Demolished Secretariat: Senator Forgives El-rufai, Dares Him To Demolish Another Property
SENATOR representing Kaduna North Senatorial District, Suleiman Hunkuyi, whose building which housed the factional All Progressive Congress (APC) demolished on Tuesday, says he has forgiven the state governor, Nasir El-rufai for the incident.
This is as Mr. Hunkuyi reminded Mr. El-rufai that he still has another property in the state daring the governor to demolish it if he so wishes to.
Addressing newsmen on the matter on Tuesday (20/02/2018), the lawmaker said that the governor’s action is the price he has to pay for democracy to thrive.
“I wish to say in very few words, I am not here for the fact that the demolition exercise affected my property, but I’m here to express concern over the utilisation of power under our very hard earned democracy.
“First of all, I think you may wish to know and I think Nigerians may wish to know my disposition this morning and now that governor personally led the demolition of my own property, which doubles as the state’s APC office in Kaduna State.
“As part of my contributions to my party, I have been able to release to the party houses as the structure of leadership of the party has been brought down.
“I wish to say that the action, which was led by his own person this early morning at 4am, as my own brother, I wish to let him know, I have forgiven him as a person for doing what he did.
“ Let me also use the opportunity to remind Nasir El-Rufai that there is another property in which I housed him, which he slept in so many times in the course of bringing so many people together to elect him as governor on Queen Elizabeth Road in Zaria.
“In case he forgets and in case he still wants to take it.
“I rest my case.”
However, the state government has given insight into why it demolished the building
THE demolished property belong to a faction of the All Progressive Congress in the Kaduna State was pulled down as part of an exercise to rid the state of illegal structures, tackle street trading and restore order across the state, the government has said.
The demolition of the building on Tuesday morning has caused a political storm as it comes just days after the faction of the party emerged and announced that it had suspended Governor Nasir El-Rufai from the party.
This also drew condemnation from the Nigerian Senate.
But reacting, the Director-General of the Kaduna State Geographic Information Service (KADGIS), Mr Ibrahim Husseini, said this has nothing to do with politics.
“This morning a building on 11B Sambo Close was removed for flagrant violations of land use and non-payment of ground rent since 2010.
“This illegal violation of use had begun to distress neighbours who were being forced to endure an influx of thugs and blockage of the road.
“Since 2016, the government has been taking action on various land-related matters, including revoking all undeveloped land titles in the state and directed that all abandoned buildings be developed within three months of the notice.
“The Kaduna Geographic Information Service (KADGIS) issued a revocation notice of the statutory right of occupancy No. KD. 16712, that covers 11b Sambo Close in the Ungwan Rimi area.
“The appropriate notice of revocation was delivered at 28 Inuwa Wada Road, the registered address of the company that held the title to the property. The notice was also delivered to the building in question and sent by post to the registered address of the previous title holder,” he said.
After revoking the land, Husseini said, the state government allocated it to the Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Agency “for the purpose of developing and maintaining a public park that will provide a green area and a serene place for recreation in that residential neighbourhood”.
The government warned all title owners to comply with the terms of the allocation or risk suffering a similar fate.
Meanwhile, the affected faction is not buying the explanation of the state government, however, and has described the demolition as ‘an act of terror’.
“In a civilised political culture, it is taboo for former presidents to openly take a sitting president to the cleaners. Our former head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, has faithfully kept to this time-honoured culture of a former ruler not washing the dirty linens of a current ruler rather gleefully in the public. So have former President Shehu Shagari and former head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar.
You MUST reap what you sow.
When he wrote the same open letter to Jonathan were you not calling him a statesman then?
Why Buhari’s Anti-Corruption War Is Selective – APC Senator
FOR failing to probe scandals involving former president Olusegun Obasanjo, an All Progressive Congress (APC) senator, Abdullahi Adamu, has said the anti-corruption war of President Muhammadu Buhari is selective.
Adamu stated this on Monday (19/02/2018), while addressing a press conference titled: “The Antics of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.”
The lawmaker was reacting to Mr. Obasanjo's open letter to Mr. Buhari urging the latter to shelve thoughts of a second term in office.
He said the Buhari's administration war on corruption is selective because the president failed to probe the third term ambition of Mr. Obasanjo; his alleged role in Halliburton scandal for which some Americans are cooling their heels in jail and the Siemens affairs in which the Obasanjo administration was indicted.
Adamu said, “Chief Obasanjo said that President Buhari is selective in his anti-corruption war. I agree with him because if the president were not selective, Chief Obasanjo himself would be in the dock today on trial on charges of corruption arising from the corrupt practices in the pursuit of his third term gambit in the national assembly in 2006.
“Today he denies that he ever nursed such ambition. And being a man much favoured by God, he has repeatedly said that if he had wanted it and asked the almighty for it, he would have given him the third term.
“He knows as well as I and other leading members of the PDP that he badly wanted it and initiated the process of constitutional amendment. He bribed each member of the National Assembly who signed to support the amendment, with the whopping sum of N50 million to make the constitutional amendment scale through.
“The fresh, mint money was taken in its original boxes presumably from the vaults of the Central Bank of Nigeria and distributed among the legislators. The money was not his and it was not appropriated by the National Assembly as required by law. I, therefore, agree that in failing to make former president account for that money, President Buhari is waging his anti-corruption war selectively.
“Nor should we forget that President Buhari has also not bothered to interrogate Obasanjo’s role in the Halliburton scandal for which some Americans are cooling their heels in jail. Perhaps, President Buhari might need to look into the Siemens affairs in which the Obasanjo administration was indicted and for which some are on trial. What became of the trial?”
According to Adamu, the former President had unhindered access to Buhari, wondering why he chose to ridicule the Presidency by writing an open letter the way he did to former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014.
“In a civilised political culture, it is taboo for former presidents to openly take a sitting president to the cleaners. Our former head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, has faithfully kept to this time-honoured culture of a former ruler not washing the dirty linens of a current ruler rather gleefully in the public. So have former President Shehu Shagari and former head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar.
“The question is, if Chief Obasanjo meant well for Buhari, his administration and Nigeria, why did he not choose the option of quietly offering his advice to the president? In taking his case to the rowdy market place of sensationalism, he clearly intended to score cheap political points at the expense of the president.
“He intended to undermine the Buhari administration, subject the president to public ridicule and impugn his moral strength and integrity to lead the nation. As he must have obviously expected, his statement was intended to heat and is heating up the polity and causing confusion at this critical time when the myriads of our national challenges commend themselves to our statesmen and women for sober reflections rather than indulgence in crass sensationalism. It is a disservice to the country.
“No administration is a total success and none is a total failure. Chief Obasanjo cannot honestly claim that he ran a perfect and totally successful administration. Because he did not. Every administration grapples with problems thrown at it by circumstances beyond its control.
“President Buhari inherited an economy that was unsteady on its feet. He also inherited the security problems such as Boko Haram, armed robberies and kidnappings. Yes, I agree, that under his watch these problems should grow less, not more. But the solution to problems such as these is a slow and agonising process. He has no powers to simply make them disappear over night.
“Since he left office on October 1, 1979, to local and international applause Chief Obasanjo has systematically sought to undermine every federal administration after him. He has today set up himself as the moral conscience of the nation. He believes he has acquired the wisdom of King Solomon and has consequently imposed on himself the right to decide who rules us and how we should be ruled.
“I am aware of criticisms that the president appointed only northerners as heads of his security agencies. There may be some merit in a national spread but a president reserves the right to fill such positions with those who command his implicit trust and confidence. That is neither unconstitutional nor a moral crime.
“Coalition for Nigeria is a red herring across the path of our constitutional government. He is free to form a political party and pursue his ambition of being the power behind the throne but such a national movement would achieve no discernible purpose in the economic management and the social administration of the country.
“I believe that the Nigerian people and the Nigerian state have been most kind to him. Chief Obasanjo has a moral obligation to make the country succeed in solving its myriads of problems. That, i believe, is one way he can give back to the country that has given him so much
“As a friend, I wish to advise the former president to pull back from the dangerous path of rubbishing all presidents that came into office after him. Bringing everyone down is not a patriotic duty.”
Video: 2019: Tells Us Nnamdi Kanu’s Whereabout Otherwise We Are Not Going To Vote, Wife Of IPOB Leader Says
THE wife of Nnamdi Kanu,the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Uchechi Kanu, has said they won’t vote in the coming general election if the whereabouts of his husband is not made known by the Nigerian authorities.
Kanu stated this in an interview with British Broadcasting Cooperation (BBC).
Her husband’s home which also houses his parents alongside other members of the family was raided by soldiers of the Nigerian Army during a military operation in September 2017 and since then the IPOB leader has not been seen again publicly.
His secessionist group, IPOB, was proscribed a terrorist group by the Federal Government, and this has been confirmed in the court of law.
He was released on bail in April 2017 with three sureties before his disappearance and the court has mandated his sureties to either produce him or face the consequences of their action.
Kanu lawyers, led by one Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, had told the court that they have not seen or heard from their client since September 14, 2017, when the Nigerian Army invaded his house “on a murderous raid, where life and mortar bullets were fired on unarmed and defenceless populace, leaving 28 persons dead and abducting many” asking the Army to produce his client.
But the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, in a counter-affidavit he filed in opposition to the suit, told the court that Kanu was never in custody of the Nigeria Army.
Delivering judgement, the court exonerated the Army saying no evidence was placed before the court to prove that Kanu was in Army custody, adding that Ejiofor failed to convince the court that Kanu was seen with soldiers at any time.
“The doctrine of last seen”, which the applicant relied upon, eventhough applicable in murder cases, has no statutory backing,” it held.
Mrs Kanu said the Nigerian government must tell the world where her husband is as they were the last contact with him.
“He was trapped in the house when they went to invade the house and that was when he called me. He said can you hear the gun shots? I panicked and I started screaming ‘what’s going on?’ and he said to me, the military men are here. They are shooting.
“Nnamdi Kanu’s issue should be the number one thing. Where is he? You need to provide him or at least tell us where he is. You need to at least do something before you run an election, otherwise we are not going to vote,” she said.
As at press time, HEADLINE is yet to get clarification if the ‘we’ she meant has the South-East inclusive given the fact that that was how her husband puts it when he urged the Igbo residents in Anambra not to vote during the state governorship election last year.
On why his husband kept his family in the safety of Britain and expected other people to die for a cause he could not bring his family in to fight for, Mrs. Kanu said such statements were insensitive, adding that the family has been the worst hit since he disappeared.
“Do they even know what I go through? I can’t even explain,” she said, adding that Mr. Kanu’s immediate family is homeless and suffering too.
“Is that not sacrifice?” she said, adding that such insinuation could only be made by those she called “Typical stupid African person”.
She also disagreed that what her husband was venturing into was illegal. “How was it illegal?
“Why should it be treasonous? One asking for self-determination, how is that a crime?” She asked.
FORMER President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has said democracy is the reason behind his call to President Muhammadu Buhari to step down from the mantle of leadership.
Mr. Obasanjo stated this in an interview with Deutsche Welle and aired by Channels Television.
He said democracy is about ‘change’ especially when the expected result is not achieved as this was the reason the administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan was voted out, adding that his call on the president to step aside was a right one.
“Yes it was a right decision, with the benefit of an insight, you will agree with me if you know what has happened and what is happening, what is being revealed about the government of Jonathan and those who are with him in terms of sordid corruption and you will agree that it was the right decision (to vote him out).
“I believe it was a decision also that is good at that point in time for our country and our democracy because we were able to transition from one party to another party, as a result of that we are consolidating our democratic process, so it was a right decision.
“And then it’s also a right decision now for us to see that the man who has taken over from Jonathan (Buhari) has not met the expectation of Nigerians that is what democracy is all about.
“Democracy is about change if things are not what they should be so it’s a right decision but if you say that’s not the right decision then you’re not a democrat, and I am a democrat and tomorrow if I take a decision and things have not worked out the way we expected to work out in a democracy then you make a change,” the former president said.
THE Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), on Sunday, accused the All Progressive Congress (APC) of trying to hoodwink Nigerians with its position on state police.
A restructuring committee set up by the party had, among other things, recommended that Nigeria should employ the use of state police which is yet to be adopted by the federal government.
IPOB in a statement signed by its spokesman, Emma Powerful, said the party’s position on state police was nothing more than “election gimmick” adding that the idea of state police would be forgotten after the election, just like the “APC did with (its promise of) restructuring”.
“Had the current administration been sincere about its intentions, it would have implemented the proposal (of restructuring) immediately rather than merely issuing it as a report to be debated upon.
“IPOB is not interested in “whatever structural reforms” the federal government wishes to undertake “because the key tenet of democracy which is public debate and vote on a crucial matter is conspicuously lacking in their approach and proposal for state police”.
“Our primary interest remains the full restoration of the full sovereignty of the nation of Biafra and nothing more.
“Anything short of a referendum to ascertain the wishes of the people is dead on arrival for us.
“We are democrats by genetic disposition, which means that our belief that power resides with the people is sacrosanct.”
BENUE State governor, Samuel Ortom has suspended political activities in the State.
Ortom made this known in an interview on The Osasu Show.
He said all political activities in the State remain suspended until a solution is proffered for the clashes between herdsmen and farmers.
Benue lost seventy-eight (78) of its citizens to herdsmen when they attacked the state on new year day.
When asked if he won’t ask his people to vote himself and his party the All Progressive Congress (APC),
“I have suspended all political activities, I don’t want to talk about my own election or any other election in this country until this menace of killing my people stop.
“For now my primary concern is to stop these killings and to ensure that the IDPs go back to their homes and are living peaceful, Once that is done, we can talk about other things, I don’t care about what happens tomorrow. Even if I am not governor, I can stay back and fight for the right of my people,” Ortom said.
He expressed displeasure that the president has not visited the state since the mass massacre.
When we visited, we even invited the president to come to Benue state and pay his condolences to his people… Because we are members of the party, he is our president. If these people are attacking us, we expect him to give us security.
“He has done a number of things. He directed NEMA to provide relief materials, he also asked for security to be beefed up but I am not satisfied with what the presidency is doing on this matter. There is no doubt about that.
“I ask for justice for Benue people because we have not been treated fairly.”
Ortom also said the attacks on Benue is an act of vengeance by heders for losing the 1804 Jihad. He said Benue people stopped them from penetrating the state through Sokoto.
FORMER President, Goodluck Jonathan, has revealed why the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) cannot govern the country well.
Mr. Jonathan said the ruling party was founded on propaganda hence it could not govern well even after winning the election.
The former president said this on Friday during a meeting with the the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, and members of the party’s National Working Committee at the Jonathan Foundation in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
“Propaganda may help you win election, but it can’t help you govern and that is what the APC has seen in the last 32 months,” a statement from the spokesman of Secondus, Ike Abonyi, quoted the former President as saying.
Jonathan while declaring support for the amended electoral sequence by the National Assembly, advised APC to abide by the decision of the legislative chambers.
He also advised the ruling party to see the proposed order of elections “from national and patriotic interests since laws are not meant for persons in power at a particular time.”
“Holding presidential election first will affect the quality of persons that will emerge in other polls because of the bandwagon effect,” Jonathan said, adding that the decision of the Assembly will help in the election of quality persons into various positions.
He said he is even looking forward to a time when presidential elections in Nigeria will be conducted differently from the others just as he was equally optimistic that the PDP will return to power in 2019.
“I believe that the PDP will return to power in 2019, if we continue to build confidence, especially as the ruling party has failed to meet up their promises and give hope to the people.
Secondus had earlier briefed the former President on the activities of the NWC since December when they were elected into office.
He said the new leadership is currently engaged in a number of activities aimed at rebranding and repositioning the party with a view to regaining power in 2019.
He pleaded for Jonathan’s support and that of other leaders of the party.
He said the focus of the party is on youths and women, pointing out that the leadership will soon come up with a new programme on Generational Next.
THE State Governors of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) has stated why they visited President Muhammadu Buhari in his country home, Daura in Katsina State.
The governors dismissed media reports that their mission to Daura was aimed at convincing the President to seek re-election in the forthcoming presidential election in 2019.
Denying the report, its chairman and governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha on Friday (16/02/2018) stated that their mission was merely to condole with Mr. Buhari who lost two members of his extended family.
Okorocha also said they used the opportunity to commend the president for appointing the National leader of the party, Bola Tinubu, as APC chief mediator to reconcile aggrieved members of the APC.
“We are yet to discuss that. That would be in next the meeting where we will discuss whether we want to support him to run or not.
“But for now we came on the issue of the death of his two relatives and to commend him for action taken on Tinubu as a conciliator,’’ he said.
2019: Lamido, Fayose, Makarfi, Others Have Nothing To Offer, Buhari Will Continue – SGF Mustapha
THE Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha on Thursday said aside his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari, other presidential aspirants aspiring to lead the nation has nothing to offer.
This is just as Mr. Mustapha also disclosed that Mr. Buhari will seek re-election in 2019.
HEADLINE understands that the presidential aspirants who are said to have nothing to offer includes; Sule Lamido – former governor of Jigawa State, Ayodele Fayose – incumbent governor of Ekiti State, Senator Ahmed Makarfi – immediate past Chairman of PDP.
Others who have not declared but are rumored to be nursing the ambition are; Atiku Abubakar – former vice president, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso – Senator representing Kano Central, among others.
He spoke at the Unity Fountain in Abuja on Thursday (15/02/2018) while addressing a rally organized by the Democratic Youth Congress (DYC), led by its National Chairman, Hon. Kassim Mohammed Kassim urging Mr. Buhari to make a public statement and run in 2019 election.
Mustapha was represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Political matters, Rt. Hon. Gideon Sammani.
“We do not have an alternative to President Muhammadu Buhari for now.
“I will present your entire message to him. I congratulate you for your support for President Muhammadu Buhari to run in 2019.
“I am glad you have named some of the aspirants who are interested in leading this nation. If you give them the ticket they will do nothing with it. They have nothing to offer to this nation. You and I are here because we believe in President Muhammadu Buhari and we know he has the capability to lead this nation. Buhari is a man with several qualities of leadership, God sent; his coming is divine, so that he will rescue this nation from the total collapse due to the destruction that has been done to the economy by the past administration.
“We all know that Buhari is transparent, honest. He has come with the change philosophy. He has lived for these to bring change to this nation. Since his military days, he stood to fight corruption, indiscipline. Many people fear him because he does not compromise corruption. And corrupt people are afraid that they will be brought to book. And those who have already looted the treasury of this nation are followed by the security agencies. By the grace of God Buhari will not relent in this fight.
“He will continue. The politics of this nation is no more the politics of money or do or die politics. Anybody who wants to lead this nation must sacrifices. Buhari has already transformed and changed the image of leadership and that of our leaders this country both locally and internationally,” Mustapha said.
Speaking earlier, Mr. Kassim made it known that his team was ready, committed and dedicated to work for President Buhari to be reinstalled in 2019.
“We felt there is a need for us to mobilize for President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2019 reelection. We know the roll we played when President Muhammadu was away for medical checkup. A lot of people said Buhari will not come back but we kept the hope alive because many lost hope. We have mobilized for a rally in support of Buhari.
“We are calling on Buhari to come out and make a public statement to run in 2019. If this does not happen between now and Monday, we will be forced to go to court and invite him to come and make a public statement. Some of our leaders are misleading the youths in Nigeria that power should be given to the youths. We are not in a hurry, all what we are asking for is that our leaders should involve us in the system; all those who wants to contest in other parties are older than Buhari.”
THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have revealed why some underage citizens who are not up to the age of eighteen years are being registered in the Northern part of the country.
The Director of Publicity and Voter Education of the commission, Mr. Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi on Wednesday stated that the young citizens were registered because the lives of its registration officers were being threatened by some members of the communities.
Osaze-Uzzi made this known during a programme on the African Independent Television titled, ‘Kakaaki,’ while answering questions over pictures and videos on the social media showing children registering and voting in northern Nigeria.
“I agree that it is the responsibility of the registration officer to do that (refuse to register underage persons), but there are times that circumstances are such that where there is present and clear danger that he risks being assaulted or being killed, I think it will be unreasonable to expect him not to succumb to the pressure. But we encourage them to report immediately they get out of that dangerous zone.
“Even to the untrained eye, that child doesn’t look more than 15, but in such circumstances, you cannot argue too much with them. The law says the registration officer is entitled to act on some kind of identification or birth certificate or proof of age.
“But very often, they are resisted, especially when there are lots of people there. They are challenged in a charged atmosphere and they are there without any protection. Many of them are there in strange communities which they don’t know anything about. So, there is undue pressure on them to register at this point,” he said.
Osaze-Uzzi, also said mechanisms had been put in place such that after an underage person is registered, he could be removed from the register.
“It is not a complex process, you display the voter register and people come there. That is in addition to the fact that the registration officer can refuse anybody registration. But we don’t expect people to risk their lives for what is essentially a simple patriotic service.
“But if they get away with that (getting registered) and the report is not taken, the second opportunity is when the register is displayed. The best opportunity is where higher officials physically look at each register as much as they can and those who are clearly not qualified are removed. So, it is a three-pronged process and there are different stages,” the INEC director added.
He, however, said the media and members of the public should assist the commission by exposing such cases of underage registration and voting.
“I think the law recognises that being a human endeavour, it may not be perfect and that is why it gives some kind of leeway such that when you weigh everything together, it is a reflection of what the people have chosen.
“If one per cent of the register has underage persons; will this affect the outcome? We agree that the register is the very foundation of every election and what we can do and what the media can do is that when we get these reports and we have a fair idea of where this issue is prevalent, we can look at the registers again, look at those who are clearly underage and try to weed them out and prevent them from exercising a franchise that does not belong to them legally.”
He assured members of the public that the 2019 general elections would be free, fair and credible.
A remorseless commander of Boko Haram terrorist organisation has been slammed 60 years imprisonment.
Abba Umar, the convict was sentenced for acts of terrorism by a federal high court, sitting in Kainji, Niger State.
He was arrested after a failed suicide mission in Gombe in 2014. He confirmed in court on Tuesday (13/2/2018) that the pictures presented by the prosecution as exhibits showing him and the IEDs used for the failed operation were authentic.
Umar who was remorseless, told the court that if he was ever released he would continue acts of terrorism in Sambisa forest while disclosing that he had over a hundred lieutenants under him.
While testifying, the convict who said he married two wives in Sambisa Forest after joining the sect, described himself as “an Islamic warrior, and a commander in the Islamic army”.
Delivering judgement, the judge imposed lesser sentence on Umar.
Two of the five counts against Umar had death sentences but the judge explained that he reduced it because he must have been exposed to religious indoctrination which made him the way he is.
“For count 3, I sentence him to 60 years imprisonment,” the judge ruled.
“I would have been more merciful but was rather dissuaded by the convict’s insistence that he would go back to the activities which constitute danger to the society and for which he was apprehended.”
valentineuwakwe: too many distractions in this country while the real problems confronting us are not attended to....where is and when wil the 2018 budget be passed? what is happening to fuel prize is some parts of the country, it has not come down to N145....what is happening to the price of goods in the market, Npower has not paid its volunteers january 2018 salary, and a lot others yet people wey know dia selves are fighting...don't be surprise if the governor of Kogi state is the one instituting this court case against dino.....i wept for this country!
Politics › Suleiman Hunkuyi Reacts To His Demolished Building In Kaduna By El-Rufai(Photos) by sirequity(op): 11:40pm On Feb 20, 2018
