In bid to fulfill his promise of helping to renovate the Awka and Onitsha mosques and also to celebrate with the Anambra Muslim community in Onitsha on the auspicious occasion of this year’s Eid-el-Kabir, Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) Presidential candidate in the 2023 election has presented the former with cheques worth millions of naira to commence with the renovation projects.

It be recalled that during Obi’s visit to Awka and Onitsha Muslim communities in April, he promised to support them in renovating their places of worship, which was no longer in good condition.

He equally called on Nigerians to embrace peace, unity and brotherly love.

Obi gave the donation when he played host to leaders of the Anambra Muslim Community in Anambra capital, Akwa, on Wednesday.

According to him, he decided to celebrate the Eid Al-Adha with the Muslim community in Anambra, to show the brotherly love and unity that should exist among Nigerians, irrespective of tribal, political or religious belief.

Obi presented both Awka and Onitsha Muslim communities

Speaking at the event, Obi said, “We are all Nigerians, and we will continue to live as one irrespective of our religious or political beliefs. What we owe each other is brotherly love and care, so we can live in peace and unity as a nation. We have no other nation but Nigeria and we must make it work.

“I know that times are difficult for everybody in the country, but if we rise above our religious, political and ethnic divisions, we will be able to surmount our challenges in unity. We will not give up on our nation, but continue to work for a New Nigeria that will be beneficial to every Nigerian.”

In his remarks, the Sarki of the Awka Muslim Community, Alhaji Garba Haruna, said they were thrilled by Obi’s simplicity and consistency.

According to him, Obi has demonstrated that he is a “truly detribalised Nigerian”, by making out time to mark their Sallah celebration with them.

Earlier today, I hosted the Anambra Muslim Community at my residence in Onitsha, to celebrate the Eid al Adha. In also presented cheques to the leaders of Onitsha and Awka Muslim Communities, in fulfilment if my earlier promise of helping to renovate their respective mosques. pic.twitter.com/RHONsGbOAu

— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) June 28, 2023

The UN’s top humanitarian official in Nigeria, Mr Matthias Schmale, has said that severe hunger is affecting 4.3 million people in Nigeria’s Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

Schmale told journalists in Geneva on Wednesday that the number of children under five at risk of life-threatening severe acute malnutrition had doubled in one year to reach 700,000.

Describing the situation in northeast Nigeria, Schmale said: “I have been to Borno and the other two states several times.

UN Coordinator laments digital platforms’ misuse to subvert science, spread hate speeches

“I’ve seen mothers fighting for lives of their malnourished children in nutrition stabilisation centres.

“Those of us who are parents must imagine what it’s like when you cannot ensure your children have enough to eat,” he said.

According to him, the “catastrophic” situation is primarily the result of more than a decade of insecurity linked to non-State armed groups, which prevents people from farming and earning income from the land.

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Another harmful factor is climate change and extreme weather impacts.

Last year saw the worst floods in 10 years in Nigeria, which affected more than 4.4 million people across the country, not just the north-east.

Soaring prices of food, fuel and fertilisers have exacerbated the crisis, and the response remains severely underfunded.

The UN official said that out of the $1.3 billion in humanitarian funding needed for the region, only 25 per cent has been secured so far.

Former Governor of Oyo, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, on Wednesday, gave reasons he was furious with the State Governor, Seyi Makinde, in the buildup to the last elections.

Addressing journalists at his Ibadan home after observing Eid prayers, Ladoja said he was disgusted at the governor’s lack of support for the senatorial and House of Representatives candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last elections such that the party lost the three senatorial seats and nine Reps seats.

Ladoja said his stance was that even if the governor was not supporting the presidential candidate of the PDP in the last election, he should not act such that the chances of his other candidates of the party in the National Assembly elections in the State would be jeopardized.

Asked if there was a clash of interests prior to the election, he said: “What happened was that I got furious because I felt that the governor should have supported his candidates for the Senatorial and House of Representatives elections, even if he did not want to support the presidential candidate. But, he did not support the Senators; he lost the three senatorial seats; he lost nine House of Representatives seats.

“I was disgusted. That was the only thing. I then said that election will have effect on his own election. If that is what people feel is not right, that is their own opinion. My own opinion is that governor of the state should support candidates for senatorial, house of representatives. What is the clash of interests? I was not contesting; my son was not contesting; my wife was not contesting.”

On his present relationship in the aftermath of how the election panned out, Ladoja boasted that he had a father-son relationship with Makinde.

“I have father to son relationship with Seyi Makinde. It is cordial. He gave me a big cow and several bags of rice for this Salah celebration. That is what a son should do to the father,” he said.

Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has appealed to Nigerians to support President Bola Tinubu in his efforts to “building a nation that would work for all.”

Sanwo-Olu made the appeal in his Eid-el-Kabir message issued by his Media Adviser, Gboyega Akosile.

Tinubu who won Nigeria’s presidential election in February and was sworn-in as president on May 29, is facing the task of lifting about 80 million Nigerians out of poverty and addressing security challenges in the country, which have crippled economic activities in many parts of the Africa’s biggest economy.

With Nigeria’s inflation rate at over 22 percent and unemployment rate at over 33 percent, analysts believe the former Lagos State governor has lots of work to do.

Aside macroeconomic challenges Nigeria is faced with, Tinubu also has the task of uniting the country, which was divided along ethnic and religious lines during the last general elections.

Sanwo-Olu who also asked Lagosians to support his administration, urged Muslims faithful to imbibe the lessons in the sacrifice made by Prophet Ibrahim.

He encouraged them to work with other faith for the peace, unity and progress of Nigeria.

Speaking on the significance of the Eid al-Adha, the governor said the celebration became a symbolic event in the history of mankind, given the bountiful rewards that followed the patience and perseverance of Prophet Ibrahim, who held on tenaciously to his faith in God despite being afflicted.

He said: “On behalf of my family and the government of Lagos State, I join millions of people around the world, to wish our Muslim brothers and sisters in the state and Nigeria a happy Eid-el-Kabir, which comes with significant lessons for mankind.

“Eid al-Adha has become a symbolic event in human history, following the events that led to the sacrifice by Prophet Ibrahim, who held tenaciously to his faith in God despite his unpleasant circumstances at the time.

“This symbolic Islamic festival is a reminder to us that, there will always be great rewards when we have abiding faith and patience in trying periods; persistence in prayers, and tenacity in our belief.

“It also reminds us of the sacrifice we are expected to make not only for spiritual fulfillment but also for the progress of mankind and the development of our society.

“As we celebrate Eid-el-Kabir today, I urge Lagosians and Nigerians to continue on the path of spirituality and peaceful coexistence.

“I want to implore all Lagos residents to support our administration in our quest to deliver dividends of democracy and good governance to the people through the THEMES+ agenda for Greater Lagos.

“I also appeal to all Nigerians to support President Bola Tinubu and his administration’s efforts in building a nation that would work for all. We must all work for the progress, growth, and development of our dear State and country, Nigeria.”

Buba Galadima, a chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), has called on President Bola Tinubu to sack Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He spoke in an interview on Channels TV’s Political Paradigm.

Galadima accused the INEC boss of subverting the will of Nigerians during the last presidential election.

He said what Yakubu did was worse than the “sins” of Godwin Emefiele, the embattled Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“The INEC chairman must go, what he did is not up to what Godwin Emefiele did. He colluded with some people to subvert the will of Nigerians. He committed the greatest crime anybody will commit,” he said.

INEC under Yakubu has been heavily criticsed over its failure to upload election results as promised, a development that the electoral body blamed on technical glitch.

At a briefing on Tuesday, the European Union Election Observation Mission said public trust in the commission had been severely damaged.

But responding, Festus Okoye, said the glitch experienced in the upload of the February 25 presidential election in the country should not write off the entire polls held nationwide.

“It is not fair to judge the entire performance of the commission on the basis of a glitch in the result upload for the presidential election,” he said.

Speaking further in the television interview, Galadima told former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi of Labour Party that they were wasting time challenging victor of President Bola Tinubu.

Obi and Atiku are in court to seek upturning of Tinubu’s victory.

But Galadima, who claimed that the elections were married with irregularities, added that the outcome of any presidential election has never been overturned by the courts since 1979.

“Which politician has succeeded in court since 1979 in Nigeria in a presidential petition case ?Why waste our N10bn or 15bn because we heard some people are spending such billions now on social media at the tribunal; if we have such money we would use it to prepare for the 2027 general election.

“The NNPP is strong, we did not do well because the registration of the party came late, if not for INEC targeting us and our candidates names and logo was omitted in some states, we could have performed better,” he said.

Following the recent sanction of two banks for data privacy breach, the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) is currently investigating five other institutions in the finance and education sectors in Ogun State for various data privacy breaches.

The Chief Executive Officers and Vice Chancellor of the affected institutions risk paying two per cent of their gross earnings in the previous year as fine or risk jail term or both, depending on the effect and consequences of the data breaches.

The National Commissioner/CEO of NDPB, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, who confirmed the sanction imposed on two Nigerian banks, told THISDAY in a telephone conversation yesterday that the banks were sanctioned after proper investigation on data privacy and protection was carried on them.

The banks are currently going through a six-month remediation course organised for their Data Controlling Officers (DCOs) and Data Processing Officers (DCOs), he said.

The implementation of the NDPB law commenced recently, after President Bola Tinubu signed it into law.

“NDPB has five institutions in its investigation list and their CEOs will risk paying heavy fine or go to jail after the breaches have been established.

“The minimum fine for data breach is N50 million and the maximum fine is two per cent of their gross earnings in the previous year.

“The two banks that have been sanctioned are currently going through six months remediation course. There are lots of data breaches going on in hospitals, hotels, aviation sector, transportation sector, and schools, which we need to address as government agency,” Olatunji said.

According to him, poor handling of sensitive data had caused lots of harm to people, adding that the NDPB was working with government agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other related Offences Commission (ICPC), among others, to investigate over 110 data controllers and data processors for various degrees of data privacy and protection breaches.

He said lack of due diligence on the part of data controllers in engaging with data processors or vendors that have access to personal data of customers, has led to abuses and violation of people’s rights.

Olatunji said the NDPB law would ensure a sustainable digital economy and also strengthen the Nigerian economy, adding that the NDPB is putting plans in place to create 500,000 jobs in order to close the capacity gap in the sub-sector and help achieve President Tinubu’s goal of creating one million jobs.

On Wednesday, a clash ensued between the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke and former spokesperson to the Nigerian Senate, Ajibola Basiru, at the Osogbo Eid prayer ground over sitting arrangement.

Basiru told THE WHISTLER that he had arrived at the venue located in the Oke-Baale area of Osogbo alongside the Asiwaju of Musulumi of Yorubaland, Chief Tunde Badmus, for Turakat prayer when the incident happened.

He said a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) named Raji Muniru approached him and asked him to leave the seat where he was sitting because it was reserved for Governor Adeleke and that he obliged by adjusting to the extreme edge of the front row.

However, the chieftain insisted that the Senator should go and sit at the second row because the governor would not like him to sit at the front row.

But Senator Basiru refused the directive and the chieftain attempted to move him by force when worshippers at the venue prevented that, insisting that Basiru is from Osogbo and must sit in the front row.

Amid the dispute, Chief Badmus went out of the prayer ground to usher in Adeleke who had just arrived. When the governor arrived at the seat, he noticed the skirmish and left the scene to sit in the car pending resolution.

When he returned, the rumpus persisted, prompting the governor to leave the Eid ground angrily without observing the Turakat prayer.

Meanwhile, Basiru and other leaders of the community observed the prayer.

After the governor left, police operatives stormed the area and attempted to arrest Basiru but were prevented by worshippers.

When THE WHISTLER contacted Basiru on phone, he explained that there were no indications that any seat was reserved for the governor.

According to him, no Governor’s advance team and protocol were at the venue to suggest that the governor was coming.

“What happened was that by tradition, there is a way the sitting arrangement of the Muslim community leaders and the government is done at the Eid. The Muslim community leaders are under the auspices of Asiwaju of Musulumi of Yoruba Land. So we had gone there to arrange the seat but shockingly before our arrival today, one zealot of the government who doesn’t have an official title, named Muniru Raji, had already put someone at the place we arranged to seat.

“So when we got there, we told them that they should let us sit on our mats otherwise they would let us remove our mat.

When we sat down, Muniru Raji came to assault me, instructing me to stand up because the place was not meant for me and I told him that there is no place reserved for anybody in the mosque.

He now told me that the place was meant for the governor, so I inquired if he is the protocol of the governor because I did not see any protocol nor advance team of the governor, no security personnel where I sat and no indication that where I sat was for the governor.

“Muniru Raji insulted me and in the process, worshippers surrounded me to prevent him from assaulting me at the praying ground.

“I don’t know whether the governor came to the Eid at all because I was surrounded by people. I later stood up and did my prayers.

“After the prayer, one of the policemen said the Commissioner of Police wanted to see me and I told him that I will see him together with the Muslim community leaders that I came with in the same vehicle. But they insisted that they must pull me out of the car which we all resisted

“We asked if they had any warrant of arrest. We explained the situation to them, that it was some overzealous supporters of the governor that caused the embarrassing situation because there was no indication at all that the governor would be there. So a known thug can’t push me around as a Senator of Federal republic in a place.”

He continued, “So the police saw that the matter can be resolved amicably and I was asked to leave with my leaders. I just finished my first meat of the Sallah at Asiwaju’s place and from here I am proceeding to all my leaders in Iragbiji and everywhere.”

Basiru stressed that “I don’t have problem with the governor of Osun State and there were no indications that where I sat was reserved for the governor. But overzealous supporters caused it. Maybe they have personal issues to grind with me but the people in the mosques resisted the attempt to embarrass me.”

However, Adeleke alleged that the incident was an attempted assassination by thugs of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Eid ground.

Speaking through his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, the governor appealed for calm as soon as he had directed the immediate arrest of those that were involved in the scenario at the Osogbo Eid ground.

“My good people of Osun, I appeal for calm and urge us to continue to celebrate the Sallah festival in peace. I am safe by the special grace of God”, the statement quoted the Governor as saying.

“I have directed security agencies to arrest those behind the incident and get them to face the wrath of the law. The Commissioner of Police has been directed to arrest those involved no matter how highly placed.

“The State Government had meanwhile condemned the orchestrated attacks on the Governor by stalwarts of the All Progressives Congress at the praying ground. Members of the public will recall an earlier security alert on an evil plot to destabilize the peace and stability of Osun state.

“The government particularly notes with shock and surprise the role played by former Senator Ajibola Bashiru who took over the space reserved for the Governor at the prayer ground. All efforts to get the former Senator to vacate the space proved abortive.”

He alleged that “PDP members who agitated for respect for the office of the Governor were beaten up. It was a scene of chaos by the time the Governor arrived for the prayer.

“The government was even more shocked that thugs armed to the teeth were spotted all over the praying ground with security information that they were imported to eliminate the Governor and key government functionaries.

“The Governor who arrived at the venue hoping to observe the Eid prayers was practically surrounded by armed thugs, prompting security men to ferry the Governor into his jeep.

“For the second time, the Governor attempted to enter the praying field but the encirclement by armed thugs was already visible. It was at that point that the Governor had to leave the praying ground. The Governor is now safely at home receiving guests and leaders from all walks of life.”

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, urged Nigerians to have faith in God that the country will experience peace, stability and prosperity.

Tinubu stated this while speaking to journalists after observing the Eid-el-Kabir prayers at Dodan Barracks prayer ground in Lagos.

The President stressed the need for unity and cooperation, and appealed to Nigerians to eschew ethnic and religious rivalries.

”I thank Almighty Allah for keeping us in good health till today and pray to Him to grant us robust health and prosperity. May our sacrifices turn to prosperity. We have to make the sacrifices and that is clear, we have to.

”But Allah will not give you a burden that you cannot carry. He is there for us. We must have faith in the country. Have faith in ourselves, believing that as citizens of this country, we must join hands to build the nation.

”No religious identity, no tribal identity, let us live with one another in joy and prosperity. Nigeria will see peace, stability and God will grant peace to those of us at the warfront,” Tinubu said.

The President also used the occasion to pray for Nigerian troops in the frontline in the fight against insurgency, saying it is his earnest desire and that of the nation that they emerge victorious.

The Eid prayer, which started at 9 a.m. was led by the Chief Imam of Lagos State, Sheikh Sulaiman Oluwatoyin Abu-Nolah.

The Chief Imam later performed the obligatory slaughtering of ram at the Eid prayer ground in celebration of the significance of the noble act of Prophet Ibrahim in total obedience to Allah’s command.

Top dignitaries that attended the prayer were the Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; former Governor of Lagos State and immediate past Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola; and Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, among others.