The current 9th Senate has said the mace-snatching incident which occurred during the 8th Senate session cannot be revisited.

Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, a member of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) who is currently the Deputy Senate President was alleged to have led political thugs into the upper legislative chamber in 2018 and carted away the authority symbol of the red chamber.

TODAY POLITICS recalls the incident occurred during the reign of Bukola Saraki as the Senate President despite belonging to the ruling party then.

Mr Saraki emerged the President of the 8th Senate largely due to his alliance with his colleagues who are members the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The mace-snatching incident is one of the several attempts by the APC to indirectly oust the top lawmaker from his position but the move met brick walls.

The report of a joint panel set up by the then leadership of the two legislative chambers at the National Assembly was not considered due a suit instituted by Omo-Agege who feared he might be suspended for the invasion.

Addressing the issue on Saturday, Godiya Akwashiki, who is the spokesperson of the current 9th Senate, says the report on the incident will not see the light of the day because it transpired during the last Senate session.

Mr Akwashiki was responding to recent requests by some civil society groups demanding the resignation of the incumbent Deputy Senate President for allegedly leading thugs into the red chamber.

“As far as I am concerned, anything that affects the life of the 8th National Assembly, any uncompleted report has expired with the life of the last Assembly,” the Senate spokesperson said in a interview.

“If it is a bill that was passed but not assented to, or any other uncompleted bill, it has expired with the life of the 8th Assembly.

“As far as the 9th National Assembly is concerned, even if we want to enact a bill, we have to start afresh.

“Any unresolved issue in the 8th Assembly has gone forever. So, the implication is that the report of mace-snatching has gone with the 8th Senate,” Akwashiki added.

President Muhammadu Buhari has replied critics suggesting the existence of a crack within his relationship with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

At the commencement of his second term, Mr Buhari cut down some responsibilities delegated to Mr Osinbajo during their first term in office.

Some government agencies under the vice president’s office were relocated and assigned to ministers while some of his aides were unlucky to have their appointments renewed.

Critics described the move as a ploy to whittle down the political influence of the number two citizen who is said to be nursing the ambition to succeed his principal.

In a chat with TheInterview, the president, when asked to rate his relationship with the vice president on a scale of one to ten, said the mutuality between him and his vice is satisfying.

“Perfect,” Buhari answered, querying, “Or has he complained to you?”

He said Osinbajo is not complaining and as such there shouldn’t be any cacophony about the development.

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The two major political parties in the country are currently staging protest and counter-protest at the decision of the Supreme Court in regards to the governorship election in Imo State.

The apex court had last week sacked Emeka Ihedioha, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who was declared winner of the gubernatorial election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Presided over by the Tanko Mohammad, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) the Supreme Court declared Hope Uzodimma, candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as the duly elected governor of the South-East state.

While the opposition PDP is protesting against the decision of the apex court, the ruling APC is counter-protesting in support of the ruling.

Taking off from its headquarters, the PDP protesters led by the National Chairman, Uche Secondus, headed for the Supreme Court but had their protest cut off midway on sighting demonstrators of the APC already at the junction leading to the apex court.

The protest was discontinued to avert a clash with the APC protesters led by one Iliya Adams.

Bala Mohammed has been declared as duly elected Bauchi State governor by the Supreme Court.

The declaration was made Monday morning by the apex court sitting in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

The governor was elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

His election was challenged by his opponent Mohammed Abubakar and the All Progressive Congress (APC).

More details later…

Herdsmen under the umbrella of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore have warned Southwest governors to withdraw their support for Western Nigeria Security outfit, codenamed ‘Operation Amotekun’, adding that their continued support for Operation Amotekun may hurt the Southwest’s chances of getting the Presidency in 2023.

The National Secretary of the group, Alhassan Saleh, said this during an interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday.

Saleh said Miyetti Allah was disappointed in the South-West intelligentsia for supporting the outfit.

He said, “This Amotekun scheme is political and is not the solution to the problem of insecurity. What the South-West governors should have done is to continue to push for state police. Where did they expect to get the funding from at a time some of them are struggling to pay salaries?

“It is best they give up on this idea because it may affect the chances of the South-West to produce the President in 2023. The thinking is that if the South-West, a major stakeholder in this government, can be toying with this idea now, they may do worse when they get to power.”

The group also hailed the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, for describing Amotekun as an illegal outfit.

Saleh said the AGF ought to have spoken long ago instead of waiting for things to have reached an advanced stage.

“We are in agreement with the AGF that Amotekun is illegal. In fact, we are unhappy that it took the AGF this long to react,” he said.

Almost all the supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari and his party are rejoicing that Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka's prediction about Imo came to pass.

As I observe reactions on social media, pro-government supporters says the cleric is now the National Prophet of the country.

They are quick to point at all the prophecies of the Catholic cleric which came to pass, the most reference is that of 2015 general election which saw the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan loosing his re-election bid.

I want to ask why much fuss was not made when this same cleric who usually parades himself as the messenger of the Almighty God prophesied that Mr Buhari should not seek re-election and that he will be disgraced should the latter refused to adhere to the directive?

Hear him: "As I was waiting on the Lord, I’m asked to advise you, don’t come out for second tenure; after this, retire peacefully.”

“Mr. President you are the cause of your own problem.”

“God gave you an adviser, a wonderful mentor, a visionist, a matriarch, in the person of your wife, Aisha, but you don’t want to listen to her. That woman is heartbroken because she knows you are not yourself."

As we all know, Buhari was not just re-elected, he soared higher with about 4 million votes to defeat his opponents.

Meanwhile here are my sources: https://www.google.com/amp/s/dailypost.ng/2018/01/01/2019-contest-disgraced-fr-mbaka-warns-buhari-shocking-new-year-message/amp/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/theeagleonline.com.ng/father-mbaka-to-buhari-reasons-you-wont-be-reelected-in-2019/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sunnewsonline.com/mbaka-to-buhari-god-said-you-shouldnt-run-in-2019/amp/

The Nigerian government has declared a regional security outfit, Amotekun, formed by states in the South-west geopolitical zone as illegal.

Governors in the region announced the formation of the regional paramilitary outfit last week to complement the work of the police.

A launch of the outfit was held in Ibadan at the event attended by political and traditional leaders across party lines from the South-west.

A Tuesday statement from the minister of justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, on Tuesday said setting up of the organisation “runs contrary to the provisions of the Nigerian law.”

Policing is a federal duty under the exclusive list of the Nigerian constitution.

Details later…

lalasticlala, mynd44

MelesZenawi:





You be Enugu youth?

Enugu Youth Coalition has debunked the report making round in the social media claiming that the council chairperson for Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, Mrs. Chinwe Ugwu distributed some wheelbarrows to youths of the council as part of her youth empowerment scheme under hire-purchase system.

It however took us some time to investigate the matter before issuing this statement setting the records straight.

Hence, our investigation showed that the story was distorted to ridicule the state government as the said wheelbarrows were procured for use by the Department of Works and Housing in Nsukka Local Government Area of the state.

The decision was reached after the inventory of all the equipments in the council was taken by the new chairperson.

In the process, it was discovered that the Works and Housing Department had obsolete equipments which needed to be replaced for effective service delivery in the council.

According to our investigation, the central idea was based on the fact that, the road maintenance, housing and construction works of the council are been done by contractors whereas the council has it's own staff who are collecting salary every month for the same job.

So, as part of the cost-saving measure by the Chief Administrator, an approval was given for the procurement of relevant equipments for the Works and Housing Department so that, the staff of the council can now be doing the work they were employed to do by their employer.

Therefore, the commissioning of the procured wheelbarrows which mischief makers tagged as poverty alleviation programme was just the first set of equipments delivered for the Works and Housing Department of the Council.

We therefore urge the reading public to disregard the distorted news report as that is the handiwork of mischief makers who never mean well for the state.

Truly, Enugu State is in the Hands of God!

Signed:

Dr. Edwin Obune,
National Coordinator,
Enugu Youth Coalition

Deji Adeyanju's Health Worsens, Flown Abroad For Medical Treatment

Human rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, who was physically brutalised by dozens of hired government thugs on Monday in Abuja during a protest tagged #FreedomRally in front of the National Human Rights Commission, has been flown overseas for medical treatment.

SaharaReporters had earlier revealed that the activist was in a critical condition at the hospital following the deadly attack that left deep cuts all over his body and left him struggling to breathe.

Adeyanju has been flown to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he would be receiving comprehensive medical treatment.

During the attack, some operatives of the Department of State Services and policemen at the scene failed to rescue the activist, allowing the thugs carrying posters bearing President Muhammadu Buhari’s image and chanting ‘Sai Baba’ to violently ‘feast’ on him.

Several other activists, who participated in the peaceful demonstration, were also attacked by the hired thugs.

THE total votes recorded for the ruling party, All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kogi State shows that the Incumbent governor, Yahaya Bello has won the Saturday guber election, but the number contradicts the summation of the vote count from each local government area, The ICIR has found.

Final score announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the APC is 12,682 higher than the actual votes counted. This represents 3.2 per cent surplus in favour of the ruling party.

The Returning Officer and Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Professor Ibrahim Umar, declared at the INEC office in Lokoja that the APC governorship candidate, Yahaya Bello, polled 406,222 votes in total against Musa Wada of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who garnered a total 189,704 votes.

Here are the figures as announced by INEC:

LGA APC PDP
Adavi 64,657 366
Ajaokuta 17,952 5,565
Ankpa 11,269 28,108
Bassa 8,386 9,724
Dekina 8,948 16,575
Ibaji 12, 682 10,504
Idah 4,602 13,962
Igalamela-Odolu 8,075 11,195
Ijumu 11,425 7,587
Kabba/Bunu 15,364 8,084
Koton Karfe 14,097 9,404
Lokoja 19,457 11,059
Mopa-Muro 4,953 3,581
Ofu 11,006 12,264
Ogori/Magongo 3,679 2,145
Okehi 36,954 478
Okene 112,764 139
Olamaboro 16,876 8,155
Omala 8,473 14,403
Yagba East 6,735 7,546
Yagba West 7,868 8,860
TOTAL 393,540 189,704


However, a summation of results from 21 local government areas monitored live by The ICIR shows that the APC candidate instead polled a total 393,540 votes, a difference of 12,682 from the figure announced by the INEC, while the PDP polled 189,704 votes.

The ICIR discovered that 12,682 is also exactly the number of votes that went to the APC candidate at Ibaji Local Government Area, an indication that the result from the area may have been posted twice.

Results from Ibaji were part of the last set of results announced on Monday morning by the electoral commission after it postponed the collation process on Sunday evening.

Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, did not deny this finding when The ICIR reached out to him.

“We are going to look at the figure again when the report is sent to the headquarters,” he said.

He also assured The ICIR that the Commission would check for votes other local governments to see if there are double posting of results.

Nasir El-rufai, Kaduna State governor, is said to have been denied visa to accompany President Muhammadu Buhari to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Mr Buhari, accompanied by some state governors and federal government officials to the United States, left the country on Sunday for the gathering which had world leaders in attendance.

Tweeting on Friday, Shehu Sani, a former federal parliamentarian, said the Kaduna governor when denied visa to the international event resorted to acting his own play. Although no name was mentioned, he was referring to El-rufai, TODAY POLITICS learnt.

“When the Body Bag Governor was denied Visa for UNGA,he resorted to local drama…take heart go to Dubai those ones no dey deny,” the former lawmaker said.

The local drama the former lawmaker is referring to might not be unconnected to the recent display of El-rufai enrolling his son in one of the public schools in the state.

While critics described the show as geared towards his political ambition of succeeding the president in office in the next general election, his supporters hailed him saying he has kept one of his campaign promises.

Backstory

The governor, during the build up to the last general election, had promised to return foreign observers back to their respective countries in body bags should they interfere during the exercise.

Some Nigerians who are apparently his critics took it upon themselves to nickname him body bag governor.

After the election, it was reported that some prominent Nigerian politicians, whose actions, utterances among others undermined the exercise, has been banned from visiting the United States.

While no name was mentioned, it was widely speculated that the Kaduna governor was among those banned. He has also not visited the country since after the last general election.

Femi Fani-Kayode, former Aviation Minister, has described those surprised at the continued detention of Omoyele Sowore, as being gullible.

Mr Sowore, who publishes Sahara Reporters, has been in detention early last month for planning a revolutionary protest which the federal government described as an attempted coup.

Despite his absence on the d-day, supporters of the former presidential candidate managed to stage the protest amidst intimidation by security agencies.

The publisher is been charged for treason, fraud and insulting President Muhammadu Buhari.

A Federal High Court has ordered his release but the Department of State Services (DSS) detaining him has refused to adhere to the directive, claiming due process has not been followed.

Describing those who are surprised at the continued detention as gullible, the former minister said it was nothing new since the present administration took over power.

“What amazes me is the utter gullibility of some of our people. Why would you be surprised that @YeleSowore is still in detention? Mr Fani-Kayode queried Friday morning.

ALSO READ: Sowore won't be released until due process is followed - DSS

“Has @MBuhari ever obeyed court orders? They did it to those of us in the mainstream opposition over the last 4 years and you applauded them, Now they are doing it to others and u are lamenting and expressing surprise and disappointment.

“You never thought it would affect u but now it has.Well this is just the beginning. You must live with the new reality which is that we are living in a vicious dictatorship which will not spare anyone it feels threatened by.

“I and a number of others warned that this would happen in 2015 if Buhari came to power and you laughed us to scorn and insulted us. You fought for @MBuhari, you rejected @GEJonathan and you put him in power.

*Thankfully it appears that you are not laughing anymore but now you must live with the consequences of your actions. Now you must live with the monster and tyrant you assisted in putting on the throne and the mess you helped to create.

“Even if @YeleSowore is released later today or tomorrow they have made their point: that they can do anything they want, to anybody, for any reason and at anytime. May God deliver us from these wicked souls and I urge every Nigerian to pray for Yele, Sambo Dasuki and others,” he added in series of tweets.

David Umahi, governor of Ebonyi State, has barred his political appointees from criticising President Muhammadu Buhari or any other state governor in the country.

Mr Umahi handed down the order Thursday, in a statement by Francis Nwaze, his special assistant on new media.

The governor said he gave the directive because criticising the president and state governors will add no value to his administration in the state.

Since he began his second term in May, the governor has fired some of his aides largely due to misrepresentations.

“The Ebonyi State Governor, David Nweze Umahi, has prohibited any of his political appointees from castigating or abusing the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari,” Mr Nwaze quoted his principal as directing.

“Doing such to any government or any governor in this country has no value to add to his administration.

“The Governor has advised that anyone who wishes to throw an unnecessary stone against any of the above-mentioned leaders, should, in his or her own best interest, get ready to leave his government as such will attract immediate sacking.

“Any posting, henceforth, against the President, any governor or government from any of his appointees will attract immediate termination of appointment by him.

“If you want to castigate the President, his government or any governor, you must leave Governor Umahi’s government first. How does such castigation help the governor’s government?” he queried.

lalasticlala

The Department of State Service (DSS) has said it won’t release Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, until due process is followed.

The DSS stated this in response to why it has refused to release the former presidential candidate despite the latter meeting bail conditions granted him by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

The publisher being detained by the security agency is accused of treason, fraud and insulting President Muhammadu Buhari. The federal government has slammed a seven count charge to that effect on him.

He was arrested earlier last month for spearheading a revolutionary protest that went on despite his absence. The publisher was granted bail after the DSS declined renewing an order seeking his continued detention after an earlier 45-day detention mandate it secured elapsed on September 21.

Sowore was asked to deposit his international passport with the court registry, a condition his legal representative said has been met.

Despite reportedly meeting the bail condition, the DSS has said the publisher will continue in detention until due process was followed.

ALSO READ: N90bn election fund: Osinbajo ready to waive immunity for probe, sues two

“We have not received the court order. And his (Sowore’s) counsel is a very senior member of the bar and he knows the process to follow; this process has not been followed,” Punch Newspaper quoted the spokesman of the agency, Peter Afunanya, as saying when contacted.

Responding, Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) whose chamber is representing Sowore said the DSS was economical with the truth as one Ayuba Adam from the agency’s Legal Service Department received the said court order on September 25, 2019 at exactly 10:08am.

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