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Obi Explains His Subsidy Removal Support With A Toothache Analogy

By
The Source
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Peter Obi

The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has said that his support for the removal of subsidy paid on petroleum products is true but with a condition that should be empirical to the people.

Obi who was ambushed by Judicial Correspondents as he attended his ongoing election petition case at the Court of Appeal headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday said that his support for subsidy removal dates back to the Goodluck Jonathan era when he was a member of the Presidential Economic Management Team.

“If you have followed me very well right from the time I was a member of Jonathan’s Economic Management Team, I consistently maintained that subsidy should be removed because I see it as organized crime. People were just stealing the resources of the country and I showed empirically in my statistical analysis that we are not consuming the amount of fuel they claim we consume.”

The former Anambra state Governor differentiated his idea of Subsidy removal from what is happening in the country now that they are linking him to the two options available to a person having a tooth ache.

He said that if you approach a dentist to remove a painful tooth, he will apply a local anesthetic to numb the area around the tooth so you do not feel pain.

It’s not the same thing as pulling the tooth forcefully. The pain you feel will be different.

“For me, I will go with the approach of the dentist while supporting the removal of the tooth because I wouldn’t want to go through the pain of forceful removal.

“Recall that even when Jonathan wanted to remove it they came up with various relieving policies like SureP and others.

“If you read my manifesto you will see clearly how I planned to remove subsidy, I will govern with the people and show them statistically and empirically what we are getting and how we are deploying it.

“The problem In Nigeria is that when people say let’s go and suffer, let’s go and sacrifice, they don’t see the results of their suffering and their sacrifice.”

North Central Demands FCT Minister, Deputy Senate President As Compensation 

By
James Orji
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The appointment of George Akume as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, as a way to pacify the North Central has been described inadequate by the region.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Akume, a former governor of Benue state on Sunday and Femi Gbajabiamila, the outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives as Chief of Staff, CoS.
The choice of Akume was said to have been the president’s response to the North Central agitation for the position of the Speaker.
But the president’s decision seems not to go down well with some leaders from the area, under the aegis of the North Central People’s Forum, NCPF, who said they will only be satisfied with two of their people appointed as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, in the administration, and Deputy Senate President.
The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, had already endorsed Godswill Akpabio and Jubril Barau  from the North West as Senate President and Deputy Senate President, respectively.
But in a statement signed by the group’s Publicity Secretary, Audu Sule, the NCPF said the region gave more votes to the party during the last election, and so deserved more rewards.
It said an indigene of the FCT, Plateau, Benue, Kogi, Niger, Nasarawa and Kwara States, should be appointed the FCT minister.
The statement said, “First of all we thank Mr President for appointing one of our sons, father and brother as the SGF. We want to particularly congratulate Sen George Akume for the appointment because he is eminently qualified.
“But that is not enough to pacify us. If you look at the vote the APC pulled in North Central it was massive. We were able to lead in all the states except for Plateau and FCT which went to the Labour Party.
“We want the office of the deputy Senate president to go to the North Central. That is the office we have not occupied. In the past, military governments appointed ministers of FCT from the North Central. That’s what we want from the present administration.
“Also, if you check in the previous government, the North East had a Senate President and the SGF. So, we want the office of the deputy Senate president. It will be good for the north central to get it because out of the seven states, we give five to the APC.
“We are also calling for the North Central state to be considered for the office of the FCT minister because the people understand the area very well. Also, the FCT should be given a ministerial appointment.”
Meanwhile, President Tinubu has postponed his meeting with opposition lawmakers in the National Assembly over the contest for principal offices.
The meeting, his advisers said will now take place at an undisclosed date.

Ondo Oil Producing Communities Give Oil Company 72 Hours To Honour Agreement

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

Oil Producing Communities in Ondo state have accused Chevron Nigeria Ltd of igniting another crisis that is capable of impacting on Oil Production activities in the Ilaje Offshore territory of Ondo State.

Communities in Ugbo Land are the mandate areas of  Chevron Nigeria Ltd Offshore Operations in Ondo State.

A statement signed by seven leaders of the Communities claimed that “from time immemorial they have been continually short-changed by Chevron Nigeria Ltd, while other ethnic groups are usually favoured in terms of allocations of Opportunities and Benefits.

“The most recent is the fraud against the collective interest of the Communities of Ilaje Offshore Operations by Chevron Nigeria Ltd in relation to the  Shallow Water drilling (Project Panther) that is about to commence now.

“As paragraph 3 of our inauguration letter still in force, we unequivocally demand for the reversal of the erroneously and purportedly sent jobs opportunity mail to the yet unregistered Ugbo Trust and channel same jobs opportunities to which should includes all benefits, opportunities, entitlements and privileges accruable to  communities from the upcoming Drilling operations.

“It will interest everyone to know that all the equipment for the Panther drilling Project have been hijacked by Chevron top managerial staff in favour of different contractors where they have interest as no single one was given to any Ilaje Contractors despite the fact that some of our local Contractors participated in the Equipment Supply bidding process for the Panther Drilling Project.

“Outside the bidding, the usual practice is that the local contractors from Ilaje are supposed to be nominated for supply of equipment. All this process has been compromised by Chevron PGPA for their personal interest.

“We therefore challenge Chevron Nigeria Limited to disclose the total numbers and identities of the Call Off Contractors shortlisted for this Drilling Operations.

“The Communities of Ugbo hereby strongly demands that their due benefits in terms of Equipment Supply, Call Out Contracts and other Entitlements should be communicated and given to us before mobilization and not more than 72 hours from the date of this press release.”

Coast Clears As Senate Approves 20 Special Advisers For Tinubu

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

A gale of appointment is imminent as the senate granted request by President Bola Tinubu to appoint 20 special advisers.

Since his inauguration a week ago, the president has been working with few aides, as the constitution mandates him to send request to the red chamber before vital appointments can be made.

The sensitive position of his spokesman is still vacant as Tinubu predecessors accorded status of special adviser to occupant of that position.

The request for the appointments was read on the floor of the senate Tuesday morning and granted few hours thereafter.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan read a letter from the President on the appointment of 20 Special Advisers at a sitting on Tuesday, June 6, 2023.

The approval was secured after the Senate Leader, Senator Ibrahim Gobir moved the motion for the Senate to consider the request of the president and seconded by the Senate Minority Leader.

Breaking: Obasa Elected LAHA Speaker For Third Term

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Mudashiru Obasa

By Akinwale Kasali

The Rt. Hon. Mudashriru Ajayi Obasa has been elected Speaker of the Lagos State House State of Assembly for an unprecedented third consecutive terms.

It, however, did not quite come as a surprise. speculation has been rife that he would emerge Speaker of the 10th Assembly unopposed because he was pressured to drop his Senatorial ambition, following the intervention of the now President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the powerful Governor’s Advisory Council, GAC, Lagos.

Also elected as the Deputy Speaker is Hon. Mojisola Lasbat Meranda.

Obasa was unanimously re-elected after a proclamation of the 10th Assembly of the Lagos State House of Assembly by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was present with Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat and top Government officials at the Chamber of the House.

Obasa, the highest ranking member of the House, was nominated by Hon. Temitope Adewale, and was seconded by Sylvester Ogunkelu.

Hon. Noheem Adams, the Deputy Majority Leader in the ninth Assembly, was elected as the new Majority Leader while Hon. Adedamola Kasunmu was elected the Deputy Majority Leader.

Hon. Mojeed Fatai of Ibeju Lekki 1 was elected as the Chief Whip while Hon. David Setonji was elected the Deputy Chief Whip.

OPINION: Presidency Watch

By
The Source
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By Steve Osuji

This townhall is truly different…

TROUBLE SLEEP, YANGA WAKE AM: This job is surely the toughest in the world. Now, to start off shooting yourself in the foot would simply render it a brutish enterprise. This seems to be what President Bola Tinubu has done to himself. Yoruba would call it asasi, a spell. Or as Fela sang: Trouble sleep, yanga go wake am,  na palaver you dey find!

By a reckless proclamation on his inauguration podium, Tinubu seems to have cast a spell on his government all by himself. “Subsidy is gone.” That’s what he haughtily tells Nigerians as he was being sworn into office on Monday, May 29, 2023.

Since then, Nigeria has not been the same, and will never be. The new president too, surely must  be feeling shell-shocked by the instantaneously and unexpected outcome of that simply,  unprocessed statement.

I wager that if he has a chance to relive May 29, 2023, he would banish the subsidy sentence from his speech. Now the word is out, he cannot take it back. With one reckless swagger, he has sentenced himself into an untold wahala for as long as he remains in office.

The excuse for such grievous,  unforced error is that he is sticking to a law already made by his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari in the current budget that requires that Petroleum Subsidy be terminated by end of June. Therefore, no budgetary provisions were made, effective June ending. Further, by virtue of the Petroleum Industry Act, (PIA) of course passed by the National Assembly, the subsidy, whatever dragon it may be, is to have been completely vanquished by end of June.

This is what Tinubu worked into his wonky speech and this is what his people have been parroting as their thoughtless action slaps them smack in the face. To implement a bad law is a foolish thing to do by itself,  but for a president to implement a bad law made by a predecessor speaks to a malady that must not be mentioned in public.

It could be either that Tinubu walked into Buhari’s trap or that he’s being vengeful to the Nigerian people who have not shown him much love. Or a third  and most likely scenario is that Tinubu and his people didn’t think through the subsidy removal issue and therefore didn’t expect this earthquake of an outcome. But for sure, the Tinubu presidency has bought a tsunami and hurricane for itself right from day one. This government needs no opposition party anymore, it has co-opted the  entire people of Nigeria as a counterforce to its administration.

IMPOVERISHIING A POOR NATION: It took President Buhari and the APC about eight years to throw about 50 million Nigerians into poverty and earning Nigeria the poverty capital of the world. But it may have taken just a moment of thoughtless bravura for President Tinubu to throw another 50m down the negative space that’s poverty. Tinubu hereby starts his presidency by tactlessly voiding the already deprived masses of the people. About 133 million are already in the dungeon of life. Apparently, Tinubu cannot ‘see’ this. And now we see a harrowing image of Tinubu, acting the tough guy and personally operating the pay loader for packing millions  of Nigerians into hades, where he probably  thinks they belong. It’s ’s as if he thinks he  needs to void the people first in order to safe them!

The economy will collapse, the Tinubu people say, if so-called subsidy is not hastily terminated. Logic: it’s better for the poor to be terminated instead of the economy. But we have heard this war song for over three decades. It’s actually composed by the Bretton Wood capitalist gang of the West. President Ibrahim Babangida sang it in the 90s, he tried to roll over the people by introducing a sharp fuel increase. A bloody nationwide riots ensued and the military President had to reverse himself. President Olusegun Obasanjo did his bit. President Goodluck Jonathan tried it in 2012 with yet another sharp petrol price increase. It was a certain Bola Tinubu (now President Tinubu) who led the mass protest. He railed at Jonathan in brilliant speeches about how he broke social contract with the Nigerian people and imposed what Tinubu described as “Jonathan tax” on them.

Now President Tinubu has imposed the mother of all fuel price hikes – from N185 to N500. Over 150%. The sharpest ever.

In previous times, the subsidy removals were discussed and processed extensively with possible palliative measures agreed upon. In this Tinubu era, he had not even sat down on his presidential seat yet. So he had no seat, he had no Petroleum minister,  not even a single appointee to lead the thought on such a ground-breaking policy. Of course there was no thought whatsoever gone into the pronouncement. Is this anyway to run a country?

NOW THAT I AM IN POWER, WHAT AM I GONNA DO:  the Tinubu era kicks off in utter turbulence and social upheaval. The first week has quickly rolled by and nobody seems to know what to do. People are seen milling aimlessly around the presidency and we see so many useless visitation by cronies and party hogs. Sixty days have passed since February 25 that the presidential election was conducted. But a close aid said recently that President Tinubu would announce his cabinet in about 60 days. In other climes,  it takes just a couple of days.

But what galls is that after taking such a long time to set up the Executive Council, it’s the same old, jaded crowd that gets nominated. For instance the already announced Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, (former failed governor of Benue State) will never bring anything new to the table besides the old tableau of graft, ineptitude and official blindness.

Same goes for Femi Gbajabiamila, announced as Chief of Staff to the President, (CoS). A very poor choice it is indeed because Gbaja is not a top-notch process man. For an aged, ailing President, the Office of the CoS, would virtually run the country. Gbaja lacks such rigour. A Babatunde Fashola character but not necessarily him. Having been used and abused in the last 24 years suggests he must take a break.

Why is NASS not inaugurated immediately to be able to take off in the business of running an already ruined country? What is the cost of all this unnecessary delays in getting government going? It’s as if President Tinubu was caught by surprise…

We are told that subsidy would bring down Nigeria but keeping a country in abeyance for weeks and months without a cabinet costs more than any subsidy. So much for hitting the ground running.

Finally, one guesses that by now, President Tinubu can see that this town hall is truly different from BALABLU!

Why Organized Labour Called Off Strike Action

By
Ayodele Oni
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0
Joe Ajaero

By Ayodele Oni

At last, mobilization and meetings for commencement of strike called by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) became futile as workers will continue on their duty posts on Wednesday as the labour suspended the planned nationwide strike over the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government.

The strike, which was suspended early Tuesday morning, was scheduled to commence on Wednesday, June 7.

This followed a marathon meeting between representatives of the Federal Government and the Organized Labour at the Presidential Villa.

Before the meeting, a court pronouncement had put the strike on notice.

The meeting, chaired by Femi Gbajabiamila, the newly appointed Chief of Staff to the president, covered several grounds and put some decisions which the NLC as way forward to cushion the biting effect of the subsidy fallout.

Another meeting has been scheduled with the federal government by the organized Labour to address grey areas of the agreement.

Gbajabiamila, who addressed State House correspondents, shared the details of the discussions.

He read a communique that outlined the agreement reached between the NLC, TUC and the team set up by Tinubu to address the issues stemming from the subsidy removal.

The key points highlighted in the communique are as follows:

“Establishment of a Joint Committee: The Federal Government, TUC, and NLC will form a joint committee to review proposals related to wage increases or awards. The committee will also establish a framework and timeline for implementation.

“Inclusion of Low-Income Earners: The World Bank Financed Cash transfer scheme will be reviewed, with a focus on proposing the inclusion of low-income earners in the program.

“Revival of CNG Conversion Program: The CNG conversion program, previously agreed upon with labour centres in 2021, will be revived. Detailed plans for implementation and timing will be developed.

“Improvement of the Education Sector: The education sector will be thoroughly reviewed to address issues hindering effective delivery. The joint committee will propose solutions for implementation.

“Rehabilitation of Refineries: A review will be conducted to establish a framework for completing the rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries.

“Road Maintenance and Rail Network Expansion: The Federal Government will provide a framework for road maintenance and the expansion of rail networks throughout the country.

“Assessment of Other Demands: The joint committee will assess all other demands presented by the TUC to the Federal Government.”

Based on these discussions, the following agreements were reached:

– Immediate Suspension of Strike Notice: The NLC will suspend the strike notice to allow for further consultations.

– Continued Engagements: The TUC and NLC will maintain ongoing discussions with the Federal Government to ensure the resolution of the above-mentioned matters.

– Implementation Framework Meeting: A meeting between the Labour Centers and the Federal Government will take place on June 19, 2023, to finalize an implementation framework.

NIMASA Debunks Nepotism Allegations, Defends Structure

By
James Orji
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Bashir Jamoh

The Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has denied a report of nepotism against the management led by Bashir Jamoh.

In a statement issued by the Assistant Director, Public Relations, Osagie Edward, the agency said the allegation was meant to ‘mislead’ Nigerians.

The statement reads, “I wish to state categorically that this publication is subjective, smirking mischief, skewed to achieve the goals of the fabricator, and meant to mislead Nigerians.

“It is worthy of note that the Agency’s approved organogram has 9 directorates and 11 autonomous units. At present NIMASA has 12 Directors with all but one of them promoted under Jamoh’s administration.

“The breakdown shows that 5 are from South South, 3 from South West, 2 from South East and 1 each from North East and North West. We wish to put on record that the two Directors promoted this year were both from Southern Nigeria.

“This implies that the ratio of the Agency’s Director from South to North is 10:2, representing over 83% Southern Directors, as against less than 17% Northern Directors.

“The Directors of Marine Environment Management Department, Special Duties, Data Management Services, Deep Blue and Secretary General of Abuja MoU are all from the South South geopolitical zone. The South West has Directors of Internal Audit, SERVICOM, and Maritime Labour Services Western Zone, while the Directors of Cabotage and Planning and Research Departments are from the South East.

“The North East and North West have one Director each, heading the Western Zonal Region and the Reform Coordination Unit respectively.

“It is imperative to note that competent professionals from Southern Nigeria are heading seven (7) out of the eleven (11) autonomous Units of the Agency including the Agency’s spokesperson who is from South-South geopolitical Zone.

“While we urge media practitioners to always cross check their facts before going to press, the allusion by Messrs Ships and Ports that the Agency has an office in Jos, Plateau State is misleading. This is a misrepresentation of facts, which is capable of misinforming the public, as the Agency has never operated an office in Plateau State.

Nigeria Air Announces Timeline for Commencement Of Commercial Flights

By
James Orji
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0

The newly unveiled national carrier, Nigeria Air, has revealed that it would soon make formal announcement for job opportunities as it continues to make preparations for commencement of commercial flights, which is projected to take place in the third quarter of this year.

Nigeria Air was unveiled on Friday, May 26, 2023, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, with a dual promise of quality service delivery and job creation, among others.

The job creation drive disclosure was contained in a document, entitled “Nigeria Air: The Journey So Far”, made available to newsmen in Abuja on Monday, by the airline’s media office.

According to the document, announcement for job opportunities would be made in key national newspapers for pilots, engineers, cabin crew and other positions.

The vacancy advertisements would also be posted on Nigeria Air website and social media platforms, as revealed by the document.

Indications in the Aviation industry have shown that the establishment of the airline did not sit well with the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), an umbrella body of indigenous airline owners in Nigeria, who have continually opposed and queried the process leading to the setting up of the National Carrier.

The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), had sometime in November 2022, approached a Federal High Court in Lagos to obtain an interim injunction to prevent the Ministry of Aviation from progressing with the launch of the new national carrier. The AON had contended that the National Carrier would stifle the growth of domestic airlines by taking control of the various domestic, regional and international routes, because of its partnership with the Ethiopian Airlines, which they claimed would have undue advantage over other airlines.

But the Aviation Ministry had insisted that Nigeria Air was not established to create a monopoly but to improve the standards in the Nigerian Aviation industry, create jobs for Nigerians and reduce capital flight that currently occurs due to most international routes being operated by foreign carriers.

It also said that in spite of AON’s allegations of lack of transparency in the process of the airline’s establishment, “The project was properly advertised in local and international publications and some of the members of AON participated in the RFP process but did not submit a bid. The procurement process was in line with ICRC’s guidelines for Public Private Partnership in Nigeria”

The document said further:”The aim of establishing a national carrier is to improve service delivery and promote competition that will offer best value to Nigerian air travellers, promote national image and prestige, as well as engender multiplier effects on the economy. Nigeria Air has been structured based on the results of the various analyses conducted and in line with extant international laws with respect to composition of a flag bearer. The project was properly advertised in local and international publications and some of the members of AON participated in the RFP process but did not submit a bid. The procurement process was in line with ICRC’s guidelines for Public Private Partnership in Nigeria.

“Nigeria Air is for Nigerians and other passengers. We must all come together and protect it alongside other airlines. It is a source of national pride for all of us that we can now do what other countries such as Ethiopia, South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda etc have done over the years, which is to fly their country’s flag to major international destinations, offering Nigerians and other passengers cheaper and reliable flights.

“Ethiopian Airlines has 77 years of successful global airline experience. They are by far the largest carrier in Africa and are amongst the 30 largest airlines in the world. They grossed $6 billion in revenue, almost $1 billion in profits in 2022, and have over 140 modern aircrafts in their fleet. Ethiopian Airlines has serviced Nigerian passengers uninterrupted since the country’s independence.

“Nigeria Air at commencement of operations will operate both domestic and international routes with modern Boeing 737 Max and 787 aircraft, thus giving Nigerians and other passengers the best in terms of quality service and on-time departures. Nigeria Air will not only meet international standards, but will provide competitive alternative to international passengers, and also domestic passengers that have had to contend with poor quality service, incessant delays and cancellations of booked flights over the years.

“When fully operational, Nigeria Air will have in its fleet over 30 modern aircraft consisting of Boeing 737 MAXs for regional and local flights and 787 Dreamliner wide-bodies for long haul international flights to New York, London, Dubai, China and many other destinations. An aviation academy will be setup in Abuja, Nigeria, and there will be hundreds of well-paying job opportunities for Nigerians including pilots, cabin crew, engineers, technicians and many other staff. A modern Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility will be established in Abuja. Revenue projections for Nigeria Air within 5 years is over US$1.0 billion.”

PDP Urges IGP, DSS To Investigate Attacks On Members In Ogun State

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the Inspector General of Police, (IGP) and the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) to direct an immediate investigation into the security lapses which led to attack on some of its members on Monday at the premises of the Election Petition Tribunal.

The party, in a statement by its spokesman, Debo Ologunagba, described as unfortunate such unchecked attack on the institution of the Judiciary and other innocent Nigerians at the premises of the Electoral Tribunal.

“Information available to the PDP indicates that the hoodlums were mobilized by APC leaders who are in mortal fear that the APC’s manipulations and rigging in the Ogun State Governorship election will be exposed at the Tribunal.

“The attack by the APC is a direct assault on the institution of the Judiciary, the Election Tribunal and a serious threat to the sustenance of Democracy in our country.

“Our Party is distressed that the attack by the APC on our leaders and members, journalists and other innocent Nigerians reportedly occurred in the full glare of police operatives and other security agents, who were said to have made no attempt to arrest or stop the APC hoodlums from unleashing violence at the Tribunal.

“Such scenario is indicting on Nigeria’s security authorities which requires urgent attention.

“The PDP therefore calls on the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) to direct an immediate investigation into the security lapses that might have paved way for such unchecked attack on the institution of the Judiciary and other innocent Nigerians at the premises of the Electoral Tribunal.

“Our party, standing with the people of Ogun State, demands that those behind the attack must be tracked down and brought to book immediately especially as there are ample evidence from video recordings of this shameful and dastardly action by the APC sponsored hoodlums.

The people of Ogun State and the PDP will never be deterred or cowed by the APC to give up the legitimate and constitutional pursuit for the recovery of the mandate freely given to our party and Governorship candidate in Ogun State, Hon. Ladi Adebutu, and nothing will change that resolve.

“Our Party also calls on all our members, supporters and people of Ogun State to remain calm but at alert and ready to use every means within the ambit of the law to resist the APC in its plots to disrupt the Tribunal and subvert the course of justice in the matter.”

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