Easter break embarked upon by Judges of the Federal High Court nationwide has led to the adjournment of the case filed by a Yoruba Self Determination Group, Ilana Omo Oodua to stop the Ekiti and Osun States Governorship elections.
Ekiti poll is slated for June, while that of Osun holds in July.
The Group, under Prof Banjo Akintoye, filed two suits at Federal High Courts in Ado-Ekiti and Osogbo, praying for a declaration that the current 1999 Constitution of Nigeria is illegal, invalid and of no effect whatsoever because no referendum was conducted before it was enacted.
The Activists, who are members of the umbrella body of Yoruba Self-determination Groups, Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide, in the suits filed on their behalf by their Lawyer, Mr. Tolu Babaleye, has the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as Defendants.
The Activists, are demanding for a total rejection of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria to pave way for a referendum so that the indigenous people of Yoruba Land can decide on their nationhood.
They are also praying for a categorical order that against the backdrop that the current Nigerian Constitution is illegal and invalid, INEC does not have the law that can be used to conduct elections anywhere in Yoruba Land.
The Activists want the forthcoming Ekiti and Osun Governorship Polls and all future elections to be stopped in Yoruba Land until a referendum is held to decide on the system they want for themselves within Nigeria and whether they even want to remain as Nigerians.
Communications Secretary of the Yoruba Group, Maxwell Adeleye confirmed in a statement to members that the case has been adjourned to no fixed date.
The statement : “This is to inform you that the mention of our case against the validity of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria earlier scheduled for Wednesday April 13th, 2022 at Federal High Court, Osogbo, Osun-State has been adjourned till further notice.
“Our Lawyer informed us that Judges in all Federal High Courts nationwide have proceeded on Easter Break thus, the case will not be heard in the fixed date.
“We shall communicate the new date to you as soon as we receive a correspondent from the Lawyer.”
There was pandemonium in Fagba area of Lagos State, as loyalists of the newly appointed Chairman of Lagos Parks and Garages, Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo engaged in a free for all fight with members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, over control of Lagos Parks.
Traders scampered for safety as loyalists of the Two Groups fought each other with dangerous weapons leading to series of injuries on both parties.
An eyewitness account disclosed that the fight occurred in a bid by the loyalists of MC Oluomo to officially take over the parks from NURTW, but this was met with resistance by those who were previously in-charge of the areas.
The clash which started mid day on Monday, and continued uninterrupted, degenerated and extended to Ogba in Ifako/Ijaiye and Pen Cinema where a yet to be ascertained number of people were injured.
It was gathered that traders in this areas are presently counting their losses, as the fight became an Avenue for area boys and street urchins to cart away goods.
One of the officials of the NURTW in this area who pleaded anonymity told this news medium that immediately Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo Ol appointed MC Oluomo as the New Chairman of the Parks and Garages, they knew he was coming to cause chaos, exact authority and revenge his dismissal from the NURTW fold by the National Body.
According to him, “One of his loyalists from Yaya Abatan area was seen moving from garage to garage forcefully asking people to denounce their membership with NURTW and pitch their tent with ‘MC Oluomo’ but this came to its peak on Monday when some hoodlums arrived major parks simultaneously insisting that people denounce their membership with NURTW.
“This led to an altercation whereby those who refused to denounce their membership with NURTW were injured while others scampered for safety. Affected areas were Ogba, Ifako, Fagba and Pen Cinema where people including passersby were injured.” he said.
It was gathered that the crisis escalated at Pen Cinema, Agege, as hoodlums, wielding dangerous weapons took to the parks as traders and people ran helter-skelter for safety. They were allegedly shouting, ‘say MC, say Oluomo’.’
Several people are said to have sustained different degrees of injuries with many hospitalized as at filing in of this reports in different hospitals within the said axis of the clash.
It took the intervention of the Police for calm and relative normalcy to return to the area as it was gathered that the Lagos State Chairman, Tricycle Owners and Operators Association of Nigeria (TOOAN), Alhaji Azeez Abiola, popularly known as Istijabah alerted security operatives including the State Commissioner of Police, CP Abiodun Alabi, of imminent danger in the state.
It would be recalled that the crisis rocking the NURTW that degenerated into a bloody case following the sack of MC Oluomo as the Chairman, Lagos State Chapter of the NURTW. It started with a leadership tussle between him and Istijabah which lasted for some months.
The Lagos State Police Public Relation Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, is yet to comment on this development.
24-hours after Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo declared his interest in the Presidential race for the 2023 Election, criticism and counter criticism have trailed it.
Osinbajo had earlier declared that he was no longer a member of the Lagos State All Progressives Congress, APC, fold, since he had moved his membership to Ogun State when he revalidated his APC membership status in Ward One, Ikenne, Ogun State.
Prior to his movement, Osinbajo was a chieftain of the Lagos APC with his polling unit at Code 33, Unit 2 Victoria Garden City, Lagos. His Spokesperson, Laolu Akande, confirmed this development.
However, Lagos State APC spokesperson, Seye Oladejo, has openly criticised Vice Osinbajo over his decision to throw his hat into the ring for the party’s ticket ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
In a statement, Oladejo said the Vice President he should come to the Primary and face Tinubu.
“There is no problem. We knew he was going to declare. They should allow us to go to the primary. Let him come and face Asiwaju (Tinubu),” said Oladejo, who last weekend also declared his interest to contest for the House of Representatives.
He stressed that Osinbajo’s declaration on Monday pits him against his former boss and political benefactor, Bola Tinubu.
It is believed that Tinubu was instrumental in the emergence of Osinbajo, a Law professor and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, as Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate in 2015.
“I am not worried at all. We acknowledge his constitutional right to contest. We also observed keenly how he struggled to paint his role in the past eight years in gold.
“At a time, l thought I was listening to a dirge until I realized it was a political declaration in a living room. Nigerians will have something to say about the scorecard in the fullness of time. The last time I checked, the Vice President was in charge of the economy.
“The only demand is for us to go to primary. Let us see how much support Osinbajo can garner from the party members. This is someone who could not even win his polling booth.
“I’m not aware of any change in political relevance and popularity since the last elections. I want to congratulate him for finally summoning the courage to throw his hat to the ring.
“We know that Nigerians at this time need a prepared President who has paid his dues in enthroning democracy, mentoring potential leaders and being an intestine helper to numerous people aside from being the reference point for good governance in Nigeria.”
No doubt, the declaration of Osinbajo has angered a lot of Tinubu’s loyalists who felt their principal has betrayed by Osinbajo. Before his declaration on Monday, Osinbajo had traversed the country holding consultations with notable politicians.
It was gathered that few hours after his declaration, social media accounts sympathetic to Tinubu’s cause began trending ‘Judas,’ an apparent reference to the Biblical Judas who betrayed his master, Jesus.
In a tweet by Jagaban Borgu@JideSGroup wrote; “This is the week that Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ in the Christian calendar. That this declaration is coming this same week is not a mere coincidence. May God be with Tinubu in Pilates’ Court when he shall face the Peoples verdict on whether to pardon him or nail him”.
Tinubu had publicly declined to speak on Osinbajo’s aspiration, distancing himself from him when some reporters referred to Osinbajo as Tinubu’s Son. He told them he had no such son old enough to make a Presidential declaration.
Oladejo maintained that Tinubu enjoys a lot of support across Nigeria.
“There are a lot of people who will come out to support him all over the country; even more in the North than South. So, we will be ready,” he said.
“We know Osinbajo is just a pawn on the chessboard of some game-masters.
“The message in the fact that this declaration came during the Holy Week is definitely not lost on all and sundry.”
The immediate past First Lady of Anambra State, Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano, wants to be a Senator in 2023. She wants to represent Anambra North, a seat currently occupied by the beautiful Senator Stella Oduah.
Anambra North is lucky. It is not short of beautiful women to flaunt at the center. Mrs Obiano, too, is beautiful. Still, caution is the word for the type of woman to flaunt at the Senate. Mrs Obiano clearly falls short, character-wise.
When her husband, Willie Obiano, immediate past Governor of the State, told Reporters, a couple of weeks to the end of his tenure, that his wife would run for the seat of the Senatorial Zone in 2023, like many, I didn’t take it seriously. I thought the now former Governor was either misquoted or he was joking.
My reaction was based on some of the reports I had heard/read from the State about the former First Lady. Any doubt that she is serious about going to the Senate has been erased. She is serious.
On Wednesday, April 6, 2022, Mrs Obiano stormed the National Headquarters of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Abuja, to pay for, and collect the Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms. My reaction: The woman has guts.
I know Mrs Obiano has a big war chest to prosecute her aspiration. I know that while her husband was the Governor of Anambra State, she was, without doubt, the most powerful First Lady the State ever had. While the people confirm that none of the others was in anybody’s face, that much cannot be said of Mrs Obiano. She was everywhere, not a few people insist.
Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano: Not fit to be a Senator.
I know that the number of women in the National Assembly, especially, at the Senate, is scandalous. They are drowned by the men.. Sure we need more women. Sure, we need more female voices to present the often misunderstood issues concerning women. Sure we need more women to vehemently, for example, say no when their male counterparts talk down on women. Sure we need more women to challenge the men when some of them support that the girl-child, aged 12, 13, 14 years, is ripe for marriage. Sure, we need more women to tell them they are baby-snatching. But Mrs Obiano does not fit the bill.
She is not qualified to play that role. She is not the type of woman Nigerian women need at the Senate. She has disqualified herself from the Senate. She neither has the temperament nor the carriage. She cannot represent the Nigerian woman or the girl-child. She is not a good role model. On more than one occasion, Mrs Obiano has failed to live down that role. She talks carelessly. She down on women.
I read word for word, her reasons for wanting to be a Senator this other day when he addressed some Journalists in Awka to confirm her aspiration.
Good presentation. Good points. Well put together.
She repeated the same reasons when she picked the forms. She said she was put under pressure by her people who wanted her to continue with the good works she was doing in Anambra State as the First Lady. She talked about her passion for women, especially, widows.
She talked about her passion for the girl-child.
She talked about her passion for the underprivileged.
I am not impressed. I am not convinced she has the capacity to fight for these vulnerable people.
Let me quickly admit that I did not hear much about her philanthropic side as a First Lady. Not her fault. Perhaps, it was either I did not quite pay much attention, or her media people did not quite let Nigerians know. There were too many stories about her other side that perhaps drowned her good side. Her alleged penchant for power, for domination, was, they said, legendary. She was known, and referred to, in many circles as the de facto Deputy Governor. Some people even referred to her as the Governor. I am surprised she made no efforts to correct such negative impressions. In my opinion, she should have, if they were not true.
However, I am not basing my opposition to her going to the Senate on hearsay. It is based on facts that are public.
Mrs Obiano is beautiful. She is elegant. She has managed to keep her home, to stay married for years, to bring up her children. Good. But she has not always managed to exhibit this good side outside her home.
What shows outside is her foul-mouthedness. And an, almost, wild side unbecoming of her status in the society. No decorum.
Take the scandalous incident of March 17 between Mrs Obiano and Mrs Bianca Ojukwu during the swearing-in ceremony of Professor Charles Soludo as the Governor.
On Monday, April 11, I watched the video of what exactly transpired between the two women, and I was, at once, scandalized by her behavior, and embarrassed that she once occupied the office of the First Lady of Anambra State.
How Mrs Obiano could have looked for trouble the way she did, so publicly, beats my imagination. How she could left her seat for Bianca’s seat, to not only confront and call Bianca derogatory names, but to physically touch her, twice, on such a day, is confounding. How she could have continued to provocatively touch Bianca, even after she (Bianca) had warned her not to touch her again, is difficult to understand. She called Bianca the “B-word”, and referred to her, publicly, as a street woman.
Mrs Obiano was later to shamelessly lie about the sequence of events. She said she saw Bianca, stood up and went to greet her, only for Bianca to slap her. Such brazen lie. And this woman wants to go to the Senate?
Did Mrs Obiano deserve to be slapped by Bianca? Yes. Yet, I wish Bianca had not descended to Mrs Obiano’s level. By doing that, Bianca lost her self esteem. And her dignity. I think she momentarily forgot who she is. Daughter of a former State Governor. A lawyer. A former Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria. A former Miss Intercontinental. Holder of the high profile Iyom title. The widow of the revered Igbo leader, Dim Emeka Odimegwu Ojukwu. A former Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain. By slapping Mrs Obiano, no matter the provocation, she diminished her status. She owes Ndigbo, Soludo and her husband’s memory an apology.
But, for the records, that was not the first time Mrs Obiano would call a respectable woman a street woman. She had called the lovely and hard working Senator Uche Ekwunife by same name. And Mrs Obiano wants us to believe she has a passion for women and their rights.
Any woman that calls her fellow woman a street woman at the drop of a hat, is not fit to be a Senator. Any woman that uses the “B-word” publicly, is not fit to represent the interest of women or the girl-child anywhere. In saner countries, Mrs Obiano would never think of aspiring to any political office. The events of March 17 would have put a seal on that.
I read the public letter she wrote to Governor Chukwuma Soludo to apologize for that embarrassment at his swearing-in ceremony. In the letter, she also apologized to the dignitaries present. Good.
But her apology was not comprehensive.
She did not apologize to her husband and her family who she embarrassed by her gutter behavior. She did not apologize to Igbo women. She did not apologize to her fellow titled men and women. Or the Traditional Rulers who bestowed her with chieftancy titles, cheap as these titles have become.
Here’s an appeal to Governor Soludo. I don’t know the pact he has/had with his predecessor, Willie Obiano, which emboldened him to inform the people that his wife would run for the Anambra North Senatorial seat. In Nigeria, sadly, Governors have a way of influencing these things. Whoever they endorse gets the ticket. If there is such a pact, Soludo should throw it into a waste paper basket.
He should not endorse Mrs Obiano for Senate, not with her language and her carriage.
Finally, Mrs Obiano should quietly, on her own, step down from the Senatorial contest. It is too soon. She should be off the public eye until she purges herself of the habit of calling her fellow women free women, of using the “B-word” in public, and of engaging, publicly, in a spat and physical fight .
Until then, she does not fit into the Senate Chambers. For whatever it is worth, it is still a respectable place.
Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), and Kebbi State governor, Atiku Bagudu, on Monday said the All Progressive Congress (APC) does not rule out the possibility of a consensus candidate among its Presidential aspirants.
“We always encourage our party to go for the best. Don’t forget that in the 2015 presidential election primary, President Buhari contested along with several others and it was a beautiful contest.
“There is nothing wrong. Members of the party always want to see consensus if it is possible, but we are a democratic party.
“In our last convention, we had consensus in some of the offices and election in some others. There is always misrepresentation of consensus as if people are being snowballed into positions they would rather not take.
“APC has done well as a party, President Buhari has led the party ably well and we believe strongly that come 2023, Nigerians will see another President of the APC extraction.”
Bagudu spoke after former Lagos State governor Bola Tinubu, a Presidential aspirant, met with APC Governors behind closed doors at the Kebbi Lodge, Abuja, hours after vice president, Yemi Osinbajo formally declared his interest to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari.
Governors at the meeting with Tinubu included Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos) Umaru Ganduje (Kano), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Mohammed Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa) and Dapo Abiodun (Ogun).
Others were Abudlrazaq Abdulrahman (Kwara), Hope Uzondinma (Imo), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa) and Isiaka Oyetola (Osun).
Asides from Tinubu and Osinbajo, Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, former Governors Orji Uzor Kalu and Rochas Okorocha and serving governors of Kogi and Ebonyi states, Yahaya Bello and Dave Umahi are also seeking the ruling party’s ticket.
Bagudu explained that the race for the Presidential ticket among the aspirants is a positive one for the party.
“In fact, in the contrary, we appreciate our party because it has become a party that has endeared itself to Nigerians. We have many brilliant people in our party, some serving and some not serving.
“The fact that we have people in our party that express desire to lead the party into the highest office in the electoral contest shows how much this our party has resonated with Nigerians and our party members.
“For us, it is a hallmark of success that people are showing interest, but at the end of the day and because they are leaders of the party, they will always put the party’s interest at heart.
Tinubu had told journalists that his meeting with the governors was to solicit their support for his ambition to be elected Nigeria president in 2023.
Constitutional Lawyer, Tunji Abayomi has observed that Nigeria desires someone that has no link with President Mohamadu Buhari’s administration as President in 2023.
Apparently reacting to the decision of the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, to join the Presidential race, Abayomi maintained that “Nigeria at present is in dire need of a new leadership away from the Present Buhari’s administration in order to inject new blood into country’s nascent democracy.”
According to him, “it would greatly make sense for a new man, a man independent of the current system of Government to take up the task of governing Nigeria.”
In a statement on his Facebook page, Abayomi, stressed that with a new man at the helm of affairs away from the present Government, Nigeria is poised to witness a new dawn of hope and prosperity in every sphere of human interest.
“With the present situation in the country, I think we need something different, something clearly unconnected to the present order.
“Fine, President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo have tried as much as they have ability to do. The consequences are apparent in the current state of Nigerian State.
“The judgment of their effort at governing Nigeria is the condition of the people, as well as that of Nigeria. A train has just been blown up and respected citizens are still with what the current government calls bandits.
“It just stands to commonsense that extending the tenure of the present government will bring no more than the maximum that the last seven years have given us.”
Incidentally, most those who have declared interest under the banner of the APC – Tinubu, Osinbajo, Amaechi, Yahaya Bello, Dave Umahi – all have links to Buhari and his Government.
A meeting between representatives of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and the Federal government, is scheduled to take place in Abuja Monday at 5pm.
The Minister for Labor and Productivity, Dr Chtis Ngige, is expected to chair the meeting.
ASUU has been on strike for the past 56 days, with no end it sight.
The meeting will be attended by representatives of the Federal Government and ASUU.
The Director of Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Patience Onuobia, sent a notice to journalists Monday, saying that Ngige will chair the meeting himself.
“The Minister for Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, will be meeting with the Academic Staff Union of Universities today by 5 pm,” the notice read.
ASUU started their strike action last February. After a warning strike lasting for one month, and continued when they could not reach an agreement with the Federal Government, declaring another eight weeks strike.
Since then, this is the first time ASUU is meeting face to face with Ministry officials.
“I don’t have any son grown up enough to make such declaration”
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a frontline Presidential aspirant under the All Progressives Congress, APC, has denied Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as his political son.
Osinbajo, generally regarded as Tinubu’s political godson, declared his aspiration to the office of the President in 2023, on Monday, April 11, 2022, in a video broadcast posted on his Twitter handle.
His declaration came a day after he invited and briefed Governors under the All Progressives Congress, APC, on his aspirations. It, also came months after Tinubu had declared his interest in the same office.
Less than 24 hours after Osinbajo’s meeting with the Governors, and his subsequent declaration, Tinubu also met with some APC Governors at the Kebbi Governor’s Lodge in Abuja.
The Governor is the Chairman of the APC Governors Forum.
Speaking with Reporters after the meeting, Tinubu said he met with them to seek their support for his Presidential ambition.
Asked about what he thought of the declaration of Professor Osinbajo for same position, considering that he is regarded as Osinbajo’s political godfather, Tinubu was dismissive of it. He calmly replied: “I don’t have any son grown up enough to make such a declaration”
Some people had expected Osinbajo not to declare interest in the office since Tinubu had already declared his interest. Yet there are many others who ask: “Why not?”, insisting that their relationship was symbiotic.
Afterall, they argue, “Osinbajo was already a Professor of Law before Tinubu, as Governor, appointed some of the best brains to his cabinet to make a success of his Government. Osinbajo was one of them.”
A former Presidential Aide, Reno Omokri, has said that with the declaration of the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, to contest for the Presidency next year, his emergence poses danger to President Mohamadu Buhari.
Omokri has, therefore, cautioned President Buhari to be watchful of possible backstab if Osinbajo eventually becomes President.
The socio-political activist pointed out that if Osinbajo could stab Bola Tinubu, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), at the back by declaring to run for Presidency, then Buhari should watch his back.
In a tweet, Omokri said Osinbajo would back-stab Buhari if he becomes President in 2023.
“Wow! So, Osinbajo declares? If Osinbajo can stab Tinubu, who God used to make him what he is, in the back, then Buhari better hope he never becomes President.
“Back-stabbing is a habit. If Osinbajo can back-stab Tinubu, he can definitely back-stab Buhari after 2023!.”
In his own tweet, President Muhammadu Buhari’s Personal Assistant on New Media, Bashir Ahmad disclosed that the list is getting longer with Osinbajo’s decision to join the race for the Presidency.
The Presidential aide also listed other aspirants on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
According to Ahmad: “Bola Tinubu, Dave Umahi, Rochas Okorocha, Yahaya Bello, Rotimi Amaechi, and Yemi Osinbajo.
The list is getting longer…”
However, an APC chieftain who pleaded anonymity dismissed Omokri’s reaction as “absolute bunkum.” Said he: “It is not only absolute bunkum, it is beneath contempt. How did Osinbajo stab Tinubu at the back? So, Osinbajo will continue to be Tinubu’s servant because he made Osinbajo Commissioner? Nonsense? Does Omokri know how much service Osinbajo has rendered to Tinubu?”
Osinbajo officially joined the race for the Presidency on Monday after a consultative meeting with some Governors elected under the APC Sunday night at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
His declaration came after several months of speculations whether he would run for the position or not.
An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftsin and Presidential aspirant, Bola Tinubu, is today meeting Governors elected on the platform of the party to formally brief them on his bid to seek the ticket of the party as the Presidential candidate.
Tinubu’s hurriedly arranged meeting is coming just few hours after Vice President Yemi Osinbajo formally declared his own bid for the race in a recorded video that is currently trending on social media platforms.
The Vice President had earlier on Sunday met with the APC Governors for a pre-declaration briefing at his Aguda House residence within the Aso Rock Presidential precinct.
The APC Governors were led by Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State to the meeting.
The meeting with the APC Tinubu will afford him the opportunity to officially inform them about his Presidential ambition and seek for their cooperation.
Both Tinubu and Osinbajo are aspirants that have joined the Presidential race from the South West on the ticket of the APC.
It is still being rumoured that Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti state too is nursing Presidential ambition but is still dilly-dallying.
His tenure as Governor will terminate on October 17 on completion of his second term in office.
