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Edo 2020: Obaseki Escapes Possible Death, As Gunshots Rain On His Convoy |The Source

By
Adesina Soyooye
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By Adesina Soyooye

Edo State Governor, and the Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Godwin Obaseki, escaped death when his campaign train was attacked on its way to Etsako LGA.

As they drove on, gun shots rained. And pandemonium followed. Miraculously, nobody was hurt.

A shaken, but sure-footed Obaseki, while addressing the campaign rally, put the blame on the door steps of the opposition APC. He said the attackers were APC thugs, who were sent after the campaign train.

But, he asked the people not to be afraid, or shaken.

Threats of violence have dogged the forthcoming Edo Governorship election scheduled for September 19. Both the PDP and the APC have not only deployed foul and obscene language,  but they have threatened to meet violence with violence. And their has been violence.

The contest is, basically, between the incumbent PDP Governor, and his main challenger, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu. Candidates of the other parties will be “also ran”.

However, there are fears that violence is likely to mar the exercise.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has threatened to cancel the election if the violence is exhibited on election day.

Jumia Loses N17bn To COVID 19 |The Source

By
Bayo Bernard
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By Tosin Olatokunbo

Africa’s top online shop, Jumia has reported a whopping after tax profit loss of N17 billion in the second quarter of the year. The disclosure formed part of its second quarter report published on its website.

The loss has therefore wiped out Jumia’s revenue of Eur 34.9 million reported in the quarter under review, analysts say.

In spite of the loss, the online shopping platform said the number of its customers have increased by over 40 per cent compared with the same period last year.

The report came despite suggestions that the ravaging COVID 19 will help e-commerce this year, as customers try to reduce their physical contacts with shopping outlets.

E-commerce firms will benefit from the pandemic, analysts say.

The online outlet also recorded  revenue of Eur 34.9 million compared to Eur 38.8 million same period in 2019, while First Party revenue fell to Eur 11 million compared to Eur 21.6 million the same period in 2019. Gross profit also rose to Eur 23.3 million, Jumia management said.

The firm’s top executives Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poignonnec said“We are navigating these uncertain times of COVID-19 pandemic with strong financial discipline and operational agility which positions us to emerge from this crisis stronger and even more relevant to our consumers, sellers, and communities.”

 

Insecurity: Balarabe Musa Slams President,  Buhari, Says He Has Failed Woefully |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Balarabe Musa

By Akinwale Kasali
Second Republic former Governor of Old Kaduna State, Balarabe Musa, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of failing Nigerians.
The Elderstateman lamented that President Buhari  dashed the hope and beliefs reposed on him by millions of Nigerians when he climbed the saddle as President of the nation.
Balarabe  faulted the President over the high level of insecurity and killings in the country, mostly in Southern Kaduna, which has seen thousands of people lose their lives over the years.
Condemning the incessant attacks and killings in Southern Kaduna and other parts of the country, Balarabe, said, “No serious and patriotic government will allow this level of Killings of its citizens by terrorist and be watching aimlessly.”
According to the former old Kaduna State governor, President Buhari has failed in all aspects of governance, including the economy, and the handling of insecurity in the country.
“Nigerians must do a lot to ensure that civil war does not break out under the Buhari administration, as relayed by Prof Obadiah Mailafia, the former Deputy Governor of CBN”.
Reacting to the statements credited to Prof. Obadiah Mailafia, after his outburst that bandits have taken over Nigeria, alleging that a Northern Governor was a    Boko Haram Commander.
Mailafia in an interview said that the decision by the Federal Government to import arms and ammunition from Russia, China, United States, and Jordan was not something to be taken seriously anymore, since the government had allowed the terrorists and armed bandits to take over the country before realizing the need for arms importation.

“Insecurity exists in all parts of the country, but it is worse in the North, and worse in the Northeast and Northwest ,” he explained.

Balarabe remarked that the failure of thePresident Buhari-led government is already having negative effects on the nation’s image.

“Imagine the President saying he wants to import arms from Russia, China, US, and Jordan; these countries will see us as a Nation that is not serious,” he lamented.

He added, “Is it now we suddenly realized that we should import arms when the people have been killed and maimed by terrorists and armed bandits? See, this is an unserious and irresponsible government. Nigerians should not take this government seriously over this mindless level of insecurity.”

According to him, the level of insecurity and economic mismanagement has gone to a higher level, adding that anything can happen.

“This can even lead to civil disobedience and civil war,” Balarabe stated.

On Kaduna State, he noted that once the government cannot deal with the insecurity in one state when the situation is all over the country, the government naturally loses grip on its security challenges.

Meanwhile, Wikipedia, a free web-based encyclopedia project which contains information on a wide variety of subjects, has listed Nigeria as one of the failed states in the world.

Wikipedia notes that a failed state is defined as a political body that has disintegrated such that basic conditions and responsibilities of a sovereign government no longer function properly.

The free web-based encyclopedia further revealed that a state is determined as failed if the government loses its legitimacy even if it is performing its functions properly.

This means that a government must enjoy both effectiveness and legitimacy, to be considered as stable.

APC: Tinubu, Others Plot Oshiomhole’s Return As Chairman

By
Bayo Bernard
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By Ola Samuel

There are ongoing plot to undermine the All Progressives Congress, APC Caretaker Committee led by the Governor of Yobe state, Mai Bala Buni, the Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum, Dr Salihu Lukman has said, adding that this is being done to pave way for the return of Adams Oshiomhole as the National Chairman.

He made this allegation in a letter addressed to Governor Buni, the chairman APC Caretaker Committee on Wednesday and made available to journalists in Abuja.

“A group in the APC led by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not happy that the former chairman was disgraced out of office, so they are doing everything to bring him back. Don’t forget that everything boils down to 2023 presidential election. The National Leader will make sure that someone he trusts is the chairman of the party to brighten his chances,” an analyst told the magazine on Thursday.

Dr Lukman had last week accused Oshiomhole of hijacking the party’s Governorship Campaign in Edo state after sidelining some top members of the party.

Oshiomhole was removed as the APC National Chairman on June 25 after a protracted leadership crisis in the party, giving way for a Caretaker Committee led by Governor Buni.

Few months after Oshimohole’s sack, Lukman said some powerful individuals are trying to frustrate the reconciliatory efforts of the Buni-led committee, so that Oshiomhole could be returned to his former position.

He said efforts were also being made to stop the extraordinary congress of the party, where its chairman and other National Working Committee, NWC members were billed to be elected.

Under this plot, Lukman said, the former chairman will be sponsored to emerge as one of the candidates vying for the position of APC National Chairman in the Congress coming up later this year.

The letter reads in part “Just like before the June 25, 2020 emergency NEC, issues of Edo State are dominating public discussions and considerations of issues concerning the party.

This is being foisted on the party as a strategy to weaken the initiative of the caretaker committee from taking steps that could facilitate the resolution of the leadership crisis through ensuring that the forthcoming extraordinary national convention to elect a new national chairman and other members of the National Working Committee for the party different from [Mr.] Adams Oshiomhole is blocked.”

A block in the party is planning Oshiomhole’s return as APC National Chairman, Lukman said, adding that the former chairman’s backers are trying to use Edo’s governorship election to consolidate their positions.

That’s reason that oshiomhole and his supporters in the party have hijacked the election campaign of Pastor Ize-Iyamu, the APC governorship candidate, he stated.

“In other words, everything is being done to ensure that the internal politics of the party is manipulated to create situations whereby [Mr.] Oshiomhole is forcefully made a contender for the position of the national chairman at the extraordinary APC national convention.”

Ordinarily, this should not be a problem, but given that unacceptable strategies are being deployed to blackmail and bully all leaders of the party to make Edo election the only priority of the party makes it very disturbing,” Dr Lukman said.

Meanwhile, a former governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party, Kenneth Imansuangbon, has disclosed that his the party would win the September 19 governorship election because of the achievements of Governor Godwin Obaseki in all parts of the state.

Imansuagbon who stepped down for Governor Obaseki said the APC should forger the election of Ize-Iyamu into the government house.

“The September 19 election is a foregone issue because the people have already made up their minds to return Obaseki for a second term in office. All the plots by the opposition APC have failed.”

 

 

 

 

 

Libel: IGP Slams N10 Billion On Sowore For Defamation |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

Omoyele Sowore, Publisher of SaharaReporters, an online platform, is, again, on familiar grounds.

The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has slammed a N10 Billion Libel Suit against him for, alleged, defaming him.

The Police IG has described, as false, a media report accusing him of illegally raising funds to build a Police Training School in Nasarawa State.

Denying the August 3, 2020 report, published by SaharaReporters, the IG, through his lawyer, Dr Alex Izinyon, SAN, threatened to file a N10bn suit against the online platform and its Publisher, Sowore.

Titled, ‘Re: Defamatory publication against Mr Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, NPM, mni (current Inspector-General of Police): Demand for retraction and unequivocal apology’, Izinyon, in the August 6, 2020 pre-action letter, addressed to the United States of America address of SaharaReporters, and Sowore, also threatened to file a criminal complaint against them with relevant government agencies.

Izinyon said the IGP had given SaharaReporters and Sowore only seven days to tender “a written and unequivocal retraction with an apology carried with the same prominence on their platform and three national dailies,” failing which he would head for court.

Izinyon stated in the letter, “Our client hastens to inform you that these defamatory words in your said publications are farrago of lies, concoctions all calculated by you to bring our Client to the lowest contempt as they are a product of you and your online publication to achieve your premeditated blackmail, dubious and diabolical ends.

“We would not waste our energy here but reserve it for the appropriate time.”

This is just one out of other libel Suits hanging on the neck of Sowore.

He is already facing one against the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, over allegations of owning several accounts; not being a lawyer as claimed; embezzlement,  and mismanagement of Resources.

He is, also, under litigation for his publication on Senator Dino Melaye, over his University Certificate and other issues.

ASUU Laments Poor Funding Of Ekiti State University; Accuses Fayemi of Hypocrisy |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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Ekiti State University

By Ayodele Oni

Things are falling apart at the Ekiti state University, Ado Ekiti.

The workers are crying over unpaid salaries for close to a year as a result of poor funding.

The institution, solely owned by the Ekiti state government, may be sitting on a keg of gun powder, according to the Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU) of the institution.

In a statement released on Wednesday, ASUU lamented the poor attention of the Chairman of the Governing Council, Prof Bamitale Omole, and the state government to the various crisis ravaging the University.

The statement, signed by the Chairman of  ASUU, Mr Kayode Arogundade, and the Secretary , Mr Ogunwale noted that nothing has been done to improve the financial situation of the University, saying  the institution is now back to the era of payment of amputated salaries for an upward of 12 months,  and still counting.

“We are  demanding explanation from the Chairman of Council, Prof. Tale Omole, and the Visitor, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi, both of whom we assume to be renowned academics, and whom we think should have a better understanding of the workings of the University system, on why they have continuously ignored the suffering and inhuman conditions of the staff of EKSU.

“It is important to note that in spite of several meetings that the union  had with the Visitor, nothing tangible has been done about the situation on ground, even when he has promised and assured us on several occasions that he would increase the monthly subvention to the University.

“Rather than consolidate the development of the University; which he promised to make a world class, he went ahead to establish a College of Agriculture in his home town, despite his frequent claims of paucity of funds in the state; this we believe, is tantamount to hypocrisy and insincerity.

“We wish to use this medium to call on well meaning citizens of Ekiti State to appeal to the visitor and the chairman of council to tow the path of honour and look for means of giving adequate financial supports to the University.

“Education is the major industry in Ekiti State (Fountain of Knowledge and Land of Honour), and her only University should be a model to other Universities in Nigeria.

“Our members have over this period endured denials and hardships arising from the failure of University in paying our entitlements.”

ASUU pointed out that instead of Professor Omole to address the crisis staring him in the face, he went ahead to the media to paint a picture that suggest that all is well in the institution.

Tracing the problem of the institution to the regime of the immediate past administration, the union revealed that it is not a secret that EKSU was poorly funded under Ayodele Fayose, who released only six months subventions for a whole year of 12 calendar months.

“The university had consistently deducted Tax (PAYE) from our salaries without remitting such to the Internal Revenue Services thus preventing our members from obtaining tax Clearance from the Inland Revenue Services. This has no doubt put our members in precarious situations.

“It is disheartening that the Chairman of council, instead of attracting funds to the university has chosen to deliberately ignore the call to unveil the masquerades behind a celebrated Fraud (a.k.a Portal Fraud) in EKSU.

“If a university as poorly funded as ours, is defrauded of a humongous sum and the Chairman of Council, who is in possession of reports of investigations into the case continues to chase shadows, while the perpetrators appear to be untouchable, then the credibility of his leadership is questionable,” the Union added

Mailafia Released By DSS, NGF Calls For Investigations |The Source

By
Uche Mbah
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Dr Mailiafia Obadiah

By Uche Mbah

Former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Obediah Malafia, has been released by the Jos office of the Department of State Services, DSS, after six hours of interrogation by the spy agency. His arrest was subsequent upon his a trending video where he allegedly said that a serving Governor is a Commander of Boko Haram. He was answering a question on the killings in southern Kaduna.

Mailafia is a son of an evangelist from Kaduna state. Allegations of killings in southern Kaduna, a predominantly Christian area, has been rfe in recent times, with critics implying that the governor, Nasir el Rufai is not doing enough to curtail the menace.

Though there are indications that he may have been told to report at the DSS office at regular intervals, this Magazine learned that he was released after one Reverend Gideon Para  offered  himself as his surety.

Addressing the press after his release, Mailafia showed his gratitude to the media “for their courage”.

“Since yesterday there has been a lot of support voluntarily from the media, I want to thank them for their courage.

“If I had retracted anything, I don’t think I would have been able to leave this place because the youths of this country are fed up, all these killings have made people fed up.

“Those who tolerate it are committing great evil, we must remain steadfast, I love Nigeria, we must love our country.” youths were reported to have been protesting his arrest, calling for his release. But he said he is averse to evil and violence.

“We must seek the progress of our country, we must work for peace, my name means peace, I am a servant of the people, I don’t use violence and do not promote the use of violence,” he said

Dr Mailafia, was the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress.

Meanwhile, the northern governors’ forum has called for a probe

In a statement Wednesday, the Chairman of the forum and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, said Mailafia’s allegation is weighty, and must be investigated.

“We, as Northern governors, have met severally to discuss insecurity in the region and the nation at large where we did not only condemn the activities of terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, bandits and other criminals, but also engaged the President and all heads of security agencies in finding solutions to the problem’, he said.

Nigerians Spent N675 Billion Bribing Officials In 2019, Says The UN; Wikipedia Says Country Is Failed State |The Source

By
Uche Mbah
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By Uche Mbah

For the second time running, the United Nations  declared that Nigerians spent a whopping N675 billion in bribes in the year ending 2019. This, however, decreased 2.2 % from the last time the assessment was made, which was 2016.

A survey by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), indicate that this was 0.5 % of the Gross Domestic Product of the the country within the year under review.

This came at a time Wikipedia added Nigeria to the list of the World’s failed states in an update. Other countries listed are Syria, Somalia, Myanmar, Iraq, Yemen, Turkey, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Liberia, Yugoslavia, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Sudan, and South Sudan.

In the survey titled, “Corruption in Nigeria: patterns and trends,” the UN agency noted that “Out of all Nigerian citizens who had at least one contact with a public official in the 12 months, prior to the 2019 survey, 30.2 per cent paid a bribe to, or were asked to pay a bribe by, a public official. This means that although still relatively high, the prevalence of bribery in Nigeria has undergone a moderate, yet statistically significant, decrease since 2016, when it stood at 32.3 per cent.”

Resorting to zonal analysis, the Agency said the zones recorded a decrease in bribery from the 2016 figures, adding that the southern zones, with the exception of the south-west, recorded a decrease in bribery.

“Three out of the country’s six zones (North-East, North-West and South-West) have recorded decreases in the prevalence of bribery since 2016, with the North-West experiencing a considerable (and statistically significant) decline in the prevalence of bribery, from 36 to 25 per cent, while the two other zones recorded smaller decreases. By contrast, the North-Central, South-East and South-South zones recorded further increases in the prevalence of bribery from 2016 to 2019”, it said, adding that this did not in reality decrease the frequencies of Bribe taking.

“Although a smaller percentage of Nigerians that had contact with public officials paid bribes, or were asked to pay bribes, those who did pay bribes continued to do so quite frequently: in 2019, Nigerian bribe-payers paid an average of six bribes in the 12 months prior to the survey, or one bribe every two months, which is virtually the same as the average of 5.8 bribes paid per bribe-payer in 2016”, the report said.

After Sack Of VC, UNILAG Appoints Soyombo |The Source

By
Adesina Soyooye
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Professor Theophilus Somoyo

By Adesina Soyooye

The management of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, late evening Wednesday, appointed an Acting Vice Chancellor.

He is Professor Theophilus Somoyo of the Department of Social Sciences.

His appointment follows the sudden, but not quite unexpected sack, the same Wednesday, of Professor Olawatoyin Ogundipe as Vice Chancellor, by the University’s Council.

The Council, led by Dr. Wale Babalakin, SAN, sacked him during a meeting of the Governing Council. Babalakin is the Chairman  and Pro-Chancellor of UNILAG.

The Council sacked Ogundipe over alleged recklessness, maladministration and insurbordintion according to Council.

In a terse statement denying the sack,  Ogundipe said he remained the Vice Chancellor, and asked the University community and members of the public, to ignore any other statement to the contrary. “It is untrue and a figment of its imagination”, he said.

Ogundipe has been having a running battle with the Governing Council.

Late evening Wednesday, the Minister for Education, Adamu Adamu, as if indirectly endorsing the sack, said the Governing Council has a right to sack the Vice Chancellor.

Defamation: Westerhof Defeats Jo Bonfrere In Court |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

Former Super Eagles Coach, Clemens Westerhof, has emerged victorious in the defamation suit filed against his former assistant at the Super Eagles, Johannes Bonfere.

Bonfrere had alleged that the 1994 FIFA World Cup match between the Super Eagles and the Azzuri of Italy National team in the Second round of the tournament was fixed.

He stressed that Westerhof received money from some agents to fix the match in  favour of the Italians.

Following this allegation, Westerhof sued his compatriot for defaming him.

The Rechtbank Gelderland Hight Court in Arnhem, Holland, on Tuesday, found Bonfrere guilty of the charge brought against him by Westerhof.

Bonfrere was widely quoted by the Nigerian media of having said in an interview with Lagos-based sports radio station, Brila FM, in April, that his former boss sold Nigeria’s 1994 FIFA World Cup Second Round match against Italy.

Bonfrere was also quoted as having accused Westerhof of selling the match for $100,000.

Westerhof prayed the court to compel Bonfere to prove the allegation against him,  or go to jail and pay a heavy fine as damages for defaming his name.

Justice Bonnekemp, who presided over the case found Bonfrere guilty as charged and asked him to apologise in a paid advert to be published in a Nigerian newspaper.

The judge ruled that his statements on Westerhof were incorrect.

More damages to be paid by Bonfrere will be determined by the court.

The ruling has further exonerated Westerhof of the allegation levelled against him.

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