₦airaland Forum

By Daramola Adebayo 

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Men of the Oyo State police command on Monday said that they have arrested a man for allegedly being in possession of three human skulls in Ibadan, the state capital.

The 27-year old Sodiq Rasheed, according to the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abiodun Odude, was arrested around Omi Adio.

Odude while parading the suspect, said he was caught during a raid by the police.

Odude said his accomplice was still at large.

The suspect while speaking with journalists said “It was one man that lured me into the crime.

“I helped him to do something and after we discussed, he told me to bring human skull for money ritual.

“I succeded in getting the three head at a cemetery located in a bush in Omi Adio area and after I was caught, he ran away”.

BY JOHN OGUNSEMORE




Sources close to the security forces have confirmed the reasons why staff of the Department of State Security (DSS) jubilated when they heard of the sack of immediate-past Director General, Lawal Musa Daura.

Recall that Daura was sacked by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday after he ordered masked and heavily-armed DSS agents to blockade the National Assembly Complex allegedly without official authorisation.

He has since been replaced by Matthew Seiyefa.

It was gathered that Daura assumed extraordinary powers immediately he assumed office and that he ensured that all Directors at the National Headquarters of the service were made to queue up to pay homage to him daily.

A source said, “To add salt to injury, you cannot even go and ease yourself because, once he sighted you in the CCTV that you have left, you are in soup.”

Before Daura, Directors at the Headquarters of the service were allocated a Prado SUV and a Peugeot 508 as official cars and one Toyota Hilux as utility car.

It was also gathered that Daura reduced the monthly subvention of the Directors by as much as 70 per cent under the pretext that there was no money.

The former DG DSS was also said to have stopped the welfare of all DSS staff even though it was said that he approved US dollars to sponsor some trips abroad.

Many of the operatives were allegedly denied their allowances usually paid for operational deployments.

A source said that in 2017, the former DG DSS allegedly sponsored 32 persons, including “some of his wives and grandchildren to the USA with some of them getting as much as $10,000 for adults and others got $5,000 as PTA.

“Training programmes and other official benefits were stopped. Even overseas training which are to be sponsored by the foreign institutions suffered because of lack of interest to treat files. Most at times, the event must have been concluded months after, before he would see the file and he was always proud to write ‘belated, file away,” a source stated.

But sources said that despite the claim of paucity of funds, the man was said to have placed his children and grandchildren and their spouses on monthly allowances of about N200,000 monthly.

The source further said: “The wives and grown up children were collecting petrol voucher for 100 litres per week, whereas operational vehicles are not properly fuelled, except those on standby for special operations like the operation at the National Assembly.”

“Officials of the DSS were told that Dangote Group donated vehicles just like the company did to the Police but that the embattled ex-DG converted the vehicles to personal use.

“Each wife goes around in convoy with details. In fact, the third wife who is based in Kano is nursing the ambition to contest for House of Reps in Kano.”

He was also said to have diverted trailer loads of rice donated by Dangote to Kano so that the said wife would use it as political gift to would-be constituents.

Further details indicated that even Daura’s neighbours in Gwarimpa, Abuja and Katsina did not enjoy him as some of them were said to have jubilated over his removal because of his oppressive conducts.

A source in the know said: “When a transformer serving his house in Daura got burnt, the neighborhood was all looking for his help for replacement.

“Daura however bought a smaller transformer that will serve only his house and connected same without minding what became the fate of his neighbours.”

His neighbours in Gwarimpa lamented that since he became DG DSS it has remained difficult to see him for any help.

lalasticlala

By Jeremiah Oke,



A mother of two, Dasola Akinkule, will know on September 6, 2018 whether her prayer to end her eight-year-old marriage to her husband, Tunde Akinkule, will be granted by the Oja-Oba Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State.

Dasola had told the court that Akinkunle hadn’t shown worthy qualities to be her husband as he was “a pathological liar, wicked, useless and careless about the well-being of the family.”

She said she was once compelled to invite the police to arrest him when he allegedly inflicted serious injuries on her with a stick.

The petitioner said when her husband impregnated her, he took her to his family house to stay with his family rather than secure an apartment for both of them.

When Akinkunle eventually rented a room apartment for them, she added, he brought in his younger brother whom she accused of always insisting on sharing the bed with her whenever she wanted to sleep. She frowned, “How could I sleep beside a mature man who is not my husband?”

Dasola told the court that her frustration reached the peak one day when she returned from work to discover her husband had removed all her belongings from their home.

She asked the court to dissolve the marriage and grant her custody of their two children.

But Akinkunle, a driver who lives in the Ojoo area of Ibadan, said his wife was not being sincere with her allegations against him in the court.

He said his wife was a nurse when he met her but, when she could not practise, he advised her to learn how to operate the computer and invested in the business for her.

The petitioner told the court that it was true that his wife was staying with his mother when she had her first pregnancy because he was then working in northern Nigeria.

The respondent, who presented receipts of computer scanners, generators and other business equipment, accused Dasola’s mother of being the problem he had with his wife, describing her as an “intruder” in the marriage.

The president of the court, Chief Ademola Odunade, requested for more evidence to prove the real owner of the computer business and demanded to see the two children in court on the next adjournment.

By John Shiklam in Kaduna



The Deputy Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, John Audu Kwaturu, representing Kachia, and another lawmaker, Junaidu Yakubu, representing Kudan, have defected from All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The defection of the deputy speaker was announced in a statement on Friday by the spokesman of the Reformed APC in Kaduna State, Mock Samuel Kure.

Kure said Kwataru had tendered his resignation from the APC and moved to the PDP.

Deputy Speaker Kwaturu later confirmed his defection to PDP in a phone conversation with THISDAY.

Hon. Yakubu announced his own defection in a letter dated August 7, 2018 and addressed to the APC ward chairman in Hunkuyi Ward, Kudan Local government area of Kaduna State.

In his letter of withdrawal from the APC, Yakubu said his decision to leave was informed by the fact that the leadership of the party at the state and local government levels had become draconian.

“I write to withdraw my membership of the APC with effect from today, August 7, 2018.
This becomes imperative in view of the draconian leadership of the party at state level and the local government level as well. I feel I will not serve the interest of the people in my constituency under the said leadership” Yakubu stated in his letter.

He added that the decision was taken after consultations with the people in his constituency.

Sources said six more lawmakers in the Assembly were on their way out of the APC and were expected to make a formal announcement on their defection next week.

Peter Dada , Akure



Medical workers at the Ondo State Neuro- Psychiatric Hospital, Akure , battled to resuscitate their Chief Medical Director , Dr . Akinwumi Akinloye, after he was viciously attacked by a patient admitted in the hospital.

It was gathered that a patient , identified as Folorunsho Olawale , who was referred for admission by the men of Ondo State Police Command, allegedly attacked the CMD and nurses on Wednesday night .

He also reportedly destroyed some equipment at the hospital , with the workers claiming that there was nobody to rescue them from the deadly assault .

A source disclosed that Olawale became a patient in the psychiatric hospital after the Police suspected that he was suffering from mental impairment .

He had reportedly gone to a Police station in Akure where he had reportedly confessed to being involved in the killing of Khadijat , the daughter of a former deputy governor of the state , Lasisi Oluboyo , who was suspected to have been murdered by her boyfriend and two other persons.
Khadija Oluboyo ’ s murder case is still pending .

A source told our correspondent : “ After a series of interrogation by the policemen at the station , Olawale was discovered to be having metal problem because his statement was incoherent and he was behaving abnormally.

“ That was how he was referred to the psychiatric centre for observation . ”

The source added that Olawale had been aggressive since his admission , noting that , on Wednesday evening , he allegedly stabbed two nurses and beat CMD Akinloye to a coma .

The source added that it took the interventions of other doctors from the Ondo State Specialists Hospital to resuscitate Dr . Akinloye.

The nurses and other medical workers of the psychiatric hospital have since gone on strike over the issue, citing inadequate protection and government negligence as reasons .

The workers flayed the Permanent Secretary of the Hospital Management Board , Dr . Ikuomola , who they said ordered them back to work instead of identifying with their complaint .

In response , Ikuomola said , “ We are going to address all the grievances and challenges confronting the hospital , such as power and security .

“ I have assured the workers that we will table their complaints before the state governor. ”

However , the chairman of the Joint Negotiating Council in the state , Mr. Opeyemi Oloniyo , said the workers would not “ subscribe to any threat from the permanent secretary . ”

The Public Relations Officer of the State Police Command, Mr. Femi Joseph , confirmed the incident .

Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha Thursday said that he is more favoured to become the first President of Igbo extraction.

The Imo governor, who spoke during a breakfast meeting with journalists at the Government House, noted that he commands massive followership beyond the Southeast much more than any other Igbo politician.

But Okorocha however lamented what he called the pull-him-down attitude among Igbo political elites, stressing that, “it is unfortunate that we the Igbo don’t celebrate our own, we are only interested how to destroy our own”.

He however disclosed that he will not be relying on the support of the Igbo to pursue and actualize his Presidential ambition.

According to him, “I stand a better chance of making the Presidency in 2023 but my greatest challenge will come from the Igbo.
It is our character. It will be a foolish thing to imagine that the Igbo will support me”.

On President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election, the Imo governor, disclosed that the Igbo are mobilizing to give him landslide victory.

lalasticlala

Soji Eze Fagbemi, Olatunde Dodondawa



THE federal government has assured Nigeria Labour Congress and entire labour workforce that the new national minimum wage will commence, latest by end of September 2018.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, declared on Monday that the federal government would announce the new minimum wage before the end of the third quarter which is September.

Ngige was speaking at the 40th Anniversary of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abuja on Monday.

The minister said “In furtherance to the determination by the federal government to attain the decent work agenda which involves opportunities for works that are productive and deliver a fair income, security in workplace, and social protection for families; there have been overtime, three minimum wage reviews and currently the tripartite committee on national minimum wage is set to review the current minimum wage.

“Memoranda are being received from relevant bodies are persons to enable the determination of a new minimum wage for the nation. By the third quarter of this year, a new minimum wage will be announced for the country.”

He appealed to workers for more time and understanding because the government wants to ensure compliance by all state governments.

According to him, “Better late than never because some State governors are still owing and cannot pay the current N18,000 minimum wage to workers, that’s why we are ensuring we bring all stakeholders along and announce the new minimum wage at the appropriate time.

“But I can assure you that the third quarter is the maximum time the new minimum wage will be announced.”

lalasticlala

A former assistant to the sacked director general of State Security Service, Lawal Daura, has accused his former principal of extensive corruption, and has portrayed him as a man who serially betrayed his boss, President Muhammadu Buhari, for money.

The assistant, Abdulwahab Abdulrahman, a retired senior SSS official, said he left the agency because of the scale of corruption and abuse there.

“I didn’t want my children to see news of my eventual arrest on TV,” he told PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Daura, who led Nigeria’s domestic spy agency since 2015, was abruptly fired on Tuesday by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo after he ordered a siege on the National Assembly.

The siege, which many Nigerians have characterised as a coup d’état, startled a nation that has struggled in the past two weeks to keep pace with rapidly unfolding political stunts ahead of next year’s general elections.

The cordon saw gun-wielding masked men blockading the federal parliament building in central Abuja, denying access to lawmakers and legislative staff. It was lifted several hours later, but only after Mr Daura was summoned by Mr Osinbajo and summarily dismissed. The acting president said the exercise did not receive authorisation.

Many Nigerians believe the move was to facilitate the removal of Bukola Saraki as senate president as punishment for his leaving the ruling APC last week.

But while such plot failed, it helped further galvanise public outrage against Mr Daura, a controversial figure who in the past three years managed to create for himself a notorious label as an official responsible for illegal detention, clampdown on dissent and disobedience of court orders.

Now, his former associate, Mr Abdulrahman, whom some described as Mr Daura’s former “right-hand man”, has spoken out exclusively to PREMIUM TIMES on what he said was Mr Daura’s darker side Nigerians never knew. Mr Abdulrahman served as special assistant to Mr Daura until 2016.

Besides corruption, he said Mr Daura repeatedly betrayed President Buhari.

Messrs Abdulrahman and Daura were members of the Buhari campaign’s security committee in the buildup to 2015 election. The committee was led by the current Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau.
Mr Abdulrahman said he served as the secretary of the 25-member committee.

“I noticed immediately we started work that for Lawal Daura it is simply about the money,” he said. “In one of earlier meetings he suggested that we should request for one billion to start work. Where will Buhari see one billion to give us?”
PREMIUM TIMES could not independently verify the claim. Mr Daura could not also be reached as he remained in detention Wednesday.

Some of Mr Daura’s aides told PREMIUM TIMES Mr Abdulrahaman was bitter after being sacked by Mr Daura, and cautioned his claims be treated with restraint. Mr Abdulrahman denied being sacked; he told this newspaper he left of his own volition.

But while several other sources in the security agency confirmed most of the allegations against Mr Daura, they told PREMIUM TIMES both men worked together for years either for good or for bad till they parted ways in 2016.

Still, they said, the revelations, especially with Mr Abdulrahman waiving any claim to anonymity, provide a rare opportunity for Nigerians to get a glimpse of the illicit practices at a security agency that should be one of the nation’s most revered, and how corruption and partisanship have stunted the department’s potential.


Before, After 2015 Election

Mr Abdulrahman said in the course of their work and as part of the transition team after Mr Buhari won the election, Mr Daura “kept producing fake reports about (Ita) Ekpenyong (his predecessor), but we never knew what he was targeting,” until late.

He said Mr Daura soon developed the habit of going to Mr Buhari’s influential cousin, Mamman Daura, to report Mr Ekpenyong and give details of what the election committee was doing.

That way, he said, Lawal Daura warmed his way into Mamman Daura’s heart. He also said despite coming from the same neighbourhood in Katsina State, Mr Buhari never knew Lawal Daura until 2015.
“He was introduced to the president by the late Senator Mustapha Bukar,” he said.

He also said Mr Daura was never a favourite of President Buhari because of his “antecedents”, suggesting he was somehow imposed on him by Mamman Daura and others close to him.

“When he was appointed, he kept putting pressure on me and Maikano, the current AO (admin officer) at the presidential villa, to come and work with him as SA. He assured me that what I will get under him, I cannot get even as a minister,” Mr Abdulrahman said.

Mr Maikano could not be reached to comment on the claim.

Mr Abdulrahman said Mr Daura feared the DG job may not be very easy since he had never worked at the headquarters and was not an operational staff.

“He said he wants the two of us to stabilise the service for him,” the ex-official said. Mr Abdulrahman said he eventually agreed to the offer after much pressure.

He claimed as the work commenced, “Daura was receiving money from everyone including the president’s enemies.”

Mr Abdulrahman said when they resumed, they always closed late at work, often at about 2 a.m. “What are we doing was mostly: receiving Ghana must go filled with cash brought by enemies of government to him,” he said, somewhat confirming he was part of whatever happened at the time.

“The rate of corruption on that fourth floor was too much and the president doesn’t deserve this,” he said. “He will go and get information on plans for (Senate president) Bukola (Saraki) and then leak it to him,” he said.

Similar allegation emerged Tuesday after Mr Daura’s removal, with many administration supporters accusing him of working for Mr Saraki against the government. On Wednesday, Mr Saraki said claims he compromised Mr Daura in respect of the National Assembly siege constituted an “insult on the intelligence of Nigerians”.

But the two institutions under Messrs Saraki and Daura clearly enjoyed cooperation in the past. In the heated days of the National Assembly’s standoff with the executive over the appointment of Ibrahim Magu as head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, it was mostly memos from the SSS that the lawmakers referenced as basis for rejecting Mr Magu.


‘Brazen Corruption’

At the SSS, Mr Abdulrahman said Mr Daura operated a repressive administration that stamped on staff rights just as it did on Nigerians’. In all, he said, the scale of corruption at the agency was shocking.

Such revelations, PREMIUM TIMES learnt, have already sent ripples across the agency and its sister organisations, with senior officials shuddering at the prospect of investigations after Mr Daura’s dismissal.

In the course of his interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Abdulrahman received multiple phone calls apparently from people appealing he should not yet go public. “I’m sorry sir, I will speak,” he told one caller.

Mr Abdulrahman told this newspaper that at some point, agents working for Mr Daura stopped going to the bureau de change to carry out transactions on his behalf.

Rather, “they invite the secretary of the bureau de change at that Sheraton (Hotel) gate to come to the office late at night with their counting machines, counting dollars”, he said.

“When I had too much I decided to leave and I swore to the directors who wanted me to stay because of their personal interest that Daura will leave office in handcuffs because of what I saw.

“I was preaching to him that he needs to help Mr President. because ‘you know you don’t deserve this office and he appointed you,’ because of that he stopped my pension for two years until I threatened to go to court,” he said.

On Mr Daura’s career history, Mr Abdulrahman said the former DG was sacked from the SSS originally, before his reappointment by Mr Buhari, because he was caught siphoning diesel from the SSS Academy in Kaduna.

“Before then, he was almost sacked when he was State Director in Lagos. Tinubu, who was governor donated 20 vehicles to aid the work of the service in the state; Fashola, who is minister now, was the Chief of Staff at the time, Lawal Daura took all the vehicles to Kano and sold them off,” he claimed.

He also said Mr Daura had to be secretly removed in Edo State because of how he was misusing staff stipends.

“Just like today, how they had to use the back door to ferry him away, don’t you wonder why he was not taken back to the service facility? He wouldn’t have survived it. I have been receiving calls all day from some of our top directors and staff, everyone is in a joyous mood today.

“In fact, a director told me that all his life, he never drank beer, but today, he will drink to celebrate how this service is finally saved from destruction,” he said.

This newspaper did not also independently verify those claims.


Arrogance, Disrespect To Constituted Authority

Mr Abdulrahman also said Mr Daura was too arrogant as DG of SSS.
He said he had no respect for the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, whom he should be reporting to. He also said he never had any respect for the vice president, Mr Osinbajo.

“Whenever the Vice President calls for a meeting for 2 o’clock Daura will cone by 3 and will not apologise. There was a time they had serious shouting match with Magu over the disrespect shown to the VP and the VP had to ask Magu to keep quiet,” he said.

lalasticlala

By Saawua Terzungwe



The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is considering drafting a list of fall-back options for presidential aspirants seeking the ticket of the party ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Cources hinted Daily Trust yesterday that the option ‘B’ was aimed at pacifying aspirants, who would lose the presidential primaries.

Our correspondent gathered that the party was walking a tight rope following influx of top politicians and increasing number of its presidential aspirants which now stands at 15.

Daily Trust reports that the choice of presidential candidate has become a difficult task for the party following the return of Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State, former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and Senate President Bukola Saraki ostensibly to contest the ticket.

But insiders told our correspondent that the party was scheming to ensure serving governors and senators in their first terms, were granted automatic tickets to run for a second term if they lost the presidential primaries.

A foundation member of the party from the North told Daily Trust that some of the presidential aspirants were also likely to be given the governorship tickets of their states to run if they lose the presidential primaries.

“The aspirants have been made to understand that the agenda is to unseat the APC government. So they have agreed to support whoever emerges at the primaries.
“But the party in its wisdom is working out a machinery to ensure no one is aggrieved at the end of the day,” he said.

He revealed that the party planned to allot ministerial, ambassadorial and other slots as compensation to other aspirants, who would lose at the primaries.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan in a statement Saturday, said, “The PDP has taken note of all concerns raised by highly respected and committed leaders of the party, as it concerns accommodation of interests as well as new alignments, and has since taken extensive measures that would ultimately ensure that no person or group is, in anyway, short-changed.

“All members must therefore, dispel every fear in relation to control of our structure as well as processes for selection of candidates for election, especially on the choice of our presidential candidate, as such will be handled with the strictest adherence to the principles of internal democracy and zero tolerance for imposition.”

So far, those interested in the party’s presidential ticket are; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo of Gombe State; Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State; former governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau; former Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki; former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido and founder of Baze University, Sen. Datti Baba-Ahmed.

Others are former governor of Kaduna State, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi; Senate President Bukola Saraki; former governor of Kano State Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso; former Senate President David Mark; Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State; Chief Alfa Muhammed Oliver and former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke.

By Tony Anichebe and Philip Nyam



The planned defection of former governor of Akwa Ibom State and Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has unsettled his successor, Governor Udom Emmanuel and the leadership of the opposition party.

Akpabio, a two-term governor of the oil-rich state on the platform of the PDP and senator representing Akwa Ibom North West, met with President Muhammadu Buhari in London yesterday and he is billed to officially declare for APC on Thursday.

The president is on a 10-day vacation in London, but his Special Assistant on Prosecution, Okoi Obono- Obla, had disclosed in aFacebook post on Saturday, that Akpabio would be received into APC by Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo and other top leaders of the party at a rally in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State. Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, also confirmed Akpabio’s defection move.

New Telegraph had, on Monday, July 23, 2018, exclusively reported that Akpabio has concluded plans to dump PDP for APC. The former governor is expected to move to the ruling party with a senator and six members of the House of Representatives from Akwa Ibom State.

Akwa Ibom State has nine members in the House of Representatives with eight of them belonging to PDP, while APC has one. Also expected to defect with him are no fewer than 10 members of the state House of Assembly as well as commissioners.

Akpabio’s move is said to have unsettled Governor Udom Emmanuel, who practically begged Akwa Ibom PDP stakeholders not to follow the former governor to APC. The governor made the appeal at an emergency meeting of party stakeholders in Government House, Uyo, on Saturday night.
At the meeting were 10 representatives from each of the 31 local governments of the state. Emmanuel thanked PDP stakeholders, women and youths for their support and told them not to be weakened with political events unfolding in the state and country.

He noted that all PDP presidential aspirants who have visited Akwa Ibom, acknowledged that the state chapter of the party is the most united and organised in the country.

The governor appreciated the stakeholders for their steadfastness and loyalty to the party and his administration and informed them that the rebirth the party is undergoing, which, according to him, has placed it on the right track to reclaim power.

A lawmaker, who attended the meeting, told our correspondent that core loyalists of the governor appealed to Emmanuel to immediately purge his administration of supporters of the former governor to avoid leaking vital information and strategies to their principal.

Among Akpabio’s core loyalists he mentioned is the deputy governor, Obong Moses Ekpo and some commissioners, including Akpabio’s cousin, Ibang. According to the source, Emmanuel told the stakeholders that he did everything possible to please Akpabio, but the former governor could not be satisfied.

However, four personal aides to Akpabio were said to have tendered their resignation letters. Their position was made known during a meeting of PDP stakeholders in Abak yesterday.

Led by Utibe Nwoko, a Senior Legislative Aide, the senator’s aides dissociated themselves from the planned defection and pledged their unalloyed support for the re-election of Emmanuel in 2019.

But, New Telegraph gathered that most political leaders in the state, mostly from Akwa Ibom North West (Ikot Ekpene senatorial district) have concluded plans to move with Akpabio to APC.

They include former works commissioner in the state, Don Etim; leader of the state Assembly, Udo Kieran Akpan; former Speaker of the state Assembly and currently member representing Etinan Federal Constituency, Sam Ikon; members representing Abak and Essien Edim/Etim Ekpo/ Ika federal constituencies, Emmanuel Akpan and Emmanuel Ekon; state House of Assembly members, Nse Ntuen, Usoro Akpanusoh, Aniekan Uko, Aniekan Bassey, Idongesit Ntekpere, Uduak Ududoh and Mark Esset, among others.

Also said to be on the defection list are the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Victor Antai and Commissioner for Labour and Manpower Development, Ibanga Akpabio.

The Speaker, State House of Assembly Speaker, Onofiok Luke and Senator Bassey Albert, have defied Akpabio’s request for them to move with him to the APC.

One of the likely defectors, who spoke with New Telegraph in Abuja yesterday, said all loyalists of Akpabio were in tune with his decision to join the ruling party.

The lawmaker said Akwa Ibom, being one of the leading oil states in the country, cannot afford to be in the opposition for long because it is too strategic to the nation’s economy.

His words: “I can confirm to you that five of my colleagues and I with one senator will be joining our leader, Senator Akpabio, to the ruling party, APC.” Meanwhile, a former military governor of Akwa Ibom State, Otuekong Odongesit Nkanga, has urged the governor to prepare for war ahead of 2019 elections.

Nkanga, who also spoke at the emergency state PDP stakeholders meeting, said: “This is a critical time for Akwa Ibom State. Your Excellency, you should actually prepare for war. It’s time to raise your soldiers and prepare for war in 2019. It’s going to be survival of the fittest and the winner-takesit- all.”

The former military administrator is the Director- General of Governor Emmanuel’s campaign organisation. Also speaking at the meeting, Senator Emmanuel Ibok Essien, who represented Akwa Ibom West in the Senate between 1999 and 2003, assured the governor of the support of the people of the area.

“We are the people who have been deciding the electoral outcomes in Ikot Ekpene senatorial district and we are still with you, so there is no cause for alarm,” he said.

PDP National Legal Adviser, Emmanuel Enoidem, and a former minister and PDP leader in Eket senatorial district, Chief Nduese Essien, said it is time for Emmanuel’s aides and appointees to go back home and align with stakeholders to work for PDP in the forthcoming elections.

Senator Bassey Albert, who spoke on behalf of members of the National Assembly from the state, expressed their delight over the governor’s role in the rebirth of the party and assured him of their support in the forthcoming general election.

Omoniyi Salaudeen



TUESDAY’S defection of Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is an epoch of the moment, which is still reverberating in the polity, understandably because of his position as the number three citizen in the country.

The long-awaited defection was an anti-climax of the power play intrigues that heralded his emergence as the leader of the hallowed chamber against the wish of his party.

In a terse statement released following his reunion with the PDP, the overtly ambitious Senator cited irreconcilable differences with his former party as his reason for jumping ship, confirming the speculation of his nurtured aspiration to take a shot at the presidency in 2019.

This, of course, may not have come as a surprise to the APC, which has linked Saraki to a string of political maneuverings allegedly interpreted to be a deliberate plot to undermine the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Saraki, in his overt ambition to assume the leadership of the 8th National Assembly at its inauguration in June 2015 had taken precedence from the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, who had to defy the PDP to clinch the seat and thereafter shifted loyalty to the defunct ACN.

But while the PDP humbly swallowed the pill of humiliation and accepted Tambuwal’s rebellion, Saraki on the other hand had been at loggerheads with the APC, as he was hounded, rundown, and humiliated in his celebrated trial for false asset declaration instituted against him by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

In making the latest shift of allegiance, Saraki must have been emboldened by the recent judgment of the Supreme Court that gave him a clean bill of health after battle, which began on September 22, 2015.

Reacting to the apex court judgment, he said: “The case was trumped up in the first instance because of my emergence as the President of the Senate against the wishes of certain forces. Ordinarily, I doubt anyone would be interested in the asset declaration form I filled over 15 years ago.

For all he cares, the calculated shift of allegiance, to say the least, is the beginning of another battle of a titan. What remains to be seen is whether allegations of corruption and complicity in the recent Offa robbery incident that have continued to dog his footsteps will undermine his new sojourn and ambition.

Although the apex court has cleared the pathway for him, the ugly public perception foisted on him by the corruption trial remains an albatross, which will continue to haunt him ahead of his campaigns for his new political tour for 2019.

His erstwhile party, APC, has also accused him of being instrumental to the friction between President Buhari and members of the legislature, a development the party claimed was largely responsible for the slow pace of governance in the country since it took over the reign of power in 2015.

Pointedly, the Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, while reacting to his defection after Wednesday’s cabinet meeting said: “Saraki has behaved all along as if he was a member of the opposition, deliberately slowing down the progress of the APC.”

Yet, the defecting lawmakers in an extraordinary joint statement had denounced Buhari for failing to tackle rising violence and using the security services to hound opponents.

But as Saraki has now crossed over to the defensive, more of such onslaughts are likely to be launched against the president in the months ahead, particularly with the new balance of forces in the two chambers of the National Assembly. Last week, 16 lawmakers in the upper house left the APC for PDP, likewise 32 in the lower house.

Hit by the gale of defections, the APC leadership has demanded that Saraki relinquish his position as Senate President since he rode on the back of the party to clinch it. Just last Thursday too, the PDP made him its national leader, as he is now holding the highest office in the party, thereby replacing the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who had hitherto held the position.

Born into one of Nigeria’s wealthiest and most politically prominent families on December 19, 1962, Saraki is treading a familiar terrain. His late father, Abubakar Olusola Saraki (aka Oloye), a Second Republic Senate Majority Leader, was a de facto kingmaker in his home state of Kwara. Since the younger Saraki stepped into his father’s shoes, he has left no one in doubt that he had been well groomed to take charge of the dynasty and sustain its survival.

He has been President of the Nigeria’s Senate since 2015. He was also the Kwara State governor from 2003 to 2011. He attended the Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry from 1982 to 1987. He is married with children.

John Alechenu , Olusola Fabiyi , Gbenro Adeoye and Leke Baiyewu




A source in the Peoples Democratic Party has confirmed that the Minority Leader of the Senate , Senator Godswill Akpabio , is considering leaving the party .

Some media organisations (not
PUNCH) had reported on Friday that Akpabio met with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in Aso Rock for two hours and that the senator was planning to leave the PDP for the ruling All Progressives Congress .

The source , however , claimed that Akpabio was considering leaving the PDP because the APC— led government was threatening to use the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against him if he did not work to deliver his state , Akwa Ibom , for the ruling party in 2019 .

The close party source said , “ What is happening is that the APC has threatened to deal with him , using the EFCC and he doesn’ t want that at all.

“ Although, we are all pleading with him not to leave the party (PDP ), but he is afraid. He doesn ’ t want to be in EFCC’ s net at all. He is really under pressure but we hope that he would listen to us . ”

Senator Nelson Effiong from Akwa Ibom South had in 2017 joined the APC from the PDP.

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Siphathisiwe Tshuma/ Vendetta




SOME people will go to great lengths to be rich but one Beitbridge young man took it to “absurd” levels when he acted on the advice of a sangoma to have 10 rounds of sex with a goat to make the cash.

With just one round left — after completing nine — Kudakwashe Hondoro ran out of luck.

Community members who had been disturbed by the continuous bleating of the goat decided to investigate and busted Hondoro pants down in the act.

Speaking to B-Metro, Talent Mangwiro — who claims to have been one of the community members that caught Hondoro in the act — said at first they assumed the goat had been attacked by a wild animal.

“We were drinking around midday and we heard the bleating of a goat but initially ignored the sounds as we thought it had been caught by one of the wild animals since it’s common in our area,” he said.

The goat’s bleating would stop then start again periodically.

“The goat would bleat for a few minutes, let’s say 10 minutes, then we would not hear the sounds for a while only for the goat to start bleating again.

This went on for some time until we eventually decided to investigate and maybe possibly rescue the goat from whatever animal was attacking it,” added Mangwiro.

Instead of a wild animal attacking the goat, the villagers were stunned to find a man pleasuring himself —without protection.

“We were stunned and scared at the same time. Hondoro was having sexual intercourse with the animal. When he heard us, he did not try to run but only looked up at us probably trying to come up with a plan,” he said.

Then instant mob justice followed.

The perpetrator incensed the villagers when he couldn’t give an explanation why he was involved in bestiality acts with the animal.

B-Metro caught up with Hondoro whose comments left these journalists in awe.

“I was told by a sangoma to look for a black goat, which he instructed me to have 10 rounds of sex with. I did exactly that but other villagers disturbed the procedure as they caught me at the ninth round.

Now I have to look for that same goat and finish the job so that I become rich,” added Hondoro, who seemed quite disturbed and troubled.

Femi Asu


The crude oil refinery being built in Lagos by Dangote Industries Limited is a threat to refineries in Europe , which Nigeria relies mostly on for fuel imports , a global provider of energy and commodities information has said .

The Editorial Director , Strategic Oil Markets Development , S& P Global Platts , Andrew Bonnington, said at the S& P Global Platts Lagos Oil & Energy Forum on Thursday that the start of operations at the Dangote refinery would likely lead to the closure of some European refineries .

He told our correspondent on the sidelines of the event , “In Africa , the Dangote refinery is a huge story; one of the biggest refineries in the world being built in Nigeria , likely to supply most of or all of Nigeria ’ s consumption. That clearly has an impact on European refineries , because they export to Nigeria.

“ It is impossible for me to say exactly what the impact will be, but it is not a good thing for European refineries that Dangote refinery is being built . ”

According to Bonnington , Europe is the biggest supplier of petroleum products to Nigeria , with about 75 per cent of petrol consumed in the country imported from the continent .

Last week , the President , Dangote Industries Limited , Aliko Dangote , said he had arranged more than $ 4 . 5 bn in debt financing for his refinery project and aimed to start production in early 2020 .

Dangote , Africa ’ s richest man , is building a refinery with a capacity of 650 , 000 barrels per day to help reduce Nigeria ’ s dependence on imported petroleum products .

He was quoted by Reuters as saying that lenders would commit about $ 3 . 15bn , with the World Bank’ s private sector arm providing $ 150 m , adding that he was investing more than 60 per cent from his own cash flow.

“We will end up spending between $ 12bn and $ 14bn . The funding is going to come through equity, commercial bank loans , export credit agencies and developmental banks . Hopefully, we will finish mechanical (construction ) by next year and products will start coming out in the first quarter of 2020 , ” Dangote added .

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Eniola Akinkuotu , Abuja



The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole , has urged husbands to stop struggling with their babies over breasts , but rather allow their wives to put the babies on exclusive breast milk .

This is just as the minister revealed that he was having talks with the Ministry of Labour and Employment to extend maternity leave from the current four months to six .

Adewole said this at the ministerial briefing and inauguration of the 2018 World Breastfeeding Week and High Level Policy Dialogue on Breastfeeding in Abuja on Thursday .

Speaking on the theme , ‘ Breastfeeding : Foundation of Life’ , the minister said breastfeeding remained the surest way to have a healthy baby.

He said , “ What has been shown clearly is that the brain, which we actually need to drive everything we do in life , is sorted out in the first two years. So , if you give the baby good food , good protein, we will have good workers and good leaders in the future .

“ But if we don’ t give them good food, then we will have a generation of jesters over the years and that is not what we want in this country . So , breastfeeding is a national investment in the cerebral architecture of our citizens and in the future development of our country .

“ So , let us work together to promote it . To the men , please allow the women to give it to the babies . Don’ t share or compete with the babies . Only promote it . To the women , I know you love us but don’ t give it to us , give it to the babies . ”

Adewole noted that he was having talks with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr . Chris Ngige , on the possibility of extending the maternity leave from four to six months .

He said this would give women more time to breastfeed their babies .

The minister noted , “ Now we have four months of maternity leave but we are working with labour to increase it to six so that there will be no excuse because if you have six months , there is no excuse . ”

In her remarks, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning , Mrs . Zainab Ahmed , said statistics showed that of the seven million babies born every year , less than 25 per cent put on exclusive breast milk .

Ahmed said that babies who are well breastfed hardly fall sick while mothers have a reduced risk of ovarian and breast cancer.

She added , “ Health practitioners have advised us that initiating breastfeeding within the first hours of life reduces the rate of neonatal mortality by up to 22 per cent . It also reduces the risk of asthma and obesity in the babies .

“ Approximately, seven million children are born in Nigeria every year and, according to the 2014 National Nutrition Survey , only 25 per cent are exclusively breastfed between the ages of zero and six months . ”

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A 14-year old girl who was declared missing in Lagos unknown to her parents was actually inside their 43-year old neighbour’s room for two days and later confessed enjoying sex romps during the period.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the victim revealed that she was comfortable and that was why she did not disclose where she was despite the fact that she knew her parents were looking for her.

The incident happened at Suberu Oje Avenue by Casso bus stop in Alagbado, Lagos where they resided.

However, the neighbour, Mr. Olaniyi Lawal, has landed in trouble after he released the victim and she told her parents that she was with Mr. Lawal for those days and had sex.

The matter was reported to the police; Lawal was arrested for abduction and rape.

P.M.EXPRESS scooped that the parents suffered serious trauma when the victim disappeared as they thought she had been kidnapped and reported to the police.

The neighbours including Lawal and the police formed search parties who were looking for the missing girl until she returned to her parents and revealed what happened.

It was gathered that the parents were angry that Lawal joined them in searching for the missing girl whereas he kept her inside his room and exploited her by having uninterrupted sex with her.

He denied abducting the victim and claimed that he did not rape her as alleged by her parents.

However, the police found him culpable because of the age of the victim and charged Lawal before Ogba Magistrates court for the offence.

The prosecutor, Inspector Donny Raphael, informed the court that Lawal abducted the victim, kept her inside his room and defiled her.

The Presiding Magistrate, Mrs. B.O. Osunsanmi, ordered that Lawal be remanded in prison custody.

The court directed the prosecutor to send the file to DPP for advice and then adjourned till 9th September, 2018.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered that if the DPP finds Lawal culpable and he was tried and found guilty, he will have to spend so many years in prison for the offence.

The Nigerian government on Thursday argued for the payment of compulsory levy by students in primary and secondary schools across Nigeria.

The levy was debated on Thursday at the 63rd ministerial session of the National Council Education (NCE).

The approval for the levy was initially contained in the communique from the session but was later expunged.

The compulsory annual development levy would have been N500 for primary school pupils and N1000 for secondary school students across the country, if approved.

According to the initial draft of the communique, the funds would be paid into a dedicated account called “Development Levy Account”.

At the session on Thursday, a delegate who did not introduce himself, said the introduction of the levy negates the mandate of free education as stated in the UBEC Act 2004.

In his reaction, the Minister of State for Education, Anthony Anwukah, said the issue of the development fee by students will go through policy stages as the council deliberates on strategies and ways to increase funding.

“Although UBEC act says education is free, but it subjected to amendment, we are trying to find solution to funding problem of education,” indicating the government was in support of some levy.

Mr Anwukah called for additional taxation for funding education in Nigeria in order to put an end to endless cry of underfunding in the sector.

Also, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Sunny Echono, said pupils and parents should take responsibility to make contribution to education.

Following the lack of consensus on the levy, the permanent secretary later asked the NCE to expunge the section from the communique, which was done.


STUDENTS LOANS, OTHERS

The council also approved the establishment of education bank and students’ loan boards by states at concessionary interest rates to allow students easy access to loans.

No such public loans are currently available for Nigerian students despite the increasing fees charged by public and private higher institutions.

The council also approved the re-establishment of State Education Development Fund (SEDFund) and other funds to create additional but sustainable funding source to improve education service delivery in post-basic schools for the achievement of 2030 Agenda.

“Council approved the Establishment of a Special Intervention Fund for persons with Special Needs.

On the issue of religion curriculum, the council stated that the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) had completed the separation of Christian Religion Studies (CRS) and Islamic Studies (IS) from Religion and National Values Curriculum.

It, therefore, approved the teaching, learning and assessment of CRS, IS and National Values as stand-alone subjects at the basic education level.

It noted that critical stakeholders like the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, among others, were involved in the separation process.

The council had also approved the draft of National Policy on Open Educational Resources (OER) for higher education in Nigeria for immediate Implementation.

“The Communiqué was adopted by the Council by a motion moved by Gombe State and seconded by Rivers State on this day, the 2nd August, 2018”, the communique stated.

A total of 652 delegates were in attendance from the 36 states and FCT, heads of parastatals in the education sector and stakeholders from private organisations and the United Nations agencies.

The NCE is the highest policy making body aimed at addressing challenges and proffering solutions to problems confronting the education sector.

By Abdullateef Aliyu,



The Federal Government has set up a team for the proposed unbundling of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) that would see the entity being broken into three or four groups, Daily Trust can report.

The planned unbundling of the NRC is for efficiency and better service delivery as the country invests in railway modernization.

Our correspondent learnt that the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has put in place a team led by the Managing Director of the NRC to work out the modalities.

The minister, while speaking with newsmen recently in Lagos, confirmed the planned unbundling, but said the MD of the NRC had been given the mandate to come up with the modalities.

“I have put a team on ground to do a study and send it to me. Until they send that to me, I can’t speak more on it. But I think we need to unlock what we currently have because we seem to be overwhelmed.”

Amaechi said: “We are looking at the possibility. I discussed with the managing director that there is the need to break Nigerian Railway Corporation into three.

One that owns the assets - the tracks and it is in charge of maintenance of the tracks and all railway assets and then one that operates. So you have the Nigerian Railway Corporation that does the running of passenger trains and all that. Then you have one that does marketing and all that.”

Daily Trust however reports that the planned unbundling aligns with the plan of the National Assembly which in 2016 started the process of unbundling the railway corporation.

The Senate Land Transportation Committee chaired by Lagos Senator Gbenga Ashafa is proposing to create the National Railway Authority, the Independent Railway Regulatory Commission and the Railway Operators’ scheme.

The bill being proposed also seeks to reduce the power of Federal Government as sole operators and regulators of railway.

The bill by the committee entitled, ‘Review of the Nigerian Railway Corporation Repeal and Re-Enactment Bill’, restricts the Ministry of Transportation to policy making, while the National Railway Authority is to manage the infrastructure, pending the establishment of a National Transport Commission.

To achieve the objectives, the Senate Committee on Land Transport, composed a technical committee made up of engineers in the private sector to review the existing NRC Act and come up with modalities that would enhance efficiency in the sector.

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor and Monsuru Olowoopejo



The minister of women affairs and social development, Senator Aisha Alhassan has resigned her position in order to contest the 2019 governorship election.

President Muhammadu Buhari confirmed the resignation in his acceptance of her notification through a letter conveyed to her dated July 27, 2018.

In the letter, however, President Buhari raised a condition of supporting her so long as she vies on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Alhassan had famously last September vowed that she would not support Buhari’s second term ambition on the claim that he had promised to serve only one term and that she would only support former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Abubakar who was at that time in the APC has now defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. It was yet unclear yesterday if she would follow Abubakar to the PDP.

Alhassan was the candidate of the APC in the 2015 governorship election and lost it by the whiskers.

In his acceptance of her resignation letter, Buhari said:

I have today received your letter notifying me of your intention to contest for the governorship of Taraba State in the 2019 election.

Let me thank you on behalf of the Federal Executive Council and Nigerians for your services as minister under this administration. I note with passion your past contribution to our great party APC during and after the 2015 elections.

As you are aware I am totally committed to free and fair elections. Our policy is to support all APC candidates. I wish you well in your ambition to be governor of your state. Rest assured that all security agencies as well as INEC will have my full support to conduct free, fair and transparent elections in 2019.

Abdulmumin Jibrin, a member of the house of representatives from Kano state, says at least four governors in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are working with the All Progressives Congressives (APC) ahead of the 2019 election.

The lawmaker said the governors, whose identities he did not disclose, have a “cross-party arrangement” with the APC.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Jibrin said: “At the moment, not less than four to five PDP governors are working in a cross-party arrangement to support the APC in the next presidential election.”

He added that the ruling party is “not shaking” despite losing many of its key members in the last one week.

The party has lost 46 members of the national assembly and three governors to the opposition since last week, with more lawmakers reportedly plotting to leave.

Jibrin, however, said adequate measures were being put in place to ensure the party’s “strongholds remain intact.”

“If the APC were presenting another candidate other than President Muhammadu Buhari, I would have been a bit jittery about the defections but there is this consensus within the party with Buhari as our presidential candidate,” he said.

“Those people against Buhari in Nigeria are just a group of elites with no electoral value. And so in the next election is going to be between some sections of the elites verses the masses.”


‘NO NIGERIAN CAN COMPETE MATCH BUHARI’S ELECTORAL VALUE’

Jibrin said the president currently has the “highest electoral value in the country and in the entire Africa”, adding that his ability to bring Nigeria out of economic recession last year is enough reason for him to seek re-election.

“When people say the economy is going down, I get surprised. What indices are they using to make their judgement?” he asked.

“The reality of the matter is that the capacity of Buhari setting up a crack team, giving power to the CBN and ministry of finance to battle the economic recession that would have brought Nigeria to ground zero is enough for Buhari to contest the next election.

“That was what former US president Barrack Obama did. He came when there was economic crisis in America and within two years, he was able to bring the country back on board. That was what he used to get re-election.”

Barring any last-minute change of mind, Aminu Tambuwal, Governor of Sokoto State, will announce his defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday, SaharaReporters understands.

Ahead of the planned defection, Tambuwal is currently in Abuja holding a series of meetings aimed towards perfecting the official announcement of his defection.

A source in the camp of the former House of Representatives Speaker told SaharaReporters on Tuesday afternoon that Tambuwal was never made to feel at home in the APC; and in addition, he understands that his “moderate” chances of becoming President in 2019 will be better explored in the PDP.

“There’s been a lot of discrimination in APC, the source said.

“Those who joined from the CPC and the ACN are treated like the aboriginal APC members, while the outcasts are the PDP people. Tambuwal has never been allowed to fully operate; Tambuwal and others like Bukola Saraki have not been given the free hand to operate. They believe that they have been marginalized; they’ve always been seen as intruders who used the party’s platform to get to power.

“Now, Tambuwal wants to run for President, and he has a good chance. His chance his moderate and the man himself is not extreme in his ideas. He is approachable. His defection has been in the works like you already know, but he wants to make it public tomorrow.”

On Tambuwal’s chances, the source said: “He is a likely contender. The political heavyweights in the North see Rabiu Kwankwaso as extreme in his approach, but they see Tambuwal as a more moderate person who can lead a diverse country like Nigeria.”

Tambuwal’s original defection from the PDP to the APC was at about this time in relation to the 2015 general election. After months of speculations and denial despite openly fraternizing with the APC, Tambuwal, as House of Reps Speaker, defected in October 2014 and quickly adjourned till December 3.

His popularity soared within weeks, as the Federal Government’s withdrawal of his security aides earned him enormous public sympathy. At a point when the North was finding it difficult to arrive at a consensus candidate to neutralize the Atiku Abubakar threat, Bola Tinubu, National leader of the APC, considered Tambuwal the ‘Plan B’ to Muhammadu Buhari.

Such was the extent of his growing popularity that Imam Imam, his late spokesman, subsequently announced on November 13, 2014: “Earlier today, some friends and political associates of the speaker notified him that they have brought the forms for him.”

However, the N10million spent in procuring the ticket came to waste, as Tambuwal eventually contested and won the Sokoto State governorship election.

This time, the source in Tambuwal’s camp maintains no such waste will happen.
“As we speak, that is 2pm Nigerian time on Tuesday, the plan is for Tambuwal to contest for the PDP presidential ticket; and first of all, he will announce his return to PDP to a gathering of supporters in Sokoto tomorrow,” the source said.

by Dyepkazah Shibayan



The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the house of representatives has threatened to block President Muhammadu Buhari’s supplementary budget over the impeachment move against Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue state.

In the budget sent to the national assembly earlier in the month, Buhari asked the national assembly to appropriate N242 billion for the 2019 election.

Speaking at a press conference, Chukwuma Onyema, house deputy minority leader, said the PDP legislators would “block the request to consider the budget”, adding that it will be “tit for tat”
Wondering how eight lawmakers would reconvene the house that has 30 members, Onyema said the PDP caucus would not allow impunity to be the order of the day in Benue.

“Indications are emerging that this administration is walking in the same grim path of the forbidding regime of late General Sani Abacha and the outright dictatorship that overthrew the democratic Shehu Shagari administration,” the house deputy minority leader said.

“This is a government that came into office with the slogan of progressiveness and change. But in reaction to Governor Ortom’s defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), policemen took over the state house of assembly complex and an impeached speaker of the 30-member house who had been suspended for six months for unparliamentary behaviour presided over a mockery of the rule of law and democracy.

“We are constrained to draw the attention of all Nigerians and the global community, including the United Nations, to the increasingly autocratic, grossly anti-democratic and historically anti-people antics of the APC federal government as it embarks on a desperate march towards the 2019 general election.

“Twenty-two lawmakers, led by the newly-elected speaker, Titus Abua, were prevented from gaining access into the complex.

“Yet for people nursing intense physical injuries and psychological wounds, the APC federal government has now added a blatant rape of their hope in democracy as eight APC members of the Benue state house of assembly have today, served governor Samuel Ortom an impeachment notice.

“We condemn the gross injustice in Benue state and we hereby affirm that constitutionally, at least twenty members of the house of assembly must sit to form a quorum and thereby, in its entirety, the so-called impeachment process begun by eight renegades and their sponsors must duly be described by all Nigerians as an illegality, an exercise in futility which shall remain null and void.”

While expressing his displeasure at the alleged action of the federal government and the police, Onyema said the “seven renegade fellows” have no legal authority to serve an impeachment notice on the governor.

By Chijioke Jannah 


Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu, the Senator representing Nasarawa West District in the National Assembly, has said the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, would have been chased out of the meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and the caucus of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the upper legislature, if he had shown up.

According to him, the Senate President betrayed Buhari and the national mandate of the APC by supervising the defection of some federal lawmakers to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Senator Adamu said Saraki’s group in the Red Chamber were fond of opposing and sabotaging the government of President Buhari, which according to him, had been the cause of the clash between them and members of the Parliamentary Support Group led by him.

He accused Saraki of deliberately leading the Senate into recess so as to give him and his associates time to perfect measures to maneuver the unpleasant effects of his much anticipated defection to the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP.

He told Daily Trust newspaper: “There’s no question that Saraki is going to dump the APC, he’s not in the APC anymore. We were there in the presidency, the APC caucus, but he wasn’t there. So, don’t say he will. As far as we’re concerned, he’s gone.

“If he had turned up for the meeting with the president, I would have sent him out. I would have told them that ‘you don’t belong here; you betrayed the president. You want to continue with the game of betrayal? Get out of this place.’

“Each time they talk about strengthening institutions, they’re talking about strengthening their bogey position of office. That’s what they’re doing, and that’s why we never agree with them. They will never play along, supporting their own government.

You’re an APC man, your party has got a national mandate, you have a president, and you’re still working by the day, every one day, against the president, Muhammadu Buhari. It’s a betrayal.

“Take it from me that our colleagues who are now members of the PDP have made the mistake of their lives; they have committed a political blunder. You can start counting the days of failure that confronts the PDP.

“We were not suppose to go on recess on Tuesday. This is the longest recess we’re having, which is about two months. The whole thing is to give them time to maneuver to do what they want to do, but it is an end game for them.”

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Nigerians have continued to ventilate their anger on President Muhammadu Buhari, his administration, and the minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun, for choosing to ignore a certificate forgery scandal involving the minister.

Frontline Nigerian newspapers have written editorials in the last two weeks, amplifying calls by Nigerians for the government and Mrs Adeosun to come out clean on the scandal.

On June 7, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the minister did not participate in the mandatory one year national service, National Youths Service Corps (NYSC), despite her eligibility for it, but went on to forge an exemption certificate.

When the news broke, Nigerians online expressed outrage demanding Mrs Adeosun defend herself or step down from her post. Some also asked President Buhari to ease her out if she could not fault the facts contained in the story.

However, three weeks since the story was published, both the government and Mrs Adeosun have maintained what one newspaper called “audacious contempt” for Nigerians on the scandal.

The Punch, in an editorial published on Friday said the silence of Mrs Adeosun and the government is “v ery disrespectful of the right of Nigerians to know”.

But while the government apparently hopes ignoring the issues raised will push it to oblivion, it appears Nigerians are not willing to let it pass, going by the incessant demands for probity on the matter.

“Adeosun has kept an un-dignified silence about so grave an allegation and her employers, the Federal Government, has been wooly-mouthed in its comment on the matter,” wrote The Guardian (Nigeria) in a July 25 editorial .

In the days since the story was first published, at least two former officials of the NYSC – a retired director of mobilisation, and a former director general of the Corps, publicly faulted possibility of Mrs Adeosun obtaining such document from the NYSC.

Maharazu Tsiga, who was the NYSC boss as at September 2009, the period Mrs Adeosun’s purported certificate was allegedly issued, told PREMIUM TIMES that there was no way such a thing could happen, stressing that service is mandatory for anyone who graduated within the required age.

Days after the scandal broke out, PREMIUM TIMES reported that officials of the NYSC were being pressured to find a soft landing for Mrs Adeosun and blame the embarrassing scandal on some scapegoats.

In a July 15 editorial, Daily Trust criticised the minister and the federal government for keeping silent on the issue, warning that attempts to shield Mrs Adeosun from “sack and prosecution” will make the government’s “touted anti-corruption stance” to “fly out through the window”.

According to the newspaper, “It is very strange indeed that a top government official will keep mute when such a serious allegation is made against her. It is doubly strange that the Buhari Presidency, which at the drop of the coin touts integrity and anti-corruption as its defining ethic, has kept mute over this matter for so long”.

In its Friday editorial, The Punch described as sad “ that Nigeria is once again making herself a laughing stock before other nations. What everybody expects is that, by now, the government should have set the machinery in motion to carry out a thorough investigation into the entire sordid affair”.

The newspaper, agreed with many other commentators on what the government ought to have done “if the minister herself does not consider it fit to step down for her name to be cleared”. The Punch editors wrote that “it is the responsibility of the government to have asked her to do so”.

The Guardian, summarizes that, with this scandal, “decent Nigerians and friends of Nigeria elsewhere, lament the loss of a sense of shame and the increasing dearth of integrity in high places in this land”.

This sense of shame and outrage, the newspaper referred to, is captured in a number of social media posts dotting the online space.

A number of commentators are however posting to keep the issue alive, insisting that it should be addressed, rather than sweeping it under the carpet.

“Kemi Adeosun ought to speak or resign. Really. The silence is disgusting. Contrary comments to this post are disabled. ” Tweeted famous blogger, Japeth Omojuwa on July 22.
Dipo Awojide, tweeting from the handle @OgbeniDipo suggested a resignation note for the minister.

‘“I thank President Buhari for the confidence in me and in appointing me to serve as Minister of Finance. Indeed, I have fallen short of what is expected as a public officer. I have tendered my resignation. I apologise to Mr President and all Nigerians.” – Kemi Adeosun
“An idea. ”

“In the last 3 weeks, the Ekiti election, with all its drama, has been won & lost; Nigeria Air, with all its debate, has been launched; the Senate President has been blocked in; and Legislators have defected and un-defected. That’s how long Kemi Adeosun and NYSC have been silent” wrote Joe Abah (DrJoeAbah) on Thursday.

On July 18, BudgIT co-founder, Oluseun Onigbinde, tweeted “After this Kemi Adeosun saga with no since word from Buhari or Aso Rock, please don’t bring the word “Integrity” near me. Anyone differentiating successive govts with Integrity is just a fraudster. ”

Tweeting on the same day, Oluyemi Fasipe, using the handle, reminded his followers about the scandal and other burning issues:

“Can you people leave Banky W, and let’s talk about more serious issues……
1: Aunty Kemi Adeosun is yet to explain to us why she went to Oluwole to forge NYSC certificate.

2: Leah Sharibu is still not back

3: Boko Haram are now kidnapping soldiers
4: Herdsmen Killings. ”

“So Kemi Adeosun is free to continue her work without bothering to answer the allegations of forgery against her… Yet we are fighting corruption” Tweeted Abdulmalik Mahdi, from the handle @MrAbutpires on Friday.

Just like on Tweeter, a number of Nigerian Facebook users also made posts drawing attention to the unaddressed scandal.#
“Ok now that we are done with Ekiti and World Cup shall we talk about Madam Finance Minister’s NYSC certificate,” wrote Hauwa M Abbas on July 17.

“You can not be more Buhari than me, but his silence on Kemi AdeosunCertificate scandal is appaling,” a journalist, Abbas Yushau wrote on Saturday.

YZ Yau, a civil society figure, took on not only the minister and the government, but also Nigerian lawmakers for looking the other way.

“She has a sealed mouth. But even more surprising is our Senators who screened her have kept their own also sealed: What was it they chopped that they could not summon her to explain this NYSC palaver? Even as they decamped, they cannot say the word Kemi! ” he wrote.

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Emmanuel Uzodinma 


Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, Friday, said the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government is persecuting him and some others because of their demand for true democracy in Nigeria.

He spoke in Enugu after thousands of residents marched through the streets to show anger over the siege laid on his residence and that of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki.

The crowd had marched in Enugu metropolis and terminated at Ekweremadu’s house where he addressed them upon his arrival from Abuja.

He said the travails he had faced in recent times was over his insistence that the rule of law should prevail in the country.

“We need a country where court order will be obeyed. We are looking for a situation where people will be free to do their businesses anywhere in Nigeria without molestation,” he said.

Talking on the implication of keeping him indoors on Tuesday, Ekweremadu said that if they had succeeded in caging him and the Senate President, they would have tried to remove them.

He added that the evil intent of the siege was to prevent the mass defection of the lawmakers that cross-carpeted.

A Zimbabwean man , Tendai Shiri , has lost nine teeth in a fight involving him and his neighbour, Mufaro Sibanda , who accused him of having an affair with his wife , Chigora .

According to iHarare, Sibanda , got worried when his wife took more than an hour at a nearby borehole where she was fetching water and decided to check up on her .

On arrival , Sibanda could not believe his eyes when he saw Tendai Shiri allegedly caressing his wife ’ s stomach .

“ I got worried when I saw my wife (Chigora ) being caressed by Shiri. I had to hit him because he had disrespected me , ” said Sibanda .

However , Shiri denied the allegation , he said he was merely helping Sibanda ’ s wife to lift her bucket of water to her head when he appeared , accusing him of having illicit affair with his wife .

He added that Sibanda rained blows on him and also hit him with a log.

“ I was rushed to Chireya Mission Hospital for treatment and I learnt that I lost nine teeth, ” he revealed.

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CYRIACUS IZUEKWE


https://pmexpressng.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/escape-from-court-room.jpg


There was a mild drama at the court after a suspected robber, Mr. Segun Mabaoreje, suddenly escaped from the court room in Lagos, fled and jumped into a canal to escape trial.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the incident happened at the Magistrates court sitting in Ejigbo, Lagos, where the suspect, Mr. Mabaoreje was brought for arraignment.

However, he met his match as both the court officials and the security men pursued him. The security men dived into the canal, apprehended and brought him back to the court room where he was eventually arraigned.

The prosecutor, Inspector G. Simon, prepared another charge and he was arraigned to attempting to escape for the offence.

The Presiding Magistrate, Mr. L.K.J. Layeni, did not grant him bail as his attempted escape happened in his presence.

He ordered that the suspect be remanded in prison custody and adjourned till 6th August, 2018, when he will be brought to court for the offence he had committed before he attempted escape from the court.

The suspect was arrested by the police at Igando Division for burglary and attempt to steal before he was caught.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the incident happened at 15 Showunmi Street in Egan area of Lagos.

Mr. Mabaoreje was not the only suspected that had tried such in the past, another suspect tried to escape in the same court but he failed, was charged and remanded in prison.

It was also gathered that a young suspect was brought to Ogba Magistrates court; he jumped from the court’s three storey building and died on the spot in his attempt to escape.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered that after Mr Mabaoreje was re-arrested, he said was afraid to go to prison and that was why he tried to escape but failed. He said he was told that the prison was a death trap and that he may not survive if he was taken there.

However, his claim was debunked by prison officials who said that the prison was not all that terrible as it remained a correction centre with modern facilities.

https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/21142237/Graduating-students-768x1024.jpg

A private secondary school based in Ondo State on Saturday came under fire for allegedly printing the names of final year students , who didn’ t contribute towards the purchase of a television set in the school.

A Twitter user, Bhadmus Hakeem @ Bhadoosky revealed the anguish of parents of the graduating students , who discovered that the names of their children and wards, had been printed in the school ’ s send - forth magazine as debtors .

Hakeem in his Twitter thread said that the students were required to contribute the sum of 5 , 000 naira towards the purchase of a 32″ television set . “ Yesterday (20/ 7 /2018 ), a school in Arigidi Akoko , Ondo state , decided to throw over 24 parents and their children into sorrow on a day they should be the most joyous because they didn’ t pay N , 5000 to buy the school “ 32 inches TV ” .

On a graduation day, the worst thing you can ever do to a parent and child is make them sad and also document their sadness forever . How do you explain unprofessionalism of this magnitude to people ? What were (sic ) the school management trying to achieve with this stupidity?”

When PUNCH Online reached out to the school , they revealed shock at the news , saying that it was the decision of the graduating students to buy a television set for the school as a legacy of their set
According to the School Coordinator , Mr Austin Duyi , “ Hundred per cent of the information ” posted by Hakeem is “incorrect . ”

He said , “SSS three students were the ones that organised the project to help their school and leave a legacy. The person , who posted the malicious information about the school, we don’ t know . ”

When asked if the students had been the one to put the names of indebted students in the magazine, Duyi said , “In every school magazine, there is a page given to the student to allow themselves to express themselves . They are the ones who wrote everything and said it should be printed .

“ It is, therefore, a surprise to us that someone would pick up only that column of the magazine, which is between 60- 70 pages . The person didn’ t see the good aspects of the school , only the negative . We are shocked . ”


See the Twitter thread :
Bhadmus Hakeem
@Bhadoosky
What would you do if you find out y child’s name was printed on his/her school’s send forth magazine as “Debtor” because he/she didn’t pay N5000 to buy the school a parting g A school you were paying N104,000 term for six years? Thread
7:57 AM - Jul 21, 2018 · Magado, Ni
773 1,613 people are talking about

By Ayo Onikoyi


Little or nothing is known about a certain girl named Maame Afiba Bessa, who says she’s an aspiring cardiologist and a humanitarian until she tweeted a daring summation on her wall concerning relationship.

As soon as her tweet came up, torrents of comments began to flood in with varying reactions and most were not so friendly.


https://www.vanguardngr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Maame-Afiba-Bessa3.jpg
•Maame Afiba Bessa


“The way I get bored dating one man for long. I really can’t even see myself getting with a man who doesn’t keep me intrigued and makes me laugh till I cry. That’s how soon the way you breathe will even start pissing me off,” she had tweeted.

Most, in a fit of anger, said she would never get married. Others called her grim names not fit for publication. However, Potpourri decided to dig into her background and found out that she has a medical condition that may be interfering with her show of affection, love and trust.

“A couple of years ago I was diagnosed with GAD. For those of you who don’t know, GAD is Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Upon speaking to someone, I found out my childhood memories of constant fear plays a massive part in it,” she had posted October of last year on her wall.

She continued : “I did not have an easy childhood growing up and for people closest to me I have always opened up about that and also enduring sexual abuse as a child.

I’ve always had this fear factor in life , so much so that when things were going right in my life, I was ready for bad things to happen because I always have this mental picture that whatever was going right in my life won’t last. I will worry daily about something I thought will happen, beat myself about it and cry over it.

“I will isolate myself from people who loved me sometimes and get angry at the least thing because behind closed doors, I was battling this thing that I knew existed but was too ashamed to admit or talk about.

For many years, it had such a negative impact over my livelihood,” she added.

It is often said that a book should not be judged by its cover. This Ghanaian girl who lives in Barcelona, Spain, is a classic case.

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