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.
How Peter Obi Failed To Prove 2023 Presidential Election Was Rigged, Tinubu, Shettima Give Final Response To Tribunal
Admin…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.
Six young boys have been arrested for allegedly gang-raping a 19-year-old girl in Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra state.
The suspects, Afam Ezenwa, Chijioke Ifeanyi, Collins Obadom, Abuchi Okechukwu, Chima Obiekezie, and Sunday Okafor, were arrested following a video that went viral on the internet.
Confirming the arrest, the State Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Mrs Ify Obinabo, said the case had been transferred to the state criminal investigative department of the police in Awka, where they would be charged in court for their crime.
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She said the victim had been rescued.
Interacting with the victim and her parents in her office, Obinabo decried the high rate of crimes among delinquents and called on parents and guardians to stop spoiling their children by pampering them.
She reassured that Governor Chukwuma Soludo-led administration would not tolerate any form of crime in the state, noting that justice would take its full course.
Narrating her ordeal, the victim said, “It all happened when I visited my maternal home in Oramaetiti and was ambushed by a group of boys who took me to a room and took turns in defiling me.
“Despite my plea, the young boys, who were between the ages of 16, 17, 18, 20, and 27 years old respectively, did not stop but continued while one of them was filming me during the act,” she said.
The visibly devastated rape survivor further revealed that she was attacked by another set of boys after she was rescued by neighbours who were attracted by her scream for help.
“After I was rescued and was on my way home, I was accosted by another set of boys who first harassed me and forced me to pull down my underwear and give it to them. I gave it to them because they threatened to kill me.”
However, she revealed that she was later taken home to her parents by a good Samaritan.
A prominent Islamic Scholar based in Kaduna State, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has revealed what bandits told him their grievances are during his previous encounter with them.
Naija News reports that Sheikh Gumi has, in recent years, become actively engaged in meeting with bandits, kidnappers and cattle rustlers terrorising the Northern part of Nigeria, a development that some citizens have condemned.
Speaking, however, during a recent interview, Sheikh Gumi, who insisted that having a roundtable talk is the way forward with the bandits, said the ‘criminals’ have told him that their grievances are that the government displaced them from their ancestral homes.
He said they further lamented that they were being killed and bombarded by airstrikes, adding that when they surrendered, security operatives came back and picked them up and killed them in an extra-judicial manner.
“They also said the amnesty programme failed after the negotiation. Luckily for us, they are not challenging government authority. That is on the positive side, but the danger is that we have terrorists that are trying to infiltrate them. So, we either bring them to our own side or we allow the terrorists to hijack them, and certainly, that will be another story,” Sheikh Gumi told Vanguard.
He added: “The Boko Haram recently ambushed Army and killed many of them. Gorilla warfare does not end like that. We don’t want this issue of banditry to be prolonged; we want a quick solution. They have not joined the religious terrorists, and when you look at their grievances, which according to them are, no school, no social amenities, no roads, they feel they should have their share of the national cake as Nigerians.”
The Government Started The Violence
While replying to a question by the interview on why the bandits, instead of seeking negotiation with the government, resolved to violence, Sheikh Gumi said the government started the violent attack.
“First, we introduced violence to them, and they now found it as the way. Secondly, they are not schooled. They don’t reason like you and I do. How would you want somebody who is not schooled to reason like you? If you give them all the opportunity to have a good life, school, social amenities, etc., then if they come up with weapons, we can crucify them.
“So, I will advise the government to come up with a very strong committee that will look holistically into the problem. All stakeholders will be on the table, and we iron out an action plan to solve the problem, not the political gathering like the one they did in Katsina or Zamfara. No! It has to involve every one of them, and a solution will be reached.
Speaking on what his demand would be to both sides if he was to be part of the new negotiation, the renowned Islamic cleric said: “My approach to all of these is that it has to be holistic. It has to be with the military, the politicians, the traditional institutions and the religious leaders, the traditional Fulani leadership, the vigilance group, as well as the communities in the bush comprising of the women, farmers and families. If we bring all these people together with the bandits, Insha Allah, we will have fruitful and lasting solutions.
“But when people go to the government and tell them, ‘I can facilitate negotiation with the bandits,’ government should first look at their motive and their sincerity in doing this. Some of them are out to make money because they use this kind of situation to siphon money. Also, if the bandits do not see the faces they know and can really trust, it will not work because it is all about confidence.”
Sheikh Gumi noted that there are many people with different grievances in the country. He said: “I just heard from a security source that in Niger state, a few days ago, one Fulani man lost over 200 cattle. Then a bug truck loaded full of rice was attacked and confiscated, with a proviso that their cattle are released. So, it’s like attacks and counterattacks. Sometimes, it is some people seeking vengeance. It is a complex issue. We need to all come together. But if certain people persuade the government into making a negotiation without making it holistic, then it may not work. The meeting with them is no more a secret. But what I am calling for is a holistic approach to resolving all aspects of the issue. And if after such holistic meetings where all sides to the issues have been discussed and resolved, and violence continues, no one will blame the government if it decides to use the bomb to deal with them. But if you don’t give room for a wide peace meeting, you can’t do that; even God will not forgive you if you do that.”
Gumi, however, volunteered to be an adviser to those involved in the reported negotiation team, saying he could show them how to reach peace talk with the bandits.
He admonished that clerics, emirs, military officers, academicians, politicians and traditional institutions can form part of the negotiation team.
The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) on Saturday said that the floating of the nation’s currency had caused a drop in vehicle importation in the nation’s ports.
The agents also said that vehicles imported into the country were trapped at the ports due to the rise in exchange rate which skyrocketed vehicle duties.
They disclosed these in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos.
Alhaji Rilwan Amuni, Taskforce Chairman of ANLCA, told NAN that the floating of the naira was inevitable because the government wanted a uniform rate.
Amuni, however, urged the government to look into other levies paid at the ports.
According to him, the challenges faced by customs agents at the ports were enormous because of the high dollar rate which hiked duties on vehicles to over 50 per cent.
“The job we used to do after the advent of the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) in which we charged N1.4 million, is now like N2.2 million and this has resulted in vehicles being trapped in the ports.
“Also, there has been a drop in importation because things are really biting hard,” he said.
Amuni added that the development had affected goods already imported, noting that they had no choice but to clear at the current rate.
He also urged the government to look into the levy placed on used goods, adding that they are proposing for a dialogue with the Federal Government on ways to jettison this levy so that there would be relief.
“Some people are confusing the tax that was suspended recently with the issue of levy. It is not the levy that they removed, it’s the Import Adjustment Tax that was supposed to have started.
“We are appealing to the government to remove the levy because what does a poor man derive when he buys a Corolla 2004 and pays duty and fine again? The only goods that are supposed to have levy are luxury goods.
“Maybe you are a big man and you want to ride a yacht, or helicopter, that is what they are supposed to levy not on used goods,” he said.
Contributing, Mr Michael Imonitie, the Secretary, the ANLCA TinCan chapter, said goods were not being cleared at the port due to the challenge.
Imonitie disclosed that out of 100 importers, only 20 were taking their goods out of the ports.
According to him, this means that most goods will be incurring demurrage and overtime or even abandoned.
“We all know that there is going to be a negative effect on the clearance of vehicles at the port.
“Since the government announced a uniform exchange rate, the exchange rate has risen from N422.3 to N589.55 and now N770.88 which is a pure black market rate. The exchange rate of CBN is N756/N757, government was supposed to have given us a notice of either 60 or 90 days before implementation.
“This is because a lot of importers have opened their Form M at the old exchange rate. I have not seen any importers that have done any new importation. Most of the goods in the port are old stock.
“This means that the end cost of goods will be high. If I am being forced to pay the exchange rate twice what I have paid before it means that the end users will be the ones to suffer it,” he said.
He said that the burden was on importers and being felt by the clearing agents, and the customs brokers, due to the jobs they do, and most of their clients do not have the difference to pay for the exchange rate.
“Some goods have been lying down in the port, some agents are going the extra mile to borrow money from individuals because banks have not opened the window for soft loans.
“The hardship is almost 85 per cent of what the government has imposed on us.
“The importers are sourcing the money for clearing agents because they are the ones that pay the bill, they pay terminal operators and shipping lines, and we only take our commission.
“Now, the importers are complaining and we want them to channel their complaints through the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and the Chartered Institute of Commerce of Nigeria because their voices need to be heard,” he said.
[Vanguard]
Senate President Godswill Akpabio says politicians should hinge their political aspirations on vision.
His media office quoted him as saying this while speaking at a funeral service held in the honour of Aniema Donald Etiebet, daughter of the late Donald Etiebet, a former senator.
The funeral was held in Abak LGA of Akwa Ibom.
While eulogizing her, Akpabio described Aniema as his “strong” supporter, who ensured that he was elected senator.
“She was a very strong supporter of mine, who had the sight and the vision of what was about to happen in the senatorial district,” he said.
“She did all she could to ensure that I emerged the senator representing the good people of Akwa Ibom north-west senatorial district, which finally led to my being elected by my colleagues as the president of the 10th senate.
“Aniema was a chip off the old block. When some people who were misled, gathered at Ritman University against me, Aniema stood her ground against them.
“She invited me to her father’s house, prayed for and campaigned for me. God answered her prayers because she had the vision of a better thing for Akwa Ibom north-west senatorial district”.
[TheCable]
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, (LP) in the 2023 general elections Peter Obi has dismissed a false report against him.
Naija News reports that the Dailypost newspaper had written about a purported interview where the former Anambra governor revealed his plans to become president in 2027.
However, in a statement released on Saturday, Obi stressed that he never granted any interview or made press remarks about plans on becoming president in 2027.
He also maintained that the report about his reaction to recent appointees into the federal government were fabricated and untrue.
The LP candidate maintained that he will continue to speak on tropical national issues via recognized news and media outfits, adding that his focus and that of the Obidents movement is keen on creating the new Nigeria.
His statement reads: “I have noticed with dismay, an emerging pattern where fake media reports and news items are predicated on interviews and press remarks I never granted. Two recent instances relate to my saying that I am looking forward to running for office in 2027 on a supposed Arise TV interview that never took place.
“The other is about my reaction to prospective appointees into the Federal Government. Both reports are bogus. Regrettably, our politics have sunken to this abysmal level where manipulation of the media space is now a trade.
“For me, I shall continue to speak on topical national issues via recognized news and media outfits. But I certainly will not concern myself with cheap distractive trolls. My focus and that of the Obidient Movement will not derail from the original mission of creating a new
“Nigeria, which we believe is POssible. Our emphasis has never been on political positions or personal aggrandizement, but on putting the nation on the right footing and deepening our democracy by helping to elevate and empower the downtrodden in our society.
“That was why our messages during the electioneering campaigns were all issue-driven.”
[NaijaNews]
A legal practitioner and social critic, Inibehe Effiong, has alleged that the Department of State Services, DSS, is a political tool in the hands of every Aso Rock occupant.
He added that the secret police is notorious for bungling cases and creating needless political tensions.
In a statement via his Twitter handle on Saturday, Effiong claimed the DSS, also known as the State Security Service, SSS, needs to rethink its involvement in cases, insisting it is embarrassing.
His statement followed a report that the Federal Government had filed a charge against the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, at the Federal High Court, boardering on illegal possession of firearms.
The human rights lawyer stated that illegal possession of firearms is a crime for the police, noting that it is ridiculous to detain Emefiele for one month only to come up with the charge.
He added, “it seems the suspension and arrest of Emefiele were not propelled by any interest in holding him accountable for mismanagement of public resources, but a political vendetta.”
He wrote, “The SSS has taken Nigerians for granted again. I’m upset about the two-count charge filed against suspended CBN Governor, Emefiele.
“Illegal possession of firearms without more is a crime for the police. It’s ridiculous to detain Emefiele for one month only to come up with this.
“I have always maintained the position that the SSS is essentially a political tool in the hands of every occupant of Aso Rock. They are notorious for bungling cases and creating needless political tensions. The SSS needs to rethink its involvement in cases. It’s embarrassing.
“The Naira redesign policy is not a crime, and it is immaterial whether it was properly implemented or not. It seems the suspension and arrest of Emefiele were not propelled by any interest in holding him accountable for mismanagement of public resources but a political vendetta.
“Where are the charges on terrorism financing?
“Why is Mr. Tinubu handling this case like this?
“Many Nigerians supported Emefiele’s suspension because he made nonsense of the CBN’s regulatory processes and independence. We wanted better monetary policies from the CBN.
“However, with the way the case is going, it appears that the government has a different agenda.”
[DailyPost]
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Speculations have emerged that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and other senators, including Adeola Yayi, allegedly padded President Bola Tinubu’s palliative budget with over N200 billion.
According to SaharaReporters, the Senate President and some of his colleagues allegedly took advantage of the amendment of the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act to pad the budget by over N200 billion.
Naija News recalls that the Senate on Thursday approved Tinubu’s request to appropriate N500 billion for palliatives to cushion the effects of the removal of the petrol subsidy on Nigerians.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central), who sponsored the motion which was given accelerated passage by the Senate, had said, “Mr. President, my highly esteemed colleagues, permit me to lead the Debate on this very important Bill which seeks to authorize the issuance of the sum of Five Hundred Billion (N500, 000, 000, 000.00 Naira only
“This sum has been extracted from the 2022 Supplementary Appropriations Act of Eight Hundred and Nineteen Billion, Five Hundred and Thirty-Six Million, Nine Hundred and Thirty-Seven Thousand, Eighth Hundred and Fifteen (819, 536, 937, 815.00) Naira only for the provision of Palliatives to Nigerians to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal.”
The Senate followed an earlier approval by the House of Representatives, to amend the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act.
The N500 billion will be taken from the N819 billion Supplementary Appropriation Act.
However, sources have disclosed to SaharaReporters that Akpabio (Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District), Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau (Kano North Senatorial District), and Senator Solomon Adeola, popularly called Yayi (Ogun West Senatorial District) were the significant architects of the budget padding.
One of the sources said, “Akpabio and Adeola Yayi inserted over N200 billion into Tinubu’s palliative budget. They padded in more than N200 billion in the amended 2022 supplementary budget.”
Another source also revealed that some senators, including the Chief Whip, Ali Ndume (Borno South), opposed the act
“Senator Ali Ndume and others opposed it vehemently. Many senators walked out, but Senator Akpabio still went ahead and passed the fraud.
“Akpabio, Senator Jibrin Barau, and Senator Adeola Yayi are the major architects of the budget padding,” another source said.
Documents obtained by SaharaReporters show how funds were allocated under the column -2022 supplementary amendment (New amount) for projects that hitherto had no allocations under column – 2022 supplementary bill (Amount).
For instance, N1 billion was suddenly earmarked for the “supply of Tricycles (Keke NAPEP) to the underprivileged in the society,” N2 billion was allocated to the “construction of public buildings in various communities and villages,” N4 billion was earmarked for rehabilitation and construction of selected critical roads while N2 billion was allocated for the “construction of block of 3 classrooms with furniture and toilet, construction and furnishing of skills acquisition centres and construction of primary healthcare centres with furniture in some selected communities and towns”.
Other include N500 million for the construction of Edi Road, Sabo Market and Ilaro Township Road, Yewa South, Ogun State; N1 billion for the construction of roads in Imeko, Afon, Iwoye, and Obada, Ogun State; N1 billion for the construction of Ilashe-Agbara Road, Agbara Ado Odo-Ota in Ogun; N1 billion for the construction of market square -Fadama Ring Road, Imasayi, Yewa North and Ota Lafenwa Road section 1, Ota, Ogun State.
N800 million for police barracks, Old Baggage Link Road, Ode Ogun Idiroko, Ogun State
-N700 million for the construction of some rural roads in Ikot Ekpene LGA, Akwa Ibom, to enhance agricultural output
-N1.25 billion for the construction of some rural roads in Essien Udim LGA to improve farm produce
N1.25 billion for the construction of Afama Ikot Ebak, Ikot Akpan Essiet, Ura Kpan Ikot Ukpang, and Ikot Ebie OkonRoads to boost agricultural output N1.25 billion
-N400 million for the construction of Ibi Akpan-Not Akan/Old Federal Government College Roads to boost farm produce.
-N1.25 billion for the construction of some rural roads in Abiakpo Ikot Essien-Ikono to ease the movement of farm produce.
N1.25 billion for the construction of some rural roads in Abiakpo Ikot Essien-Ikono to ease the movement of farm produce-N1 billion for enhancing agricultural output by constructing all-in-one solar street lights on some roads in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area, Abak LGA and Essien Udim.
N2 billion for the repair of flood-prone sections along the Abuja-Keffi expressway (Abuja bound) from Km 0+000 – Km 9+400 and construction of township road in Bare-Bari Bauya and Lailai in Yobe State-N1 billion for the supply of brand-new Toyota/Lexus Jeeps-N1 billion for the supply and installation of 300 KVA/500KVA transformers and electrification in selected towns and villages-N2 billion for the construction and rehabilitation of critical roads in south-south and southeast of the country-N2.5 billion for the construction and maintenance of critical roads linking selected towns-N2.5 billion for the provision of 3 x 300 KVA solar mini-grid and solar streetlights in selected communities-N3 billion for mini-grid and other solar-powered installations on selected locations and roads
-N3 billion for the construction of roads and other infrastructure in some selected areas -N3 billion for the reconstruction/construction of classrooms and provision of furniture in areas affected by flood and some selected areas-N2 billion to repairs on flood-prone sections along Abuja-Keffi Expressway-N900 million for the rehabilitation of Dan Fodiyo Teaching Hospital Annex Argungu Phase 1 in Kebbi State-N1 billion for the construction of Section I of Iyin-Ilawe Ekiti State-N1 billion for the construction of Section II of Iyin-Ilawe Ekiti State-N1 billion for the construction of inner roads in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State-N1 billion for the construction of inner roads in Ijero Ekiti, Ekiti State-N70 billion for the provision of operational vehicles for members, office equipment, furniture fittings and other capital items for the 10th National Assembly.
The First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, on Friday, urged wives of the 36 state governors to use their positions meaningfully.
Mrs Tinubu urged the governor’s wives to use the position they are in to positively impact not only the lives of people in their states but also that of other Nigerians.
The First Lady gave the advise when she hosted the wives of the 36 state governors.
Her meeting with the governor’s wives was to formally introduce and acquaint them with the objectives and the mission of the Renewed Hope Initiative.
This was contained in a statement signed by Mrs Tinubu’s spokesperson, Busola Kukoyi, titled, ‘First Lady Sen Oluremi Tinubu CON meets with Wives of Governors on Renewed Hope Initiative’.
While congratulating the wives of the governors on the successful conduct of the 2023 elections which brought their husbands to office, Mrs Tinubu reminded them that it is time to keep promises made during the elections.
She said she would require the support of the wives of the state governors to reach every nook and cranny of the country.
The First Lady assured the governors’ wives that the RHI will not interfere with their personal programmes and projects, adding that their support would be impactful.
She said, “I wish to remind each of us that the exalted positions we are in today should be seen as an opportunity to impact more meaningfully, not only in the lives of people in your states but Nigeria as a whole”.
While speaking with journalists after the meeting, the wife of Kwara State Governor, Amb. Olufolake Abdulrazak assured Tinubu of her willingness and commitment of the wives of the governors to support RHI.
She said they would go back and elect zonal coordinators to ensure that the grassroots are reached.
She also confirmed that RHI will not in any way affect their individual projects in their various states but instead complement their efforts.
The Renewed Hope Initiative is a pet project of the Office of the First Lady.
A bill seeking to establish a Federal University of Information and Communication Technology in Lagos State has passed its first reading in the House of Representatives.
The bill was sponsored by Hon Philip Agbese (APC-Benue), representing Ado/ Okpokwu/ Ogbadibo Federal Constituency, on Thursday, July 13, 2023.
Speaking during plenary, Agbese said the proposed institution, which will be the first of its kind in Nigeria, will be groundbreaking and revolutionary.
He said in a world now driven by information and communication technology, a corresponding citadel of learning is long-overdue in our nation.
Highlighting some of the benefits, Agbese said: “With ingenuity and drive, young Nigerians would invent fundamental technologies, launch new industries, and create millions of local jobs.
“The university would bridge the mastery and skill-set gap toward our march to a knowledge-based economy.
“This proposed institution will also advance knowledge in science, information, communication technology, and other areas that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.
“It will provide quality educational programs to serve those seeking a solid foundation in skills to be competitive in the job market and to obtain successful employment involving the application of space-age information technologies.”
He, therefore, expressed confidence that the proposed university will “bring succour to many gifted Nigerians in the ICT ecosystem who are often denied admission into conventional universities.”
On the choice of its location, Agbese noted that Lagos as the economic capital of Nigeria is the most sophisticated and cosmopolitan state in the country.
He said most multinational companies and top ICT firms are domiciled there, adding that Lagos Island is the heartbeat of the state.
The deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Benjamin Kalu, has said the N70 billion National Assembly (NASS) Infrastructure was not to be drawn from the N500 billion approved for palliatives by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal.
Kalu gave this clarification when he led the principal officers of the House to meet journalists on the heels of the passage of a bill, amending the N819 billion 2022 supplementary budget to extract N500 billion for palliatives.
According to the components of the amended appropriation act, N500 billion was for palliatives and other capital expenditure to cushion the effect of recent subsidy removal policy and N185 billion for Ministry of Works and Housing to alleviate the impact of the severe flooding experienced in the country.
Others are N19 billion for Federal Ministry of Agriculture to ameliorate the massive destruction to farmlands across the country during the severe flooding experienced last year, N35 billion to National Judicial Council, N10 billion to Federal Capital Territory Administration for critical projects and N70 billion to National Assembly.
Kalu said, “What we did today was not just for the palliatives so that the narrative that will be out there will not be that we passed palliative bill to take care of the Judicial Commission, to take care of National Assembly.
“It is the National Assembly infrastructure that we are talking about when we mentioned component that has to do with National Assembly for infrastructure. But the major part of the whole bill we passed today was to help Nigerians who due to the removal of subsidy are feeling the impact.
“There are various components of that bill, that bill did not speak about one component. That bill which is about N819 billion was not only for palliatives and so the breakdown was not only for palliatives, discussion was not only about palliatives,” he said.