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Commercial Activities Boom As Ekiti Hold LG Election, People Shun Restriction Of Movement

By
Ayodele Oni
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Biodun Oyebanji

By Ayodele Oni

Despite boycott by opposition parties, Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission, (EKSIEC) went ahead with the conduct of the local government election on Saturday.

People were going about with their normal activities despite restriction of movement between 7.00am and 2.00pm, with only those who are members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) partially responding to call to vote.

The exercise was conducted to elect 25 chairmen, vice and councilors to the local governments ant Local Council Development Areas, (LCDA).

Those elected in Saturday’s election are expected to spend three years as against the outgoing officials that their two years tenure will terminate this month.

The state House of Assembly had earlier amended the local government law which stipulate two years for the elected officials to reflect three years.

Governor Biodun Oyebanji and his deputy, Monisola Afuye had joined other APC faithfuls to cast their votes in their respective polling units.

Speaking after voting,The deputy governor, commended the State Independent Electoral Commission(SIEC) for bringing radical and remarkable  development to the conduct of the 2023 Local Government Election in the State.

Mrs Afuye said the large turnout of voters and violence-free atmosphere that marked the conduct of the local government election, were testimonies that there was tremendous  improvement over that of 2021.

The Deputy Governor voted at unit 003, Atiba/Aafin Ward, in Ikere Ekiti.

According to her, the election was more competitive at the party’s  primary, because of financial independence being savoured by the council under Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s administration.

She applauded the voters in Ikere Local Government Area and across the state, for demonstrating confidence and trust in the electoral process, by their impressive participation in the LG poll.

“The election has so far  been peaceful and violence-free. And you could see how people are  trooping out and queue to cast their votes. We are witnessing a remarkable improvement in our local government election.

“I know that today’s election shall be a success because all the stakeholders are ready to comply with the rules.”

She commended the Justice Cornelius Akintayo-led SIEC for bringing transparency and openness to the electoral process at the third tier of government.

“Going by what we have seen and information across the state, the process has been adjudged peaceful and transparent.

“The SIEC officials and observers  were on ground in time and that further propelled the voters to come out to cast their votes for their preferred candidates. This is highly commendable.

“The atmosphere was serene and voters were not being coerced to vote for a particular candidate. They are given the freedom to vote for candidates of their choices; that is the beauty of democracy.

“With all these, those who will  emerge in today’s election will know that they will be there to serve the people, so that our people can become more interested to participate in elections, especially the local government poll.”

ECOWAS Condemns Botched ‘Coup’ In Guinea Bissau

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, has condemned the outbreak of violence in Guinea-Bissau.

The regional block in a statement on Friday said the fighting was capable of disrupting constitutional order in the country.

AFP News channel reported that some disgruntled soldiers tried to take over the government of President Umaro Sissoco Embalo.

The Guinea-Bissau leader was elected to a five-year term in December 2019.

He was in Dubai to attend the COP28 climate conference when the violence broke out.

Clashes between members of the national guard and special forces of the presidential guard broke out Thursday night in the capital Bissau, leaving two dead.

ECOWAS said in a statement that it “strongly condemns the violence and all attempts to disrupt the constitutional order and rule of law in Guinea-Bissau.

“ECOWAS further calls for the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of the incident in accordance with the law.”

Calm returned to the small nation with a history of instability by mid-morning Friday following the announcement that the army had captured Colonel Victor Tchongo, commander of the National Guard.

Members of the national guard Thursday evening stormed a police station to extract Finance Minister Souleiman Seidi and Secretary of the Treasury Antonio Monteiro, according to army and intelligence officers.

The two government members were being questioned about the withdrawal of $10 million from state accounts. They had been detained under orders of state prosecutors, who were named by the president.

The national guard, on the other hand, is under the control of the Interior Ministry, which like most ministries in the country, is dominated by the PAIGC party, whose coalition won the June 2023 elections.

The two government members were detained again after the army removed them from National Guard control.

OPINION: Persecution Of Lagos – Igbo Will Bring Out The Beast In Us All

By
The Source
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By Steve Osuji

WHAT CAUSED THE CIVIL WAR:

Igbo envy and hatred have been common historical phenomena in Nigeria. The civil war of the 60s was caused by other tribes in Nigeria becoming paranoid about the rapid upwardly movement of the ‘bush tribe’ of the lower Niger that caught up swiftly and blazed ahead of them in every sphere of national endeavour.

The British colonialists who ran Nigeria up until 1960, in their quest for merit in public service, ‘inadvertently’ hoisted Igbo at the helm of affairs of the fledgling Republic. Ndigbo dominating the new public space by independence was purely on merit. It was not by any quota or manipulation.The exiting Brits wanted competent hands to handover the new nation and they found more capable.

But this was to the chargrin of other tribes who have wrought an unwritten policy not only to stop Igbo but to annihilate them by any means possible.

The first weapon to be deployed was to shun merit and wholesome competition. This led the north to develop a huge entitlement syndrome. For instance, they have continued to claim disadvantaged position in education till date – for over 70 years. One then wonder how many years are required to fix something as basic as education among a people. But all they are doing is distort the merit system and hold others down.

The second is to openly and blatant deny, shunt or supersede Igbo in public service placements and promotions. They are made to do the work but side-lined when it comes to benefits. The Federal Civil Service particularly, has been hell for Ndigbo since after the war and it gets worse by the day.  Igbo civil servants are virtually slaves in their country and they die in silence.

And third is an unspoken policy to gang up against Ndigbo and put them in the margins of all national affairs at anytime and by  any means possible, especially politically. For instance,  certain national positions and appointments have been made a taboo for Ndigbo. The presidency,  for instance has rotated between the Hausa-Fulani and Yoruba to the unconscionable exclusion of Ndigbo since 1999. This is how the term, MARGINALISATION came about. It has been OPERATION SUPPRESS NDIGBO since after the civil war. Consider an extant example: the other reason Mr Godwin Emefiele has been in detention for 180 days is because he bears an Igbo name (though he may claim not to be Igbo).

PASTOR TUNDE BAKARE BLOWS THE COVER:

Back to the present,  you may not like the theology and emotionalism of the fiery preacher, Tunde Bakare, but one must acknowledge his courage and candour. In a trending video, he has not only condemned the ongoing carnage against Ndigbo in Lagos, he has revealed the official plot to worst them.

He says in the video that he was invited to a parochial meeting to plot the economic holocaust against Igbo in Lagos. He asks them what the offence of Ndigbo was and they said Igbo had taken all the land in Lagos; thereupon he asked them whether the Igboman purchased the lands or put a gun to anyone’s head?

Recently,  social media has been awash with pictures of destruction of magnificent buildings belonging to Ndigbo. Abule Ado on the Badagry axis is one example. Many other areas have been mentioned.

Markets dominated by Ndigbo have been routinely shut down for days on flimsy excuses like hygiene and sanitation. But we know that Local Government officials collect levies for keeping markets and public places clean. Again, why is it that each time state officials extort the traders to the tune of tens of millions in order to have the markets reopened?

BOLA TINUBU LEADS IGBO PERSECUTION IN LAGOS:

Ndigbo have lived in Lagos as long as any settler group, long before amalgamation. Many are in the fifth generations.  Igbo have played more role in helping to develop Lagos perhaps more than any other ethnic group. Igbo being outgoing and economic adventurers are largely peace loving people.

This is captured in the Igbo wisdom: ojemba enwe ilo, meaning an ardent traveller courts no enemies. Igbo are all over the country,  indeed, the world, developing their host communities and creating wealth for all.

However, the advent of Tinubu’s win-by-all-means brand of politics in Lagos since 1999 is now setting the Igbo in Lagos on a collision course against some misguided Yoruba people. Since 1999, Igbo bloc vote in Lagos has become significant to swing any election in the state. This is a political reality.

In democracies where politics is played according to reason and persuasion,  emerging political blocs are canvassed especially. Parties seeking their votes blandish goodies to them by way of localised candidates, appointments and promise of special infrastructure. This is what happens to American Blacks and the Hispanics. Their bloc votes swing elections in some states and counties so the parties devise strategies to win their vote.

You can’t win my votes by demolishing my house or hampering my businesses. You can’t chase Igbo out of Lagos. You can’t exterminate Ndigbo in Lagos,  Nigeria or even from the surface of the earth. This is my quarrel with the Tinubu strategists like Dele Alake,  Bola Onanuga, Femi Gbajabiamila and Babatunde Fashola. They are possessed of such provincial mindset which is the reason Lagos has largely underperformed compared to its peers in Africa and beyond. The Tinubu political clan that seized Lagos in the last quarter century regard the city state as their personal estate.  They milk the cow more than they feed it. This is why Lagos remains at the bottom of every HDI index by UN bodies.

REMINISCENCE OF THE INDIGENISATION PERFIDY:

The refrain we hear among Yoruba rascals is: go to your state. Of course they would want to wish Ndigbo away so they would inherit them. But they won’t support a referendum for the creation of Biafra or an Igbo sovereignty.

It’s reminiscent of the post civil war situation during which Ndigbo lost most of their assets including houses,  landed properties, businesses, stocks, insurance policies, etc. To make the defrocking of Ndigbo total, it was decreed that only 20 pounds sterling was to he paid to every Igbo even if he had a deposit balance of  millions of pounds in the bank.

Though the war was over, the Igbo was down and out. It was at this time that the Federal Government, with Chief Obafemi Awolowo as chief economic adviser chose to introduced the Indigenisation Act, 1972.

With this singular law, about 1,300 multinational corporations in Nigeria were converted to Nigerian ownership ( read Yoruba ownership). The Igbo stripped financially, had no dime to partake in the purchase of the blue-chip  shares. Yoruba therefore, mopped up majority of shares and equity and took over most of the multinational corporations set up by the British,  Americans, Lebanese and other foreign nationals – UAC, UTC, the banking and financial services,  production assets, etc. This is how come Yoruba nation acquired the greatest economic assets of Nigeria after the civil war and gained the most economic leverage in the country by sleight of hand.

But sorry to note that most of these mammoth corporations have been run into the ground by the Yoruba managers who hijacked them. Graft, incompetence,  indolence, sybaritic lifestyles (owambe) intrigues and rigimo, caused the death of these large conglomerates. Those that are still existing were rescued by former foreign owners who returned hastily to retrieve the carcasses. Cadbury and Lever Brothers are two such examples.

After they hijacked and lost the foreign assets, now they eye the little businesses built on the sweat and grit of Ndigbo.

ARE YORUBA AGAINST FOREIGN INVESTORS?

If you can pull down the houses and businesses of fellow citizens,  how do you expect foreigners to trust you with their businesses?  One day, you are going to go after them as you did in 1972. No investors would trust the Yoruba enough to plant any serious investment on their land.

FINALLY,  IGBO WOULD SURELY FIGHT BACK:

Let it be put on notice that Igbo would fight back and defend themselves if pushed to the wall. Igbo would arm himself and return fire, let no one forget that. If you continue to target and pull down Igbo properties,  Igbo can also bring down properties,  even public buildings.

Before the purview of the FG and all the security agencies,  Igbo were prevented from voting,  maimed and bloodied in Lagos as if they were aliens in their country. None of the perpetrators suffered any consequences.

Now the Lagos State government, apparently gingered by the Tinubu presidency,  is pursuing a hate agenda against Ndigbo in Lagos.

It’s on record (YouTube) that the wife of the president,  Oluremi Tinubu publicly stated in 1999 that they would chase Ndigbo out of Lagos and inherit their properties. The current Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly reiterated Mrs Tinubu’s comments. During his inauguration a few months ago, he had outlined plans to annihilate Ndigbo. Speaker Mudashiru sounded like  a Ku Kkux Klan chief and the whole world was repulsed at such effusion of primordial hate against fellow citizens. Mr Bola Onanuga, top journalists and presidential adviser had in what seemed a Faustian slip blurted out that Igbo would never be able to vote in Lagos in subsequent elections. And one of the more enlightened of the Tinubu group,  former governor Babatunde Fashola had loaded a horde of so-called Igbo destitute into trailers and dumped them by the foot of the Niger Bridge. This happened when he was governor of Lagos State.

These are manifestations of deep, subconscious hate against Igbo. To think that these champions of hate are rustics who migrated from Yoruba hinterland with twisted tongues and having little understanding of metropolitan lore.

Who would imagine that in a world in which an Adeyemo is currently an undersecretary in the US administration and a Kemi is a top minister who lines up for the UK  PM job, such an ethnic group would prosecute bloody ethnic ‘war’ at home? But the reason is simple: Lagos is currently under the spellbound by a gang of narrow-minded carpetbaggers led by President Tinubu.

But let it be stated today that this official attack on Ndigbo in Lagos will lead to one sure consequence – the violent break up of Nigeria. And the violence may start with the burning down of Lagos!

Never again shall Igbo accept genocide and pogrom!

Never again shall the war be on our soil!

Never again shall we run from evildoers or surrender to evil!

Enough is enough.

Osuji, an accomplished Journalist and Columnist, was Special Adviser on Media to former Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha.

Lawmakers Disagree Over Tinubu’s “Empty Budget Boxes’

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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Dust has yet to settle over the 2024 Financial Estimate presented by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the National Assembly on Tuesday.

A lawmaker from Jigawa state had accused the president of breaking the tradition by presenting empty budget boxes to the joint session of the national assembly.

Yusuf Galambi, a lawmaker in the House of Representatives who spoke hours after President Tinubu presented the budget said what happened what strange, that it has never happned before.

He said, “The president read out to us his speech on the proposed budget but we’ve not seen the document to work on.

“Of course, he read the estimates for the various sectors. But as it has always been the tradition, a document is always presented (to the lawmakers) but he (Mr Tinubu) didn’t do that.”

If he (Mr Tinubu) was not ready, if the budget proposal was not ready to be presented, he shouldn’t have come and said he was done. We could have given him more time, why the haste? Why would he come and read something and even say he has kept it (document) when it’s empty,” he said.

Reacting Ado Alhassan Doguwa, a lawmaker from Kano state, and former Leader of the House of Representatives, said President Tinubu had sent the soft copy of the budget to NASS in a hard drive.

He said the hard drive had been sent to NASS ahead the verbal presentation on Tuesday.

According to him, the lawmakers are satisfied with Tinubu’s presentation, touching all the economic sectors.

Doguwa said: “I write in response to the mischievous insinuations that Mr. President laid empty boxes before the National Assembly on the day he presented the Appropriation Bill 2024.”

“What people don’t know is that Mr President had earlier submitted a flash drive as a soft copy of the 2024 Budget, which is now being printed out in hard copies, and as usual, brought one single hard copy of the budget to the floor,” Doguwa stated.

“Be that as it may, senators and honourable members were satisfied and were conveniently guided by the verbal presentation and the way Mr President dissected the budget and gave a specific analysis of the funds allocated to the various sectors of the economy. I, therefore, want to say that any media or mischievous reports insinuating that Mr. President laid empty boxes were not true and unfounded.”

Meanwhile, the Presidency said on Friday that the allegation was meant to mislead the public. Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Print Media, said the president is never expected to present the whole haul of heavy documents to NASS.

Medical Doctor Sentenced To Life Imprisonment, Faults Judgment, Approaches Appeal Court

By
Akinwale Kasali
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By Akinwale Kasali Olufemi Olaleye, disgraced Medical Director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation who was sentenced to a double life imprisonment on the 24th of October 2023 by the Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in Ikeja for defiling his wife’s niece has faulted the judgement by the Court.  His wife’s niece, a minor, lived in the house with him and his wife and children.Olaleye has just appealed against the judgement of the  lower Court on 35 grounds. He accused  the Court of erring on all counts, totalling about 35, and is, therefore, seeking redress from the Appeal Court. He demanded to be absolved from the  crime as well be discharged and acquitted.In his first ground to the court of appeal, Olaleye said the Honourable Lower Court erred in law when, in the absence of any direct evidence, it held that the alleged victim of the crime was a child of 16 at the time of the offence.

He said the prosecution did not tender any documentary evidence in support of its case that the alleged victim of the crime was 16 years. The evidence in relation to the age of the alleged victim of the crime were all hearsay evidence, which is prohibited in law.

Kemi Pinheiro, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria is his lead Council.

Below are the following reliefs Dr Femi Olaleye sought from the court of appeal

i.  AN ORDER of this Honourable Court allowing this appeal.

ii. AN ORDER of this Honourable Court setting aside the decision of the Honourable Lower Court contained in the judgment delivered on the 24th day of October, 2023 in Charge No: ID/20289C/2022.iii. AN ORDER setting aside the conviction of and quashing the sentence against the Appellant by the Honourable Lower Court on the 24th day of October, 2023 in Charge No: ID/20289C/2022. iv. AN ORDER of this Honourable Court discharging and acquitting the Appellant of the offences spelt out on the face of the information filed in Charge No: ID/20289C/2022.

Court Of Appeal Affirms Otti As Abia State Governor, Dismisses Case As Comedy

By
Akinwale Kasali
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By Akinwale Kasali

The Court of Appeal  Owerri Division which was relocated in Lagos State has affirmed Dr Alex Otti of the Labour Party, LP, as the duly elected Governor of Abia State.

The Court on Saturday December 2nd, 2023,  dismissed the appeals of both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for lack of merit.

The Appellate Court dismissed the issues around qualification as pre-election matters, describing the appeal as a huge joke in what qualifies as a “Notable Pronouncement” having regard to the meagre votes the appellants polled and their attempt to outstage other candidates who scored substantially higher votes.

The Court while ruling on the appeals by APC’s Ikechi Emenike and PDP’s Okey Ahiwe said it finds that such can only happen in a comedy skit.

It quoted Abraham Lincoln and traced the concept of democracy from its place birth of Greece as the will of the majority, declaring that the majority of the Abia electorate clearly voted Alex Otti as Governor.

It dismissed the appeals with a cost of one million naira awarded against the appellants and in favour of the respondents.

“Do Not Succumb To Hardship, New Nigeria In Your Hands” – Obi To Nigerian Youths”

By
The Source
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The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25, 2023 election, Peter Obi has charged Nigerian youths not to cower in their resolve for a new Nigeria no matter the weight of the challenges.

Obi who made the charge in a keynote address at an international youth Conference in Enugu on Friday reminded them that Nigeria belongs to them.

“You must not cower in the face of difficult challenges and bad governance that pervade the nation, but must raise your voices and demand for good governance”

According to Obi “We all must persevere and work together to dismantle the criminality and corruption that has festered through different levels of government in our nation.”

He commended the organizers of the program for the wonderful initiative aimed at empowering our youths with the right knowledge and leadership skills to make positive change. We will, all together, build the New Nigeria of our dreams.

Reminiscing on the theme of the conference attended by notable youth mentors, which is on Sustainable Development Goals, SDG, Obi dutifully interacted with a cross-section of young entrepreneurs, youth advocates, and change agents.

The event was aimed at discussing how to ‘Accelerate Actions to Achieve the SDGs in Nigeria Through Entrepreneurship and Civic Engagement,’ a topic of critical importance to the nation, especially the youths, whose future must be secured.

“As a keynote speaker, I pointed out to them that the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, are a follow-up of the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs (2000 – 2015), which before it ended in 2015, none was ever achieved in Nigeria because they were not mainstreamed into the development agenda of government, as other countries, like China, India, Vietnam, etc did.

“I also related to the enterprising youths how the number one goal of the MDGs was to fight extreme poverty but unfortunately, within the period of trying to implement the MDGs, more Nigerians became poorer, while other nations who mainstreamed their MDGs into their development agenda and followed it, like China and India, in the said period, pulled 439 million and 271 million people out of poverty respectively.

In the area of education, Obi noted that countries like China and India improved tremendously in HDI while the opposite was the case in sub-Saharan Africa, especially Nigeria, which has not only failed to meet up with the MDG goals but has the highest number of out-of-school children now. This, therefore, shows how almost impossible it is to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of eradicating poverty and ensuring, at least, basic education for every child by 2030.

The LP standard beer encouraged the youths to take on entrepreneurship, no matter the difficulties they face in the country. as it’s only through entrepreneurship that we will be able to build a strong small business sector that will catalyze the economy, foster productivity, and help in moving the country from consumption to production”

The Convener of the yearly ‘Shaping the Future Conference’ is a young Nigerian international award winner,  Noel Ifeanyi Alumona of Vanderbilt University in the United States.

Demolition: LASG Remains Defiant, Says It wouldn’t Bow To Threat

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

Lagos State Government has said it remains unperturbed by the condemnation that has trailed the demolition of illegal buildings on drainages and canals.

It stated that it won’t rescind its decision to reclaim the drainage right of way within the seven-metre setback despite reported threats and propaganda from some quarters in the State.

The Commissioner of Environment, Tokunbo Wahab, said that the State Government is unbothered with the threats flying around, stressing that a seven-day contravention notice had been issued to the owners of the buildings whose structures encroached the seven-meter drainage setback on Orchid Road., Agungi, Ajiran, Conservation Road, Osapa, and Oral Estate II along the Ikota River in the Lekki area of the State.

The State Government said the contravention notice was issued following several stop-work notices served on the owners of the structures before stressing that the “enforcement will commence” upon expiration of the deadline.

This clampdown reportedly raised a lot of concerns with claims that the Government was targeting certain ethnic groups, especially on social media.

Reacting to this claim on his X handle, @Tokunbo_Wahab, on Thursday, the Commissioner insisted that the Government would no longer allow a breakdown of the law and “anyhowness” in the State.

“We are not going to bow to any propaganda, blackmail, or threat. No one can break the law and still benefit from it. The law will take its course. The era of ‘anyhowness’ is completely over!” Wahab stated.

There are insinuations that the demolition exercise is mainly targeted at the Igbo. But the State Government strongly denies it.

International Agencies  Stop Funding HIV/AIDS Programme In Nigeria, Scourge Rises To 52,000 In Osun

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

As the World International AIDS Day was being marked on Friday, Osun State Action Committee on AIDS (OSACA) has informed that the dreaded disease is still among Nigerians with not less than 52, 000 infected in the state.

The Executive Secretary of OSACA, Dr Niyi Oginni said an estimated number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Osun is 52,000, stating that the virus is still within the populace.

The day was an all-inclusive sensitization on Friday in Osogbo as the Osun State Action Committee on AIDS (OSACA) in collaboration with other partners commemorated World AIDS Day.

The celebration, which started with street sensitization from Olaiya, Aregbe and Ogo-Oluwa, climaxed at the OSAMDO hall where tests were carried out, lectures delivered and free protective materials shared.

Speaking with the participants, the Executive Secretary of the OSACA, Dr Niyi Oginni said the virus is still within the populace.

While advising the people to always get tested, Oginni called  for improved funding of the agency in order to deliver on its mandate optimally.

Oginni said, “this is the agency that the government has established to tackle the spread of the HIV/AIDS but the funding has been grossly inadequate.

“Over the years, the world bank and other development partners have been funding the agency, but they are no longer available. So the government must do its best to ensure that the agency is funded to perform our responsibility optimally.”

Speaking on the theme of this year’s celebration which is “let the communities lead”, the Executive Secretary said, “the community is a group of people that have similar interests.

“The community can be a religious group, the CSO, CBO, youth groups etc and they have a critical role to play in leading the advocacy towards ending the spread of the virus at grassroots.”

Participants were taken through the strategic plans towards achieving 95:95:95 in testing, management and awareness at the grassroots.

Speaking at the event, Dr Micheal Oyerinde, the Special Adviser to Governor Ademola Adeleke on Primary Healthcare said the government will take a critical look into the paucity of funds battling the OSACA.

He commended the agency for the sensitization it has embarked upon. December 1st is set aside to mark International AIDS Day across the globe.

Senate Wants FG To Stop Allocation To LGs Without Democratically Elected Officials, Flays Benue Gov Alia, For Dissolution Of LGs

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

The Nigeria Senate is set to ensure that the local councils described as the third tier of government are allowed to operate freely like other tiers.

The upper house is also working to curb Governors’ too much power on the councils as well as ensure the democratically elected officials are allowed to run the councils.

To this end, the Red Chamber on Friday urged the federal government to withhold the statutory allocation to local government councils without democratically elected chairmen.

This followed a motion by Senator Abba Moro (Benue South) titled “Urgent Need to halt the erosion of democracy: the dissolution of elected councils in Benue State,” during plenary.

The Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, had sacked the local government chairmen in the state and appointed caretaker committees for the local government councils.

The Red Chamber condemned the arbitrary dissolution of democratically elected local government councils in Benue and other states in Nigeria and urged the Benue State governor to adhere to his oath of office, obey the rule of law and defend the constitution.

Moro, in his motion, said placing caretaker committees to replace elected councils was an aberration and alien to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

Moro, quoting Section (1) of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees a system of local government by democratically elected councils, said the law placed the responsibility on every state to ensure the existence of local government councils.

He noted that there were subsisting court rulings directing the governor, the House of Assembly, their agents, privies not to tamper with the tenure of the elected councils.

He said neither the governor nor the state government had appealed these judgments.

Senator Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North) said about 16 states in Nigeria are currently without democratically elected council officials

He said the Senate should direct the Finance Minister to stop funding local government without elected council officials. The suggestion was supported by Senator Ali Ndume.

Abdulfatai Buhari (Oyo North) said the Electoral Act should be amended to empower the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct local government elections.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio frowned at the establishment of multiple federal agencies, but advocated the creation of the National Electoral Commission for Local Government so that governors would no longer have overbearing influence on council polls.

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