Tinubu’s Chicago certificate saga, Wike vs Fubara, Obaseki against Shaibu, other political drama of 2023  

The general election in 2023 set the tone for many of the dramas and scheming that dominated politics in the outgoing year.

 

The year started with the feverish tension of the presidential, governorship and legislative elections that held on February 25 and March 11.

 

The main contenders in the presidential election – Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar fought spiritedly in the electioneering which took ethnic and religious slants.

 

On the day of the presidential election, INEC, after promising severally to transmit the election results in real time, failed to deliver on that count.

 

After INEC declared Tinubu as winner of the election, Atiku and Obi went to court on the ground that the election was rigged.

 

Proceedings at the Presidential Election Court (PEPC) headed by Justice Haruna Tsammani dominated the media, both traditional and social.

 

Enthusiastic supporters of the major gladiators in the election were optimistic that the court would rule in their favour.

 

On judgment day, which was September 6, all five members of the panel dismissed the petitions of Obi and Atiku and upheld the election of Tinubu.

 

Chicago State University

 

Shortly after the verdict of the PEPC, the news item that later dominated the media was the academic credentials of Tinubu at Chicago State University.

 

Atiku had filed a court case at a district court in the U.S. where he secured a judgment compelling the Chicago State University to release Tinubu’s student’s record with the university. Tinubu challenged the ruling in an appeal, which Atiku won.

 

The release of the documents were then subjected to a fresh hearing in which the university registrar, Caleb Westberg, took questions from Atiku’s lawyers.

 

The question of whether the Chicago State University’s certificate that Tinubu submitted to INEC was genuine or not became the subject of the deposition. The university registrar later confirmed that the university did not issue the certificate in question to Tinubu.

 

Atiku returned to Nigeria and held a world press conference where he said the soul of ace lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi could now rest in peace because Gani was the first person to publicly challenge the validity of Tinubu’s credentials but failed to make a headway.

 

Atiku, in an appeal to the Supreme Court, submitted the deposition from Chicago State University registrar, Caleb Westberg to support his case that Tinubu submitted forged documents.

 

But on October 26, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of both of Atiku and Obi against Tinubu.

 

Wike vs Fubara

 

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was one of the most dominant news makers of 2023. First, he helped to sabotage his party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar during the presidential election.

 

In the presidential election, he ensured that Tinubu was allocated the majority of the votes in Rivers State, which happens to be the only South-South and South East states where the APC candidate came top. But on INEC’s result viewing portal, the evidence showed Obi, not Tinubu, won the majority votes in Rivers State.

 

Wike later emerged as FCT Minister and at the same time tried to maintain a firm grip of the political structures in Rivers. But he met a resistance from his once political godson, Siminalayi Fubara, the governor of the state.

 

The rift between the two combatants has split the Rivers State House of Assembly into two factions, with Wike controlling the camp with majority of members. But since Fubara holds the key to the purse of the state, the tide may soon change.

 

Obaseki vs Shaibu

 

Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, has called the bluff of his boss, Godwin Obaseki, by declaring that he would contest the governorship of the state and that ‘nobody can stop my ambition.’

 

Obaseki has a favourite as his successor, and thought that his ex-loyal deputy, Philip Shaibu, would bury his ambition.

 

But when Shaibu showed resistance, the governor sacked some of the aides of Shaibu, relocated his office to an abandoned structure outside the state house and denied Shaibu access to him.

 

Aiyedatiwa and the impeachment saga

 

Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, has been away from his desk since June due to ill health.

 

He first took an official leave for a medical travel abroad. At the time, he handed over to his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

 

But upon return from Germany after about three months, Akeredolu communicated to the state House of Assembly that he was back to resume as the governor. The House acknowledged his return and power returned to Akeredolu. He has however not been functioning as governor.

 

In what appears to be a move to keep Aiyedatiwa in check, the House of Assembly started an impeachment move against him. They later reluctantly abandoned the impeachment after the presidency waded into the matter.

 

But even with President Bola Tinubu’s intervention, the Assembly Speaker was later quoted as saying that one of the conditions of a truce of Aiyedatiwa was for him to sign an undated resignation letter. Although the Speaker has denied making that claim, the pro-Aiyedatiwa group however claimed the Speaker actually did, but had to abandon the move when he found it to be unpopular.