Crunch Times News

Nigerian businessman and former chairman of defunct Skye Bank, Tunde Ayeni has been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons and from the look of things, his woes seem to be growing by the day.

In a classic gentleman style, Ayeni made an attempt to put the recurring episodes of bad press behind him when he issued a statement a few weeks ago addressing some of the issues.

In his words, 'as a reputable businessman, industrialist and corporate player, I have no time for frivolous and sensational stories and should not be distracted by such publications. I sincerely wish that the media will, with this statement of mine, desist from any further maligning of my person, my family and all that I represent in the society'.

Ayeni’s woes all began when news of his romantic escapade with an Abuja-based lawyer named, Adaobi Alagwu (a lady reported to be a classmate of his daughter in law school, who is also reported to have dated his close friend) hit the press.

According to Sahara Reporters, Ayeni had an extra marital affair with Adaobi Alagwu, their relationship, though toxic as described by those who know them, resulted in a child that he denied. Even though Ayeni and Adaobi’s relationship was well known in social circles in Abuja, (despite it being a stain on his reputation and marriage) they flaunted the relationship with reckless abandon thus making his initial denial of their relationship and alleged child laughable. 'Realising his folly and how badly the relationship impugned on his already battered image, he attempted to save himself by denying the mistake that the relationship was' one of his associates was quoted to have said.

 n his attempt to repair his ailing reputation, Ayeni made a panic move several months ago by issuing a press statement admitting their relationship was a mistake and also denying the paternity of a child he allegedly fathered with Adaobi, this press release from him is presumed to have opened more cans of worms as over the next couple of weeks, new revelations upon revelations flooded the media space about his affair with Adaobi.  

Multiple media reports about his relationship with Adaobi led to the press digging into his businesses, debts with AMCON and his recent political foray and association with the PDP and by extension, Atiku Abubakar.

In 2022, the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) took over the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) Ltd. The action followed a judgement by the Federal High Court which granted orders in favour of AMCON as Receiver/Manager of Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing (IEDM) Limited, IBEDC’s core investor, over defaults in a Loan Service Agreement with Polaris Bank involving Tunde Ayeni to the tune of over 230 billion naira.

It was also reported that during the heat of his media battle with Adaobi Alagwu, policemen acting on the orders of Adaobi Alagwu arrested and subsequently detained the editor and a reporter of TheNewsGuru.com, Ediri Oyibo and Paul Utebor. The journalists were arrested by the officers from Nigeria Police Zone 7 Headquarters, Abuja on Wednesday, February 22 following a petition by Adaobi.  She was said to have accused them of publishing a story, which she described to be defamatory, on the paternity of her child with Nigerian businessman and former chairman of defunct Skye Bank, Tunde Ayeni.

With all these going on and the failure of PDP at the February 25th presidential polls, Ayeni is now said to have swallowed his pride and began an extensive consultation, visitations and begging his perceived enemies and allies in the ruling party to seek their good graces. His emissaries are said to be knocking on doors, kneeling, prostrating and begging on his behalf.

Ayeni's latest moves including being the head huncho and strategist coordinating the election petition tribunal team for Atiku begs the questions, would he have been humble had PDP won the elections? Would he be reaching out with olive branches if he was in power or is it all a move in desperation to save his reputation and dwindling finances? will he ever be held accountable for being a serial failure at the highest levels with strings of business run to the ground including Syke bank, NTEL, IBEDC, AMCON debts? Will men like him continue to represent the values of Nigerians?

Many might wonder why Tunde Ayeni has continued to feature in the media space and some might even dismiss his news as a calculated vendetta against his person. Truth is this is a great story not only from the point of a constructive and investigative journalism perspective, but also from that of a yearning, growing society of discernment which continues to call for accountability. Any government driven by a value proposition of merit cannot dismiss this story. The story is rich in scandal, a top corporate player, a discredited lover young enough to be his daughter, arrests of journalists. And when you link this self styled reputable corporate player to the country's national asset that has been mishandled and ruined by his recklessness in the face of a hungry population crying for accountability you have a great story. Ntel, skye bank, ibedc and more all lie in his wake; yet the man continues to walk around free representing the country! Where are our values?

One thing is however clear in the middle of all the crisis Ayeni seems to be facing, he remains one of the few Nigerians with access within the corridors of power, but his reputation with multiple failed business, paternity scandal, multiple relationship scandals, debts and insincerity leaves him in a precarious position and moves at seeking peace from perceived foes might be a big effort in futility.

… Muhammad, a public affairs analyst, writes from Abuja

By Progress Godfrey

A lot has been said already about the just-concluded 2023 Presidential and the Governorship Elections. However, beyond the rhythmic harmony about religion, ethnicity and party affiliation which has been sung since the pre- and post-party primaries, there are salient and existential issues that the political establishment must take cognizance of, in the post-election season. 

At the crux of such issues is the negligence of the yearnings of the electorate by our leaders, which prepared the grounds and provided a viral atmosphere for the rise of the Obi/Datti wave, a wave that swept across many traditional strongholds of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the All Progressives Congress (APC). To set the record straight, I would like to state that this piece is not in any way intended to push for an Ndigbo agenda, but to draw the attention of the political class to lessons that must be learnt, as we push for a better Nigeria. 

The campaign season saw a drastic paradigm shift - it showed just how tired the people are of the rhetoric of merely campaigning to win elections, and it exposed the existing disconnect between government and the governed. This was evident with the strides of Mr Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP). Indeed, only misguided Nigerians will dismiss the giant strides of Obi, as has never been seen, at least since Nigeria adopted the democratic system of government in 1999. 

For too long, we have had leaders who won elections with several campaign promises that were jettisoned the moment they (the leaders) were declared winners, only for them to resurface with another set of empty promises four years later. 

My first instance is Lagos, the epicentre of the indigene versus residents debacle, where the greatest surprise ensued with battles and counter-battles of ownership. It remains an error for anybody to attribute the reelection victory of the incumbent governor, Babjide Sanwo-Olu to ownership of Lagos. Sanwo-Olu could not have owned Lagos more than Nigeria's President-Elect and former governor of Lagos state, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who lost Lagos to Obi in the presidential election. 

Tinubu's loss rather exposed the lapses in the leadership style in Lagos that didn't consider the legitimate concerns of non-indigenous residents enough. It is widely believed that the ruling class in Lagos didn't make enough efforts to curtail the excesses of the ‘Agberos’; to the utmost chagrin of large sections of residents. This, and many similar unattended concerns paved the way for the Obi/Datti wave to prevail. It would suffice to say that the lessons from the presidential elections opened Sanwo-Olu's eyes, because that remains the only rationale behind his unusual frequency of social media engagement. He suddenly engaged Lagosians, with a keen show of attention to non-indigenous residents in his last campaign endeavours before the March 18 governorship election.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was not left out; in the 2019 general election, the major opposition party, PDP, swept through all nooks and crannies. At the time, we saw how PDP's presidential flag-bearer, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, defeated the incumbent Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari of the APC, in the FCT; a show of just how much change the people needed from the perceived failure of the government. Even though President Buhari had his scorecard in infrastructure among a few other areas,  residents of the FCT knew better what they deserved. 

Similarly, PDP's shine extended to winning all three seats in the National Assembly - Philips Tanimu Aduda won the election for Senate; Hassan Sokodabo Usman and Micah Yohanna Jiba also clinched their bids for the House of Representatives seats, it was a sweet victory. But as usual, after winning, our politicians abruptly become unreachable, they forget that election victory only lasts for four years. They pay lip service to the people's needs, only to come back for campaign during another election season. Aren't the people tired? 

It should have been an easy feat for the PDP to maintain its stronghold on the FCT, but its leaders failed to pay due attention to the residents versus Indigenes dynamics staring them in the face. This proved their undoing. Obi's campaign, which many have described as unprecedented, came like a hurricane, introducing an "Obi effect" that gave LP victory in the FCT in both Presidency, Senate and Reps. Could Obi have won the hearts of FCT residents by mere campaign strategy? The glaring answer is no. Against the backdrop of ethnicity, religion and partisan politics, residents of the FCT saw hope, they saw a platform which connected with the needs of the people.  

The APC didn’t fare much better. The present ‘Governor’ of the FCT has earned his criticisms by his sheer aloofness and apathy, leaving his Minister of State, Ramatu Aliyu with no back to stand on. Despite her best efforts, the APC barely wrestled one out of the two Reps seats, else, Obi, a man with a campaign tagline "we no dey give shishi" would have floored the establishment with almost a top-to-bottom win. It is a clear-cut display of the people's will against what the PDP thought was a routine exercise.

Going down South, to Abia, the outcome of the governorship poll could be foreseen before it was officially announced; the people were tired and needed a shift. What could the incumbent governor, Okezie Ikpeazu of the PDP, tell anybody in Abia to make them vote for his ex-chief of staff and governorship candidate of the PDP, Okey Ahaiwe as governor? 

Ikpeazu may have wished for party continuity through Ahaiwe, but his wishful thinking could not have put a smile on the faces of the people he governed for eight years, only a thorough delivery of good governance could have done that. Alex Otti of the LP won by a wide margin, nearly doubling Ahaiwe's votes. Again, it shows how deeply neglected the needs of Abians were for eight years. 

Not far-fetched was Rivers State, whereby in the runup to the governorship election, we saw how a former governor and ex-Minister of Transportation Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, promised non-indigenes in the state heaven on earth, all in a bid to secure the win for his party man, the APC candidate in the state, Tonye Cole. Perhaps, Amaechi must have learnt his lessons from the bold statement made in Rivers during the presidential election - the poll reflected the fact that residents also constitute the voter register of every polling unit, not just indigenes. 

In the same vein, the incumbent governor, Nyesom Wike romanced the Igbos in several engagements, canvassing for votes for his anointed candidate, Siminialaye Fubara who eventually won. The first question that comes to mind is: did they just realise that the politics of indigeneship is a politics of failure? If Wike spent his eight years in office, recognising that not only indigenes make up the voters of a state, clearly, he wouldn't have to wait until campaign time to identify with either the Igbos or other residents in the state. I bet the presidential election proved a point to Wike; that while the indigenes have their rights to the dividends of democracy, every other resident and tax-payer in the state deserved to be provided for alike. 

Kaura federal constituency in Kaduna State was popular for producing a reps candidate from the LP, Mr Donatus Mathew, who was said to have been an "Okada rider" before the February 25 presidential and national assembly election that gave him victory over the incumbent reps member and candidate of the PDP, Hon Gideon Lucas Gwani, who came second. How could an Okada rider defeat an incumbent reps member if his incumbency made lives any easier for his constituents? 

Now that Nigeria has rounded up its 2023 general elections and leaders have emerged from various ethnicities, tribes and religions, in my submission, I must stress the need to govern for all. Our leaders must now, more than ever, put the needs of the people at the forefront of their plans, devoid of undue emphasis on indigeneship. Their olive branches must be extended, such that it benefits all. 

Clearly, the consciousness of the electorate has risen exponentially and must be taken seriously. Let's hope the right lessons have been learnt.