Despite a court order reinstating them into service, some dismissed police officers have petitioned the Acting Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to review their dismissal and correct the obvious injustice against them.
The officer who was forced to retire asked Egbetokun to order the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Force Secretary to reconsider their dismissal and reinstate them as ordered by the Industrial Court.
The officers, speaking through their representative in a statement issued and signed by Emmanuel Idris, said they were forced to retire from the force despite a court ruling ordering the Nigeria Police Force and the Police Service Commission not to forcefully retire them because they had not served for 60 years or 35 years.
The officers, who are members of cadet inspector force entrants 33, 34, and 35, have petitioned the police chief to implement the court’s decision to reinstate them.
They expressed concern about the failure of the previous IGP, Usman Alkali Baba, and other relevant authorities to follow the court’s ruling.
According to the sacked officers, the court delivered the judgment in April 2022, and the defendants have yet to implement the judgment, which was delivered by NICN Justice Oyewumi Oyebiola.
The statement stated that;
This judgement has been given since April last year. But to our dismay, the former IGP vehemently refused to do the needful even after the directives to do so and the advice from the police service commission and police legal department, respectively.
The action of the former IGP was also puzzling when he immediately implemented a similar court judgement not long ago involving our ASP counterparts of courses 18,19 and 20.
It became surprising why what was sauce for the geese was not sauce for the gander. The letter from the PSC as well as the advice from the CP legal to the former IGP.
We, the members of the above courses force entrants, are appealing to you to help in the implementation of the court judgement in suit number NICN /ABJ/281/2021CSP ECONG EGWO EGONG&3OTHERS VS PSC AND TWO OTHERS.
Your Contemporaries and those who have had the opportunity to work with you all attested to your integrity. That you are an Officer who does his job with the fear of God, fairness, equity and justice.
Consequently, we urge our new IGP to use his good offices to correct this obvious injustice. Wishing you a prosperous tenure as you take up the mantle of leadership of Nigeria Police.
Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has set up a judicial panel of inquiry tasked with recovering government properties from the state government officials who served under the administration of his predecessor, Okezie Ikpeazu.
Mr Ikpeazu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) served as a two-term governor of the state from 29 May 2015 to 29 May 2023, when he handed over to Mr Otti.
Mr Otti, the Labour Party candidate in the 18 March governorship election in the state, defeated the ruling PDP candidate, Okey Ahiwe, to emerge the winner.
The Secretary to the State government (SSG), Kenneth Kalu, announced the setting up the judicial panel of inquiry in a statement on Friday.
A judge of the State High Court Umuahia, Florence Duruoha-Igwe, was named the panel chairperson.
According to the statement, other panel members include Ekeoma Ogwo, a professor; Ugochukwu Okoroafor, Alex Okonkwo, a catholic priest] and Ngozi Akanwa, a professor.
Mr Otti, earlier this month, had ordered former state officials to return the government’s properties in their possession or face sanctions.
The SSG did not mention the names of the former officials, but it is believed that he was referring to government officials who served under Mr Ikpeazu.
Mr Otti, since he was sworn in as governor on 29 May, has been in a war of words with Mr Ikpeazu, whom he accused of leaving “huge debts” and zero assets for the new administration.
But the former governor has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Naira on Monday depreciated against the dollar by 0.38 percent (N3/$1) at the parallel market, also known as black market following increased demand.
During the intra-day trading on Monday, the dollar quoted at the rate of N773 as against N770 quoted on Friday at the black market.
Traders attributed the naira depression to increased demand for dollars, mostly from individuals who want to travel for education, tourism or for business.
“The demand for dollars is rising and that is the reason the rate is lower today than Friday,” said one of the traders.
Naira depreciated by 0.65 percent on Friday at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window as the dollar was quoted at N770.17 as against N765.13 quoted on Thursday, data from the FMDQ indicated.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on June 14, 2023, abolished segments of the official FX market to the I&E Window, where the “Willing buyer and Willing seller” was re-introduced. Based on this adjustment, the official rate rose from N463.38/$ to N632.77/$ and has since averaged N669.0/$, a report by Agusto & Co, a Pan-African Credit Rating Agency, noted.
“Under Godwing Emefiele, the suspended CBN governor’s leadership, Nigeria operated with a multiple exchange rate system that heavily relied on a controlled official rate, resulting in limited liquidity for businesses and individuals. This, in turn, led to increased demand for foreign currency in the parallel market, where exchange rates carried a significant premium, the report said.
The Federal Government has warned security and law enforcement agencies against the use of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees in their custody.
The warning was issued, yesterday, by the Solicitor General of the Federation (SGF) and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Beatrice Jedy-Agba, at an event organised by the National Committee Against Torture (NACT) to mark the 2023 International Day in Support of Victims of torture.
The SGF, who doubles as the chairperson of the committee, equally called on stakeholders, both in the public and private sectors, to speak with one voice against the perpetrators of torture, and for all who suffer in their hands, in order to build a better and more humane society for all people everywhere.
She said: “We wish to use this opportunity to encourage our law enforcement agencies to continue to take measures in combating torture in their detention centres.
“I admonish you to continue to give the NCAT necessary support whenever the committee members reach out as every action taken by the committee is with a view to rooting out torture and ensuring that Nigeria complies with its international obligations.
“We are, indeed, partners in this journey and NCAT will take deliberate proactive steps to sensitise, engage and train our officers on prevention of torture.”
The United Nations’s (UN) International Day in Support of Victims of Torture is annually observed on June 26 to remind people that human torture is not only unacceptable, but also a crime.
The convention, which came into force on June 26, 1987, gives everyone a chance to unite and voice their opinions against human torture.
In 1997, the United Nations General Assembly decided to mark this historic date and designated June 26 each year as the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
The first International Day in Support of Victims of Torture was held on June 26, 1998. It was a day when the United Nations appealed to all governments and members of civil society to take action to defeat torture and torturers everywhere. That same year marked the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which proclaims that “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
In fulfilment of its international obligations against torture that the Federal Government in 2009 established the National Committee Against Torture as Nigeria’s National Preventive Mechanism in line with the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT).
NCAT was re-constituted in September 2022, drawing membership from law enforcement agencies, civil society organisations, academia and other stakeholders, with a view to making the committee more effective.
Members of the reconstituted committee were drawn from the Federal Ministry of Justice, National Human Right Commission, Nigeria Police Force, Legal Aids Council, Nigeria Correctional Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Department of State Services, the Nigerian Army and Nigerian Bar Association.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has approved the appointment of Barrister Sylvester Okonkwo as his Chief of Staff.
A statement from the Media Unit, Office of the Senate President, also announced Dr Saviour Enyiekere as Deputy Chief of Staff.
The Chief of Staff, Chief Okonkwo attended Dennìs Memorial Grammar School Onitsha and he is also an alumni of the University of Nigeria, Enugu campus where he bagged a Bachelor Degree in Law. (LL.B. Hons. B.L) jcrr.
He hails from Ojoto in Idemili South LGA of Anambra State, South East region of Nigeria. A corporate lawyer and an astute politician spanning more than two decades, he was a senatorial aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019.
Until his appointment, Okonkwo was the CEO of Chinto Technologies Limited, an ICT and telecommunications outfit.
The Deputy Chief of Staff, Saviour Enyiekere(PhD) hails from Ika Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
He is an alumni of the University of Calabar and the deputy Director General of the Godswill Akpabio Senatorial Campaign Organisation.
Enyiekere was a former two term Executive Chairman of Ika LGA, former Senior Special Assistant to Akwa Ibom State Government on Boundaries and Conflict Resolutions, former Board Member, Akwa Ibom State Road Maintenance Agency, former student leader and former Senatorial Aspirant, Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District.
He is member, Nigerian Environmental society, Fellow Institute of Chartered Economist of Nigeria and Professional fellow, Emergency Crisis, Risk and Safety Management Institute of Nigeria.
Former Kaduna Central lawmaker, Shehu Sani has reacted to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Olukayode Egbetokun promise to effect the withdrawal of Police Mobile Force personnel from VIP escort/guard duties.
Recall that the acting IGP said that it was necessary to make the move so as to ensure enough security personnel to combat crime in the country.
He said, “We shall effect the withdrawal of PMF personnel from VIP escort/guard duties. While the protection of dignitaries remains paramount, it is imperative that we realign our priorities to address the escalating security challenges faced by the nation as a whole. By relieving the PMF of VIP escort and guard duties, we can redirect their focus and efforts toward addressing critical security concerns that affect our communities at large.
“To support the foregoing strategic plan and make needed manpower available for frontline duties, the withdrawn PMF officers will be replaced by officers of the Special Protection Unit only where necessary.”
Reacting to the IGP’s submission via Twitter, Sani noted that all new IGPs always announce the withdrawal of policemen from VIPs but often go back on their word.
He, however, hope that this would lead to a different outcome.
He wrote, “All new IG of Police do this two things;Withdrawing Policemen from the VIPs and removing Checkpoints;months later,the police will return to the VIPs and the Checkpoints will return too.I hope this one will be different.”
The Federal Government through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has said it paid N1.82 trillion as subsidy payments in five months, and arrears on the payments hit N3.73 trillion.
In its monthly presentation to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting on June 22, 2023, the national oil company said it paid N307.408 billion as petrol subsidy payment in May 2023.
NNPC said from January 2023 to May 2023, petrol under-recovery totalled N1.828 trillion — 55 percent higher than the amount paid in the corresponding period of 2022.
It also disclosed that subsidy payments gulped N274.769 billion in January 2023, N477.742 billion in February, N415.381 billion in March, and N353.130 billion in April, respectively.
Meanwhile, under-recovery arrears amounted to N3.735 trillion and has been “carried forward”, the state oil firm said.
It said: “The May 2023 subsidy amounted to N307,408,874,345.82, thus, the outstanding balance carried forward is N3,735,689,387,761.22 as of June 2023 FAAC.
“The sum of N495,497,600,000 was recovered from FGN/CBN subsidy support.
“The recovery consists of N400 billion from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and federal government subsidy support as well as “$220,000 (80 percent of $275,000) Nigeria liquefied natural gas dividend.”
According to the NNPC, the NLNG dividend is converted at N434.08/$1, which is the FAAC-approved exchange rate for May 2023.
The national oil firm also revealed that it raked in N47.57 billion as domestic production sharing contract (PSC) crude oil and gas revenue in May 2023.
Meanwhile, FAAC has claimed that the NNPC did not remit money into the federation account in May 2023 from crude sales, royalties, and taxes.
The Committee made the claim in a statement issued by the Director, of Press and Public Relations of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Stephen Kilebi.
A report has emerged that President Bola Tinubu is almost done with the compilation of his ministerial list.
Naija News gathered that the President was discreet about the selection of the list, as he was said to have closely held consultations with his special advisors.
While the long awaited list is almost done, this platform reported last week that the lobby for ministerial appointment intensified as party sources revealed how some former governors and lawmaker who lost in the 2023 general election were hovering at All Progressive Congress (APC) national office in Abuja
It was also learnt that most state chapters of the ruling party have completed their nominations to be forwarded to the President for ministerial appointment.
However, a source close to the Presidency told The Punch that the President kept a core of ministers to himself.
The source said “I learned that Tinubu’s ministerial list is almost done. He kept a core of ministers to himself, heavily influenced by the kitchen cabinet of SAs.
“The politicians are in ‘Bolekaja’ over the rest. It’s a slugfest now.”
Meanwhile, another source confirmed that Tinubu is scheduled to fly in from London today ahead of Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.
This platform reported yesterday that a source close to the presidency disclosed that the President will be arriving Lagos today ahead of Sallah celebration.
Corroborating this, the source said Tinubu would be returning to his private Ikoyi home in Lagos later on Tuesday to observe his first Sallah celebration as President.
It was also gathered that he will join other dignitaries for the Eid prayers at the Obalende Muslim Prayer ground located at Dodan Barracks, the former seat of the Nigerian government on Wednesday.
The source also revealed that the President is not likely to return to Abuja until Sunday or Monday, even though the festivities end on Thursday.
The source said “I am are certain that he will return to Lagos tomorrow (Tuesday), not Abuja. That’s where he will observe Sallah.”
In the battle for the Senate’s minority leadership position, ex-governor, Aminu Tambuwal has won the support of Atiku Abubakar, the standard-bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Meanwhile, the G-5 group, spearheaded by former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, backs Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe.
Wike’s push for Jarigbe is perceived as a way to retaliate against Tambuwal over past presidential primary elections.
Tensions have risen within the PDP’s minority camp since Wike’s marathon meeting last Thursday with Senate President, GodsWill Akpabio.
Despite these mounting pressures, both Senate and House of Representatives leadership are treading carefully.
A source who spoke with Punch on Atiku’s choice said, “Tambuwal is Atiku’s choice as the PDP Senate leader while Wike is also pushing for Jarigbe as minority leader. Wike is looking for an opportunity to get back at Tambuwal over the presidential elections primary elections.
“He is still bitter. But the party would not allow him to try the same thing he did during the national elections with the National Assembly.”
A source indicated that Wike is determined to make one of his loyalists a principal officer.
The source noted, “Having assisted APC to win the presidential election in Rivers State in February and supported the aspirations of the now elected four presiding officers of the 10th National Assembly, making one of his loyalists a principal officer is his next plan.
“He is very serious about the plan and he is getting the required support from the leadership of the National Assembly as well as membership of the other minority political parties in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.”
An anonymous lawmaker confirmed that the PDP is focused on endorsing Tambuwal for the Senate leadership role.
The lawmaker said, “His Excellency, Senator Tambuwal is the one that the party has chosen as the Senate leader. The party at this time needs someone who can play the role of opposition very well and he is experienced having been a former Speaker of the House of Representatives. The party wants a competent person for that position and no doubt, he is one.”
Paul Ibe, Media Adviser to Atiku speaking on the battle, explained that Atiku’s backing of Tambuwal aligns with the party’s position.
He noted, “The position of the minority leader of the Senate should be taken by the biggest opposition party which is the PDP. The PDP will naturally vie for the role in consultation with other opposition party members in the Senate. This is how the minority leader will emerge.
“If the party is backing Tambuwal and Atiku Abubakar happens to support this, there is nothing wrong with that. It is the prerogative of the party to decide who they think can champion the interest of the party in the hallowed chamber. Normally, they will support someone whose competence they can vouch for.
“If Atiku and the PDP are on the same page on this, it is merely a coincidence because the former Vice President has always been a party man.”
Confirming his former principal’s stance, Nathanial Ikyur, ex-Chief Press Secretary to former Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, said that Ortom would back Wike’s choice.
He said, “Ortom will support Wike and I can tell you that for Wike to identify with Senator Jarigbe, that means the man (Jarigbe) is the choice of the G-5. The group is intact and they make decisions together. All five of them are together. Seyi Makinde, Okezie Ikpeazu, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Ortom, and Wike are together. They resolved to always stand together before, during and after the elections. Nothing has changed even after the elections.”
A former party official added that the G-5 remains united in opposing Tambuwal’s bid for a Senate position.
One Ifechukwu Makwe, a Federal Bureau of Investigation impostor, has been arrested for allegedly defrauding a Spaniard of €5.7m.
Makwe was apprehended by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on Monday.
The Head of Media and Publicity at the anti-graft agency, Wilson Uwujaren, made this known in a statement.
He said Makwe used different identities to perpetrate his fraudulent activities and swindle the unsuspecting Spaniards.
Court Upholds FRSC’s Power To Impound Vehicles, Fine Defaulting Motorists
He added that he was arrested in the Guzape area of Abuja following credible intelligence about his fraudulent internet-related activities.
“Upon arrest, it was discovered that the suspect, bearing many aliases including Fahad Makwe, Senator Tompolo, Tom Makwe, Dr Bran, defrauded a Spaniard of €5.7million,” the statement said.
The statement explained further that Makwe, who allegedly claimed to be a US Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and a diplomatic solicitor, succeeded in defrauding his victim using fake identities.
“The suspect allegedly started defrauding the victim in 2013 when he first met her on social media, “ the statement added.
Uwujaren said the suspect would be charged in court as soon as the investigations were concluded
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The Election Petition Tribunal in Jos has ordered Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to produce the voter register and Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) used in selected polling units during the state’s governorship election on March 18.
The order was issued by the tribunal’s chairman, Irele-ifeneh, yesterday during the start of hearings on the petition filed by Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the March 18 election.
At the tribunal, the APC candidate is contesting Governor Caleb Mutfwang of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s victory.
The order was issued as a result of INEC’s failure to produce all certified true copies of documents as required by the tribunal’s subpoena to the INEC chairman and Plateau Resident Electoral Commissioner.
Salisu Aliyu, a senior system analyst from the INEC ICT department, and Festus Aisien, an assistant director at the INEC voter registry department, appeared in court on behalf of the INEC chairman, telling the court that their appearance was in response to the subpoena issued to the INEC chairman to submit certified true copies of accredited data extracted from the INEC backend server and form EC8A from the INEC Result Portal (IREV).
The chairman’s representatives only produced true certified copies of accredited data from BVAS and a portion of the list of voters required from the voter register in hard copy, while the remainder of the list of voters was in soft copy.
Due to the bulkiness of the BVAS machines and the remaining voter register, Aliyu and Festus stated that they were unable to bring them to court.
However, the petitioner’s counsel, Kayode Olatoke (SAN), objected to their submissions, claiming that all items listed in the subpoena must be presented.
Following the petitioner’s submission of counsel, the court ordered INEC to produce all documents and items listed in the subpoena within one week.
Power distribution companies, on Monday, backtracked on their earlier announcement of a tariff hike projected to take effect from July 1, 2023, as they stated that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission had yet to approve the hike.
Various public notices from some of the Discos seen on Sunday had stated that the electricity tariff would be raised by about 30 to 40 per cent for selected categories of consumers on July 1, 2023.
In a public service announcement from the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, for instance, the Disco had said, “Effective July 1, 2023, please be informed that there will be an upward review to the electricity tariff influenced by the fluctuating exchange rate.
“Under the MYTO (Multi Year Tariff Order) 2022 guidelines, the previously set exchange rate of N441/$1 may now be revised to approximately N750/$1 which will have an impact on the tariffs associated with your electricity consumption”
But in an appeal by the same AEDC, issued on Monday, the firm asked its customers to disregard the planned tariff increase as approval for such an increment had not been received.
“Please disregard the circulating communication, regarding the review of electricity tariffs. Be informed that no approval for such increments has been received. We regret any inconvenience,” the AEDC stated in its latest announcement.
A senior official in NERC confirmed that the regulator had not given the Discos approval to announce the hike in tariffs.
“The commission did not give them such approval,” the official, who pleaded not to be named due to lack of approval, stated.
Reacting to the development, a former spokesperson of the AEDC and seasoned expert in the sector, Olabode Fadipe, said, “NERC never publishes any position or makes any official statement. It is the Discos that does that. Once the Discos receive approval from NERC, they effect the adjustment straightaway.
“Discos perhaps got approval for 1st July and chose to put their customers on notice only to be told that their action was hasty. That end users have been told to ignore the message does not mean that the increase won’t be affected.”
Although The PUNCH later reached out to a spokesperson for Ikeja Electric, Ayeni Akinola, who described the initial trending circular as “fake”, the circular advised customers with prepaid meters to purchase energy units in bulk before the price increment takes effect from July 1.
“If you have a prepaid meter, buying bulk energy units for your home or office before the end of the month may help you make some savings before you have to buy at the new rate.
“For those on post-paid (estimated) billing, a significant increment is imminent in your monthly billing, starting from August,” it stated.
The PUNCH also reached out to the Assistant Manager Communications, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Mary Anavhe, who dismissed an imminent increase in tariffs.
The PUNCH further reached out to the spokespersons for Eko Disco and Ibadan Electric, Babatunde Lasaki, and Busolami Tunwase, respectively, including the Executive Secretary for the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, Sunday Oduntan.
While both Lasaki and Oduntan declined to pick up calls nor responded to inquiries on the development, Tunwase referred The PUNCH to NERC for an official response.
“We are not responsible for tariff increase or decrease, NERC is. We only carry out such directives from NERC,” she said in a response note.
However, when The PUNCH contacted Sani, he declined to respond to both calls and messages. A minor electricity tariff is slated to hold every six months. The last review was carried out in December.
There are strong indications that the national average price of petrol will rise further as marketers benchmark costs against rising exchange rates.
Marketers who spoke to Vanguard yesterday, against the backdrop of continued depreciation of the naira, said the implication would be that their cost has also increased beyond the figure used in fixing current pump prices.
The current national average pump price of N500 per litre was arrived at with an exchange rate of N661/$.
Already, Vanguard findings have indicated that most major oil marketers have adjusted their prices to N492-495 in Lagos, contrary to the N488 earlier positions floated by the industry shortly after the removal of subsidy was announced by President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023.
Also in Lagos, most independent marketers have adjusted further to an average of N515, while outside Lagos the pump price has jumped to over N650.
The marketers said that with the closing rate at the Investors and Exporters, I&E, foreign exchange window since last week at about N770/$ the pump price is likely to hit N550 per litre by early next month.
…Ifa permits secrecy, allows adherents to practice without telling others
Following the comments that greeted a video capturing renowned gospel singer, Tope Alabi, infusing a Yoruba traditionalists’ common greeting parlance, ‘Aboru aboye’ into her worship song, an Ifa-priest, Oluwo Jogbodo Orunmila, has told the award-winning singer to conduct an ancestry Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid (DNA) to be sure of her origin.
In the viral video, Alabi and her backup singers were heard referring to themselves as ‘ebo’ literally meaning sacrifice, emphasising that they are ‘Aboru Aboye’ meaning that they have been accepted as sacrifice by God.
Orunmila who is the chief priest of Iledi Imule Agba in Oyan, Odo Otin North Local Council Development Authority in Osun State while speaking with The PUNCH in an exclusive interview on Monday noted that Alabi has always been enmeshed in the usage of traditionalists’ lexicons.
He mentioned the singer’s use of ‘Eledumare’ and several other appraisals usually meant for Orunmila (god of wisdom) and Yoruba deities.
The Ibadan-based priest said, “All these phrases showed that Tope Alabi needs ancestry DNA to confirm that she belongs to the Ifa tradition. Those words are forcing their way out, she only needs the right teachers to get fully on track.
“Ifa is ancestry. When a lineage known to be Ifa practitioners stop its practice, there would be a day when one of the family members will illustrate the doctrines of Ifa, knowingly or unknowingly.
He maintained that whoever has come out to tag Alabi as an idol worshipper is just fuelling public opinion and is particularly not knowledgeable enough to know that Ifa only identifies those who want to be identified because it embraces secrecy.
“Identifying with Ifa is discretionary. One can either let the public know or not. Ifa does not stop you from identifying with other religions even when you are under its supervision.
While fielding questions on whether the phrase is a usual lexicon that anybody could use, Orunmila said, “It is not. It is certainly used by the Ifa initiates.
“The Ifa worshippers (Babalawo and Iyanifa) are the ones that use that to greet one another because it was a legacy passed by Orunmila. In fact, ‘Aboru Aboye’ is often accompanied by ‘ni Ile Ifa’, meaning ‘May everything including sacrifices be accepted in this Ifa household.'”
Speaking into how the phrase became a common greeting among the Ifa initiates, he narrated that Odu Ifa ‘Ogunda meji’ in Ifa corpus birthed the stories of three women; Aboru, Aboye, and Abosise who rendered special help to Orunmila.
“It was said that in a bid for Orunmila to consult Olodumare, these three women were like guardians that must be appeased to help Ile-Ife be peaceful.
“Orunmila made sacrifices to appease these women, and he had an easy passage to see Olodumare to help relieve the land of plague. Just for their power and kindness, Orunmila decided to honour them asserting that anyone who wants to see Iyanifa or Babalawo must first pay homage to Aboru, Aboye and Abosise!”
Alabi has always been afflicted with inundating controversies, in 2013, Alabi’s affiliation with her late prophet, Elijah Ajanaku who was reportedly buried by some cult members stirred debate with many alluding to one of the songs of the gospel singer paying attribute to the God (god) of Ajanaku as occultic while others believed that she must have been inflicted with a strange anointing.
Another was evident in a video that made rounds on June 13, 2021, in the Nigerian digital space, showing the gospel singer criticising a popular Christian song, “Oniduro Mi”, which was sung by iconic singers, Tolu Adelegan and Yinka Alaseyori, at different times.
In the Yoruba language, Oniduro Mi simply means my guarantor. The song exalts God as a guarantor and one who never forsakes His own.
While commenting on the song, Alabi noted that God was more than a guarantor to her.
The singer further said that there was a time she wanted to sing the song but the Holy spirit cautioned her against doing so.