Over 1,000 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the November 11 governorship election in Kogi state.

This is according to a statement from the state’s Information Commissioner, Hon. Kingsley Fanwo on Thursday, August 31, 2023.

Defected members are said to be from Ukwo and Odaki wards in Koton Karfe town of the state.

It was also said that the detection didn’t leave out top leaders of the party as the PDP LG Assistant Secretary, Former Gegu North ward chairman, the immediate past Councilor from Gegu North and the PDP leader in zone C, Alhaji Idris Ibrahim Tanahu joined the APC.

Tanahu joined the ruling party because of what was described as the “sterling leadership qualities of the APC governorship candidate, Alh. Ahmed Ododo” as well as the excellent achievements of Governor Yahaya Bello, in the Local Government Area (LGA) and the state as a whole.

Alh Idris Ibrahim Tanahu noted that those still in the PDP are people whose traits are similar to that of the governorship candidate of the PDP in the state.

His said: “I pity those still associating themselves with the characters fielded by the opposition. They’ve no followers because many of them don’t possess the qualities of leadership that we have seen in Alh. Yahaya Bello and Alh. Usman Ododod. We have decided to join the team of people with integrity and good character.”

Those who defected have continued to commend Hon. Commissioner for Solid Minerals, Engr Bashir Gegu for touching the lives of the people positively and for attracting well-meaning developments to the area.

Ibrahim Mohammed, one of the defectors, said it’ll amount to ingratitude for the people of Kogi LGA not to vote for the APC massively, stressing that the APC administration sited landmark and life-touching projects in the LGA such as electricity and a state of the art hospital.

as Nigerian troops kill 39 terrorists and arrest 157 others

Vice President Kashim Shettima has admitted that bad governance is the cause of the prevalence of banditry, kidnapping, and other forms of violent crimes in Nigeria, especially in the northwest region.

Shettima made this submission on Wednesday, August 30, when he hosted the Coalition of Northern States’ Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (CONSCCIMA) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

In the vice president’s view, re-engineering and re-strategising” affairs in the north is necessary to catapult the region into “accelerated” development.

He expressed belief in the proposal for stakeholders in the north to go back to the drawing board, re-assess the state of affairs in the region, and develop robust platforms for re-engineering our society.

He said; “It is imperative for the north to embark on the re-strategising and re-engineering of the region to reposition it for accelerated development.

“Most of the issues highlighted by the president of CONSCCIMA are very poignant as these are issues that touch the lives and wellbeing of our people.

“There can never be development without peace, and there can never be peace without development.

“Especially in the north-west through the Pulaku initiative. The Pulaku initiative is a robust solution towards addressing the challenges in the northwest.

“It is a solution aimed at addressing the challenges of banditry, kidnapping and the situation in the northwest, which cannot be divorced from the issue of governance. Poor governance has a direct bearing on what we are harvesting in the north-west.”

Meanwhile, troops of the armed forces eliminated 39 terrorists, apprehended 159 others and rescued 109 hostages in different operations in the last two weeks

Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, said this on Thursday in Abuja at a bi-weekly news briefing on military operations across the country.

He said troops of Operation Hadin Kai ambushed and arrested Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists in Gwoza and Tarmuwa Local Government Areas of Borno and Yobe, respectively in the Northeast.

He said that the offensive led to the surrender by some terrorists at Gwoza area of Borno and resulted in the elimination of some others; the rescue of hostages and the recovery of arms and ammunition.

He added that in another operation, troops neutralised 11 terrorists, arrested 45 others and rescued 34 hostages within the period and recovered large cache of arms and ammunition.

According to him, troops recovered six AK47 rifles, one HK21 gun, one GPMG, one fabricated gun, 11 AK47 magazines and 34 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition.

They also recovered 17 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, one bandolier, and seven empty cases of 7.62mm special, five motorcycles, eight mobile phones and N368, 950.

Mr Buba said the air component of the operations acquired and engaged terrorists’ enclaves at Wulde in Borno, adding that the outcome was being monitored.

He said that in the North Central, troops of Operation Safe Haven neutralised two gunmen, rescued three hostages and arrested 15 crime suspects during the period.

He added that the troops arrested two suspects in Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State, one of whom was a notorious armed robber on the wanted list of a security agency.

According to him, troops recovered three AK47 rifles, one fabricated AK47 rifles, one fabricated pistol, one Dane gun and 41 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition in the state.

Operation Whirl Stroke the North Central also arrested a member of notorious violent extremist group in Ukum Local Government Area of Benue, neutralised terrorists and rescued hostages.

Mr Buba said troops recovered one FN rifle, five rounds of 7.62mm NATO, and neutralised two terrorists, arrested 11 suspects and rescued six hostages.

The defence spokesman said troops of Operation Hadarin Daji in the Northwest neutralised 12 terrorists, arrested 33 others, rescued 40 hostages and recovered three AK47 rifles, 18 motorcycles and three mobile phones.

Mr Buba also told newsmen that the air component of the military operations conducted an interdiction of terrorists at Sububu Forest in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State and degraded terrorists at the location.

President Bola Tinubu has reaffirmed his support for a robust public-private sector partnership to grow the economy, saying that his administration’s sustained, bold and coordinated reforms are anchored on a "strong adherence to accountability and transparency."

Speaking at an audience on Thursday in Abuja with members of the Board and Management of the Nigeria Economic Support Group (NESG), the President reiterated his unequivocal resolve to fully implement the eight priority reform areas under the Renewed Hope Agenda within the next three years.

The President emphasized that Nigeria is blessed with rich human and natural resources, in addition to deficit opportunities, which can quickly be leveraged into new prosperity, calling for the urgent exploitation of Nigeria's diversity for collective gain, with an eye on new think tanks in the agricultural sector and the establishment of a commodity exchange.

"We have gone through the past. I will not look back. The focus of my horse and my race remains forward-looking. We have an abundance of knowledge and untapped mineral resources, and an agricultural sector that is God-given, but we tend to shy away from taking those gigantic steps that will result in prosperity for our people. We are not exploiting our diversity for prosperity, we are at each other’s throats, arguing about unnecessary things, instead of thinking and doing for our people," the President said.

The President noted that he was elected on a "no excuses" platform for renewed hope and that he will not accept excuses from anyone in his government as they set out to deliver on his agenda.

"Looking backwards is retrogressive for any reformer. Looking forward can give you the leaps that will propel you in the right direction. We need think tanks in the agricultural sector. I don’t see why Nigeria will be so blessed with good soil and not have a commodity exchange. I don’t see why we have not been able to interrogate our real estate sector and propel it.

"I don’t see why we have not used consumer credit to build the purchasing power of our people and the capacity of our very own manufacturing sector," the President assessed.

While commending the NESG for believing in the reforms of his administration, the President said the "bitter pill" must be administered to an ailing nation and economy to build a better future for the country.

"I am here and I believe we can do it together. No single person succeeds alone. The world is dynamic. We are confronted with climate change and other challenges, but somewhere in the eye of the storm, there is a quiet and peaceful corner for those who can toil well. With patience and determination, we will succeed," the President assured.

The Chairman of NESG, Mr. Olaniyi Yusuf, welcomed the economic reforms announced by the Tinubu administration, specifically with respect to fuel subsidy removal, foreign exchange rate harmonization, food security and palliatives to sub-national governments.

The NESG Chairman pledged that the NESG would work with the newly inaugurated cabinet to achieve the eight-point agenda of the administration.

"Your track record in the effective implementation of bold economic reforms as the Governor of Lagos leaves those of us in the private sector without doubt that you will achieve much greater feats as our nation's president," the NESG Chairman confided.

He used the occasion of the courtesy visit to formally request the President to declare open the NESG Summit in October, as well as to direct Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to partner with them and participate fully at the Summit as part of efforts to ramp up local and foreign direct investment in Nigeria.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

Gabon’s new strongman General Brice Oligui Nguema will be sworn in as “transitional president” on Monday at the constitutional court, coup leaders said.

Oligui will “phase in transitional institutions”, Ulrich Manfoumbi Manfoumbi, spokesman for the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI) said on state TV on Thursday, a day after rebel officers overthrew President Ali Bongo Ondimba.

No details were given on the duration of the transitional institutions.

All general secretaries, ministerial offices, director generals and officials of state services have been instructed “to ensure in the immediate future the effective resumption of work and continuity of the functioning of all public services”, the spokesman said.

Keyamo halts Nigeria Air project, reverses concession of airports
Niger Junta orders eviction of French ambassador
Gabon will also respect all its commitments at home and abroad, the army chiefs pledged.

Oligui “would like to reassure all donors, development partners as well as state creditors that all provisions will be taken to guarantee respect for our country’s commitments both externally and internally,” the spokesman added.

The military regime in Nige has ordered the police to forcefully evict French ambassador, Ambassador, Sylvain Itte, from the country.

The soldiers who ousted Niger’s president Mohamed Bazoum last month had given Ambassador Sylvain Itte 48 hours to leave the country.

The deadline expired on August 28 without France recalling Itte.

French government had said it did not recognise the coup rulers as the country’s legitimate leaders.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said the ambassador would stay in the country despite the junta’s pressure.

The latest communique sent by Niger’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Itte “no longer enjoys the privileges and immunities attached to his status as a member of the diplomatic staff of the embassy.”

The document also said the diplomatic cards and visas of the ambassador’s families have been canceled.

Since ousting Niger’s democratically elected Bazoum, the junta has leveraged anti-French sentiment among the population to shore up its support.

The regional bloc, ECOWAS deployed a “standby” force and ordered it to transition Niger back to constitutional rule. The force has not yet entered Niger, and the bloc says the door remains open to dialogue but it won’t wait forever.

The junta has appointed a new government and said it would return Niger to the system of government prescribed by the constitution within three years, a timeline that ECOWAS has rejected.

The African Union’s Peace and Security Council said it was holding a meeting Thursday on the situation in Gabon, following the military coup there this week.

“Now, AU Peace & Security Council meets to consider the situation in Gabon,” the AU body said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

It said the meeting was being chaired by AU Commissioner for Political Affairs Bankole Adeoye of Nigeria and the current holder of the council’s rotating chair, Burundi’s Willy Nyamitwe.

It gave no further information.

On Wednesday, the head of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, said he “strongly condemns” what he described as an attempted coup in the oil-rich central African state.

Rebel army officers announced Wednesday that they had seized power following disputed elections, in which President Ali Bongo Ondimba had been declared victor.

Faki had also called on the Gabonese army and security forces “to guarantee the physical integrity” of Bongo, who the coup leaders said had been placed under house arrest.

The House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating the utilization of Ecological Funds and other intervention funds of the Great Green Wall Project on Wednesday queried claims by the National Agency for Great Green Wall (NAGGW) that it spent N81bn to plant 21 million trees in the frontline states in the north.

The states are Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Yobe and Borno.

NAGWW Director-General, Yusuf Maina Bukar, told the committee that the agency also spent N697.71m on renovation of office accommodation and N11.28bn on capital projects.

He said the main funding of the agency was from 15 per cent of the Ecological Funds and the federal allocation as well as other sources for its operations.

The committee also quizzed the Central Bank of Nigeria over seven accounts domiciled in the apex bank.

A six-page document dated 22nd August, 2023 submitted by the CBN showed that N9,465,960,382.57 was domiciled in the agency’s account from 2015 to date.

The Accountant-General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, represented by Deputy Director, Irene Nwangwu, said the NAGWW had received a total of N19,377,726,506.95 from the Derivation & Ecology Accounts from February 2019 to date.

In addition, the agency also received the N11.023bn as capital expenditure through the oAGF.

Nwangwu said former President Muhammadu Buhari approved the release of N2.309bn to the agency as 2020 statutory 5% Ecological Fund.

The chairman of the committee, Isma’ila Haruna Dabo and members complained that the NAGGW spent monies without commensurate results.

The committee also said the agency deviated from its core mandate.

He said, “Projects such as the Great Green Wall under investigation here were designed primarily to address some of these issues.

The persistence of these challenges despite funds put into the programme from both the federal government and international partners has necessitated this investigation.

“In recent years, we have witnessed a significant upsurge in natural environmental challenges such as land degradation, deforestation, desertification and drought, which most times are explained away with the context of climate change”.

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has urged African leaders to focus on the cause of the recent spike in military coups across the continent.

Atiku stated this while reacting to the Gabon coup on his official X handle on Thursday.

Expressing his worries over the trend of military takeovers in Africa, he noted that the Gabon coup is the eighth in Africa since 2020.

“The coup in Gabon stands condemned. Democracy and democratic governance have come to stay as a preferred form of government.

“The latest coup brings the number of military takeovers in Central and West Africa to 8 since 2020. This is worrisome. We may have to focus on dealing with the disease and not the symptoms that birth coups,” he tweeted.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said if the flag bearer of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, was a better candidate, Nigerians would have voted him in the February 25, 2023 poll.

Wike spoke on Wednesday while featuring on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.

The ex-governor of Rivers State said he supported the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the expense of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the standard bearer of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the keenly contested poll.

When asked whether Obi would have handled the major issues confronting the Nigerian economy better than Tinubu if he had been elected, Wike said he doesn’t discuss presidential candidates any longer.

“I don’t want to discuss social media issue,” the FCT minister said. “I don’t discuss about presidential candidate any longer; I discuss about the economy, the President, what he has to offer.”

“If he (Obi) would have been better, Nigerians would have voted for him.”

Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, came third in the election won by APC’s Tinubu. The LP candidate and his PDP counterpart are in court to challenge the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declaring Tinubu as winner of the poll.

Also speaking during the interview on Wednesday, the FCT minister dared the leadership of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to suspend or discipline him.

He said he has not seen the party chieftain who will suspend or expel him from the party.

“Who will discipline me? I should be the one calling for the discipline of these people who violated the party’s constitution, in the way that the party supported rotation.

“Who will suspend me? I want to dare anybody,” Wike said.

The ex-governor said he informed PDP leadership before he took the ministerial offer of President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Wike said he remained a PDP chieftain despite working for the APC government. “I want to support Asiwaju (Tinubu) to finish well,” he said.

The PDP powerbroker and member of the G5 group within the main opposition party said he owed no one an apology for supporting power shift to southern Nigeria.

Wike said, “We are just waiting for the presidential panel to finish, you will know who actually are those who are working well for the party.

“How can anybody talk about expelling me? A state that brought a governor? A state that brought three senators? A state that produced 32 House of Assembly members? A state that produced 11 out of 13 House of Representatives.

“The person that would suspend me is the one that couldn’t produce a governor, is the one that couldn’t produce three senators?

“I have not seen that person, with all due respect. Nobody will do it. So, the issue of they will do it does not arise.”

The Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma has commenced the distribution of 65,000 bags of rice as palliatives to the people of Imo to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal.

The governor flagged-off the distribution in Owerri defying the heavy down poor occasioned by the weather.

Recall that the Federal Government had released N5bn each for states across the federation to help in cushioning the effects of fuel subsidy removal.

The governor said while the subsidy removal is causing temporary hardship, it still remains the best decision by the present government to save the nation’s economy.

He also revealed that the federal government will deliver to the state CNG and electric buses to help reduce transportation cost across the state.

He said: “You recall the incident of the policy of the removal of petroleum subsidy and the temporary hardship that followed. That policy is one of the most cogent policy that this government has taken to be able save our economy from collapse.

“Today, I am flagging-off the distribution under phase One, 65,000 thousands bags of rice to all the citizens and indigents of Imo state.

“I want you to join me in thanking the president of the federal republic of Nigeria President Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

“He is a great thinker, he is an economist, he knows how to create wealth and he is bent at rebuilding the economy.

“There will be some initial challenges but on the over all, he has rolled out some policies that will recover our economy, reduce the foreign exchange rate in Nigeria and also create prosperity for our people.”