Welcome to Imo State 2015 gubernatorial intrigues. The political chess game is on in Imo State. The battle of wits and resources has taken off and the political gladiators are scheming and strategizing. The stakes are high; so high and so fiercely contested. It is a three-horse race (read two) and the field is crowded with the three contenders and their supporters; some of them, great men and distinguished women; men of character and men of questionable means; charlatans and all manner of pretenders. The chessboard is no less rowdy, capricious and tempestuous.
This is a game played more by unseen hands than seen hands. It is the battle of the spirits and the willing. It is a clash of the titans pitting the incumbent governor, Rochas Okorocha of the main opposition APC; Emeka Ihedioha, Deputy House Speaker of the ruling PDP and the dark horse, Emmanuel Ihenacho of the APGA, said to be the man to beat, and probably the governor Imo State will never have. Ihedioha and Okorocha already clashed at the 2014 Yam Festival in Mbaise and traded invectives, with the Deputy Speaker telling Okorocha that he “has run out of ideas, so as a matter of expediency, it is expected that he would hand over the reins in 2015 so we can help out.” Okorocha countered that “the green cap (referring to Ihedioha's trademark cap) will not make anybody governor of Imo State and as a matter of fact, there is nobody in the Imo State PDP who is my match in an electoral contest… Imo people have rejected PDP because PDP is worse than the Ebola virus.”
We examine the chances of each of the three candidates and their claims to Douglas House.
Emeka Ihedioha:
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives was declared winner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) controversial governorship primaries in the state and is presently flying the flag of what has been touted as the strongest political platform in Nigeria since 1999. Ihedioha is one of the few third-term members of Nigeria’s Federal House of Representatives. Nobody wins three successive federal constituency elections by chance without a stroke of ingenuity or dexterity in the electioneering process.
Ihedioha comes from the very populous Mbaise axis of Owerri zone, an area known over the years as his strongest forte. Ihedioha, by either hook or crook, has not lost election in any of the three council areas that constitute the Mbaise nation. And Mbaise is known for casting the largest bulk votes for any of its choice candidates.
However, the Deputy Speaker’s biggest challenge is how to rally aggrieved aspirants of the PDP to close ranks and work together with him. The truth remains that if even 10 out of the 26 other governorship aspirants that ran for the party governorship ticket with Ihedioha remain averse to his candidature, it would be an uphill task for Ihedioha to win the governorship election no matter how much planning and resources he ploughs into the race.
Working at cross-purposes with these party chieftains, Ihedioha cannot be certain of winning election in their various communities where these aspirants are leaders in their own right. The fact remains that Ihedioha’s chances would be largely threatened if the PDP goes into the election as a house divided. Rightly or wrongly, Ihedioha is largely perceived as arrogant and corky by a sizeable chunk of the Imo electorate who have encountered him directly or indirectly. This perceived ultra-elitism is further compounded by questions of character and sincerity, relative to the funding of his campaign. On several occasions, women and youths drawn from the rural areas ended up stranded in his campaign office having been abandoned without their promised transport allowance for the day.
Of very important note also is the legal impediment to Ihedioha’s ambition. Imo PDP presently has four cases now in various courts over who won the December 8, 2014 governorship primary.
One such case at the Federal High Court Abuja was filed by Senator Ifeanyi Ararume. The second case is the one already at the Supreme Court by some delegates who participated in the governorship primary. The third case is by the former governor of the State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim; who is praying the Federal High Court to declare him the authenticate governorship candidate of the PDP because both Ararume and Ihedioha never paid their party subscriptions for years in violation of section 8 sub-sections 10 and 15 of the party’s constitution. The fourth case is equally at the Federal High Court and was instituted by one of the aspirants Hon. Chidi Ofoegbu over the omission of his name during the primary and he is therefore asking the court to cancel the entire exercise. And it is common knowledge that the issue of omission is of serious implication following the provisions of 2010 electoral law.
What all these court cases mean for the Ihedioha and Imo PDP is that, the party in Imo State has no substantive governorship candidate at the moment especially in the eyes of the law. Hence under the prevailing confusion, it would be rather difficult to consolidate or gain any ground in followership and support base. Be that as it may, Ihedioha is a force to reckon with in the Imo 2015 governorship election and his seeming ability to wangle his way through the primary election, may be a pointer to the shape of things to come in 2015.
Rochas Okorocha
With his misadventure at the APC presidential primaries, the APC ticket for the Imo governorship race is Rochas Okorocha’s only path to political relevance in Imo state. As the incumbent, Okorocha enjoys a good measure of grassroots support but is viewed with skepticism by vested interests who dictate politics and business in the state. Within the period in office, Okorocha has shown himself as being spontaneous and overtly disinclined to due process.
Long term strategic planning is not Okorocha’s strong point but he has been able to put some landmark structures in place - whether qualitative or not; people-oriented or not; purpose-driven or ego-driven; futuristic or impulsive – there are some new infrastructures in place in Imo that people can point to Okorocha’s credit.
While many would extol the governor for this, others would easily berate him for wasting scarce resources on white elephant projects that bear little or no relevance to the welfare of the people.
Okorocha is a daring politician with a heart large enough for adventure. He understands the intricacies and maneuverings of the electioneering process. A dominating personality with immense oratorical power, the easiest way to lose an election to Okorocha is to take him for granted. He masters garrison politics and ordinary people and is adept at weaving compelling political sentiments to his advantage. One of the things that would work against Okorocha is the zoning question in the state popularly referred to as the Imo Charter of Equity
In 2011, Okorocha demolished the perceived zoning arrangement in the state by emerging governor after his kinsman; Chief Achike Udenwa had served as governor for eight years. Both Okorocha and Udenwa are from the Orlu zone, while the Owerri zone is yet to get a shot at the governorship seat of Imo state since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999. With Okigwe zone also staking its claim, zoning will definitely be an issue in the April 11 poll. Though the governor has tried to dismiss zoning as fostering mediocrity, it definitely remains one of Okorocha’s major under belly in the coming election.
Whatever the case, Rochas Okorocha is in the 2015 Imo governorship race with all the advantages of incumbency, and unseat him will be no tea-party. It will take immense effort in strategic planning, coordinated sensitization of communities and mobilization of qualitative human and material resources to oust him. The Ogboko-born politician would be running to win, though against massive odds.
Emmanuel Ihenacho
Captain Emmanuel Ihenacho worked himself into the hearts of Imo people during his brief stint in the federal cabinet as Interior Minister. The shipping magnate did not miss the opportunity provided by his appointment as minister to brand himself as a champion of middle class and working people. Ihenacho like none other before him leveraged his position to employ hundreds of Imo citizens and this cannot be forgotten in a hurry. After leaving office, he sustained his empowerment programs and continued his populist outreach as a man of the people.
Ihenacho may not be a regular politician but his humanitarian approach to politics has gained him large followership in the Imo political landscape. For him, credibility and competence is everything. He maintains that Imo is so blessed with qualitative human resources to be ruled by what he described as ‘emergency governors’. The business magnate is believed to be clear-sighted on his vision and leadership trajectory for Imo. A vast majority of the Imo electorate perceive him as honest, sincere and committed to the rejuvenation of Imo as he has promised.
It is believed that in a free and fair poll, Ihenacho should be the man to beat. His major challenge however, is the fact that his party, the All Progressive Grand Alliance is deeply enmeshed in crisis. Though the Victor Umeh faction of the party insists that he is the candidate of the party, the Maxi Okwu faction is parading Senator Sylvester Anyanwu as their candidate while Chief Okey Ezeh is kicking at an Ihenacho candidature with everything he has. A divided house is the surest way to political suicide for a party like APGA especially when it is up against, more powerful parties like the PDP and APC.
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Former Anambra State governor and presidential candidate Peter Obi has disagreed with Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to restore Nigeria’s fuel subsidy if elected president in 2027.
Speaking on Monday at the Nigerian Bar Association conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Obi argued that removing the subsidy was necessary but faulted the Federal Government for failing to properly manage the resources generated from its removal.
Atiku, who supported the removal of fuel subsidy during the 2023 presidential election, has since indicated that he would reconsider the policy and restore the subsidy if he wins the 2027 election.
Obi, however, maintained that reversing the policy would not address the underlying problems. According to him, the major failure has been the poor management of the funds saved after the subsidy was removed.
He said the government should have accompanied the policy with measures designed to reduce the hardship faced by Nigerians and should have channelled the resulting savings into productive areas of the economy.
“What we should have done is that when we removed it, we should have given the people alternative usage for the subsidy,” Obi said.
He further alleged that the funds recovered from subsidy removal had not been adequately accounted for, claiming that the resources were being “mismanaged and stolen.”
Obi said he had advocated a more structured approach to subsidy removal before the 2023 election, arguing that the savings should have been deliberately invested in areas capable of improving the lives of Nigerians and strengthening the economy.
“Go to my manifesto, I said it before, I said I will do it in an organised manner and whatever we recover would be invested appropriately,” he said.
President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy during his inauguration on May 29, 2023. The decision led to a significant increase in petrol prices and intensified concerns over inflation and the rising cost of living.
While the Federal Government has defended the policy as necessary to reduce pressure on public finances and redirect government resources, the implementation of the reform and the management of the resulting savings remain contentious issues.
With the 2027 election approaching, the contrasting positions of Obi and Atiku have added fuel subsidy to the growing debate over how Nigeria should manage its economy, protect vulnerable citizens and use public resources more effectively.
News
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has warned the 31 companies that emerged successful in the 2025 oil and gas licensing round to pay their required signature bonuses within the statutory timeframe or risk losing their provisional awards.
The warning comes one month after the commission conducted the commercial bid conference in Abuja, where the successful bidders were announced for 37 oil and gas blocks.
In a notice issued on Sunday, the NUPRC said the compliance process had commenced following the issuance of provisional award letters to the successful companies.
The commission stated that bidders who failed to meet the payment deadline in accordance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) would forfeit their bid guarantees and have their provisional awards transferred to the next-ranked reserve bidders.
“Exactly a month ago, the NUPRC hosted the 2025 commercial bid conference in Abuja where 31 companies emerged winners of 37 oil and gas blocks. Having issued the winners with the provisional awards, compliance with the payment of signature bonuses has already begun,” the commission said.
The 37 blocks awarded in the licensing round cover several areas, including the Niger Delta onshore and shallow-water fields, deep offshore assets and frontier basins.
The assets include PPL 2A29 to PPL 2A62 in the Niger Delta, PPL 2010 in the deep offshore, PPL 308 in the Benin Basin, PPL 900 to PPL 903 in the Anambra Basin, PPL 700 in the Chad Basin, and PPL 800 and PPL 801 in the Benue Trough.
The NUPRC also released the names of the 31 successful companies, together with the ranked reserve bidders for each of the 37 blocks.
A total of 143 companies participated in the licensing exercise, submitting about 200 bids for the assets on offer. However, 13 of the 50 blocks originally listed for the round received no bids.
Under the PIA and the applicable licensing guidelines, successful bidders are required to pay signature bonuses ranging from $3 million to $7 million for each awarded block.
In addition to the signature bonus, the companies must provide the required guarantees, pay first-year rents and fulfil other post-award obligations within the prescribed period.
Failure to satisfy these requirements will result in the forfeiture of the affected company's bid guarantee and the revocation of its provisional award. The block will then be offered to the designated reserve bidder.
The NUPRC Chief Executive Officer, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, had previously urged the successful bidders to complete their payments promptly and move ahead with the development of their awarded assets.
The commission has advised bidders, industry stakeholders and members of the public to consult the 2025 Licensing Round portal for additional information on the awards and compliance requirements.
Under the applicable PIA framework, successful bidders have 90 days from the issuance of their provisional awards to complete the required payments and other conditions.
With the provisional awards issued following the July 21, 2026 commercial bid conference, the 90-day compliance period expires on October 19, 2026.
As of August 23, 2026, 33 days of the 90-day period have elapsed, leaving 57 days for the successful companies to complete their statutory obligations.
Companies that fail to pay their signature bonuses and first-year rents within the deadline risk losing both their bid guarantees and the provisional awards. The affected blocks would subsequently be reassigned to the respective reserve bidders in line with the licensing rules.
The NUPRC's latest notice therefore signals that the successful bidders have entered the final stages of the award process, with compliance now required before the provisional awards can progress toward full development of the assets.
Business
In The Spotlight
Vanguard recently published pathetic pictures of the Benin-Sapele-Warri Expressway; and Punch revealed to us what happens to the Lagos-Calabar Expressway, not even 15 per cent completed, each time there is a heavy downpour in the Lekki peninsula.
The road becomes so flooded, it becomes barely usable. Morning shows the day. If Tinubu-Umahi’s legacy road already shows evidence of long-term stress, pity the Nigerians who will ply that road ten years from now.
The Minister was in Lagos State recently, half-begging, half attempting to blackmail Governor Sanwo-Olu to cough up funds to repair the mistakes made by Engineer Umahi and the contractors who hastily embarked on the road without Environmental Impact Assessment. He is building in Lagos and coastal states the sort of rickety roads he left in Ebonyi State. He has the right President for that sort of shoddy business. Right now, parts of the road have been vandalized – even before completion. Fellow Nigerians are not paying attention as they should. Pity.
Vanguard, Punch and Daily Trust have been doing Nigerians a favour by pointing to one of the greatest failures of the Tinubu administration – the maintenance of federal highways under Minister David Umahi – whose major achievement in three years had been attracting attention to himself through a scandal involving homicide. On the whole, Nigerian roads, federal and state, have not been receiving the attention they deserve in the last eleven years; the neglect just got worse.
Experience on Nigerian roads from 1974-2019
“Hit the road, Jack”. Advice from my Sales Manager, in Boston, USA, 1968.
My first full time job was in selling. It was as a salesman for a leading pharmaceutical company, Lederle Laboratories, in 1968, that Mr. Al, for Albert, Abby, came into my life. As my Sales Manager, he monitored my activities and also as my mentor. He drilled into my head the idea that a salesman’s work consists of being on the road as much as possible; in order to meet customers. By the time I arrived in Nigeria, in 1974, to start work as the Marketing Manager of Abbott Laboratories, marketers of SIMILAC baby food, being on the road 70 per cent of the time had become routine. It was new to my sales staff, but proved rewarding for all concerned – company, staff and especially me.
Until August 1974, Ughelli, Delta State, was the farthest distance I ever traveled in Nigeria. I hit the road. By August 1975, I had covered all the 12 State capitals created by General Gowon, at least three times; and the trips had just begun. By 1998, after Abacha had increased the number of states to 36, I was in charge of Circulation in Vanguard; and my annual itinerary called for visiting all the offices at least once a quarter. In fact, I opened new Vanguard Offices in Ado-Ekiti, Yenagoa, Abakaliki, Gombe, Damaturu, Birnin Kebbi and Dutse. From 2001 to 2007, I traveled to all the stations at least three times a year. Over 80 per cent of the trips were by road – even though flight options were available to me. I got to know Nigerian roads as nobody I have ever met knew them. Divorce was threatened by the occupants of the home front. There was no major road constructed, expanded or diverted which I was not familiar with. By 2017, the trips were reduced to about 20 states every year.
Thus, each time a new Minister of Works is appointed, at least until 2019, I know the problems he faces. Shortly after President Jonathan assumed office, I published an article titled Nigeria’s 70 Most Important roads. These are the roads over which 70 to 80 per cent of goods are transported every day. Lagos-Ibadan Expressway remains the first one in all respects. I went further. The biggest map available at the CMS Bookshop was obtained and all the 70 roads were identified for the Minister in charge of roads with the advice: “take care of these roads and Nigerians will never forget you”. I wasted my time and effort; and Nigerians have been paying dearly for it. Since then, two Ministers of Works were appointed; each left Nigerian roads infinitely worse than when he started.
Three years of Umahi, more of the same
“It aint the things you don’t know that cause the problem; it’s things that you think you know that aint so.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882
To the best of my knowledge, no Minister of Works has been appointed in Nigeria, with the exception of late General Mamman Kontagora, who can be said to have had a fairly good knowledge of Nigerian roads by the time he was appointed. Consequently, we have selected so many good men; but, for the wrong task. Many people, including me, would have protested if Fashola was not appointed Minister by Buhari after his sterling performance as Governor of Lagos State. But, he failed dismally as Minister of Works. So, in all fairness to Umahi, many of the roads in terrible condition were inherited from past administrations. That said; it is also a fact that every new appointee is not compelled to accept the offer; and “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”. Umahi inherited several death traps; but, like all members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, he also helped to conceal the truth from Nigerians. Now, he is holding the bag; with all the incriminating evidence of poor performance. Umahi should also be excused for the failure to establish priorities. His boss, without consultations, despite all the lies told, had already conceived of a new road – the Lagos-Calabar Expressway – and the preferred contractor was determined, without bidding. The Minister spent his first year defending a decision made without his input. He added his own.
Umahi started out sounding like a “know-it-all”. He is an Engineer; so he knows all there is about road construction. He even dictated that all federal roads, irrespective of terrain, would be paved with cement – without consideration for the impact on the price of cement; which is essential for building construction.
Perhaps, not establishing objective priorities was his biggest blunder. Some Nigerian roads carry most of the heavy loads and require more attention. The Lapai-Bida, the Benin-Sapele and the Asaba-Onitsha roads each carry more loads than all the Federal roads in Taraba, Ebonyi and Kebbi states put together. I could not agree more with Senator Adams Oshiomole who recently carpeted Umahi for lack of priority in his selection of roads receiving his attention. The Okene-Auchi-Benin road carries the largest load of cement heading for Southern States, as well as fuel tankers moving North. Without prioritizing the most important federal roads, we are indirectly slowing down economic development, making products made in Nigeria less competitive and entrenching poverty. In the absence of rail nationwide, roads constitute the life-blood of our nation. They are soaked now with our blood.
By Dele Sobowale
In The Spotlight
How many fake agencies can the Tinubu Presidency go after at a time? When I posed this question in my column in early August, I intended it as rhetoric. The fake agencies and their operators apparently took it as a challenge.
On Friday evening, the ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, emerged from his second meeting with the President in 48 hours to announce the discovery of yet another fake agency, grandly named the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office and promoted by one Prince George Buchi Nwabueze.
Side note: Because of the length of these agency names, I’ll refer to them by their promoters, who happen to be ‘Princes’. Say, Prince Adeyemi’s PFIFC or Prince George’s agency. Okay?
So, I sat there among my colleagues, listening to Aliyu reel out another episode of an ongoing soap opera whose production studio is in the Nigerian civil service. We were arguably the first set of ears to get the gist, a privilege that comes with the burden of sharing it with the rest of the world.
Twenty-four hours earlier, I spotted the ICPC chairman making his way through the corridors leading to the President’s office for the umpteenth time. Aliyu had since become a standard feature at the State House since revelations about Prince Adeyemi’s fake agency, the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, first went public.
Draped in a white agbada, Aliyu sounded fulfilled as he announced another big catch, Prince George. Unlike his counterpart in the PFIFC, Prince George did not settle for a spot in the Federal Secretariat. No! He operated from inside the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. He was also found to operate under at least five variations of his own name, which is fitting. A fake agency deserves a fake agency’s worth of aliases.
The President ordered his immediate arrest and suspended three permanent secretaries: M.S. Danjuma, Nadungu Gagare and Richard Pheelangwah.
If you are keeping count, you would have counted six fake agencies or actors in the past few months. Four! First came Prince Adeyemi’s now-dissolved PFIFC. Then the ICPC’s interim report of August 6 unearthed two more: the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership.
There is also the Presidential Implementation Committee on the Alienation of Federal Government Properties, a body created in 2000 under Obasanjo to manage the sale and lease of federal landed assets.
Though now dissolved, its erstwhile secretary, B.S. Dutsin-Ma, had continued operating. In early August, the Presidency directed him to cease acting on behalf of the committee and the Federal Government.
Last September, the Presidency distanced itself from Mr Fegho Umunubo, an erstwhile Special Assistant on Digital and Creative Economy in the Vice President’s office, whom it warned was still acting in his old capacity despite being let go.
Now Prince George’s outfit makes six similar instances in under a year. At this rate, the fake agencies and actors may soon require their own coordinating ministry. And who knows if the next ‘Prince’ may be found operating from the Presidential Villa itself?
Lest we think this plague is new, history says otherwise. You see, Nigeria has always had people who understood that in a country where government is everywhere, the most profitable business is to impersonate it. From the 1980s and 1990s, there are tales of fake recruitment syndicates selling appointment letters into the Army, Customs and NNPC from rented offices with convincing letterheads. Some past regimes responded with periodic raids, tribunals and occasional decrees. But the racket always reincarnates.
Over the years, the ICPC and EFCC have busted fake job-racketeering “ministries” in Abuja that interviewed hundreds of applicants and collected “processing fees” for years before anyone really noticed. The sobering reality is that we have always chased the “Princes” one at a time. And there will always be another ‘Prince’ to sit on that throne.
Also, it is not uniquely a Nigerian thing. In California in 2015, authorities uncovered a self-declared “Masonic Fraternal Police Department”, a policing outfit with its own badges, uniforms and a website claiming a 3,000-year history. It was run by three “Princes” until the state of California charged them with impersonating officers.
The difference is not that other countries breed fewer fraudsters than we do. It is that their systems make the fraud quite short-lived because the list of legitimate agencies is knowable by the public, leaving the fake ones to glow in the dark.
Moreover, if government ministries, departments and agencies were fewer than they are now, there would be fewer hiding places for the fakes.
Which brings me, once again, to one document still gathering dust on the President’s desk: the Oronsaye report. Commissioned in 2011 and submitted in 2012, Steve Oronsaye’s committee found 541 federal parastatals, commissions and agencies and recommended pruning them to about 263. It recommended mergers, scrapping, subsuming and anything else that could shrink that number.
To his credit, President Tinubu revived it in February 2024, ordering full implementation. Two and a half years later, however, the rathole of redundant agencies has only widened, and now fake ones are camouflaging among the real ones. Implementing Oronsaye would arguably leave fewer agencies with clearer supervision and a slimmer cost of governance. Again, it is not a silver bullet. Matter of fact, the report is 14 years old; some recommendations would need fresh legislation. But why chase rats one by one when we can fumigate the entire network of holes?
While the ICPC is hunting “Princes”, President Tinubu is assembling his Avengers. According to the APC Presidential Campaign Council list the Presidency released on Saturday morning, Tinubu will sit as chairman; Vice President Kashim Shettima and party chairman Nentawe Yilwatda will co-chair the council. Ex-Zamfara governor Abdulaziz Yari will serve as DG, and Hope Uzodimma, still fresh from surviving the storm that rocked the Progressives Governors’ Forum months ago, will serve as secretary.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker Abbas and Governor Buni will serve as zonal heads; Oshiomhole will head mobilisation, while James Faleke will return to his 2022 role in election planning.
The media directorate already looks like a special-purpose media house of its own. Information Minister Mohammed Idris will coordinate alongside Dr Dele Alake, Bayo Onanuga, Issa-Onilu, Mr Tunde Rahman, Dr Sunday Dare, Daniel Bwala and Felix Morka.
By Stephen Angbulu