Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has been described as a a ‘political prostitute’ by the Spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, Festus Keyamo, SAN.
Keyamo said this in response to Dogara’s dismissal of the endorsement of APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in Nasarawa State by President Muhammadu Buhari, as a satire.
“I know that PMB loves to crack jokes but I didn’t know he would escalate it to the level of satire. Asiwaju’ll give his best to Nigeria, really? Fake certificates, fake parentage, golden triangle escapades, racketeering. No, PMB, Nigeria does not deserve his best but we get the satire,” Dogara said in his tweet.
In reaction, Keyamo tweeted that Dogara is a wanderer and back-stabber.
He wrote: “My brother and Law school mate, @YakubDogara, this tweet is beneath you. You are actually pained by the support of PMB for @officialABAT, two leaders who have stayed true to their beliefs and causes, unlike the political prostitute, wanderer and back-stabber that you’ve always been.”
Dogara was first in PDP, defected to APC, defected to PDP again, then moved back to APC, and is back, again, to the PDP.
Exactly a week after Eight persons lost their lives at Ojuelegba where a Container fell on a Mini Bus another tragedy has struck Lagos.
Six Persons are alleged to have lost their lives in a Ship mishap at the Atlas Cove.
The accident happened in a vessel at the Atlas Cove Jetty as the yet to be identified deceased persons were working on the tanker of the vessel identified as MT Halima.
In a statement, the Nigerian Navy Ship BEECROFT said a distress call was received from the ship through the Western Region Control Centre of the Falcon Eye, a Navy’s Maritime Domain Awareness facility.
A rescue party was dispatched from the NNS BEECROFT’s taskforce at Atlas Cove which took off from Takwa jetty.
The victims were evacuated to Mekwe Jetty, Victoria Island, where the owner of the vessel moved them to the Military Hospital in Ikoyi for medical treatment.”
The Commander NNS BEECROFT, Rear Admiral Abdul-Rasheed Haruna, urged mariners to embrace the highest level of safety while operating at sea in line with international best practices.
He also assured the public of the unwavering commitment of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, to ensuring safety and security of lives within the nation’s maritime space.
Due to the exit of some top officers from the force, the Police Service Commission, (PSC) has approved the appointment of three Assistant Inspectors General of Police, Hafiz Inuwa, Aji Janga, and Adeleke Bode, to the rank of Deputy Inspectors General of Police.
The new DIGs are expected to fill the vacant duty posts created by the retirements of three DIGs representing the North-Central, North-East and the North-West geopolitical zones.
The Spokesperson for the PSC, Ikechukwu Ani, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
The statement added that PSC noted that the approval of the appointments of the new DIGs has also ensured that the defined succession policy in the Nigerian police is sustained.
The Force Secretary, Hafiz Inuwa, will be replacing retired DIG Mustapha Dan-Daura for the North-West slot. Dan- Daura retired on January 15 this year.
Aji Janga from the North-East will replace DIG Zanna Ibrahim who retired on November 26, 2022, while Adeleke Bode of North-Central will replace DIG Sanusi Lemu who retired on January 31 this year.
It explained that new appointments were part of the decisions of the reconvened 18th plenary of the commission, which held in Abuja on Thursday, 2nd and Friday 3rd February, 2023 and chaired by Justice Clara Ogunbiyi, Acting Chairperson of the PSC.
Meanwhile, the Commission has suspended the promotion of eight Commissioners of Police to the rank of Assistant Inspectors General, (AIG) and 11 Deputy Commissioners of Police to the next rank of Commissioners due to their failure to appear before it for the mandatory promotion interview.
“The PSC had sent invitations to the officers to appear before it for the usual interaction to ascertain their suitability and capability for the new offices.
“The Commission expressed surprise at their failure to honour the invitation especially as the 2023 General Election is just days away.”
The Commission also approved the promotion of 10 Assistant Commissioners of Police to the next rank of Deputy Commissioners; 17 Chief Superintendents of Police to Assistant Commissioners and 301 Superintendents of Police to Chief Superintendents.
Fourty seven skipped Deputy Superintendents of Police from previous recommendations to the commission were also promoted to Superintendents of Police while 665 Assistant Superintendents of Police were promoted to Deputy Superintendents of Police.
The recommendations for ACP Nwamanna Nelson, SP Iliyas Casmir and SP Alheri Mamman were also endorsed and the officers promoted to their next ranks after they were absolved of any pending disciplinary matter.
Justice Ogunbiyi congratulated and wished the officers success, while charging the newly-promoted officers to give their best to the service of the nation especially now that Nigeria will be going to the polls to elect new leaders.
The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi has thrown his weight behind currency redesign but wants the banks to expedite action to reduce the pains and discomforts small depositors and the unbanked are going through.
According to Obi In a statement on Sunday to share in the pains of Nigerians, “the currency redesign is not peculiar to Nigeria. It is an exercise that comes with some inconveniences and pains, but it has significant longterm economic and social benefits.”
Obi said that “ even though there are improvements that can be made, I urge Nigerians to bear with the CBN and Federal Government with the hope that the general populace and Nigeria will harvest the gains that will come with the reforms.
He implored the CBN and the banks “to expedite efforts to make the new currency available to small depositors and the unbanked in order to reduce the pains of my fellow Nigerians, especially the underprivileged and those living far away from banks in the rural areas.
I don’t know if the Primate of All Nigeria, Anglican Communion, His Grace, The Most Reverend Henry Ndukuba has seen the viral video of the unexplainable behavior of one of his Bishops, His Lordship, The Rt. Rev. Christian Onyia, the Bishop of Nike Diocese, Enugu State. I ask this in case he didn’t quite take notice of the baffling incident that happened before him.
His Grace was present at the Church Service. But as you know, he may have, at the time, been sitting right inside the Alter, and may have been, inadvertently, blocked from the incident by dozens of Priests at the Church Service. When His Grace is present at a Church Service, it is flooded by Priests, including Bishops from nearby Dioceses. It is, usually, a big do. And this very Church Service of the Sunday of January 29, 2023, was special and high profile.
Professor Chinedu Nebo, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, former Minister for Power under President Goodluck Jonathan, and on top of all that, an Archdeacon in the Anglican Church, was having a triple celebration. So, the Thanksgiving Service was in his honour.
It was his 70th birthday, his retirement from Service in the Lord’s Vineyard after 40 years of meritorious service, and his 45th wedding anniversary. So, you can imagine the caliber of dignitaries present. That’s what makes this incident confounding and strange.
And it is why I think the Primate needs to urgently watch the viral video so as not to miss anything. When he does, His Grace owes the Church an urgent duty. I have watched it for over seven times. And, at each new time, I become more embarrassed than before.
The Primate, given his office, especially, in a very stressed Country, which has over-stressed millions of his flock, is a very busy man. He does not need distractions. He needs to concentrate on the number of people who look up to him for hope, for words of comfort, for assurance that tomorrow will be better, and that God does not abandon His people. Yet, he needs to perform this urgent duty to retain the dignity of the office of Anglican Bishops (no less).
I am conscious of the injunction: “touch not my anointed”. And to tell you the truth, dear readers, this is difficult for me to write. But when an anointed person reduces himself to the level of the unanoited, and basically desecrates the House of God, for our sanity, it should be pointed out. And in the instant case, there is no better person to call His Lordship to order, and restore our sanity and faith and the dignity of the Clergy than the Primate – the overall Leader of the Anglican Church, Nigeria.
Here’s what this is all about.
The Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Peter Mbah, a calm, brilliant young man, was at that Thanksgiving Service. He needed to. Aside from the fact that Nebo is his Party man, election is near. Politicians, even of Mbah’s unobtrusive type, usually need such crowd.
They need the prayers of the children of God and God’s blessings to realise their ambition. And for that day, to get the blessings of the Primate and other members of the Clergy in one fell swoop, is a bumper harvest of blessings.
But, perhaps, Mbah arrived late and did the most sensible thing any decent person should do.
He quietly sat down somewhere among other worshippers.
A quiet operator, Mbah has no airs about him. He does not flaunt his status and/or accomplishments. Which is why he did not behave like a typical Nigerian big man. You know, a typical Nigerian big man would arrive late to a Church Service, and instead of sitting quietly, somewhere, to commune with his God, he would disrupt the Church Service and distract the worshippers. He would walk straight to a front row seat. If no space is available, he would expect somebody to stand up for him, or beckon to Church ushers who would quickly arrange a seat for him to squeeze in. The Nigerian big man takes this as a right, and with the support of the leadership of the Church, forgets that before God, and in His House, everybody is equal.
But Bishop Onyia thought differently. He wouldn’t allow Mbah his quiet moment with God. He wouldn’t allow him concentrate and enjoy the beautiful hymn that was being rendered at the time.
He wanted Mbah to be the typical Nigerian big man.
So, along with a Priest and one other dignitary, Bishop Onyia went to Mbah and asked him to leave his seat for the front row. But Mbah felt that would be inappropriate. For one, the Primate was present. For another, he would disrupt the Service and distract the congregation. But Bishop Onyia insisted. Mbah pleaded with him to leave it alone. Onyia held Mbah’s hand and made to “uproot” him. Mbah still said no.
Then, His Lordship, The Rt. Rev. Christian Onyia, did the unbelievable. The Bishop knelt down before Mbah, knelt down for Mbah, to plead with him to relocate. This was in the House of God! Strange. Disheartening.
Obviously embarrassed and taken aback, Mbah quickly went down on his knees, too, before the Bishop. In Mbah’s shoes, I would do the same. I would think the Bishop was placing a curse on me by kneeling down for me. God forbid. I would have collapsed, almost. What was the big deal?
I have thought about the Bishop’s strange behavior, and my conclusion is that Bishop Onyia seems to have, please forgive me, desecrated the House of God by kneeling down for Mbah. My conclusion is that he disrespected the House of God. My conclusion is that His Lordship ridiculed himself and his office as a Bishop. My conclusion is that by so doing, he, also, ridiculed his brother-Bishops, and demeaned the Clergy. I am not judging him, but this incident shakes the faith, and weakens the spirit.
I know Bishops are trained to be humble. That’s what the Holy Book teaches. And most Bishops are. But it should not be to the extent of ridiculing oneself. At that level, one’s dignity must be intact. To many of us, our Bishops are our ultimate. They are the representatives of God that we see here. We run to them in times of pain and sorrow and helplessness.. We find succor in their words. They comfort us. And scold us when we go wrong and/or fall below their expectations.
Now, tell me, Bishop Onyia, having knelt down before Mbah in public, and in the presence of his Parishioners, how will he correct him if he becomes Governor? Can he, then, publicly and fearlessly preach against any bad policy of Mbah’s Government. Having knelt down for him, as a Candidate, will Bishop Onyia lie flat on the ground for him if/when he becomes the Governor?
Bishop Onyia (right) and Peter Mbah (left)
That is part of the problem we have in Nigeria. A number of institutions we should look up to have been compromised. The Church is not an exception. It has been infiltrated and corrupted by Politicians. Many Church Leaders can no longer look our Political leaders in the face and tell them the truth. And, the sad thing: we know why.
I don’t know how His Grace intends to handle this situation since he was present at the Church Service. But I recommend the behavior of the late Bishop of Lagos West Diocese, His Lordship, The Rt. Rev. Peter A. Adebiyi, to His Lordship, The Rt. Rev. Christian Onyia of Nike Diocese.
During his first tenure as Governor of Ekiti State, former Governor Ayo Fayose encountered Bishop Adebiyi in Church.
Newly sworn into office, Fayose’s uncle, who worships at Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral, booked a Thanksgiving Service for him. Wrong day!
The Church Service had gone more than half-way when Fayose sauntered in with his security details and more.
Instead of sitting quietly at the back of the Church until called up for his Thanksgiving, he and his entourage walked straight to the front, the whole length of the Cathedral, and disrupted the Service. Not a few eyes were focused on the young, new, Governor who defeated an incumbent. And Adebiyi hit the roof, literally.
As Fayose sat down, Adebiyi descended on him. He asked him what and/or who gave him the temerity to disrupt the Church Service by walking straight to the front when he came late. Next time, he told him, keep off. And, turning to the Governor’s uncle, Adebiyi told him: “Don’t arrange any more Thanksgiving for him here in future if he would come late. This is the House of God.”
Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, who has not been too sure of himself, politically, has bounced back.
Chief Okey Ahiwe, his immediate past Chief of Staff, has won the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governorship Primary election of the State
The Primary was conducted on Saturday, February 4, at Umuahia by the National Leadership of the Party.
The Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki was the Chairman of the Governorship Primary Committee.
The Governorship Candidate’s slot became vacant after the death, recently, of Prof. Uche Ikonne, the party’s flag bearer in the March 11, 2023 Governorship election. According to his son, Dr Uche, the Candidate, a Professor of Optometry, died of a massive heart attack at the National Hospital Abuja, after a medical trip to the United Kingdom.
Ahaiwe won in a landslide, polling a total number of 469 votes to beat the Deputy Governor of the State, Ude Oko-Chukwu and Lucky Igbokwe both of whom scored 12 votes each. A former House of Assembly member, Sampson Orji scored 11 votes, while a former Chairman of tye Party, Emma Nwaka, scored zero.
Dr Nnaemeka Obiaraeri, the Labour Party Candidate for the Imo House of Assembly, Okigwe Local Government Area, is a lucky fellow. He should be singing praises to God as he was saved from the hands of gunmen who invaded his country home at an uncivilised hour on Saturday.
This is as the activities of gunmen have, inexplicably, escalated in the State, a situation not a few people say is political.
In his absence, they set fire on his country home and vehicles, and razed them down. They, also, did not spare his father’s and uncle’s houses.
The gunmen invaded in three vehicles, according to him.
In a statement signed, personally, Saturday morning, Dr Obiaraeri confirmed the attack and
blamed the failure of the APC Governments for the attack.
Obiaraeri: “Just got another share of the dreadful situation of insecurity in Nigeria.
“Gunmen went to my country home in Amagu Ihube to burn down my house and burn to ashes my functioning factory cars parked there, no doubt known to their supporters.
“They also demolished my father’s and my uncle’s homes. My elderly mother and siblings are in distress!
“Without anyone intervening, three Hilux vehicles filled with robbers and murderers set fire to homes and injured people.
“I have no idea who I insulted or why somebody would want to destroy me. I haven’t consumed anyone else’s fish or yam.
“The APC governments in Imo State and Aso Rock, Nigeria, have once again failed to uphold their oath of office to safeguard the lives and property of law-abiding Nigerians. Complete failure on the part of authorities.
“This further supports our appeal to Nigerians to choose their PVCs and participate in the election of Peter Obi and Datti Baba Ahmed of Nigeria’s Next President and Vice President will be chosen by the Labour Party.”
On Friday, gunmen invaded a Customary Court in Ejemekwuru, Oguta LGA, and shot dead the Judge, Nnaemeka Ugboma.
A couple of weeks back, they invaded the home of Ikenga Ugochinyere Imo, the House of Representatives Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for Ideato North and South Federal Constituency, killed three people, and razed down his house and about 30 vehicles.
A few days later, they invaded the Arochukwu home of the Sole Administrator of the Ideato North Local Government Area, Chief Chris Ohizu, burnt down his house, shot him on the leg and kidnapped him along with two others.
Two days later, after a ransome, to the tune of six million Naira, was paid, they beheaded him, videod the blood cuddling act with his phone, and posted it on the Social Media.
Femi Fani-Kayode, a spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Candidate, Bola Tinubu, has called for the sack, arrest and detention of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele.
The APC chieftain described Emefiele as a dangerous man whose plan is to cause chaos, and scuttle the Presidential election along with other anti-democratic elements.
Fani-Kayode made this call in a series of tweets in reaction to the crisis that has bedeviled Nigeria since the redesign of some denominations of the Naira and the swap.
His Principal, Tinubu, had more than hinted that the redesign policy of the Naira was targeted at the Presidential election, and by extention, at him to stop him from victory. He described the exercise as ill-timed, just as he said that the unending fuel scarcity is deliberate.
The Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, in the past three days, has been agreeing with Tinubu’s opinion, blaming those he referred to as the cabal in the Aso Rock Vliia who are working against Tinubu for the debacle.
The crushing scarcity of the Naira has led to excruciating suffering in the land. Fights have broken out in banking halls and at ATM and POS centres, and at least, three deaths have been reported.
At least ten people have stripped themselves naked in banking halls.
On Thursday, Emefiele said the CBN has ordered banks to start dispensing 20 thousand Naira only, per day, per person, of the new notes. But that has not helped. And is not being done in most banks.
On Friday, President Muhammadu Buhari, after a meeting with the APC Governors Forum, asked for seven days to sort the problem out, and blamed “greediness” for the difficulties being experienced. The Governors had appealed to him to allow the use of the old and new notes side-by-side to reduce the hardship people are going through.
But Fani-Kayode in his tweet, said Emefiele would never release the new notes until March. Meaning the release would be after the Presidential election. He, therefore, called for Emefiele’s arrest.
He tweeted: “Let me make this clear. Emefiele has NO intention of releasing new Naira notes until March. He wants people to suffer, he wants chaos, & he wants to scuttle the election.
“He is a dangerous pawn in the hands of sinister anti-democratic forces. Remove, arrest, & detain him NOW”!
Traditional Rulers from Yoruba speaking areas of Nigeria have appealed to the Federal Government to ease the hardship being encountered by Nigerians in getting the new naira notes and petrol.
The monarchs, which cut across all South West states and some North Central states during their meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State, declared that “we are using this medium to call on the government to urgently find immediate and lasting solution to the current hardship facing the entire people of Nigeria through the scarcity of petroleum products and non availability of new naira notes.”
In a communique released on Saturday, the traditional rulers, under the aegis of the Yoruba Obas’ Forum, after a meeting of its executives in Ibadan, Oyo State on Friday 3rd February, 2023, condemned the continuous scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) due to the inability of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to address the situation for the past months.
The statement was released on their behalf by the administrator of the Forum, Oba (Dr) Michael Odunayo Ajayi, the Elerinmo of Erinmo.
It was jointly signed by the Molokun of Atijere, President of the Forum, Oba Samuel O. Adeoye, the General Secretary of the Forum and Olukotun of Ikotun-Ile, Oba. Dr Abdulrasaq Adebayo Abioye, the Forum PRO and Alayandelu of Odo-Ayandelu, Oba (Bldr) Asunmo Ganiyu Aderibigbe, the Forum’s Financial Secretary and Olasole of Lasole, Oba Dairo Jacob Olufayo, the Olujumu of Ijumu Kingdom, Oba Williams Olusegun Ayeni, the Ologijo of Ogijo, Oba Kazeem Gbadamosi, the Onileki of Lekki, Oba Liasim Olumuyiwa Ogunbekun and the Alagbado of Agbado, Oba Adedayo Shyllon Sogbulu.
In the statement, the traditional rulers also decried the current difficulties encountered by their people in getting the new naira notes as well as non availability of the currency while recommending immediate resolution by government.
According to the Yoruba Obas “The current situation has forced traders to increased the price of their products while it has also affected commercial transportation which is bouncing back on the masses.
“Even the current situation has forced most traders to lock their shops due to their inability to trade and in a bid to avoid collecting the old notes, which were still largely in circulation.”
The Monarchs affirmed that the cash crunch has affected lots of Nigerians in the rural areas, whose major means of getting cash was through POS operators most of whom had now been squeezed out of business.
“Understanding that a vast majority of Nigerians operate in the informal sector doing petty trade and without the level of literacy to handle non cash transactions, this cash crunch has literarily shut their operations down with ripple effects on millions.”
They called on Federal government to be magnanimous and respond to the cries of the people by immediately reversing this policy by allowing the use of both new and old naira notes concurrently for a long while.
Similarly, the Yoruba Obas expressed their full support to shift power to the South in 2023 for fairness and equity after eight years of Northern presidency.
They also re-echoed the position of other prominent Nigerians that the power should be rotated between the North and the South, it is for the betterment of Nigeria.
They prayed for a smooth and peaceful election, urging the youths and other Nigerian people not to engage in acts of violence or contravene any laws of the country as election is not a do or die affair.
There is palpable anger in Imo State over the murder of a Customary Court Judge, Nnaemeka Ugboma, in the premises of his Court on Friday, February 3, 2023.
Ugboma, the Chairman of the Ejemekwuru Customary Court in Oguta Local Government Area, was gruesomely murdered in his Court’s premises after the Court session, just as he made to enter his car.
He was shot dead by gunmen who rode on motorcycles, and invaded his Court. An eye witness alleged that one of the gunmen pointed at him and identified him as their target, before they shot him on the head. He died on the spot.
In its reaction, a shocked Imo State Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, ordered a boycott of the Courts in the State by all its branches.
In a statement signed by the Chairmen of all its branches in the State, the NBA said the boycott would last for three days.
A devastated Ugboma’s younger sister, Chioma, a Senior Journalist with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in a WhatsApp Platform, told her Colleagues: “I am finished. They murdered my elder brother just like that. I don’t know what to do. I cannot cope.”
Like most Imo people, the NBA is outraged by the gruesome murder of Ugboma. In a release, it said: “This dastardly act is highly condemnation as it desecrated the temple of justice and undermines the confidence of the citizens in the judiciary as the last hope of the common man.”
The NBA’s statement read:
“The Branches of the Nigerian Bar Association in Imo State deplore the cold blooded murder of a judicial officer, His Worship Nnaemeka Ugboma, Esq., who was shot point blank in Court by yet to be identified gun men on the 2nd of February, 2023.
“On receipt of the news, the Owerri Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association promptly engaged lawyers within the affected jurisdiction as well as staff of the affected court, who confirmed the incident.
“We also convened an emergency meeting and further contacted the heads of the judiciary, particularly the Chief Judge of Imo State and the President of the Customary Court of Appeal, Imo State.
“The Commissioner of Police, Imo State, has also received a request from us for an immediate and thorough investigation into the circumstances leading to the unfortunate incident and to ensure that the culprits are apprehended and made to face the full weight of the law.
“The Imo Bar notes with deep concern that the attacks on judicial institutions have become a disturbing trend in Imo State, and has taken an unfortunate turn by the murder of Mr. Ugboma.
“This dastardly act is highly condemnable as it desecrates the temple of justice and undermines the confidence of the citizens in the judiciary as the last hope of the common man.
“The Bar therefore calls on the Imo State Government to provide, with immediate effect, security in and around all the courts in Imo State, which have remained porous despite the sensitive role they play in the society.
“The Imo Bar, in consonance with the national body of the NBA, ably led by Y.C. Maikyau, OON, SAN, firmly resists the attempt to undermine the judiciary and the legal profession, and instill fear in the conduct of judicial proceedings. Also, citizens need to be aware that judicial officers and lawyers are not their enemies or opponents; they only aid in the administration of justice.
“In the circumstance, the members of the NBA in Imo State have resolved to boycott all courts in Imo State, starting from Monday 6th February 2023 to Wednesday 8th February 2023, in order to register our displeasure with the current state of affairs.
“Until the members of the Bar in Imo State are sufficiently assured of the safety of the judiciary, the Bar and the litigants as requested, we shall continue to review the situation and to take further necessary actions.”
It was signed by:
*D. U. ALINNOR ESQ.
Chairman, NBA Owerri Branch.
*B. A. MUNONYE ESQ.
Chairman, NBA Orlu Branch
*AMBROSE UGBAJA ESQ.
Chairman, NBA Mbaise Branch
*E. A. OCHIONU ESQ.
Chairman, NBA Okigwe Branch
*CHIEF RICHARD ANYANWU
Chairman, NBA Mbano/Etiti Branch.
The late Ugboma was a 1991 Law graduate.
The Imo State Police Command has started a full investigation into the tragic incident. There has been no arrest yet, but the Police say the Command is on the trail of the assassins.
