Politics

Nigeria had no protective laws for citizens when oil was first discovered – Jonathan

Published

9 months ago

May 23, 2025

Goodluck Jonathan

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has lamented the absence of legal frameworks to safeguard the interests of Nigerians during the early years of oil discovery in the country.

Speaking at the Champions of Nigerian Content Awards Dinner hosted by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Wednesday night, Jonathan recounted the historical neglect of citizen-centric policies in the oil sector.

Reflecting on a conversation with a Ugandan counterpart, Jonathan said the East African nation had made a conscious effort to build local capacity before engaging with international oil companies (IOCs), in an effort to avoid the missteps made by Nigeria.

“I recall a Ugandan once telling me how they deliberately developed skills and capacity before signing oil agreements with IOCs, learning from Nigeria’s mistakes,” Jonathan said. “I bring this up because, had Nigeria established protective laws from the onset of oil discovery, we would have been far more advanced today.”

Jonathan noted that the first legal frameworks concerning oil in Nigeria—the Mineral Oil Ordinance of 1886 and the subsequent 1914 revision—were colonial legislations with little to no Nigerian input. “I doubt many Nigerians today are even aware of these laws, let alone their implications,” he added.

He emphasized that it wasn’t until 1969, thirteen years after the first commercial oil discovery in Oloibiri in 1956 and nearly a decade after independence, that Nigeria passed the Petroleum Act—the first indigenous law aimed at regulating the sector.

Jonathan further pointed out that efforts to modernize oil governance continued during his administration, culminating in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021, a landmark legislation that had been in the works for years.

“While we initiated the process for the Petroleum Industry Act, I’m glad it eventually became law in 2021,” he said, highlighting it as a critical step toward correcting historical oversights and strengthening Nigeria’s oil governance.

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Politics

Nyesom Wike wishes de@th on any politician supporting ‘’betrayers’

Published

7 hours ago

February 7, 2026

Ekwutos Blog

FCT Minister and former governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, has said that any senator, House of Representatives Member, Minister, or governor who supports betrayers will suffer betrayal in their lives and that such person will join their creator when they experience their own betrayal.

Wike who is currently in a running battle with his godson and incumbent governor of Rivers state, Sim Fubara, said this while speaking at a public function in the state today February 6.

Speaking to the crowd at the public function, Wike said

‘’Wether you are a Senator, House of Reps member, a Minister or Governor, and you support betrayers, people will continue to betray you in life. You see people who betray and support them, betrayal is your portion! Betrayal is your portion! and that day you will not have mouth to say anything and there you will collapse and there you will go and they will announce such person has died because that is the seed you have planted because whatever you plant, you reap and so since you are sowing betrayal, betrayal will always follow you.

Watch! Every governor who is doing his second term and has ambition to put a successor and is supporting betrayals, you will never survive it. Betrayal will follow you. From the day your successor comes in. My own took so many months, your own will start immediately the person has been inaugurated. That is what the gods of the land have told me to tell all of you’’

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUdaCp1jD01/?igsh=MWVnZXoyaGNmOGJ5dA==

Politics

How Buhari shocked me 6 months into his administration – Oyegun

Published

11 hours ago

February 7, 2026

Ekwutos Blog

Chairman, Policy Manifesto Committee of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, John Odigie-Oyegun, says former president Muhammadu Buhari gave him the shock of his life, six months into his administration as Nigeria’s leader.

Oyegun made this disclosure on Friday when he featured in an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time’.

He revealed that as National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, he went to tell Buhari that he was not delivering his election promises to Nigerians but that the late president told him he would not rule with strictness, but rather wanted to show Nigerians that he is a true civilian president.

The former APC National Chairman lamented that it became business as usual, from there.

“I was national chairman of the APC. Six months or less into our assuming office, fairly alarmed, I went to the late President Buhari for a one-on-one talk. I said Mr President, this is not what the people were expecting. They wanted a bit of the old president Buhari.

“And he explained to me, Mr Chairman, I have learned my lesson. I was shocked. And don’t forget at that time, a lot of prominent Nigerians took their holidays abroad, just to be sure and see what this new sheriff in town will be.

“Buhari told me he wants to now show the people that he’s a true civilian president in Agbada. And by the time we finished the conversation, I said Oh God, we are finished. Because, if he’s not ready to be strict, what’s the point?

“Weeks later, months later, years later, I was proven correct. And of course, it became business as usual, only that they are a new set of tenants in Aso Rock. That was a shocker,” he said.

Politics

Electoral Reform: Dino alleges senate’s plot to rig 2027 election

Published

1 day ago

February 6, 2026

Ekwutos Blog

Former lawmaker, Dino Melaye Esq, has raised concerns over the Senate’s reported rejection of the electronic transmission of election results.

The move, according to Melaye, is a clear endorsement of election rigging and an indication of a sinister plan to rig the 2027 elections.

In a statement on Friday, the former lawmaker criticized the Senate’s decision, stating that it undermines the credibility of the electoral process.

The African Democratic Congress, ADC chieftain, also stated that the move opens the door for electoral manipulation and fraud.

He further warned that the rejection of electronic transmission of results is a step backwards for democracy in Nigeria.

Melaye called on lawmakers and citizens to stand up against “this blatant attempt to undermine the will of the people and ensure that future elections are free, fair, and transparent”.