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Imo Attack: Osinbajo Laments The Imperfection Of The Nigerian System |The Source

By
Adesina Soyooye
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VP Yemi Osinbajo

By Adesina Soyooye

A shocked Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has described the Nigerian system as imperfect. He also  described the Easter Monday attack on the Owerri, Imo State Correctional Centre and the Headquarters of the State Police Command as atrocious. He said that the release of jailed and detained criminals from Prison and Police cells was dangerous. And he  urged the people of Imo State to resist the destabilization of their State.

Osinbajo on a visit to the State on Tuesday admonished Imolites, in particular,  and the South East zone in general to resist attempts by hoodlums to thwart their peace and consequently stall progress and development in the area.

Heavily armed hoodlums, in their hundreds, using sophisticated weapons, including explosives, had invaded the HQs of the Imo Police Command and the Correctional centre in the early hours of Easter Monday, April 5, 2021. According to the State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, they had also tried to invade the Government House, which is opposite the Police HQs, but were repelled  by Security personnel.

During the attack, 1884 prisoners and scores of detainees were released from the Correctional Centre and the Imo Police Command, respectively. Several buildings and over 50 vehicles parked within the premises of the Police Command were razed. And so  were many buildings at the Correctional Centre.

Professor Osinbajo spoke in Owerri, while reacting to the unprecedented  attacks.

*It was also on a day the Vice President commissioned some roads – Dick Tiger Road and Dick Tiger Street – abandoned for 28 years, but which Governor Hope Uzodimma recovered.*

After  a tour of the two Federal Government  institutions, the Vice President noted  that “an attack on a critical institution of law enforcement such as  the Police Station and Prison is an attack on security and well being of citizens”, and described such act as “atrocious and condemnable.”

His words: “When you attack institutions of law and order it is evidence it is not  an attack on justice as usual.  It is an attack on the welfare and well being of the people, especially when you free prisoners, some of who may be dangerous to the community, dangerous to the people. It is particularly atrocious and condemnable. Government has already taken steps to enhance security here and in the Correctional Facilities and the State generally and that is a continuing process.”

He added: “Perhaps more than any other part of the country, this region has borne witness to the very terrible cost in life, liberty and progress that  is exacted by conflict. It is a least beautiful lie that our country learned an enduring lesson in the futility of violence for there are those who believe that to resolve conflicts and issues other than by violence is cowardice.

“If the voice of their hatred prevails, we will experience a terrible and needless loss of lives that violence exerts.”

He acknowledged that the Nigerian system is not perfect, but insisted that “what democracy and institution of a democratic governance provide are channels for seeking peaceful resolution to conflicts and injury.”

The Vice President said there were many working tirelessly everyday to improve the system and called on Nigerians to reject agents of anarchy that seek to weaponize the frustrations and discontent of the youths for their own profits. He warned that the path of violence can only lead to destruction and desolation of communities.

Prof Osinbajo warned that peace should not be taken for granted, “because it was dangerous to learn the value of peace through the horrible crucible of war.”

He commended Governor Hope  Uzodimma for the mature manner he handled the situation and assured Imo people and residents that the security of the state has since been further enhanced. “The search for the escaped inmates began in earnest even” just as he assured that the Federal Government stands with the State.

The Vice President used the opportunity to commission the Dick Tiger Road and the Dick Tiger Street in the Owerri Municipal  which had been abandoned by successive Imo Governments for 28 years.

Suspected Herdsmen Unleash Terror On Female Farmers In Ekiti |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

For their refusal to allow themselves to be raped by hoodlums, suspected to be herdsmen, three women in Ekiti state are currently on danger list at a government hospital.

This, it was gathered, was the aftermath of attacks on them by the suspected herdsmen at their resident in Irele-Oke-Ako area of Ikole local government.

According to an eye witness account, the victims were  attacked with cutlass leaving them with deep cuts on their heads before they were rushed to the General Hospital, Ikole Ekiti.

It was gathered that the herders, numbering about six, invaded the building where the women reside and demanded for money.

Reports indicate that the women claimed that they had no money with them except one N200 note they gave to their attackers.

The herdsmen reportedly collected the money and made attempt to forcefully sleep with the women.

The refusal of the women to release themselves for the sex bout resulted to the attack, before the attackers fled the scene.

A top Aide of Ekiti state Governor on Security, Mr Dele Olugbemi, who confirmed the incident, described the attack as unfortunate.

Irele, a farm settlement in Ekiti state has become a volatile area as herdsmen have almost sent packing, farmers from their farms and took over the entire area.

The farmers had made several appeals to the state government to assist them to reclaim their farm from the herders but, it seems government is helpless, even the state security outfit, Amotekun could not help the situation.

Buhari Sacks IGP Adamu Over Owerri Attack; Appoints Usman Baba |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Usman Alkali Baba - AIG of Police

By Akinwale Kasali

With immediate effect, President Muhammadu  Buhari sacked Mohammed  Adamu as the Inspector General of Police. In his place, Buhari appointed DIG Usman Alkali Baba as the new IGP, but in an acting position.

Except on two occasions, the acting IGP is usually confirmed as the substantive IGP.

Adamu’s sack which was announced to State House Correspondents by the Minister for Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi,  comes 48 hours after the unprecedented attack in Owerri, Imo State, on the Correctional Centre, and the Imo State Police Command Headquarters, by hundreds of heavily armed hoodlums.

During the horrific and devastating attack in the morning of Monday, April 5, least 1,800 prisoners were set free by the rampaging hoodlums. And, at the Police Command, most of  the detainees were released. Not only were buildings razed at both locations of attack, but almost all the vehicles parked at the Police Command, including operational vehicles, were burnt.

The sack also came 24 hours after Adamu visited the Imo State Police Command on an assessment tour of the destruction. While addressing the Officers and Men, he ordered them to shoot their attackers on sight. He had, hours after the attack, put the blame on the IPOB/ESN.

Abubakar Mohammed Adamu - IGP
Abubakar Mohammed Adamu 

Buhari  had, inexplicably extended, for three months, on February 4, Adamu’s tenure as the IGP, instead of allowing him to retire at his attainment of 35 years in the Force, his tenure, having been dotted by a number of security failures and needless controversies, especially, with the Police Service Commission, PSC.

Not a few people were aghast when his tenure was extended.  It was greeted with condembation by  many individuals and groups. At least, a case is still in the Court, challenging  the extension.

He only spent about two months out of the three-month extension before his sack.

Adamu’s sack may not be unconnected with the Imo attack as the Presidency was said to be very embarrassed by it.

Until his appointment, Baba was the DIG Force Criminal Intelligence Department, FCIID.

Born in 1963, he enlisted into the Police as an ASP in 1988.

The new IGP holds  a Masters Degree in Public Administration, and a First Degree in Political Science.

How Okorocha And His Wife Impeached Me; Ex-Gov Owes My Brother Millions of Naira – Agbaso, Imo Ex Dep.Gov. |The Source

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The Source
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Jude Agbaso

By Charles Igbo

In his first major interview with a national daily since his historic victory in the Courts over his illegal impeachment, former Imo State Deputy Governor, Sir Jude Agbaso, has told the story of the travails he went through. He also named those who were behind his inexplicable impeachment not quite two years after he and then Governor Rochas Okorocha were sworn into office.

Aside from Okorocha and the then Speaker of the House of Assembly, the now late Ben Uwajimogu, one of main drivers of the impeachment was Okorocha’s wife, Nkechi, a woman who, ordinarily, would have had no business poking her nose in the illegal   process, or the administration of the State.

Recall that Agbaso was impeached over a false allegation of taking bribe to the tune of over N400m from a company, J-Pros.

In an interview with the Sunday Punch of April 4, Agbaso said one of the most troubling times he had at the time was the Governor calling him to try to, at once, blackmail and cajole him into accepting guilt for a crime he, Agbaso, did not commit. According to him, Okorocha called him and asked him to accept that he took the bribe to enable him halt the impeachment process. Agbaso refused.

Yet, Okorocha deceived him, and said he knew nothing about the (false) allegations which led to his impeachment.

Rochas Okorocha
Rochas Okorocha

When Agbaso first heard  rumours of the plot to impeach him, he said he did not take it seriously. Even when he noticed that Okorocha was sending people to sniff around the Ministry of Works which he supervised, he was not worrried. He said  his books were impeccable.

But one day, out of the blues, it burst.

Agbaso: “Okorocha is a master of deception. The rumour got to a crescendo that he had engineered my impeachment, and he was on his way to Kosovo.

“I called him, and he swore he had nothing to do with it. I challenged him to come back and call it off, and he came back to Imo the next day. But he had set up people against me. Many stakeholders came to listen to him. He told them that if I would just admit wrong dealings, he would go into the bedroom, and together, we would come out settled. But I said no. I had no skeletons in my cupboard.”

Agbaso, also, identified his successor in office after his impeachment, Prince Eze Madumere, as the person who liased with the late Uwajimogu (Speaker of the Imo House of Assembly at  the time), Simeon Iwunze, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, Jude Ejiogu, and Okorocha’s wife, Nkechi, to remove him from office.

Perhaps, it was fate, but all those named by Agbaso as engineering his ouster, did  not end up well with  Okorocha, or get the satisfaction for which he was impeached.

Uwajimogu fell out with Okorocha,  and was one of those instrumental to denying his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, the APC Governorship ticket.

In  Madumere’s case, he suffered the same fate as Agbaso. He was, also, treated very badly in office and was impeached.

Jude Ejiogu was sacked with ignominy as the SSG, and Anyanwu did not return to the Senate.

Okorocha’s wife did not have the satisfaction of being the First Lady’s mother, after being a First Lady herself – the reason Agbaso’s impeachment was engineered. Nor did her husband have the satisfaction of continuing in office for a third term through his son-in-law, Nwosu.

Yet, in all of Agbaso’s travails in the hands of Okorocha, the ex-Governor is still owing Agbaso snr, Chief Martin Agbaso, one of the backs, under APGA, on which he climbed to become a Governor.

Said Agbaso,  ex-Deputy Governor, “Funnily enough, Okorocha still owes my elder brother N7.2 million.”

Okorocha is now the Senator, representing Imo West, and has a vaulting ambition of running for the President in 2023.

In his State, Imo, where he once bestrode as a colossus, Okorocha is embattled on all fronts.

The Imo State Government is stripping him and and members of his  family of all the alleged looting of the people’s patrimony during his governorship of the State.

Recently, an Imo State High Court declared Agbaso’s impeachment null, void, and of no effect. It is expected, according to the terms of settlement, that all his entitlements will be paid to him.

Lagos 2023: Sanwo-Olu Risks Ambode’s Fate |The Source

By
Bayo Bernard
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By Tosin Olatokunbo

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos state worships Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu like a god. He has reasons to. The Lagos strongman and APC National Leader made him governor of the Aquatic State as Lagos is widely known, despite the efforts of then Governor Akinwumi Ambode to stay in office for another four years.

Ambode, a beneficiary of Tinubu’s godfatherism had broken ranks with his benefactor who ensured that then governor never returned to the Alausa, Ikeja Government House. In his place, Tinubu commandeered his supporters to vote for Sanwo-Olu, a political neophyte, barely known in Lagos’s political space.

Since he became governor in 2019, Governor Sanwo-Olu has done everything to please his mentor, including making outlandish statements in favor of the former governor’s presidential ambition. The governor has recently said Tinubu is the best candidate to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in his goodwill message to the former governor on his 69th birthday.

Bola Tinubu
Tinubu: Under Pressure to chose a Muslim Candidate

In spite of Sanwo-olu’s absolute and unwavering loyalty to his mentor, feelers are that he may not return to the government house in 2023 as efforts are in top gear to replace him with another candidate, possibly a Muslim politician from the state. Both Ambode and Sanwo-olu are Christians and by the time the incumbent completes his term in 2023, the duo would have commulatively spent eight years as governors.

According to sources from Bourdillon, Tinubu’s political headquarter, some Muslim adherents in the state have started putting pressure on the former governor to support somebody from their faith to succeed Sanwo-olu in three years time, based on an unwritten agreement that the governorship will be rotated by people of both faiths. Even though, Tinubu is yet to speak on the issue because “2023 is still far and it’s too early to begin campaign when the incumbent is trying to reposition the state after the EndSARS destruction,” one of Tinubu’s close aides told the magazine on Monday, “the issue is currently being discussed and trust that Asiwaju will not disappoint on a critical matter such as this. Be assured,” he said.

The top Tinubu’s aide spoke on the crest of a statement by the National President of the All Christian Leaders and Ministers Forum, Pastor Sam Ogedengbe that a Muslim should emerge as the next governor of the state.The clergy man believed to be very close to the former governor, spoke at the weekend at an event in the state.

Ogedengbe, who is also the General Overseer of Overcomers Pentecostal Prayer Church, Lagos said efforts are in top gear to ensure that the next governor would be a Muslim. Ogedengbe, the former Senior Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on Christian Religion, said he was among those who ensured that Governor Ambode, a Christian succeeded former Governor Babatunde Fashola in 2015, nothing that the gentleman arrangement will not be breached.

”We Christian leaders and ministers hail administrations in the state since 1999, but we will insist that Sanwo-Olu’s successor should be a Muslim in the interest of justice and equity, ”Ogedengbe said.

Since Ogendengbe made the statement last week, the magazine learnt that Governor Sanwo-Olu and some of his aides have become uneasy as the comment did not go down well with them. “Making such a sensitive political statement at this time does not augur well for all of us, particularly at a period when Asiwaju is trying to galvanise all his supporters across the country for this presidential ambition,” a close confidant of Governor Sanwo Olu told the magazine, noting however that he was not authorized to speak on the issue and that he must remained anonymous.

According to the source, Governor Sanwo-olu “is facing governance for now and has left the issue of his second term to be determined by our leader, Asiwaju and other party chieftains in the state. What is paramount to the hardworking governor is to take the state to the next level based on the brief he received from the Leader after he succeeded Ambode.”

Close sources told the magazine that Tinubu will not speak on the issue until he has successfully settled the matter over his rumored presidential ambition. But those that are close to him say Dr Obafemi Hamzat, the Deputy Governor and Tinubu’s son, Deji are on the card in case the former governor succumbed to pressure from Muslims that one of the should be governor in three years time.

Meanwhile, another source close to Tinubu said the governorship “in Asiwaju’s contemplation is not a family affair, so the suggestion that his son is one of those penciled down for the job is not true. But he will speak on the issue when the time is ripe.”

Imo Attack: IGP, IPOB, In War Of Words As He Deploys Squads; Uzodinma Calls Attack Cowardly |The Source

By
Adesina Soyooye
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Imo Attack

By Adesina Soyooye

Jolted by the unprecedented attack by heavily  armed hoodlums Monday morning in Owerri, Imo State Correctional Centre and Imo State Police Command, the Inspector General  of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu, has set up a Special Tactical Team for the State. He has also deployed Squads of Special Police Personnel to the State, with a stern warning to fish out all perpetrators of the attack which has shaken the country, and especially the State.

Hoodlums, in their hundreds, heavily armed with sophisticated weapons, including sophisticated guns, bombs and other explosives, descended on Owerri, sacking both the Correctional Centre and the Headquarters of the Police Command.

At the Correctional Centre, they set free over 1,800 prisoners, and at the Police Headquarters, set free scores of detainees. They told those they released to go home, because, like Jesus Christ, they have been set free.

The released prisoners and detainees were heard in a viral video saying: “They told us that Biafra has come, that we should go home”

They razed buildings, and burnt dozens of vehicles. The same group, also, attacked a Military checkpoint at Ukwuoji, sending the soldiers running for their lives on the approach of the group. An army vehicle was burnt down.

IGP Adamu has put the attack on the feet of the Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous Peoples Of Biafra, IPOB, and its security arm, the Eastern Security Network, ESN. And so has the Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma.

On a tour of both the wrecked Correctional Centre and the Police Command in the company of heads of Security Agencies in the State, Uzodinma described the attackers, who he identified as IPOB members and their operatives as cowardly. He said their aim was to destabilise Imo State, but assured the people of their protection and that their properties.

But in a statement, the IPOB Spokesperson, Emma Powerful, distanced IPOB from the attacks. He said that IPOB and its Security arm, ESN, were too busy pursuing Fulani herdsmen from the forests to undertake such an attack.

To arrest the terrifying situation, according  to Police Spokesman CP Frank Mba,  IGP Adamu has ordered the immediate deployment of additional units of Police Mobile Force (PMF) and other Police Tactical Squads to Imo State to strengthen security in the State and prevent further attacks on security formations or any other critical national infrastructure in the State.

The directives followed  the attack on security operatives and formations including the Imo State Police Command Headquarters and the Headquarters of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS) in Owerri in the early hours of today, Monday, 5th April, 2021, Mba said.

Mba revealed that “Preliminary investigations have revealed that the attackers, who came in their numbers with sophisticated weapons such as General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs), Sub-Machine Guns (SMGs), AK49 rifles, Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs), Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), are members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)/Eastern Security Network (ESN).

“The attempt by the attackers to gain access to the Police armoury at the Headquarters was totally and appropriately resisted by Police operatives on duty who repelled the attackers and prevented them from breaking-in and looting the armoury.

Abubakar Mohammed Adamu - IGP
Abubakar Mohammed Adamu, Inspector General of Police.

“The armoury is thus intact! Similarly, the police suffered no human casualty, apart from a police Constable who sustained a minor bullet wound on his shoulder.

“Meanwhile, one of the operational vehicles of the attackers has been recovered by the Police, and is currently being subjected to forensic scrutiny and investigations.

“The IGP, who condemned the attack on the security outfits, has further directed the Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command and a new Special Investigation Team (specifically set up to deal with cases of incessant attacks on security formation/operatives in the region), to carry out holistic investigations into the incident with a view to fishing-out the perpetrators and bringing them to justice. The CP is to harness the security reinforcement squads and other operational assets at his disposal to take the battle to the door-steps of the attackers and prevent any further attack anywhere within the State and its environs.

“The IGP, who described the deliberate and criminal attack on security operatives as an attack on the soul of our nation, has enjoined leaders in Imo State, the South-East and other parts of the country to speak out against the unfolding violence and criminality. The IGP calls on citizens to avail the Police and other security agencies with useful information that can assist in identifying and arresting the criminals.

“He vowed that the perpetrators will be brought to book, noting that the Force is doing all within its powers to curb the activities of unscrupulous elements hell-bent on threatening the unity, safety, security and socio-ecomomic wellbeing of Nigerians”, Mba said.

Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports say that a few of the prison inmates and detainees have, on their own, returned to both the Correctional Centre and Police Custody.

Afenifere Cancels Meeting Over Odumakin…As Tinubu Visits Family |The Source

By
Adesina Soyooye
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Bola Tinubu Visits Odumakin

By Adesina Soyooye

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, two time Governor of Lagos State, and a Chieftain of the All Progressives Party, APC, on Easter Monday, surprised   not a few people – especially, his political critics.

He rose above petty politics, and personally paid a condolence visit to Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, the widow of Yinka Odumakin, the late Spokesman of the apex  Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere. Not many people expected him to.

Odumakin, who passed on Saturday, at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, due to respiratory issues associated with COVID-19 complications, was a staunch, unsparing critic of Tinubu.

In deed, a few days before Odumakin’s passing, one of his most damning write-ups on Tinubu made the rounds.

It asked questions and put question marks  on “everything Tinubu.” Yet…

Tinubu’s first surprise was on Easter Sunday, a day after Odumakin’s death when he paid the late Afenifere Spokesman an unputdownable tribute, describing him as a sincere man who put Nigeria first.

Tinubu added:

“He was at the vanguard of the battle (for the actualisation of June 12), even at the risk of his own life and liberty. It is impossible to credibly tell the story of the emergence of the democracy we enjoy today without emblazoning  Odumakin’s name in gold.”

On Easter Monday, April 5, he followed up with a visit to Odumakin’s widow, Dr. Joe Okei- Odumakin.

In another development, the Afenifere, which Spokesman Odumakin was, has  cancelled its monthly meeting, scheduled  for  Akure, Ondo state as a mark of respect for him.

This was contained in a statement by the group, signed by the Assistant General Secretary of the group, Mr. Adeleke Mabinuori.

Part of the statement reads: “I have been directed by the acting Leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, to inform you that the Afenifere meeting scheduled for Tuesday, 6th April, 2021 is cancelled.

“This is in honour of the late  Publicity Secretary of the group, Mr Yinka Odumakin. Please await further directives.”

Odumakin’s sudden passing should both the Human Rights and Political Communities in Nigeria.

Boko Haram: Our Weapons Refurbished, Outdated |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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By Akinwale Kasali

Senator Ali Ndume, APC, Borno South has implored the Federal Government to purchase new and adequate equipment for the military to put an end to the Insurgency rocking the North East.

He stressed that the war on the Boko Haram Insurgency won’t stop if the FG don’t genuinely shown interest in curbing the anomalies.

While speaking to newsmen in Abuja, the nation’s capital, he revealed that most of the equipment being used by the military in prosecuting the Boko Haram war were refurbished and outdated weapons.

Ndume,  the Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, said that a lot was being expended on overhead of the Armed Forces but less to acquire new weapons and gadgets.

He said: “We are spending a lot of money on the Armed Forces but we are not spending enough on the procurement of modern equipment to fight the war.

“It is a different thing when we have a high personnel and overhead cost and a different scenario when you’re spending a little to acquire the necessary equipment, arms and ammunition.

“I have been crying out that the budget every year for the procurement of arms and ammunition is too small. When you spend N500bn on the Army but spend less than N30bn on procurement of arms and ammunition, it is just as if you are paying labourers without giving them the necessary tools to work with.

“It is true that the armed forces do not have enough equipment. I understand the procurement process but the FG should find a way to get the necessary arms and ammunition so as to end the war on time. I have said that our soldiers do not have new AK 47 rifles whereas the insurgents display brand new, assorted rifles and weapons that are modern.

“We need drones, tracking devices, telecommunications equipment that could be used to gather intelligence, real time”, he stated.

National Assembly Has No Hand In Buhari’s Lopsided Appointments – Senator Ayo Akinyelure |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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Ayo Akinyelure - Senator

By Ayodele Oni

Senator Ayo Akintelure, PDP,  Ondo state, and Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public sector has said the Presidency is on its own when it comes to appointments.

According to him, the National Assembly has no hand in “lopsided appointments” made by President Muhammadu Buhari during the five years of his administration.

The Senator, representing Ondo central at the red chamber told journalists in Akure, that federal appointments were not evenly distributed in line with the principle of federal character under the present administration.

“The National Assembly members should be absolved from the blatant disregard of Buhari to the federal character principles in appointments into key positions in the country.

“This might be responsible for the disunity and divisions that exist amongst the diverse ethno-religious communities in the country.”

The two-time lawmaker explained that the green chamber only screen  appointments sent to the House and if those whose names were sent are qualified to hold such offices, the lawmakers have no option than to clear them.

“This is a glaring fact to all Nigerians, the APC and the man in charge, many of their policies had failed to comply with the federal character principle of engagement.

“But when appointments are sent to National Assembly, we only look at the qualifications to see if they are qualified and fit to hold such political office.

“We cannot usurp the power of the executive because there are certain power conferred on the President by the constitution and the President can hide under this power.

“So if these people are qualified for the positions, the National Assembly cannot but clear them. It is clear to all Nigerians that these federal appointments are not evenly distributed in line with the principle of federal character”

He was of the view that appointments into key positions should be evenly spread and devoid of religious, ethnic and regional considerations, saying this will help to foster national unity.

“Appointments into key positions must be on merit besides regional consideration to give every section of the country a sense of belonging.”

Buhari: Medical Trip Abroad, Sign Of Nigeria’s Failed Health Sector – SDP National Chairman, Agunloye |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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Olu Agunloye

By Ayodele Oni

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has observed that the current medical trip by President Mohamadu Buhari to London is an indication that Nigeria’s present situation is precarious.

The National Chairman of the party, Dr Olu Agunloye, while felicitating with Nigerians on Easter celebration noted that “We are at a period when rates of unemployment, inflation and poverty are dangerously high while food security and social security are at the lowest.

“The situation is so bad that President Muhammadu Buhari had to fly to the UK for medical check-up as a testimony to the appalling state of the health sector in the country.

“The grave impending danger is the possible ultimate convergence of widespread internal insecurity crisis, global and local impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and further degeneration of the economy which may cause irreparable or irreversible damages to the Nigerian Nation.

“The country is currently wobbling through a tempestuous time wherein bandits, herdsmen, Boko Haram and other criminals brazenly confront the President of the Federal Republic and Commander-in-Chief at will.

“They lay deadly blockades across the nation turn the country’s landscape to killing fields, kidnap pupils from schools and lay claims to having shot down Nigerian Air Force jet fighter plane.

“At this point, it is critical for Nigerians to revisit the ideals and ideology of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for which M.K.O Abiola was associated and imbibe the essence of sacrifice for a rebirth to promote integration, unity, justice, and equity to heal our national fractures and pull Nigeria back from the brink.”

According to Dr Agunloye,  the SDP was determined to provide creditable alternative political vehicle to guarantee value for the votes and sweats of the common people in Nigeria.

He pointed out that the time has come to restructure the governance and constitutional systems, the fiscal system and the federal system, to reassure the people of Nigeria and to restore hope so that separationist or secessionist agitations can die down and the nation can commence the urgent process of rebuilding to evolve a new, safer, freer and prosperous Nigeria.

Dr. Agunloye called on President Muhammadu Buhari to lead Nigeria, to be a leader of all Nigerians, irrespective of ethnicity, religion or class, and to address his main constitutional duty which is to provide security for Nigeria and ensure the well-being of citizens.

He assured that the Social Democratic Party, SDP, as a national party with pro-people ideology, would continue to be in the vanguard of the promotion of a strong, democratic and egalitarian Nigerian society at all times.

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