₦airaland Forum

THE ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) says it is not factionalised.

The party stated this on Thursday while reacting to a new faction which self-styled itself as 'Reformed APC' (r-APC).

KAZEEM Afegbua, media aide of ex-military President Ibrahim Babangida, is spokesman of the Reformed All Progressives Congress (R-APC), a new faction of the ruling party.
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The faction broke away from the APC on Wednesday, describing their former party as a “monumental disaster”.

Buba Galadima, chairman of the R-APC, said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is better than APC.

Afegbua made the headlines when the Department of State Services (DSS) invited him over a statement he issued on behalf of his principal.

He quoted Babaginda as asking Nigerians to vote out President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.

It is not clear if Babangida is playing a role in the newly-established R-APC.

Below is a list of the national officers of the R-APC:

MIYETTI Allah Kautal Hore, the apex Fulani social-cultural organisation, has opined why President Muhammadu Buhari should not heed to calls urging him to relieve service chiefs of their duties for allegedly failing to protect lives and properties.

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Some Nigerians, including the National Assembly and governors, are calling on the president to sack the service chiefs for failing in their duties.

However, Miyetti Allah is of the opinion that those calling for the sack of the service chiefs are corrupt politicians.

The Secretary-General of the group, Saleh Al-Hassan, said this during an interview on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, on Monday.

“We have documented 411 innocent pastoralists killed just in southern Kaduna for nothing. We have documented all the crises but because we want peace and want to promote the culture of peace and forgiveness hoping that our neighbours will continue to allow us to do our business,” Al-Hassan said.



“But the issue of arms and light weapons is a security one. I believe they (security agencies) are on top of it. With the arrests they are making, we must acknowledge the efforts security agencies have put in trying to contain criminality in this country.

“That is why people calling for the removal of service chiefs are either the corrupt politicians or the ones working for them. We should not fall for that gambit,” he said.

Mr Alhassan restated his position at an event in Abuja saying the security agencies must identify the perpetrators and sponsors of the killings in Plateau State.

The colloquium organised by the Citizens Communication and Advocacy Centre was titled “Understanding democracy as instrument of development, integration and national cohesion.”

The Secretary-General of the Miyetti Allah like Mr Buhari noted that corrupt politicians were behind the massacre.

“The spate of insecurity in this country is worrisome to anybody that loves this country and I think our security agencies should be up and doing. They should be able to identify the perpetrators and their sponsors and then ensure that justice is meted out to them. We must watch closely our politicians, their utterances and their body language because some of them are the ones promoting violence we are having in this country.

“Most of these politicians own armed thugs and militias across the state. The government should also find those behind the importation of large arms into the country. Who are the people importing these arms?

“We need to overhaul the security architecture of the country but the service chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police are doing their best. We should not listen to what desperate politicians are saying. It is the corrupt political elite who are creating crises in this country.

“There are attempts by our group to assist the security agencies. We have been partnering the security agencies in terms of giving them critical intelligence where we suspect there are cattle rustlers and criminals.

“The calls for the removal of the service chiefs are empty calls. Desperate politicians and politicians facing criminal charges are the ones making that call.”

MORE reactions has continued trailing the plan by the federal government to disburse the over $300 million fund repatriated from the accounts of former Head of State, late General Sani Abacha in Switzerland to poor Nigerians.

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The National Coordinator of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), Nigeria and Special Assistant to the President on Justice Reforms, Juliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu on Wednesday, June 20, 2018 disclosed the government’s plan to share the funds to poor Nigerians.

Mrs Nwagwu said under the MoU with Switzerland, the money would be paid directly into the accounts of the poorest Nigerians through their various accounts for two years.

The aide stated that this would be done through identification numbers to be made available on the website being developed by the National Social Investment office and the World Bank.

She explained that the agencies working on the modalities would brief the public on June 28, adding that the process for the payment will be transparent for civil society and the media to monitor.



“The poorest members of the community will be registered online, and before you make any payment, they must have an ID number so that every payment would be tracked.

“No amount will be paid out without a joint signature between Nigeria and the World Bank and without identification of individuals.

“If there is anything we have achieved, it’s about getting Nigerian citizens to become conscious about what is happening with their money”, she said.

This move has not gone down well with some Nigerians who protested against the plan.

Those of them on social media have questioned how the government will identify poor Nigerians accusing the government of using this as a way to reloot the funds.

They instead urged the government to divert the funds to develop power sector, fuel and solve other challenges in the country.

Among them is Senator Shehu Sani who represents Kaduna Central at the Senate. For him the disbursement will be impossible as it won’t get to the poorest Nigerians.

Sani who made his opinion known in a tweet on Saturday, suggested that the money should be used to finance a project Nigerians will see with their physical eyes.

“Sharing $350 million recovered loot to 180 million Nigerians is impossible,” Sani said.

“It will end up with beneficiaries whose names will be given by Governors, Ministers, Lawmakers and the President’s men.

“Let it be tied to a project Nigerians can see with their ‘Korokoro eyes’,” Sani opined.

DANLADI Ciroma, chairman of north central zone of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), has denied linking the killings in Plateau state to reprisal attacks.

Mr Ciroma said the reporter he spoke with on the issue misquoted him, denying issuing a statement.

“I did not issue a statement. No, we talked on phone. Sincerely speaking, what that boy wrote was not what I told him. We did not speak on reprisal attacks,” Ciroma said, according to a report on Leadership Newspapers.

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari says he cannot go to jail because he is satisfied with what he has.

In a statement on Monday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, President Buhari noted that he does not rely on proceeds from government contracts.

“I have been in many places including (Ministry of) Petroleum. I would have gone to jail if I had taken an oil well. For integrity and honesty, I have no regrets. By this, I have contributed to my social safety. I won’t go to jail,” he told a delegation of the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria at the State House in Abuja.

“I am satisfied with what I am. I am happy I have kept myself and people close to me from benefiting from government contracts,” the President added.

He said he did not award contracts and did not care about who got them, so long as they did a good job at a cost that is justifiable to the nation.



The President, who said he had been accused of many things, said his critics cannot accuse him of stealing.

“You cannot accuse me of stealing,” he said. “I have appointed ministers and they are in charge. I appeal to their integrity.”

“When they come here to the (Federal Executive Council) Chambers, we ensure they follow the due process. If I owned an oil well, I would have gone to jail,” President Buhari insisted.

He further responded to a number of issues raised by the delegation, including complaints that Muslims had been marginalised in appointments to government institutions such as the military and the civil service.

The President said this illustrated how difficult his job is because he faced the same criticism from adherents of other faiths.

“I am in a difficult situation,” he admitted.

On the burning issue of violent conflicts in some parts of the country, President Buhari said he was putting in his best.

He told the delegation that following his dissatisfaction with the performance of the police in Zamfara State, he ordered a massive transfer of officers and men who had stayed three years and above in the troubled state.

The President, however, appealed to the religious leaders to instruct their followers on the importance of possessing their own voters’ cards which he described as a “national entitlement,” and to preach justice to all which is an instituted pillar of Islam.

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to grant presidential pardon to soldiers imprisoned for refusing to fight Boko Haram insurgents.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) made the call in a statement by its director Ishaq Akintola, on Friday.

HEADLINE recalls that soldiers numbering about 54 were accused of refusing to deploy and recapture three towns seized by the indigenous terrorists in 2014.

They all were accused of “conspiring to commit mutiny against the authorities of 7 Division,” which is on the front line of the counter-insurgency. They were later sentenced to death for mutiny, assault, cowardice and refusing to fight th Islamic extremists.

Calling for their freedom MURIC said the soldiers should be pardoned because they are the whistleblowers who brought attention to the alleged $2.1bn arms fraud in the Nigerian army.



The group said it is a sad paradox that while the federal government was rewarding whistleblowers, the soldiers are on death row.

“In the spirit of forgiveness and freedom which the middle and end of Ramadan stand for, we appeal to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces to, in exercise of the prerogative of mercy, grant presidential pardon to the 54 soldiers,” it said.

“We call on the civil societies, particularly, the anti-corruption crusaders to speak out for the 54 soldiers.

“They were sentenced to life imprisonment ab initio before the sentence was commuted to 10 years’ imprisonment.

“MURIC sees the 54 soldiers as whistle-blowers, not criminals because they actually exposed the $2.1 billion arms fraud.

“It is a sad paradox that while other whistle-blowers are being rewarded, the 54 soldiers are languishing in jail. This is frustrating.

“We also remind state governors and state chief judges to use the occasion to visit prisons in their states with a view to setting free a large number of inmates particularly those awaiting trial.”

NIGERIANS will beg President Muhammadu Buhari to do a third term in office, the Emir of Daura, Alhaji Umar Farouk Umar said.

Mr Umar stated this on Friday when he played host to a delegation led by former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, championing for the re-election of the president, in Duara, Buhari’s native hometown.

The traditional ruler also used the opportunity to advise politicians currently jostling for the presidency in 2019 to shelve their ambition, arguing that they are on a wild goose chase as President Buhari already has the mandate of the people to continue in office.

“Buhari will shock Nigerians by the time he begins his second term in office in 2019 because he is poised to transform the country beyond their expectations,” Mr Umar said.

“Nigerians will eventually beg Buhari to do a third term by the time they begin to see his performance from 2019. Anybody opposing Buhari’s second term is wasting his time because the people have already taken the decision for him to continue in office. Buhari will come out with his real colour in 2019 and that is when Nigerians will see a new Nigeria that they have always desired,” he added.



The Emir of Daura urged the former governor to sustain the campaign for Buhari’s re-election noting that, “with God’s help, he will deliver us.”

Speaking earlier, Kalu told the Emir that he was at the palace in continuation of his visit to traditional rulers across the country, to solicit their support in the campaign for Buhari to get re-elected in 2019.

“We know that President Muhammadu Buhari is the son of the soil but we want you to advise the people and even beyond Daura, to vote him again in 2019. We want to make sure that our 4+4 is realised because those who are against Buhari’s return want an opportunity to loot the treasury,” he said.

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has said his participation in this year’s Ramadan Fast has improved his health more than it was initially.

Mr Buhari stated this on Friday at his official residence in the Presidential Villa, Abuja when he played host to a delegation of federal capital territory (FCT) led by Mohammed Bello, the minister of FCT.

The president who said he could not participate in last year’s fast because he was away on health vacation noted that he did not want the situation to repeat itself this year hence his involvement this year.

In 2017, Buhari spent over 150 days in London, treating an undisclosed ailment. In 2018, He has also visited his London doctors on three known occasions.

“I’m very grateful to the ministers and church leadership that came to say happy Eid-Filtri to those of us that have been fasting,” he said.



“A lot of people asked me if on health grounds I could fast. I refused not to because I know the value in fasting, I cannot miss it once I can do it.

“Last year I didn’t because I was on health vacation but this year I have done it and I thank God because it has helped me to be healthier and also gave me the time that I need to attend to national issues.”

He told his guests to appeal to those in their constituencies to shun individualism and sectionalism.

He reiterated his position that Nigeria belongs to all, hence the need to salvage it together.

“Please, in your constituencies, emphasise what I said about 30 years ago. We don’t have another country except Nigeria we may as well remain here and salvage it together, there is nothing else we can do.

“Even those who left the country are now trying to come back because they are not wanted out there. I wish that all the resources they had then, had been deployed here… So, thank you very much and please, persuade your constituencies to work much harder away from individualism and sectionalism,” he said.

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Source: https://www.headlineng.com/withdrew-evanss-case-lawyer/

OLUKOYA Ogungbeje, the legal representative of Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike has withdrawn his representation in the ongoing trial of his client.

Mr Onwuamadike (popularly known as Evans) is an alleged billionaire kidnapper who led gangs that abducted several Nigerians for years.

He reportedly made a fortune from ransom payments received to set his captives free. He was arrested in Lagos in 2017.

Withdrawing his services, Ogungbeje, according to a report on Premium Times, said his decision to withdraw as counsel to Evans were for personal reasons.

“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state categorically that we have fought a good fight this far despite repeated and sustained threats to my life and my defence lawyers,” he said.

“I dare say we have no regrets whatsoever having conducted the criminal charges involving our client this far,” Ogungbeje added.

THE declaration of June 12 as the new democracy day in Nigeria by President Muhammadu Buhari is not yet effective, until the Public Holiday Act is amended.

This was the submission of Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.

FESTUS Keyamo, the head of communications for President Muhammadu Buhari’s reelection organization, has said he will use Maina scandal to campaign for the president.

Abdulrasheed Maina, former chairman of the Presidential Task Team on Pension Reforms, had been a suspect over allegations of misappropriating N100 billion while in office.

The civil servant was dismissed in 2013 by the Federal Civil Service Commission following a recommendation by the Office of the Head of Service.

With the incoming administration of Mr Buhari, Maina, a fugitive, resurfaced in 2017 and was not only secretly reinstated but also promoted.

When this came to the knowledge of the public, Nigerians roundly criticised Mr Buhari.



But in the current edition of The Interview Magazine, Mr Keyamo said the scandal cannot be used to criticise the president.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) instead opined that the Maina saga is a credit to president Buhari.

He also said he would use it to campaign in support of the president because the president reacted promptly to the issue when it was brought to his knowledge.

“Where are all those people now? Are they in office? Deziani, of all story of sleaze, did she not remain in office till the end?” Keyamo asked.

“People should not make silly comments in the public. The Head of Service, the Attorney general of the Federation, including the Minister of Internal affairs, they all appeared before the National Assembly.

“They told us in graphic terms, how these memos were raised. And these memos moved from one office to the other. All of these memos from HoS to SGF, minister to AGF, all of these, was there one to the chief of staff to the president? We should not be pessimistic or cynical for nothing. All of these memos that moved up and down, was there one to the president before the HoS was queried?

“When there were reports that Maina had been recalled, it took the president less than 24hrs to order his sack. So, what is the criticisms; that the moment it became clear, it took less than 24hrs to sack him? So, I will not want to dance to the tune of the opposition that will keep repeating a sing song hundred times and make people believe the sing song.

“Maina cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be a point of criticism to the president. For me, the Maina saga is credit to the president. The Maina saga, I will use it to campaign. You will use it to criticise but I will use it to campaign. That is because the man reacted to issue of corruption and back-door handling of an issue when it came to his knowledge,” Mr Keyamo said.

THE Presidency says its principal, Muhammadu Buhari will sign the 2018 appropriation bill into law next week.

This clarification is coming against earlier reports that the budget will be signed on Wednesday.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesperson, Femi Adesina, at the end of the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the council chamber of State House, Abuja, said his principal will assent to the bill next week.

While addressing journalists, Adesina said, “The budget will be signed next week. We will give you the specific date when it is confirmed.”

The National Assembly passed the budget on May 16, over seven months after the president submitted the proposals to the lawmaker.