Jigawa Assembly Sacks Speaker, Brings In Ex Speaker

May 9, 2019

Jigawa State House of Assembly has removed its speaker, Isah Idris, and quickly replaced him with the former speaker, Idris Garba, popularly called Kareka.

The speaker was impeached by 20 out of the 30 members of the House who voted in what appeared to be an emergency seating today, Thursday morning.

Isah Idris’ impeachment is coming barely a few days after the mace was destroyed by the lawmakers who engaged in a fight over leadership.

The House was thrown into a rowdy session on Tuesday this week following a motion moved on the amendment of the standing rule of the State Assembly.

A member representing Yankwashi constituency, Alkasim Karkarna, was said to have been responsible for the destruction of the mace.

Details later.

CBN Governor, Emefiele, Survives All Odds, May Return For Second Term

Greenbarge Reporters

May 9, 2019

There are strong indications that against all odds, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, will return shortly for a second term in office, when he might have ended his first tenure in a couple of months from now.

The apex bank’s chief, who has been facing a lot of stiff opposition from top Nigerians that were affected by the bank’s reformation policies, himself, announced today, Thursday, at the ongoing Association of Assets Custodians of Nigeria (AACN) conference in London, that he is returning for second term.

The 57-year-old banker, who has over the years, raised the key interest rate to a record high to contain price growth and strengthen the naira, despite sluggish growth, is known to be favoured by President Muhammadu Buhari who is very passionate about boosting local production and strengthening the naira.

And the President has just forwarded the name of Emefiele to the Senate for confirmation as the apex bank Governor for a second term of another five years.

A letter read by the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki at the plenary, stated that the President was seeking for the confirmation for the re-appointment of Godwin Emefeile as the CBN governor for the last term.

It is on record that Emefiele’s defiant stance against multiple calls to devalue the naira and restriction on importation of 40 items from buying foreign exchange has endeared him to the President.

Prior to his appointment as the CBN Governor on June 3, 2014, Emefiele was the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Plc, the post, he assumed after spending over 26 years in commercial banking.

He had won the best graduating student award when, in 1986, he obtained a Master’s Degree (MBA) in Finance from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, the same school, where he studied banking and finance and graduated with a second class upper division, two years earlier.

He later had executive studies at Stanford University, Harvard University and Wharton School of Business.

Under Emefiele’s leadership, the CBN has recorded many feats, notably attributed to his uncanny ability to think outside the box when faced with the most difficult situation.

At a time when Nigeria was at a crossroads, Emefiele as the CBN governor drove the apex bank to rise to the occasion to bring the economy out of crisis and forestalled another one.

He held forth on the economy, when there was a lacuna on the fiscal side, as a result of president’s delay in the appointment of his ministers, particularly the finance minister, for six months.

This is the first time since Nigeria returned to democracy that a central bank governor will serve more than one term in office, a testament to his good relationship with the president, according to people close the two parties.

Source: Per Second News.

Sanusi Lamido, The Best President Nigeria Will Never Have

Greenbarge Reporters

May 9, 2019

If the man formerly known as Sanusi Lamido Sanusi had carried out a dispassionate SWOT analysis on his good self, he would have opted for a political career instead of ascending the throne of his ancestors. He is too imaginative and effusive to be a monarch because it is a system that inherently neither encourages questions nor open to innovation. That antiquated contraption will never allow the kind of thinking outside the box that he is so adept at. To paraphrase Winston Churchill the 14th Fulani emir of Kano is “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma” Such a person should be more welcome in Aso Rock Villa rather than in any royal Hanging Gardens.

The last place Nigeria’s former apex banker should be is under the travel restriction of a Local Government Chairman or being blackmailed to have the Kano Emirate decentralized by a hapless State House of Assembly. It is however not easy to be a victim of circumstances especially if you helped in creating those circumstances in the first place. The ascendancy of the current Emir of Kano was against the backdrop of high wire politicking as he is unapologetically a Kwankwasiyya loyalist.

Any analysis of the many Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) of the former SLS is already in the public domain and do require to be repeated here. What is not are the real intentions of Governor Ganduje towards His Royal Highness: just clipping the emir’s wings or removing him? Whatever it is, Ganduje is not inspired by good governance or probity. The governor is motivated for political reasons – the revenge kind that would have extensive collateral damage on him whenever he vacates office.

No doubt the petition by Messrs Ibrahim Salisu & Chambers submitted to the state parliament to review the extant law establishing the Kano emirate as the sole royal stool in Nigeria’s most populous state has Ganduje’s finger prints all over it.

As if seeking to decentralize the emirate is not enough the governor has also gone for the jugular. The Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission have reopened the probe it started into the emirate’s finances started and suspended two years ago.

Perhaps for the first time in his illustrious life the emir is now lost on his usual pinstripe quotations from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to Friedrich Nietzsche as the governor ruthlessly brutalizes the scion of the Sullubawa ruling house with an abundance of Niccolo Machiavelli.

The million Naira question is who will blink first between the economist and the governor? By exchanging his trademark bow tie for a full blown turban the emir precariously took the route to involuntary self-abdication by voluntary devaluation.

From hobnobbing with development economists and investment bankers his days are now spent listening to usual idle royal gossip, intervening between bickering courtiers and surviving palace intrigues. For such a maverick once known in banking circles as “Sanusi Tsunami” to become a victim of pedestrian political machinations is a bad Humpty Dumpty fall for somebody who in 2011 was eminently listed among Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World.

If there is ever a Northern First Eleven the emir would be its most valuable center-forward. This is somebody that has all the attributes of a president. He has the clout and capacity to reinvent Nigeria if he had jumped into the political fray. His dedicated followership would have even reflected a true federal character unlike presently with you-know-who.

It is very difficult for me to discern how blue bloods think. That is why I am unsympathetic to the present plight of His Highness. The throne of Kano cannot be said to be on the same pedestal as the President of Nigeria. As a red blooded commoner I sincerely believe the man formerly known as Sanusi Lamido Sanusi would have impacted Kano much more positively on national assignment rather than as emir.

My reason? He has a sufficiency of imagination that would have facilitated the return of Kano’s famous Groundnut Pyramids among other more sustainable “Next Level” accomplishments across Nigeria he would have initiated. Regrettably he is now under the mercy of an executive Hyperbolus – far below his peer in all ramifications but well-armed with the 1999 Constitution and an awful lot of grievance. What an irony!

Osun: Absence Of Judge Nullifies Verdict As Oyetola Bounces Back

Greenbarge Reporters

May 9, 2019

Alleged absence of a member of the Osun State Governorship Electoral Tribunal, Justice Peter Obiorah has resulted in the Appeal Court nullifying the tribunal’s judgment and declaring Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the duly elected governor of the State.

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal which delivered judgment today, Thursday, held that the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal erred by declaring Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the September 2018 poll.

In a dissenting judgment of four-to-one, the five-man panel led by Justice Jummai Sankey, the Court of Appeal upheld the appeal filed by Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State challenging the verdict of the tribunal and affirmed him as duly elected.

Delivering the lead majority judgment of the four members of the panel, the court resolved 10 out of the 12 issues raised in favour of Oyetola and the two others in favour of Ademola and his PDP.

The Court of Appeal’s majority judgment was primarily anchored on the alleged absence of a member of the tribunal, Justice Peter Obiorah, who read the lead majority verdict of the tribunal, during the February 6, 2018 proceedings of the tribunal.

Justice Sankey held that absence of Justice Obiorah on that date nullified the entire proceedings and the verdict of the tribunal.

Three other members of the panel, Justices Abubakar Yahaya, Isaiah Akeju, and Bitrus Sanga, agreed with Justice Sankey.

But a member of the panel, Justice George Mbaba, dissented from the majority judgment, holding that the alleged absence of Justice Obiorah from the February 6, 2018 proceedings of the tribunal was a mere speculation.

INEC had declared Oyetola and the APC the winner of the Osun State governorship election on the basis of the cumulative results of the September 22, 2018 main election and the September 27, 2018 supplementary poll.

Dissatisfied with the result declared by INEC, the PDP and Adeleke had filed their petition before the three-man Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, contending that they were the true winner of the election as they had already won after the September 22, 2018 poll and that there was no need for the supplementary election held on September 27, 2018.

The tribunal, in its March 22, 2019 split judgment of two-to-one, nullified Oyetola’s victory and declared Adeleke and the PDP the winner of the election.

The tribunal’s chairman, Justice Ibrahim Sirajo, in his minority judgment, dissented from the majority judgment credited to Justices Peter Obiorah and Adegboye Gbolagunte.

US House Speaker Threatens President Trump With Impeachment

Editorial staff

May 8, 2019

The United States of America’s House of Representatives Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has warned that President Donald Trump is moving closer to impeachment with his effort to thwart congressional subpoenas and obstruct lawmakers’ efforts to oversee his administration.

“Every single day the president is making the case and he’s becoming self-impeachable,” Pelosi said in an interview with the Washington Post.

Trump today, Wednesday asserted executive privilege over Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign and its underlying investigative materials, escalating the battle with the Democrats on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.

The move came shortly before the House Judiciary Committee was to vote to hold Attorney-General, William Barr, in contempt for defying a congressional subpoena to hand over the full unedited report.

The Judiciary Committee is one of number of committees in the Democratic-controlled House that are investigating Trump and his administration on multiple fronts.

The investigations include White House security clearances and Trump’s personal and business dealings.

The House and Senate still are investigating Russian election meddling and possible obstruction of justice by Trump.

Mueller’s report cited extensive contacts between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Moscow but did not find a conspiracy between Moscow and the campaign.

It also described actions that Trump took to try to impede the investigation and congressional Democrats have vowed to continue their own probe into the issue.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and vowed to fight all congressional subpoenas.

Barr faces a contempt citation by the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for failing to comply with lawmakers’ requests, while former White House lawyer Don McGahn faces a similar threat.

U.S. Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, also has defied Congress this week by not acting on the House Ways and Means Committee’s request for Trump’s tax returns.

Republicans, who control the U.S. Senate, have dismissed House Democrats’ investigations as political posturing ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Democrats are divided over how far to take their investigations with some calling for impeachment proceedings and others backing continued panel investigations.

“The president wants to goad us unto impeachment,” Pelosi told the Post. Such proceedings would also be “divisive” for the country, she said.

Buhari Hands In 8 Assignments To New North East Development Commission Board

Editorial staff

May 8, 2019

President Muhammadu Buhari has listed eight crucial assignment which he asked the newly constituted Governing Board of the North East Development Commission (NEDC).

Inaugurating the Board today, Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the President said that as a matter of urgency, the Board should conduct comprehensive survey of all States in the zone to determine the reconstruction and rehabilitation needs of all the socio-economic sectors of the zone and develop an intervention master plan based on the outcome of the assessments,

He also charged the Board to develop policies and implementation guidelines for immediate intervention in the development of the zone;

The Board is also expected to institute a strong mechanism for effective and efficient coordination of all the stakeholder (local and International) activities, starting by taking over of all Federally-funded activities, projects and programmes as well as the structures and logistics assets that the organizations utilize;

“In order to avoid duplication of efforts and waste of scarce resources, you shall be the focal organization to assess, coordinate, harmonize and report on all the intervention programmes and initiatives that the Federal Government or any of its Ministries and agencies are involved in the region. You must, therefore, constantly liaise with the relevant Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), States and other Developmental Partners for the implementation of all programs and initiatives and proper utilization of funds released for intervention in the zone.”

President Buhari wanted the Board to commence the process of Resettlement and Rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons (lDPs) to their original homes or new communities in order to bring social cohesion in the zone,

He charged it to shift focus from humanitarian assistance as soon as possible in all relevant areas to developmental and infrastructural projects such as reconstruction of Road, Houses, and Business Premises destroyed by Boko Haram,

The Board will also evolve strategies to key into the African Development Bank (AFDB) Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones and any other such programmes and initiatives championed by our developmental partners (local and international) that will further bring socio-economic development to the zone, and endeavor to collaborate with willing partners to facilitate achievement of the Commission’s goals as enunciated in the Act establishing the Commission,

It will also coordinate and promote Civil -Military confidence building and put in stabilization measures that will ensure continued peace and social harmony as well as avoid the re-ocurrence of violence in the Zone.

The President assured the Board that his government would continue to provide all the necessary enabling conditions that will facilitate the achievement of the above and ensure that all resources due to the Commission are immediately made available to it.

The President said that the establishment of the Commission is in fulfilment of the pledge of this Administration to the people of the North East Geo-Political Zone and as part of the strategy for regenerating the socio-economic potentials of the Geo-Poiitical Zone after the devastation of the Boko-Haram insurgency. It is also in appreciation of the massive electoral support received from the Zone in 2015 and 2019 general elections.

“The North East Development Commission is established by the North East Deveiopment Commission (NEDC) (Establishment) Act, 2017 which I assented to on 25th October, 2017. The Commission is charged with the responsibility of among other things, receiving and managing funds allocated by the Federal Government of Nigeria and donors for the resettlement, rehabilitation, integration and construction of roads, houses and business premises of victims of insurgency as well as taking care of the menace of poverty, illiteracy, ecological problems and other related environmental and developmental challenges in the North East States.

“Let me emphasize that this 11 Member Governing Board has been carefully constituted based on the proven track records of hard work and integrity of members. It is therefore the expectation of Government and people of the Zone that you will rapidly and systematically set to work to address all areas of your

To demonstrate the commitment of this Government to your effective takeoff, a provision of N10 billion has been made in the 2019 budget. It is my expectation that you will judiciously apply these resources.”

David Mark Thanks His People For Keeping Him In Senate For 20 Years

Editorial staff

May 8, 2019

Former Senate President, Senator David Mark, has gone back home to thank his people for keeping him in the Senate for the past 20 years.

A statement by his spokesman, Paul Mumeh quoted Senator Mark as saying that he had given all the credits for what he had become and achieved in life to God, the good spirited Nigerians and collective will of his colleagues.

The Senator, who addressed political stakeholders and paramount rulers in Ado, Oju and Obi local government areas of Benue State, said: “I have no power of my own. It was the Grace of God, the support and prayers of our people and the collective will of my colleagues that helped me evade the banana peels for eight years.”

Senator Mark explained the need for him to come back home to thank his people for the unwavering support and encouragement for 20 years, saying: “I may not have accomplished everything, but I did my best.”

He listed the number of projects including but not limited to “the multi- billion naira Otobi water dam, the Loko/ Oweto bridge and road, the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) study centre, the David Mark scholarship foundation among others are testimonies that I did my best.”

He assured his people that he will continue to identify with them for developmental projects even as he reminded them of the need to uphold the sanctity of peace and unity.

David Mark is scheduled to conduct the thank-you visit to all the nine local government areas which has represented in the State from Benue south.

Jama’atu Nasril Islam Laments Worsening Insecurity, Poverty In Nigeria

Editorial staff

May 8, 2019

JNI Secretary General, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu

The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) has raised alarm over the rising insecurity and poverty levels in Nigeria and called for fervent prayers to avert the catastrophe. The body also called on leaders at all levels to deliver programmes that will reduce the public outcry against them.

In a message by its Secretary-General, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, to Nigerians on Ramadan Fasting that commenced on Monday, JNI said that over time, it had called on Muslims to fervently pray for the restoration of security, peace, stability, progress and development in Nigeria.

“We once again reiterate same call, as the situation seems to be deteriorating with armed banditry, kidnappings, theft and abject poverty in the increase.
“Similarly, JNI uses this medium to remind leaders at all levels that success shall only come their respective ways when they rollout friendly policies to the citizenry. At the moment, the outcry is loud and clear! Therefore, this period should be a sober reflection time for us all and make the necessary amend, in order to seek Allah’s pleasure.
“Governments at all levels as well as individuals who have the wherewithal are called upon to extend benevolent gestures – such as alms giving and supports to the indigents in severe need, as well as millions of IDPs spread across the country. This is the most appropriate time to show compassion and of course, the needy would want to see such assistance now. Moreover, it is more rewarding.
“JNI as usual uses this medium to call on the Nigerian Muslims to redouble their respective efforts in being more God-conscious through punctual observance of the five daily and Taraweeh prayers congregationally, frequent recitation of the Glorious Qur’an, ardent supplications, as well as continued remembrance of Allah (SWT).”

New Military Junta In Sudan Votes For Sharia, Local Norms In Legislation

Editorial staff

May 8, 2019

Sudan’s military rulers has shown preference for Islamic Sharia laws and local norms to guide legislation against the background of the proposals made by protest leaders on the structure of an interim government.

Protesters, whose months of street demonstrations helped force longtime President Omar al-Bashir from office last month, have kept up their demands for change, calling on the military officers who took over to hand over power to civilians.

Responding to a draft constitutional document presented by a coalition of protest groups and political parties, the ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) noted that the document omitted Sharia law.

“Our view is that Islamic Sharia and the local norms and traditions in the Republic of Sudan should be the sources of legislation,” TMC spokesman Lieutenant General Shams El Din Kabbashi told reporters.

He also said the council believes that the power to declare a state of emergency in the country should go to a sovereign authority, not the Cabinet as the opposition suggested. The transitional period should last two years, not four, which was the opposition’s proposal, he said.

Discussions with the opposition were ongoing, but calling early elections within six months would be an option if they could not reach an agreement, Kabbashi said.

Former intelligence chief Salah Gosh was under house arrest, he added.

Another council member said more than four members of the TMC had resigned and that the TMC was dismantling an unofficial militia group, known as Popular Security, which was operated by Bashir’s party.

This came after Sudanese forces seized explosives belts, guns including rifles fitted with silencers, devices used to detonate explosives remotely and satellite telephones in a raid on a property in the capital Khartoum, on Monday

The TMC said on Tuesday that those weapons belonged to Popular Security.

The Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces, an alliance of activists and opposition groups, sent the military council the draft constitutional document on Thursday outlining its vision for the transitional period.

Earlier on Tuesday the main group spearheading protests in Sudan said that the TMC had responded to its plans for an interim government structure, and it would announce its position once it had studied the reply.

Amjad Farid, spokesman for the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which has played the leading role in the protests, said the council had sent a written reply.

“We will study the response and will announce our position later,” Farid told reporters.

The constitutional draft, seen by Reuters, describes the duties of a sovereign transitional council that the opposition groups hope will replace the TMC, but does not specify who would sit on it. It also outlines the responsibilities of the Cabinet and a 120-member legislature.

The military removed Bashir on April 11 after months of demonstrations against his 30-year rule.

Source: REUTERS.

I’m Determined To Meet Expectations Of Nigerians In My Second Tenure – Buhari

Editorial staff

May 7, 2019

President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to meet the expectations of Nigerians as he gets set to commence the beginning of the second tenure of another four years.

“The expectations of Nigerians will be met. I will not let them down. I will continue to do my best,” the President emphasized when he attended, today, Tuesday, the daily Tafsir (Qur’anic interpretations), marking the month of Ramadan Fast at the Presidential Villa’s Mosque.

President Buhari expressed gratitude to all Nigerians for the opportunity they gave him to serve a second term in office, stressing that their expectations for giving him the mandate will be met.

According to the President, the reality of his office weighs heavily on his mind at all times, even as he said that he will keep working to deliver an improved life to Nigerians.

He made it clear that he knows what to do and will not fail Nigerians, Buhari reiterated his earlier message on the occasion of Ramadhan to Nigerians that discipline should be the watch word of every citizen.

He advised citizens to use the fasting period to reflect and be more constructive by promoting harmony, reminding Nigerians that Fasting period also provides good opportunity for charity.

In his remarks, Chief Imam of the Mosque, Sheik Abdulwaheed Sulaiman thanked Almighty Allah for making it possible for Nigeria to successfully hold general election throughout the country even as he called for repentance and prayers to avert the current security challenges confronting the nation. He ascribed the security incidents to a test from God.

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