Governor Hope Uzodimma at the weekend rose to the challenge of hardship recently made worse by the removal of fuel subsidy in the country, raising the minimum wage of workers in Imo State to N40,000.

The multiple palliatives include but not limited to enhanced free transportation, feeding and medical care for workers, generous loans to genuine farmers, the establishment of marketing and commodity boards, payment of gratuities to retirees, mass housing, recruitment of more teachers for primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, bursary and scholarship for Imo State students, among others.

Uzodimma unveiled the package at a special meeting of critical stakeholders comprising religious leaders, politicians, farmers, traders, and labour leaders, among others, which he convened at the Rockview Hotel, Owerri.

The governor said he knows that “because we are buying petrol now at the rate of N530 per litre as against the previous rate of N189, you may hardly believe it. But I know that faith and hope are recurring words in our everyday lives.”

“Because you have hope and I know you also have faith in what we are doing, you will ultimately triumph. And I want you to be rest assured that this promise will come through. My dear brothers and sisters, you must believe me, when I tell you that I am truly touched by the reality on the ground. Yes, I am personally affected because whenever the nose weeps, the eyes join.”

Governor Uzodimma said he had “watched with keen interest how our people have been faring since the removal of the subsidy on fuel was announced,” noting, “I can tell you that I have been deeply worried by my observations.”

“It is clear to me that our people are suffering, particularly the low-income earners and those in paid employment. I have therefore convened this special meeting with the leadership of Organised Labour, Traders, Farmers and Artisans, to announce the comprehensive palliative measures we are putting in place, which I am sure will ease these sufferings, in addition to the measures expected from the federal government. I want you to know that I am with you in your travails. I share in your worries.”

He said he shared in their pains and anxieties, “but most importantly, I am here to tell you to worry less, to give you HOPE and to assure you that help is on the way. I want to let you into my plans for you. The plans that will alleviate the impact of the subsidy removal, stimulate the economy, create additional jobs and enhance the wages of workers.”

Legal practitioners under the aegis of Lawyers in Defence of Democracy have slammed the State Security Services SSS for arresting and detaining the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele while leaving out his principal and approving authority, former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The SSS had in December last year made attempts to arrest Emefiele but was stopped by the Courts.

Emefiele had in the lead up to the 2023 general elections came under intense scrutiny following the apex bank’s Naira Redesign Policy which many partisans saw as targeting Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, then presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC.

Speaking on Arise Television breakfast show monitored Friday in Abuja, Convener, Lawyers in Defence of Democracy, Kingdom Okere, also accused the SSS of framing up Emefiele. He described the arrest as illegal, saying it was in violation of a subsisting order of the Federal Capital Territory FCT High Court.

He consequently called for the sack of the Director General State Services DGSS, Yusuf Bichi, saying there was no reason to have retained him when President Tinubu sacked the Service Chiefs.

Okere who recalled how the SSS had tried to arrest Emefiele in December last year but only succeeded in June 2023, said it was deeply concerning that the security agency would still detain Emefiele for more than one month, instead of having gathered its evidences within the period from December 2022 to June 2023.

He said; “We just heard from the statement by the DSS that they have charged him to court. Charging him to court is different from arraigning him.

“We have not seen a copy of the charge. Of course, the accused has been in illegal detention of the DSS, and his lawyers should be privy to whatever charges that may have preferred against him.

“The point is that Lawyers in the Defence of Democracy have been on this issue since 7th December 2022 when the DSS sought to obtain a black market exparte application from the Federal High Court. It is black market because the honourable judge of the Federal High Court said the DSS could not use that honourable court to commence an irregular proceeding.

“Thereafter, on 29th December 2022, Justice MA Hassan of the FCT High Court made an order of perpetual injunction restraining the DSS from preferring any trump up charge of terrorism financing against the suspended CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele and DSS participated in that proceeding and they have not appealed that decision and if they purport to have done that, there is no proper record of appeal at the Appeal Court to that effect.

“The rule of law does not empower the DSS to disregard an order of a court of competent jurisdiction. The only thing they can do within their constitutional right is to go to a higher court to set it aside. Insofar as that order remains, whatever they are purporting to do, to file any charges against Emefiele remains illegal ab initio.

“Between 7th of December 2022 when they first went to court and 8th June 2023 when they eventually arrested him, they didn’t have any evidence against him. What they have done is to prove us right that they had plans to frame him up. It has now taken them more than one month and just Thursday’s court order that directed them to either release him or charge him to court to now go and file whatever charge they purport to have filed.”

Arrest Buhari

Okere also said Emefiele was only following orders, that the man who gave him the order, former President Muhammadu Buhari ought to also have been arrested by the SSS.

He said; “Whatever Emefiele did as CBN Governor had presidential approval. So, if they have anything against him, they should also know that it is traceable to former President Muhammadu Buhari and they should also being him to book so that they can defend themselves.

“Be that as it may, DSS upon searching Emefiele’s house found only N300,000. Does it mean that Emefiele from his legitimate earnings cannot have N300,000 in his house? They also found a licence for pump action. Any other thing they come out with tomorrow that they found in Emefiele’s house is pure falsehood. Those were the only two things they found in his house and it took them more than one month and the order of a court to go and file charges against him just yesterday.

Track record of flouting rule of law

“The DSS has a history of disobeying court orders. It is their stock in trade. They also gave a track record of invading people’s homes in the wee hours of the day or night just as they did to justices of the supreme court and of course you know how the matter ended.

“DSS has always proven itself as an agency that flouts the rule of law. They see themselves as above the law, whereas they were established by just a piece of legislation, the Security Agencies Act that was signed by the president and they now see themselves to be over and above the constitution of Nigeria that established the federation where all arms of government must operate within the ambit of the constitution.

“Tinubu, the new president has a track record of believing in the rule of law. One example is that he fought former President Olusegun Obasanjo when he withheld the local government allocation due to Lagos state because Tinubu found that it was within the powers of the state Assembly to create local governments or development centres as they are called today”, he added.

Sack Bichi

Mr Okere also advocated the sack of the DGSS, Yusuf Bichi, saying President Tinubu could be sending the wrong signals to Nigerians by retaining him.

“We are calling on President Tinubu to not allow the overzealousness of the DSS to tarnish his hard-earned reputation of believing in the rule of law, of believing in opposition politics and in his inaugural address, he promised Nigerians that he was going to obey the rule of law.

“We now asked him, why are you still leaving this man in office? All other Service Chiefs have been removed. Why did you leave him? Probably because he participated in the whole politics of old and new Naira notes and attempted to initially frame Emefiele up by going to the Federal High Court to seek exparte application. And of course, it is widely believed that he belongs to Tinubu’s camp and that is why the president is still leaving him in office.

“So, we are telling the president that this is not the right way to begin. Nobody is above the entire Federal Republic if Nigeria. Look for more competent hands and replace this person because ab initio, his appointment was a subject of controversy.

“We learned in the public domain that he had retired and former President Muhammadu Buhari in his characteristic manner of not following the law in making certain appointments like he appointed former CG of Customs, a retired Army colonel, also brought Bichi back to serve as DSS, an institution from which he had long retired as we learned in the media.

“So, we are telling the incumbent president to do things right,” Okere added.

Over six weeks after assuming office, President Bola Tinubu has yet to occupy his official residence at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.

While the President has been actively using his private conference room, office space, and Aso Chambers for crucial meetings with local and international guests, his official residence east of the office remains unoccupied.

In the afternoon of May 29, hours after his inauguration, Tinubu arrived at the State Banquet Hall for lunch with fellow Heads of State and country representatives, who witnessed the ceremony at Eagles Square, Abuja.

However, it is normal to see the President’s convoy leaving the premises at the close of his work day, bypassing his official residence, exiting the Villa, and heading for his Maitama private mansion. The same applies to his daily resumption.

The reason could be the ongoing renovation that began in late April when former President Buhari vacated the 32-year-old structure for a temporary residence called the Glass House.

On May 6, 2023, weeks before Tinubu’s inauguration, maintenance work began around the Villa. It encompassed recoating worn-out portions with white paint, and a change of furniture in the green room of the Council Chamber, among others.

A spokesman for Buhari, Garba Shehu, had tweeted under a picture, “Painter at work. Villa wearing a new look for the incoming President.”

A senior source in the State House had told our correspondent that Tinubu, like his predecessors, was expected to decide what kind of furniture would be installed in his official residence.

Although Buhari moved into his new residence almost three weeks after his inauguration, Presidency sources confirmed the delay to our correspondent and said the same could not be expected of the new Commander-in-Chief, who is moving in eight years after a previous occupier.

The source stated, “These things are relative. It is not fixed at all. Goodluck Jonathan stayed for five years, and Buhari stayed for eight years. So, the level of repairs that needs to be done this time must have increased.

“There may be major alterations they are trying to do. For example, the Council Chamber we use today didn’t have all the technology it has now.

“There was a point during Baba’s (Buhari’s) tenure that it had to be shut down completely because they wanted to upgrade it. We were using the First Lady’s conference room for Federal Executive Council meetings at that time. And it took a long time to effect the changes.”

Another source said, “It’s also about individual choices, what you want in a place. But he (Tinubu) occupied the office as soon as he came in.”

On June 10, a security source confided in our correspondent, “He (Tinubu) has not moved in because maintenance is still on.”

Meanwhile, our correspondent also confirmed that the Aso Rock Chapel had been actively holding weekly meetings even though the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has yet to worship there.

The First Lady had stated that the President had not appointed a chaplain for the Aso Villa Chapel after the exit of the former Chaplain, Seyi Malomo.

Mrs Tinubu, in a statement last Monday, said the President reserved the right to appoint a chaplain while debunking claims on social media platforms that the Aso Villa Chapel had been closed down.

She said, “Our attention has been drawn to a story on social media about the purported closure of the Aso Rock Chapel by the First Lady; we wish to state categorically that this is a fabrication and a false representation of the true situation.

“The First Lady at no time gave such a directive that the chapel be shut nor asked for the keys to be handed over to her.”

At the time of filing this report, the former chaplain could not be reached.

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has signed a contract until 2025 with Inter Miami, the Major League Soccer team announced on Saturday.

The 36-year-old striker who sparked Argentina to a World Cup title last year in Qatar, is set to be unveiled by the team in a Sunday ceremony and expected to join Inter Miami on the pitch as early as Friday.

“I’m very excited to start this next step in my career with Inter Miami and in the United States,” Messi, who moves from Paris Saint-Germain, said in a statement.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s arrival in Miami has already caused a sensation and is expected to spark greater interest in the game and MLS across the United States.

It’s also hoped he’ll revive the fortunes of a Miami squad at the bottom of the MLS Eastern Conference at 5-13 with three drawn.

“This is a fantastic opportunity and together we will continue to build this beautiful project,” Messi said. “The idea is to work together to achieve the objectives we set and I’m very eager to start helping here in my new home.”

Messi’s debut match is planned for Friday when Inter Miami will host Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup, a revamped competition between MLS and Mexican league squads.

It’s the biggest boost for the North American league since English star David Beckham, now a co-owner of Inter Miami, joined the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007. He launched the MLS Miami squad in 2020 after years of trying to find a stadium site.

“Ten years ago, when I started my journey to build a new team in Miami, I said that I dreamt of bringing the greatest players in the world to this amazing city, players who shared the ambition I had when I joined LA Galaxy to help grow football in the USA and to build a legacy for the next generation in this sport that we love so much,” Beckham said in a statement.

“Today that dream came true.

“I couldn’t be prouder that a player of Leo’s caliber is joining our club, but I am also delighted to welcome a good friend, an amazing person and his beautiful family to join our Inter Miami community.

“The next phase of our adventure starts here and I can’t wait to see Leo take to the pitch.”

– ‘World’s Greatest’ –

Inter Miami head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino has managed Messi in two separate prior stints –- with FC Barcelona in the 2013-14 campaign, winning the 2013 Spanish SuperCup, and from 2014-2016 with the Argentine national team.

Messi captained the Albiceleste to victory at the 2021 Copa America as well as the Qatar World Cup and has 103 goals in 175 appearances for Argentina.

“We’re overjoyed that the greatest player in the world chose Inter Miami and Major League Soccer,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said.

“His decision is a testament to the momentum and energy behind our league and our sport in North America. We have no doubt that Lionel will show the world that MLS can be a league of choice for the best players in the game.”

Messi is set for a glitzy arrival ceremony on Sunday at “The Unveil” with 18,000 expected to watch his first public event with his new club, followed by his first news conference with Inter on Monday and first training session with the club on Tuesday.

“I’m honored to welcome Leo Messi and his family to their new home,” Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas said. “We made a promise to build an ambitious club that would attract the world’s elite players… a heartfelt thank you to our fans that never stopped believing. Together we will continue to turn dreams into reality.”

Following the killing of a two-year-old boy allegedly by stray bullets from operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Delta State Police Command, has begun an investigation into the incident.

Two-year-old Ivan Onoseriegba was struck by stray bullets allegedly from operatives of the NDLEA who were on the trail of some suspected drug peddlers along Okpanam Road, Oshimili North local Government Area of the state on Thursday.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Bright Edafe, in an audio message made available to our correspondent on Saturday, said CP Wale Abass has already ordered a discreet investigation into the killing.

“The Command is aware of the incident that occurred on the 13th of July 2023.

“It is a sad one, it is a tragic incident and the Command is truly and indeed disturbed.

“Unfortunately, one of the kids whom the stray bullet hit gave up the ghost at the hospital. His age is two years and his name is Ivan Onosebarhe.

“The CP has directed that the matter be transferred to the State CID.

“As I speak with you, the matter is already being investigated by the State Criminal Investigation Department of the Delta State Police Command.

“And all parties involved will appear before the CP on Monday,” the PPRO disclosed.

Earlier, it was gathered that the deceased had just returned from school to their mother’s shop courtesy of their father, Fidelis Omorhiakogbe, in the afternoon of Thursday when they were hit by stray bullets.

Sources said while Ivan was hit in his abdomen, the pellets brushed through his sibling, Eromonsele’s eye.

The victims were, thereafter, rushed to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba, for treatment, but Ivan gave up the ghost around midnight after doctors and nurses battled to save his life.

Father of the victims, Mr Omorhiakogbe, narrated to journalists on Friday what actually transpired on the fateful day.

“What really happened was that I went to my kids’ school to pick them up; I then decided to drop them at the shop, the plaza close to Sweet Spirit.

“That is where my wife’s shop is located so that I could go and meet up with other of my activities so that I could come and return them home, so we could close for the day.

“So, going back to the house to pick up something, my house is just five minutes drive from the shop. Getting to my compound, my wife called me, sweetheart, please come.

“They don’t understand whether it is bullet or anything, there is no gunshot within that environment.

“I then rushed back to the place, getting to the place, my wife called me that they are going to FMC, meet us there.

“It is like it is a gunshot because my wife said she saw my boy’s intestines coming out, even the glass that the bullet penetrated, affected my son’s eye.

“She held two of them and started shouting for help, that was when she then called me to meet them at FMC.

“As I was going to FMC, I said no, let me stop at the shop and know what was happening. When I got to the shop, I saw one Hilux Van, fully loaded with operatives of NDLEA with arms.

“I saw another Sienna, they went to turn so that they could go back to inside town not Okpanam town.

“I saw another Honda. The vehicles were all occupied by NDLEA operatives. So, they then parked close to my wife’s shop.

“According to the people around, they said they were chasing those guys that sell drugs, but the guys ran away, but I don’t know how manage the bullet got to my wife’s shop.

“So, I was trying to ask some of my neighbours. My wife just told me that there’s a gunshot that hit my boy and his intestines are coming out.

“Then one of the boys said it was the gun that was shot that touched your son. That one gave me the courage because they had already parked and trying to arrest some other boys while others ran away, the place was rowdy.

“That one gave me the courage to meet them and I was trying to take pictures and trying taking some videos. One of the boys came out and asked why I was videoing him, asking me if I am mad.

“He then cracked his gun, I then told him that the gun you people shot has killed my son, and if you want to kill me, just kill me as I won’t leave to anywhere.

“Then the guy punched me, I then held his hand. Immediately they heard that their gunshot has killed my child, they immediately entered their vans and zoomed off.

“I jumped inside my car and followed them till we got to Issele-Azagba, they then stopped while I pulled over in one filling station and they came to me.

“I told them that the gun they shot killed my son, they said they know and they have called their Commander.

“They said I should follow them to their head office in Ogwashi-Uku, getting to that place, their Oga brought them out, talked to them before coming in.

“They started pleading with me and enquired about the condition of the child and I told him that I haven’t seen him as I decided to stay around the shop to know what happened. That was when I discovered that it could be these guys who were armed.

“The Oga then said that was true. According to their Oga, he said what they told him is that they were chasing someone or that they wanted to cross then one bike or a vehicle hit the NDLEA guy, that was when the gun triggered.

“He said I should not worry and that I should go and see them first as that is the most important thing to everybody right now and that he would send one or two persons with me.

“Immediately, I left for Asaba to come and see them and they told me that they are in the theatre and they were looking for blood.

“After one and a half hour, the people that the Commander sent, then came that their Oga sent them to come and see the situation and I told them that they are trying to look for blood for him to survive.

“The blood they said we should donate is a fresh one and not the one they have in their blood bank. So, we were trying to look for among some of my friends that came around because I could not donate because I am B positive.

“So, we then we got one of my wife’s worker that is O positive. That one then donated the blood.

“We were running around and they were doing X-ray and all of that.

“About 7:00p.m to 1:00a.m, he then gave up and they told me that the child could not make it that the intestines and kidney were affected.

“The glass the gun penetrated pierced onto his eye and body, but they said he has a cut. They took him to the theatre yesterday at about 2:00a.m and they came out 6:00a.m trying to ensure that the cut and wounds are treated”.

Omorhiakogbe, who said he had reported to the police, stated that: “We need justice for our children. We need to take it up, it cannot just go like this. I don’t even know the condition of this one. I don’t know her fate, we need justice.

“The one that died is supposed to graduate next tomorrow. They have given the graduation gown to him,” he lamented.

Meanwhile, the State Commandant of the NDLEA, Mr. John Tunde, did confirm the incident.

He said his men did not actually open fire on the children, adding that “We can’t be that unprofessional to open fire on a shop.”

According to him, there was a Toyota Camry parked within the area when his men stormed the drug joint to raid and dislodge the place.

He said that the Camry ran over one of the operatives while trying to escape.

“In attempts to demobilise the car, our men shot at it. What we cannot tell now is whether the children were inside the car at the time of the shooting.

“Our men did not open fire at any shop. As we speak now, the man whom the car ran over, is at the Central Hospital in Ogwashi-Uku.

“Our attempt to stop the car was not successful as he escaped,” he noted.

The recent destruction of the 12-man crew vessel said to be carrying 150,000 metric tons of crude oil seized on the Nigerian Waters, has once again, exposed how severely the country has been raped by corrupt individuals.

The vessel was said to have been intercepted by a pipeline surveillance company and the Joint Task Force Operation Delta, last week.

While the vessel was burning, Executive Director, Operations Technical, Tantita Security Services, Capt. Warredi Enisuoh, issued warning to all intending investors in illegality in Nigerian Waters, that same fate awaits them.

According to him, both “locals and internationals who wish to partner to work against Nigeria”, will receive same treatment on their assets.

“For decades, oil theft has gone on successfully in Nigeria such that one can’t help asking, where are these illegal vessels loaded? Who loads them and why are they never intercepted before they get on to Nigeria’s water ways?”

On this note, HRM King Bubaraye Dakolo, Chairman of Bayelsa Traditional Rulers Council who has researched and authored a book on the subject of oil thievery in the country, said that he does not know why law enforcement does not know when the vessels are loaded until they leave the terminal and begin making its way into Nigerian waters, adding that the question is for law enforcement to answer.

As for the vessel carrying 150,000 metric tons that was destroyed, he explained: “to put it clearly, that’s about one million, six hundred thousand barrels and that amounts to well over a hundred million dollars which runs into billions of naira.

“That’s the amount of the value of what was inside there and also approximately what Nigeria produces in a day. That’s about 1.8 million barrels a day.”
King Dakolo who spoke on Arise TV programme on Wednesday, reasoned that since it takes a while to load the vessels, the destroyed vessel must have been loaded in an unauthorised loading bay stressing that “the authorities of NNPC were supposed to know and I think they know.

“There is also usually law enforcement at the terminals so definitely, all the agencies knew that this was taking place.”

The renowned environmental and human rights activist condemned the setting ablaze of the vessel, describing the action as archaic. “Setting that vessel ablaze is completely out of 2023. Its something that should happen in 1440 or 1450.

“We are talking about ozone layer depletion, talking about Nigeria not having the money we should have for our welfare and then you burn off billions of naira, multi millions of dollars worth of crude and in the process, poison us. Its completely unaccepted.

“This has to stop. The presidency has to issue a quick order to stop burning or wasting resources in that manner. For those of us in the Niger Delta, as you burn it, you are polluting us, killing us, you are destroying the entire environment.

“What is the difference between the vandals and authorised vandals in this particular case? Because setting ablaze that quantity of crude oil was as good as asphyxiating the entire Niger Delta. Several persons are going to die of asthma and such diseases in the next couple of days,” he stated.

He suggested that apprehending the culprits with evidence, international standard of investigating and prosecuting those involved should have been followed, stressing that “Going in this crude manner will make the vessel sink and be in that waterway and constitute nuisance to fishermen who of course have to be Niger Deltans and those who use that water way.”

On always parading workers in apprehended vessels rather than investigating and exposing the top shots who are the real oil thieves, King Dakolo said, “I can tell you for free that the vehicle was burnt because it was cheaper to burn it than to rein in the oil thief that is behind it all.

“Usually what Nigeria has done is to parade young helpless, improperly educated, jobless youth from the Niger Delta as the typical thief but I argue that such a person shouldn’t be called a thief but rehabilitated. He is a victim of oil thieves. The real thief of oil is someone who has a yacht, golf course, who cannot sleep a night in Niger Delta because of mosquitoes and insecurity.

“Its someone who has properties in London, Banana Island, Abuja, Frankfurt, New York City. Those are thieves; they have a lot of money.”

He insisted that, “The authorities know clearly, who and who are behind oil theft. Someone came on TV sometime and showed clearly where all the stolen oil goes. If this particular oil was allowed, it would have gone to either, Britain, America or China, or India.

“The world knows them. Everyone in authority knows them. “The subsidy thieves, the subsidy rocketeers, they are saying oh you want subsidy to go, what of those who have been milking the system for decades; who brought in one ship load and collected money for 10 ship loads, who brought in no ship load but perfected papers and collected 20 ship loads.

“The racketeering has been going on and on and if you stop the oil subsidy and no one is going in for it, what have you done? Billions have been stolen, Nigerians have been fixed, that is the game. And it goes on.”

The author of the book, “The Riddle of the Oil Thief”, who further described the burning of the vessel as a jungle justice, stated that the reason they present the face of uneducated, unemployed persons from Niger Delta as the thief is to distract the world, noting emphatically that “That vessel was set ablaze so they don’t get to the big men involved.

“Governments of foreign countries, NNPC, many more are involved.” Regarding the use of non-state actors to monitor the waterways, he said “it underscores how low the Nigerian state has descended where it seems to have lost faith in our law enforcement to the level that private, perhaps not so well-trained hands are engaged to help you do the job. Our economy is in tatters, no job, and so everyone is looking at how to make a living out of everything.

“If Nigerian government were able to get the economy working to the point where a dollar is to a naira, people will not want to go and vandalize oil facilities.

“What Nigeria government should do is to equip the Navy, give them more funds, equip law enforcement, give them more funds and training to be professionals. Bringing in hands that are not as trained, to do job meant for the Navy, is an insult to Nigerian state, and the Navy.

“The authorities of Nigeria at different levels know the thieves, some of them are part of the thieves. That is why no one wants to bring them to book, and that’s why they’re not in jail. Oil thievery can end within two weeks, if Nigeria is ready,” he intoned.

Says South West is not Biafra

THE Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, has warned factional leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa, to stop plans to stage in Lagos State, the sit-at-home protest currently being en- forced in the South East to press the Federal Government for the release of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, from detention.

Aare Onakakanfo Adams cautioned IPOB against con- templating such a move or at- tempt to impose IPOB agenda on Lagos or any other part of the South West because the region is not Biafra Republic.

Reports had quoted Ekpa as hinting in a tweet on Wednesday of plans by IPOB to repli- cate the sit-at-home in Lagos.

Ekpa was quoted as saying that: “Biafrans in Lagos should get ready to be part of the demand to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. We are coming to Lagos after the two-week-long sit at home.

“It is time to show your solidarity to this call for justice. Biafrans in Lagos will lock down. The consultation will start soon,” his tweet reportedly read in part.

Ekpa had on Tuesday announced that there would be a two-week sit-at-home in the South East.

But Adams, reacting to Ekpa’s pronouncement in a telephone interview with Saturday Tribune, cautioned the Finnish-based ethnic propagandist to desist from “repeating the mistake of the 1970s,” and drop the move which he described as uncalled-for and counterproductive.

The Aare Ona Kakanfo emphasised that the South-West is not part of “their Biafra” Republic and as such, it was preposterous for “outsiders to dictate or impose their agenda on people of other regions whom they cohabit with as residents.”

He said: “I can’t go to the South East now and say I want to decide for the people of that region. So, it is not possible to import South-East agenda into Yorubaland. It would be coun- terproductive. We advise him (Ekpa) to drop that idea.

“He should not try that. The South West is not Biafra Re- public. Any attempt to impose Biafra Republic agenda will be resisted. He should desist from repeating the mistake of the 1970s. He should be very, very careful.

“They are entitled to their opinion, but South West is not their Biafran region. He should be very, very careful.

“He should not come and impose his own agenda on the South West. It is uncalled-for, it is unwarranted. Although I don’t know him and I have not spoken to him, he should not bring unnecessary tension to Yorubaland. We will not accept that.”

The Aare Onakakanfo reiterated the position of the South West that Nigeria should be re- structured into true federalism whereby each of the federating units would be allowed to develop at their own pace.

He said: “Our position is true federalism, that is, the restructuring of Nigeria into regions, for the regions to develop at their own pace.

Ekpa, in issuing a fresh threat of another lockdown, had reportedly said the sit-at-home was to demand “the immediate and unconditional release of IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu who remains illegally detained at the DSS dungeon.”

He said: “Following the demand by the Biafra people for more sit-at-home civil disobedience, the Biafra Republic Government In-Exile (BRGIE) and Biafra De Facto Government in Homeland wish to notify Biafrans that there will be a sit-at-home civil disobedience starting from 31 July, 2023 to 14 August, 2023.”

He said the protest was also in preparation for “Biafra’s self-referendum” and to put the world on notice that “Biafrans” were taking their future in their own hands.

The IPOB factional leader added that the sit-at-home would be observed “to invalidate the illegitimacy of those who parade themselves as Nigeria’s representatives within Biafran territory.”
The fresh sit-at-home order came on the heels of South East political leaders’ closed- door meeting where they resolved to seek audience with President Bola Tinubu on the security situation in the region.

…Ask Court To Bar Obi From Rerun If Election Is Cancelled

The legal team of President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, has submitted its final written address against the petition of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, before the Presidential Election Petition Court.

In it, Tinubu and Shettima’s team explained how Obi “woefully failed” to discharge the burden of proof binding on him to show that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rigged the polls in their client’s favour on February 25.

Tinubu, through his lawyers, maintained that the petitioners called a total of 13 witnesses against his election victory, alleging their evidence and testimonies were characterized by hearsay and irrelevance that would convince the court to void his victory.

In the alternative, his legal team said if the election would by cancelled by the court as requested by Obi, then he should be barred from contesting the rerun having allegedly violated several electoral laws including the period he joined the LP from the Peoples Demcocratic Party, PDP.

Recall that on March 1, INEC’s Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu announced Tinubu as winner of the polls with 8,794,726 votes while Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Labour Party were said to have scored 6,984,520 votes and 6,101,533 votes, respectively.

Afterward, Obi and LP challenged the outcome of the election on March 20 by filing a petition seeking the nullification of the declaration of Bola Tinubu as president-elect, and listing several grounds against the president and INEC.

On ground one, the petitioners’ legal team led by Dr. Livy Uzoukwu SAN alleged that Tinubu should be disqualified from the election over a United District Court judgement which forced him to forfeit 460,000 US dollars suspected to be proceeds of drug trafficking, adding that Shettima knowingly allowed himself to be nominated as the Vice Presidential candidate to Tinubu when he was still a senatorial candidate for the Borno Central Constituency at the time the APC held its presidential primary election in July 2022.

On Ground 2, they alleged that the election of Tinubu should be declared invalid by reason of corrupt practices or non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, insisting that it cannot stand because INEC made the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machine mandatory for the accreditation of voters and real-time uploading of results but failed to do so on election day, contrary to the electoral umpire’s own laws and regulations.

On ground 3, Obi claimed that Tinubu was not duly elected by majority of the lawful votes cast during the presidential election and did not get 25 percent of the votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory as required by Section 134 of the 1999 Constitution which reads: “(1) A candidate for an election to the office of President shall be deemed to have been duly elected, where, there being only two candidates for the election – (a) he has the majority of votes cast at the election; and (b) he has not less than one-quarter of the votes cast at the election in each of at least two-thirds of all the States in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.”

They urged the Court to declare the election of Tinubu invalid seeking the following prayers:

“1) That it be determined that at the time of the presidential election held on February 25, 2023, Tinubu and Shettima were not qualified to contest the election.

“That it be determined that all the votes recorded for Tinubu (2nd Respondent) in the election are wasted votes owing to the non-qualification/disqualification of Tinubu and Shettima.

“ That it be determined that Tinubu having failed to score one-quarter of the votes cast at the presidential election in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja was not entitled to be declared and returned as the winner of the presidential election held on 25th February , 2023.

“In the alternative to 2 above: an order cancelling the election and compelling INEC to conduct a fresh election at which Tinubu, Shettima and APC shall not participate.

“In the alternative to 1,2,3 above, I) that it may be determined that Tinubu was not duly elected by majority of the lawful votes cast in the election for the office of the president and therefore the declaration and return of the 2nd Respondent as the winner of the Presidential Election’ are unlawful, unconstitutional and of no effect whatsoever.”

THE WHISTLER reports that before the PEPC adjourned for adoption of the address by parties, Obi had produced several witnesses including a cloud engineer, INEC presiding officers, cyber security expert and a professor of Mathematics who claimed that 18,088 polling unit results on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal were blurred, thereby shortchanging Obi by 2.5 million votes.

But Tinubu’s team had produced one-star witness, Senator Michael Opeyemi, to discountenance Obi’s submissions of FCT, IREV and LP membership.

TINUBU’S FINAL WRITTEN ADDRESS AGAINST OBI

In his final written address obtained by THE WHISTLER, dated July 14, Olanipekun took on the evidence of the Professor of Mathematics, citing his terms of reference which included carrying out data analysis on the election result State by State.

He posited that for the witness to give more consideration to Benue and Rivers state is proof that his evidence lacked foundation and could not have been accurate.

On the 18,088 blurred polling unit results he downloaded from IREV, the lawyer countered the professor, saying he admitted during cross-examination that he never sighted the hardcopies of Form EC8As in the affected polling units.

“Of course, the lack of capacity of this witness who has no background or learning in law is obvious. The totality of this analysis, demonstrate that even the terms of reference, which is the foundation upon which the entire activities are predicated, are crooked and devoid of firmness.

“In any event, though the witness agreed that it is the image of the form EC8A that is usually uploaded to the IREV, he surprisingly admitted that he never sighted the hard copies.

“On this account, the purported analysis of the result cannot be taken with any seriousness, as the professor admittedly refused to accord any cognizance to the primary data, being the form EC8A,” the learned silk argued.

Olanipekun told the PEPC that Obi’s petition did not talk about ballot box snatching, ballot box stuffing, violence, thuggery, vote buying, voters’ intimidation, disenfranchisement, interference by the military or the police, and such other electoral vices, adding that “the crux of their grouse this time around, is that while the presidential election was peacefully conducted all over the country (as corroborated by their primary witnesses) and the results accurately recorded in the various Form EC8As, some unidentified results were not uploaded electronically to the INEC Election Result Viewing (IREV) Portal.”

He added that it was wrong for the petitioners to be hyping the electronic transmission of votes when INEC’s electoral laws also contemplated manual transfer of votes as option.

Furthermore, Tinubu’s lawyer argued that the “remote” contention of the petitioners that his client’s election should also be cancelled for not scoring 25% (or one-quarter) of the votes recorded in the Federal capital territory, Abuja (FCT), is not backed by any fact known to law.

He drew the court’s attention to the fact that the United States Electoral College votes are shared according to the respective populations of the States, without any preference being allocated to Washington DC, which is the State capital.

He contended that the FCT question should also be interpreted with Section 299 of the 1999 constitution which states that “The provisions of this Constitution shall apply to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja as if it were one of the States of the Federation.”

He stated it would be chaotic if the court voids the majority of lawful votes Tinubu garnered in other states due to his failure to score 25 percent in FCT.

“With much respect, any other interpretation different from this will lead to absurdity, chaos, anarchy and alteration of the very intention of the legislature.

“Our courts have always adopted the purposeful approach to the interpretation of our Constitution, as exemplified in a host of decisions, including but not limited to Nafiu Rabiu v. State (1980) 12 NSCC 291 at 300-301, Marwa v Nyako (2012) 6 NWLR (Pt. 1296) 199, 306 – 307, ADH Limited v AT Limited (2006) 10 NWLR (Pt. 986) 635, 649, Awolowo v. Shagari (supra), Abraham Adesanya v.President, Federal Republic of Nigeria (1981) 12 NSCC 146 at 167-168; A.G Abia v. A.G Federation (2002) 6 NWLR (PL 763) 265 at 365,” he added.

He also maintained that forfeiture of monies traced to the bank account of Bola Tinubu was a civil proceeding and the president was not convicted.

Furthermore, Olanipekun urged the court to declare that “Obi is constitutionally barred from participating in any election, in the very unlikely event that the election of 25th February, 2023 is voided, as the only candidates constitutionally prescribed to contest any subsequent election shall be Tinubu and the candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar who came second, by scoring the next majority of votes in the highest number of States (19 States), to the 1st petitioner’s 16 States, and also coming second by plurality of votes, having scored 6,984,520, far and above 1st petitioner’s 6,101,533 votes.”

He maintained that Obi’s name was not in the Labour party membership register (tendered as his evidence in court) when he contested the poll, adding he was still part of the PDP.

But Obi’s team had stated in their court processes that he was granted a “certificate of waiver” by LP to contest the polls.

Seychelles says it imposed restrictions on Nigerian tourists over prevalent criminal activities of drug trafficking and internet fraud linked to the nationals of thebmost populous African country.

Vice President of Seychelles, Ahmed Afif disclosed this saying immigration authorities had been instructed to only permit Nigerians with diplomatic passports and residential permits access into the country.

Nigerians seeking to enter Seychelles as tourists or new immigrants have been banned indefinitely, the vice president said, according to Seychelles News Agency.

Afif said his country was able to link Nigerians to numerous criminal activities, especially drug-trafficking and online fraud syndicates.

“We have seen a clear link between this with certain people from Nigeria. In the past two weeks, for example, 13 people coming from Nigeria have been arrested when entering Seychelles because they were carrying drugs into the country,” Mr Afif.

“In one case, 62 Nigerians who said they were on holiday used false credit cards and the money was never credited to the accounts of these establishments.

“These establishments have lost money. These people spent free holidays in the country at the expense of the establishment owners, and there is nothing that can be done for them,” he added.

Afif’s comments came days after controversy broke out on social media after some Nigerians alleged being denied visas for no tenable reasons by Seychelles.

Nigeria has faced visa bans from other countries in recent months, including the United Arab Emirates, which added the West African nation to a list of 17 African countries not welcome.

Afif said Seychelles does not necessarily have any issues with Nigeria and Nigerians, saying the country was only concerned and needed to do something about a recent spike in criminal activities linked to Nigerians.

“We do not have a problem with Nigeria or its people though we do not tolerate such criminal activities in our country,” Afif said. “There are other online scams originating from Nigeria. We have seen that these people are also coming to Seychelles and doing those scams.”

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“When we checked the payments made for them to come to Seychelles, it is from only one source. This is for different people coming on different days, which shows an organised syndicate,” the vice president said.

Popular Nigerian disk jockey, Florence Otedola, known professionally as DJ Cuppy and her British boxer fiancé, Ryan Taylor has sparked breakup rumors after unfollowing each other on Instagram.

Recall that the daughter of Nigerian business mogul Femi Otedola had in December 2022 announced her engagement to the British boxer just 25 days after they met each other.

However, it seems things might not be going too well between the couple after they unfollowed each other on the popular social media platform, Instagram.

A check by Tribune Online shows that Ryan Taylor has unfollowed the disk jockey and she has equally reciprocated the gesture.

Fueling the breakup rumors, Ryan Taylor shared a post on Instagram with the caption “If it’s blocking your spiritual growth, let it go. Have a blessed Friday #alhamdulillah for everything.”

While it remains unconfirmed if the lovebirds have parted ways, social media users have continued to react to the development.

Reacting to the development on Twitter, @Ifeanyiwill wrote, “Money is not everything. I felt like Cuppy just needed to tag along with someone so badly. But she is a nice person. I believe the right one will find her.”

Another user, @Princess51013171 tweeted, “They warned her but she didn’t listen. You met someone today, and the next few days you got engaged to him, a wealthy oyibo for that matter, and you think it will work. Nevertheless, it is not a crime to fall in love. Life happens, and the ability to pick up your pieces, amend your mistakes, and move on is what defines your courage.

“We knew it wouldn’t last. We were just waiting with our popcorn for the breaking news,” @tobi_wurld39202 opined.