The political chase game has started once more in the wake of last Sunday’s meeting between President Goodluck Jonathan and former President Olusegun Obasanjo. The stakes are high; so high and fiercely contested. The hall is crowded, so crowded and so full of characters – 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 as the gladiators each claim to have engendered the rapprochement between the two men and must therefore share the spoils of peace.
But as the race to take credit for the rapprochement rages on in various quarters, Huhuonline.com can authoritatively report that the cease fire was initiated by the wife of the President, Dame Patience Jonathan and the daughter of the former president. It was facilitated by a member of Jonathan`s inner circle, who has the President’s ear. Although the public presence of the Chairman, Zenon Oil and Gas, Mr. Femi Otedola, at the meetings is suggestive of his involvement, the game of politics is played more by unseen hands than seen hands. It is the battle of the spirits and the willing.
In the wake of recriminations between Jonathan and Obasanjo that had degenerated into a public circus, Patience Jonathan, in the company of a close Jonathan relation took the opportunity of an impromptu meeting with one of Obasanjo’s daughters in Lagos to seek ways of ending the schism that had generated so much bad blood between her husband and his erstwhile predecessor.
A close presidential source who was privy to the negotiations told Huhuonline.com that it was at that informal meeting that Patience Jonathan expressed the desire to meet with Obasanjo and requested for an audience with OBJ in his farm residence in Otta. But after concertation, the former President whose itinerary coincided with a trip to Lagos said he was disposed to meeting the First Lady in Lagos.
Subsequently, the First Lady and the President`s close confidante met with Baba at a house in Marina. At this meeting, Patience Jonathan is said to have genuflected and held Obasanjo’s toga as a sign of respect and difference, pleading with Baba that Jonathan was his (Baba’s) son; and that Jonathan owes everything from being Bayelsa State Governor, vice-President of the Federal Republic and finally President, to Obasanjo. She admonished Baba to absolve her husband of whatever transgression he might have committed to have invited Baba’s anger.
In his down-to-earth and manner of fact way, Obasanjo without mincing words, reportedly told the First Lady that her husband has turned the Presidency to a laughing stock, and has failed to discipline either his staffs or the ministers. The source who attended the Lagos meeting, quoted Obasanjo as describing the Presidents staffs as “a bunch of idiots” who are only interested in primitive material accumulation and self-aggrandizement. The former president said, the current set of ministers were “jokers” and concluded by saying if this is how Jonathan wants to continue to run Nigeria, he (Jonathan) is on his own; and he was not ready to stand with him in 2015. Baba reportedly expressed bitter disappointment that Jonathan has flooded his cabinet only with his personal friends, most of whom were appointed “for old times’ sake” and really do not care about Jonathan’s transformation agenda. Baba however added that he will stop balking at the President, if he gets his act together.
On a personal level, Obasanjo was also reportedly miffed at attempts by Jonathan to render him politically irrelevant by kicking him out of the PDP. Observers are quick to point to the fact that Baba’s daughter; Iyabo Obasanjo was not allowed to retain her Senate seat and she became the target of criminal investigations and a police manhunt, which embarrassed the former president. Worse even, to ridicule Baba, the PDP was made to lose in Obasanjo’s ward during the Presidential elections, although Jonathan won Ogun State. For someone like Jonathan who owed everything he’s got to Obasanjo, “this was a mark of contempt and disrespect which Baba could no longer tolerate,” the source added.
Upon relating Obasanjo’s grievances and terms for cessation of verbal attacks to President Jonathan, GEJ summoned a meeting of his closest aides, including his chief of staff, principal secretary, chief security officer and his brother. After reviewing the situation, Jonathan and his aides opted to make peace. It was also at this meeting that it was agreed that a church service would be the most ideal venue to bury the hatchet.
From what has been reported so far, Baba, accompanied by his two daughters and son, Juwon, drove together with oil magnate, Chief Femi Otedola from the Hilton hotel to the Presidency where Obasanjo and Jonathan attended mass at the State House Aso Rock Chapel and as a sign of the fence-mending between the two leaders; Obasanjo took the second reading at the church service. Obasanjo later accompanied Jonathan to the Sunday school and had lunch with the President before leaving the Villa later in the afternoon, with Jonathan seeing him off in his car.
Although nothing officially filtered from the meeting, indices from Aso Rock and Jonathan’s body language indicated to political watchers that the President has lost the battle in the ongoing power tussle within the ruling Peoples Democratic party (PDP) and decided to sue for peace. But by accepting to make peace with Baba on the latter’s terms, Jonathan secured Obasanjo’s badly needed support for his ambitions for 2015.
Huhuonline.com understands that Baba extracted concessions from Jonathan to give him unfettered access and control of the ruling PDP party machinery which he had controlled, first as president and later PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) chairman in exchange for his silence. Little surprise therefore that a day after their meeting, OBJ went on the offensive getting the chairmen of the 37 PDP state chapters, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to take sides with the 23 governors’ stance that Mijinjiwa Kauguma be retained as chairman of the Adamawa PDP. Meeting in Abuja, Monday under the chairman of the forum of state chairmen, the chairmen unequivocally backed the action of the governors endorsed by 10 members of the National Working Committee as the only way to maintain peace in PDP.
The PDP national chairman Alhadji Bamangar Tukur, ostensibly with Jonathan’s support, had earlier inspired a move dismissing the Adamawa state chairman; provoking a crisis that led to a stalemate in the election of a new BoT chairman to replace OBJ. But the PDP governors mobilized 10 NWC members, including the embattled national secretary, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, to overturn the party’s earlier decision recognizing Ambassador Umar Damagun as chairman of the state chapter.
OBJ is also said to have advised Jonathan to purge his cabinet of non-performing Ministers with questionable loyalty to the President. To which end, Jonathan proceeded on Monday to swear in two ministers but failed to announce the portfolios the duo of Prof. Chinedu Nebo (Enugu) and Alhaji Kabiru Turaki (Kebbi) will oversee. The delay in announcing the portfolios for the two ministers who are coming in as replacements for the former Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji, and former Minister of Defence, Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed, strengthened speculations of an imminent cabinet reshuffle that will see some ministers swapping positions.
Jonathan, after the swearing-in of the two ministers, directed the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, to assign portfolios to the new ministers. Huhuonline.com however learnt that the president, who is scheduled to leave the country today for the United Kingdom and France, was yet to issue a directive to the SGF on which portfolios to assign both men.
The President on Tuesday night departed Abuja for London and Paris where he is expected to confer with the British Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron and French President, Mr. Francois Hollande on matters of vital interest to Nigeria, Britain and France.
A statement by Presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati indicated that the talks with the British Prime Minister in London are expected to focus on the expansion of trade and economic relations between Nigeria and Britain as well as the enhancement of cooperation between both countries on the war against terrorism.
In Paris, President Jonathan will confer with President Hollande and French Government officials on the ongoing deployment of Nigerian and ECOWAS troops to Mali to support the current military action against insurgents and terrorists in Northern Mali.
On Friday, President Jonathan will be the guest of honor at a fund raising dinner gala organized by the Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation in Park Lane, London. A cross section of Nigeria’s economic and political glitterati are expected to join Obasanjo and Jonathan, as it marks the first public outing of the President and his predecessor, since the cease-fire.
“The special evening will bring together President Obasanjo’s closest friends and Foundation supporters for a gala dinner featuring the President and notable guests discussing the importance of the Foundation initiatives and building on the President’s heart-felt commitment to advance human security. All fundraising will go to supporting the Foundation initiatives of Feed Africa, Youth Empowerment, Education for Girls, and the Health initiative for non-communicable and water borne diseases,” according to a statement on the Foundation website.
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Shettima at UNGA: Africa Demands a Seat at the Global Table
Nigeria has taken its campaign for a bigger African voice in global affairs to the heart of the United Nations, with Vice President Kashim Shettima demanding sweeping reform of the UN Security Council and permanent representation for Africa.
Delivering President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s address at the **81st United Nations General Assembly** in New York on Thursday, Shettima said the international system created after World War II could no longer adequately reflect the realities of the modern world.
Nigeria called for **at least two permanent seats for Africa**, with the full rights and responsibilities of permanent membership, including veto rights for as long as the veto remains part of the Security Council, alongside **five non-permanent African seats**.
The demand puts Africa's long-standing campaign for greater representation at the centre of Nigeria's message to world leaders.
1945 cannot define 2026’
The Nigerian delegation argued that the distribution of power established in 1945 has left Africa under-represented in the institution responsible for some of the world's most consequential decisions on peace and security.
For Abuja, the issue is not simply about seats at the UN. It is about giving African countries a greater role in decisions that directly affect the continent.
Nigeria anchored its position on the **Ezulwini Consensus**, the African Union's common position on Security Council reform.
CONFLICTS: NIGERIA CALLS FOR DIPLOMACY
Shettima's address also turned to the conflicts confronting the international community.
Nigeria called for stronger diplomacy, respect for international law and protection of civilians, while urging greater international efforts to resolve conflicts, including the crisis in Sudan.
The Nigerian position was that lasting peace cannot be secured solely through military action and that diplomacy, dialogue and negotiated settlements remain essential tools for resolving conflicts.
TERRORISM: ‘NO COUNTRY CAN FIGHT ALONE’
With Nigeria continuing to confront terrorism and other forms of transnational crime, the address placed international security cooperation high on the agenda.
Nigeria called for stronger intelligence-sharing, action against terrorist financing and greater cooperation to prevent illicit weapons from crossing borders.
But Abuja also linked security to development, pointing to education, economic opportunity, accountable governance and protection of citizens** as important elements of long-term stability.
AFRICA’S WEALTH: FROM RAW MATERIALS TO INDUSTRIAL POWER
The Nigerian message went beyond politics and security.Tinubu's address, delivered by Shettima, called for Africa to transform its vast natural resources into industrial and economic opportunities by expanding **local processing, manufacturing, technology and value-added production**.
Nigeria also highlighted the African Continental Free Trade Area as an opportunity to expand intra-African trade and build stronger regional supply chains.
The message was clear: Africa's resources should generate greater value, jobs and investment within the continent rather than being exported largely in raw form.
CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT
Nigeria also reaffirmed its commitment to climate action, including its 2060 net-zero target, while stressing the need for financing, technology transfer and international support for developing countries.
Abuja argued that climate action and economic development should be pursued together, particularly in countries still struggling to provide reliable energy and economic opportunities for rapidly growing populations.
THE NIGERIAN MESSAGE
From the UN podium in New York, Shettima delivered a message that combined Nigeria's foreign-policy priorities with its wider vision for Africa: **greater representation, stronger security cooperation, economic transformation and a more inclusive international system.**
For Nigeria, the Security Council reform campaign remains a central part of that agenda.
The demand from Abuja is straightforward: **Africa should have a permanent voice in the room when decisions affecting international peace, security and global governance are made. And Nigeria says it intends to keep making that case.
News
CBN Slashes Interest Rate to 23% in Major Policy Adjustment
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reduced its benchmark interest rate from 26.5 per cent to 23 per cent, marking a significant shift in its monetary policy direction.
CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, announced the decision on Tuesday following the conclusion of the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) 307th meeting in Abuja.
According to Cardoso, the committee reviewed developments in both the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks and considered their potential implications for monetary policy before reaching its decision.
“The Committee decided as follows: reset the monetary policy rate at 23 per cent,” the governor said.
The latest move represents a 350-basis-point reduction in the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR). It follows two consecutive MPC meetings at which the rate was left unchanged, after the committee lowered it by 50 basis points in February 2026.
In addition to cutting the MPR, the committee adjusted the standing facility corridor to +50 and -300 basis points around the new benchmark rate.
However, the CBN retained existing Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) levels at 45 per cent for deposit money banks, 16 per cent for merchant banks and 75 per cent for non-TSA public-sector deposits.
Cardoso explained that the changes were designed to improve the effectiveness of monetary policy by strengthening the transmission of policy decisions through the financial system.
He said the adjustment was also part of efforts to restore the MPR as the primary signal of the CBN’s monetary policy and improve the operation of the monetary policy framework.
According to the governor, the MPC viewed the recalibration as an operational adjustment rather than a fundamental shift in the bank’s monetary policy stance.
“The Committee emphasized that the duration of the corridor does not constitute a change in the current monetary policy stance, but rather an operational reset to enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy and support the transition to an inflation targeting framework,” he said.
The committee also noted ongoing efforts by the CBN to strengthen its monetary policy implementation framework. Cardoso said transaction-based operational benchmarks had improved the transparency of money-market operations.
The MPC consequently concluded that resetting the MPR and adjusting the policy corridor would bring the monetary policy framework more closely in line with prevailing market conditions.
The committee said the changes are expected to improve policy transmission and reinforce the MPR’s role as the central benchmark for monetary policy.
Members further maintained that the latest adjustments should be viewed primarily as an operational realignment of the framework and not, in themselves, as a change in the underlying monetary policy stance.
Business
In The Spotlight
Editorial:Trump @ UNGA: Power Is Not a Substitute for Strategy
President Donald Trump came before the United Nations this week with a message that has defined much of his second presidency: The United States is powerful, it intends to use that power, and it will not permit international institutions to place limits on American sovereignty.
There was little ambiguity in the message. Trump celebrated military strength, demanded greater control over America’s borders, challenged international institutions and portrayed American technological leadership as a strategic necessity. On Iran, Gaza, immigration, the International Criminal Court and artificial intelligence, the president returned repeatedly to the same principle: Nations must defend their own interests, and the United States must remain free to act.
That is a coherent philosophy. But coherence is not the same as effectiveness.
The question raised by this speech is not whether America should be strong. No serious foreign policy can begin from the premise that American power is irrelevant. The question is what that power is for — and whether it is being used in ways that make the United States more secure over the long term.
Trump's remarks on Iran illustrated the dilemma.
He reaffirmed that Iran cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon and paired the possibility of diplomacy with warnings of devastating military consequences.
Deterrence has always depended partly on credibility. But credibility is not measured only by the willingness to threaten force. It is also measured by the ability to achieve a political outcome once force has been used.
Wars can begin with clear objectives and end with consequences no government anticipated. The history of American foreign policy offers ample evidence that military superiority does not automatically translate into political control.
That is why diplomacy cannot simply be regarded as the alternative to strength. At its best, diplomacy is one of the instruments through which strength is converted into durable agreements.
The same distinction matters in Trump's approach to the United Nations.
The president has argued that international institutions have become too costly, too bureaucratic and too willing to intrude upon national sovereignty. His administration has pursued reductions in America's financial and institutional commitments to the United Nations.
There is nothing inherently wrong with demanding accountability from an international organization. The United Nations deserves scrutiny. Its bureaucracy can be inefficient, its member states often disagree and its institutions can fail to prevent the very conflicts they were created to address.
But the choice is not simply between an ineffective United Nations and an unconstrained America.
International institutions exist in part because some problems cannot be solved effectively by individual nations acting alone. Nuclear proliferation is one. Global pandemics are another. Artificial intelligence increasingly belongs on that list.
Trump's comments about AI therefore deserve particular attention. He emphasized American technological leadership and warned against international regulation that could restrain innovation.
The United States has obvious reasons to remain at the forefront of AI development. But technological leadership and international coordination are not necessarily opposing objectives. The challenge is to develop rules that protect security without freezing innovation.
That requires American leadership, not American isolation.
The president's immigration argument followed the same pattern. He presented control of the border as an essential expression of national sovereignty and rejected the notion that international norms should prevent governments from determining who may enter their territory.
A sovereign nation plainly has an interest in controlling its borders. But sovereignty also carries responsibilities. The United States, like other countries, must reconcile border enforcement with its legal and humanitarian obligations.
The difficult work of governing begins where slogans end.
That is ultimately what was missing from the most sweeping parts of Trump's speech: not conviction, but attention to the institutional machinery required to turn conviction into lasting results.
America can impose costs on adversaries. It can withdraw from agreements. It can reduce contributions to international organizations. It can threaten overwhelming force. It can use its enormous economic and technological advantages.
But power has a second dimension that is easier to overlook: the ability to persuade allies, maintain coalitions, preserve diplomatic channels and build institutions capable of surviving changes in leadership.
The United States did not become the world's leading power merely because it possessed the world's strongest military. It built alliances. It established institutions. It cultivated economic relationships. It persuaded other countries that American leadership could serve interests beyond America's own.
Trump's speech represents a different emphasis.
It places sovereignty before institutions, pressure before accommodation and national interest before international consensus.
There is a legitimate debate to be had over whether the postwar international system has become too cumbersome, too expensive or insufficiently accountable. But reforming that system and weakening it are not the same thing.
The distinction will matter greatly in the years ahead.
A stronger America is not necessarily an America that stands alone. Nor is international cooperation synonymous with surrendering sovereignty.
The enduring challenge of American foreign policy is to combine power with restraint, independence with alliances and national interest with the recognition that American security is inseparable from the wider world.
Trump's speech made clear which side of that debate he occupies.The more consequential question is what happens next.
History will not ultimately judge the speech by its applause lines, its threats or its declarations of American strength. It will judge the policy that follows — and whether that policy produces a world in which the United States is not merely more powerful, but more secure.
Power matters. But power, by itself, is not a strategy.
In The Spotlight
Who Is in Charge? Tinubu Is in Paris, Shettima Is in New York
By now, Nigerians deserve more than explanations. They deserve clarity. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is in Paris. Vice President Kashim Shettima is in New York.
And Nigeria is in Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, Maiduguri and everywhere else Nigerians are dealing with the daily business of surviving, working and waiting for government to deliver. So, a simple question is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid:Who is in charge?
Before anyone dismisses that question as opposition politics, let us establish the facts. Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 for what the Presidency described as a working vacation. He subsequently moved from London to Paris and, on September 21, the Presidency announced that he had extended his stay by a few days and would return at the weekend.
Shettima left Nigeria on September 20 for New York, where he is representing the President and leading Nigeria's delegation to the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
The government says there is no vacuum. It says Tinubu remains in contact with officials at home and continues to direct the affairs of government. It also says Shettima has been given the President's mandate to represent Nigeria at the UN.
Fine. But that does not make the question disappear.It makes the question more important.
A country cannot run on “trust us”
Government is not supposed to operate on whispers, assumptions or political reassurance.It operates through institutions.
It operates through constitutional authority. It operates through clearly defined responsibilities. And when the President is abroad for an extended period while the Vice President is also outside the country, Nigerians have every right to ask where executive authority is located and who is exercising it.
This is particularly relevant because Nigeria's Constitution provides a specific mechanism for a President who is proceeding on vacation or otherwise unable to discharge the functions of office.
That mechanism exists for a reason.It is designed to prevent uncertainty.It is designed to prevent a vacuum.It is designed toensure that, at every moment, Nigerians know who is constitutionally responsible for the presidency.
So why should Nigerians have to debate the issue?
The Presidency says everything is fine
The government insists that there is no disruption to governance.The Presidency says Tinubu has remained engaged from abroad. It points to decisions taken by the President while away and says the Vice President's trip to New York is an official assignment.
There is nothing inherently unusual about a Nigerian president travelling abroad.There is nothing unusual about a vice president representing the country at the United Nations.
The problem is the combination.The President is away. The Vice President is away. And the country is being told that everything is perfectly normal.
Perhaps it is.But if it is, then proving it should be easy.Tell Nigerians clearly who is exercising presidential authority.
Tell Nigerians whether the constitutional procedure has been followed.Tell Nigerians who is accountable for presidential decisions while both men are outside the country.This should not be difficult.
Leadership is also about presence
There is a difference between saying government is functioning and demonstrating that leadership is present.Nigeria is not short of challenges.
The cost of living remains a major concern. Security remains a national issue. Unemployment and economic hardship continue to affect households. Nigerians are demanding better public services and greater accountability.
At such a moment, leadership cannot be reduced to whether instructions can be transmitted from one continent to another.
Leadership is also about visibility. It is about being present when the country needs reassurance. It is about being accessible when difficult questions arise. It is about giving citizens confidence that somebody is firmly in control. A president does not have to sit permanently in Aso Rock to govern Nigeria. But Nigerians should never be left wondering whether anyone is sitting firmly at the controls.
Paris is not Abuja
There is another uncomfortable truth.Nigeria's political class has become remarkably comfortable governing from airports, hotel suites, foreign capitals and conference rooms.The rest of the country does not have that luxury.
The Nigerian worker cannot take a working vacation from inflation.The small business owner cannot take annual leave from electricity costs.The parent struggling with school fees cannot postpone the bills until the President returns. The young graduate without a job cannot simply wait for the government to reconnect with reality.
For ordinary Nigerians, the country does not go on vacation.That is why the optics matter.While the President is in Paris and the Vice President is in New York, millions of Nigerians remain at home confronting the consequences of government policy every day.
This is bigger than Tinubu
The danger is that this debate becomes another partisan shouting match. Supporters will say the President is working.
Opponents will say the government has abandoned its responsibilities. Both sides can shout themselves hoarse.
But the Constitution does not work by volume. The question is not whether Tinubu's supporters are satisfied.The question is not whether his opponents are outraged.The question is whether the constitutional chain of executive authority is clear. That is an institutional question, not a party question. And the National Assembly has a role to play in ensuring that Nigerians are not left guessing.
Nigeria deserves an answer
There is something deeply unhealthy about a democracy in which citizens have to ask social media, political parties and television commentators who is exercising presidential power.
The answer should be official.It should be constitutional.It should be unambiguous.If Tinubu is fully exercising the powers of President from Paris, say so.If Shettima is exercising presidential functions under the constitutional provisions governing presidential absence, say so.If there is no constitutional problem, explain precisely why.
But please, stop treating a legitimate question as an attack on the government.A government confident in its constitutional position should welcome clarity.
Who is in charge?
This is ultimately not about Paris.It is not about New York.It is not even primarily about Tinubu or Shettima. It is about the Nigerian presidency. A republic of more than 200 million people should not have an invisible question mark hanging over its executive authority.
Tinubu can travel.Shettima can travel.Government can continue. But constitutional responsibility must remain visible.
Because when both the President and Vice President are outside the country, Nigerians should not have to look at a map to figure out where their government is.
They should be able to look at the Constitution.And the answer should be unmistakable.Who is in charge? Nigeria deserves to know.
By Emmanuel Emeke Asiwe, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief