UZOR WINGATE

Lawyer || Social Critic || An Advocate for Good Governance and Politics without Bitterness.

A Proud Nigerian 🇳🇬... and a Citizen of the World 🇺🇳

[UZOR WINGATE @UzorWingate]

Going against an individual in an attempt to convince or change the person's View & perspectives about an issue is one thing.

But going against a System in an attempt to Change or reform it, especially one deeply rooted is a different Ball Game entirely.

[UZOR WINGATE @UzorWingate]

What is all these 😂

[FRANKLIN OG 👑 @FRANKLIN__OG]

Hustle o , make odumeje no kill your mama 😂😂😂💔

[UZOR WINGATE @UzorWingate]

😂

[Maxvayshia™ @maxvayshia]

Sowore each time he gets up to speak on Politics in Nigeria:

[UZOR WINGATE @UzorWingate]

😂

[Aji Bussu Onye Mpiawa azụ 🇨🇮 @AfamDeluxo]

Imagine making all that money, only to end up dating Bola Tinubu.

[UZOR WINGATE @UzorWingate]

😂 May Podcast not be the end of Nigeria.

We’ve reached the point where someone visibly under the influence, incoherently spewing rubbish, is being interviewed like a serious person.

[@𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 @OneJoblessBoy]

❝I should get a national honour for what I said about Ojukwu. What's historic about Ojukwu?❞

- BrymO

[UZOR WINGATE @UzorWingate]

Someone once said everything about the man is fake.

The more you look, the less you see

[Anastasia🛡️⭕ @SportyStacey7]

Una don photoshop Tinubu for Tokunbo Wahab body😂😂😂

[UZOR WINGATE @UzorWingate]

Success has many friends and relations, failure doesn't.

[Daily Trust @daily_trust]

We worked with Accord to stop APC in Osun – ADC
https://t.co/gsnRGHB0UW

[UZOR WINGATE @UzorWingate]

One day we will talk about Ndokwa East 😎

[Delta State Government @DSGovernment]

The restoration of power in the Ndokwa West community marks more than the return of electricity; it marks the return of possibility. Businesses can operate with greater confidence, households can enjoy improved comfort, and a community that waited for years can finally look ahead.

Under the directive of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, a long-standing challenge has received decisive attention.

[UZOR WINGATE @UzorWingate]

😂

[Dele Farotimi. A victim of Nigeria @DeleFarotimi]

A man once inhabited this carcass..🤮

[Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, CGoF @ChidiOdinkalu]

24 years ago, Barnabas & Abigail (Amaka) Igwe were murderedin Onitsha. He was Chairman of @NigBarAssoc in Onitsha; she was his wife & a lawyer too.

@lillianokenwa revisits one of the darkest chapters in the history of the Nigerian Bar - and the questions that have refused to disappear.

https://t.co/2du3zHCwpF

[UZOR WINGATE @UzorWingate]

😂

[Jubril A. Gawat @Mr_JAGs]

Our INCOMING Lagbara Olorun .. #AMBO

[Monsieur Avril @monsieur_avril]

Lmao. The speaker literally stole a client's money, got disbared from practicing law in the state of Georgia.

Tambout demarketing Nigeria in the diaspora.

[UZOR WINGATE @UzorWingate]

😂😂

[Attah Akor @attah_akor_]

"we saw our duster in JSS2B "

The boys:

[UZOR WINGATE @UzorWingate]

West African Lung fish.

Called Abee in my native language, we have lots of it in my village but we don't eat it.

[🎀Emmrex 🎀 @e_emmrex]

Mum got this fish this morning and I’m not sure why it has tentacles but apparently it’s the breast. Could you please tell me what type of fish it is?

[UZOR WINGATE @UzorWingate]

😂

[Vanguard Newspapers @vanguardngrnews]

‘I meant kill Accord with votes’ — Fadahunsi clarifies viral comment

https://t.co/AqvMKICHFp

[UZOR WINGATE @UzorWingate]

Totally agree with this argument and submission.

[Owolabi Adeshina Adeniyi @adeniyi_owolabi]

Learned Silk, with the greatest respect, you are mistaken.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has no constitutional or statutory authority to freeze the accounts of the Federal Government, any State Government, or Local Government Councils in the manner contended.

The framers of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) never contemplated a situation in which a federal agency would arrogate to itself powers superior to those of the federating units or any arm of government.

The receipt of lucrative briefs from the agency does not elevate it above the Constitution or confer upon it unlimited powers.

While Sections 6 and 7 of the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004 empower the Commission to investigate economic and financial crimes, these investigative powers cannot lawfully be stretched to the freezing or restriction of the statutory accounts of State Governments. Such an action directly collides with the clear provisions of Section 128 of the 1999 Constitution, particularly subsection (2)(b), which vests in the State House of Assembly the exclusive power to direct or cause to be directed an inquiry or investigation for the purpose of exposing corruption, inefficiency or waste in the execution or administration of laws within its legislative competence and in the disbursement or administration of funds appropriated by it.

Section 128(1) and (2) provides, in substance, that a House of Assembly shall have power by resolution to direct inquiries into the conduct of affairs of any person, authority, ministry or government department charged with executing or administering laws enacted by that House or with disbursing or administering moneys appropriated by it, and that these powers are exercisable precisely to expose corruption, inefficiency or waste.

This is a deliberate constitutional allocation of oversight responsibility over State public funds to the State Legislature (working with the Auditor-General of the State under Sections 125–127). It is not a power that can be exercised, overridden or duplicated by a federal agency through an ordinary Act of the National Assembly.

Where any conflict arises between the provisions of an Act of the National Assembly (including the EFCC Act or the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022) and the Constitution, Section 1(1) and (3) of the 1999 Constitution is categorical: the Constitution is supreme, and any other law inconsistent with it is void to the extent of the inconsistency.

States are coordinate units in the Federation; they are not federal parastatals, appendages or subordinate departments of the Federal Government. Freezing or placing a post-no-debit restriction on their statutory allocation or treasury accounts therefore undermines the federal structure, violates the principle of separation of powers, and invades the fiscal autonomy constitutionally guaranteed to the States.

Judicial authority reinforces these limits. In a recent decision of the Court of Appeal (Ado-Ekiti Division) delivered in 2026, the Court restrained the EFCC from investigating or inviting former or serving public officials of Ekiti State over matters relating to the public accounts of the State (including the Ekiti Airport Project).

The Court held that the responsibilities of auditing and investigating the public accounts of the State Government are constitutionally and exclusively vested in the Auditor-General of the State and the State House of Assembly, and that the EFCC cannot rely on the provisions of its enabling Act to override a subsisting constitutional interpretation by a court of competent jurisdiction. The Constitution takes precedence.

While the Supreme Court in Attorney-General of Abia State & Ors v. Attorney-General of the Federation (and related proceedings in 2024 involving Kogi and other States) upheld the legality and continued existence of the EFCC, ICPC and NFIU, and affirmed their competence to investigate economic and financial crimes (including those involving public officers at State level), that decision did not confer unlimited powers, nor did it endorse the freezing of State Government statutory accounts.

The Court recognised the agencies’ investigative remit but did not authorise administrative actions that would paralyse the constitutional functions of a coordinate tier of government or displace the oversight role expressly assigned to State institutions under Sections 120–129 of the Constitution.

Section 34 of the EFCC Act (and related provisions in the Money Laundering Act permitting limited temporary stop-orders in certain circumstances) speaks of accounts of “a person” and contemplates application to court for freezing orders. Public treasuries and statutory allocation accounts of State Governments are not private or personal accounts; they are public funds held for the discharge of governmental responsibilities under the Constitution. Treating them as ordinary “accounts of a person” susceptible to unilateral administrative freeze by a federal agency is both textually strained and constitutionally impermissible.

Freezing such accounts risks immediate disruption of salaries, security, infrastructure and essential services for millions of citizens an outcome wholly at variance with the public interest and the federal character of the Nigerian State.

Professor Kayinsola Ajayi, SAN, of Olaniwun Ajayi LP, a respected corporate lawyer and learned silk, correctly stated in a recent press interview that the EFCC’s powers are limited and that freezing State Government accounts does not fall within those powers.

The Supreme Court has itself reiterated that the Commission does not possess the unlimited authority sometimes attributed to it. The correct constitutional position remains that internal financial oversight of State public funds rests primarily with the State Auditor-General and the State House of Assembly under Sections 125–129.

The EFCC may investigate allegations of economic and financial crimes involving individuals, but it cannot, by administrative fiat or without clear judicial authorisation that itself respects constitutional boundaries, freeze the statutory accounts of a State Government.

In sum, any purported freeze of State Government accounts by the EFCC is unconstitutional. It collides with Section 128(2)(b), offends the supremacy of the Constitution under Section 1(3), undermines federalism, and violates the separation of powers.

The agency must operate strictly within the confines of the law; it is not, and cannot be, greater than the Constitution or the coordinate governments that the Constitution establishes.

[UZOR WINGATE @UzorWingate]

😂

[DammyAyo💕 @dartgurlie]

Me watching people my age afford a wedding while I'm still recovering financially from buying sunscreen.

[UZOR WINGATE @UzorWingate]

Clowns

[Jubril A. Gawat @Mr_JAGs]

FLASH: The Honorable Minister of Works, Senator @realdaveumahi today launched the COASTAL HIGHWAY GUARDS, starting with 40 officers, these personnel will be in charge of:

- Maintaining presence on the highway

- Report suspicious activities

- Restrict Hawking on the Coastal Highway

- Report and Monitor any form of vandalism

- Restrict Keke or Okada on the Coastal Highway

- Restrict loitering on the Coastal Highway

The team is led by Rtd Gen. Adekunle Shodunke, they will work in conjunction with the security agencies in the State.

The Hon. Minister says this is not an ‘empowerment program’, It is a full time job to protect National Assets of the Government and in line with the Renewed Hope of Mr President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR

#LagosCalabarCoastalRoad
#RenewedHope

@officialABAT @jidesanwoolu

[UZOR WINGATE @UzorWingate]

Without a court order authorizing such a freeze, the EFCC is wrong to have frozen a state government's account & no amount of press releases can wash away the illegality and impropriety of this action.

The EFCC has been on a downward slope for years. This action marks a new low.

[EFCC Nigeria @officialEFCC]

EFCC PRESS STATEMENT

Why EFCC Froze Osun State's Government Account

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is compelled to publicly address issues pertaining to its preventive moves in freezing the bank account of the Osun State government, without prejudice to the imminent governorship election in the state.

The Commission has been busy investigating the Osun state government since March, 2026, regarding alleged fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee, FAAC account to the tune of N11, 000,000, 000(Eleven Billion Naira only). To this end, some officials of the state government, especially the Accountant General of the State, have had interview sessions with investigators of the EFCC.

These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026. The Commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved.

The EFCC’s preventive mandate is a public-inclined framework of safeguarding public funds, assets and resources. The Commission cannot watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged. While the Commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state. It will be uncharitable for the Commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions.

It is equally needful to state that the Commission is keeping watch over the finances of other states like Osun State. Many of these states are on the investigative radar of the Commission to ensure accountability and probity. The Commission has always pointed out that it is non-partisan and non-sectarian but always working in the overall interests of Nigerians. The Osun State government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted.

The public is enjoined to ignore false narratives and deliberate demonization of the works of the EFCC. The interests of all Nigerians are greater and will always be protected by the Commission.

[UZOR WINGATE @UzorWingate]

Just within one year, Edo State has been reduced to a caricature of what it should be.If anyone doubts that leadership matters,Edo state's decline under the current administration should settle it. Governance is serious business, and it demands competence & serious minded people.

[Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, CGoF @ChidiOdinkalu]

#StatePolice!
#StatePolice!! 🤣😜🤣

[Peter Obi @PeterObi]

When a Government Declares War on the Truth

President Donald Trump of America recently described Nigeria as “a now disgraced country.” The painful reality is that Nigeria’s challenges continue to deepen. Each passing day reveals deeper signs of decline, especially when a government becomes increasingly intolerant of truth and hostile to those who speak about the suffering of the people.

The Catholic Church has never functioned as an opposition party in Nigeria. Across military regimes and successive democratic administrations, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has maintained a principled voice on national issues and the nation’s conscience, commending governments when they deserved commendation and speaking the truth whenever national conscience demanded it. Its interventions are driven by a moral obligation, rooted in Christian social teaching, to defend truth, justice, and the common good.

The same applies to Nigeria’s major religious organisations. Bodies such as Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN), the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) have repeatedly raised concerns over economic hardship, inflation, and insecurity. Living among the people, religious leaders often encounter the suffering of citizens firsthand. They speak because they witness families struggling with rising food prices, unemployment, and the fear created by kidnappings and insecurity.

As leaders, we should be gracious enough to listen to people and organisations that speak the truth to us and genuinely criticise us when things are not going in the right direction. As Governor, I had the opportunity of working with a very strong Council of Traditional Rulers, led by the Obi of Onitsha, and religious bodies that consistently criticised me and offered suggestions. This contributed greatly to our success in Anambra State, especially in critical areas like education and health.

Against this background, the attacks on the CBCN, and especially on His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, are deeply troubling. Even in 1998, when Pope John Paul II visited Nigeria and told General Abacha some hard truths, including about the incarceration of Chief Moshood Abiola, nobody vilified him.

During the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV in Rome, to demonstrate his purported commitment to and respect for the Catholic Church, President Bola Tinubu arrived in Rome days before the event, ahead of most other visiting dignitaries, including Catholics such as the U.S. Vice President, JD Vance. He participated in the liturgy, queued with other world leaders to greet the Holy Father, and displayed deep respect for the moral authority of the Church. Back in Nigeria, however, that posture has now changed completely.

What is playing out today also reveals how political leaders sometimes exploit religion and ethnicity to divide the people. Even when it was obvious that the CBCN was speaking on issues affecting Nigerians across religious and ethnic boundaries, aides to the President immediately reduced it to a “religious affair.” The question is: are insecurity, poverty, inflation, unemployment, and hardship problems exclusive to a particular faith? Do these challenges recognise religious or tribal boundaries?

The bishops merely expressed what millions of Nigerians experience daily: insecurity has worsened, poverty is deepening, inflation is crippling families, businesses are struggling, and hope is fading. These are realities echoed by religious leaders across the country, to whom successive governments gave thanks and promised to look into their observations.

Rather than address these concerns or explain the measures in place to ameliorate them, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s aides and supporters responded with vicious attacks, particularly against Cardinal John Onaiyekan, with little regard for his age, stature, and accomplishments.