A man whose name was given as Ugwu Lawlence has been arrested by security operatives in Abuja in connection with Boko Haram activities. According to the security sources, Lawlence, a Christian from the Southern part of the country is said to specialize in Sending out text messages to public places posing as Boko Haram member and threatening to bomb such places. The suspect “was tracked by security operatives after dispatching text messages of impending bombings of some hotels in Abuja,” the source said. Lawlence was said to have created a lot of panics amongst the residents of the federal capital, even as he reportedly confessed that he employed the gimmick because the management of one of the organizations failed to offer him employment.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned that suppression of political opponents by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led federal government is a bad omen for democracy. He stressed that the excessive use of power by the PDP-led government is a tendency that portends danger to what he called decent democratic practice. Atiku, who was reacting to the impeachment of Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State today in Abuja that wielding the axe of impeachment against elected public office holders to settle scores by the PDP-led federal government would needlessly build up tension in the country. The former Vice President described what he called “the reckless use of impeachment to settle scores” antithetical to the intention of the framers of the 1999 Constitution. According to him, the frequency with which elective officials were being shot down by impeachment would destroy the whole purpose of inserting the impeachment clause in the Constitution even as he regretted that the use of impeachment to harass and humiliate perceived opponents by the PDP-led federal government would ultimately bastardize the spirit in which the constitution provides for the impeachment clause. Atiku cautioned the PDP-led federal government to take it easy in the way they use power, adding that the constitution is not meant to provide ammo to anybody to harass and humiliate opponents or force them out of office. He criticized the use of financial inducements to influence the removal of perceived opponents from office, stressing that triumphalism in the suppression of opponents is a bad omen for democracy.
Adamawa state House of Assembly has finally sent State Governor, Murtala Nyako packing, even as his deputy Bala Ngilari resigned just in time before the impeachment hammer fell. 18 out of 25 members signed the final impeach note.
The House has declared the Speaker, Hon. Umaru Fintiri as acting governor of the state and will be sworn shortly. The governor was removed from office today after the state Assembly deliberated on the report of an investigative panel that probed allegations of financial misconducts against him. The deputy governor’s resignation letter had earlier been read at plenary by the speaker of the Assembly, Umaru Fintiri and approved. The House is sat today to consider the report of the seven-member investigative panel, appointed to probe allegations of financial impropriety against the governor and his deputy. The committee submitted its report to the House on Monday. Reports from the state capital said there is high security presence on the road leading to the Assembly and inside the complex. A source, who works with the Assembly said that only staff of the Assembly and journalists are being allowed access into the complex. [myad]
Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state has made it clear that he is not in politics to serve the interest of his brother, President Goodluck Jonathan or even his father. “For me,” he stressed, “politics is not about my brother or my father. Politics is about me and my interest. So, it is about you and your interest.” Governor Amaechi who spoke at the thanksgiving celebration of former Council Chairman of Khana Local Government Area of the state, Gregory Nwidam, at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church, Bane said he no longer fear federal government-controlled police because there was nothing they have not done to him in the past. “There is nothing new that the federal government has not done to me. “There is no cell that they have not locked me up as a student leader. There is no amount of slapping and beating I have not passed through in those days.” He urged the people in the state to fight for themselves with their vote in 2015, adding: “when you vote, you are not fighting for me, you are fighting for yourselves because, I have served as a Speaker for 8 years and also Governor for 8 years. What I need from God is long life. “You need to fight for yourselves and save Rivers State as well.” He told the people that he defected from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressives Congress (APC) because of the failure of the PDP led federal government to implement the United Nations Environmental Protection Agency (UNEP) report on Ogoniland. Amaechi said the PDP led federal government lacks the political will to implement the UNEP report to make the environment habitable for the people of Ogoni, including the provision of water and other infrastructural development. “After the verification and recommendation by the Agency to the Federal Government, they have refused to release the sum of One million dollars for the clean-up and development of the area. As I am talking to you today, the Federal Government is doing nothing about the UNEP report. One million dollars is about 160 billion naira, but the Federal Government has been spending billions in other places. “But, you need to ask yourselves one question, what did Ogoni do against the federal government that they cannot release 160 billion naira to save your environment. That is the reason I left PDP for APC, because, our interest is not protected in PDP. So, when they cannot give the people of Ogoni 160 billion naira, which is not even enough for their kids to travel around America and London, if they cannot give to Ogoni people, why should you vote them? “What you should do is to punish them with your votes by voting them out in 2015. The governor urged the people of Khana and all Rivers people to register and identify with the All Progressives Congress (APC) in order to vote out the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) in the 2015 general elections. “Let me assure you that APC will win in 2015 in Rivers State. You owe me a duty to get registered with APC. “Go and register during the voters’ registration and get your voters card. I want to thank the people of Bane community and Khana people for their support, especially the celebrant, Hon. Gregory Nwidam for his promise that the people of Khana LGA will ensure APC wins in Rivers State in 2015.” The governor also advised supporters of the APC in the State to resist any attempt by the PDP to use police and the military to intimidate and manipulate the 2015 elections against the will of the electorates. “The PDP said they will bring Police and Army. Let them bring them, but, you should know that they are also human beings. On that day of the election, I will be at the front. “When you vote, seat down at the polling unit and let them count the votes and announce the results, so that they won’t rig us out. Don’t vote for PDP.
Father of governor Idris Wada of Kogi state, Pa Wada Ejiga is dead. He died after a brief illness on Monday at the age of 100 years. In a condolence message, President Goodluck Jonathan described Pa Ejiga as having lived a fulfilled life. The President commiserated with governor Wada, the government and people of Kogi State over the passing away of the father, saying that the late centenarian was a worthy son of Kogi State. President Jonathan said that Pa Ejiga contributed in no small measure to the educational development of Igalaland in particular and the state in general. He enjoined the bereaved family and the people of Kogi State to take solace in the knowledge that “late Pa Ejiga lived a very happy and fulfilled life as a community leader and a devoted father. “As a family man, he succeeded in nurturing his children among whom is Governor Idris Wada, to prominent positions that had given them the opportunity to make lasting impact in society.” The President prayed to God to comfort the bereaved family members, their friends and well-wishers and grant the soul of the departed peaceful rest.
A teenage Pakistani activist, Malala Yousafzai has called on Boko Haram terrorists to stop misusing the name of Islam which is not against young girls going to school to acquire knowledge.
In a message she delivered in Abuja to mark Malala Day, a day to advocate for the education of every child in the world, Malala said that indiscriminate killing of innocent people,including Muslims can never be in line with Islam or any known religion, even as she appealed to the terrorists to release the Nigerian school girls abducted since April 14.
“I ask Boko Haram to stop misusing the name of Islam; Islam is a religion of peace; Islam allows every girl and every boy to get education, to go to school and education is compulsory in Islam. The word ‘Islam’ means peace, and the first word that was revealed to Prophet Muhammed (Peace be upon him) was Iqra (read). Islam gives the message of tolerance, patience, harmony and humanity.’’
Malala advised Boko Haram members to lay down their weapons, release the abducted girls and respect the language and culture of other people.
“I ask Boko Haram to think about their own sisters; if they suffer in the same brutal and harsh situation how would you feel? If your sisters are homeless, if they are under the captivity of someone who is so violent and cruel how would you feel?
“Those who are under your imprisonment are like your sisters; Islam preaches a message of brotherhood; we are all sisters and brothers. Release the daughters of this nation; let them be free; they have committed know no crime. ’’
The 17-year-old Pakistani girl dedicated the 2nd Malala Day to her “Nigerian sisters” kidnapped by Boko Haram, whom she said have become victims of terrorists like her, after she survived a Taliban gun shot to her head.
She recalled that the maiden edition of Malala Day was celebrated in 2013 at the UN headquarters in New York and she used the occasion to demand world leaders to ensure free and compulsory education for every child.
Malala said she had been inspired by story of one of the Chibok girls whom she called “my sister” and they met on Sunday in Abuja.
“My Sister comes from the Nigerian village of Chibok. She is 16 years old and one day, when my sister was in school, some armed terrorists known as Boko Haram came and tried to steal her dreams.
“They kidnapped her but she was one of those luckiest ones who escaped from the abduction; before that, her father got killed and her mother and sister got injured in the unstable situation in the North of Nigeria.
Because of insecurity and poverty, she can no longer go to school and her favourite subject is Biology and she wants to become a doctor.
“Every Day, Boko Haram terrorises the local people and over 200 girls were kidnapped and still have not returned; next week, it will be 100 days.
“Hundred days since they were taken; 100 days in captivity; 100 days out of school without parents and 100 days under fear.’’
The education advocate noted that the situation of insecurity was not peculiar to Nigeria, noting that similar conditions exist in the Middle East, Pakistan and African countries.
She said the insecurity in different parts of the globe such as Syria, Gaza, Ukraine and Afghanistan had forced many school age children out of school.
“Around 57 million children are out of school; 10.5 million children in Nigeria do not have access to education.”
According to her, in her native country, Pakistan, seven million children are deprived of basic education.
“In Pakistan children have to leave their homes for their safety because there is a military operation going on against the terrorists and many children do not have access to education and they are out of school.’’
She accused world leaders of keeping silent on the plight of children in Syria, Gaza and Palestine.
Malala said on her 17th birthday, her wish was for the world to listen to the voice of the escaped Chibok school girls and their parents.
She announced the Malala Fund donation of 200,000 dollars to two Nigerian organisations working on education of the girl-child.
Malala also said she had earlier met with President Goodluck Jonathan who assured her that the government would use the best option to secure the release of the girls alive.
According to her, Jonathan also promised to meet the parents of the abducted school girls.
Malala also described Nigeria as a rich country not because of its oil deposits but because of its rich human capital.
She asked Nigerians to be united and not to “judge each other on the basis of religion, colour, creed or the languages that you speak.” [myad]
Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa has accused those he described as some irresponsible elements based in Abuja as the brain behind the plot to impeach him and his deputy through some state House of Assembly renegades.
He said “Despite the unwarranted state of emergency enforced on the people of the state coupled with the dust-to-down-curfew, some irresponsible elements based in Abuja are trying to create additional hardship for the people.”
Governor Nyako who was addressing his supporters who paid him a solidarity visit at his residence in Yola at the weekend insisted that the impeachment saga is a deliberate plan to cause disaffection among good people of the state, adding that his administration would continue to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people of the state irrespective of area, tribe and religion.
“I will continue to keep faith with my people and nothing will deter me from identifying with them,” Nyako said.
The governor appealed to his supporters and all well-meaning citizens of the state to remain calm and pray to God to protect them from falling along ethnic and religious lines even as he described those behind his planned impeachment as the enemy of peace and the people of the state.
According to Nyako, legitimate sons and daughters of the state would never cause hardship on their brothers and sisters.
In her remarks, the Adamawa Women Leader, Hajiya Hauwa Abba, said that women and youths in the state were in the Governor’s residence to register their support and solidarity to him.
She disclosed that over 10,000 women and youths benefited from Nyako’s economic empowerment programmes in the state, adding: “before the advent of governor Nyako’s administration, women in the state used to labour in some people’s farms to survive. But today, Nyako have economically empowered us to be self- reliant.”
She appealed to those behind the impeachment to see reason and stop the process in the interest of peace and development of the state. [myad]
There are indications that President Goodluck Jonathan is on his way to declaring his intention, in February next year, to contest the 2015 Presidential election for his second term in office, as he begins his consultation with the national chairman of his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, governors elected under the platform of the party and other relevant stakeholders tonight.
The President has scheduled a crucial talk with the stakeholders at the Presidential Villa, Abuja at 9 pm today. The meeting will be preceded by another one to be held at the Asokoro, Abuja residence of the national chairman with other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
Sources said that the second meeting between the president, governors and Mu’azu would be used by Jonathan as an opportunity to inform the party and the governors of his decision to seek a second term in office.
“The decision to officially inform the party and the governors stems from his recognition of the governors as being the field commanders in their states and it would not be fair for them and the party to get the information of his decision to seek re-election secondhand.”
The President has before now, remained silence over whether or not he would seek for second term, though pressures have been mounting on him, especially from his kinsmen and women in the Niger Delta and within the ruling PDP.
It was gathered that the PDP governors, in their first meeting with Mu’azu and NWC, will be expected to re-table their demand for those completing their second terms to play a role in who succeeds them, while those in their first terms would be asking for automatic tickets to seek re-election.
“You don’t discard a winning team and cause trouble by calling for primaries when you know that some of the governors are interested in second terms in office. We have to first give the governors on their first terms, the right of first refusal.” [myad]
President Goodluck Jonathan has made it clear that his government is actively pursuing all feasible options to achieve the safe return of the female students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno state, abducted by members of Boko Haram on April 14. “The time it is taking to achieve that objective is not a question of the competence of the Nigerian Government,” President Jonathan added, as he hosted Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani Girl-Child Education Campaigner, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja today. The President acknowledged some challenges in the rescue efforts, one of which is the overriding imperative of ensuring that the girls’ lives are not endangered in any such rescue attempt. “Terror is relatively new here and dealing with it has its challenges. The great challenge in rescuing the Chibok girls is the need to ensure that they are rescued alive.” President Jonathan stressed that the Federal Government and its security agencies are very mindful of the need to avoid the scenario in rescue attempts in other parts of the world where lives of abductees were lost in the effort to rescue them. He debunked the notion that his government has not been doing enough to find and rescue the abducted Chibok girls, saying that such notion is very wrong and misplaced. The President insisted that his government is spending sleepless nights to ensure that the girls are rescued alive and safely returned to their parents. He told Malala, who was accompanied by her father and other members of her Foundation, that his government is fully aware of the anxiety about the girls, even as he fully empathized with the pains and anguish the girls parents are going through. Jonathan is assured them that with teams from the United States, Britain, France, Israel and other friendly nations working with Nigeria on the rescue effort, the end would soon be on sight. Such foreign assistants, he said: “all appreciate the challenges and the need to thread carefully to achieve our purpose.” The President told Malala who met yesterday with some parents of the abducted girls that he would meet with the parents himself before they left Abuja to personally comfort them and reassure them that his government is doing all within its powers to rescue their daughters. President Jonathan reiterated his Administration’s commitment to ensuring the safe and proper education of all Nigerian children. “I personally believe that since about 50 per cent of our population are female, we will be depriving ourselves of half of our available human resources if we fail to educate our girls adequately or suppress their ambitions in any way. We are therefore taking steps to curb all forms of discrimination against girls and women, and have also undertaken many affirmative actions on their behalf.” The President said that the Federal Government is also proactively evolving and implementing policies and measures that will benefit the abducted Chibok girls when they are safely rescued, as well as others that have been adversely affected by the Boko Haram insurgency. He said that there would soon be various measures, including the establishment of a Victims’ Support Fund, the Safe Schools Initiative and the Presidential Initiative for the North East, adding that he would soon inaugurate a National Committee to oversee fundraising for the Victims’ Support Fund, which will also cater for families of security men and women who have lost their lives in the war against terrorism. The inauguration will take place on Wednesday, July 16, 2014. The President thanked Malala for coming to Nigeria to support ongoing efforts to rescue the abducted Chibok girls and promote girl-child education. “We appreciate your efforts to change the world positively through your powerful advocacy for girl-child education.” [myad]
The Principal Special Assistant to Adamawa state Governor, Murtala Nyako on MDGs, Alhaji Ahmed Lawal has described the Buba Kaigama impeachment panel as illegal and ignorant of what they are even doing. He said that for the governor to have honoured the invitation by such panel to appear before it would have amounted to supporting illegality.
The impeachment panel, headed by Buba Kaigama has just concluded its assignment and people are now waiting for the verdict over its investigation on Governor Nyako and his Deputy Bala Nggilari.
The governor’s aide told newsmen today that if the governor and his deputy had attended the panel, it would have shown that they have agreed with the panel, “so the entire issue is illegal and what do you expect them to go there to do.
“If there is legality in setting up the panel, I believe governor and his deputy will go there to the panel, and if you look at the invitation that was sent to the governor and his deputy, the panel gave the address of the venue for the sitting at Army Barracks road, Gibson Jalo Street. The next day, the panel said they are sitting at the Federal secretariat Yola. That shows that even the panel did not know what they were doing.”
The Principal Special Assiatant said that he was not expecting any good from the panel, because, according to him, their formation is illegal, adding that unless “we are going to show the whole world that Nigeria is a lawless country.”
However, he said people are expecting them to do justice on the allegations, maintaining that people of Adamawa and the entire world are watching them, because according to him “you cannot sit down in your room and write a report without hearing from both parties, if you are going to do fair judgment .
Lawal called on the APC supporters in Adamawa state to remain calm and law abiding, pointing out that the whole exercise is being hatched by the PDP due to acceptability of the party in the state. [myad]
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
A man whose name was given as Ugwu Lawlence has been arrested by security operatives in Abuja in connection with Boko Haram activities.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned that suppression of political opponents by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led federal government is a bad omen for democracy.
Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state has made it clear that he is not in politics to serve the interest of his brother, President Goodluck Jonathan or even his father.
Father of governor Idris Wada of Kogi state, Pa Wada Ejiga is dead. He died after a brief illness on Monday at the age of 100 years.
