The Debt Management Office disclosed that Nigeria's overall public debt rose to N89.71 trillion by the conclusion of the third quarter of 2023.
The figure represents a marginal increase of 0.61 per cent compared to N87.38 trillion recorded at the end of June 2023.
The DMO, in a statement posted on its official X handle on Thursday, said domestic debt increased by N1.8trn while external debt reduced from $43.16bn as of June 30, 2023, to $41.59bn at the end of the third quarter.
The statement read, “The Total Public Debt as at September 30, 2023, was N87.91 Trillion or USD114.35 Billion.
“The amount represents the Domestic and External Debts of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the thirty-six State Governments, and the Federal Capital Territory.
“At N87.91 Trillion, the Total Public Debt Stock represents a marginal increase of 0.61% when compared to the June 30, 2023 figure of 87.38 Trillion.
“This trend is explained by the decrease in External Debt from USD43.16 Billion as at June 30, 2023, to USD41.59 Billion as at September 30, 2023, and a relatively moderate increase of N1.80 trillion in the Domestic Debt.”
The statement also noted, “External Debt decreased due to a redemption of a USD500 million Eurobond and the payment of USD413.859 million as first principal repayment of the USD3.4 Billion Loan obtained from the International Monetary Fund in 2020 during Covid-19.”
“The servicing of these Debts in addition to other Debts, are clear demonstrations of the FGN’s commitment to honouring its debt obligations.”
Southeast bishops have appealed to the Supreme Court to use the opportunity of deciding the Enugu State March 18 governorship election case before it to upend what they call a culture of fraud being instituted in Enugu.
Chijioke Edeoga of the Labour Party took Peter Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the nation’s highest court over the Independent National Electoral Commission’s controversial declaration of the latter as the winner of the election.
Both the Enugu State Election Petitions Tribunal and the Court of Appeal ruled in the PDP candidate’s favour when the matter was taken to them, but most Enugu people appear utterly dissatisfied with the judgments.
“We are once again intervening directly in the electoral heist because Enugu is not just the headquarters of the Southeast”, the Network of Evangelical Bishops of Nigeria (NEBN), Southeast Zone, stated in a statement in Enugu today, “but also the capital of the defunct Eastern Nigerian Region”.
Besides, said the religious leaders in the statement signed by Bishop Samuel Ani, the NEBN zonal chairman, and Bishop Emmanuel Eneh, the acting publicity secretary, “ all men and women of conscience have a duty to stop the culture of brazen graft and fraud being hoisted on the good people of Enugu since a couple of individuals in INEC decided to impose an illegitimate and a very unpopular government on the people”.
The religious leaders recalled that Mbah was arrested and detained for seven months by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following his activities as the Chief of Staff to Dr Chimaraoke Nnamani when the latter was the governor, even though Mbah now claims thatbe doing his NYSC in Lagos.
“How one individual can be doing his NYSC in Lagos and working as Chief of Staff in Enugu at the same time remains a mystery to mankind”, they stated.
“Mbah was able to get off the hook only when Dr. Nnamani entered a plea bargain with the EFCC”.
The NEBN remarked that “only last week Peter Mbah’s Pinnacle Oil and Gas Company was accused by the Senate Committee on Gas of collecting N10bn from the Central Bank of Nigeria for gas expansion but made no provision for gas in its expanded facility which was commissioned on October 30 2022 in Lagos.
“Mbah’s Pinnacle is company number five in the letter signed by the chairman of the Senate Committee on Gas, Senator Jarigbe Agom JarigbeNational Gas, who made it clear that the money was taken under the National Gas Expansion Programme when Godwin Emefiele was the CBN Governor ”.
The bishops recalled that the EFCC dragged Pinnacle to court in 2012, charging it with fuel subsidy fraud worth N2bn.
They wondered why the Enugu State House of Assembly gave Mbah approval to obtain an N170bn loan when both the monthly internal revenue generation of the state and the allocation from the federation account are not more than N4bn.
They queried: “How can the state pay back, together with interest, and how long will it take to do so?
“We hope that the rumour making the rounds that the N170b facility is to bribe Supreme Court justices is not true”.
The religious leaders accused Mbah of forging his NYSC discharge certificate and massively inflating voting figures in his native Nkanu East Local Government Area during the gubernatorial election last March.
The onus, the bishops observed, “is now on the Supreme Court to use the opportunity of the election case to get Mbah out of office and teach Nigerians that fraud doesn’t pay.
“After all, Justice Mary Odili led her colleagues in the Supreme Court to decide in February 2020 in the Bayelsa State gubernatorial vote that forgery of any kind should not be associated with any public officer, and so stopped the governor-elect and his deputy from being sworn in the next day”.
President Bola Tinubu has announced a 50 per cent cut in the fares charges by commercial buses on inter-state routes during the Yuletide.
Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr Dele Alake who announced the development on Wednesday, noted that all train routes are free beginning from Thursday December 21st 2023 to 4th January 2024.
He also explained that air transportation was exempted as it was for privileged individuals, stressing that the initiative was a presidential intervention on public transportation targeted at the masses.
The minister said the gesture was in the spirit of Christmas and the end of year festivities.
Alake said, “President Bola Tinubu, in another demonstration of his love for Nigerians, has approved that the Federal Government should intervene to bring down the cost of public transportation to allow our compatriots who want to travel to visit their loved ones and hometowns to do so without stress and the extra burden imposed by the high cost of transport around this period.
“The President is well aware of the recent increase in cost of inter-state transportation and even for air travel. Traditionally, our people love to travel during Christmas and end of year to be with families and friends and this has been the practice for ages.
“We also know that globally, intra-country travels and movement of people, goods and services always peak around Christmas and end of the year because of socio-gravitational pull of the period which transporters always cash on to increase fares astronomically.”
26 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have withdrawn their impeachment notice against Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
This was contained in the notice of withdrawal read on the floor of the house on Wednesday.
The lawmakers said the decision was made out of respect for President Bola Tinubu who on Monday convened a reconciliation meeting between the warring parties.
The 26 lawmakers loyal to former Governor Nyesom Wike sat at the House of Assembly Complex on Wednesday morning where the decision was read out.
DAILY POST reported that President Tinubu on Monday brokered a peace deal between Fubara and his predecessor, Wike.
The tension in the state allegedly stems from a power struggle between the governor and Wike, who is currently the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
“We will not proceed with this impeachment process, due to respect for President Tinubu,” Factional Speaker Hon. Martins Amaewhule said
Press Conference Held on The Imposed Settlement of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on The Rivers State Crisis
AdminFirstly, I wish to commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for heeding the various calls, including our own, to mediate in the on-going crisis rocking Rivers State by calling Barr. Nyesome Wike to order so as to restore peace and tranquillity in the State and avert any problem similar to that which occurred in 2013, when Barr. Wike was Minister of State Education.
However, the terms of settlement as contained in the Communique issued at the end of the reconciliatory meeting is what is baffling, appalling and unacceptable to the people, especially, the Ijaw ethnic nationality. From the terms of settlement, it is obvious that President Tinubu sees his role as a mediator, to once again, show gratitude to the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), for “delivering” Rivers State to him during the past Presidential elections, having first of gratified him by making him the Minister of FCT.
First Observation:
The composition of the attendees of the meeting was one sided in favour of Nyesome Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), because while Martins Amaewhule, a former Speaker, (because he has automatically lost his seat the very moment he decamped to another political party), was present at the meeting, it would have only been equitable and expedient, for Edison Ehie, the Speaker as affirmed by constitutional provisions and by the granting of the court, to be in the meeting, if there were sincerity of purpose.
The 8 resolutions reached, are the most unconstitutional, absurd and obnoxious resolutions at settling feuding parties that I have ever witnessed in my life. As a matter of fact, some medias captured it very well when they described it as Directives. And for the fact that such thing was done at the Villa, the seat of the Federal Government of Nigeria, is sacrilegious, because any place housing or is a custodian of symbol of authority, ought to be sacred.
It is obvious that Governor Siminialayi Fubara was ambushed and intimidated into submission. President Tinubu should know that with all the powers he possesses, he cannot override the Constitution. From all that transpired at the meeting, the laws of the land have not been obeyed. President Tinubu simply sat over a meeting where the Constitution, which is the fulcrum of his office as President and which he swore to uphold and abide by, was truncated and desecrated.
27 or so members (because the figure is not certain), of the Rivers State House of Assembly left the political party on which platform they were elected. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is very clear on that. Section 109 is quite clear on that and it says:
A member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if being a person whose election to the House of Assembly was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected:
Provided that his membership of the later political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored;
The Speaker of the House of Assembly shall give effect to subsection (1) of this section, so however that the Speaker or a member shall first present evidence satisfactory to the House that any of the provisions of that subsection has become applicable in respect of the member.
Nyesom Wike is quite abreast of these constitutional provisions. He shouted his voice hoarse calling for the removal of persons like David Umahi as Governor of Ebonyi State, Ben Ayade as Governor of Cross River State and Bello Matawalle as Governor of Zamafara State, when they decamped from the PDP on which platform they were elected into office, to the APC, citing the above constitutional provisions. What has changed?
A Court of competent jurisdiction has pronounced Edison Ehie as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly. That Ruling has not been vacated, and based on that he exercised the duties conferred on him by Section 109 (2) as quoted above, when the 27 or so members openly defected to APC, waving the flags of the party and singing President Tinubu’s campaign songs, from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP). As at today and going by the Constitution, the Rivers State House of Assembly has four members who are recognised by the laws of the land Therefore, on what premise is Mr. President saying that the 27 decamped members should go back to the House? Under what political party, the PDP or the APC. The directives of Mr. President is absurd and cannot hold water. Mr. President should be aware that Siminialayi Fubara, today, is the elected Governor of Rivers State in the same manner Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the elected President of the country. And as a Governor, Mr. Fubara possesses all the powers as conferred on him by the Constitution.
2. Re-Submission of the names of Commissioners who have resigned their Appointments:
Another “directive” of Mr. President that the names of the Commissioners who were nominated by Nyesom Wike and who resigned on their own volition, and who have lost their trust in Governor Fubara, should be represented to the Rivers State House of Assembly for clearance to become Commissioners again, is ridiculous. Who is nominating them to become Commissioners again? Is it Mr. President? Was Mr. President thinking that he was mediating in a matter between Nyesom Wike and employees in Nyesom Wike’s private company? Is it what Nyesom Wike means when he talks about “structure”, referring to Rivers State as his personal holdings or enterprise?
3. Re-Presentation of a Budget already signed and passed into Law:
Another unthinkable “directive” of Mr. President is that a Budget which has been passed into Law, should be represented. It is absolutely ridiculous and unconstitutional.
By President Tinubu’s actions and directives, he has overruled the Constitution of the country; he has shaken the foundation of the country’s democracy. People lost their lives fighting for democracy in this country. Today, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has made of no effect the blood of the freedom fighters shed to salvage this country. He has thrown the country’s democracy fifty years backwards; this is unacceptable. Rather than building a strong system and society, we are building strong, invidious characters, with our national patrimony through corruption and avarice.
By the actions of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he has really shown his dislike and disdain for the Ijaw people. and confirms his hatred for them. And as the leader of the Ijaws, we will resist it.
Nyesom Wike is not an emperor. For the eight years he was in power as Governor of the Rivers State, he ruled with an iron fist. As Governor, he will not accept such treatment from anyone, as he is spear heading to be meted out to the current Governor of the State, Siminialayi Fubara. Barr. Wike destroyed his opponent’s houses and even threatened to kill them as cried out by Senator Lee Maiba from Ogoni, and Dr. Abiye Sekibo from Okrika
It is still fresh in our memory, how Nyesom Wike, as Minister of State, Education, used federal might to fight the then Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi that almost led to the grinding to a halt of governance in Rivers State when the Judiciary was closed down and the House of Assembly was shut down by the then Governor, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. President Jonathan did not interfere in his action because if he did, he will definitely be breaching Section 5(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria, which President Tinubu has deliberately breached, despite his oath of office to uphold and promote the Constitution. Nyesom Wike is Minister now, and again, he is using the federal government to truncate the wishes of the people of Rivers State. The rule of law in the country is completely truncated by President Tinubu. While it will be noted that presently, the National Assembly is discussing on the Bill of Local Government Autonomy, President Bola Tinubu is directing Governor Fubara to put into effect, a Bill passed by people who are no longer law makers.
4. The members of the House of Assembly choosing where they will sit to carry out their legislative duties:
It is the duty of the executive to provide legislative accommodation for the Houses of Assembly including the National Assembly, and not the members of the House of Assembly to choose a place to meet. It is in this vein that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in presenting his Budget to the National Assembly, recognised the FCT Minister, Nyesome Nwike, as the land lord, because he is of the executive arm of government. It is the FCT that owns the National Assembly complex and maintains it. It is, therefore, ridiculous and unconstitutional for President Tinubu to direct, in his settlement, that the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, should meet wherever they want to meet.
We will resist such draconic, arbitrary and unconstitutional action by Mr. President and his customer Nyesom Wike. We will go to court to challenge this so-called one-sided and oppressive action of Mr. President.
On his part, the Executive Governor of Rivers State, Siminialayi Fubara, who has the mandate of the people of Rivers State to govern them for the next four years, has shown feebleness of character, by agreeing and appending his signature on a document containing such absurdity. He has betrayed the people who elected him as Governor and those who stood behind him in this cause. Mr Fubara has shown naivety in his actions; by signing that document, he has signed his death warrant, believing that the President will show him some sort of favours. Mr. Fubara’s mandate is Constitutional and so, he cannot surrender it in the face of intimidation from any quarter. And it is quite unfortunate. Did he go to that meeting to speak and justify his actions, or he went there to take directives from an equally elected President. As Governor of a State and as the Chief Security Officer of the State, he has shown tremendous lack of courage and competence. It will be in his best interest to resign if he cannot govern the State as constitutionally provided, or he may as well decamp and join APC, and be taking directives from Nyesom Wike and President Tinubu on the governance and leadership of the State.
Like I stated earlier, these obnoxious directives will not stand. The people of Rivers State, particularly, the Ijaws, who are in the majority and who have about 11 (eleven) Local Government Areas, out of the 23 Local Government Areas in the State, will resist it. Because by it, President Tinubu has delivered Rivers State to Nyesom Wike as a reward for “delivering” the State to him. I call on the people of Rivers State and indeed all well-meaning Nigerians, to stand up against it, using all Constitutional and legal means, because we do not know the next State in the country that will be affected or pawned to another political customer by President Tinubu, as political patronage. It is absurd, it is draconian. It is transactional. It is a rape of our democracy. The people of Rivers State should remember that it was the same lopsided solution/directive that President Tinubu gave to the people of Ondo State but they resisted and rejected it. Today, the needful has been done in that State.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu would not allow himself to be treated the way he oversaw Mr. Fubara being treated. We all can recall what happened when he governed Lagos State for eight years, and when he successfully resisted President Olusegun Obasanjo’s dictatorial tendencies when he tried to prevent him from creating more Local Government Areas in Lagos State. Nigerians hailed Bola Ahmed Tinubu for standing up to the occasion. That made him to be the undisputed leader of Lagos State. But today, he is overseeing such draconian and authoritarian action as President of the country, giving directives to a Governor to take action on things obviously not in tandem with the nation’s Constitution.
I, Senator Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, as leader of the Ijaw nation, and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), decided to hold this emergency Press Conference with the full authority of my people. We are prepared to face any consequences that may result in the political crisis in Rivers State. We will resist any attempt subtle, subterranean, convert, overt, to make an elected Ijaw son, Siminialayi Fubara, the Governor of Rivers State, a servant, a stooge to Nyesome Wike, who had boasted that any attempt by the Governor to touch his so-called ‘Wike’s structure’, with the connivance and support of President Bola Tinubu, will be resisted by us.
Like I said, we will go to go court to resist this oppressive action using all available constitutional and legal means. It is on this note I wish to appeal to the youths who are aggrieved, to remain calm, as we will use legal means to dethrone this hydra headed monster, called oppression.
Enough is Enough.
Chief (Dr.) EDWIN Kiagbodo Clark, OFR, CON
26 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have withdrawn their impeachment notice against Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
This was contained in the notice of withdrawal read on the floor of the house on Wednesday.
The lawmakers said the decision was made out of respect for President Bola Tinubu who on Monday convened a reconciliation meeting between the warring parties.
The 26 lawmakers loyal to former Governor Nyesom Wike sat at the House of Assembly Complex on Wednesday morning where the decision was read out.
DAILY POST reported that President Tinubu on Monday brokered a peace deal between Fubara and his predecessor, Wike.
The tension in the state allegedly stems from a power struggle between the governor and Wike, who is currently the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
“We will not proceed with this impeachment process, due to respect for President Tinubu,” Factional Speaker Hon. Martins Amaewhule said
[DailyPost]
The intervention of President Bola Tinubu in the crisis between Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers State and FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike has generated ripples with some Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), including a human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, expressing concern that the truce brokered by the president might have breached the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.
In an eight-point peace agreement brokered between Governor Simi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike in Abuja on Monday, the parties had reportedly agreed, among other things, to withdraw all the pending court cases immediately and also drop the impeachment notice on Fubara while the leadership of Martin Amaewhule (a Wike loyalist) and the remuneration for assembly members and staff to be reinstated.
By implication, the return of Amaewhule as speaker of the state house of assembly means the incumbent speaker, Ehie O. Edison, who is loyal to Fubara and had the backing of the court, will step aside.
It was Edison, who declared vacant the seats of 27 lawmakers that defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
At the meeting with President Tinubu, the contending parties also agreed that the names of all commissioners in the Rivers State Executive Council who resigned their appointments because of the political crisis be resubmitted to the House of Assembly for approval.
But despite its state chairman being a signatory to the agreement, the national leadership of the PDP yesterday rejected the truce and insisted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conduct fresh polls for the 27 state assembly seats already declared vacant after the defection of the lawmakers from the party to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
‘Tinubu has no constitutional role in Rivers crisis’
Falana said President Tinubu had no constitutional role in the Rivers State crisis and so his intervention was advisory.
“I agree with former Governor Tunde Fashola SAN, who has said that President Tinubu has no constitutional role to resolve the political crisis in Ondo and Rivers States. Therefore, the intervention of the president in both cases is purely advisory,” he said.
Falana said the presidential reinstatement of the 27 cross carpeting lawmakers is alien to the constitution in every material particular.
“In the case of Abegunde v Labour Party (2015) LPELR 24588 (SC), the Supreme Court held that a legislator who abandoned the political party that sponsored him and decamped to another political party has automatically lost a seat in the parliament.
“However, the cross carpeting legislator can only retain his seat if he can prove that the political party that sponsored him is divided into two or more factions,” he said.
“It is also necessary to point out that until a by-election is conducted by INEC to fill the 27 vacant seats, the remaining members of the House are competent to conduct legislative business except the impeachment of the governor , which can only be carried out by the two thirds of the entire members of the House of Assembly,” he added.
Similarly, Dayo Akinlaja (SAN) said the agreement was not proper for democracy in the country because it attempts to replace constitutionality with political compromise.
“I think the matter is beyond political settlement. Once the speaker has made the pronouncement that the seats of the lawmakers were vacant, I think it is not amenable to political compromise,” he said.
An associate professor of Public Law from the Rivers State University, Richard Wokocha, said what might make the crisis linger was the legal implication of the actions that had been taken before the truce was brokered.
He said if the national leadership of the PDP was not involved in the truce, the issue they had commenced (request for conduct of fresh polls) is a constitutional issue that cannot just be waved away.
“Between the parties that have agreed, they cannot proceed (with legal process) but third parties who have acquired interest or who have been affected by acts and actions that took place during the crisis will reserve the constitutional rights to continue with their struggles,” he said in an interview with Channels TV.
He also said the agreement between the parties does not supersede existing legal situations, adding that “That of re-presenting the budget may raise a legal issue because they may have started implementing the budget and that is a legal issue. Recognising the members who have taken actions, which in the constitution amounts to resignation from the house, will also raise constitutional issues.”
Impasse more political than legal – Yadudu
But a renowned constitutional lawyer, Professor Auwalu Yadudu, said the whole issue was more political than legal.
“It is within the realm and competence of a third party to mediate political disputes. As for the court cases, nothing prevents parties to an ongoing dispute to report an out-of-court settlement for the court to endorse at its next resumed sitting,” he said.
PDP insists on fresh elections
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in Abuja, the acting national chairman of the PDP, Umar Damagum, asked the “former lawmakers” not to be deceived by those in Abuja, insisting that they had willingly vacated their seats.
Damagum noted that the right thing for the 27 lawmakers, who defected to the APC, to do was to prepare for fresh elections under any political party they want as the PDP had already written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to prepare for fresh polls in their constituencies.
The acting chairman, flanked by other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) said, “That INEC should, in line with Section 109 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Section 84 (15) of the Electoral Act, 2022, fix a date for the conduct of fresh election into the state constituencies in Rivers State where vacancies have occurred by reason of the defection of the now former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, pending the determination of any suit in any court.”
He said: “Our party insists that having now vacated and lost their seats, the only option available for the former lawmakers, if they wish to return to the House of Assembly, is to seek fresh nomination and re-election on the platform of any political party of their choice in line with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2022.
“For the avoidance of doubt, there is no division in the PDP at the national or any other level for that matter to justify the defection of the 27 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly from the Party. They, therefore, vacated their seats for reasons best known to them and cannot return to the House of Assembly without passing through a fresh electoral process in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2022.
“Moreover, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly Rt. Hon (Barr) Ehie O. Edison DSSRS officially declared the seats of the defected now former members vacant in line with Section 109 (1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). The Rivers State House of Assembly, having become Functus Officio on the matter, cannot re-admit the former lawmakers unless through the channel of a fresh election.
“Our party, therefore, counsels the former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly not to be deceived by anybody giving them the false hope and impracticable assurances in Abuja that they can return to the Rivers State House of Assembly without a fresh election or that the INEC can be stopped from conducting fresh election into the 27 Rivers State Constituencies where vacancies have occurred by reason of their defection.”
Settlement imposed, will be resisted – Edwin Clark
Also reacting, an elder statesman, Edwin Clark, described the resolutions reached during the truce brokered by the president as “The most unconstitutional, absurd and obnoxious resolutions at settling feuding parties that I have ever witnessed in my life.”
Clark, who is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), said it was obvious that Governor Fubara was ambushed and intimidated into submission but that the president should know that with all the powers he possesses, he cannot override the Constitution.
He said the Ijaw nation “Is prepared to face any consequences that may result in the political crisis in Rivers State. We will resist any attempt subtle, subterranean, covert, overt, to make an elected Ijaw son, Siminialayi Fubara, the governor of Rivers State, a servant, a stooge to Nyesom Wike.
“We will go to court to resist this oppressive action using all available constitutional and legal means.”
A chieftain of the APC in Rivers State, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze also described the terms of settlement as “Callous, draconian, demeaning and to say the least, embarrassing to the sensibilities of the lettered Rivers public.”
Eze, who is a loyalist of former governor of the state, Rotimi Amaechi, in a statement maintained that the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria must be respected because it is superior to any agreement signed under whatever circumstance.
Protest in Port Harcourt over truce
In the early hours of Tuesday, pockets of protesters gathered at the Government House entrance in Port Harcourt to register their disenchantment over the eight-point resolution.
Though protesters later retired to their respective destinations, some of them that spoke with our reporter said that they are not comfortable with the eight-point resolution reached at the meeting.
One of the protesters, who simply identified himself as Tamuno said that the resolution was aimed at gagging Governor Fubara, saying the resolution only favoured Wike and that no amicable peace can be achieved with such resolution.
We’ll sacrifice for peace – Fubara
But speaking at the 3rd Convocation and 6th Founders Day ceremonies of the PAMO University of Medical Sciences in Iriebe Town, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of the state, Governor Fubara said he is committed to ensuring peace in the state and among its people so as to foster development.
He said there is no price that will be too big to pay to ensure that peace prevails.
The governor assured that he is prepared and will continue to pay the necessary price that will guarantee peace in the state.
[DailyTrust]
Following a request from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has ordered the demolition of 200 houses in Nuwalege community, close to the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja, to make way for the Presidential Fleet.
Director, Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, disclosed this on Tuesday during a community and citizens’ engagement in the community.
He said; “About a month ago, the authority of the Nigerian Air Force wrote to the honourable minister on their needs and desire to remove this village because it is part of the presidential fleet plots.
“So, the minister, in his wisdom, requested that they allow the FCT Administration to handle it, because it is the responsibility of the FCT Administration. The Nigerian Air Force approached the Department of Development Control on their desire, and as part of our responsibility, we have to do what you call a community and citizens’ engagement, which is why we are here today to discuss with the community and to tell them of our intention, because it will be unfair to just bring the machine here and start removing their houses.
“So, we visited the chief at his palace to meet him, and we told him our reason for coming to this place today.”
On the number of houses that will be demolished, Galadima hinted that about 150 to 200 houses with additional commercial stores that are attached to them would be affected.
Speaking on the issue of compensation, he said, “We will discuss with the Air Force, because obviously, discussions behind the scenes indicate that some form of compensation were paid, but we have to be certain that these compensations were paid, and to who?
“We are going to conduct further investigations between the FCT Administration, that is, the Department of Resettlement and Compensation, as well as the Nigerian Air Force, and find out if compensation has been paid, to whom, and when?
“Then we will discuss with our colleague at the Department of Resettlement and Compensation whether, at any point in time, there was any compensation that ascertained their claims as regards to the number of structures and people that are going to be affected by this expansion project.
“We have to do some community engagement. It is not the entire community because we have gone around and seen the areas affected by the presidential fleet plot and the areas that are outside that plot.
“We have discussed and informed the chief why we are here and we are coming back again for a wider consultation, involving the Nigerian Air Force, our colleagues, and then the community heads. So I think we have done the needful by engaging them adequately,” he added.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has granted former terrorist negotiator, Tukur Mamu access to his doctor.
Mamu had in a motion on notice marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/96/2023, sought the leave of court to have access to his doctor following his deteriorating health conditions.
He also asked the court to order the Department of State Services to take him for surgical procedures as recommended by both his Egyptian and Nigerian doctors.
The Federal Government in a counter affidavit through its lawyer, David Kaswe opposed the application.
Kaswe stated that the DSS had a functional medical facility and a team of medical doctors who could handle his case.
He then urged the court not to grant the application looking at the circumstances of the charge against him
Ruling on the matter on Tuesday, Justice Inyang Ekwo, asked Kaswe if the defendant was entitled to his physician.
Responding, Kaswe said, “Yes my lord, he is as long as it is within the supervision of our team (of physicians).”
Ekwo, however, ordered that Mamu’s doctor should treat him under the supervision of the Department of State Services’ medical team.
“I make an order that the medical physician shall be allowed to give him medical treatment subject to the supervision of the physician of the prosecution. This is the order of this court,” the court held.
He adjourned the matter until February 26, 27, and 28, 2024, for continuation of trial.
Mamu was arrested at the Aminu Kano International Airport in North-west Nigeria upon his arrival from Egypt on September 6, 2022, over his alleged relationship with the terrorists who attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train on March 28, 2022.
The DSS, on March 21, 2023, arraigned Mamu on 10 counts of terrorism financing, among others. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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We Spent N2.4bn To Win Kwara, Imo, Ogun In 2019 – Oshiomhole Berates Ex-APC Scribe Over ‘Removal’ As Chairman
AdminSenator Adams Oshiomhole, former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday said the party spent a whopping sum of N2.4 billion to win the governorship elections in Kwara, Imo, and Ogun State.
Oshiomhole, who spoke at the book launch of the former APC National Vice Chairman North West, Salihu Lukman, also said that the party lost the Taraba State governorship election even though it invested N800 million into the election in 2019.
Giving his goodwill message and his scorecard as APC National Chairman, the APC chieftain said the party spent N800 million for the governorship elections in Imo, Kwara, Ogun, and Taraba States, while N500 million was spent in each of the other states.
According to him, the need to spend N800 million in Imo, Ogun, Kwara, and Taraba was because they had strong opposition leaders in those states.
For Imo State, he said that there was Senator Rochas Okorocha, who was against the candidate of the party; Kwara had former Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki and in Ogun State, we had Senator Ibukunle Amosun who worked against the candidate of the party, Dapo Abiodun.
The APC former National Chairman said no other National Working Committee (NWC) of the party had invested as much as his NWC in an election.
He however faulted the procedure of his removal from office, as he blamed Lukman to be a contributor to it.
According to him, the APC governors under the umbrella of the Progressive Governors Forum had used the author of the book: “APC and Transition Politics” to fight him in office for instituting party supremacy.
He said, “We spent N800 in Kwara under ‘O to he’s to win election in Kwara State.
“We spent also the same amount in Imo, Ogun, and Taraba.
“No any other NWC had spent as much as we did in any election.”
The book launch had in attendance, former APC National Interim Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, former Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, APC National Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, APC NWC members, government functionaries, and some academia.
Lukman, the author of the book received bashing and praises from party members.
Fayemi, in his remarks, said, “More often than not, some of us who are close to him are at the receiving end when Lukman writes.
“I remember in his days as the Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum, every time he wrote and former Governor Ganduje will remember this in our various meetings at the forum somebody gets accused by his own colleagues as the architect who brought Lukman into the Progressives Governors Forum and I am one. And when my brother Governors got one my neck because Lukman has written one diatribe or the other against even Governors who are paying his salary until the day that my brother Governors insisted that yes, enough today Lukman will resign as Director General of this forum and if he refuses to resign then they will resign as members of the Progressive Governors Forum. Eventually we agreed collectively that we must work on an exit strategy and when he was informed, two of us were directed to undertake the assignment I believe Governor Nasir El Rufai who is also often blamed as a Lukman promoter, and myself and we told him, he said thank God, finally I can now do it properly.
“So when you see him write what he does on the party the impression is that this a man who is out to destroy, denigrate, find fault for the sake of finding fault, to bring down anything that he perceived is good. The truth as many of us know is that is precisely the opposite that is responsible for whatever Lukman does. If Lukman had been somebody after personal aggrandizement he could have had any position even under President Jonathan.
“Lukman was the engine room for Save Nigeria Group. Jonathan became a personal beneficiary. That doesn’t stop him from starting his campaign against Jonathan and bad government.
“If there is anybody who can be described as the conscience of the All Progressives Congress and progressive politics in Nigeria today, more than any of us is Salihu Mohammed Lukman.
Lukman, in his remarks, said, “One of the driving forces for me was basically to stimulate discussion within the party and hopefully get the party leaders to own it and maybe mainstream it into the structures of the party.
“One of the things we were afraid of when planning the event, was a situation where we end up talking to ourselves. This indeed reflected a lot in the presentations here, keeping the kind of image I know I have acquired for myself, it will be difficult to have the confidence that leaders will be here.
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“That His Excellency, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje is now the National Chairman, after all, and including all that Comrade Adams Oshiomole has reflected on, even after all I have canvassed publicly, it is a clear demonstration of the fact that this party (APC) had a clear future. What is required is to try and give critical support to all our leaders so that they can revive all the structures of the party.
The convener of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, has rejected the settlement arrived at between Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, who is the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
Clark, at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, faulted the resolutions which he described as draconian even as he said they are “baffling, appalling and unacceptable.”
The president chaired another round of peace accords on Monday after the political crisis in Rivers State escalated.
In their bid to oust the governor from office, 27 lawmakers loyal to the FCT minister had defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Two immediately reversed their defections and returned to the PDP.
The governor proceeded by presenting the state annual budget to the five lawmakers who were loyal to him after ordering that the state assembly complex be demolished.
In the ensuing crisis, ex-Niger Delta warlord, Asari Dokubo, warned the president against protecting Wike, whom he said was behind the crisis in the state.
To arrest the development, the president summoned the parties to the presidential villa where a number of resolutions were arrived at.
The political gladiators agreed to end the feud while all impeachment proceedings against the governor should be dropped immediately.
In addition, the factional speaker who led the breakaway, Martin Amaewhule, who’s a political godson to Wike should be recognised as a speaker according to one of the terms of the resolutions.
Also, the 25 lawmakers who defected to the APC should be taken back as members of the assembly without returning to the party upon which they were elected.
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Expressing his anger, the elder statesman described the eight-point resolution as “undemocratic and dictatorial.”
According to him, the resolution that the 2024 budget which he had presented to the assembly should be represented after the 27 lawmakers have returned is “another unthinkable directive”.
According to Clark, “The eight resolutions reached, are the most unconstitutional, absurd and obnoxious resolutions at settling feuding parties that I have ever witnessed in my life.
“As a matter of fact, some media captured it very well when they described it as directives.
“And for the fact that such a thing was done at the villa, the seat of the Federal Government of Nigeria, is sacrilegious, because any place housing or is a custodian or symbol of authority, ought to be sacred.
“President Tinubu should know that with all the powers he possesses, he cannot override the constitution.
“From all that transpired at the meeting, the laws of the land have not been obeyed.
“We will resist such draconic, arbitrary and unconstitutional action by Mr President and his customer, Nyesom Wike.
“We will go to court to challenge this so-called one-sided and oppressive action of Mr. President.”
Similarly, the PDP rejected the resolutions restating its earlier directive that elections must be conducted to fill the 27 vacant positions in the state assembly.
Speaking during a press conference after the PDP emergency National Working Committee meeting on Tuesday, the party’s acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, said there’s no respite for the lawmakers who by Section 109 (1)(g) of the Constitution vacated their seats.
He said, going by Section 109(1)(g) which states that, “A member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if: being a person whose election to the House of Assembly was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected: “Provided that his membership of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored, or (h) the Speaker of the House of Assembly receives a certificate under the hand of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission stating that the provisions of section 110 of this Constitution have been complied with in respect of the recall of the member.”
Damagum insisted that “Having vacated their seats, the only option available for the former lawmakers, if they wish to return to the House of Assembly, is to seek fresh nomination and re-election on the platform of any political party of their choice in line with the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2022.”
He stressed that “The former Rivers lawmakers freely and without any cause vacated their seats, being fully aware of the consequences of defection from the party upon which they were elected into the Rivers State House of Assembly without the conditions stipulated by the 1999 Constitution.
“For the avoidance of doubt, there is no division in the PDP at the national or any other level for that matter to justify the defection of the 25 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly from the party.
“They therefore vacated their seats for reasons best known to them and cannot return to the House of Assembly without passing through a fresh electoral process in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2022.
“Moreover, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Ehie Edison, officially declared the seats of the defected (now) former members vacant in line with Section 109 (1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution.
“The Rivers State House of Assembly, having become functus officio on the matter cannot re-admit the former lawmakers unless through the channel of a fresh election.
“Our party, therefore, counsels the former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly not to be deceived by anybody giving them the false hope and impracticable assurances in Abuja that they can return to the Rivers State House of Assembly without a fresh election or that the Independent National Electoral Commission can be stopped from conducting fresh election into the 25 Rivers State Constituencies where vacancies have occurred because of their defection.”
He noted that going by Section 84 (15) of the Electoral Act, 2022, no courts have powers to stop INEC from conducting elections wherever and whenever a vacancy occurs in any electoral constituency, he urged the electoral umpire to follow Section 109 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Section 84 (15) of the Electoral Act, 2022, to fix a date for fresh election into the 25 State Constituencies the state.
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has presented staff of office and certificate to Oba Ghandi Olaoye as the Soun of Ogbomoso.
Amongst the dignitaries at the coronation ceremony were former Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Olu of Warri, Ogianne Atuwase III, the Olubadan of Ibadanland and Oba Lekan Balogun, among others.
Makinde arrived at the venue with Osinbajo as the programme which was held at Soun Township Stadium attracted dignitaries from every works of life.
The Oyo governor charged Oba Ghandi to use the seat to foster unity among traditional rulers and also stressed the need for peace and security in the state.
He said, “Without security, there can be no meaningful development. I urge the people of Ogbomoso to cooperate with security agencies to maintain peace and stability in the area.”
The governor stressed the role of traditional rulers in maintaining peace and order in their communities, saying, “I urge you to use your wisdom and experience to foster unity among your colleagues, the traditional rulers in the state, and work with them to bring progress to our state.”
Makinde also commended the people of Ogbomoso for their peaceful conduct during the selection process for the new monarch. He praised the kingmakers for their diligence and integrity and assured them of his administration’s support for the development of Ogbomoso.
“I pledge the support of my administration to help you succeed in your new role. We will work together to improve the welfare of the people. Your role as a royal father goes beyond just Ogbomoso; you are the father of all, and your influence cuts across the entire state of Ogbomoso and the entire state.”
In his goodwill message, ex-Vice President Osinbajo said the new Soun is his close friend of many years, adding that, “Oba Olaoye has great passion and love for others and has remained a truthful person who does not discriminate against anyone regardless of social status, religion, or ethnicity.”
Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, on his part, wished the king a peaceful and successful reign while calling on all Ogbomoso sons and daughters to rally around the Soun of Ogbomoso.
The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, says his office has not received any allocation in the last six months owing to the tension between him and his principal, Governor Godwin Obaseki.
The deputy governor, who stated this at the unveiling of the Correspondent Office in Benin on Tuesday, said he had been running the office and doing other activities through goodwill and contributions from friends.
Describing himself as an ambassador of the Correspondents Chapel, Shaibu said he would forever be grateful to journalists because a write-up by an investigative reporter saved him when he was incarcerated alongside other activists during the regime of the late military dictator, Gen. Sanni Abacha.
He said, “You know there is tension between the governor and me. And for six months, there has been no allocation to my office. So, whatever I am doing is contributions from friends and my goodwill; and I am still standing very strong.
“I am your ambassador anywhere I am. This is not because of politics, but because of what you have done to save my life in the course of doing your work. I wouldn’t have been deputy governor today if I am not alive. A journalist who did an investigation and wrote a report saved my life in the hands of the of the military.
“So, you can see the reason why I come anytime you invite me, even if it is difficult, I must show up because that is the only way I can appreciate and encourage you.”
Shaibu said he desired to ensure good governance that would touch the people.
He added, “I am also determined to make sure that in all things, Edo must be first and I am determined to strengthen institutions. I came into politics because I felt that we should have an egalitarian society. I came into politics to make institutions strong because that is the only way you can have the society of your dreams.
“When institutions are strong, you are able to deal with those guys who think they are powerful; moderate their excesses, and also promote and help the weak in the society.
“Institution does not know the rich, strong or the poor; it takes care of all strata of life. That is what I stand for; that is why I joined politics; that is why I have sacrificed a lot of things to make sure that Edo works. I even sacrificed my personal entitlement to make sure this institution works and in the coming weeks, I will give a stewardship of what I have done as deputy governor from 2016 to date.
“Very soon, there is going to be a world press conference to give my stewardship as deputy governor. And by the time I am done, Edo will have seen the level of sacrifice that some of us have made as deputy governor of Edo State.”