FEATURES

FEATURES

The 36 state governors have been ordered to file their respective defense to a suit instituted against them by the Federal Government seeking for full autonomy for the 774 local government in the country.

The order was given by the Supreme Court on Thursday.


The apex court also ordered the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice to, upon receipt of the governors defense, file his reply within two days.

Justice Garba Lawal issued the order on Thursday while ruling in an application for abridgement of time argued by the AGF, Prince Lateef Fagebemi, SAN.

The AGF had prayed the court to compel the governors to file their responses within five days in view of the urgency and importance of the suit to local government autonomy.

Although the governors did not object to time abridgement, they however requested for 15 days to file defense.

Justice Lawal who led a seven-man panel of justices of the apex court, said that the decision of the court to reduce time was predicated on the national importance and urgency of the suit and the non-objection from the states of the federation.

The Supreme Court held that filing of all processes and exchanging of same must be completed withing the time and subsequently fixed June 13 for hearing of the suit.

Justice Lawal ordered that the eight states that were not in attendance at Thursday’s proceedings must be served with fresh hearing notice.

The eight state are Borno, Kano, Kogi, Niger, Ogun, Osun, Oyo and Sokoto, whose Attorneys General were absent in court despite being served with hearing notice.

Nollywood actor Segun Arinze has disclosed the reasons behind his twelve-year hiatus from marriage following the end of his first marriage.

The 58-year-old first tied the knot with Anne Njemanze, the actress, in 1996. Their marriage, however, hit the rocks in 1997.

The film star then married Julie in 2008 and they have three children.



Speaking on the WithChude podcast, Arinze said “I was confused about getting the right person” after he and Njemanze divorced.

The filmmaker said he was involved in many relationships until “I cried to God” in 2007 to give me a wife.

Arinze said he initially refused to speak about his failed marriage “because people do not share everything”. 



“I stayed out of marriage after the first one crashed. I stayed out of marriage for like 12 years before I remarried. I remarried in 2008. Not that I gave up on marriage, I was just really confused about getting the right person,” he said.

“I got into so many crazy relationships. Both the ones were good, crazy, and bad I have seen all. That year, 2007. I cried to God and said ‘Father Lord I have had enough can you just give me a wife’. I said just find me a wife. I remember I cried.

“And then I went to a wedding and I saw this beautiful woman. I asked my PA to get her number but he came back because he was scared. Julius Agwu and I were the MCs at the event. It was Don Chi’s wedding. And Julius Agwu said ‘My brother dey look for wife o’. When I sat I went to meet her, collected her contact and then invited her to a dinner. That is how it started. The rest is history.

“We are sixteen years in marriage now with three lovely kids. She is a lawyer. She is also my legal adviser.

“When that happened to me in 1997 I kept quiet. I did not say anything. I just let it go. Till date I said nothing and I do not want to say anything. I do not want to discuss anything about it. It happened. The shit will always happen. Everybody has a closet.”

American actor and professional wrestler, Dwayne Johnson popularly known as The Rock has been recognised by Guinness World Records as the most followed actor on TikTok with 74.4 million followers.


The Rock knocked off fellow actor Will Smith, who has held the record since 2022, in the battle of A-listers of the American celebrity stars.

GWR said Johnson will have to “work hard to hold on to the title though, as the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star isn’t too far behind him.”

MAY DAY: Labour gives FG May 31 deadline on Minimum Wage0:00 / 0:00
The Rock, who recently revived his wrestling career with a return to WWE, regularly takes his fans behind the scenes of his fame on his TikTok channel.


As well as documenting his WWE return of late, The Rock also posts videos of himself working out in the gym, surprising shoppers by hand-delivering his Papatui skincare products, and his work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Will, who describes himself as the “Same kid from West Philly”, also shares a glimpse into his fun showbiz life.

“Lately, he’s been posting videos of himself and Bad Boys co-star Martin Lawrence as they return for a fourth installment in the franchise, Ride or Die,” GWR said.

Comedian, Otaghware Otas Onodjayeke, says as the Federal government has reverted to the old National Anthem, it should also help revert to the old petrol price, old dollar price, old taxation as well as old security standards. The comedian stated this on his Instastories. 

 

Recall that President Tinubu on Wednesday, May 29, signed into law a bill reverting to the old National anthem.

 

Read his post below 

CJN summons FHC CJ, Kano CJ over conflicting court orders 

NBA seeks disciplinary measures against culprits 

Groups say their resistance not political

Alex Enumah in Abuja and Ahmad Sorondinki in Kano

The National Judicial Council (NJC) has proposed an emergency meeting for next week, where the the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho and his counterpart in Kano State, Justice Dije Aboki, would be invited and subjected to serious investigations.

This came as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, has summoned both judges over the recent conflicting orders emanating from the courts under them.

At the same time, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has called for disciplinary actions against lawyers and judges involved in the issuance of conflicting court orders in the Kano Emirate legal tussle.

Also, prominent groups in two of the four dissolved Emirates Councils, have again kicked against abolition of the emirates, saying their resistance had no political bias as being peddled in some quarters.

According to a statement by the Director of Information, National Judicial Council (NJC), Mr Soji Oye, the two head of courts, were to meet with the CJN today, May 30, 2024.

 

The statement read: “Sequel to the conflicting judgements emanating from the Federal High Court, and Kano State High Court of Justice on the chieftaincy matter in Kano State, the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman, National Judicial Council, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, GCON, has summoned the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, and Chief Judge of Kano State High Court, Justice Dije Aboki for an emergency meeting in his chambers tomorrow Thursday May 30, 2024.

“The meeting which is a prelude to whole scale investigation by the National Judicial Council is to enable the CJN have a proper briefing on this very disturbing development by the two respective Chief Judges.”

The statement added that there was a strong indication that the “NJC will conduct an emergency meeting next week, where the subject judges are likely to be invited and subjected to serious investigations.”

Since last week that the Kano State Government repealed the law creating four additional emirates for Kano metropolis, both the federal and Kano State high courts had been issuing orders that were at variance to the government as well as security agencies.

Justice A. M. Liman had in an exparte ordered the security agencies not to implement the new law passed by the state assembly dissolving the emirates, with the intention of halting the reinstatement of Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II.

However, the government had already gone ahead with the installment, claiming that the restraining order came after the installment of Sanusi, adding also that the judge who issued the order was not physically present in Kano.

 

They argued further that as at 5pm Friday, when the governor signed the bill dissolving the former emirates, it was not possible for the applicant to have filed the suit, made payment and also obtained an enrolled order.

But following application from the government, the Kano State High Court, presided over by Justice Amina Adamu Aliyu, issued an injunction restraining the five deposed emirs from parading themselves as emirs and also asked that they vacate their respective palaces.

This order, however, ran contrary to the earlier one issued to the security agencies by Justice Liman.

Shortly after, another Federal High Court in Kano, presided over by Justice S. A. Amobeda, issued an order for the eviction of Sanusi from the Kofar Kudu Palace, reinforcing the authority of the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero.

Immediately, too, Justice Amina issued a counter order to even up with the other camp, a development which raised concerns about the state of the Kano Emirate and the escalation of its rulership tussle.

But the NBA, which called for disciplinary actions against erring members, said the actions of the ministers in the Temple of Justice, had brought disgrace and shame to the profession and exposed the entire legal profession to public ridicule and opprobrium.

The NBA President, Mr Yakubu Maikyau, in a statement, yesterday, vowed to drag any lawyer found culpable in the matter before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) for necessary sanctions.

 

He called on the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court and his counterpart in the High Court of Kano State to identify the judicial officers involved and drag them before the NJC for disciplinary action.

“I have keenly followed the developments on the recent events concerning the stool of the Emir of Kano.

“I must say, without any equivocation, that the conducts of counsel and the courts in the handling of the proceedings which culminated in the orders issued by the Federal High Court, the Kano State High Court and again the Federal High Court, in circus, have brought utter disgrace and shame to the profession – have exposed the entire legal profession in Nigeria to public ridicule and opprobrium.

“The damage is one that would take the legal profession a long time to recover from. It is unfortunate and was totally uncalled for.

“For a country, whose legal resources and expertise have for several decades been exported and positively impacted not only the African continent but the world at large, it is completely unacceptable that the processes of our courts would be deployed in the manner we have witnessed in the last couple of days, on a subject matter that is as clear as chieftaincy dispute.

“This is a subject that has been sufficiently dealt with by legislations and case law, leaving no one confused about the jurisprudence on the subject – both procedural and substantive.

“Without prejudice to the subsisting actions before both the Federal High Court and the Kano State High Court, it is my considered view that there is urgent need to scrutinise the professional conducts of both counsel and the judges involved in these matters.

 

“This is to enable the relevant bodies or institutions determine their culpability or otherwise, from an ethical and professional standpoint.

“I therefore call on the respective heads of the courts of the judges concerned, to take immediate steps to look into their conducts with the view to finding any possible abuse of their judicial offices and file a report with the National Judicial Council for necessary action.

“The NBA on the other hand will investigate the conducts of the counsel involved in these cases and shall not hesitate to commence disciplinary action against them before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, should there be any finding of alleged professional misconduct against them,” The NBA boss said.

On their part, one of the two stakeholder groups, Inuwar Jama’ar Masarautar Bichi (Bichi Emirate Development Association), warned that, they would not accept any arrangement other than the reversal of the law to restore their emirate.

Leader of the group, Bello Gambo Bichi, said the formation of the five emirates by the former administration of Abdullahi Ganduje had brought numerous development to their respective areas.

According to him, the Bichi Emirate had witnessed development in the areas of healthcare, education, economy, agriculture and road infrastructure.

The second group of prominent elders of Rano Emirate Council, in the Kano south, under the leadership of Alhaji Musa Salihu Doguwa, told journalists during a press conference at the press center, that the way and manner the amendments law was done remained controversial. 

He added that the members of the state assembly hastily amended the law on how the governor assented to it was also a significant setback to the progress and development of the emirates.

His listed some of the development projects brought as a result of the upgrade of the new emirates in southern Kano brought about under the leadership of the former Governor Umar Abdullahi Ganduje.

THE pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, yesterday, urged President Bola Tinubu to review his economic policies, noting that they have pauperised Nigerians.


Afenifere, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Justice Faloye, urged President Tinubu to alleviate the plight of Nigerians.

Reviewing Tinubu’s first year in office, the Yoruba body said: “The economy has experienced severe turbulence in the one-year administration of President Bola Tinubu, worsening the previous administration’s economic legacy.


“Afenifere, hereby, calls for a better understanding of the economy to stop the al
arming rate of inflation, devaluation, increasing unemployment, homelessness and poverty.

“Firstly, it is an illogical economic belief that the subsidy removals and tax increases that remove money from the economy will stimulate economic growth.

“Therefore, the adoption of flawed neo-liberal theories of subsidy removal and unbridled tax increases must be stopped since they always contract the economy and ours is no exception as companies are folding up and leaving due to fuel and electricity costs skyrocketing, fuelling galloping inflation and fall of real incomes.

“These policies are crowding out the productive sectors of the economy from much-needed loans. The hikes in interest rates are not effective in curbing inflation for the twin reasons that whatever loans are withheld from the private sector by the restrictive policies are flowing to the government which is spending recklessly and pumping the same funds right back into the markets.

“The policy of floating the Naira without moderating the excesses of the free market speculators and hoarders, and a nation addicted to capital flight, is questionable economic logic. With 90 percent of our foreign exchange derived from oil and Gas, stopping government funding of the forex market was bound to lead to massive devaluation as witnessed. Our collective patrimony is not only meant to fund the political class but to stimulate the economy and abundance of life to the greatest number of citizens. This is the Afenifere standard of governance.


“The problems inherited from the Buhari administration have been compounded by the inept management of the economy by the Tinubu administration, following the example of their predecessor by spending recklessly while looking for loans and additional taxes to fund the profligacy.


“Tinubu’s administration in Lagos State is credited for a hyped increasing Internally Generated Revenue that never translated into the development of the kind of infrastructure built by the Jakande administration.

“Unfortunately it appears that President Tinubu is still possessed by this mindset of taxing the poor to transfer to the privileged especially cronies. We are being inundated with all sorts of hare-brained tax schemes like communication, cyber security taxes etc and even once toyed with mandating grossly underfunded universities to remit to the Government purse a percent of their earnings.

“At the end of the first year of Tinubu’s administration, the question is whether our continued arrested economic development is due to corruption or incompetence.

“From failure to mine and refine crude oil to unjustified loans, and excessive cost of governance, it is the people that are made to suffer the tragic consequences.”

This economic dispensation of Monkey dey work, baboon dey chop must be halted before the sociopolitical fabric of Nigeria is destroyed beyond repair.”

The Federal Government has disbursed a total sum of N20.11bn to 402,283 beneficiaries of the N50,000 Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme.

The beneficiaries selected from the 774 local government areas received a direct payment to their bank accounts via their Bank Verification Number.

This information was disclosed in a document exclusively obtained from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment by our correspondent on Wednesday.

The scheme domiciled under the Ministry of Trade and Investment commenced on March 9, 2024, with financial grants of N50,000 without repayment obligations to eligible small business owners operating in various sectors such as trading, food services, ICT, transportation, creatives, and artisans in the 774 local government areas of the country. 

 

It targeted 70 per cent of women and youths, 10 per cent of people with disabilities, and 5 per cent of senior citizens, with the remaining 15 per cent distributed to other demographics.

It also said only one million out of the 3.6 million applicants for the conditional grant will be selected as recipients.

President Bola Tinubu, on October 17, 2023, launched the renewed hope conditional cash transfer to 15 million households.

 

The scheme was only to benefit people with nano businesses seeking to expand and be willing to formally register their businesses and hire at least one additional person as their turnover increases.

The ministry, in a Frequently Asked Questions and Answers said “Disbursements aren’t based on any specific criteria, but in the order, applications are verified. The goal is to reach an estimated 1,290 beneficiaries per LGA across the country, totalling one million.

“Disbursement is also subject to verification of NIN, which became mandatory after the initial application phase and required only BVN. The selection is random, without human intervention, from those who have passed their NIN and BVN verification.”

The trade minister, Doris Aniete, also stated that the objective is to distribute funds to an estimated 1,290 beneficiaries per local government area across the country.

However, a list containing the number of recipients showed that individuals in all LGAs received the funds but not in equal numbers.

The list didn’t contain personal details and contacts of individuals who benefitted from the programme and is as of May 29, 2024.

A breakdown of the document showed that Katsina LGA in Katsina State got the highest allocation with 1,048 beneficiaries while Omuma LGA got the lowest with 85 recipients.

 

A summary of the top ten receiving LGAs includes Gusau LGA in Zamfara State (977), Omala in Kogi State with 921 recipients, Shiroro LGA in Niger State (911), Owerri North in Imo State (897), Konshisha LGA in Benue State (890), Calabar South in Cross Rivers State (881), Anka LGA in Zamfara State (876), Balanga LGA in Gombe State (873) and Kaltungo LGA in Gombe State (862).

While the lowest 10 receiving LGAs include Olorunsogo LGA in Oyo State (85), Etsako Central in Edo State (86), Ogu/Bolo in Rivers State (98), Opobo/Nkoro in Rivers State (103), Owen West in Edo State (104), Ovia South-West in Edo State (110), Jere in Borno State with 116 recipients, Degema in Rivers State (146), Ogun Waterside in Ogun State (159), Ogo Oluwa in Oyo state (160).

Recall that the minister had earlier indicated that disbursement was going to be staggered and in phase till completion.

Meanwhile, the trade minister confirmed that the ministry had begun examination and sorting of applications received from asset managers to establish the diaspora fund.

She said hundreds of applications were received and currently undergoing a vetting process.

The minister, speaking through her aide, Terfa Gyado, said, “On diaspora Fund, the deadline for Expressions of Interest has closed and applications are currently being vetted.

“We received applications in hundreds and from all over the world.”

 

When asked to confirm the specific figure, the minister said it would be announced after the sorting process, she said, “They are still sorting but it was an overwhelming response.”

The $10 billion Diaspora Fund is a government-enabled, private-sector-led initiative of the ministry to attract investment from citizens living abroad.

The fund, which would be established by private sector Fund Managers selected through a competitive bidding process, is a way of encouraging remittances, attracting investments, and facilitating philanthropic endeavours aimed at supporting various sectors such as agriculture, infrastructure, healthcare, education, and entrepreneurship in Nigeria.

The government had extended the date for the submission of an Expression of Interest for the fund to May 13, 2024.

The naira appreciated to N1,490 against the dollar at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday.

The current FX rate signifies an increase of 2 percent relative to the N1,520 reported on May 27.

Currency traders in Lagos, also known bureau de change operators, quoted the buying price of the greenback at N1,460, and the selling rate at N1,490 — leaving a profit margin of N30.

At the official window, the local currency depreciated by 13.26 percent against the dollar from N1,173.88/$ on May 28 to close at N1,329.65 on Wednesday.

During trading hours, the exchange rate recorded a high of N1,506 and a low of N1,010, according to FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees the official FX trading in Nigeria.

The daily foreign exchange market turnover stood at $336.54 million.

On May 22, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released the approved guidelines for BDC operations in the country.

The apex bank raised the capital requirement for tier-1 BDC operators from N35 million to N2 billion, while tier-2 operators were mandated to have a capital base of N500 million.

On May 28, the Association of Bureau De Change Operators (ABCON) urged the CBN to review the minimum capital base for tier-1 operators to N500 million and tier-2 operators to N100 million.

Aminu Gwadabe, president of ABCON, said the capital requirement should be reviewed to allow for easy mergers among BDCs.

“For the N2 billion capital base — for those that want to have branches or franchise — we told them (CBN) we are proposing between N500 million and N1 billion,” he said.

Gwadabe also urged the apex bank to allow BDCs to recapitalise instead of reapplying for licences.

The management of the National Medical Services Laboratories in Pennsylvania, United States of America, has refuted the claim by the Lagos State Government that a toxicology test to ascertain the cause of the death of singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, aka Mohbad, was conducted at its facility.

The claim by the NMS Labs was in response to inquiries made by our correspondent, who embarked on a fact-finding mission to ascertain the musician’s cause of death.

Before embarking on the fact-finding mission, some concerned members of the public reportedly protested against the claim made by a pathologist, who appeared before the Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, May 15, and said an autopsy could not ascertain Mohbad’s cause of death because his corpse had decomposed.

PUNCH Metro had reported that the counsel for the state government, O. Akinde, told the Coroner’s Court sitting in the Ikorodu area of the state sometime in November 2023 that a toxicology test, which is an aspect of an autopsy seeking to determine the cause of Mohbad’s death, was conducted in the United States.

 

Buttressing this claim, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, while responding to inquiries via a live telephone call with Ahmad Isah, the anchor of an Abuja-based online programme, Brekete Family, sometime in February 2024, said the toxicology test was being conducted at the NMS Labs in Pennsylvania, USA.

“The matter is being handled by the state DNA and Forensic Centre, but they are doing skeletal services, and they have affiliate centres which are three.

“So, if there is an emergency like this one that we have, they will not say they cannot handle it. So, there are three of them in the US and the one handling this particular one is the NMS in Pennsylvania, USA,” Omotoso said during the live programme.

 

The result of the test reportedly arrived in Nigeria sometime in April 2024 and was passed on to a pathologist for interpretation.

Appearing before the coroner’s court, the pathologist disclosed that the autopsy could not ascertain the cause of Mohbad’s death because the corpse had decomposed.

However, during the fact-finding mission, our correspondent independently verified the location of the NMS Labs on 3701 Welsh Road Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, and that of two NMS crime labs on Stratford Avenue, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, and another at Grand Prairie in Texas.

The single e-mail address that these labs had been using for correspondence was also discovered on the NMS Labs’ website and our correspondent sent an inquiry to confirm if a toxicology test to ascertain Mohbad’s death was conducted at their facility.

The inquiry read in part, “I am a journalist from Punch Newspaper in Nigeria, currently working on a story involving the death of Nigerian hip-hop artiste, Ilerioluwa Aloba, aka Mohbad.

 

“Following the Lagos State Government’s active interest in the case, the state Commissioner for Information revealed that the government conducted a toxicology test on the late artiste at your facility. Here is the link where he said so at 32:21 (https://youtu.be/SW59DTJZV3I?si=ty0OaXJSTvfuC4Oz).

“However, conflicting reports have emerged, casting doubt on whether or not the toxicology test indeed took place at your facility. As a journalist committed to factual reporting, I am independently reaching out to your facility to verify the authenticity of this claim. Clarification on this matter will contribute significantly to resolving the discrepancies surrounding the artist’s demise.”

 

Responding to PUNCH Metro on May 17, the Client Services Associate, Forensics Division, NMS Labs, Esther Dede, refuted the claim by the state government that Mohbad’s toxicology test was conducted at any of their laboratories.

“Unfortunately, we do not have a case for that patient,” Dede said.

Dede, however, noted, “To maintain our compliance with HIPAA privacy regulations, we would need authorisation from the submitting agency.”

When contacted on Wednesday, the Commissioner for Information, Omotoso, said that was the name of the lab given to him by the state DNA and Forensic Centre.

“This was what I was told by the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre officials who took the sample there. We are dealing with the officials of the centre, they have three other labs that they have affiliations with. If they have an emergency, they can go to any of the three labs. I asked which particular one did they go to and they answered it was that one. That means I will have to go and check again because that was what I was told.”

Mohbad died at the age of 27, on September 12, 2023, with circumstances surrounding his death sparking controversies on social media.

Being a former record label signee of Marlian Music owned by Naira Marley, Mohbad left the label in February 2022. The Lagos State Police Command had on September 18, 2023, inaugurated a 13-man special investigation team to probe the singer’s death.

 

His death also led to the arrest of Naira Marley and controversial Lagos socialite, Balogun Eletu, also known as Sam Larry, amongst others.

The singer’s body was on September 21, 2023, exhumed for autopsy to unravel the cause of his death.

TapSwap, a popular cryptocurrency platform has issued a new update.
 
The platform revealed it would pool launch by July 1st.
 
 
This decision comes after the discovery of numerous bots that had accumulated an unrealistic amount of Shares.
 
According to TapSwap, the main reason for this delay is to address the issue of bots earning an unfair amount of Shares, which compromises the integrity of the token distribution process.
 
To rectify this situation, the company is taking measures to identify, stop, and ban these bots.
 
This move aims to ensure a fair allocation of TAPS (TapSwap tokens) and reward those who have earned them honestly.
 
The delay presents an opportunity for newcomers to join the platform and accumulate Shares, while early adopters of TapSwap may see their status within the community increase.
 
Additionally, TapSwap has promised to release information about blockchain soon, which will provide further insight into their operations and technology.
 
TapSwap has expressed gratitude to its users for their patience and understanding as they work to maintain the integrity of their community.
 
This move demonstrates the company’s commitment to fairness and transparency, ensuring a secure and trustworthy environment for all users.
 
 
The updated launch date is set for July 1st, and users can expect a fair and just distribution of TAPS.
 
With this delay, TapSwap aims to create a more equitable and sustainable community for all its members.
 
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