Mr. Femi Adesina, who served as the Special Adviser on Media to ex-president, Muhammadu Buhari, has said his principal actually felt some things the administration did, could have been done better.

Adesina spoke in Osogbo on Wednesday at a programme tagged Media Dialogue with Femi Adesina organised by the Association of Veteran Journalists in Osun State.

The ex-presidential spokesperson said before Buhari left office, he had a two-hour chat with him, during which he asked all manners of questions.

According to him, during the interview session, he asked his principal what his regrets were, and Buhari expressed regret that certain things should have probably been done in another way.

Although Adesina did not state Buhari’s regret, he however said “There is no living human being that will not regret certain things. It is one of the questions I asked the president.

“Before we left office, I sat with him for about 2 hours and I asked him every question under the sun and when we finished, he asked what I gave to Chief of Protocol that he gave so long a time with him. There was no question I didn’t ask him. There were things he (Buhari) felt could have been done better.”

Defending some of the actions taken by the administration, Adesina, who said naira redesign policy, though exposed Nigerians to hardship was not totality a bad policy as it enabled the country to have reduction in crime, especially kidnapping and curbed manipulation in the 2023 polls.

He further said Buhari served the country diligently, but added that whatever inadequacies noticed in the manner his principal led the nation, could not be solely blamed on him.

“The policy (naira redesign) brought hardship to Nigerians. I had N20,000 which I stretched for almost two weeks. There was a day I had a full house and we wanted to cook breakfast but midway, the gas finished.

“When they came to tell me that the gas has finished, I didn’t know what to do because to fill that big cylinder, I needed N40,000 but I didn’t have it. I was special adviser to the president but I didn’t have the cash. One boy living with me had to bail me out to fill that gas which I refunded.

“So, it was everybody that bore that brunt. You will recall that even during that time, there was no kidnapping. I remember some people went to kidnap an APC chairman or is it secretary in Kano. After holding him for three days and nobody was calling to ask how much they will collect because there was no cash, they just slapped him three times and told him to go.

“Even kidnappers were out of business because there was no naira and do you know that we have a cleaner election because of that policy?

“Nine serving governors couldn’t go to the Senate. They contested but lost. Have you ever seen a governor who will contest an election and will not win? But because there was no money to spread around, they couldn’t win. The policy was not bad in its entirety. There were issues with it but it was not bad in its entirety,” Adesina concluded.

The Bauchi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has ruled that Bala Mohammed was duly elected as the governor of the North East state.

The tribunal on Wednesday affirmed the victory of Governor Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 18th governorship election held in the state.

The tribunal dismissed the petition filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.

It held that there is no strong reason to annul the election as the election was conducted in compliance with the law.

The judgment was delivered by a three-man panel chaired by Justice P.T Kwahar.

INEC had in March declared that Mohammed polled 525,280 to beat his closest rival and the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Air Marshal Abubakar who polled 432,272.

The Cross River State police command has uncovered an illegal arms factory producing guns and explosives in the Osomba community in Akamkpa Local Government of the state.

The command’s spokesperson, Irene Ugbo in a statement said a team of anti-cultism and kidnapping squad raided the factory and recovered a cache of arms on Monday.

The team led by Ogini Chukwuma also recovered remote-controlled improvised explosives devices (IEDs), detonators, and several automatic weapons.

Also recovered were dozens of locally-made double-barrel guns, and pistols at the illegal arms factory while nine gun runners were apprehended.

The police said, “This is a pure act of terrorism for them to be making explosives right inside a community with highly sophisticated remote donators, indicators, and so on.

“It’s a huge breakthrough for the command and we are not relenting in our quest to rid the state of crimes and criminalities, as a matter of fact, we have taken the war to the criminals.”

“This is a pure act of terrorism for them to be making explosives right inside a community with highly sophisticated remote donators, indicators, and so on.

“It’s a huge breakthrough for the command and we are not relenting in our quest to rid the state of crimes and criminalities, as a matter of fact, we have taken the war to the criminals.”

Irene said the suspects would be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation.

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has urged the Supreme Court to declare that the Presidential Election Petition Court’s five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani erred in law when it dismissed his evidence allegedly showing he won the February 25 polls with about 8.7 million votes.

Recall that INEC declared on March 1 that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Tinubu, polled 8,794,726 votes while Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Obi scored 6,984,520 and 6,101,533 votes, respectively.

Obi then petitioned the PEPC for redress while presenting, among over ten witnesses, a professor of Mathematics at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra, Eric Uwaduegwu Ofoedu who submitted his expert report on the election.

The professor had told the panel that 18,088 polling unit results uploaded by INEC staff to the INEC Results Viewing Portal were blurred and allegedly shortchanged Obi’s score by
additional 2,565,269 accredited votes, aside the issue of overvoting.

According to the prof, overvoting checks on the 2023 presidential election showed that 4,457 polling units with a total of 2,317,129 PVCs collected were affected, adding that the figure exceeds the margin of lead of 1,807, 206 votes over the first runner declared by INEC, that is, Atiku Abubakar.

“From IREV portal, 18,088 polling units results were blurred. This number of PUs negatively impacted the votes of 2,565,269 accredited voters and 9,165,191 voters that collected their PVCS,” the witness had claimed.

But the panel, agreeing with the legal team of INEC and Tinubu, in its unanimous decision, dismissed Obi’s entire petition, holding particularly that the expert witness(es) from the Labour Party failed to specify the polling units in dispute as well as provide the copies of polling unit results given to LP agents as required by law.

The panel said the IREV portal was merely for public view and not a collation system.

Dissatisfied, Obi’s legal team led by Livy Uzoukwu SAN filed 51 grounds of appeal before the Apex court of the land.

Among other contentions, they said the panel refused to rely on the evidence of 18, 088 blurred polling units results uploaded by INEC staff to its public viewing portal.

Moreso, they maintained that the blurred results formed part of the certified copies issued to them by the electoral umpire, adding that the PEPC judgment affirming Tinubu’s election should be nullified for non-compliance to the Electoral Act and corrupt practices.

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The appeal partly read, “Take notice that the Appellants being dissatisfied with the decisions in PETITION NO: CA/PEPC/03/2023 MR. PETER GREGORY OBI & ANOR. v. INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION & ORS. (consolidated with Election Petition Nos: CA/PEPC/04/2023 and CA/PEPC/05/2023), contained in pages 3-327 of the Judgment of the Court of Appeal sitting as the Presidential Election Petition Court, Holden at Abuja, Coram: H. S. Tsammani, Stephen Jonah Adah, Misitura Omodere Bolaji-Yusuff, Boloukuroma Moses Ugo and Abba Bello Mohammed, JJ.C.A. (“the Court below”) delivered on the 6th day of September 2023, and more particularly stated in paragraph 2 of this Notice of Appeal, do hereby appeal to the Supreme Court on the Grounds set out in Paragraph 3 and will at the hearing of the appeal seek the Reliefs sought in paragraph 4 herein.”

A date will be fixed by the apex court for hearing of the appeal.

France and the United States were two countries that championed so-called international condemnation of and outrage against the 26 July 2023 military coup in Niger. But some two months on, both countries appear to be working at cross purposes in relation to efforts for the restoration of constitutional order in Niger or the reinstatement of deposed and detained President Mohamed Bazoum.

This is hardly surprising, since international relations is about national interests. However, the implications of the unravelling dispositions of the two powerful nations as a metaphor and referendum on relations between developed countries and the developing nations require deeper reflections and interrogation.

Paris and Washington have military bases and an estimated combined troops strength of 2,600 in Niger. Canada and other foreign nations also have soldiers, all purportedly training and assisting Niger armed forces in the global counter-terrorism fight.

Also, foreign companies, particularly from France, the former colonial power, have been exploiting Niger’s natural resources, especially uranium and gold, repatriating the lion’s share of the proceeds for the development of their countries, leaving Niger and its estimated 26 million people in misery and abject poverty.

In diplomatic parlance, Niger and its leaders “are strategic allies” to France, its Western allies and the United States.

Given the growing anti-French sentiments in the former French colonies in Africa and with military coups in four of these countries in West Africa in the last three years - Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Niger - France was naturally concerned that it was losing its stranglehold on these countries. There is also the fear that the West is losing the battle for influence on Africa to Russia and China.

It was therefore, no wonder, that Washington and Paris were head over heels in mounting pressures on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to do everything to reverse the coup in Niger.

Senior American officials worked their phones calling West African leaders, especially Nigeria’s new President Bola Tinubu, who is the current Chairman of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government. It did not matter that legal challenges to his victory were pending before the courts, the same reason some Western countries had withheld their congratulations.

President Joe Biden promised to meet Tinubu on the margins of the UN 78th General Assembly meeting in New York.

Naturally, this development raised the question why Niger and not Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, or Chad in neighbouring Central Africa, where Gen. Mahamat Kaka Idriss Derby had ditched the national constitution and replaced his father who was assassinated by Chadian rebels in April 2021.

Even so, the external pressures on ECOWAS bore fruits. ECOWAS leaders in their first extraordinary summit on the Niger crisis on 30 July threatened the use of military force against the Brig.-Gen, Abdourahamane Tchiani-led junta if they failed to reinstate Bazoum and restored constitutional order in Niger within seven days.

Unfortunately for ECOWAS, that ultimatum passed uneventfully. The same threat has been reiterated by different ECOWAS officials and at various fora of the regional bloc, including the leaders’ second extraordinary summit on 10th August and emergency meetings of regional military chiefs.

“The D-Day has been decided and the Chiefs of defence staff are waiting for the go ahead for the deployment of the Standby force,” one ECOWAS official had enthused. But it has now emerged that ECOWAS is “on its own” as far as the military intervention in Niger is concerned.

Apart from the complications and complexities of such a deployment in an environment of grave insecurity, coupled with the fact that the decision is unpopular because of the potential catastrophic consequences, the so-called military alliance for mutual support by Mali, Burkina Faso cannot be wished away.

ECOWAS sanctions on Niger are biting hard, especially on the long-suffering population, but while the organisation is working through its designated envoy to Niger, former Nigerian Head of State Abdulsalami Abubakar coupled with back-channel initiatives by some Islamic clerics, the Ulamas, some ECOWAS leaders such as Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbé, are maintaining unilateral contacts with the junta.

But more concerning is the fact that despite their public assurances, ECOWAS cannot count or rely on sincere and solid support of either the United States or France on its planned military operation.

America for one, has been pursuing its national agenda which is at variance with what Washington had been pressurising ECOWAS to do.

The new management of the ECOWAS Commission has made clear its determination to put an end to the resurgence of military coups in the region, which is a symptom of the governance malaise and leadership failures over the decade.

Some of the regional leaders now baying for blood in Niger, are partly responsible for military takeovers, including by blatantly altering their countries’ constitutions for tenure elongation, rigging of elections, clamping down on opposition and narrowing of the democratic space by not respecting the rule of law or citizens’ human rights.

Many of them are not only corrupt but have failed woefully in delivering on their promises such as ending insecurity, providing jobs for the army of unemployed youths and failure to inspire economic development and prosperity.

Meanwhile, Paris’ blunt refusal to withdraw its troops and ambassador from Niger as demanded by the junta, as if the West African country is still a colony, speaks to the arrogance of imperialism and mater-servant relationship between the North and South.

But if France’s opaque position poses a problem for ECOWAS on how to proceed in Niger, the American agenda is also unhelpful if not undermining the regional approach.

As ECOWAS continues to mull its options, America’s new Ambassador to Niger, Kathleen A. FitzGibbon arrived Niamey, the nation’s capital on 19 August to assume duty.

As if that was not enough, American media on 14 September confirmed that “the U.S. military has resumed flying drones and manned aircraft out of air bases iin Niger after a coup temporarily halted all those activities there.”

The 1,100 U.S. forces deployed in Niger had been confined inside their military bases. But the Pentagon was quoted as saying that “some military personnel and assets had been moved from the air base near Niamey to another in Agadez”.

Gen. James Hecker, a top Air Force Commander for Europe and Africa, was quoted as saying that “in recent weeks some of those intelligence and surveillance missions have been able to resume due to U.S. negotiations with the junta.”

What can ECOWAS glean from these seemingly underhand developments and their implications on its credibility and reputation as a regional bloc being dragged into a proxy war? Can the junta which, has cut a deal with America take the threat of military force by ECOWAS seriously?

ECOWAS has to re-evaluate its partnerships, review its strategy, and prioritize the use of diplomacy, especially on the Niger crisis.

Part of the Western hypocrisy and double standards is also the fact that Washington has still to determine whether the military takeover in Niger is “a successful coup” or “a coup attempt,” this is because the American Constitution forbids any dealings with a government that came to power though military coup. But the jury is still out on the sincerity or sustainability of such a policy where America’s national interests are involved just as in Niger.

Furthermore, a group of five American Congressmen led by Sara Jacobs, Ranking member of the Subcommittee on Africa has in a letter dated 18 September and addressed to the Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. envoy to the United States Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield expressed “concern regarding the impact of ECOWAS sanctions on (Niger) civilian populations, particularly regarding the delivery of humanitarian and development services.”

“While maintaining the pressure for a return to civilian rule is important, we need to mitigate spillover effects to the population as much as possible. Therefore, we urge the Biden administration to advocate for exemptions for humanitarian assistance and critical commodities such as food and medicine to be integrated into current ECOWAS sanctions,” said the Congress members.

They also recalled a 17 August letter by the U.N. Under-Secretary General of Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator to the ECOWAS leadership, “expressing concern with the adverse impact of ECOWAS sanctions on the Nigerien civilian population and calling for amendments to current sanctions regimes to ensure timely delivery of aid and authorization of transactions essential for humanitarian operations,“ noting: “this request was echoed in an August 28 advocacy note signed by more than 40 international humanitarian and development non-profit organizations.”

As ECOWAS and other partners continue to grapple with the Niger political crisis, they cannot ignore these statements by external interests pushing for a tough stance against military coups and at the same time urging mitigation measures in Niger.

With the involvement of Russia and China, it is clear that a UN Security Council approval for the use of military intervention in Niger threatened by ECOWAS is dead on arrival.

ECOWAS is therefore left with the proverbial saying of “counting its teeth with its tongue,” in order words, Africans must find solutions to African problems!

The Yoruba traditional institution and the Obas and Chiefs that perch on it are no longer what they used to be in terms of effective power and royal – even regal – bearing and esteem. In those days, an Oba is someone who sits (perches) atop everything (O ba l'ori ohungbogbo). He bore effective rule but today he only reigns. He has no effective powers, not even over those that are still referred to as his “subjects” In the real sense, Yoruba Obas have no subjects anymore; everyone is now a citizen with equal rights and privileges as the Oba himself, and those rights must be respected by all, the Oba inclusive. Any Oba that breaches the rights of a citizen will face the wrath of the law.

That was not so in times past when the Oba himself was the law and the sole arbiter of the law. He was the three arms of government – the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary - all rolled into one. What best approximates this was the statement often credited to the French Bourbons despotic king, Louis XIV: “L’etat c’est moi”, meaning, “I am the State” That was exactly the same thing in times of yore in Yorubaland when the Obas were divine and despotic rulers. Hence, many appellations described their powers and authority such as “Igbakeji Orisa” (second in command to the gods); “Iku Baba, Yeye” (one who decrees death to both male and female). And, truth be told, Obas were despotic in those days. Their words were commands that must be swiftly carried out to the letter, be they just or unjust, and from stories we have heard, many of them were not just despotic but also tyrannical and criminally-minded. Hence the Yoruba saying: “Ori yeye ni m’ogun; t’aise lo po”, meaning, many were those put to violent death, most of whom were, however, innocent. The nooks and crannies of Yoruba land where an Oba ever ruled in times of yore have a plethora of such stories in their repertoire.

Do we want a return of such a time when an Oba could seize any subject’s wife or daughter - or both, if such catches his fancy! – and the victim dare not offer as much as a whimper? In fact, he would be required to celebrate and even present the Oba with gifts! The new wife to a very powerful Chief was invited by her husband to assist him as he had his bath in the morning; whatever must have come over her, she chose to run her mouth: “Imagine your frail frame; yet, people fear you like Hell!” He simply retorted, “Don’t mind me” But immediately he left the bathroom, the powerful Chief sent orders to bring the head of the parents of the errant wife in a calabash, an order that was carried out in a jiffy! The Chief then called his wife and said to her: "For helping me in the bathroom a while ago, I have a precious gift for you". He then commanded that the covered calabash be handed over to her. You can imagine what happened when the beaming wife opened the calabash and beheld the heads of her father and mother! “True, then, is the saying: “Ori yeye ni m’Ogun...”!

If you say this wife deserved what she got, how about this powerful but moody and tyrannical Chief that was celebrating something and one of his wives, heavily pregnant, prepared and placed before him a hefty bowl of pounded yam with egusi (melon) soup garnished with assorted bush meat? The Chief summoned everyone and said:”Is it not that my wife thinks of me as “jeun ko ku” (eat-and-die; apologies, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti) "that she has placed this mountain of pounded yam before me?” She commanded the woman to sit and begin to eat. She ate until her tummy exploded!

Grandma told me many such stories of the despotic rule of not only Obas but also of powerful and wealthy people in her own time growing up. One such story was of her grandfather, Ologun-maj’ejo- ti-n-j’ori-oka. He does not eat snakes but only eats the heads of cobras! The foundation of his house was erected on slaves buried alive! The story is also told of an Oba who was brought the cheery news - or so they had thought! – that one of his wives had just given birth to a bouncing baby boy. He sprang up from his throne, took the blood-covered boy and handed it over to his herbalist to make a potent “juju” for him! Asked why he chose to use his own child when there were a legion of slaves and other subjects he could have used, he was quoted as saying that his own blood offers more fidelity than that of a stranger! The saying is alive in the town to this day!

We can go on and on! At the very least we have the story made into films of one of such powerful and wealthy women, Efunsetan Aniwura, while the Bible records the stories of Naboth and his vineyard and David versus Uriah. King Ahab coveted the vineyard which Naboth had just inherited from his father but Naboth, nostalgic about his inheritance, refused to sell or exchange. Ahab and his wife Jezebel conspired with some others; levelled false allegations against innocent Naboth and had him unjustifiably stoned to death, after which Ahab took possession of the vineyard. David gave himself to the unrestrained pleasures of a king while his country was at war; in the process, he committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of one of his dutiful soldiers, and when his lecherous act was about to be exposed after his efforts at a cover-up had failed, he gave orders that Uriah, Bathsheba’s innocent husband, be put to death, after which King David took Bathsheba to himself as wife. In both cases, only God was able to avenge the death of Uriah and Naboth. This is not to say, however, that there were no excellent Obas in Yoruba land and elsewhere recorded by history. Not all Obas were despotic and tyrannical.

In many places these days, what has happened is a move away from despotism to the assertion of citizens’ rights, now referred to as fundamental human rights or, to quote the authors of the 1776 American Declaration of Independence, as the “inalienable rights” endowed every man and woman by God. Said Thomas Jefferson, the man acclaimed as the principal author of the American Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these Rights are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of those ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it...” After the French Revolution of 1789 whose rallying cry was “Equality, Liberty and Fraternity”, the French abolished the monarchy and became a Republic on 22 September, 1792. The English may not have abolished the monarchy but today it is a constitutional monarchy and no longer despotic. The Queen or King reign, they no longer rule. Britain is a parliamentary democracy. All Animals are now equal, even if some are still more equal than others! And as the Yoruba Nation’s anthem posits, “B’a se b’eru, l’a b’omo” (meaning that both slave and free born were born equal).

The colonialists put an end to the rule of kings and Obas. At the Berlin conference of 1884/1885, the African continent was partitioned amongst the then colonial powers of Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and Belgium. Wars were fought between the colonizing powers and some African kings but, in the end, the colonizers prevailed because of superior fire power; the division amongst the African kingdoms and the treachery of some of the African people did not help matters. The colonizers imposed their rule, adopting different systems of government; for instance, the French adopted assimilation while the British adopted indirect rule. Thus did the rule of African traditional rulers come to an end! Under colonial rule, their greatly-moderated influence and power varied from place to place. Since after Independence, they have operated subject to the dictates of the rule of law but have never ceased from demanding more relevance, power, influence and authority - but all of these under the law .Those nostalgic about the days of yore when traditional rules held sway must bear the above in mind. Never again must we – or can we - return to those days of absolutism. Nor must we exhume the ghost of a Bode Thomas versus Alafin and wish that today’s Obas possess similar mystical powers to curse and make the errant bark like a dog unto death.

Are today’s Obas as “powerful” as those of yore? And do the Oke-Ogun, Oyo state Obas deserve the indignities they were subjected to by an ex-this and ex-that, a compulsive attention-seeker, someone whom destiny has bestowed the status of a statesman but who prefers, instead, the role of a gadfly, busybody and meddlesome interloper? Next week, God willing!

as ex-govs, CSOs join fray

Reports of plots to impeach Senate President Godswill Akpabio assumed a new twist on Tuesday following indications that no fewer than 10 of the former governors in the upper chamber and a coalition of civic organizations are now calling for his impeachment.

Some pro-Akpabio senators were on Tuesday said to have embarked on a troubleshooting mission to their colleagues even as some of them were reportedly contemplating getting the Dr Abdullahi Ganduje-led All Progressives Congress APC National Working Committee NWC involved.

“The party is just reading a lot of things but we have heard that some of the senators are thinking of meeting with our NWC to help resolve the issue”, said an APC official who said the party had not been officially informed about Akpabio’s travails.

While the anti-Akpabio senators described the earlier reports of planned impeachment as “phantom”, parliamentary watchdog, the Coalition for Parliamentary Democracy CPD asked the Senate President to step down, having reportedly fallen out of favour with his colleagues in the Senate.

CPD, which was reacting to claims from Senator Akpabio’s office that “one South-South Governor” was behind the impeachment threat to remove him from office, counseled Senator Akpabio to stop pointing fingers of accusation and rather come clean on why his colleagues want him out.

In a statement by its National Coordinator, Dr. Menike Johnson, CPD on Tuesday accused Senator Akpabio of seeking to heat up the polity by pointing fingers whereas his colleagues had clearly adduced that his “failure to fit into the duties of a Presiding Officer and providing a transparent and credible leadership as reason for their decision to move against him”.

Insisting that the nation needs a very stable and united National Assembly at this critical time, CPD said Nigerians cannot afford to take a Senate that is plagued by an unstable leadership which does not command the loyalty of the lawmakers

According to the coalition, it is “disappointing” that instead of answering his colleagues, the embattled Senate President “is resorting to a face-saving measure of accusing a state governor; a very dangerous and unstatesmanlike venture that is capable of triggering crisis in the polity”.

“As Parliamentary watchers, we believe that Senator Akpabio should face the issues raised by his colleagues including allegations of lack of transparency, violation of elementary rudiments, conventions and processes of presiding over the Senate, diminishing the integrity of the Senate on financial matters and claims of preferentialism in the management of the Senate.

“The attempt to overheat the polity by blaming external individuals is therefore a self-indicting measure that does not provide the much-expected answers to very critical issue of leadership failure raised by senators against the embattled Senate President.

“Having admitted that he has lost favour with his colleagues; and having no answers to the very serious issues raised by the Senators which borders on leadership failure, we counsel Senator Akpabio to save the nation further trouble by stepping down as Senate President.

“Our nation is in a very critical moment and Nigerians cannot afford a Senate that is plagued by an unstable leadership which does not command the loyalty of the lawmakers”, CPD stated.

A message circulated among northern senators last Saturday by Senator Elisha Ishaku Abbo, had claimed that Akpabio’s loyalists, sponsored the news report about his rumoured planned impeachment in order to set Northern Senators against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Abbo had said! “I woke up today to see over 10 mainstream Nigerian newspapers, all carrying news of a plan to impeach Senator Akpabio by senators from Northern Nigeria. The Whistler Newspaper went ahead to mention Senator Yari, Senator Tambuwal, and Senator Onawo, among others, as the senators behind the move.
As a Northern Senator and an official of the Northern Senators Forum, I make it bold to say that this news is deliberately planted and syndicated by the ‘camp’ of Senator Akpabio just to set President Bola Tinubu against the North.”

President Bola Tinubu has assured the international community that African leaders are committed to strengthening their economies to dissuade their mostly young citizens from embarking on dangerous journeys across the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea in search of better opportunities.

Tinubu said if African leaders make countries convenient, their citizens would have no business seeking livelihoods abroad as manual labourers.

He gave the assurance during his inaugural address at the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78) under the theme “Rebuilding Trust and Reigniting Global Solidarity: Accelerating Action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards Peace, prosperity, progress, and Sustainability for all.”

In his address, the Nigerian leader said that economic improvement was also needed to curb the “inhumane commerce” that has flourished along migration routes, where men, women, and children are reduced to commodities.

Furthermore, he noted the detrimental impact of this dangerous migration on regional peace and stability, compounded by the influx of mercenaries and extremists from the north.

“Our entire region is locked in protracted battle against violent extremists. In the turmoil, a dark channel of inhumane commerce has formed. Along the route, everything is for sale. Men, woman and children are seen as chattel.

“Yet, thousands risk the Sahara’s hot sand and the Mediterranean’s cold depths in search of a better life. At the same time, mercenaries and extremists with their lethal weapons and vile ideologies invade our region from the north.

“This harmful traffic undermines the peace and stability of an entire region. African nations will improve our economies so that our people do not risk their lives to sweep the floors and streets of other nations. We also shall devote ourselves to disbanding extremist groups on our turf.

“Yet, to fully corral this threat, the international community must strengthen its commitment to arrest the flow of arms and violent people into West Africa,” he said.

Recently, the acting Deputy Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Kemi Nandap, revealed alarming statistics from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

Nandap said at least 1,200 Nigerians have lost their lives attempting the hazardous journey through the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea as of July 2023.

Speaking during the 2023 Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Nationwide Sensitization and Enlightenment Campaign in Abuja, the Immigration chief lamented the “Japa syndrome” prevalent among Nigerian youths who in spite of dire consequences still embark on the journeys.

Abia State government has directed directors in the Abia State Civil Service who have served over eight years to immediately proceed for retirement in the next three months.

The state government said it is part of efforts at reforming the civil service in line with circular No. HSA/S.0074/11/91 of 1st August, 2011.

A statement by the Head of Service, Mrs. Joy Maduka dated September 19, 2023 said the government has approved that Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Service would only hold office for a term of four years, subject to renewal based on performance.

The statement however, maintained that directors must compulsorily retire after 8 years.

It added that the retirement approval is without prejudice to Rule 02809 of the Abia State Public Service which prescribes 60 years as pensionable service year.

The affected Permanent Secretaries and Directors were mandated to begin their retirement procedures in the next three months or forfeit their retirement benefits thereafter.

Nigerian opposition leader Atiku Abubakar’s push to establish the ineligibility of Bola Tinubu’s to be Nigeria’s president seemed to be gathering the perfect momentum.

The former vice president dealt a fatal legal blow to Tinubu in the United States on Tuesday as a federal court in the North American nation ruled in his (Atiku) favour.

This is as a federal court in Chicago ordered Chicago State University (CSU) to release all records relating to Tinubu to Abubakar.

The court, in its ruling on Tuesday night, averred that Abubakar has sufficiently satisfied the purpose for requesting the records, Peoples Gazette reports

Judge Jeffrey Gilbert also ordered a deposition of designated CSU officials within two days after the records have been released, noting further that the process can be conducted during the weekend if necessary.

“For all of the reasons discussed above, Atiku Abubakar’s application pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782 for an order directing discovery from Chicago State University for use in a foreign proceeding [ECF No. 1] is granted,” Mr Gilbert ruled. “Respondent CSU shall produce all relevant and non-privileged documents in response to requests for production Nos. 1 through 4 (as narrowed by the court) in applicant subpoena within two days of the entry of this memorandum opinion and order.”

“The deposition of respondent’s corporate designee shall proceed within two days of the production of documents. The parties can modify the dates set by the court by mutual agreement. Given the tight time frame under which the parties are operating, the deposition can, if necessary, occur on a non-weekday,” the court added.

The order comes hours after Abubakar filed his appeal to the Supreme Court, following the September 6 judgement of the presidential election petitions tribunal that upheld Mr Tinubu’s victory.

Abubakar had on August 2 filed an application for the court to order CSU to produce documents relating to Tinubu, as well as leave to get the school’s administrators to authenticate any documents submitted under oath.

Abubakar said the documents would be used as part of his ongoing challenge against Tinubu’s election earlier this year. The candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party said Tinubu should not have been allowed to run for president because he had submitted a forged document under oath in violation of the Nigerian Constitution.

Section 137 (1)(j) of the Nigerian Constitution (amended in 2010) specifically stated that no one would be legitimately elected president of Nigeria if the person “has presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

On June 17, 2022, Mr Tinubu submitted a certificate to INEC that was purportedly issued in 1979 and signed by Elnora Daniel. But Ms Daniel only arrived at CSU in 1998 from Hampton University, 19 years after Mr Tinubu was said to have graduated. She left the school in 2008 following a financial mismanagement scandal, or 14 years before June 2022 when CSU issued yet a fresh certificate in Tinubu’s name under subpoena from a Nigerian lawyer who had inquired about Mr Tinubu’s education there.

The irregularities spurred Abubakar to file the suit to compel CSU to produce records relating to Tinubu and make its top officials available for deposition to certify the produced records, according to the Nigerian opposition leader’s lawyers.

During a hearing on the matter on September 12, the CSU’s lawyer Michael Hayes, said the school could not authenticate Mr Tinubu’s certificate if asked under oath, although he said Mr Tinubu attended the school and graduated in 1979.