AHEAD of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly, former Senate Minority leader and an aspirant for the position of Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio has said that contrary to sponsored media report alleging that his colleagues have withdrawn their support for him, members of the Stability Group and new Senators-elect are still solidly behind his ambiton.

The former Akwa Ibom State Governor has also advised those peddling the unfounded romour to stop the propaganda because no Senator has withdrawn his support for him.

A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Jackson Udom, described the news item as “unfounded, false and a calculated attempt to smear the seamless relationship between the former Minority Leader and his distingushed colleagues who are very much in support of his aspiration. They should stop the propaganda against Senator Akpabio because no Senator has withdrawn his support from him”

The statement read, “as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Senator Akpabio had described the parastatal under his ministry as a cesspool of corruption and NOT the National Assembly.

“He made this remarks whilst justifying the Forensic Audit of the Commission which was ordered by former President Muhammadu Buhari. Infact, he decried a situation where few individuals would corner huge contracts in the agency under the guise of giving them to the lawmakers without the knowledge of the lawmakers.

“There was never a time whether in public or in his closets that he described the National Assembly, which he is a very proud member, as a cesspool of corruption. Those peddling and sponsoring such unfounded allegations are doing so for political gains. Any organized campaign of calumny against Akpabio will surely fail.”

Memories and emotions went high on Wednesday during the valedictory session of the House of Representatives, as Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila officially dissolved the 9th assembly.

Rep. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, the Majority Leader of the House, had moved a motion to commence the valedictory session, while Rep Ndudi Elumelu, the Minority Leader seconded the motion.

Gbajabiamila, in his valedictory speech, said: “I will miss all of you and miss this house, you have enriched my life and I cannot express how much you have impacted the house.

In an emotion-laden speech, Gbajabiamila said the joint efforts in nation-building by members were to ensure that the dreams of the nation’s founding fathers did not die.

He said, “We have come, we have seen and while we are yet to conquer, my enthusiasm to serve remained undiminished.”

According to him, it has been the honour of his life to serve the people of the country.

“I thank my constituency and I express gratitude to my colleagues for the privilege to serve.”

He said since he assumed office, the house had changed drastically in such a manner he had not witnessed, adding that the change came with speed as witnessed in the last four years.

He said the 9th House of Reps had governed well with some interventions, including COVID-19 pandemic, Police Reform Bill, Electoral Acts Amendment Bill, Constitutional Review, among others.

According to him, “We have worked to take advantage of social and economic transformation that benefit us; we have left our mark on every sector of our national life.”

He said the House was able to introduce discipline on the Appropriation Act that now commenced from January to December of every year.

According to him, the 9th House of Reps has ended and the 10th will commence.

“I urge you to ensure that you are not found wanting by man or God in the final judgment.”

Also, Rep. Julius Ihovhre (APC-Edo), said he would forever cherish the friendship he made in the 9th assembly, adding that such a relationship would last forever.

He commended the speaker for leading the house well and perfectly and demonstrating that he could manage a diverse group of people.

“In your new roles as the Chief of Staff to the President, the challenges you will face are more than here, we plead with you not to abandon the spirit of excellence,” he said.

He said Nigeria required the kind of leader with a sense of mission while urging Gbajabiamila to ensure the Federal Government paid attention to basic education.

Rep. Luke Onofiong (PDP-Akwa-Ibom) said members had made relationships that would last forever and commended his constituency for giving him the privilege to serve.

He commended the speaker for accommodating members and relaxing the rules to give new members a voice, noting that the speaker was gentle enough to accommodate their errors.

He urged the house to take the judiciary seriously with salary review.

Rep. Yusuf Gadgi (APC-Plateau) on his part said, “In my constituency, Muslims are 30 per cent while Christians constitute 70 per cent but they have always sent me here and for using me as a good example of how Nigeria should behave.

“What I want to say is the message of forgiveness, I want, on your behalf and other members, to forgive one another. In this assignments, we must have offended one another.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that his comment on forgiveness generated some uproar, as members grumbled endlessly.

Unperturbed, Gagdi said “Irrespective of the grumbling, what is right is right and people must learn to forgive others”.

Rep. Aisha Duku (APC-Borno) expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve as the first woman to represent her constituency.

“Mr Speaker you have blessed me to bless others, I have changed the perspective of politics in my area because this is the first time that a Fulani woman and a Muslim will come out from that area.

“I have been able to enlighten people and bring out the women to vote, which hitherto they had not.

“I have participated in Bills assented to by the president and today they are laws, I commend my committee as the Chairman, House Committee on INEC, for supporting me.

Duku said she was now a better Nigerian, as she travelled to a lot of places in the country but her only regret was that no gender bill was passed.

In attendance at the session of the 9th assembly were former speakers, House Leaders such as Gali Na’abba, Patricia Etteh, Mulikat Akande and some former clerks of NASS.

Ballard Partners, an international governmental affairs firm has appointed Alhaji Lai Mohammed, immediate past Minister of Information and Culture, as Managing Partner of its first office in Africa.

In a statement issued by the firm and made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja, Mohammed is to serve as Managing Partner of its newly opened Abuja office and its satellite office in Lagos.

With its headquarters in Washington, Ballard Partners specialises in all aspects of governmental and public affairs, including legislative and executive agency advocacy.

In the statement, Brian Ballard, the firm’s President and founder said they were opening their first African office in Nigeria to expand the firm’s international footprint to three continents.

He said the opening of the office, would also help in building upon the important work they had done on behalf of African nations and companies in Africa and the U.S.

On the choice of the former minister, Ballard said that Mohammed “has a long record of public service and is one of the most respected officials in the country.

Adding that “his outstanding reputation and exceptional experience will be invaluable to our firm”.

Ballard recalled that since the advent of Nigeria’s fourth republic in 1999, Mohammed played key roles in the political life of his country as Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Governor of Lagos.

He added that Mohammed was also the National Spokesperson for the Opposition for over a decade (2005-2015) and a candidate for the Governorship of Kwara State in the 2003 General Elections.

The statement also reflected the former Minister’s happiness in accepting the international job.

“I am very pleased to join Ballard Partners and to open the firm’s first office in Africa,”

“Ballard Partners has an impeccable reputation internationally and is well known for its success representing African countries and American firms in Africa.

The opportunities in Nigeria are substantial and I look forward to helping the firm’s clients achieve their objectives,” Mohammed was quoted as saying.

Born in Oro, Kwara state, Mohammed graduated with second class upper honors with dual degrees in modern European languages (majoring in French) and law.

He was called to the Nigerian bar in 1986.

The former Minister has also been awarded several diplomas in different parts of the world including Diplomes d’Etudes Francaise 3ieme Degree in both Dakar, Senegal and Vichy France.

A Makurdi Chief Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday ordered that a 33-year-old teacher, Emmanuel Okoriko, be remanded in a correctional centre for alleged armed robbery.

The police charged Okoriko, who lives in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue with armed robbery and attempted culpable homicide.

However, Magistrate Roseline Iyorshe did not take his plea for want in the jurisdiction.

Iyorshe adjourned the matter until July 26, for further mention.

Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, Insp Jonah Uletu told the court that the case was transferred from ‘B’ Division Police Station, Makurdi to the State CID, Makurdi on May 25, via a letter dated the same day for proper investigation.

Uletu said the letter stated that Kelvin Ikwue reported at the ‘B’ Division Police Station on May 23 that his father, Adakole Ikwue was attacked by Okoriko with a screwdriver.

He said that Okoriko stabbed Ikwue in the neck and stole his Samsung Galaxy phone worth N165,000.

The prosecution said that the victim was receiving treatment at the Bishop Murray Hospital, Makurdi.

The offence, Uletu said, contravenes the provisions of section 1(1)(2)(a)(b) of the Robbery and Firearms Act, 2004 and 327 of the Penal Code, Laws of Benue, 2004.

Labour Party (LP) in Lagos State has accused the factional National Publicity Secretary of the party, Abayomi Arabambi and the factional Legal Adviser of the party, Oyelekan Akingbade, of trying to secretly change the party’s legal representatives at the state election tribunal.

According to the party, the duo have been moving around the tribunal, to try and substitute the party’s legal representatives illegally, particularly in cases where it won elections and the All Progressives Congress (APC) is challenging its victory.

Citing petition no:EPT/LAG/HR/16/2023 in which Sanusi Olanrewaju Ismail Adedimeji and APC as petitioners are challenging LP’s victory in Amuwo Odofin Federal Constituency (with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), LP and Wande George as respondents), the party alleged that Arabambi filed a motion at the tribunal through an affidavit dated June 5, 2023 seeking to change LP’s counsel.

“The attention of Labour Party Lagos State has been drawn to clandestine moves being made by the expelled former Acting Publicity Secretary of the Party, Mr. Abayomi Arabambi and his ally the suspended former Legal Adviser, Mr Samuel Oyelekan Akingbade where the duo have been going around the Tribunals handling Labour Party matters, especially where we won elections and the APC is challenging the victory of our Party to change the Labour Party legal representatives illegally and fraudulently supplanting them with their APC moles as the legal counsel for the labour party.

“A clear evidence to buttress the above assertion is in the petition no:EPT/LAG/HR/16/2023 between Sanusi Olanrewaju Ismail Adedimeji and APC as petitioners (contesting Labour Party victory in Amuwo Odofin federal constituency) versus INEC, Labour Party and Wande George as respondents.

“In this matter, Mr Arabambi filed a motion at the Tribunal via an affidavit dated 5th June 2023 deposed to by himself at the Tribunal seeking to change Labour Party counsel from Tope Alabi Esquire to B. A. Ayeni Esq, who is unknown to the Party. This was done by Mr Arabambi based on the letter of engagement issued to B.A. Ayeni by Mr. Akingbade where he illegally signed as the Legal Adviser to the Party,” said the state Publicity Secretary, Olubunmi Odesanya, in a statement.

Odesanya maintained that Arabambi remains expelled from the party, while Akingbade stands suspended, adding that both cannot represent the party in any capacity.

The Publicity Secretary noted that the party is aware that Arabambi and Akingbade are working in connivance with some former members of the State Working Committee, adding that the identifies of these individuals would be made public soon.

She called on elected members and all the candidates of the party whose cases are pending in the tribunal to be watchful, and urged them to monitor proceedings.

“We want the whole world and indeed the Obident family to see how devilish and mean these characters and charlatans can descend to in a bid to satisfy their APC paymasters.

“Furthermore, it is on record that Mr. Arabambi stand expelled from the Party and as such is no longer a member of Labour Party. In like manner, Mr Akingbade stands suspended from the Party and therefore cannot and do not have any legal authority to represent the Party in any capacity whatsoever.

“We also have it on good authority that this mission by these conscienceless traitors is with the active connivance of some former members of the state working committee of the Party here in Lagos. The identities of these saboteurs within the Party will be made public soon.

“Labour Party Lagos State is by this putting all our elected members and by extension all the candidates whose cases are pending in various Tribunals to be vigilant and be watchful and be on the lookout for the activities of these enemies of Labour Party masquerading as “members” within and without.
“We also urge all candidates to monitor the proceedings in the Tribunals closely so as to be able to detect these nefarious activities of these morally debased characters on time,” Odesanya added.

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday sought assistance from the European Council to fight insecurity, poverty and other challenges facing Nigeria.

The president, according to a statement by his Director of Information, Abiodun Oladunjoye, called on the European Union to come to Nigeria and Africa’s aid as they struggle with security and economic woes.

In a phone conversation, Tinubu called on the President of the European Council, Mr Charles Michel, to assist the country and Africa in strengthening its security and economic development to fight poverty in the country.

The European Council is the EU institution that defines the general political direction and priorities of the European Union.

Tinubu said as part of his administrative priority, he would do all it takes to address poverty and insecurity in Nigeria.

He urged the EU to take a crucial look at insecurity around Lake Chad and coastal areas, promising to collaborate with the body and other member states.

Meanwhile, Michel congratulated Tinubu again for his emergence as president in Nigeria’s last election, pledging the commitment of the council towards building a strong partnership and cooperation with Nigeria based on mutual respect.

He urged the Nigerian government to continue working with the EU, saying Nigeria is a crucial part of the EU and the international community.

Counsel to the lead petitioner, Mohammed Isah Ashiru of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Samuel Katung (SAN), has told the election petition tribunal in Kaduna State that he would bring before it 25 witnesses to testify against the declaration of Uba Sani of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the March 18 governorship election in the state.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Sani as winner of the poll but Ashiru with his party is contesting his victory at the tribunal.

At the pre-hearing of the petition before the tribunal yesterday, the lead counsel to Ashiru and PDP, Samuel Atung (SAN), told the 3-man panel led by Justice Victor O. Oviawe that the petitioner might field a star witness for the rest of the witnesses when the hearing proper commenced.

However, counsels to the 1st respondent, INEC, Alhassan A. Umar (SAN), said they would call five witnesses.

The 2nd respondent, Governor Sani, led by Sanusi Musa (SAN), said they have 18 witnesses, but, “we will subpoena 15.”

The 3rd respondent, APC, led by Mohammed Sani Katu (SAN), said they would present three witnesses, but, “we will subpoena three others, making it six witnesses.”

The chairman of the panel, Justice Victor Oviawe, after extensive deliberations, allotted seven minutes to examination-in-chief, 12 minutes to cross-examination, while three minutes were allotted for re-examination of the witnesses.

The court adjourned the case until June 15, 2023 for continued pre-hearing of the matter.

Kidnappers terrorizing the Nyibango area of Adamawa State have reportedly abducted the wife of a High Court Judge, Zainab Abbas, from her residence.

The case is the second in two weeks in the community as armed men were said to have abducted a cleric two weeks ago.

According to reports, Abbas was abducted while at her residence located in Nyibango, adjacent to the 23 Brigade of the Nigerian Army headquarters in Yola.

The Adamawa State Police Command confirmed the report stating that a Crack Squad of Special Rapid Response Team (SRRT) and other tactical units have been deployed to rescue the victim.

“Those deployed to rescue the victim will ensure the arrest of the culprits as a further manifestation of the command’s determination to diligently prosecute offenders.

“This deployment will surely assist in coordinating the timely response to distress calls and clamp down on those found committing crimes, as the command has deployed electronic devices to record pictorial evidence of those involved.

“The CP has equally directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations and Deployment to coordinate the designed rescue operation as all divisional police officers are to adopt a stop and Search exercise in their respective areas of responsibility, especially midnights to ensure total domination of the public space, prevent the escape of criminals and possible arrest of trouble makers,” the command said.

A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress ( APC), Dr. Haruna Gololo, has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC) to investigate the immediate past Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, over unpleasant discoveries on the purported lunch of Nigeria Air aircraft.

Gololo made the call while addressing a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday.

He was reacting to the disclosure by the Acting Managing Director of Nigeria Air, Capt Dapo Olumide at an investigative hearing of the Senate Committee on Aviation over the state of Nigeria Air project.

Olumide had disclosed at the investigative hearing that the supposed Nigeria Air aircraft that flew in with logo of the airline was chartered from Ethiopian Airline for the purpose of unveiling the logo.

He also disclosed that the airline was yet to secure an operating licence for full flight operations, contrary to submission of the past minister of aviation on the Air Nigeria.

Olumide had told the Senate committee that the aircraft was used pending the completion of the processes required for the operation of the airline.

Gololo, however, said: ”we are giving the EFCC two weeks to arrest and investigate the former Minister of Aviation and other key participants in the former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.”

He said if the EFCC could go after “Yahoo Boys,” for alleged scam, the anti- graft agency could as well go after the government officials for alleged monumental fraud .

” Only yesterday the Senate Committee Aviation confirmed the fear and suspicion of many Nigerians, when it unearthed the issues in the aviation sector by the immediate past minister, on indicating that procurement of Nigeria Air was a scam which gulped billions of tax payers fund”

Gololo, who was Coordinator of the North-East Tinubu, Shettima supporters group during the general elections said further:

“What happened to the M11.3 trillion spent on the Turn Around Maintenance ( TAM), of the Kaduna, Warri and Porthacourt refineries?

” But today the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, who awarded the contracts has gone to run for governorship election to seek immunity.

“There are several other MDAs that were looted under Buhari’s administration.”

Nice to hear that the nationwide strike action threatened by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over the removal of fuel subsidies, which would have begun today, has been postponed, Commonsense, which actually is nowhere common, appears to have prevailed. We thank God for little mercies! Let the NLC learn from the experience of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) whose eight-month strike action during the Muhammadu Buhari administration yielded nothing, although NLC may argue that it is not ASUU. Let the government on its part understand that an economy already cannibalised by Buhari and his wanton troopers will be worse off with a nationwide strike action. In the end, the issues that cause strikes, like those that cause wars, are ultimately resolved on the negotiation table after losses that cannot be reversed would have been suffered by the warring parties. This is being penny wise but pound foolish. And when two elephants fight; it is the grass that suffers. 

Many will wonder why an NLC that threw caution to the winds when it declared open and brazen support for the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Gringory Obi, should kick against the removal of fuel subsidies by Tinubu. Obi had declared while campaigning that he would scrap fuel subsidies on his first day in office if he wins the election. Now, had Obi won the election and had he gone ahead to remove fuel subsidies, like Tinubu has done, would Labour leaders have pursued against Obi the same course of action they are now pursuing against Tinubu? Note that the NLC kept mute when Obi threatened to remove fuel subsidies during his campaign. We will never know what exactly would have been because Obi never won the election. It can be argued, also, that even if Obi, or anyone else, had won the election and had gone ahead to remove fuel subsidies, he or they would probably have approached the vexed issue differently and more tactfully than Tinubu has done.

 Truth be told, Tinubu was surprisingly tactless and provocatively arrogant the way he went about the fuel subsidies removal. Surprising because this is not the Tinubu many had expected to see. What went wrong? Tinubu should not have included the fuel subsidies removal in his inaugural address, even if the removal was to come later in the day in an executive order or what-have-you. Tinubu’s inaugural address should have been stirring and soul-lifting; a soothing balm to a people mortally wounded and gasping for breath. Nigerians sought a soul-stirring speech like that of Martin Luther King - I have a dream – but Tinubu’s was drab, uninspiring and full of platitudes. Nigerians waited to have their patriotic zeal fired - like President JF Kennedy’s “Think not what America can do for you but what you can do for America - but Tinubu’s speech was long-winding and fell flat on its face. It was like William Shakespeare’s “all sound and fury, signifying nothing”!

The only significant thing about the speech was Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidies and, in doing so, he was, again surprisingly, not man enough to own the decision, desperately trying, instead, to hide behind Buhari like a grasshopper hiding behind one finger! Tinubu’s men said Buhari removed fuel subsidies before he left office! What if he did? If you think that is not the right thing to do or that the timing is not right, can't you reverse or tinker with it? Does it now mean that nothing that Buhari did while in office, right or wrong, will be revisited and or reversed? Why, then, did we have a change of government? Why can’t Buhari and his gang continue if their actions cannot be queried, questioned or reversed? Is this what Tinubu meant when he said he would continue where Buhari has stopped? But a continuation of Buhari’s legacies is the last thing Nigerians needed.

Nigerians need someone who will succour them and bind their wounds. They need someone who will empathise with them. Nigerians need soft words, not arrogant, harsh words that further demoralise them. Even if we have to put up with hard decisions, we need someone who will woo us, who will encourage us and pat us on the back all the way; feeling our pains and assuring us all will soon be well as he points us in the direction of light at the end of the tunnel. But, surprisingly, Tinubu was aloof. He acted insensitive. It is like he did not understand the country he inherited from Buhari. Tell Tinubu Nigeria is not Lagos, tell him! The Nigeria he inherited is divided like never before; the people are demoralised and angry like never before; they were brutalised throughout Buhari’s eight years in office; their standard of living dropped to an all-time low; and their sense of self-worth and confidence is nothing to write home about. They seek a lifting; they need a messiah, so to say, but, agonisingly, and, again, surprisingly, Tinubu fell far short of their expectation. Where, then, is the renewed hope that he promised? Rather than renew anyone’s hope, he dashed the little that we have left!

Am I against the removal of fuel subsidies? No! But I am against the timing. I am also against the attempt to hang it on Buhari. I am against pussy-footing: No, we did not! Yes, we did! I am against the lack of empathy. Tinubu should not have started his presidency this way. This is not how to compensate the people who voted for you. And don't forget you are still before the tribunal! Why forget so soon that your election is, perhaps, the most hotly disputed in the history of this country? One or two months of “grace” for Nigerians to celebrate your ascension to the throne would have been okay. If eight years of relentless looting of Nigeria under Buhari did not kill the country, then, a month of grace from Tinubu will not kill it. Make the people happy. Show that you have the milk of human kindness flowing in your veins. In the interval, convey the meetings you are now hurriedly and belatedly holding with Labour and other stakeholders; firm up on the palliatives and new minimum wage you are now dangling in what looks like an after-thought. The political sagacity of Tinubu has never been in doubt. Since he announced his arrival on the country’s political landscape in the 1980s, Tinubu has left no one in doubt that he is a master strategist; he has so demonstrated in Lagos since 1999. On his way to the Presidency he left no one in doubt that he is a master of the game of Nigeria’s political roulette. So, what went wrong this time around? Why put the wrong foot first?

The day I was appointed editor of The PUNCH/Saturday PUNCH, the big story for the next day was the appointment made by military President Ibrahim Babangida of chairmen for the two political parties he was imposing on Nigerians – the National Republican Convention (NRC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), one “a little to the right” and the other “a little to the left”. When the story came out on the front page in my newspaper the next day, the names of the chairmen were swapped: NRC’s was given as SDP’s and vice-versa! Imagine the embarrassment! With PUNCH’s characteristic screaming headlines! I was on my way to the office when the Chairman called: “Have you seen your newspaper today?” I said, yes, I have. “It is sabotage. Sack them!” the Chairman said repeatedly! I got to the office and the place was like a funeral home. I summoned the Editorial Conference meeting and told them what the Chairman had said. One after the other they swore it was not sabotage but the ubiquitous “printer’s devil” at work. What do we do? They said I should plead with the Chairman to temper justice with mercy.

Virtually all the HODs and their assistants had their neck on the chopping block. Soon afterwards, the Chairman called to ask if they had all been sacked and I said no; that they swore it was not sabotage and had given an undertaking it would not happen again. The chairman asked: “And what is your decision?” I said my decision was to give them the benefit of the doubt; that I did not want to start my editorship wiping off the entire members of the Editorial Conference. There was a prolonged silence and then the Chairman said:”I see, I see, I see! Ok, ok, ok; if that is your decision” Those who claimed to know warned me that, that was ominous and I found it to be true afterwards! But I never regretted it. Many of those who would have been sacked that day later rose to important editorial and managerial positions in the same newspaper. There is a way to start a journey and there is another way not to start it!         

Those who claim to know Tinubu should tell him to tread more carefully. Nigeria is not Lagos where he can gallivant and grandstand, imposing his fancies at will like the Lord of the Manor. Tell Tinubu not to break our heart or fall our hand, as they say! Not with all the insults from the Obi-Idiots!