Elders statesmen and leaders of socio-cultural organisations on Monday lamented the incessant killings in the country, urging government to take concrete actions to ensure security.

The elder statesmen including the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad  Abubakar, and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, stated this in Abuja at a retreat on inclusive security organised by the Global Peace Foundation in collaboration with Vision Africa.

At the event, the Sultan assessed the insecurity in the country and said all was not well with the nation.

On his part, Obasanjo said political will must be matched with political action to address insecurity.

Obasanjo said military actions alone would not effectively end insecurity, adding that government must embrace the carrot and stick approach in addressing Nigeria’s security issues.

He said, “People talk of political will, but I talk of political action. Political will is not enough. It must be matched by political action.

“The problem of insurgency will not go away, if all we are using is the ‘stick’ (military action). We may suppress it, and keep it down a bit, but we have to use ‘carrot and stick’ together to effectively tackle the problems.” The Sultan, who lamented  insecurity in the country, said that lives should be considered sacred.

He said, “As leaders, we must always look at one thing, let us serve humanity first. So, we must stop politicising insecurity.

“It’s unfortunate that this is what we are seeing across the land. Parties are accusing one another of not doing enough to tackle insecurity. I think that is the major problem we have been facing in the country.

 “I want to say there is hope in finding solutions to the numerous problems facing us,  because I know all of us here believe and identify that we have problems. To know you have a problem is to have half of the solution. And the other half we are looking for, can come from this kind of gathering, if we are circumspect and talk to each other with honesty and sincerity as we discuss in efforts to bring peace and stability to our country.

“Peace is the most important aspect of our lives because without peace, you just can’t do anything. All is not well with our country, and I think this forum is very important.”

The Bishop of Evangelism and Discipleship, Methodist Church Nigeria,  Reverend. Sunday Onuoha, regretted that the security problems in the country were worsened by the perceived existence of a wide gulf of trust deficit amongst the many divides in the country.

He stated,  “Very few are trusted around dialogue tables; so-called influencers have betrayed the young, that now they thumb their noses at the heritage we once held so dear, and they stand against traditional institutions that give us the unique identities we pride ourselves by.”

The President of the  Christian Association of Nigeria, Reverend Samson Ayokunle, represented by the Deputy President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Archbishop John Praise, urged the elite to sustain pressure on  politicians to ensure that  the successes recorded in the country’s effort to fight insecurity were not botched.

He said: “There has to be justice and fairness, if peace is going to reign in the country.

“We need to keep putting pressure on government to let the security operatives live up to their responsibilities. They are making efforts, but they can do more.”

The Aare Ona-Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Otunba Gani Adams,  on his part, said that peace would continue to elude Nigeria, if the “fraud” in the 1999 constitution was not removed.

He said, “This oligo-military constitution of 1999 that we are operating in Nigeria is not a product that emanated from Nigerians.

“We must rise to condemn it. We must unite to say that this constitution should be trashed and Nigerians should be put together to write a new constitution.”

The national leader of Pan Niger-Delta Forum, Chief Edwin Clark, said food scarcity was causing insecurity.

He stated, “The Nigeria we are in today does not provide anything for the common man. If oil is produced in your land and exploited, you should at least be rehabilitated with that resources.

“The problem in the country is hunger  because the people don’t have any means of livelihood anymore,” Clark said.

The Chairman of Arewa Consultative Forum, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said Nigeria was drifting away from the normal, saying that the economy does not allow for growth and development.

He stated that a hungry man was an angry man, stressing that the problems of Nigeria were mounting up every day.

Ogbe said leaders should not deceive Nigerians that things were getting better.

“Can we end the current violence? The question here is not just the socio-political issues we are dealing with. Something is fundamentally wrong with the economy.

“We are a nation of importers of everything. Today, it is impossible to build a factory. The youths can’t cope because the economy just doesn’t allow growth”, he said.

The Director of Publicity and Advocacy in Northern Elders Forum, Dr  Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, stated that insecurity would continue to fester in the country if incompetent persons occupied leadership positions in the country.

Meanwhile, Islamic scholar, Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, said the bandits took to crime to revenge the killing of their families by the military through airstrikes.

According to him, the bandits were victims seeking justice, so, he warned that it was important for government to meet with them urgently before they become uncontrollable.

He said, “We all know that bandits initially don’t kill people. They only kidnap people to get money, but something has metamorphosed and turned them into a Frankenstein monster that kill people just for the pleasure of it.”

But the President of the Middle-Belt Forum, Dr. Bitrus Pogu, said the people of the region were suffering unprovoked attacks by bandits.

“Most of these attacks on innocent communities are unprovoked. So far, over 186 communities in Kaduna have been sacked and the people displaced. Whenever we call a spade by its name trouble follows. These mindless killings are atrocities committed on an unimaginable scale in our society”, he said.

The Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Okey Emuchay, said, “Without security, every other sector is in danger, and there is very little a country can achieve. The insecurity in Nigeria has a huge socio-economic impact on the country.”

An elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, stated, “We can sit here all day and talk to each other, but if we leave without following up our decisions with actions, we have wasted our time. Unfortunately, that is what is happening in the country today.”

Punch

 

 

Federal government says it will restrict airlines coming from Canada, United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia into Nigeria from Tuesday, December 14.

Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, who disclosed this on Sunday in Lagos, explained that it was to reciprocate the travel ban placed on Nigeria over the new Covid-19 variant, Omicron.

Sirika said President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration would also place the United Kingdom, Canada, and Saudi Arabia on a red list over the outbreak and spread of the Omicron variant.

The UK had announced that non-UK and non-Irish citizens travelling in from Nigeria will not be allowed entry into the country following the cases of the Omicron Covid-19 variant reported in Nigeria. 

Saudi Arabia had also imposed a temporary ban on flights from Nigeria over the increasing number of omicron variant cases.

On its part, Canada also banned travels from Nigeria and nine other African countries over omicron variant concerns. 

According to NAN, the minister noted that if those countries placed Nigeria on a red list, they do not have the moral right to have their airlines fly into Nigeria on commercial operations.

“There is also the case of Saudi Arabia that put Nigeria on the ban list. On Sunday, I participated in a meeting with the Covid-19 task force,” NAN quoted the minister as saying.

“We have given our input that it is not acceptable by us, and we recommended that those - Canada, the UK, Saudi Arabia, and Argentina also be put on the red list.

“As they did to us if they do not allow our citizens into their countries; who are they coming, as airlines, to pick from our country?

“They are not supposed to come in. I am very sure in the next three days; Monday or Tuesday, all those countries will be put on the red list of Covid-19.”

He stressed that airlines of the affected countries remained banned and the countries placed on Nigeria’s red list.

Sirika apologised to Nigerians intending to travel to those countries but said the Nigerian government’s decision was in the interest of the country.

 

The Cable

 

 

 

 

 

The Ogun State Government has engaged a consortium of indigenous professionals for the development of a master plan for its Economic Development Clusters (EDCs) across the State.

This is part of efforts to enhance the Ease of Doing Business, consolidate Ogun State's status as industrial hub of the country and to take full advantage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA).

The State Commissioner for Finance and Chief Economic Adviser, Mr. Dapo Okubadejo stated this at the maiden meeting with the experts in his office in Abeokuta.

He said the state government decided to design a master plan for the development and creation of the clusters to avoid haphazard development, hence the engagement of the experts

Okubadejo emphasised that the economic clusters which were conceptualized in line with the “ISEYA” development pillars of the Prince Dapo Abiodun-led administration would deliver large scale legacy infrastructure projects through value chain optimization.

He added that the EDCs located in Ijebu, Remo, Atan-Agbara-Ota, Abeokuta, Magboro and Imeko Afon-Aworo are deliberately positioned to attract local and international partners as well as  investors.

"These locations will also significantly boost productive output, achieve regional planning, stimulate economic growth and development that will lead to individual prosperity among others", the commissioner pointed out.

He explained further that when completed, the clusters would feature Special Agriculture Processing Zone (SAPZ), Aerotropolis, FGN Special Economic Zone, Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) Park, Automobile, Medical, Education and cities, Free Trade Zones.

Other components of the clusters according to Okubadejo are Tech Hub, Creative and Entertainment Village, Iledotun Forest Reserve, Distribution and Logistic Hubs, Industrial and Residential estates, among others.

He, therefore, charged the experts to bring their expertise to bear on the delivery of the project which he described as key to sustaining the position of the state as the fastest growing economy in the country.

In his remarks, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Tunji Odunlami said members of the team were selected based on their proven track records. 

Responding on behalf of the team, former President of the Nigerian Insitute of Town Planners (NITP), Alhaji Waheed Kadiri, blamed the problem of haphazard development across the country on governments not having adequately master planned projects.

He, however, commended the state government for seeking professional guidance for the establishment of the economic clusters.

While thanking the government for the confidence reposed in them, Kadiri also promised that the team would bring their expertise to bear on the project.

“I commend the government for taking this initiative. It is a right step in the right direction. The government has briefed us about their plans, we are now to go and do the design and structure professionally”, former NITP president submitted.

 

 

Lauretta Fagbohun

 

..calls on Governor Dapo Abiodun to atleast provide palliative measures

Ayetoro Community in Ogun State has decried the deplorable conditions of roads linking the community to Lagos State, calling on the government of Governor Dapo Abiodun to intervene by providing palliative works to alleviate the sufferings of road users along the roads.

The Onibudo of Ayetoro- Budo/Ota, Oba (Dr.) Adewunmi Odutala made the call at the annual thanksgiving marking the 6th festival of praise held in his Palace.         

The royal father who explained that, if the roads are improved upon and linked to Lagos State from Ayobo part of the State, Ogun state residents will benefit a lot in terms of commercial activities.       

He said that "the community had  committed millions of naira in fixing the roads on annual basis to make it passable for vehicles, adding that the burden is becoming too heavy to shoulder again".                

Oba Odutala stressed that the deplorable conditions of the roads have continued to have negative effects on the socio economic well being of the people in the area.                          

The traditional ruler explained that the travel time of fifteen minutes now take longer hours to connect either Lagos or Sango.

He however, commended the present administration under Governor Dapo Abiodun for his revolutionary drive on roads construction, rehabilitation and expansion since he assumed office, saying "all deplorable roads in the state cannot be fixed under two years".           

Oba Odutala, urged all relevant stakeholders like multinational companies and corporate organisations within the state to complement government's efforts at providing conducive and motorable roads throughout the state.

On the festival of praise which was the 6th in the series, Oba Odutala said that the purpose was to give thanks to God and also use the period for tourist attraction for the community.                   

He expressed confidence that Nigeria will soon come out from its  present socio-economic doldrums, urging Nigerians to have faith in the leadership of the country.                               

Oba Odutala therefore enjoined Nigerians to continue to pray and fast at all times for the benefit of the country and the citizens.

 

 

 

Emirates airline will suspend all flights to Nigeria from next week after the the country’s authorities imposed new restrictions on its flights, the carrier said on Friday.

Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority announced earlier on Friday that it was restricting Emirates to just one weekly flight from 21 that had been initially approved.

The authority said this was in retaliation for the United Arab Emirates declining an application by local carrier Air Peace to fly to Sharjah International Airport three times a week. UAE gave the airline one weekly slot, citing the lack of available arrival slots at the airport.

"With the recently imposed directive limiting Emirates to operate one flight per week to Nigeria via Abuja, Emirates will be suspending its flights between Nigeria and Dubai from 13 December 2021, until the UAE and Nigerian authorities work on a solution to the ongoing issue," Emirates said in a statement.

In March, Nigeria suspended Emirates from flying into or out of its territory after the carrier imposed additional Covid-19 test requirements on passengers from Nigeria but had lifted the restriction last month.

Nigeria is Africa's most populous country with a huge diaspora that frequently travels back home and some carriers like British Airways have daily flights to the country.

 

Reuters

 

 

 

A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) based in the north has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to address insecurity and “high cost of living” in the country.

The CSOs, under the Conference of Northern States Civil Society Networks, in a letter signed by Ibrahim Waiya and Ibrahim Yusuf, chairman and secretary of the coalition, respectively, said the threat to security of lives and properties calls for urgent concern.

“The continuous activities of bandits, kidnappers and Boko Haram in many northern states such as Borno, Niger, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina and others have adversely affected the economy of people in those states. Many lives and properties have been destroyed,” the letter reads.

“It is also important to draw the attention of the federal government to the increasing crisis of farmers/herders in places like Benue, which resulted in the number of persons displaced.

“The nonchalant attitude of the federal government in Benue State herders/farmers crisis would not augur well, and political differences should not give political leaders the right to jeopardise the lives of the citizenry.”

The group also advocated for a holistic approach that would achieve stability in the country, and expressed concern over the proposal to remove fuel subsidy by 2022.

“We acknowledge that the petroleum sector contributes substantially to the Nigerian economy. Nonetheless, the prospective benefits are diminished due to the practice of significant subsidies on imports of petroleum products,” the group said.

“Nigerians are dying slowly due to rising cost of living, as the country’s inflation hits a 4-year high by more than 18% in March, with food prices going high by almost 23% high-ceilinged prices. A rise in joblessness has also left a third of Nigeria’s workforce unemployed at the end of 2020, and this is a figure released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

“The World Poverty Clock reports that at the latest count, Nigeria had 43% of its population that is over 90 million people living below the poverty line of less than $1.90 per day. Therefore, fuel subsidy removal at this hardest time in Nigeria is nothing but an invitation to a higher level of poverty and social insecurity.”

The group also advocated a reduction in the cost of governance.

“As the country is steadily drifting into more economic difficulties due to high inflation, we believe that one of the practical avenues to be exploited is the reduction of the cost of governance, which is comparatively one of the most expensive in the whole of Africa,” they said.

Other signatories to the letter are Idris Muraina, Kogi NGOs Network (KONGONET); Ibrahim Tudu, Zamfara Coalition of NGOs (ZASCONS); Abdulrahman Abdullahi, Coalition of Civil Society Organisations, Katisna; Ibrahim Yusuf, Association of NGOs, Gombe; and Muhammad Basrika, Network of Civil Society Organisations, Jigawa.

Others are Ibrahim Shuni, Coalition of NGOs in Sokoto; Emmanuel Bonet, Concerned Civil Society, Kaduna; Jinjiri Garba, Bauchi State Network of Civil Society Organisations (BASNEC); Habila Kudu, NGOs Forum, Niger; Peter Egwudah, Network of Adamawa Non-Governmental Organisations; Baba Shehu, Network of Yobe Civil Society Organisations; and Joseph Gimba, Coalition for Civil Society Organisations in Taraba.

Ade Bodunde, Kwara State Coalition of NGOs; Bulama Abiso, Network of Civil Society Organisations, Borno; Shimenenge Kyaagba, Benue Network of NGOs; Usman Ali, Coalition of NGOs in Kebbi; Solomon Enjola, Nasarawa NGO Network; and Gad Peter, Coalition of NGOs, Plateau, also signed the letter.

 

The Cable

Iyorchia Ayu, national chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has failed Nigerians.

Ayu spoke on Friday during the inauguration ceremony to usher in the newly-elected national working committee (NWC).

He said PDP has remained the most trusted political party since 1999, adding that other parties, including All Progressives Congress (APC), operate without “clear ideology or coherent programmes”.

The national chairman said the opposition party has a track record of “performance and legacy achievement” in its 16 years of being power.

“PDP is the only organic political party in Nigeria that has remained a credible, tested and trusted mass movement since the return of democracy in 1999. Other political parties have either fizzled away or merged with others,” he said.

“Some have mutated into a contraption like the ruling APC without any clear ideology or a coherent programme of action. This contraption seduced Nigerians with propaganda in 2015. Today, Nigerians have seen the limit of propaganda and demagoguery. The only thing the APC is doing successfully is irresponsible borrowing.

“PDP, on the other hand, has a history of performance and legacy achievements. In our 16 years in power, we not only gave Nigerians good governance, we also strengthened democratic institutions so as to add value to the people. In an unprecedented move, we stabilised our democracy by sanitising the armed forces of politically-exposed officers.

“We gave Nigeria her first-ever successful transition from one civilian administration to another in 2007. To the disbelief of all watchers of African politics, we willingly conceded defeat in 2015, and handed over power to an opposition party in 2015.

“It was the PDP-federal government that created value-adding public institutions like the EFCC, ICPC, NAFDAC, the Debt Management Office (DMO), the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP), among many others.

“The PDP administration also strengthened the governance process by enacting laws to effectively drive public administration in Nigeria, namely: the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the Mid-Term Expenditure Frame-Work, the Treasury Single Account (TSA), Integrated Personal and Payroll Information Systems (IPPIS), just to mention a few.

“We negotiated and obtained forgiveness of over $30 billion of debt, making Nigeria almost a debt-free country. Foreign direct investments flowed in. Cumulatively, the foregoing made Nigeria not only the fastest growing economy in Africa, but also the biggest economy on the continent.

“From the biggest economy in 2015, the APC has given the country two recessions and turned Nigeria into the poverty capital of the world. Today, close to 40 million Nigerians have no jobs.”

While accusing the APC-led government of “mismanaging” Nigeria’s diversity, he added that the ruling party has “divided the country along regional and religious lines and exacerbated religious tensions in the country”.

“Through its marriage to nepotism, the incompetent APC-federal government is fueling secessionist agitations in the east and west of Nigeria,” he said.

“Our dear Nigeria is drifting dangerously towards a failed state. Terrorists are now sharing sovereignty with Nigeria. Nigeria is simply ungoverned. Nigeria is collapsing under the leadership of a retired general.”

Ayu added that the PDP will reclaim power in 2023 and implement policies and programmes that will secure and improve the quality of lives of all Nigerians.

The Cable

 

There was unrest in some northern states, notably, Katsina, Bauchi, Kano and Abuja, on Friday, following peaceful protests by some aggrieved people, mostly women over unending killings in northern Nigeria.

There are indications that people from Kaduna, Gombe, Yobe and Kebbi states would join the protest today, while Sokoto and Zamfara states would join once they are done with the necessary arrangements.

In Abuja, aggrieved young women and men converged at the Unity Fountain, Abuja, bearing placards with several inscriptions written in Hausa Language, chanting solidarity songs to call for local and global attention on the ongoing “genocide” in northern Nigeria.

The women vowed to continue the protest next week and until realistic solutions are provided by the government to end the growing banditry and other criminal activities that had crippled the economy of the north and had led to the death of thousands of people, and communities destroyed.

The Convener, Rahama Abdulmajid, said that they had kept quiet enough about the ongoing “armed war” in northern Nigeria, hence their decision to attract local and global attention to the insecurity in the north.

She said: “We are out this time to raise global attention on the level of human carnage going on in northern Nigeria. Evidently, lives are no longer valuable in Nigeria. People are being slaughtered daily like chicken and nobody is saying anything about it. We are tired of this killings and we will continue this protest until steps are taken to end this.

“Today (Friday), the protest was successfully held simultaneously across four northern states of Katsina, Bauchi, Kano and Abuja. On Saturday, there will be similar protests in Kaduna, Gombe, Yobe and Kebbi. Sokoto and Zamfara states are still making arrangements for theirs. In no distant time, we, the 19 northern states, would all assemble for joint protest.

“We would continue this protest until we see concrete action to end the killings going on in northern Nigeria.”

One of the protesters, Zainab Binti Hijazi, however, told DW Hausa, that gradually, people are becoming more confident, bold and confrontational against harassment and intimidation of the Police against protesters who are peacefully seeking justice.

She said: “People have been afraid to speak truth to the government on the level of daily unreported or underreported killings in northern Nigeria. But I think we can’t take that any more. We are out here to take our destinies in our own hands. It’s better we die with our dignity intact than to be slaughtered like chickens as being experienced in some communities where people are killed in their sleep, markets, roads, and other locations recklessly.”

She suggested that government use loans being procured from foreign countries and other financial institutions to purchase modern arms and other weapons to prosecute the war against banditry in the north.

She said: “We appreciate efforts of the President in the fight against insurgency. He should drop every other thing on his table and face the issue of insecurity before we are all consumed. We didn’t elect him to inflict economic pains on us neither was he elected to increase fuel price, VAT and other things.”

She advised government to reduce the huge presence of security officials attached to VIPs and unnecessary locations like the Unity Fountain, Abuja, and redeploy them to areas that require their services after relevant trainings.

She said: “When we came to start this peaceful protest, they confronted us and denied us entry. They insist that we are not allowed to carry out protest in the place. After several confrontations, they allowed us but rejected the option of going beyond the Unity Fountain to, maybe, Three Arms Zone for whatever reason.

“However, we would not relent. We would continue this protest because armed enemies have risen against our communities and the people, and we should take action to defend ourselves, otherwise, we would wake up one day and discover that we have lost our inheritance to criminals.

Meanwhile, a security expert, Yahuza Geso, who was part of the first day of the protest, lamented the level of wickedness against people in the north by bandits most of whom he alleged are known to the government.

He said: “We have said it repeatedly that if government claims not to know these people, we would show them where they are as long our identities are protected. There about 126 towns and villages that I know, you can’t move a kilometer without seeing somebody hanging AK-47 riffle on his shoulder.

“Few days ago, some travellers were burnt alive inside the bus they were traveling in. It may interest you to know that the people that were burnt in that bus in Sokoto were fleeing refugees whose original inhabitation were destroyed by the criminals in some parts of the north.”

He expressed confidence in the capacity of government forces to tackle the security challenges, but pointed to the fact that most of the security agents drafted to fight the war lack the necessary motivation, welfare and other things that would boost their morale and encourage them to confront the criminals.

He, however, disclosed that the criminals have begun to recruit children from the IDP camps and other local communities whom they train for further attacks.

“Many of the elites in the north have run to hide in Abuja, Lagos and other ‘safe’ locations but I can confirm to you that no one is safe anymore because Abuja is also feeling the heat of the insecurity.”

He assured government of citizens support if only they would be sincere in their approach against the criminals.

“For instance, people have volunteered information in the past but they were exposed by security agents, thus endangering their lives. These are discouraging factors.”

Sun

 

Lauretta Fagbohun

A new sensation in gospel music, Evangelist Oluwole Owoyele has urged government at all tiers, corporate organisations and private individuals to invest more in the music industry as a lot is yet to be tapped from the sector.

A worker with a private company turned gospel singer gave this advice at the launch of his first album titled "the Source of Joy", in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Evangelist Owoyele who discovered himself in gospel music in 2020 with his first single "Womisan" (Heal me), said his journey into the music world was by divine grace.

Speaking with journalists, he mentioned that the new Album with 9 tracks was ministered to him by God, whom he described as the greatest source of joy.

In his words, he said "I never imagined that I will be in the music industry. It has never been my dream or vision but when your creator chooses you as a vessel, honestly you don't have a choice and that's my story".

Evangelist Owoyele, explained that the Music industry is now giving room and opportunities to a lot of people and government has not tied the hands of the people or stop them from going into music.

"It is time for individual investors to invest in music industry. I have spoken to a lot of marketers who told me that the old way of marketing music is no longer fashionable, but you can now market easily on social media. 

The gospel artist called on the federal government, State govt and other stakeholders to invest more in music as Nigeria can boast of many talents. 

"Government should just do the necessary things to encourage musicians and create an enabling environment for people and business to thrive."

Ogun State Commissioner for Special Duties and intergovernmental affairs, Barrister Femi Ogunbanwo who was represented by Pastor Yinka Ayodeji as the Chairman of the Ocassion advised the artist to continue to trust in God and not to sing from his own vision but from God's inspiration.

The Chief Launcher, Pastor Isaac Adewole was joined by the chairman of Oluyole Local Government Area of Oyo State, Mr Olaide Popoola and Mr Adekanmi Abikoye to give support to the artiste. 

They encouraged him not to relent but work assiduously to preach the gospel and bring out the best in his music career at all times.

 

 

 

President Muhammadu Buhari has declined assent to the Electoral Amendment Bill over the removal of indirect primaries from the document. The Bill has therefore been returned to the National Assembly.

This is even as Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State frowned on the “infringement” of parties’ rights by the National Assembly.

Uzodimma, in an exclusive interview, said the removal of indirect primaries from the proposed amendment would render political parties powerless, especially those with low funds to finance direct primaries.

A senator revealed that the Bill was returned to the Senate and the House of Representatives in a letter addressed to the two principal officers.

The source said the president cited high cost of conducting direct primaries by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which according to him, hovers around N500 billion.

He said the president met with INEC chairman, Yakubu Mahmoud, who briefed him on the dangers the law would pose to the conduct of elections in the coming months.

President of Senate, Ahmad Lawan and Speaker of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, are expected to read the content of the president’s letter next week, when the two chambers reconvene.

Speaking on the dangers the law would pose, Uzodimma claimed the proposed amendment does not tally with the provisions of the 1999 constitution, insisting that parties’ supremacy and rights to opt for direct or indirect primaries must not be tampered with.

He said laws that cannot be implemented should not be passed, arguing that it was insensitive to do so.

For over two weeks, governors elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been mounting pressure on President Buhari not to sign the Electoral Amendment Bill into law until contentious areas are resolved.

Many of the governors, who are at loggerheads with senators and members of the House of Representatives from their various states, had insisted that the National Assembly must yank off indirect primaries from the Electoral Act.

Two weeks ago, APC governors, represented by the caretaker committee chairman of the party and Governor of Yobe State, Mala Buni, met with Buhari. Others present during at the meeting were Governors Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi and Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa states respectively.

Though the governors did not speak on the ongoing controversy trailing the removal of indirect primaries from the Electoral Act by members of the National Assembly, sources in the APC said the issue featured prominently during the meeting.

The source said the three APC governors, who represented their colleagues, urged the president to return the Amendment Bill to the National Assembly to reflect some of the concerns raised by stakeholders.

The source said National Assembly leaders, who until now refused to listen to concerns raised by governors may lose out in the ongoing power play.

It said many APC lawmakers were already aggrieved that governors have hijacked the structures of the party ahead of the 2023 general elections.

It said lawmakers believe that direct primaries would raise their chances of returning to the Assembly in 2023 if allowed to scale through.

Similarly, Lawan two weeks ago, met with President Buhari on the same Electoral Amendment Bill. While briefing newsmen, he frowned at politicians lobbying the president not to sign the Bill into law.

Unlike Lawan who kept mum on the issue of indirect primaries yanked off from the Bill, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, last week, during a visit to the president explained why the exclusion of indirect primaries was good for the country’s democracy.

A source said the Speaker, who is the arrowhead behind the removal of indirect primaries from the 2010 Electoral Amendment Act, is also under fire from his Southwest leaders for taking a decision without due consultations.

Unlike the divided APC leadership on the issue, PDP is united in its call to have the decision rescinded or the entire amendment discarded by Buhari.

Sun