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I Was Quoted Out Of Context On Abacha’s ‘Hospitality’, Nigeria Needs His Ruthlessness — Shettima

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2 years ago

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Kashim Shettima, the vice-presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says he was misquoted on a recent comment he made that cited a reference to the late Sani Abacha.

Speaking on Thursday at the 96th-anniversary celebration of the Yoruba Tennis Club in Ikoyi, Lagos state, NAN quoted him as saying Nigeria needs the “hospitality” of Abacha, former military ruler.

However, Shettima had said the country needs a president with “a dose of ruthlessness and taciturnity” of Abacha.

The APC vice-presidential candidate had also listed some qualities of leaders such as Olusegun Obasanjo, Abdusalami Abubakar, Ibrahim Babangida, and President Muhammadu Buhari, and said Bola Tinubu, APC presidential candidate, has such qualities.

“We need a leader with the patience and sense of responsibility and commitment, and somebody who understands the national psyche and mood of the nation of an Abdulsalami Abubakar, and in applicable circumstances, we need a leader with a dose of ruthlessness and taciturnity of General Sani Abacha,” he had said.

“Nice men do not make leaders. We need a leader with intellectual acumen, with the passion to catapult this nation to a higher pedestal. We need a leader who is not bound by regional or religious sentiment.

“We need a leader that has established such records of excellence and commitment to good governance. There is no one, with all due respect, that fits this better than Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”

Clarifying the comparison of Abacha to Tinubu in a series of tweets on Friday, the former governor of Borno said he did not attribute hospitality to Abacha, adding that he meant Nigeria needs a president who is ruthless like the late military ruler, to address insecurity.

“The obsession with distorting one’s views to settle partisan scores brings to mind a certain WBC Commentary. ‘The trouble with deliberate bias,’ it says, ‘is that it cannot be erased by sound education. The video of my speech in Lagos is out there for those sincerely curious,” he tweeted.

“I never attributed hospitality to Abacha in my speech. I did a rundown of our past Presidents and played up ‘the taciturnity and a dose of the ruthlessness of a Sani Abacha’ to show we need strongmen to deal with the non-state actors who’ve turned Nigeria into a vast killing field.

“I was quick to tease the audience, appreciating the humor hovering around the hall, with the familiar jibe that nice men don’t make good leaders.

“By nice men, I meant those who get easily manipulated and pressured to divert state resources to appeal to private expectations.”

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BIG STORY

JUST IN: Yahaya Bello Pleads Not Guilty In Alleged N110bn Fraud Case

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5 mins ago

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November 27, 2024

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Former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has pleaded not guilty to the 16-count charge filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over his alleged involvement in a N110 billion fraud.

Bello was arraigned on Wednesday before Justice Maryanne Anenih of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.

The former Kogi governor had been declared wanted by the EFCC in April 2024.

 

More to come…

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BIG STORY

Alleged N110bn Fraud: Yahaya Bello Arrives FCT High Court For Trial

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1 hour ago

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November 27, 2024

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Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi, has arrived at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja for his arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Bello is expected to be arraigned over an alleged fraud amounting to N110 billion.

The ex-governor was arrested by EFCC operatives on November 26.

In April, the commission declared Bello wanted after multiple attempts to arrest him were unsuccessful.

In September, Bello responded to the EFCC’s invitation, accompanied by Usman Ododo, the current Kogi governor.

Bello and Ododo were at the EFCC’s Abuja office car park, but Bello was not taken in on that day.

On August 20, the Court of Appeal in Abuja ordered Bello to surrender himself for arraignment.

Ola Olukoyede, EFCC chairman, later alleged that Bello withdrew $720,000 from Kogi’s coffers to pay his child’s school fees in advance.

The anti-graft agency also filed a 19-count charge against Bello over alleged money laundering.

However, the arraignment had been delayed due to the former governor’s absence.

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BIG STORY

JUST IN: Again, Police Arrest Speed Darlington During Show In Imo State

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2 hours ago

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November 27, 2024

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Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested Nigerian musician Darlington Okoye, popularly known as Speed Darlington, in Owerri, the capital of Imo State.

The singer’s counsel and human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, confirmed the arrest in a post on his official X page on Wednesday.

Adeyanju revealed that his client was detained while performing at a show in Owerri, just days after returning to Nigeria earlier in the week.

He wrote, “Our client, Speed Darlington, a.k.a AKPI, has been arrested by the Nigeria Police in Owerri at his show upon return to Nigeria.”

However, the exact reason for the singer’s arrest remains unclear at the time of filing this report.

It is worth noting that the Nigeria Police had previously arrested Darlington over allegations of cyberstalking fellow musician Damini Ogulu, better known as Burna Boy.

Darlington was initially arrested in Lagos, then transferred to Abuja, where he was detained by the IGP’s Intelligence Response Team in the Guzape area of the city.

The musician, who faced accusations of cyberstalking Burna Boy, was later released on bail days after his arrest.

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