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Royal Rumble As Ooni’s Wife Says Husband Is Two-Faced

By
Bayo Bernard
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Ooni of Ife- Oba Enitan Ogunwusi

By Tosin Olatokunbo

The wife of Ooni of Ife, Sikenuola Naomi has revealed that her husband is not sincere. According to her, the image Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi II projects to the world is not his true colour. The revelation is contained in a statement by the queen, announcing her divorce to the monarch, on Thursday.

Some watchers of the Ooni’s palace said tension is now high in the royal family, barely a day after Oba Ogunwusi revealed that he once contemplated suicide as a young man.

In a statement on Thursday, Sikenuola said her marriage to the traditional ruler has broken down completely, without redemption. She, however, shocked the world after she said in the statement that what Oba Ogunwusi projects to the world is not his true self.

According to the Olori who said she tried all she could to save her marriage, “his Majesty has a picture he would love the world to see and perceive him as and another one which is his true self “.

Speaking on Wednesday at the opening session of the maiden edition of ‘Memorable Moments With Music’ at The Muson Centre, Lagos, Oba Adeyeye said frustration almost pushed him to taking his own life.

He said, “This is a very great moment for me. There is power in music. When I almost committed suicide in my younger age as a real estate business man, it was music that saved my life. Music is a perfect communication with God.

“I had become very successful in the real estate sector at a very young age. I took a loan of N8 billion about 12 years ago to build high rise building which I had to pull down by myself when we were already on the 10th floor, and the money went down the drain.

“Life turned upside down thereafter and the only option was for me to commit suicide, but listening to series of inspirational music reset my thinking faculty to remember the common saying ‘There is Hope When There is Life’.

“I have since then adopted music as a very powerful solution tool when faced with challenges, and I made up mind to invest in music and art for the economic empowerment and mental liberation of our youths and the less privileged people in our society. Ladies and gentlemen, whatever you are going through, please don’t give up. Use inspirational music to elevate your spirit

“This is indeed a calling for me and I feel so happily fulfilled tonight with this 1st day of this musical project, a 3 day musical show which I tagged ‘Memorable Moments With Music’”, Oba Ogunwusi said.

Bayelsa Gov Warns FG On Subsidy Removal

By
Bayo Bernard
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0

By James Orji

Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa state has warned the federal government not to go ahead with the plan to remove subsidy on petrol. He said the Buhari’s administration will throw many Nigerians into poverty if it implements the policy, set to take off by the middle of next year.

The Minister of Finance and Budget, Zainab Ahmed, said last month that the federal government will pay most vulnerable Nigerians N5000  monthly to help them cope after the subsidy regime is ended. The federal government said the over one trillion spent on subsidy annually could be channeled to critical sectors such as education, health and infrastructure to make the lives of many Nigerians better.

The Bayelsa’s helmsman took a different position from the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF which has backed subsidy removal.

The forum, said last week, that the removal of petrol subsidy will free up more resources for state governments. The forum’s chairman, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti state, said one of the areas the governors are looking at, is to use whatever is saved from subsidy to pay the arrears of pensioners in the country.

But speaking on the issue, Diri at the end-of-year meeting of the Bayelsa Elders Council in Yenagoa, said ending the subsidy regime will further impoverish many Nigerians and thrown them into untold hardship, adding that the subsidy issue shold be addressed on state-bystate basis.

The federal government “should rather re-calibrate the subsidy deductions based on volume of petroleum products consumed by each state,” Diri said.

In a communique released after NGF meeting, last week, Fayemi said the governors have resolved to include settlement of all outstanding pension obligations as part of the social compact with citizens for the removal of fuel subsidy.

The governors affirmed their support for the federal government’s transport palliative scheme.

Fayemi said, “on the strategy to build a sustainable Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) for State Governments that will also be capable of clearing outstanding pension liabilities, members listened to a presentation by the Chief Executive of AVA Capital, Mr Kayode Falasinnu, and resolved that the settlement of all outstanding pension obligations should be included as part of the social compact with citizens for the removal of fuel subsidies.

“With respect to the required legal and institutional changes required to facilitate a successful CPS transition in all States, State Commissioners of Finance will be mandated to ensure that States meet the guidelines for the implementation of Contributory Pension Schemes by State Governments, including the enactment of a pension law, the establishment of a pension board and the adoption of a transition framework for each State,” he said.

Breaking: Ooni of Ife Second Marriage Breaks Down

By
Bayo Bernard
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Ooni of ife

By James Orji

After months of speculations over the troubled marriage of Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeey Ogunwusi and his wife, Olori Sikenuola Naomi, the relationship has finally broken down.

Fours years ago, Ooni’s first wife, Olori Wuraola, left him citing irreconcilable difference with the custodian of Yoruba heritage, as the traditional ruler is well known.

Sikekenola has also abandoned her marriage with one of the foremost traditional rulers in Africa. We are no longer husband and wife, the queen who got married to Oba Ogunwusi three years ago said in a statement, thus ending the once romantic relationship.

According to the statement seen by the magazine Sikenuola said she will no longer “be referred to as wife to the Ooni of Ife or as Queen of Ile-Ife ”

The statement reads in part “I bless the Lord almighty for His faithfulness in the last 3years of my marriage. In life’s journey, it isn’t how far. Still, how well, indeed though satan should buffet if trials should come, I have this blessed assurance controlling all situations and saying to me it is well with my soul. Certainly, it is well. I made my journey into the ancient throne of Ife with faith in my heart and love for the keeper of it.

“Few impressions I would love to correct. If anyone knows otherwise, they are free to come up with facts. Let it be known that this decision to move on did not come because his majesty is married to another queen. As many would love to assume, throughout our life as a couple, I was the only married wife to him. There were side attractions, but it was never an issue.

She explained her journey to becoming Ooni’s wife and where the trouble in the marriage started.

“I never approached him with any revelation of any sort, as many believed he contacted me first and made his proposal known several months later. The marriage was not an arranged one, as many have misconstrued. I never knew the prophetess said to have introduced me to him. Instead, he introduced her to me after I agreed to marry him. I was only being polite out of respect for him.

“I have never been pregnant all my life before Tadenikawo; my son is my first ever pregnancy with medical reports to back it up. The girl who is said to be my daughter is my niece

“I did my best to endure and make it work; many times, I smiled through the struggle, but I have finally realised I had just one assignment, my son, and when God is done, He is done. He chose Saul to be king, and when He was done, He told the prophet Samuel I have moved on.

“Religion was never an issue between us; please refer to my interview on News Central TV. Instead, His Majesty has a picture he would love the world to see and perceive him as and another one which is his true self.”

I will no longer be addressed as the wife of Ooni of Ife, she said

Sikenuola “today I announce the beginning of a new dawn and the close of a chapter. Today, I am a mother to God’s unique gift. I am no longer a slave to my thoughts of perfection.

“I, at this moment, announce that I shall no longer be referred to as wife to the Ooni of Ife or as Queen of Ile-Ife but as the Queen of the people and mother of my adorable Prince.to be cont”.

Imo: Ihedioha, Uche Nwosu, Ignite Political Realignment Talks At Funeral

By
The Source
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Emeka Ihedioha and Uche Nwosu

By Charles Igbo

Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Emeka Ihedioha, was a surprise face at the funeral of Mrs Jemimah Nwosu, mother of his arch Political rival and “enemy”, Uche Nwosu.

Ihedioha, declared winner of the 2019 Governorship Election by the Independent National Electoral  Commission, INEC, was the Governor of Imo State before the Supreme Court removed him in favour of the incumbent Senator Hope Uzodinma. Ihedioha’s administration lasted for seven months, only.

Nwosu, a son-in-law to former Governor Rochas Okorocha, in that election, was the Governorship candidate of the Action Alliance, AA, after Uzodinma picked the ticket of the All Progressives Congress, APC, displacing him.

Nwosu and his father-in-law, Okorocha, had been political  enemies of Ihedioha for years. On being sworn-in as the Governor of the State, Ihedioha set up a number of Judicial Commissions and Panels to probe the activities of Okorocha in his eight year administration.

It is the implementation of the White Paper on the findings of the probe Panels, which Uzodinma refused to disband, that have stripped Okorocha of everything he reportedly illegally acquired in the State. The Okorocha group holds Ihedioha responsible for their principal’s sad fate.

Okorocha and Uzodinma, though in the same party, have a very sour relationship, just as he has with Ihedioha, or so everybody thought.

But in a classic case of “my enemy’s enemy is my friend”, Okorocha and Ihedioha have allegedly been hobnobbing.

Speculations have been strong that both men and Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, another APC  chieftain, unhappy that Uzodinma did not support him in his recent Senatorial ambition, have been meeting. They are said to be forming an alliance to confront Uzodinma in 2023. There have, also, been speculations that the Okorocha group, in particular, is poised to defect to the PDP, especially, as he, and his supporters, did not take part in the APC revalidation exercise. Okorocha and his group are completely out of the main stream APC in Imo State. In recent times too, Okorocha has been publicly hobnobbing with Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, unarguably, one of the most influential voices in the PDP.

However, according to political watchers, nothing has given teeth to a possible  political realignment in the State than the presence of Ihedioha at the funeral of Uche Nwosu’s mother. If that happens, it is a realignment nobody can comfortably ignore.

On arrival at the funeral in Nkwerre on Wednesday, December 22,  for the funeral, Ihedioha and Nwosu hugged, held hands forever, and was received with excitement by the crowd present. Present too, of course, was Okorocha, whose daughter, Uloma, is married to Nwosu.

There are speculations that  in 2023, Ihedioha and Nwosu could run on the same ticket under the PDP.

While that is still in the realms of speculations, the task before Ihedioha is to get the PDP Governorship ticket in 2023.

Water, Power Privatization: Groups Caution FG Against Move

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Coalition of Civil Organisation

By Akinwale Kasali

Coalition of different Civil Society Organizations and Labour have called on the Federal Government to jettison its planned privatization in the nation’s power and water sectors.

The Group urged the Federal Government to, instead, sustainably fund the sectors while building the capacity of the workers in the sector to improve service delivery.

The call was made at the Trade Unions’ Press Briefing with the theme: Promoting Transparency and Decent Work in Supply Chains in Electricity, Water and Waste Services in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) and the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) said the FG’s recourse to privatization will spell doom for workers and  ordinary Nigerians who will have to pay more for basic services.

In his intervention, National President of NUEE, Comrade Martin Uzoegwu said that the year 2021 marks the eighth anniversary of the privatisatiion of the power sector, yet the same issues that informed the government decision for privatizing have remained unsolved. Because of this, citizens and industries still do not have reliable power supply.

Uzoegwu pointed out that even with installed capacity at 12,522 MW, the nation has not been able to generate beyond 4,000 MW, which is insufficient for the population of 200 million. Added to these are the periodic price hikes, a variety of tariffs and estimated billing.

He disclosed that electricity on the grid on November 1, 2013, when the sector was privatized was around 3,400MW. Since then, the highest peak power ever generated and transmitted in Nigeria was 5,802MW on March 1, 2021, which was evacuated at a frequency of 50.09 hertz. He also exposed the fact that power supply now has dropped below 4,000MW at a time Nigeria is supposed be generating over 20,000MW.

Disturbingly, he noted that the GenCos have jettisoned the primary objectives of generating power as contained in their MOU to sundry businesses around the power stations.

“We can authoritatively say without fear of contradiction that some prefer these other businesses to revamping the generating machines”.

He also said that tariffs have been increased three times and the fourth imminent, a development that continues to put additional burdens on Nigerians who do not enjoy adequate power supply while generator importers continue to have a field day.

According to him, NUEE still maintains that the only workable and practicable option for resolving the issues is a TOTAL REVERSAL of the whole privatization exercise because it is not working and cannot work. The union proposed instead, commercialization which will give the companies the opportunity to charge economic tariffs with human face considering the purchasing power of the citizens and the regulatory directives.

It will also help to solve the twin problems of funding and investments in the whole value chain of the power sector.  Commercialization will lead to reduction in unemployment, reduction in the rate of Organized crimes and other social vices, Creation of small and medium enterprises in the rural and semi-urban areas, and reduction in the cost of energy for manufacturing firms thus reducing the cost of goods and services and increase in turnover which could lead to more direct and indirect employment, among others.

Speaking on the water sector privatization plans, Comrade Sikiru Waheed, AUPCTRE General Secretary said that access to safe and adequate water is crucial to the quality of life of the citizenry and this conviction has motivated the union to lead campaign to stop privatization of water.

Comrade Waheed said that privatisation will price water above the reach of the poor and lead to job losses by privatisers who are only interested in maximising profits.

Waheed drew the attention of the government to examples of cities that privatised water and reversed their decisions by remunicipalizing. They include Buenos Aires, Manila, Paris, and other cities, explaining that the outcomes in those cities informed the resistance of similar moves in Nigeria.

He revealed that the controversial National Water Bill which was stepped down at the House of Representatives in 2020 was conceived by the Nigerian government to foist privatisation on Nigerians even as he frowned at the Ministry of Water Resources and some lawmakers for attempts at re-presenting the same bill which contains provisions that will ultimately dispossess Nigerian citizens of their inherited and cultural rights to water and fling the doors open to privatisation.

In his words: “The bill was stepped down by the House of Representatives in September 2020 due to widespread criticism about its provisions and the exclusion of critical stakeholders in its journey through the hallowed chambers albeit clandestinely. We were pleasantly surprised when President Muhammadu Buhari demanded speedy work on the Bill while commissioning the Zobe Regional Water Supply Scheme in Katsina State”.

Also touching on the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Lagos state government and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on water and sanitation, the AUPCTRE boss described it as a secret deal that doesn’t have the blessing of labor or civil society, since according to him, details of the MOU is not in the public domain. He listed some states on the threshold of privatizing their water sector, which he said the union will resist. They include Lagos, Ekiti, Bayelsa and Abuja, the federal capital territory.

Other speakers at the event are Philip Jakpor, director of programmes at the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Comrade Moradeke Abiodun-Badru of Public Services International (PSI) and Comrade Abiodun Bakare, Secretary Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Lagos Chapter.

NCAA Pulls Down Glo Base Station in Abuja

By
Uche Mbah
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NCCA Pulls Down Glo Base Station in Abuja

By Uche Mbah

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), in a sudden move, has shut down Globacom’s (Glo) facility in Wuse 2 Abuja over a N4.7bn debt.

The Director-General of the NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, personally led the exercise, which was supervised by the Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika.

According to the DG, the action will continue on some of Glo’s Main Switch Centres (MSC) accros the country until they commit themselves to  a payment schedule as regards unpaid height clearance certificate fees.

The directive to pull down the base station came from the Presidency, the NCAA said.

It was gathered that the telecom firm failed to respond to meeting appointments between them and the Government Agency.

The Agency then decided to put further meetings on hold until they – Globacom- are prepared to explain why they snubbed the Agency.

Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)

NCAA wrote to the Managing Director of the Telecommunications company a letter, titled ‘Re: Illegal Erection Of High Structures And Refusal To Renew Expired Height Clearance Certificates By Globacom Limited, and signed by Emmanuel Dubem Chukwuma, its Legal Adviser/ Head Compliance and Enforcement.

The letter forewarned of the resolve to pull down the base stations since the Telecom firm refused to honor the most recent summon for a meeting on September 23 to discuss their expired height clearance certificate.

“It is unfortunate that despite our concurrence to a further rescheduling of the meeting to a requested date, and so informing you through our letter of 13th September 2021, you failed to turn up for the meeting. The Director-General of the NCAA had to abort an official assignment in Europe and return to Nigeria, in order to be able to attend the meeting”.

The NCAA, said that the Globacom group only wrote a letter three days after, requesting for the rescheduling of the meeting without explaining why they were absent in the first place.

” I am directed to inform you that the NCAA is not disposed to granting this latest (fourth) request to reschedule the meeting, particularly as no reason was given for your non-attendance at the last date.

“In the circumstance, having exhausted all avenues of a resolution of this matter, we are now left without a choice but to apply the relevant sanctions, including the dismantling of all your non-compliant masts nationwide. And this shall be without further notice to you”; the letter read.

Data Crucial In Accelerating Nigeria Towards HIV Epidemic Control – U.S. Ambassador

By
The Source
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Mary Beth Leonard - US Ambassador to Nigeria

The U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, described data repository programs such as the U.S.-supported National Data Repository (NDR) platform as a crucial component in accelerating access to life-saving anti-retroviral treatment to people living with HIV. The platform provides near real-time data to allocate resources, recognize successes, and identify areas needed for new strategies.

She stated this at the Strengthening HIV Field Epidemiology, Infectious Disease Surveillance, and Laboratory Diagnostics project (SHIELD) closeout ceremony, which was funded by the United States government through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and implemented by the University of Maryland at Baltimore (UMB) Nigeria with technical support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The Ambassador described the successful completion of the project as an essential milestone in the U.S. government’s collaboration with the Government of Nigeria in HIV epidemic control efforts. “Over the past two years, it has been a great source of pride for me to witness the successful partnership between our governments on the national HIV response.”  She attributed this success to the collective contributions and achievements of implementing partners and programs such as SHIELD. Overall, the US assistance supported more than 90 percent (1,649,188) of the estimated 1.8 million adults in Nigeria infected with HIV receiving treatment and propels the country to a point where HIV epidemic control is within reach.

The SHIELD project also helped closely monitor the effects of COVID-19 on the HIV response and effectively mitigated its negative impact.  In addition, data from the NDR has been used to develop guiding policies regarding viral suppression, recency surveillance, and mortality surveillance, which are vital to long-term sustained epidemic control.

The US-CDC awarded the SHIELD project in October 2016 to improve the quality of HIV service delivery by instituting standardized monitoring and evaluation nationally. The project aligns with the PEPFAR 2025 strategy that highlights the need to institutionalize robust, granular, and transparent partner country data systems to manage and monitor the HIV response, disease detection broadly, and outbreak control. The same practices are being adapted for the needs of Nigeria beyond the HIV response to COVID-19 and other disease outbreaks.

The highlight of the closeout ceremony included the launching of products from the SHIELD Project, including the Electronic Medical Records Implementation Guideline, Case-Based Surveillance Guideline & Road Map, NDR Platform, NDR Analytic Database, National Medical Record System (NMRS) Website, and the NAIIS NADA sub-domain.

Why APC Scuttled Electoral Act Amendment – PDP

By
The Source
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Debo Ologunagba - PDP Publicity Secretary

The main opposition Party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, of scuttling the Electoral Act Amendment, 2021, for fear of losing the General Election in 2023.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the PDP said some aspects of the Amendment Act will not allow the APC to rig the Election in 2023 as it has always done.

It accused the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari of non commitment to the Amendment of the Electoral Act just to make sure that credible elections are not held.

“‘It is apparent that the APC and the Buhari Presidency were never committed to the Amendment of the Electoral Act to ensure credible elections and as such triggered the controversy of the mode of Primaries by political parties as a camouflage to scuttle the entire Amendment Bill including provisions for electronic transmission of results among others.”

The statement said the APC has always been afraid of electronic transmission of results because it would not allow the party to manipulate the results. However, the PDP told the APC, that Nigerians are determined to ho the electronic transmission of results in 2023.

President Buhari had, given a number of reasons in a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, refused to sign the Amendment Act.

On Tuesday, in reaction to the President’s refusal, the Senate held a closed door session. The expectation was that it was going to override the President’s refusal, but that did not happen.

Following is the full text of PDP’s statement.

“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accuses the All Progressives Congress (APC) of scuttling the signing of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill because some key provisions in the Bill will not allow its grand design to rig the 2023 general elections.

“It is instructive to recall that the APC has been in trepidation of the amendment to the Electoral Act, due mainly to the provision of electronic transmission of election results, which will completely eliminate APC’s manipulations and alteration of results at elections.

“It is apparent that the APC and the Buhari Presidency were never committed to the amendment of the Electoral Act to ensure credible elections and as such triggered the controversy of the mode of primaries by political parties as a camouflage to scuttle the entire Amendment Bill including provisions for electronic transmission of results among others.

“It is imperative to remind Nigerians of how the APC, in collusion with their leaders in the National Assembly fought hard to stop the electronic transmission of results provision in the Bill, but were resisted by Nigerians supported by the courageous action of the PDP Caucus in the House of Representatives which staged a walk out only for the APC to orchestrate controversies and set the stage for the withholding of assent by Mr. President.

“The main reason for this manipulation of the legislative process by the APC, is to prevent the electronic transmission of results so that it can continue in its culture of rigging and electoral impunities including alteration of results at collation, ballot box snatching, destruction of data among others; just to cling to power against the will of Nigerians.

“Such is consistent with the APC’s well-known machination against every genuine effort to instill credible, transparent, free and fair elections in Nigeria in the last six years. The APC thrives in electoral scam, duplicity, underhand dealings, violence and political brigandage, all in their heinous script to put Nigerians under perpetual bondage.

“Having been rejected for its failures and having also self-decimated its structure across the country, the APC has completely lost the capacity and goodwill for electoral contest and as such seeks every means to subvert any process that can guarantee credible elections in 2023.

“The subversion of the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill by the APC further validates the fact that the APC is averse to the aspiration of Nigerians and does not believe in democratic principles of credible elections.

“Our party therefore calls on all Nigerians, Civil Society Organizations, the International Community and all lovers of democracy across the world to rise up and put appropriate pressure on the APC-led National Assembly to immediately do the needful so as to safeguard our democracy by ensuring that the basic principles of transparent, credible, free and fair mode of conducting elections are guaranteed and sustained by law.

“The PDP cautions the APC to note that no matter their machination, Nigerians are determined to pursue the electronic transmission of election results to its logical conclusion and that there is no going back in their resolve to vote out the APC in 2023.”

Renovation Of Ondo Assembly Almost Ready As Gov Akeredolu Inspects Complex

By
The Source
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0
Akeredolu Visit House of Assemlby Renovation

By Ayodele Oni

Ondo State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, on Tuesday paid an unscheduled visit to the State House of Assembly complex to inspect the level of work done in the ongoing renovation of the complex.

The Assembly Complex, which was last renovated by the administration of late Pa Adekunle Ajasin, had not been given any facelift until Governor Akeredolu commenced its total renovation last year.

The State Government, despite the dilapidation, had left the Lawmakers to their fate until snakes sent them out of the complex during plenary.

Governor Akeredolu, who expressed satisfaction with the level of work done, said that the complex would compete favourably with modern legislative buildings in the country when the renovation is completed.

Observing that the work has reached 90 percent stage, the Governor said plenary would start holding at the chamber soon.

“I don’t need to dwell on the works that are going on here. I want to believe that these are things or what we are doing here should have been done even before us.

“What we met wasn’t deserving. It was not a place fit for our assembly. We know the modern architecture in place in other states.

“What I believe is that what the government is trying to do here is what the assembly deserves.

“The last time this place ever had a touch was during the Ajasin time. I am satisfied with the level of job done so far. I want to commend the contractor. I want to thank him for his efforts.

“The state has not gotten so much money, but the contractor has been very good. By the first quarter of next year, we will have this place opened. Before that, the house must have been holding plenaries here.

Speaking on behalf of other lawmakers, the Speaker, Bamidele Oleyelogun, thanked Governor Akeredolu for the timely intervention, stressing that the complex would be a monument when completed.

Mr Oleyelogun said that the massive renovation work is a legacy project of the present administration which would go a long way in boosting legislative business.

“We have to thank the Governor for doing this because the House of Assembly is supposed to be a monument.

“I know that when this is completed, it will be competing with other legislative buildings across the country

“So far, so good. The work is going on very well. I thank God for what is going on. No Governor in the future can beat this kind of legacy. It was during Baba Ajasin time that this place was renovated last.”

Ortom Breaks Ranks With PDP Govs, Backs Buhari On Electoral Bill

By
Bayo Bernard
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0

By James Orji

President Muhammadu Buhari has received support from an unusual quarter, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state over his decision to reject the Electoral Bill forwarded to him on November 30 by the National Assembly.

On Monday, the president returned the bill to NASS citing different reasons, including security and the cost of conducting direct primaries by political parties to select candidates to represent them in election. The president has been virulently criticized by many Nigerians from CSO and members of his own party, the All Progressives Congress, APC over his decision not to assent to the bill. Only a few people have endorsed the president’s action.

Surprisingly, Governor Ortom who is regarded as an ardent critic of the president, and recently criticized Buhari during his 79th birthday celebration is one of the few that have shown support for the president over the matter. Curiously too, the Benue helmsman is the only Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP governor to have supported the president on the vexed issue.

Speaking on the issue in Makurdi, the state’s capital on Tuesday, the governor said the president took the right decision by rejecting the bill.

According to him “I want to use this opportunity again on behalf of people that are represented here in Benue State to commend Mr President for withholding assent on the process of primaries of various political parties,” he said at a briefing at the end of the meeting of the State Executive Council on Tuesday in Makurdi.

“I am appealing to the National Assembly to reconsider the clause that allows for only direct primaries, and all the reasons that Mr President advanced concerning the support for him withholding his assent are deeply appreciated.

“I assure you that as a veteran politician who had the privilege to witness direct primaries, witness indirect primaries, and witness consensus primaries, and someone who has the privilege to be a member of various political parties, it was almost unanimous that the issue of primaries should be the responsibility of various political parties,” Ortom said.

In a letter to the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila on Monday, President Buhari said the prevailing situation in the country would not allow him to sign the bill.

Among other reasons for rejecting the bill, the president cited high cost of conducting direct primaries, the security challenge of monitoring the election, violation of citizens’ rights and marginalization of small political parties.

Buhari said he had received informed advice from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Government, and had also carefully reviewed the Bill in light of the current realities prevalent in the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the circumstances.

“The amendment as proposed is a violation of the underlying spirit of democracy, which is characterised by freedom of choices of which political party membership is a voluntary exercise of the constitutional right of freedom of association,” Buhari said.

He added that the existing constitution of the parties already registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) permits direct, indirect and consensus primaries.

The president said his decision is based on informed advice by relevant ministries, departments and agencies of the government, noting that his decision is based on the prevailing security situations in the country.

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