INEC Foresees Constitutional Crisis If Elections For 2020 Are Postponed

June 3, 2020

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INCE) has predicted avoidable constitutional crisis if the elections scheduled for this year are postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Apart from the Edo and Ondo States elections scheduled for September 19 and October 10, 2020, respectively, the commission would be conducting 10 other elections, including five Senatorial and four State Assembly bye-elections spread across nine states of the federation.

INEC National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, who spoke today, June 3 on the modalities for voter education and publicity activities during a virtual meeting with the media, said: “in such circumstances and situations, some countries and nations may buckle, throw in the towel in defeat and are completely overwhelmed. Sometimes, such situations throw up new players and spur creativity and innovation that accelerates development.

“The commission is therefore determined to be part and indeed lead the process of innovation and creativity in the electoral process rather than throw in the towel and postpone all elections to an indeterminate period.

“Throwing in the towel in our constitutional circumstances may do violence to the constitution and wittingly or unwittingly throw the country into avoidable constitutional crisis.

“The commission is therefore determined to proceed with the two end of tenure governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States and the ten Senatorial and State Assembly elections with cautious optimistic bearing in mind that the health and safety of the people will be crucial determinants of the success or otherwise of the elections.

“We are mindful of the fact that we are at war with an “unseen enemy. We are aware of the fact that some of our compatriots have lost their lives on account of COVID – 19 pandemic. We are aware that so many people are in isolation and quarantine centres. We are aware that some of our people are isolated and quarantined at home.”

Source: The Punch

Covid-19: Again Nigeria Abandons Citizens In South Africa, By Chubi Eze

Editorial staff

June 3, 2020

File photo of some Nigerians living in South Africa | Photo credit: Punch

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread like wildfire around the world, leaders of several nations instituted emergency efforts to repatriate their citizens from foreign shores. For Nigerians in foreign lands, accustomed to the usual incompetence of their officials, there was a sliver of optimism that the Nigerian government would finally change its ways and respond to the pandemic in a professional manner.
For Nigerians in South Africa harbouring such hopes, it’s been a case of deja vu, they have not only been faced with a familiar feeling of disappointment but an evolving nightmare in a country where xenophobic tensions are still rife. They have been thrown out of their hotels, had to seek refuge from strangers and are close to penury.
After South African Airways abruptly cancelled all return tickets for Nigerians and other nationals in South Africa under a government-mandated lockdown, there was no way out of the country except on repatriation flights. However, while other African countries, including Angola and even cash-strapped Zimbabwe have been evacuating their citizens from South Africa, the official response from Nigerian government officials in South Africa is that they are unable to assist Nigerian citizens and have no authorization from the Geoffrey Onyeama-led Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Rather, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ sole focus seems to have been in poorly-handled repatriation flights from more visible countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, in efforts that basically seem like window dressing.
In the same period while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), have remained unresponsive to their citizens stranded in South Africa, Geoffrey Onyeama has penned op-eds in the Nigerian news media while NIDCOM’s chief Abike Dabiri, usually a tireless self-promoter, has maintained a deafening silence.
Nigeria is a country of two-hundred million, with a huge diaspora population that remits $23 billion to its economy, a sum that is half of $46 billion the entire continent receives in remittances, so one would expect that its government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would do a better job of assisting its citizens in a crisis situation.
However, since the COVID-19 pandemic started, Nigeria has organized very few repatriation flights while countries like South Africa have conducted over thirty flights to repatriate its nationals from places as far flung as Brazil, Vietnam, Argentina, Russia and Australia.
In despair some Nigerians have resorted to panhandling on social media even going as far as asking South African government officials to facilitate their return to their country. As if this isn’t bad enough, certain prejudiced South Africans have upped the ante by openly mocking Nigerians over their helplessness in this situation.
Some have even resorted to threatening a repeat of the xenophobic attacks that have roiled the relationship between both countries in recent years, with some demagogues threatening to attack Nigerians still in the country after June 16th.
While diplomatic representatives of other nations are regularly seen at Nigerian airports regularly arranging the repatriation of their nationals, the official message from the Nigerian government and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs seems to be that ordinary Nigerians are on their own.

Kogi: Things May Fall Apart As Court Extends Igala Kingdom To Lokoja, Ajaokuta, Koton Karfe

Editorial staff

June 3, 2020

Kogi State may soon go up in ethnic and tribal flames as a Federal High Court judge, sitting in Lokoja, the State capital, extended Igala Kingdom in the Eastern part of the State to Ajaokuta on the soil of Kogi Central, Lokoja and Koton Karfe in Kogi West.

The judge also awarded Igala Kingdom the sum of N10 billion against the Federal Government, through the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, who is the only defender in the case. The awarded cost of N10 billion, the court said, is compensation to Igala Kingdom for Illegally operating on its soil without royalties for years.

The case was filed in 2017, at the Federal High Court Lokoja in the name of Attah Igala against the Attorney General of the Federation as the sole defendant.

The case was filed through Originating Summons and accordingly, it is only affidavit evidence that was required and not oral evidence.

The deponent of the affidavit in support was Idakwo Oboni, accordingly, Attah traveled to Lokoja to depose to the affidavit himself.

The document relied on were all gotten from the National Archive in Kaduna.

The main documents are an agreement between Samuel Ajayi Crowther and a former Attah where the Attah gave out land to Crowther to build a Church in Lokoja. Another is an agreement between the Queen of England and Attah of Igala over Lokoja and Ajaokuta.

The case sought an order of court declaring the area around Niger river up to Koton Karfe as a territory under the overlordship of the Attah Igala.

Following the judgment, many indigenes of Lokoja, Koton karfe and Ajaokuta have expressed grief over what they described as “judicial ambush.”

While some grieving members of the affected communities are calling for a total war against the expansionist tendency of Igala, others have expressed determination to appeal the judgment.

Meanwhile, the State Government has appealed for calm, especially between the Ebira people who have laid claim to the ownership of Ajaokuta and part of Lokoja and the Igala people.

In a statement today, June 3, Alhaji Akaaba Aliyu Mustapha, the Senior Special Assistant On Security Matter to Governor Yahaya Bello, called on the people of Ajaokuta Local Government in particular, to remain calm in the face of the Federal High Court judgement which pronounced Ajaokuta LGA as part of the East which is the Igala Kingdom.

Akaaba assured the people of the move for a swift reaction by appealing the case in the court of competent jurisdiction.

He said that every dissatisfaction in the just pass verdict will be addressed and redressed constitutionally.

He reminded the people that this is a civil matter and that it will be handled constitutionally. “We will drag this matter to crescendo height were all apex authorities will have to come in to ensure proper redress. “Ajaokuta is our ancestral home and we will not fold our arms while it’s taken away from us. But we must do this legally if we must win, so let’s be law abiding as we fight for what’s ours.”

Akaaba advised the people of the local government to continue to remain peaceful and go about their daily businesses as anyone caught fermenting trouble will face the full wrath of the law.

He called on Community and Traditional leaders to use their offices to create an atmosphere of peace and tranquility by ensuring that their followers remain law abiding.

Who Owns Ajaokuta? By Abdulmumini Adeku

Editorial staff

June 3, 2020

Except true justice is meted out over who truly owns Ajaokuta,the mineral rich zone between the Ebira’s and the Igala’s in kogi state ,central Nigeria there may soon be a major bloodshed over the steel industry territory.

As at press time ,it was learnt that the paramount ruler, members of the state House of Assembly and even the Federal House of Representatives were from Igala land even as superior arguments eventually proved this to be wrong however ,God in his own wisdom used River Niger to divide the Ebira’s and the Igala’s but the latter which was invited to join Kogi state as against their own wish for Okura state now claim that they own Ajaokuta because of the steel complex.

Ebira land which is believed extends as far as Okpella in Edo state where limestone deposits are mined for cement production with royalties even paid to the Ohinoyi of Ebira Land,Alhaji Adogu Abdulrahaman Ibrahim has also come up for grabbing by the crafty Igala people from across the River Niger.

In an exclusive investigations by the News Office Desk of Paedia Express Multimedia in Ihima,Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State ,it was discovered through a top civil servant in the state that a government white paper on demography viz-a-viz census but which was set to have being destroyed by the Captain Idris Wada regime was now causing a lot of tension in the state.

The source explained to this reporter how expatriates were employed for the trial census conducted by the state government last year from Germany and against established norms revealed that Kogi central had more population than Kogi East.

The insider noted that the foreign experts who conducted the trial census wondered why Kogi East could lay claim to the type of population they claimed that they had when there was no evidence of any form of urban development unlike Kogi Central where there were lots of houses, basic Amenities and even infrastructures .

An Ebira legend says that the name Ajaokuta is from a local bird called “Aja”,which usually is seen on the rocky but mountainous ranges which is the source of the Iron and Steel industry in Nigeria.

The Igala people on the other hand lay claim to Ajaokuta on account of the presence of their people in the area who are involved in paddy rice farming and fisheries ,two trades Ebiras are said not to be keen on from the ancient times.In a related issue,the Ohi of Ihima ,His Royal Highness,Alhaji Ahmed Abdulraheem Ogido debunked the claims in some quarters that Igala people will soon take over Ajaokuta Steel.He noted that top tribal chiefs like the Ohi of Ajaokuta ,Adogu of Eganyin,the Chairman of the local government ,Mr Okino were all Ebiras ,with the legislator in the state house of Assembly from Bassa area which he insists was still part of Kogi Central.

He accepted that due to the commercial nature of the Ajaokuta Area there were several non-natives in the area doing one form of business or the other but if anybody was to be blamed for anything at all in the unfolding drama over who owns Ajaokuta Steel then it would have to be the people selling their lands.

Kogi Vows To Prosecute Violators Of Lockdown In Kabba-Bunu, Moves In Mobile Courts

Editorial staff

June 2, 2020

Kogi State Government has deployed mobile courts to Kabba-Bunu local government area to prosecute anyone who violates the lockdown order, handed down yesterday by the governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.

In a statement today, June 2, the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, said that while the lockdown is a painful one, the measure was taken “to ensure effective Containment of the purported outbreak of Covid-19 in the Local Government Area.

“As controversial and disputed as the results of the FCT cases recorded for Kogi State are; we accept the fact that they are our citizens and live in Kabba as well as relate with people at the Local Government Area.
“In line with our commitment to public health management, His Excellency, Alh. Yahaya Bello has ordered a total lockdown of the Local Government to enable incident managers carry out contact tracing and massive testing.

“We urge our people to fully comply with the lockdown rules as violators will be arrested and tried by Mobile Courts deployed to different parts of the Local Government Area.
“Our people should persevere and obey all the rules of the lockdown which are in their best interest. We shall overcome this phase and come out stronger as a people.”

US Democrat Nominee, Joe Biden, Blasts President Trump, Accuses Him Of Narcissism

Editorial staff

June 2, 2020

The Democratic Presidential nominee for the United States of America, Joe Biden, has slammed the US President, Donald Trump over his handling of George Floyd protests, saying that Trump is “more interested in power, than in principle.”

In a speech today, June 2, at Philadelphia’s City Hall, Biden said of Trump: “he thinks division helps him. This narcissism has become more important than the nation’s wellbeing.

“We can be forgiven for believing the president is more interested in power than in principle; more interested in serving the passions of his base than the needs of the people in his care.

“I ask every American to look at where we are now, and think anew: Is this who we are? Is this who we want to be? Is this what we pass on to our kids’ and grandkids’ lives? …fear and finger-pointing rather than hope and the pursuit of happiness? …incompetence and anxiety? …self-absorption and selfishness?

“Like many of you, I know what it’s like to grieve. I know what it feels like when you’re thinking you can’t go on.

“This president today is part of the problem and accelerates it. Trump is consumed with his blinding ego.”

But, a senior adviser to the president’s re-election campaign, Katrina Pierson, said that Biden’s speech “obviously made the crass political calculation that unrest in America is a benefit to his candidacy.

“President Trump is restoring the nation to order and is clearly the leader we need to return the country to peace and prosperity,” she said in a statement.

Source: AP

PDP Wants Federal Government To Reduce Fuel Price To N70 Per Litre

Editorial staff

June 2, 2020

The main Nigerian political opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has asked the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government to further reduce petrol pump price to N70 per litre.

In a statement today, June 2 by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP charged the government to immediately reduce the pump price to N70 per litre, to reflect the appropriate pricing template following the fall in the price of crude oil in the international market.

“The PDP completely rejects the N121 per litre price announced by the Federal Government, which has even remained unenforced.”

The main opposition party described the new price as announced by the government, as highly provocative and a further display of insensitivity to the plight of Nigerians, “particularly as they battle the social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic”.

The PDP insisted that a N121 per litre price amounted to fleecing Nigerians of over N50 per litreof fuel.

“This is in continuation of the N55 per litre overcharge, which Nigerians had borne under the inappropriate N125 per liter, which prevailed for months, before it was brought down to N123.50 per litre, in spite of the crash in international price of crude oil.

“The PDP rejects the unnecessary price pinching and demands that the Federal Government, should without further delay, implement the appropriate price as well as declare and account for the billions of naira accruable as overcharge since the crash in crude oil price.”

The party said that failure to reduce the pump price to N70, as well as the non-declaration of the alleged overcharge would not be acceptable to Nigerians, “as it only points to questions of corruption in the system”.

The party insisted that the government had no justification to retain the pump price of fuel at over N70 per liter.

It challenged the administration to justify its actions by publishing the prevailing landing cost, depot cost, trucking cost as well as the retail outlet administrative cost and show why the pump price should be above N70 per liter.

The party urged the National Assembly to protect the interest of the people by prevailing on the government to implement the appropriate fuel pricing and account for the excess charges.

The government had embarked on phased price reduction in the last few months -from N145 to N125 then N121, announced yesterday.

Dokubo Accuses Nnamdi Kanu Of Collecting Millions From Governors To Pursue Biafra

Editorial staff

June 2, 2020

Asari Dokubo, former Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF), has accused Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), of collecting hundreds of millions of naira from Southeast governors to pursue the cause of Biafran Republic.

Dokubo, who denied receiving 20 million naira from the IPOB leader, in a video he posted on his Facebook page, yesterday, June 1, swore that Nnamdi Kanu’s days are numbered he would soon be disgraced and punished publicly.

“Nnamdi Kanu, your followers have challenged me that if I did not collect N20m from you I should swear by the Qur’an, I swear by the Qur’an that I never collected N20m from you or any of your members.

“I never betrayed any of your members, you sent them to me and they left, as we speak I have about 18 IPOB members staying in my house because of the love and trust they have for me. So many IPOB members, BSS Commanders come to me and even beg me not to talk.

“I swear, if I collected any money or betrayed any Biafran, may Allah punish me in this world and the one after.

“I also now ask Kanu to swear if you have not being collecting monies from all the governors of the Igbo states and beyond running into hundreds of millions.

“Swear that you have never betrayed IPOB members to the DSS, I know that whether you swear or not your days are numbered.

“You will soon be punished and the whole world would see your disgrace. I stand my the Quran and maintain that if I ever demanded N200m and you gave me N20m, may Allah punish and disgrace me in this world and the one thereafter.”

Reacting to the allegation, Kanu insisted that he gave Dokubo money.

He, however, claimed he stopped giving Dokubo money when he realised that former warlord was a “full time Fulani Caliphate agent.”

My Detractors Are Out To Tarnish My Name, AfDB – Akinwunmi Adesina

Editorial staff

June 2, 2020

President Buhari receives in audience President of African Development Bank Akinwunmi Adesina in State House on 2nd June 2020 | State House

President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has cried to President Muhammadu Buhari to save him from detractors, with the United States of America in the forefront, who are determined to tarnish his name and that of the AfDB.

Adesina, who visited President Buhari today, June 2, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, insisted that he had not done anything wrong to warrant the kind of negative posturing put up by the US and its allies.

The AfDB boss, who got the assurance of Buhari of his support for his second term in office, narrated the circumstances leading to the current controversies, saying that the 16 allegations raised against him were trumped up, “and without facts, evidence, and documents, as required by the rules and regulations of the bank.”

According to him, after the Ethics Committee of the bank had cleared him of all the allegations, calls for fresh investigation by the United States of America, were against the rules.

“My defense ran into 250 pages, and not a single line was faulted or questioned. The law says that report of the Ethics Committee should be transmitted to the Chairman of Governors of the bank. It was done, and the governors upheld the recommendations. That was the end of the matter, according to the rules. It was only if I was culpable that a fresh investigation could be launched. I was exonerated, and any other investigation would amount to bending the rules of the bank, to arrive at a predetermined conclusion.”

Dr. Adesina, who was Nigeria’s minister of agriculture under the government of President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said that he is proud to be Nigerian even as he thanked President Buhari for his unflinching support.

“You helped me to get elected in the first place, and you have supported me robustly all along, and the African Union unanimously endorsed my re-election” he declared.

While commiserating with President Buhari on the death of the former Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari, Dr Adesina described Professor Ibrahim Gambari, new Chief of Staff as “a man of integrity, and of global standing.”

The President assured Dr. Adesina of his unflinching support for his second term, adding: “in 2015, when you were to be elected for the first term, I wrote to all African leaders, recommending you for the position. I didn’t say because you were a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Minister, and I belonged to the All Progressives Congress (APC), so I would withhold my support. I’ll remain consistent with you, because no one has faulted the step I took on behalf of Nigeria.”

President Buhari pledged that Nigeria would work with all other leaders and stakeholders in AfDB to ensure that Dr Adesina was elected for a second term built on the record of his achievements during his first term.

The African Union had already endorsed the incumbent AfDB President as sole candidate for the continent, but some other stakeholders are trying to ensure that Dr Adesina is re-investigated on some allegations, and rendered ineligible to run.

Rain Maker, Majek Fashek, Dies At 71

Editorial staff

June 2, 2020

Nigerian reggae maestro and songwriter, Majekodunmi Fasheke, popularly known as Majek Fashek is dead. He was 71.

His death was announced today, June 2, by his backup singer, Monica Omorodion Swaida. She confirmed Fashek’s death in a Facebook post, when she wrote: “I have been getting phone calls and text messages. How news flies.

“It is true. I didn’t want to believe it, but it is true. The rain maker has disappeared! He said he won’t die, but will disappear. He has gone to be with the Lord.

“If you love him, say a prayer for the family. Rejoice and play his music.

“Majek Fashek, the rain maker has disappeared from humans! It is true, it is true. Singing now with the angels.”

Majek Fashek, who was also a guitarist, was born in February 1949 in Benin, capital of Edo State.

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