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PDP Governors Tackle Umahi, Calls Him Immoral, Saboteur

By
The Source
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The Peoples Democratic Party’s Governors Forum, has taken a strong exception  to the statement credited to Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State with regards to the Party’s (PDP) Presidential Zoning in 2023.

Umahi was a two term PDP Governor who inexplicably dumped the party midway for the All Progressives Congress, APC, flaunting one of his reasons as his love for President Muhammadu Buhari. He also said he was moving because the PDP was delaying in zoning the 2023 Presidential slot to the South-east. Earlier, before he  left the Party, he had asked it to zone it to the South-east,  or he would quit.

He has since defected to the APC, where it does seem, everyday, that if the reason he joined was to have a finger on the big pie, it is not working.

Having left the PDP, not a few people were surprised when he commented on the delay in the PDP over zoning of the Presidency to the South-east. The APC has not done that yet.

Stung by Umahi”s poke-nosing, the PDP Governors Forum in a strongly-worded statement signed by its Director General, Hon. CID Maduabum, asked Umahi to shut up.

The Forum reminded him of the immorality of “illegally sitting on a PDP mandate, and calling himself an APC Governor.”

It also accused him of, sabotaging, as a PDP Governor, the 2019 Presidential election against  the PDP, so as to give Buhari 25 per cent, but was checkmated by outraged Ebonyi people.

The statement also chided him for claiming to be close to President Buhari “irrespective of the maladministration and daily incidents of destruction of lives and properties currently going on in Ebonyi State and the entire country under the watch of the APC.”

Following is the full text of the statement titled:

UMAHI SHOULD FACE APC MISRULE AND HIS FRUSTRATIONS

“The PDP GOVERNORS’ FORUM is outraged at the attempt by the Governor of Ebonyi State, H.E. David Umahi, who illegally and immoraly sits on a PDP mandate and calls himself an APC Governor to turn truth on its head.

“2 . Governor Umahi left PDP for APC, according to him, because of the love he has for President Buhari, among other flimsy reasons, irrespective of the maladministration  and daily incidents of destruction of lives and properties currently going on in Ebonyi State and the entire country under the watch of APC

“3. Governor Umahi sabotaged the PDP in 2019 elections in his quest to deliver 25% to his APC benefactors. It took the determined resistance of Ebonyi people to checkmate him. It was good riddance that he subsequently left PDP for APC instead of continuing his role as an APC mole.

“4. On the issue of Zoning, we advise Governor Umahi to face his frustrations in APC and not drag PDP and her Governors into it. PDP is an independent political Party  with workable structures and method of doing things. It’s not an appendage of the APC or indeed any other association or group.

“5.The PDP will take its decision on the issue of zoning political offices at the appropriate time. Even the APC has not taken any decision yet on zoning. Different groups and interests are advancing arguments to defend their positions as is required in a democracy. At the end of  the day, decisions will be taken by each political party.

“6. The PDP is single minded in its resolve to boot out the APC in 2023 and would craft strategies to achieve same in the national interest as APC currently represents an existential threat to Nigerias democracy and survival. Indeed all Nigerians have a duty and responsibility to end this long nightmare of APC misrule.”

Why UNIBEN Introduced Charges On Delayed Payment Of Fees – VC

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

The Vice Chancellor of  University of Benin, (UNIBEN), Prof Lilian Salami, has said that refusal of students to pay necessary fees as scheduled was having negative impact on the programmes of the University.

According to her, the growing trend of students’ late registration and delay in payment led to the introduction of the late registration fee, ranging between N6,000 and N20,000.

The Vice Chancellor said in Benin, that research further showed that there was a direct correlation between late registration and poor student academic performance.

“The sad fact is that less than 25 per cent of our students register on time yearly, no functional or high performing education institution can thrive with such lackluster statistics.

“Early registration remains  critical for effective operations of the university. Timely registration provides insight into the students’ volume/demand and allows for smarter planning to ensure that there are enough staff, courses and funding to support the students accordingly.

“It is important to note that in the past, other non-financial interventions in attempts to urge early registration have failed.

“It was based on the bad practice that the university Senate on Aug. 2, agreed to increase the existing payment of late fee from N10,000 to N20,000 on all students,  as another attempt to further encourage early registration.

“The announcement saw significant growth in early registrations from 2020 rate of 35 per cent to 93 per cent.

“We haven’t seen this rate of early registration in decades. It is a UNIBEN record without question, and kudos to those students who chose to make their education a priority.”

She explained that the senate reversed the decision due to the outcry and violent protest from students stressing that  the reversal of the position would not break the institution.

“I fundamentally believe that there are very few decisions that are irreversible and this is definitely not one of them.  At this time, the late fee is reversed and it is a closed case.

“UNIBEN is resilient and we will continue to move forward with a strong conviction to ensure that the university reaches its full potential as a premier academic institution.”

“How we gather the voice of the students and how we leverage technology to address these kinds of issues in the future.

“The goal remains to ensure that our great institution continues to strive and create an environment where all can succeed.”

IPOB Suspends Sit At Home Order In South East

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

Commercial activities in towns in the South East region are expected to resume fully as the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has put on hold all forms of sit-at-home till further notice.

The sit at home order, which is part of the activities to drum support for the release of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu had led to some secondary school students missing their final examinations and a lull in commercial activities.

A statement by the Media and Publicity Director of IPOB, Mr Emma Powerful, however, warned anybody attempting to enforce the order to shelve their plan or have themselves to blame.

According to him, already, a task force has been set up to that effect to check those who might attempt to enforce the order, especially on Friday.

“We have set up a task force to deal with such hooligans. My fellow Biafrans, there is no crack in IPOB and there is no sit at home order again this week until the day our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, will appear in court and our people must disregard any statement that is not from our media and publicity secretary, Emma Powerful.

“IPOB is not going to order sit-at-home on Fridays again because our people have suffered a lot but agent of darkness living in Europe thinks he can succeed but it’s little time he will realise that we are smarter and intelligent than him.

“Our people should go their normal business on Friday there is no more sitting at home order from IPOB.”

On the killing of an Anglican priest, Reverend Emeka Merenu in Ihitte Ukwa, Orsu council area of Imo State recently, the group stated that:

“It is not in our DNA to kill an ordained priest who was not in any way working against Biafran restoration.

“We want to make it categorically clear that Nigeria security agencies created unknown gunmen which are select Fulani terrorists operating in the name of unknown gunmen.”

IPOB has also warned traditional rulers, highly placed politicians and religious leaders in the South East to be more cautious, claiming that there was a secret plot to eliminate them and blame it on its Security outfit, Eastern Security Network (ESN).

“God has endorsed Biafra restoration. We, therefore, advise all traditional rulers, politicians, religious leaders and other VIPs in Biafra land to be very circumspect.

“The enemies have a secret agenda to eliminate them and blame it on IPOB just to demonise us. They should take this alert very seriously.”

However, a self acclaimed disciple of Kanu, Simon Ekpa, who lives in Finland insists the sit-at-home order must be complied with.

Health Workers Suspend Strike, Give Fresh 25 Days Notice

By
Uche Mbah
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Chris Ngige

By Uche Mbah

The Joint Health Sectors Unions and Assembly of Healthcare Professional Associations, rose from a joint meeting late Friday, and suspended their planned strike billed to commence on 12am Saturday, September 18, 2021.

The Unions had, earlier this month, threatened to embark on an indefinite strike action over breaches in the agreements, issuing a 15-day ultimatum to the FG.

In a Communiqué signed by the Acting National General Secretary, JOHESU, Mathew Ajorutu, the Health workers said the appeal of President Muhammadu Buhari, who pledged to pay all outstanding debts owed the union, will not be ignored.

The NEC, which was expanded to include the Presidents and General Secretaries of affiliate unions and professional associations, NEC members of affiliated unions and JOHESU Chairmen and Secretaries at the State and Branch levels, said it has looked at the progress of the negotiations with government since notice of strike was issued September 2.

The communique read art:

“NEC-in-Session after long hours of exhaustive deliberations on issues surrounding the planned strike action resolved as follows:

“The Federal Ministry of Health should ensure speedy circularisation of all establishment and welfare matters as agreed during negotiation meetings.

“The Federal Government should ensure that the new data for the computation of the adjusted Consolidated Health Salary Structure for JOHESU members be completed and submitted to the ‘High-Level Body’ of the FG not later than Wednesday, 22nd September, 2021 as a high-level-in-Session urges the Federal Government to ensure that the ‘High Level Body’ complete and submit the computation of the adjusted CONHESS for inclusion in the 2022 budget within the 30th September, 2021 submission window.”

According to the Union, the FG should reciprocate “the patriotic humanitarian gesture of JOHESU in the interest of the larger Nigerian masses to expeditiously resolve all the demands within the 15 days window.”

“Finally, NEC-in-Session unanimously adopts a resolution to step down the notice of strike action due to expire mid-night 17th September 2021 and issue a fresh notice of 15 days,” the unions said.

NDA Invasion: How Abducted Officer Regained Freedom

By
Ayodele Oni
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Chrisopher Datong

By Ayodele Oni

After almost a month in the den of bandits, the military officer abducted during the invasion of the Nigerian Defence Academy, (NDA) by bandits, Major C L Datong, has regained his freedom.

This was confirmed in a statement by Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, first division, Ezinfu Idimah.

The statement stated that “Following the directive of the Chief of Defence Staff and Service Chiefs for 1 Division Nigerian Army in conjunction with the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and all security agencies to conduct decisive operations to rescue Major CL Datong who was abducted at Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Permanent Site on 24 August 2021 and find the perpetrators dead or alive.

“The Division in conjunction with the Air Task Force, Department of State Services and other security agencies, immediately swung into action by conducting operations in the Afaka general area to find and rescue the officer.

“The operations were being conducted based on several leads received from various sources regarding the abductors and likely locations the officer was being held.

“The operations, which have been sustained since the abduction of the officer proved quite successful and led to the destruction of several identified bandits’ camps in the Afaka- Birnin Gwari general area and neutralization of scores of bandits particularly, in the late hours of today, 17 September, 2021, the troops arrived at a camp suspected to be the location where Maj CL Datong was being held.

“At the camp, the troops exchanged fire with the bandits and overwhelmed them with superior fire.

“In the process, the gallant troops were able to rescue the abducted officer. However, the officer sustained a minor injury but has been treated in a medical facility and handed over to NDA for further action.

“The Division wishes to commend the efforts of the NAF, DSS , Nigerian Police and patriotic Nigerians for their invaluable support which contributed to the success of this operation.

“Our operations will continue until we capture or neutralize the assailants that killed two (2) officers in the NDA on 24 August 2021.”

By this operation and rescue, the Military has regained some of its credibility which took a bash after the NDA invasion.

Two officers were killed by the bandits during that shocking invasion.

CBN Names Aboki FX, BDC As Sponsors Of Boko Haram, Bandits

By
Bayo Bernard
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CBN Gov Emefiele

By Fola James

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele has now confirmed that Bureau De Change, BDCs operators are  fueling terrorism and Banditry in the country. The criminals, the apex bank said receive funding from BDCs operators.

He particularly mentioned Aboki FX, an online Forex dealer as one of the syndicates promoting the activities of terrorists and kidnappers. The CBN has last week vowed to shut down the UK- baesd popular exchange rate website.

Godwin Emefiele, the CBN Governor stated this at the monthly monetary Policy Commission, MPC meeting held in Abuja the nation’s capital.

Last month the CBN stopped allocating Forex to the BDCs over allegations that they are fuelling Forex speculations. The apex bank has since been allocating Forex to banks to sell to customers.

Many had expected that the CBN will rescind the action after some weeks, but the way things are going, particularly the recent revelations that BDCs funnel Forex to the criminals, analysis insist that the apex bank will continue to harmer the operators hard.

Unlike the situation in the past, Emefiele said after the meeting the bank’s decision not to allocate Forex to BDCs is final, despite pressure from the powerful operators. He gives reasons.

The apex bank Governor bsaid “we have decided that this will stop and it has stopped for good. It beats my imagination that Nigeria carried on with this kind of practice that tended to support illegal activities of people who are involved in graft and involved in corrupt practices.“instead of collecting Naira as a bribe you tell the person to exchange it to dollar so that you can have some packet of dollars in your pocket.”

“We have unwittingly supported activities of those who illegally buy foreign exchange from this illegal market, carry them in aircrafts out of the country and go to buy arms and ammunition and bring them back into the country and conduct crime whether it is Boko Haram, kidnapping or all sorts of nefarious activities.

“We the CBN take our country’s dollar and sell to people to go and buy arms ammunition to come and hurt us. That is what we are saying that people want us to continue to do. We cannot do that any longer.”

Emefiele said the bank will provide Forex for legitimate request because “your bank will speak to us and we will give you what is even more than the limit. We will continue to monitor the banks.

“We conducted a study, one of the banks sold in one day  forex to 52 people who wanted to travel. After two weeks, they went to check, 40 out of the 52 have cancelled their ticket. They will have to return the forex or we will pursue you if you are involved in this nefarious activity. We are not going to go back there again.”

Meanwhile, Emefiele said the CBN has already launched a manhunt for the owner of Aboki FX an online forex dealing platform. The bank had earlier in the week accused the operator of fueling Forex speculations and frustrating it’s efforts to stabilise the Naira.

According to Emefiele the bank  “wrote a memo to banks and asked those banks to provide information about Aboki FX. We are have been studying the activities of Aboki FX in the last two and a half years.

“The CBN once invited the owner of Aboki FX that they want to engage him to understand his model, basis and how he came about advertising those rates.”

He said the owner of the firm is unpatriotic because he is “a Nigerian who lives in England and conducts this nefarious activity and criminal activity on our economy.

“It is an economic sabotage and we will pursue him. We will report him to international security agencies. We will track him. We will find you because we cannot allow you to continue to conduct illegal activities that kill our economy.”

The CBN governor disclosed that “preliminary finds reveal that the company was registered in the UK in November 2015 and it is owned by one person who claims in his regular filings that there are other people with significant interest in that business but he does not want to name them. So, who are these significant people? Why are they hiding?”

“Preliminary findings suggest this website was built and is being used purely for the purpose of foreign exchange manipulation and speculation.  They get Naira notes,  use it to purchase dollars, take a position, change the rate over a given period, sell the dollars they purchase and make a profit. This is completely illegal and we will pursue them.”

He said Aboki FX owner “is an illegal FX dealer. Between February 2020 and May 2021, he had inflow and sold tens of millions of Naira in FX to several Nigerian companies, and we will find those companies as well, in contravention of our FX laws because he is an illegal FX dealer.”

Aboki FX “directly benefits from the rates quoted daily on his website. We are finalizing our investigation and we must warn these companies that patronize him that they are also going to face our wrath,” Emefiele said.

Opinion: Femi Fani-Kayode: The Epitome Of Nigerian Politics

By
Bayo Bernard
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Femi Fani-Kayode

By Ugoji Egbujo

A child in an adult body. Nigerian politics is a rotten salad. And it’s awful because many of our politicians are rancid condiments, players with shallow consciences in crucial roles.

The central issue is the absence of accountability. Evil actions and vile words can be thrown. The politician is free to push the country to ruin. No criminal sanctions. No social sanctions. Gifted with such impunity, the politician sees the public as a toy—Lego pieces.

And politics is reduced to an exercise in reckless self-indulgence, an enterprise governed by shallowness and opportunism. With that state of affairs, the average politician regresses in thought and becomes a babbling child in an adult body. When the child steps out in the adult body, navel-gazing becomes his preoccupation and vainglory an ideal.

For six years, Fani Kayode struggled to shred the country. Everywhere he thought inflammable, he lit and threw a match. The child’s party lost in 2015, so he began stomping around. He swore the APC was an Islamic party, the vehicle for an imminent Fulani enslavement and subsequent Islamisation of the Christian south and middle belt. He punctuated his fables with bible verses, and many believed him.

Today, beloved Fani Kayode, oracle of the living God, dreams of backsliding into the bosom of the   Almajiri People’s Congress. He has flirted with the “Islamists” to the extent that Gov Yahaya Bello announced his full Islamization.

I like Fani Kayode. He is a shining example of a Nigerian politician. Received good education in England but lacking in basic civility. Gifted with a smart tongue but deficit in sobriety. Loud and emotional, he knows where the fault lines are. He is the sort of fellow you will want in your camp when everything has come down to gutter sniping. He has an infinite capacity to brainwash the gullible but has little interest in articulating developmental ideas. Perfect.

Politicians love  agberos. Because they believe people have to be bullied. Sophisticated  agberos  may not have the capacity for physical violence but they can do incitement, generate alternative reality. Nuisance value is value. Nuisance is particularly of great importance in Nigerian politics, where politicians lack self-belief and live make-believe. Fani Kayode is a consummate rabble-rouser. The country is filled with the excitable rabble. So do not be surprised that Femi Fani Kayode, despite his glaring and crippling moral handicaps, switches parties at will and marches straight to the pulpits.

When Fani Kayode abandoned his gospel of imminent  Foolanization  and submitted his head to a Zamfara Emir to be turbaned, I knew new mischief was afoot. The new Sadauki of Shinkafi has not disappointed. He has left millions of primed secession-seeking Igbo youths and eloped to that camp of the jihadists in the zoo in the interest of national unity. After setting fires on all the structures that hold the country together, the Sadauki is now masquerading a bridge-builder.

Femi Fani Kayode is one of the folks who think the public is perpetually asleep, perpetually under the spell of their smart tongues, or totally amnesic. Fani Kayode is a 60-year-old child who spends a sizable portion of his time fantasizing about his late father’s greatness. If Femi Fani Kayode has indeed come to any repentance, he must come before the public with remorse. He must recount his sins and forsake them. He must admit his trespasses, diabolically defamatory commentaries and demonic speeches. He must confess his bigotry and denounce it. He must disown megalomania.

In 2017, President Buhari took ill and flew to London. Men of goodwill wished him a speedy recovery. Evil men wished him death. Weeks later, depraved people said he had died in London. After the president returned to office, Femi Fani Kayode took to his megaphone to announce that a corpse was ruling over Nigeria. And he labeled the system of government in Nigeria as a “Corpocracy.”

Fani Kayode exhausted himself poisoning the minds of the people against the president and his party. Today Fani Kayode, apparently driven by 2023 calculations, has abandoned the young minds he poisoned with  corpsocratic sermons and revelations. He seeks to immerse himself in the  corpsocratic  communion in the interest of national unity.

Fani Kayode’s tweets in the last five years are mostly unprintable. I will reproduce one of them in the interest of political accountability. On the 19th of September 2019, at 5.51 am, Fani Kayode, perhaps after his morning devotion, dug deep into the gutter and tweeted an obscenity.

“If the short man doesn’t resign within 6 months, they will soon be sending him to wash toilets. U came in on the same ticket, U sold your soul, U betrayed ur people, ur tribe, ur region, and ur faith and you sucked ur boss’ rectum for four yrs! Look at what you got in return. Shame on you!”

That was the 60-year-old Cambridge lawyer, child of the living God blessing the vice president. The owner of the rectum referred to in the tweet is President Buhari.

Many say every reprobate can switch parties because no one can stop anybody from joining any party. Yes, I agree. They also say that politicians say many ugly things, which if held against them, there would be no politics. I agree too.

But if we allow politicians to get comfortable inciting division and violence when throwing tantrums, angling for chunks or crumbs, we will ruin the country.  If we encourage politicians to forgo moderation in speech and action by rewarding political arsonists with recognition and prominence, we will destroy society.

Take Governor Wike, for instance. I like him too. A bold and courageous man, isn’t he? One of the strongest opposition politicians today. Brash, crude, and vocal too. But he has been restrained in publicly describing the ruling party as a Fulani party or a vehicle for Islamisation. He has thrown innuendos, but he hasn’t encouraged secession. Wike isn’t the best model. But even that comparison throws bold relief on Femi Fani Kayode’s degeneration. Now compare Fani Kayode against Okowa. Let’s not go there.

It is true defections have become routine in Nigerian politics. Good and bad products have defected for genuine and comical reasons. Only two years ago, Fani Kayode thought defectors were prostitutes, cowards, and traitors. Six months ago, Dogara defected to the APC. Femi Fani Kayode went loose on him.

“I am convinced that the former Speaker has been put under a Luciferian spell and is the victim of some form of a demonic ritual, voodoo, and witchcraft. I expect nothing less from the APC because that is their stock in trade. They are a party whose leaders are well versed in the black arts, the occult, and sorcery.”

Six months later, Fani Kayode wants to become a member of the political wing of Boko haram in the interest of national unity. He wants to taste the rectum of Buhari. He wants to help Osinbajo wash toilets in Aso Villa.

Some say the shameless live better lives. They have no scruples. In that sense,  Fani Kayode is living the life. Igbos say if you want to eat a toad, then eat the juicy ones. Fani Kayode is smart. He is swallowing giant toads. Well done, my brother in Christ. You are the best player.   Have fun.

My hope is, the public sees and learns.

Egbujo, PhD, is a commentator on current and national issues, and writes for Vanguard Newspaper

Judges Face Disciplinary Action over Conflicting Ex-parte Orders

By
Uche Mbah
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By Uche Mbah

After their bosses were summoned by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Muhammed Tanko, three State High Court Judges who gave conflicting ex-parte orders are to face the National Judicial Council, NJC.

The CJN had initially summoned six Judges in charge of the six geopolitical zones of the Federation, in connection with the worrisome regime of conflicting ex-parte orders recently dished out by Judges in their Jurisdiction.

Three High Court Judges are directly involved in the current cases.

The National Judicial Council (NJC) has set up a probe panel to investigate the three High Court Judges who issued conflicting ex-parte orders on the same subject matter.

Soji Oye, the Director of Information, Supreme Court, said in a statement Friday that they will face the NJC panel to show why disciplinary action should not be taken against them for such actions.

According to Oye, the Council constituted the panel at its 95th meeting held September 15 and 16.

The CJN Presided over the meeting as Chairman of the NJC, where disciplinary actions were proposed against judges.

“Council resolved to set up a Medical Board to ascertain the health status of Hon. Justice Amina Yaroson of Kaduna State Customary Court of Appeal”, Oye said.

“Council also considered the reports of its Investigations and decided to issue a warning letter to Justice Sobre Bimbo of High Court of Rivers State for descending into the Arena of conflict in a matrimonial Suit No: OHC/IMC/2018.

“Council at its plenary considered the reports of the two Preliminary Complaints Assessment Committees (PCAC) on the petitions written against 18 Judicial Officers and on the recommendation of the Committee.

“In the end, NJC issued a letter of advice to Justice Elias O. Abua of Cross River State High Court to in future be wary of granting an order of execution of a judgment which appeared executory as the one he granted in Suit No. HC/MSC/67/2019.

“Council, however, dismissed the petitions written against Justices Inyang Ekwo and Ayo-Emmanuel of the Federal High Court, O. O. Ogunjobi, S. B. A. Candide-Johnson and S. A. Onigbanjo of High Court of Lagos State, Justices Chiwendu Nwogu, S. C. Amadi and Ahuku, for either lacking in merit, subjudice or statute-barred.

“Other petitions dismissed for the same reasons were those written against Justices I. K. Banu, Chief Judge, of Adamawa, A. L. Lagre, President, Customary Court of Appeal, Adamawa, Felibus B. Andetur, Chief Judge, Taraba State and Sunday Olorundahunsi of Ondo State, High Court.

“The rest are those against Justices Nse Daniel of Akwa-Ibom State High Court and H. T. D. Gwadah of Kaduna State High Court’’.

The petition written against Justice Ishaq Bello was dropped as he has already retired from the service.

The plenary of the Council also recommended 12 candidates as Heads of Court, 18 candidates as High Court Judges, 6 candidates as Kadis of Sharia Courts of Appeal, and one candidate as Customary Court of Appeal Judge.

FIFA Ranking: Super Eagles Remain 34th Best In The World, Fifth In Africa

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Super Eagles at Teslim Balogun Stadium

By Akinwale Kasali

For the second month, the Super Eagles of Nigeria maintained its 34th Position in ranking by world soccer governing body, FIFA.

In Spite the Coach Gernot Rohr-side victory in its first two matches against the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde and Liberia in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, the team still remains the fifth best team in Africa behind, Algeria, Senegal, Tunisia and Morocco.

Nigeria is still with the 1,492 points it had in the last ranking to maintain the 34th position.

On the global scene, with 177 international matches played in the month under review, there were changes to the top positions in the ranking.

There were no fewer than 152 FIFA World Cup qualifying games as well as 25 friendlies played across the globe in the first half of September.

While Belgium (ranked first) and Brazil (second) continue to lead the way, there is a new face on the podium.

Following mixed results in Qatar 2022 qualifying this month (two draws and a win), France dropped one step to fourth.

It allowed England to take their place courtesy of two wins and a draw, some nine years after they were last there.

With three victories in as many games, Denmark (now 10th, one step up) broke into the Top 10.

Portugal (7th, one step up) and Spain (8th, one step down) swapped positions.

The most notable climbs among the Top 50 came from Iran (22nd, +4), Russia (37th, +4),  Norway (39th, +4), Scotland (45th, +4) and Northern Ireland (47th, +4).

However, it is below 50th place that we see the best progressions in this edition.

These are those of Libya (110th, +12), Canada (51st, +8), Liberia (144th, +6), Malta (171st, +6), Panama (68th, +6), Bulgaria (70th, +5) and Saudi Arabia (56th, +5).

Special mention has to go to Kosovo (109th, +6) who, having beaten Georgia (1-0) and held Greece (1-1), climbed to 109th place and an all-time high.

Opinion: Sheik Gumi And His Ministry Of Bandits

By
Bayo Bernard
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0

By Onoshe Nwabuikwu

Call it ministry of bandits, ministry for bandits or ministry of banditry affairs, it doesn’t make that much difference to me. Impunity appears to be the order of the day and it’s no longer news that Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has been working really hard to advance the Fulani herdsmen’s cause (whatever that means). But Gumi’s advocacy means he’s been fighting tooth and nail for kidnappers and bandits, terrorists they all are. Still, in spite of Gumi’s status as ambassador to bandits, his increasingly bold ‘say-it-and-be-damned’ attitude raises eyebrows and calls for answers. I have questions and I’m sure many other Nigerians would like to have certain questions answered.

We have to ask: Who does Gumi speak for? Has the dreaded DSS (The Department of State Services (DSS) heard any of Gumi’s ‘sermons’? Apparently, the DSS has had cause to interview Gumi in the past but was this just to fulfil all righteousness or there was an actual plan to stop him from causing more national division? Ordinarily, I wouldn’t be calling on the DSS but the agency has been so reduced (or managed to reduce itself) that the DSS may soon start getting called in to resolve husband and wife quarrels. I guess the foregoing questions all lead us to ask: Is Gumi above the law, free to roam and go wherever he wants, mix with bandits and terrorists, say whatever he wants to say not caring whose ox is gored in the process? In other words, is Gumi a sacred cow (no pun intended)? Now, whether the answer to these last questions is yes or no, it’s obvious that Nigeria has a Sheikh Gumi problem. Yes, Nigeria may have 99 problems and Gumi may as well make it 100… But what are we going to do about it?

Forgive me if my introduction has left you scratching your head as to exactly what I’m on about. Sometime last week, news headlines had it that Sheikh Gumi was asking for the establishment of a ministry for herdsmen or a ministry for nomadic affairs. I’m not sure if he made a distinction between Fulani herdsmen, other Nigerian herdsmen and/or the so-called foreign herdsmen who’re the ready scapegoats blamed for the killings. Remember when Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the information minister blamed herdsmen from Mauritius or was it Malaysia for the killings across farms in the nation. Anyway, since it’s Gumi we are talking about, let’s go with Fulani herdsmen.

I wasn’t immediately shocked by Gumi’s latest campaign. He has since become the mouthpiece for the terrorists termed bandits. In that role, Gumi has sought to make the rest of us see these kidnappers, murderers and terrorists as victims, that we are somehow the cause of their foray into criminality. So, I didn’t miss a beat seeing the headlines about Gumi’s latest wisdom. In fact, I go out of my way to avoid reacting to Gumi. Until I saw a clip of him on Maiyegun Politico (on Youtube), watched him with my own eyes and heard him with my own ears, rationalizing his call for a special ministry to cater to bandits. He was on a programme on Arise TV. I would’ve loved to give you a transcription of what he said but a summary will suffice. Although Gumi asked people not to generalize all Fulani herdsmen as bandits, he didn’t really make any distinctions himself.

To paraphrase Gumi: Herdsmen need protection. Compared to IPOB which kills security agents and burns INEC offices, bandits are harmless and not as dangerous. That bandits only kidnap school children for money, and they don’t harm the children. Can someone ask Gumi where Leah Sharibu is? Gumi then asked for people to be fair because it was wrong to compare IPOB to bandits. It was at this stage of his ‘sermon’ that he asked for provision to be made to rehabilitate the herdsmen. At this rate, the best thing for everyone would be to create a separate country for Fulani herdsmen. Anyway, if you live long enough especially in Nigeria there’s nothing one wouldn’t hear or see. Especially in these times which can be called Talibanic Times. Or as Isuikwuato people say: ‘Odu ihe madu odu a hu.’ In Pidgin English-‘nothing wey person no go see,’ or the politically-incorrect “nothing Musa no go see for gate.”

To be fair to Gumi, he has been pretty consistent. A cursory desktop search into him brings up headlines like these: “Sheikh Gumi Makes Case for Fulani Herdsmen,” Sheikh Gumi Wants Federal Govt. To Dialogue With Bandits,” Sheikh Asks FG To Give Bandits Blanket Amnesty,” “Bandits Were Pushed Into Crime,” “Bandits will remain until Buhari grants them amnesty like…,” “Allow bandits to guard our forests for peace to reign…,” “Don’t Use Military Force On Bandits —Sheikh Gumi.”

By the way, Gumi is not your average illiterate religious leader. As he boasted of himself: “I am a qualified Medical Doctor…I was a commissioned military officer… I am an intellectual with a Ph.D. from Abroad. I am an Islamic scholar…” Can we also call him the Grand Commander Of Bandits?

By sheer coincidence, Retired Commodore Kunle Olawunmi’s ‘Sunrise’ interview on Channels TV was what played immediately after Maiyegun Politico. I hadn’t watched it but only saw the brouhaha that ensued-how the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC invited two of the show’s hosts Chamberlain Usoh and colleague, even Commodore Olawunmi himself was called in for some sort of interview.

I found the import of Commodore Olawunmi’s interview chilling. The fact that he wasn’t trying to be sensational but just spoke quite matter of factly: “You remember this Boko Haram issues started since 2012 and I was in the military intelligence then. We arrested those people. It was my organization that actually conducted interrogation and interview. And they mentioned names. I can’t come on air and start mentioning names of people that are presently in this government that I know…The boys that were arrested mentioned some names. Some of them are governors, some of them are in the Senate. Some of them are in Aso Rock…the defence headquarters cannot conduct any operation that is not sanctioned by the President, no matter how little it is…They have the information.”

Still, “the Defense Headquarters has the solution. I am not going to come here to advise them. It has to do with politics. The sponsors, people that feel that this country should be Islamised…The end game for them is to turn the country like a Taliban type of country. It’s a mindset and anything goes. In other words, 10 percent, 20 percent casualties is allowed in trying to Islamise this country.”

Does this begin to explain Gumi’s actions and his seeming untouchability? How does he fit in? As I said Comm. Olawunmi’s interview was chilling. If the federal government wants to dispel any of his allegations, now would be a good time to call Sheikh ‘PhD from abroad’ Gumi to order.

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