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Mass Burial For Unidentified Corpses In Kogi

By
Ayodele Oni
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Federal Medical Centre Lokoja

By Ayodele Oni

Some people whose relations are missing and cannot trace whether they are dead or alive, may not be able to find them, following resolve of Kogi state government to bury

 130 unclaimed dead bodies.

The dead bodies were interred last Saturday at a public cementry in Lokoja, the state capital.

It was learnt that the deceased persons are victims of accidents, robbery and kidnapping, who have been deposited at the Federal Medical Centers, Lokoja for several months without families or relations claiming their remains.

Speaking during the mass burial of the deceased, the general manager, Kogi State Sanitation and Waste Management Board, Mrs Arokoyo Elizabeth said the agency is backed by law to ensure the environment is safe for habitation, stressing that, the dead bodies have stayed too long in the hospital.

She explained that the dead bodies were brought to the mortuary by the Nigeria Police Force and Federal Road Safety Corps, (FRSC).

According to her, many announcements had been made via various media organizations for the bodies to be claimed by family members or relations, but all proved abortive.

She reiterated the state government’s commitment to ensuring that, the environment is safe for people to leave.

“All the people evacuating and burying these bodies have been sanitized. Just like I said earlier, we have made several announcements on radio, television and other media about these unclaimed bodies.

“But as I speak to you, nothing was heard from family members, relations, and friends of these corpses.

“Most of the bodies are victims of accidents, kidnapping or robbery which were brought by the Police and Road Safety.

“So they have to be buried because they have been in the mortuary for a long time without anybody coming for them.”

Falana: New INEC Commissioners’ List Is Constitutionally Defective

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

Lagos lawyer and Senior Advocate, Femi Falana has joined those condemning recent nominees for Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) job as commissioners.

Falana, speaking in his capacity as chairman, Alliance on Service Covid 19 and Beyond (ASCAB)  described the List of REC Nominees sent to the Senate for approval by the president as constitutional defective and violates binding court decision.

In a statement at the weekend, the Senior Advocate pointed out that President Mohamadu Buhari failed to consult constitutionally recognized stakeholders before compiling the list.

According to him, it has been practice since 2015 that President Buhari consulted with the Council of State whenever he wanted to appoint the Chairman and members of the  INEC including Resident Electoral Commissioners in strict compliance with the provisions of Section 154(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

“On each occasion, the President consulted the Council of State before submitting the names of nominees to the Senate for confirmation in line with Section 154(1) of the Constitution.

“However for some undisclosed reasons, the President has forwarded the nominations of 14 persons for confirmation as Resident Electoral Commissioners without any prior consultation with the Council of State.

“Apart from the constitutional infraction, the list of the nominees has been challenged on the ground that some of them are card carrying members of the ruling party.

“At least two other nominees are alleged to be under investigation for serious electoral malpractice. Instead of subjecting the nominees to integrity test,:the Federal Government has dismissed such grave allegations with a wave of the hand.

“Having repeatedly assured the Nigerian people that the Administrators will support the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct credible elections in 2023, we call on President Buhari to withdraw the controversial list from the Senate and ensure that the nominees are investigated by relevant security agencies.

“After security clearance the President is advised to comply with section 154(3) of the Constitution by consulting the Council of State with respect to the qualification and competence of the nominees.

“It is after the consultation that the names of the nominees that are qualified should be presented to the Senate for confirmation.”

Falana also advised the President to be gender sensitive on the list citing the judgment delivered by the Federal High Court on April 10, 2022 in the case of Women Empowerment and Legal Aid & Ors v Attorney-General of the Federation (Suit No FHC/ABJ/CS/ 2021) wherein the Honourable Justice Donatus Okorowo ordered the federal government to comply with the 35 per cent affirmative action for women.

He stated that going by the judgement, women should be allowed to occupy 35 per cent of all appointments.

“Since the judgment is binding on all authorities and persons in Nigeria pursuant to section 287 of the Constitution, the President should ensure that the women in the list of nominees should not be less than 35 percent.”

ASUU Strike: Ngige Drags Union To Court Over Lingering Strike

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0
ASUU President and Ngige

By Akinwale Kasali

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige and the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, are set for a show down likely to escalate the lingering strike as the  Minister for Labour and Productivity has dragged ASUU to Court.

The former Anambra State Governor has dragged ASUU to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Abuja, over the prolonged strike by the Union.

In a leaked letter written to the Chief Registrar of the court, dated September 8, 2022, Ngige alleged the refusal of ASUU to call off its strike which began February 14, 2022, and thereby, asked the Court to accelerate hearing on the matter in order to bring the dispute between the Union and the Government to an end.

The letter titled ‘Forwarding of a Referral Instrument in the Trade Dispute Between the FG/Federal Ministry of Education and ASUU,

partly reads:

“Please find attached three original copies of a Referral Instrument regarding the trade dispute between the FG /Federal Ministry of Education and ASUU for adjudication by the National Industrial Court of Nigeria.

“The Referral Instrument is raised in fine with powers vested on the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment by trade dispute resolution mechanisms and the provision of Section 17 of the Trade Dispute Act. CAP. T8 Laws of the Fderation of Nigeria (LFN), 2004.

“In view of the fact that ASUU members have been on strike since February 14, 2222 and have refused to cull off the action despite apprehension of same, it would he appreciated if this dispute is given an accelerated hearing in order to bring the dispute to an end.”

ASUU recently extended its strike indefinitely.

PDP Should Clear Members Of Fraud Allegations, Rather Than Attack Audit Firm – Kwara APC

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara state has taken a swipe at opposition People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) for not being able to distinguish between a statutory audit and forensic audit before criticizing government.

APC in its reaction to weekend condemnation by PDP of government contracting out audit of state account to an unrecognized firm, described the opposition of ignorant of government activities.

PDP in a statement, signed by the Publicity Secretary, Tunji Moronfoye described the transaction as “another unfortunate shady transaction perpetuated by the Kwara state All Progressives Congress (APC) regime, led by Mal. Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.

“According to the results of our legal query undertaken at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), it was discovered that the audit firm purportedly “hired” by the incompetent and mediocre regime, SSAC Advisory and Proffessional limited, is an inactive or dormant firm.

“This is according to a CAC signed report. Simply put; the company has not been making returns, declaring its income or paying any taxes.

“This is the same firm that the Mal. Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq regime, purportedly hired to carry out a “forensic audit” for Kwara state.

“Following the evidence, we hereby put it to the Mal. Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq led APC party regime, that there was no forensic audit carried out between the years 2011-2019 as claimed by the regime.

APC publicity secretary Alhaji Tajudeen Aro, in a statement, said the fact that the PDP could not distinguish between a statutory audit which the Auditor General carries out as a matter of duty, and a forensic audit, which the Governor as Chief Executive, or the Executive Council can commission on suspicion of any fraud across government agencies, testifies to why the state was in such a big mess under their regime.

“For example, the Federal Government has repeatedly commissioned Forensic and Process audits of many of its agencies, including the NNPC, NPA, NIMASA etc.

“These audits were not necessarily carried out by the Office of Auditor General. We aver that the PDP is suffering from crass ignorance in saying that the forensic audit should have been carried out or commissioned by the Auditor General.

“Which law stated that? None. It is a claim built on pitiable ignorance by those who often beat their chest about being well-educated.

“The firm contracted to do the job has past and current engagements with the Federal Government, State Governments, private firms, and international agencies.

“Certainly these bodies could not have missed out or overlooked the issues of the firm being up to date in what is required of it as a consultancy firm and a registered business.

“Infact, the Federal Bureau of Public Procurement has issued an IRR to this firm for 2022, meaning that they are fully compliant to carry out work even for the Federal Government.

“We urge the PDP to limit its ignorance to its circles of hangers-on, rather than advertise its incompetence and arrogance to the whole world.

“We find it rather shameful that the PDP could in fact hang its infantile claim on a firm purportedly having an ‘inactive’ status on a website whose currency or accuracy the CAC customers do not have power over.

“Any reasonable person ought to know what a firm’s bonafides with CAC and other statutory body entail.

“Finally, we advise the key characters in PDP to prepare themselves for the grave consequences of their sheer abuse of office, instead of fooling around with laughable claims and diversionary tactics.

“Furthermore, in the interest of the good people of Kwara State, we also advise PDP to address the substance of the report which reveals substantial fraud and misapplication of funds, rather than chase shadows.”

Crisis: PDP Hawks Bay for Wike’s Head

By
The Source
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By Chidi Levi

The crisis rocking the People’s Democratic Party, PDP may,  in a few days, take a turn for the worst unless the Party’s Presidential Candidate and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, reins in hawks within the Party who have concluded plans to push for the expulsion of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike and dissolution of the State’s Executive Chapter of the Party should the Governor continue with his war of attrition against the PDP.

The Plot Against Wike

A member of the PDP’s National Working Committee, NWC, told this magazine at the weekend that the majority of the NWC members are tired of Wike’s antics and having tolerated him enough, will come all out for him soon.

“If he refuses to budge after NWC’s reconciliation visit to him this week, we will deal with the Wike question once and for all. He cannot be bigger than the Party, and nobody is.

“If Wike continues to carry on as if he owns the PDP, and as if the PDP cannot survive without him if he continues to talk down on everyone and continues to demand the impossible, we will have no option than wield the big stick”, the NWC member said.

The Magazine gathered that while some NWC members and other stakeholders of the Party prefer suspension some others, especially hot heads, are pushing for Wike’s outright expulsion and dissolution of the State Working Committee of the party.

“Suspension of Wike and hijacking of the Rivers PDP structure from him via dissolution of State’s Chapter of the Party are seriously being considered. “A strong message has to be sent to other members, including Governors supporting Wike to the effect that nobody can hold PDP to ransom no matter their position”, a chieftain of the party from the North who was also a former Senator further told the magazine.

The Hawks Woo Amaechi

Multiple Party sources, also, informed the magazine that Wike’s predecessor and the immediate past Transport Minister, Chibuike Amaechi is currently being wooed into the Party to hand Rivers’ PDP structure to him if Wike is suspended.

Amaechi, a two-term PDP Governor, was among the Party’s Governors who rebelled against it, worked against the re-election of former President Goodluck Jonathan and eventually pulled out to join forces with the then fledgeling APC to oust the PDP from power in 2015.

Following APC and Muhammadu Buhari’s victory, Amaechi was appointed Transport Minister but resigned in May this year to contest for APC’s 2023 Presidential ticket.

Since losing to Bola Tinubu, Amaechi has remained disinterested in APC affairs. Though a leader of the party in Rivers, APC has gone extinct in the State as thousands of supporters and members, including his core loyalists, have defected to the PDP following his loss of the APC presidential ticket.

PDP hawks baying for Wike’s head, the magazine learnt, believe that Amaechi’s re-entry into the party will drastically dilute the Governor’s influence in River’s politics as well as in the State PDP.

Atiku is Aware of Wike’s Importance in PDP

Meanwhile,  there are strong indications that Atiku is not favourably disposed to the expulsion of Wike or the hijacking of the Rivers PDP structures from him.

According to sources close to the former VP, he does not want the PDP to go into the 2023 elections a divided house.

Said one of the sources: “Our Presidential candidate is an experienced politician who knows the implication of a national party such as the PDP going into a Presidential election a divided house. He is therefore not in support of any extreme measure against Wike”

Another source puts it this way: “Atiku is aware that Wike is not a pushover, Atiku knows the incalculable damage Wike can do to the success of the party in next year’s Presidential election if provoked further, and above all, he knows that Wike’s insistence that it’s against national balance and cohesion for the PDP’s Presidential Candidate and National Chairman to come from the North hence he has mandated the NWC members to prostrate and beg Wike if need be during their reconciliation visit to Port Harcourt”

Why Ayu Survived

It was gathered that the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the party was on the verge of sacking the National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu last week to placate Wike but attention was, at the last minute, drawn to a provision of the PDP Constitution which would have been violated and further push the party deeper into crisis by his sack hence it was resolved that the Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Walid Jubril be replaced by a Southerner in the interim while a full-blown convention will be held immediately after the 2023 General elections to re-arrange the NWC offices, including the National Chairman’s position.

Wike’s War and the 2027 Connection

The party slipped into crisis following the May 28, 2022, Presidential Primary which the River State Governor lost to Atiku. Matters came to a head when Atiku sidetracked the PDP Committee’s recommendation of Wike as his Running Mate to pick the Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.

And contrary to his pre-primary pledge to support whoever emerged as the candidate of the party if he didn’t win, Wike, portraying himself as the voice of the South in the PDP, has withheld support for the Atiku/Okowa ticket, insisting that the Party’s National Chairman, Senator Ayu, from Benue State must quit his position for a Southerner.

The Governor, last week, dismissed Walid Jubril’s resignation as the BoT Chairman, insisting that nothing short of Ayu’s exit will placate him, his supporters and Southern Nigeria.

There are, however, insinuations that having failed to clinch the PDP 2023 Presidential ticket, Wike is already preparing for the 2027 Presidential election hence his insistence on Ayu’s exit to pave the way to a pliant Chairman from the South who he will instal and who he hopes will hand over the Party’s 2027 presidential ticket to him.

The Rivers State Governor is supported in his feud with the PDP by the Governors of Benue( Samuel Ortom), Oyo( Seyi Makinde) Abia ( Okezie Ikpeazu) and Enugu( Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi).

Uzodimma Seeks Inclusion Of More Imo Citizens In FG’s Empowerment Programme 

By
The Source
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Hope Uzodinma

The Governor of Imo State, Sen Hope Uzodimma has solicited the inclusion of more citizens from Imo State who should benefit from the Federal government’s different social empowernment programmes.

He did on Saturday when he joined the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq who was in the State to flag-off various social empowerment programmes organised by her ministry for Imo citizens.

While commending the Minister and her team for finding Imo State worthy of the social empowernment programmes, Governor Uzodimma used the opportunity to make case for the addition of more Imo citizens as beneficiaries in the different programmes of the ministry which the Minister acceded to.

Speaking at the Sam Mbakwe Hall of Concord Hotel Owerri, venue of the social empowernment programmes where thousands of poor and vulnerable persons gathered for the event, the Governor saluted Hajia Farouq and her team for being passionate about the programmes, an initiative of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Governor Uzodimma informed that it is the level of successes recorded by Hajia Farouq in her Ministry at the national level that propelled him to establish a similar Ministry in Imo State.

The Govenror said: “Everything about government, every promise and every expectation starts and ends with the Ministry which is anchored on the people.”

He maintained that the Federal Government led by President Buhari and his own government in Imo State are anchored on service to the people,  especially the vulnerable groups among whom are the poorest of the poor and the physically-challenged.

He therefore pledged the support of his government to various programmes of the Ministry and to Imo people who are in dire need of such assistance, noting that it was in recognition of the value of the programmes that the 3-R government empowered 15,000 youths last year with N250,000 each. 

Governor Uzodimma said the National Home Grown feeding programme is “one of the most noble programmes Nigerians have ever seen and experienced because it accommodates the interest of our children who are encouraged to go to school and their diet.”

He expressed the gratitude of his government and the people of Imo State to President Buhari for such laudable programmes that have gone a long way in alleviating the sufferings of the vulnerable group and the poorest of the poor in Nigeria.

To the beneficiaries, the Governor pleaded with them to make judicious use of the money given to them no matter how small they may think it is.

In her address, Hajiya Farouq said she was in Imo with her team to flag-off the programmes’ grant for vulnerable groups, a project which was introduced in 2020, first as grant for rural women to sustain the social inclusion agenda of President Buhari’s administration of lifting 10 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.

She said for Imo State, the target is to disburse the grant to 3,894 beneficiaries across the 27 LGAs of the State, adding that President Buhari directed that 70 per cent of the beneficiaries must be women, while the remaining 30 per cent should be for the youths. 

“The President also directed that at least 15 per cent of the total number of the beneficiary must be specifically allocated to citizens with special needs including persons with disability (PWDs) and senior citizens in the State.”

The Minister said it is expected that “the beneficiaries will use the grant to improve their productivity, create wealth, generate employment and improve their living standard.”

On other outstanding programmes for which she visited, Hijya Farouq said they  came to roll-out the government enterprise and the empowerment programme which captures traderMoni loan of N50,000; marketMoni designed for under privileged and marginalised women and farmerMoni loan scheme which is equally designed to produce agricultural inputs worth up to a maximum of N300,000 to rural farmers.

In addition to the above, the Minister said they also came to flag-off the National Sensitization Exercise for the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) which aims to educate communities and stakeholders on the proper and more effective implementation of the NHGSFP with over five million children as targets.

Other programmes which she said they came to flag-off include the on-boarding of stream 2 of the Independent Monitors who are local youths employed for a period of 12 months with a monthly stipend of N30,000 only and the flag-off of the digitalized cash transfer payment system for conditional cash transfer programme aimed at creating room for reliability, transparent and accessible database for seamless disbursement to beneficiaries of the scheme.

The Minister reminded her audience that with the complementary efforts of Governor Uzodimma’s administration  and other Stakeholders, the target beneficiaries and many more citizens of the State will be on their way out of poverty.

She in turn commended the Governor Uzodimma for establishing a replica of her Ministry in Imo State and also thanked him and other Stakeholders for joining in the programme and urged them to continue with the commitment to fight poverty in our great country Nigeria.

Earlier in their welcome addresses, the Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Imo State,  Dr. Princess Rabi Ibrahim represented by the Permanent Secretary,  Mrs. Edith Ekenze welcomed the Minister to Imo State for the flag-off and thanked her for the much Imo State has already received from the various programmes which include Conditional Cash Transfer, N-SIP, etc.

She however identified some challenges in the Ministry’s programme in Imo State in the areas of GEEP, Home Grown School Feeding, Conditional Cash Transfer and others to include inaccurate data, inconsistency in payment, ignorance of beneficiaries and non-payment of arrears to the beneficiaries and requested for the Minister’s kind intervention.

The Ministry also expressed gratitude to Mr. President for accommodating Imo State in the National programmes and to Governor Uzodimma for establishing the Ministry whose activities could be said to be nearest to the common man.

The wife of the Governor, Barr. Chioma Uzodimma, the Deputy Governor Prof Placid Njoku and his wife Bola, were among the numerous key persons that witnessed the occasion.

Queen Elizabeth: Nigeria Flies Flag At Half-Mast

By
Adesina Soyooye
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0
queen-elizabeth-ii-

By Adesina Soyooye

The Federal Government has ordered that Nigeria and its Missions abroad should fly the National Flag at half-mast in honour of the late British Queen, Elizabeth II.

The 96 year-old Queen passed on Thursday, September 8, 2022, at the Balmoral Castle, Scotland. She has been succeeded by his first son, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, who has now been proclaimed as King Charles III. His wife, Camilla, is to be addressed as the Queen Consort, in fulfillment of a request made by the late Queen  Elizabeth. The King’s first son, William, is now known as the Prince of Wales.

According to Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, in a statement on Friday, Nigeria’s Flag will fly at half-mast for two days, September 11 and 12.

Queen Elizabeth will be buried on September 19, 2022.

Nigeria was a colony of Britain before its independence on October 1, 1960.

Wike To Ayu: 20 Votes Of Confidence Will Not Save You; Mocks Celebrating Former Chairman, Prince Secondus

By
The Source
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Nyesom Wike and Iyorcha Ayu

By Charles Igbo

Nyesom Wike, Governor of Rivers State, on Saturday, September 10, 2021, continued his attack on the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dr Iyorchia Ayu. He said Ayu must quit the office of the Chairman.

On Thursday, September 8, Ayu received a vote of confidence during the 97th meeting of the Party’s National Executive Council, NEC, from the members.

But Wike, on Saturday, dismissed the vote of confidence passed on Ayu as of no effect.  He said it will not save Ayu. 20 votes of confidence, Wike said, will not save the National Chairman.

Wike also laughed and mocked the immediate past National Chairman of the Party, his kinsman, Prince Uche Secondus, for celebrating the vote of confidence passed on Ayu.

Wike was instrumental to installing Secondus as the National Chairman, but led the battle to remove him, even after a similar vote of confidence was, also, passed on him.

Wike spoke in Porthacourt on Saturday when he received defectors from other Parties into the PDP.

Wike: ” I was listening and watching, they said there is  one man called Secondus. They said he was dancing, celebrating that NEC gave their person (Ayu) vote of confidence.

“He forgets history. Ask him, the same NEC, through Aliyu Babangida (former Governor of Niger State), moved a motion of vote of confidence, supported by the same person, Ndudi Elumelu.They gave you (Secondus) a vote of confidence. What happened? You left office.

“We don’t fight and go back. If you like, you can have as many as 20 votes of confidence, it’s not my business. My business is to make sure the right thing is done. And the right thing must be done. Whether today or tomorrow.”

Wike and four other Governors – Samuel Ortom, Benue, Okezie Ikpeazu, Abia,  Seyi Makinde, Oyo, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Enugu – and some stakeholders are insisting that Ayu vacates office for a Southerner based on an agreement reached before the Presidential Primaries that if a Northerner emerges, Ayu would step down. Ayu himself, allegedly, said so, and so did the Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. The agreement, it is said, is to have a balance between the North and the South.

But Ayu refused to quit since after the Presidential Primaries, insisting he was elected for a four-year tenure in office. Atiku, himself, also, now says Ayu would quit when he wins the Presidential race.

On Thursday at the NEC meeting, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, BoT, Senator Walid Jibrin resigned and was succeeded by a Southerner, former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara. But Wike has dismissed that as an insult to the South.

On Friday when members of the National Working Committee, NWC, of the Party paid a condolence visit to Wabara, who recently  lost his wife, Ayu appealed to Wabara to bring Wike and Camp fully back to the Party. He pleaded with them to come back so they can all work together and not disappoint Nigerians in their expectations that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, must be sacked.

Ayu, also, disclosed that members of the NWC will be in Porthacourt early this week on a visit to Wike to sort things out and reconcile the Party.

24 hours after that decision, Wike insisted that Ayu must go.

Imo: Gunmen Abduct Traditional Ruler, Owner of Udekings Limited

By
The Source
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0

By Charles Igbo

After months of break from the abduction of Traditional Rulers in Imo, the sacrilege has resumed.

Gunmen, on Friday, abducted the Traditional Ruler of Isiala Umudi  Autonomous Community in the Nkwerre Local Government Area, His Royal Highness Eze Jewel Ndenkwo.

Eze Ndenkwo who is also a renowned business man owns a chain of businesses, including one of the biggest and well stock Electronic shops/ Exotic Furniture Companies in Owerri, Imo State.

He is the Chief Executive Officer of Udekings NIgeria Ltd located at the very busy Tetlow road in Owerri Municipal. Branch are, also, located in Lagos.

His Highness was abducted in front of his company’s office, Tetlow road, in the capital city of the State.

Eye witnesses say he was abducted at about 7.00pm when he was all set to go home after the business of the day. The Gunmen fired a number of shots to scare people, all of whom ran away for their lives. In the confusion, nobody was able to know how many his abductors were or how he was forced into a vehicle.

A couple of months ago, Gunmen were in the habit of abducting Imo Traditional Rulers. They have l killed, at least, four of them. Two were killed wben Gunmen stormed the venue where the Traditional Rulers were holding a meeting at the Headquarters of the.Njaba Local Government Area.

At the time of filing this story, the abductors have not made any contact with family. The fate of the Traditional Ruler is unknown.

The Imo State Police Command was yet to make a Statement.

Ogun State Passes LG Autonomy Bill; NULGE Lauds Governor Abiodun

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, has applauded the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun and the Ogun State House of Assembly for the passage of the Local Government Autonomy Bill.

The move by the State Government means that Ogun State is the first among other South West States to pass the LG Autonomy Bill in the country.

Ambali Olatunji, NULGE President, said it was a new dawn for Local Government development in State following the bold step taken by the Governor and the House, saying that it shows the commitment of the Governor Abiodun administration towards the actualization and independent of the Local Government.

Ambali, speaking to Journalists following the visit of the NULGE Officials to governor Abiodun in Abeokuta, the State Capital, declared that the Union is happy with the Governor.

He said that the present administration in the State is the first State in the Southwest to pass the Local Government Autonomy Bill.

The NULGE President said that the Governor during the meeting, promised to look at the issue of strengthening the Local Governments in the State with assurance to look at issues bordering on internally generated revenue of the councils.

“If the Governor had not consented, the House of Assembly wouldn’t have passed the Local Government Autonomy Bill. In fact, in the Southwest, Ogun State happens to be the first that passed the bill.

“We wish the Governor success, and we at the NULGE have directed that any state that passes Local Government Autonomy Bill should be supported by Local Government workers, we mean that.

“We have come to, also, reassure the governor that we are on the same page, we love him and we pray that God will continue to sustain him so that very soon, he will be the best in the country.

“On the issue of the internally generated revenue, the governor directed that a committee be set up with the view of releasing some to Local Governments to ensure that they become more functional”, Ambali stated.

While declaring that local government workers in the state would definitely support the second term ambition of Governor Abiodun, the NULGE president said “with God and with our support, we know that God will give him victory”.

He further commended Governor Abiodun for his promise to ensure that all the twenty local governments in the state are provided with graders and bulldozers, adding that the move would ensure that more rural roads are graded across the state.

“The governor assured us that when the rain subsides, his administration will be rolling out one grader and one bulldozer to every local government and there will be massive road grading and development across the state,” he said.

Ambali who also noted that the meeting was a further attestation to the genuine commitment, respect and relationship of the Governor Abiodun-led administration with workers and labour unions in the state, commended the governor for sustaining the payment of gross salary to workers in the state.

”The meeting is historic, it is fantastic, it has further demonstrated the genuine commitment of Governor Abiodun-led administration’s respect for workers, cherished relationship with labour unions and the zeal to further scale up infrastructural development at the local government level.

“On the issue of gross payment of salary, the governor vowed that he is going to sustain the practice of paying gross salary. This had led to several industrial actions with the past administration, but the governor has approved it, he has commenced it and he will continue to do that,” he said.

Ambali while acknowledging the decision of the governor to continue to do his best with matters that has to do with workers promotion exercises, also commended Abiodun for what he has done in respect of infrastructure across the state despite dwindling finance.

He further appreciated the governor for not sacking any worker in the local government service, lauded his decision to recruit essential workers in the local government service.

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