the conveyor belt of big corporations,” he said.

The highlight of the event was a review of the book by Yale University Fellow and Founder of the School Politics, Policy, and Governance (SPPG), Dr. Oby Ezekwesili.

Ezekwesili joined virtually, was unable to attend physically as the day was her birthday and her family insisted that she spent it at Abuja.

She lauded the phenomenal work that the organisation was doing, describing it as incredible.

Praising the quality of production of the book, Ezekwesili did a methodical review of the book, telling each story with a passion and that brings to life the experiences of the women in the book, with one of the stories relating to her as a young woman when her father passed on.

Describing the book as one that tells the story of development done at micro level with real impact, she said it made the title – Stories of Impact: Real Women, Real Lives, Real Growth – proper.

“It is a book that should claim a stand on the shelf of development books,” she said.

She pointed out some development issues that the book highlights including the fact that 60 per cent of businesses by women do not have access to finance, a situation which hampers growth from the current case of two per cent of growth annually.

She called for measurement and evaluation of the input of women, calling on the relevant policy makers to get copies of the book promising to send them to the people who should read, with an interest to publicise the good works of Grooming Centre and the wonderful stories of success.

An interesting segment of the event was a fireside chat on sustainable efforts for social impact – The Grooming impact, where the Chief Executive Officer, Grooming Centre, Dr. Godwin Nwabunka and Member, Grooming Centre, Governing Council, Ms. ler Jonathan-Ichaver fielded questions bordering the genesis of Grooming Centre and other related issues.

Anchoring a pledge drive for internally displaced people IDPs in the country, a representative of Grooming Centre’s partner, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, representative and former Sierra Leonian refugee, himself, Tibo Rogers, while calling for donations to the agency, recounted his own experience as a refugee in Ghana, and spoke about the difficult life of refugees.

Goodwill review messages were also done on the book by a few distinguished personalities including former Presidential Candidate for Kowa Party, Professor Remi Sonaiya, who lauded the sterling efforts of Grooming Centre.

Former Vice Chancellor of the University of Uyo, Dr Essien, introduced a lot of humour in his brief review of the book that sent the entire hall reeling with laughter, but all the while pointing out the fine points in the book, while inspiring the audience.

The presentation of the book was the semi climax of the event, done with the women whose stories were told right on the podium.

Grooming Centre is an NGO founded in 2006 to address the perennial challenge of access to credit at the base of the pyramid.

Since its inception, the Centre has provided 12 million credits and currently empowers 720,000 client members by providing financial and non-financial services through a network of 605 branches in 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

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The photobook highlights and celebrates the resilience, grit, and courage of 30 women and their life-changing journey with Grooming Centre.

Grooming Centre is a Non-Governmental Organisation, NGO, founded in 2006 to address the perennial challenge of access to credit at the base of the pyramid.

Since its inception, the Centre has provided 12 million credits and currently empowers 720,000 client members by providing financial and non-financial services through a network of 605 branches in 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

A member of the Governing Council of Grooming Centre, and chairperson of the Stories of Impact committee, Ms. Ier Jonathan-Ichaver, said that they were all excited at the launch of the photobook.

“Grooming is impacting well over 700,000 families across Nigeria through its microfinance programme. This is really what NGOs are about. This is what entities like Grooming Centre are about. Starting out from Ejigbo in one small room and growing to what they have become today within 15 years is amazing. But more amazing is the way they have touched the lives of different market women, traders, artisans, small businesses and all kinds with some starting as low as N15,000 in the past,” she said.

According to Ms. Ichaver: “We are very excited that getting to hear the stories of just a tiny percentage of these amazing women and their families, their journey, and their grit and their sheer determination to survive in spite of the odds; not just survive but provide for their households and to work within their family businesses, to make sure they cater for and get a better life for their children. So, it’s an amazing thing. We are very excited, and we look forward to telling more of their stories.”

Co-sponsored by Platform Capital, the book launch event will also include a photo exhibition showcasing the profiled inspiring women, and a tour of the Centre’s new ultra-modern Learning Centre, which is hosting its first major event.

Expected to commence at 9 a.m., the event will feature a review of the book, Stories of Impact: Real Women, Real Lives, Real Growth, by Yale University Fellow and Founder of the School Politics, Policy and Governance, Dr. Oby Ezekwezili.

There is also expected to be a screening of the Stories of Impact documentary.

Musical entertainment will be headlined by Afrobeat impresario, Dede and the Kalafrika Band.

Institutional funders and partners, players in the financial inclusion space, academics, and other distinguished guests are expected to attend.

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She said her evidence was in the declaration of support by the leadership of the party for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday.

She described as false, the claim that she was out to use the party’s platform to negotiate for a post.

Ezekwesili made the latest remarks in a statement she issued on Friday.

In the statement she issued on Thursday to announce her withdrawal from the presidential race, Ezekwesili explained that the need to join a coalition to sack the two leading party, APC and the Peoples Democratic Party informed her position.

But at a press conference also on Thursday, the leadership of the ACPN faulted her, saying she was lying.

The party also threatened to sue her if she did not return all the donations she collected as presidential candidate as they would have to account to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

It was at the occasion that the party declared its support for Buhari in the coming election.

In her latest statement, Ezekwesili who said she was in Mexico promised to address a press conference where she would throw further light on the case on arrival in the country.

The statement by Ezekwesili reads:

NO AMOUNT OF LIES CAN STOP THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW POLITICAL MINDSET AND ORDER.

Three hours ago, I arrived far flung Cabo in Mexico where our Albert Einstein’s Genius100 Visionaries meeting is holding. I was delighted to read reactions of real patriots to my announcement that I’ve decided to withdraw from the 2019 Presidential race & end my membership of Allied Congress Party of Nigeria- ACPN. I have also seen the reaction of ACPN leadership to my decision.

Fortunately, they have divinely helped me by making the Nigerian public now fully understand why I had to swiftly depart from their midst. How could I upon realizing the divergence of values and vision with the leadership of the Party continue to stand on such a political platform? My abiding vision has been to mobilize citizens to disrupt the old order politics of APCPDP.

Nigeria and Nigerians deserve a New Order of ethical, competent and capable leadership which I had mistakenly assumed the ACPN was aligned with me to offer, until it proved otherwise. The values and vision divergence with the Party was a key factor that triggered my withdrawal from the Presidential race on their ticket prompting me to dissociate immediately in order to help build a coalition for Good Governance. It is why I was instant in sacrificing my candidacy to uphold my values by withdrawing.

The Party’s decision to immediately today endorse the candidate of APC which was announced by my erstwhile VP candidate who is also the Chairman of ACPN was their classic political entrepreneurship in full display for Nigerians to see. It is instructive.

The Party leadership’s transactional approach to Politics began to manifest in their attitude following after the Convention that adopted me as their Presidential Candidate. All who know me can attest that I detest transactional mindset. I would have none of such and therefore extremely delighted to part ways after a tumultuous three months of hoping that the ACPN leadership would elevate to the new values of disruptive politics that one had desired for and preached within the Party.

As for the defamatory statements made against my person by the ACPN leadership in their malicious statement, I want Nigerians to know that there is NO IOTA of truth in any of them. Everything ACPN wrote or said of the campaign donations is fabrication & outright lies. Our Campaign was conducted with the highest level of transparency and accountability with impeccable evidence. I know and can guarantee that at all times because these standards firmly underpin my commitment to lasting values and professionalism.

Only those who desperately wish to believe falsehoods would lend any credence to such puerile accusations by the leadership of ACPN. Only those who pretend ignorance of my legendary and uncompromising passion for accountability would give heed to such baseless statement.

I have declined any interviews until my return to Nigeria upon which I shall hold a World Press Conference to engage Nigerians on the actions I shall take even as we present a full report of our 3-month old Campaign for the 2019 presidential election to the public.

I want to again thank all who supported us in the last three months with their talent, time and treasure to run a formidable Campaign. Without your support, we would never have attained the height #Hope2019achieved. You gave our Disruptive Campaign real VALUE.

We shall at the World Press Conference also provide insights into the citizens’ movement that we are energized and committed to building. There is no end to our zeal to end the reign of Bad Politics in our country.

Finally, take it from me that WE shall definitely build the Coalition force that will terminate the poverty escalating governance of the two dominant parties in the 2019 election.

We are citizens of Nigeria.

And we are resolved.

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The party said the need to return the donations became necessary because it would have to account to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The National Chairman of the party, Gani Galadima, issued the threat on Thursday just as he declared that Ezekwesili lied over her reason for withdrawing from the race.

The party said contrary to the position advanced by Ezekwesili, she only wanted to use the party to negotiate a position in government.

Thursday morning, Ezekwesili announced her withdrawal from the presidential race, stating that she wanted to support a coalition in order to defeat the All Progressives Congress and the People’s Democratic Party in the February 16, 2019 election.

But addressing a press conference, Galadima said her decision to use the position to negotiate the position of Minister of Finance informed her lack of seriousness about the campaign for the post of the president.

He however revealed that the ACPN had resolved to campaign for Buhari.

His words:  “The reason for calling this press conference is to let the world know about the presidential aspiration of Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, which in actual fact, is not the truth. I have been put into confidence by one of her aides named Iyinoluwa Aboyeji that she only wanted to use the platform of the ACPN to negotiate to be Nigeria’s finance minister.

“This she does not deem fit to inform the party whose mandate she is holding. If you observe, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili is the only presidential candidate who was so militant in her campaign without any tangible thing on ground to indicate any seriousness in the prosecution of her campaign.

“No campaign secretariat, billboard or great commitment on ground to indicate any seriousness. It is on this ground that the ACPN is withdrawing support for her presidential aspiration and endorsing the second term bid of President Muhammadu Buhari to take Nigeria to the next level.”

Galadima sait that Ezekwesili did not inform the party about her decision to withdraw from the race.

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The decision was announced on Thursday by her  spokesman,  Ozioma Ubabukoh.

Ezekwesili is a former Minister of Education and  co-founder of the ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ movement.

In a statement issued, Ezekwesili said her decision was to join a coalition formed to defeat the All Progressives Congress and the People’s Democratic Party in the February 16, 2019 election.

The decision, she said followed extensive consultations with Nigerians both at home and abroad.

The statement reads in part:  “This decision followed extensive consultations with leaders from various walks of life across the country over the past few days. I deem it necessary for me to focus on helping to build a veritable coalition to ensure a viable alternative to the #APCPDP in the forthcoming elections.

“It is my ardent belief that this broad coalition for a viable alternative has now become more than ever before, an urgent mission for and on behalf of Nigerian citizens. I have therefore chosen to lead the way in demonstrating the much needed patriotic sacrifice for our national revival and redirection.

“I wish to state that over the past three months, I have been in private, but extended talks with other candidates to birth a coalition that would allow Nigerians to exercise their choice without feeling helplessly encumbered by the evil twins of #APCPDP.

“While the deliberations continued, I never hesitated for a moment in my willingness and determination to sacrifice my candidacy in order to facilitate the emergence of the envisaged strong and viable alternative that Nigerians could identify with in our collective search for a new beginning.

“My commitment to this promising political recalibration has been consistent and in consonance with my agreement, at the request of candidates under the Presidential Aspirants Coming Together (PACT) arrangement in 2018, when I consented to supervise the internal selection process as an outside observer passionate about building an alternative force.”

She said although her party, the ACPN, had resisted, she had decided that it was necessary to show by action and example her determination by stepping down her candidacy so as to focus squarely on building the coalition to a logical conclusion.

“We have no right to allow citizens give in to despair. We will #Fight4Naija together and prove to all that the mess, which the political class has now become, should not be allowed to destroy our spirits and nation. We are also determined to ensure that the message keeps resonating that our beloved country deserves better, and that we will get the best that we deserve,” she said.

She added:  “From last year, when I joined the presidential race, I made it clear to Nigerians that the country has always had a 20-year cycle of change – 1959, 1979, and 1999. As such, 2019 begins another 20-year cycle, and together with all Nigerians of good will, I stand ready to play my part to ensure that we do not miss this golden opportunity to sing a new song.

“There is no more time to waste. Let’s get to work!”

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