The name of Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, was missing as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, displayed the list of candidates of the 17 political parties that would participate in the September 21 governorship election in the state.

The list was displayed at the state office of the Commission in Benin City notice board and in all INEC offices across the 18 local government areas.

Ighodalo Asuerinme of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Okpebholo Monday of All Progressives Congress (APC), and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party, LP, made the list.

Others are Boot Party (BP), Osirame Edeipo; Accord party (AP), Enabulele Bright; African Democratic Congress (ADC), Obazele Paul Agbone, People Redemption Party (PRP), Key Ndidi and Young Progressive Party (YPP),Okungbowa Paul Ovbokhan.

The list also showed that Mr Uwaifo Osaro is the governorship candidate of Action Alliance (AA) while the Social Democratic Party (SDP) had Aner Abdullai Aliu. New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) had Azena Azemhe Friday and the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) had Osifo Isiah as its candidate.

Others are the All People Movement (APM), Ugiagbe Odaro Syvelster; All Peoples Party (APP), Areleogbe Amos Osalumese; Action Democratic Party (ADP), Akhime kingson Afere; African Action Congress (AAC) Udoh Obersifo David and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Akhalamhe Amiemenoghena.

The state INEC head of voters education and publicity, Timidi Wariowei, said that the pasting of the particulars was in line with the electoral law, noting that parties and the public can now view the particulars of the candidates and their running mates.

He Continues To Violate Laws

Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara is facing a fresh impeachment threat from the majority members of the State House of Assembly who claimed yesterday that the governor has not relented in breaching critical provisions of the constitution.

The 27 lawmakers are supporters of Fubara’s immediate predecessor, Nyesom Wike, and defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the heat of the first round of hostilities between the governor and Wike, who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The legislators, in a communique issued in Port Harcourt yesterday, accused Fubara of jettisoning the terms of the agreement he signed with Wike last December following the peace talks brokered by President Bola Tinubu.

This, they said, includes the non re-presentation of the state budget to the assembly for deliberation.

The lawmakers also took a dig at a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, Dr. Abiye Sekibo and others who, under the auspices of the Former Rivers State PDP Presidential Campaign Council, recently attacked Wike.

The lawmakers said it was laughable that the Secondus group, who worked against the victory of President Tinubu and Fubara in the last elections, could now come out to declare support for the two men and tried to despise and lie against Wike who made the victories possible.

The lawmakers said: “These new arrivals have just landed like hawks. They now want to grab what they spat on but need to be careful of their ranting and utterances against the institution of the legislature and the FCT Minister as they can derail the existing peace in the state.

“The FCT Minister is doing fabulously well in Abuja and should be commended. Rather than looking for advice for Mr. President who we believe knows them very well, should they not be calling on the Governor to learn to abide by the laws of Rivers State and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?

“Should these new self-acclaimed advisers also not be advising the Governor to do the needful so that there can be a smooth transition from the current democratically elected Councils in the State to the next democratically elected Councils and avoid the challenges of attempting the opposite?

“What about advising the Governor to heed to the Peace Agreement he begged for, willingly signed, and has chosen not to abide by some of the terms?

“It is worthy of note that the notice of impeachment of the Governor was quickly withdrawn by members of the House in fulfillment of the terms of the agreement and out of immense respect for the person and office of the President of the Federal Republic and believing that there would be a u-turn in terms of unlawful actions of the Governor.

“The reverse is now the case as we see from the day to day activities of the State Governor being conducted outside the laws of Rivers State and the Constitution.

“To this day, Rivers State remains the only state without an Appropriation Law and the Governor recklessly abandons laws of the state. These new hawks in the scene and all those who are quick to refer to the Governor as ‘Mr. Innocent’ will not go and advise him.

“They prefer to hold talk shows, organize rallies, hold press conferences and announce that the House commenced impeachment proceedings against the Governor for no just cause but fail to ask the Governor if he has not been informed of the particulars of gross misconduct leveled against him or at least read them when they were filed in Court in response to his petition.

“They must not forget that the Rivers State House of Assembly has the mandate of the people and that we swore an oath of allegiance to the Constitution to do the needful including the Impeachment of the Governor as a last resort.

“So, if it becomes a last resort, in accordance with the law, we will not hesitate to do so, because no individual is bigger than Rivers State, including the Governor.

“We assure the good people of Rivers State that we remain undeterred in our service to our fatherland and no number of threats including those of violence against us just like they attacked the Speaker’s residence will make us abandon our constitutional mandate to make laws for the good governance of our dear State.

“Efforts to utilize misguided individuals and attack dogs to spew lies against the House or misinform the populace with the intention of bringing the House to disrepute has only succeeded in strengthening our resolve to represent our people even better by focusing on our job and ignoring their distractions.”

The lawmakers recalled how they survived sponsored attacks on the House from persons they described as enemies of the people and those who could not withstand the principles of the rule of law “as well as checks and balances in our nascent democracy”.

They said such democratic forces out of their frustration started with the burning and later demolition of the Hallowed Chamber insisting that their plot was to eliminate the legislature for pushing for the independence granted her by the Constitution.

The lawmakers said: “We survived these attacks. Their new strategy is to use another arm of government, lobbyists, attack dogs and the mainstream and social media to bring the House to disrepute and consummate their agenda. In this regard, various individuals, groups, media mercenaries have been recruited to actualize their objectives”

The lawmakers described the Secondus group under the auspices of Former Rivers State Presidential Campaign Council as the latest of the new groups recruited against the 10th Assembly.

They said: “In a press conference on the 26th of March 2024 signed by Dr. Abiye Sekibo, this group inferred that the House is an illegal and unconstitutional Assembly. Others in this group are the likes of Rt. Hon. Austin Opara, Senator Lee Maeba and Prince Uche Secondus. Hon. Tamunosisi Gogo Jaja, Sir Celestine Omehia, amongst others.

“They are among these desperate politicians who left their houses and gathered under a canopy with H.E. Atiku Abubakar and H.E. Ifeanyi Okowa’s pictures on a banner behind them professing their new support for Mr. President and the Rivers State Governor.

“On the other hand, they derided the 10th Assembly who they are unhappy with for joining the All Progressives Congress (APC) which incidentally is the President’s political party. Worse still, they lied against and attacked the FCT Minister who worked tirelessly for the victory of the President and the Governor in Rivers State.

“In other words, they are against those who defeated them and put them to shame by ensuring the victory of the President and Governor in the State, but they now “subscribe” to the President and Governor. What a weak strategy from a group who think they are smart!

“The good people of Rivers State know who they truly are. Our constituents will not forget in a hurry how they fought against the candidature of the current Governor and Mr. President during the elections. We are not surprised that they are no more saying all the unprintable things against the President and the Governor because this is who they are.

“They now want to advise the President and use unprintable words against the former Governor of Rivers State- His Excellency, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike CON. GSSRS. Life Bencher who God used to unite and transform Rivers State to enviable heights.

“Their new game plan is to blackmail Mr. President with “oil production and OPEC Quota”. This is the end game for them. What a shame!

“They said in their statement that they now support the Renewed Hope Agenda and we are not against it. However, can they be trusted going by their past actions? Is it not a ploy to deceive the President, gain rewards and milestones as usual and later fight back after discrediting their old benefactor – the FCT Minister?

“Time will tell, but we must keep in mind that they vowed ‘never to serve master and later boy’ and campaigned that the President was unqualified, not healthy enough and unfit for the job.

“We were inundated by the sad commentaries and speeches of their spokesperson in the media against the President, Governor, and those of us who stood by the President and Governor”.

The lawmakers vowed to make a positive difference in legislation, oversight functions and effective representation.

“Several Bills that are in the interest of the State have succeeded so far and resolutions passed with the objective of making things better. As we push to meet or surpass the yearnings and aspirations of our constituents, we are focused on our avowed goal of legislative oversight for the betterment of the good people of Rivers State”, they said.

They asked the President to ignore the group which they branded as hawks, saying in due time, such individuals would reveal their true intentions.

They said: “We remain very prayerful and ever supportive of the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr President’s government. We toiled day and night while these hawks called us names as we canvassed for votes for Mr. President from unit to unit, ward to ward and LGA to LGA.

“Today, we have happily joined our progressive party with the intention of supporting Mr. President and further protecting what we worked for- his mandate.

“No amount of blackmail would derail the resolve of this 10th Assembly to support Mr. President, his government and especially the son of Rivers State that is making us proud as the FCT-Minister- His Excellency, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike.

“We also call on Nigerians to give Mr President’s efforts at economic recovery and improved life all the support that it deserves.

“Finally, we assure the good people of Rivers State of our commitment to stand up for them and urge them to remain prayerful against tyranny and dictatorship in the state because we believe that as agents of positive change, things can be better in the State if the rule of law prevails and there is mutual respect for and from all arms of government and institutions”.

The 27 lawmakers, who signed the document are Martin Amaewhule, Dumle Mail, Jack Major, Somiari-Stewart Linda, Franklin Nwabochi, Ofiks, Kabang Christopher, Azeru Okpara, Opuende Isaiah, Tekenari Granville, Adoki Smart, Wami Solomon, Enemi Alabo, Igwe Aforji, Prince Nyeche, Emilia Amadi and Enyinna Sylvanus.

Others are Ezekwe Ijeoma, Abbey Peter, Arnold Davis, Barile Nwakoh, Onwuka Obenachi, Arnold Davids, Gerald Oforji, Ngbar Bernard, Emeji Mgbechukwu, John Iderema, Tony-Wiliams Uwuma and Chimezie Nwankwo.

Councillor, SDP candidate declare support for Fubara in Rivers

The Leader of Ahoada East Legislative Assembly, Bernard ThankGod Unwhe, has declared support for Governor Fubara in the face off with Wike.

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate in the 2023 election for Ahoada East Constituency in the State House of Assembly, MacSunday Ugwu, has also dumped his party to identify with the governor.

Unwhe and Ugwu revealed their new camps during a meeting presided over by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr Edison Ehie, at Government House, Port Harcourt.

The two leaders in the area were accompanied to the meeting by the former councillor representing Ahoada East Ward 11, Daniel Igbudu.

A statement signed by Fubara’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Nelson Chukwudi, said the Managing Director, Rivers State Signage and Advertising Agency (RISAA), Aye Pepple, was also present at the meeting.

Pepple was also a member of the Rivers State House of Assembly between 2007 and 2015 and represented Bonny State Constituency.

Fubara, in a broadcast last December had pledged his commitment to implementing the eight -point peace agreement.

He said the implementation would be done without compromising the collective interest of the people and democratic values.

He said as a principal participant in the saga, he had taken some time to study the terms of the proclamation and had come to the conclusion that the peace pact was not as bad as it might be portrayed by those opposed to it.

Fubara said the peace accord “is not a death sentence”, but an opportunity to achieve the needed stability in the state, adding that both sides of the divide have so far demonstrated some goodwill towards the implementation of the agreement.

He said while the Martin Amaewhule led Assembly which is loyal to Wike had withdrawn the impeachment notice, his government had also released the withheld allowance of the State House of Assembly.

However, signs that renewed hostilities might break out between the governor’s camp and that of Wike reared their heads recently when the State Assembly passed into law the repealed House of Assembly Service Commission Bill, overriding the power of the governor

The law as repealed took away the power to appoint the chairman and members of the State House of Assembly Service Commission from the governor and vested it in the Assembly.

Fubara’s Chief of Staff, Edison Ehie, criticized the assembly for the action and said it lacked power to do what it did.

The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has said hunger and famine await Nigeria if farmers are denied access to farms by bandits and terrorists.

Obi, who was reacting to publications and the international agency’s warning on the matter, said the alarm should be given adequate attention.

“I just read on the daily this morning, about the concerns being expressed by stakeholders in our agriculture sector over the worsening food insecurity in Nigeria,” he wrote on X.

“I have remained consistent in public voicing out my worries over this growing food crisis, which has even continued to claim the lives of our fellow citizens.

“I do believe that the urgency required to address these issues cannot be over-emphasized.

“The report this morning reads, in part, “The number of food-insecure Nigerians increased significantly, from 66.2 million in Q1 2023 to 100 million in Q1 2024 (WFP, 2024), with 18.6 million facing acute hunger and 43.7 million Nigerians showing crisis-level or above crisis-level hunger- coping strategies as of March 2024.

“While the above report gives an understanding of the present and impending food crisis looming large on the nation, the present realities show that we are already in a worse situation than is presented in the report.

“An earlier similar report by Cadre Harmonise stated that about 31.5 million Nigerians are projected to face acute hunger by the June-August of this year.

“What is now very worrisome is that many Nigerians have lost their lives in their quest to find food, reflecting a very acute level of hunger not yet captured in the media. We are gradually descending to the level of the survival of the fittest, where, driven by hunger and a quest for survival, one loses every sense of order to do the unthinkable.

“With the recurrent bandits and terror attacks on farmers, many of them have abandoned their farms. It is reported that in a state like Sokoto, farmers have paid an accumulated sum of N3 billion in ransom to bandits, others pay as high as N100,000 to bandits to gain access to their farmlands. About 165 farmers have reportedly lost their lives to insecurity this year alone.

“It is, therefore, a matter of urgency, for the government to solve the problems of insecurity in the country. This will in turn reduce the problems of food insecurity when farmers safely return to their farms. A New and hunger-free Nigeria is POssible.”

The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has said rehabilitating the Third Mainland and Carter bridges in Lagos will cost N21 billion and 25 billion, respectively.

Umahi disclosed this during a Friday tour of key infrastructure projects in Lagos with the National Assembly Joint Committee on Works.

The Minister said there is a need to declare an emergency on the two bridges to avert a reconstruction cost of N6 trillion.

He warned of the substantial financial and safety risks posed by continued delays of the rehabilitation works.

“The cost of rehabilitation of the Third Mainland Bridge is estimated at N21 billion.

“…I want the National Assembly to note that this is the worst of our challenges on these two bridges. The cost of rehabilitation of Carter Bridge is N25 billion”, he stated.

The National President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Chief Ejezie Emeka Rollas, MON, has expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for his fatherly intervention on the health of the ailing Zack Orji who has departed to the United Kingdom for post-surgery assessment.

Rollas also commended the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu for her motherly care towards the veteran actor as well as the son of the President, Seyi Tinubu for his inflicting support.

He equally thanked Minister for women affair Barr. Uju Kennedy Ohanenye for her relentless efforts in ensuring that Zack Orji gets back on his feet as soon as possible and Orji’s longtime friend, Ahmed Bala for standing by him all through the period.

According to him, “We have witnessed the unprecedented support that President Tinubu is giving to the creative industry which has clearly shown his clear determination to uplift the sector to be more relevant and beneficial to both the practitioners and the national economy and we find it necessary to appreciate him.”

Rollas had earlier expressed profound gratitude to President Bola Tinubu on the appointments of an AGN member, Ali Nuhu, Managing Director of Nigeria Film Corporation and other key professionals such as Dr. Shaibu Husseini, Director General of National Fim and Video Censors Board and Obi Osika, Director General, Council for Arts and Culture.

Recall that days back, it was rumoured that Zack Orji was no more. But the leadership of AGN later debunked the viral report.

Going by the new capital requirements released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for commercial, non-interest and merchant banks on Thursday night, 25 banks operating in Nigeria would need to raise not less than N3.894 trillion in fresh capital to meet up with the new minimum capital base.

This is as the apex bank have been cautioned to watch out for inflows of illicit funds that may be directed towards the capitalisation bid of the banks.

Having mentioned late last year at the Bankers Dinner in Lagos that the apex bank would beworking on a recapitalisation bid for the banking industry to cater to the $1 trillion economy that is being targeted by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led government, the Dr Olayemi Cardoso-led CBN made good its word with a steep increase in the required capital base for commercial, non interest and merchant banks in the country.

According to the new requirement, commercial banks with international licenses are required to have a capital base of N500 billion while their national and regional counterparts are required to have capital base of N200 billion and N50 billion respectively.

Similarly, the capital base of national non-interest banks were raised to N20 billion while that of regional non-interest was raised to N10 billion. Merchant banks capital base was also raised to N50 billion.

LEADERSHIP findings showed that while the fate of some banks with holding company structure are not fully clear, nearly all the banks with the exception of the two regional non interest banks met the new capital base. Taj Bank and Lotus Bank both have currently more than the N10 billion that is required for them to continue operation.

In total, the 25 banks surveyed by LEADERSHIP showed a cumulative N2.049 trillion in paid up capital and share premium. This means that the banks would be needing a total of N3.894 trillion to meet up with the new capital base should they decide against mergers, acquisitions and reclassification.

Speaking on the capital base, Head of Financial Institutions at Agusto & Co, Ayokunle Olubunmi noted that whilst the recapitalisation bid will see another interesting couple of years in the banking industry, the CBN has to be cautious in ensuring that the industry is not flooded with illicit funds.

According to him, the apex bank will have to shore up its oversight and regulatory functions to ensure that flow of funds from terrorism, corruption and illicit proceeds are not laundered through the recapitalisation of banks.

“The CBN will have to ensure that proceeds from drugs and terrorism does not come in. Secondly, the CBN also need to ensure that it recapacitate itself such that they have the tools, the capacity to supervise the bank of such sizes. Because one major thing we have realised is that after the recapitalisation exercise, CBN is not able to supervise those banks and those are the things they should watch out for.

“And on the part of the bank, the banks need to be careful because if they are not careful with the merger and acquisition and other events that may come again, they need to be carefully that they don’t have a marriage of strange bedfellows. They need to ensure that the person they bring onboard is someone they have the same vision with, because that can ultimately kill the brand.”

Olubunmi stated that whilst everyone was expecting recapitalisation, “the format which the CBN went about it is not what everybody expected. Everybody was thinking about shareholders fund but they surprised everyone by coming from the angle of paid up capital instead of shareholders fund that was traditionally used. All the banks will be required to actually go to the market and raise capital.

“But the banks have two years, it is not something that if they don’t do it now, they will be in trouble. The other thing is that this is just the beginning and I’m sure that will there will be a lot of engagement. The banks will push back, particularly with the paid up capital, they will push back and may even ask the CBN to add retained earnings to it.

“If the CBN sticks to its decision, the banks will have to bring in institutional investors, and some will either merge or leave the industry. There would also be the option of scaling down to meet the recapitalisation so it is a lot of interesting times ahead

“Another thing is that the CBN wasn’t to use this to galvanize the inflow of dollars. because each of the banks will need the money required for recapitalisation and may have to source for investors outside the country, increasing the inflow of dollars that will help the industry.

On her part, Group head of Global Markets at Parthian Partners, Ronke Akinyemi said the new bank recapitalisation requirements by the CBN is a step in the right direction as it will eventually result in a more robust financial system. Though steep, we believe the time frame given will allow room for the current banks to meet the requirements before the deadline.

“Ultimately, we envision that this new recapitalisation requirement will result in increased foreign direct investments which will in turn help to stabilise the naira, thus we expect to see rounds of capital raises especially with the restrictions of the capital requirement to share capital and share premium. In addition, we envisage that there will be mergers between tier 1&2 banks and also among tier 2 banks to meet this new requirements.”

Speaking on this, the vice president, Highcap securities Limited, Mr. David Adnori said that the new capital base will be judged by the combination of the paid-off capital and share premium.

He noted that a lot of the banks that have large reserves and they will need to capitalise on their reserves, by converting them into paid-off capital, saying that if a lot of the banks do that, a lot of them will massively surpass that figure.

Adnori noted that the emphasis is mainly on banks with international operations and one can see the rationale behind the huge increase for those commercial banks with foreign exposures through their foreign operations because of the depreciation of the naira.

He pointed that a lot of those banks already have a lot of amount in their reserves which become capitalized. But some of them have also opted to go afresh, to raise fresh capital from the capital market, to increase their paid-up capital base.

He added that the fear now is that if a lot of them besiege the capital market to raise capital, then they will be crowding out funds from the real productive sector that has a serious shortage of capital.

“So, one would actually have expected that public policy should be aimed at shifting capital to recapitalise the productive sector, and not again to shift capital from the economy to the banking sector that is already well capitalized,” he said.

The doyen of the Nigerian Exchange Limited, Rasheed Yusuf, said stated that the local bourse can support such a major capital raise, even without the presence of foreign investors.

An economy and capital market analyst, Rotimi Fakayejo said “the market will support it with the deadline of 24 months. At such a time, Foreign Portfolio Investors would have started returning to the market gradually.”

Based on this, under the commercial banks with international authorisation of N500 billion; Access Bank, Fidelity Bank, FCMB, First Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Union Bank, United Bank for Africa and Zenith have with a total amount of paid-up capital and share premium to be N251.81 billion, N129.71 billion, N125.29 billion, N251.34 billion, N138.19 billion, N148.09, N115.82 billion, and N270.75 billion, respectively. This shows that the institutions will be raising capital to meet up with the new capital base of N248.19 billion, N370.30 billion, N374.71 billion, N248.66 billion, N361.81 billion, N351.91 billion, N384.19 billion, and N229.25 billion, respectively.

Also, out of the Commercial Banks operating all over the country, EcoBank Nigeria met the new capital base as the Bank’s issued share capital and share premium stood at N353.51 billion exceeding the N200 billion new capital base. The paid-up capital and share premium of CitiBank Nigeria Limited (N14.44 billion), Polaris Bank (N50.43 billion), Stanbic IBTC Bank (N109.26 billion), Standard Chartered Bank Limited (N45.42 billion), Sterling Bank (N57.15 billion), Titan Trust Bank (N29.20 billion), Unity Bank (N16.33 billion), and Wema Bank (N15.13 billion) will be adding a new capital of N185.56 billion, N149.57 billion, N90.74 billion, N154.58 billion, N142.85 billion, N170.80 billion, N183.67 billion, and N184.87 billion respectively

Meanwhile, under the regional non-interest banking with a new capital base of N10 billion, TAJ Bank and Lotus Bank met the requirement by N14.06 billion and N13.03 billion respectively.

Based on the stipulation of the CBN, Access Corporation, the parent company of Access Bank has paid-up capital and share premium of N251.811 billion according to its 2023 full-year result released yesterday hence a shortfall of N248.189 billion.

FBN Holdings, the parent company of FirstBank has paid-up capital and share premium of N251.3 billion, hence a shortfall of N248.66 billion, according to its Q3’23 results. The paid-up capital and share premium of GTHoldco, the parent company of GTBank stands at N138.186 billion as of Q3’23, hence a shortfall of N361.814 billion

UBA has paid-up capital and share premium of N115.815 billion, hence a shortfall of N384.185 billion according to its Q3’23 Zenith Bank has a paid-up capital and share premium of N270.745 billion, hence a shortfall of N229.255 billion.

Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has approved N2.19 billion as subsidy for the 2,290 intending Muslim pilgrims from the state for the 2024 hajj.

The governor said the action is to facilitate the beneficiaries’ religious obligations and enhance their welfare in the holy land.

He explained that the move was sequel to the recent announcement by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCOM) on the adjustment of the 2024 hajj fare where intending pilgrims are to pay an additional N1.918 million.

Against this backdrop, Governor Mohammed said his administration has resolved to subsidize each pilgrim with the sum of N959,025 which stands as 50 percent of the additional fare for the 2,290 intending pilgrims from the state.

In a statement issued by his media side, Comrade Mukhtar Gidado, the governor said he had approved the immediate release of the sum of N2.196 billion for the payment of the fare subsidy.

He said the development underscored the government’s commitment to ensuring that Muslim faithful in Bauchi State have the opportunity to fulfill their sacred duty of performing the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the five pillars of Islam.

He said, “By subsidizing the hajj fare, the government aims to alleviate the financial burden on intending pilgrims, thereby enabling more citizens to participate in this revered religious obligation. This initiative also aligns with the government’s efforts to promote inclusive governance and ensure that every citizen has equal access to opportunities and resources.”

The governor charged the intending pilgrims to perform the hajj with sincerity, devotion, and reverence.

He reaffirmed the government’s unwavering support for the religious freedom and practices of all citizens and pledged to continue working towards the welfare and development of the state.

Godswill Akpabio, senate president, has hinted that the upper legislative chamber may consider lifting the suspension on Abdul Ningi, senator representing Bauchi central.

Akpabio spoke on Friday upon his return to Abuja from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) general assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.

BACKGROUND

Early this month, Ningi sparked controversy when he alleged that the 2024 budget was padded by N3 trillion and that the country is operating two budgets concurrently.

Subsequently, the senate debated the matter at the “committee of the whole”.

The senator was thereafter suspended for three months for allegedly not providing evidence to back his allegations.

NINGI THREATENS TO SUE AKPABIO

In a letter dated March 27 and addressed to Akpabio through Femi Falana, his counsel, Ningi gave the senate president a seven-day ultimatum to lift his suspension from the upper legislative chamber.

Ningi described his suspension as “illegal”, saying he would approach a federal high court for his reinstatement if the suspension is not lifted within seven days.

“Apart from violating our client’s fundamental right to a fair hearing, the Senate violated the right of the entire people of the Bauchi Central Senatorial District to representation in the Senate for three months,” the letter reads.

“This is a breach of section 111 of the Constitution and article 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights Act.

“As you are no doubt aware, the Federal High Court had struck down the suspension of some members of the Senate and the House of Representatives who had accused the leadership of both houses of corruption or abuse of office.”

‘NINGI WILL JOIN US IN A FEW DAYS’

Speaking on Friday, Akpabio said although he was yet to receive the letter, he believes that Ningi will rejoin the senate in a few days.

“It is a parliamentary decision. I have not seen the letter yet,” Akpabio said.

“But senator Ningi is one of us. I mean what is suspension? I believe that in a few days, he will join us.

“So, there is no problem. It would be resolved amicably. The senate is a family.”

The Governor of Kebbi, Nasir Idris, has called for a change in how the nation’s revenue is shared.

The governor opined that states should receive a greater share than the federal government.

Idris said that a reassessment of the distribution formula of federal allocations would address the democratic aspirations of the people.

He said that this should be carefully examined, especially in the area of having the police force under the administration of state governments nationwide.

He said this during an interview with journalists in Abuja on Friday, expressing concern that the revenue-sharing formula heavily favoured the federal government at the expense of the states.

“A situation where the federal government takes 55 per cent of the total share of the revenue was, to say the least, unfair. We must look at the formula in order to meet our campaign promises to our citizens,” he said.

“When you look at it, the states and local governments are the closest to the people and most of the challenges faced directly by citizens are handled by the states and local governments.

“It is in the state that you find the farmers, the artisans, and the poorest of the poor and it is our responsibility as governors to make life meaningful and worth living for them.

“So, I believe that the federal government has fewer responsibilities in terms of direct interaction with Nigerians. Governors and local government chairmen deal directly with the people and that is a huge burden on them.

“Our revenues should be shared in such a way that state and local governments that often have direct interactions with the Nigerian people should collect a higher percentage to meet their yearnings and aspirations,” Idris said.

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party for 2023 elections has declared his stance on the recent national convention of the party that saw Barr Julius Abure emerge as national chairman.

Addressing Nigerians on X Space hosted by Parallel Facts on Friday, Peter Obi said he ignored the convention because the party leadership under Abure failed to do wide consultation with key stakeholders of the party before embarking on the said convention.

The former Anambra Governor emphasised the need for the right thing to be done to salvage the party, adding that he is more passionate about building a new Nigeria than building a new Labour Party.

“We promised to build Nigeria, we did not promise to build a New Labour Party,” he emphatically affirmed.

He also threw his weight behind the call for a structure for the ‘OBIdient’ movement.

“It is the standard practice around the world where movements form themselves into blocs and are part of the political process,” he added.

Recall the LP has been in crisis in recent times with many of its supporters calling for a proper restructuring of the party ahead of 2027.