₦airaland Forum

IN an instance of the gross insecurity that has become the lot of the country in recent times, Nigerians woke up on Friday last week to the news of gruesome murder of Mrs. Funke Olakunrin, daughter of Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers. Mrs Olakunrin was said to be travelling in her private vehicle from Akure to Ore, both in Ondo State, when the gunmen emerged from a bush at the Kajola section of the road and attacked her vehicle alongside others.

According to the spokesman of the Ondo State Police Command, Femi Joseph, the hoodlums, numbering about 15, attacked two vehicles, namely a Toyota Land Cruiser in which the deceased was travelling with four others, and a Toyota Camry. The four others in Olakunrin’s vehicle were also said to have been abducted before they were rescued by the police. The three occupants of the Toyota Camry were also said to have been rescued from the suspected kidnappers after they were abducted.

While the dust was yet to settle over the ugly incident, some gunmen invaded the family house of former Super Eagles coach Samson Siasia in Odoni, Sagbama Local Government Area, Bayelsa State around 2 am on Monday, and abducted his 76-year-old mother, Mrs Beauty Ogere Siasia.

It was the second time the hapless woman would be kidnapped by hoodlums, having suffered the same fate in November 2015 before she was released after 12 days in their den. Unconfirmed reports said the hapless former Super Eagles player had to part with a princely sum of N50 million as ransom for his beloved mother.

But nonagenarian Fasoranti and Coach Samson Siasia are not alone in their ordeal. Many other prominent Nigerians have suffered the same fate in recent years.


Olu Falae

Dare-devil hoodlums posted about the most instructive sign of danger on September 21, 2015 when former Secretary to the Federal Government (SFG) and former presidential candidate of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD), Chief Olu Falae, was abducted on his 77th birthday from his farm in Ilado village, Akure North Local Government Area, Ondo State, by attacked his over 200 workers before they whisked him away. Many of his workers, including the farm manager identified simply as Bruno, were said to have suffered machete cuts and had to be admitted in different hospitals around Akure.

Reports from the family said the herdsmen who abducted Falae had been having issues with the workers in the farm over grazing and destruction of the farmland by their cows. They, however, mobilised themselves, invaded the farm in large numbers and attacked the workers before abducting the politician.

The workers were said to have fled in different directions when the herdsmen started shooting into the air. They were also said to have beaten up the National Chairman of Social Democratic Party (SDP) and dragged him on the floor when he refused to go with them.

The statesman regained his freedom after three days in captivity. Some suspects arrested over his abduction said they kidnapped him in order to get some money for the celebration of the Muslim festival Eid-el-Kabir.


Mike Ozekhome

Popular lawyer, rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Mike Ozekhome, was kidnapped by gunmen at the Ehor stretch of the Benin-Auchi Road on August 23, 2013 and did not regain his freedom until he had spent 20 odd days in the den of his abductors. Reports said that four policemen who responded to a distress call from a witness and tried to prevent the kidnappers from taking him away were shot dead in the resultant gun battle.

Reports said that the kidnappers, who rode in a Toyota Hilux pick-up and a Toyota Camry car, shot at the front right-side tyre of the Toyota Prado conveying Ozekhome who was on his way to Estako, Edo State. He and his driver were subsequently abducted.

Detailing the gruesome 20-day ordeal he faced in the den of kidnappers, Ozekhome described the experience as a form of psychological torture.

“Every day at the detention centre, there were threats from the kidnappers saying they would kill us and chop us up and send our body parts to our families. They said they would make it so the Nigerian state would know there is no security. It was a horrific experience, spine chilling, physically debilitating and mentally shattering,” he was quoted as saying.

Ozekhome’s abductors initially demanded a ransom of N800 million but later reduced it to N100 million. He, however, said he did not know if payment was made for his release.


Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Although former finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has never been kidnapped personally, like Siasia, she has been one of the prominent Nigerians at the receiving end of the kidnapping saga tormenting the country in recent years because her beloved mother was abducted, and she was no doubt the ultimate target of the ransom-seeking hoodlums.

Kamene Okonjo, an 82-year-old retired professor, was abducted on December 9, 2012 from the palace of the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-uku, Delta State, Obi Chukwuka Okonjo. while Okonjo-Iweala held sway as the Minister of Finance. The hapless octogenarian woman was not set free until she had spent five days in the custody of her abductors. The armed gang of about 10 men were said to have seized her at the gate of the palace at Ogbe-ofu and took her away.Okonjo-Iweala

An eyewitness who relived the incident said: “The abductors, when they walked into the compound, were heavily armed. They were about 10. They bailed up the men fixing the interlocking tiles and asked them to lie face down. Immediately they saw her (victim) coming towards the gate with her maid to serve the workers drinks, they bundled her into a waiting Golf car.”

While there were speculations that about N12 million was paid to secure the release of the octogenarian, former Delta State governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan said that no dime was paid, adding that her captors probably decided to let her go because they were under pressure.

“The army and police have been on their trail and a lot of raids have been done. I think because of the heat, they dropped her off on the highway,” he said.


John Obi Mikel

The World Cup adventure of Nigeria in Russia last year was dampened with the abduction of the father of the captain of the senior national football team, John Obi Mikel, by gunmen while the tournament was in progress. Indeed, the incident occurred hours before Mikel led Nigeria into their final World Cup group phase tie against Argentina. It was to the credit of the Super Eagles skipper that he featured in the match without betraying any emotion even though he learnt about it moments before.

According to reports, Mikel’s father, Micheal Obi, and his driver, Ishaya John, were abducted on the Makurdi-Enugu Road while travelling from Jos on June 29, 2018. Their abductors were reported to have demanded N10 million as ransom, but the police in Enugu State were on hand to rescue the former Chelsea midfielder’s father, his driver and the Toyota Prado jeep they rode in.

A statement via the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, Ebere Amaraizu, said: “It was gathered that Pa Michael Obi and his driver were abducted along Makurdi-Enugu Road on his way from Jos in his grey-coloured Toyota Prado jeep with registration number: MUS 604 CG and taken to an unknown destination through the thick forest part of the area.

They were, however, rescued about three days later by operatives of the Ninth Mile Division of the command in a forest in the Udi area of Enugu after a gun battle between the police and the kidnappers.


Charles Soludo

Former governor of Central Bank, Prof. Charles Soludo had a taste of the bitter pill of kidnapping on October 28, 2009 when his 78-year-old father was abducted by gunmen. Although it was widely believed that the abduction of the father of the former CBN governor, who was contesting the governorship seat of Anambra State was politically motivated, Pa Simon Soludo’s abductors demanded N500 million as ransom.

Pa Simeon Soludo, was kidnapped by gunmen from his country home in Isuofia, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State. Reports said it was the second time the septuagenarian father of Soludo would suffer attack from assailants, having lost an eye in January 2006 after he was attacked and left for dead in the same village.

He did not regain his freedom until November 4, almost one week after he was abducted. The circumstances of his release were not clear, but reports said he was escorted back home by the Anambra State Commissioner of Police after he was set free by his abductors. It was not also clear whether a ransom was paid to the abductors after scaling down the ransom from N500 million to N300 million.


Oluwole Rotimi

Not even army generals are saved the trauma of kidnapping, a menace that has held the country by the jugular in recent years. That much will be admitted by former governor of old Western State, Gen. Oluwole Rotimi (rtd), whose wife was abducted in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on December 10, 2012, a day after Prof. Kamene Okonjo, mother of former finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was kidnapped.

According to reports, Titi Rotimi was kidnapped around 6:30 pm in front of her company, AOK Logistics Limited, located on Old Ife Road in Ibadan. She was said to have been abducted by four armed men while she was leaving her office at the close of work. The then spokesman of the Oyo State Police Command, DSP Ayodele Lanade, said the victim was driving away in her black Mercedes Benz car when she was blocked by her abductors.

Two security men attached to her company were said to have removed the barricade on the gate for her car to drive out of the office complex. In the process, two armed men approached and ordered her driver to stop the car at gun point. A green Nissan Primera suddenly reversed and blocked her car while she was ordered to get into the Nissan car.

The hapless woman was not released until 17 days after she was kidnapped, and it was in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State. It was not clear if any ransom was paid before she was set free.


Elisha Abbo

For newly elected senator representing Adamawa North Constituency, his foray into the National Assembly has been a baptism of fire. Just as he was smarting from the outrage that attended his attack on a nursing mother in a intimacy gadget shop in Abuja, gunmen numbering about 13 invaded his family home in Mubi, Adamawa State, killing his uncle, David Ella, before they bolted with his stepmother who had just been delivered of a baby 11 days earlier.

Narrating the incident, Senator Abbo said: “About 13 men armed with AK-47 rifles invaded my family house around 1 am on Saturday and shot my uncle dead.

“They dragged my father and brothers out of their rooms and went after my stepmother when they were told that my biological mother was dead. They took the poor woman away and left behind her 11 day-old child.

“My stepmother is still with the kidnappers now. The kidnappers have called me, using a Cameroonian MTN number, but they had yet to demand a ransom.”Senator Abbo

He the queried: “Of what use is the army barracks and the mobile police base in Mubi when they cannot go into the bush and dislodge the kidnappers?

“The kidnappers are using the ransoms they are collecting to fund terrorism in this country. That’s just the truth.”


Iyabo Anisulowo

Former Minister of State for Education and the senator who represented Ogun West Senatorial district between 2003 and 2007, Senator Iyabo Anisulowo, was kidnapped alongside her security aide in Igbogila area of Ogun State on April 26, 2016. She was abducted in a commando fashion by four armed men as she was returning with three others in her SUV from her farm at Sawonjo community in Yewa-North Local Government Area around 6 pm, and she ended up spending seven days with her captors.

An aide of the ex-minister who witnessed the incident said: “They ordered the three of us who were with Mama (Anisulowo) down from the vehicle. They collected our phones and beat us with machetes. The men spoke in both English and Yoruba. Mama kept asking them what they wanted, but they did not answer. It was around evening we discovered the abandoned SUV around Iganokoto.”

She was, however, rescued on May 3, 2016, hours after the Ogun State Police Command promised to pay N5 million reward to any informant who could offer useful information that would lead to her being rescued.

Reliving her ordeal after she regained her freedom, she said she lived on water only for days, adding that she had forgiven her captors.

She said: “We fell down many times and the silencer (exhaust pipe) of the bike burnt me but they didn’t allow me to cry. They said I should shut up because they didn’t want anyone to see them. I was confused because I never thought such a thing could happen, especially in my area.”

Although her abductors demanded the sum of N100 million for her release, it is not certain if any ransom was paid in the end.

by Kunle Akinrinade


A woman identified as Mama Maria has been found beheaded by a man described as her lover at Owode, Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State.

The incident happened penultimate Monday, after the unnamed man had sex with the deceased.

Sources said the single mother was a popular foodstuff seller at the Ilaro Market.

She had invited the man to pass the night at her residence when a misunderstanding broke out between them shortly after they had sex.

The man was said to have strangled the single mother to death and proceeded to behead her.

He soon fled the scene.

Curious neighbours who noticed that the woman had not emerged from her out by 10 am raised the alarm on sighting blood spilling from under the door to her room.

They forced the door open and found her in a pool of her blood with her head cut off.

The police were said to have evacuated the body from the scene.

A source said: “It was shocking to us because we saw the woman when she returned home with the man that killed her the previous night.

“We later noticed they had an altercation but their voices simmered and we thought that all was well between them not knowing that she had been killed.

“It was when she did not come early enough which was unusual that made neighbours to visit her room.

“They had to force the door open after seeing blood on the doorstep. We found her headless in a pool of her blood while her boyfriend had disappeared into the thin air.’’

Police spokesman, Mr Abimbola Oyeyemi said the culprit had been arrested.

The Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Col. Muhammad Abdallah (retd), says President Muhammadu Buhari has approved recruitment of 5,000 personnel for the agency to boost its manpower.

Abdallah made the disclosure on Friday at the Public Destruction of Drug Exhibits by Taraba Command of NDLEA in Jalingo.

He said that the gesture would go a long way in improving operations of the agency on campaign against drug addiction in Nigeria.

He said increased consumption of illicit drugs among the youths in Taraba was worrisome, appealing to families to brace up to their responsibilities.

According to Abdallah, effective drug prevention must involve positive engagement of children, youths and adults with their families, schools, workplace and community.

He commended Gov. Darius Ishaku of Taraba for his support to the agency in addressing drug problems in the state.

He also commended Mrs Anna Darius, wife of the governor, for giving great impetus to the war against drug abuse in the state.

The chairman thanked the governor for including NDLEA commandant in the state’s Security Council as well as supporting the agency with operational vehicles.

He noted that the provision of Hope Afresh Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), managed by the wife of the governor for sensitisation against drug abuse was a great boost to anti-drug abuse campaign.

Earlier, Acting Commander of NDLEA in the state, Mr Peter Odaudu, had said that the agency had assembled seven tonnes (6,963.80 kilogrammes) of deadly weeds and psychotropic substances for destruction.

Odaudu said that the exhibits were seized between January, 2003 and December, 2018.

He listed some of the illicit drugs assembled for destruction as Cannabis Sativa, Diazepam, Rophynol, Cough syrups with codeine and Tramadol.

According to him, a court order for their destruction has been duly obtained.

Odaudu commended other security agencies in the state for their cooperation in the success recorded by the NDLEA.

He commended the state government for supporting the agency towards ensuring effective control in consumption of illicit drugs in the state.

In his remarks, the state governor, Mr Darius Ishaku, said that drug consumption had increased violent crimes in the state.

Ishaku, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Haruna Manu, said that most persons arrested for violent crimes in the state were youths.

He, therefore, urged the youths to avoid the use of illicit drugs, saying that it was dangerous to their health and the society.

He also urged the agency to collaborate with office of the First Lady to achieve more feat in its mandate of ensuring a drug-free society.

Ishaku said that the construction of health centres by the first lady’s foundation for sensitisation in the three senatorial zones was a better platform to adopt by the agency.

He assured the agency of continued support by the state government to eradicate drug abuse.

(NAN)

By Oluseyi Taiwo-Oguntuase



LAGOS – Lagos state government has noted that the current traffic situation in the state indicates that 95 percent of transportation is done by road.

It therefore stressed the need to reduce the number of cars on the road and pro­vide alternative options which are rail and water­ways transportation that is efficient and safe for Lago­sians and those that choose to visit Lagos.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, La­gos State Governor, stated this on Thursday while delivering his keynote ad­dress at the fourth Lagos Traffic Radio Lecture Se­ries held at the Radio La­gos/Eko FM Multi-purpose Hall, Agidingbi-Ikeja with the theme, ‘Lagos Beyond Roads: The Intermodal Transport Option’.

Sanwo-Olu who was rep­resented at the event by Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat his Deputy restated the state government’s commitment to deliver to Lagosians a reliable, efficient, safe and effective intermodal transport system that will enhance mass movement of people through the ex­pansion of BRT routes and completion of rail and wa­ter transportation infra­structure in the state.

Amaju Pinnick, president of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), wanted to kick out Ahmad Ahmad as president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), so he could take over, insiders have told TheCable.

TheCable was reliably informed that Pinnick was booted out as the next man to the CAF’s president because he does not support Ahmad as is expected of him as a deputy.
Pinnick replaced Kwesi Nyantakyi on July 5, 2018, following a FIFA ban on Ghana’s former FA president.

Ahmad believed Pinnick had set up some journalists of clout to help bring his tenure to an end before his term expires.

Another source familiar with the matter also revealed that Pinnick did not back Ahmad on the decision by FIFA to appoint Fatma Samoura as Africa delegate to help conduct a forensic audit on the running of the continental body.

It was also alleged that the former Delta state commissioner of sports declared war on the Malagasy man after Mouad Hajji, acting general secretary of CAF, responded to Nigeria’s Special Presidential Investigative Panel’s correspondence on the clarification NFF payment of $500,000 to the continent’s body in 2015.

A CAF topshot, who spoke with TheCable, said Pinnick embarked on the mission of getting the CAF’s president out of office to get himself to the seat.

“Pinnick brought this on himself because of his arrogance,” the insider told TheCable.
“He felt he could get Ahmad out of the way for him to be installed as the CAF. His personal ambition blind-sided him, forgetting that he attained the 1st Vice President position on Kwesi’s ban from FIFA.

“He was not elected but selected because the president thought he could be trusted and that he could help in steering African football forward.
“But Ahmad could not continue with such a person as his 1st Vice President.”


PINNICK’S SIDE OF THE STORY

According to a press statement by Ademola Olajire, NFF’s media director, Pinnick’s tenure as the 1st vice president of CAF was not extended at the 32nd Executive Congress held at Marriot Hotel, Cairo on Thursday.

“In line with Article 22(4) of the CAF Statutes, every two years when elections are held at the CAF Congress (as took place today), the CAF Executive Committee on the proposal of the CAF President, elects a 1st, 2nd and 3rd Vice President respectively from among its members,” the statement said.

“Significantly the renewal of Amaju Pinnick’s tenure was not proposed by the CAF President because of fundamental differences on focus and direction.

“Pinnick accepted the decision of the President as it aligned with his own view having considered matters surrounding the administration of African Football which has dovetailed into the Nigerian Football space.
“He will, however, remain a bonafide member of the CAF Executive Committee to continue with his mandate as such.”

Pinnick was quoted to have said his commitment to the game is perpetual.

“It has however been an excellent opportunity to serve as the number two football administrator in the entire African continent and my commitment to the game is perpetual while my support for my colleagues in the Executive Committee remains steadfast,” Pinnick was quoted to have said.

“I congratulate, Omari, Lekja and Danny on the assumption of their new roles as 1st, 2nd and 3rd Vice CAF Presidents respectively.”

Ademola Babalola , Ibadan



The Code of Conduct Bureau in Oyo State has said it is awaiting directives to verify the N 48 bn assets declared by the state governor , Seyi Makinde , and those of the officials of the last administration in the state .

The Director of CCB in the state , Mr . Moses Atolagbe , said the directive to verify all the people that had declared one asset or the other would come from the bureau headquarters.

Atolagbe , who spoke in an interview with reporters on Wednesday , noted that there were a few people in the last administration of the state who were yet to comply with asset declaration.
He stated , “ We have a few people that have not complied with the position of the law .

“ They are very few in number ; some of them are out of the country and others are based on health ground .

“ They have got in touch with the bureau and one of them showed up on Monday .
“ We will just give them a little ample opportunity ; when they don’ t comply , they would be prosecuted .

“ We have done that before , a former commissioner in Oyo State in time past had been prosecuted for failure to comply .”

The CCB boss further said some newly appointed public office holders had picked up their asset declaration forms but some had yet to return them .

Temidayo Akinsuyi; Innocent Oweh
Lagos / Abuja – The much-awaited ministerial list expected from President Muhammadu Buhari may further polarise the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) when it is released, Daily Independent has gathered.

This has been identified as one of the major reasons President Buhari is yet to constitute his cabinet.

A credible source said while it is true that the President is seriously searching for people he knows very well to be in his team, some stakeholders of the party in the affected states are of the opinion that they are in a better position to give him candidates since they know their members better.

Our source, a member of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), said they had received several petitions from some state chapters that they would reject the list if the president chose candidates in their states that were not acceptable to them.

He said many of the party leaders claimed that President Buhari does not really know members of APC except the few ones that were members of the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC), one of the parties that merged to form the APC and on whose platform Buhari contested the 2011 presidential election.

He cited the case of Akwa Ibom where, he said, many leaders in the state had written petitions against Senator Godswill Akpabio, a former governor of the state who joined the party shortly before the 2019 general elections.
He said: “I think the delay is because there is crisis in some states and the president is trying to avoid a major crisis which may shatter the relative peace we enjoy.

“While it is true that the president is trying to come up with a cabinet of people he knows, some stakeholders in the state are spoiling for fight, saying they are in a better position to select candidates who are loyal in the states and contributed immensely to the party’s victory in the just concluded elections.

“Many have argued that the president does not really know members of the APC except his former loyalists in the CPC and maybe ANPP.
“If he is looking for APC members he trusts and knows very well, will he now fill his cabinet with CPC members alone?

“I think this is what is delaying the list. Another thing is the indecision of the president himself. We all know that majority of the ministers who worked for him under the last dispensation will be returned.

“That is evident, given the reappointment of Abba Kyari as Chief of Staff and Boss Mustapha as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

“It will be difficult not to return someone like Lai Mohammed who performed creditably well as government’s spokesperson and party man. We all saw what he singlehandedly did in Kwara State.

“Someone like Babatunde Fashola and Rotimi Amaechi may also likely return. What we are not sure is if some states will get extra ministerial list where it is rumoured that former Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, is being considered.

“So, if many of these ministers are returning, the president should be decisive and make up his mind about the remaining ministers. We are not happy about the delay at all because we cannot defend it like we did in 2015 when the party just came into power afresh.”



Delay In Transmitting List No Big Deal, Won’t Affect 2020 Budget – Lawan

Meanwhile, Senate President Ahmad Lawan on Wednesday said delays by the presidency in submitting the list of ministerial nominees for screening was not a big deal.

Lawan, who met President Muhammadu Buhari, in company of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, at the State House, Abuja, reacted to the controversies surrounding President Buhari’s delay to transmit the list to the Senate.

When asked how feasible the proposed January to December budget circle would be if Buhari continued to keep his ministerial nominees behind his chest, Lawan said: “I think there is nothing to worry us deeply, the budget itself is normally prepared by civil servants, the permanent secretaries superintend, and the directors will work most of the time.

“I believe that we are still on course, and I believe both the executive and the legislature are on the same page on this. We are desirous and are prepared and determined to pass the budget by the first and second week of December, by the grace of God, provided it is presented to us end of September.”

According to Lawan, since the Senate has confirmed the appointment of Tanko Muhammad as substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria, they were also prepared to confirm the ministerial nominees anytime the presidency deemed it fit to transmit the list.

He said part of their discussion with the president also centred on insecurity in the country.

Recall that Lawan had been quoted severally as saying that the 9th National Assembly would not be a rubber stamp to the rxecutive arm of government, even though the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and the presidency played prominent roles in the emergence of the leadership of the NASS.

On insecurity, Lawan said: “What we have discussed are those things that will ensure that the people of Nigeria are better protected, the economy of Nigeria performs better to the inclusion of everyone in the country, that governance generally is set to achieve the set targets of providing security and welfare for Nigerians.”

Commenting on how the National Assembly would collaborate to address insecurity, Lawan said they would cooperate with the executive arm of government, work together to ensure they find better approaches, improve paradigm to ensure we improve the current situation and address it appropriately.”

On the confirmation of the CJN and the possibility of seeing prompt confirmations in future, the Senate President said: “Yes, for sure. In fact, tomorrow we are going to confirm some directors of the NCC. What we did today is to set the tone of what will be coming in the future.

“That is to say, we will be confirming the nominees from Mr. President because that will really ensure that the country is properly governed and the CJN confirmation was a fantastic way to start the confirmation process, and we are very happy we are able to confirm him today having received the letter of request from Mr. President only last week.”

Since the inauguration of the president for a second term, some Nigerians have been worried over the delays to constitute the cabinet, citing negative impact on the economy in general.

On the crisis rocking the Edo State House of Assembly, Speaker of the House of Reps, Gbajabiamila, explained that since an ad hoc committee set up by the House had done its job, talks were on with the state government to ensure a proper proclamation order.

“As you know, we set up an ad hoc committee, they went to Edo State, the report was laid and considered today and the context of the report is very clear. I think what we did was to stick strictly by the rule or by the law that guides the Assembly and us as lawmakers.

“So, one of the recommendations, which I believe was approved by the House, was for us to have a proper proclamation with date, venue, and time which was missing in the first proclamation.

“They (Edo House of Assembly) have about a week to come up with the proper election of the principal officers. If in a week nothing changes, perhaps the House and the National Assembly as a whole would look at invoking section 11 of the constitution,” Gbajabiamila stated.

Asked what if the governor disagreed with the proposal, Gbajabiamila said: “If every party, every player was consulted, all sides were heard, I don’t think we should go down that route and say if the governor decides, that’s not a decision for anybody to make.

“The governor is somebody I know and I believe he will operate within the confines of the law and dictates of the law and National Assembly, and all other laws. So, I don’t think we should pre-empt the governor.”

On Bauchi House of Assembly, he said: “We are waiting but I believe they concluded today. The members who went to Bauchi would be back or are on their way back to Abuja, and I will wait until I get the report.”

By Dayo Johnson & Onozure Dania



AKURE— MRS. Olufunke Olakunri, daughter of Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, will be buried on Monday, July 22, 2019.

The deceased was killed by suspected herdsmen along Benin/Ore/Sagamu expressway last Friday.

A programme of the funeral arrangements made available to newsmen in Akure by the family said that a commendation/night of tributes will take place tomorrow, Friday, July 19.

The burial ceremony will take place at the Saito David’s Anglican Cathedral Ijomu, Akure by 11am, while interment follows at the church cemetery.

According to the funeral arrangements, the commendation/night of tributes will take place on Friday July 19th at Harbour Point Wilmot road, Ahmadu Bello way, Victoria lsland, Lagos by 5pm.


Olakunri’s murder, a slap on Yoruba nation —Maharaj ji

Reacting to the murder of Mrs. Olakunri, founder of the One Love Family, Satguru Maharaj ji has described the act as a slap on the face of the Yoruba nation.

He said Olakunri’s murder goes a long way to prove that the Yoruba have almost abdicated from common sense.

Maharaj ji said: “How can such a thing happen to a Yoruba leader’s child when the oracles and deities are there to take care of it. All it takes is regular appeasement, adoration and celebrations, eating and dining to lubricate the Alajobi spirit in us, that goes on in every home in Yoruba land to serve not only as a unifying force, but become the checks and balances in the human system.”

He, however, called on Yoruba monarchs and leaders to wake up from their slumber, saying “Any right thinking Yoruba man knows that a child of Oduduwa, Ogun, Sango, Oya, Ifa and other Yoruba Orishas dying through gun fire, accident, drowning, illness, must have disconnected from our tradition and culture, either by refusing to appreciate and or ignoring their core values, which was deliberately covered by Europeans during the invasion of Africa thousands of years ago.”


Akure community sets up local security outfit

Meanwhile, the Akure Community has resolved to set up a local security outfit to protect people at their various farm settlements and communities around the state capital.

Addressing newsmen, a former Nigerian Ambassador to Uganda, Otunba Omolade Oluwateru warned that “lawlessness possessed the capability to make people to go for self-defence.”

Oluwateru said: “Constituted authorities must be alive to their responsibilities as enshrined in the Constitution and proper discharge of the security responsibilities would be a safeguard against anarchy in the country.

“However, we must declare that we are currently in deep mourning, occasioned by the dastardly murder of a prominent Akure indigene, Mrs. Olufunke Olakunri, daughter of our father, Pa Ruben Ayo Fasoranti, the Leader of Afenifere, and by extension Yoruba leader.

“The killing of Olufunke represents a new scourge, invasion of our lands by Fulani criminals, now commonly referred to as herdsmen who have wantonly killed, raped and destroyed across Yorubaland and it has now gotten to a stage that the Yoruba nation must rise and declare enough is enough”.

“While we mourn a distinguished daughter, we must say that we have now come to the realization that Nigeria is indeed in severe problems, with dwindling capabilities to discharge its responsibilities to the citizenry.”

“Therefore, we now see these ugly developments through an entirely new vista, which dictates that we must begin to develop security models that will guarantee the arrest of this evil trend and defend ourselves as a community henceforth,” he said.

by Osagie Otabor, Benin


The Senate Adhoc Committee set up to investigate crisis in the Edo State House of Assembly has denied insinuations that the private jet with which it flew to Edo State was paid for by somebody.

It said the jet marked N313MS was paid for by the Committee.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, who spoke to reporters after meeting with Governor Godwin Obaseki said no individual paid for the flight.

Senator Abdullahi said he personally negotiated for the flight.

Responding to the court injunction, Senator Abdullahi said no court injunction was served on the Senate.

He denied allegations of compromise by the Committee.

His words: “I don’t know anything about the House of Representatives Committee. I negotiated for the plane and we are paying for it.

“Nobody served us any restraining order. Oversight function cannot be taken away from us by any court. We are on a fact finding mission. The whole idea is to ensure public order.”

At the Edo State House of Assembly, the Committee was meeting with Speaker Frank Okiye and other lawmakers as at press time.

The Committee is scheduled to paid a courtesy visit to the Benin Monarch, Oba Ewuare II after meeting with the lawmakers.

By Felix Igbekoyi


ASABA – The wounds of the proceeding at the House of Representatives Wednesday, July 3, 2019 where the speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila announced Ndudi Elumelu as the Minority Leader; Toby Okechukwu, Deputy Minority Leader; Gideon Gwadi and Adekoya Abdul-Majid as Minority Whip and Deputy Whip respectively while the party had nominated Kingsley Chinda as Minority Leader are yet to heal and is getting out of hands.

Apart from the fact that the controversy over who should be picked as the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives has engulfed the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the South South region, it is worst in Delta State where Elumelu hails from. The saituation is also said to have divided members of the National Working Committee and the enlarged PDP caucus over who should be given the nod for the plum position.

Two candidates, Elumelu, who represents Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency in Delta State and Hon. Kingsley Chinda, who represents Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency, Rivers state, have emerged as contenders for the top job in the Lower Chamber of the National Assembly. Ewwlumelu who was adopted by the Delta PDP Caucus in the House, ahead of Hon. Ossai Ossai, was presented by a majority of the PDP House caucus to the larger caucus of the Party as their preferred candidate to occupy the position of Minority Leader

Elumelu’s nomination and adoption, according to informed sources, was predicated on his ranking status and very robust legislative experience, garnered from two previous à1à1terms in the 6th and 7th Assemblies consecutively, where he headed the powerful House Committees on Health and Power, in successive terms.

Elumelu’s nomination, which at first seemed unanimous, was, however, countered by the surprise challenge from Hon. Kingsley Chinda and whose nomination, according to reliable sources from within the PDP Assembly caucus, was orchestrated by the National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus because Chinda represents Governor Nyesom Wike’s home constituency of Obio/ Akpor, in the Lower Chamber.

The sources further claimed that while members at the enlarged PDP caucus meeting had anticipated a consensus in favour of Elumelu, the PDP national chairman had arranged some members to nominate his kinsman, in what insiders claim was part of a clandestine plot to strengthen the stranglehold of Rivers state in the control of the PDP.

Sources also hinted that the stalemate in the PDP over nominations for principal offices in the House was supported by most members who kicked strongly against the nomination of members from both Nasarawa and Rivers states, with the argument that the PDP BOT chairman and Second Republic Senator Walid Jibrin, who has been on the seat since 2013, comes from Nasarawa, while the National Chairman, Uche Secondus, who emerged after the PDP Port Harcourt convention in 2017 largely influenced and muscled with some strong-arm tactics by Governor Wike, after he had served as acting chairman of the PDP National Working Committee from ,2015 to 2016, comes from Rivers State too.

As it stands now, the PDP appears to be in a fix in selecting who should be their Minority leader in the Federal House of Representatives as the battle for the position, which has been conventionally zoned to the South-South, since that of the Senate has gone to the South-East, is finely poised between Elumelu and Chinda especially when Elumelu loved by his colleagues for what they described as his patriotic bi-partisanship stance, in consideration of matters of national interest, is said to enjoy the goodwill of both his PDP party members and those of the ruling opposition APC, who see him not only as a bridge builder across party lines, but also as a seasoned legislator whose wealth of experience will impact positively on the House by guiding new members in House conducts and adding his considerable influence to those of the older members in steering the affairs of the House and maintaining the balance between party and policy as the 9th National Assembly unfolds.

But following the emergence of Elumelu as House of Representatives Minority Leader, the national leadership of PDP slammed a one-month suspension on him and six other House members elected on its platform. The affected members also shun a meeting summoned by the party’s leadership on over disregard for the party’s choice for the minority leader’s seat. Among those suspended aside Elumelu are Lynda Ikpeazu, Wole Oke, Anayo Edwin, Gideon Gwadi, Toby Okechukwu and Adekoya Abdul-Majid.

Spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan who announced the suspension order after a marathon meeting of the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) on Friday, said the party reviewed “issues surrounding the minority leadership positions” Consequent upon this, the above-mentioned members of our party are hereby suspended for one month and this matter is hereby referred to the National Disciplinary Committee of our party, in keeping with Section 57(3) of the PDP Constitution”.

Those suspended by the PDP for aIIegedy failing to appear before the PDP’s NWC are: Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, Minority Leader – (PDP-Delta); Toby Okechukwu, Deputy Minority Leader – (PDP-Enugu); Hon. Gideon Gwani (PDP-Plateau) – Minority Chief Whip and Adesegun Adekoya, Minority Deputy Chief Whip – (PDP -Ogun) as well as Hon. Wole Oke (PDP-Osun); Linda Ikpeazu (PDP-Anambra).

Meanwhile, Elumelu reacted to his suspension, saying that he was shocked to read about his suspension and described the action as “unfortunate.” According to him, “It’s unfortunate if the party suspends its most loyal member for towing the path of honour and constitutionalism

He faulted his alleged suspension from the PDP by the party’s NWC. Elumelu, in a statement by his media office called on the PDP NWC to rescind its decision in the interest of the party, the National Assembly and Nigeria as a whole, saying that the decision was hasty as it negates the spirit and letter of fair hearing which is at the heart of the 1999 Nigeria Constitution and extant laws of the land.

In a letter purportedly sent to the leadership of the PDP, the members explained their failure to honour the party’s summons, saying they were out of Abuja when the invitation was sent to them. The letter was signed by one Sam Audu, who was designated as Personal Assistant to Elumelu. In view of the above, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu and other members invited are requesting that the meeting should be rescheduled for either Thursday, 18 July at 4:00 pm after plenary, or Friday, 19th July at 10-00. Hon. Ndudi Elumelu and other members invited, regret any inconvenience that their absence at the meeting with NWC may have caused”.

According to Elumelu “I am surprised and shocked, that the National Working Committee of our great party, the PDP can sit and take a decision without giving room for fair hearing. I lost an aunty and left Abuja immediately after plenary in the House of Representatives and travelled to Delta state. Though I left immediately after sitting not midnight. Secondly, my gate man received the letter at 7.45pm and he called me at 8pm”

Owing to this, no fewer than 111 members of the House of Representatives expressed their disgust, disenchantment and rejection of the action the NWC of the PDP in suspending Elumelu. The House members who decried the suspension at a press conference addressed by Hon. Legor Idagbo (PDP) Cross River State in Abuja called on the NWC to immediately rescind the decision on the newly constituted Principal and other PDP members.


The 111 House of Representatives members comprising representatives of the nine minority parties led by Hon. Legor Idagbo (PDP-Cross River), affirmed that the letter sent by the PDP leadership to Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila dated 1st July, 2019 was belated. Idagbo said that all the Minority parties had through a letter dated 20th June, 2019 communicated the nomination of Hon. Ndudi Elumelu and other principal officers to the Speaker in tandem with the provisions of the Standing Order 7( which derived its strength from Section 60 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

While urging the PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus and the NWC as well as the Board of Trustees (BOT) to rescind the suspension of the six PDP members, the lawmakers passed a vote of confidence on Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila; Hon. Ndudi Elumelu and,s the newly constituted Minority Principal Officers.

On the allegation of the N1 million inducement by the Elumelu’s group, Hon. Idagbo who described the allegation as an “insult” noted that it would have been justifiable if the promoters of the allegation accused them of collecting N1 billion.

He also promised to make public the list of the 111 lawmakers drawn from all the nine minority parties who endorsed Hon. Elumelu and others as the Minority Principal Officers.

On the allegation of the N1 million inducement by the Elumelu’s group, Hon. Idagbo who described the allegation as an “insult” noted that it would have been justifiable if the promoters of the allegation accused them of collecting N1 billion.

He also promised to make public the list of the 111 lawmakers drawn from all the nine minority parties who endorsed Hon. Elumelu and others as the Minority Principal Officers.

“We, the Members of the Minority parties adhered to this provision in the selection of 1. Hon. Ndudi Elumelu; 2. Hon. Tobi Okechukwu; 3. Hon. Gideon Gwani; 4. Hon. Segun Adesegun as, Minority Leader, Minority Deputy Leader, Minority Whip and Minority Deputy Chief Whip respectively. “The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila was communicated the resolution by majority members of the minority caucus on the 2nd July, 2019, and he went ahead in accordance with our rules to read same on the floor on the 3rd, July 2019.

Corroborating, Elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, advised the leadership of the PDP, to accept the announcement of Elumelu as Minority Leader by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, in good faith. Clark who spoke to journalists in Abuja said it is the duty of the federal lawmakers to determine who leads them, and not that of a political party.

The former Federal Commissioner of Information urged the leadership of PDP to let go its grievances and face its role as a leading opposition party. ‘I think democracy should be allowed to prevail in this country and institutions should be allowed to do their jobs. There is no place, even in the PDP constitution, which says they should nominate people and give to the House of Representatives. There is nothing like that. But the National Assembly has rules and regulations. Rule 8 says that elected members of the House, whether they are majority or minority, should sit among themselves and elect their members. They didn’t say one political party should nominate people for the chairman or secretary to come and submit to National Assembly”.

By Chinonso Alozie



Owerri—herdsmen have been caught by the people of Obudi Agwa Autonomous Community in Oguta Local Government Area, with one of them carrying a sack of bullets.

The traditional ruler of the community, Eze Ignatius Asor, confirmed this to Vanguard in Owerri, saying his people were living in fear. He said the suspect was handed over to the Police Area Command at Egbema.

He told Vanguard: “Some youths saw two of the herdsmen and called them. One of them with a gun ran away and the other one was caught with a bag. He told the youths that it was just garri. But when the youths forced the bag from him and opened it, they saw bullets. We are not happy about what is happening.”

Obudi Agwa is a neighbouring community to Obokofia in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of the state where herdsmen last week, caused a stir by shooting sporadically because their host asked them to leave.

They later apologised and begged to be forgiven.

Meanwhile, there is growing tension in the area as Obudi Agwa people are said to be on the run, having seen that the herders have been armed.

Speaking to Vanguard on how the villagers caught the herdsmen conveying bullets, Eze Asor, said: “Herdsmen have invaded my community and my people are doing things in fear now. As you know, these people are armed to the teeth.

“I have reported the matter to the Area Commander here. He even saw more than one thousand cows invading the community. The story you heard is the truth and I don’t know the next step to take. They stay in our bush and do whatever they like.

“As they move around, they destroy our crops, causing pains to our people, especially the farmers. The funniest thing is that I don’t know where they got their instruction from. They do things with impunity and I can’t understand.”

Facts have emerged on the rationale behind the lukewarm disposition of governors in the South-West geo-political zone towards the damning security challenges in the region, especially the aggression of suspected herdsmen.

DAILY POST gathered through investigation that governors in the zone might not take any definite step in response to criminality going on in their domains mainly because of covert political considerations and interests.

A reliable source in the region, who did not want to be quoted revealed that the consensus among the governors in the South West on the need to play to the gallery and tactically put any decisive action on hold was predicated on the political predicament of the former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose.

It was learnt that majority of Northern political elites were seriously embittered in the manner in which Fayose stood his ground against open grazing in the state and the attendant security arrangement put in place to enforce the law against the act of moving cattle around.

“President Muhammadu Buhari and his fellow Fulani elite considered Fayose’s courage and resistance against open grazing in Ekiti then as an affront to their ethnic and economic interest. They also nurtured the fear that such decisive action could raise the consciousness of other governors in the South against Fulani herdsmen.

” That was the main reason the presidency gave massive supports to Governor Kayode Fayemi against Fayose’s anointed candidate, with huge resources and state apparatus. Let me tell you this, there is no way Fayose could have won that election for Eleka, the battle was beyond him, he was unknowingly battling with a strong political bloc led by the presidency.

“The victory of this cabal in Ekiti apparently sent a profound warning to governors in the region with regards to the issue of Fulani herdsmen and their incessant criminal activities. The governors get security reports on daily basis on the degenerated security situation in their states. There were suggestions from stakeholders in the region on better ways to tackle the menace, but these governors will continue to play politics and do nothing about it”.


Tinubu’s 2023 ambition as a factor

While the former governor of Lagos State and National leader of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Hameed Tinubu has not come out clearly to confirm his interest to contest for president in 2023, he has rather not outrightly denied the perception in different quarters that he is scheming and scrambling to become Nigeria’s first citizen.

Meanwhile, a member of inner caucus of APC, who is also a leading strategist for the party in Ogun State confided in our correspondent on
condition of anonymity and disclosed that Tinubu is more than desperate to succeed Buhari in 2023.

He added that Tinubu, having realised the intensity of support Buhari enjoys in the core North, coupled with the voting strength of the region and the culture of power of incumbency in Nigeria, he considered the President as a major determinant in realising his presidential ambition.

The source confirmed that the former Lagos State governor met with the five APC governors from the region immediately after May 29 to warn them against any activity that could jeopardize his existing relationship with President Buhari.

According to the source, Tinubu specifically mentioned the issue of Fulani activities in the South West and said the President is highly interested in the ” welfare of his kinsmen and would not be happy if any unwholesome thing happens to them and their cattle “.

He further revealed that despite the concerns raised by some of the governors over the alarming rate of insecurity in their states and the consistent allegations against herders of Fulani extraction, the consensus reached was that there is need to step down action on the issue and play along.


Allegations on RUGA funds

Another factor DAILY POST learnt was responsible for silence and inaction of governors of the South West is that the Federal government had indeed mobilised them with millions of dollars in preparation for the implementation of “autonomous Fulani settlements” popularly known as RUGA in the region.

The Executive Director of Gateway Tower, a socio-cultural organisation in Ogun State, Comrade Olabode Adigun said there were indications that governors from the South West have been compromised with huge amount of money to acquire expanse of lands in their domains for the implementation of RUGA.

“We authoritatively gathered that the idea of RUGA has been on for a long time and that the major target of the presidency and some Northern elite is the South West because of its forest belt nature and relative stability in the region.

“In a desperate move to protect his kinsmen and aid their expansionist tendencies, President Buhari had contacted a leading member of APC, who is from the region to make this possible and through him settled the governors.

“The public outcry against the idea, however, halted the plan, although that would still not make them to act and flush out killer herdsmen in their states”, Adigun said.


South-West security summit, a ruse?

A civil society organisation, Advocacy for Advancement of Peace and Harmony in Africa Initiative, ADAPHAI has described a security summit organised by South West governors between June 25 and 26 as nothing but a jamboree and “a mere window dressing of insignificant prognosis “.

The National Coordinator of the organisation, Comrade Sulaimon Suberu in a chat with our Correspondent dismissed the summit as an assemblage of clowns and pretenders, who have no intention to do anything concerning the present threat posed by suspected Fulani herders to the region other than playing politics.

He maintained that the present security challenges facing the region have gone beyond rhetorics but a proactive measure to put an immediate stop to this scourge and protect the people and the region, saying governors of the region are not doing enough.

Suberu alleged that there is a conspiracy between the Buhari – led administration and governors in the zone, which according to him made them to move with a speed of snail and remain insensitive to the plights of the common people.

“I was not surprised with what Bola Tinubu said recently in Ondo during his visit to Pa Fasoranti over his daughter’s death in the hands of suspected Fulani herdsmen, where he was quoted defending Fulani herdsmen with a lame polemics.

“I know for sure that his host, governor Rotimi Akeredolu must have hinted him on how Fulani herdsmen held his convoy to ransom for close to 45 minutes along Ilesa-Akure road but decided to say what his friends and cohorts wanted to hear in Aso rock, I really pity the region for celebrating character like this as leader.

“It was the former Prime Minister of Philippines, Gloria Aroyo, who once said that one of the greatest litmus test of a good leader is ability to be at the forefront leading, at the middle inspiring, and at the back defending the interest of his followers, but in this case, the reverse is the case “.

Meanwhile, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, who also doubles as the head of Odua People’s Congress, Iba Gani Adams has exposed the hypocrisy of South West governors during the said security summit.

He flayed them for ignoring his letters and calls to take proactive steps in checking the excesses of rampaging herdsmen before it degenerated to the level where innocent people were being killed and abducted in the region.

Point blankly, he called the governors by their names and explained how he made attempts to call their attention to the menace of the cattle breeders.

He said: “Nobody can take Yoruba land or constitute nuisance in South-west because Yoruba have been living peacefully for the past 120 years, so the incursion of criminally minded people will no longer be accepted.

“History will not forgive any south-west governor that gives land to herdsmen for the breeding of their cattle because the issue of insecurity is now overwhelming.

“We are not only talking about south-west alone, we are talking about everywhere Yoruba live, including Kogi and Kwara states. All hands must be on deck to curb insecurity because the progress of Yoruba land should be a collective effort of all of us.”


Other stakeholders react

The Head of Harmonised Vigilante Group in the South West, Alhaji Rilwan Hussein Yahasalam has called on governors of the South-West states to be vigilant and proactive in the face of damning security breaches in the region.

He said the state of kidnappings and banditry presently in all the states that make up the political zone requires utmost vigilance and quick action.

Yahasalam, in a statement made available to newsmen recently expressed concern over the general insecurity around the country and recent security threat in the South West.

He said the incessant cases of criminality in many communities of the region, which often attribute to Fulani herdsmen indicate that there is new dimension to the security architecture of the region, which must be taken seriously to avert terrible occurrence.

According to him, the recent cases of abduction and violent robbery on highways within the South West have practically instil fear in many people, especially businesswomen and men, including farmers, who have almost abandoned their farms for the fear of being kidnapped or maimed by suspected Fulani herders.

“We are having serious security situation at hand, our communities are no more safe due to criminal activities of bandits and kidnappers suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.

“The hitherto sleepy and peaceful region is now gradually becoming volatile and delicate, while political leaders in the region pretend as if nothing is happening.

“It is not in doubt that things might get worse if political leaders in the region continue to maintain this attitude and fail to act fast, the situation is indeed degenerating.

“A professor at Obafemi Awolowo University, who was abducted recently along Ife-Ibadan road specifically mentioned Fulani herdsmen as his abductors, in which over N5m was collected as ransom.

“It is the in the same route that two officials of Federal Road Safety Corps were kidnapped and ransomed paid before they could secure their release.

“It was also reported that over 30 armed herdsmen on Sunday blocked the section of Ilesa-Akure express road at Erinle, shooting sporadically until security operatives in the convoy of one of the governors in the region came to dislodge them.

” It is disheartening that all these are happening in the zone and no single arrest has been made. This issue is seriously affecting the socio-economic life of the people in the region, and a great danger for the country at large “, the statement read.

Yahasalam, however, added that although the Police and other security agencies are making efforts to nip the situation in the bud, there is need for collaborative efforts towards fighting crime from other non-state actors, especially local vigilante groups.

He recalled how such state of insecurity surfaced in the 90s and early 2000, in which the intervention of his group, in collaboration with security agencies eventually curbed the menace.

“We have had a situation similar to this in the past, where suspected Fulani herdsmen were waylaying people along Gbongan-Ibadan road, it was the concerted efforts of Police and our group that put stop to that criminality.

“So, now that there is a new dimension to security breach in the region, with more sophistication in their operation, the government must look inward to tackle the current challenge with more vigour”.

In the same vein, a retired military personnel, Major Ishola Adelegan has berated governors in the region for degenerated security situation in the zone. He argued that not much has been achieved by the helmsmen in the area of securing the zone.

Adelegan frowned at what he called ” long rhetorics with short substance”, saying the governors must learn to speak less and act more.

“I was taken aback when I heard the OAU professor speaking on how he was abducted and the identities of his abductors, with level of their sophistication and gut.

“Cases abound on how these criminal elements have subjected our people to inhumane treatment and bestial condition, yet some lunatics are busy defending them for obvious selfish political interest.

“I wonder how a sane leader will listen to what the professor said and other tales of horrors going on in the region, with the latest gruesome murder of Mrs Funke Olakunrin, the Afenifere leader’s daughter and still have the boldness to defend such criminality.

“It is my hope that governors in the region will act fast and put every political consideration aside before it is too late “, he resorted.

Temidayo Akinsuyi, Stephen Ubimago, Sulaiman Fasasi, James Ogunnaike,
Emma Nzomiwu, Gbenga Faturoti, Ahmad Tijjani Abdul



Lagos / Abeokuta / Enugu / Osogbo / KANO – Tempers are rising in the country following kidnappings and killings allegedly wrought by herdsmen over cattle-grazing crisis which has become a national security threat, sparking ethnic tension.

This came to a head on Friday when Mrs. Funke Olakunrin, daughter to Chief Reuben Fasoranti, Afenifere’s leader, was allegedly killed by herdsmen in Ore, headquarters of Odigbo Local Government Area, Ondo State. This has spawned outrage.

This is coming as President Muhammadu Buhari may yield to demand by concerned Nigerians for an overhaul of the current security apparatus, Daily Independent has gathered.

Following the security concerns, former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday called for a national debate to discuss security issues affecting the nation.

Obasanjo made the call in an open letter written to President Muhammadu Buhari, a copy of which was made available to Daily Independent in Abeokuta.

The former president warned that onerous clouds were gathering over the nation, noting that the rain of destruction, disunity, and disaster was imminent.

Obasanjo’s warning was coming hours after Noble Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, lamented that President Muhammadu Buhari had been overwhelmed by the insecurity in the country.

The former president said reality on the ground contradicted claims by the administration that the capacity of Boko Haram insurgents had been diminished.

He said the recent outburst of the Chief of Army Staff that the Nigerian army was unmotivated spoke for itself, adding that the continued potency of the deadly terrorists had given the lie to the government’s claim.

The most important thing, Obasanjo said, was the mismanagement of the diversity of the country which, he said, was the nation’s greatest asset.

He noted that the crises of herders and farmers were made worse by the cuddling glove, instead of harmer, with which the president handled the issue.

According to him, the issue of insecurity could no longer be ignored, treated with nonchalance, swept under the carpet, or treated with cuddling glove because it was hitting at the foundation of Nigeria’s existence and fast eroding the root of Nigerian community.

Obasanjo said he was constrained to write the letter because the issue was not only weighty and greatly worrisome, it must be a great concern to all Nigerians and residents in Nigeria.

Part of the statement reads: “I am very much worried and afraid that we are on the precipice and dangerously reaching a tipping point where it may no longer be possible to hold danger at bay.

“Without being immodest, as a Nigerian who still bears the scar of the Nigerian civil war on my body and with a son who bears the scar of fighting Boko Haram on his body, you can understand, I hope, why I am so concerned.

“When people are desperate and feel that they cannot have confidence in the ability of government to provide security for their lives and properties, they will take recourse to anything and everything that can guarantee their security individually and collectively.

“For over ten years, for four of which you have been the captain of the ship, Boko Haram has menacingly ravaged the land and in spite of government’s claim of victory over Boko Haram, the potency and the activities of Boko Haram, where they are active, remain undiminished, putting lie to government’s claim.

“The recent explanation of the Chief of Army Staff for non-victory due to lack of commitment and lack of motivation on the part of troops bordering on sabotage speaks for itself.

“Say what you will, Boko Haram is still a daily issue of insecurity for those who are victimised, killed, maimed, kidnapped, raped, sold into slavery and forced into marriage and for children forcibly recruited into carrying bombs on them to detonate among crowds of people to cause maximum destructions and damage.

“And Boko Haram will not go away on the basis of sticks alone, carrots must overweigh sticks. How else do you deal with issues such as only about 50% literacy in North-East with over 70% unemployment?”

On the herders and farmers clashes, Obasanjo said: “Herdsmen/farmers crises and menace started with government treating the issue with cuddling glove instead of hammer.

“It has festered and spread. Today, it has developed into banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery and killings all over the country.

“The unfortunate situation is that the criminality is being perceived as a ‘Fulani’ menace unleashed by Fulani elite in the different parts of the country for a number of reasons but even more unfortunately, many Nigerians and non-Nigerians who are friends of Nigeria attach vicarious responsibility to you as a Fulani elite and the current captain of the Nigeria ship.

“Perception may be as potent as reality at times. Whatever may be the grievances of Fulanis, if any, they need to be put out in the open and their grievances, if legitimate, addressed; and if other ethnic groups have grievances, let them also be brought out in the open and addressed through debate and dialogue.

“The main issue, if I may dare say, is poor management or mismanagement of diversity which, on the other hand, is one of our greatest and most important assets.”

“With the death of Funke, Chief Fasoranti’s daughter, some sympathetic Nigerian groups are saying ‘enough is enough’. Prof. Anya, a distinguished Nigerian merit Laureate, has this to say: ‘We can no longer say with certainty that we have a nation’.

“Niger-Delta leaders, South-Eastern leaders, Middle-Belt leaders and Northern Elders Forum have not remained quiet.

“Different ordinary Nigerians at home and abroad are calling for different measures to address or ameliorate the situation.

“All the calls and cries can only continue to be ignored at the expense of Nigerian unity, if not its continued existence.”

Obasanjo said he was worried about four avoidable calamities which include abandoning Nigeria in the hands of criminals who are suspected to be Fulanis, spontaneous reprisal attacks against Fulanis, attacks of ethnic groups and violent uprising from a section of the country.


Ohanaeze Insists On National Conference

Similarly, Ohanaeze Ndigbo on Monday insisted that only a national conference could arrest the insecurity situation in the country.

Ohanaeze warned that any delay in convening such a conference could spell doom for Nigeria.

The pan-Igbo socio-cultural organisation was reacting to the latest open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Ohanaeze reacted through Emeka Atama, the media adviser to the president-general, John Nnia Nwodo.

Atama said Ohanaeze’s reaction was that this (Obasanjo’s letter) was in tandem with the views canvassed by its president-general in a recent press statement – a strident call for the convening of a national discourse on the way forward in the present security debacle.

“This is the only step that can assuage the current situation. It requires urgent action. We endorse his position absolutely.

“The sooner the better as things are really getting out of hand. Delay could spell doom for the country,” Atama said.


Lawyers Express Outrage At State Of Insecurity

Equally, lawyers have expressed outrage at the high level of insecurity in the country, saying the situation demands urgent presidential action and a re-ordering of the nation’s security architecture.

Speaking to Daily Independent on the heels of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s open letter to President Buhari, calling on him to urgently act on the matter, the lawyers lamented that the state of insecurity is already questioning the essence of governance.

According to Ogunlana Adesina, the immediate past Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja branch, at the root of the worsening state of insecurity in the land is the president’s incompetence, lack of patriotism and ethnic jingoism.

He said, “Truth is that the security situation in Nigeria has worsened under President Muhammadu Buhari, particularly so in the last one and half years.

“At the personal level the president is not physically fit. I’ve heard many people say he means well. But there’s no amount of meaning well by the president that can cure his incompetence on the job.

“The root of the problem is that the president is projecting himself more as a northerner than a Nigerian, and even all the more as a Fulani and wants to be seen as a Fulani patron and protector.

“There appears a deficit of patriotism in this president. And that is why Miyetti Allah, being Fulani, could be threatening everybody and nobody is being arrested. There’s nothing deterring the harbingers of insecurity and criminality in the land.”

For Adesina Adegbite, the immediate past NBA National Welfare Secretary, the situation has dented Nigeria’s image in the comity of nations.

According to him, “The security situation is currently at its lowest ebb in Nigeria. It would be fallacious for anyone to claim that there is any place, city, hamlet, town or state in Nigeria that is secure.

“Just the other day, a colleague of mine had a matter in Bauchi. He has been properly briefed, but do you know that because of the security situation in the country, he has been so scared to travel. His wife has been begging him not to step an inch outside his base here in Lagos.

“Country after country has placed Nigeria on their security watch list, asking their citizens not to venture to Nigeria.

“So the situation has dented the country’s image. It has actually given Nigeria a very bad name. I doubt if the president understands the degree of damage done to the country by the state of widespread insecurity in Nigeria.”

Speaking in the same vein, Olusina Fasugba, a Lagos-based legal practitioner, expressed worry that the situation is already verging on a civil war.

According to him, “The entire situation is very precarious now. When you look at how civil wars start, it begins with the government losing grip of the security apparatus. That is the situation we currently find in Nigeria today.

“Informed and concerned people are worried that the country is apparently tottering at the precipice so much so that the situation calls for urgent presidential action.”

Also for Malachy Ugwummadu, President, Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CDHR), the situation has morphed to a frightening level.

He said, “The facts speak for themselves. The parlous security situation is becoming frightening that it is even questioning the very essence of governance.

“The poverty of the situation is that the government in power does not understand the urgency of the situation.

“Since these acts of criminality are not being resolved, and with the government appearing unwilling to determine it one way or the other, the criminal bandits have become more daring and emboldened.”

“There is urgent need for Nigeria’s security architecture to be re-ordered,” he said.


It’s Time To Take War To The Enemy – Oyinlola

Correspondingly, former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, said enough was enough on Monday while reacting to the incessant killings and kidnappings in the country.

He said it was time the government led the war to the camp of the enemy of progress and peace in the country.

In a statement issued in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, and made available to Daily Independent, Oyinlola said the Muhammadu Buhari administration must not be emotional about arrest and punishment for the perpetrators of the acts.

While noting that the murder of Mrs. Funke Olakunrin in broad daylight came as a rude shock and reminder to all that “our country is in terrible times”, Oyinlola said it was time for all patriots to be sober and reflect on how the nation got to this Hobbesian point where life was nasty, brutish, and short.

Part of the statement reads: “With this tragic incident and the several reported and unreported ones across the country, particularly in the South-West, it is time to say, enough.

“Certainty of arrest and severity of punishment are time-tested deterrents to crimes and criminality. Criminal, evil-minded persons will always have a free reign where impunity is condoned.

“However, government must not be emotional about arrest and punishment. The government has a lot of work to do to convince Nigerians that it is for the law abiding citizens and that these criminals are not above the law.

“Government must never be seen as being hostage to or complicit of crime and criminality. Governments exist to protect lives and property; they do not exist to release condolence messages after each avoidable death as this.

“These criminals have declared a war against our nation and we should take the war to them.

“The Federal Government is expected to lead this war without bringing politics into it and without any emotional bias against the law.

“One of the reasons some of us backed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 was his perceived competence in security matters -given his training and status as a General of the Nigerian army.

“He needs to redeem his image now that deadly criminals have taken over the land, rubbishing all he has ever lived for.

“He needs to come out clearly now, address the nation, outlining clearly his war plans to safeguard the lives and property of all Nigerians in all states.

“Nigerians want to hear him directly not through an aide or a party chief. He is the one they voted for as commander-in-chief, not someone else.

“I appeal to Nigerians to be vigilant, decisive, cooperate with security agencies and, more importantly, join in this war against insecurity and impunity.

“We must hold our government responsible for whatever happens to our lives and property and give it whatever assistance it may need to get this done.”

Oyinlola condoled with leader of Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, and his children, as well as the husband and family of the deceased, the government and people of Ondo State, the Afenifere family, and the Yoruba people on the unfortunate incident.


Buhari May Replace Service Chiefs

Speaking with Daily Independent on Monday, a presidency source said a change of guard was imminent as the president was concerned about the raging insecurity in the country and wanted an effective solution to it before it would get out of hand.

He added that the recent promotions in the Nigerian army might be an indication of that.

“The president, as the commander-in-chief, is keeping many things to his chest. But, from feelers, he may replace the service chiefs because he is concerned about the state of the nation and the insecurity crisis.

“A lot of concerned Nigerians have expressed the belief that replacing the service chiefs would add more vigour and new ideas to the fight against insecurity and I think the president is giving it a serious thought,” the source said.

Several civil society organisations (CSOs) have accused the service chiefs of operating illegally in office since their tenure elapsed on Saturday, July 13, 2019.

Speaking on the letter written by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday to Buhari, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, said they endorsed the content of the letter as silence in the face of the current insecurity crisis was not acceptable.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo called for a national debate to discuss security issues affecting the nation.

Yinka Odumakin, the organisation’s National Publicity Secretary, said: “We endorse Obasanjo’s patriotic intervention at this critical moment in Nigeria when silence is sinful for statesmen of his hue.

“We just hope the administration would listen to his call and summon an assembly of Nigerian leaders to steer Nigeria away from Kigali which the contradictions orchestrated by the actions and inactions of official leadership is pushing it.”

On its part, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) said it was still studying the letter and would make its position known soon.

The organisation’s National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim Biu, in a text message to our correspondent, said: “The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) is studying Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari and will make its position known soon.”


OBJ’s Letter Invitation To Chaos, Anarchy —Yakasai

Tanko Yakasai, a founding member of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), said on Monday that writing “unpatriotic” letters is a peculiar attitude of Obasanjo.

Yakasai said this in reaction to the letter Obasanjo wrote to Buhari on the insecurity in the country.

Speaking to journalists in Kano, Yakasai said the content of the letter may cause unrest in the country.

He said all letters written by Obasanjo to past Nigerian leaders were never inspired by patriotism but selfish interests.

Yakasai said one of the letters Obasanjo wrote during the reign of the late Sani Abacha, former military head of state, landed him in prison.

“The actions of General Olusegun Obasanjo are, indeed, an open invitation for disaster for this country with the kind of hate speeches and messages that are flying all over the country,” Yakasai said.

“I don’t see patriotism in General Obasanjo’s letters. In fact, all the letters written by General Obasanjo to all military heads of state and presidents of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are not guided by patriotic considerations.

“My experience with Nigerian political situation is that the top echelons of the military are always fighting one another, either when in the service or when on retirement.

“It is from this angle that I always view most of the writings of General Olusegun Obasanjo to any military officer who is a Head of State or President in Nigeria as unpatriotic. Even the ones he wrote to former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and the late Umar Musa Yar’Adua were not patriotic. They were guided by selfish interest.

“General Obasanjo did it during Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida’s era. He did it during the late General Sani Abacha’s regime, which later resulted to accusations that he was trying to overthrow the government, which eventually led to his imprisonment.

“General Olusegun Obasanjo also wrote a number of letters during General Abdulsalami Abubakar’s regime; and he is still writing letters in this current presidency of General Muhammadu Buhari. So, this attitude of writing unpatriotic letters has been part of General Olusegun Obasanjo.”

By Kingsley Jeremiah and John Akubo,


Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has hinted that pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS) may be increased soon, as it described the N145 pump price as the cheapest in West Africa.

The new Group Managing Director (GMD), Mele Kyari, stated this yesterday during a visit to Senate President Ahmed Lawan at the National Assembly complex, Abuja.

Kyari spoke while making submissions on revenue generation before the leadership of the senate.

He identified cheap fuel price and smuggling as the two key factors hampering revenue generation by the agency.

“The N145 per litre fuel price regime in Nigeria runs against the N350 per litre most of the other West African countries operate, encouraging smuggling.

“It is even very difficult for us to make the product available at N145,” said he.

NNPC also said it would lobby the National Assembly to ensure speedy passage of laws relating to the oil and gas industry to enhance performance.

The corporation stated that the move would ensure the emplacement of an enabling legal framework for the growth of the oil and gas sector.

Immediate past GMD, Dr. Maikanti Baru, who was at the meeting, said a visit to the senate president was part of the programmes planned for the period of transition but was not realised due to exigencies.

Baru stressed that he considered it necessary to still visit, even after the formal handover, considering the good relations he enjoyed with Lawal.

He stated that beyond introducing his successor, the visit was meant to canvass the senate’s support for the quick passage of the Deep Offshore Amendment Bill, which could boost the government’s revenue with about $5 billion per annum.

Meanwhile, the senate has resolved to unravel the reason foreign airlines were allowed to fly multiple routes within Nigeria to mop up passengers, a practice that is alien to other climes.

To that effect, the upper legislative chamber said it would summon the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Transport, the Director General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and Managing Director of Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to explain things to the senate.

This followed a motion on Unfair Competition and Urgent Need to Protect Nigeria’s Indigenous Airlines from Extinction due to designations and multiple frequencies granted foreign airlines in Nigeria, moved by Senator Ifeanyi Ubah (YPP, Anambra South).

The senators also mandated foreign airlines to provide statistics of Nigerians in their employ, encouraging them to employ more Nigerians and to partner indigenous airlines.

They urged the federal government to give indigenous airlines the necessary support and protection to remain afloat.

The Cold War lingering between President Muhammadu Buhari and the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is getting deeper and more sophisticated. National Daily learned that the two party leaders may have been subtly promoting the parochial interests of their respective legacy party bloc – the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), respectively – within the broad APC platform, but in the open, they disguise that all is well in the decision of who gets what, when, and how much from the APC government and party structure. They were said to be covertly working in opposite direction.

National Daily learned that in a new initiative to consolidate the APC for the 2023 transition, in which the APC national leader, Tinubu, is perceived to have intention of contesting for president of the country on the party’s platform, President Buhari may have tentatively been scheming to take away the party structure from Tinubu’s loyalists in the APC leadership.

There are insinuations that the APC National Working Committee (NWC) is on target in an alleged plan to overhaul the party structure. Part of the planned overhaul, National Daily learned, is to reassign the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, to a ministerial duty and take him away from the party leadership. Oshiomhole has in the series of conflicts in the ruling APC been perceived to be aligning with the APC national leader, Tinubu, thus, giving advantages to the ACN power bloc in the party, while the CPC, ANPP and other minor blocs are being diminished in pieces.

The CPC and ACN have been working on the power sharing formula that while CPC has the president, the ACN has the national chairman of the party in addition to the vice president. The journey to 2023 is already generating tension in APC as the ACN now aspires for the president.

Oshiomhole encountered the first plot to remove him when the APC Deputy National Chairman North, Senator Lawal Shuaibu, had in June told the APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, to resign, citing poor leadership that cost the party electoral misfortunes in Zamfara, Rivers and some other states in the 2019 general elections.

Shuaibu had protested that APC lost governorship elections, national and state assembly elections in most states because Oshiomhole’s lack of leadership capacity. The matter is yet to be resolved, though, Oshiomhole has been running from pillar to pole across the country mobilizing support for vote of confidence on his leadership. The party has also not been able to sanction Shuaibu for his outburst even after he ignored and questioned the invitation of a disciplinary panel set by the APC national chairman; indicating leadership stalemate in the APC.

Shuaibu’s protest and agitation was reinforced by the former APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who stated that APC NWC traded with the party’s primary elections for the 2019 general elections.

National Daily learned that Oyegun in a counter argument that he created the foundation of the crisis in APC, had declared: “It is common knowledge that Oshiomhole ran the most fraudulent primaries in the history of politics in Nigeria. Recall that INEC said so when it adjudged Oshiomhole primaries as the worst so far. The courts are saying the same thing today by upturning many APC primaries for being undemocratic and less than fair. Was it Oyegun who ran the primaries?”

Moreover, another member of the APC NWC, the National Legal Adviser, Babatunde Ogala, had in 2018 written to Oshiomhole, cautioning him of usurping his powers to handle legal matters in the party.

National Daily further learned that several APC stalwarts have expressed that it is an irony that NWC members who ought to be reporting to the party national chairman confront Oshiomhole on his leadership incompetence and high handedness with astute boldness and confidence.

All these were said to have provided the President the lacuna in the affairs of the ruling APC to consider some reforms which in the ultimate denouement could eliminate some forces loyal to Tinubu.

A report indicated that some APC leaders disclosed that in the planned restructuring, some NWC members may be relieved of their party leadership roles and be reassigned to the federal cabinet on ministerial and other appointments.

It was alleged that some of those President Buhari may be considering for ministerial and other appointments include APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole from Edo State; Deputy National Chairman South, Chief Niyi Adebayo from Ekiti State, and APC National Auditor, Chief George Moghalu from Anambra State.

National Daily also learned that of the APC 21 NWC members, about 12 members may be eliminated from the party’s administrative leadership for appointment as ministers, ambassadors, advisers and others.

The President was, however, said to be playing safe in the grand plan, while, the national chairman and others were considered to have the option of acceptance or rejection of the appointments. Some other party leaders were of the view that any rejection of the ministerial offer may spark monumental crisis in the party in a prospective renewed struggle for the removal of the national chairman.

Lagos – After last week’s suspension of listing on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Airtel Africa finally listed on Tuesday in a N1.36 trillion ($4.4 billion) floatation, turning the telecom company into the bourse’s third largest stock by market value.

Airtel Africa’s shares climbed 10% from their listing price of N363 after the float went live. Some 100,000 shares traded at Tuesday’s debut, helping the main stock index recover from a seven-week low.

The company, owned 68.3% by India’s Bharti Airtel, offered shares in its African unit two weeks ago via a London IPO and said it would dual-list in Nigeria, its biggest market in Africa.

Airtel Africa, which operates across 14 African countries, had planned to list last week but the bourse postponed the cross-border listing to allow the telecoms firm to meet its listing requirements.

Airtel’s listing comes after main rival, South Africa’s MTN, listed its Nigerian unit in Lagos in May in a $6.5 billion floatation that made it the second-largest stock on the bourse by market value.

It also became the second company to list in London and Lagos following an IPO by oil firm Seplat.

Airtel Africa’s existing shareholders include Singapore’s Temasek, Japan’s SoftBank, Singtel, and U.S. investment firm, Warburg Pincus.

The local bourse has said Airtel shares registered in Britain may be moved from the London market to Nigeria subject to approval by the custodians in London and foreign exchange rules in Nigeria.

But Airtel shares registered in Nigeria cannot be moved to London, it said.

The listing of its Africa subsidiary on the London Stock Exchange, according to sources, was aimed at raising money to reduce its debt.

Bharti Airtel had announced the plans to take its Africa subsidiary public in February last year, and in October it completed an initial round of pre-IPO funding of $1.25 billion by issuing 841,908,798 shares to entities affiliated with the Warburg Pincus Parties, Temasek Holdings Private Limited, Singapore Telecommunications Limited, and SoftBank Group International.

Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of the state of Qatar, said in January it would invest $200 million in the African arm.

The PUNCH has removed its Daily Editor, Martin Ayankola over an offensive cartoon published in the newspaper last Thursday.

Also asked to resign was the Saturday Editor, Olabisi Deji-Folutile over the same issue.

There have been an outrage and backlash over a cartoon published on the back page of the PUNCH last Thursday. The opinion on its back page column was written by Abimbola Adelakun, with the title “What Does Mrs. Fatoyinbo Know.” The article was illustrated with a cartoon of a man desecrating the bible with urine.

The publication had generated lots of displeasure against the newspaper for publishing such offensive cartoon aimed at casting aspersion on the Christian faith and the Lord Jesus Christ.

PM News gathered that the board held an emergency meeting on Monday where Ayankola, was ordered to appear and forced to resign his appointment.

It was learnt that Ayankola had just completed a one-week suspension before he was fired by the newspaper over the offensive cartoon.

Ayankola has been the longest serving PUNCH Editor, having been appointed to the office in 2013 and during his tenure, the PUNCH towered higher.

A source in The PUNCH told PM News that the editor was forced to resign for bringing the newspaper into disrepute.

The Saturday Editor, Deji-Folutile was also asked to resign for allegedly playing a role in the publication, while the cartoonist of the newspaper was sacked, with more people still being investigated, while the columnist, Abimbola Adelakun, was asked to rest her column.

The PUNCH had also tendered apology to the public over the offensive cartoon.

The apology reads: “On the back of the page of the Thursday, July 4, 2019 edition of the PUNCH, we published a cartoon to illustrate an article titled, ‘What does Mrs. Fatoyinbo know?’ The cartoon features a character desecrating the Holy Bible.

“We apologise for the offensive cartoon and assure our esteemed readers that we hold the Christian faith in high regard. We have since commenced the process of applying appropriate sanctions to the members of staff responsible, and we shall be reviewing our editorial process to prevent re-occurrence.”

Dressed in a black, white and ash checked shirt and black trousers, bearded Bidemi Mojupa, 26, alleged to have murdered his lover inside Corporation Estate, Amuwo Odofin last Tuesday, showed no sign of remorse.

His expression while recounting the incident that led to his killing the woman he described as “my prostitute friend,” showed no sobriety for a first-timer, who claimed to have not premeditated killing the woman identified as Christy for denying him sex.

Mojupa, a graduate of Mass Communication from Rivers State Polytechnic admitted it was not the first time they would be having “good time,” adding that he dragged her inside the house when she made to leave and then stabbed her on the neck from behind.

According to him, he was high on Rohypnol, tranquilizer about 10 times more potent than valium, which he became addicted to while in school where he joined the Vykings cult group.


The suspect, who was paraded before reporters at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) Panti in Yaba on Tuesday, said he was under pressure to have sex and felt bad when Christy turned him down.

Mojupa said he tried to force her but she refused and insisted on payment before service which led to an altercation between them, which probably alerted the neighbours.

The suspect denied being a ritualist, claiming it was the mob justice meted to him that made him admit in the viral video.

He said: “She was my prostitute friend. It was not the first time we were meeting. I was high on drugs and under pressure to make love when I went to pick her. We agreed and came my place at 55A Corporation Estate, Amuwo Odofin.

“But when I wanted to do it, she refused and said I should pay her first. We started arguing. She walked out and wanted to live but I dragged her back inside and stabbed her on the neck.

“It was a kitchen knife I used in stabbing her. She did not see the knife coming. I had earlier used the knife to peel oranges and dropped it on top of the washing machine before I went to pick her.

After killing her, I was afraid and wanted to run away. I did not know what to do.”

Asked if he planned to escape and put his uncle in whose house he committed the crime in trouble, Mojupa said no, adding “I would have only escaped for a while.”

Asked about the 17 women handbags found in the duplex, Mojupa said they belonged to the owners of the house his uncle took over from.

“It is my uncle’s house. When the incident happened he was not around but he is back now. Those bags belong to the former owners of the house. The people my uncle took over the house from. I have never killed anyone and I am not a ritualist. I was high on drugs,” he said.

Bisi Fayemi, feminist activist and the wife of Ekiti state governor, Kayode Fayemi has called out people especially women who condemned Busola Dakolo, wife of singer, Timi Dakolo who recently accused the Senior Pastor of the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly COZA, Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo, of raping her when she was 17.

Bisi Fayemi, while narrating her own near-rape experience says she is appalled by the number of women who have come out to shame and condemn Busola for speaking up.

In an article she shared with the press, Mrs. Fayemi says the culture of shaming rape victims and forcing them to silence their pain in Nigeria must stop.

In her opinion, ”any adult who has a sexual relationship with a girl under the age of 18 is committing statutory rape, there is no such thing as consensual sex with a minor”.

Addressing the backlash Busola has received for speaking about the rape incident 20 years after, Mrs Fayemi wrote

”Over and over, supporters of the Pastor and some who claimed neutrality kept asking why Busola decided to speak up twenty years after the rape took place. Why is she speaking out now? Why did she not say something at the time? I could not believe some of the things people were saying, including those who ought to know better.

Busola Dakolo and her husband Timi received unprecedented support for their bravery, the court of public opinion seems to be in their favour. However, I could not help but wonder how we got to where we are, a society blissfully unaware of the war that has been waged consistently on the bodies of women and girls from one generation to the next.

Women don’t talk about what happened to them as girls or as adults because of the implications – shame, stigma, punishment, rejection.

I am even more appalled at the number of women who have added their voices in the shaming of Busola. If you cannot say anything to support another woman in pain, say nothing. Keep quiet. If you are a fan of the accused Pastor, support him if you want, but you don’t have to call his accuser names.

Mrs Fayemi went on to share stories of how she was almost abused when she was a child and how her gut as a child and her mother’s immediate stand saved her from being a victim
When I was ten years old, my mother brought a male teenage relative to live with us to help around the house. His name was Sina. He slept on a mattress on the floor with my younger brother, while I was on the bed with one of my young Aunts. One night, before I fell asleep, I felt my bed covers being pulled. I pulled them back up. It happened again and I did the same thing. The third time, I allowed the covers to be pulled off totally to be sure I was not making a mistake.

I sat up and asked Sina what he was doing. He said ‘nothing’. I stayed awake for most of the night. First thing in the morning, I went to tell my mother. She did not yell at me. She did not scream and call me a liar. By the time I got back from school, Sina was gone and we never saw him again. We never had any male relatives live with us after that.

When I was in secondary school and home for the holidays, I was around thirteen at the time, I told my father I wanted to learn how to swim. There was this young man who lived next door, he used to run errands for my father, we called him Brother Lai. My father asked Brother Lai to take me and my Aunt to Airport Hotel, Ikeja, to teach us how to swim.

My first swimming lesson was my last. Brother Lai held me from behind, teaching me how to kick my feet under the water, while at the same time pressing himself against me and touching me inappropriately. When I asked him why he was doing that, he asked, ‘Can’t I play with you’?
The next day, when he came around for us to go for the next lesson, I refused. I never told my parents what happened, I just mumbled something about not liking water.

I was afraid of causing trouble. I did not want Brother Lai to be sent away on my account, the same way Sina was frog-marched to the motor park by my mother.

I did not want my parents to think I was in some way encouraging these men to be inappropriate towards me. So, I said nothing and just stayed out of Brother Lai’s way. Brother Lai had never given any indication that he was anything other than a respected older brother figure. I was however literally placed in his hands and he saw an opportunity and took advantage of it.

That is what predators do, they wait for opportunities to present themselves and then they abuse trust and innocence. With hindsight, I shudder at the naivety of my trusting parents. I, however, learnt to appreciate my mother’s response to my claims, it could have gone differently. What if my mother had not believed me? What if Brother Lai had come into our house and I had let him in, and he had proceeded to attack me in my own home?

Rape allegation by Busola Dakolo against Pastor Biodun continues to generate reactions from all quarters, even has the embattled stepped down as the senior pastor of COZA.

Busola has, however, reported the case to the police.

Nura Dahiru, an assistant superintendent of customs, on Monday promoted himself to the rank of deputy comptroller-general of Customs (DCG), claiming he was directed by President Muhammadu Buhari to assume the office of comptroller-general (CG).

Sources at the Customs headquarters in Abuja told TheCable that Dahiru walked in Monday morning wearing the new rank, and went into the office of Hameed Ali, the comptroller general.
“As he came in, officers were saluting him because he was wearing that rank,” one of the sources said.

“Sometime in May, he had posted on Facebook that he had been directed by the president to take over from Hameed Ali, and today when we saw him in the new rank, we thought, indeed, he has been promoted and so directed by the president. He went inside the CG’s office, sat in the waiting room, expecting the CG to handover to him.”

By Johnchuks Onuanyim



The national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is said to be on the verge of organising its National Working Committee (NWC) in order to restore members confidence and tame the crisis in the party’s leadership.

Top party member from the Presidency disclosed this to our correspondent over the weekend.

According to the source, the restructuring of the party would take the form of pulling some NWC members away and injecting new members to restore confidence of members in the leadership of the party.
“Some NWC members would be appointed ministers, while some will get Ambassadorial posting.

“Among those that would be appointed ministers are the National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole (Edo); Deputy National Chairman South, Chief Niyi Adebayo (Ekiti) and the National Auditor, Chief George Moghalu (Anambra),” the source said.

It would be recalled that the APC Deputy National Chairman North, Senator Lawal Shuaibu, had last month, asked the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, to resign because of the alleged poor performance of the party in the last general elections.

According to Shuaibu, that APC lost state governorship elections, national and state assembly seats as a result of lack of capacity on the part of the National Chairman.

Also, the former APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, accused the APC NWC of trading the party’s primaries.

Oyegun, reacting to the allegation that he laid the landmine of the crisis in APC through his Public Affairs Adviser, Chief Ray Murphy, said: “It is common knowledge that Oshiomhole ran the most fraudulent primaries in the history of politics in Nigeria. Recall that INEC said so when it adjudged Oshiomhole primaries as the worst so far. The courts are saying the same thing today by upturning many APC primaries for being undemocratic and less than fair. Was it Oyegun who ran the primaries?”

Beyond the problems of the primaries, there is also no love lost among some of the NWC members as the Working Committee is highly factionalised.

It would be recalled that the APC National Legal Adviser, Mr. Babatunde Ogala, had last year, written to the National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, accusing him of usurping his position in the NWC.

But the Presidential source said that the APC National Chairman cannot be singled out for blame for the crisis that rocked the party’s primaries as he could not have acted in isolation.

According to the source, the party leadership believes that the NWC should be pruned by at least 50% to restore credibility to the party leadership.

To achieve this, the Presidency and some national leadership members of the APC have agreed that some NWC members will be eased out by being made ministers, ambassadors and head of government agencies.

The APC NWC is made up of 21 members and about 12 of them might be relieved of their positions in the party’s Working Committee.

But when the National Auditor, Chief George Moghalu, was confronted with development in the party, he denied any knowledge of it.

He said: “I am hearing this for the first time and that is the truth. I am not aware of any such arrangements. Fortunately for me, you started saying that you heard from the Presidency and since you said that you heard from the Presidency, it’s like saying you heard from the stadium because you can’t point to anybody now and say he is the presidency.”

Asked if that would be a welcoming idea for the party, Moghalu quipped: “I wouldn’t know because anybody who is thinking like that must have his reasons and it is for that person to justify his reasons for such thoughts.”

Another party member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said engaging them as ministers might also cause another problem in another place. He, however, said it is the only and safest way to rebuild confidence in the party.

The party member said: “That would create other problems if they were made ministers but that is also a good thing for the party as it is the only and safest way to rebuild the party.”

President Muhammadu Buhari is set to announce the composition of his new cabinet soon.

At least seven of the new governors sworn in on May 29 may be spoiling for a showdown with their predecessors over alleged debts in excess of N872 billion, an investigation by The Nation has shown.

Governors Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa State), Bala Muhammad (Bauchi), Inuwa Yahya (Gombe), Emeka Ihedioha (Imo), AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq (Kwara), Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Bello Matawalle (Zamfara) have been lamenting the poor financial conditions they inherited from their predecessors and there are indications they may not allow the matter end there.

Each day or week hardly passes without fresh discovery of alleged financial impropriety being made by the new helmsmen.

Debts which the new governors claim to have inherited are: Adamawa N115billion; Bauchi N137b; Gombe N119b; Kwara N98b; Oyo N150b; and Zamfara N251b.

Governor Ihedioha of Imo State has not put a figure yet to the debt he inherited but his party, PDP, said the state’s liabilities could be as much as N300b.

But the governor has repeatedly accused the immediate past governor, Rochas Okorocha of running the state aground.

Governor Makinde of Oyo State who claimed that his predecessor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, left a debt profile of N150 billion has also said no less than N60billion of the state funds is in wrong hands.

He wants to set up an anti-graft agency in the state to deal with theft of public funds because, as he said, the reckless stealing of the commonwealth by a few cannot be allowed to continue.

Makinde’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, told The Nation that the new government is still looking at the books.

According to him, the N150billion debt already discovered were incurred by the last administration in the name of bonds meant for specific projects but which were not effectively delivered.

He added that the government is still looking at the books and may invite past government officials to come and explain how some of the funds were spent.

He lamented that the N4.5billion coming from the Federal Allocation Account and the N2billion sourced internally monthly are hardly enough to pay workers’ wage bill of N5.5billion and execute projects.

Adisa said the state is technically bankrupt, saying: “the governor has more than enough evidence that some incongruous things were undertaken in the immediate past administration. “And those untoward activities, if the people get to know about them, the people will be far more than angry and when the people are angry it is like what you read in the books of Shakespeare where the plebeians can go either way.

“But Governor Seyi Makinde doesn’t want the anger of the people to be unleashed on anybody, that is why he said he will not probe, but when someone enters an office with an open mind and he is going about his business trying to study the ground and some people will just go about in the town saying he should face governance that he doesn’t know what he is doing and all that, but the records are showing that you mismanaged the state thoroughly. So, we will be left with no other option than to open the books and let the people decide.”

Neither former Governor Abiola Ajimobi nor his media aide, Mr Bolaji Tunji could be reached for reactions.


Why I’m yet to petition EFCC over my predecessor’s financial recklessness – Bauchi Governor

Governor Bala Mohammed says he’s currently preoccupied with putting things in order before deciding what to do about the alleged mishandling of the state’s finances by the last administration.

He recently accused former governor Abubakar Muhammed of blowing N2.4billion on burials.

The ex-governor denied the allegation, saying he spent only N1.2billion on burials.

Bala Mohammed speaking through his chief media aide, Dr Ladan Salihu said the huge debt profile of the state constitutes a threat to the development of the state.

He said that N137billion debt was the accumulation of the N96 billion left by the Isah Yuguda government and the N41billion by the immediate past administration.

His words:”It would be unexpected to say the huge debt profile will not affect development as it has laid ambush on various development mechanisms.

“With such huge debt profile, you would have expected to see some projects already on ground.

“We are not preoccupied with filing petitions at this point in time. We are more concerned about setting agenda, letting the people know about the policy direction of our government as we have barely spent a month in office. We are occupied with putting things in order.

“I can assure you when we aggregate the misdemeanour, all the highest financial crimes that will warrant us to make a case, we shall make a case. We will definitely cross the bridge when we get there. But for now we are preoccupied with laying the foundation for us to succeed.”

But reacting to the allegations, the media aide to the ex-governor, Ali. M. Ali said his principal only took non-commercial loans to develop infrastructure in the state.

He said the Abubakar administration did not go out of its way to secure fresh loans adding that that they were loans given by the Federal Government to all the states.

He said: “”The FG thought of bailing out states struggling to pay salaries. That was why there was a bailout loan of N8.7bn. There was also a budget support facility of N8bn.

“There was an agricultural loan of N8bn along with an infrastructure development loan of N10bn. So, if you calculate all these loans, you’ll get N34.7bn.

“I’m surprised with the impression that over N45bn debt was left in addition to the loans we inherited. You need to be clear about some of the loans. There is a foreign component to it, which I am not in a position to disclose now. If you look at the time these loans were given, the exchange rate was lower than it is now. So, if you convert that to the naira equivalent, you’ll see that the debt profile will be very huge. Beyond this, the (Abubakar) government did not take any commercial loan; that’s what people don’t understand.”

He also said the former governor left behind N11.6 billion in the state coffers and debt of N41billion and not N137b as alleged.

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq inherited local debts totalling N59, 585,637,336.62k and foreign debts of about N48.6 million, according to his Chief Press Secretary Rafiu Ajakaye.

Governor AbdulRazaq had earlier revealed that Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) blacklisted the state because the former administration allegedly mismanaged the N1.5 billion grant meant for the upgrading of schools in the state in 2013.

This according to the government necessitated the ban placed on the state by UBEC in accessing grant from the commission.

AbdulRazaq said: “the last administration cannot be forgiven for the criminal neglect of the schools because the consequences are there for all to see.”

He added that ex-Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed’s response to the outrage that trailed the diversion of N1.5 UBEC funds has raised more questions on the sordid neglect of public schools under him.

He said that Ahmed’s statement that claims that funds were not diverted or mismanaged holds no water in the face of revelations from UBEC and the decrepit state of the schools.

The government said the mismanagement is apparent in Kwara ranking 37th — or the lowest — on the list of UBEC Matching Grant Disbursement Performance as at April 30, 2019.

The government said Ahmed’s claim that his government used the N1.5 billion to pay workers’ salary was untenable and fishy for an administration that received N22 billion Paris Club refund and additional N3.4b billion bailout funds that were meant to help states pay workers when federal allocation dropped.

But former governor Ahmed denied the claims that his administration mismanaged UBEC counterpart funds.

His spokesman, Dr Muyideen Akorede said that the federal agency essentially cancelled a N2 billion grant to the state when the government borrowed from UBEB its 50 percent cent counterpart fund of N1.5 billion for the payment of salaries at the height of the 2015 economic recession which prevented most states in Nigeria from meeting salary obligations to workers.


Matawalle, Yari in hot dispute over Zamfara debt profile

Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State and the immediate past governor, Alhaji AbdulAziz Yari are locked in a dispute over the true position of the finances of the state with the incumbent claiming he inherited a debt profile of N215b.

Incidentally, the debt profile was compiled by a committee headed by Yari’s estranged former deputy, Ibrahim Wakkala.

Wakkala said that liabilities from economic, environment, general and social services stand at the sum of N151.1billion approximately.

He also claimed that from the Ministry of Finance, outstanding loans, contract retentions, bailouts and loans from banks reflected a sum of N65.3 billion approximately.

Furthermore, he said liabilities from the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs stood at a sum of N33.3billion approximately. The committee chairman revealed also that a sum of N1.4billion was discovered as liability from unremitted National Housing Fund, and pension contributions deducted from salaries between 2016-2019.

Liabilities from education sector and pension and gratuity matters reflected N2.8billion and N1.6billion respectively.

Yari swiftly denied the allegations.

He said through his media aide Malam Ibrahim Dosara that he left no debt or liability for Matawalle.

Dosara said: “I want to make it categorically clear that the immediate past governor, Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar left no debt in the state when he handed over the leadership of the state to the government of Alhaji Bello Matawalle.

“The press briefing by the immediate past deputy-governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Wakkala, saying that Yari administration left a debt of over N251 billion, was misleading, misrepresenting and a calculated attempt to smear the good image of the former governor.

“We wonder why the committee failed to inform the world that Yari left N7 billion in the state coffers or that the former governor had constructed hundreds of kilometre roads cutting across all the 14 Local Government Areas of the state as well as provision of other dividends of democracy.”


Inherited debt is having debilitating effect on governance -Adamawa

A committee tasked to monitor the immediate past administration in Adamawa State says the government left a debt profile of N115 billion.

The Adamawa Transition Committee Chairman Aliyu Ismaila Numan said the debts comprise external and domestic loans, arrears of pensions, gratuities and death benefits, and salary arrears and other staff claims. The local government councils owe N18 billion.

The state Director General of Media and Communications, Solomon Kumanga, told The Nation in Yola that he needed to make consultations to be able to give an update on the exact debt figure, but was definite that the debt burden is a hindrance to development.

“The debt overhang is having a debilitating effect on governance. Government has to look critically before it can implement any development project. What the government is battling with now is how to clear this debt and free itself to execute projects,” Kumanaga said.

He added, however, that the governor is working out ways to deliver governance despite the debt issue, saying, “The Governor of Adamawa State, Governor Fintiti, is determined not to allow the issue of inherited debt to stop him from working for Adamawa people. What he is doing now is speaking with the banks. He is saying he will not allow himself into a situation when he will be controlled by the banks.

“He is speaking with the banks to reschedule the payment of these debts, especially the N5 billion overdraft from the UBA for the payment of local government staff. What His Excellency did was to renegotiate with the bank for government to pay it more gradually, rather than having to remove a whooping sum from our allocation.”

The past Adamawa State administration however objects to being blamed for the state’s debt burden.

The Commissioner of Finance under Bindow, Mahmoud Yunusa, had been quick in refuting the figures reeled out by Fintiri’s transition committee and the history of the ‘real figure.’

Mahmoud Yunusa who addressed the state House of Assembly on the matter on May 28, three days after the committee presented its report and a day to the terminal date of the Bindow regime, said, “Our debt profile stands at N44 billion. The N115 billion debt alleged by the transition committee is made up of tangible and intangible loans. These are debts that were accumulated over a long period. Some of the past administrations took loans and could not pay back.”

Bindow had himself said his government took minimal loans and only when very necessary. Speaking at the ceremony to mark Workers Day on May 1, 2019, Bindow who had barely a month to the end of his term then, said he only took loans to augment federal allocations for payment of workers’ salaries.

“I don’t take loans to execute projects. We utilize what we have for development projects,” he had said.

And speaking for the ex-governor over the week, his Personal Assistant on Media and Publicity, Martins Dickson, said the debt issue is being overblown by the present government for political reason.

Martins Dickson who was Bindow’s Special Assistant on Press and Media Affairs when Bindow was governor, added that Bindow was prudent in utilizing whatever funds or loans that he got, with development projects as proofs.

“What I expect this government to do is concentrate on governance because politics is over,” he said.


Abiodun silent on Ogun debt

Mum is the response from the Dapo Abiodun’s Administration in Ogun State on the debt profile inherited from former governor Ibikunle Amosun.

But Abiodun said recently that he met an almost empty treasury.

He said he has too many things to do to steer the affairs of the State than allow himself to be bogged down by what someone did or did not do.

The Nation contacted the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Kunle Somorin, for reaction but said he needed to contact the appropriate quarters for a concrete response.

He was yet to get back to The Nation at press time.


Okorocha left N300bn debt for Ihedioha – PDP

The Imo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) claimed that the immediate past Governor, Rochas Okorocha, may have left a debt profile of N300billion for his successor, Emeka Ihedioha.

Okorocha, according to the PDP, incurred over N100 billion debt and abandoned projects worth more than N200 billion across the state.

The party was reacting to the claim by Okorocha that he was leaving over N42 billion for the incoming administration of PDP’s Emeka Ihedioha.

The PDP dismissed Okorocha’s claim as unverifiable and baseless.

Ihedioha himself is yet to say how much he inherited by way of debt although he has repeatedly accused Okorocha of financial recklessness.

Yusuf Alli,


The controversy sparked by the choice of minority leaders in the House of Representatives has caused a split in the ranks of governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The governors are divided over the push by their colleague, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State to make his loyalist, Kingsley Chinda the House Minority Leader instead of Ndudi Elumelu ,who is the candidate of minority members of the House.

Chinda is also being backed by the PDP National Working Committee (NWC).

Elumelu was announced as Minority Leader by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila at Wednesday’s sitting amidst protest by some PDP members and the NWC of the party which proceeded, on Friday, to slam suspension on Elumelu and some of his supporters for alleged anti-party activities.

The PDP Board of Trustees (BOT) seems alarmed by the brewing crisis, prompting it to summon a meeting for Tuesday to find solutions to the division in the House by its elected members.

Soon after the Wednesday business in the House of Representatives, the Chairman of the BOT, Senator Walid Jibrin had accepted the election of Elumelu only for the NWC to summon Elumelu and his main supporters to come and defend their action.


What followed was their suspension by the party.

Investigation by The Nation shows that the disagreement between the PDP BoT and the NWC over the development in the House of Reps has spread to the ranks of the party’s governors.

It was learnt that while some of the governors are backing Elumelu, a few others are insisting that the party’s list forwarded to the Speaker should be sacrosanct.


Some of the PDP governors are even indifferent to the situation.

Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has sent a congratulatory message to Elumelu, saying: “The unity and progress of Nigeria are bigger than any personal, political or religious interests.

Read also: How PDP Reps rebuffed party, Wike, Dogara
“I call on the leadership of the National Assembly to work for Nigeria instead of Nigeria working for them.”


A member of the NWC confirmed the split among the governors.

He said: “We have a challenge at hand because our leaders, especially governors are not on the same page over the choice of House Minority leaders.

“Some have also faulted the suspension of Elumelu and six others. This division is understandable but I can tell you that most of the governors are with the NWC on this.

“Our overriding interest is the supremacy of the party. We have got to a level that we must enforce discipline.

“The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is just out to cause disaffection among PDP members in the House. It is a case of divide and rule.

“If the Senate President, Dr. Ahmed Lawan could accept APC’s list of principal officers, why would the Speaker ignore PDP’s list of minority leaders in the House?”

A PDP governor, who spoke with our correspondent, said: “Some of us are really indifferent because we were not consulted by the NWC in arriving at the list sent to the Speaker. We have other ranking members besides Kingsley Chinda.

“It is unfair and unjust for the National Chairman of the party to come from Rivers State and the House Minority Leader to be selected from the same state. I think we should have been more circumspect.

“The last Majority Leader/ Minority Leader of the PDP, Leo Ogor came from Delta State. We were not expecting that out of the six states in the Southsouth, the NWC will zone the Minority Leader to either Rivers State or Delta State. The party should have been fair to other states.

“The challenge we have is that the party’s leadership defers to a few governors as if they own the PDP. This was not the dream of the founding fathers of the PDP.”

A member of the BOT said: “The truth is that some PDP governors are displeased with the way Governor Nyesom Wike is calling the shots in PDP because he influenced the emergence of Prince Uche Secondus as the national chairman.

“For assisting the party to regain its rhythm before the 2019 general election, Wike deserves some praises. But his contributions should not make him the leader of PDP.

“There was no basis for the recommendation of Kingsley Chinda from Rivers State in an opposition party which has to manage limited political offices statutorily due to it.

“So, there is a cold war within the party from the governors to other levels. Some of us have been saying it that Secondus must watch it.

“The BOT chairman was hasty in recognizing Elumelu without hearing from the National Chairman of PDP, Secondus. Although he has recanted, the damage is already done.”

Responding to a question, the source added: “The BOT will hold a meeting on Tuesday on the development on the choice of minority leaders.

“We want to avert a major crisis in PDP over these House leaders. And if we do not manage the situation with tact, it could destabilize the party.”

Notwithstanding, 111 of the 147 members of the opposition in the House have so far signed a register in favour of Elumelu.

The PDP had nominated Kingsley Chinda, highly favoured by Governor Nyesom Wike as Minority Leader; Chukwuka Onyema (Deputy Minority Leader); Yakubu Barde (Minority Whip); and Muraina Ajibola (Deputy Minority Whip)

But based on majority consensus by PDP members and the representatives of other opposition parties in the House, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila announced a new set of leaders.

Those preferred by members of the opposition are Ndudi Godwin Elumelu as Minority Leader; Toby Okechukwu (Deputy Minority Leader); Gideon Gwani (Minority Whip); and Adesegun Adekoya (Deputy Minority Whip).

Disturbed by the alleged defiance of its directive, the PDP suspended Elumelu and six others for accepting to serve outside its official list sent to the Speaker.

The PDP accused those suspended of alleged indiscipline, insubordination and disobedience of party directives contrary to Section 58 (1) (b) (c) (f) (h) of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017).

A new member of the House said: “Before the election of principal officers in the Senate and in the House, we waited for weeks from PDP for direction but the party was not forthcoming on where it was headed. The only exception was ex-Speaker Yakubu Dogara who tried to guide us.

“Having been left in the wilderness, we decided to individually make ourselves available to candidates in APC for lobbying. When it was too late, the PDP leadership now came up with some guidance.

“Yet we were insulted that the same PDP had the temerity to raise a panel to investigate why its members in the National Assembly voted for some principal officers.

“On the choice of minority leaders, the PDP did not consult its caucus in the House before coming up with the list it sent to the Speaker.

“The PDP members however invoked Order 7 Rule 8 of the House to pick the minority leaders, headed by Ndudi Elumelu. The order says members from any party will meet and choose candidates for principal offices. We met, built a consensus around Elumelu and others.

“If PDP had consulted its members in the House, it would have realized that some opposition members in the House came from a few parties too.

“As at Saturday, 111 out of 147 House members from the opposition parties have endorsed Elumelu. No going back even if all of us are sanctioned.”

ABUJA – President Muhammadu Buhari pulled a surprise on Friday, approving the re-appointment of Boss Mustapha as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), and Malam Abba Kyari as his Chief of Staff (COS) respectfully.

A terse statement by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President, whose fate still lies on the brim, stated that both appointments took effect from May 29, 2019, same date the President was inaugurated for a second term of office.

The statement read, “President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the re-appointment of Boss Mustapha as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), and Malam Abba Kyari as Chief of Staff (COS) to the President. Both appointments take effect from May 29, 2019.”


Prior to these appointments, there were speculations that the President might settle for either the former Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu or the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami as his Chief of Staff.

Credible sources within the presidency had also predicted that either of the two men will get the appointment because of their close affinity with the President. There were also indications that the President may relieve Kyari of his appointment because of his age and the constraints associated with the office of chief of staff.

Both Mustapha and Kyari have continued in office despite the expiration of Buhari’s first tenure.

Their appointment is the second he would make since his swearing in on May 29th.

President Buhari on Wednesday made his first appointment one month after he was sworn-in.

He had appointed Sunday Aghaeze and Bayo Omoboriowo as his Personal Assistants in charge of Photography.

Mustapha, who succeeded Babachir Lawal, in the wake of corruption allegations leveled against him, is believed to be in the good books of the presidency and the ruling All Progressives Congress, especially with the way and manner he has gone about coordinating the affairs of government seamlessly, since his appointment on October 30th, 2017.

Prior to now, the President had been facing criticism for delays in appointing key officers that would assist him in his second term.

The SGF who has been functioning in the same capacity had hinged the delays associated with appointing cabinet members on the National Assembly, although the National Assembly resumed on July 2nd, the presidency is yet to forward the ministerial lists to the Senate leadership for confirmation.

Buhari also re-appointed other personal staff, which includes Mohammed Sarki Abba – Senior Special Assistant to the President (Household and Social Events), Ya’u Shehu Darazo – Senior Special Assistant to the President (Special Duties), Dr Suhayb Sanusi Rafindadi – Personal Physician to the President and Amb. Lawal A. Kazaure – State Chief of Protocol.

Others are Sabiu Yusuf – Special Assistant (Office of the President), Saley Yuguda – Special Assistant (House Keeping), Ahmed Muhammed Mayo – Special Assistant (Finance & Administration), Mohammed Hamisu Sani – Special Assistant (Special Duties), Friday Bethel – Personal Assistant (General Duties)

All the appointments take effect from May 29, 2019.

By Temidayo Akinsuyi


Lagos – Yinka Odumakin, National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere on Friday said with President Muhammadu Buhari’s reappointment of Abba Kyari as Chief of Staff, Nigeria is going into the last level of Next Level. Speaking with Daily Independent, Odumakin said it is surprising why it took the President over one month to reappoint the same people who have been ineffective in office.

According to him, Nigeria is just moving around in one spot without a clear direction under the current administration.”It is the next level of the last level that we are going into. It is just perambulation like the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti will say. If Abba Kyari who has been in office as Chief of Staff for four years without Nigerians feeling the impact of that office was reappointed; that office is supposed to drive the Presidency”

“If it takes over one month to reappoint the same ineffectiveness, then interesting times are ahead for us as Nigerians and we should be prepared for it,” he said.

By Innocent Oweh



Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai has said the only way the military and other security personnel can stay neutral in Nigeria’s electoral process would be in the use of electronic voting by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

He made the observation against the backdrop of criticism trailing the military and other security personnel’s involvement in the 2019 general elections.

Buratai who spoke through a representative, Brig. Gen John Ochai at a one day stakeholders roundtable on the review of the 2019 general elections, organized by the Centre for Transparency Advocacy, in Abuja, on Thursday, said politicians cash in on the abnormalities in the electoral system to perpetrate crimes, arguing that its lucrative to them.

He noted that the security operatives usually deployed on election duties cannot afford to be aloof when their core responsibility revolves around ensuring law and order in any given situation.

by Eric Ikhilae,


The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has accused Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja of exhibiting bias in favour of former Senate President, Bukola Saraki and the immediate past Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorcha, in his handling of the cases they filed.

The allegation is contained in two fresh motions the EFCC filed before the court, demanding the withdrawal of Justice Taiwo from the two fundamental rights enforcement cases filed by Saraki and Okocha.

The EFCC said although it did not hope to always win its cases before the judge, the trend of Justice Taiwo’s orders in cases where it was conducting corruption/financial crimes investigations, made it difficult for it (the EFCC) to believe in the judge’s impartiality.

The commission resorted to filing the fresh motion following the refusal by the court’s Chief Judge, Justice Adamu Kafarati to transfer the cases from Justice Taiwo’s court, as requested by the EFCC in a petition it earlier wrote against the judge.

The grounds, on which the EFCC based its fresh motions, include that: “His Lordship while sitting in Ekiti Judicial Division of the Federal High Court had in two previous cases involving former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, Attorney-General of Ekiti State and officials of Ekiti State Government given orders/decisions wherein the 4th respondent/applicant’s statutory powers to investigate economic and financial crimes were curtailed and gagged contrary to the established principles by superior courts.

“One is suit number, FHC/AD/CS/32/2016 between A.G. Of Ekiti State vs. EFCC and 17 Ors, while the other has been upturned by the Court of Appeal in Appeal No. CA/EK/8C/2017 between EFCC V. Mr. Ayodele Fayose & Anor.

“The 4th respondent/applicant does not expect to always win its cases before this honourable court, but the trend of decisions/orders being made against it by my lord in cases where it is conducting corruption/financial crimes investigations. has made it difficult for it to believe in my lord’s impartiality.

“The 4th respondent/applicant had petitioned the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court seeking that this matter be re-assigned from my Lord’s court to another court, and the Chief Judge advised that a formal motion be filed to that effect.”

It faulted the ex parte orders parte directing the respondents in the case, including the EFCC,”to stay all action in connection with the subject matter of this suit, to stay all action in connection with the subject matter of pending the determination of this suit”.

Read Also: No going back on Oyo EFCC, says Makinde
The commission said the orders had an indefinite life span “since no one can state when the main case can be determined.”

It added that the orders were in the nature of interlocutory injunction “which ordinarily requires the aderse party to be put on notice”

The EFCC stated: “Without considering the merit in the application vis a vis the venue of the alleged violation of the fundamental rights, the court made an interlocutory order without hearing from the respondents applicant.

“It is well established legal principle that no court has the power to stop the investigative powers of the 4th respondent or any agency established under the laws to investigate crimes.”

The commission argued that the orders issued by the court on May 9 and May 14, 2019 restrained it from performing its statutory duty.

Other respondents in both cases the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the Department of State Services (DSS), the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) and the Code of Conduct Bureau.

The EFCC had, in its earlier petition to Justice Kafarati, May 21, 2019, accused Justice Taiwo of being bias against it.

In the petition, signed by the EFCC’s acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, the commission equally complained about the ex parte orders made by Justice Taiwo on May 9 and 14, restraining the commission from continuing its investigations of certain corruption allegations against Saraki, and Okorocha.

It requested in the petition the re-assignment of the two men’s cases and all other ones involving it in the judge’s docket to another judge of the court.

It also recalled in the petition how the judge, out of alleged bias while sitting in the Ado-Ekiti Division of the court, gave rulings in favour of a former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose.

In their separate responses, Okorocha and Saraki urged Justice Kafarati to ignore the request by the EFCC, arguing that it was baseless.

Saraki and Okorocha also contended that the orders made in their favour by the judge were justified owing to the circumstances of alleged harassment by the commission leading to their decision to file the cases in which the judge issued the restraining orders.

When the cases came up on Thursday, Justice Taiwo drew parties’ attention to the fresh motions by the EFCC,to which lawyers to Saraki and Okorocha sought time to respond to.

The judge consequently adjourned both cases till September 27, 2019 for the hearing of the motions.

Abdulaziz Abdulaziz



Aides of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo whose appointments have not been renewed since the expiration of the last administration on May 29 are in a fix, PREMIUM TIMES reports.

Appointees of the president, who occupy various positions in the presidency, were expected to leave office at the end of Mr Buhari’s first tenure on May 28, 2019.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that appointment letters issued to all the presidential aides had actually given May 29, 2019, as the termination date of their appointments.

Mr Buhari has not renewed the appointment of any of the aides since taking a fresh oath of office over a month ago.

Without asking them to leave their posts, the president has allowed the coterie of aides to continue serving the government, thereby generating confusion.

The status of the presidential aides has generated controversy with lawyers describing the aides’ staying on as illegal.

Over 100 aides serving Messrs Buhari and Osinbajo and their spouses are affected by the logjam, including Mr Buhari’s spokespersons, Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu.

A source at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), said only three appointees in the presidency are not affected by the glitch.

Those not affected are the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; Mr Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, and the deputy chief of staff who serves Mr Osinbajo, Adeola Ipaye.


No Pay

Checks by this newspaper indicate that civil servants in charge of finance have since May 29, 2019, written off presidential aides from the payroll, thereby depriving them of salaries, allowances and travel estacodes.

Presidential aides, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES last week, confirmed that the last pay they got was for May, which is considered their last month in office.

A civil servant, who is not in a position to speak on record, also confirmed that none of the political appointees was paid in June.

A special assistant to the president who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday said the non-payment of salary was not expected, as appointees felt their mandates would have been renewed before the end of the month.

“Well, actually our letters said our position would be terminated by May 29, it is there. We are still operating but there is no pay of any kind,” he said.

Aside salaries and routine allowances, PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the affected aides are also no longer entitled to travel allowances and estacodes.

This manifested last week when Mr Osinbajo was preparing to travel for a meeting in the United States.

The vice president was reportedly taken aback when he was told that his personal aides could not be provided for by the government to join him on the trip.

Civil servants handling his office said they could not pay the aides estacodes as was the normal practice.

The piqued Mr Osinbajo had to device personal means to take care of the few aides he travelled with.

This constraint may also affect Mr Buhari’s scheduled trip to Niamey, Niger Republic, this newspaper learnt.


The president is expected to travel with a very small number of personal aides who are political appointees.

“Apart from the ADC and CSO, the personal physician and the chief of protocol, no other aide is sure of traveling with the president,” a source at the presidency said.


Other Privileges Affected

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that protocol officials in the presidential villa have also stopped filing notice of meetings and other memos to all the aides, rendering presidency activities, largely an informal affair.

While the aides still attend to official functions and meetings, their usual privileges are being cut down.

Notice of meetings and schedules of the president and his vice are no longer shared with most of the appointees who used to get those documents in the past.

Their inclusion in trips has also been cut down, except on the special request of the two leaders, and at non-official capacity.

‘Sorting out mess’
The spokesperson of the SGF’s Office, which is the office in charge of appointments of aides, Willy Bassey, declined comment on the matter insisting that the issue was not in the purview of the SGF’s office.

“It is the duty of the Revenue Mobilisation Commission. Reach out to them,” he directed, rebuffing all attempts to explain his office’s connection with the subject.

But a senior official in the office of the SGF, who is not authorised to speak with the media, said the logjam is being sorted out “as the government has commenced process of reappointing some of the aides”.

“It is only when their appointment(s) is renewed that they can continue to benefit from the pecks of office,” the senior official said on Wednesday.

Leke Baiyewu, Abuja



Crisis is looming in the House of Representatives as members are on a collision course over the appointment of leaders for the chamber .
The PUNCH learnt on Tuesday that the Speaker, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila , was in a dilemma on how to share the principal offices .

Credible sources in the chamber disclosed that while the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress has nominated candidates , the Speaker, who is eager to fulfill his campaign promises to his loyalists especially former aspirants who stepped down for him , has other nominees .

The National Working Committee of the APC had on Saturday ratified the appointments of Nkeiruka Onyejeocha ( Abia State, South -East ) as Deputy Majority Leader and Peter Akpatason ( Edo State , South -South ) as Chief Whip.

Other principal offices that have remained vacant include the Majority Leader , which has been zoned to Kano State ( North - West ) and the Deputy Chief Whip, zoned to the North -East.
At the plenary on Tuesday , Gbajabiamila said Mr Abdulrazak Namdas ( Adamawa, North -East ) had been nominated as Chief Whip.

“ Honourable Namdas , please take the seat at the front , you have been nominated as acting Chief Whip. Take the position as you wait for your confirmation , ” he said.

The Speaker, however , kept mum on other principal offices , even though the President of the Senate , Ahmad Lawan , named the officers in the upper chamber on Tuesday .

Addressing journalists after the day ’s session , a member of the House Ad Hoc Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr Bamidele Salam, said the Speaker was still consulting on the appointments and would announce the officers by the end of the week .

“ A few journalists approached the Media and Public Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives to ask why the other principal positions of the House were not announced at today ’s plenary and I did say it was not announced because there is a need for wider and further consultations by the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, to be sure that whatever is going to be announced is in consonance with the provisions of our rules .

“ And I did say that before the week runs out , there will be an announcement of all the other principal officers of the House ; the Majority Leader , Deputy Majority Leader , Chief Whip, Deputy Chief Whip, Minority Whip, Deputy Minority Whip. Before the week runs out , the consultations will be over and they will be announced ,” he said.

Another former aspirant , who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, however , disclosed that the announcement was delayed as interests had clashed over the appointments .

The lawmaker said, “ We are having issues . The reason why the man ( Speaker) has not announced ( the officers) is that there is a problem concerning the Leader of the House . It was zoned to Kano and in the state , some of them don ’t want Garba Ado -Doguwa ; some of them want Aminu Suleiman . The National Chairman of the APC ( Adams Oshiomhole ) prefers Suleiman , but the Governor of Kano ( Abdullahi Ganduje) and other stakeholders prefer Ado- Doguwa. So, we are having a stalemate .

“ Even the Deputy Leader is a problem . Initially , Onyejeocha was named the Deputy Leader , now they have taken Akpatason as the Deputy Leader instead of Deputy Chief Whip. They now want to give her Deputy Chief Whip. Akpatason was named Deputy Chief Whip in the earlier proposal . Now , they have given Mohammed Monguno ( Borno , North -East) the Chief Whip position . Akpatason is the candidate of the ( APC ) chairman . ”

When asked if Onyejeocha would accept to drop Deputy Leader for Deputy Whip, the source said , “ No, the woman will not agree. The woman is more senior ( in rank) . She will not agree. ”
Onyejeocha could not be reached to react to the new arrangement .

By Tola Adenubi -



Maritime workers under the aegis of the Maritine Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) on Wednesday made good their threat of protesting over their unpaid entitlements by the International Oil Companies (IOC) by grounding port operations.

As early as 6:00 a.m., the gates leading into Nigeria’s busiest port, Apapa and Tin-Can ports were shut and all vehicular movement restricted.
At about 8:45 a.m., the seaport workers softened their stance and allowed only private vehicles into the ports, barring all container trucks from entering into rhe ports.

Speaking to Tribune Online exclusively, President General of MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju explained that private vehicles were later allowed into the ports because of the nature of port business.

According to Adeyanju, “We decided to later allow private vehicles into the port because of the issues of emergency that could arise in the ports. People work inside the port and have offices there, so we have allowed them in except container carrying trucks or any other articulated vehicles.

“The same way we have locked ports in Lagos, we have also locked all other ports across the country. No business today except the IOC’s meet our demands”.

As at the time of filing in this report, the nation’s premier port and busiest port, Apapa port was under lock and key.

Earlier on Tuesday evening, shortly after meeting with all arms of the association including the Dockworkers branch and NPA branch, President General of the MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, addressing the press explained that the association has decided to downtool following the refusal of the International Oil Companies (IOC) to pay all outstanding stevedoring entitlements to it’s members.

According to Adeyanju, “some of the reason why we have decided to embark on strike includes: Non-payment of Government appointed stevedores/Dockworkers by the IOCs contravenes NIMASA Act 2007; Several efforts made for the IOCs to see reason including the stakeholders meeting organised by the NPA fell on deaf ears; Affected Dockworkers are suffering, some have even passed on prematurely due to economic hardship, whilst some have been made to become destitutes.

“As a responsible union, we cannot continue to fold our arms and watch our members die premature death because of the nonchalant attitude of the IOCs management towards the welfare of our members.

“In view of the foregoing, we gave a 14-day Ultimatum/Notice to the Federal Government, through the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation to prevail on the IOCs management to do the needful by paying our members.

“Ahead of the 14 days ultimatum/Notice, which elapsed on Friday, 28th June 2019, we issued a reminder letter dated 27th of June, 2019.

“However, despite a Reminder issued after the initial 14 days ultimatum had elapsed, the IOC’s were yet to comply to our demands as at the close of work on Tuesday 2nd of July, 2019. No evidence of payment was seen, thus forcing our members to withdraw their services in all the nations Seaports until all issues in contention are resolved.”

When contacted, the General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communication of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Engr Adam Jatto said the agency is aware of the MWUN strike threat and are engaging them.

According to him, the authority is optimistic that the issues would be addressed and resolved amicably and the strike averted.

“We are actually on it, we are having discussion with them (the union) and unionism is about dialogue so we believe we will be able to strike a dialogue before the end of today.”

When told that the union complained about the uncompromising stance of the IOCs, Jatto said, “We are talking so we should expect something positive from it today.”

by Okungbowa Aiwerie,




There was mild drama in court Tuesday after a witness for APC All Progressive Congress (APC) slumped during cross-examination at the resumed sitting at the Delta State Governorship Tribunal Panel 1 which held in Asaba, Delta State.

The witness Akpos Willy (P.W 10) caused confusion when he slumped while being cross-examined.

Before he slumped he had earlier told the tribunal that Unit 6, Kunukunuma community, Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South/West that “Nobody was accredited, yet voting took place”.

Several witness who testified alleged diversion of electoral materials, stuffing of ballot boxes with connivance of the military, the police and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

John Enakhirero (P.W) 6 who testified before the Justice Suleiman Belgore panel alleged that accreditation of voters in Effurun, Uwvie L.G.A was not done in compliance with the Electoral Act or INEC guidelines.

While being cross-examined, Enakhirero said, “Voting/accreditation did not place at the same time. I witnessed voting/accreditation in nearly all the units. There were some areas voters were chased away”.

Another witness, Jacob Ekpekurede (P.W 7) told the tribunal that some men in military uniform chased him away while voting was still going on.
He further told the tribunal voting was going on when his attention was drawn to the fact that collation of results had started in one of the classroom.

Jacob John (P.W alleged that at the end of election in Unit 10, Ward 7 INEC staff allocated votes to the PDP.

He said, “the use of the smart card reader was not regular, some voters whose names were not on the register voted”.

Johnson Ichime, (P.W APC Ward collation officer, Okpe L.G.A alleged that units 2,8,9,10,11,12 and 13 were characterised by over voting.

Yet another witness P.W 11, Uvo Royce said, “I spent few minutes in some wards, due to the fact that election materials never arrived. The bulk of the materials were nowhere to be found either on INEC or ad-hoc staff.”

The APC gubernatorial candidate, Great Ogboru in his petition marked EPT/DT/GOV/01/2019 is challenging the outcome of the March 9 Delta State governorship election on grounds that the election was conducted in breach of the electoral guidelines.

He is praying the tribunal to cancel the election.
Joined in the suit is Gov Ifeanyi Okowa 1st respondent, PDP 2nd respondent while INEC is the 3rd respondent.

The matter was adjourned to 4thJuly 2019.