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Appointees are considered the eyes of leaders and expected to put in their best, especially in a developing nation like Nigeria where ordinary citizens are currently experiencing economic hardship.
As Nigerians anxiously wait to reap the fruits of the Bola Tinubu administration’s ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda, Legit.ng highlights some presidential appointees whose appointments were influenced by a powerful opposition member, Nyesom Wike.
Heineken Lokpobiri
Speaking recently in Port Harcourt at an event organised in honour of Wike by the Ijaw Peoples Congress (IPC), Lokpobiri, the minister of state petroleum resources (oil), disclosed that Wike played a pivotal role in his appointment to the federal cabinet.
Lokpobiri previously served as minister of state for agriculture and rural development, under former president, Muhammadu Buhari.
He said:
“It is important to tell you my brothers and sisters that me that is standing before you today as the minister of state for petroleum resources was also made possible by Nyesom Wike.
“My own case could have been a more direct role. Some of you may not know. It all started in Wike’s house in Port Harcourt and it all got concluded in his house in Abuja.”
Lokpobiri added:
“My second journey of becoming a minister started at the house of the minister in Port Harcourt and it was concluded in his house in Abuja.”
Lokpobiri was a senator between 2007 and 2015. He represented Bayelsa West senatorial district. The 57-year-old is a former speaker of the Bayelsa state house of assembly.
Samuel Ogbuku, NDDC boss
In the same vein, Samuel Ogbuku, the managing director (MD) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), revealed that he was a direct beneficiary of Wike’s ‘benevolence’.
Ogbuku spoke at the same IPC-powered event Lokpobiri attended in Port Harcourt.
The NDDC boss divulged:
“I am a direct beneficiary of your goodwill. We thank you for what you have done for Ijaw people. You are instrumental for me being the MD.
“While we are transiting, you supported me and brought a brother to work with me.”
Legit.ng reports that until his appointment as MD of the NDDC, Ogbuku served as the senior special assistant on Niger Delta affairs to the deputy president of the senate, Ovie Omo-Agege.
An ally of Timipre Sylva, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 Bayelsa election, Ogbuku worked with him in several capacities.
Ogbuku is a native of Ayakoro in Ogbia local government area of Bayelsa state and a one-time public relations officer (PRO) of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), central zone.
Ayodele asks Tinubu to sack Lokpobiri
Earlier, Legit reported that the spiritual leader of the Inri evangelical church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, asked President Tinubu to immediately sack Lokpobiri.
In a new statement by his media aide, Oluwatosin Osho, Primate Ayodele stated that Lokpobiri has failed in his responsibility in the oil sector and is one of the public officials responsible for the current hardship in Nigeria.