The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has finally finished itself. On Thursday, October 10, the leadership of the Party which has since closed its eyes to the many obvious anti-party activities by a number of its high profile members, decided to dance naked in the market place. The members of the National Working Committee, NWC, now divided into, at least, two factions, engaged each other in suspension and counter-suspension exercise.
By engaging in this, not a few hold the opinion that the main opposition party has, finally, finished itself.
For long, the PDP has been engaged in sabotaging itself, with the Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum and the Party’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, being accused of ineffectiveness and pro- FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike who many accuse of brazen disloyalty.
On Thursday, the crisis within boiled over.
A Faction of the Party’s National Working Committee, NWC, paid back Damagum and Anyanwu back in their own coin. This followed the earlier suspensions announced by a faction aligned with Damagum, which targeted the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade, and National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, for similar allegations of disloyalty, and suspended them from the Party.
In what could be termed a reprisal attack, Ologunagba alongside Party Chieftains who had been suspended by Damagum’s faction, issued a statement Friday morning and suspended both Damagum and Anyanwu from their offices.
The statement reads:
“The National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP has extensively considered the series of complaints raised against the Acting National Chairman, Amb. Illiya Damagum and National Secretary, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu particularly with regard to the letter addressed by them to the Court of Appeal in Appeal No:CA/PH/307/2024 against the party’s position in the case involving the 27 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who vacated their seats upon decamping from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“The NWC condemned this anti-party activity of the Acting National Chairman and the National Secretary which is in gross violation of the provisions of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017) and their Oath of Office.
“Consequently, the NWC, pursuant to Sections 57, 58 and 59 of the PDP Constitution, has suspended Amb. Illiya Damagum and Sen. Samuel Anyanwu as Acting National Chairman and National Secretary of the Party respectively and referred them to the National Disciplinary Committee for further action.
“In the meantime, the two officials are suspended from all meetings, activities and programs of the NWC pending the conclusion of an investigation by the National Disciplinary Committee.”
The PDP has been engulfed in crisis since from the time of the 2023 Presidential Primary of the Party.
Two top Bishops in the Living Faith Church also known as Winners Chapel owned by popular Nigerian Pastor Bishop David Oyedepo has been asked to retire in line with the church’s rule.
The two bishops, David Abioye and Thomas Aremu, sources informed The Punch have been directed to retire next year having served the church for over 40 years, and in line with The Mandate, the Church’s rule book which requires that serving Men of God, MOG retires after they clocked 55 years.
Bishop Oyedepo is the only one exempted from this rule, as he can be in his position for life.
Multiple sources in the church, including a pastor in the church, who requested anonymity due to a lack of authorisation to speak to the press, confirmed the planned retirement of Bishops David Abioye and Thomas Aremu to The PUNCH on Thursday.
According to the sources, the retirement aligned with Winners Chapel’s operational manual, The Mandate, which recently revised the retirement age from 60 to 55.
A member who attends the headquarters church in Ota, Ogun State, said, “We have heard that Bishop Abioye and the other Bishop Aremu in Ibadan will leave during the Bishop Oyedepo birthday celebration. That is the new law in the church; only Bishop Oyedepo can remain in his position for life. One of the two bishops has even been considering leaving for a while, so this is not news to some of us in the church.”
Efforts by our correspondent to verify the development with the church’s media officials were unsuccessful, as they did not answer calls or respond to messages sent via WhatsApp.
Bishop Abioye is currently 63, while Bishop Aremu is 67.
Only the church’s founder will be allowed to serve beyond this new age limit, with future leaders permitted to serve one or two terms of seven years each, subject to the Board of Trustees’ approval.
According to Church Times, valedictory services will be held for the two Bishops at their respective churches.
Bishop Abioye’s farewell service is set for Friday, October 18, 2024, in Durumi, Abuja, while Bishop Aremu’s service will take place at LFC Basorun in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.
Bishop Abioye, currently the Senior Pastor of Living Faith Church, Goshen City, Abuja, first met Bishop David Oyedepo in 1979.
He led one of the church’s five pioneer branches in 1987 and was consecrated in 1993 at the age of 32.
Bishop Aremu, who transitioned to full-time ministry after a successful accounting career, was one of the seven bishops consecrated in November 1999 at Garden of Faith, Kaduna.
Meanwhile, not a few worshipers and well meaning Nigerians who love the church are wondering what is next for Abioye and others after they depart from the church. Will they set up their own ministries?
Recall that Oyedepo’s son, Isaac Oyedepo had in November 2023 left the church to establish his own ministry following perceived disagreement with his father.
The National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE has issued a stern warning to 36 state governors in the country not to promote laws in their states capable of circumventing the Supreme Court judgment on financial autonomy to local governments.
The National President of NULGE, Hakeem Ambali, gave the warning on Thursday following suggestions that some Governors are planning to enact laws through the state Houses of Assembly to corner funds belonging to councils in their states.
On Thursday, the Nigerian Senate in its response to the allegations that state governors are trying to corner council funds through the back door after the Supreme Court had ruled on the issue, passed a resolution directing the federal government to withhold funds to states which failed to comply with the judgment.
The senate action followed allegation that Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra state recently passed three Executive Bills through the state House of Assembly, creating different accounts allegedly to siphon council funds.
The Anambra State House of Assembly, on Tuesday, passed the Local Government Administration Bill 2024 believed to be in violation of the Supreme Court judgment regarding financial autonomy to the 774 councils in the country.
Following the passage, the Assembly has been trenchantly criticised by the civil society bodies and other well meaning Nigerians.
NULGE, in its reaction, called on President Bola Tinubu and the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to call Soludo to order over alleged moves to prevent LG funds from being utilised by chairmen for the betterment of the people at the grassroots.
NULGE President Ambali, described the governor’s action condemnable and an “act of illegality”, urging the federal government to be pro-active to ensure that the governors are prevented from touching what belongs to the councils. I Lost My Dad And Shoe Making Found Me – Lady Cobbler
Ambali: “This act of illegality is condemnable and Governor Soludo should be called to order. This is a move to take local government funds.
“The FG should be proactive and withhold LG funds from such governors. The move by Governor Soludo is an affront to the law of the land. He needs to understand that nobody is above the law. What he is doing is totally against the judgment of the Supreme Court. NULGE thereby calls on the President to call Governor Soludo to order.”
Says Amaewhule neither Speaker nor, along with other pro-Wike colleagues, Member of the Rivers State House of Assembly
In a swift reaction to the judgement of the Court of Appeal, the Rivers State Government has headed to the final Court in the land – the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
The Court of Appeal, on Thursday, dismissed the case filed before it by the Government, and thus, literally caged Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his Government, with no space to maneuver.
The Court ordered Fubara to represent the 2024 Budget which had since been passed, and which he had since signed into law, to the pro-Wike Members of the House of Assembly. The judgement, from the interpretation in the Media, affirmed Martin Amaewhule as the Speaker of the House of Assembly, and reinstated all the Assembly Members loyal to the Minister for the Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nyesom Wike.
Martin Amaewhule
But the State Government has rejected the judgement to the letter, and went on to say that the Court of Appeal did not reinstate Amaewhule as the Speaker of the House. It has, therefore, filed a notice of a stay of execution of the Appeal Court judgment. It is to stop Amaewhule and other pro-Wike lawmakers from parading themselves as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, having, on their own, publicly announced their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party, the Party on which tickets they were elected, to the All Progressive Congress, the Party under which their mentor, Wike, is serving as a Federal Minister.
The step taken by the Rivers State Government was stated in a statement by D.I. Iboroma, SAN, who is also the Rivers State Attorney General & Commissioner for Justice.
In the statement, he insisted that Amaewhule and his colleagues remain former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly having, on their own, resigned from the PDP.
He, also, revealed that the matter before the Appeal Court was not the status of the Lawmakers but whether the National Assembly, by virtue of the crisis in the State Assembly at the time, could take over the Legislative functions of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The statement reads in full:
“Today, the 10th day of October 2024, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division dismissed Appeal No. CA/ABJ/133/CS/2024 filed by His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State against the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division in suit No. FHC/ABJ/133/CS/2023 delivered on the 22nd day of January, 2024.
“It is important to state the facts and history of the case and the appeal thereof.
“On the 30th day of October, 2023, after the failed attempt to impeach His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State, the Rivers State House of Assembly became polarized into two factions. The faction led by Martin Amaewhule proceeded to the Federal High Court, Abuja Division and filed Suit No. FHC/ABJ/1613/CS/2023, on the 29th day of November, 2023.
“Subsequently, on the 11th day of December, 2023, Martin Amaewhule and others defected from the Peoples Democratic Party that sponsored their election in the 2023 Legislative Assembly Election, to the All Progressives Congress.
“By operation of Law, particularly Section 109(i) (g) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), Martin Amaewhule and 26 others automatically lost their seats as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly on the 11th day of December, 2023, as Section 109(1)(g) is self executory as no court order is required thereof.
“His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State on the 13th day of December, 2023, presented the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie, who was recognized as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly at the time. The Appropriation Bill was later passed into Law and became the Appropriation Law of 2024. An Appropriation Law is a state law within the purview of the High Court of Rivers State.
“Following the crisis in the Rivers State House of Assembly and the intervention by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that the parties withdraw their cases in Court, to allow peace reign, His Excellency the Governor of Rivers State obeyed the President’s directive and withdrew his cases and the processes he filed in Suit No FHC/ABJ/1613/CS/2023. Martin Amaewhule and others disobeyed the President and did not withdraw Suit No. FHC/ABJ/1613/CS/2023 and proceeded to obtain judgment against His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State.
“After the judgment of the Court of Appeal today, there is a gale of misrepresentation and misinterpretation that Martin Amaewhule & 26 others remain members of the Rivers State House of Assembly with Martin Amaewhule as the speaker thereof. This is patently false. The defection of Martin Amaewhule and 26 others was not an issue for determination in the Federal High Court, Abuja and the Court of Appeal. What was in issue was the 2023 Appropriation Law and the National Assembly taking over the Legislative functions of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
“Dissatisfied with the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, His Excellency, the Governor has directed his lawyers to file an appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court and also file an application for stay of execution of the judgment of the Court of Appeal. That maintains the status quo.
“Accordingly, His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State urges the good people of Rivers State to ignore the purveyors of fake news bent on misleading the good people of Rivers State.”
The Coalition of Opposition Lawmakers, headed by Hon. Ugochinyere Ikenga Imo, has, also, weighed in, and insists that Amaewhule has ceased to be the Speaker as he and his colleagues who resigned from the PDP, are no longer Rivers State House of Assembly Members.
Senator Tony Nwoye has accused Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra state of trying to tamper with funds belonging to local government in the state against the Supreme Court judgment.
Nwoye representing Anambra state on the platform of the Labour Party, LP, in the upper chamber of the National Assembly said the governor is trying to circumvent the judgment of the apex court.
The senator spoke on Channels Television on Friday saying some state governors in the country are trying to be clever by half by trying to siphon the Supreme Court through the back door.
The Nigerian Senate had earlier on Thursday passed a resolution directing the Federal Government to deny states funds where local government election have not been held. The senators’ action followed a motion by Senator Nwoye.
Speaking after the unanimous approval of the voice vote by the senators, Akpabio said it was now mandatory for all states, all tiers of government in the federation, to immediately comply with the recently pronounced judgements of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, particularly relating to local government accounts.
Akpabio said local government funds should go directly to the local government administrations for utilisation to improve the lot of Nigerians.
He said, “The Supreme Court has said the money should go directly to the accounts of the local governments in the country, so we have deliberated on it. The Supreme Court of Nigeria is the final court of the law.
“In other words, the Nigerian Senate stands strongly behind the Supreme Court’s position on its efforts, through judicial pronouncement, to sanitise the administration of local governments in the country and stop further abuse of local government councils.
“So we stand strongly behind the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
“In addition to that, we have looked at the motion (as earlier presented by Nwoye), and we agreed that some of the prayers in the motion are such that could conflict with existing regulations, including the constitution.
“We believe strongly that if there is any legacy that this administration will leave behind, including the 10th Senate, it is the legacy of sanitising the local governments.
“We will ensure that local government funds are well utilized for the benefit of the rural people and at the same time local governments are allowed to function and function well. That will also in due course include their elections.
“I want to thank all of you for your contributions and assure you that the 10th Senate, working with our colleagues in the House of Representatives, will alter any aspect of our constitution and amend any section of our laws to ensure full autonomy for the local government administrations in this country.
“We will ensure that local governments will be recognized fully in action and in fact as a third tier of government of the federation.”
According to Nwoye, Governor Soludo had recently sent three Executive Bills to the state House of Assembly with the aim to corner funds belonging to the local governments in the state. The bills have now been passed by the Assembly, he said.
The senate had earlier warned state house of Assembly not to make laws that violate the supreme court judgment.
In July this year, the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment affirmed financial autonomy to the 774 local governments in the country.
The judgment has however pit the federal government against the sub-nationals as ding dong continues on the implementation of the apex court ruling more than four months after.
The Lagos State Government has sacked six officers of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, for official misconduct.
This was disclosed in a Press Release signed by the Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, LASTMA, Adebayo Taofiq, and the General Manager of the Agency, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, posted on the X (former twitter) Page of the Transport Agency.
The statement affirmed that the Lagos State Civil Service Commission has fully endorsed the Personnel Management Board’s recommendations as they concern severe misconduct and general inefficiencies.
Bakare-Oki confirmed that these disciplinary actions were implemented in accordance with the Lagos State Civil Service Rules and Regulations.
He reiterated LASTMA’s unwavering commitment to enhancing its operations and called on Lagos residents to actively engage with the Agency by providing both positive feedback and reports of any observed misconduct, along with relevant evidence.
“I wish to inform the general public that this is an ongoing exercise aimed at purging the Agency of errant officers. Another Personnel Management Board session will be convened shortly to address additional indicted LASTMA officials,” he added.
He also urged road users in Lagos to strictly comply with traffic regulations, warning that violations would attract penalties, including fines, as enforced by the Lagos Mobile Courts in accordance with legal provisions.
He emphasized that adherence to traffic laws is crucial to the realization of the “Greater Lagos” vision, as outlined in Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu’s THEMES Plus Development Agenda. The first pillar of this agenda, which focuses on traffic management and transportation, is essential for the actualization of this vision.
Furthermore, Bakare-Oki reassured the public of LASTMA’s steadfast commitment to addressing complaints promptly and impartially.
Citizens are encouraged to lodge complaints through the toll-free hotline 080000527862 or by visiting the Walk-In Complaint Centre at LASTMA’s Headquarters in Oshodi.
While assuring the motoring public of their civil rights’ protection on Lagos roads, he urged all motorists to comply with the Lagos State Transportation Sector Reform Law of 2018.”
The Chief Judge of Kano State, Hon Justice Aije Aboki, on Thursday, October 10, 2024, reaffirmed her earlier order restraining the Kano State Government- deposed 15th Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, from embarking on his planned renovation of the Nasarawa Mini Palace.
Justice Aboki had, on September 13, granted an injunction restraining the Emir from restructuring, refurbishing or renovating the mini palace pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed by the Kano State Government.
The Source reports that following his dethronement on may 23, 2024, Emir Bayero had moved into the mini palace following his displacement from the Main City Palace by Emir Muhammad Sanusi.
Emir Sanusi, who, himself, was deposed in 2020, as the 14th Emir by the immediate past Governor of the State Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, was however, reinstated in place of Emir Bayero by Governor Yusuf.
However, a couple of Court cases from both camps, have since ensured that the Kano Emirate is for the first time in history, playing host to two Emirs- Bayero and Sanusi.
While Sanusi is holding forte at the City Main Palace ,Bayero, since arriving from Abuja where he was before his deposition, has been holding court at the Nasarawa Mini palace which, also, serves as the final resting place for Kano Emirs.
Justice Aboki’s ruling followed an application filed by the Kano State Government seeking to restrain Emir Bayero from renovating the structure, and also praying the Court to evict him.
In another development ,a Federal High Court sitting in Kano, on Thursday, again rejected an application for an interim order to stop the planned October 24 Local Council Polls in the State.
About three weeks ago, the All Progressive Congress, APC, had unsuccessfully sought the stoppage of the same election ,in Court.
It had, also, prayed the court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC from releasing the national voters register to the Kano state Independent Electoral Commission KANSIEC for the purpose of the planned Council Polls.
Justice Simon Ameboda, while ruling on an ex-parte motion brought before the court by Engr Muhammad Babayo, member of a faction of the New Nigeria Peoples Party NNPP, insisted that the respondents be first put on notice.
He had toed the same line of argument during the suit filed by the APC .
Similarly, in his application ,the factional member of the NNPP ,had sought to restrain KANSIEC from going ahead with the election,pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit .
Engr Babayo had also prayed the court to restrain INEC, the Inspector General of Police, and other Security Agencies from participating in the October 24 election.
The Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, has appealed to residents to collaborate with the Government in ensuring a clean, habitable and safe environment.
He also charged constituted Government officials not to compromise their positions in the task of enforcing compliance with extant environmental laws.
This is even as he stated that his adminstration is poised to transform Abia major cities into some of the cleanest in the country.
Governor Otti who spoke in Aba on Wednesday October 9, 2024, at the inauguration ceremony of the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency ASEPA Monitoring and Compliance Team, Aba Zone, also, called for concerted efforts to ensure a clean and healthy environment for all.
Represented by Aba Zonal Coordinator of the Abia Harmonized Taskforce and Mayor of Aba South Metropolitan Council, Chief Uche Nwogu, the Governor informed that the constitution of the enforcement team is part of Government’s continued efforts at addressing the problem of poor waste management culture among residents, as well as create a more friendly Eco-System.
To ensure the effective discharge of its primary duty of waste disposal management in the Commercial city, the Governor, also, launched some newly acquired ASEPA waste disposal vehicles and tricycles.
The ASEPA Monitoring and Compliance Team, according to Governor Otti, will serve to promote the State Government’s vision of ensuring a clean Abia, and enhance the internally generated revenue profile of the State, through the arrest and penalization of environmental sanitation offenders.
While calling on the people to be properly guided in waste disposal management culture, Governor Otti noted that more refuse collection and disposal buckets will be acquired and placed at strategic locations within the city.
He, however, urged the Monitoring Team to be strict in the discharge of their duties .
“You are the image of the Government and as such, you must conduct yourself with decorum in the line of duty.
“Any body caught extorting members of the public would be made to face the music”, the Governor stated .
He thumped up the Management of ASEPA for the good job that it has been doing in the commercial hub of the State, adding that his administration is determined to make Abia one of the cleanest states in Nigeria.
Earlier the General Manager of ASEPA, Elder Ogbonnaya Okereke informed that the Agency has conceived a template for pragmatically tackling the disturbing trend of indiscriminate waste disposal habit of the people.
This, he noted, has ensured that the State remains clean and healthier. He promised that very soon, monitoring teams will also be launched for Umuahia, the State capital and Ohafia town.
The ASEPA boss noted that the Monitoring Team is to liaise with the Abia state Harmonized Taskeforce in enforcing the State’s Basic Environmental Laws .
Ogbonnaya expressed the optimism that Aba will, in no distant, time wear the gab of one of the cleanest cities not just in Nigeria, but in West Africa.
Oyo State government is set to present the 2025 budget as it has concluded the consultative meetings with stakeholders across the six geo-political zones of the State.
Dotun Oyelade, Commissioner for Information and Orientation, in a statement stated that Governor ‘Seyi Makinde, while speaking at the closing ceremony of the sixth zonal stakeholders’ consultative engagement in Ibarapa zone, assured that the submissions of stakeholders would reflect in the 2025 budget.
The Governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Ademola Ojo, said that the government is not relenting in its efforts to make agriculture more profitable for farmers in the state.
Makinde noted that his administration had supported farmers across the 33 local government areas of the state with inputs and fertilizer for improved yields during the planting season.
He called on farmers who are yet to identify with a recognized farmers’ association to do so, promising that more benefits and support await them.
On education, the governor emphasized the need not to play politics of any form with education for the development of the sector.
He assured the people of the zone that successful applicants in the ongoing teachers recruitment would be employed in due course, adding that his administration will not compromise standards in the recruitment process.
Governor Makinde reiterated the commitment of his administration to security of lives and property, while admonishing the residents of the state to assist the government and security agencies with useful information in their localities for prompt action.
Earlier in his address, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Musibau Babatunde appreciated the people of the zone for their cooperation and understanding.
He admonished them to contribute more to the development of their zone particularly the education and agricultural sectors.
The Management of the University of Calabar, UNICAL, has annouced the suspension of one of its Lecturers, Dr Jospeh Akpan, who is also the Head of Department, of Pharmacology.
Dr. Akpan, was suspended for, allegedly, altering examination result scripts.
Akpan was said to have engage in this illicit action using his privileged position as the HOD.
UNICAL’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Florence Obi, disclosed that Akpan, allegedly, altered students’ scores in the Introduction to General Antimicrobial Pharmacology, PHM 311, Course
results.
Obi claimed the HOD altered the scores in 235 result scripts out of the 242 result scripts entrusted in his care, adding that only five scripts were genuinely marked without alteration.
The VC also noted that Akpan had admitted to the alleged misconduct before the Senate Examination Misconduct Committee, SEMC.
According to her, the Lecturer, allegedly, admitted that he inflated the scores of students in PHM 311 to protect the department’s image, which management finds ridiculous and unacceptable.
She added: “The lecturer also (allegedly) gave out marks to two students who did not participate in the examinations.
“Consequently, the Management of the University has directed that he should be relieved of his appointment as HOD and Coordinator of PHM 311, as well as be suspended from duty with effect from Oct. 8, 2024.
“Akpan’s official responsibilities are to be reassigned to other qualified lecturers in the department.
“He has also been directed to stay away from the University forthwith, unless while responding to the invitation of relevant Committees.”
