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Borno: Zulum Denies Boko Haram Occupation Of LGAs |The Source

By
Bayo Bernard
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By Fola James

Babagana Umara Zulum, Borno state Governor has criticised the Nigerian Military again, few weeks after his convoy was attacked in Baga, which he blamed on the nation’s armed forces.

In his recent outburst, Governor Zulum warned that the many Internal Displaced Persons, IDPs camps have now become recruitment centers for the insurgents, adding that some vulnerable displaced persons may have been brainwashed to join the extremists’ group.

But the governor suggestions that the insurgents, who controls a swathe of land in the Lake Chad and Sambisa Forest,  are still in control of many local governments in the state.

Zulum, a professor has consistently blamed the military for failure to end the Boko Haram insurgency in the north east a la his state.

The Defence Headquarters, DHQ has however, denied not doing enough to rein in the religious fanatics who have stepped up their attacks in Borno state in recent weeks.

Speaking to the BBC Hausa Service on Saturday, Governor Zulum stated that the sect “is working on people to join them,” adding that the only way out of this is to make sure that the IDPs returned to where they came from.

Governor Zulum said  “If the IDPs living in camps could not get what they are looking for, especially the opportunity to go back to their various towns and return to the farm, they may be forced to join the Boko Haram sect.

It is important that they go back to their various towns because no government can continue to be feeding them continuously.”

He explained those displaced from places such as Baga, Marte, Malam Fatori and Guzamala, should be provided security by the soldiers to return home.

He urged the military to throw everything into the war to root out the insurgents from all their hide outs.

According to him “The sect members are hiding at the Lake Chad area and the Sambisa forest. There will still be a problem unless they are traced to their hiding places. Chasing them away from their headquarters is one of the solutions towards ending the insurgency.”

The governor also denied suggestions that the sects are still in control of many local governments in the state.

“Truly, there is no place under the occupation of Boko Haram. But there are places with no people there. What I mean is that people are yet to return to their places of origin.

“I swear by Allah, before the coming of Buhari, the security situation in Borno had deteriorated. At that time, 20 local government areas where under Boko Haram. Now, it’s not so,” Zulum said.

Recall that Senator Ali Ndume recently shocked many Nigerians when he said some local governments are still under the firm control of the insurgents.

His comment that some repentant Boko Haram members resettled by the federal government, have gone back to joined the killer group also riled the Presidency.

Police Re-arrest 19- Year Old Serial Killer, Shodipe |The Source

By
Adesina Soyooye
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Sunday Shodipe

By Adesina Soyooye

The Police in Oyo State has redeemed its battered image.

On Sunday, its spokesperson,  Gbenga Fadeyi, announced to a relieved public, and an  embarrassed Police Leadership, the 19-year old serial killer, Sunday Shodipe, who escaped from Police custody, has been re-arrested.

Shodipe, a serial killer,  had embarrassed the Police, and instilled fear in the  Akinyele LGA, when he escaped from Police custody after he was arrested.

Before his escape, he had admitted to killing five people.

When he mysteriously escaped on August 11,  the people of the LGA, had been up in arms, threatening to burn down Police stations.  They embarked on protests,  alleging connivance on the part of the Police.

Both the Oyo State Government and the Police High Command, Abuja, had given the  State  Command, marching orders to rearrest him.

The IGP of Police deployed some of the best in the  Police to Oyo state to smoke Shodipe out. The state Command  offered the sum of N500,000 to anybody that could give them a clue to re-arrest him.

The Traditional Rulers in the area mobilised Hunters and Vigilante groups as well as unorthodox methods to help rearrest him.

It is not yet known how he was rearrested, but the Police said he was re-arrested at his grandmother’s house in the Ojo area of Ibadan.

It is not known if any of those who hid him, or were aware of his whereabouts, and kept quiet was arrested with him, but he is back to Police custody.

Meanwhile, all the Police personnel on duty on the day he escaped, are in detention.  Those who were culpable of negligence, will face Police disciplinary action.

Ondo: APC, Opposition Parties In Ondo Trade Words Over LG Election |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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Ondo LG Elections

By Ayodele Oni, Akure

As results of last Saturday’s election in Ondo state are still being awaited, the All Progressives Congress, (APC), is already salivating victory despite criticisms that trailed the exercise.

Flaws that greeted the exercise include ballot box snatching, open display of thugerry, and falsification of results.

To members of the ruling APC in the state, the exercise was a success, but to opposition parties, it was a sham.

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who voted at Ijebu Owo Ward five Unit six in Owo local government, with his wife, Betty, described the election as a huge success, saying the turnout was impressive.

State Chairman of APC, Engr. Ade Adetimehin told journalists in Idanre that there was no violence in the town.

He charged members of his party to conduct themselves the same way during the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state.

Adetimehin urged the people of the town to troop out to perform their civic right on October 10, 2020.

Speaker, Ondo State House of Assembly Mr Bamidele Oleyelogun

said the ODIEC  performed creditably very well. He disclosed that the voting materials arrived early.

But the PDP disagrees.

In a statement, the party justified its decision to boycott the election, saying it was an exercise marked with shameless impunity, unpardonable brigandage, and violence.

“Twenty four hours before the election, APC thugs unleashed violence on opposition parties in Ondo town, Idanre and Owo that attempted to participate in the election. In thousands of polling units,  neither voting materials nor ODIEC personnel were seen at about noon on election day. Where they were seen, ballot papers were in short supply.

“We have been vindicated by all the actions of ODIEC and its  pay masters as incapable of conducting free and fair elections. They should go ahead and announce the election results as previously compiled in all the wards and local government areas.”

In a statement the party’s publicity secretary, Mr Kennedy Peretei, noted that ODIEC has not only failed the people of Ondo State, it should be disbanded as a matter of urgency, because its outing is not only a sham but shameful.

2023: Gov. Tambuwal Meets Obasanjo, Begins Consultation |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Obasanjo and Tambuwal

By Akinwale Kasali

In what is being interpreted as a step towards his interest in the 2023 Presidential election, the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal visited former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The former President   and Tambuwal met at the Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Both men were, also, said to have  discussed the  worsening insecurity, governance, and other challenges confronting Nigeria.

During the meeting behind closed doors, Tambuwal was said to have consulted the former president for solutions on insecurity spike in northern region and across the country.

Confirming the meeting, the Special Assistant on Media to the former President, Kehinde Akinyemi, through a statement made available to newsmen on Saturday, stated that the governor met with Obasanjo behind-closed-doors and the meeting lasted for an hour.

After the meeting held at Obasanjo’s Presidential Library Pent House, Tambuwal was said to have described the former president as a statesman and that he was still relevant for consultations on issues of governance and challenges affecting the country.

The Governor stressed that Nigerians shall continue to learn from the elder statesman.

“You know Baba is our leader, statesman. And it is always good for us to come around to see how he is doing, pay homage and to consult him on very many issues of governance, that is why we have come this afternoon. And, we brought him the greetings and felicitations of the good people of Sokoto state.

“We shall continue to learn from him, drink from his wealth of experience and fountain of his knowledge and wisdom on issues of governance and challenges of today.

“We pray that God Almighty shall continue to give him good health as I have met him today, and may he and all of us survive this Covid-19 pandemic”.

But another source speculated that Tambuwal, who is desirous of being Nigeria’s number one citizen, may have had his ambition tables before the former President.

His ambition was one of the reasons he decamped from the APC, back to his original party, the PDP, in 2016.

He had a strong backing from the Govermor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, but former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, beat him with a wide margin. He came second.

There are strong speculations he might tango with Atiku again in 2023.

Why NDDC Is a Rotten Institution – Prof Sagay |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Itse Sagay
Itse Sagay

By Akinwale Kasali

The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, PACAC, Prof Itse Sagay, has taken a swipe at the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, labelling the Commission as rotten.

This stems from the Corruption sleaze and monumental fraud being probed by the National Assembly.

Prof. Sagay in a recent interview with a National daily said that the NDDC is a rotten Commission, that has decayed as a result of corrupt practices.

Prof Sagay stressed that, “I won’t say from the beginning, as the first three or four years appeared to have been okay, but since then, it has been a rotten edifice, which people who have aspirations to become wealthy overnight have hung their claims.

“People from all over the country, including Niger Delta people themselves don’t give a hoot for the purpose of which NDDC was established, which is to develop the Niger Delta area and bring them out of misery, to provide them with modernity of life, to compensate them for what they are contributing to the country so that they have a good standard of living; they don’t care about that.

“These people from the beginning have gone there to share whatever it is that is available for the NDDC and they have a few projects here and there, pretending that something is being done when in fact the bulk of the resources is being shared by individuals at the expense of people of Niger Delta.

“The whole edifice is rotten, it is such a terrible shame, it shows very low standard of humanity among us”.

The Professor of Law said that as Chairman of PACAC, he had, on behalf of the committee, stated that the interim committee should be dissolved and that the Minister of Niger Delta should be made to resign or should be removed with immediate effect, and a fresh task should be given.

He added that he also recommended that whatever group that is appointed, by the National Assembly, there should be a monitoring committee that will monitor them and monitor every contract that is awarded; not only monitor in terms of the project, the cost of the project, they must monitor the progress of the project and make sure that the project is being completed at a certain pace agreed upon at all times.

Prof Sagay stressed that if the above recommendation is not followed to the letter, an alarm should be raised.

“The NDDC  needs an extreme monitoring and new group of people who will handle the job of managing the Commission the right way, and not Corrupt individuals that are bent on embezzling and enriching themselves as against the purpose of the establishment of the Commission”.

Corruption: PDP Alleges Speaker, Gbajabiamila, Frustrating Corruption Investigations |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has berated the Femi Gbajabiamila- led House of Representatives for allegedly frustrating corruption investigation In the House.

The Speaker, the main opposition Party, the PDP, alleges, is covering  up, and shying away from addressing and investigating Corruption Allegations.

The allegation was made in a statement issued on Saturday by the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan.

The Party asserts that the decision of the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership of the House of Representatives to shut down the sitting of various committees carrying out investigation on the executive is a deliberate design to cover the stench of corruption oozing out of the APC administration.

The PDP urged Gbajabiamila to stop circumventing the statutory duties of the House and placing of wedges on the way of the fight against corruption by the legislature.

The PDP described the shutdown order by the APC leadership of the House of Representatives as a clear example of corruption fighting back from within the government circle, which must be condemned by all Nigerians.

The statement reads: “It is clear that the shutdown directive is targeted at frustrating revelations from ongoing investigations on the $500 billion foreign loan from China, particularly as it relates to the mortgaging of our nation’s sovereignty to China.

”This is in addition to the investigations into the humongous corruption in government agencies including the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) the N300 billion unremitted revenue to the federation account as well as allegations of corruption in government earnings and the expenditure in Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDA’s) under the APC.

”It is therefore unfortunate that under the Gbajabiamila-led leadership, the basic responsibility of the House of Representatives, which is its oversight on the executive, has just been maimed through a forced holiday on the members of the respective committees and their Chairmen.

”It is equally distressing that the APC leadership of the House of Representatives is breaching parliamentary rules, practices and procedures to shield APC leaders and their cronies who have been fleecing our nation.

”Our party therefore holds that any parliament that deliberately frustrates its statutory responsibility to call the activities of the executive to question has lost the essence of its own existence. The leadership that led it into such constitutional suicide must be held culpable.

”The PDP, however, commends the members of its caucus and other minorities in the National Assembly for standing against corruption and striving to ensure that the APC does not sell Nigerians into slavery with its reckless foreign borrowings.

”Our party urges the lawmakers not to be deterred but continue in their assignments, as they are only answerable to the Nigerian people.

PDP, however, charged  the leadership of the House of Representatives to immediately reverse itself as Nigerians expect nothing but seamless investigations without unnecessary interferences and incursions.

”If the Honoruable Speaker is inclined towards allowing the covering of corruption, against the purpose for which he was elected to lead the House, then, he should take a bow and step aside”, Ologbodiyan stressed.

Why Nigeria Impounded Angola’s Aircraft |The Source

By
Uche Mbah
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Angola Airlines

By Uche Mbah

Nigeria, on Wednesday, flexed its muscle . It’s Aviation Agency, impounded an Angola Airlines Boeing 777 jumbo plane, which flew into the Murtala Mohammed  International Airport, Lagos, without due certification.

The aircraft has been detained by the Federal Government on allegation of  illegal entry into Nigeria’s airspace. It was grounded at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, shortly after it touched down.

It was said that the aircraft was not duly approved to fly into the Nigerian air space. Such approvals are mandatory for any aircraft that will enter the Nigerian airspace as it is in global best practices.

Part of the problem was that the aircraft, which belongs to the Angolan government, flew into the country to evacuate Angolan citizens from the country but came with paying passengers.

It is not known how many passengers the aircraft carried, though it has a capacity to carry 300 passengers.

A call to Sam Adurogboye, NCAA spokesperson, indicates he was waiting for clarification on the issue, and, therefore, could not comment at the time of filing this report.

This is a developing story.

Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi Gets The Nod To Contest October 10 Governorship Election |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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Agboola Ajayi Joins ZLP

By Ayodele Oni, Akure

The coast is now clear for Ondo state deputy governor, Mr Agboola Ajayi to contest in the October 10 Governorship election, following the release of names of those cleared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Ajayi and another candidate, Rotimi Benjamin, whose name was first sent to INEC had been in contention over the candidacy of Zenith Labour Party, (ZLP).

The deputy governor,  decamped from the People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) only last week Friday, to ZLP has the sole intention of picking the ticket of the ZLP.

INEC released the final list of nominated candidates for the election on Friday evening at his website with Ajayi’s name and that of his deputy, Mr Gboye Adegbenro.

A statement by National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, disclosed that four political parties that earlier made valid nominations have substituted their candidates.

According to the statement, “the Independent National Electoral Commission held its weekly regular meeting on Thursday 20th August 2020 and deliberated on the conduct of the Ondo Governorship Election scheduled for Saturday 10th October 2020 as well as other outstanding elections.

“It will be recalled that on 31st July 2020, the Commission published the provisional list of candidates for the Ondo Governorship election comprising 17 political parties. In accordance with section 35 of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) and as provided in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities released on 6th February 2020, withdrawal and substitution of candidates ended at 6.00pm on 18th August 2020”.

The incumbent Governor, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, a candidate of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) and Barrister Eyitayo Jegede of the PDP also made the list.

Invitation Withdrawal: Falana Backs NBA’s Invitation Withdrawal To Gov. El-Rufai |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0
Femi Falana

By Akinwale Kasali

Human Rights Activist and Lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has thrown its weight in support of the Nigeria Bar Association’s, NBA, action, withdrawing the invitation extended to Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.

NBA had earlier invited him as a speaker in the forthcoming NBA Virtual Annual General Conference 2020.

Following a petition initiated by some lawyers and was later signed online by over 1,300 persons, NBA withdrew the invitation.

Reacting, Falana commended the decision in a letter addressed to the chairman of the Conference Planning Committee, Professor Konyinsola Ajayi, SAN, dated 19th day of August, 2020.

Going down memory lane, he remembered how the entirety of Nigerian Lawyers boycotted all courts in the country from March 13-14, 2006 to protest the disobedience of court orders by some officials and agencies of the Federal Government.

“3 out of the 8 orders listed by NBA at the material time were flagrantly disobeyed by the administration of the Federal Capital Territory under the leadership of Mr. Nasir El-Rufai,” he recalled.

Femi Falana Letter to NBA on El-Rufai
Femi Falana Letter to NBA on El-Rufai

He further noted that the present Governor of Kaduna State has continued to refuse to comply with court orders.

According to Falana, the Federal Government was so embarrassed that it directed the then-Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo SAN to ensure compliance with the disobeyed orders.

“It is on record that while other departments and agencies complied with the court orders the Federal Capital Territory ignored the directive of the Federal Government to kowtow to the rule of law.

“As if that was not enough, Mallam El-Rufai has continued to treat court orders with absolute contempt.” He said.

Mallam El-Rufai has a penchant for disobeying court orders, he noted, and reminded the Conference Planning Committee that it is bound by the provisions of the Nigerian Bar Association.

“The invitation extended to Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to address the 60th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association should be withdrawn,” he stated categorically.

Oyo: Muslims Mobilise Against Makinde, Accuse Him Of Christianisation |The Source

By
Bayo Bernard
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0
Governor Seyi Makinde

By Tosin Olatokunbo

Governor Seyi Makinde received bipartisan votes from major religious bodies in the state last year when he was elected into the highest office in the Pacesetters’ state ahead Adebayo Adelabu, a Muslim and preferred  candidate of Abiola Ajimobi, the incumbent governor at the time.

Both Ajimobi and Adelabu were Mulims who could not secure victory for the APC candidate because of the popularity of Makinde of the PDP across religious divides.

But just one year in office, the governor has been accused of partisanship when it comes to the sharing of political appointments in the state.

Some Muslims under the aegis of the National Council of Muslim Youths Organisation, NACOMYO, have therefore sworn to mobilize their people against the re-election of Governor Makinde in 2023.

What is Governor Makinde’s sin? According to the angry Muslim youths, the state’s helmsman failed to declare a public holiday in the state to celebrate the new hijrah calendar.

NACOMYO are also not happy that Makinde called for the arrest of Professor Ishaq Oloyede of MURIC after the latter alleged the Christianization of the state by the governor.

The Islamic group disclosed this on Thursday at a special prayer and lecture for the commencement of Hijrah 1442 in reaction to the failure of the governor to declare a public holiday in the state to celebrate the new Hijrah calendar, where its state Coordinator, Dawood Afolabi, during a lecture tagged ‘Political development in Oyo State and the Muslims,’ accused the governor of marginalising Muslims.

NACOMYO said “It is disheartening that despite the promise of fairness and justice by the administration and continued lip-service to same at functions, Muslims are still being treated with disdain in government appointments.

“The glaring marginalisation in the composition of state executive, appointment into boards of tertiary institutions and the jettisoning of merit in the choice of head of Saki Zonal TESCOM are clear signals that Muslims should not trust the current helmsman in Oyo State.”

The group urged Muslims in the state to ensure that Governor Makinde did not return to office.

They told Mslims to “ keep our gunpowder dry and prepare for the next election. The withdrawal of ‘first Muharram’ as work free day in the state is another indicator. We, however, put our trust in Allah for a better deal via change of hands in government by 2023.”

Meanwhile, some political and religious leaders, in response to the issue, told the magazine that NACOMYO is purely on its own, that its opinion does not represent that of the Muslim Umah in the state.

 

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