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Magodo Land Saga: House of Reps Launches Probe

By
Bayo Bernard
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Gbajabiamila inspects E-Parliament Facilities

By James Orji

The House of Representatives has ordered a probe into the involvement of Abubakar Malami, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation and Usman Baba, the Inspector General of Police, IGP in the Magodo ownership land crisis.

The lower house, on Wednesday, directed its Committees on Justice, Public Petition and Police Affairs to investigated the alleged attempt by the two government officials to destabilise the State of Excellence, as Lagos is widely known.

The lawmakers reached the decision following a motion by two members from Lagos State, Ademorin Kuye and Rotimi Agunsoye, on the crisis, which climaxed penultimate week when a police CSP, who led a team of policemen from Abuja to the area refused to obey Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s order to move his men out.

In the motion titled ‘Motion of urgent public importance to investigate the invasion of Magodo GRA Phase 2 by the Nigerian Police under the direction of Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General of the Federation,’ the lawmakers said Malami and IGP tried to destabilise the state by their action.

Kuye who moved the motion and seconded by Agunsoye said the action of the two federal officials negated efforts by the state government to resolve the matter.

According to Kuye, “Residents Magodo GRA Phase 2, Shangisha, Lagos, woke up on the morning of December 5, 2020, to the sight of hundreds of arm-wielding thugs, stern-looking and fully armed policemen and members of the Shangisha Landlords Association purportedly to execute a judgment.

“The judgment that was supposedly being enforced was delivered in 2012 by the Supreme Court in Military Governors of Lagos State & Ors Vs. Adebayo Adeyiga & Ors in Appeal No SC/112/2002, wherein the apex court affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal and the High Court delivered on December 31, 1993 in suit No ID/795/88.

“The declaratory judgment of the Supreme Court only recognised the judgment creditors as being entitled to the allocation and reallocation of 549 plots of land in Shangisha Village, not possession of any land.”

“The House is worried that despite the ongoing settlement efforts and the pendency of an interlocutory injunction dated December 1, 2020, before the Court of Appeal seeking an order restraining him and his agents, Chief Adeyiga, purportedly encouraged by the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Inspector-General of Police, stormed the estate with unknown bailiffs and armed security operatives to execute a judgment that was purportedly delivered by Lagos High Court.

“The House is worried that the execution being presently executed through the Office of the AGF, with the connivance of the IGP, is illegal as only the Lagos State Deputy Sheriff can execute the same and not thugs aided by policemen.

“The House is more worried that the highhandedness and reckless show of force on December 5, 2021, and January 4, 2022 in Magodo by Chief Adeyiga and his cohorts, in blatant disregard to Order 8 Rule 17 of the Supreme Court Rules 2014 and Section 37 of the Enforcement of Judgment and Order Part III of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act, LFN 2004, can lead to loss of lives and properties and ultimately breakdown of law and order.

“The House is most worried the Attorney-General of the Federation is destabilising Lagos State by using his office to back this illegality as a meddlesome interloper and the instrumentality of state – the Nigerian Police Force and their illegal court bailiffs – to scuttle ongoing settlement between the Lagos State Government, Magodo GRA 2 Residents and the judgment creditors,” Kuye said.

Ebonyi: Umahi Not Complicit In Killings

By
Uche Mbah
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By Uche Mbah

The Ebonyi State Government said the Governor, Dave Umahi, is innocent of allusions that he is complicit in the deaths of citizens of the State in the hands of terrorists, describing such report as false.

There have been reports that about 1150 residents have died in the South-east between the years 2020 and 2021.

According to the media report (not theThe Source),

the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, INTERSOCIETY, said Ebonyi State has a large per cent of the killings, ascribed to Security Agents and terrorists.

They, allegedly, accused Ebonyi State Governor of being complicit in the killing of his own people.

Umahi is one of the people from South east that has declared for the presidency under the auspices of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

But in a statement signed by the Special Assistant to the Ebonyi State Governor on Media and Publicity, Francis Nwaeze, Thursday, Umahi described the report as “lies infested concoction”.

“Ordinarily, we wouldn’t have bothered responding to this lies-infested concoction but we have elected to make a few clarifications to save discerning minds from being misled by the agents of mischief”, the statement said.

“First, apart from the Ishielu unfortunate attack which was alleged to be a reprisal for an occurrence of years ago, there were no other incidences of herdsmen attack leading to death in Ebonyi State within the period under reference.

“Second, there were, also, no incidences of killings of innocent citizens orchestrated by Security Agencies anywhere in Ebonyi State within the same time lag.

“Third, Governor Umahi at no point aided nor abetted the killings of innocent citizens of Ebonyi State and Ndigbo, rather, Governor Umahi in collaboration with other leaders of South-East worked tirelessly to ensure Security Agencies did not avenge the killing of their colleagues in the course of agitations in the region.”

According to the statement, “…we enjoin the general public to disregard the hoax which is an attempt by the disgruntled opposition to score cheap political points targeted at denting the towering political reputation of Governor Umahi and sow a seed of discord between the Governor and Ndigbo as well as Nigerians in general.”

Osinbajo Denies Recommending Hike In Price Of Petrol

By
Bayo Bernard
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0

By Fola James

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has denied report that he recommended, to the federal government, an increase in the pump price of petrol.

The vice president spoke as the Nigerian Labour congress, NLC and its affiliates said they will proceed on strike if the federal government goes ahead to remove subsidy on petrol which ultimately will lead to increase in its pump price. The labour unions have already directed their members to embark on a warning strike next month.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan had after a meeting with President Muhammadu in Abuja this week, said the government was yet to decide on the controversial subsidy removal.

Osinbajo as the head of the National Economic NEC ad-hoc committee interfacing with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC on the deregulation of the petroleum sector was said have recommended that the price of petrol be increased to N302 from its current price of N162.

Apart from the Vice President, Other members of the committee are Godwin Obaseki, Kayode Fayemi, and David Umahi, governors of Edo, Ekiti and Ebonyi states respectively; as well as Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Others are Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director, GMD, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC and Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning.

According to the report by Sahara Reporter, the committee last year submitted a report to the federal government where it recommended a total face out of subsidy by February 2022, a development that could raise the price of the commodity by as much as N140 per litre.

But responding, Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to Osinbajo on Media and Communications, said the report was tissues of lies.  He explained that deliberation is still ongoing on the plan by the federal government to remove subsidy, adding that NEC has not make a final decision on the issue.

“While there are indeed ongoing discussions on the issue of fuel subsidy, at no time has NEC made any such resolution as this report claims. Public discourse can be better served by seeking further clarification from relevant quarters on matters of such importance,” Akande said on his twitter page.

Sahara Reporter reported that the Osinbajo-led committee made series of recommendations on the deregulation issue, including the hike of petrol to over N300 per litre by the first quarter of the year.

The Committee, the online medium said “recommended that all retailers should post PMS prices at all times on a designated website and smartphone app — and they are expected to post price changes no earlier than within 15 minutes of the price change.

“At current rates, the PMS subsidy is reducing transfers into the federation by about N250billion per month, and could, if PMS subsidies are not eliminated, result in deductions of NGN 3 trillion in 2022

“The large-scale time-limited (6-months) cash transfer proposed as a way of transferring the subsidy “directly to the people” would cost N600 billion but would by paving the way for the elimination of PMS subsidies, enable the federation to recover N3 trillion in revenues that would otherwise go to PMS subsidies.

“If PMS subsidies are eliminated by February 2022, N250 billion in deductions would have been incurred, but the remaining N195 billion in anticipated PMS subsidy deductions could be redirected towards FGN funding of the cash-transfer programme.”

Meanwhile, a former Head of State Abdulsalami Abubakar, has warned that an increase in the price of petrol will push more Nigerians into poverty. “The expected fuel price increment will push more Nigerians into poverty. Over 80 million Nigerians are still cut off by poverty. Nigeria faces a food crisis worsened by the global COVID-19 pandemic,” he said at an event in Abuja on Thursday.

2023: Groups, CSOs Target 40 Million Voters In South West To Show Numerical Strength

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Yoruba States

By Akinwale Kasali

A coalition of several Pan-Yoruba and Civil Society Groups has launched the campaign for a minimum of 40million voters in the old Western region comprising the current six South West States, Delta, Edo States and Yorubas in Kwara and Kogi States to sensitize them on the need to exercise their franchise at the Polls in 2023.

The project, according to the group, is driven by the quest to explore the full political strength of the Yoruba Nation and also to tell the world what “we can do with the population of the people of the old Western Region.”

In a statement on Thursday, the Alliance for Yoruba Democratic Movements, (AYDM), said the campaign is not affiliated with any political party but aimed at energizing the Yoruba and  people of the old Western Region to be able to get what they want using their population strength as a bargaining chip.

The group said the project will further assert the strength and dominion of Yoruba people and open up understanding on the real population of the people of the old Western Region. The AYDM is a coalition of 88 civil society and Pan Yoruba groups launched in Lagos late December last year.

“Population is strength. For over half a century, the Yoruba people and the old Western Region, including Edo and Delta, plus Kwara and Kogi States have been undermined in terms of our numerical strength. It began during the 1952 Census conducted by imperialist forces that gave figures to nationality groups based on their own vested interests”, the AYDM General Secretary, Popoola Ajayi said in the statement released on Thursday.

The Group said in the 1980s, the South West produced millions of voters but that the figures have continued to diminish in arithmetic progression. He said the underestimation of the South West voting strength is partly responsible for the inability of the people to take over power and run the country to address the grievances of various agitated groups.

In the 2015 elections, AYDM said less than 20 percent of the eligible voters in this focal point registered, in 2011, the percentage dropped to 18 percent while in 2019, the number of registered voters was less about 17 percent of eligible voters.

“This has placed the region at a gross disadvantage,’ the group said adding that it is ridiculous that Lagos with a population of some 18 million with 10 million eligible voters came up with less than 1.8 million votes in 2019. The group said it will be difficult for politicians to mobilise the people to obtain voters cards and that the best option is a mobilization project driven by non-state actors who enjoy the trust of the organization calling on them to register.

The AYDM plans to complete the setting up of state structures in all the concerned States before the end of February 2022 with the mandate to mobilise active and docile Yoruba people in rural, urban areas including peasants, workers, farmers, students, rich and poor who have developed cold feet against the electoral system due to years of exploitation and mis-governance by those elected to lead the people.

The Group said its position is grounded on the possibility of holding the forthcoming elections and the need for the old Western Region to have appropriate response to the situation.

“We are aware of internal and external threats to the forthcoming elections and even the fact that elections have been discredited and threatened by social ills and misfortunes caused by the exploitative ruling class. This means that the people of the South West should have a masterplan including appropriate response to the forthcoming elections if the elections will hold in Nigeria”, AYDM said.

Some members of the Alliance include, but not limited to ANACOWA, representing Okada riders in the South West, Agbekoya, South West Professionals, (SOWPROF), South West Farmers Solidarity Front, (SWFSF), O’odua Nationalist Coalition, (ONAC), South West Automobile Technicians Association, (NATA), O’odua Peoples Congress, (New Era), Covenant Group, (CG), South West Vigilante Groups, (SWVG),Green Peoples Environmental Network, (GREPNET), South West Civil Society Network, (SWCN), O’odua Peoples Congress, (Reformed), Yoruba Women Congress, (YOWEC), Apapo O’odua Koya, (AOKOYA), Oodua Students Coalition, (OSC) and many groups from Itsekiri, Edo, Kwara and Kogi States.

Tambuwal Loses Elder Brother; Anyim Mourns

By
The Source
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0
Anyim Pius Anyim

Frontline 2023 Presidential  aspirant, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, has condoled with the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal over the death of his elder brother, Alhaji Bello Muhammadu Tambuwal.

Late Bello Tambuwal was the Wazirin Tambuwal until his death.

In a condolence letter which he personally signed, Anyim, who is contesting the next Presidential election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described the death of the elder Tambuwal as painful.

Anyim, however, urged the Sokoto State Governor to be consoled by the worthy life his elder brother lived.

Said Anyim, “I have received with sadness, news of the death of your elder brother, Alhaji Bello Muhammadu, Wazirin Tambuwal.

“I deeply commiserate with Your Excellency, your  family and the Tambuwal Community on this very huge loss.

“I can imagine how much you will miss his wise counsel and support.

“Painful and devastating as this  experience must be for you and your entire family, I urge you to find solace in the worthy services your late brother rendered to his people in the last thirty- seven years as the Wazirin Tambuwal.

“I pray that Almighty God will grant you all the courage and strength to bear this irreparable loss”, Anyim added, wishing the soul of elder to rest in peace.

AFCON: Super Eagles Defeat Guinea Bissau, Record 100 Percent Winning Streak In Group Matches

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0
Super Eagles of Nigeria - AFCON 2021

By Akinwale Kasali

The Super Eagles of Nigeria recorded their third win in the ongoing African Cup of Nations tournament in Cameroon with a 2-0 win over Guinea Bissau at the Ahidjo Stadium in Garoua, Cameroon.

As expected, Interim Coach Augustine Eguavoen, fielded a second string team that also had of its regulars in the starting line up.

Omonia Nicosia Football Club of Cyprus Goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho was giving the nod ahead of the other three goalkeepers, with Captain of the team, William Troost Ekong, partnering Oluwasemilogo Ajayi, Jamilu Collins and Tyronne Ebuehi in the defense.

Wilfred Ndidi paired Kelechi Nwakali, Chidera Ejuke, and Alex Iwobi in the midfield, with Kelechi Iheanacho and Sadiq Umar leading the attack.

Immediately the Kenyan Referee signaled the commencement of the game, the Super Eagles continued from where they stopped against the Falcons of Sudan in their second match, controlling the pace of the game.

The Guinea Bissau players were at the back forth absorbing the pressure from the Nigerians who controlled possession in the early stages.

As the game gathered momentum, the Guinea Bissau players took the game to their opponent, forcing Uzoho to make two crucial saves and intervention before the end of the first half.

Umar in the Super Eagles attack wasted a Golden chance that could have given the West African team the lead but his lackadaisical approach saw the Guineans clearing their back line.

There was no clear cut chance for both teams throughout the first half.

On resumption for the second half of the game, the Super Eagles took the game to their opponents leading to the goal scored by Umar after a superb square pass by Iheanacho.

Eguavoen brought in Slavia Prague Football Club of Czech Republic striker, Peter Oladeji Olayinka to replace Umar, with Moses Simon replacing Ejuke.

The substitution however paid off few minutes to the introduction of the players, Moses individual effort led to the second goal as he mesmerized the Guinean defense with his shot hitting the pole before Troost Ekong tap in the rebounding shot into an open net to give the Super Eagles their second goal.

Henry Onyekuru, Olisa Noah and Frank Onyeka also tasted action after coming on for Nwakali, Ebuehi and Iheanacho respectively.

In the other Group D match, the Pharaohs of Egypt recorded a slim 1-0 win over Sudan with the only goal of the match scored by Mohammed Abdelmonem, as the Egyptians finished as runners-up behind the Super Eagles.

Nigeria had a 100 percent winning record with Nine Points behind Egypt with Six points, Guinea Bissau and Sudan garnering One Point apiece.

The Super Eagles remain the only team to have won all its three matches in the competition, with no other team achieving such feat in AFCON 2021.

With the 100 Percent winning streak, Eguavoen remains the only Coach in the history of  Nigeria’s participation at AFCON tournament to have won all his Three Group matches, having achieved such feat at 2006 AFCON in Egypt.

2023: Group Lobby Jonathan To Run

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0
Goodluck Jonathan

By Akinwale Kasali

Even though former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Spokesman, Ikechukwu Eze, has made it clear that his Principal has neither discussed 2023 with anybody, nor does he plan to join the All Progressive Congress, APC, to run for the office, pressure has kept mounting on the former President to do run.

The latest group is a coalition of pressure groups under the aegis of the National Coalition for Goodluck Jonathan, NACOJO which says it has concluded plans to embark on aggressive grassroots mobilisation for Jonathan across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

NACOJO’s National Convener, Munene Wilson, in a media briefing in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State Capital, after an enlarged Executive Council meeting of the body said the body would release a comprehensive timetable next week for the inauguration of its State Chapters.

Wilson said the body realised that Nigeria needs a leader that is abreast with the current political and economic challenges of the country, saying Jonathan is such a leader.

He added: “The Nigerian Nation must not be handed over at this critical moment to a Leader that will run experiment with her political and economic challenges.

“We plead with the former President to consider Nigeria above his personal interest and yield to the popular call for him to run for the 2023 presidential election on the platform of a preferred political party.”

Wilson was accompanied by the group’s National Secretary, Dr. Iteimowei Major, the Director of Organisation/Legal, Ovieyi Theophilus and the Director of Media and Publicity, Ayebaitari Easterday.

The call by NACOJO was earlier followed by a group, under the auspices Youths Earnestly Demand for Goodluck Jonathan 2023 (YED 4 GEJ 2023), which had called on the former president to contest the 2023 presidential election, adding that it (the group) has resolved to fund his political campaign.

The Group had earlier issued a statement through its National Chairman, Teddy Omiloli, and National Director of Operations, Douye Daniel, stressing that the country is urgently in need of a nation builder, a unifier that can save the country from its current state.

The group said: “We are demanding Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to return to power as president in 2023, and we have also resolved to fund his electioneering should he accept the call to return to power in 2023.”

It noted that Jonathan met a Nigeria with a faulty constitution; saw the need to restructure Nigeria and conveyed a national confab in 2014, but was unable to implement its recommendations because he was voted out of office in 2015.

The group said most Nigerians, including the youths, were too blind then to see that Nigeria’s problem was the inability of Nigerians as a people to renegotiate the country’s unity.

It added: “We call on every Nigerian to lend a voice to the demand for the return of Jonathan in 2023, as he has no other choice but to accept the call to render service to humanity in the capacity of the president of Nigeria.

“We as the youths of this great country, after discovering the Nigeria’s problem and found the solution in Goodluck Jonathan, we are calling on all Nigerians, including our political elites, present administration and religious leaders, to join the call for the return of Goodluck Jonathan, and also join our #BringbackGEJ project.”

WHO Says Worst Of Omicron Wave Is Over

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

There is a sigh of relief for the World following the declaration by the World Health Organization, WHO, that the worst of the Omicron Covid 19 Virus  variant is over.

The World Health Body expressed this optimism in spite of its spread across the world.

Omicron continues to sweep the world, and cases seem to have peaked in some countries, which gives the UN health agency hope that the worst of this latest wave of COVID-19 is over.

At a press briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, WHO Director General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said that more than 18 million cases were reported last week, and the pandemic itself is far from over, so no country is out of the woods yet.

The number of deaths remains stable, but the agency is concerned about the impact the variant is having on already exhausted health workers and overburdened health systems.

In his words, “I remain particularly concerned about many countries that have low vaccination rates, as people are many times more at risk of severe illness and death if they’re unvaccinated,” he said.

Omicron may be less severe, but for the WHO Chief “the narrative that it is mild disease is misleading, hurts the overall response and costs more lives”.

Ghebreyesus noted that the virus was circulating “far too intensely with many still vulnerable” and argued that, for many countries, the next few weeks remain critical.

According to him, the UN-backed COVAX facility delivered its one-billionth dose of vaccine over the weekend.

The WHO chief said he was proud of the milestone, but believes it’s essential to keep forging ahead with distributing shots fairly, across the world.

“Vaccines may be less effective at preventing infection and transmission of Omicron than they were for previous variants, but they still are exceptionally good at preventing serious disease and death,” he explained.

For him, immunisation continues to be “key to protecting hospitals from becoming overwhelmed”.

The WHO Chief, also, highlighted the importance of tracking new variants, like Omicron, in real time.

Ghebreyesus believes that the pandemic is “nowhere near over” and, with the incredible growth of Omicron, new variants are likely to emerge.

So far, more than seven million whole genome sequences from 180 countries have been submitted to GISAID, a global mechanism that provides open access to genomic data and was initially set up to track flu.

Using all that data, new formulations of vaccines are being developed and assessed for how they perform against different strains.

Despite those efforts, the UN health agency top official is concerned that the world will enter “a second and even more destructive phase of vaccine inequity”, if it doesn’t change course.

On Friday, WHO recommend two new COVID-19 treatments to fight severe illness and death: a rheumatoid arthrits drug called baricitinib, and a monoclonal antibody called sotrovimab.

For him, the challenge, once again, is that high prices and limited supply means access is limited.

WHO is currently working with its partners in ACT-Accelerator to negotiate lower prices with manufacturers and ensure supply will be available for low- and middle-income countries.

Next week, the WHO Executive Board, which is made up of 34 Member States, will meet to discuss the world’s health challenges.

The pandemic will remain at the forefront, but Member States will also be discussing the devastating impact of the pandemic on other health issues, and how the backsliding can be stopped.

According to the WHO chief, the agency will be working to accelerate progress on negotiations around a global pandemic accord.

In addition, Ghebreyesus said that January is Cervical Cancer Awareness month.

In 2020, an estimated 604,000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer worldwide and about 342,000 women died from the disease.

The main cause of the disease is infection with high-risk types of Human Papillomavirus (HPV), an extremely common family of viruses that are transmitted through sexual contact.

There are, however, vaccines that protect against high-risk HPV types, which means it should be one of the most preventable and treatable forms of cancer.

Breaking: Court Orders FG To Pay N1Billion To Kanu For Illegal Arrest; Seeks Political Solution To Case

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

The Leader of the Indigenous People of  Biafra, IPOB,  Agitator, Nnamdi Kanu has defeated the Federal Government in a suit he instituted against it.

An Umuahia, Abia State High Court, presided over by Justice Benson Anya, ruled on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, in favour of Kanu over the illegal invasion of his residence by Security Agents in 2017.

Justice Anya said that the invasion of Kanu’s residence was unlawful and an infringement on his human rights.

The Judge  also ruled that his abduction and forceful return to Nigeria was “illegal” under local and international laws.

Anya  ruled that the Nigerian Government should pay Kanu a sum of N1billion as  compensation for the violation of his fundamental human rights.

Recall that Kanu’s Special Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor filed the lawsuit against the Nigerian government on August 27, 2021 before the Abia court.

The Judge had earlier rejected the challenge by the Nigerian Government on the jurisdiction to hear Kanu’s case.

Ejimakor had argued that Kanu could not be tried in Nigeria as there was no crime he had committed known to both Nigerian and international laws.

He had added that the Government of Nigeria collaborated with Kenya to abduct him and rendition him to Nigeria.

The Court also recommended political solution to the agitation for the restoration of the defunct Biafra Republic championed by IPOB.

Following the ruling by the Court, Kanu’s Lawyer took to his Twitter Handle and wrote; “Mazi Nnamdi Kanu WINS as Abia High Court rules that the Federal Government violated his fundamental rights. Orders the Federal government to pay N1b to him and issue a letter of apology to him.

“Most importantly, the Court recommended political solution to the #Biafran agitation.”

Timi Frank Urges Buhari To Sack Wabote, NCDMD Secretary, Over Corruption

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on Wednesday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari, to sack the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Kesiye Wabote, over alleged breach of Code of Conduct for Public Officers in the country.

Frank in a statement in Abuja, said the move has become necessary since Wabote recently admitted before an American Court of operating foreign bank accounts with Bank of America and HSBC Dubai.

He said Wabote and his Attorneys had, in response to Interrogatory #11, admitted the illegality on record while being cross-examined by a Defense Counsel in a libel case he (Wabote) instituted against Jackson Ude, a journalist, in a United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

According to him, the admission by Wabote is a direct breach of Part 1, Section 3 of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution (as amended) which bars public officers from operating foreign bank accounts.

Frank, who is the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Ambassador to East Africa and Middle East, further accused Wabote of spending taxpayers’ money to pursue a personal cause in the the United States, an act he described as dishonorable and illegal.

He called on relevant Committees of the National Assembly, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Code of Conduct Bureau to investigate and prosecute Wabote over the apparent constitutional violation.

He insisted that it is both immoral and illegal for the NCDMD boss to spend budgetary allocations for the Agency to fight a personal vendetta.

“As a Bayelsan citizen where Wabote hails from, I am highly embarrassed by his conduct. He is supposed to have resigned to pursue his case instead of staying in office and using public funds to fight a personal cause.

“I think Buhari should not waste time in causing the investigation of Wabote over this fragrant undermining of the Constitution in use of taxpayers’ money to prosecute a libel suit he instituted in the USA against a journalist, Jackson Ude – Publisher of the Eagle newspaper online.

“It is this type of dishonourable  conduct on the part of public officers that make other nations of the world to regard Nigerian officials as grossly corrupt and it must be urgently nipped in the bud to serve as a deterrent to others.

“Nobody is saying, Wabote has no right to institute a libel suit in America, but let him first resign his appointment and use his personal funds to pay foreign law firms he has engaged rather than using taxpayers’ money illegally,” Frank declared.

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