I’M BIGGER THAN ALL OF YOU PUT TOGETHER – WIKE TELLS PDP GOVS BACKING FUBARA

I’M FAR BIGGER THAN ALL OF YOU PUT TOGETHER – WIKE TELLS PDP GOVS BACKING FUBARA The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has hit back at Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governors who are supporting Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State. Wike said the governors must be sick if they do not recognize that he (Wike) is bigger than all of them put together. Adamawa State Governor, Umaru Fintiri, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and other members of the former G5 were in Port Harcourt on Saturday for a grand reception in honour of Wike, who was hosted by the Rivers Ijaw Peoples Congress. “Don’t ever think they are fighting me; they are not fighting me. I’m too big,” Wike said while addressing the crowd at the event. “If you don’t recognize someone who is bigger than you, then you are sick. I’m far far (bigger than) all of them put together. “Let nobody threaten anybody; all those threats are empty. Soon we will know who is relevant. “I said nobody will take over the structure of the party. You can have all the money; if it didn’t dey, it didn’t dey.”

THERE’S NO PLACE IN IRAN THAT WE CANNOT REACH – ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER, NETANYAHU

THERE’S NO PLACE IN IRAN THAT WE CANNOT REACH – ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER, NETANYAHU Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has vowed that Israel will continue its military operations until its objectives are met, even as tensions escalate on both the Gaza and Lebanon fronts. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, Netanyahu issued a stern warning to Iran, stating, “If you strike us, we will strike you.” “There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that’s true of the entire Middle East,” Netanyahu declared during his address, as delegates from Lebanon and the Palestinian territories walked out in protest, AFP reports. Earlier, protesters gathered outside Netanyahu’s New York hotel, demanding an end to the ongoing violence in Gaza and Lebanon. The protests came in response to continued cross-border exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel, which began after Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel. Netanyahu reaffirmed his stance against a ceasefire, despite a 21-day truce proposal put forth by the United States and France. “It is an American-French proposal, which the prime minister has not even responded to,” said a statement from Netanyahu’s office. Israel has intensified strikes on Lebanon, where over 700 people have died in recent bombings. The UN called the situation Lebanon’s “deadliest period in a generation,” with a death toll exceeding 1,500 people after nearly a year of clashes.

THOSE WHO WILL RESCUE NIGERIA NOT YET BORN, JOE IGBOKWE, TINUBU SUPPORTER, MAKES U-TURN

THOSE WHO WILL RESCUE NIGERIA NOT YET BORN, JOE IGBOKWE, TINUBU SUPPORTER MAKES U-TURN Joe Igbokwe, a staunch supporter of President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC), has alleged that those who will rescue Nigeria have not been born. Igbokwe, one of those who campaigned actively for Tinubu in the buildup to the election, said this while commenting on the cost of living crisis. In a Facebook post on Friday, Igbokwe lamented that a bag of rice now costs N100,000. “With all the rice mills we have in Nigeria, my wife just told me that a bag of rice is now ₦100k plus. Without sounding immodest, I am constrained to say that the men and women that will rescue this country from self-inflicted pains and tears are not born yet,” he wrote. Recently, Igbokwe, who served under virtually every Lagos governor since 1999, has been critical of some policies of the Tinubu administration, marking a departure of what he stood for. Two weeks ago, he lamented over the hike in electricity tarrif, asking Tinubu to look into it. In a post on his Facebook page three weeks ago, Igbokwe lamented that N20,000 worth of units only lasted him for just a day. He said: “PBAT, please look into the new electricity tariff in Nigeria. It will kill businesses if the government does not act as quickly as possible. I have a small office in Surulere with about about 7 units of AC. “We used to buy 300 plus units for N20,0000. Yesterday we bought N20,000 worth of units and it lasted for just one day. They call it band A group. I pray that we review this.”

EFCC DETAINS, CHARGES FORMER TARABA GOVERNOR, ISHAKU, OVER ALLEGED N27BN FRAUD

EFCC DETAINS, CHARGES FORMER TARABA GOVERNOR, ISHAKU, OVER ALLEGED N27BN FRAUDThe Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested a former Governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku, and charged him with misappropriation of more than N27 billion belonging to the state government.EFCC filed the indictment with 15 counts against Mr Ishaku and a co-defendant at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja on Thursday.The co-defendant is a former Permanent Secretary of the Taraba State Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Bello Yero.EFCC alleged that, at various times, Mr Ishaku, diverted billions of naira from the contingency funds belonging to the state’s Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and certain local governments of the states into their private uses. The total amounts allegedly diverted summed up to N27 billion.The commission alleged that the defendants committed the offences of criminal breach of trust and misappropriation while Mr Ishaku served as governor from 2015 to May 2023. At the time, Mr Yero was also said to be the Permanent Secretary of the state’s Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.PREMIUM TIMES learnt on Friday that Mr Ishaku was arrested by the EFCC on Wednesday, and “has since spent three days in custody” of the commission in Abuja, sources familiar with the development but were not authorised to speak on the matter told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday.This comes ahead of the scheduled arraignment of the defendants, which PREMIUM TIMES learned, was already scheduled for Monday (30 September).When contacted over the development on, the spokesperson for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale said, “Yes, former Governor Ishaku is in our custody,” confirming his arrest. He, however, declined further comments on the matter.Before becoming governor in 2015, Mr Ishaku, 70 years old, was at various times the supervising minister for power, supervising minister for environment and the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs.He won his first governorship election in 2015 and a second term in 2019. He completed his second and final four-year term in 2023.IN 2022, he won his party, the People Democratic Party’s ticket to represent the Taraba South Senatorial District. But, in 2023, he was defeated in the senatorial election by a political newcomer David Jimkuta. Mr Jimkuta polled 85,415 votes to defeat the then outgoing governor Mr Ishaku who scored 45,708 votes.Read the 15 charges in full here.COUNT 1CHARGESThat you DARIUS DICKSON ISHAKU whilst being the Governor of Taraba State and BELLO YERO whilst being the Permanent Secretary, Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Taraba State between 25th August, 2015 and 21st March, 2016 ni Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, and in such capacity entrusted with dominion over certain property, to wit: an aggregate sum of N1, 010, 000, 000 (One Billion and Ten Million Naira), which sum formed part of the 2.5% contingency funds belonging to Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Taraba State committed criminal breach of trust in respect of the said property, when you dishonestly diverted the said sum to your own use and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 315 of the Penal Code Aul, Cap 532, Laws of the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria 2007 and punishable under the same section.COUNT 2That you DARIUS DICKSON ISHAKU whilst being the Governor of Taraba State and BELLO YERO whilst being the Permanent Secretary, Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Taraba State between 25th August, 2015 and 21st March, 2016 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonestly misappropriated certain property, to wit: an aggregate sum of N1, 010, 000, 000 (One Billion and Ten Million Naira), which sum formed part of the 2.5% contingency fund belonging to Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Taraba State and you thereby…

SET BACK FOR ATIKU AS ADAMAWA PDP BACKS DAMANGUN

SET BACK FOR ATIKU AS ADAMAWA PDP BACKS DAMANGUN Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s chances at being the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2027 presidential flagbearer appear to be getting thinner as his home state of Adamawa has thrown its weight behind Umar Damangun, the embattled acting national chairman of the party. It is understood that Atiku, the PDP’s 2023 presidential candidate, has been vocal in opposing the appointment of another North-East candidate to the party’s national chairmanship. Despite this, his own state chapter of the PDP, along with key figures in the region, have rallied behind Damangun. During a press briefing in Yola on Wednesday, Abubakar Shehu, the Adamawa State PDP chairman, declared support for Damangun. According to Shehu, the state chapter is fully aligned with Governor Ahmadu Fintiri and other PDP governors who have endorsed Damangun to complete the tenure of ousted chairman Dr. Iyorchia Ayu. Shehu pointed to the party’s constitution as the guiding principle behind their stance. Citing Section 47(6) of the PDP Constitution, Shehu explained that in the event of a vacancy, the office must be filled by someone from the same zone or region as the outgoing officer. With Ayu hailing from the Northeast, Damangun, currently the deputy national chairman for the northern zone, is seen as the rightful successor. “The former national chairman is from the Northeast, and therefore, Sen. Umar Ilya Damangun is the most qualified candidate to serve out the remainder of the term,” Shehu said. Sources close to the party’s inner workings suggest that Governor Nyesom Wike and his allies are orchestrating moves to limit Atiku’s influence ahead of the 2027 election. Wike’s camp is believed to be advocating for a leadership structure that would hinder Atiku’s potential candidacy and pave the way for a smoother re-election campaign for President Bola Tinubu.

PRESIDENCY USED N9.2B TO PURCHASE VEHICLES AMID HARDSHIP

PRESIDENCY SPENT N9.2B TO PURCHASE VEHICLES IN THREE MONTHS AMID HARDSHIP A review of Public Payments platform Open Treasury portal has shown that the President Bola Tinubu-led Presidency under the “State House” spent the sum of N9.2billion on motor vehicles between March and May 2024. The review shows that in March 2024, the sum of N1.904 billion was recorded as used to purchase motor vehicles.In May, another sum of N7.3billion was spent to buy motor vehicles by the State House, totalling N9.2billion in the three-month period. The Tinubu led Presidency had earlier spent N366 million on tyres in three days among other seemingly frivolous expenses. It was found that N366million was spent on tyres in three days and the payments were made on May 21, 2024, June 22, 2023, and June 24, 2023. There was a single-day expenditure of N42.8 million on June 22, 2023, for “State House” tyres. Another sum of N86.2 million was spent to purchase tyres on June 24. The description read “Purchase of Tyres to State House.” Two payments were registered on May 21, 2024. The Presidency spent N38 million on the supply of five (5) nos s600/222 armoured/bullet proof tyres (255-720-r490ac).Another sum of N200.5 million was paid for supply of tyres for bullet proof vehicles to State House, Abuja. In total, the Presidency spent N366 million in three days on the purchase of tyres, according to details on the Govspend platform. The Tinubu-led administration had also spent billions on purchasing foreign exchange for travels and rehabilitation of Presidential buildings. Also the Presidency was noted as spending N1.5 billion for foreign exchange on July 17,2024. This has added to the high level of scrutiny of the current administration fiscal discipline. The development comes at a time when there are concerns on prudence of the government in managing its scarce resources. It also comes amid plea for debt relief by the Nigerian government, signalling a dire need for more revenue and better management of resources by it. Nigeria’s debt stands at N121 trillion as of the first quarter of 2024 while it continues to grapple with poor economic made harder by inflation. Experts have warned that there may be dire consequences if the government does not regulate how it spends the nation’s scarce resources. Nigeria suffers from myriad of challenges from access to healthcare, water, roads, electricity and other basic needs, which stakeholders opine that the government can exert its efforts on instead.

YOU SACKED ME AS CBN GOVERNOR – EMIR SANUSI TELLS EX-PRESIDENT JONATHAN

YOU SACKED ME AS CBN GOVERNOR, – EMIR SANUSI TELLS EX-PRESIDENT JONATHAN The Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, told former president, Goodluck Jonathan, that he sacked him as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, contrary to the latter’s claim that he was only suspended for investigation into alleged missing $49.8 billion. The monarch jokingly told the former president that he “constructively sacked him.” He was responding to Jonathan who had, earlier, at the launch of a book: ‘Public Policy and Agents Interests: Perspectives From The Emerging World,’ dismissed a claim by him that he was booted out of CBN’s leadership position because he exposed corruption allegedly perpetrated by the government. Recall that Sanusi co-authored the book written by Dr Shamshudeen Usman, who served as Minister of Planning under Jonathan’s administration. Jonathan had dismissed Sanusi’s claim in the book that he was sacked after he revealed that $49.8 billion was stolen under his watch. Reacting however, Sanusi, who took to the podium hours after Jonathan’s comment, insisted that he was sacked by Jonathan. Sanusi however said he was constructively sacked by the then president. “My boss who sacked me. I was constructively dismissed. I continue to respect Jonathan and I don’t have grudges against anyone,” he said as he delivered a short message at the event he presided as Royal Father of the Day. In a separate development, the monarch decried what he described as the frustration of Dangote Refinery, saying Nigeria is supposed to be maximising the benefits of ending fuel importation rather with the establishment of the refinery. The emir regretted that the privately owned refinery is being frustrated because of vested interests. “Instead of grabbing this opportunity , we are frustrating it. This is due to vested interests,” he said. He noted that for years, the Nigerian state has been captured by a rental state. “People get into office and what they think is how much they can get from the state,” he said. The emir, who noted that the chief author of the book lectured him in university, expressed joy that Usman, as one of the longest serving public officials, has never been invited by the nation’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

APPOINT YAHAYA BELLO MINISTER OF FINANCE – MAHDI SHEHU ON TINUBU’S PROPOSED CABINET RESHUFFLE

APPOINT YAHAYA BELLO MINISTER OF FINANCE – MAHDI SHEHU ON TINUBU’S PROPOSED CABINET RESHUFFLE Political commentator Mahdi Shehu has called on President Bola Tinubu to appoint former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello as Nigeria’s new Finance Minister. Shehu made the statement in a viral video posted on the official X handle of NEWS CENTRAL TV, where he was responding to a question about the President’s potential plans to reshuffle his cabinet. According to Shehu, none of President Tinubu’s current ministers have performed well, and there is no sector in the country that is functioning effectively. In his view, rather than simply reshuffling the existing cabinet, the President should instead appoint more people, including Yahaya Bello as the new Finance Minister. “I think rather than changing the cabinet, he should increase the cabinet. I recommend he gives more people employment. I recommend that he appoints Yahaya Bello as the Minister of Finance so that he can continue from where he stopped,” Shehu said in the video. The political commentator’s endorsement of Yahaya Bello for the crucial Finance Minister position is a surprising and controversial suggestion, given the former Kogi governor’s own recent allegations against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Bello had accused the anti-corruption agency of attempting to tarnish his image for political reasons, claiming that the EFCC was carrying out a “hatchet job” on his behalf. This raised questions about Bello’s own financial management during his time as Kogi’s governor. Shehu, however, appears to have confidence in Bello’s abilities, suggesting that he can “continue from where he stopped” in the finance sector. The commentator also went a step further, recommending that the President appoint his son, Seyi Tinubu, as a minister, stating that “what is the difference between Seyi and a minister?”

PRO-DEMOCRACY OPPOSITIONS ASK NIGERIANS TO JOIN OCTOBER PROTESTS

PRO-DEMOCRACY OPPOSITIONS ASK NIGERIANS TO JOIN OCTOBER MASS PROTESTS The coalition of civic organisations has asked workers and other pro-democracy Nigerians to join the forthcoming protests against bad governance slated for October. In a joint statement on Thursday, the civic groups maintained that Nigerians need to participate actively in the nationwide protests because of President Bola Tinubu’s failure to address issues that pushed millions of citizens to hold the #EndBadGovernance protests in August. The statement was jointly signed by Hassan Taiwo Soweto – National Coordinator, Education Rights Campaign (ERC); Oloye Adegboyega Adeniji – Chairman, Movement for Fundamental Change (MFC); Francis Nwapa – National Secretary, Youth Rights Campaign (YRC); Abiodun Aremu – Secretary, Joint Action Front (JAF); Adebayo Adedeji – Member, Leadership Council, Movement for African Emancipation (MAE); and Temitope Fagunwa – Co-founder, Pan-African Consciousness Renaissance (PACOR-Nigeria. The groups added that President Tinubu’s actions in the last few days showed that his government was not ready to listen to the wailings and pains of Nigerians. The statement reads: “We are here once again to invite you on another journey to redeem our nation as we continue to stand against all the anti-poor policies and programmes of the regime that are orchestrated to impoverish our people despite the abundance of wealth to make life easy and more rewarding for all citizens of our dear country. “As is obvious to everyone, none of the demands of our ten days of rage in August has been met. Rather President Bola Ahmed Tinubu simply went ahead to use our national treasury to procure luxury cars, aircraft and other luxuries for himself and the first family without caring a hoot about the plea of hungry Nigerians. To show the absolute disdain that the Federal Government holds the people, Tinubu has gone ahead to now unleash on the Nigerian another round of hike in fuel price earlier this month. “As we speak, price of fuel hovers between N900 per litre to N1900 per liter depending on which parts of the country you are. Meanwhile less than two years ago, a liter of fuel did not cost more than N200 per litre. This is outrageous. This is intolerable. As a direct consequence of this increment, life has become unbearable for many Nigerian people. Many are starving as the increase in fuel price has also impacted food prices. Inflation has rendered the N70,000 new National Minimum wage irrelevant and incapable of bringing any relief to Nigerian workers. “At the same time, the sharp rise in the cost of imported goods has rendered traders and shopkeepers redundant as shops are overflowing with goods that no one is ready to buy. The situation has also affected businesses and industries. Nothing less than ten multinational firms have left the shores of Nigeria between May last year leading to even more job losses. “Based on the foregoing, we of the #EndBadGovernance Movement decided to declare October 1st 2024 as “National Day of Survival”. On this day, we call on the Nigerian people, workers, students, youth, the unemployed, traders and the poor to come out in peaceful protest and demonstrations against the excruciating condition of hardship, poverty and hunger imposed on us by President Tinubu’s decision to implement IMF/World Bank-inspired anti-poor capitalist policies of fuel price hike, electricity tariff hike, school fees hike, and naira devaluation. “We also call on the Nigerian people to utilize this day to demand with one voice the immediate and unconditional release of all #EndSARS and #EndBadGovernance protesters in police and prison custodies as well as freedom for detained journalists, whistleblowers, activists and all victims of state repression.” The groups explained further one of the many reasons they backed the planned protest is “that whereas every October 1st is a day to…

SGF AKUME LISTS TINUBU’S ACHIEVEMENTS AHEAD OF INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

SGF AKUME LISTS TINUBU’S ACHIEVEMENTS AHEAD OF INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, on Thursday, stated that the current administration has made significant achievements that have positively impacted the daily lives of citizens.He specifically highlighted the introduction of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas initiative, which according to him has alleviated transportation difficulties for the populace.Addressing journalists at a World Press Conference to mark the 64th Independence anniversary, Akume said that, to encourage the conversion to CNG-powered land transportation, the government has begun distributing CNG conversion kits at no cost to Nigerians.He said, “Before I unveil the approved program of activities, I wish to mention a few of the accomplishments of this administration that impact our citizens in their daily lives.“Recently, President Bola Tinubu GCFR followed through with his promises to ease transportation difficulties of our citizens with the establishment of the Presidential CNG Initiative (Pi-CNG) and the launch of the first phase of thirty buses powered by hybrid Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).“This is a work in progress because the Presidential Initiative is designed to expand across all geo-political zones of the country. The government has also commissioned the first retrofitted CNG train head for the Abuja-Kaduna track. This is intended to cut the cost of travel by up to fifty per cent when fully operational.“To encourage conversion to CNG-powered land transportation, the government has also commenced the distribution of CNG conversion kits at no cost to Nigerians. The benefit of the CNG transport system to Nigerians is a huge reduction in cost.”Akume also said the president also gave priority to the growth of the economy through the SMEs.He added, “By doing so, he( the president ) has re-focused on strengthening the backbone of our economy by empowering Nigerians to start or grow their businesses.“The President has similarly repositioned the National Social Investment Programme to effectively address the challenges facing the poor, the vulnerable, the underserved, and the elderly.“Nigerian workers have also benefited from a newly approved National Minimum Wage. This is coming on the heels of the Wage Award paid to mitigate the plight of the workers.”Akume added that a total of 22,120 students have benefited from N 2.5bn disbursed by the Nigerian Students Loan Fund.He said, “In the area of human capital development, the Nigerian Students Loan Fund has disbursed the sum of N2.5 billion to over 22,120 beneficiaries across higher institutions in the nation. This is a welcome relief for parents and an opportunity to access education by indigent students.“Insecurity in different parts of the country has been a recurring challenge for successive governments since 1999.“This administration has succeeded in elevating the human and institutional capacity of the armed services and other security agencies to tackle these challenges of insurgency, banditry, and other criminal activities including kidnapping. This is already yielding results as insurgents and bandits are getting neutralised in large numbers while several others are surrendering to the authorities for deradicalisation.”Akume noted that the government had learned from the flood ravaging many states of the country, adding that efforts had been stepped up to prevent a reoccurrence.He said, “The rainy season has similarly posed its challenges. As a result of climate change and other environmental factors, the country has experienced serious flooding in several states, resulting in fatalities and destruction of infrastructure, personal belongings, shelter, livelihoods, etc.“The humanitarian response of the Federal Government has been swift and effective. The government has drawn lessons from the current situation and has stepped up planning and prevention strategies.”He assured Nigerians that the president was aware of the economic situation of the country, adding that efforts were being made to cushion the immediate impact and to create new opportunities on a short-, medium- and long-term basis.Akume said,…