Says His Support For Akpabio Taken Out Of Context

Vice-President Kashim Shettima says he did not in any way disparage the Northern Muslims over the battle for the leadership of the 10th National Assembly.

Shettima said this as he condemned some organisations that misinterpreted his disposition while establishing that the Senate President seat should be reserved for a Southern Christian to make a balanced government.

The VP said this on Monday in a statement titled ‘VP Shettima Dididn’t Disparage Northern Muslims’ issued by his Director of Information, Abiola Sola.

The statement partly reads, “During an interactive session with senators campaigning for the emergence of Senator Godswill Akpabio and Senator Barau Jibrin to lead the 10th Senate, yesterday, Vice President Kashim Shettima emphasized the nation’s current political structure and made a case for the emergence of a Southern Christian and a Northern Muslim as the fairest balance to promote inclusivity at the centre.

“Vice President Shettima’s statement was motivated by a profound awareness of the divisive factors within our great nation and was in harmony with the governing party’s pledge to ensure inclusivity across all regions and among all groups.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has wholeheartedly reassured the country of his dedication to providing every group with equal representation, which has resonated with the Vice President who shares the same commitment to this honourable endeavour.

“Unfortunately, the Vice President’s remarks during the parley with the senators, yesterday, have been stripped of context and mischievously circulated as an attempt to minimize the suitability of Muslim contestants in the race for the Senate leadership. The remarks have not only been taken out of context but also misinterpreted to suit an agenda that sabotages our collective bid for unity.

“What Vice President Shettima advocated during the meeting was that, considering Nigeria’s President and Vice President are Muslims, it would not be ill-advised for the lawmakers to choose a non-Muslim contestant, even if against a more qualified Muslim option, in order to achieve balance.

“It is alarming that such an unambiguous plea has been unfairly misconstrued to imply that the Vice President said the most incompetent Christian candidate is superior to a Muslim candidate. One can understand why this absurd interpretation would be found distressing and hijacked by those with a malicious agenda to push.”

He further stated that his stance for the next Senate President to emerge from the South was the position of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), adding that it would be illogical to have the leaderships of the two Chambers come from the North-West as Muslims, when the President and Vice President are Muslims.

He said, “Vice President Shettima’s position reflects the stance of the APC, which has not only assigned the leadership of the House of Representatives to the North-West but has also designated the position of Deputy Senate President to be held by the same region.

“At the time of the Vice President’s remarks, approximately three contenders for the Speakership race had withdrawn their candidacy to support the candidate from the North-West. This well-considered balancing strategy aimed to mitigate the potential for crisis within the country, particularly by those anticipating the domination of leadership from the same religious faith in all branches of government as a signal.

“It would be illogical for the Vice President, who is himself a Muslim and an essential member of the community, to second-guess the competence of fellow Muslims in a nation headed by a Muslim President who has demonstrated unmatched leadership qualities, on the strength of which they were elected under the banner of the APC last February.

“The Vice President wishes to distance himself from the wrong and dangerous inferences drawn by the public from his remarks. While some are made innocently and without mischief, there are entities that have seized on the story to cause further chaos that transcends the realm of power politics. This weaponization of our divisions is why the Vice President appeals for inclusivity to prevent any agenda designed to undermine the new government and Nigeria as a whole.”

Conference Of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) and civil society organisations (CSOs) under the aegis of the Coalition Of National Civil Society Organisations (CNCSOs) have demanded that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu resign from office.

The joint body comprising CNPP and the CSOs said failure of this directive after 14-day ultimatum to Prof. Yakubu will see them galvanised all democratic and legal means to force him to do so.

In a statement jointly signed by the CNPP Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu and the National Secretary of the Coalition, Alhaji Ali Abacha, they explained that the INEC Chairman, who failed to deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) it procured “despite billions of naira wasted on the 2023 general elections is not worthy of remaining in office and must not be allowed to continue to waste the nation’s resources in conduct of future elections.”

The joint body, said that they are equally disturbed that “INEC under Prof. Yakubu has equally constituted itself into an obstruction to justice in the electioneering process in Nigeria by becoming a partisan umpire and opposing petitioners who are in the various tribunals to seek justice after being allegedly rigged out in the elections.”

They also accused the INEC Chairman of inflating about N105.25 billion spent on acquiring BVAS machines for the 2023 polls, saying that “despite having been severally accused of manipulating the February 25 presidential election results, counsel to INEC, Abubakar Mahmoud, recently aligned with the position of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25 presidential election to object to the presentation of subpoenaed witnesses who were INEC ad-hoc staff during the 2023 presidential election in the petition filed by Atiku Abubakar and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The statement read in parts, “We recall that at the resumption of proceedings on Atiku’s petition last Thursday in Abuja, one of the witnesses, Egwuma Friday from Kubwa area of Abuja entered the witness box and prayed the court to admit his witness statement, but all respondents in the petition, including INEC, raised objections to stop the witness from testifying.

“This is the same INEC that has been accused of manipulating election results by deliberately refusing to transmit polling units results as promised real-time.

“From mere allegations, a staff of INEC, Abedemi Joseph on Friday told the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that they were instructed by the commission under Prof. Yakubu, their employer, not to give copies of election results to political party agents who declined to sign the results.

“It’s now becoming more obvious that, until INEC Chairman exited from the commission, rebuilding confidence in the electoral body will be impossible due to the now battered image of the commission in the eyes of the electorates.

“More so, INEC under Prof. Yakubu took four years to mislead Nigerians by creating false impression that uploading of the election results to the BVAS real-time was the only way to go for the country’s electoral system.

“Contrary to expectations, INEC made it impossible for electoral officers to upload the results of the presidential election real-time from the polling units, which may have created room for the upload of manipulated election results.

“We note that the former Minister of Transportation and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, had revealed that a member of the camp of the presidential candidate of his party, now President Bola Tinubu, nominated the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Yakubu, for his reappointment for a second term.

“In the words of Amaechi, ‘There are those of us who opposed the reappointment of Yakubu Mahmood. The person who nominated him is a member of Tinubu’s camp. So what are you expecting?’

“So, how can anyone convince Nigerians that such a character remain in office as INEC Chairman for a single day, not to even think of allowing him to conduct another election in the country?

“We equally call on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), other anti-graft agencies, as well as the Department Of State Services (DSS) to immediately commence investigation of INEC’s N105.25 billion budgetted for acquiring 200,000 units of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) as the budget has been found to have surpassed the estimated market cost by a whopping 30.4 percent, yet Nigeria lost the anticipated benefits, and for constituting himself into a national security risk as his continued stay in office could trigger violence in the country.

“According our findings as corroborated by the media, the BVAS machines, which were deploy during the now controversial 2023 general elections, EMP2920 Biometric tablets, were manufactured and supplied by Shenzhen Emperor Technology at an inflated unit cost of $795 (N366,089.55 at the rate of N460.47/$) as against the Amazon price, where the device sells under a different name SecuMind Tablet Biometric CX2920.

“Why should the INEC Chairman remain in office after wasting 34.51 percent of the total sum of N355 billion budgeted for the 2023 polls on the procurement of biometric devices that never worked?

“In a sane clime, such an official who failed woefully to conduct an acceptable general elections after receiving all he asked for should have long resigned.

“We, therefore, demand the immediate resignation of the INEC Chairman within 14 days.

“At the expiration of the ultimatum, all democratic and legal means possible would be deployed to force him to quit the office.

“All the CNPP organs at the state level and the civil society groups under the CNCSOs across the country are being mobilised for appropriate action in event that Prof. Yakubu remains in office after two weeks from today.

“It is on record that the CNPP and the CSOs fully backed INEC in the build up to the 2023 general elections and insisted that all that the commission required should be made available to it since INEC Chairman had assured of conducting a free, fair and credible elections.

“The same promise to do what is right was made by the INEC Chairman at the CHATHAM House before the elections and today, the world is seeing Nigeria as a mockery among the comity of nations, especially with the testimonies emanating from the election petition courts where INEC staff are indicting the commission under Prof. Yakubu.

“Therefore, if the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, who followed the instructions of former President Muhammadu Buhari to redesign the naira to ensure that illicit funds were not deployed for 2023 elections, could be ordered to step aside from office, why should Prof. Yakubu, who has done more harm to the psyche of Nigerian electorates than any past Chairman of the commission in Nigeria’s history, remain in office?

“Prof Yakubu dashed the hopes Nigerians in a credible 2023 electoral system, raising voter apathy to the highest level in the country, and for us, it’s time up for Prof Mahmood Yakubu to quit the stage as INEC Chairman. Enough is enough”, the statement concluded.

Pursuant to the fulfilment of one of his campaign promises to liberalize funding of education in the country, President Bola Tinubu on Monday signed the Students Loan Bill into law.

Titled “A Bill for an Act to Provide for easy access to higher education for Nigerians through an interest-free loan from the Nigerian Education Bank established in this Act to provide education for Nigerians and other purposes connected thereto,” It was sponsored by the Speaker of the 9th House House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.

It recommends two years imprisonment or N500,000 or both for students who default in repayment or anyone found aiding defaulters.

Joined by other close aides of the president, including Tunde Rahman, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz as well as the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, David Adejoh, Alake said: “We are very happy to announce to you that today, just a few minutes ago, the President His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, signed into law, the Student Loans Bill and that Student Loans Bill. You all know what it entails, what it connotes the meaning.

“This is the promise made during the presidential campaign by the then candidate, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that he will bring back the student loans issue to the front burner and today, that promise he made has been kept.

“He has just signed that bill into law, which henceforth, will allow or enable our indigent students to access federal government loans to fund their educational pursuit or career and this is how it’s done in other developed climes all over the world.”

He added: “So, this is a boom to our youths, to our students nationwide. Of course, there are prescribed qualification parameters and that is the proof of indigeneship of whoever is to be a beneficiary and other prescribed parameters will be there.

“Of course, there are committees to be set up, the members of committees drawn from various bodies to superintend over the efficient and proficient disbursement of this facility.”

Alake said the law would take immediate effect but the committee would superintend over the procedures.

Also speaking on the new law, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Adejoh, stated: “What the President has done goes beyond a symbolism, it’s a demonstration of intent in terms of how he wants to handle education as he progresses in his Presidency.

“Like somebody asked about procedures, once the bill has been signed, that is the most important thing.

“A bill tells you what should be done, the how it will be done is what we’re going to put together and the good luck is that we have experience already in this area. We already have the Federal Scholarship Board Scheme running.

“The difference this bill makes is that it’s going to be a loans board so that people that don’t have whatever reason, don’t qualify to be able to apply for a loan. I’m very sure the country has learned from recovery rates of loans and the experience we had will be able to guide how this federal students loans board will work.

“I want to congratulate the President and most importantly, congratulate us Nigerians because what we have now is that nobody should say money did not allow him to go to school. That opportunity will be there, it will be inclusive and it will be equitable.”

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has held the bid opening exercise for the 2023 planned disposal of assets forfeited to the Federal Government.

Its Spokesperson, Mrs Azuka Ogugua, said this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

She quoted the ICPC Chairman, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, SAN, as promising in his opening remarks that the exercise would be transparent.

Owasanoye commended the auctioneers for their cooperation and assured them that the commission would not renege on its pledge to ensure a fair and transparent process.

The ICPC boss, who was represented by Dr Louis Mandama, a Board member, noted that the exercise was the first for 2023 and promised that the second exercise would hold in the second half of the year.

He stated that the mode of allocation of assets in the current stage would be different as there would be no batching of assets.

He gave assurance that the auctioneers would be allowed to go and take a look at the assets while working with the technical team in order to evaluate them.

The ICPC boss went further to say that complaints received from the five bidders after the broadcast of results on the commission’s website had been addressed.

At the commencement of the exercise, the bids submitted were sorted, marked and observed closely as the opening of the bids revealed the number of properties bided for and its cost which were certified by the auctioneers.

The representatives of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Alhaji Bello Nasir, and the representative of the Civil Society Organisations, Mr Paul Odokara, expressed satisfaction with the exercise.

They commended the transparent nature of the exercise hoping that its outcome would certainly meet the criteria set for the bidding.

They also advised other agencies to take a cue from ICPC and charged the auctioneers on the need to adhere to instructions for easy identification of their bids to avoid any disqualification.

The exercise, which was held at the commission’s headquarters, had 25 auctioneers in attendance.

NAN

The management of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has decried what it called fake and misleading online information quoting dates for the 2023 NYSC activities.

It said the misinformation by the online sources misquoted the dates for its pre-mobilisation workshop, post-mobilisation workshop, uploading of Senate Approved result lists, among others.

The NYSC said the information did not emanate from its management as it emanated from the writer’s imagination.

“Consequent upon the above, the approved dates for the 2023 mobilisation activities would be made public at the appropriate time through this medium and other media channels, including all NYSC social media platforms,” the NYSC said in a statement in Abuja by its Director of Press and Public Relations, Eddy Megwa.

Twitter was threatened with shutdown in India, Nigeria and Turkey unless it complied with orders to restrict accounts, with India wanting to curb journalists' and protesters' use of the social media platform, cofounder Jack Dorsey said on Monday.

Dorsey quit his Twitter chief executive role in 2021 and the social media platform was purchased by billionaire Elon Musk in 2022.

"India for example, India is a country that had many requests to us around the farmers protest, around particular journalists that were critical of the government," Dorsey said in an interview to YouTube news show Breaking Points.

Indian farmers ended a year of protests in late 2021 after winning concessions from the government regarding certain farm laws. The demonstrations were among the biggest faced by the Narendra Modi government and his nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"It manifested in ways such as: 'We will shut Twitter down in India,' which is a very large market for us; 'we will raid the homes of your employees,' which they did; 'we will shut down your offices if you don't follow suit.' And this is India, a democratic country," Dorsey added.

The Indian government has previously denied engaging in online censorship and says it only aims to restrict misinformation and posts that curb peace and security.

Dorsey also mentioned similar pressure from governments in Turkey and Nigeria, which had restricted the platform in their nations at different points over the years before lifting those bans.

"Turkey is very similar (to India), like we had so many requests from Turkey. We fought Turkey in their courts and often won, but they threatened to shut us down constantly," he said.

Dorsey also added that the situation in Nigeria was such that Twitter could not even put its employees on the ground in the country out of fear of what the government might do to them.

Nigeria had suspended Twitter in 2021 after it removed a post from then-President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists. It lifted the ban in early 2022 after Twitter agreed to open a local office, among other agreements with authorities.

Advocacy groups have raised concerns about the human rights situations in India, Turkey and Nigeria.

[Economic Times]

The running mate to Moshood Abiola in the annulled June 12, 1993, presidential election, Amb Babagana Kingibe, yesterday urged Nigerians to see the acclaimed winner, MKO Abiola, as a beacon for the direction the nation should take in order to strengthen democratic tenets in the country.  

This is even as President Bola Tinubu on the occasion of the commemoration of Democracy Day, inspected a guard of honour at the Forecourt within the Presidential Villa, Abuja.    

Fielding questions from newsmen after the ceremony, Kingibe said June 12 would always bring back vivid memories of the whole process and sadness that ensued after the annulment.

He said: “I believe in looking forward and the President in his Democracy Day address has set out the markers as to where we are coming from. He has set up beacons as to the direction we should take to make our country great, to strengthen democracy and to defend democracy at all times.

“I believe his speech was really inspiring and I think all right thinking men and women of this country should very carefully go through and be inspired and guided by it. It is a great thing.”

Also commenting on Democracy Day, Secretary to Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume, noted that June 12 was a deliberate attempt to enthrone the sanctity of democracy and due process as far as elections were concerned.

He said the day represented “fundamental human rights, the right of people to vote freely and choose their own leaders. The abandonment of this principle will lead to unpleasant consequences by way of demonstrations, when that annulment was made.”  

On his part, former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, described June 12 as a milestone for the country, saying the nation was already making progress as far as freedom was concerned.    

He also said Nigerians should see it as a period for sober reflection, especially “when you look at the events that happened 30 years ago, the late MKO Abiola, may his soul rest in peace. And then we are celebrating this day, you know to commemorate that event, it is very humbling.” 

Also fielding questions from State House correspondents, the governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, averred that   democracy in Nigeria was still in a learning process.

He said: “We’ll continue to learn like in other climes, that the spirit of sportsman must be deployed, that it’s either you win or you lose.  

“When you win, you’ll celebrate, when you lose, you’ll wait for another time. So we’ll continue to advice and encourage practitioners in politics to eschew violence and take to this path of honour.”

Tinubu inspects guard of honour to mark ceremony

Part of activities to commemorate the 2023 Democracy Day celebration was the inspection of a guard of honour by the President at the Forecourt within the Presidential Villa, Abuja

Vice President Kashim Shettima had arrived the Forecourt a few minutes to 10am; President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; and Secretary to Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume were also present.

Other dignitaries present on the occasion were  Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State; former Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle; National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu; and the party’s Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore, among others.  

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, led the service chiefs; Inspector-General of Police and other senior security chiefs to the ceremony.

The colourful celebration witnessed cultural display from different geopolitical zones of the country.

• Bags fellow of criminology institute

Lagos State Commandant ofNigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp ( NSCDC ), Usman Ishaq Alfadarai, yesterday, called for a youth enhancement programme to improve national security.

Addressing newsmen, during a lecture series and Award ceremony, organised by the Institute of Criminology and Strategic Studies Nigeria (ICSSN), to commemorate this year’s ‘Democracy Day,’ Alfadarai, commended the Federal and  Lagos State Governments for their unprecedented and  proactive efforts towards enhancing national security.

He  called on the three tiers of government to perceive the consistent and continuous engagement and inclusion of the youth as one of the major panacea to enhancing national security in the nation among other solutions.

Alfadarai, who bagged the prestigious Fellowship award of the renowned institute,  at Lagos State University ( LASU ), said the Command has arrested over 50 suspects for various crimes as well as seized over 300 litres of Premium Motor Spirit from vandals and economic saboteurs valued at N3 million in the  last five months.

Alfadarai was honoured alongside other distinguished personalities in the country, such as Vice Chancellor, Lagos State University, Prof. Ibiyemi Ibilola Olatunji – Bello, Director,  LASU Consult, Prof. Ibrahim Bakare, among others.

[Guardian]

There is no end in sight to the controversy rocking Nigeria Air, the national carrier supposedly unveiled at the twilight of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.

Ex-Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, had unveiled the name and logo of Nigeria Air at the Farnborough International Air Show in July 2018, with the promise that operation would begin within five months.

At the time, Sirika had said the airline would have flights on 81 domestic, regional and international routes.

But two months down the line, the Federal Government put the project on hold, saying it was a tough decision.

However, the public kept asking questions on the project, given the publicity and funds spent on it.

The ex-minister repeatedly assured Nigerians that the project would kick off, at some point disclosing the plan for aircraft which will be used in the fleet.

On May 26, 2023, the ministry under Sirika’s watch organised a programme for the unveiling of Nigeria Air.

At the event which held at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, the minister expressed delight that the Federal Government had matched its words with action regarding the project.

There was a backlash after the event, especially over the Ethiopian Airlines plane that was used for the unveiling.

The ministry had avoided commenting on multiple issues raised, but in an ARISE Television interview, Sirika cleared the air and addressed multiple issues.

But the former minister denied the involvement of the aviation ministry in the unveiling, putting it at the door step of Ethiopian Airlines, which has 49 per cent majority shares in the project.

“It was the owners of Nigeria Air, the consortium of the federal government (five per cent) that decided to do the unveiling as part of their marketing strategy. So it is not the government that was doing the unveiling to start the operations. Not at all. It was them who did it and I was invited,” Sirika had said on the live television programme.

However, several documents in the public domain revealed that the unveiling was organised by the Ministry of Aviation.

An invitation letter was issued by the ministry inviting guests to the launch.

The invitation letter read: “The Federal Ministry of Aviation cordially requests your presence at the official unveiling of Nigeria Air.”

The venue of the unveiling was put as Nigeria Air Operations Control Centre, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Also, the order of event saw the Permanent Secretary in the ministry reading the welcome address followed by the goodwill messages by Chairmen, Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Aviation.

The next speaker according to the order of event was the CEO of Ethiopian Airlines while the minister unveiled the aircraft.

Some aviation stakeholders who spoke to our correspondent confirmed that they receieved invitation from the ministry.