Abuja will play host to a gathering of intellectual and political heavyweights on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, as the state of the nation takes centre stage during the public presentation of two seminal books authored by renowned journalist, Ike Abonyi, at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre.
Chairman of the event planning committee Umar Sani and secretary Madam Onuorah said in a statement in Abuja today.
The two titles, The Bubbles of Nigeria’s Democracy: The Musings of a Nigerian Journalist and Wadata Wonders: Memoirs of a Partisan Journalist, are reflections on Nigeria’s political evolution and the author’s professional and partisan experiences. Abonyi is a distinguished journalist, former Group Political Editor and News Editor of THISDAY Newspapers, and pioneer Deputy Managing Director of New Telegraph Newspapers.
Setting the tone for a robust conversation on Nigeria’s trajectory will be a keynote lecture titled, “How Did We Get Here?” to be delivered by Chief John Nnia Nwodo, former Minister of Information and immediate past President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide.
The books will be reviewed by Mr. Martins Oloja, an accomplished journalist and former Managing Director of The Guardian Newspapers.
The event will be chaired by seasoned banker and 2023 PDP presidential aspirant, Alhaji Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, who will lead a distinguished array of dignitaries and political actors.
The Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed, is expected to serve as the Chief Book Presenter, while Governors Peter Mbah of Enugu State and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State will act as Co-Presenters.
Also expected at the event are the governors of Imo, Adamawa, Zamfara, Taraba, Delta, Cross River, Bayelsa, and Osun States.
Several former governors will grace the occasion, including Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Peter Obi (Anambra), Achike Udenwa and Ikedi Ohakim (Imo), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Lucky Igbinedion (Edo), Ibrahim Idris and Idris Wada (Kogi), Sam Ortom and Gabriel Suswam (Benue), among others.
Also expected are former National Chairmen, members of the National Working Committee (NWC), and past and present leaders of the PDP’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
The event will draw participants from across the National Assembly, past and present, as the books spark a national conversation on democracy, governance, and party politics.
According to the author, The Bubbles of Nigeria’s Democracy is a curated collection of his weekly political columns over more than a decade, originally published in New Telegraph and Global Upfront Newspapers. Wadata Wonders offers a behind-the-scenes memoir of his over four-year stint as Media Adviser to two PDP National Chairmen and head of the party’s publicity rescue team at its national secretariat.
