President Muhammadu Buhari’s Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibrin, has resigned to take up the position of Emir of Keffi in Nasarawa State.
His resignation was announced today, Wednesday during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting which was presided by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ibrahim Jibrin had recently emerged as the 13th Emir of Nasarawa.
He had been minister of State for Environment since the beginning of the Buhari government and had remained so even after the substantive minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed relinquished the post and took up a job with the Nation Nations.
The Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division has disqualified the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates, including that of the governorship election from contesting the 2019 elections in Rivers State.
The Court, which, today, Wednesday, dismissed the appeal filed by the factional Rivers State APC Governorship candidate, Tonye Cole, confirmed the judgment of Justice Chinwendu Nwogu that Rivers State has no ward executives, local government executives and State Executives as it dismissed the appeal filed by the sacked Rivers State APC State Chairman, Ojukaye Flag Amachree.
The Court’s Special Panel, Chaired by Justice Abubakar Yahaya dismissed the two appeals for lack of merit. He also dismissed the third appeal, which centred on the judgment by Justice Chinwendu Nwogu because it was filed out of time and therefore statute barred.
Justice Abubakar Yahaya, said that the appeal against the Justice Chinwendu Nwogu High Court judgement on the party congress crisis lacks merit, adding that the application for joinder failed to observe the 14 days rules of Appeal.
On the substantive appeal number CA/PH/198 that bothered on Justice Nwogu’s judgment, the panel ruled that the Ojukaye faction failed to seek leave of court before appealing against the judgement.
Justice Yahaya ruled that the judgment delivered at the lower court was a consent judgment, adding that Ojukaye faction should have done the needful legally before approaching the court.
Counsel to Ibrahim Umar and 22 others, Patrick Luke said that the rulings of the Court of Appeal confirm that the judgment by Justice Chinwendu Nwogu remains valid and is still subsisting.
Counsel to Ojukaye Flag Amachree, Emenike Ebete noted that the court heard the three matters and in her wisdom arrived at the rulings confirming the judgment of Justice Chinwendu Nwogu.
“Arguments were taken but the Court in its infinite wisdom held that in appeal 461, that is the substantive appeal, that the consent judgement of the High Court of Rivers state and by provision of the constitution, we ought to have sought leave of court to appeal against that consent judgement. That is their own decision and they struck it out.
“The one for the candidates and the party state excos, we were dismissed on the ground that it was a pre-election matter, that we did not bring the application within 14 days after decision was delivered on October 10. What that means is that, we will approach the Supreme Court to contest the judgment.“
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar has expressed doubt that next year’s general elections in the country will be free, fair and credible without President Muhammadu Buhari signing the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
Atiku, who spoke today after signing the Peace Accord ahead of the 2019 polls in Abuja today, Wednesday, said: “I am delighted that the President has agreed to sign this peace accord, but we want to appeal to him to also sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
“Mr. President needs to understand that as long as he refuses to sign this Bill, we will have doubt that this government is truly committed to a true, fair and credible election.”
The PDP presidential candidate had earlier said that he could not make it to the signing of the document by the presidential candidates of other political parties yesterday, Tuesday because he did not get an invitation for the event.
Atiku said that he is not one of the converted democrats, but a real democrat from the beginning, who alongside other leaders, fought the military to return this country to democracy.
He said that the best way to guarantee peace in any election or human interaction is to ensure manifest justice to all concerned.
Earlier, the former Head of State and Chairman, National Peace Committee, Alhaji Abdusalami Abubakar, had apologized for not having the PDP presidential candidate at the signing of the peace accord held on Tuesday.
He said that the news that the PDP boycotted the signing of the accord was completely wrong, saying: “I must apologies for the omission or commission, that the PDP was not able to attend that ceremony.
“The news that PDP boycotted the signing of the accord yesterday is completely wrong. I spoke to the presidential candidate and the party officials.
“It was not only the PDP that was not there yesterday, one or two parties were also not there.”
He made it clear that everybody involved in the project cared for peace and wants a peaceful election in 2019.
The political parties and their presidential candidates, especially, are to commit to issue-based campaigns and to avoid hate speech.
According to the peace accord, they are also to publicly speak against provocative utterances and oppose all acts of electoral violence.
They are also expected to support all government institutions including INEC and the security agencies to act and be seen to act with impartiality.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of grandstanding in order to cover up his past shortcomings and misdemeanors.
The Senator made it clear that “Nigerians cannot be fooled by Obasanjo’s grandstanding in an effort to cover up his misdemeanors.”
Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who represents Nasarawa West Senatorial District, advised the former President not to push his luck over his constant attack on President Muhammadu Buhari, which he described as “indecorous and undignified.”
He agreed that Obasanjo is entitled to criticize and also campaign against the reelection bid of President Buhari, but that he should not be “pedestrian in doing that.”
Senator Abdullahi Adamu who reacted to the recent comments credited to Obasanjo, said that there is no doubt that “Chief Obasanjo is pushing his luck too far by using indecorous language in criticizing the President (Buhari).
“After all, what was his (Obasanjo’s) record in Office when he ran this country first from February 1976 to October 1979, and subsequently from May 1999 to May 2007?
“Would there have been the desperate and notoriously corrupt bid for a third term in office that was witnessed by Nigerians, if he had a good record by then?”
According to Adamu, under Obasanjo’s watch, most of Nigeria’s strategic investments were sold without much to show as returns to the nation.
“What happened to all our steel rolling mills and other strategic investments that were sold by (former Vice President) Atiku (Abubakar) under Obasanjo’s supervision?
“What about the $16 billion spent under his watch supposedly for electricity? Where is the electricity today? He also acquired stupendous wealth during his second coming as president. How did he acquire that? Could that have come from his salaries as president from 1999 to 2007?”
The Senator, who is former Nasarawa State Governor, insisted that no Nigerian of repute who knows Obasanjo’s antecedents will be surprised at his current criticism of President Buhari.
“He had done it to Alhaji Shehu Shagari shortly after he handed over to him. Obasanjo criticized Babangida when he was in power; he did same to Abacha. And so, nothing is surprising.
“Ordinarily, we wouldn’t have bothered about Obasanjo’s criticisms given what is already out in the public space about the morally questionable happenings within his household.
“But he is going off the tangent of fair comment in this circumstance, and I believe eminent citizens of this country need to call him to order before some of the young people he thinks he can fool start casting slur on him.”
Senator Abdullahi Adamu said that basanjo needed to learn some lessons in decorum from past leaders like General Yakubu Gowon, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, as well as Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar.
For the lawmaker, it is an abuse of rights for someone who is regarded as a statesman to be indecorous in his language.
“Like I said, he is entitled to criticise Buhari and even campaign against him.
“Nobody can deny him that right. But must he descend to this ridiculously undignified level for him to be heard?”
“It is unacceptable for someone whom the youths of this country should look up to for inspiration to stoop so low in his language.”
He stressed that the unprintable words that the former president had used to tar former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the book “My Watch” are still fresh in the minds of Nigerians.
“He (Obasanjo) should go back and make peace with his Creator before turning round to dish out some homilies to citizens of this great country.”
Pope Francis has sacked two cardinals that were implicated in sexual abuse cases from a powerful council of advisers to guide him on matters critical to the future of the Catholic Church.
One of the cardinals is 77 year old George Pell of Australia, who has been facing charges of sexual abuse of minors in legal proceedings that are subject to a gag order in that country, suppressing news coverage until after they have concluded. For years, Cardinal Pell was considered the Vatican’s de facto finance chief, and his allies in Rome attribute the charges against him to church infighting.
But he also has been accused in hearings before Australia’s Royal Commission Into Instituttional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse of mishandling misconduct cases against clergy members while he served as the leader of the Archdioceses of Melbourne and Sydney.
More accusations subsequently surfaced that he had sexually abused minors beginning early in his priesthood.
He has repeatedly denied the accusations, including during an extraordinary news conference in the Vatican last year, when he said, “I’d just like to restate my innocence.”
The proceedings against him in Australia have been extremely secretive because of the Australian gag order, which is designed to prevent the swaying of juries.
The other is 85 year old Cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz of Chile, who has been accused of covering up abuse.
The pope also dismissed a third Cardinal, 79 year old Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, who was archbishop of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
In June, Pope Francis granted a leave of absence to Cardinal Pell, the highest-ranking Roman Catholic prelate to be formally charged with sexual offenses, so that he could defend himself in Australia. He has been facing charges on child sexual offenses in the County court of Victoria.
Cardinal Errázuriz, the retired archbishop of Santiago, is well over the usual retirement age and had, along with the rest of the Chilean bishop’s conference, tendered his resignation to Francis in May.
Months earlier, during a trip to Chile and Peru, the pope had defended Chilean bishops against accusations of covering up abuse. That remark, and other missteps, led to an outcry among victims of sex abuse and their supporters, who considered the pope tone-deaf on an issue that has jeopardized his legacy.
Members of the nine-member council of advisers, known as the C9, who met in Rome this week, had asked the pope to reflect on the “work, structure and composition of the council, taking into account the advanced age of some members.” According to a statement on Wednesday by a Vatican spokesman, Greg Burke, the pope had done just that.
Mr. Burke’s statement said the pope had written in October to both Cardinal Pell and Cardinal Errázuriz, and had concluded by “thanking them for their service” over the last five years.
The Presidency has laughed off what it called the inconsistencies of the former president Olusegun Obasanjo which it said is a sign of confusion not worthy of attention.
Speaking to newsmen today, Wednesday, in Abuja, presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, said that Obasanjo had publicly changed his mind on many issues many times over the past few months alone.
“Former president Obasanjo denounces one person today and supports that same person the next day.
“When it pleases him, he brings God into the matter and uses that as his excuse for whatever position he has chosen.”
Garbage Shehu said that he is not surprised that newspapers reported Obasanjo expressing neutrality at a weekend forum, only for the former president to express a completely different stance after a day or two.
“We have learnt not to take his utterances seriously anymore.
“We know that the slightest wind can make him change his mind again. After all, this is the same man who publicly tore his party registration card barely four years ago, and he now claims to be backing the same party.”
Member representing Munsawa/Matazu Federal Constituency of Katsina State in the House of Representatives, Ibrahim Muritala, has dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Ibrahim Muritala’s notice of defection was contained in a letter read by Speaker Yakubu Dogara at the floor of the House at the beginning of the plenary today, Tuesday.
In the letter, Ibrahim Muritala acknowledged that he was now happy to leave the “crisis ridden” APC for the PDP family.
The PDP members in the House went wild with joy immediately the announcement was made by chanting the party PDP’s slogan.
Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has said that all things are presently working for the victory for the Presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar in the 2019 election.
Ortom, who spoke today, Tuesday, in Makurdi, capital of Benue State when he received in audience, the North Central Women Unite for Atiku, led by its President, Mrs. Dorcas Din, said that when God permits, nobody objects.
The governor stressed that it is time for Atiku to lead Nigeria, as all things are working towards his success, adding that Atiku has the capacity to provide purposeful leadership for Nigerians as well as dethrone what he tagged “economic sabotage and imminent collapse of institutions” under Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Governor Ortom, who doubles as the North Central Coordinator of Atiku/Obi Presidential Campaign Organization, asked the women to be prayerful and to work hard to ensure the victory of PDP in all elections next year.
He acknowledged the commitment of the women to the Atiku project, saying their powerful delegation was an indication that the North Central is poised to ensure massive votes for PDP in the coming elections.
He assured the women of the support of his administration to ensure resounding victory for Atiku, himself and other PDP candidates, adding that when women are empowered, a nation benefits.
National President of the North Central Women Unite for Atiku, Mrs. Dorcas Din, said the women had fared badly in the past three years under the APC administration at the federal level and would not want to remain like that for the next four years.
She stated that they were all out to help ‘change the change’ by mobilising the women folk to vote out the APC government.
Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, has made it clear that the presidential flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, was actually invited to the signing of the peace accord, by presidential candidates, ahead of the 2019 election.
The cleric, who is one of the conveners of the National Peace Committee, dismissed claims that the former Vice President was not invited, insisting that Atiku’s absence was due to errors within the PDP national secretariat.
Bishop Kukah, who was answering questions on Channels TV’s Politics Today, anchored by Seun Okinbaloye, brandished a copy of the formal invitation letter sent to the PDP national chairman, Uche Secondus, which was duly acknowledged by the party, said a problem in communication within the PDP was to blame for the error.
“I have a copy of the letter which was sent to all political party chairmen announcing this event. And this is a letter we sent which was acknowledged in the office of Chief Uche Secondus, chairman of the PDP.
“So, what happened is really a communication problem and I think we’ll rectify it. It was just an administrative error on the part of their (PDP) secretariat.”
The Bishop said that the office of the peace committee will remain open for anybody, who for any reason missed the signing ceremony, to come and commit to a peaceful 2019 election.
“They can still come and append their signature. The most important thing is the commitment,” he said.
Media aide to Atiku, Paul Ibe, had in a statement said that his principal was not formally invited to the signing of the peace pact.
PRESIDENT BUHARI RECEIVES LETTERS OF CREDENCE FROM AMB OF HUNGARY, BELGIUM AND SWITZERLAND. DEC 11 2018
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed gratitude to the government and people of Switzerland for their support in returning the funds stolen by Nigerians and stashed in that country for the development of the Nigeria’s economy.
The President, who received Letters of Credence from the Ambassador of Switzerland to Nigeria, George Steiner, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja today, Tuesday, said that the return of stolen funds and interventions in the crisis in the North East further indicate the Swiss government’s commitment to the development of Nigeria.
“We are grateful to the Swiss government for allowing illegally stolen funds to be brought back to Nigeria.”
The President noted that the facilitating roles the Swiss government had been playing in the North East, particularly in reaching out to Internally Displaced Persons, had been most helpful, adding that bilateral relations between both countries will continue to be strengthened.
Responding, the Swiss Ambassador said his government will always be disposed to supporting Nigeria in ensuring peace in the country, especially in the North East.
“We have strong and solid relations with Nigeria. It’s an honour and privilege for us to contribute to issues of importance in the country.”
Steiner told President Buhari that the Swiss government looks forward to having stronger relations on economic issues with Nigeria that will be mutually beneficial, pointing out that the ongoing reforms in the country already send right signals to investors.
President Buhari, who also received Letters of Credence from the Ambassador of Belgium, Dr. Daniel Dargent, said feasibility studies to revamp the Lake Chad Basin will require a diversion of River Ubangi in the Congo Basin.
The President said the diversion of River Ubangi will improve the livelihood of more than 40 million people who survive on Lake Chad Basin, urging the Belgian government to support the negotiation.
In his remarks, the Ambassador of Belgium said his government will support an initiative that will improve the livelihood of people.
“We are in a global world and we need to start evolving more on issues that directly touch lives, especially in supporting Nigeria which will one day become a Permanent member of the Security Council.”
While receiving his Letters of Credence, President Buhari congratulated the Ambassador of Hungary, Dr Sandor Gyorgy Beer, on his posting to Nigeria, urging him to sustain the healthy relations that had existed between both countries for many years.
The Hungarian Ambassador said relations between both countries had been strong over many years, noting that he will work towards improving it, especially on economic issues and sports.
Dr. Beer said Nigeria and Hungary already had a strong pedigree in sports, especially in football, that can be improved, assuring the President that he will work towards more exchanges between both countries by setting up a football academy in Nigeria that will promote matches, trainings and skills development.
“Nigeria is a great country and it’s an honour to be here.”
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The Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division has disqualified the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates, including that of the governorship election from contesting the 2019 elections in Rivers State.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar has expressed doubt that next year’s general elections in the country will be free, fair and credible without President Muhammadu Buhari signing the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
Member representing Munsawa/Matazu Federal Constituency of Katsina State in the House of Representatives, Ibrahim Muritala, has dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
