The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the November governorship election in Kogi State, Dino Melaye alleged that Governor Yahaya Bello, is seeking a third term in proxy.
Melaye made this claim while speaking in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday.
Bello, who is serving his second term as Kogi governor, is backing his party, All Progressive Congress, APC candidate, Ahmed Ododo as his successor.
But Melaye has claimed that the governor is tacitly trying to remain in power through Ododo.
Melaye said, “Don’t be deceived that Yahaya Bello is not on the ballot. Ododo is physically on the ballot but Yahaya Bello is the one seeking a third term through a proxy.
“I will not want this debate to be about Yahaya Bello, rather I would like to market my political party and market what we have for Kogi State.”
The former lawmaker representing Kogi West in the Senate said he was confident of unseating the ruling APC because it had happened before in 2003 when the PDP unseated Abubakar Audu.
He added that even though Yahaya Bello was the governor in 2019, he still won his senatorial election under the PDP.
Melaye said the Kogi West and Central Leaders Forum accessed the three contestants from the zone after which he was endorsed as the choice of the zones.
According to Melaye, all the candidates from the Kogi West and Central are qualified to govern the state.
He insisted that he (Melaye) is the most qualified, saying that he is the most educated, most exposed, and most experienced of all the candidates.
He said, “It’s not debatable. I was a member of the House of Reps and I was voted twice as senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Leke Abejide is a member of the House of Reps but I was in the House of Reps 17 years ago.
“And the governorship of Kogi State is not a learning ground. It’s a place you need people who definitely must have managed human and material resources over the years.”
Scores of people have been reportedly kidnapped as gunmen suspected of being bandits attack Yola village of Karaye Local Government Area in Kano State.
Reports made available to newsmen on Tuesday morning revealed that the gunmen carried out the latest attack during the last weekend. The number of the villagers abducted and reportedly killed could not be ascertained as of the time of filing this report, Naija News understands.
A resident, who confirmed the latest attack to Daily Trust on condition of anonymity, said he could not ascertain how many people were abducted or killed in the Saturday invasion.
“I was told that on the first day of the attack, about four people were abducted and two killed, while in the second attack, two people were abducted and one killed. It is apparent that Karaye needs the presence of army posts because of these attacks,” he said.
Naija News learnt that bandits have been carrying out incessant attacks on the axis of Karaye and Rogo local governments, causing unrest for residents of the area due to Rogo’s proximity with Katsina and Kaduna states.
Reports had it that sometime in April 2023, bandits kidnapped a popular businessman in Gangarbi Village of the Rogo LGA of Kano State, Alhaji Nasiru Na’ayya, and killed one person.
However, it was also reported that the Karaye Emirate had in 2021 raised the alarm on migration of Zamfara illegal miners to the emirate and had devised some measures to address the issues.
Sources close to the emirate told journalists that the measures taken include registration of migrants in the emirate.
The state police command, however, has not issued any official response to the recent attack in Karaye.
The Director-General (DG) of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Professor Mohammed Sambo, has declared that health insurance is now mandatory for all Nigerians.
Speaking in Kaduna during an event on Monday where he was honoured with the Award of Excellence by the Kaduna State NHIA office, Professor Sambo emphasised the significant shift brought about by the NHIA Act 2022.
Represented by the acting director of special duties of NHIA, Sulaiman Ibrahim, the DG highlighted the key provisions of the NHIA Act 2022, noting that the legislation has not only redefined the NHIA’s objectives but has also made it compulsory for all Nigerians and legal residents to have health insurance coverage.
He said, “The Act has made health insurance mandatory to all Nigerians and legal residents, the establishment of the Vulnerable Group Fund to subsidise the cost of provision of health care services to the vulnerable persons in Nigeria, amongst other innovations that have changed the health insurance ecosystem.”
This declaration reflects the NHIA’s unwavering commitment to achieving Universal Health Coverage, and it underscores the importance of ensuring that no Nigerian is left without health insurance.
In his opening remarks, the Kaduna State coordinator of the Authority, Aminu Tanimu explained that the purpose of the award ceremony was to commemorate excellence, recognize outstanding accomplishments, and acknowledge the exceptional contributions of individuals and organisations within the NHIA ecosystem.
Notable recipients of the award included the Chief Medical Director of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kaduna, Prof. Aishatu Armaya’u; as well as the Police Health Management Organization (HMO), Giwa Specialist Hospital, Regenix HMO, Freedom Radio 92.9, Invicta FM 98.9, Hajia Ummulkhair Sada, Alhaji Kabiru Umar, and others.
The federal government last week launched operational guidelines for the 2022 National Health Insurance Authority Act to improve healthcare affordability and accessibility for Nigerians.
These guidelines clarify roles, responsibilities, and obligations of health sector stakeholders and promote health insurance implementation.
They also define a Basic Minimum Package of Health Services, set standards for accreditation, and specify penalties for violations. The guidelines also support the integration of State Social Health Insurance Agencies (SSHIAs) as part of a coordinated framework.
Minister of women affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, has given a 30-day ultimatum to the United Nations to provide a detailed account of all the funds received in Nigeria’s name from donors or face legal repercussions.
According to Ms Ohanenye’s outburst on AIT on Monday, the UN may have been embezzling donations from affluent individuals and organisations intended to combat poverty or cater to other unique needs of underprivileged Nigerians.
“I stand here as a minister of women affairs to demand from UN, all the UN; that we want account of all the money they sourced from donors in the name of Nigeria,” Ms Ohanenye passionately expressed. “We want to see the account of what they did with it and if you (UN) don’t give us this account, at least let Nigerians see what has been going on. Then you plead with them, apologise to them and change your ways.”
Ms Ohanenye said the nation is prepared to take legal measures to see that the UN complies with her demand for a comprehensive report outlining how funds have so far been obtained from donors and disbursed to Nigerians in need.
She stressed that the report must be submitted between October 16 and November 15 in order to avoid legal repercussions.
“From 16th of October to November 15th. If we don’t see these reports published for Nigerians to see, we are heading to court. From 16th of October to November 8, they get our pre-action letters,” Ms Ohanenye stressed on Monday.
“That is to prepare them on the 15th, we are heading to court. And I am promising Nigerians that immediately it is that 15th, by the next day, you will hear the suit number and all of you, we will gather to that place for the case to come on, and call for them to defend the money they are using you (Nigerians) to collect from donors.”
The report, if published, would show whether the funds sourced from generous donors have so far served their purpose or could corroborate Ms Ohanenye’s suggestions of corruption in the UN.
Donald Trump promised on Monday that if elected president again he will bar immigrants who support Hamas from entering the US and send officers to pro-Hamas protests to arrest and deport immigrants who publicly support the Palestinian group.
On a campaign stop in Iowa, Trump was responding to the Hamas killing of at least 1,300 Israelis that triggered a war in which Palestinian health officials say Israel has killed more than 2,800 Palestinians in Gaza.
Trump, president from 2017-2021, said that if elected to a second White House term he will ban entry to the US of anybody who does not believe in Israel's right to exist, and revoke the visas of foreign students who are "antisemitic."
He also vowed to step up travel bans from "terror-plagued countries." He did not explain how he would enforce his demands, including the one requiring immigrants to support Israel's right to exist under what he called "strong ideological screening."
Many of Trump's immigration policies were challenged in court during his presidency and his newest pledges could also face challenges.
A ban he imposed on immigrants from some Muslim-majority nations was struck down in lower courts but ultimately upheld by the US Supreme Court. Biden ended that ban when he took office.
Trump said on Monday he would ban immigrants from Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen "or anywhere else that threatens our security". Trump also read a poem that he used to liken immigrants to deadly snakes.
Jaime Harrison, chair of the Democratic National Committee, described Trump's pledges as Islamophobic, extreme and designed to exploit "fear and anxiety."
Iowa is one of the earliest states to hold a Republican presidential nominating contest. A tough approach to immigrants was a cornerstone of Trump's first term as president.
He is the frontrunner to win his party's White House nomination and take on Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 2024 election.
Promising to drastically tighten US immigration laws, Trump said: "If you want to abolish the state of Israel, you're disqualified, if you support Hamas or the ideology behind Hamas, you're disqualified, and if you're a communist, Marxist, or fascist, you are disqualified."
Most of Trump's Republican rivals have condemned Hamas and offered full-throated support for an expected Israeli invasion of Gaza, but none has laid out such a tough series of proposals to keep people out of and expel Hamas sympathizers from the US
The United States along with several other countries have designated Hamas a terrorist organization.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, one of Trump's Republican rivals for the presidential nomination, said on Monday he favored the deportation of foreign students who support Hamas and would bar Gaza refugees from the US if elected president.
Trump last week accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being unprepared for the Hamas attacks and called Hezbollah - the Iran-backed Lebanese group - "very smart."
His Iowa remarks appeared to be an effort in part to blunt that criticism.
"We will aggressively deport resident aliens with jihadist sympathies," Trump said.
The University of Health and Allied Sciences, Volta Region, Ghana has been adjudged the country’s best higher institution to study Sports Medicine.
The university came out tops in a global rating conducted by the renown rating agency, EduRank in its 2023 exercise.
According to EduRank, the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Volta Region, Ghana was ranked 16 in Africa and 1,279 in the world “based on their research performance in Sports Medicine”.
The ranking results, according to EduRank, was premised on a number of variables, including citations of the academic papers and publication ratings published by the universities involved.
A Nigerian Professor of Sports and Exercise Psychology, Seun Omotayo, who is the pioneer Head of Department (HOD), Department of Sports and Exercise Medical Science at University of Health and Allied Sciences, designed the Department’s curriculum from scratch four years ago and led its development to achieve this feat.
In a reaction to the rating achievement, Prof. Omotayo said: “This is something to cheer. It is not a walk in the park I am very happy at this development which is the result of innovation in academic curriculum development and creative, job-driven curriculum implementation.”
Prof. Omotayo was the Team Psychologist of the Nigerian Flying Eagles which in Saudi ’89 recorded “The Dammam Miracles” by rallying from 0-4 down to beat the Union of Soviet and Socialist Republic (USSR).
He urged Nigerian universities to “develop such job-focused Sports Medicine programmes” and expressed readiness to put his expertise in the service of the country to tap into this vastly untapped field in the Nigerian university system.
Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Sule, has taken his political party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to court following his defeat at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, (GEPT) sitting in Lafia, the state capital.
The recent judgement by the tribunal has left the governor in a confusing position, prompting him to seek another interpretation from the Court of Appeal regarding the ruling which ousted him from office and declared David Ombugadu of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the lawfully elected governor of the state.
Sule had since instructed his legal team to appeal the judgement of the tribunal.
However, in what seems like a confusing state of affairs, his legal counsel has initiated a fresh appeal, targeting those perceived to be the governor’s allies.
In a document made available to DAILY POST, and filed to the Makurdi Court of Appeal, Sule appears to have filed a suit against Ombugadu, as well as PDP, INEC and his own party, the APC.
However, David Ombugadu and the PDP have filed a cross appeal against Sule’s appeal at the Court of Appeal sitting in Markurdi.
The available document has INEC, Abdullahi Sule and APC as 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents, respectively.
Recall that the tribunal judgment, which removed Sule as the governor of Nasarawa State, was a majority decision in favour of PDP’s David Ombugadu.
However, a minority judgment affirmed Sule as the validly elected governor.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last election, Peter Obi, has advised the Federal Government to invest heavily in agriculture in a bid to end the lingering food crisis in the country.
The former Anambra governor made the remark in a statement issued on Monday to commemorate 2023 World Food Day.
Obi argued that if the Federal Government agreed to utilise the fertile soil in the northern part of the country for agriculture, the food crisis ravaging the nation would be alleviated.
He said the land, if utilised, would produce enough for both domestic consumption and exportation.
Obi lamented how the activities of non-state actors causing mayhem in many Nigerian communities are sabotaging food production.
His statement reads in part: “Consequently, a vast majority of Nigerians spend the entirety of their disposable income on food, which is often hardly enough.
“The horrible spate of attacks on farmers in Nigeria by armed and terror groups has continued to hinder food production and food supplies, therefore threatening to push the country deeper into a devastating hunger crisis. Lack of adequate investment in agriculture also contributes greatly to the food crisis in Nigeria.
“I have maintained that the vast fertile lands in the North, if put into productive agricultural use, will produce enough food for domestic consumption and for exports, which can give us more revenue than we generate from oil. Government, therefore, must invest heavily in agriculture to ensure sufficient food production for Nigeria and the global world.”
The appeal court has declared Rev Amos Yohanna of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the 2023 senatorial candidate representing the Adamawa north senatorial zone.
Recall Rev. Amos Kumai Yohanna in a petition filed at the tribunal sitting in Yola, challenged the election of Senator Abbo as the winner of the election.
In his petition marked, EPT/AD/SEN/02/2023, the Kumai had alleged that the election of Abbo was invalid.
Citing grounds, he said Abbo’s winning was characterised by corrupt practices and non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, adding that Abbo was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast during the election.
He alleged that there were cases of over voting at various polling units, false entries, alteration and cancellation of votes at several polling units among others.
He said some of the cancellations were not signed by the presiding officers of the polling units, and based on these he prayed the tribunal to set aside the election of Senator Abbo.
Meanwhile, on his part, Sen Abbo on 19th June, 2023 filed a final written address through his counsel, Sam. Ologunorisha (SAN) where he urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition, tagging it as lacking in merit.
However, on Monday, the Appeal Court granted the prayers of Rev Yohanna, declaring him winner of the senatorial election.
Nigeria’s annual inflation rate rose to 26.72 per cent in September from 25.80 per cent in the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday.
The statistics office said the September 2023 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.92 per cent points when compared to the August 2023 headline inflation rate.
The NBS said on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 5.94 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in September 2022, which was 20.77 per cent.
“This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in September 2023 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., September 2022),” it said.
According to the report, the food inflation rate in September quickened to 30.64 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which was 7.30 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in September 2022 (23.34 per cent).
Food prices have been on the rise across Nigeria in recent years. The situation deteriorated due to the impact of government policies such as the removal of subsidies on petrol, among others.
President Bola Tinubu on 29 May during his inauguration, announced the removal of subsidy on petrol. This development has caused hardship for many Nigerians with its attendant increase in the prices of goods and services.
Over the past four months, the naira has depreciated by over 50 per cent at both the authorised and unauthorised market segments, after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced in June that it had collapsed all forex windows into the Investors and exporters (I&E) window.
The move, according to the apex bank, is part of the Nigerian government’s efforts to improve liquidity and stability in the market and attract foreign investors into the Nigerian economy.
Although the policy was widely applauded as well-intentioned and necessary, it has put additional pressure on the local currency and manufacturers, with ripple effects on domestic prices.
Inflation has remained high in Africa’s largest economy, prompting the apex bank to hike interest rates to their highest levels in nearly two decades.
In July, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), raised its benchmark lending rate to 18.75 per cent.
The bank said, “hiking the interest rate has made a lot of difference in moderating the rate of inflation”.
It noted that the option to continue the hike in the policy rate, albeit moderately, also presented a strong alternative premised on the expected liquidity injections into the economy from the recent efforts to unify the nation’s foreign exchange markets.
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Commit one percent of annual budget to AuG’s office to ensure adequate oversight, Speaker Abbas tells FG
Admin…demands immediate appointment of a substantive Auditor General
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas has called on the Federal Government to commit one percent of its annual budget to the office of the Auditor General of the Federation to ensure adequate oversight of 900 MDAs in the country.
Speaker Abbas who was represented by the Deputy Speaker of the House Representatives, Hon Benjamin Kalu made this revelation at the Unveiling of Public Accounts Committee, PAC of members of the 10th Assembly and Leadership Training, One-Day National Colloquium’ in Abuja on Monday.
TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) reports the speaker also demanded for the appointment of a substantive Auditor General to the Federation immediately.
Hear him: “The National Assembly is interested and committed to the office of the Auditor general. What’s adequate for that job to be done, fully well, is at least, one percent of the total budget of the federal Republic of Nigeria. That’s what that office needs if they must do the job and do it very well.
“We are committed as people with the power of the purse to review the budget of the Auditor general office, unless we don’t want about the 900 MDAs to be well over-sighted.
“As the civil society mentioned, most of these MDAs were not touched, and the issue is due to lack of adequate resources for the auditor general’s office to get the job done.
“We should not make them magicians, we should equip them to sufficiently to pursue the money of Nigeria so that the work of the National Assembly will be easier.
“The introduction of technology will help us become more transparent to document better and make the results coming out from our exercise more credible. The oversight function is going to make use of technology. So in no distant time, expect the launching and unveiling of what we call NASS Eyes.
“To do this also, the collaboration of the executive cannot be overstated, though we are three arms of government, we are one government pursuing one national objective. Objective of the renewed hope where revenues will be increased and leakages blocked.
“Let me mention that I heard the chairman’s request that the office of the accountant general make provision for a bus that will help the committee do their job.
“We want to maintain that in the spirit of doctrine of separation of powers and in need to be thorough in the exercise of our duty, investigating the work done by the accountant general, we will not be accepting that gift. Rather Nigerians should expect the House and senate to make sufficient budget that will be enough to provision for the committees such as yours
“I’m joining my voice to that of my brother, the chairman of PAC committee, we cannot afford to have an acting director or whatever nomenclature occupying that important position of auditor general.
“We urge Mr President to look into confirming the person who’s there or anybody of his choice to take up the role of Auditor general of this country, it will send the right signal that this government is ready to act in the interest of all Nigerians.
[Newsguru]
In September 2023, the headline inflation rate increased to 26.72% relative to the August 2023 headline inflation rate, which was 25.80%, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a report released on Monday.
Looking at the movement, the September 2023 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.92% points when compared to the August 2023 headline inflation rate.
On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 5.94% points higher compared to the rate recorded in September 2022, which was 20.77%.
This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in September 2023 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e. September 2022).
Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in September 2023 was 2.10%, which was 1.08% lower than the rate recorded in August 2023 (3.18%).
This means that in September 2023, the rate of increase in the average price level was less than the rate of increase in the average price level in August 2023.
[Leadership]
Court Of Appeal President Transfers All 2023 Election Petition Cases From The 36 States To Abuja And Lagos
AdminThe president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem has ordered that all pending petitions from the 36 states of the federation regarding the outcome of the 2023 elections be transferred to the Lagos and Abuja divisions of the appellate court.
Naija News understands that based on the directive, all such pending cases resulting from the verdict of the various state petition election petition tribunals would now be heard and decided by judges in Lagos and Abuja divisions only.
The order affects gubernatorial, national and state assemblies’ elections.
The directive by Dongban-Mensem for only two of the 20 divisions of the court to determine all appellate cases arising from tribunal disputes is said to have been informed by the plethora of petitions and protests by political parties and their candidates, who allege that the judges of the tribunals were heavily compromised by the governors during the trial stage in their respective states.
The Court of Appeal President was said to have carried out discreet investigations into the allegations against the governors and the judges of the trial tribunal and established the existence of some ‘unholy alliances’ which might have led to a miscarriage of justice at the tribunals.
Some judges of the tribunals were reportedly indicted and might face trial by the National Judicial Council (NJC).
Speaking on the development, a member of the House of Representatives representing Warri Federal Constituency, Hon. Thomas Ereyitomi was quoted by TVC to have welcomed the decision as long as it would guarantee fair and impartial judgements.
He however noted the financial implications that may result in the transfer of the cases.
“We have the notice transferring the cases from Delta State to Lagos and we have complied. Its financial implications are huge but no sacrifice is too much to get a fair and impartial judgement,” Ereyitomi said.
[NaijaNews]
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has nullified the election of the Senator representing Adamawa North Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Ishaku Abbo.
Abbo was elected in February 2023 under the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
The court, according to Channels TV, ruled in favour of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Amos Yohanna.
Details shortly…
[DailyPost]