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Ondo Govt: No Law Backing Traditional Rulers To Extend Authority Beyond Domain

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

Ondo State Government has declared that no traditional ruler in the State has the right to paramountcy claim, as it is not part of the Chief’s Law of Ondo State.

The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Charles Titiloye, said this at a press conference in Akure on Monday, where he announced the release of the White Paper on the Justice C.E.T. Ajama (rtd) Judicial Commission of Inquiry on Chieftaincy Matters.

Titiloye disclosed that the immediate past administration under Dr. Olusegun Mimiko instituted the commission on January 30, 2015 to attend to recognition, adjustment, upgrading and elevation of chieftaincy stools in the state.

According to him, the Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu-led administration set up a six-man committee at the State Executive Council (SEC) meeting held on January 12, 2022 to review the recommendations made by Justice Ajama Commission.

He noted that the new committee set up by the present administration reviewed it and prepared the Government White Paper on the report, settling 51 disputed chieftaincy stools across the 18 local government areas of the state.

The Attorney General, who disclosed that the new report was received on August 24, 2022, said the SEC directed that its decisions on the recommendation should be published in Government White Paper.

 “Government is in receipt of the recommendation of the commission on paramountcy of some traditional rules in the state.

“Government notes that paramountcy is not part of the Chief’s Law of Ondo State.

“Consequently, government has directed the office of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice to set machinery in motion for the amendment of the Chiefs’ Law of Ondo State in order to accommodate this recommendation.”

Assassination Attempt: Ubah Confirms Killing Of Two Persnal Aides, A Number Of Police And DSS Operatives

By
The Source
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Ifeanyi Ubah attack

By Charles Igbo

A thoroughly shaken Senator Ifeanyi Uba has, finally, spoken. In his first comment since after he missed death by whiskers in the hands of suspected assassins, Ubah confirmed that there were a number of fatalities.

Among the fatalities, the Senator disclosed when he spoke from Awka on Monday, September 12, 2022, were his two Personal Aides – Obum Ikechukwu and Goodness Mathias.

He, also, admitted the killing  of a number of Police and DSS Operatives, but did not disclose their number. The Police has, also, not disclosed the number of the Security Operatives who died, thus giving room to wild speculations by the Media and members of the public.

Senator Ubah’s convoy was attacked in the evening of Sunday, September 11, 2022 , as the convoy drove past Nkwo market, Enugu Ukwu Anambra State.

His Media Aide had told Reporters on Sunday that the convoy was ambushed and gunmen shot from back, front and everywhere.

The Senator miraculously escaped because he rode in a bullet-proof SUV.

The assassination attempt on Senator Ubah has been strongly condemned by many, including Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Soludo, the Presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, respectively, as well as Senator Sani Shehu who represented Kaduna Central in the 8th Assembly.

Ubah, a member of the Young People’s Party, YPP. is the representative of Anambra South in the Senate. A multi millionaire who is into oil and gas business, he was, until he became a Senator, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Capital Oil and Gas Ltd.

Ubah hails from Nnewi, Anambra State.

No arrests have been made by the Police whose job it is now to determine whether Ubah ran into the gunmen, or was targeted. But, most important, to arrest the culprits.

Not a few people believe he was targeted for assassination.

Hard Times: Pastors Quit Jobs

By
James Orji
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0

Bitter divisions over politics and the pandemic have seeped into churches and led to increasing rates of job burnout among pastors, multiple clergy members, and those who counsel them told Fox News Digital.

“Our faith does not exempt us from anxiety, depression, temptation or COVID, so that’s to be expected,” said David Ferguson, executive director of the Great Commandment Network, which provides counseling initiatives to help pastors. “But in addition to that, we obviously are in a real divided, polarized, politicized world, where sadly at times pastors feel the pressure to take positions on every imaginable topic.”

A study of Protestant pastors conducted in March by the faith-based research organization Barna Group suggested that unprecedented numbers are thinking about quitting the ministry. The poll showed that rates of burnout among pastors have risen dramatically during the past year, with a staggering 42% of ministers wondering if they should abandon their vocation altogether.

That number marked an increase of 13 percentage points since Barna’s similar poll in January 2021, when just 29% felt that way. Such pastors named stress (56%), loneliness (43%) and political divisions (38%) as the top reasons they have wearied of the job, as well as the toll it has taken on their families (29%).

US RELIGIOUS LEADERS EXPLAIN WHY FAITH IN GOD HIT LOWEST LEVEL EVER, SAY COVID MADE IT WORSE

Rev. Dr. Gregory G. Groover, Sr., pastor of The Historic Charles Street A.M.E. Church in Roxbury, prays at the church in Boston on April 10, 2020.

Rev. Dr. Gregory G. Groover, Sr., pastor of The Historic Charles Street A.M.E. Church in Roxbury, prays at the church in Boston on April 10, 2020. (Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Ferguson, who has served in ministry himself, said “there’s no doubt” rates of clerical burnout are increasing. The pastorate has always presented pressures potentially detrimental to relationships and mental health, he explained, but the cultural rifts that have deepened in recent years over politics and the pandemic “have pressed pastors to not stay in their lane, which is focusing on our faith and spiritual life.”

Richard White, who has served 33 years as a pastor at a Presbyterian church in Montreat, North Carolina, said he and his staff first experienced “a flood of energy” as they scrambled to adjust to COVID-19 protocols they thought would only last for two weeks. They did their best to navigate the pitfalls of livestreams, cameras, uploading to the church website and other technical issues.

When the pandemic began to drag on indefinitely amid the nation’s political firestorm, that energy waned and was replaced by what White described as “a grinding spirit” that settled over him. About eight months in, he began to experience “decision fatigue,” which he defined as fearing that “no matter what decision you make, there’s a group that’s not happy and is vocal.”

TUCKER CARLSON: CHRISTIANITY IS DYING AND BEING REPLACED BY THE CULT OF CORONAVIRUS

“We have had people leave our church because we had to wear masks,” White said. “And I’ve had people leave our church or contemplate leaving our church because we didn’t wear masks, or we were inconsistent with mask-wearing and COVID protocols. And so here I am trying to navigate the course through this, and it’s just wearing on the soul.”

David Rossini with Bostonian Cleaning and Restoration of Braintree cleans the aisle at St. Gregory’s Church in Boston’s Dorchester during the COVID-19 pandemic on May 18, 2020.

David Rossini with Bostonian Cleaning and Restoration of Braintree cleans the aisle at St. Gregory’s Church in Boston’s Dorchester during the COVID-19 pandemic on May 18, 2020. (David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Many of his friends in ministry have expressed similar feelings to him. Of the 20 or so other pastors he has had conversations with, White said, “there isn’t a one of them who hasn’t taken a look at their retirement package and begun wondering, ‘Do I have enough? How long can I last in this?’”

While relieved things have largely settled, White noted lingering anxiety that the pandemic’s chaos could return. “It’s like dry tinder, and it can flare up at any moment,” he said. He credited his survival to God’s presence and the prayerful encouragement of his staff and church elders, who he said were burdened with him beyond their strength and forced to “press into the Lord” to sustain them.

A strong spiritual support network is crucial for clergy struggling with burnout, Monsignor Stephen J. Rossetti, a Roman Catholic priest of the Diocese of Syracuse and a research professor at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital.

Rossetti, a licensed psychologist who specializes in the psychological and spiritual wellness of Catholic priests, pointed to his own yet-unpublished research showing that while rates of depression and anxiety rose among priests during the pandemic, they remained lower than the CDC rates among the general population. He attributed this statistic to several factors intrinsic to the priesthood.

Father Michael Amabisco, right, sprinkles ash on a person’s head during Ash Wednesday service at St. Raymond Catholic Church in Menlo Park, California, on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021.

Father Michael Amabisco, right, sprinkles ash on a person’s head during Ash Wednesday service at St. Raymond Catholic Church in Menlo Park, California, on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021.

“One is a strong personal network of friendships and personal support,” Rossetti explained. “One is a strong community of faith; another is one’s own strong religious beliefs. One also involves having a life that is personally rewarding and fulfilling, and priests as a group have this.”

Even so, Rossetti acknowledged that parishioners can sometimes lay demands on their pastors that prove too burdensome for one person. “Some people are very supportive of their clergy, but people can be very demanding too, and sometimes they can have expectations that can be unrealistic,” he said.

Drake Caudill, senior pastor of a Baptist church in Carmi, Illinois, told Fox News Digital that too often pastors are expected to perform more like the CEO of a church rather than its spiritual leader, which he said: “is not a biblical approach to shepherding a congregation.”

“I think the expectation should start from Scripture and using what Scripture expects from the pastor or pastors,” said Caudill, who was moved to pen an article about pastoral burnout for Baptist Press in April after seeing pastors and their families struggle in his community.

Pastor Chuck Salvo delivers his sermon to the congregation during the drive-in service at On Fire Christian Church on April 5, 2020, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Pastor Chuck Salvo delivers his sermon to the congregation during the drive-in service at On Fire Christian Church on April 5, 2020, in Louisville, Kentucky. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

“I would see pastors out in the back of a pickup truck, holding church services or adjusting video cameras and livestreaming their services,” he said. “They were doing all that they could to try to inspire hope and bring about some normalcy. But at the same time, I was seeing them just get tired and exhausted. Their families were getting tired and exhausted.”

Mark Dance, another Baptist, has spent 35 years in the ministry and discerned that many pastors burn out because they also expect too much from themselves.

Now the director of pastoral wellness at the faith-based financial company GuideStone, Dance was serving as an interim pastor when the pandemic hit. He counted himself among the clergy who strained to juggle politics and social issues while performing their other duties.

“The most unrealistic expectations come from us trying to be proficient in someone else’s profession, especially in the last two years,” he told Fox News Digital. “People want us to chime in on politics, on a pandemic and things we’re not qualified to do. We’re not economists. If we focus on what God’s called us to do — pastoring, preaching, serving — we are less likely to face some of the challenges that are making pastors want to quit.”

“We have to wake up every day and remember what John the Baptist said: ‘I am not the Christ.’ That takes a lot of pressure off when we’re not trying to solve every problem,” he added.

Fox News

OPINION: For The Love Of Femi Fani-Kayode

By
The Source
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Fani-Kayode and Valentine

By Valentine Obienyem

(First published in 2004)

When Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was said to have won his second term in office, Nigerians expressed their opinions on how they wanted his Cabinet to look like.  Consensus of opinion preferred a Cabinet dominated by young people, who would be willing and able to work towards national transformation.  Thus, when the likes of Femi Fani-Kayode were appointed, joy was universal.

I am one of those who believe that the youth should be empowered to make meaningful contributions to the nation.  When you look at other nations, especially democratic ones, you will notice conscious efforts to enthrone the younger ones in power.  There is nothing wrong with that since the younger ones have more stakes in the progress and future of the country and should be trusted.  I say this because of gerontocratic nature of our society, where old men who should be in retirement are endlessly re-cycled as epitome of wisdom.  I understand that doing critical meetings, rather than contribute, some of them sleep of.

It is against the foregoing that Femi Fani-Kayode’s appointment was welcome by Nigerians.  As John Buchan said, “Public life is regarded as the crown of a career, and to young men it is the worthiest ambition.”  With Femi’s appointment, we expected a worthy performance as a sort of guarantee to whoever becomes the president in 2007 to take the young ones into the reckoning.

Handsome, courteous, intelligent, brave; what more could Nigerians ask of Femi other than for him to translate this good qualities into serving the country.  As the Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, we may now sit back and look into his performances so far and ask: how far has Femi Fani-Kayode gone?  This is a legitimate question that beyond Femi, should be asked of other public office holders.

I like the passion and dedication with which Femi does his job, and I am sure his principal likes it too, otherwise he would have fired him.  Seeking faults in him, I find none but his over zealousness, which has often pushed him to defend his boss even when it means telling cheap lies.  Femi, once again, renews the saying that “It is a lesson of history that men lie most when they govern states.”  Interacting with some Nigerians who had watched and heard him speak, they say that whenever he speaks these days, they will either switch on to another station or put off the medium.

The singular act that brought Femi’s phenomenon to Nigerians was Colonel Abubakar Umar’s (Retd) open letter to Mr. President and Femi’s reply.  In fact, the letter and the reply still vibrate with excitement, and are still hot with the hatred of enemies brought face to face in war.  Both warriors exhibited violent outbursts of hatred, misrepresentation, and controversial ferocity.

Though Umar’s letter was harsh and adjudged extreme, but rather than be circumspect in his reply, Femi was crude.  He spoke of Obasanjo as the common father of the nation, and of Umar as intent a patricide, he charged him not with cogent evidence, but with innuendoes.  In Femi’s reply, he framed barrage of rhetorical questions to make answers difficult or damaging, he heaped charges against Umar in periodic sentences whose clauses were lashes, and whose torrent overwhelmed.  The reply did not pretend to be fair; it was defamatory rather than declamatory.  Femi did not hesitate to apply to his victims, including Umar, terms like “pathological liar,” “treacherous” “ingrate,” “destructive fake,” etc.

Recently, when the controversy surrounding the summons on Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu raged on, Femi spoke in his characteristic way.  His latest speech was on the rejection by Professor Chinua Achebe, of the honour bestowed on him by the Federal Government.  Analysing his reply, he tried to be cautious, but his quest to please his master was still detectable.  It has got to a point that people now question the wisdom of attributing his statements to the Federal Government, on the reason that it debases the weight the releases from that office ought to carry.

The young ones who earlier identified with Femi are now disappointed.  Why should they not, when their former idol has made himself a general butt for the mockery of most Nigerians, who now make frequent reference to him when they have in mind to disgrace or calumniate any person in authority who speaks before thinking?  His indiscretion has reached a stage whereby we have to caution him, as Zeno cautioned a youth who spoke likewise in his days.  Femi, “the reason why we have two ears and only one month is that we may hear more and talk less.”  Chief Remi Oyo, even though the President’s spokesperson, talks with a lot of circumspection.  Nigerians listen to the Minister of Information himself, Chief Chikwuemeka Chikelu, because he knows when to talk, what to say and how to say it, without making enemies thereby enhancing the overall image of the government.  Those of them serving Obasanjo should realise that they may still be in politic long after Obasanjo is gone as the President.

The fundamental flaw exhibited by the tribe Femi belongs, if we want to do a philosophical analysis, has to do with human nature.  Human being is naturally selfish, he tends to be attracted to that which benefits him or he feels will further his aims. He does in politics exactly things that are contrary to his beliefs when not in politics. So mingled of angel and brute, man repeats the contradiction of mind and body and reminds us of the Chimera, which in Greek mythology, was a she-goat with a lion’s head and a serpent’s tail. Thus, Blaise Pascal says of man: “What a Chimera is man! What a novelty, a monster, chaos, a contradiction, a prodigy, Judge of all things, and imbecile norm of the earth; depository of truth, a sewer of error and doubt; the refuse of the universe.  Who shall unravel this confusion?”

The contradiction in man, as Femi’s tribe shows us is most manifest when he governs state. Thus, there is nothing human beings have not done, and will not hesitate to do to retain state powers.  When Femi was not in power, he was critical of Obasanjo, now he is in power he is infinitely ready to justify every action of Obasanjo.  Most of us have heard of the renowned John Milton who wrote the equally renowned Paradise Lost.  In another book, Areopatitica, Milton argued against censorship of books.  Milton said, “He who kills a good book, kills reason itself.”  Very soon, when, in 1649, Milton was invited by Crownwell to join the government, Milton joined with other employees of the Council in suppressing books.  The one who had written the most eloquent appeal ever made for freedom of the press was now looking at censorship from the view of the ruling power.  What a Chimera is man!

Yesterday, Femi wrote against Obasanjo and criticised those that jettisoned principle, those who, like the proverbial dog, left off barking in defence of the masses because bones were thrown to them.  Femi and his tribe criticised and pontificated about their superior values.  Today we are criticising Femi and his tribe, while tomorrow others may rise to criticise us because some of us would certainly follow the way of the Femis.

I am not saying that critics should not join the government, they should; what I say, however, is that we should not allow the crumbs we get to blind us from trying to correct those ills we spoke against.  We have to, ab initio, be faithful to the government we serve, and above all to our conscience.  Femi’s volte-face pains me particularly because he gives uninspiring example to the younger ones thereby jeopardising his future that is otherwise bright.  If other Nigerians feel disappointed, as is clearly the case, you are now left to imagine what his immediate constituency – the bar – feels.

Meanwhile, we join all men of goodwill in condemning the shooting of yesterday. May God crown the efforts of Gov. Soludo in security  with success.

Obienyem sent this from Awka, Anambra State

Ijaw Group Denies Plan To Attack IPOB, Ndigbo, Says They Are Partners In Struggle

By
Ayodele Oni
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0
Benjamin Okaba Prof

By Ayodele Oni

The Ijaw National Congress, (INC), an umbrella body of Ijaw speaking people from the south, has distanced its members from an alleged attack of Ndigbo and members of Independent People of Biafra, (IPOB).

President of INC, Prof Benjamin Okaba in a statement on Monday, explained that the Ijaw Group, as one of those agitating for better living condition for the people of the southern part of the country, will not contemplate or launch attack on any other bodies.

The state by the INC leader states “The use of violence against our neighboring ethnic groups, totally contravenes the ideals of the Ijaw Struggle.

“Therefore, Militia groups brandishing Ijaw symbolism for selfish atrocious economic adventures, particularly against our Igbo neighbors and other ethnic nationalities, are on their own and are acting at their own peril. The Ijaw Nation disassociate itself from such actions and people.

“Due to the very sensitive nature of the issue at stake, the leadership of Ijaw National Congress shall immediately carry out further investigations on the alleged attacks by Izon militia group against Igbos and deploy appropriate measures that would prevent the ensuring misgivings from deteriorating into unwarranted and avoidable crises.

“We wish to strongly appeal to all Ijaw freedom fighters and Youths in general to demonstrate total commitment to the ideals of the Ijaw Agenda for Freedom, as enunciated by the founding fathers of the Struggle and apply due diligence in their individual and collective activities.”

 Spokesman of the IPOB, Emma Powerful had been quoted as alleging that a criminal gang headed by an Izon Warlord, who has continued to show unrepentant hatred for the Ndigbo and Biafra agitation championed by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB members worldwide is busy recruiting Izon boys and killing innocent Biafrans in Imo, Abia and Eboyin States in the name of chasing IPOB and Nnamdi Kanu.

The IPOB Spokesman is also quoted as inferring that, but for the respect they have for the age-long cordial relationship that have existed between the Izon and the Igbo, they would have retaliated.  That they are almost running out of patience, hence the call for caution.

The INC stated that it “regard these allegations as weighty and call for serious concern because the Ijaw Nation, the Igbo people and several other ethnic nationalities in the South and Middle-belt in Nigeria have on different fronts jointly confronted common issues bordering on criminal neglect, oppression, environmental degradation, exploitation, insecurity, injustice and other forms of deprivation and hardship suffered in the hands of insensitive leadership in the Nigerian hegemonic state.

“The Ijaws and Igbos are all victims of systematic insensitivity to the plight of the minorities.

“It is on record that Ijaw agitators are known for the promotion and defence of the Ijaw cause for self-determination, Resource justice, Equity, fairness to all; and the demand for full implementation of principles of the Federalism and not attack on other ethnic nationalities of Nigeria.

“In fact, one of the salient resolutions of the KAIAMA DECLARATION of Ijaw Youths including the agitators which has guided their struggles over the years is the resolution to extend hands of friendship and support other ethnic nationalities’ peaceful, genuine quest and struggle for freedom and self-actualization.

“The Ijaw National Congress at its All Ijaw Summit held in 2021 did, in unequivocal terms, resolved to pursue the noble cause of Self-determination, through non-violence, civil engagement strategy and solidarize with other entities that share similar aspirations.

“Therefore, it will be preposterous to even imagine that Ijaw people of whatsoever background could align, associate itself, encourage or endorse the attacks on other ethnic nationalities in whatever guise and be for whatever reasons.

“The use of violence against our neighboring ethnic groups, totally contravenes the ideals of the Ijaw Struggle.”

Buhari Angry With Amaechi Says Wike

By
James Orji
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0

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state says President Muhammadu Buhari is angry with his predecessor in office Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the immediate past Transportation Minister.

Wike said Amaechi, a former governor of the state no longer has access to the president.

The governor was responding to Amaechi’s comment that he did not attend the funeral of a traditional ruler, Alabo Graham-Douglas, in the Akuku Toru Local Government Area of the state.

Speaking on Monday, the Rivers helmsman said Aamechi has lost out of the power game in APC, and the president has shut him out of Aso Rock, Nigeria’s Presidency.

“This should be the last time that you (Amaechi) will talk about this state because you are a total failure as far as this state is concerned. A total failure. Even what is supposed to come to us, you blocked it but we didn’t bother.

“You think you will not finish as a minister, you have left. I hear he can’t even enter Villa now. All those periods you intimidated police people, and army people are over. You use to tell them, ‘The President is angry with you’. Now, go and tell them,”

Amaechi played a crucial role in ensuring that Buhari becomes president in 2015. Not a few insist that the former governor provided huge financial support for the ruling party to prosecute the election, where for the first time since the return to democracy in 1999, an opposition party, APC defeated the ruling party, the PDP.

His later appointment as the Minister of Transport by the president is believed to be compensation for the role he played in the make or mar presidential election which Buhari won by defeating President Goodluck Jonathan.

Amaechi remained in that position until he resigned recently to contest the APC presidential ticket which he lost to Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

Since he lost out in the APC presidential primary, the former minister has somehow disappeared from the public eye, raising critical questions on whether he’s still relevant in his party.

There are rumours that he’s planning to defect to the PDP. But close watchers of politics in the country say this will be difficult considering Governor Wike’s influence in the party.

Attack on Senator Ubah Unfortunate, Condemnable – Obi; Says, ‘We cannot re-build Nigeria through crime and violence’

By
The Source
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0
Peter Obi

The Presidential Candidate of Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, has strongly condemned the shooting at Enugu-Ukwu, Anambra State, yesterday targeted at the convoy of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah. He described it as “unfortunate and condemnable”.

Speaking to newsmen at the Abuja Airport, Obi said he was saddened when he heard the news, especially when lives were lost. He called on the perpetrators of such crimes nationwide to have a re-think about their actions, which he described as “injurious to the growth and development Nigeria urgently needs now that suffering abounds in the land.”

Obi, who described most of the shootings going on in every part of the country as one of the cumulative effects of bad leadership over the years, said that the best way to tackle them was to go to the root causes of discontent in the land and nip them in the bud rather than pretending that Nigeria has been fair to Nigerians.

Part of his words: “I have continued to lay emphasis on the urgent need for enhanced security and protection of life and property in our society. I reiterate my unwavering commitment to put an end to all forms of violence in different parts of the country by seeking the root causes, under my watch, when elected the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Violence and killings of Nigerians under any guise whatsoever will not be accepted or tolerated under my watch as President.”

Commiserating with Governor Chukwuma Soludo, he encouraged him not to relent in his efforts to restore sanity to the state.

Obi, also, commiserated with Senator Ifeanyi Ubah and the affected families  over the painful incident and loss of lives.

He said: “I deeply commiserate with my brother, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, and extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their loved ones in this ugly incidence.”

Assassination Attempt On Ubah: Soludo Condemns Attack, Vows To Ensure Justice

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0
Ifeanyi Ubah attack

By Akinwale Kasali

The attack on Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, the Senator representing Anambra South Senatorial Zone at the Senate, has been condemned by the Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Soludo.

The Senator was attacked by yet-to-be-identified assailants on Sunday. He narrowly escaped death. But  a number of his aides and Policemen were killed.

The shocking attack  happened along the Enugwu-Ukwu road in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State.

Soludo commiserated with the families of the dead victims, promising to bring the perpetrators of the dastardly act to book and make them face the full wrath of the law.

The Governor stated these in a statement signed by his Press Secretary, Christian Aburime, on Monday.

He noted, “This is the last ditch-effort of a sinking boat by these criminal elements.”

He assured that all security agencies are now on full alert to fish out the perpetrators of the attack.

The statement reads: “It was reported on Sunday evening that Dr Ifeanyi Ubah narrowly escaped bullets of some gun-wielding men who attacked his convoy at Enugwu-Ukwu road in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State.

“The government is fully determined to wipe out every act of criminality in the state. This is the last ditched-effort of a sinking boat by these criminal elements.

“All security agencies are now on full alert to fish out the perpetrators of this heinous attack, who will be made to face the full wrath of the law.

“The Governor also commiserates with Dr Ifeanyi Ubah and families of his aides who lost their lives as well as the State Commissioner of Police, for the policemen who also lost their lives.”

2023: APC Will Send Atiku To Political Retirement- Shettima

By
James Orji
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0

The vice presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC Kashim Shettima has described Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP as a ‘political tourist’ that needs to be retired.

Shettima, a former governor of Borno state said the former number two will be retired in 2023 and sent to political oblivion forever.

He described his principal and Presidential candidate of the APC as a bridge builder who will unite the people of this country.

According to him, Atiku has not done anything for his people to earn their votes, adding that the former vice president prefer living in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, UAE than Nigeria.

He said he only returns home during the period of the election.

The APC vice presidential hopeful spoke when playing hos to a group in the party, APC National Integrity Movement, in Abuja on Sunday.

He described Atiku as “a political tourist who is only in this country’s electoral circle and we are going to retire him back to Dubai to go and relax.

“In every situation, for people to see your worth, they need to see your output at home. I am from the north-east – he is from the north-east.

“Atiku cannot point to three projects that he brought to the north-east or to Northern Nigeria for the eight years that he served as the vice president. He cannot show us three people that he has mentored.”

“The trajectory of global growth is facing Africa and Nigeria will make or mar that transition. That is why I will rather be a small fish in a big pond than be a big fish in a small pond,” he said.

“I supported Asiwaju out of a moral obligation, out of a moral conviction. What we have seen is his opportunity for national collaboration and national cohesion. When the frontlines that divide us were being manipulated for political ends, Asiwaju refused to swallow the pill.

“Nigerians of the younger generation must know Asiwaju’s history of two decades past when he stood firm as the fulcrum to a despotic PDP government in this country when he was viciously maligned and ostracised and that was when he laid the foundation for modern Lagos state.”

Atiku has been widely criticized for spending most of his time in UAE.

No sooner than he won the PDP presidential ticket in May, Atiku flew to the Arab nation where he hosted some party stalwarts to strategize ahead for next year’s election.

He’s believed to own a shell of choice properties in the Arab nation.

ASUU Strike: Court Adjourns Case Till Friday

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0
ASUU President and Ngige

By Akinwale Kasali

The Industrial Court Sitting in Abuja, has adjourned the suit filed against the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, till Friday, 16th, September, 2022.

Justice Polycarp Hamman of the National Industrial Court adjourned the case to  enable the Federal Government and ASUU file the necessary papers.

 The Federal Government, Monday, urged the National Industrial Court to order ASUU to call off its seven months strike.

Joined as  claimants in the matter is the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, with the President of ASUU, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, as sole defendant.

Human Rights Activist and Constitutional Lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegoruwa, SAN, had informed the Court when the matter came up that he was representing the Socio- Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, and that he had filed a suit on the same subject matter before the same court.

He also stated that in the suit NICN/ABJ/269/2022, SERAP was the claimant with the Federal Government as the defendant.

He, therefore, proceeded to apply that the extant suit be consolidated and SERAP be joined in the suit as a defendant, instead of multiple suits on the same matter before the same court.

Counsel to the claimant, T.A Gazali, SAN, in response, said the application was premature and added that there was no need for SERAP to pray to be joined in a suit, orally, in a matter that did not have its name on the cause list.

Another Human Rights Activist and Constitutional Lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, counsel to ASUU, in his response, informed the Court that both Counsels had informed him on Monday that they were both filing some papers.

Falana urged the Court to step down the matter to enable both Counsels to file their papers and then return at a later date after which he would have responded to the claimant’s process.

Adegboruwa on his part replied that the defendant had not denied the existence of the suit SERAP filed and served on them.

Gazali, on his part, also informed the Court that his process would be filed Monday. Falana said he would need three days to reply to the process.

The Judge, in his ruling, adjourned the matter until Friday, for further mention.

He also directed that the claimant should file, serve his process, and the defendant to also file and serve his response before the adjourned date.

Hamman, in addition, ruled that SERAP’s application to be joined in the suit was premature.

The suit filed by the claimant is also seeking the court to give the matter an accelerated hearing in order to bring the dispute to an end.

The claimant, also, in the instrument of referral, is praying the court to: “Inquire into the legality or otherwise of the on-going prolonged strike by ASUU leadership and members which had continued even after apprehension by the Minister of Labour and Employment.

“Interpret in its entirety the provisions of Section 18, LFN 2004 especially as it applies to cessation of strike once a trade dispute is apprehended by the Minister of Labour end Employment and conciliation is on-going”.

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