The subsidy probe shenanigan

By Paul Arhewe

L-R:  Farouk, Otedola

Barely two months after the chair-man of the Committee on Capital Markets, Herman Hembe and his members were floored by inappropriate dirty dealing, subsequently suspended and facing prosecution, another hot sleaze has sprouted in the House of Representatives. Its ripples are cascading like waves across the length and breadth of Nigeria. The full blown pay-$3m-and-get-re-prieve scandal that pitted the oil mogul, Femi Otedola against the chairman, House Ad Hoc Committee on oil subsidy payment, Farouk Lawan, is no doubt a precedent I would always want to recur. From the fallout, I know those who are in the habit of soliciting for bribes be-fore dispensing favours would now have cause to think twice. In another vein, could this be another flash in the pan, a decoy? Lawan, before this shameful revelation, was one of those few members of the National Assembly regarded as experienced, ‘honest’ and frank in his utterances and deeds. For this attribute, he is held in very high esteem. This current revelation has no doubt dampened my spirit, and I believe that of many Nigerians.

The votes of Edo electorate must count

Adam Oshiomhole, Edo State Governor

By Paul Arhewe

Edo State is attracting cover headline news once again, no thanks to the imminent gubernatorial election in the state fixed for next July 14. Already on display is the usual melodrama where the dramatist personae devise dirty schemes to outwit one another. Characteristically, the electorate are relegated to the background.

As politicians are busy heating up the system they usually see dirty antics and ploys as primal to winning elections. This recurring trait is undeniably fast becoming a stratagem for electioneering in Africa’s largest democracy. How politicking in Nigeria got so messy and pathetically undemocratic should be not only a concern of the authorities, the problem should be fixed. Politicians should allow the electorate to freely exercise their franchise to decide who should rule them. I cannot help but wonder why Nigerian electorate are not wooed with realistic manifestoes and campaigns promises?