Leader of the Nigeria’s main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, today, June 22, visited the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari in his Daura country home, Katsina State.
Atiku, who contested the 2019 Presidential election with Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was accompanied on the visit, tagged “Sallah homage” by key stakeholders of the PDP. The visit was captured in a Facebook post by one of the spokesmen of Atiku, AbdulRasheed Shehu.
Nigeria’s headline month-on-month inflation rate is confirmed to have slowed for a third time in a row in May 2024, indicating that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s monetary policy tightening measures enacted this year are having the intended effect.
Headline inflation, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), decelerated in May to 2.14 per cent from a month earlier, slowing from 2.29 per cent in April and 3.02 per cent in March. It said that the monthly rate has declined from as high as 3.12 per cent in February, reflecting a slowdown in price increases for essential goods and food. It added that inflation also fell for a third consecutive month to 2.28 per cent in May, from 2.50 per cent in April, and as much as 3.79 per cent in February. the NBS data shows that the monthly inflation trend underscores conviction from members of the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that a combination of tighter monetary policy and appropriate coordinated fiscal measures from the Federal Government will prove effective in arresting the sharp increase in the cost of living that has afflicted Nigerians since the aftermath of the COVID-19 epidemic. Report said that while year-on-year inflation has continued to inch higher, it is the monthly numbers that are the all-important indicators isolating the impact since the CBN began raising interest rates in February this year. The Deputy Governor, Economic Policy Directorate at the CBN, Muhammad Sani Abdullahi, expressed happiness on the development, saying: “slowly but surely, the inflation tide is turning. “While the numbers are not yet uniform for all measures, such as year-on-year across the entire country, we will continue to work diligently with coordinated policy measures to ensure that the worst of the inflationary cycle is behind us in the nearest future. “Year-on-year inflation slowed in May for 13 Nigerian states, including Abuja, Akwa Ibom, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Katsina, Ondo, Oyo and Rivers. “The month-on-month inflation rate decline, which is nationwide, is reflected in a slowing pace of price rises for some food staples.” CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso has made tackling inflation his paramount mission as the essential path to achieving sustainable economic growth in the mid- to long-term and improving the standard of living for ordinary people.
Pilgrims from Nigeria, who performed this year’s Hajj in Makkah and Medina, Saudi Arabia, have started their journey back home today. Report reaching us at Greenbarge Reporters online newspaper indicated that Air peace flight APK 7901 departed Jeddah today, June 22, to Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital at about 14:50 hours with 310 FCT pilgrims and seven Officials. The information came from the Command and Control Center of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).
Most of the pilgrims left for the Holy land nearly a month ago and completed the Hajj rituals on June 19, 2024. There are about 60,000 Nigerian Muslims that participated in this year’s Hajj. Nearly two millions came from all over the world for the Hajj.
A human rights lawyer, Femi Falana has accused Justice Muhammed Liman, of the federal high court, who delivered judgment on the current tussle in the Kano Emirate, of violating the Supreme Court rules. Speaking in an interview on Arise TV today, June 21, Falana said that the supreme court had ruled that federal high courts do not have jurisdictions on chieftaincy matters. Describing the judgment as “a bit confusing,” the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said that the supreme court had issued two separate judgments limiting the powers of the federal high court on traditional institutions. The human rights lawyer said that the judgments of the supreme court are binding on all authorities in the country. Falana said that the apex court had ruled that being a chief is not a fundamental right and issues of chieftaincy should not be entertained by a federal high court. “The order is a bit confusing. But what is important, which the learned judge did not address in his ruling, is the convenient way in which two solid judgments of the supreme court on the limitation of the power of the federal high courts to interfere in the affairs of traditional institutions. “It cannot be done via fundamental rights application. I listened to him, his lordship was talking about the need to respect the rule of law. “In any country that loudly claims to pronounce and operate under the rule of law, the judgments of the supreme court are binding on all authorities. “It is a mockery of the rule of law, if the high court judge decides to ignore or overrule the judgments of the supreme court.” Justice Muhammad Liman had yesterday, June 20, nullified the decisions of Abba Yusuf, governor of Kano State, taken on May 23, 2024. The judge held that the defendants were aware of an interim order previously granted by the court but ignored it and implemented the Kano Emirates Council Law 2024. He however, ruled that his order did not affect the validity of the emirate law passed by the state house of assembly. Recall that on May 23, the Kano State governor announced the reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi as Emir of Kano.
The Editor-in-chief/Chief Executive Officer of Greenbarge Media and Communications Limited, publisher of Greenbarge Reporters online newspaper and hardcopy magazine in Abuja, Yusuf Ozi-Usman, was one of the 605 communication experts that were inducted into the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) today, June 20 in Abuja. Yusuf Ozi-Usman, a member of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) had, besides being a veteran journalist/editor, spanning four and half decades, also served as Corporate Affairs Offer of Media Trust Limited, publisher of Trust Group of newspapers and was Secretary of the Trust Annual Dialogue among others.
From right – Yusuf Ozi-Usman, Hassan Gimba, Danlami Nmodu mni (Deputy President of GOCOP) and Max Amuchie (Vice President of GOCOP).
The programme for the induction of Yusuf Ozi-Usman and others, which is one of the special activities lined up for the celebration of the 60 years anniversary of the NIPR, was held at the premises of the Nigeria Television Authority, Abuja. The induction was conducted by the President and chairman of the Council of the Institute, Dr. Ike Meliaku, supported by the Vice President and Vice Chairman of the Council, Professor Emmanuel S. Dandaura as well as the Registrar of the Institute, Uzoma Onyegbadue.
from right: Yusuf Ozi-Usman (GOCOP electoral chairman); Maureen Chigbo (President of GOCOP) and James Umeh (Vice President of GOCOP) In attendance were the information minister, Mohammed Idris, represented by the Director General of the Voice of Nigeria; the Director General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria, Ali M. Ali; Chief Executive Officer of Daar Communications Limited, Chief Raymond Paul Dokpesi Jr; President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and President of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), Maureen Chigbo amongst others.
The candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the November 11 Governorship election in Kogi State, Alhaji Muritala Yakubu Ajaka has taken the case to Appeal Court, insisting that he won the election. Ajaka and SDP asked the Appeal Court to set aside the decision of the tribunal that affirmed the victory of Ahmed Usman Ododo of All Progressives Congress (APC). They wanted the court to void Ododo’s victory and declare Ajaka the winner of the election. Their requests are contained in a notice of appeal they filed against the May 27 judgment of Justice Ado Yusuf Birnin Kudu-led Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which sat in Abuja. In the appeal filed by their lawyer, Pius Akubo (SAN), the appellants are contending among others, that the tribunal’s judgement was a serious miscarriage of justice. In a 31-ground notice of appeal, Ajaka and his party insist that they won the November 11, 2023 governorship election and should be declared the rightful winners. They want the appellate court to issue an order restoring the testimony of their first witness (PW1) as well as all the documents they tendered, but which the tribunal expunged from its records. The appellants also want the Appeal Court to hold that Ododo was not even qualified to have contested the election into the office of Governor of Kogi State and that all votes ascribed and or allocated to him and the APC are wasted votes. They are praying for an order granting the reliefs sought by the appellants in the petition and thereupon declaring the first appellant (Ajaka) as the duly elected Governor of Kogi State In faulting the tribunal’s judgment, the appellants noted that although the tribunal agreed that their petiton was filed within time and that there was over voting, the tribunal proceeded to uphold the election. “In their confusion, they (members of the tribunal’s three-member panel) ruled that PW1 who displayed the documents with which they agreed there was over voting is not clear to them. They claimed they did not know if he was INEC staff or not. “It was the tribunal that ordered INEC to provide the BVAS and someone who will power and display the BVAS in court and that PW1 came to the court with a certified letter from INEC stating that he was indeed the representative of INEC. ”PW1 was in the court with his identity card and other supporting documents to show he is INEC staff. “Recall further that when the PW1 absented from the court, the tribunal ordered INEC to produce him or produce another person and they did comply to produce him yet, the tribunal members said they do not know him. What a contradictive judgement.” The appellant argued that “the election of November 11, 2023 in Kogi State was not conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act. 2022 as well as manual and guidelines involving the conduct of elections having regards to the numerous instances of over voting.” The appellants claimed to have demonstrated in a graphic and tabular form, before the tribunal, that they scored the majority of lawful votes in the election and not the second and third respondents (Ododo and the APC). The appellants also claimed to have led evidence to the effects that, if the votes affected by over-voting are deducted from the overall votes, the appellants and not the second and third respondents will have majority of lawful votes. The SDP and Ajaka added that clearly and unambiguously, they tendered all the necessary election forms and documents which completely demonstrated that the second respondents did not score the majority of lawful votes cast as held by the tribunal.
A Federal High Court in Kano has technically restored Emir Of Kano and other Emirs dethroned recently by Governor Abbas Yusuf as it set aside all steps taken by state government to repeal the Kano Emirates Council Law. In a judgment today, June 20, Justice Abdullahi Muhammad Liman set aside the action of Kano government, ordering parties to maintain status quo. The judge held that the defendants were aware of the interim order granted by the court but chose to ignore it and went ahead with implementation of the law. The judge held that he would assume his coercive powers to enforce compliance with his order. However, the judge transferred the case to Justice Simon Amobeda for continuation in view of his elevation to the Court of Appeal. The Kano House of Assembly had repealed the law after which Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf implemented it by dethroning Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero as Emir of Kano. The governor also reversed the creation of four emirates, Bichi, Rano Karaye and Gaya, and sacked the Emirs appointed by his predecessor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. The law was also relied upon to re-appoint the 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, who was dethroned by Ganduje in 2020, as the 16th Emir of Kano. But a kingmaker in the former Kano emirate, Aminu Babba Danagundi, the Sarkin Dawaki Babba, challenged the propriety of the law and asked the court, through his counsel, Chikaosolu Ojukwu (SAN), to declare it null and void.
Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed is angry with the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) over alleged poor manner of the 2024 hajj operations in Saudi Arabia. The Governor, who was interacting with the state pilgrims at Mina, the city of tents in Mecca today, June 29, called for the decentralization of most of the Hajj operations in a manner that would allow state governments to take full control of Hajj affairs. He said that the decentralization would ensure adequate welfare of the pilgrims from States who paid for Hajj seats through their respective States’ Pilgrims Welfare Boards. He said that in this year’s Hajj exercise, pilgrims were subjected to untold hardships due to the unfavourable policies introduced by NAHCON and relevant stakeholders. The Governor specifically made reference to the provision of less than 500 US dollars as a Basic Travelling Allowance (BTA) to each pilgrim despite the exorbitant charges of over N8m paid for a Hajj seat. Governors Bala Mohammed assured that the state governors would work collectively to break the monopoly of Hajj Affairs by NAHCON if measures are not taken to address the challenges identified. The Governor donated the sum of 300 Saudi Riyals to each of the 2,680 Bauchi state pilgrims as Sallah gifts. He asked them to continue to pray for the peace and stability of Nigeria, particularly the success of government policies and programmes. This was even as the Chairman of NAHCON, Alhaji Jalal Ahmad Arabi told State contingents that the challenges are beyond the control of the Commission. He commended the pilgrims for their patience and understanding towards achieving success in the Hajj exercise, assuring that the Federal Government will look into all the complaints and work towards addressing the issues before the next exercise.
No fewer than 550 pilgrims were reportedly killed mainly by heatstroke during the just concluded hajj in Saudi Arabia, according to Diplomats. This situation is a result of what has been described as “the gruelling nature of this year’s pilgrimage” which unfolded in scorching temperatures this year. Report said that at least 323 of those who died were Egyptians, most of them succumbing to heat-related illnesses. The two Arab diplomats coordinating their countries’ responses told AFP that all of them (the Egyptians) died because of heat except for one who sustained fatal injuries during a minor crowd crush. One of the diplomats said that the total figure came from the hospital morgue in the Al-Muaisem neighbourhood of Mecca. The report said that at least 60 Jordanians also died, which was an addition to the earlier official figure of 41. The new deaths bring the total reported so far by multiple countries to 577, according to an AFP tally. The diplomats said that the total at the morgue in Al-Muaisem, one of the biggest in Mecca, was 550. Earlier yesterday, June 18, Egypt’s foreign ministry said that Cairo was collaborating with Saudi authorities on search operations for Egyptians who had gone missing during the hajj. A statement by the ministry said: “a certain number of deaths” had occurred, but did not specify whether Egyptians were among them. Saudi Arabian authorities have reported treating more than 2,000 pilgrims suffering from heat stroke but have not updated that figure since Sunday and have not provided information on fatalities. Pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam and all Muslims with the means must complete it at least once. The pilgrimage is increasingly affected by climate change, according to a Saudi study published last month, saying that temperatures in the area where rituals are performed were rising 0.4 degrees Celsius (0.72 degrees Fahrenheit) each decade. Temperatures hit 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 Fahrenheit) at the Grand Mosque in Mecca on Monday, June 17, according to the Saudi national meteorology. AFP journalists in Mina, outside Mecca, on Monday saw pilgrims pouring bottles of water over their heads as volunteers handed out cold drinks and fast-melting chocolate ice cream to help them keep cool. Saudi officials had advised pilgrims to use umbrellas, drink plenty of water and avoid exposure to the sun during the hottest hours of the day. But many of the hajj rituals, including the prayers on Mount Arafat which took place on Saturday, involve being outdoors for hours in the daytime. Some pilgrims described seeing motionless bodies on the roadside and ambulance services that appeared overwhelmed at times. About 1.8 million pilgrims took part in the hajj this year, out of which 1.6 million of them were from abroad, according to Saudi authorities. Each year tens of thousands of pilgrims attempt to perform the hajj without securing official hajj visas in order to save money, a more dangerous undertaking because these off-the-books pilgrims cannot access air-conditioned facilities provided by Saudi authorities along the hajj route. One of the diplomats who spoke to AFP yesterday said that the Egyptian death toll was “absolutely” boosted by a large number of unregistered Egyptian pilgrims. Earlier this month, Saudi officials said they had cleared hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims from Mecca ahead of the hajj. Other countries to report deaths during the hajj this year include Indonesia, Iran and Senegal. Most countries have not specified how many deaths were heat-related. Hosting the hajj is a source of prestige for the Saudi royal family, and King Salman’s title includes “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques” in the cities of Mecca and Medina. Saudi Health Minister, Fahd bin Abdul Rahman Al-Jalajel said yesterday that health plans for the hajj had “been successfully carried out,” preventing major outbreaks of disease and other public health threats, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. A virtual hospital “provided virtual consultations to over 5,800 pilgrims, primarily for heat-related illnesses, enabling prompt intervention and mitigating the potential for a surge in cases.” Source: AFP.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari has sympathized with the former President of the Senate, Abubakar Saraki over the death of his mother, Chief (Mrs.) Florence Morenike Saraki. Late Chief Florence Saraki was also the mother of the former minister of state for transportation and later solid minerals development under Buhari’s government, Senator Gbemisola Ruqayyat Saraki. In a condolence message, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity in his Government, Malam Garba Shehu quoted Buhari as saying: “I’am saddened by the demise of Chief Florence Saraki, a strong pillar of the Saraki dynasty and a mother firmly committed to family values and the welfare of the less privileged. “The commitment and resilience she had shown as she supported the family following the death of the patriarch, Senator Abubakar Olusola Saraki, and Waziri of Ilorin is praiseworthy.
“She was a hardworking and people-friendly community leader whose kindness and thoughtfulness towards others is an inspiration. “She will sorely be missed by many in Kwara state and at the centre. “My thoughts and prayers are with the former senate president and my noteworthy minister, for whom their mother meant so much. He May her soul rest in peace.”
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Atiku, who contested the 2019 Presidential election with Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was accompanied on the visit, tagged “Sallah homage” by key stakeholders of the PDP.
from right: Yusuf Ozi-Usman (GOCOP electoral chairman); Maureen Chigbo (President of GOCOP) and James Umeh (Vice President of GOCOP)
“She was a hardworking and people-friendly community leader whose kindness and thoughtfulness towards others is an inspiration. “She will sorely be missed by many in Kwara state and at the centre.
