₦airaland Forum

happy birthday

Good one

Abdulrasheed Maina, former Chairman, defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTM), on Monday, arrived at the Federal High Court, Abuja, with the aid of a walking stick. Maina, who came into Court 6, 2nd Floor of the building, at about 9:40am, supported himself with a walking stick. The ex-pension reform boss, who is standing trial on alleged money laundering charge to the tune of over N2 billion preferred against him by the EFCC, was dressed in a brown caftan with a matching cap.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Justice Abang had, on Nov. 21, fixed Monday for hearing on the bail application and for continuation of his trial. The judge, who accused the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS) of compounding the issue before the court for failure to produce a medical report on the health status of Maina days after the order to the effect was made by the court, ruled that Maina’s trial would be on a day-to-day basis in subsequent proceedings. NAN reports that the trial of Maina was stalled in the last adjourned date due to his worsening health condition.

The EFCC had on Oct. 25, arraigned Maina alongside his firm, Common Input Property and Investment Ltd, before Justice Abang. Though he pleaded not guilty to the 12-count charge, his trial has yet to make meaningful progress due to his failing health. The court is yet to hear Maina’s bail application fixed for today.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/maina-arrives-in-court-with-walking-stick.html

DSS where una dey, work don come for una! the man mention "revolution"

hungry prophets everywhere

sai baba...hardship dey, we no need you again

Injustice to women...Engr Musa Rabiu k. must hear this

hmmmm

Just when you are singing Hosanna for one good deed done by a compatriot, bang! Something happens to shatter all your optimism, making you wonder if the intrinsic goodness of man is all but a myth. But then, from the very ashes of disappointment and doubt rises the spectre of hope, of goodness so habitual that it negates the bad and ugly narratives others had saddled us with. Queen of the tube, Oprah Winfrey, has probably never heard of the Nigerian, Josephine Ugwu. The latter is too far down the social ladder to have attracted the attention of world celebrities. But Oprah could as well have had the Nigerian airport cleaner, Ugwu, in mind when she declared in her characteristic oracular manner, “Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.”

Ugwu did the right thing over and over again and when it seemed her good deeds were never going to be acknowledged by the Nigerian authorities, fortune knocked on her doors and the nation rose up to salute a refreshing reminder that goodness still abounds within these borders. Back in 2014, Ms. Josephine Agwu found N12 million forgotten by a passenger inside the airport restroom where she worked as a cleaner and turned it over to the authorities. She was praised and received cash gifts for the commendable act.

On another occasion, she also found various sums — N10 million, N8 million, and N7 million forgotten by travellers in the airport, and each time, she returned the money to her employers. At the time she started returning those huge sums to her employers, her monthly salary was a paltry N7,800 (about $22). When news of her good deeds broke on the social media, respondents were divided in their views. Some felt she had done the right thing while others felt she was the very personification of a ‘Mumu’ (or idiot).

Why would a poor cleaner return millions literally thrown into her laps by Providence? They queried. The Lagos State House of Assembly took notice. A member, Hon. Abiru, noted that the first time Agwu picked a bag of money, it belonged to a Nigerian. In the second case, it belonged to a white man who compensated her with just $50 which she rejected until her colleagues forced her to collect it. In the third case, the owner of the monies did not even consider it necessary to show appreciation.

House members said even though she worked with the Federal Government, she was resident in Lagos and that celebrating her would encourage others to imbibe the virtue of honesty, especially as the country was witnessing moral decadence. The House resolved to absorb her into the Lagos State public service if the federal government did not improve her status.

The Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Division, honoured Ms Josephine Ugwu, presenting her with a plaque and a certificate. Chairman, PCRC, MMIA Division, Alhaji Falekulo Lamidi commended Ugwu for displaying exemplary honesty in the discharge of her duties. “I believe that with what she has done, she should be recognised by all. The money she returned was much, but there are some rewards that are bigger than money.

PCRC is very impressed with your courageous and honest behaviour and this is worthy of emulation”, he said. In a society afflicted with a shortage of good examples, the Catholic church added its voice of commendation through St. Leo’s Catholic Private School which, at its 2016 graduation and award ceremony, gave Ugwu a special award. Rev. Sis. Felicia Lewis, said part of the reasons Ugwu was being honoured was to let the pupils know that integrity, hard work and discipline pays. “We are bringing Ugwu out as a model to young people and the society at large. She has exposed the Nigerian society to the deeds of integrity and honesty.”

The biggest compensation was just around the corner. Last week, four years after she embarked on a career of honesty, President Muhammadu Buhari personally presented the keys of a new house to Ugwu in recognition of her integrity in the discharge of her duties. She has also been given automatic employment by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.

At the same occasion, an Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Abubakar, who reportedly rejected a bribe of $412,000 (about N150 million) offered by drug traffickers to import 40 containers of Tramadol, was also honoured. Earlier in the year, a member of the Nigerian Air Force who returned 37,000 euros ($41,500) found in a parcel received double promotion as a reward for his honesty.

Bashir Umar, a member of the Mobile Air Defence Team of the Air Force, was on patrol duties with his colleagues at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, when he found the cash. For me, despite the many instances of graft, dishonesty and perversion of our cultural values that confront us everyday, despite the shocking discovery that some of our newfound heroes are but closet villains, despite the unfair narrative that characterises us all as thieves and double-dealers, here — thank Goodness — are examples of real Nigerians whose conduct recommend them to the rest of the world.

“Conduct reveals character, and we best understand integrity when we see it lived out in a person’s life”, says Charles H. Dyer. By the conduct of these three, an unsung aspect of the Nigerian character has been escalated to the world stage. Now you know why I won’t give up on Nigeria.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/honesty-still-the-best-policy.html

Controversy is trailing ‘questionable’ allocations allegedly included in the annual budget of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) over the past four years, Daily Trust reports. It was gathered that one of such budgetary allocations is for the purchase of accounting software which kept appearing in the agency’s annual budget under the same code with…

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/padding-scandal-rocks-electricity-agency-over-software-rent.html

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President Muhammadu Buhari is expecting scrupulous investigation into the heinous murder of Madam Achejuh Abuh, the Women Leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Wada/Aro campaign council, in the just concluded gubernatorial election in Kogi state. Buhari, in a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, decried whatever could spur anyone to take the life of another human being, particularly a woman, who was burnt to death in her home in the most gruesome manner.

The president charged all security agencies involved in the investigation to do a thorough and expeditious job on the matter, so that justice could be served without fear or favour.

“We must learn to behave decently, whether during elections or at other times. No life should be taken wantonly under any guise, and the fact that this reprehensible act occurred two days after voting shows primitive behaviour, which should not be accepted in a decent society,” he said. Buhari, who sympathises with the family of the deceased, vowed that the law would catch up with the malefactors, and justice would be done.

The president said any descent to barbarism, as was visited on the PDP Women Leader, had gone out of the realm of politics, describing it as pure criminality and bestiality. “Such evildoers must be brought to justice, irrespective of whatever allegiances they hold,” he added.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/buhari-orders-probe-of-kogi-pdp-women-leaders-murder.html

The Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, said on Sunday that the death penalty for hate speech offenders will be amended to respect Nigerians’ wishes. The controversial bill has proposed death penalty for anyone found culpable of Hate Speech that leads to death of another.

Abdullahi, who sponsored the Bill made the this known in a statement in Abuja. Abdullahi said the bill will undergo some fine-tuning to ensure that the clauses contained in its provisions to be passed into law reflect the views of Nigerians. He added that the Senate welcomes contributions and inputs by critics and supporters of the bill, as these would go a long way towards giving Nigerians the much awaited law to address the disturbing trend of hate speech.

According to him, the Hate speech, has led to the death of many and is a major factor behind depression and suicide in Nigeria. Abdullahi said: “We have followed closely arguments for and against the hate speech bill, and seen the reason why some kicked against it. “Given the high respect which we have for Nigerians, we will make amendment to the death penalty aspect that most Nigerians objected to, so that a bill that meets their expectations is passed into law.

“Clearly from the conversations, Nigerians agree that we have a problem in the society today as a result of hate speech which has fueled so many killings and violence, and is responsible for cases of depression and suicides.” Citing a World Health Organization report, Abdullahi disclosed that Nigeria which is the seventh-largest country in the world “has Africa’s highest rate of depression and ranks fifth in the world frequency of suicide.” The lawmaker explained that the Independent National Commission for the Prohibition of Hate Speech to be established will guard against every act of discrimination against Nigerians by way of victimization.

The Commission, according to Abdullahi, will have an executive chairperson, a secretary and twelve commissioners appointed through rigorous process involving the National Council of State, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the National Assembly. In order to protect the independence of the commission, he stated that the bill provides that those qualified to be appointed as members of the commission must not be: members of the National Assembly or any government in authority at the Local, State or Federal Levels.

The lawmaker added that any person, who is a member of any political party or known to be affiliated with partisan politics, or has promoted sectional, ethnic, religious causes or openly advocated partisan ethnic positions or interest, stands disqualified from being appointed to serve on the commission. “The overall concern is to curb violence and unnecessary loss of lives and livelihoods of Nigerians due to hate-induced violence,” Abdullahi added.

Recall that the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, had in July, this year, warned against ethnic and religious demonisation, noting that such actions could trigger violent confrontation amongst Nigerians.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/death-penalty-will-be-amended-says-hate-speech-bill-sponsor.html

It is the joy of every woman to be called a mother after marriage. for many that expectant joy could become instantly traumatic when the fruit of the womb isn’t forthcoming after years of marriage. For 44-year-old Mrs Susan Egenti, her joy knew no bounds when she delivered quintuplets after 16 years of marriage. She was delivered of the babies at the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja.

Mrs Susan Egenti an indigene of Nando, in Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State was delivered through a caesarean section on November 6, 2019. The quintuplets three boys and two girls were still in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital when our reporters visited on Thursday afternoon, though the nurses looking after them said they were hale and hearty. They stated that four of the babies were born healthy, measuring the average weight of a newborn, except one who was underweight and was weighed 1.9 Kg. Speaking to Daily Trust on Saturday on her hospital bed, Mrs Egenti said within her 16 years of marriage, she had taken all medical options (except IVF) to get a baby but to no avail until she had the quintuplets.

She said she resorted to traditional/herbal remedies to conceive a child but that was also futile, leaving her in perpetual despair. She described the birth of her babies as an enormous blessing from God as it was her first and only pregnancy since she got married in 2003. “I have been married since 2003 with no children, not even to get pregnant and have a miscarriage. Every time we attend a child dedication either in our church or elsewhere, I always come home crying, praying for the day God will have mercy on me and grant me the fruit of the womb.” She narrated that the birth of the babies almost took her life as she underwent two different operations, after the delivery, to stop the internal bleeding she suffered.

She stressed that the last operation one left her in a coma for about five days. Mrs Susan who lives with her husband in a room self-contained apartment in Utako village says she sells plastic containers while her husband manages a small chemist at Jabi park. According to her, she has spent all her meagre resources on medical expenses and as such, they are left with nothing to cater for the five children, calling on Government and philanthropic Nigerians to assist them.

Her husband, Mr Emmanuel Nnamdi Egenti, who also spoke to our reporters at his one-bedroom accommodation in Utako village, an urban slum in the heart of Utako District, expressed joy over the birth of his quintuplets, saying even during their years of childlessness, they had never given up, but rather, put their hope in God, as there was nothing he could do. However, he said they were yet to pay for the hospital bills even though the babies have been discharged but their mother is very ill and can’t even stand on her feet. He prays for the government’s intervention to enable then take care of the babies, adding that they would not be having any more babies in the future.

“We are grateful to God for what he has done for us. He has proven that He is the one and only true God, who answers prayers of those who call on Him,” he said, stressing that the because they were poor, the prospect of looking after the children in terms of feeding, clothing, education and healthcare was so bleak that their joy at having the babies was almost, immediately, turning into despair and despondency.

Dr. Tochukwu Nwoye, the medical doctor who led a team of doctors that carried out the operation, was not on seat when our reporters visited the hospital. The new mother of five who couldn’t hide her despair on how to foot the bills and subsequently take care of her new bundle of joy was kept in a semi-private ward away from her babies as she was still recuperating from the operations.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/woman-gives-birth-to-five-after-16-yrs-of-childlessness.html

A man, his wife and their five-year-old son were killed early yesterday in their home at the North Bank suburb of Makurdi metropolis in Benue State.

Daily Trust Saturday gathered that the man whose name was given as Greg Indyor, his wife, Linda and son, Terkumaiwuese, were suspected to have been killed in their sleep.

It was learnt that the couple’s two-year-old daughter who survived the attack by yet unknown people is currently battling for life at an undisclosed hospital. Witnesses said they were discovered dead in their room and may have been strangulated to death by their attackers.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) DSP Catherine Anene, who confirmed the incident to newsmen in Makurdi, said the cause of their death was yet unknown. Anene said when police operatives found the bodies early yesterday, there were no injuries on any part of them to suggest that they might have been killed with an object or strangulated.

She added that the baby who survived among the family members could not talk as she is still too young to describe what happened. The PPRO however said further investigations would reveal the actual cause of the incident.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/man-wife-son-found-dead-at-home.html

The Senate cannot confirm Ibrahim Magu as substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission unless President Muhammadu Buhari requests it, Senate President Ahmad Lawan said yesterday. He was receiving the chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay.

The Senate president was responding to Sagay’s plea that Magu be confirmed on the ground of his “magnificent” performance in acting capacity. Lawan said: “This is a new Senate and therefore, until there is a request to this Senate, there is nothing the Senate can do. “And I want to assure you that any request that comes from Mr President is a request that will make Nigeria a better place. “Senate will act expeditiously to ensure that we play our part in the confirmation or passing of legislation appropriately.”

Lawan said the Senate had not received any complaints of senators compromising during oversight. Lawan also said the appeal for passage of anti corruption bills was timely, but some parliamentary procedure and requirements needs to be done for its fulfilment. Earlier, Sagay had said Nigerians complained that senators demanded gratification for oversight functions. He asked the Senate leadership to look into the complaint and ensure that the oversight work “does not involve anything that will be described as extortion”. He said: “We also want to bring before the Senate, some of the criticisms of the public in the area of oversight.

“There is this constant complaint that members of committees demand some form of gratification before they would visit a place or write anything favourable about the MDAs.” He also appealed for speedy passage of some anti-corruption bills before the legislature. Sagay urged the National Assembly to make constituency projects benefit their constituents.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/no-request-for-magus-confirmation-before-senate-lawan.html

Protesters demanding the resignation of the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Thursday stormed the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja. One of the leaders of the protesters, Iyoha Toni Osakbovo, from Edo state, said the protest was staged to save the soul of the APC as a national party.

They claimed that the current National Chairman who is expected to uphold the constitution had worked against it, thereby causing division in the party, especially in Edo state.

They, however, urged President Muhammadu Buhari, Former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and other national leaders of APC to prevail on Oshiomhole to honourably resign as national chairman. The protesters held big banners in different groups with an inscription “Oshiomhole must go.”

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/protest-rocks-apc-secretariat-over-oshiomhole.html

In spite of being the world’s largest cassava grower, Nigeria still spends about $600m (about N183bn) annually to import cassava derivatives; foreign exchange that would otherwise have been used to build public infrastructure. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, stated this in Abuja on Thursday during the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony with key stakeholders in the cassava value chain.

There was also an MoU between Nigeria Cassava Growers Association and large-scale Cassava Processors to guarantee steady off-take and processing of cassava in Nigeria going forward. He said the MoU with the relevant stakeholders is a move to maximize local benefits of all the derivatives in cassava and save scarce foreign exchange.

Key political figures at the ceremony include the Ekiti state Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi (who is also the Chairman, Nigerian Governors Forum); Ondo state Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu; Oyo state Deputy Governor, Engr Rauf Olaniyan, and Ogun state Deputy Governor, Mrs Noimat Salako-Oyedele. According to Emefiele, aside from “the foreign exchange conservation, increasing cassava production is a necessity as starch, glucose, sorbitol and other products currently being imported proffers no future for the nation in the long-term, in view of the fact that Nigeria imports cassava derivatives valued at over $600m annually.”

Speaking to the gap and potential demands that exist locally if the cassava value chain is developed he said “demand for high quality cassava flour (HQCF) in bread, biscuits and snacks is above 500,000t annually while supply is below 15,000t.” According to the statistics he gave, “demand for cassava starch is above 300,000t annually while supply is below 10,000t, and demand for cassava-based constituents in sugar syrup is above 350,000t annually while supply is almost non-existent.”

He also indicated that the “potential demand for ethanol in Nigeria as a fuel for cooking, to power vehicles (E10), and other industrial uses exceeds 1 billion litres, while production is nearly zero.” “It was on this premise that we included cassava in the FX exclusion list to salvage the industry, encourage farmers to go back to their farms to boost jobs creation and increase output and improve the capacity utilization of our processing companies” he explained.

He noted that “although huge investments were made into the industry during the cassava bread initiative, the industry continues to suffer as a result of low yield varieties, poor farm practices, lack of good quality farm inputs, non-utilization of available cultivable lands, manual system of production, inadequate funding for small holder out grower schemes and low processing capacity.”

Governor Fayemi pledged the governors support for the initiative even though he decried the sustained attacks of farmers by herdsmen saying it is a major concern.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/nigeria-spends-n183bn-annually-to-import-cassava-derivatives-cbn.html

The National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) has condemned the murder of Mrs Salome Abuh, the People Democratic Party (PDP) Woman Leader and three others in Ochadamu, Kogi State by political thugs. The National President of NCWS, Dr Gloria Shoda, yesterday in Abuja, frowned at the killing, saying it was unacceptable.

“The gruesome murder of Abuh by rampaging political thugs in Kogi on Monday is most outrageous and must be investigated to deter future occurrence,” she said. Shoda lamented that it was the fear of violence that discouraged women from being active in politics and on many occasions, acts of violence, intimidation and harassment were visited upon them and that most times the perpetrators were not brought to justice.

“This fear has now played out before us and we find this wrong and unacceptable and call on the Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, to conduct a forensic investigation and ensure perpetrators of the heinous act are brought to book and justice is served. “No one should be allowed to get away with this kind of evil act against a fellow human being and we condemn it in its entirety, “she said. NCWS also condemned the manhandling of Natasha Akpoti, governorship candidate of Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the Kogi election by thugs and called for appropriate sanction.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/ncws-condemns-killing-of-kogi-pdp-woman-leader-demands-probe.html

Naija election...

The chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Professor Itse Sagay, yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to again approach the Senate to confirm Ibrahim Magu as substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Sagay made the call in Abuja when he led other members of PACAC on a visit to the acting chairman of the EFCC, Magu. He said since Magu took over the leadership of the commission in 2015, he had demonstrated firmness and courage in the fight against corruption.

He said: “The EFCC (under Magu) is a body that has surpassed every other organization, past and present, in the fight against corruption. When something is good, when you see merit, dedication, courage…I think it’s (not fair) to say you are looking for something else.” “In our view, the acting chairman deserves everything, including being given a substantive appointment. Magu is an uncompromising person as far as corruption is concerned. We, PACAC, are solidly behind Magu and the EFCC”. He also said it was now difficult to steal public funds due to the efficacy of the anti-corruption war of the current administration.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/seek-senates-confirmation-for-magu-again-sagay-tells-buhari.html

The chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Professor Itse Sagay, on Wednesday said it is now difficult to steal public funds, due to the efficacy of the anti-corruption war of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration. He made this known at the Abuja headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) when he led other members of PACAC on a visit to its acting chairman, Ibrahim Magu. Sagay commended the effort of the EFCC under the leadership of Magu in fighting corruption and recovery of looted funds back into government coffers.

He called on President Buhari to re-submit the name of the acting chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu to the Senate, for confirmation as substantive head of the anti-graft agency. He said since taking over the leadership of the Commission in late 2015, Magu has demonstrated firmness and courage in the fight against corruption. He said, “The EFCC (under Magu) is a body that has surpassed every other organization, past and present, in the fight against corruption.”

He said, “When something is good; when you see merit, dedication, courage…I think it’s (not fair) to say you are looking for something else. “In our view, the acting chairman deserves everything, including being given a substantive appointment. Magu is an uncompromising person, as far as corruption is concerned. We (PACAC) are solidly behind Magu and the EFCC”.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/it-is-now-difficult-to-loot-public-funds-sagay.html

good

Close associates and other influential compatriots have continued to pour encomiums on Malam Mamman Daura, former editor and managing director of the defunct New Nigerian newspaper, businessman and industrialist and, unofficially, a man regarded as the power behind the throne as this unassuming, un-obstructive newspaper legend clocked 80 years.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/mamman-daura-at-80.html

aayah

RIP

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission yesterday told an FCT High Court in Maitama it would seek a court order for a separate trial for former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) different from his seven other defendants. Dasuki is being tried before the court in two separate cases alongside other defendants before Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf by EFCC since 2015 on alleged misappropriation of the fund meant for the purchase of arms. At the resumed sitting in one of the cases, EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), expressed frustration over the continued absence of Dasuki, who is the first defendant in the case.

Other defendants in the suit are a former General Manager at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Aminu Baba Kusa; Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital. He told the court that the prosecution had filed a motion dated November 4, seeking the continuation of the trial in Dasuki’s absence, adding that the prosecution was served with a counter-affidavit yesterday’s morning. Jacobs, however, said that the best thing to do in the present circumstance was the unbundling of the case so that Dasuki would be separated from other defendants.

He said: “We can’t be in the same place for four years without moving.” He, therefore, told the court that the charge against the defendants might be amended to remove Dasuki’s name to enable other defendants to face their trial without further delays. He added that separate charges would be filed against other defendants in both cases in which Dasuki is involved before the court. He therefore prayed the court for an adjournment to perfect this.

Responding to this, counsel for Baba-Kusa, Solomon Umoh (SAN) submitted that Dasuki is central to the charge against other defendants, adding that, “If he is separated, how can we get a fair hearing?” The trial judge, Justice Hussaini Baba-Yusuf, however, gave an open adjournment and asked the prosecution to file the amendment and serve same on the defendants for them to come to court and take fresh pleas.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/efcc-seeks-separate-trial-for-dasuki.html

Ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Kogi and Bayelsa States, the Inspector General of Police has ordered the withdrawal of all security aides attached to governors, their deputies, public office holders, politicians and other personalities involved in the elections with effect from Friday November 15. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police in charge of Operations at the Force Headquarters, DIG Abdulmajid Ali disclosed this in Lokoja on Thursday while briefing journalists on preparation for the two elections. He explained that the security aides would remain withdrawn from the affected political actors and public office holders until after the election.

The DIG said the police high command has made adequate deployments to guarantee safe environment for conduct of Saturday’s governorship election in Bayelsa and Kogi. He said 66,241 personnel have been deployed to Bayelsa and Kogi to handle election security in the two states. “I can assure that the Nigeria Police and other security agencies are fully ready to support INEC in delivering successful elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States.

“While with your support and that of the citizens, we are confident that we have the operational capacity to ensure the success of the exercise in both States. “We are not unaware of the possible security threats that some misguided political actors and their followers may attempt to pose during the elections in both States. “To such elements, we must sound a note of warning that as a nation, we have had enough of electoral violence.

Hence, while the Nigeria Police shall strive to guarantee a peaceful and secure space for all political parties and the citizens to freely exercise their electoral rights, we shall not hesitate to identify, isolate and bring to deserved justice any person or group of persons that attempt to threaten the democratic order in Kogi and Bayelsa States. “Our message is being relayed here loud and clear that in securing the law-abiding citizens during the elections, we shall not hesitate to deploy our potent assets to deal firmly and decisively with electoral deviants.

“Consequently, we call on political actors and indeed all citizens to assist the Police and other law enforcement agencies in sustaining the gains we have recorded as a nation in our democratic journey. “It should always be remembered that politics is a game guided by rules and it behooves political actors and their supporters to play the game within the dictates of such rules. “Consequently, personnel deployed on the election security operations have been charged to be civil, fair, and professional and rule of law-guided in the discharge of their duties.

“In so doing, however, they have been additionally instructed to be firm and decisive. “On our part, therefore, we assure the electorates in Kogi and Bayelsa States and indeed, the nation and the international community of our firm commitment to a successful electoral exercise and our unwavering commitment to engaging international best practices in the discharge of our election security mandate”, he said.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/kogi-bayelsa-igp-orders-withdrawal-of-security-aides-to-govs-deputies.html

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The Director-General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Salihu Moh Lukman, on Thursday, said the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has been running the party illegally.

Speaking to journalists during a briefing in Abuja, Lukman, who had earlier called on the party’s National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, to resign if he would not convene the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, also reaffirmed his earlier call, saying his call was a summation of most stakeholders of the party.

The PGF DG, who clarified that the call he made to Oshiomhole was not the party’s governor’s forum message, but his own as a loyal member of the party, also noted that the refusal of the NWC to allow the party to function as its constitution prescribed had been the reason the party had been bogged down by multiple crises.

Lukman, who also predicted a reincarnation of the Zamfara scenario in Bayelsa state if the NEC is not immediately convened to step in and get all aggrieved parties sorted out, Comrade Oshiomhole, considering the way he is running the party, creating distractions to President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, even after the president had indicated lack of interest in interfering in party matters.

“The issue here is that every day the NWC, under Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, continues to run the affairs of the party, without convening NEC meetings, it is working illegally. If you read the (Oshiomhole’s inaugural) speech, he made the commitment that he would run the affairs of the party based on the Constitution. Now, the last time we had a NEC meeting was in August 2018.

“By the Constitution, the NWC, which is today run by Oshiomhole, which is an administrative organ, derives its powers from the decisions of superior organs. It is supposed to be a meeting to map out strategies in terms of how to implement decisions of the NEC and National Convention would have taken and then met monthly to review progress and report progress in the next quarter in terms of implementation. That has not happened.

“I’m hoping that with respect to the judgment about the Bayelsa deputy governorship, appropriate steps will be taken to vacate the judgment. Has that happened? It has not. We are living with the danger of Zamfara being reenacted. We can win the election in Bayelsa and then court judgment will come later to say we didn’t have candidate.

“My point is that the Comrade Adams I know is a field worker, by now Comrade Adams would have been in Bayelsa, holding meetings with aggrieved parties to reconcile them. Since he became the National Chairman of the party I’m not sure he has visited any state with the purpose of sitting down to reconcile aggrieved parties.

“My final word is that, and it is an appeal to Comrade Adams again, he should be fair to President Buhari. President Buhari has shown that he’s not interested in interfering with party affairs and he has demonstrated full confidence in the ability of party leaders to manage the party. It will amount to creating distraction to be having problems that the party allows to linger.

“My final appeal will be that all our party leaders need to rise up and really insist that a National Executive Council meeting needs to be convened. A situation where affairs of the party are run almost like a contest of mob has to stop.”

Despite a court order stopping the conduct of fresh election of new members of the state working committee (SWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the National Working Committee (NWC) yesterday went ahead with the congress. Daily Trust reports that Justice T. A. O. Oyekan-Abdullahi of the Lagos High Court had ordered that status quo should remain in the affairs of the PDP in Lagos State. This followed a suit filed against the proposed special election for state executive positions of the party.

The suit has the PDP, Senator Ben Obi, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and four others as defendants. But the representatives of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party sent in to conduct the election converged at an Hotel in Lagos yesterday where the special election was conducted with Deji Doherty, a former Governorship candidate of the party, emerging as chairman. Senator Obi who is the chairman of the three-man panel sent in by the NWC said the election had 68 delegates approved by NWC of the party but only 45 delegates voted at the election. Doherty garnered 27 votes to emerge winner, while Omotanwa Kudirat, scored 21 votes to come second. Doherty described the election of new executive as a new beginning and new chapter in the history of Lagos PDP.

However, Dr. Adegbola Dominic, the party chairman loyal to Chief Bode George, a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, described the conduct of the election as contempt of court, saying the law will take its course. “One is just surprised that some people who are expected to know better attended that show of shame,” he said.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/pdp-ignores-court-order-holds-election-in-lagos.html