Home Blog Page 2168

2023: Atiku Says Obi Can’t Pull ‘A Miracle’

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
-
0

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar says presidential candidate of the Labour Party cannot win next year’s presidential election, noting that the former Anambra will require massive votes from the northern part of the country to win.

Unfortunately for Obi, Atiku said many northerners are not on the social media where the former governor has received massive supports.

Atiku spoke just few days after former Governor of Kano state, Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso, said northerners will not cast their vote for the LP candidate.  Kwakwanso, a former minister of Defence has received robust condemnations from not a few Nigerians for the comment.

Two days ago, Governor Nasir Elrufai of Kaduna state also prevented supporters of Obi to use the Arewa House in Kaduna for a scheduled summit.

Speaking on Arise television on Friday, Atiku who’s the presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP said Obi cannot pull any surprise in next year’s election without northern votes.

“I really don’t expect the Labour Party to take as many votes from the PDP as people are suggesting. We could have seen it in the last election in Osun state. What is the performance of the Labour Party?

“This is a party that doesn’t have a governor, doesn’t have members of the national assembly, doesn’t have state assembly members, and politics in this country depends on the structures you have at the various levels — at the local government level, at the state level, and at the national level.”

“So, it is very difficult to expect a miracle to happen, simply because Peter Obi is in the Labour Party. After all, they were saying through social media, they had more than one million votes in Osun state,” he said.

“But how many votes turned for the Labour Party? And then again, mark you, you’re talking about social media. In the north, 90 percent of our people are not tuned to social media,” Atiku said.

Obi had on Tuesday said his supporters on the social media will be used as ‘structures’ to win the presidency next year, in response to critics who have taunted him for depending on netizens to win the election in 2023.

“I have said it before when people talk about structure, that my structure [is] the 100 million Nigerians living in poverty. That’s five million people unemployed.

“Those people who are finding it difficult to live. Nigerians are here today spending over 100% of their money on feeding, that is my structure. And above all, the most important structure is the Almighty God,” the LP candidate said.

FCT Minister Demands N21bn To Complete NASS Complex

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
-
0
Muhammad Bello - FCT Minister

A whopping N21 billion will be required to complete the ongoing renovation of the National Assembly complex, Muhammad Bello, the FCT minister has said.

Bello spoke during an oversight visit by the Senate Committee on FCT to the FCTA, noting that the National Assembly Phase II project popularly known as the ‘White House’ has not been rehabilitated since it was built in 26 years ago.

He said the current contract was awarded on December 30, 2021 to be completed in 16 months at the sum of N30,229,290,830.35, and the amount already paid stood at N9,200,000, 000.

“The commencement date is April 16 and the project is expected to be completed August 15, 2023,” Bello said.

He lists some other priority projects embarked upon by the Administration to include rehabilitation of Federal Secretariat complex, construction of southern parkway from the National Christian Center to Ring Road.

Others he said were rehabilitation of the expansion of the Outer Southern Expressway, provision of engineering infrastructure for Wuye District, rehabilitation and expansion of Outer Southern Expressway Villa Roundabout and completion of B6, B12 and Circle Road in the Central Area.

He said paucity of funds has limited the capacity of the FCTA to complete many projects in the nation’s capital city.

According to Bello, “What we did was because of the scarcity of funds, we prioritised key infrastructure projects to get them completed.

“And in deciding the ones that fit into that category, we looked at the ones that will give the maximum benefit to the maximum number of people.

“All the four projects we visited, you find that they are all road projects that are meant to link one section of the Abuja city to another and that is the whole idea.

“The masterplan has been designed in such a way that they complement each other.

“So if you finish one portion and you don’t do the other one, then you don’t get the full utility of that particular road, ” Bello added.

Senator Tolu Odebiyi, Chairman of the Senate Committee on FCT, who led the committee members on the oversight urged the minister to complete the projects before the end of the administration in 2023.

“We believe that in the twilight of this administration, in the next months, it is important we catalogue all the projects that are being done and prioritise the ones that must be completed before the end of this term.

“This is so that we can also make sure we provide the adequate funding and budget for it.

“Their budget is going to be forwarded to us very shortly and it is important we come and see the state of the work and the completion rate of the programme before we take them on,” Odebiyi said.

ASUU: The Fight Between Ngige, Adamu

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
-
0
Chris Ngige

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige has appealed to the Nigerian Labour Congress to shelve its planned protest in support of the prolonged strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities and other university-based unions. Ngige,spoke just few days after President Muhammadu Buhari directed the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu to find solution to the ASUU strike within two weeks.

His appeal also comes on the heels of suggestions that Ngige and his counterpart in the Education Ministry, Adamu Adamu are yet to agree on how to proceed with the negotiation with ASUU.

Recall that Ngige had few months ago blamed Adamu for the prolonged ASUU strike, saying it was hard to get the latter’s cooperation on the issue.

The NLC had announced that it would embark on a nationwide protest on July 26 and 27 to compel the government to resolve the over five-month-old strike.

The federal government, however warned the workers not to go ahead with the protest, describing it as illegal.

Speaking to labour leaders in Abuja on Thursday, Ngige said the federal government is seriously working to end ASUU strike, and permanently solve the problems in the nation’s universities.

In a statement signed by the Head of Press and Public Relations in the ministry, Olajide Oshundun, the minister said the protest could distabilise the country, apart from the its security implications, adding that hoodlums might hijack the protest to unleash mayhem.

According to him, Nigerians may also misconstrue the protest as NLC support for the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

Recall that the labour leaders have recently met with Obi, a former Governor of Anambra state where they assured him of their support for the 2023 presidential election.

“The masses might wrongly interpret the rally as a ploy by the NLC to enhance the chances of the Labour Party presidential candidate, a situation which could spur the supporters of the other political parties into violence,” Ngige said.

The minister explained that, “Section 40 of the constitution is clear on Freedom of Association. One of the provisions is that people of like minds can organise themselves and form a political party. There is also a provision that people in work or employment can organise themselves into unions. They are two parallels. Parallels don’t meet.

“I heard when you said you are mobilising for the Labour Party. But, a trade union is not a political party. Look at the Trade Union Act. It does not allow trade unions to use their contributions to support any political party.”

Meanwhile, not a few Nigerians have condemned Adamu and Ngige, the two ministers in charge of negotiations with ASUU for allowing the strike by the university teachers to drag on for too long. The federal government appears not serious to resolve the issue with ASUU, critics of the Buhari administration said, noting that there’s no coordination among key members of the Federal Executive Council, FEC who are supposed to handle the issue with the urgency it deserved.

Lagos, Ogun Plan Train Services For Residents

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
-
0

The Secretary to the Ogun state government, Tokunbo Talabi says his government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Lagos state government to construct a 32km redline rail project. The red line rail project is the baby of the Lagos state government which initially was to terminate at the boundary between the two states.

With the MOU, many believe that the rail line will now be extended to parts of Ogun state.

“Many people work in Lagos and live in Ogun state. This synergy will go a long way to bring succor to residents of the two states, particularly those who live in Ogun, but struggle everyday to get to their work places,” a Lagos civil servant who live in Ogun state said.

Speaking on the MOU, the Ogun state SSG said the project when completed would run from Oyingbo in Lagos to Agbado in Ogun State.

Talabi explained that the passenger train would begin operations in the first quarter of 2023, adding that project was another significant achievement in the series of developments engendered by the Lagos/Ogun Joint Commission.

He added that the development was another achievement from the robust understanding and synergy between the governors of Lagos and Ogun States in taking advantage of their proximity to better their economies and the lives of their citizens.

He described the project as, “yet another testament of more initiatives to be undertaken by the joint commission.”

The SSG said, “the two states have the understanding that what benefits one, benefits the other and what brings convenience to one will mean the same for the other due to their close proximity. Integration of the transport system between the two states is highly probable for the benefits of both states.”

While pointing out that the transport system of any nation or state was critical to its civilisation, Talabi affirmed that Ogun State was committed to taking advantage of the sector to improve the livelihood of commuters and citizens alike in Ogun and Lagos

On his part, the Lagos state Commissioner for Transportation, L Dr. Frederick Oladeinde, explained that the redline rail project is 31km, the first phase of 25km stretch from Oyingbo to Agbado. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2022 while passenger operations would commence first quarter of 2023.

Oladeinde added that the two contiguous states will benefit from the project through employment generation, and investments rising up in the two corridors.

Meanwhile, the Ogun State Commissioner for Transportation, Gbenga Dairo, hinted that the Ogun state government intends to latch on to the initiative to extend train services beyond Agbado to other parts of the state such as Ijoko, Kajola among others.

According to him, “the two states are already taking advantage of the significant investment of the Federal Government through the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) along the Lagos/Ibadan standard guage railway infrastructure to ensure transportation is effective and efficient to serve the economic needs of Lagos and Ogun as the commercial nerve and industrial hub of the nation respectively.”

HURIWA Slams Tambuwal Over Silence, Delayed Justice For Murdered Deborah Samuel; Alleges Cover Up

By
Akinwale Kasali
-
0

By Akinwale Kasali

Rights Group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has alleged a plot by the Governor Aminu Waziri led- Sokoto State Government to circumvent justice and cover up the gruesome murder of Deborah Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto State by Islamic extremists.

The Group said it is shocked and disappointed that in this 21st century, the Sokoto State Government under constitutional democracy can cover up a crime of broad day murder of an innocent lady, with the State Government playing lip service instead of ensuring quick dispensation of justice.

Condemning the hierarchies of the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS) whose operatives reportedly witnessed the lynch mob action meted out to the defenseless Christian girl from Niger State, HURIWA said it is vexed by what appears like sweeping under the carpets of impunity of this heinous crime of murder and extra legal execution by armed non- state actors witnessed by armed security forces which was instigated by Muslim classmates following unproven allegation of blasphemy of Islam. The  Rights group warned of the profound implication of letting murderers walk freely in the streets of Nigeria by a democratically elected Sokoto State government.

“The loud silence by Governor Aminu Tambuwal on this despicable, primitive, irrational, vexations crime against humanity and the deliberate lack of information to the general public on this matter, is a severe blight on the public image of the Sokoto State governor who for many years was a senior national legislator and even became a speaker of the federal House of Representatives”.

“Deborah Samuel was a Christian who went to find knowledge in Sokoto the citadel of learning but was killed over purported blasphemy by an unruly mob in the presence of law enforcement agents.The Sokoto State governor even put up a flimsy excuse for the armed security operatives’ inability or unwillingness to disperse the killer mob that killed Deborah and thereby watched until the young innocent Northern Christian girl was lynched to her death and her remains set alight.

“Her broad daylight execution will forever be a very dangerous incident that shows that Nigeria is primitive, uncaring, and the political rulers are heartless and lawless. Why on earth are the killers not yet sanctioned in accordance with the law? why is no single police or DSS Chief punished for dereliction of duty? And why the loud silence from Sokoto State government or is mob action a part of the modus operandi of the Sokoto State government.

“The Government of Sokoto needs to adequately inform Nigerians on the steps it has institutionally taken to punish the perpetrators or it would be assumed that this despicable and reprehensible crime has the imprimatur of Sokoto State government in the year 2022.

“HURIWA as a non-religious body committed to the advancement of human rights including FREEDOM OF SPEECH, RELIGION AND ASSOCIATION, is scandalized that Sokoto State administration led by a very senior lawyer who rose to become National publicity secretary of Nigerian Bar Association, Speaker of Nigerian parliament and now the governor, has not successfully prosecuted mass killers captured on video or is he making effort to inform Nigerians and the World on what his government has done to bring the killers to the long arm of the law.”

The Rights group recalled that one of Deborah’s coursemates, identified simply as Rakia, said that the last word of the deceased was ‘what do you hope to achieve with this?’

Narrating the incident, she said Deborah was flogged, killed, and burnt and it was the most horrible thing she has ever witnessed.

“Deborah was my course mate. I just stepped into the class when the uproar on her voice note started.”

HURIWA further recalled the eye witness testified thus: ”It was her own coursemates that started it. One of them said Deborah dared them by refusing to apologise when she was asked to. It all started with a debate on the upcoming examination on a general WhatsApp platform created for our coursemates. One of the students asked her how she passed the last semester’s examination and in response, she said it was ‘Jesus o.’

“Immediately, about three other chats came in from two Muslims and one Christian, telling her to retract the statement. Two students from other departments who overheard some Muslim boys discussing the matter told Deborah’s close friends to prevail on her to retract the statement. But she replied via a voice note on the platform ‘Holy Ghost fire. Nothing will happen to me. ”Is it by force that you guys will always be sending this religious stuff in this group? The group wasn’t created for that but rather as a notice on tests, assignments, exams, etc, not these ‘nonsense’ posts’. “We were made to understand that some young men were brought from outside before the outrage. I was in class when some of our coursemates rushed in, saying ‘there is fire on the mountain o’.

HURIWA recalled that Rakia further stated that the Muslim students led the strangers to the class to look for her, adding that some classmates tried to help Deborah escape as they had gotten a cab waiting outside to drive her straight to the police station but unfortunately, the mob overpowered everyone who tried to save her.

”The last word in her mouth was ‘what do you hope to achieve with this?’ By then some of our coursemates were making calls to some of our lecturers to save the situation. It was when I got home that I heard she was set ablaze. Since the incident, I have been having a flash of her pleading expression. She pleaded for mercy and called out for help but it was far from her. What a cruel way to die,” she said.

HURIWA said if the Sokoto State Governor is unable to resolve this unique but disturbing case of murder as soon as possible, CSOs will definitely approach the international community to take steps to compel the governor to fish out the killers for appropriate justice in line with the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Oshoala Makes History, Wins CAF Footballer Of The Year Award For The Fifth Time

By
Akinwale Kasali
-
0

By Akinwale Kasali

Super Falcons of Nigeria and Barcelona Football Club of Spain Striker, Asisat Oshoala has been crowned the 2022 African Female Footballer of the Year, following her superlative performance for both Club and country.

Oshoala becomes the first African to achieve the feat of winning Five African Footballer of the Year Award, surpassing former Super Falcons midfielder, Perpetual Nkwocha who had won the award Four times.

The CAF Award Ceremony held in Rabat, Morocco saw Oshoala picking the coveted award ahead of Indomitable Lioness of Cameroon Striker, Ajara Nchout Njoya, who plays her Club Football in Italy with Inter Milan Football Club and Zambia international, Grace Chanda, who plays her Club football in Kazakhstan with BIIK Kazygurt Football Club.

The 2021-22 campaign was arguably Oshoala’s best yet as she played a key role in her Spanish side’s treble charge – the Spanish Women’s Super Cup, Copa de la Reina and the Primera Division.

Although, she missed a couple of matches due to injury, that did not stop her from emerging as league joint-top scorer after netting 20 goals in 19 league appearances to share the award with Brazilian Geyse Ferreira, who managed the same number of goals in 27 appearances for Madrid CFF.

Impressively, she scored a hat-trick against Real Betis and a double versus Real Sociedad, Valencia, Villarreal, and Real Betis.

In the Copa de la Reina, she scored in her only appearance in the tournament against Real Madrid.

Her side could have won a quadruple, but Barcelona lost 3-1 to Olympique Lyonnais at the Juventus Stadium in Turin.

Internationally, she contributed little as she did not score a single goal for the Super Falcons in the period under review.

To make things worse, she was ruled out of Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2022 with Nigeria through injury after suffering a medial collateral ligament strain in the West African’s 2-1 defeat to South Africa in Rabat.

Oshoala is the fourth Nigerian to land the women’s version of the award, following in the footsteps of Mercy Akide (2001), Nkwocha (2004, 2005, 2010 & 2011) and Cynthia Uwak (2006 & 2007).

Senegal and Bayern Munchen Forward, Sadio Mane was crowned the CAF Male African Footballer of the Year, ahead of Senegalese Compatriot, Edouard Mendy and former Liverpool Football Club of England teammate, Mohammed Salah.

Singer David ‘Davido’ Adeleke and Austin ‘Jayjay’ Okocha were some of the leading Africans in sport and music to present an award at the 2022 CAF awards.

While Davido, alongside Emmanuel Adebayor, presented the award for young female footballer of the year to Ghana’s Evelyn Badu, Okocha presented the award for goal of the year to Papa Ousma Sacho.

Davido joined eminent sports personalities and dignitaries in Rabat, Morocco for the 2022 edition of the major African sporting event.

The winners of others awards are;

Club of the Year (Women) – Mamelodi Sundowns

Interclub Player of the Year (Women) – Evelyn Badu (Ghana & Sekondi Hasaacas Ladies/Alvaldsnes)

Young Player of the Year (Women) – Evelyn Badu (Ghana & Sekondi Hasaacas Ladies/Alvaldsnes)

Coach of the Year (Women) – Desiree Ellis (South Africa)

Coach of the Year (Male) – Aliou Cisse

Interclub Player of the Year (Male) – Mohammed El-Shenawy

Opinion: Osun: Buhari Does It Again

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
-
0
By Femi Adesina
Let me start with some clarifications. I’m from Osun State, and my homestead is Ipetumodu, in Ife North Local Government Area. And I am not Osun in Diaspora. I was born in Osogbo, capital of the State, when my father was Principal of St Charles Grammar School in the 1960s.
When he retired home, after moving from Osogbo to Notre Dame College, Usi-Ekiti, I continued my education, primary and secondary, in our hometown. For tertiary, I went to the then University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. So, I’m a homeboy. Osun ni mi tokan tokan (I’m a thoroughbred Osun man).
I’m also a Buharist, a firm believer in the ideals of that honest man, the Mai Gaskiya from Daura, in Katsina State, though I am not a registered member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
It was, therefore, laughable for some people to try and rope me into Osun State politics, as the gubernatorial election held last Saturday. First, they came up with the news that Femi Adesina had lost his ward to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Which Femi Adesina. Me? Or another one? Do you lose what you don’t participate in?
Out of curiosity, I checked. The APC had, indeed, won my ward, in the Post Office area of Ipetumodu by 176 to PDP’s 130 votes. But it didn’t matter. It just shows how heinous and petty some people can be.
Again, this post later began to circulate on WhatsApp and other social media platforms: “The former Interim National Chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande, is from Osun State.
“The current National Secretary of APC, Sen Iyiola Omisore, is from Osun State.
“Bola Tinubu is from Osun State.
“Femi Fani-Kayode is from Osun State.
“Femi Adesina is from Osun State.
“The Deputy National Chairman of APC is from Osun State.
“The current Governor of Osun State is Tinubu’s cousin.
“These are the structures APC have in Osun State and they still lost the election.
“APC should expect more Wahala 2023. Indeed, people’s voice and votes do count.”
Yes, I agree that people’s voice and votes do count, and we will talk more about that, courtesy President Muhammadu Buhari.
My position is this. I work for an APC government, and it is my preferred party. But member? Not so. I have always rooted for good APC candidates and I would have loved if Governor Gboyega Oyetola had won in Osun last weekend. I’d known him since he was Chief of Staff to the former Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. They were both at the reception held for me in my town by the then Kabiyesi, when I was appointed media adviser to the President in 2015. Gov Oyetola had been focused, sure-footed.
But I’d also known Governor-elect, Ademola Adeleke, since he was a Senator. He had even paid me a brotherly visit at the Presidential Villa in 2017. So, I was a stakeholder in the Osun election in many ways, but it would be fickle for anybody to call me a part of the APC structure in the State. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Yes, APC is my preferred party, but I’m not a member, and won’t likely be, with my eyes set on farming and media work after leaving government service.
Without prejudice to whatever decision Gov Oyetola and the party would eventually take on the outcome, the election has held, and a winner has emerged. I would have preferred that the Governor be re-elected to continue with the steady, unobtrusive job he is doing for the State, but the people have decided otherwise. That was also the position of the President, a fair and just man, if ever there was one.
By Sunday morning when ‘come had come to become,’ the President did not waste time in causing me to issue a statement congratulating Senator Adeleke on his electoral victory. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared him winner, and so it must be.
He had his preference for Osun. I did too, as a political observer. But once the race was run and won, the President congratulated the winner. Fair and just thing to do. He said the will of the people must matter in a democracy, and that the will must always be respected. Is that not a radical departure from the past, particularly under PDP, in which all elections in States must be won willy-nilly by the party at the center?
I remember what happened in Ondo State. Olusegun Mimiko had wanted the ticket of the PDP to serve as Governor. He was wangled out. So he went to Labour Party, and won the election. But while the results were being announced, the then government at the center caused another candidate to be announced as the winner. When the people trooped out in protest, an order was given that they be gunned down. When Mimiko heard of it, he appealed to his supporters to stay calm, and went to court instead. It took almost three years, but he eventually regained the purloined mandate.
How many PDP Governors were eventually kicked out of office by the courts, simply because the party won the positions by artifice and sleight of hands? But count Buhari out of such. Even the Osun Governor-elect has this to say:
“When I saw the congratulatory message from the President, I said this is great for our country and democracy is at play here and I’m sure after I received my Certificate of Return from INEC, I would plan to visit him and thank him for the message because most of the times, the opposition don’t congratulate the winners. Maybe the President is trying to leave a legacy and the Electoral Act that he signed into law. I have to give the President the credit because if he didn’t sign the Electoral Act, there would be room for rigging because they did it in 2018. But this election is great because everything is coming out as expected.”
This election is great, because everything is coming out as expected. And thanks to President Buhari. Whereas, one election was always worse than the previous one in the past, with the do-or-die attitude of PDP, Buhari came with a new attitude since 2015. How many elections has APC lost? Many. If Federal might had been deployed, as it used to be, those elections would have been ‘won’ by force.
In fact, it has become very difficult to rig elections in Nigeria of today. And that is perhaps why vote buying is now so commonplace. But to just snatch and stuff ballot boxes? To alter winner on result sheets? Difficult, almost impossible. And it flows from President Buhari’s resolve. INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu, can now beat his chest and say that the 2023 general elections would be the nation’s best. Yes, when you have a President like the one we have, you can go all out for fairness, probity, transparency, and you would be backed to the hilt.
President Buhari had always said if bequeathing free and fair polls to the country was the only thing he would succeed in doing (and he has succeeded in many other fronts), then he would do so. We see it happening, and our hearts are gladdened.
When the man from Daura finishes, and goes to take his deserved retirement, those who are fair minded would always remember him as the man who made a difference on many fronts, particularly in the area of free and fair elections. We will never forget him.
Adesina is Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity

Kuje: FG Had Pre-knowledge Of Attack By Terrorists – Aregbesola, Minister For Interior

By
Ayodele Oni
-
0

By Ayodele Oni

The Nigerian Government knew about the attack on Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja, by terrorists before it took place. This was confirmed on Thursday by Rauf Aregbesola, Minister for Interior, whose Ministry supervises Correctional Centres.

Terrorists, in their numbers, last month,  brazenly stormed the prison in an attack that, at once, shocked and shook the nation. A number of high profile prisoners, including dangerous terrorists, are inmates

During the attack which lasted for almost three hours, their operations went unchallenged. They freely used explosives and superior gunfire. At the end, tragedy was wrought on the country.

Over 800 inmates were released by the terrorists, including 65 Boko Haram fighters who were in custody. Weeks after the attack, over 300 inmates are still at large. Five people were killed, including a Security personnel and four inmates.

It has always been strongly suspected that the Federal Government was in the know before the attack but inexplicably did nothing to stop it, fuelling a ridiculous but strong allegation that it must have been an arranged mission to release detained Boko Haram elements at the Centre.

A former Minister for Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, had in a video recording which went viral, revealed that the Department of State Services, DSS, duly informed  the Military of the would-be attack. He regretted that the Military did nothing until the tragic incident.

And, even though the leadership of the Military denied Fani-Kayode’s allegations, Aregbesola on Thursday confirmed that yes, the Federal Government  had pre-knowledge of the attack.

Speaking to the State House Press Corp after a meeting of Security Chiefs, the Minister admitted to what has now become obvious: that there was an intelligence report available to Government before the attack. Aregbesola regretted that there was no will to act on the information.  He did not reveal those who failed to act on it.

He, however, disclosed that the report of preliminary investigation into the incident is ready, and has been handed over to the President, Muhammadu Buhari. Those who went deaf and dumb in their responsibilities will be punished, he said.

Fani-Kayode had heaped praises on the DSS for giving intelligence information before the attack, as well as before the attack on the Abuja-Kaduna bound train about three months ago, but indicted the leadership of the Military for alleged dereliction in their duties. He asked for their sack.

FG Mulls To  Ban Okada Business In A Move To Cripple Bandits

By
Ayodele Oni
-
0

By Ayodele Oni

The end may be near for those that use motorcycles as means of survival as the Federal Government is mulling an idea to put an end to the use of motorcycles in the country.

Motorcycles became means of transportation in the country to fill the gap created by buses, especially in the remote areas where there are no motorable roads.

Also, following a surge in unemployment, some graduates resort to the use of motorcycles for commercial purposes to eke out a living.

But, Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN,  said the use of motorcycles has gone beyond that.

According to him, bandits now use motorcycles to raise funds for their activities, as well as a means of transport during their activities.

Rising from a meeting of Security Chiefs on Thursday, the Attorney General announced that the Federal Government is considering placing a ban on the use of motorcycles, popularly known as okada.

Briefing State House reporters after a meeting of National Security Council (NSC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Malami explained that motorcycles are used for mining activities across the country and the ban could cut off sources of funds of terrorists and bandits.

The Minister, who was flanked by his Interior and Police Affairs counterparts, Rauf Aregbesola and Mohammed Dingyadi, said the meeting deliberated on the logistics used by the terrorists in a bid to stop their activities.

He said the Government needed to act because terrorists have moved from the conventional ways of funding their activities to mining and ransom taking.

Malami said the motorcycles were used by the bandits for movement, while mining provides them the money to fund their arms supply.

The Minister pointed out that Government is not unmindful of implications of the ban of motorcycles and mining activities on ordinary Nigerians and the economy, but that national interest should be above that of individuals.

While speaking, Aregbesola confirmed that Government had intelligence report before the recent attack on Kuje Correctional Centre but regretted that there was the absence of will to act on it.

The Minister, who revealed that preliminary report of investigation on the attack had been submitted to the President, assured that detailed report would be made available at the end of the probe.

He said those found to have abandoned their responsibilities would be punished.

Imo: Uzodimma Dissolves Imo Interim Management Committee Chairmen

By
The Source
-
0
Hope Uzodimma

Governor Hope Uzodimma has dissolved the 27-man Interim Management Committee Chairmen of Imo State.

He did so on Thursday after a closed door meeting with them at the Sam Mbakwe Executive Chambers, Government House Owerri.

At the meeting, Governor Uzodimma thanked them for the services they rendered in their different  Local Government Areas since their appointment about two and half years ago and for their loyalty.

He also reminded them of his resolve to hold the Local Government Area election in Imo State any moment from now and the need for him to appoint Sole Administrators who will oversee the coming election.

Governor Uzodimma also told the dissolved IMC Chairmen that his Government will not hesitate to engage their services in other areas they are found capable as APC members.

In their response,  Chairman of ALGON in Imo State,  Mr Willie Okoliogo, who is also the Chairman of Oru West Council, the IMC Chairmen promised to remain loyal to the Governor and the APC.

1...2,1672,1682,169...3,144Page 2,168 of 3,144