Following the deadlock at the meeting for the consequential adjustment yesterday on the newly approved minimum wage, the organized labor in Niger state has directed the workers in the state to begin an indefinite strike.
In a statement obtained by this blog from the NLC and TUC chairman in Niger state. The Labor leaders mentioned that the state government is not serious with the welfare of the workers in the state.
Comrade Yanusa D. Tanimu who is the TUC chairman lamented that the consequential adjustment of the newly approved minimum wage is not only the issue affecting workers in the state. He condemned the previous administration for embezzling the pension funds of the pensioners and has brought untold hardship to the families of these pensioners.
He also decried the indolent attitude of the current administration towards the workers and pensioners in the state.
While Niger state workers are one of the least paid in the country where a level 8 step 1 officer earns less than 37 thousand naira, the Chairman said that Leave grants which are usually given to workers to cushion the effect of their meager salaries in the state has not been paid for 2019.
On the consequential adjustment, The TUC chairman mentioned the state government said he will give them a certain amount which translates to about 5000 naira on the workers’ salaries and this is far below the consequential adjustment of salaries of the new minimum wage that has now been made law.
https://arewagists..com/2020/02/labor-begins-strike-in-niger-state.html

Suspected members of different cult groups in Kwara State have reportedly concluded plans to celebrate annual festival of cultism in the state capital on Sunday, July 7, 2019.
Investigations revealed that previous celebrations of 7/7 in notable areas of the state capital were trailed by violence and criminal activities among members of cult groups.
Some of the notable areas in the state capital where the cult activities had been recorded in the past include Ibrahim Taiwo road, Kulende, Sabo Oke, Agaka, Eruda, Agbo Oba, Stadium Road, Irewolede I and II and Oyun areas, among other communities in the state capital.

It was gathered that the annual 7/7 celebration had been used to initiate new members or launch vengeance against perceived opponents in the state.
The violent cult activities, which are usually fomented by students of both secondary and higher institutions in the state, also more here https://arewagists..com/2019/07/suspected-cultists-mark-anniversary.html

Nigeria captain John Obi Mikel has handed coach Gernot Rohr a selection boost ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal against South Africa.
The Super Eagles midfielder took part in light training during the team’s recovery session on Sunday morning, seven days after he limped out of Nigeria’s 2-0 defeat to Madagascar.
With this development, Rohr would be positive about his chances of playing against Bafana Bafana for a place in AFCON semifinal on Wednesday.
He had given a positive update to the press after his men silenced Cameroon in Saturday’s Round of 16 encounter in Alexandria.

“Mikel is trying to run already, so we will see if he could be fit one time for [South Africa] clash,” he said.
Shehu Abdullahi, meanwhile, could be considered for selection after recovering from a hamstring injury suffered against Burundi.
“We hope that Shehu [Abdullahi] can come back, he was on the bench [against Cameroon],” Rohr continued.
“Right now, I’m very happy more here https://arewagists..com/2019/07/mikel-back-to-training-ahead-of-clash.html

A teenage mother, simply known as Ummi, of Nassarawa Local Government Area of Kano State was on Saturday, arrested by the police for allegedly stabbing her 30-year-old brother, Sani Suleiman to death following a dispute.
Confirming the incident, the Kano State Police Command spokesman, DSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, said the Command, through its Badawa Divisional office, received a report at about 5:pm on Saturday that Ummi had stabbed her elder brother on his neck.
Kiyawa said it was learnt that Ummi, who had been engaged in a heated argument with her brother for two days, suddenly stabbed him on the neck, resulting to his death, shortly after he was rushed to the hospital for treatment.
Kiyawa, said an argument ensued because the late Sani allegedly maltreated his sister’s baby as eyewitnesses claimed that the cause of the tragic incident was the refusal more at https://arewagists..com/2019/07/sister-kills-elder-brother-in-kano.html

Super Eagles midfield pearl Alex Iwobi has revealed that he prefers winning trophies to stocking cash in any bank.
He also opted for winning the FIFA World Cup with Nigeria than winning the UEFA Champions League with Premier League side Arsenal FC.
Iwobi, revealing that he can play any position on the field, said that the Super Eagles are hungry and fired up for victory against Cameroon on Saturday evening.
Below are excerpts of the interview:
Lagos or London?
I am more comfortable in London
Davido or Wizkid?
more at https://arewagists..com/2019/07/i-dont-like-money-iwobi.html

AGAINST the backdrop of the suspension of the controversial Ruga settlement project by the Federal Government, the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has declared that there will be no peace in the country if herdsmen are not allowed to move freely in any part of the country.
The coalition, which had on Wednesday, given the Federal Government a 30-day ultimatum to rescind its suspension order and implement the Ruga initiative, also asserted that it was not afraid of the review of the “present union (referring to Nigeria) because what we have now is a collection of southerners and northerners, not Nigerians.”
The CNG told the government to implement the Ruga project or it would be forced to take a decisive action.

The Federal Government had suspended the programme on the grounds that it was not in tandem with the National Livestock Transformation Plan.
The spokesman of the CNG, Abdul Azeez Suleiman, in an interview with Saturday Tribune on Friday, said: “We are not withdrawing the ultimatum on the suspension of the programme by the government. You can’t deny some citizens their rights and think there will be peace in the country.”
On the recent call by the apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, on Igbos to defend themselves against any threat from any quarters, Suleiman, who said members of the coalition were not afraid of arrest, described what he called the threats of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo and the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, as “selfish and wicked.”
He said: “I think the two bodies are selfish and wicked. We didn’t start this threat; they started it. First, it was Chief Gani Adams who we read saying he would lead one million Yoruba [warriors] to fish out herdsmen in the South-West.
“Ohanaeze also called on their people for self-defence. Did we more at https://arewagists..com/2019/07/no-peace-unless-herdsmen-move-freely.html

Gombe State Governor Inuwa Yahaya on Friday expressed disappointment with the decision of the Federal Government to suspend the plan to build Ruga settlements in some states.
He spoke with State House Correspondents after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja
Noting that his state had 200,000 hectares ready to donate to the federal government for the project, he said that the pastoralists deserve sympathy as the conflict is also affecting them.
According to him, his state will continue with the Ruga settlements programme.
He spoke on the Ruga settlements programme while speaking to Hausa service in the State House.
Asked what type of support Nigerians will see, considering that Gombe State is now ruled by APC, he said: “I want you to know that any policy federal government initiated, Gombe State is ready to key in because present administration’s policies are meant for the development of this country.
“For instance, on the issue of Ruga pilot scheme, I said in Gombe we have more than 200,000 hectares set aside for herdsmen use.
“So, if other States rejected the pilot scheme, we have no reason to reject it rather to even demand for its implementation to be …….”
Asked if Gombe is ready to join if federal government reintroduces the project, the governor said: “Up to today, I didn’t agree that the pilot scheme is been suspended.
“We are going to continue with it, because to us is very good initiatives.
“Considering the hardship our brother and sister (Herdsmen), are now facing, we need to find a lasting solution for them, so, as to save their lives because they are Nigerians.” he said
Speaking on the purpose of his visit to Villa in English language, he said: “I came to see the President being the father of the nation. For me as the governor and the good people of Gombe State we felt we need to see the president to reaffirm our solidarity and support for him and equally for the ideals he stands for in this country.
“Mind you Gombe is 100% APC and we fought with the support of the President to deliver Gombe to APC.
“That’s why we have to continuously engage and be giving updates on the situation in the state and what is happening in the current situation in the country. That’s why I came to see him.”
On what he wants to do differently under APC in Gombe State, he said “Certainly, you will see difference in terms of good governance and service delivery to the people.
Asked if he had sorted out the issue of vehicles that were allegedly taken away by his predecessor, he said: “We set up a committee and the committee is pursuing and I believe you must have seen that we have recovered quite a lot.
“The committee is still working and we will be disclosing whatever we found and the resultant effect of whatever we are able to do.
https://arewagists..com/2019/07/gombe-state-will-continue-with-ruga.html

Registrar Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, said he was sure of a sponsored campaign against the efforts of the board.
Oloyede said this on Thursday in Abuja while presenting another suspect to newsmen, Kokowa Cletus, a 20-year-old, who allegedly falsified his Unified Tertiary Admissions Examination (UTME) result.
The board had on June 24, presented a 19-year-old Adah Eche, who allegedly falsified his UTME result, yet wrote a letter of complaint to the board for presenting him with two results.
The registrar frowned at the fraudulent trend, saying that it was unfortunate that the board was making efforts to serve the public yet it was being discouraged by detractors.“This is especially when cases that were meant to be investigated were not appropriately done.
“We believe that there is an organised and sponsored campaign against JAMB for whatever reason.
“We have no apology, but will want the public, who might be misinformed to always know the situation at hand and the gravity of what we do.
“This campaign going on against JAMB is done by people who knowingly or unknowingly, are inadvertently employed to do this.
“At the appropriate time, we will come out to tell the people what is really going on but there is a personal war, you will see that soon,’’ he said.
He noted that many of such campaigns were done through complaints of the board issuing out double results to candidates who sat for the 2019/20 UTME among other complains.
Oloyede said that some of the people who make the claims are aware of the Nigerian factor where most accusations were not properly more at https://arewagists..com/2019/07/there-is-sponsored-campaign-of-calumny.html

The Solicitor General of the Federation (SGF) and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Adetayo Toba Apata, rights activist, Ebun-Olu Samuel Adegboruwa and Adedoyin Oyinkan Rhodes-Vivour, wife of Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour of the Supreme Court are among 38 lawyers conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) this year.
Chief Registrar and Secretary, Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC), Hadizatu Uwani Mustapha made this public while addressing a press conference in Abuja on Friday.
Mrs. Mustapha said, out of the 117 lawyers that applied for the rank this year, 80 were short-listed, out of which the final 38 emerged.
She said the final 38 constitutes of two females, three from the academics and 35 advocates.
Mrs. Mustapha added that four female lawyers applied for the rank this year, from among whom two were chosen.
Other successful ones are: Abdullahi Haruna, Manga Mohammed Nurudeen, John Onuegbulam Asoluka, Adedokun Matthew Makinde, Daniel Chwukwudi Enwelum, Emmanuel Adeyeye Oyebanji, Tuduru Uchendu Ede and Abdul Olajide Ajana.
Also on the list are: Ama Vemaark Etuwewe, Oladipo Adekorede Olasope, Leslie Arthur Olutayo Nylander, Olusegun Oyediran Fowowe, Andrew Essien Hutton, Olukayode Abayomi Enitan, Paul Harris Adkole Ogbole, Olaniyi Maruph Olopade, Samuel Ngozi Agweh and Olusegun Omoniyi Jolaawo.
Others are: Prof Alphonsus Okoh Alubo, Ayo Asala, Abiodun Adediran Olatunji, Olumide Andrew Aju, Chimezie Victor, Chikwem Ihekweazu, Prof Mamman Lawan, Prof Uchefula Ugonna Chuwumaeze and Usman Ogwu Sule.
Also listed are: Safiya Umar Babamasi, Echezona Chukwudi Etiaba, Godwin Osemeahon Omoaka, Emeka Onyemaechi Ozoani, Alexander Chukwudi Ejesieme, Aikhunigbe Anthony Malik, Alhassan Akeje Umar and Oyetola Muyiwa Atoyebi.
Mrs. Mustapha said the swearing in ceremony of the successful 38 legal practitioners will take place during the 2019/2020 Supreme Court’s new legal year celebration, scheduled for September 2019
https://arewagists..com/2019/07/solicitor-general-apata-adegboruwa-35.html

The presidency said on Sunday that the proposed ‘ruga settlements’ is not meant for herders alone.
The ruga settlements have been criticised by some Nigerians who claim it is a ploy to claim land across the country for Fulani herders.
However, Garba Shehu, President Buhari’s spokesperson, said other animal herders will also be in the settlements.
“Ruga Settlement” that seeks to settle migrant pastoral families simply means rural settlement in which animal farmers, not just cattle herders, will be settled in an organized place with provision of necessary and adequate basic amenities such as schools, hospitals, road networks, vet clinics, markets and manufacturing entities that will process and add value to meats and animal products.”
Mr Shehu listed some of the benefits of such settlements and said 12 states have voluntary signed up for the settlements. He said no state would be forced to do so.
“The overall benefit to the nation includes a drastic reduction in conflicts between herders and farmers,” he said.
Incessant violence between herders and farming communities have claimed thousands of lives across Nigeria.
Read Mr Shehu’s full statement below.
The presidency wishes more at https://arewagists..com/2019/07/benefits-of-ruga-settlement-presidency.html

A former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has said the recent investigation of ex-Senate President Bukola Saraki by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is becoming a persecution.
He said this on Tuesday in a statement titled “Bukola Saraki: Silence In The Face of Tyranny Is Acquiescence.”
Mr Saraki was recently accused by the EFCC of taking N12 billion from the treasury of the Kwara State Government while he was governor of the state between 2003 and 2011. The commission said the money was withdrawn in cash.
The money, EFCC said, was allegedly used by Mr Saraki to offset a N1.36billion bank loan he used in purchasing homes at 15, 15A, 17, 17A and four flats on Macdonald Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, hence, its decision to seize the properties.
In May, the commission marked the said properties with the inscriptions: ‘EFCC, Under Investigation’ in red on the walls and the fences of the houses.
The agency believed that Mr Saraki purchased the property from the Presidential Implementation Committee for the Sale of Government Property through shell companies.
In another statement, the anti-graft agency said no amount of media campaign against its acting chairman, Ibrahim Magu, will stop the prosecution of the former Senate President.
But Mr Abubaker on Tuesday said there is a huge difference between prosecution and persecution. He more at https://arewagists..com/2019/07/efcc-persecuting-saraki-atiku.html

Nigeria’s youngest senator has been caught on camera physically assaulting a woman at an adult toy shop in Abuja.
Elisha Abbo, representing Adamawa North Senatorial District, descended on the woman after she pleaded with him not to physically assault the shop owner whom the senator had accused of insulting him and calling him a drunk.
PREMIUM TIMES exclusively obtained the video of the assault, which occurred on May 11 — nearly three months after Mr Abbo became a senator-elect and a month before he was sworn-in on June 11.
To watch the video visit https://arewagists..com/2019/07/video-nigerian-senator-caught-on-camera.html

A group of civil servants under the aegis of Concerned Kogi Workers Forum, on Sunday, warned the All Progressives Congress (APC) against giving its ticket to the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, ahead of the November governorship election.
The forum said foisting the governor on the workers “would amount to further shortening our life span”.
The spokesman of the forum, Hassan Abdul, in a statement made available to newsmen, appealed to the national secretariat of the APC not to elongate the suffering of the people by conceding the ticket to the governor.
The workers, who threw their weight behind the governorship bid of a former chief of naval staff, Vice Admiral Jibrin Usman, said “as workers who bear the brunt of Gov. Bello’s misrule, another opportunity given to him by the APC would mean reducing our lifespan”
The workers disclosed that the forum is made up of workers who were arbitrarily sacked, some who have also been cleared by the screening committees set up by Bello, yet have not been paid for about 30 months, adding that another opportunity for the APC to present him for another term would mean the party does not mind their wellness and survival.
The concerned workers lamented that never have Kogi state civil servants experience hardship as they are presently experiencing as many of them have died untimely, with many unable to meet family obligations.
The workers clarified that they did not have grouse with President Mohammadu Buhari and the APC, having restated their plights and sufferings caused by Gov. Bello’s insensitivity to payment of salaries more at https://arewagists..com/2019/06/another-term-for-bello-will-kill-us.html

“My eyes have been operated several times. At a time, they were kept opened for three days without blinking. I have seen hell, yet I cannot see anything.”
Those were the words of Mr. Zakariah Idzy, a commercial tricycle rider who went blind after he was given injection at the National Eye Centre, Kaduna.
Idzy was not the only one befallen l by the calamity, but he is the only one of the 10 people initially affected who remains blind; the remaining nine have regained their sights.
The Nation had reported that 10 patients who went to the medical facility with eye ailments were injected on May 28 and they all lost their sights shortly afterwards.
The Avastin injection administered on the patients was not new to the hospital, and it was not the first time most of the 10 patients would be taking the injection, hence the hospital management invited the National Agency for Foods, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to help unravel the mystery behind the negative reaction to the drug. However, the result of the investigation is yet to be made public.
The hospital, determined to right the wrong, carried out a corrective surgery on the 10 patients on June 18, after which they were paraded before newsmen a day later. As at then, nine of the victims confirmed improvement in their sights. In clear departure from their initial conditions of total blindness, they said they could identify colours and see faintly.
That, however, is not the case with Idzy who is yet to see even after undergoing another round of surgery on June 25. Speaking with our correspondent, Idzy, a keke (commercial tricycle) operator and breadwinner of his family, said: “I don’t want to go permanently blind.”
His major concern is his family of nine, which he said has been living on support from neighbours and more at https://arewagists..com/2019/06/i-see-hell-onlysays-man-blinded-at.html

Thousands of thugs on Saturday evening invaded the venue of a national convention to elect new leadership of the Ijaw National Congress (INC) and disrupted the process.
It was gathered the election was concluded and counting and sorting of votes was in progress when the thugs invaded the venue.
The number of the thugs reportedly overwhelmed security agents, who tried in vain to stop the hoodlums.
It was learnt the hoodlums claimed they were excluded from the process of the convention and alleged that the list of delegates for the election contained under aged delegates.
The rowdy scenario halted the process and compelled the convention committee to shift the election by a day following advice from security personnel.
But some claimed that the hoodlums carted away the ballot boxes containing votes for president and vice-president of the union.
It was, however, gathered that Chief Broadrick Bozimo, who was a presidential candidate, more at https://arewagists..com/2019/06/tension-in-bayelsa-as-thugs-disrupt-inc.html

Fakes pregnancy for nine months
Steals 3-month-old baby
Arranged her own abduction and demanded ransom
Attempted suicide when the game was up.
A 32-year-old housewife based in Jos, Plateau State, has added a new dimension to the commission of crime by allegedly involving herself in four criminal activities in one week. After faking pregnancy for nine months, Mrs. Leritshimwa Diyal sought to cover up her deceit by allegedly stealing a three-month-old baby.
Within the said period, she also arranged her own abduction, demanded ransom and attempted to take her own life when she realised that the game was up.
Hers was an obvious case of a housewife driven by desperation to have a fruit of the womb. Hence, she jettisoned all known moral ethics and civil conventions and adopted some unimaginable options to bear a child for her husband.
Seven years after she got married, Leritshimwa could not bear a child. While her husband resorted to prayers in the hope of a miracle, she could not endure the family pressure on her to produce a baby. With time, her childlessness became a major threat to the survival of her marriage, forcing her to contemplate getting a child at all cost.
She began last year by lying to her husband that she was pregnant. Needless to say that the news of her long-awaited pregnancy excited the husband to no end. While her husband celebrated the belief that God had answered his prayers, the woman capitalised on her fibroid, an abnormal health condition that leads to enlarged stomach, to give him the impression that a baby was being expected.
While the man eagerly awaited the arrival of their first baby, the woman was busy plotting how to justify her pregnancy claims after nine months. Every month, she demanded money from her innocent husband for antenatal care, telling her husband that she was undergoing same at Jos University Hospital (JUTH). The poor man sensed no deceit and looked eagerly forward to a successful delivery of his first child.
On Sunday, May 25, three days to the expected date of delivery (EDD), Leritshimwa told some family members that she had started noticing signs that she was in labour and so was going to the hospital. Having left the house alone more at https://arewagists..com/2019/06/husband-pressures-wife-into-faking.html

A housewife, one Makoduchukwu Ndubisi have stabbed her husband John Bosko Ngu to death in Nsugbe, Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Tribune Online gathered that the suspect had a scuffle with her husband of the same address and stabbed him on his chest with a sharp knife.
Confirming the incident, Anambra state police spokesman Harunna Muhammed said on Saturday at about 8: am, that police detective attached to 33 Police Station Onitsha arrested one Makoduchukwu Ndubisi ‘f’ aged 20 years of NO. 16 Donking Street Nsugbe in Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State for stabbing her husband to death.
According to him, Police detectives immediately rushed to the scene and the victim was moved to Boromeo hospital Onitsha for medical attention, where he was certified dead on arrival by the medical doctor.
He also said the corpse has been deposited at the hospital’s mortuary for autopsy.
Mohammed also said exhibit recovered from the scene and case is under investigation to ascertain circumstances surrounding the incident
https://arewagists..com/2019/06/housewife-stabs-husband-to-death.html

Last year, they fought together against the invasion of killer herdsmen. The Tiv and Jukun were united in defending their lives and agricultural-rich riverine territory from the menace of insurgents. They were being killed by marauding herdsmen in clashes over grazing fields. Their wailings caught the attention of the international community. Today, the herdsmen story has died down. The Jukun and Tiv, who had borne the brunt of herdsmen attacks, are the ones at war.
The exact casualty figures and destructions suffered by both ethnic groups in the ensuing clash have not been ascertained. Apart from the hundreds of lives lost, the properties damaged are estimated in billions of naira.
The State House of Assembly member representing Wukari I Constituency, Pius Sabo, says in Wukari alone, the following Jukun villages: Kente, Chonku, Akwana, Arufu, Chinkai, Fyayi, Ando-Katswen, Kwatan Tsufa, Sondi, Rafinkada and Wapan Nghaku have been destroyed. He accuses Tiv militia groups for the mayhem.
The Tiv are also counting their losses. According to the President of Tiv Cultural Association in Taraba State, Goodman Dahida, all Tiv villages and hamlets in Wukari Local Government Area, including Ikyaior, Gbor Gbor, Lorlumun Nege, Ioryina, Tor-Musa, Tar-Orshi, Tor-Iorshaer and Tse-Tor-Luam have been reduced to rubble by the Jukun militias. Tiv homes in Vaase and Tse-Atsenga settlements of Benue State are also torched.
Other private and public infrastructure such as schools, health facilities and places of worships have been destroyed.
Guns are still booming and machetes slashing as death tolls rise daily. Homes are still being razed and plundered. The scenes of destruction are gory and scary. Parts of southern Taraba, particularly in Wukari, have become ghost towns. Yet, people are occasionally being fetched from vehicles on the highway and massacred as violence rages on.
A seed of poverty, hunger
Thousands have fled their ancestral homes, which had come under attack as a result of the crisis. Wukari has witnessed mass exodus. Some of the fleeing residents, severely injured, are groaning in pains in hospitals. Some persons are reportedly missing. No official camp has been opened for the internally displaced persons (IDPs), which their condition has been in despair. Some of the IDPs, with their children, have become destitute. They don’t have enough food to eat, no healthcare services, lack clothes and shelter.
An eye-witness of the crisis has said that the warring groups have sown the seed of poverty and hunger in their land. As it is, he explained, business activities in southern Taraba are grinding to a halt. The economic backbone of Wukari particularly has been broken. It is a rainy season but Jukun and Tiv, the suppliers of yam, cassava and other cereal crops for travellers coming from the north to the eastern and southern parts of the country, can no longer go to the farm. Poverty and hunger loom, as the popular Yam market in Wukari and other socio-economically bubbling centres in the area have been deserted.
Pace for terrorism, keg of gunpowder
Residents of the Benue/Taraba axis are worried that the arming of youths in the region to fight ethnic wars is setting the pace for absolute terrorism. When the crisis is more at https://arewagists..com/2019/06/reason-why-tiv-and-jukun-are-fighting.html

IT would seem that heavy criticism of the major political parties for their prohibitive cost of nomination forms for elective offices have fallen on deaf ears. Ahead of the 2019 Kogi and Bayelsa off-cycle governorship elections the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, had announced the increase of its governorship ticket forms by more than 300 per cent from N6 million in the recently-concluded general election to a whopping N20 million. PDP and particularly the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, were thoroughly lambasted for the shylock price tags on their Expression of Interest and Nomination forms in this year’s general elections. The APC charged N45m for the Presidential: Governorship: N22.5m; Senate: N7m; Reps: N3.5m; and House of Assembly: N850,000. The PDP had been much more considerate. It charged N12m for Presidential; Governorship: N6m: Senatorial, N4m; Reps: N1.5m; and State House of Assembly: N.6m. These figures differed dramatically from those of 2015, during which the APC, as an opposition party, had charged N27.5m and PDP N22m for their respective presidential Expression of Interest and Nomination forms. Infuriated by what he described as “monetisation” of the nomination process, an APC presidential aspirant, Mr. Christmas Akpodiete, had dragged the APC, PDP, INEC and the Attorney General of the Federation to the Federal High Court, Abuja. Considering that these fees are usually non-refundable, many aspirants end up being scammed because in most cases party leaders already knew who they wanted for specific positions and still collected these monies from unsuspecting aspirants only to leave them in the lurch. After her brother, Dr. Mahmud Halilu Ahmed, was allegedly schemed out of the Adamawa governorship primaries, Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, openly lashed out at the APC leadership for what she called an “act of impunity”. Party leaders argue that the money raised through these expensive nomination forms are used to run the affairs of their parties, including the conduct of primaries, payment of staff and funding of campaign expenses. Political parties tend to capitalise on their perceived popularity or viability as election-winning machines to exploit candidates, especially as elected officials show little interest in funding party activities after winning elections. This is a wrong and highly corruptive strategy to raise funds with which to run party affairs. People who pay through the nose to get elected see it as a licence to steal the people’s money when they gain access to the public till. Political parties should be able to fund their activities from the contributions of members. This makes for greater accountability and transparency in governance. We strongly condemn this exploitative strategy and call on more at https://arewagists..com/2019/06/extortive-party-nomination-fees.html

When 14-year-old Barakat Rotimi began to date her boyfriend, little did she know she will end up being a member of Eiye Confraternity, one day be arrested and paraded like a common criminal. Barakat’s journey into cultism began soon after she began to date her boyfriend. She narrated: “It was my boyfriend who lured me into the cult. When we started dating, I never knew he was into cultism. It was after a while that I discovered that he was a member and because of the love I had for him, I joined them. “And since I joined them, I stopped going home. I began to stay with my boyfriend in his parents’ house. After the group had studied me for a while, I was given the role of spying; my work was to look out for policemen and other security agencies on the cult’s trail. “My other job was to cook for our members. I don’t know how my parents will feel now seeing me in this position. I regret my action.” Lured by boys Like Barakat, in December 2018, four girls, aged between 10 and 13, were among 13 other suspected cultists arrested by detectives attached to Owode-Egba Divisional Police Headquarters in Ogun State. According to the police, male members of the suspected cult group were in their early teens, and their leader identified as 19-year-old Tunde Adio. As of the time of their arrest, all suspects were residents of Mosunmore village near Kobape, Abeokuta. The arrest of the suspects, who called themselves ‘Penalty Guys’, was made possible after the mother of one of the girls raised the alarm about her daughter’s https://arewagists..com/2019/06/the-funny-world-of-female-cultists.html

SOME states are holding more than N3.4 billion pension funds deducted from their workers’ pay, it was learnt on Wednesday.
According to the Acting Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar, the affected employees are on the payroll of the unnamed state governments.
Mrs. Dahir-Umar, who dropped the hint yesterday in her keynote address at the Second Quarter Consultative Forum for states in Lagos, said Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) returns confirmed the non-remittance of over N3.4 billion.
Represented by Deputy General Manager (DGM), States Operations Department, Dr. Dan Ndackson, the PenCom boss urged the participants to treat uncredited remittances as a major item as it denies employees the investment income that should have accrued to them.
She said over 38 per cent of the uncredited remittances had been outstanding for over one year.
Mrs. Dahir-Umar disclosed that returns submitted to the Commission by the PFAs showed that over N8.09 billion was remitted to them as pension contributions of state employees in the first quarter of this year.
Lauding some states that have collaborated with the commission in implementing the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), she expressed concern over Rivers and Zamfara states for introducing pension laws that are not in tandem with the philosophy of the CPS despite the Commission’s advice.
She also said that notable amongst the many achievements within the second quarter are the meetings held with the then governors-elect (now governors) of Lagos and Bauchi states.
She said: “We are also pleased to note the giant stride taken by the Benue State government recently by enacting the Benue State Pension Reform Law 2019, in May 2019.
“Besides joining the league of States that have commenced the process of implementing the CPS, the Benue State Law incorporated all the observations made by the Commission in the draft Bill before passage into law. We are therefore confident that with this sound and sustainable legal framework in place, Benue State’s implementation would not face major challenges.
“We have also noted the re-enactment of the Rivers State Pension Reform more at https://arewagists..com/2019/06/some-states-are-holding-pension-funds.html

An Ebute-Meta Magistrates Court in Lagos Thursday heard that a househelp, Joseph Ogbu, stabbed his employer to death with a fork after she turned down his demand for N4, 000, two days after he was employed.
The State Criminal Investigation Department (SCIID), Yaba, Lagos alleged that Ogbu, after killing Oreoluwa John, 36, also strangled her 89-year-old mother, Adejoke John.
The police made the allegations while seeking an order for Ogbu’s remand after preferring a temporary three-count charge of murder and stealing against him.
Granting the application, Magistrate O. A. Olagbende ordered that Ogbu should be kept in the Ikoyi Prison.
The court did not take the plea of the defendant as the magistrate said she needed advice from the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Miss Olagbende ordered that the defendant should remain behind bars for the next 30 days pending the advice.
She adjourned till July 30.
Earlier, the SCIID said the defendant committed the offences on June 19, at 10pm, at No. 4, Ogunlana Drive, Surulere, Lagos.
Police counsel, O. W. Ologun alleged that the defendant used a sharp object to stab his Oreoluwa to death and strangled Mrs. Adejoke John to https://arewagists..com/2019/06/househelp-kills-employer-over-4000-naira.html

The Lagos State Government on Thursday told an Igbosere High Court that it wants to add Femi Falana SAN as one of the witnesses to testify in the trial of alleged kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, alias Evans.
This was revealed through an application filed by Lagos State Prosecutor, Y.G Oshoala.
Oshoala told the Court, that an issue came up during trial within trial which required that “we call an additional witness”.

Therefore a trial within trial was conducted to ascertain whether the defendant’s statement was actually made under duress.It would be recalled that on Jan. 16, Evans had told the court that his confessional statement which he made to the police after his arrest in 2017, was made under duress.
Evans is currently facing two separate charges, bordering on conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping and attempted murder, before Justice Adedayo Akintoye.
In the first charge, Evans is standing trial alongside Joseph Emeka, Ugochukwu Nwachukwu and Victor Aduba.
In the second charge, he is standing trial alongside Joseph Emeka, Linus Okpara and Victor Aduba.
At the resumed hearing on Thursday, Oshoala told the court that during trial within trial Evans mentioned that Falana came to visit him while in police custody but was prevented from seeing him due to excessive torture which he was going through.
The prosecutor, therefore, said he would want to call the SAN as a witness for the interest of justice.
But the counsel to Evans, Mr R. B. Ekeh, said that he has not responded to the application, adding that other defendants’ counsel said that they were not served with the application.
“Oshoala said that the issue came up during trial within the trial of the first defendant (Evans) therefore does not concern the other defendants,” he said.
After this argument, the third defendant’s counsel, Mr S. E. Okeke, holding the brief of Mr J. C. Jiakponna, told the court that he had a bail application.
He informed the court that he has served the medical director of Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison, the order made by the court on May 23, in which the director was ordered to more at https://arewagists..com/2019/06/falana-to-stand-as-witness-in-evans-case.html

The Idi-Ape Grade C Customary Court, Ibadan North East, Oyo State have dissolved the 40-year-old marriage between Aruna Aniwo and his wife, Serifat Aruna.
The court president, Mr Moses Oyekanmi, who observed that there was no more love in their relationship, stated that it was necessary that their marriage be dissolved.
Aruna, who dragged his wife to court, accused her of being wayward and having sexual intercourse with their tenant. He added that he caught both of them in the act, but that his wife did not desist from visiting the tenant even after he was sent out of their house.

“She is my second wife. I married her through her father and she started misbehaving 5 years ago. I stopped allowing her to cook for me when I noticed she was wayward.
“She had sexual intercourse with my tenant. I caught both of them in the act but I learnt she still visits the man in his new apartment after I sent him out of my house.
“Our children know about her sexual escapades I gave her N2,000 during the last Ramadan fast but she returned it to me through her grandchild.
The plaintiff, therefore, prayed the court to dissolve their union.
The defendant pleaded with the court not to dissolve their union because of their children.
She told she court that the plaintiff changed towards her after her father’s death, and added that he lied in his evidence against her.
Serifat denied being a flirt, while she stated she perpetuated none of the offenses the plaintiff laid against her.
“My lord, my husband changed towards me after my father’s death. My father gave me to him in marriage, but he started making life difficult for me immediately after his demise.
“He neglected me and our children. He lied in his evidence against me that I am a flirt. I did no such thing.
“He rains curses on me every day. I ‘m fed up with his behaviour, “she concluded.
Having heard both parties, the court president, Moses Oyekanmi dissolved their union and ordered both parties to maintain peace.
https://arewagists..com/2019/06/my-wife-sleeps-with-my-tenant.html

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Ile Tuntun Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State has adjourned hearing on a divorce matter brought before it by a woman, Tawakalitu Badmus, against her husband, Yussuf Badmus.
Tawakalitu had sued for divorce on the accounts of irresponsibility and battery by the husband. She appealed to the court to put an end to their relationship.
The plaintiff further prayed the court to grant her custody of their two children and make the defendant responsible for their upkeep.

Yussuf agreed to claim when it was read to him.
The plaintiff, giving her evidence, said:”My lord, my husband can best be described as a beast. He lacks human feeling and is cruel in his ways. He has almost snuffed life out of me with his constant beatings.
“He carries out no responsibility in the home but brags every now and then that he’s the head.
“He has no shame. I clothe and feed him and our children while I’m also responsible for our children’s education. Any time our children ask him for their needs he will tell them to come to me.
“He gets angry whenever I demand that he lives up to expectation in the home. He had beaten me on some occasions to a state of coma and I was admitted in the hospital. He abandoned me there and I was not discharged until I made proper arrangement for my medical bills to be paid.
“My lord, he moved out of our apartment in February and kept us in the dark about his where about. Our children hardly felt his absence when he left because he had never been there.
“Since he refused to return home, read more at https://arewagists..com/2019/06/please-end-our-relationship-wife-begs.html

Katsina State Police Command has arrested a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) attached to Mashi Local Government, Mr Garba Talawai, and his girlfriend, Sadiyya Alhaji Danyaya, over the death of their 16-year-old housemaid.
The command said this in a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, SP Gambo Isah, and made available to newsmen on Saturday in Katsina.
“A councillor in Mashi local government, Abubakar Haruna, reported to the DPO Garba Talawai that a corpse was seen at a bush path in Mashi.

“The DPO and his team went to the place and evacuated the corpse which was deposited at Mashi Primary Healthcare Centre.
“Later, the corpse was identified as that of Rabi Abdullahi, 16, a housemaid to one Sadiyya Alhaji Danyaya, a girlfriend of the DPO.
“Some health personnel on duty also identified the corpse as having being brought the previous day to the health facility by the DPO and another policeman where she was confirmed dead in Toyota Carina II, red in colour, identified as the car of the DPO,” he said.

He said that investigations indicated that the said Sadiyya read more at https://arewagists..com/2019/06/dpo-and-girlfriend-arrested-over-death.html

The national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, is far from surviving the plot to ease him out of office, Sunday Tribune can authoritatively reveal.
There is a fresh move to kick him out of the party’s national secretariat coming on the eve of his one year in office as party’s chairman.
A party source told Sunday Tribune that APC governors tabled a demand for a change in the party’s leadership while meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari during the week

Kebbi State governor and chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, led his colleagues to the meeting.
It was gathered that the APC governors, at the meeting with President Buhari, expressed concern over the ongoing power tussle at the party’s national secretariat and pleaded for his intervention.
The source revealed that a meeting of its statutory organs, the national caucus and National Executive Committee (NEC) might be convened to discuss the cold war between Oshiomhole and his deputy.
Prodded for the name of likely replacement if the governors succeeded in their putsch against the former Edo State governor, the source disclosed that “the governors are shopping for a replacement behind the president.

“They are restricting their choice to the South- South zone. They aren’t looking in the direction of the South- West and they don’t trust the South- East with the number one position in the party.”
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Lanre Isa-Onilu, could not be reached for comments last night.
His deputy, Yekeen Nabena, however, told Sunday Tribune on phone that he was not aware of any plan for a NEC meeting.
He said: “I am not aware of any plan to hold meeting of NEC. Only the chairman or secretary can call for the meeting.
read more at https://arewagists..com/2019/06/apc-governors-moves-to-remove-oshiomhole.html