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2023: Tinubu Declares Interest To Succeed Buhari

By
Adesina Soyooye
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Bola Tinubu
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

By Adesina Soyooye

The rumours have been strong. The speculations too. But the man around whom they revolve has kept sealed lips. Apparently, he has been exploring. And strategising. And working and discussing behind closed doors. He has been visiting people. And setting up, by proxy it is alleged, groups rooting for him to run for the office of the President of Nigeria in 2023.

He even had to celebrate his 69th birthday party in Kano, the State which returns votes, during elections, more than any other State in Nigeria.

His proxies have been talking, hinting on his ambition every now and then. From the North to the South. But nobody, or Group, has said ”He asked us to campaign for him. He told us he would run for the office of the President of Nigeria.”

However, on Friday, the cat, as they say, was let out of the bag. Not from him. But from an Elder Statesman, Tanko Yakasai.

The 94 year old Yakasai has let it be known that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu visited him in his Abuja house to tell him he would run for the office of the President, and to solicit for his support.

Yakasai, a strong member of the Arewa Consultative Forum, says he would support Tinubu to achieve his ambition. He told the Punch that the former two-time Lagos State Governor visited him on Wednesday to tell him of his ambition to be the President  of Nigeria.

When Tinubu finally publicly declares his ambition, he is not likely to be short of supporters. Many groups including Traditional Rulers from his South-west zone are rooting for him. And so are a number of APC Governors.

Just before he came back from the United Kingdom where he was, for  medical attention,  the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu launched a group, the South-west Agenda, for the purpose of realising Tinubu’s ambition.

While he was in the UK, his residence became a Mecca of sorts for Politicians. In the lead was President Muhammadu Buhari, who was also on a medical trip to the UK. He made out time to visit Tinubu to wish him a quick recovery. His visit was followed by that of a number of State Governors, and the Northern House of Representatives Caucus led by the Deputy Speaker of the House. A delegation of the Lagos House of Assembly also visited.

Since his return, nothing has changed. Politicians and groups, including Afenifere, have been trooping to his Ikoyi residence to wish him well.

Some days ago, he visited the Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, apparently to brief him on his ambition. Kalu, in a statement, said both of them discussed National issues and how to move Nigeria forward.

A couple of days ago, former Lagos State Governor, and now, Minister for Works, Babatunde Fashola, said on a television programme that even though Tinubu has not, yet, told him of his desire to run for the office of the President, he, Tinubu, would make a statement on that in January, 2022.

Tinubu, a former Senator, National Leader of the APC, is the most visible and the most influential of his class of Governors – 1999 to 2007.

His wife, Remi, is  currently, a ranking Senator.

Covid: Only Vaccinated Junior Officers in Federal Civil Service Will Resume December 1st – FG

By
Uche Mbah
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Federal Secretariat Abuja

By Uche Mbah

The Federal Government has approved the full resumption of Junior Civil Servants on grade level 12 and below to resume work Wednesday December 1st after they have been forced to work from home due to COVID-19.

Recall that during the COVID lockdown, the Federal Government directed all junior workers to work from home due to social distancing. Senior officers were reporting for work and this created administrative bottlenecks and resulted in slow pace of productivity.

The Federal Civil Service has not been fully digitalized as most works are done by moving physical files from table to table, a bureaucratic inheritance of the pre colonial era.

Consequently, FG has approved vaccine mandates for all Civil servants under it in compliance with the directive of Presidential steering committee for Covid 19.

The Committee has decreed the vaccine mandate in order to comply with international standards and COVID travel protocols.

Already a new wave of COVID is being announced by the media, with a new variant allegedly found in South Africa.

Many European countries are now restricting travel to and from South Africa, with Portugal leading the way.

Canada has temporarily placed a travel ban on some African countries.

It is believed that it is the public announcement of measures taken by the Government that Nigeria has not been placed on ban by her international neighbors.

In a circular signed by the Head of Service of the Federation, Folasade Yemi-Esan,dated November 26,2021, FG said all Federal Civil Servants are expected to show proof of vaccination or show a negative COVID 29 PCR test result done within 72 hours prior to resumption.

“All Federal Government employees would, therefore, be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or present a negative COVID-19 PCR test result done within 72 hours,” it said, at the same time directing  the staff yet to be vaccinated to proceed to designated centres for immediate vaccination.

“All Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Government Agencies and Extra-Ministerial Offices are enjoined to bring the contents of this circular to to the attention of their staff and ensure strict compliance,”the circular read, noting that as part of measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19 pandemic,”officers from GL 12 and below were directed to work from home.”

“Following the advice of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, these category of officers are expected to resume duties on Wednesday,1st December, 2021″.

Northern Youths Council Hail Court Declaration of Bandits As Terrorists

By
Uche Mbah
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By Uche Mbah

The Northern Youths Council of Nigeria has hailed the declaration of Bandits as terrorists by an Abuja High Court.

The Federal Government had filed an Ex-parte Motion through the Federal Ministry of Justice in an Abuja High Court presided over by Justice Taiwo Taiwo requesting that the court declare bandits terrorists.

The court, in its rulings, had stamped bandits as terrorists in a radical departure from the tacitly accepted norm of not describing bandits and other violent groups as terrorists and their organisations as terrorist organisations.

Many prominent voices, both political and civil groups, have been clamoring for the designation, with critics of the Government citing the designation of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, as a terrorist organisation when the members are nowhere near as murderous as the Bandits.

Only recently, Katsina State House of Assembly called on the Federal and State Governments to declare bandits as terrorists.

In a statement in Kaduna immediately after becoming aware of the court ruling, signed  by Comrade Isah Abubakar, President and

Mock Samuel Kure, Director General, Media and Publicity, the group said the security agents should take steps to arrest and prosecute them.

“We will welcome full military operation in Northwestern and North Central parts of the country as it is happening in Northeast against Boko Haram and ISWAP elements which have drastically reduced their activities,” the statement said.

“The Council hereby urges our Armed Forces and other sister security agencies, to arrest and prosecute anybody seen giving the terrorists support be it materially, morally or otherwise no matter how highly or lowly placed.

”The Northern Youths will stand with ( Security Agencies) in (the) quest to stamp out terrorism in the North and Nigeria at large,” they said.

Bandits have taken over parts of Niger state where they hoisted their flag and are forcibly converting natives to Islam. They impose levies and taxes without let or hindrance. Ironically, they have been operating relentlessly in President Buhari’s home state, Katsina, where a Federal Lawmaker had his brother abducted recently, but he was allegedly released when the father of the leader of the bandits was allegedly held hostage by security agencies until they released the lawmaker’s brother in exchange.

This has tended to paint a picture of complicity with the security agencies which they have always denied.

Jonathan Tasks International Observers on Benchmark for Election Reporting

By
The Source
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Former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has tasked international election observers to seek to make more impact towards promoting democracy by developing a grading framework that would capture all the electoral processes in their post-election reports.

Dr. Jonathan also reiterated his call for the introduction of what he called  ‘Democracy Marker’ to serve as a bench-marking system of election reporting, as a means of strengthening the efficiency and effectiveness of observer involvement in elections in emerging democracies.

The former President stated this on Tuesday in a keynote address he delivered in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire at the15th Annual Symposium of the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) with a theme, ‘Contributing to Credible Elections in Africa through Improved International Observation Practices’.

Jonathan said: “I feel that there is the need for an organisation like EISA, which provides technical assistance to many inter-governmental institutions on electoral matters, to lead the initiative to develop a grading system for elections, in order to encourage nations to strengthen democratic practices.

“I should point out that I had proposed what I called a ‘Democracy Marker’ to serve as a bench-marking system of election reporting, at a Commonwealth virtual programme last year.  I am convinced the proposal bears repeating here because of my belief in its capacity to improve the quality of elections.

Stressing that one of the biggest criticisms against  international election observation missions (IEOMs) lies with the nature of their mission statements following the election, he said: “I believe that a grading framework or template for the assessment of a country’s performance could be incorporated in the reporting manual as a way of encouraging countries to aim to improve their election records. This will indeed guide them to benchmark their performance against other democracies.”

The former President further suggested that the grading template should be aggregated into four clusters, for the sake of transparency and effectiveness. He identified the clusters as pre- and post-election assessment of how the electoral management bodies (EMBs)  manage the electoral processes, the security  involvement in elections and the conduct of security personnel, the actions of citizens and political parties and their behaviour on election day, as well as  the discharge of judicial processes relating to the elections.

He noted that the suggested method of ranking and measurement is already being carried out successfully in other aspects of our social life.

According to him: “They are being conducted by such organisations as Transparency International which is an NGO that developed the Corruption Perception Index (CPI); the Human Rights Watch that monitors and rates nations on respect of people’s rights, Fund for Peace, which conducts the failed nations index as well as the International football federation (FIFA) which routinely ranks nations according to the performance of their national teams.
“I believe that a similar grading system, focusing on elections and determined by a body of credible election observation missions, will not only make observer reports more useful and relevant; it will also go a long way in improving the system of elections in many countries.”

Jonathan stated that the “value in inviting international observers to an election is underpinned by the belief that they play an impartial and  vital role in ensuring that the elections are peaceful, transparent, free, fair, and that the outcome is accepted by voters, political parties and candidates.”

OPINION: EFCC’s Inelegant Drama Over Anambra Governor

By
The Source
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C-Don Adinuba

By C. Don Adinuba

Nigerians were dismayed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) went a new low on Wednesday, November 24, 2021, when it sponsored media reports claiming that it has placed Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State on its watch list. The EFCC provided no details of how Governor Obiano has been placed on its watch list, but made a reference to a letter it purportedly wrote on November 15, 2021, to the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) asking it to inform the anti-graft agency anytime the governor is travelling out of the country.

Everything that can be wrong with politically motivated statements like this one is obviously wrong with this statement. The EFCC knows full well that it is acting inelegantly in this instance, and so has tried as much as possible not to make an official public statement on the alleged placing of Chief Obiano on the watch list. It furtively gave a section of the media the news report it wrote based on ostensibly its letter to the NIS on November 15.

Governor Obiano is out of the country currently. And he travelled through one of the country’s international airports. He did not disguise himself, but rather left the country with his identity fully disclosed at the necessary immigration point.

The EFCC sounded more inelegant when it claimed in the sponsored press report that it received intelligence reports that the governor plans to “flee” from Nigeria once he hands over power next March 17 to the newly elected Anambra State governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo. Chief Obiano has never left any persons in doubt that he will relocate to his base in the United States once he finishes his tenure. As early as Wednesday, March 4, 2020, he announced his decision to a meeting of the Anambra State Council of Elders, comprising such personages as the erstwhile Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe who is also the chairman of both the Anambra State Council of Traditional Rulers and the Southeast Council of Traditional Rulers; a former Anambra State governor, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife; an ex-Minister of Women Affairs, Iyom Josephine Anenih, mni; the founding Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Professor Elochukwu Amucheazi; the Archbishop Emeritus of the Anglican Church in Anambra State, The Most Reverend Dr Maxwell Anikwenwa; and the Catholic Bishop of the Awka Diocese, Rev Dr Paulinus Ezeokafor.

Governor Obiano has a whole four months to remain in office as the Anambra State chief executive. Nobody in Nigeria can circumscribe his constitutionally conferred immunity which shields him from both criminal and civil prosecution. The EFCC went too far to announce in November that it is observing him. We are not aware of any state governor who had up to four months to be in office and the EFCC went on to sponsor media reports that he was being investigated.

It is, indeed strange that the EFCC is making a show that it is investigating a high public officer. Anti-corruption agencies, like intelligence services, conduct their investigations discreetly, and not on pages of newspapers. Media trial has never benefitted the EFCC.

The whole nation knows those behind all the present histrionics about Obiano. They are those who didn’t want the November 6 election to hold. They are those in high places who unsuccessfully canvassed for emergency rule in Anambra supposedly on security grounds. They are those who masterminded the Birnin Kudu High Court charade in Jigawa State over the APGA leadership and, more importantly, the authentic APGA candidate in the November gubernatorial election in Anambra State. They are those responsible for the sacrilege of a customary court in Abuja issuing criminal summons to Professor Soludo, a former Central Bank of Nigeria governor. These people are still fighting the gubernatorial battle on behalf of their badly defeated friends and political associates in the Anambra vote. They will fail badly, as they have done in the recent past.

The EFCC should not allow itself to be used by politicians who are mere birds of passage. Its ongoing Anambra drama is in bad taste. It did not serve Governor Obiano any notice. Nor did it invite him to answer questions about his service record. It just went to the press. Yet, the governor is willing to answer any questions about his years in office. After all, he has received a prestigious award from the United Nations Development Programme for social service integrity.

God bless Anambra State, the Light of the Nation.

Don Adinuba is the Commissioner for Information & Public Enlightenment, Anambra State.

Crisis In Anambra APC Worsens As Faction Suspends Chairman

By
Adesina Soyooye
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Basil Ejidike

By Adesina Soyooye

For Chief Basil Ejidike, the Anambra State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, trouble looms, as his seat has become shaky.

The State APC has been in crisis since it lost the November 6 Governorship election to the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, the ruling party in the State. The APGA candidate, Professor Charles Soludo, won the election, beating the APC candidate, Senator Andy Uba to a distant third position.

Ejidike, as did other high profile members of the party, including the candidate, lost his Local Government Area. On November 7, a video of a “slumped” and distraught Ejidike made the rounds when he learnt that he lost his area to APGA.

Now, he has more troubles in his hands. He has been suspended by a “faction” of the party which has alleged abuse of power and high handedness on his part. He is also accused of insubordination.

In a statement issued in Awka on Thursday  a chieftain of the party, Okonkwo Okom, announced Ejidike’s suspension.

Perhaps, the most serious allegation against him, Okom said, is his inability, as Chairman, to  convene a state congress. The Congress, Okom said, could have been able to deal with the many  challenges confronting the party in the State, and had breached the party’s constitution a couple of times.

Okom: “The State chapter of the APC jointly convened by more than two-thirds of the members of the State Executive Committee and not less than two-thirds of the 21 Local Government Area Chairmen of the APC with the mandate of the 326 Ward Chairmen in the state decided to suspend Ejidike.”

Part of the Statement reads:

“That Mr Basil Ejidike be and is hereby suspended forthwith from office as the Caretaker Chairman of All Progressives Congress in Anambra State, pending his appearance before a Disciplinary/Fact-Finding Committee of the Party.

“That the next most senior available official of the party in the state is mandated to convene an emergency meeting of the state executive committee in consultation with the leader of the party in Anambra State, Dr Chris Ngige, within the next 14 days from the date hereof to discuss the modalities for strengthening and repositioning the All Progressives Congress and for moving the party forward in Anambra State.

“That Mr Basil Ejidike shall be referred to the Disciplinary/Fact-Finding Committee of the party in the state as prescribed by the APC constitution to answer to charges of abuse of power and office, diversion and conversion of party property, flagrant sabotage, subversion and breach of the party’s constitution, insubordination and disrespect to the Office and person of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, embezzlement and misappropriation of party’s funds, among other charges.

“That as required by the party’s constitution, these resolutions shall be immediately transmitted to the National Caretaker and Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee for immediate implementation.”

However, in his response to the suspension notice, Ejidike described the party’s stakeholders action as laughable.

“Those people are not members of our party. They are renegades who left the party after our primaries in June. They can’t suspend me.

“As I’m talking to you I’m at the National Secretariat of our party in Abuja. Their claim is laughable. What is the position of the person that convened the meeting that sacked me? They are trying to see if they can instigate a crisis in our party; that is their only interest.”

There has been no reaction from either Ejidike or the APC National Secretariat.

Kaduna Lifts Ban On Telecoms

By
The Source
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0

By Gideon Njoku

Three months after it banned telecommunications services in the State, Kaduna State Government has lifted the ban.

This comes as abductions of Nigerians, especially, along the Abuja-Kaduna express road continues to worsen. In the past couple of days, tens of Nigerians have been kidnapped along the two-hour drive without any help. Survivors complained they were unable to communicate with anybody.

The State Government had banned telecommunications services with the aim of curtailing the activities of bandits who wreak havoc in the State. But the  ban had little or no effect. If anything, Kaduna residents said it worsened the situation as those in danger were no longer able to call for help.

Reports, however, quote the Kaduna State Commissioner of Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan,  as announcing the lifting of the ban as from Friday, November, 26.

However, he emphasised that other prohibitions, including those of motorcycles, selling of fuel in kegs, and the weekly markets remain in force.

A couple of other Northern States, including Zamfara, Niger and Katsina, have such bans in place. They have not helped much.

Ondo: Kidnappers Abduct Fulani Kinsmen

By
Ayodele Oni
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Kidnappers
Kidnappers

By Ayodele Oni

It was a case of dog eating dog in Ondo State as suspected kidnappers abducted their Fulani herdsmen kinsmen.

The victims were, however, lucky as they were rescued by operatives of Amotekun Corps in the State.

The victims were abducted by a gang of herdsmen in Supare Akoko, in the Akoko South-West Local Government Area of the state a few days back.

As news of their freedom was being celebrated, five secondary school teachers were kidnapped in Akoko area of the State on Thursday.

The victims are the principal, Joshua Adeyemi, his vice, Ifedayo Yesufu and three Npower attached at community grammar school, Auga, Akoko.

They were kidnapped Thursday afternoon while returning from school along Auga – Ise road.

The Commander of Amotekun corps in the state, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, identified the freed victims as Musa Ibrahim and Amidu Ibrahim.

According to him, their abductors tied them to a tree, and were about to slaughter them when his men arrived at the scene.

Chief Adeleye further disclosed that a member of the gang, Sidi Amodu, was arrested.

He stated that when the operatives stormed the scene, the hoodlums, numbering about seven, fled, leaving behind Amodu, who was sleeping at the time.

“This is a case of herdsmen being kidnapped by fellow Fulani men. The two victims rescued by the Amotekun Corps are Musa Ibrahim and Amidu Ibrahim; they are siblings and they are herdsmen.

“They were kidnapped in Supare Akoko and valuables were taken from them after the kidnap operation. They were tied and about to be slaughtered by fellow Fulani men before our men got wind of it.

“We penetrated the forest where they were hiding and we were able to apprehend one of the criminals.

“He confessed to the crime and said the gang was a group of seven and that they migrated into the state from Benin and Kogi states.

“He said the last kidnap they did involved eight people. He said they all scattered when the Amotekun men came, in order to evade arrest.”

Malami, Instigated EFCC Against Obiano, Says Anambra Government

By
Uche Mbah
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0

By Uche Mbah

The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), is allegedly behind  the decision of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to put  the Governor of Anambra State, Wiilie Obiano, on its watch list,  C. Don Adinuba,  the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, alleges.

The media was awash a couple of days ago  with the story that the EFCC, in a letter to the Comptroller General of Immigration Services asked that Obiano be put on the watch list and inform it anytime he wants to travel abroad when he leaves office in March 2022.

Obiano is currently out of the country. He will hand over to the Governor-elect, Professor Charles Soludo on March 22, 2022.

Speaking on Politics Today, a current Affairs program of Channels Television Thursday, Adinuba, said the EFCC  under the Office of the AGF. Malami, had made attempts to derail the recent governorship election in Anambra, adding that the threat was political.

“Nobody invited him (the governor) to interrogate him or hear his own side of the story. No petition was presented to him. He did not make any comments. But all of a sudden, the EFCC announced rather secretly…using the media as a third party, that he is being watched. That is very surprising. There is absolutely no reason for that. And worse, the EFCC gave the impression that the Governor wants to bolt away when he has a whole four months to remain in office.

Governor Wille Obiano of Anambra State
Governor Wiilie Obiano of Anambra State

“It is unimaginable that a Governor will abandon a State for a whole four months to the end of his tenure. That is surprising. It just does not make sense to anyone simply because the whole exercise is politically motivated.”

Speaking on those allegedly after Obiano, he said: “I will repeat who these people are. The very people who did not want election to hold in Anambra State and had the audacity to tell the whole nation that the election was not going to hold for security reasons, without clearance with the President.

“Immediately the President got to know of this plot, he was alarmed and said ‘no, the election must hold in Anambra and it must be free and fair’. And the election actually became free, fair and transparent, and its outcome is in sync with the sentiments and expectations of the generality of not only Anambra people but all Nigerians.

“Consequently, Soludo’s victory became a national phenomenon. These people have tried everything possible to stop APGA’s representative, Soludo.  They went as far as approving a Customary Court in Abuja to obtain summons – criminal summons – on Soludo. They went as far as arranging a kangaroo judgment from a High Court in Jigawa State over the chairmanship of APGA and more importantly the authentic candidate of APGA in the November 6 gubernatorial election in Anambra State.”

Governors Tambuwal, Bagudu, Baduru To Commission Projects In Ekiti

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

The Governors of Sokoto, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal; Kebbi, Atiku Bagudu; and Jigawa, Mohammed Baduru, are due in Ekiti state on Friday.

They are expected to commission some road projects initiated and completed by the present administration of Governor Kayode Fayemi.

The Commissioner for Information, Akin Omole, in a statement on Thursday said the three Governors would commission projects, in continuation of the activities marking the third anniversary of Fayemi’s government.

According to the Commissioner, the Governors will during their visit, commission Ijan-Igbemo-Ire-Ilupeju, Oye-Ikun-Kwara State Boundary and Aramoko-Erijiyan-Ikogosi roads.

Mr Omole added that Wednesday’s meeting of the state executive council “deliberated on and approved for the rehabilitation some township roads in the state.

“This will be carried out by the Ekiti State Public Works Corporation through direct labour.

“It was approved that the corporation should expedite the works ahead of the anticipated high traffic during the upcoming festive period.

“The Ekiti State Executive Council at its meeting held on Wednesday, and in line with the provisions of the Chiefs Law (2012) Cap C5 Law of Ekiti State, approved the appointment of Prince Aniyi Sunday Aikuirawo as the new Obaleo of Erinmope-Ekiti.

“The appointments of both the new Obaleo of Erinmope-Ekiti and the Olufaki of Ifaki-Ekiti have been authorized to be published as a legal notice in the Government of Ekiti State’s Gazette.

“Aikuirawo, until his appointment, was the Principal Private Secretary to Governor Fayemi.”

In a related development, the commissioner said the Council also approved the appointment of Prince Adegbenro John Falore as the new Olufaki of Ifaki-Ekiti.

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