Says APC Willing To Receive Wike-Led G-5

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, yesterday said he deserved some commendation despite working for Senator Ahmad Lawan in the run-up to the party’s presidential primaries, even if only for the fact that he (Adamu) presided over the victory of President Bola Tinubu.

Speaking on Arise Television, THISDAY’s broadcast arm last night, Adamu stated that the rumoured differences between himself and the president were unfounded, pointing out that before the emergence of Tinubu he had the right to support whoever he wanted.

He stated that he was also misrepresented about his position on the recently elected principal officers of the national assembly, saying that what the APC had issues with was the manner the communication was handled by the lawmakers.

Adamu said those who have issues against him have always had the opportunity to air their views at their national meetings, explaining that Saliu Lukman, for instance, who has always accused him of running a one-man show, has always attended those meetings.

He stated that the decision of Lukman to take the party to court was a grave offence even though he later signed a deal that his case had been withdrawn from the court and apologising for his misdemeanour.

“I think that’s a soft selling point for you media people. It is true that at the time that I made a presentation to the National Working Committee (NWC), the name of Senator Ahmed Lawan was thrown up.

“That was before the convention. So many things took place between then and the actual date of the convention and you saw what culminated in the convention unanimously. I was there and I led the convention of the party.

“A day after the convention, I took the entire working committee to his (Tinubu’s) house in Asokoro and assured him of our support and said we will stand shoulder to shoulder with him and ensure that the mandate was sold properly to the people of Nigeria. We won the election. Instead of being praised, we are vilified,” he said.

He stated that it wasn’t the time for vilification, expressing the view that since he led the party to success, he should be commended.

Adamu said he had a right to hold an opinion like he did on Lawan before the primaries, but noted that once it was clear that Tinubu emerged, every member had to rally around him.

He said he currently has a good working relationship with Tinubu since his election, noting that the president has always given him his full attention each time they met.

Adamu said he would be willing to disagree with the president on any matter because there’s freedom of speech in the country, explaining that the so-called altercation with the president remains media creation.

The national APC chairman said reports about himself and the president not on the same page remain speculative, urging the media to be fair to him.

On his comments which were reported about the Ondo governor that the governor, Rotimi Akeredolu was extremely incapacitated, Adamu stressed that there was no such pronouncement at his meeting with state chairmen.

The chairman further said the future of the APC remains very bright, explaining that his hope was that in the next four years , Tinubu will get renewal for a second term.

He noted that he wasn’t bothered by media reports of differences with the president , pointing out that his main task at the moment is to keep the party as one strong entity.

Adamu also said he was willing to accept the G-5 governors led by Nyesom Wike into the APC, noting that they will be most welcome whenever they decide to opt for the APC.

The immediate-past Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to link its voters’ register with the database of the National Identity Management Commission to forestall the challenges of credibility and transparency in the country’s electoral process.

The ex-Osun State governor made the call on Tuesday while presenting the lead paper titled “Towards Free, Fair and Credible Elections,” at the 7th International Conference of the Professional Statisticians Society of Nigeria held at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nasarawa State.

A statement by his media office, obtained in Osogbo, quoted Aregbesola as saying that proposition would automatically end underage voting and multiple registration.

He said, “I am suggesting a more seamless registration system that will be continuous and terminates only few weeks before the election, to allow for compilation and printing of cards. This registration should be synced with the National Identification Number.

“It will automatically eliminate underage voters and the possibility of multiple registration. More importantly, people should be able to do the registration online, on their own, just like most application processes we have today. They should only go to INEC office for biometric data capture and card collection only.”

Aregbesola advocated proper training for INEC officials and party agents, saying, “It appears for most part that agents of the political parties don’t know what to do on election day and at the polling units. INEC should endeavour to train them on what specific roles they will play in election.

“Fourthly, the logistics should be smooth and seamless. In many instances, voting officials will arrive late or without the materials or the machines may just start malfunctioning. Elections should start and end on schedule. Many voters are eventually disenfranchised due to late commencement of voting,” he said

The Senate has resolved to probe the payment of N9.3 trillion by the Federal Government in 30 months, under the petrol subsidy regime.

The Red Chamber made the resolution on Tuesday, during the plenary, after a motion moved by the lawmaker representing Imo North, Chiwuba Ndubueze.

Moving the motion, Ndubueze said the fuel subsidy removal must be investigated after the expenses incurred by the government runs into trillions of naira.

The motion was titled “Need to investigate the controversial huge expenditure on premium motor spirit (PMS) under the subsidy/recovery regime by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC)”.

Ndubueze said in 10 years — 2006 to 2015 — the federal government, through NNPC Ltd, claimed N170 billion as under-recovery.

The lawmaker added that the national oil company also expended N843.121 billion on under-recovery between January 2018 and January 2019.

He said: “Very worrisome of the expenses made on subsidy/ under recovery by NNPCL during the period under review, particularly from January 2021 to June 2023, was N9.3trillion claimed to have been spent.

“The money as shown by available records, shows that in 2021, N1.42 trillion was expended, in 2022, N4.3 trillion and in the first six months of 2023, N3.6 trillion, totalling, N9.3 trillion.”

The lawmaker also commended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to withdraw the petrol subsidy in May, adding that the government should immediately provide palliative for Nigerians to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal.

The Senate, therefore, resolved that its standing committees on petroleum (downstream), petroleum (upstream), and finance, when constituted, would carry out a holistic investigation on all controversies surrounding subsidy and under the recovery regime.

The acting Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Wale Adeniyi, has said the issue of fuel smuggling in the country will take time to completely eradicate.

Adeniyi made the comment on Tuesday while speaking to State House correspondents after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The Customs boss said some border areas have reported seizures of fuel, adding that the rate of smuggling has considerably reduced.

He expressed hope that ongoing policies being implemented by the current administration would completely eliminate fuel smuggling across borders.

He said: “Well, sometimes we just want to assume that because of the subsidy, the problem will evaporate one day. So the sense I was trying to create was that it might take some time before the issue of smuggling of fuel across the border will completely dissipate.

“So in some border areas, we had reports of seizures of fuel and that is what we heard. So it was the assumption generally, that because the fuel is now sold at N500 per lit will be a disincentive for smuggling.

“But contrary to that, we have seen that they are smuggling it across the borders. Thethe rate at which this is being smuggled has reduced considerably.

“And it is our hope that by the time we mix some of these other policies that the government is working on, it will completely eliminate the problems of smuggling of fuel across borders.”

Governors elected under the banner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday expressed serious concerns about the deteriorating security situation across the nation.

These fears are especially high for Plateau and Zamfara States where numerous Nigerians have lost their lives and property.

The governors, who met as part of the PDP Governors Forum in Abuja on Tuesday, discussed the escalating situation during a closed-door meeting that lasted five hours.

The chairman of the forum, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, delivered a statement after the meeting.

He reported that he and his fellow governors are urging the Federal Government and security agencies to step up and address the growing crisis.

Mohammed said, “The meeting noted the deteriorating security situation in the country especially the wanton destruction of lives and properties in Plateau and Zamfara States amongst other States.

“The meeting consequently advised the Federal Government and security agencies to rise to the situation and bring the situation under control.

“The meeting (also) resolved to work together and unite the Forum. The aim of the Forum is to provide a platform for peer review of issues, policies, programmes and achievements (legacy projects) of member-Governors across the PDP States.

“The meeting advised the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the security agencies, and the Federal Government to be neutral in the conduct of the off-season elections in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo States.

“The meeting noted the deteriorating security situation in the country especially the wanton destruction of lives and properties in Plateau and Zamfara States amongst other States.

“The meeting consequently advised the Federal Government and security agencies to rise to the situation and bring the situation under control.

“In the interim, the Forum would cooperate with the Federal Government on issues concerning the welfare of Nigerians and good governance while striving to maintain the independence and autonomy of the Forum through offering constructive criticisms where necessary.”

Mohammed speaking on why the Governor of Rivers State, Simi Fubara was absent, said the governor sent in an apology and that 12 out of the party’s 13 governors attended the meeting which was indicative of the unity they enjoy.

Mohammed also explained that the issue of a substantive National Chairman of the party was a matter for discussion at the larger party level noting that today’s meeting was for governors to rub familiarize themselves with one another and tackle other pressing national issues.

Former welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman has declared his willingness to take on Conor McGregor because they both share similar career trajectories.

Since headlining UFC 286 in London, when he lost to Leon Edwards in the rubber match for the trilogy title, Usman, the top-ranked welterweight contender, hasn’t participated in any competitions.

On the other hand, since McGregor suffered a serious leg injury during a contest with Dustin Poirier, the 34-year-old Irish mixed martial artist, who formerly held the undisputed lightweight and featherweight crowns, has yet to make an appearance inside the Octagon.

Usman and the welterweight division have not yet engaged in combat even though McGregor is reportedly interested in the fight for quite some time now.

McGregor hasn’t yet re-joined the USADA testing pool, therefore according to UFC president Dana White, his future in mixed martial arts is in doubt.

After Usman’s scheduled fight with Khamzat Chimaev was rescheduled, he extended an invitation to McGregor to a showdown in place of the rescheduled fight.

Because both fighters are looking to bounce back from recent setbacks, UFC enthusiasts are extremely intrigued by the potential fight between Usman and McGregor.

In an interview with the press ahead of the UFC 290, Kamaru Usman said, “Conor (McGregor) said he’s always wanted to fight me at 170 pounds, so that makes sense.

“I’m not the champ any more, so, hey, let’s do it.”

While UFC president Dana White added, “We’ll see how that plays out… I don’t talk about sh*t until sh*t happens, you know what I mean?”

The People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Kaduna State, and All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday traded words over alleged tampering of electoral documents in the custody of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

While the PDP accused the APC of tampering with some ballot documents under the care of INEC, in the state, APC on its part, said the allegation was not only baseless, but an attempt to mislead the Tribunal and the public.

PDP in a statement by its Secretary, Ibrahim Wusono, among others said, “on the afternoon of Saturday, 8th July 2023, a member of our party who was the collation/returning officer of the PDP in the 2023 presidential and governorship elections, along with some lawyers, was at the premises of the Kaduna State office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to get Certified True Copies (CTC) of some documents that the election petition Tribunal had subpoenaed INEC to produce.’

“As expected, they were at the INEC office to inspect the document that INEC had sorted out. What usually happens is that once INEC presents copies of the document to us, we write it down in the schedule of documents list that we have for the tribunal.

“On that day, our delegation went to their office and saw some of their staff tampering with some documents from Kaduna South LGA. When they were questioned, they couldn’t explain but took some of the documents and ran away leaving some behind. We immediately called their superior officer with whom we were working and reported what we had seen. The person came and picked up the remaining documents after we made a video of them.

“But the PDP in Kaduna State was surprised to see a statement from the APC immediately after the video got out. The APC even tried to drag the election tribunal into it when the video our person made didn’t mention the tribunal or the APC. We interpreted it as a preemptive attempt to deflect attention from possible culpability by the APC.

Reacting however, APC Secretary in the state, Yahaya Pate in a statement said “the APC Kaduna State Chapter condemns in strong terms the attempt by the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to mislead the Gubernatorial Elections Tribunal and the public. In the party’s desperate bid to rescue its fatally flawed case, it has resorted to mutilating ballot papers and blaming it on the APC.

“Contrary to the PDP’s false claims, the APC has always been committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and adherence to the rule law. We categorically deny any involvement or intention to thumbprint ballot papers ahead of their admission as evidence in court. Such baseless accusations are nothing more than an attempt by the PDP to divert attention from their own misconduct and discredit the ongoing tribunal proceedings.

“The APC calls on the PDP to stop deploying subterfuge in their desperate attempt to gain undue advantage at the Gubernatorial Elections Tribunal. We urge them to respect the judicial process, present their case with credible evidence, and refrain from spreading misinformation that undermines the credibility of the tribunal and the democratic institutions of our great nation.”

The ECOWAS Court has awarded N60 million damages against the Federal Government of Nigeria to Sunday Ayodeji whose leg was amputated following a gunshot by a police officer in Kaduna State.

The Nigerian government was also ordered by the Court to internally investigate the human rights breach of Ayodeji.

The ECOWAS Court in the judgement delivered on July 10 2023 held the Nigerian government responsible for the torture of the victim.

The case was said to have been handled on a pro-bono basis by an international human rights organisation, Avocats Sans Frontieres France, popularly known as Lawyers without Borders (France) under the European Union and Agence française de Développement funded SAFE Project, which aimed to end human rights violations of torture, extra-judicial killings and arbitrary detention in Nigeria.

The Country Director of ASF France in Nigeria, Angela Uwandu Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, in a statement on Tuesday said that Ayodeji’s properties including a car and N900,000 were also confiscated unlawfully by the same officer.

According to her, the torture victim was awarded N60 million with an order for the immediate return of his confiscated possessions.

Uzoma-Iwuchukwu said, “Avocats Sans Frontieres France commends the ECOWAS Court for its judgment on this case and urges the Nigerian Government to uphold the directives of the Court. ASF France is also delighted that this judgment is coming on the heels of the commemoration of the 2023 International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, which reemphasizes the need for collaborative efforts amongst all stakeholders of the criminal justice system to establish a zero-tolerance culture to torture in Nigeria.

“We are delighted that despite all challenges and legal hurdles faced by our legal team in pursuit of justice in this case, justice was served. We are optimistic that this will serve as a deterrent against the systemic use of torture in Nigeria. The amount awarded by the Court will not restore our client who has been permanently disabled by torture, but it has given hope to not just Ayodeji but other torture survivors that justice is possible even against powerful governments and institutions.

“We believe this symbolic case has contributed to the development of the jurisprudence of the regional court on torture and we continue to stand in solidarity with all victims of torture and reemphasize the fact that torture remains a crime against humanity all over the world.

“It is important to remember that torture seeks to annihilate the victim’s personality and human dignity and it has no place in our world of today. Ending torture is a global challenge, we must all continue to work together to create a zero-tolerance culture to torture in Nigeria.”

Reacting to the Court verdict Ayodeji said, “My joy knows no bounds and I feel fulfilled and relieved from the inner pain that I have carried for so long due to the great injustice done to me which led to the loss of my leg. I am very grateful to Avocats Sans Frontieres France who provided a platform for me to obtain redress. I am also happy for what this judgment means for me and other victims of torture in Nigeria.”

Ask president, INEC to be neutral in Kogi, Imo, Bayelsa

Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum rose from their inaugural meeting in Abuja on Tuesday with a call on the federal government to immediately rise up to the occasion and tackle the killings, kidnappings, and attacks across the country.

The governors particularly said they were worried about the killings in Plateau and Zamfara states and asked the federal government and security agencies to rise up to the occasion.

In a communiqué after over three hours of meeting at the Akwa Ibom Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, read by the Bauchi State Governor and Chairman of the forum, Bala Muhammed, the governors also advised the federal government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be neutral in the coming governorship elections coming up in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states.

The forum assured that it would cooperate with the federal government through constructive criticism so as to improve the welfare of Nigerians.

The governors, who said they had resolved to work together, noted that the aim of the forum was to provide a platform for peer review of issues, policies, programmes, and achievements of member governors.

The communique reads in part: “The meeting advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the security agencies, and the federal government to be neutral in the conduct of the off-season elections in Bayelsa, Kogi, and Imo states.

“The meeting noted the deteriorating security situation in the country, especially the wanton destruction of lives and property in Plateau and Zamfara states, among others. The meeting consequently advised the federal government and security agencies to rise to the situation and bring the situation under control.

“In the interim, the forum will cooperate with the federal government on issues concerning the welfare of Nigerians and good governance while striving to maintain the independence and autonomy of the forum through offering constructive criticism where necessary.”

Those that attended the meeting are Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Bassey Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), Douye Diri (Bayelsa), Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Peter Mbah (Enugu), Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), Ademola Adeleke (Osun), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Kefas Agbu (Taraba) and Dauda Lawal (Zamfara).

The Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, who is the vice chairman of the forum, was absent.

Nigeria’s immediate-past Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has been appointed as Global Advisor by the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP).

In the new role, Osinbajo is expected to guide GEAPP’s mission to accelerate clean energy deployment in emerging economies.

GEAPP said the former VP will support the organization to partner with governments to “enhance the enabling environment and delivery effectiveness to unlock faster and greater capital flows into the clean energy sector” while also continuing as a “leading advocate for Just Energy Transitions in Africa including scaling up Africa’s share of the global carbon market via the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI)”.

The organization announced this in a statement on Tuesday.

“For many years His Excellency Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has been a respected role model of public service at the forefront of policy formulation and implementation on crucial developmental issues relating to national planning, climate change, enabling the business and investment environment, governance, and social investment. His professional expertise and leadership, alongside his broad global network and relationships, will be a valuable catalyst in GEAPP’s mission for affordable access to clean energy and a just transition for all,” GEAPP’s CEO, Simon Harford, stated.

Confirming his appointment in a tweet, Osinbajo expressed his excitement to join GEAP.

“I am honoured by the opportunity to join this movement for green energy access. GEAPP’s collaborative model, sense of urgency, and focus on unlocking systemic change is well aligned with the ambitions of emerging economies as they seek a greener future for their citizens. GEAPP’s vision for change is ambitious. That is entirely fitting; if we’re to achieve our twin goals of universal energy access and climate change action, while transforming the lives of millions, then we must set our sights high,” the organization quoted the former vice president as saying in his acceptance speech.

GEAPP is a collaborative initiative that brings together philanthropy organizations, governments from both emerging and developed economies, as well as technology, policy, and financing partners.

The alliance is driven by a shared vision to facilitate the transition of emerging economies towards a clean energy-based, pro-growth model.

It aims to accelerate universal energy access, foster inclusive economic growth, and contribute to global efforts in meeting crucial climate targets over the next decade.