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Like the Biblical Daniel in the Lions den, Former Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel said he passed through harrowing and tempestuous persecution for eleven years on political trial strewn with thorns, bats and vampires after leaving office.
NIGERIAN NEWSTRACK reports that Daniel made this known on Sunday in a paper titled, “The Daniel Odyssey: A journey through the Courts, made available at a church thanksgiving service to celebrate his final victory from malicious trial instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in conjunction with Ogun State Government under former Governor Ibikunle Amosun.
The former Governor at the Abrahams Tabernacle Church, Sagamu in the paper, recalled that on completion of his term when he handed over on May 29, 2011 to his successor, Ibikunle Amosun, he secured the needed clearance from the Commissioner of Police and the State Director, Department of Security Service (DSS) and left for United Kingdom.
“After handing over on the 29th of May 2011, looking back, I felt I was a fulfilled man, turning around the fortunes of the state and impacting on the lives of many positively. I therefore decided to board the British Airways flight to London to rest from the stress of eight years of hardwork”, he recalled.
Daniel said to his amazement, on arrival in London, and just settling down to much needed rest, he started receiving several calls from concerned citizens about his whereabouts, adding that some of the calls were mischievous, to confirm speculations which was already flying around about his purported arrest in London.
The former Governor said at this stage, he consulted his family and legal team, and was advised he should return to the country, to face whatever allegations that might have been raised against him, explaining that he heeded to the advice because he had no skeleton in his cupboard.
“Living in strong conviction that I have no untoward in my closet . I heeded the advice of my family and legal team, even at my most inconvenience. My entire eight years of stewardship as the Governor of Ogun State (2003-2011) was a clear signpost. I jumped into the next available plane back to Nigeria”, he said.
Daniel going memory lane said on his arrival, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) swooped on his Sagamu residence,combing all areas to proofs of graft to no avail, and was thereafter transported to the commission office in Lagos, then onward to their headquarters in Abuja.
The former Governor said that was the painful start of the 13 days of hurtful detention for serving Ogun State, and was eventually arraigned on October 11, 2011 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on allegations which fell flat after eleven years of trial in the face of the law and remained unproven.
The EFCC arraigned him on a 32-count charge, bordering on alleged false declaration of assets, land allocations and ‘underpayment’ of values and alleged mismanagement of N211.3 million Ogun State fund.
But, Daniel, through his counsels led by Professor Taiwo Osipitan, filed a “no case submission”, debunking all the allegations.
In 2019, the Ogun State High Court hearing the case since 2011, knocked out 15 out of the 32 counts, leaving Daniel to open his defence on the remaining 17 counts.
But, he approached an appellate court in Ibadan and the Court of Appeal led by Yargata Nimpar discharged him on all the counts.
Speaking to journalists, the Ogun East senatorial aspirant maintained that he neither stole lands nor money as governor.
While conceding that he is not a saint, Daniel, however, said he did everything right to the best of his knowledge.
When asked if he was not worried during his trial when some of his fellow former governors being tried were sent to jail for funds misappropriation, Daniel said he used to feel strong that God would vindicate him, but he got worried at times.
“What I was sure of is that, I am not a saint, but I did everything right to the best of my knowledge. I don’t know how anyone will say I stole the land on which this (Abraham Tabernacle) church was built. I don’t even know who the complainant is. The land was paid for, the church is not for profit-making. We donated the church back to the Baptist convention.
“Another one is The Church of the Lord in Ogere, where we gave them a land to build a university. How do we turn things around in the nation if we don’t encourage this kind of thing? What’s my duty as a governor? I’m supposed to look at areas where people need support and help them.
“The perception was that everybody is taking money. Do you take money from the church?
“Those are the things I had to face; and quite honestly, I felt strong, felt God will vindicate me, but there are certain times I got worried because when you see what is happening, you wonder. I think the tragedy is, in whatever we do, we must not see every single person as a thief. Because, there must be consequence for doing bad and appreciation for doing right. But when you have a society where those that do right are being persecuted, there will be no incentive for doing right. That’s my own worry,” he submitted.
OGD, as he is fondly addressed, commended the judiciary for standing by the truth, saying: “Let me end this thanksgiving by saluting the judiciary, I have a strong belief that the judiciary being the last chance of a common man is the only succour that our country continues to have.
“I am praising the judiciary today that, despite the challenges they have, the difficulties they have encountered, (because it is not easy to decide who is wrong or who is right in our country), but for the judiciary to stand and decipher and come to the kind of judgment they gave, I want to dedicate this victory to them. They failed to succumb to pressure.”
In his sermon, the Retired Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Dr Sunday Makinde, congratulated Daniel for his triumph over the trial.
Makinde implored Christians to imbibe the spirit of praises and thanksgiving to God at all times.
The thanksgiving service was well attended as families, friends and political associates among others joined the former Governor to rejoice.
The number of functional crude oil production rigs in Nigeria decreased by 37.5 per cent to just 10 operational rigs in March 2022, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries has said.
An oil rig, offshore platform, or oil and/or gas production platform is a large structure with facilities to extract, and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed.
Nigeria is a strong member of OPEC and has been championing activities of the group for decades, though failing lately in meeting its monthly oil production quota as approved by the organisation.
Data obtained on Friday from OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report for April 2022 showed that Nigeria’s operational oil rigs had been on the decline since 2019.
In its world rig count and units, OPEC stated that in 2019 Nigeria had an average of 16 functional rigs, but this dropped to 11 in 2020 and crashed further to an average of seven in 2021.
In fact, the organisation revealed that the country’s rigs dropped to as low as five in the second quarter of 2021, before picking up to 10 in the third quarter of same year, but eventually dropped again to seven in the fourth quarter of last year.
It moved up to eight functional rigs in the first quarter of this year, going by OPEC data, as the organisation’s report further showed that Nigeria’s oil rigs were eight in February 2022.
The rig count appreciated marginally in March this year to 10. Hence, the fluctuations in Nigeria’s rig counts indicated that it dropped from an average of 16 in 2019 to 10 in March 2022, representing a decrease of 37.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, the report showed that aside from Iran which had maintained 117 rigs since 2019, some other oil-producing nations witnessed varying degrees of declines in their rig counts.
The rig counts of Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and the United Arab Emirates, for instance, also dropped from 115, 45 and 62 to 74, 30 and 41 respectively between 2019 and March 2022, according to OPEC data.
However, countries such as Angola, Venezuela and Libya, for instance, saw a marginal rise in the number of functional oil rigs in their various domains.
Amidst the drop in oil rig count for Nigeria, the country has also suffered massive decline in its crude oil production making it unable to meet its OPEC approved oil production quota since this year.
Operators in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector had also attributed the drop in oil production to oil theft, while the government had raised concerns about the exit of international oil companies from Nigeria due to the global push for net zero carbon emission.
Also an analysis of the OPEC report showed that Nigeria’s oil production had been falling since January this year.
It was observed that while the country produced 1.413 million barrels of crude oil daily in January, this dropped to 1.378 million barrels per day in February and plunged further to 1.354 million barrels per day in March.
The situation confirmed concerns by both government officials and International Oil Companies operating in Nigeria that crude oil production in the country had been on the decline since 2021.
On March 24, 2022, for instance, the total value of Nigeria’s crude oil stolen between January 2021 and February 2022 was about $3.27bn (representing N1.361tn at the official exchange rate of N416.25 to the dollar), according figures from the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
International oil companies and their counterparts in Nigeria also stated recently that the massive oil theft across the country posed a threat to not just their existence, but to the Nigerian economy.
But NNPC’s Group Managing Direction, Mele Kyari, had announced recently that measurable outcomes against the massive crude oil theft in the Niger Delta would be visible in three weeks time.
Kyari had said, “As we speak now there is massive disruption to our operations as a result of the activities of vandals and criminals along our pipelines in the Niger Delta area.
“This has brought down our production to levels as low as we have never seen before. Today we are doing less than 1.5 million barrels per day simply because some criminals have decided that they should have some infractions on our pipelines.”
Nigeria’s oil production quota by OPEC has revolved around 1.8 million barrels per day. The country has repeatedly missed this target due to oil theft.
“And that clearly is the biggest form of business disruption that we are facing today,” the NNPC boss had stated.
He added, “This kind of engagement, the certifications that we have today around our systems and processes should be able to respond to this. And part of the response is to bring in the best framework possible to contain this situation.
“I’m happy to tell us that enormous work is going on between us and the Federal Government recognised security agencies, our partners, particularly those on the corridors that are impacted, and also the community members.
“And I’m very optimistic that within the next two to three weeks some very measurable outcomes will come so that our businesses will continue. As we speak now, the Nigerian Navy is launching a massive operation to contain oil theft in the Niger Delta.”
An attack by gunmen on a police station in Kogi state has resulted in the death of three officers.
The attack on a police station in Adavi LGA of the state occurred in the wee hours of Saturday.
In a statement, William Ovye-Aya, spokesman of the Kogi police command, quoted Edward Egbuka, commissioner of police, as saying the gunmen launched a “surprise attack” on the station.
According to NAN, Egbuka said they are working to bring the perpetrators of the incident to book.
“Early Saturday morning, the command received a report of an unfortunate incident at Adavi police division, where some hoodlums attacked the station,” the statement reads.
“They shot sporadically, but were repelled by our men and operatives of the Quick Response Unit who were on special operations at Adavi Local Government Area.
“Unfortunately, the command lost three of its officers to the gun duel, while the hoodlums fled with gunshot wounds as they could not get access into the station.
“Consequently, a team of tactical operatives was deployed and it swiftly restored normalcy to the area.
“Operatives are trailing the hoodlums with a view to apprehending and bringing them to book.”
Egbuka condoled with the families of the deceased police officers, adding that they made the force proud.
Contrary to insinuations that the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) are targetting non-indigenes, especially the Hausa communities in the Southeast, the group has specifically declared that they are not its enemy even as they have vowed to give them protection against attacks.
The group in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, also insisted that the violent attacks witnessed in the zone for quite some time now are not caused by its members, blaming it on their detracors who they said only wanted to rope them in so as to be labelled as a terrorist organisation and thereby prolonging the release of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
He said: “We want to make it categorically clear to all and sundry that anybody committing any atrocity in Biafra land in the name of IPOB or ESN operative doesn’t want Biafra to come.
“Those behind this madness are working with the Nigerian security to criminalize IPOB. They must also be prepared to pay for their sins because we will not allow anyone who inflicts pains and sorrow on our people to go free.
“Kanu made holistic announcement during those days that Hausa are facing the same predicaments Igbo people are facing in Nigeria and should be allowed to do business anywhere they like in Biafra land.
“Biafrans shall never try to harm any Hausa man or woman in Biafra land for any reason. IPOB will ensure the protection of all persons living in Biafra land, including non-indigenes. We will continue to protect them against our common enemy – the jihadists and their sponsors.
“I wish to state unequivocally that those behind these atrocities are not IPOB members nor are they Eastern Security Network (ESN) operatives.
“The perpetrators are criminals recruited by our enemies to demonise us. No member of IPOB will engage in acts inimical to the people we are struggling to liberate. We are not terrorists and we cannot suddenly resort to terrorism.
“These agents of darkness behind the senseless and barbaric acts are the ones who don’t want our detained leader, Kanu to be released. Their intension is to create the false impression that his followers are violent, but they are wrong.”
The explosive device that rocked jalingo, Taraba state capital Friday night has left some destruction and human injury on residents close to the site of the blast, according to a Vanguard report.
When Vanguard visited Nukkai Saturday morning, men of the Nigeria Police anti-bomb squad were seen at the cordoned site of the blast.
The female attendant of the local beer joint, Tabitha John where the explosive device went off, is now partially deaf.
Newsmen at the scene wrote out questions for her to read so she could tell her story.
According to her, “I was about to go pick a rubber to serve someone who requested drink when the blast happened.
“Immediately I turned my back, I heard the loud sound and it hit my ear.”
An eyewitness, Patience Vankani who passed the bar few seconds before the explosion said she and her sister escaped by the whiskers.
She said, “it was around 8.02 pm when me and my sister passed this joint.
“ Immediately we crossed the front of the bar heading our way, the explosive device went off.
Suspected gunmen have allegedly kidnapped 10 persons, suspected to be herders in Anambra State, with a demand for N4 million and an AK-47 riffle as ransom, according to a Daily Post report.
The incident happened at Obene community in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State at early hours of Saturday.
South East Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Alhaji Gidado Siddiki, who alerted journalists about the incident, said those kidnapped were his members.
Siddiki said the incident took place at Fulani settlement at exactly 1.30am on Saturday, while the herders and their cattle were asleep.
“The cattle herders were attacked at their settlement while asleep, and their herds numbering about 300 forcefully taken away by the gunmen numbering about 40.
“The men invaded the area with sophisticated weapons, including guns cutlasses, sticks and charms.
“The kidnappers have established contact with their victims families, demanding N4million and one gun as ransom.
“As I speak to you now, I have reported the incident to the Police and DSS for prompt action,” he said.
He appealed to the kidnappers to release his members and their cows, stressing that those kidnapped were mere herders, who were struggling to eke out a living.
Meanwhile, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu, confirmed the incident
He urged the leadership of Miyetti Allah in the state to come up with more information that would enable the Police to commence aggressive investigation into the matter.
He said: “Yes, we are aware of the incident, but we want the Miyetti Allah leadership to supply us with more information, since the Kidnappers have established ransom contact with the victims families.”
He assured them that the state commissioner of police, CP Echeng Echeng and other security agencies in the state would do everything possible to rescue the victims from their abductors.
No fewer than 100 people died on Friday night after an illegal refinery exploded at Abaezi forest in the Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State, the Punch has reported.
Six vehicles were also razed during the incident which had thrown the community into panic.
At the scene of the incident on Saturday, a large number of people visited the place to have a glimpse of the unfortunate development.
At least 50 bodies burnt beyond recognition were counted at the scene of the explosion.
The state Commissioner for Petroleum Resources, Goodluck Opiah, who is an indigene of Egbema, at the scene said that the state government had declared the owner of the illegal refinery, Okenze Onyenwoke, wanted.
He advised the suspect whom he said was on the run to turn himself in at the nearest police station.
The commissioner said, “This is a sad development. The Imo State Government has declared wanted, Okenze Onyenwoke, who owns this illegal refinery. I advise him to hand himself over to the police or any security agency.
“This is wickedness. This is economic sabotage. It is also destroying our youths. I, therefore, call on the youths to go away from this kind of illegal business. There are so many legitimate businesses one could do to make genuine money.”
An indigene of the community who identified himself simply as Ejike said, “Nobody survived the incident. Those who were rescued yesterday have all died this morning. The casualty figure is over 100. This is sad. People are rushing to look for their relations but the unfortunate thing is that the victims were burnt beyond recognition.”
Some gunmen terrorising Nigeria’s Southeast have released a video warning federal government not to hold the 2023 general elections in the region Premium Times report.
This is the first time the terror group would release a video clip since they resumed hostilities in the Southeast and some parts of the Southsouth Nigeria.
In the video clip, the gunmen said their grievance was the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
In the two-minutes, fifty-four seconds clip, four masked gunmen were seen in a forest wielding rifles while one of them talked.
The gunmen claimed they have no sponsor and that they are not under the command of anybody.
The video was released on Thursday, April 21.
“We the unknown gunmen in Biafraland have come to make our position known to the public. We are here to protect our fatherland by all means. We don’t have any sponsor. And we are not planning to have one,” one of the gunmen said.
Continuing, he said, “We are not under the command of Simon Ekpa, DOS or Uwazuruike. Any government giving any of these people money is wasting their time.
“Only the release of Nnamdi Kanu can calm us down. Monday sit-at-home is sacrosanct. Nothing can stop it apart from the release of Kanu.
“There shall be no election (in the Southeast), and anybody that attempts any election matter will die.”
The gunmen also threatened to deal with any official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) seen holding elections in the Southeast.
“No more political poster in Biafraland. If you try us, you campaigning, fire will burn you. Fake Biafran media, you think you can post any rubbish?
“We the unknown gunmen have endured enough from you. We shall no longer tolerate any rubbish from the media again”, the gunmen warned.
The gunmen alleged that some people betrayed them by collecting bribes from the government.
“Emma Powerful, Chinasa Nworu, Justice Udo, who we also call (our) enemies, and three other persons in U.S.A, who we are still trying to get their full identities, have been bribed by the government of Nigeria,” he said.
They accused the named persons of sending “men to harm Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe” but that the men rejected their directive.
The gunmen said the people sent the names of the “men” to the media when the men rejected their directive to harm the Abia senator.
The gunmen did not mention the names of the “men” allegedly instructed to attack Abaribe.
“From now henceforth, we declare you people wanted. Anywhere in the world, we shall haunt you people by all means,” the gunman said of the people.
The people who were accused of hatching the plan to attack the lawmaker are known members of the IPOB faction loyal to Nnamdi Kanu.
Abaribe: Connecting the dots Abaribe, the lawmaker representing Abia South in the Nigerian Senate, has been a vocal figure allegedly supporting Biafra agitation in the region. The senator was one of the sureties for Kanu when the IPOB leader was granted bail in April 2017.
The Abia South senator was arrested on June 22, 2018, by the Nigerian secret police, SSS, for his alleged links with the IPOB group. He was released about four days later.
What is known so far
The gunmen are believed to be behind the frequent attacks in the Southeast often targeting security agencies and government facilities in the region.
The gunmen, said to be part of the Biafra agitation, have repeatedly expressed distaste with election activities in the Southeast.
They have been attacking INEC officials in the region and often refer to Southeast and some parts of the South-south Nigeria as “Biafraland.”
Last week, the gunmen killed an official of INEC, Anthony Nwokorie, at a polling unit in Ihitte Uboma Local Government Area of Imo State, where the Continuous Voter Registration Exercise was being held.
The federal government has accused IPOB of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the Southeast. But the group has repeatedly denied their involvement in the attacks.
The separatist group is leading agitation for an independent state of Biafra to be carved out from the Southeast and some parts of the Southsouth Nigeria.
The leader of the secessionist group, Nnamdi Kanu, is currently detained in Abuja where he is facing trial for treason.
Alaafin of Oyo, Lamidi Adeyemi, has passed on.
Adeyemi, the third from the Alowodu Ruling House, died in the late hours of Friday at the Afe Babalola University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti.
The remains of the top Yoruba traditional ruler were brought to Oyo in the early hours of Saturday and traditional rites began, palace sources said.
He was 83 years old and the longest reigning Alaafin ever, having ruled for 52 years.
Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, is expected to make an official announcement upon receiving the report of the monarch’s passing from the Bashorun of Oyo, Yusuf Akinade, the head of the ‘Oyo Mesi’, who will now lead Oyo before a new Alaafin is installed.
The monarch had been sick and a plan had been made to fly him abroad before he passed on late Friday night.
A source familiar with the medical travel plan said his tickets and those of a few wives were already procured.
His death came after the two other senior Oyo State monarchs – the Olubadan of Ibadan, Saliu Adetunji, and the Soun of Ogbomoso, Jimoh Oyewumi – died. All happened in less than five months.
A new Olubadan has been installed but the Soun remains vacant.
With the demise of Alaafin Adeyemi, it is now the turn of the Agunloye Ruling House to produce the next Oyo monarch. Adeyemi’s predecessor, Bello Ladigbolu, was from the Agunloye House.
Though there has been a release from the palace debunking the death of the prominent Yoruba traditional ruler, sources say this is to allow traditional rites before officially announcing the death.
The released titled, "Alaafin Oyo RUMOURED DEATH UNFOUNDED" and signed by Alaafin's Media and Publicity Director, Bode Durojaiye reads "it has come to the notice of the Office of the Director of Media and Publicity to the Alaafin of Oyo about a fake report making the wave in the social media, by a disgruntled group of bloggers, about the imaginary death of His Imperial Majesty, IKu Baba Yeye, Oba (Dr.) Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi 111, the Alaafin of Oyo.
Members of the public are hereby urged to disregard the unfounded report , as the Paramount Ruler is hale and hearty .
Precisely on Monday and Tuesday this week, Oba Adeyemi, accompanied by some of his wives (Ayabas), children, aides and well wishers was at the Durbar Stadium ,Oyo, for physical fitness exercises as usual.
He has neither fallen sick nor rushed to the hospital for any serious ailment, hence he and his family remain agile and active .
The general public should not entertain any fear at all, as IKu Baba Yeye is healthy, physically fit and mentally stable.
President Mohammadu Buhari on Friday ordered the immediate re-opening of four borders in the country.
The directive was contained in a letter dated 22of April, 2022 and signed by E.I Edorhe, Deputy Comptroller of Customs.
"The letter read, "sequel to the Presidential directive dated 16th of December 2020, granting approval of phased reopening of land borders namely; Seme, Mfum, Ilela, Maigatari borders, I am directed to inform you that four additional borders listed below have been approved for reopening".
"They are Idiroko border post, Ogun State (Southwest), Jibiya border post, Kastina (Northwest), Kamba border post, Kebbi (Northwest) and Ikom border post, Cross River (South South)".
"Consequently, all Customs formations and JBPTs are to take note and ensure that proper manning takes place in compliance with extant operational guidelines".
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A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, ordered former Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, to vacate his seat as a member representing Dass, Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro Federal Constituency of Bauchi State.
Delivering judgment, Justice Donatus Okorowo, declared that having defected from Peoples Democratic Party to All Progressives Congress, Dogara was no longer qualified to occupy the seat by virtue of Section 68(1)(g) of the constitution.
Justice Okorowo aligned with the argument of the PDP that by defecting from the party that sponsored him to the ninth National Assembly before the expiration of his tenure, Dogara ought to vacate the seat as he was no longer qualified to partake in the activities of the lower house.
The judge, who held that the action of the lawmaker is prohibited by law, agreed that the aim of Section 68(1)(g) was to check political prostitution among the legislators.
“The judgment is therefore given in favour of the plaintiffs I hereby granted the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs,” he declared.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the PDP and one of its members in Bauchi State had, in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1060/20, sued Dogara, the speaker of the House of Representatives.
Other defendants are the Attorney General of the Federation, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC as 1st to 4th defendants respectively.
In a related development, Okorowo had, earlier in a judgment, dismissed the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/883/30 and filed by Incorporated Trustees of United Global Resources for Peace Organisation against Dogara and five others on the grounds that the group lacked locus standi to institute the matter.
NAN on April 11, reported that the judgments, in the two separate suits filed against Dogara, were stalled due to the FHC’s Easter vacation.
But one of the court workers informed NAN that the judgments might be delivered if the Chief Judge, Justice John Tsoho, gave a fiat to the effect.
The court began the vacation on April 8 and will end April 25.
The PDP and the group had asked the court to remove the former speaker of the lower house as a member representing Dass, Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro Federal Constituency of Bauchi State, over his defection to APC.
Dogara had, on July 24, 2020, defected from the PDP to the APC when he submitted a resignation letter to the chairman of the Bogoro ‘C’ Ward in the state.
The plaintiff, through their counsel, Jubrin Jubrin, said by virtue of Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution, Dogara by defecting from the party that sponsored him to the ninth National Assembly before the expiration of his tenure, ought to vacate the seat as he was no longer qualified to partake in the activities of the lower house.
NAN reports that Justice Inyang Ekwo, a sister judge, had, on March 8, sacked Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi and his deputy, Kelechi Igwe, alongside other lawmakers who dumped the PDP for APC, describing their action as unlawful.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo, another judge in the Abuja division, had also, on March 21,, ordered the 20 lawmakers from Cross River to vacate their seats following their defection from the PDP to APC.
The lawmakers comprise two House of Representatives members and 18 state House of Assembly members.
National Women Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Betta Edu, said on Thursday that any youth aspiring to become the president of Nigeria in 2023 should have access to at least N50 million according to a vanguard report.
The ruling party had on Wednesday, announced prices of the nomination forms for various political positions. While the party’s presidential hopefuls are expected to pay N100 million to buy the nomination forms, governorship hopefuls will pay N50 million.
It would be recalled that APC had announced a 50 per cent reduction in the price of nomination forms for individuals under 40 years of age. However, in an interview with Arise TV, yesterday, Edu defended the nomination forms’ price tag, adding that there were many ways young people could generate funding for elections.
She said: “If you want to be able to cater for Nigerians, you should have gone above the point where you have to look for N50 million.” Wondering how anyone who cannot access such an amount can be able to manage so much funds, if given the opportunity, the APC women leader said: “When you make up your mind that you want to run, you should be able to prepare adequately for that race.
”Beyond that, there are many ways that young people can generate funding for elections. It mustn’t be your money.
The African Independent Television (AIT) has lost Malam Muhammad Ibrahim, its Correspondent in Minna, Niger, in a ghastly motor accident.
Mr Daniel Atori, Secretary of the Correspondent Chapel, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the state, confirmed the death.
Atori said that the incident occurred within the Minna metropolis on Thursday.
He said: “With total submission to the will of Almighty Allah, we received with shock the sudden death of a dedicated, hardworking, and gentle colleague, Muhammad Ibrahim who passed away after a ghastly motor accident on Thursday in Minna, the Niger state capital.”
He said the late Ibrahim was a dedicated and pious Muslim who stood for what he believed in.
He added that the Correspondents’ Chapel and the state council of NUJ would miss the deceased, especially for his dedication to duty and contributions to the development of the union.
The late Ibrahim was in his early 50s.
He was survived by a wife, four children, and an aged mother.
He was buried on Thursday according to Islamic rites at Fadipe, Dutsen Kura Gwari, Minna.
The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has insisted that he will not step down from the 2023 presidential race, the Punch has reported.
Wike, who is a presidential aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP said this during an interview with BBC Pigin.
The PUNCH had reported that some chieftains of the PDP had demanded that the presidential candidate of the party should be picked through consensus.
But Wike said only death would make him step down for another PDP candidate in the 2023 presidential election.
When asked if he would step down for another candidate, Wike said, “Why will I step down for anybody? If you want to do consensus, there must be equity and fairness. Are the hands of those demanding consensus clean? People talking about consensus are the ones running the election. Is it the party’s decision?
“It is not the party that is talking. In politics, there is something called shine shine bobo. The more you look, the less you see. Some people think they can deceive me with consensus. It’s a scam. I don’t like being deceived in my life.
What can make me step down for another PDP candidate, he replied, “The only thing that can make me step down is death. if I am alive, we will run this thing, we will hold the primary on May 28/29.” Wike had on Tuesday warned PDP leaders against appointing delegates who have taken sides with some aspirants on the Primary Election Committee.
During his visit to Benin, Wike said he would never settle for the vice-president position as the contest for the plum job hots up, ahead of the presidential election next year. “I’m not coming out to negotiate to be vice to anyone, I’m coming out to contest for the number one position in the country,” he had said.
Wike noted that the first criteria for any president to be successful in Nigeria was the ability of such a president to secure the nation and protect the lives and properties of citizens.
He said that if given the mandate by the PDP in the party’s presidential primaries next month, he would end up winning the presidential election.
“We must have a candidate who listens to the grassroots. I have the capacity to face the All Progressives Congress in 2023.
“Give me the ticket and have your confidence that we will take over power in May 2023. Don’t allow anybody to disabuse your mind from voting for Wike. “We cannot continue to give excuses why we are losing elections.”