Ekiti Gov, Fayemi, Doles Out N96 Million Scholarship Award To 469 State’s Students

November 19, 2020

Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi has approved the disbursement of a sum of N96, 140,000.00 as scholarship award to 469 students of the state studying in tertiary institutions across the country.

The State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Dr. Olabimpe Aderiye who made this known in Ado Ekiti, said that the State Government had commenced electronic payment to bank accounts of beneficiaries of the awards.

Dr. Aderiye said that the beneficiaries of the scholarship awards include 31 physically challenged, 288 undergraduates as well as 150 postgraduates students consisting of 71 Masters and 79 Ph.D students.

The Commissioner said that undergraduates and physically challenged students were given N60,000 each while Masters students got N250,000 and their Ph.D counterpart, N750,000.

She added that the State Government signed an agreement with each awardee to provide them immediate employment for two years after graduation.

Reiterating the commitment of the Fayemi led administration to the welfare of all students from the state, Aderiye, however, urged the beneficiaries to reciprocate the government gesture by concentrating on their studies and shunning vices that may be inimical to their success.

9 More PDP Governors Will Soon Defect To APC, Kogi Gov Claims

Editorial staff

November 19, 2020

The Governor of Kogi state, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has claimed that nine more opposition Governors in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), will soon defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Governor Yahaya Bello, who spoke today, November 19 while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, said that he had predicted that 10 governors will join the ruling party and Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi was the first of them.

“I did say there are 10 governors from the opposition parties that would join APC. We have seen one. One that is equal to ten; He has joined us. Nine to go.”

This was even as Governors elected on the platform of the PDP pledged their commitment and loyalty to the party.

The Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Aminu Tambuwal, said: “all 15 of us are here present.

“We are individually committed to good governance in our various states to in order to make our party strong.”

Retired Kaduna Poly Lecturer Shots Wife, Kills Self Over Domestic Quarrel

Editorial staff

November 19, 2020

A retired Kaduna Polytechnic lecturer, Austin Umera has shot his wife, Dr. Maurin Umerah and killed himself over a domestic quarrel.

Austin, who lectured at the Department of Languages, Kaduna Polytechnic, before his retirement ws to have argued with his wife and threatened to shoot her if she talked further.

His son, who witnessed the drama said: “it was like a joke. When my father said he would shoot my mom, she couldn’t believe him.

“All of a sudden, I heard a gunshot. I ran to my mom to take her to a nearby hospital, when I heard the second shot. This time, it was my father that shot himself on the head. He died instantly.”

A neighbour said that he heard gunshots from the house and quickly called the emergency number, and that the policemen arrived at the residence at Kigo road immediately.

According to the source, the police took the injured wife to the hospital because she was shot in the eyes. While the dead body of her husband was lying on the ground. Meanwhile, the corpse of the man has been deposited at Barau Dikko mortuary.

As at the time of filing this report, the injured wife Dr. Maurin Umerah who is a part-time lecturer at the Department of Languages, Kaduna State University is still receiving treatment at the 44 Army Reference Hospital Accident and Emergency Unit.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer ASP Mohammed Jalige, confirmed the incident. He said an investigation has since commenced.

Court Orders Arrest Of Atiku Abubakar’s Son

Editorial staff

November 19, 2020

The Upper Area Court, Kubwa, Abuja has ordered the immediate arrest of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, son of Nigeria’s former Vice-President, for disobeying an October 27, 2020 judgment directing him to hand over his three sons to their mother, Maryam Sherif, for custody.

Sherif had commenced the children-custody suit after the divorce between her and her former husband, Abubakar, who bears the same first name and surname with his father, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.

The judge, Bashir Danmaisule, had delivered judgment in favour of Sherif on October 27, 2020.

But her lawyer, Nasir Saidu, returned to the court complaining that Abubakar had failed to comply with the judgment.

Saidu had urged the court to issue a judgment-debtor summons for the defendant to appear in court to explain why he did not obey the court’s order and why he should not be jailed for disobeying the court judgment.

Both Abubakar and his lawyer, Abdullahi Hassan, were absent in court today, November 19, although the court bailiff said the defendant was served with the summons through the Nigeria Customs Service, where he works, on November 3, 2020.

Relying on the claim of the bailiff, Saidu urged the court to issue an arrest warrant against the defendant.

Source: The Punch.

Members Of Ebonyi State Executive, Assembly Speaker, Lawmakers Defect To APC

Editorial staff

November 19, 2020

All members of the Ebonyi State Executive Council, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Francis Nwifuru and some other lawmakers have officially defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The State Governor and chairman of South East Governors Forum, David Umahi, had himself decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC yesterday, November 18, saying today, November 19, when he was presented with the APC flag, said that he was defecting to the APC with over three million citizens of the state.

According to Governor Umahi: “I have sacrificed myself, for the interest of south east and Ebonyi State in particular, I sacrifice myself. We have dwelt so much in one political party and it’s time to move to the centre.

“We are so grateful to God who directs our affairs, we thank Mr. President so highly for helping us to develop this state, we are grateful to him. The help of Mr. President has transformed our state.

“This is the will of God; you cannot truncate the will of God. Today, I can boldly say that our state is 99.9% APC. The .001% is the room I have left for my National Assembly members.

“Do not castigate them, they are looking for something and when they get it, they will come back. Don’t castigate them, they are my children and I love them so much.

“We have three members of the elders’ council, do not castigate them. They are my children, I am the father of the state, they will come back, and we are together. They don’t do opposition in Ebonyi State, they will come back.

“This new house that is built on trust, that is built on justice, that is built on equity and fairness, this new house that is built on love is going to accommodate all of us. Together we are stronger, the bigger the better.

“Let us together approach the throne of God with boldness, we will not remember yesterday. There is no victor, there is no vanquish in this marriage. It is a marriage that is consummated by God and, therefore, no bitterness. We as PDP people, we forgive everyone in APC and we have drawn assurance that everyone in APC has forgiven PDP.

“I have dissolved the elder’s council to accommodate our brothers and sisters that are coming from APC and this is very important to note”

Responding, the national caretaker committee chairman of APC, Mal-Mala Buni, said the entrance of Umahi is a welcome development for the state and south east in general, but tasked the governor to carry along all the stakeholders of APC.

Federal Govt Disburses N66.5 Billion To States For Coronavirus Responsive 2020 Budget

Editorial staff

November 18, 2020

The federal government has disbursed a total of N66.5 billion to eligible states under the Amended COVID-19 Responsive 2020 Budget results.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, who disclosed this today, November 17 in a statement by the ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Hassan Dodo, explained that the disbursement followed compliance to the Amended COVID-19 Responsive 2020 Budget by 35 eligible states in the country.

The programme is wholly-financed with a loan of $750 million from the International Development Association (IDA), a member of the World Bank Group, under the performance-based grant component of the World Bank-Assisted States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme-for-Results.

According to the minister, each benefiting state received a total sum of N1.9 billion (an equivalent of $5 million).

Rivers State is the only state that missed out on the grant due to its inability to meet the eligibility criteria which required each state to have passed and published in their respective websites by July 31, 2020 credible, fiscally-responsible COVID-19 responsive amended 2020 budgets duly approved by the state houses of assembly and assented to by the state governors.

According to Ahmed, the amended 2020 state budget must also include standardised budget documentation to enhance clarity, transparency and accessibility.

She added: “It must also significantly lower the gross statutory revenue projections – consistent with the revised Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and federal government’s budget; reduced non-essential overhead and capital expenditures.

“The budget must be tagged and found to have allocated at least 10 per cent of the total expenditure of the amended budget for COVID-19 relief, restructuring and recovery programs; and identified credible sources to fully finance the budget deficit to avoid accumulation of arrears”.

Ahmed stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated economic and fiscal shocks had put significant pressure on states’ fiscal resources and undermined the reality and credibility of the states’ original 2020 annual budgets.

The minister noted that a transparent, accountable and sustainable state-level fiscal/budget framework is a pre-requisite for a robust COVID-19 response, enabling necessary health, social protection and livelihood interventions during the COVID-19 relief, restructuring and recovery phases.

She expressed optimism that the achievement of results by the 35 out of 36 States would further strengthen the national fiscal response to COVID-19 and align efforts at both the federal and state levels.

The World Bank-assisted SFTAS Programme, she stressed, is principally meant to strengthen fiscal management at the state level, so as to ensure effective mobilisation and utilisation of financial resources to the benefit of the citizens in a transparent, accountable and sustainable manner, thereby reducing fiscal risks and encouraging a common set of fiscal behaviours.

Ahmed observed that the SFTAS programme could not have come at a better time, given the dwindling government revenue occasioned by oil price volatility coupled with the current impact of COVID-19 which has further intensified the need for improved practices in fiscal transparency, accountability and sustainability as enunciated in the SFTAS ideals.

The federal government had earlier in April, 2020 disbursed a total sum of N43,416 billion or $120.6 million to 24 qualified sates, based on their performance.

Presidency Apologizes For Postponement Of South-South Summit

Editorial staff

November 18, 2020

The Presidency has apologized for the absence of the federal government delegation to, and postponement of, a planned meeting with governors and stakeholders of the South-South region recently.

In a statement today, November 18, the senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu said that the absence of the federal government delegation was as a result of an emergency security meeting summoned by the President, “certainly not out of disrespect.

“The delegation to the meeting, under the Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, ministers and heads of security and intelligence agencies were in full readiness to proceed to Port Harcourt until they were directed to stay back for the emergency security meeting.

“This information and regret for the inconvenience caused were conveyed to the hosts of the meeting through what we believed were the right channels.

“As may have been gleaned from the statement read by the Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, the extraordinary National Security Council meeting, under the President, was called in view of the gravity of the security situation affecting all parts of the country, including the South-South in the aftermath of the ENDSARS protests, and the need to rise to protect our national security and territorial integrity.
“The President is strongly and resolutely committed to hearing from leaders, stakeholders and our youth on burning issues affecting all parts of the federation, and to this effect, a new date for the meeting with the South-South will be agreed after due consultations with the parties concerned.

“Once again, the unavoidable postponement of the meeting is regreted.”

Gov Umahi’s Defection To APC Might Ruin Him Politically – Rivers Gov, Wike

Editorial staff

November 18, 2020

River State Governor, Nyesom Wike has expressed fear that the defection by his Ebonyi State counterpart, Governor David Umahi from his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) might end up ruining him politically.

In a statement today, November 17, reacting to Governor Umahi’s defection yesterday, Governor Wike said: “Umahi’s presumptuous move might be too hasty and will ruin him politically.”

“In life, power is sweet, but conscience is important. It is most offensive and insulting for a man to lie against his party because of power.”

He said that for Umahi to claim that he dumped the PDP because of the injustice the party meted out to the South-East region was erroneous, adding that he left the PDP for his supposed quest to become the president of Nigeria in 2023.

“My friend, Umahi wants to be president. There is no problem about that. You have a right to be president. Nobody can stop you. You are educated. You have been a governor for two terms, so you are qualified to say I want to be president of Nigeria. But, that does not mean you should because of that blackmail your party, and tell lies to the people you are leaving the party because of the injustice meted against the South-East, that is not correct.”

Governor Wike, who demanded that Umahi should retract the statement that the PDP had not been fair to the South-East, argued that under the PDP, the South-East has produced Senate presidents; national vice chairman of the PDP and Secretary to the Federal Government.

He said that it was erroneous for Umahi to accuse PDP of injustice when he had unilaterally imposed his younger brother as South-East zonal vice chairman of the PDP.

The Rivers State governor said though APC had not yet told Nigerians where it would zone its presidential ticket,

According to him, assuming the APC decides to zone its presidential ticket to the South-East where the party has no formidable base, what is the guarantee that Umahi will secure the ticket.

“My reaction to Governor Umahi’s defection is not that he has no right to defect, but to say he is defecting because of injustice meted to the South-East that is insulting to the South East.”

The governor urged the National Working Committee and the National Executive Committee of the PDP to take decisive steps to ensure that PDP does not die in Ebonyi State.

I Admire Your Courage; Be Prepared To Face Name-Calling, Buhari Tells Gov Umahi

Editorial staff

November 18, 2020

President Muhammadu Buhari has commended the courage of the Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Reacting to the defection, President Buhari described the defection by the governor as “a bold move driven purely by principle rather than opportunistic motives.

“I am proud of Governor David Umahi for taking this bold decision in accordance with his conscience and principles rather than any external influence or coercion.

“Good governance is very important to us in the APC, and I’m glad that the governor has cited this as a major factor in his decision to join us. I urge our citizens to pay less emphasis on identity politics if we want our democracy to make a positive impact on our country.”

President Buhari said that with men like Umahi, “I foresee a brighter future for our democracy because the voters will be more motivated by performance records of parties and their candidates.

“Let me once again; commend the boldness of Governor Umahi for taking this courageous decision in a country where principles are in short supply among many. I know people might call him names, but that is the price men of principles have to pay for acting according to their conscience and convictions.”

Without Apology, I Am A True Nigerian, Gov Wike Insists

Editorial staff

November 18, 2020

“Without any apology, I am a true Nigerian. I believe that things must be done properly in a way that every component part of this country will be satisfied.”

Governor Nyeson Wike of Rivers State made this point known today, November 17 when a delegation of Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) paid him a solidarity visit at the Government House, Port Harcourt, the state capital.

Wike reiterated he had never been against any particular ethnic group living in the state, including every law abiding Igbos.

He maintained that as a governor, he could not tolerate a situation where some misguided persons under the guise of IPOB would unleash attack on innocent Nigerians in Rivers State.

Speaking against the background of the trouble caused in the State by members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Bianfra (IPBO), Governor Wike stressed that he had no regret fighting and reinforcing the prescription of the outlawed IPOB in the State because of his belief in the unity of Nigeria.

He called on the people to rise to protect and defend the interest of the country and not allow parochial, sentimental politics to destroy the country.

Wike recalled that the #EndSARS protest was peaceful in the state until IPOB hijacked it and committed arson by killing six army officers, four police officers, burnt police stations and courts.

He made it clear that he would not sit as Governor and watch such lawless acts perpetrated by a people that had been proscribed by the federal government to cause ethnic war.

He said that if the State Security Council had not proactively imposed curfew in the entire Oyigbo Local Government Area, the situation would have degenerated to war between Igbo and Hausa community residing in the area.

He said that the decision forestalled ethnic reprisal that would have led to total breakdown of law and order in Oyigbo local government area and parts of Diobu axis of the state capital.

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