₦airaland Forum

The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has reacted to a recent comment made by a former Governor of Anambra State, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, that the South-East is prepared to kneel or bow before every ethnic group to clinch the 2023 presidency.

The CNG described it as nothing but deception

A statement by CNG's Spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, said the Igbo have by their conduct, denied themselves the opportunity to be trusted with power in the near future.
"The bitter truth is that no matter how low the Igbo are willing to go or how long they are willing to keep their knees on the ground, it will be unreasonable to expect other Nigerian tribes, not least the North, to risk entrusting the presidency in them.
"It is said that once bitten, twice shy and the current northern thinking is beyond the repeated deceptions such as this one by the Igbo which at every turn, results in tragedy.
"We see the recent belated desperation by the Igbo as nothing but an afterthought that is downright unacceptable. It is deceptive for them to make such overtures after having encouraged and supported Nnamdi Kanu (leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra - IPOB) and the atrocities committed against other Nigerians, particularly northerners by his IPOB.
"If the Igbo must prostrate to anyone, they should prostrate to Kanu as the North has come of age and shall not be deceived or fooled any longer," Suleiman said.
Speaking at the United for Better Nigeria Initiative National Convention in Abuja on Saturday, Ezeife noted that one of the ways for a Southeasterner to become Nigeria's President 2023 was for the region to swallow its pride and start begging other regions for the presidential seat.

“So I found Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and other groups in this place talking about the need for federal character. If you do it that way, there will be unity, if there is fairness, equity, justice, you will have unity and progress,” he said.

"In the absence of those, you see where we are now. It is not a matter of - to give us president, we don’t give, you have to work for it, the Igbo does not prostrate.

“The Igbo man does not kneel down but this time, we are prepared to kneel down to every part of Nigeria, every group, every ethnic group in Nigeria. We are prepared to even prostrate because we believe in this country.”

BeeBeeOoh:
https://www.thecable.ng/nfiu-report-that-iswap-moved-n18bn-through-nigerian-banks-is-stale/amp

Maxymilliano:
Accordiing to Buhàri; We will fish out the perpetrators' ...

ThEGodFaThEr103:
Far better than Lagos flood that can be used as fishing expedition.

shigishege:
Make them come Lagos leave that village na. At least thier people are here plenty.

Ekpeitit:
BIAFRALAND IS A SHITHOLE.

TotoGame:
Abia no matter how bad it is...is still better than most yoruba states ... ibadan village alone has the highest concentration of poor people on earth


Forget lagos ... that one na over hyped piece of shit

Noblechykk:
I tire for them. They didn't see white men doing crazier things like the one that got married to a doll.

Topzee109:
I am not really good at memorizing events but I sure know that y'all will blame buhari for recruiting southern soldiers to fight BH

The incident occurred near Wovi, a remote village in Chibok Local Government Area.


Terrorists working for the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) have abducted at least five officials of the Borno State Government.

The victims were said to be supervising the construction of Chibok-Damboa road when they were forcefully taken away on Wednesday

It was gathered that the incident occurred near Wovi, a remote village in Chibok Local Government Area.

A source said one of the abducted staff, a driver, escaped unhurt.

“Yes, it is so sad and we are worried about these latest developments.

“The abduction came as a shocker to us. I can confirm to you that they were abducted this morning," a top state official told Daily Trust

The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu is scheduled for an emergency hearing tomorrow (Thursday) that could lead to his release on bail

The Reporters exclusively learnt on Wednesday that the hearing could open the door for release on bail.

This was confirmed exclusively to SaharaReporters by the counsel for the Nigerian government in the matter.

It was also learnt from Nigerian government lawyers that the move is in response to the fervent appeals by Igbo leaders for the release of the pro-Biafra agitator.

"Nnamdi Kanu scheduled for an emergency hearing tomorrow that could lead to his release on bail.

"This is in response to Igbo elders' request for his release," one of the sources said on Wednesday.

President Muhammadu Buhari had said on Friday, November 19 that he would consider the unconditional release of the IPOB leader as sought by elder statesmen from the South-East.

Buhari had, however, added that such a request was a difficult option to weigh but assured that he would give it a thought.

Buhari said this while receiving a group under the aegis of Highly Respected Igbo Greats, led by First Republic parliamentarian and Minister of Aviation, Mbazulike Amaechi, at State House, Abuja, earlier in November.

Amaechi, a nonagenarian, had described the situation in the South-East as “painful and pathetic,” lamenting that businesses have collapsed, education crumbling, and fear everywhere.

He had pleaded for a political, rather than military solution, requesting that if Kanu was released to him as the only First Republic Minister still alive, “he (Kanu) would no longer say the things he had been saying,” stressing that he could control him, “not because I have anything to do with them (IPOB), but I am highly respected in Igbo land today."

A Presidential media aide, Femi Adesina, had revealed this in a statement titled, “President Buhari to Igbo Leaders: Your demand for Nnamdi Kanu’s release is heavy. I will consider it.”

However, in his response, Buhari had said, “You’ve made an extremely difficult demand on me as leader of this country. The implication of your request is very serious. In the last six years, since I became President, nobody would say I have confronted or interfered in the work of the Judiciary. God has spared you, and given you a clear head at this age, with very sharp memory. A lot of people half your age are confused already. But the demand you made is heavy. I will consider it."

Stressing his policy of non-interference with the Judiciary, the President said when Kanu jumped bail, got arrested and was brought back to the country, “I said the best thing was to subject him to the system. Let him make his case in court, instead of giving very negative impressions of the country from the outside. I feel it’s even a favour to give him that opportunity.

The IPOB leader is currently standing trial at the Federal High Court, Abuja for terrorism-related charges.

Kanu was illegally arrested in Kenya and renditioned to Nigeria in June.

Topzee109:
you're an hypocrite, when the same army dies at war, y'all will be shouting they are southern soldiers

The group said the Nigerian government and its secret police always used the scheme as an excuse to say the prison facilities were not safe so as to condemn Kanu to the DSS detention.

Pro-Biafra secessionist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has reacted to the most recent jail break in Jos, Plateau State, saying the jailbreaks are tricks by the Department of State Services (DSS) to prevent the transfer of its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu, to a prison facility.

The group said the Nigerian government and its secret police always used the scheme as an excuse to say the prison facilities were not safe so as to condemn Kanu to the DSS detention

According to the group, the Nigerian government is behind many attacks on correctional centres, hence, it could not investigate the raids.
It also berated the DSS operatives for cordoning off the roads and premises of the court when Kanu appeared in court on October 21, 2021, while they allowed hoodlums to attack a human rights’ activist, Omoyele Sowore, who was in court to show solidarity to Kanu.
SaharaReporters had reported that some gunmen suspected to be bandits attacked a prison facility in Jos on Sunday afternoon.
Reacting, IPOB in a statement by its spokesman, Emma Powerful, said the incident and other previous jail breaks were, “antics of the Federal Government and its security agencies particularly the Department of State Security.”

In a statement which was made available to SaharaReporters on Wednesday, the group stated that, “Our Intelligence reports and findings reveal that once there is any person of interest in the custody of the DSS that is scheduled to be transferred from their detention facility to prison custody, they arrange these prison breaks in order to convince the court that the prison is not safe and is susceptible to attacks and jail breaks, and as such, the said person in their custody should not be transferred to the prison.”
It further noted, “Which is why no meaningful investigation is ever carried out on these alleged prison breaks throughout Nigeria, in order to ascertain the actual perpetrators and bring them to book.”

The statement further read, “This is further evidenced from what happened in the court on the 21st October, 2021, when the hearing of our leader, Nnamdi Kanu's application for transfer to prison custody came up. The road to the court and even the court premises were barricaded on all sides by security agents, such that lawyers and other responsible persons who had legitimate business in the court could not even drive close to the court premises, because they claimed that they had a security report that there would be an attack.
“Curiously, the “attackers” who were clearly government-sponsored thugs were allowed to drive past all the security posts mounted on the road, and down to where the DSS officers formed a human barricade, in order to attack Omoyele Sowore.

“The DSS officers did not do anything to stop or apprehend the “attackers”, on the contrary, they kept pushing Sowore back and forth to the thugs. The same thing happened on the 10th November, 2021, when they hired the “One Nigeria Crooners” who came to confront Mazi Nnamdi Kanu's peaceful supporters who had always been there on the previous court days, without constituting any nuisance or breach of peace.

“These paid agents came with coffins and other things meant to provoke the peaceful supporters, all in a bid to trigger a confrontation and fight between the two groups. Imagine what would have happened on those two occasions if Mazi Kanu's supporters did not have the spirit of discernment and avoided any confrontation with those paid agents of darkness.
“The DSS and the Federal Ministry of Justice should have told the court that Nnamdi Kanu peaceful supporters are capable of breaking him out of prison. These games are orchestrated by the Federal Government, to discourage the Court from transferring Onyendu from DSS custody to prison custody.
“We are therefore putting the world on notice of this evil game being played in a bid to ensure that Nnamdi Kanu is held in perpetuity in the DSS dungeon.”

The pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, may go higher than the projected N340/litre in February 2022 when the Federal Government removes its subsidy on the commodity, oil marketers said on Tuesday.

Also, it was gathered that both independent and major oil marketers were perfecting plans to resume PMS imports once the government halts the subsidy regime.

They, however, expressed worry over the fluctuation in foreign exchange rates and how this would impact on petrol price next year.

For about four years, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has been the sole importer of petrol into Nigeria. Marketers stopped importing the commodity due to their inability to effectively access the United States dollar for imports.

Last week, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari, announced at a World Bank event in Abuja that petrol would sell for between N320 and N340 per litre from February 2022 by which time the Federal Government have removed the subsidy.

He explained that Nigeria would be out of the subsidy regime in the first quarter of next year, stressing that subsidy would have been eliminated this year but was stalled due to certain conditions.

The current pump price of petrol at filing stations is between N162 and N165/litre, although the product is mostly sold at the upper N165/litre rate due to recent challenges in the downstream oil sector.

But marketers told our correspondent on Tuesday that the cost of petrol would be higher than the projected N320 – N340/litres if there was no improvement in the foreign exchange rate.

Dealers under the aegis of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and Petroleum Products Retail Outlets owners Association of Nigeria stated that though they were set to import petrol, the cost of the commodity would be high in February.

IPMAN and PETROAN members own bulk of the filling stations across the country and currently make purchases from depots before selling to final consumers at their various retail outlets.

“Yes, if there is no subsidy, some marketers can import, but the only thing is that it will be costly. The price will be higher than the projected cost because of the exchange rate,” the National Vice President, IPMAN, Abubakar Maigandi, stated.

He added, “The challenge of accessing forex will definitely affect imports because over 90 per cent of petrol that will be consumed across the country will depend on importation. Also this is because the refineries are not functioning.”

The National Public Relations Officer, IPMAN, Chief Ukadike Chinedu, also stated that the foreign exchange rate would determine the cost of petrol from next year after subsidy removal.

He said, “If the Federal Government says there is no going back on subsidy removal this time round, which is a challenge that has dragged on for about 30 years, then it means that they are going to liberalise the market.

By liberalising the market it will now help independent and major marketers to be able to freely import petroleum products from any source so that products will be available in Nigeria.”

He added, “However, it is pertinent to note the forces of demand and supply will determine the price of the commodity in Nigeria. So literally, whatever the dollar rate is in the international and local markets will pose the actual challenge to marketers

“The issue of black market and official exchange rates is a serious challenge that we foresee. But we believe that the Federal Government is doing something by meeting with the bureau d’change operators on this, so that whatever is obtainable at the banks is what you get in the open market.”

On whether the forex issue could lead to a higher price than the projected N340/litre, Chinedu replied, “Aside from the adverse effects of the removal of subsidy on the wellbeing of Nigerians, we will, of course, see a price that is higher than what they project.

“The price will be higher. It will be higher because the dollar to a large extent determines the price of petroleum products. If the dollar goes up, the price of petrol will increase, and vice versa.”

The President PETROAN, Billy Gillis-Harry, confirmed the position of IPMAN, as he, however, explained that members of his association were ready to import the commodity.

He said, “At PETROAN we already have a vehicle that is in place to start importation petroleum products, gas and other products. We encourage the government to completely remove subsidy.

On the possibility of higher pump price than the projected N340/litre, Gillis-Harry said, “That is why we said that every single thing about petroleum products should be premised on the forces of the market.

“The forces of demand and supply should determine the price.”

The spokesperson of NNPC, Garba-Deen Muhammad, told our correspondent that the issue of petrol pricing was not the function of the oil firm.

“Price issues are policy matters. NNPC does not fix price, it has no mandate. It operates in the sector as a business concern governed by CAMA Laws,” he stated.

Marketers, however, urged the government to consider carrying out programmes that would help ameliorate the plights to be faced by consumers when it eventually puts an end to petrol subsidy.

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), says he will sanction those who bring in personnel into the public workforce through illegal recruitment, pad their payroll and retain ghost workers.

This is as he warned that his administration would not hesitate to punish heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies that fraudulently present new projects as ongoing projects in the budget.

Buhari said this on Tuesday in Abuja while declaring open the third national summit on diminishing corruption in the public sector with the theme ‘Corruption and cost of governance: New imperatives for fiscal transparency.’

The President said, “We reduced the cost of governance by maintaining our promise to complete abandoned or ongoing projects commenced by previous administrations and have ensured that MDAs do not put forward new capital projects at the expense of ongoing projects.

“Government has, however, noted from the activities of the ICPC that some MDAs have devised the fraudulent practice of presenting new projects as ongoing projects.

“Necessary action and sanctions will continue against the heads of such errant MDAs. I am confident that ICPC will continue to maintain the vigilance required of her by the ICPC Act in this regard.”

ICPC boss, Ngige differ over illegal recruitment in labour ministry

In his remarks, the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, SAN, decried the rising cost of governance and rising personnel budget, blaming it on illegal recruitment and unilateral increase in wages and remuneration by some MDAs, including the Ministry of Labour and Employment

Owasanoye attributed high cost of governance and rising personnel budget to illegal recruitment, illegal and unilateral increase in wages and remuneration by some MDAs and procurement fraud among others.

He said, “The ICPC investigation of some cases of illegal recruitment forwarded to us by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation has so far implicated the Ministry of Labour and the University College Hospital Ibadan and several corrupt staff of other MDAs at a lower level.

“This abuse of power is consummated with the complicity of compromised elements in IPPIS. These cases are currently under investigation.”

The ICPC boss added that at another level, some individuals within the service corruptly employ unsuspecting Nigerians, issue them fake letters of employment, enrol them on IPPIS and post them to MDAs.

Owasanoye added that the commission is tracking at least 1,083 projects across the country with the exception of Borno and Zamfara States due to security challenges.

He said, “We have so far initiated enforcement actions against 67 contractors and forced them back to site and ensured completion of 966 projects worth N310bn, some of which were hitherto abandoned.

“Other challenges relate to duplication of projects in the budget. ICPC’s review found that 257 projects amounting to N20.138bn were duplicated in the 2021 budget, leading us to submit an advisory to the HMF which was promptly actioned by the Minister to prevent abuse.”

Reacting to the indictment by the ICPC, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, told our correspondent that he was the one that initiated an investigation when he discovered the employment racket in his ministry.

He said, “It’s an ongoing investigation initiated by me. They committed the fraud between May 29, 2019 and August 2019 when I was temporarily away as minister.

“I raised the alarm in Federal Executive Council necessitating the Head of Service of the Federation to do preliminary investigations and write ICPC after the internal ministry investigation committee set up by me was stalled by the then Permanent Secretary.

“ICPC should conclude investigation of 2019 by now, instead of making it look like a new development.”

In his remarks, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, said the judiciary had, from January 2 to November 14, convicted 1,144 suspects of various corruption and financial-related crimes.

He said, “We have put in place a robust mechanism of introspecting periodically to do a self-assessment to see those areas where corruption could surreptitiously creep into the system and quickly nip it in the bud from the outset.

“The National Judicial Council has been carrying out regular disciplinary actions against erring judicial officers to effectively tame the monster within the system.

Worried by the delays associated with the trial of criminal cases by our courts, particularly those relating to corruption and financial crimes, we decided to set up the Corruption and Financial Crime Cases Trial Monitoring Committee in 2018, with Justice Suleiman Galadima, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, as Chairman.”

Earlier, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, said the Buhari regime was “highly worried” that about 60 per cent of the Federal Government’s overhead expenditure in three years (2012 to 2014) was spent on travels, maintenance, local and international training, welfare, office stationery/consumables and honoraria among others.

Quoting recent data from the Budget Office, Mustapha said “actual MDAs recurrent spending is still on the rise viz. from N3.61tn in 2015 to N5.26tn in 2018 and N7.91tn in 2020.”

Fani-Kayode was arrested at a Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, and moved to a nearby EFCC office.

An All Progressives Congress (APC) chief and former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Daily Trust reports that Fani-Kayode was arrested at a Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, and moved to a nearby EFCC office.

The former minister, who was in court over his forgery trial, was walking out after the matter was adjourned till January 24, 2022, when he was approached by an EFCC investigator.

He was subsequently arrested and moved to custody, a week after his earlier arrest.

An EFCC investigator, Mr Shehu Shuaibu, confirmed the ex-minister-s arrest, saying he was being quizzed over false documents.

Afenifere also asked President Muhammadu Buhari to shelve its planned N5,000 monthly transport grant to the poorest Nigerians, saying it was a means to siphon public funds.

The Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere in Europe and the United Kingdom (UK) has lamented the rising costs of governance in the country, noting that an average House of Representative member in Nigeria earns $224,000 more than their counterpart in the United States.

Afenifere also asked President Muhammadu Buhari to shelve its planned N5,000 monthly transport grant to the poorest Nigerians, saying it was a means to siphon public funds.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, had recently announced that the initiative is aimed at cushioning the effects of fuel subsidy removal.

But in a statement by Anthony Ajayi, its secretary, the group described the move as another attempt to siphon public funds by the government.

The statement read: "The Nigerian Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said the federal government will remove fuel subsidy and replace it with a monthly N5,000 transport grant to poorest Nigerians.

"The minister said the transport grant will target about 30 to 40 million Nigerians who make up the poorest population of the country. The question now is; who are the poorest Nigerians? And how will they determine the poorest Nigerians in the South-East, South-South and South-West regions? Or the poorest Nigerians are only the Northerners?

"This is the reason Afenifere has been clamouring for restructuring of Nigeria but obviously this government is not interested to restructure. This is another corrupt plot to siphon Nigeria's resources because this policy is not sustainable at all.

"However, while it is good that subsidy be removed totally on fuel, the timing to do so certainly not now because Nigerians are hungry already due to bad policies of the government. The subsidy regime doesn't have any positive impact on Nigerians but only benefits the few who are government allies.”

Afenifere also condemned the cost of governance in Nigeria, arguing that such inflicts pain on the masses.

“The Nigerian government spent over 70 per cent of the budget on recurrent expenditure and less than 30 per cent on capital expenditure," it added.

“The cost of governance is a drain on the nation’s scarce resources as well as unsustainable given the country’s economic predicament.

“Nigeria’s brand of democracy was more expensive than even the countries it was copied from.

“For instance, Nigerian senators earned about $450,000 per annum, over two and half times the $174,000 per annum that their counterparts earned in the United States of America.

“From available information, our federal legislators are amongst the highest paid in the world. Specifically, a study shows that they are the second to the highest-earning worldwide.

“Meanwhile, there are three senators per state and one for Abuja, totalling 109. The 109 senators have a combined staff of 829 aides on payroll and a retinue of support staff who are also paid by the National Assembly.

"The average House of Representative member in Nigeria earned $224,000 more than their counterpart in the United States.

"The budget allocations to the National Assembly, between N125billion and N150billion annually, are over 15 per cent of the annual combined budgets for education and health for 200 million Nigerians."

Grupo:
What's the essence of telling us that they are virgins?

Like... What are we supposed to do with that irrelevant piece of information?

I'm asking because I'm a 35 years, a virgin and I don't go about announcing it. I want to remain a virgin till I die because I want to be a worthy example to my children.

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has written a letter to the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, seeking comments from INEC over the Electoral Act amendment bill which was passed by the National Assembly on November 9, 2021.

Buhari, who received the bill on November 19, has until December 19 to sign it or communicate to the National Assembly his feelings and comments about the bill.

But if after 30 days, the President refuses to sign the bill and the National Assembly is not in support of the President’s amendments, the Senate and the House of Representatives can recall the bill and pass it. If the bill is passed in the form it was sent to the President by two-thirds majority votes in both chambers, the bill automatically becomes a law even without the signature of the President.

However, top sources told The PUNCH on Monday that so far, the President saw no problem with the bill but was seeking advice from INEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN).

A top INEC source said, “We received a letter from the President last week regarding INEC’s position on the Electoral Act amendment especially as regards the controversial direct primaries which many governors have kicked against. We are supposed to respond within seven days. I know that a response will be sent to the President anytime from now.”

When asked if INEC would endorse the direct primaries, the source said the commission would only indicate its position on the merits and demerits of the bill and let the President decide.

Another INEC official told The reporter 0 that the National Assembly never discussed the issue of direct primaries with the commission but only electronic transmission of results and other issues.

“During the amendment of the Electoral Act, we met with the National Assembly but the issue of direct primary was never discussed. We discussed electronic transmission of results, electronic voting, Diaspora voting and other issues. It was at the point of the adoption of the report that the direct primary was added to the bill.

“So, INEC was never given a chance to present its position. What the President has done now is to get our position on the matter. The truth is that if INEC cannot undertake the direct primaries, it will make the law useless,” he said.

When contacted on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the President would continue to consult with relevant stakeholders on the matter before the bill is signed.

On whom the President would meet as part of consultations on the bill, Shehu said, “The President will consult with those who he believes are important to his decision and who can advise him on the Electoral Act. And he will meet them. But I cannot draw boundaries or name specifics and say this is who the President might meet. He ultimately decides.”

INEC National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, did not respond to calls on Monday.

However, Okoye had said earlier in the month that the direct primary method would be far more expensive because of the huge personnel that would be needed to undertake the primaries.

Okoye had said the commission would also need about two officials to supervise the poll in each of the 8,809 wards in the country, bringing the total number of staff to 17, 600. He further told The PUNCH that the commission may need to use National Youth Service Corps members to undertake the direct primaries because INEC doesn’t have the manpower.

The reporter had also reported that going by the rate of inflation, exchange rate and the need to buy more equipment in the wake of the burning of INEC offices especially in the South-East, the 2023 elections may cost over N350bn.

The Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), had also stated that the President would take cost and security into consideration before signing or rejecting the bill. The PUNCH had reported that some of the governors who are members of the All Progressives Congress had begun lobbying Malami to advise the President against signing the bill.


When asked if the President had also written to Malami, the AGF’s Spokesman, Umar Gwandu, said, “I am not aware.”

However, the National Assembly had said no amount of money was too much in the quest for credible and fair elections.

Many of the governors have rejected the compulsory adoption of the direct primary. Some even argued that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be inappropriate to encourage mass gatherings in the name of direct primaries.

Although many civil society organisations have endorsed the direct primary method based on the argument that it would deepen democracy, the Inter-Party Advisory Council which comprises all political parties in the country have kicked against it, saying many smaller parties do not have the funds to carry out direct primaries.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress has called on the President, Major to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill passed by the National Assembly.

The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, in a letter to the President, described the bill as one of the most progressive bills and a product of thoughtfulness from the National Assembly in recent times.

He urged Buhari not to yield to the pressure from state governors and other groups, describing their opposition to the mode of primary contained in the bill as ‘a classic case of greed for political power, inordinate ambition, a ruthless quest for command and control in a democracy and mindless expansionist tendencies’.

The letter dated November 23, 2021, titled ‘Please assent the Electoral Bill’, reads, “We are not unaware of the tremendous pressure being brought to bear on you by state governors across party lines and other selfish interest groups and individuals to do otherwise.

“This pressure, we are afraid to say, represents a classic case of greed for political power, inordinate ambition, a ruthless quest for command and control in a democracy, mindless expansionist tendencies and further proof of the iron cast will of a few persons among us to erode time-tested democratic values and to subvert our democratic institutions.

“At the moment, it is trite knowledge that governors, against all decent norms, control the state legislatures, judiciary, SIEC (State Independent Electoral Commission) and local governments; in spite of your heroic effort to free them.

“Given their stranglehold on SIEC and their intolerance for the opposition, bestowing upon them the power to determine who goes to the National Assembly will amount to taking undue chances with our democracy.”

The congress called on Buhari to demonstrate courage, leadership as well as protect our democracy.