The Deputy Governor of Edo state, Phillip Shuaibu has resigned from the All Progressives Congress, APC, few hours after his boss, Governor Godwin Obaseki announced he had left the party.
The development came on the crest of suggestions of plans by the governor to dump him for another candidate in case he wins the nomination as the candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP.
Shuaibu has stuck with the governor in his rift with the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, which eventually led to Obaseki’s disqualification to contest the party’s governorship primary on June 21.
Governor Obaseki was, last week, disqualified by the party’s screening committee over what it called his defective certificates.
The governor said his certificates are intact.
In a terse statement to the state chapter of the APC, the deputy governor said he’s no longer a member of the party.
Philip Shaibu, deputy governor of Edo state, has resigned his membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said his resignation takes immediate effect.
According to him, he decided “pursuant to Article 9.5 (i) of the Constitution of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to formally resign my Membership of the All Progressives Congress and to inform you of my formal withdrawal from all or any of its proceedings and processes whatsoever.”
Meanwhile, the magazine has learnt from competent sources in the PDP that one of the conditions given to Governor Obaseki, to run under its banner, is to dump his deputy for another candidate to be nominated by the party.
But an aide to the governor, who did not want his name mentioned said” Governor Obaseki is still consulting on the issue, very soon you will all know where we are going.”
The Edo helmsman, had after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari today in Aso Villa, said he will decide on the party to contest the governorship election.
Lagos state has directed religious worship centres to be shut indefinitely.
Governor Babajide Sanwo- Olu issued the order, barely three days to his earlier order that churches and mosques reopen, according to COVID 19 protocols by the government.
Mosques were expected to open on Friday 19 and churches on June 21.
The new directives supersedes the earlier one, the government said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the magazine learnt that the development is not unconnected with spike in the number of COVID 19, in the state in the past few days.
Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki has fulfilled one of the conditions from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP before he can be allowed to join the party, and possibly fly its flag for the September governorship election in the state.
The leadership of the opposition party had demanded that he officially dump the APC before he can be a member of the party
Governor Obaseki, few minutes ago, met this condition after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari in Aso Rock, Nigeria’s seat of power.
One of his aides told the magazine few minutes ago that “the governor met with the president as the leader of the APC and Nigeria to intimate him with his decision to leave the party that has treated him like a leper.”
He said the governor met with the president out of “his love and respect” for him.
He told journalists after the meeting, that barely lasted an hour that he has resigned as a member of the APC.
Recall that the Edo helmsman has been embattled with the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole which eventually led to his disqualification as an aspirant in the party.
The governor, had as soon as he was disqualified by the APC Screening committee picked up, the PDP membership card at his ward in Edo state.
He also met with Governors Nyesom Wike and Udom Emmauneul of Rivers and Akwa Ibom states, respectively to enlist their support in his quest to join the PDP and keep his governorship ambition alive.
The magazine was told, that the leadership of the PDP gave him the condition to resign from the APC in order to become a full member of the PDP.
The Chairman and Chief executive officer of ExecuJet, Sam Iwuajuoku, has apologized to the Minister of Aviation for using his chattered Flight to convey Naira Marley to the concert venue from Lagos to Abuja on June 12, 2020, claiming that he was misled and tricked into carrying “a bunch of useless people” to Abuja.
In a letter that is widely circulated on social media, the ExecuJet boss said that the Judge he was meant to carry to Abuja when contacted, said he was already in Abuja. then his staff brought documents to him saying that Minister Housing Babatunde Fashola wants to fly to Abuja. Since he already has an approval to fly to Abuja, he approved the flight plan to Abuja not knowing that he was carrying a bunch of “useless people”.
By useless people, he apparently meant Naira Marley and BBN housemate, Opara.
“On Saturday morning, my staff called me that they had a charter flight to Abuja and that the passengers were already in the lounge. As a rule, the passenger manifest is always sent to me before any departure. When I went through the manifest and I saw Fashola Babatunde, I thought it was the Honourable Minister of Works going to Abuja with his men, so we decided to do the flight since he is a serving minister of the country. I didn’t know that it was a bunch of useless people. We are very sorry for this mistake and we promise that this would not happen again,” he said.
Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina has taken the blame for the attacks on Katsina State people by armed bandits.
Addressing the Media at the Government House in Katsina, Governor Masari said he has failed in protecting the residents of the state from bandits.
Masari said he is a very unhappy person because the people have never had rest since he came on board as governor.
He said the bandits were “worse than animals” because they kill indiscriminately.
“I don’t know what to tell my peopl. I cannot look at them in the face because we have failed to protect them, contrary to our pledge to ensure the security of lives and property throughout the state,” he said.
“I never expected the behaviour and the attitude of people living in the forests, the bandits, whose behaviour is worse than that of animals. In the forest, a lion or a tiger kills only when it is hungry and it doesn’t kill all animals, it only kills the one it can eat at a time.
“But what we see here is that bandits come to town, spray bullets, kill indiscriminately for no purpose and no reason whatsoever, like the recent massacre of people at Faskari and parts of Dandume local government area. They just killed the people. How can a human being behave the way an animal cannot behave?
“Our role is to complement efforts of the security agencies for which I believe we are doing nothing less than 90 per cent in terms of whatever is expected of us, based on resources available to us,” he said.
The comments of the Governor came after the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari and Northern Governors have failed in their responsibility to protect lives.
President Buhari is from Katrina.
Masari’s administration pulled out of a peace deal with bandits which it had with them before the issue of insecurity worsened in the State.
Along Goodluck Jonathan bypass, off the popular Atimbo Roundabout in the heart of Calabar, the capital of Cross River state, stands a sprawling Industrial park built by Governor Ben Ayade.
Upon assumption of office in 2015, Ayade, a Professor of Environmental Microbiology, had made it clear that the main thrust of his administration would be rapid industrialisation of the state so as to decouple Cross River from over-dependence on Federal allocation, as well as recalibrate the economy.
Shortly after that declaration, he breathed life to his words by embarking on aggressive establishment of industries across the state.
However, it is at the expansive industrial park Calabar that you see a cluster of such industries.
Among the industries at the park are the Calachika chicken processing plant, CalaNoodles plant, the world class Rice seeds and seedlings factory, Feedmill, Calapharm and then the Cross River Garment Factory.
Notedly, the Garment Factory has placed Ayade and Cross River on the national and global burner with the advent of the global pandemic, COVID-19.
The governor, through the Garment factory has scored many firsts in the fight against the pandemic. The most recent is the mass production of Personal Protection Equipment, PPE, from the factory. It is the first ever locally manufactured medical protective gear.
It was the factory, nay Ayade’s Cross River, that pioneered local production of nose masks with fabrics as opposed to imported surgical masks.
Nose masks made from the Cross River Garment factory today are in use in many states of the federation.
Many states placed orders for the item while the Cross River state government on its part donated the item to some states as a show of solidarity with sister states ravaged by the pandemic.
In fact, Lagos, the epicenter of Nigeria’s COVID-19 outbreak, in April, placed an order for one million pieces of the masks.
Ayade unveiling the PPE
Just last week, the Cross River state government offered to dispatch consignments of its Garment-factory-made nose masks to Bauchi state to help contain the spread of the virus there.
Free PPE for Schools, Medical Personnel
At the unveiling of the PPE, recently, at the Cross River Garment factory, Ayade disclosed that the protective gears, which include face shields and PPE overalls will be deployed to schools, free of charge, for the use of students as the state government commences trial resumption of public schools.
The governor used the occasion to appeal to the federal government for patronage.
He said that production of the protective gear was part of his administration’s effort to fight the global pandemic, COVID-19.
His words: “I think that the federal government will be excited to encourage the resumption of schools because obviously the coronavirus has come to stay with us and the reality is that countries that have attempted to resume schools have had to contend with the increase prevalence of the virus but obviously how long can we wait as a country?
Ayade: We Can’t Wait for Coronavirus Indefinitely.
“Perhaps, we have to adopt a new lifestyle that will integrate coronavirus as part of our lifestyle. And so for, in Cross River State, we have a strong commitment that our children cannot continue to stay at home. The more they stay, the more the moral decadence, the more the indiscipline, the more they become lazy of getting back to school and getting started because for every stage in life there is time where you have to be in class, and once the children miss that delicate phase, it becomes very difficult.
“I think it is wise for the kids to go back to school and I have seen this happen in China where kids are back to schools with their nosemasks and shields. So you wear your nose mask and you wear your face shield when you get to school you drop the mask and wear only your shield to allow for more ventilation and more breathing”, he said.
Dr. Betta Edu, Commissioner for Health
Show Cross River Love, He Tells FG
The governor is of the opinion that with the many innovations and contributions to the national economy his administration has made, including his exceptional fight against COVID-19, it was time the federal government showed love to Cross Rivers: “We believe it is time for the federal government to also show love and support to Cross River State. We have always led from the front and we think the mass production of PPE is an added advantage for which all health practicioners from to nurses to radiographers must be equipped with PPE for them to work”
Because We Care
According to governor Ayade, “because we care, we want to support our public schools with free distribution of PPE. But our PPE for schools is limited only to the nose masks and face shield. But for the health workers in Cross River State, they will be provided at no cost because the government has borne the cost”
Why We Diversified Into PPE Production
The governor explained that the increasing danger posed by the pandemic necessitated Cross River Garment Factory’s diversification into PPE production
Ayade: “We have invested massively in the mass production of nose mask and face masks but in the course of time, it became obvious that the PPE is even far more critical because we realize that without the PPE our health workers, our frontline workers are at risk and so there is a need for the production of PPE.
“Recently, doctors in Nigeria issued strike notice and their major reason was that their colleagues are dying in their numbers occasioned by the lack of PPE as they have direct contact with patients with confirmed cases. So, Cross River State had to invest seriously into the production of PPE. And we have gone out of our way to get the best quality of materials and brought in people who specialize in mass production from India. They are here with us today and they’ are working very hard producing thousands of face shields. These face shields will be the first and major shield production here in Nigeria”, the governor said.
Denied Importing Virus To Bauchi
Speaking through Dr.Betta Edu, his youthful Commissioner for Health, governor Ayade last week pledged to help Bauchi state contain the virus which is ravaging the state.
Bauchi state governor, Bala Muhammed, had at a press conference, alleged that the 15 new cases the state recorded, recently, were indigenes of his state who returned from Cross River.
But Dr.Edu debunked this, insisting that Cross Rivers was free of the pandemic as recently certified by NCDC.
She reiterated that Cross Rivers borders with neighbouring states are firmly sealed and strict preventive measures against the virus religiously obeyed in the state.
“We understand the pressure on the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed. It is not easy to have the highest number of Coronavirus cases in Nigeria’s north-east.
“I have to reiterate that there is no case of COVID-19 in Cross River State. Cross River stands with Bauchi and just like we supported other states. We are ready to support the government and people with Personal Protective Equipment like face masks and shield as well as the overalls produced at the garment factory. like I said earlier, we have not recorded a case of COVID-19 yet”, she said.
The Fight Against COVID-19 and Ayade’s Many Firsts
When a man is fore sighted, it is inevitable that he naturally becomes a pace setter. This is obviously the case with governor Ayade as far as the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is concerned.
His proactive measures against the pandemic would later be copied by other state governments and the federal government.
For example, to curtail the spread of the virus into Cross River,Ayade was the first governor to seal all entry and exits into his state.
He was also the first to order no masks no movement before other state copied from him.
And long before masks made from fabrics became a global fade, Ayade was the first to introduce its use, ordering the Cross River Garment Factory to mass produce it and distribute free of charge to Cross Riverians.
It came as a shock not only to the Imo PDP family, but also to the APC family.
It happened at an Imo Stakeholders meeting, organised by the Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma. Invitation to the meeting cut across professional bodies, and perhaps, party lines.
It was the first to be held by Uzodinma since the Supreme Court declared him the Governor. Its success was important to the Government.
The Governor was anxious to explain to the Stakeholders what he has been doing since he took up office. He was anxious to tell them of his successes. Given the very robust opposition to his government by the opposition PDP, the party which own, The Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, was replaced by Uzodinma, the meeting was worth it.
The PDP has criticised, to high heavens, anything, and everything, done by the Uzodinma Government.
Uzodinma, therefore, needed to tell his own side of events.
So, they were gathered to listen to the Governor. Among the many gathered there was Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu.
That he was present was a big deal.
Here are why.
Iwuanyanwu is a staunch PDP member. He is a member of the PDP Board of Trustees. He was one of the main backers of Ihedioha, and on more than one occasion, told the story of how he made him Governor. He was extremely close to Ihedioha for the seven months he was in office. The Chief was always by the then Governor’s side. And, one can hardly forget the beautiful speech he made at the Christmas Cantata, in December, 2019, held at Ihedioha’s country home. He told the story of Ihedioha’s Governorship journey.
It was not Iwuanyanwu’s presence at Governor Uzodinma’s stakeholders meeting that shocked his PDP compatriots. It was the speech he made, and its impact. For, it was a complete about-turn.
Iwuanyanwu: ” I have seen a man who is very, very, kind. Hope has no property in Owerri. Some of those other politicians, including those who passed through me, they have properties in Owerri, Lagos, Abuja, America.
“Hope’s investment is on human beings. When he was speaking here, it occured to me that Imo people can go home and sleep and rest. Your investments are in the right hand.
“Imo is going back to the days of Sam Mbakwe, to the days of M. I. Okpara. That is what we are coming back to.
“What he gave today is a message of hope. It is a phenomenal chronicle of achievements. I am not in doubt, at all, at what he is likely to do. Congratulations”.
Since this speech, the APC has been celebrating it. A video has been made of it, and is being circulated.
But, there are, at once, disquiet and disbelief in PDP’s camp.
A number of PDP members are interrogating Iwuanyanwu’s speech. One of them asked: Is it something of cheer that the Governor has no house in Owerri, but has a mansion in Abuja, and Lagos? Charity should begin at home”.
Another said:”Somebody should tell Iwuanyanwu that Okpara was not the Governor of Imo State. He was the Premier of Eastern Nigeria”
But the most pungent response came from one PDP sympathiser. He expressed surprise that anybody would be shocked at what he called “the new Iwuanyanwu.”
He alleged that the man also betrayed Mbakwe.
He said: “It did not start today. He was a member of NPP. His company, Hardel and Enic, got more than 60 % of the road contracts in Imo.
Just before 1983, he decamped to the NPN.
“This pained Sam Mbakwe to no end. They managed to keep it from the public till after the elections. And that was the end of Hardel and Enic in the state”.
A State PDP official told this magazine: “I told Emeka just two weeks ago that Iwuanyanwu will run to Hope. So, I am not suprised. But this should be a lesson for Emeka. He is too trusting of all these big names. He likes to attach himself to them. When the chips are down, they don’t matter. They cannot be trusted to stand firm”.
But another said: “Iwuanyanwu is an elder statesman. He has gone beyond playing politics. His job now is to support any government in power for the good of the state”
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has slammed the APC Governors for keeping quiet while one of their own is being humiliated.
Wike spoke after Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki visited him at the Government House Porthacourt.
Recall that the APC, on which platform Obaseki is Governor, screened him out, this disqualifying him from running for a second term in office under the APC ticket. The Party said he was disqualified for not having the right educational qualification.
But most Nigerians, including Wike laughed off the reason for Obaseki’s disqualification.
Overall has a first degree in Classics from the University of Ibadan, a certificate which has been confronted by the University administration, through its Registrar, Olubunmi Faluyi.
But the screening committee set up by the APC, led by the National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, still found reasons to screen him out. His fate was a consequence of his bitter quarrel with Oshiomhole, his enstrange political godfather.
Now, Obaseki has become a political orphan, looking for a platform to run for the Governorship of the state in September.
His first port of call after his disqualification was PH where he met the PDP strongman, Wike to brief him of his desire to fly the PDP ticket.
While none of them disclosed what they discussed, Wike has come out like a smoking gun, mocking Oshiomhole. He asked:
“How can somebody without a certificate disqualify somebody eith a certificate. He says Obaseki’s certificate is defective, but let him even produce his own defective certificate”
He wondered how a sitting governor would be disqualified over certificates, and slammed his colleague -APC Governors for doing nothing, and saying nothing since Obaseki’s disqualification.
Obaseki’s stands a good chance of clinching the PDP governorship ticket.
Hours after visiting Wike, he ,also, visited the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel in Uyo, for the same purpose. It is shuttle diplomacy to smoothen his way into the PDP, and clinch the ticket. He may succeed.
The PDP, Presidential Candidate in the 2019 General Election, Atiku Abubakar, has given Obaseki’s bid of winning the Governorship ticket of the Party a boost, as the former Vice President has, allegedly called on other PDP Aspirants to embrace Obaseki and sheath their swords and ambitions.
The magazine cannot cinfirm, but it was gathered that Atiku, through some of his aides, is persuading the other three PDP aspirants already screened for primaries to embrace Obaseki’s candidacy.
Obaseki is not leaving any stone unturned to get PDP’s sole ticket and he is in touch with the state PDP leadership and some of the party’s governorship aspirants.
Investigations reveal that the Governor is making a case for his deputy, Phillip Shuaibu, who is seen as too rigid. The PDP is asking him to drop him so that they can have a sense of belonging by putting one of them (PDP) as the deputy to retain the slot despite the alliance.
Shuaibu has been described by some political watchers in Edo as a dependable, loyal, reliable, resourceful and understanding deputy with large followership across the state.
Sources in Edo politics informed the magazine that Obaseki was disqualified from APC primaries by Screening committee because the APC saw Shuaibu as a threat, and were not willing to have him ride on with Obaseki for the second term bid having seen Obaseki marketing a Obaseki/Shuaibu ticket at the beginning of his reelection engagements ahead of Edo 2020 governorship poll. The APC wanted another candidate as his Deputy.
Meanwhile, Accord Party, (AP), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Action Democratic Party (ADP) have offered Obaseki automatic ticket for September 19 governorship election in the state.
Obaseki via a post on his micro blogging website, Twitter, on Sunday, told his supporters that he would reveal his next move after meeting Buhari.
“I will be making my next move known after I complete consultations with my supporters and meet with @MBuhari,” he wrote.
Edo State APC Crisis: No Individual Is Bigger Than Nigeria – Clark
Meanwhile, South-South leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has condemned the disqualification of Obaseki.
In a statement issued on Monday, Chief Clark said:
“I condemn, in the strongest terms, the disqualification of the incumbent Governor of Edo State, by the APC screening committee under the leadership of a Professor, Ayuba Jonathan, over alleged inconsistencies in the Governor’s academic credentials.
Chief Edwin Clark
“I am indeed, very disappointed and embarrassed that Professors, noted for rationality, judiciousness and erudition, should now be allowing themselves to be used by people, who, educationally, are not their peers.
“The goings-on in Edo State are a repetition of what happened at the Lagos State Governorship primaries of the APC, in 2018, where the then Governor was removed in a primary, which did not exist.
“It was a shame that the team that was sent to Lagos to conduct the APC Primaries, at the time, under the leadership of a past Governor of Cross River State, who had categorically stated at a Press Briefing, that there was no primaries, and that they were going to hold the primaries the following day. But, recanted his words, and later said there were primaries held. What type of party leadership is that?
“There is no doubt that there is no one that is indispensable, but to treat fellow party men, and countrymen, in the manner that was done to the former Lagos Governor, and now to Governor Obaseki, is most horrendous.”
The dust is yet to settle on the Jabi Hall concert, where the weird Musician Naira Marley organized a concert in their park. The hall was sealed by the Abuja Municipality Council recently, But there have been no talks of sanctioning Naira Marley. Now the Ministry of aviation has sanctioned the Airline that airlifted the musician to Abuja.
This Magazine had reported that Naira Marley was spotted disembarking from a chattered Aircraft from Lagos to Abuja for the Show. The Jet was Execujet, owned by billionaire Sam Uwajoku. Now, Execujet has been suspended indefinitely by the Minister of Aviation for false information and for flying Naira Marley to Abuja for the June 12 Concert. Still, there is no talk of sanctions against Naira Marley.
Announcing this Monday during the daily briefing of the presidential task force on COVID 19, the Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika said that the flight was approved for a different reason-to convey a Judge from Lagos to Abuja and back on an official assignment, but that the ministry was misled because the Airline instead airlifted Naira Marley and a former BBN housemate to Abuja.
Besides grounding the Airline, the flight crew will be punished, he said.
“We approved a flight indeed, but not for any musician. The approved flight was to convey a Justice on official assignment but ExecuJet illegally used it to convey the Musician to Abuja for a concert. We have suspended Execujet’s operations indefinitely. It will also be fined”, Sirika said.
Naira Marley had organized a concert in Abuja Jabi Hall park where the Social distancing was ignored and the law on gathering was thrown overboard. After that, the Abuja Municipal council sealed up the hall.
Naira Marley is not new to COVID 19 controversies. Only recently he attended a birthday party organized by the Nollywood thespian Funke Akindele. Akindele was fined and forced to do community service but Naira Marley escaped with a slap on the wrist.
Nigerian Singer and Entertainer, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has emerged the Best Male Act in the 2020 Nigerian Entertainment Today, NET, Awards.
The NET awards released its list of 2020 Award Winners for various categories in the Nigerian Entertainment Industry.
According to the NET, the Award is based on verified Audience Data.
Below is the list of the Award Recipients and the various categories of the Award.
Nollywood Actor/Movie Director, Yul Edochie clinched the Award as the Most Popular Nigerian Actor (2020) while Nollywood bad boy, Jim Iyke emerged as the Most Searched Actor.
Ghanian Actress, Juliet Ibrahim emerged as the Most Popular African Celebrity for the second year running.
Actress, Funke Akindele emerged as the Most Popular Nigerian Actress with ‘King’ Tonto Dikeh emerging as the Most Searched Actress.
Other Winners of the Award include:
★ Toke Makinwa (Double Winner) – Most Searched Media Personality & Most Popular Media Personality.
★ David Adeleke (Davido) – Most Popular Nigerian Music Artist (Male).
★ Wizkid – Most Searched Nigerian Music Artist (Male).
★ Tiwa Savage (Double Winner).
Most Popular Nigerian Female Music Artist & Most Searched Female Artist.
★ Ebuka Obi-Uchendu – Most Popular Media Personality (Male).
★ Tacha – Most Popular BBNaija Star.
★ Mercy & Ike – Most Popular Couple.
★ Big Brother Naija – Most Popular Event.
★ Ali Baba – Most Popular Comedian.
★ Cardi B – Most Popular Foreign Celebrity (Female).
★ Christiano Ronaldo – Most Popular Foreign Celebrity (Male).
★ Bukola Saraki – Most Popular Personality (Non-Entertainer).
