Dons EzeI REMAIN COMMITTED TO LABOUR PARTY – PETER OBI
I REMAIN COMMITTED LABOUR PARTY MEMBER – PETER OBI The 2023 Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on Thursday, took to Twitter (X) to affirm his commitment to the Labour Party. “For the avoidance of doubt, I remain a committed, loyal Labour Party member,” Obi posted, addressing any uncertainties about his party affiliation. This declaration is expected to quell rumours and solidify Obi’s position as a steadfast member of the Labour Party. This comes on the heels of his potential merger with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the upcoming general election.He posted, “For the avoidance of doubt, ‘I remain a committed, Loyal Labour Party member’. That is my definitive response to all Nigerians who may be in doubt about my party affiliation in the light of recent reports and conflicting interpretations of recent political expressions.”
SHUTTING DOWN NATIONAL GRID, TREASONABLE – SGF
SHUTTING DOWN NATIONAL GRID, TREASONABLE – SGF The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, on Thursday, condemned the shutdown of the national grid during the suspended industrial action by organised labour. He described the action as a treasonable felony, adding there was nowhere in the world that organised labour had shut down a country’s national grid. The Transmission Company of Nigeria’s workers union had shut down the national grid on Monday to join the nationwide strike embarked on by the organised labour. The organised labour went on strike to compel the government to agree on a new minimum wage for workers. The shutdown of the national grid resulted in a nationwide blackout. Addressing the National Executive Council of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Abuja, the SGF stated that President Bola Tinubu was making frantic efforts to rebuild the country, saying that, “they (labour) want to destroy it”. He said, “Nowhere in the world has labour ever tampered with the national grid. It is treason! A treasonable felony is economic sabotage, you don’t do that. “We are trying to rebuild the economy. The President is picking up, and they want to destroy it. Of what use is that to all of us? That is not the way.” Akume also said the country’s foreign reserves were zero when the President took over, adding that there had been massive reforms under the incumbent administration.He said, “We took over in very turbulent weather. Foreign reserves were zero but there have been massive reforms carried out by the President. One of them, which appeared to be a little bit tough for people to understand, is the subsidy removal of fuel. People should stop shouting; they need to know the actual truth.”
ATIKU TO TINUBU: REFUSAL TO DISCLOSE AMOUNT SPENT ON SUBSIDY SHOWS YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO HIDE
ATIKU TO TINUBU: REFUSAL TO DISCLOSE AMOUNT SPENT ON SUBSIDY SHOWS YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO HIDE Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has accused the Bola Tinubu administration of diverting public funds through petrol subsidy. Atiku said the refusal of the present administration to reveal how much is being spent on subsidy shows that it is diverting funds secretly. Atiku in a statement reacting to the stand of the Presidency that its policy on fuel subsidy remains the same. In a statement through presidential Aide, Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday, the presidency insisted that its position on fuel subsidy had not changed. Onanuga insisted that “The fuel subsidy regime has ended. There is no N5.4 trillion being provisioned for it in 2024, as being widely speculated and discussed.” But reacting through his spokesman Paul Ibe, Atiku said, “Tinubu has brought the shady nature of running Lagos to the federal level. He claims subsidy is gone but his Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Verheijen, says they are intervening from time to time while his Finance Minister, Wale Edun, described subsidy removal as an ‘ongoing process’. “A document authored by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy revealing how much subsidy is being paid is now being disowned by the very authors of the document. “Both the World Bank and the IMF have revealed in separate reports that Nigeria is still paying petrol subsidies, but the Tinubu government refuses to come clean. Even a senior member of the APC had revealed that subsidy was being paid.” According to the former Vice President, “For a man who claims to be on a mission to attract foreign direct investment, it is ironic that he cannot see that his policy flip flops and lies are capable of dissuading investors. He must come clean on this subsidy issue since he doubles as petroleum minister. “The Tinubu administration should be courageous enough to own their policies and outcome with their full chest and responsible enough to be accountable for their actions to Nigerians.” This denial lends credence that money meant for the Federation Account, which ought to be shared to states and local governments, is being diverted without any form of accountability whatsoever.” He also called on the National Assembly to act on the development, saying ” There is a need for the National Assembly to get to the bottom of the matter rather than focusing on frivolous issues.“The National Assembly needs to be alive to its responsibilities, especially in the area of oversight. Posterity will not be kind to members of the National Assembly if they continue to look the other way while daylight robbery is taking place,” the former Vice President said.
BILL FOR CREATION OF ORLU STATE PASS FIRST READING IN HOUSE OF REPS
Bill FOR CREATION OF ORLU STATE PASS FIRST READING IN HOUSE OF REPS The House of Representatives on Thursday passed through First Reading a bill for the creation of a new state in the south-eastern region of Nigeria known as Orlu State. The proposed legislation, which is set for second reading, was sponsored by the lawmaker representing Ideato North South Federal Constituency of Imo State, Hon. Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere, and other lawmakers. A draft of the bill made available to journalists stated that “the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) (herein referred to as the “Principal Act”) is altered as set out in this Bill; Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended as follows: There shall be thirty-seven states in Nigeria, that is to say, Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Orlu, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara”. Also, the bill seeks an amendment to the 1999 Constitution by inserting a new paragraph immediately after the Ondo State and before the Osun State paragraph, to read as follows: State: Orlu; Capital City: Orlu. Local Government Areas as to be amended will now include “Orlu, Orsu, Oru West, Oru East, Ideato North, Ideato South, Njaba, Nkwerre, Nwangele, Isu, Oguta, Ohaji Egbema, Onuimo, Ihiala, Uga, Ihiala, Uli, Ozubulu, Akokwa, Arondizuogu, Umuchu, Umunze, Umuaku, New Ideato North, Nwabosi West, Nwabosi East, Owerre Nkworji, Alaoma, Amaifeke, Owerrebiri Umuowa.” The lead sponsor, Hon. Ugochinyere, told journalists that the proposed state will be carved out from Imo, Abia, and Anambra. He also told journalists that when the state is created, Ideato will emerge as a senatorial district.He appealed to his colleagues at the National Assembly for support to ensure that the bill scales through Second Reading.
FIRST YEAR IN OFFICE: APC SCORES ENUGU GOVT LOW, ASKS IT TO ACCOUNT FOR N470B REVENUE
APC SCORES ENUGU GOVT LOW, ASKS IT TO ACCOUNT FOR N470B REVENUE The All Progressives Congress (APC) has scored the administration of Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State low and below expectation, requesting that he should account for over N470billion he collected in the last one year. The party said that with the so much money the administration collected in the past one year, he would have constructed at least 2,500 kilometres of roads having covenanted in his manifesto that he would construct 10,000 kilometres of road in Enugu State within four years. It noted that 2,500KM represents 25% of the total road network he covenanted to build, adding that one year was a quarter of his tenure of four years. This was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Enugu State APC chairman, Chief Ugochukwu Agballah, disclosing that the party had waited for whole year to appraise the administration of Governor Mbah because as citizens of the state and major stakeholders in the Enugu project, they wanted every government to succeed, adding that “the success of every government irrespective of the party that brought it into office will be enjoyed by us all and generations unborn”. “Another reason why we have not commented on the activities of the Peter Mbah led government is because we know the government is battling with a widely perceived sense of illegitimacy, because he is widely believed not to have won the legitimate votes cast even though he was declared by INEC and confirmed by the judicial authorities. “So we did not want to heat up the system knowing that he may find it difficult to rule this state if we unleash the weapon of opposition against his obviously debilitated government. “The third reason was that under President Bola Tinubu, revenue allocation to all states and local government areas have increased exponentially to the extent that Enugu States monthly allocation have tripled making this present Mbah government the highest recipient of federal allocation since the creation of Enugu State.” Giving a breakdown of allocations collected from the federal, loans, internal generated revenue and grants, the party stated: “It is an empirical fact that from May 29th 2023 to May 29th 2024, Peter Mbah’s government has received not less than N475,963,652,019 only. “The breakdown is as follows; Federal allocation to the State is 147,778,456,610.09, Local Government Allocation: 64,185,195,409.01, Infrastructure allocation: 34,000,000,000,State IGR not less than: 60,000,000,000, Loans: 170,000,000,000. Making it a total of Four hundred and seventy five billion, Nine hundred and sixty three million, six hundred and fifty two thousand, and nineteen kobo. “We felt that we should not heat up the system because with the humongous allocation which is almost three times what the previous governments received we felt that any serious government with such a bumper revenue will surely succeed. “With this mind blowing funds we believed that Gov. Peter Mbah ought to have completed provision of water in Enugu city which he boasted he would complete in 180 days. With this unprecedented revenue we hoped that Peter Mbah would have at least built within this year his ill-conceived smart schools in 80 wards out of the 260 wards he covenanted to deliver in his manifesto within four years. “It is also pertinent to note that the ill-conceived smart school projects is another avenue where the government of Peter Mbah is wasting billions of money to build one school per ward, whereas thousands of public schools are lying in ruins.” The party regretted that in the past one year, Gov Mbah hasn’t constructed any single public building in the state, but has been busy destroying existing building and businesses constructed by individuals before he was born. “With this once in a lifetime revenue…
LOCAL GOVT AUTONOMY: HOUSE OF REPS BACKS FEDERAL GOVT
LOCAL GOVT AUTONOMY: HOUSE OF REPS BACKS FEDERAL GOVT The House of Representatives has expressed its support for the legal action taken by the Federal Government against the 36 states of the federation to enforce the autonomy of the local governments. This was as the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees also, on Tuesday, declared its readiness to “aggressively mobilise our LG branches to troop out en mass to loudly support the Federal Government,” in the push for LG autonomy. The Federal Government has approached the Supreme Court with a suit seeking to compel governors of the 36 states of the federation to grant full autonomy to the local governments in their domains. The suit, marked SC/CV/343/2024, was filed by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), on behalf of the Federal Government. The Federal Government is urging the apex court to issue “an order prohibiting state governors from unilateral, arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected local government leaders for local governments.” Speaking with The PUNCH on the subject matter, the deputy spokesman for the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, said the legislators were in support of the Federal Government’s push for LG autonomy. Agbese said, “Yes; we are in total support of reforms that would uplift the well-being of our citizenry.” According to a statement on Tuesday signed by Ambali Akeem, NULGE, at a meeting in Lagos on Tuesday, resolved to embark on a mega rally. Akeem said, “We are to design various card posters and also use our big banners that we already had. The route of the campaign rally commences from local government secretariats, the major markets to paramount rulers or important dignitaries. “The national secretariat will be sending our solidarity message for onward reproduction and delivery. Those that have local media houses should take the solidarity message to them in the local language. The national and state officers should join to offer leadership at their local. Those Houses of Assembly that pass autonomy bills should be visited. This solidarity message is non-political and we already discussed it with ALGON national leadership.” But the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Emomotiti Gumor, on Tuesday, criticised the Federal Government’s resort to a lawsuit. Gumor wondered why the Federal Government would go to court when the issue of LG autonomy was already being considered in the ongoing constitutional amendment. The Speaker, who spoke during the Delta Assembly’s first anniversary in Asaba, said, “It is unconstitutional for the Federal government to deduct from the state what belongs to the local governments. “Only 16 out of the 36 states supported the autonomy of the local government, which means that it falls short of the expectations of what the constitution says. So, it couldn’t stand the test of time. “They (Federal Government) needed 24 states to support the autonomy but unfortunately, only 16 voted for it while others voted against it.“The Federal Government should have waited for the constitutional amendment, but it hurriedly approached the court, which to me is an aberration and unconstitutional.”
NEMESIS AS SHORT DISTANCE, BY TUNDE OLUSUNLE
NEMESIS AS SHORT DISTANCE RUNNER, BY TUNDE OLUSUNLE When he flung Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, (SLS) out of the window of the Emir’s palace in Kano four years ago, Abdullahi Ganduje would have least imagined what is playing out today. Ganduje was the “Lord of the Manor” in Kano State, the all-powerful chief executive. Recall video clips of Ganduje allegedly stuffing wads and packs of crisp, mint-fresh dollar bills into the bottomless pocket of his *babanriga* ahead of the 2019 general elections. They were reportedly gifted to him by some contractor ally of the erstwhile Kano governor who was repaying a good turn. Graphic and unassailable as that short motion picture was, former President Muhammadu Buhari who rode into office on the camel-back of now suspect integrity in 2015, volunteered a baffling defence for Ganduje. He swore Ganduje was most probably participating in a *Kannywood* movie, the way the film industry up North is described. Buhari who has never been known to operate a tablet, nay a notepad, suggested that advanced technology could actually simulate what we all saw in that short clip! Ganduje was the prototype *alagbara ma m’ero* as we say in Yoruba. This interpretes as the “maximally muscular, minimally reasonable.” He fought a few other prominent Kano leaders during his heydays in Government House. Recall he carried his unabated squabbles with one of his predecessors, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to the State House, Aso Villa, during the early weeks of the Bola Tinubu government. Told on one occasion that Kwankwaso was in a particular section of Aso Rock same time as he was in the complex, a vexed Ganduje said Kwankwaso should consider himself fortunate. He said he, Ganduje, would have slapped Kwankwaso if he sighted him in the Villa! That would have caused a scene in Nigeria’s seat of power. I’m now just imagining how Tinubu would be trying to restrain Ganduje, in the forecourt of the office of the President, while Vice President Kashim Shettima will be pulling at Kwankwaso’s *agbada* in a bid to manage the situation. Ganduje reportedly considered Sanusi too independent-minded and outspoken for a natural ruler. Sanusi was governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN), before being appointed Emir in 2014. He had always had a radical streak about him which culminated in his suspension as CBN head in 2014 for blowing the whistle on the theft of $20 Billion in accruals from crude oil sales. As Emir he considered aspects of the religious and cultural practices of his emirate repugnant. He opposed the “ultra-conservative interpretation of Islam” in some parts of northern Nigeria, which discouraged girl-child education, family planning, even inoculation against potential healthcare afflictions. He had reservations about the style of Ganduje as governor and didn’t put a veil over his dislike for the return of Ganduje to Government House in 2019. He believed Ganduje shouldn’t have made it back if the poll was fairly and transparently conducted. March 9, 2020, Ganduje upended Sanusi. He was accused of negatively impacting the sanctity, culture, tradition, religion and prestige of the Kano emirate, and disrespecting the governor’s office. He was also alleged to have disposed of property belonging to the state and the misappropriated of the proceeds. It was a case of digging several manholes for a prey in a bid to ensure he falls into one of the several traps. He was summarily banished to Nasarawa State for effect. Sanusi sought reprieve in the courts which ruled it was an overkill to fling him to a remote community faraway from his family and more accustomed home in Lagos. Within a few days, Nasir El Rufai, Sanusi’s longstanding friend who was governor of Kaduna State, personally enforced the evacuation of Sanusi from Awe local government…
REGIONALISM: WE WON’T BE PART OF WESTERN REGION – LAGOS INDIGENES INSIST
REGIONALISM: WE WON’T BE PART OF WESTERN REGION – LAGOS INDIGENES INSIST Indigenes of Lagos State have vowed to reject a Bill seeking the return of Nigeria to regional government. Speaking under the aegis of De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, the Lagos Indigenes, in a statement by its Media Office, revealed that a proposed Bill seeking approval of the National Assembly to return Nigeria to regional system is set to be considered but insisted that Lagos State people will not be part of the Western Region. But De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, in a statement by Adelani Adeniji-Adele said: “This bill that is being proposed or suggested spells an ominous sign to us from Lagos State. It is a further attempt to subsume our aspiration into a larger group that is antithesis to whatever we believe in as indigenes of the state. “The first most important is that vast consultations were not held on the matter to find out if being submerged into another subgroup is a thing we desire. It cannot be generally assumed. “Generally and since Lagos and its environs became a colony, we have always maintained that we prefer a stand alone status and not be part of any Western Region or Province. “In recent times, our various indigenous groups had always maintained that we as indigenes of Lagos had always been having a raw deal from our neighbours in the South West, who see nothing good in us as they are only for project to marginalize us and see our state as ‘spoils of war’. “We recall that in our history of over 100 years, Lagos indigenes in their various forms, towns and villages have never made progress and development as part of any region not to talk of the Western Region. The brief balkanization of our state to be part of the Western Region was an aberration. “Nothing should be assumed especially from the contents of this proposed bill, especially if it has the inclusion of Lagos State as part of any region. We demand a referendum to actually reflect the wishes of the people. “We, the indigenes of Lagos State, do not wish to be part of the regional state as being proposed in the Bill returning Nigeria to regional government. Our leaders and traditional rulers opposed it in 1953 and we gained respite in 1967. We, offspring of our heroes’ past, will not accept it.“We enjoin our representatives in the National Assembly to consult with the elders statesmen and stakeholders before taking any action on the Bill. This is beyond the ruling party and state government affairs. Lagos State cannot be brought into nothingness through the South West Region proposal by this Bill surreptitiously.
NORTHERNERS REJECT PROPOSED REGIONAL GOVT, SAY TINUBU WANTS TO DISMANTLE THE NORTH
NORTHERNERS REJECT PROPOSED REGIONAL GOVT, SAY TINUBU WANTS TO DISMANTLE THE NORTH Reactions have continued to trail the bill proposing a return to regional government in Nigeria which is alleged to be before the National Assembly and is expected to passed into law before October 1, 2024. Part of the draft bill circulating on social media, Nigeria is titled: “A Bill for an Act to Substitute the Annexure to Decree 24 of 1999 with a New Governance Model for the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” Although the identities of the sponsors of the bill were yet to be ascertained, the Bill when passed would be cited as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria New Governance Model for Nigeria Act 2024. The sponsors of the Bill explained that the current Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended) is not “autochthonous” as it does not evolve from the deliberations and consensus of the Nigerian people. According to the advocates, the constitution amendment would be subject to a “yes or no” vote in a referendum by the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The bill partly read: “PART I – Preliminaries: WHEREAS Nigeria, its Peoples and Government have been governed under Decree 24 of 1999 that was handed down by the then Military Government without the express consent of the people despite the preamble of “We the people.” “WHEREAS the said Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended) is not autochthonous as it does not evolve from the deliberations and consensus of the Nigerian People. “WHEREAS the Peoples of Nigeria now desire and effectively demand for a change to a Constitution based on Federal/Regional System of Government. “WHEREAS the Federal and Regional governments are to operate within the provisions of this Constitution, it is within the discretion of the ethnic blocs within the States that constitutes a given region to aggregate or disaggregate as Provinces, Divisions and Districts, while being in control of their affairs without let or hindrance at whatever level of governance. “Whereas the 1999 Constitution as amended is a schedule of a military decree now deemed to be an Act of the National Assembly for which the National Assembly have the powers to amend and/or abrogate as expedient. Advertisements “Whereas the National Assembly where so necessary and expedient can invoke the doctrine of necessity to resolve any point of law for the good governance of the country Nigeria.” On PART 11 – Substitution Clause, the drafters proposed that the National Assembly shall invoke its inherent powers to expunge the schedule attached to decree 24 of 1999 often referred to as 1999 Constitution as amended from the decree, which “is now deemed to be an Act of the National Assembly to which the National Assembly have the powers to so do and replace same with a new governance model for Nigeria effective not later than October 1, 2024.” “This amendment is subject to a yes or no vote in a Referendum by the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” it proposed. On governance structure under PART III – Stipulations for Federal Administration, the sponsors proposed that: “(1) Nigeria shall be a Federation comprising of Regional Territories and a Federal Capital Territory and shall be a Republic to be known by the name of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “(2) The territorial jurisdiction of Nigeria shall comprise the territory of the Regional members of the Federation and its boundaries shall be as determined by international agreements “3.2 Basis of the Federation: “(1) Every Ethnic Nationality and People in Nigeria has an unconditional right to self-determination within here delineated territories. “(2) The sovereignty, powers and authority to formulate the articles of association towards any reform of the…
WHY FORMER GOVERNORS, SUCCESSORS TRADE TACKLE – UMAHI
WHY FORMER GOVERNORS, SUCCESSORS TRADE TACKLE – UMAHI Minister of Works and immediate past governor of Ebonyi State, Sen. David Umahi has given reason some former governors are usually at dagger’s drawn with their successors. This is as he declared his readiness to protect the administration of his successor, Francis Nwifuru, in Ebonyi State. Briefing newsmen in his Abakaliki residence as part of activities commemorating this year’s Democracy Day, Umahi vowed not to tolerate any distractions for the governor. He attributed the problems commonly found between some governors and their predecessors to lack of understanding and charged all in the state to respect Nwifuru. He explained that any person who had done eight years as chief executive of a state should move on and allow his successor run his own administration unfettered. “I have done my bit and left the stage but I am happy that he is a man of conscience who recognizes those who are instrumental to his elevation,” he said. He appreciated the governor for bringing all the leaders of Ebonyi State together and promised not only to remain with him throughout his remaining seven years in office but also engage anyone trying to fight him. He stated: “I always feel fulfilled and honoured for being acknowledged before the public that I was the one whom God had used to change his fortune, this is why we politicians need to learn how to be appreciative, so I am happy with what he is doing pertaining to empowerment and infrastructure.” The minister disclosed that his relationship with the governor was built on the pathway of honesty, adding that he did not regret working with Nwifuru for 16 years. He disclosed that he occasionally called the governor to advise him issues especially as one who had been there before. “When I decamped to APC, no one believed that it was a right decision except Senator Nwebonyi, the present governor, my family members and few others but today, everyone is seeing what is going on and I will not only support the governor but also keep advising him because I have been on that seat,” he added.Umahi further hinted that the next governor of the state would be someone in their political group who must have understudied the current governor.