EXCLUSIVE: How APC governors clashed, tackled each other at party meeting

Premium Times Nigeria

President Muhammadu Buhari with APC Governors

Heated arguments broke out among All Progressives Congress’ governors during a strategy meeting at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.

The governors held the meeting to discuss the party’s upcoming national convention and election of new party executives.

Party insiders told PREMIUM TIMES that the politicians also discussed the lingering controversies over the major candidates for the chairmanship position.

The seat is being hotly contested by the incumbent John Odigie-Oyegun and Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State.

Our sources said halfway into the meeting, which held behind closed-doors late afternoon, serious confrontation erupted amongst the governors, first over the upcoming congresses.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt the party is planning to send officials to monitor congresses from outside their home states. Typically, state governors are allowed to send names of party members that they want to serve as officials during the congresses to the national headquarters.

The party’s convention committee is planning a modality that would randomise the posting of thevnominated congress officials, PREMIUM TIMES learnt. This would mean that congress officials nominated from Gombe State could end up officiating in Kogi State or another state further south.

Akeredolu takes on Okorocha

But this arrangement appears unacceptable to some governors, especially Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

Mr Okorocha said officials must not be posted out of their states. He threatened to act decisively should the officials he nominated be posted out of his state.

But Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State interjected, and called Mr Okorocha’s bluff. He said Mr Okorcha cannot do anything because he is not above the party and whatever decision the party ultimately takes would be biding on all its members. He challenged the Imo governor from threatening violence on the party and its members.

Other governors present eventually intervened and calmed frayed nerves.

Ajimobi, El-Rufai clash over Oshiomhole

As the meeting progressed, Mr Okorocha again sparked controversy when he said President Muhammadu Buhari had endorsed Mr Oshiomhole as the next chairman of the party.

Mr Okorocha said the president made the statement when they held a meeting with him earlier in the day.

But Governor Nasir El-Rufai who was amongst the governors who visited the president said Mr Okorocha’s claim was not true, our sources said.

Mr El-Rufai said the governors and the President would give all candidates equal support in the course of their campaigns.

But that was immediately countered by Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State who accused his Kaduna counterpart of double-dealing.

Before that meeting at the APC secretariat, Mr. El-Rufai was believed to be one of Mr. Odigie-Oyegun’s major backers. In fact the APC chairman believed the Kaduna governor was pushing his case vigorously with the President.

But Mr Ajimobi pointedly declared at the meeting that he and Mr El-Rufai met at the residence of Mr Oshiomhole on Tuesday night and wondered why the Kaduna governor continued to pretend that his loyalty remained solely with Mr. Odigie-Oyegun.

Mr Ajimobi said Mr El-Rufai pledged loyalty to Mr Oshiomhole and assured him of victory at the convention. Messrs Oshiomhole and Odigie-Oyegun are from Edo State.

Based on the party’s internal arrangement for its upcoming convention which said all slots must remain as they are, the chairman would have to emerge from Edo State.

While Mr Oshiomhole’s has covered huge ground in his quest for the chairmanship of the party, there are indications that some governors are still opposed to him because of his alleged connection to Bola Tinubu, an immensely influential figure in the party.

Mr Oshiomhole is widely seen as a candidate of Mr Tinubu. But governors like Mr Akeredolu who have political axe to grind with the former Lagos governor are heading for a showdown with him at the convention, our sources said.

Bolaji Abdullahi, a spokesperson for the APC did not return PREMIUM TIMES’s requests for comments Thursday night.

Protecting party’s image

One other issue that was a subject of intense bickering amongst the governors was on how to properly time their party’s upcoming activities in a way that would not portray the leadership as insensitive to the plight of Nigerians, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

After observations were raised about the possibility of the congresses and convention clashing with this year’s Ramadan, some governors, especially Mr Okorocha and Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara, canvassed the adjustment of the dates to a period that could coincide with the annual Muslim fasting of Ramadan.

But Mr El-Rufai strongly opposed this idea, slamming his colleagues for subscribing to an idea that could send out a wrong signal about the party’s strategies and care for its members and Nigerians.

Mr El-Rufai “asked what message the APC would be sending to Nigerians if the party failed to consider the holy month before fixing its activities,” one of our sources said.

Ultimately, the Kaduna governor won, as was later confirmed by Mr Abdullahi.

“We want to be sensitive to the feelings of Muslims who will be fasting in the month of Ramadan,” the spokesperson told reporters shortly after the meeting. “Therefore, we tried avoid conducting any political activity during the month of Ramadan.”

Furthermore, as the governors were emerging from the meeting, two of them were overheard ridiculing Messrs Okorocha and Yari for delaying in settling their ‘convention dues’ to the party and yet believing they have the moral right to push for the postponement of congresses and convention.

Okonjo-Iweala reveals how Babangida, others deceived Jonathan

Daily Post Nigeria

Former Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has revealed how a former governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu and his counterparts ‘wrongly’ advised former President Goodluck Jonathan to announce the withdrawal of fuel subsidy on January 1, 2012.

The announcement caused bloody protests across the country, which forced government to backtrack on the price increase.

In a new book, “Fighting corruption is dangerous: The story behind the headlines”, Okonjo-Iweala recalled how the move was “ill timed and wrong.”

She wrote, “There were some debates within the Economic Management Team as to whether fuel subsidies should be phased out in stages or in one fell swoop. The consensus was that experience in Nigeria had shown that even a small partial phase-out would draw the same large protests as a complete phase-out, so the feeling of the team was, ‘why die in stages?’ Perhaps, it was better to do all at once. There was overwhelming agreement that such an action would require a period of communication and education of the public, to build a larger consensus on the matter. To this end, an important televised public debate was organised in Lagos. The feedback from participants was that the public felt better educated about the benefits and drawbacks of the subsidy. It was clear that the audience felt that there was a lot of fraud in the system.

“The debate took place in early December 2011 and it was agreed that the remaining public debates would take place after the Christmas and the New Year holidays.

“There was a tentative understanding that January to March 2012 would be used for further debates and communication with the public with a tentative implementation of the subsidy phase-out in April 2102.

“On the morning of December 31, I received a shocking call from my friend and colleague, Professor Sylvester Monye, special adviser to the President on Performance Monitoring, telling me he had just heard something strange and was calling to check if I was aware of it. He had run into a senior official from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) who told him that the president was going to announce the phase-out of the fuel subsidy on January 1. I was taken aback. It made no sense in the light of the agreement we had reached to educate the public further before implementation.

“I tried all day December 31 and stayed up all night trying to get the president but I was told by ‘Control’ that he was unable to speak on the phone, even though he was always exceedingly generous in taking my calls.

“One of the most interesting questions in my mind was who had advised the president to make the premature announcement on January 1 about phasing out the subsidy? I wanted to know because I had become the scapegoat for the action.

“It was not until a meeting of the NEC, weeks later, when the issue was under discussion, that Babangida Aliyu, former governor of Niger State and then chair of the Northern Governors’ Forum, bravely acknowledged that it was the governors who had urged the president not to delay any longer but to announce the subsidy phase-out at the beginning of the year. The mystery was solved, but, I found it incredible that none of the governors came to the rescue when the policy roiled the nation and that they were content to let others take the blame.

NEC bans movement of herdsmen in Benue, Taraba, others

Vanguard News

ABUJA—THE National Economic Council, NEC, has agreed to stop the movement of herdsmen in the country, starting with Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Kaduna and Plateau.

At a meeting presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday, the council approved the creation of ranches across the country.

Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of the NEC meeting held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Umahi

Umahi said the five mainly affected states which have witnessed killings from the herdsmen/farmers clashes were expected to make land available for ranches.

He said:  “Today we looked at three categories of herdsmen in Nigeria. We looked at the foreign herdsmen that come in due to the treaty and we continue to say that the treaty is not being properly implemented.

“For any herdsman to come into Nigeria from outside, there should be a kind of certification, there must be a letter, even though you are not coming in with a Visa, you have to travel with ECOWAS documentation.

“Animals that are coming into the country are required to be quarantined, but this is not being done.    This is one category.    Secondly, we have the nomadic herdsmen, who during the dry season, travel from up North to the Middle Belt down to the South. This creates conflicts . ‘’Also foreign herdsmen coming all through the way from neighboring countries and traveling through the farm lands also cause conflicts.

“Then of course, we have the migrant herdsmen who migrate for a very long time and settle with the villagers and even inter marry with them. These are the three categories we have in Nigeria.

“We agreed that movement is not profitable to the herdsmen because they value the milk from the cows even more than the cows themselves. So, the movement is not healthy for the cows as it dries up the meat and give less than two liters of milk per cow per day.

“We condemn the issues of foreign invasion by foreign herdsmen and l am happy that the Federal Government is doing something about it.

“Today, there was a meeting of ECOWAS countries on the subject and we also agreed that these movements have to stop and occasionally by those who have settled and integrated from other parts of the country like the middle belt, they sometimes go into conflicts with farmers.

“In all we agreed that there is a more profitable and modern way of raising these cows which is by ranching.

“We have agreed that the states involved are going to give lands. Niger and Kaduna have given lands and Plateau is also giving land. Ranching is being practiced in Mambila, Taraba States and they have success stories with regards to that.

“We also agreed that through the Agric Ministry, we need to introduce new species of cows. The Minister told us that there are new species that produce as much as 60 liters of milk per day.”

per cow, and that the cows weight as much as 900 Kgs but our own weight less than 200kgs.

“So, we have agreed that we are going to work on these new species, while also working with our ranching.”

We also agreed that livestock production in Nigeria has not been taken care of.

“As we are taking care of the farmers by way of the Anchor borrowers scheme, of course, the farmers cry of the high interest rate on the Anchor borrower scheme.

“The rate of interest should be between 2 and 5%, so, we should extend those gestures to the herdsmen. And it was discovered that most of these cows are not being herded by their owners.

“Big men buy these cattle and give them out to the herders. The children of the herders have nothing to inherit. They therefore, go into cattle rustling and other forms of criminality.

“Through this policy and intervention in the livestock production, it will be possible for the herdsmen to own their own livestock and have something for the future. We also agreed that there is need for good lives for the herdsmen. Through these policies their children will be able to go to school.’’

On his part, Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture, said the federal government would no longer allow the killings to continue.

Ogbeh said Nigeria may no longer be able to keep to the ECOWAS protocol on free movement of persons.

Uzodinma, Saraki, PDP ex-state chairmen loyal to Ali Modu Sheriff join APC

Daily Post

Thirty-four State Chairmen under the defunct Ali Modu Sheriff-led caretaker committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Thursday formally defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

They included Sen. Hope Uzodinma, Sen. Gbemisola Saraki and Sen. Teslim Folarin, NAN reports.

The defectors were led to the APC National Secretariat, Abuja by Dr Cairo Ojougboh where they were received by the National Chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.

Ojougboh, who was the Deputy National Chairman of the Sheriff faction of the PDP, said the decision of the defectors to join the APC had been on for seven months.

Odigie-Oyegun, who received the defectors in company of governors of Kaduna, Kano and Kogi States and the Secretary to the Federal Government (SGF), Boss Mustapha, described the development as the first in the history of the party.

“This is the first time this magnitude of event is happening since the amalgamation of the party and since the APC came into being.

“It is the first time we are receiving a total party with all the structures all over the nation fusing into the APC.

“We have three of our governors from three of our most potent states and the SGF to be here and to receive you all, because seeing is believing,’’ he said.

He advised the defectors to ensure that they formally register as members of the party at the ward level, assuring that they would be accorded same privileges like old members.

“Fortunately, you are men and women of quality, attainment and achievement, and so it will be easy for you to fit into your proper place and role in APC´´ Odigie-Oyegun said.

Sen. Uzodinma, who spoke on behalf of the defectors, thanked the APC leadership for accepting them into the party.He represents Orlu West Constituency of Imo in the Senate.

“We have been observing the happenings in our nation and whink that as a country, it would take the very good sense of judgment and the participation of all of us to solve the problems of our people and develop our land.

“We are here, officially, to let everyone know that we are now collapsing into APC.

“We ask for only one thing, the enabling environment and equal participation which you had graciously approved,” Uzodinma said.

He also said that their entrance into APC would change the narrative for the better and in the interest of their people.

Governor Umar Ganduje of Kano state, who also spoke at the occasion, said the defection was historic because the most accepted faction of the PDP joined APC.

“It is our luck that we are taking the better part of PDP,” he said, adding the with the new entrance, APC was sure of victory in 2019 general elections.

FG Compensates Victims Of Apo Killings With N135m

Channels Television  

Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and a Federal delegation presents a cheque of N135million to victims of Apo Killings.

 

The Federal Government has ordered the payment of N135 million as compensation for the families of those who were killed and wounded at some squatters in the Apo Area of Abuja.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami on Thursday said the decision to compensate the victims was based on findings by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) that they were not Boko Haram members as was alleged by security agencies.

Eight civilians died while 11 sustained injuries on September 20, 2013, after security operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) carried out the raid on an uncompleted building in Apo area.

READ ALSO: Detained Senator Peter Nwaoboshi Gets Bail

The victims were discovered to be innocent after an investigation by a three-man investigative panel of the NHRC, led by Professor Chidi Odinkalu.

The panel of inquiry had indicted the DSS of violating the rights of the victims and ordered the security agency to pay compensation.

Malami, while presenting the cheque on behalf of the Federal Government said his office had, after series of negotiations, persuaded the DSS to accept the verdict.

“This gesture in no small measure has emphasised the role of the National Human Rights Commission as an independent organisation, which statutory duties for the promotion and protection of human rights.

“It also serves as an extra-judicial mechanism for the enhancement of the enjoyment of human rights. The commission performs its statutory functions without interference from the Federal Government,” he said.

The commission, according to the Federal Panel had gone through a painstaking exercise to ensure that the right persons are paid. All payments in relation to the commission will be paid through the bank after verification of the accounts, the signatures and photographs of the victims.

North And South Korea Hold Historic Summit

Channels Television  

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un (L) and South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in (R) pose for a photo during their summit in the Peace House building on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom on April 27, 2018. PHOTOS: Korea Summit Press Pool / AFP

 

The leaders of the two Koreas held a landmark summit on Friday after a highly symbolic handshake over the Military Demarcation Line that divides their countries.

North’s Kim Jong Un also declared that they were at the “threshold of a new history”.

Kim said he was “filled with emotion” after stepping over the concrete blocks, making him the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War ended in an armistice 65 years ago.

At Kim’s impromptu invitation the two men briefly crossed hand-in-hand into the North before walking to the Peace House building on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom for the summit — only the third of its kind since hostilities ceased in 1953.

“I came here determined to send a starting signal at the threshold of a new history,” said Kim, whose nuclear-armed regime is accused of widespread human rights abuses.

With the North’s atomic arsenal high on the agenda, South Korean President Moon Jae-in responded that he hoped they would reach “a bold agreement so that we may give a big gift to the whole Korean people and the people who want peace”.

Kim was flanked by his sister and close adviser Kim Yo Jong and the North’s head of inter-Korean relations, while Moon was accompanied by his spy chief and chief of staff.

It is the highest-level encounter yet in a whirlwind of nuclear diplomacy and intended to pave the way for a much-anticipated encounter between Kim and US President Donald Trump.

The North’s official KCNA news agency said that Kim will “open-heartedly discuss… all the issues arising in improving inter-Korean relations and achieving peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula”.

But it did not mention denuclearisation, and as images of the leaders’ handshake were beamed around the world, the North’s state television showed only a test card.

Last year Pyongyang carried out its sixth nuclear blast, by far its most powerful to date, and launched missiles capable of reaching the US mainland.

Its actions sent tensions soaring as Kim and Trump traded personal insults and threats of war.

Moon seized on the South’s Winter Olympics as an opportunity to broker dialogue between them, and has said his meeting with Kim will serve to set up the summit between Pyongyang and Washington.

The White House said it hoped the summit would “achieve progress toward a future of peace and prosperity for the entire Korean Peninsula”.

Trump has demanded the North give up its weapons, and Washington is pressing for it to do so in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way.

Seoul played down expectations before the summit, saying the North’s technological advances in its nuclear and missile programmes made the summit “all the more difficult”.

After the morning session, Moon’s spokesman Yoon Young-chan said the two leaders had had a “sincere and frank dialogue over the denuclearisation of, and the establishment of permanent peace on the Korean peninsula”.

Peace and denuclearisation

Pyongyang is demanding as yet unspecified security guarantees to discuss its arsenal.

When Kim visited the North’s key backer Beijing last month in only his first foreign trip as leader, China’s state media cited him saying that the issue could be resolved, as long as Seoul and Washington take “progressive and synchronous measures for the realisation of peace”.

In the past, North Korean support for denuclearisation of the “Korean peninsula” has been code for the removal of US troops from the South and the end of its nuclear umbrella over its security ally — prospects unthinkable in Washington.

Moon said he hoped they would have further meetings on both sides of the peninsula, and Kim offered to visit Seoul “any time” he was invited.

But Robert Kelly of Pusan National University warned that Pyongyang “hasn’t really changed, and it hasn’t offered a meaningful concession yet”, adding there were still “huge” strategic and political divisions between the North on one hand, and the South and the US on the other.

Yonsei University professor John Delury said the post-summit statement will give “a lot of chance to analyse every word, (read) between the lines, look for things that are there and not there”.

Pyongyang announced last week a moratorium on nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missiles, adding it would dismantle its Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

But it also said it had completed the development of its weapons and had no need for further tests.

 Tree planting

Seoul has also promoted the idea of opening talks towards a peace treaty to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, when hostilities stopped with a ceasefire, leaving the neighbours technically in a state of conflict.

Reunions of families left divided by the war could also be discussed at the summit, and Moon told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe he would raise the emotive subject of Japanese citizens kidnapped by the North.

After a morning session lasting an hour and 40 minutes, Kim crossed back to the North for lunch, a dozen security guards jogging alongside his limousine.

Before the afternoon session, Moon and Kim were to hold a symbolic tree planting ceremony on the demarcation line.

The soil will come from Mount Paektu, on the North’s border with China, and Mount Halla, on the South’s southern island of Jeju.

After they sign an agreement, a joint statement will be issued, with a banquet attended by the leaders’ wives to follow in the evening and a farewell before Kim returns to the North.

AFP

Nigeria, Others Need Competitive Exports To Develop – UK Ambassador

Channels Tv

British High-Commissioner, Mr Paul Arkwright

 

The United Kingdom has advised the Nigerian government and other developing countries to engage in competitive exports to attain the ‘developed’ status.

British High-Commissioner, Mr Paul Arkwright, made the recommendation on Friday during his appearance on a special programme on Channels Television.

The programme, which also featured the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, and two others, aimed at reviewing the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) which held recently in London.

“The fact is if you talk to any economist who understands the way developing counties emerge from poverty into a state where they are no longer developing but developed countries, the one key thing that turns them from developing to developed countries is competitive exports,” Mr Arkwright said.

He said while the Commonwealth tries to reduce the barriers faced by developing countries in the area of trade, it does not mean that they would be flooded with cheap goods from other countries.

The British High-Commissioner stressed that the developing nations have no other option than to trade in a global world.

He noted that leaders of the 53 Commonwealth nations who attended CHOGM 2018 made very important and relevant commitments.

Arkwright added that the organisation would continue to be more relevant, as CHOGM was about increasing intra-commonwealth trade by facilitating trade among member-countries.

According to him, the world trade has increased enormously and the trade between two Commonwealth countries is 20 per cent cheaper, compared with the trade with non-commonwealth countries.

The British Envoy added that there has been a massive trade among the member-countries, pointing out that the trade between the United Kingdom and Nigeria is huge.

On the gains of CHOGM 2018, he said the commonwealth is not just about the UK but it is a family of nations and every member-nation stands the chance of equal benefit.

Nine Killed, Two Police Officers Injured In Borno Boko Haram Attack

Channels Television  

Nine persons have been killed with two police officers injured in the Boko Haram attack on Jiddari Polo area of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Troops of the Nigerian Army had on Thursday said they repelled an attack by Boko Haram terrorists in Maiduguri after the insurgents made their way through a cashew plantation to the Jiddari Polo area of the state capital before launching the attack around 6:00 p.m.

Officials of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) however confirmed to Channels Television on Friday that nine people were killed in the attack.

NEMA North East coordinator, Bashir Garga, disclosed the figure after the agency conducted evacuation on the scene of the attack.

Five of the bodies recovered was that of suicide bombers while the four others are residents who fell victims of the attack. One of the victims was killed in the mosque while another reportedly died of shock.

The police, also in a statement on Friday said two police officers were injured in the attack. The police in the statement which was signed by the spokesperson, Damian Chukwu aid the terrorists shot sporadically at security agents and also detonated IEDs.

READ ALSO: Boko Haram Insurgency: MNJTF Loses 22 Soldiers

“The terrorist gunfire sporadically and detonating IEDs. We promptly deployed SARS/PMF/EOD to assist DPO and Army at the scene. Were repelled after the fierce gun battle with profuse tear smoke applicant.

“Two of our SARS personnel were injured in the battle,” the police statement read in part.

Several others victims injured are still in the hospital with bodies evacuated to Specialist Hospital and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital,

President Buhari Visits Bauchi

Channels Television  

 

President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived in Bauchi State on a two-day working visit.

The presidential plane touched down at the Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport, Bauchi at about 10:20 am on Thursday.

President Buhari was welcomed at the airport by the governors of Bauchi and Adamawa states, Mr Muhammed Abubakar and Mr Mohammed Jibrilla, as well as some ministers.

They include the Minister of Defence, Brigadier General Mansur Dan-Ali (rtd), and the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, among others.

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar; as well as the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, were also on the ground to receive the President.

Shortly after his arrival, President Buhari inspected a Guard of Honour mounted by the military.

He then proceeded to the Nigeria Air Force Base Special Operations Command, Bauchi, to inaugurate the Air Force Referral Hospital Bauchi.

The President is visiting Bauchi after two failed attempts since he assumed office in 2015.

During the visit, he is also expected to flag off the distribution of farming implements to farmers in the state, as well as inaugurate some road projects embarked upon by the Governor Abubakar’s administration.

See photos below:

Minister of Defence, Brigadier General Mansur Dan-Ali (rtd), and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin, with other dignitaries await the President’s arrival at the Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport, Bauchi on April 26, 2018.

The Presidential Aircraft lands at the Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport, Bauchi on April 26, 2018.

President Muhammadu Buhari alights from the Presidential Aircraft after it landed at the Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport, Bauchi on April 26, 2018.

President Muhammadu Buhari exchanges pleasantries with Governor Muhammed Abubakar and Governor Mohammed Jibrilla and other government officials after he arrived in Bauchi State on April 26, 2018.

President Muhammadu Buhari inspects a Guard of Honour at the Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport, Bauchi on April 26, 2018.

Presidency Blames ‘Evil’ Benue Killings On Unnatural Herdsmen

Channels Television  

File photo: President Muhammadu Buhari

 

The Presidency has blamed the sustained attacks and killings in Benue State on “abnormal and unnatural” herders.

Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity said this on Wednesday amid outrage over Tuesday’s attack on a Catholic church and killing of two priests and worshippers and injuring several others.

“What we now seem to have on our hands are the normal herdsmen who carry sticks and cutlass and some abnormal and unnatural herdsmen who are killers in disguise who perpetrate this evil,” Mr Adesina said in a Skype interview on Politics Today.

“You see that it is a multi-dimensional thing now. It is beyond the ordinary farmers-herdsmen clash which we have had with us for decades.”

During a visit to victims of the church attack, Benue State Deputy Governor, Benson Abuonu, had lamented the continued killings.

“We are under siege and I do believe that this has gone beyond the normal herdsmen-farmers crisis,” he said.

Mr Adesina, who said he watched Mr Abuonu on TV, added that the deputy governor’s claim that killings were beyond the herdsmen-farmers clash was “instructive”.

Since January 1, 2018, when suspected herdsmen attacked villages in Benue killing 73 persons, the state government has been calling out for decisive action.

The deployment of more security personnel and the commencement of military exercise – Exercise Cat Race – have failed to halt the killings. Several security personnel have also been killed by attackers in the state.

After debating Tuesday’s killings during plenary on Wednesday, the House of Representatives resolved to summon President Muhammadu Buhari and called for the sacking of the service chiefs.

The Senate also summoned the Inspector-General of Police in connection with the killings and the arrest of Senator Dino Melaye.

Asked what the Federal Government was doing to secure the lives of people in Benue, Mr Adesina said, “I am aware that the security (agencies) are taking some steps. But then you know that security decisions are not what you disclose until the security (operatives) swing into action. I spoke to some people in the top echelon of security agencies and they are making some moves.”

There had been calls on the President, who condemned the killings in a statement on Tuesday, to also declare the killer herdsmen as terrorists, but Adesina said, that was unlikely to happen.

He said, “You declare those you know terrorists. If these people strike like devils and vanish like ghosts, then who do you declare terrorists?

“It is not about playing to the gallery. It is not about sheer body movement so that people can applaud you. No, it is about finding an enduring solution to this evil. It is an evil that has been unleashed on our country. It is a sinister plot. Who are those behind this sinister plot? That needs to be unravelled by security.

“Like the President said in his statement yesterday (Tuesday), they are even bent on causing bloodshed through religion. That is why they killed priests. So, there is a lot more than meets the eye in all these killings round the country.”

On the likelihood that the President would address the nation directly, Mr Adesina said he would use one of the channels of communication available when the need arises.

“Any time there is anything definite, the President, of course, will always talk to the country. There are many channels of communication and he will use any of them,” he said.

IGP Re-summoned After Shunning Senate

Channelstv

File photo

 

The Senate has reordered the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to appear before it by 11 am on Wednesday, May 2, 2018.

The resolution was reached during Thursday’s plenary in Abuja after the Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawal, briefed the senators on the on the arrest of Senator Dino Melaye and killings across the country.

READ ALSO: Senate Summons IGP Over Melaye, Killings

Senator Melaye, who has been engulfed in a controversy recently, was arrested on Tuesday by men of the IGP’s Monitoring Team and was being conveyed to Kogi State before he reportedly jumped out of the moving police vehicle.

This prompted the Red Chamber to summon the police boss to appear before it. Mr Idris is, however, in Bauchi State with President Buhari who is on a two-day visit to the state.

He also delegated a Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) to represent him at the briefing.

Addressing lawmakers at the Upper Chamber, Senator Bala Na’allah faulted the IGP for not informing the lawmakers prior to his trip to Bauchi, noting that the legacy in the Institution goes a long way into the future.

”I see no reason why the IGP cannot be here as this displays a wrong foundation for our democratic system,” he said, just as Senator Mao Ohuabunwa asked the Senate to direct the police boss to appear before it on n Wednesday next week.

Others decried that the arms of government are not being treated as independent as they should in a democracy, stressing that the IGP should brief a joint session of the National Assembly.

Similarly, the Senate President, Dr Bukola Sakari, faulted the police boss for his absence, adding that he has yet to receive any response from Mr Idris in the last 48 hours.

He noted that took a cue from the comments of the Senate Leader, stressing that the dignity and integrity the nation’s democratic authority must be protected.

”Sending his DIG here today is not respectful enough, he (IGP) should have had the respect of this institution to reach the Chairman or myself to explain,” Saraki said.

“Distinguished colleagues, we have taken the contributions and the general consensus is that we give a specific date, Wednesday 2nd May 2018 11 am, for the IG of Police to appear.”

Senate Summons Buhari Over Killings In Benue, Other States

Channels Television  

 

The Senate has summoned President Muhammadu Buhari to appear before it over the repeated killings in Benue and other parts of the country.

The resolution followed a deliberation of a motion on “Continued Killings in Benue State” sponsored by the lawmaker representing Benue North West, Senator George Akume.

READ ALSO: Suspected Herdsmen Kill 19 In Benue Church

The motion was extensively debated on Thursday in Abuja by the lawmakers who concurred with an earlier summon of the President by the House of Representatives on the same issue.

The killings in the country have become worrisome to state governments and their people, with Benue being the worst hit following the death of no fewer than 35 people since the beginning of the week.

Two priests and 17 other worshippers were killed in Gwer East Local Government Area on Tuesday, while 16 others were killed in separate attacks on Ali Agundu and Tsav council wards of Guma LGA, barely 24 hours later.

Suspected Herdsmen Attack Benue Villages, Kill 16 More People

Lawmakers at the Upper Chamber, however, asked President Buhari to address a joint session of the National Assembly, suggesting measures by the Presidency to curb the alarming rate of insecurity in the country.

Members of the Senate further condemned the recent killings in strong terms, with Senator Mao Ohuabunwa stressing the need to declare a state of emergency in the affected states to enable the military to go in and put an end to the killings.

Senator Gbolahan Dada, on his part informed the Red Chamber that more than 2,000 Nigerians have lost their lives in the attacks. He then requested the Senate to visit the states affected with Benue as the first.

Another senator, Barau Jibrin, decried that the security agencies are not doing enough to put an end to the killings which he said were aimed at destabilising the country.

“This is the time to look into the killings in so many states. This shows that our security agencies need to work very hard to put an end to the killings,” Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso said, while Senator Adamu Aliero was worried that the killing of the Catholic priests might cause a religious crisis in the country.

Other lawmakers want the military to be sent to Benue and find the killers, while Senator Adamu Aliero told the Senate to take appropriate action and not just pass motions.

$496m Aircraft Purchase: Senators Call For Buhari’s Impeachment

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File photo: President Muhammadu Buhari

 

Some Senators have called for the impeachment of President Muhammadu Buhari over the purchase of the $496m super Tucano fighter jets.

The Senators during plenary on Thursday asked Senate President Bukola Saraki to invoke Section 143 of the constitution in view of President Buhari’s approval of the extra-budgetary spending of 496 million dollars to purchase the aircraft.

In a motion moved by the Chairman Senate Committee on Public Account, Senator Mathew Urhogide, is of the opinion that “It’s a violation of Section 80 subsection 1, 2, 3, 4.

“The procedure of the expenditure is wrong. There ought to be an appropriation before such expenditure.

“I hereby request that the Senate President should invoke Section 18 of the Constitution.”

Mr Urhogide cites Orders 15, 42 & 52, says this matter should be forwarded to the appropriate committee.

“The President’s request is wrong, it’s a violation of our process, proceedings and the 1999 Constitution (as amended)”.

Senators Chukwuka Utazi and Sam Anyanwu also backed Senator Urhogide on the call for Buhari’s impeachment.

According to Senator Utazi “I rise to second this motion with Section 80 subsection 2 and 3. We are still on the appropriation bill, we have not finished it, Service chiefs were appointed without the approval of the Senate.”

”These Tucano helicopters are to be brought in 2020, why include it now in appropriation.

“This is an impeachable offence.”

Meanwhile, Senator Abu Ibrahim has disagreed with the call for the President’s impeachment arguing that since the establishment of the excess crude account, no government has ever sent a formal request to the National Assembly for approval for appropriation of funds.

But the other Senators are of the opinion that Section 143 deals with the impeachment of the President.

The purchase of the Tucano aircraft raised many concerns to Nigerians as the House of Representatives was in a rowdy session over the presidential request to include the $496million fund for the purchase in the 2018 Appropriation Bill before the National Assembly.

To this move, the Senate has directed its Committee on Judiciary to find out if any infraction was committed by President Buhari in his approval and direction for the release of the funds for the purchase of the aircraft.

The Senate asked the committee to report back its findings on Wednesday, May 3rd.

Senators call for impeachment of Buhari

 Times Nigeria

President Muhammadu Buhari

For not seeking National Assembly’s approval before withdrawing $496million used for the purchase of aircraft from the United States, some senators have called for President Muhammadu Buhari’s impeachment.

Section 143 of the Nigerian constitution provides for the removal of the president from office.

Moving a motion on the issue on Thursday, Matthew Uroghide, Edo State, said President Buhari’s move was a violation of the constitution and thus, he should face the consequences.

He prayed the Senate to invoke Section 143 to start the impeachment process of the president.

Seconding the motion, Chukwuka Utazi spoke in support of the move.

“This is an impeachable offence,” an obviously angry Mr Utazi, said.

President Buhari had said he gave approval for the withdrawal of the fund because he believed the National Assembly would have no objection to his action.

His explanation was conveyed in a letter read at the Senate on Wednesday. A copy of the letter had earlier been sent to the House of Representatives.

Mr Buhari explained the processes that led to the approval.

“I wish to draw the attention of the Senate to the ongoing security emergencies in the nation. These challenges were discussed with the state governors and subsequently at the meeting ot the National Economic Council on the 14th of December 2017 where a resolution was passed with the council approving that up to $1 billion may be released and utilised from the Excess Crude Account to address the situation.”

More senators are currently speaking on the issue in plenary.

WATCH SENATE PLENARY SESSION LIVE

More to follow…

Dear Buhari, what if I am lazy and entitled?

Punching.com

Abimbola Adelakun

Since President Muhammadu Buhari made a statement at a Commonwealth event in London, about 60 per cent of Nigerian youths being lazy and entitled people, Nigerians have spilled gallons of ink trying to either prove he is right or wrong. On the one side of the aisle are Buhari’s megaphones who tried to turn the statement on its head. It was laughable reading Buhari’s media aide, Femi Adesina, spin the gaffe by distinguishing between “a lot of” and “all.” If he were not merely trying to be disingenuous, he should have remembered his primary school mathematics lessons’ rules about rounding off figures. If Buhari thinks more (!) than 60 per cent of the Nigerian population below 30 are uneducated and only want to, “sit and do nothing, and get housing, health care, education free,” he is as good as addressing all of them. Adesina should also know that the outrage against Buhari’s statement was not just about that singular statement, it is a build-up of several others. They evince a disdainful attitude towards Nigerians. Buhari has serially described Nigeria as “crooked, corrupt, and unworthy”.

This statement about lazy Nigerian youths is one too many, and that is why it struck a nerve. Notice also, how Buhari says “a lot of them haven’t been to school…” as if the responsibility for these youths’ education lies solely in their hands. There seems to be no reflection on his part about the ill-education that Nigeria presently offers, and why even those in school come out barely educated.

 There are other Buharists like a former Congress for Progressive Change chieftain, Tony Momoh, and Director of Muslim Rights Concern, Ishaq Akintola, who have at least echoed Buhari’s statement with their conviction that indeed, Nigerian youths suffer from pathological laziness. Momoh and Akintola are Buhari apologists who, unlike Adesina who is twisting himself into a rope to defend Buhari, argue that indeed Nigerians are lazy and Buhari needs not apologise. Akintola even went to the point of quoting Chief Obafemi Awolowo making a similar observation about Nigerians in a 1974 speech. What Akintola could have added is a little more reflection: Are the same youths that Awolowo condemned 44 years ago not the ones that grew up to be the Akintolas (and perhaps, the Momohs) of today, and who are now calling the younger generation lazy too? If Akintola was described as “lazy” in his younger days, should that not also give him pause before accusing the present generation of being “lazy” too? Instead of lazily accusing younger generations as they were accused in their own youth, why not interrogate the psychology of Nigerian youths and the factors that predispose them to inter-generational laziness? Why were Nigerian youths lazy in 1974, and the children they bred still just as lazy and as entitled in 2018? Any answers?

Of course, Buhari has also been vehemently criticised from different quarters. Some of his critics are the youths he accused, and some of them must be wondering if they deserve such gratuitous insult from the man they worked so hard to support to be President a mere three years ago. There are countless others too, particularly opposition politicians who are also countering Buhari’s putdown of Nigerian youths by showcasing examples of Nigerian youths as hardworking, resilient, and innovative. While I appreciate the robust response to the President, the other part that is worth considering is the meaning of laziness in itself. What does it mean to be a Nigerian and be lazy? Given the harsh sociological conditions most people are born into in the Nigerian space, has it ever occurred to all those who are self-righteously describing Nigerians as lazy – as well as those contending Buhari’s assertion – that refusing to work and developing a sense of entitlement is as valid a political response to the Nigerian condition, as much as striving valiantly? In other words, while those who work hard to overcome the odds have a point, those who refuse to work, but chose to sit down and do nothing also have a legitimate point!

 Some years ago, when I first got to graduate school in the USA, I met a young man who was homeless. Occasionally, he would ask me for money for food. Eventually, we got talking. One day, I felt comfortable enough with him to ask him why he had not taken up a job. He was white, young, and an American, why would he be poor and homeless? He shrugged at my question and told me that his parents and grandparents were the most hardworking set of people he ever knew, but they still died in acute poverty. He told me watching them toil for promises that would never materialise made him make up his mind not to work because there was no point running many miles in order to remain in the same spot! He said he would not get a job because work was unlikely to change his material conditions. As long as he ate and had a place to sleep in extreme weather, he was fine. He could concentrate his energies on activities other than balancing a cheque book.

That conversation taught me to look differently at “laziness” in an economy that tasks one’s body so much. The idea that people who get things free from the government are lazy and entitled is one of the most contested political and sociological theses ever. Politicians say so when they want to obscure issues and blame victims of their policies for not displaying enough self-reliance and willpower to overcome the circumstances those same politicians have created. If it were true that people are lazy and entitled, this also would be true: Those that would rather “sit and do nothing, and get housing, healthcare, education free,” are not merely lazy, they are in fact strategically lazy. They have come to believe that no matter how much work they do, their lived conditions are not likely to change that much, so why should they invest their energy in “work”? Their defeatist and fatalist attitude is thus understandable, whether one agrees with their lines of reasoning or not.

 If you look at the same issue within our local context, Nigerians pay a lot for merely being Nigerians. Our government has outsourced their duties to the citizens and the ones the people cannot do for themselves are abandoned. Ours is a country where people generate their own electricity, water, security, and even public services. What do government officials really do for us that makes them deserve the fat emoluments they allocate to themselves? Yet, they call youths lazy and entitled? The kind of arrangement that subsists as governance in Nigeria is so taxing that by the time one gets to the age where one should be a working and productive citizen, one is already exhausted by just being a Nigerian. At that point, one just wants to sit back and start collecting one’s pension like Buhari himself has been doing all his life.

 I am a young Nigerian, and yes, I am lazy and entitled. And so bleeping what?

 Buhari insults Nigerians for being lazy but what has Buhari himself contributed to the polity in terms of hard work, ideas, vision and ideology since he was kicked out of government in August 1985? What nation-building ideas has anyone ever heard Buhari himself propose other than taking sanctimonious shots at the lowest hanging fruits, aka corruption? The main thing Buhari has gifted us, it bears noting, is his sense of entitlement at the Presidency. He has lived fat at Nigeria’s expense since 1985 and he is unapologetic about it! Why then blame Nigerian youths for wanting something for nothing when that is the way those who ruled Nigeria have made their obnoxious fortunes too? We were socialised to see government as an elephant carcass that anyone with a knife can carve out their own portion, and not as a collective trust or responsibility.

 Therefore, if Buhari looks at young Nigerians and decides that all there is to them is “lazy and entitled,” then, he is looking through a mirror and seeing a reflection of the society he helped create.

Abe declares bid for Rivers gov

Punchnews

ABDULFATAI AYOBAMI IBRAHIM 

Chukwudi Akasike, Port Harcourt

The lawmaker representing the Rivers South-East in the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Abe, on Wednesday, said he had uncovered a plot by some leaders of the All Progressives Congress to manipulate the forthcoming congress of the party in Rivers State.

 Abe disclosed this when he formally declared his intention to run for the Rivers State governship and also unveiled his liaison/campaign office in Port Harcourt.

 The lawmaker said that some lists were being put together with the aim of frustrating his governorship ambition and stifling opposing voices within the APC.

 He, however, cautioned that members of the party must not allow “frustrated politicians and conflict entrepreneurs” to divide the APC in the state, adding that no member of the party willing to go for any elective position should be intimidated.

He said, “Here in Rivers State, we must ensure that our congresses are peaceful and fair. I have heard all the stories of prepared lists that are being put together for the sole objective of flushing out Senator Abe, and stifling all voices of dissent within the APC.

 “We must not allow conflict entrepreneurs and frustrated politicians whose only hope for relevance and economic sustenance is to continue to balkanise Rivers APC. Some of them are here and some of them are there, but all of us need to ensure that the congresses are free, fair and credible.

“Any attempt to hold another hotel-style congress in Rivers State will break the confidence of the Rivers people that we are a party committed to doing right. Without the confidence of the voting public, a political party becomes a social club. It will be good partying and dancing, but it will not win elections.”

 Abe pointed out that there was not desperate to contest the governorship election and added that he would support any person who emerges the party’s flag bearer in an APC transparent primary.

 Calling on members of the party not to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party, the governorship aspirant noted that those who want Nigeria to succeed as a country should stay with the APC.

 He said, “There is no need going back to the PDP. Those going back to the PDP are missing the point. Those who want Nigeria to change must remain in the APC. The APC has shown improvement in governance. I call on all Nigerians to rally round President (Muhammadu) Buhari because he will bring the needed change we want.

“I, Magnus Ngei Abe, have decided in the interest of our state and the future of our people to seek the nomination of my party, the All Progressives Congress, Rivers State, for the office of the governor of the state in the 2019 elections. In doing so, I want to make it clear that there is no gunshot ambition.

 “I want to assure the party and Rivers people that if there is a fair process that elects any other person than Senator Abe, I will not only support the candidate, but I will campaign for him.”

Benue Is Under Siege, Govt Laments After Church Attack

Channels Television  

Benue State Deputy Governor, Mr Benson Abounu

 

The Benue State government says the state is under a siege, following the latest attack in which several persons were killed.

Suspected armed herdsmen had invaded Ayar-Mbalom community in Gwer East Local Government Area of the state on Tuesday, killing two Catholic priests and at least 13 people.

READ ALSO: Suspected Herdsmen Kill 11 Worshipers, Two Priests In Benue Church

Hours after the incident occurred, the Deputy Governor of the state, Mr Benson Abounu, visited the scene of the attack, alongside the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Fatai Owoseni, and other government officials.

“We are under siege and I do believe that this has gone beyond the normal herdsmen-farmers crisis,” he said while briefing reporters.

“What we are having at the moment is an attack by insurgents and these insurgents could come from any source, any background. This is a new dimension of attack and it has never happened before.”

On the number of casualties recorded, Mr Abounu confirmed that the two priests and 17 other people lost their lives, making a total of 19.

He lamented that the incident has led to another black day in the history of Benue, adding that it calls for serious attention from the relevant stakeholders.

The deputy governor further urged the Federal Government and the security agencies in the country to treat the continued killing of innocent citizens in the state as “a very grave and serious matter”, as it gone beyond the crisis between herdsmen and farmers.

Also speaking to reporters about the attack, the police commissioner disclosed that about 30 assailants, whose targets were the priests and the venue of a burial ceremony, invaded the community.

“As of the time I left the place, we were able to see 16 dead bodies, including the priests that were killed,” he said.

Owoseni, however, revealed that the police have commenced a wider area surveillance and deployed personnel and were working with the residents of the community to apprehend the assailants.

He noted that the search operation would be intensified and called on residents to provide useful information that can lead to the arrest of the attackers.

Hours after the attack, President Muhammadu Buhari had condemned the killing of the two priests and worshippers as ‘vile and satanic’.

“This latest assault on innocent persons is particularly despicable. Violating a place of worship, killing priests and worshippers is not only vile, evil and satanic, it is clearly calculated to stoke up religious conflict and plunge our communities into endless bloodletting,” the President said in a statement by his spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina.

President Buhari had also sympathised with the Benue State government, as well as the people of the community where the incident occurred.

Court Strikes Out Suit Seeking To Compel Buhari To Seek Re-election

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Amaka Okafor 

 

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday struck out a suit filed by the Democratic Youth Congress seeking an order of the court to compel President Muhammdu Buhari to seek re-election.

Justice Binta Nyako struck out the suit after the lawyer to Ismail Zubair of the group announced the withdrawal of the case on the grounds that it has been overtaken by events.

Zubairu told the court that proceeding with the matter will be an exercise in futility since the wishes of his clients have been realised.

This is coming after President Buhari voluntarily declared to seek a second term in office.

President Buhari on Monday, April 9, declared the intention to run for the second term after months of speculation.

The President said this at a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership.

The national publicity secretary of the APC, Bolaji Abdullahi and the Chief Whip, House of Representatives, Alhassan Ado Doguwa confirmed this while addressing journalists in Abuja after the NEC meeting.

Kanye West on Trump: 'The mob can't make me not love him'

(CNN)Kanye West remained defiant Wednesday amid mounting backlash from fans over the rapper's positive words about President Donald Trump, tweeting a picture of himself wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat with the caption, "we got love."

"You don't have to agree with trump but the mob can't make me not love him," West tweeted on Wednesday. "We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone. I don't agree with everything anyone does. That's what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought."

"Thank you Kanye, very cool!" Trump tweeted on Wednesday, quoting West's tweet.

The series of tweets comes after fans lamented a report this week from Hot 97 radio host Ebro Darden that West recently told him, "I love Donald Trump," and defended a previous tweet in which the rapper complimented conservative commentator Candace Owens.

But less than an hour later West followed up with another tweet -- an apparent request from his wife Kim Kardashian West, who is a critic of Trump -- and clarified that he doesn't agree with everything Trump does.

"my wife just called me and she wanted me to make this clear to everyone. I don't agree with everything Trump does. I don't agree 100% with anyone but myself," he wrote.

But he added that he also loves former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders was asked on Wednesday about West's admiration for the President and whether the pair plan to meet.

"I don't know of any conversation that they've had over the last week or so," Sanders said. "I'll keep you posted if that changes."

West famously met with Trump in December 2016 at Trump Tower during the then-President-elect's transition period and that encounter also generated intense backlash from West's fans.

He defended the meeting in a series of now-deleted tweets and wrote,"I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues ... I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change."

West, who was hospitalized in November 2016 due to exhaustion, shocked fans in California when he abruptly ended a concert with a rant in which he proclaimed that if he had voted, he would have voted for Trump.

‘I may be killed’, says APC senator blaming Buhari govt for Melaye’s ordeal

Premiumtimes

Senator Dino Melaye arrived at Zankli Hospital Abuja in a stretcher

Some senators of the ruling All Progressives Party (APC), have blamed the present administration as well as President Muhammadu Buhari for the recent incidents involving a fellow lawmaker, Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West).

The senators are Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna Central) and Muhammed Shittu (APC, Jigawa North East).

The lawmakers took turns to express their disappointment at the federal government while contributing to a point of order raised by Samuel Anyawu (PDP, Imo East).

Mr Melaye was arrested by immigration officers at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport and later released.

A statement signed by his media aide, Gideon Ayodele, on Wednesday morning, said the senator voluntarily submitted himself to the operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) who had laid siege to his private residence since around 3.35pm of Monday, April 23, 2018.

He added that Mr Melaye did not deserve to be forcibly taken to Kogi State to stand trial in a slew of criminal indictments that include murder and armed robbery.

“He, along with his lawyers and personal aides, was driven in his private car to the SARS office in Guzape district of Abuja, sandwiched among the numerous police vehicles earlier deployed to his house,” Mr Ayodele said.

But shortly after Mr Melaye entered the police custody in Abuja, officers dragged him in a vehicle and headed towards Lokoja, the Kogi State capital which also falls under his Kogi West Senatorial District. Mr Melaye feared that his life would be in danger if taken to Lokoja, amongst other alleged sinister motives of both the police and the state government there, the aide said.

The senator was alleged to have jumped out of the vehicle and sustained injuries and was later taken to the National Assembly where he is currently receiving treatment.

Mr Shittu, angered at how Mr Melaye was handled by the security operatives, described it as a violation of human rights as he accused the “law” of working against those perceived to be enemies.

“Everybody has right to freedom and right to be treated according to the law. The law now works against people who are perceived to be enemies.

“You fight for change and this is the kind of change we are experiencing today. There are proofs and I know because of what I’ve said, I can be killed. I don’t mind being killed. It is good for one to speak the truth and be killed,” he said.

He described recent happenings as unfair stating that each lawmaker has a right to his or her opinion.

“Everybody is against the National Assembly as if we are the enemies of this nation. We are not enemies. We are representatives of the people and as such, we must speak the truth.

“We should condemn, in totality, what is happening. What is happening is not the change. How can a serving senator be treated like that?

“If this is change, I doubt if I can continue under this kind of environment. And I know a lot of people share similar opinion with me.

“This is no change. We didn’t vote this government to be mistreated. We didn’t vote this government to abuse court processes and procedures. It’s not fair, we advise the government to change before it is late,” he said.

In his remark, Mr Sani expressed concern over the systematic pattern of violation of fundamental human rights in the country adding that he is also a target.

He condemned the use of force by the police to disperse peaceful protesters as well as elite Nigerians who violate court orders describing it as a breach of democratic values.

“This is not the best of time for some people to speak up for the fear of being targeted. And election season is at hand and people want their ticket back.

“People need to understand that life itself is temporary, who gave you the assurance that you’ll be up to 2019. What happened to Dino is an onslaught on democracy.

“For people like us, I know very well I’m also a target and I will fall into the situation of Dino but I’m not bothered. What bothers me is to say the truth as it is.

“People who have worked erroneously and sacrificed their lives and resources to see the change we need today have consistently been tagged or targeted as enemies of the president.

“How can people who have worked to bring the president into power started being targeted as being his enemies.

“We should understand that if we continue on this track, we are heading to perdition,” he said.

He further cautioned every Nigerian in authority to be mindful of their modes of applying the power stressing that power is temporary.

“My main concern is this, whatever we do today because we are in power, we may be at the receiving end tomorrow.

“There’s always a karma for the way you apply power. Dino’s incident is going to be a history of the 8th senate and the Nigerian government.

“Dino is a victim today and an attack on one is an attack on all. If you’re happy that the parliamentarians are being harassed because you don’t like his face, tomorrow there’ll be a Parliament you like with a president you don’t like,” he added.

Oluremi Tinubu cautioned her colleagues asking them to focus on the topic of discussion.

“I am against digressing away from the main issue here. We should not implicate different issues. I am not a lawyer, I’m a scientist and I’d rather face the issue.

“If we are talking about an issue, we should stick to it but when we begin to bring in a government that many people supported to be here, to use whatever happened to implicate the government, is not right,” she stated.

“If we have anything with the executive, we have leadership here who are supposed to go there and meet with Mr President.

“But we should face the main issue because this government has been just three years of 16 years of rot. It has only been in power for three years and has inherited a lot of troubles,” she said.

The senate thereafter, adjourned plenary and set up a delegation to visit Mr Melaye at the hospital and find out his state of recovery.

It also resolved to summoned the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris to appear on plenary tomorrow, Thursday at 11am and brief the senate on Mr Melaye’s matter.

Danjuma’s Allegations: Army Promises To Make Findings Public

www.pmnewsnigeria.com

Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai

The Nigerian army has promised to make public the findings of the panel it set up to investigate the allegations levelled against it by retired Gen. T.Y. Danjuma.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, made the promise on Wednesday when the panel led by its President, Maj.-Gen. John Nimyel, submitted its report.

Buratai set up the panel on April 9.

He also received the report of the 17-member Committee on Arms Verification which he had set up on March 19.

Danjuma on March 24 at the convocation of Taraba State University in Jalingo had alleged that some troops on internal operation in Taraba collude with killers and suspected herdsmen and did not protect residents against attacks.

“You must rise to protect yourselves from these people; if you depend on the armed forces to protect you, you will all die

“I ask all of you to be on the alert and defend your country, defend your state,” he had admonished.

Danjuma’s call had ignited mixed reactions across the country, forcing the army to constitute the panel to get to the root of the allegations.

But receiving the report, Buratai said: “We will take every aspect of this report very seriously, we will make this report available to appropriate superior authorities.

“We will also make this report available to the media so that they will see clearly what transpired and to see whether the allegations against the military, particularly the Nigerian army, is grounded or whether it is true or not.’’

Buratai, who said making the report available to the public would clarify the allegations, thanked the panel members for their painstaking efforts and sacrifice.

He said that was necessary to put the records straight and safeguard the army’s integrity as an entity with an important stake in the unity and integrity of the country.

The army chief also promised that the recommendations of the panel would be implemented.

Earlier, Nimyel said the panel was painstakingly thorough and fair in its extensive consultations with relevant stakeholders before writing its report.

He said to achieve its terms of reference, the panel visited some flash points in the three senatorial districts of the state.

According to Nimyel, the panel also interfaced with some government officials, traditional rulers, religious leaders, locals, military unit commanders and other stakeholders.

He expressed the hope that the report would assist the chief of army staff in taking appropriate decisions that would impact positively not only on the army but Taraba people and Nigeria at large.

While also receiving the report of the committee on arms, Buratai noted that although arms verification was routine exercise, it however, became imperative now in view of current challenges.

He also said that previous experiences, as well as proliferation of small arms and light weapons within the country and across the country’s borders necessitated the exercise.

“The verification will assist us to identify if there are any gaps or loopholes so that we can address them immediately.

“We will do our best to preserve our arms and other vital weapons and indeed the ammunition so that they do not get into the wrong hands,’’ he said.

Buratai vowed that any officer or commander found to be negligent (in handling arms and ammunition) would be “appropriately sanctioned.’’

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the committee, retired Brig.-Gen. Samuel Ayo, said that the report of his committee would assist the army in taking decisions that would further enhance its professionalism.

He commended the chief of army staff for raising the standard of the army in spite of contemporary challenges.

For The Last 48 Hours, I Have Not Been Able To Reach IGP – Saraki

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Ronke Sanya  

File photo: Bukola Saraki

Senate President Bukola Saraki during plenary on Wednesday lamented at the attitude of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris saying he hasn’t been able to reach the IGP for the last 48hours.

Saraki said this after the Senate resolved to invite the IGP to brief the plenary over the recent killings in Benue, and the arrest of Senator Dino Melaye.

“Today, Senator Akume is not here because of what happened in Benue. I wanted to take the matter today so that he can be here today to take the issue. This is also about law and order and as such we must all condemn this action. This is not where we should be dispensing our energy on.

“It is important that the IGP… even me for the last 48 hours, I have not been able to reach the IGP. I have tried so many times to find out, what is the situation. I think that is not a disrespect to me as an individual, but to this institution,” Saraki said.

READ ALSO: Suspected Herdsmen Attack Benue Villages, Kill 16 More People

He said further that collaboration with the legislature is essential to create enabling an environment for peace in the nation. He added that excesses from any quarters must be contained in the interest of Nigerians.

 

“These excesses must be contained in the interest of all of us. We are about to start elections and if these excesses of those who are meant to be responsible for providing law and order are not contained, it will be a great concern in this country. Therefore, those who are directly responsible need to take up that responsibility.

“We cannot talk about security without collaboration with the legislature. This kind of attitude must stop if we truly want to sustain and create enabling environment,” Saraki said.

The Senate subsequently adjourned plenary to visit their colleague, Dino Melaye who is currently on admission at the national hospital.

Saraki has led about 40 other Senators on the visit. Nine of the Senators including the Saraki were allowed to see Melaye who is now in the Intensive Care Unit of the National Hospital.

The embattled Senator Dino Melaye according to a statement by police authorities on Tuesday jumped from the moving police vehicle which was conveying him to a court in Lokoja, Kogi State allegedly in a bid to escape from police custody.

Melaye was expected to be interrogated by the police in connection with the allegation that he armed some thugs and in relation to other criminal activities.

Drama As Innoson Boss Shuns Court For The Fourth Time

Channels TV

Victoria Idowu 

File photo: Innocent Chukwuma

 

The Chairman of Innoson Motors Nigeria Limited, Innocent Chukuwuma has for the fourth time refused to show up in court for his arraignment despite a bench warrant ordered against them.

Innoson failed to show up in court to take his plea for fraud charges filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

At the hearing, the prosecutor, however, expressed optimism that he would be in court in the next two days.

READ ALSO: Alleged N650m Fraud: EFCC Refutes Claim Of Torturing Akinjide, Others

An argument ensued between the defence and prosecution over whether or not the defendants pending application should be heard first before the recommendation from National Judicial Commission (NJC), would suffice as to the jurisdiction of the Justice Mojisola Dada over the charge.

Earlier, the defendant had petitioned the NJC over Justice Mojisola Dada’s jurisdiction on hearing Innoson’s fraud charge.

The bubble burst as the defence counsel to one of the defendants, Professor J.N Mbadugha made an attempt to move a pending application rejected at the last sitting on March 14, 2018.

Professor J.N Mbadugha was in the process of citing a point of law that could pave way for the hearing of his client’s application even when the Chairman of the company was not in the dock, Mr A. B. C Ozioko, the lead prosecuting counsel of the EFCC objected to his procedure.

During Professor J.N Mbadugha’s argument on behalf of his client, the judge explained that she was waiting for the directive of the NJC in case of any possible recommendation to withdraw from hearing the case.

But Professor J.N Mbadugha frowned that the judge was engaging him in an unnecessary discussion.

The judge adjourned the matter to 24th May 2018 for the possible arraignment of the defendants.

Four Feared Killed In Abuja Truck Accident

Channelstv

Ronke Sanya 

The scene of the accident involving a truck in Abuja. (Photo Credit: Stanley Nlem)

 

Four persons including the driver of a truck were on Wednesday feared killed in an accident in Wuse area of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

An eyewitness told Channels Television that the accident occurred after the truck carrying sand veered off the road to hit a pillar under Banex Bridge.

The truck was reportedly trying to avoid the scene of an earlier accident involving a white Toyota Hilux and a green cab which attracted a crowd and traffic officials.

The truck driver and its passenger were reported to have died on the spot.

 

See more photos below…

Scenes from the accident (Photo Credit, Stanley Nlem)

Court Nullifies Change Of Election Sequence

Channels Television  

File photo

 

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has nullified the change of electoral sequence by the National Assembly.

The Presiding Judge, Justice Ahmed Mohamed, on Wednesday nullified clause 25, section 15 of the Electoral Amendment Bill passed into law by the National Assembly reordering the sequence which was announced by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The court also ruled that the 1999 constitution empowers INEC to organize and supervise elections including fixing dates and sequences, therefore, the National Assembly does not have the powers to over-ride the actions of INEC.

The Accord party had on March 14, approached the court with a motion seeking an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the National Assemblyfrom taking any further action or actions on the Bill titled Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2018.

The party particularly convened to pass the said Bill into Law, by two-thirds majority of its two chambers pending the final determination of the substantive originating summon.

But the President Muhammadu Buhari on March 13, wrote to the National Assembly to withhold assent to the amendment of the 2010 Electoral Act.

President Buhari stated that he is declining assent to the amendment of the Electoral Act because the amendment to the sequence of the election in section 25 of the Principal Act may infringe on the constitutionally guaranteed discretion of INEC to organise, undertake and supervise all elections provided in section 16(a) of the constitution.

However, Counsel to the National Assembly, Chinelo Ogbozor, had resisted attempts made by Counsel to the Accord Party, Wole Olanipekun to move his motion on notice seeking a restraining order against the National Assembly on the grounds that the application was not ripe, and pending the service of hearing notice on the AGF.

Ogbozor said they were served barely 48 hours and insisted that the matter cannot proceed.

In view of Ogbozor’s opposition, Olanipekun urged the court for Ogbozor to make an undertaking that the National Assembly would not take any action on the subject matter but she refused.

Though the court noted that the motion on notice was not ripe for hearing, it, however, took notice of the oral application made by Olanipekun brought in line with Section 58(5) of Constitution.

Justice Mohammed stated that the court is not granting the prayer contained on the motion paper but “is making the pre

UPDATED: Saraki Leads Senators To Visit Dino Melaye In National Hospital

Channelstv

Ronke Sanya  

Senate President Bukola Saraki and other Senators at the National Hospital during their visit to Senator Dino Melaye on Wednesday.

Senate President Bukola Saraki has led other Senators to the national hospital on a visit to their colleague, Dino Melaye, who is currently on admission at the hospital.

Melaye on Tuesday landed in the hospital after jumping out of a moving police vehicle which was conveying him to Lokoja, Kogi State where he is expected to be interrogated by the police in connection with the allegation that he armed some thugs and in relation to other criminal activities.

The lawmaker who is representing Kogi West sustained some injuries after the incident.

The senators arrived the hospital around 1:29 p.m. in three buses shortly after suspending plenary to visit Melaye.

They also shared the video of their arrival at the hospital in a video on the official Facebook page @NigerianSenate

Nine of the Senators including the Saraki were allowed to see Melaye who is now in the Intensive Care Unit of the National Hospital.

The embattled Senator Dino Melaye according to a statement by police authorities on Tuesday jumped from the moving vehicle allegedly in a bid to escape.

Melaye had earlier been interrogated by the police over his alleged involvement in the supply of arms to some political thugs arrested in Kogi State in January.

The lawmaker had earlier refused to honour the invitation of the police for questioning over his alleged involvement in that incident, claiming he does not feel safe in Lokoja.

Senator Melaye was detained and subsequently released at the International wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe international airport on Monday by the Nigerian Immigration Service.

The lawmaker had also raised an alarm on the social media on Monday evening on how the police had laid siege to his home in Abuja.

Reps Resolve To Summon Buhari Over Benue Killings

Channels Television  

 

The House of Representatives has resolved to summoned President Muhammadu Buhari over the security situation in the country.

The House will suspend sitting for three days in solidarity with Nigerians over the killings in the country.

This follows the recent killing of 19 people including two priests by suspected herdsmen in Ayar-Mbalom community, Gwer East Local Government Area of Benue State.

The armed men reportedly stormed the St. Ignatius’ Catholic Church, during an early morning mass on Tuesday, killing the priests and others members.

Angered by these numerous attacks, the President described the killing ofworshippers and two priests at the Catholic Church as ‘vile and satanic’.

He condoled with the government and people of Mbalom Community in Gwer East Local Government Area where the incident occurred.

The President through his spokesman, Femi Adesina, said, “I extend my sincere condolences to the government and people of Benue State, the Mbalom community, and especially the Bishop, priests and members of the St Ignatius’ Catholic Church, whose premises was the unfortunate venue of the heinous killings by gunmen.

“This latest assault on innocent persons is particularly despicable. Violating a place of worship, killing priests and worshippers is not only vile, evil and satanic, it is clearly calculated to stoke up religious conflict and plunge our communities into endless bloodletting,” the President said.

He has vowed hunt down the assailants and ensure that they pay for the sacrilege committed.

However, the lawmakers have asked the President to declare the killer herdsmen terrorists.

They are also calling for the sack of the Service Chiefs.