Former militants under the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) have vowed to stop presidential campaigns of any political party in the Niger Delta region over their unpaid stipends.
The former militants who staged a protest at the secretariat of the Nigerian Union of Journalists in Yenagoa over the de-listing of 2,952 beneficiaries and refusal of the amnesty office to pay them the monthly stipends of N65,000 monthly, threatened to lead a protest to occupy PAP office in Abuja and tactical distruption of presidential campaigns of political parties within the nine states in the Niger Delta region.
Daily Trust reported that the former Militants said the refusal of the amnesty office to return the affected 2,952 beneficiaries to the payroll and immediately pay them their stipends will create tension in the region.
National Chairman of phase two beneficiaries of the amnesty programme, Aso Tambo, also gave the amnesty office one week ultimatum to commence immediate payment of those delisted from the payroll of the programme.
Tambo added that despite the achievements recorded by the Interim Administrator, Major General Barry Tariye Ndiomu (rtd.) in the area of security commitment from the head of service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the area of employment for beneficiaries, the refusal to pay the 2,952 beneficiaries will provoke tension and destroy the existing fragile peace in the region.
He said;
“We have all met and adopted our strategy against the refusal of the amnesty office to pay 2,952 beneficiaries.
We want them to pay those affected within one week or else we will mobilise and occupy the presidential amnesty office in a strategic manner.
If it is not still paid, we will not allow a peaceful conduct of presidential campaigns within the nine states of the Niger Delta region.
“If they feel we are dogs that bark and can not bite, they should dare us and see the consequence. They should consider the monthly stipends important and know that such payment will lead to an unimaginable crises of not paid immediately.”
The All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, has said those criticizing him for choosing Kashim Shettima as his running mate are doing so because they wanted that position but he denied them the opportunity.
Tinubu said some of those criticizing his choice of Shettima as running mate were his close friends whom he turned down.
He disclosed this during an interactive session with the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Abuja, led by Archbishop Daniel Ukoh.
Babachir Lawal, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and close ally of Tinubu, had condemned the APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket.
He described it as “a disastrous error.” Also, an erstwhile Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, urged Christians to vote against the APC following Tinubu’s decision to settle for a Muslim-Muslim ticket. Speaking during the session, Tinubu said:
“People have reacted harshly to my selection. They are my friends, they lobbied me and wanted to be my running mate but I bluntly rejected them.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Imo State has said that over 300,000 permanent voter cards (PVCs) are yet to be uncollected in the 27 local governments of the state.
INEC’s spokesperson in the state, Dr. Chinenye Chijioke-Osuji who confirmed this, urged residents of the state to pick their PVCs in other to participate in 2023 general election.
She also appealed to the citizens to take advantage of the ongoing display of the preliminary register of voters to cross-check the register and put in their claims and objections where necessary.
The INEC spokesperson added that this would enable INEC come up with a clean register for the elections.
The statement added;
“INEC in Imo State craves the indulgence of the citizens, please, as this is a civic responsibility we owe ourselves.”
Following his arraignment over alleged misappropriation of N2.4m belonging to the state assembly, Ondo State House of Assembly Speaker, Mr Bamidele Oloyeloogun, has told the state High Court, sitting in Akure, the state capital, that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission cannot prosecute him for alleged corrupt practices.
Oloyeloogun is facing trial alongside another lawmaker, Mr Bankole Felemu-Gudu, and a staffer of the Assembly, Mr Olusegun Kayode.
The speaker is accused of signing off the money for a seminar which the lawmaker and the civil servant were supposed to attend but allegedly did not.
Kicking against his prosecution, Oloyeloogun’s lawyer, Mr Femi Emodamori told the court that his client can’t be tried for fraud by the EFCC as the state already had its own Public Complaint Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption Commission Law passed into law and signed by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu in January this year.
Emodamori noted that the charge against his clients was that they committed financial crimes involving the finances and assets of the state, and since the state had its own version of the law, the EFCC should leave the prosecution of the case.
Counsel for the EFCC, Mr Fredrick Dibang, objected to this, saying the court had jurisdiction because the law enacted by the state assembly was contrary to the acts of the National Assembly that established the EFCC.
Justice Adegboyega Adebusoye fixed the hearing for the objection and counter-objection to November 25, 2022, after listening to the arguments.
National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke has lashed out at the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, over his alleged authorization of the part-payment of salaries to members of the union, following the suspension of its eight-month strike in October.
Osodeke who spoke in a Channels Television program on Tuesday, November 15, said Ngige lost his right as a conciliator after taking the case to the Industrial Court.
He further described the Minister as an “interloper” who wrote to the Minister of Finance personally, asking them to stop payment of salaries to lecturers who were on strike.
The ASUU President said;
“He (Ngige) has gone to court, which means he has lost his right as a conciliator. Once he has taken this case to the Industrial Court, he has lost that right as a conciliator; he has no say again, but he’s still interloping.
“He has nothing. He’s an interloper. If we’re calling him a conciliator, it has gone beyond him.
“And we have found that it was he who actually wrote to the Minister of Finance personally, not directed, that they should stop our salary. It’s just personal. We are surprised because, having taken the case to court, by all rights, he has hands are tied. He has no business with what we do.”
While onfirming that the part payment was the first salary paid to union members since the strike was called off, Osodeke also expressed confidence that the agitations of the union would be resolved in the interest of students, parents, and the country.
The ASUU President added;
“But to our surprise, the Accountant General Office decided to pay what some people have referred to as half. It’s very sad because professors who are on the same salary scale got varying amounts, N200,000, N180,000, N90,000 and what have you.
“The question we need to ask ourselves is, can a Minister of Labour direct the Minister of Finance on what to do? The answer is no. We are under the Ministry of Education, and we thought that anybody that can give such a directive who monitors what we do through the NUC is the Minister of Education.
“It is the Minister of Education, who we are under, and the Speaker on whose intervention we called off the strike because of the issue we said that, one, they are going to pay us backlog of our salaries because ASUU is different from another union.”
Media personality, Frank Edoho has reacted to the criticism Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi has faced from some South-East politicians.
In the tweet he shared, Frank stated that Igbo politicians will never stop baffling him.
He further averred that instead of supporting their kinsman who has been presented a rare opportunity to become President of the country like Yoruba and Hausa people do with their candidates, Igbo are looking for ways to disrupt and thwart him.
Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state has claimed that Nigeria is better than many countries including developed ones under President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking at the flag-off of the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign at Rwang Pam township stadium in Jos, the capital city of Plateau, on Tuesday, November 15, Yahaya Bello stated that President Buhari has done so well with the economy and infrastructure.
He said;
“You have done so well in terms of infrastructure and our economy. You inherited it when there were recessions and challenges across the world.
“Today in Nigeria, we are better than so many countries, including developed ones. It is under this wonderful APC, that you gave women, people and youth living with disabilities a chance to have a voice and belong.
“Your Excellency, you have done it from 2015 to 2019, from 2019 till date – you are going to handover Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu so he can continue to replicate what he did in Lagos and what Alhaji Shettima did in Borno state across this country.”
Rivers state Governor, Nyesom Wike, has signed Executive Order RVSG – 22 prohibiting the use of premises, buildings, and structures in residential areas in urban and non-urban areas as campaign offices by political parties.
According to a press statement issued by the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Alagbo Chris Finebone, today November 15, the Executive Order also prohibits the posting of bills or posters, or any other material in unauthorized places.
The statement said Governor Wike while signing the Order condemned the incessant defacement of expensive public properties particularly in Port Harcourt through posting of handbills, banners, posters and all sorts of unauthorized materials.
The Executive Order 22 also prescribes that “any political party or association or body of persons however called or described that wishes to use any premises, building or structure situate in a residential area in any urban area of Rivers State as campaign office must obtain permission from the Rivers State Commissioner for Urban and Physical Planning.”
The Commissioner added that Executive Order RVSG – 22 came into effect on Friday. A legal instrument that forces political parties to fulfill certain conditions before embarking on campaign in various parts of the state.
The Governor had earlier prohibited political parties from using public schools for political campaigns without the approval of the state Ministry of Education, saying the ministry must be notified at least two weeks before the date of any campaign in a school.
“Applicants will also deposit the sum of five million caution fees in case attendees destroy the facilities in the schools.” he said
He stated that a local council chairman has the right to stop any rally if approval is not sought.
The governor warned that the state government will not allow political parties and their supporters to disturb the peace in the state, as the campaigns begin.
Ekiti State House of Assembly has elected a new Speaker.
The new Speaker, Rt Hon Gboyega Aribisogan, who represents Ikole constituency, was elected at plenary on Tuesday, Nov. 15. Aribisogan, from Ijesha-Isu in Ikole Local Government Area, was sworn in by the clerk of the House, Mr. Tola Esan.
Aribisogan replaced the late Rt Hon Funminyi Afuye, who died in October 2022 after a brief illness.
Gunmen have killed the wife of a former Chairman of Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Council in Nasarawa State, Hon. Akolo Ahmed Success.
It was gathered that Mrs Astira Akolo Success was on her way to Assakio market when she was shot dead by the gunmen suspected to be armed robbers.
The incident occurred at about 9 am on Monday, November 14, 2022, along Lafia-Shendam road in Nasarawa State.
According to reports, the deceased was sitting at the passenger’s side of the car when gunmen opened fire on the vehicle, apparently targeting the driver when a stray bullet hit her.
Until her death, Mrs Astira was a businesswoman with two children.
Meanwhile, her body has been deposited at a mortuary.
A Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has nullified the All Progressives Congress governorship primary conducted on May 26, 2022.
The judge, Agatha Okeke, ordered the APC to conduct a fresh governorship primary within 14 days.
The case was instituted by a former senator, Ita Enang, who claimed that he was the validly elected candidate of the APC in Akwa Ibom.
Delivering judgment on Monday, Nov. 14, Justice Okeke agreed with Mr Enang’s argument and ruled that the governorship candidate of the party, Akanimo Udofia, was not a member of the APC, having not participated in all the stages of the process of electing a governorship candidate of the party.
Justice Agatha Okeke also disqualified Udofia from participating in the primary. The court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission not to recognise Udofia nor accept him as a candidate according to section 77 sub-section 3 of the Electoral Act.
Mr Udofia was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and had bought the PDP nomination forms to contest the party governorship primary in Akwa Ibom before he defected to the APC.
Former US Vice President, Mike Pence said former President Donald Trump’s words on social media during the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol were “reckless” criticizing Trump for being “part of the problem” that day.
Pence was fiercely loyal in public through the constant controversies that defined the Trump administration, but in the wake of the January 6 riot during which Trump supporters chanted to hang Pence, and he has occasionally criticized his former boss, most notably in February, when he publicly denounced Trump’s election ‘lies.
Trump said Pence in his capacity as vice president, had the authority to unilaterally reject Electoral College votes.
But Pence said he had no right to overturn the election and despite being threatened by the Trump supporters who mobbed the capitol building still certified the eltion results alongside the House of Representatives.
Pence was asked on ABC News about Trump’s tweet during the attack that said Pence didn’t have the “courage” to unilaterally overturn the results.
“It angered me,” Pence told ABC’s David Muir after a long pause. “But I turned to my daughter, who was standing nearby. And I said, ‘It doesn’t take courage to break the law, it takes courage to uphold the law.’
The president’s words were reckless. It was clear he decided to be part of the problem,” the former vice president continued in one of his strongest rebukes of his former boss to date.
Trump, for his part, has said Pence “very greatly disappointed me” on the day the electoral votes were certified.
The former vice president has been coy about his plans for 2024. He has long been viewed as a potential aspirant for the Republican presidential nomination, but has not formally declared a bid and would almost certainly face strong opposition from Trump, whose supporters he would need in a primary fight.
Trump is set to announce his 2024 campaign on Tuesday November 15, former adviser Jason Miller said in a podcast appearance.
The three suspects who were arrested in connection with the abduction of a former military administrator’s wife, Mrs Jumoke Bamigboye, also hacked a boy to death and kidnapped two members of his family in Kwara State.
Recall that the suspects, Babangida Ibrahim, 18; Abubakar Ibrahim, 19; and Sulaiman Kire, 20, were arrested alongside a female suspect.
Spokesperson of the Kwara State Police Command, SP Ajayi Okasanmi, said the father of the deceased, Madaki Saidu, was in his residence with his family members when some armed men stormed his house and hacked his son, Musa to death.
“Then they kidnapped the father and one of his granddaughters named Cumattu,” the PPRO noted. He added that the suspects would soon be charged in court.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has given an update on some of the items destroyed after its office in an Ogun state local government was set ablaze by hoodlums.
Festus Okoye, INEC’s commission for information and voter education, said over 65,000 uncollected PVCs were destroyed in the fire.
He said in a statement;
“The resident electoral commissioner (REC) for Ogun state, Dr. Niyi Ijalaiye, reported that our office in Abeokuta South local government area was attacked and set ablaze.
“The incident occurred around 1.15am when some unidentified persons overpowered the security personnel on duty and set the entire building ablaze.
“The main building and all the commission’s movable assets in the office were destroyed.
They include 904 ballot boxes, 29 voting cubicles, 30 megaphones, 57 election bags, 8 electric power generators and 65,699 uncollected permanent voters cards (PVCs).”
An office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at Iyana Mortuary, Abeokuta, Ogun State, has been set ablaze by suspected hoodlums.
Daily Trust reported that the hoodlums numbering about eight, had jumped over the fence into the premises and set fire to the INEC building.
They reportedly soaked loaves of bread with petrol and threw them into the building.
The security guard at the facility, Azeez Hamzat, reportedly made a distress call to the police around 1a.m. on Thursday, November 10, over the incident.
Policemen from Ibara division were mobilized to the scene, while firefighters put out the fire.
The Registration Area Officer’s office and the conference room were affected by the inferno. It was also learnt that non-sensitive materials were also affected.
The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Niyi Ijalaye, said;
“It is correct that our office was set on fire. The police are investigating. I do not know what to say. I’m in shock myself. We called the police and other security agencies at night. The fire brigade put the situation under control. The level of damage is still being assessed.
“It is very shocking and untoward. The security agencies are doing their very best. We are meeting again later today to come up with other strategies (toward securing our facilities).”
The Nigerian Army said its troops conducted a search and rescue operation to extricate a soldier from captivity and never invaded Amangu community in Abia State, as reported on social media.
Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, who disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, November 9, 2022, said the soldier, Bassey Ikunugwan, a staff sergeant, was abducted in Ohafia on November 2.
Nwachukwu said during the search and rescue operations for the missing soldier in Amangu forest, troops clashed with gunmen.
Nwachukwu said weapons and materials belonging to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were recovered from hideouts during the operations.
According to the army spokesperson, a soldier died during the gun battle while one of the criminals was neuralized.
“The attention of the Nigerian Army (NA) has been drawn to some publications making the rounds on social media and some mainstream media alleging that troops of Headquarters 82 Division NA invaded Amangu community in Abia state.
Considering the weighty nature of the allegation, the Nigerian Army deems it necessary to clear the air on this atrocious incident,” the statement read.
“On 2 November 2022, a soldier named Staff Sergeant Bassey Ikunugwan, who was officially on leave pass, was abducted along Road Okwu-Ebem Ohafia in Abia State.
Consequently, on Thursday 3 November 2022, acting on credible intelligence report, troops embarked on a Search and Rescue Operation at Amangu Village/Forest, having confirmed same as an Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network (ESN) enclave, where the soldier was reportedly held hostage.
During the search and rescue operations, contact was made with members of the proscribed armed groups resulting in exchange of fire.
“In continuation of the search and rescue operations, on 4 November 2022, troops deployed at Okon Aku in Abia State came in contact with members of the armed groups, during which troops neutralized one of the criminals and recovered one AK 47 rifle with a magazine loaded with 7 rounds of 7.62mm (Special) and one mobile phone.
“In a follow up operation on 5 November 2022, troops raided another enclave of the groups around Amangu Village in Abia State.
During the operation, troops neutralized two of the criminals, while some fled with gunshot wounds.
Troops recovered two locally fabricated AK 47 rifles, four Pump Action guns, one locally made Pistol, one Sniper rifle, six magazines, 13 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) and one Motorcycle.
“Other items recovered from the dissidents are 2 CCTV cameras, one solar panel, flags, one walkie-talkie, 2 mobile phones, two pamphlets of Biafran anthem, one INEC box, 12 face caps, machetes, pairs of combat boots, pairs of rain boot, camouflage uniforms, one transistor radio, two jungle hats, two knee guards, one power bank, one INEC image capturing machine and a PVC. Sadly, during these engagements, one soldier paid the supreme sacrifice.
“The NA will leave no stone unturned in the search of the abducted soldier. The NA assures the general public that all operations will be conducted within the ambit of the law and in line with global best practices, Rules of Engagement and Code of Conducts guiding NA operations.
“It should be clear to all that criminal acts of attack on and abduction of service personnel is an act against the State which will not go without consequences.
The recourse to employment of propaganda by these criminal elements will not deter the Army from carrying out its constitutional mandate.
“Law abiding citizens of Amangu community are also advised to go about their legitimate businesses without panic, as the military is always on ground to protect lives and properties.”
Chief Spokesperson for the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo has claimed that the alleged drug money the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate forfeited in the United States was tax.
Keyamo made the claim following the controversy surrounding a document recently released by the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, after Tinubu’s alleged involvement in narcotics and money laundering about 30 years ago was investigated.
Appearing on a Channels Television program last night, Keyamo who insisted that Tinubu was an employee of Mobil Oil and not a treasurer of a drug cartel, also said that he (Tinubu) deposited some funds in bank accounts in the US as investments and got returns on those investments.
He claimed that 10 accounts were linked to Tinubu by United States authorities in the early 90s, and $460,000 were deducted from one of the accounts as tax on investments domiciled in US banks.
The Minister of state for Labour also said Tinubu took responsibility for all the 10 accounts because they were also traced to his mother and “relatives”.
He added that the banks were supposed to deduct taxes from the investments but they did not and this was not a “deliberate act” on the part of Tinubu.
Keyamo said;
“He, Asiwaju, went to open an account, the address by which he opened the account was already used by these people…investigated for narcotics.
“The deposits he made there (in banks) are what bankers called investments; he kept the money there and he was getting interests. They (US government) said he had not paid tax on those interests. That is all and guess what? The banks are supposed to deduct the tax from source.
“Out of the 10 accounts, it was only one account – the one in Heritage Bank – that they took $460,000 as tax on interest that he benefited on the investment he made in those accounts.
“In fact, all the money in Heritage Bank was not taken; they took only $460,000 as tax.”
Keyamo insisted that there’s no criminal indictment or conviction against Tinubu, alleging that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was behind the reincarnation of the controversial court document.
He added;
“His (Tinubu’s) detractors kept bringing up these issues over and over when his political profile is rising, when he wants to run for office or any political turn in his life, they will bring up these issues.
“The date on the papers flying up and down, the date of certification is 2022, so they are using this to confuse people that these are fresh papers. If documents are 40 years old or 100 years old, once you go to court, and apply for certified true copies of those documents, they will give you those documents but they will stamp the day they are giving you those documents.
“This is what our detractors, the PDP, perhaps that is what they went to the US for when they pretended that they went for high-level engagement. This is part of the high-level engagement they went for.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reassured Nigerians that data on the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System will not be compromised.
Appearing on a Channels Television program on Wednesday, November 9, INEC’s Deputy Head of ICT Lawrence Bayode said they’ve loose end towards ensuring that the BVAS is safe tightened every loose end towards ensuring that the BVAS is safe.
He said;
“I want to say again that we have done everything to ensure that the BVAS is not compromised. The data on the BVAS will be secured.
“After the poll, when the data is transmitted to our backend server, the data in transit will be secured. By the time the data gets to our backend server, the data will also be secured there.
“We have looked at the machine, and we looked at a lot of things. As I said earlier, you cannot build such a system and would not fortify the system to solidify it.
“Whether we like it or not, people will try a lot to beat this system. But the more they try, the more they meet a brick wall.
“I can say categorically that we have taken care of every surface attack vulnerability on this system, and we have also tried our best to ensure that the system cannot be hacked into on election day and I can say again that BVAS cannot be compromised.”
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