Home Blog Page 1964

Gov. El-Rufai Never Said Tinubu Was Too Old To Be President — APC

0
Gov. El-Rufai Never Said Tinubu Was Too Old To Be President — APC

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai has never said that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, was too old to be President, the North-West APC Presidential Campaign Council has said.

Spokesperson for the North-West (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Muhammad Shehu Molash, said in a statement that the rumor in circulation that El-Rufai said that in a short video clip was the handiwork of mischief makers.

Molash said: “Social media space has recently been brimming with a mischievously circulated video of Governor El-rufai, ostensibly, making reference to the Tinubu.

READ ALSO: 2023: We Can’t Allow Underage Voting, INEC Vows

“But to set the records straight, the said interview was conducted months ago, where El-Rufai was asked questions, ranging from the rumoured vice presidential bid to a purported ministerial ambition and senatorial bid, which ‘mischief makers’ alleged that he has asked his erstwhile chief of staff to vacate his ticket for him.

“El-Rufai responded intelligently (in the video clip) by reminding the reporters that having been a minister 20 years ago and governor since 2015, he is contented with what the Almighty has done for him.

“He further added that as a mentor who has raised capable mentees, he ought to give way for the younger generation to play their role in the next government, even though Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu himself is still insisting that he must be part of the incoming government, in 2023 God’s willing.

“That was the part that they have been mischievously circulating with a different subject to suit their sinister agenda.

“Recall that at the KADINVEST 7.0 in Kaduna, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu had to publicly threaten not to leave the podium until he extract a commitment from El-Rufai that he will work with him.

“With almost 23 million voters; President Buhari; six out of seven governors; 15 Senators; 1/3 of APC members in the house of reps, among hundreds of state house of assembly members, the North West geo-political is the most politically comfortable zone for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC in general.

“Therefore, desperate politicians and political hawks have resorted to ‘cut and join campaign of calumny’ to create a political upheaval in the APC’s biggest stronghold in Nigeria.

“Apparently, the APC’s presidential campaign flag-off in Jos, where President Buhari, all the 22 APC state governors, all APC chieftains and millions of party supporters attended, has rattled them.

“Hence, their incessant attempt to create a rift between our presidential candidate and one of his front line ‘political commanders’ in the North West.

“The North West APC presidential campaign shall continue to focus on winning all the seven states, 186 Local Governments and 2004 wards in the Zone for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, regardless of the endless distractions by these political entrepreneurs.

“The political harmony in the APC, various infrastructure development projects by the APC led administration and improved security in the North West, particularly in Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara, has obviously left them without cheap political points to hang on to,” he said.

 

Senator Orji Kalu, PowerChina Sign $500M Agro-industrial Parks Deal

0
Senator Orji Kalu, PowerChina Sign $500M Agro-industrial Parks Deal

Former Governor of Abia state, Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu, and PowerChina, Monday, in Abuja, signed the deal for the establishment of five Agro-Industrial parks, worth $500 million, in different parts of Abia state.

Sen Kalu is facilitating the parks through SWIBER Africa in Alayi, Igbere, Ozu Item, Abiriba and Ukwueke.

According to him, PowerChina and SWIBER Africa would jointly fund the project to be handled by the Chinese firm.

READ ALSO: Sen. Kalu Greets Jonathan At 65, Extols Contributions To Nigeria Political Development

The former governor said that the industrial parks would fulfill objectives of providing employment opportunities for members of the communities and raising foreign exchange for the country, especially the weak foreign exchange earning base of the nation.

According to him, “everything produced in the industrial park “will go to feeding Nigerians and export”.

The Managing Director of PowerChina Nigeria, Mr. Diego Tian, said that the industrial; parks would focus on the production and processing of rice, cassava and cashew nuts and related products.

He added that the parks to occupy about 11,000 hectares that would create new industries around agriculture, boost Nigeria’s self-sufficiency in food security and create at least 20,000 direct jobs.

The MD also said that they would have rice mills, processing plants for cassava and cashew nuts and warehousing for them, in addition to the production of Ethanol and starch.

Electricity power generation, he said would be part of the project which has been slated to take off at the beginning of next year.

Hon. Samuel Nwachukwu: Man Whose Large Heart Has Redefined Philanthropy, Humanitarian Gesture

0
Hon. Samuel Nwachukwu: Man Whose Large Heart Has Redefined Philanthropy, Humanitarian Gesture
Hon. Samuel Nwachukwu

Hon. Samuel Nwachukwu was born in Aba, Abia State into the royal family of Chief Chukwunyere Nwachukwu of Ogbodiukwu Umuopara, Umuahia South Local Government Area.

Hon. Samuel Nwachukwu is no doubt a man whose large heart is not only legendary but noticed and felt.

He had his early education at centermaria primary school in Aba and Federal Government College in Kogi state before traveling to the United States.

READ ALSO: We Are Recruiting – ABN TV Management

He obtained his First degree in Business Administration at Essex Community College Rosedale Maryland and his Second degree in Healthcare Management at Towson University in Maryland.

After his formal education, he advanced his working career into Real Estate, Construction, Health Care, and Auto dealerships. Sam Nwachukwu’s tenacity, dexterity, and determination has increased the competition of his company, Oxford Construction Company to be reckoned as one of the best in West Africa.

A consummate businessman, entrepreneur, technocrat, and philanthropist, he is the founder of Sam Nwachukwu Foundation, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the empowerment of Nigerian people, with a special interest in women and youths of Abia State.

Through this foundation, he has touched the lives of many Abians through cash donations and other empowerment windows.

A passionate advocate of a dutifully engaged youth community, he believes that when the youth population is engaged, it is a pathway to productivity and a peaceful environment for all.

His desire to provide a better life for the people and make them live a decent life is unparalleled. A comprehensive delineation of how he intends to foster the policies that will truly precipitate positive change for his people locally and those of the Federation of Nigeria at large are outlined in his daily activities such as; support scheme for the widow and aged, employment opportunities and empowerment for the youth, infrastructural facilities development for public schools & hospitals, interest free-loan for traders, sports development, regular consultation cum interaction with the masses.

Sam Nwachukwu is happily married and blessed with four children.

Appeal Court Orders Ex-South African President Zuma Back To Jail

0
Appeal Court Orders Ex-South African President Zuma Back To Jail
Jacob Zuma

An appeal court in South Africa said on Monday that former president, Jacob Zuma, was unlawfully given medical parole from a jail term last year and should return to prison to complete his sentence.

Zuma, 80, had been handed a 15-month term in June 2021 for contempt of court, a move that triggered deadly unrest.But he served only two months before being given parole for medical reasons that remain unclear.

READ ALSO: Trump’s Twitter Account Reactivated

Parole was granted by the head of South Africa’s prison service, despite an opinion by the service’s medical committee that Zuma did not meet the required conditions.

“This court has now determined that Mr Zuma’s release on medical parole was unlawful,” the supreme court of appeal said.

“Mr Zuma in law has not finished serving this sentence. He must return to the Estcourt Correctional Center to do so,” it said, referring to a jail northwest of the city of Durban.

According to medical assessments cited in the appeal court’s decision, Zuma has problems linked to high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar levels, and colon lesions.

Zuma, a prominent figure in the fight against apartheid, became president in 2009 and was forced to step down in disgrace by the ANC in 2018 following mounting corruption allegations.

But he remains a revered figure among grassroots members of the ruling African National Congress, who perceive him as a defender of the poor and oppressed.

When his jail term was announced, violent protests broke out that spiraled into looting, leaving 350 people dead.

The order by the supreme court of appeal is unlikely to be the final word in the long-running saga, as Zuma still has recourse to the Constitutional Court, the highest judicial instance in the land.

The prison authorities last month announced that Zuma’s 15-month term was now formally over.

He has since made several public appearances, singing and dancing before his supporters, and launched a verbal attack on his successor, Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing him of graft and treason.

Ramaphosa faces a crucial ANC conference next month, seeking re-election at a time when he is under pressure over allegations that he concealed a multi-million-dollar cash heist at his luxury farmhouse.

Zuma was jailed for refusing to testify to a high-level inquiry into massive state corruption that unfolded under his presidency.

He also faces separate corruption charges over an arms deal dating back more than two decades.

AFP

I’ll Seek Soludo’s Advice On How To Tackle Nigeria’s Challenges — Obi

0
Best of luck to Peter Obi, he could win in Anambra
Soludo and Obi

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi said he will consult with the Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra state in proferring lasting solutions that will address Nigeria’s challenges.

Obi made this vow while speaking at a meeting with the Nigerian Guild of Editors in Lagos on Monday.

He said, “He (Soludo) knows and he has the solution so I need to consult him to help me.”

READ ALSO: 2023: Ohanaeze Endorses Peter Obi, Says It’s Turn Of Ndigbo

The Labour Party candidate also promised to adopt the Bangladesh model of 35% Affirmative Action, noting that he would create an atmosphere where 50 percent of Nigerian women would be included in its National Productivity Programme.

Recall that Soludo, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and Obi have been in a battle of words over the state of Anambra’s economy.

Soludo had said the investments Obi left in government are worth close to nothing.

The Anambra governor also said Obi can’t win the 2023 presidential election, noting that there are “two persons/parties seriously contesting for president.”

However, Obi replied that he has done his own part as governor of Anambra, urging Soludo to do his best in the state as a professor of Economics.

Sen. Kalu Greets Jonathan At 65, Extols Contributions To Nigeria Political Development

0
Sen. Kalu Greets Jonathan At 65, Extols Contributions To Nigeria Political Development

Former Governor of Abia State and Chief Whip of the Senate, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu has congratulated former President Goodluck Jonathan on the occasion of his 65th birthday anniversary.

Acknowledging the contributions of the former President to the social, economic, and political development of Nigeria, Kalu described the celebrant as a patriotic statesman with a passion for a prosperous Nigeria.

The former Governor joined family, friends, and associates in celebrating the remarkable and giant accomplishments of the former President.

READ ALSO: Harvest: Sen. Orji Kalu Makes Cash Donation To PCN Solid Rock Parish, Task Members On Farming

In a goodwill message, Kalu prayed for longer life for the celebrant.

He said, “on behalf of the people of Abia North Senatorial district, I felicitate with former President Goodluck Jonathan as he clocks 65.

“The former President has made invaluable contributions to humanity in various capacities at the sub-national, national and global levels

“I urge the political class to embrace the democratic values of the celebrant.

“The former President deserves to be celebrated for his selflessness and patriotism in his endeavours”.

Kalu wished the former President a glorious birthday celebration.

Ekiti Assembly Elects First Female Speaker

0
Ekiti Assembly Elects First Female Speaker

Barely after six days in office, the Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Gboyega Aribisogan was on Monday impeached from office and suspended indefinitely by 17 lawmakers for blocking the passage of the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Bill.

Aribisogan was immediately replaced by the Assembly Chief Whip, Rt. Hon. Olubunmi Adelugba from Emure Constituency who was unanimously elected the new speaker by all the 17 lawmakers present at a plenary presided over by Deputy Speaker Hakeem Jamiu.

The oath of office and the oath of allegiance were subsequently administered to Mrs. Adelugba, who became the first female speaker in the history of the Ekiti State House of Assembly since the return to democracy in 1999.

Thanking her colleagues for finding her worthy to be elected, the new speaker promised not to take the trust and confidence reposed in her for granted. She later adjourned sittings of the House indefinitely.

Six other lawmakers in the Assembly were also slammed with suspension for compromising the process of the election that produced Aribisogan as the speaker on November 15, among other alleged unpatriotic and unparliamentary conducts capable of threatening the peace of the state.

Aribisogan and the six erring lawmakers were subsequently barred from the vicinity of the Ekiti State House of Assembly Complex within a 1.5 km radius for their acts which, according to their colleagues, offend the provisions of the House Standing Rules and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The six lawmakers suspended and barred alongside the impeached speaker is Hon. Tajudeen Akingbolu (Ekiti West 1), Hon. Tope Ogunleye (Ilejemeje), Hon. Ajibade Adeyemi (Moba 1), Hon. Adekemi Balogun (Ado 1), Hon. Yemi Ayokunle (Ekiti Southwest 1) and Hon. Adegoke Olajide (Efon).

The legislative penalties meted out to Aribisogan and his accomplices followed the consideration and adoption of the report of a six-member Adhoc Investigative Committee constituted to look into the circumstances surrounding the non-passage of the 2022 Appropriation Bill which they said could cripple governance in the state.

Jamiu who presided over the plenary until the election of Mrs. Adelugba had earlier dissolved all existing principal positions and appointed Hon. Johnson Oyekola Bode-Adeoye as the new leader of Government Business while he also resuscitated the already dissolved Committee on Appropriation.

Speaking at the plenary on the terms of the punishment for Aribisogan and six others, Deputy Speaker Jamiu explained that impeached Speaker Aribisogan and six others were suspended without pay with immediate effect.

Jamiu also added that the axed lawmakers are to hand over properties of government in their possession to the clerk of the State House of Assembly and any one of them wishing to be reabsorbed must write a letter of apology to the leadership of the legislative house.

Apart from the allegations contained in the report of the Adhoc investigative committee, Jamiu also frowned at the impeached speaker for denigrating the image of the House by taking the internal affairs of the state legislature to the conventional media and social media, an act he described as unacceptable.

Chairman of the Investigative Committee Bode-Adeoye had earlier laid the report of the findings of the panel before the lawmakers which were unanimously adopted before the impeachment process against Aribisogan and the suspension of six others commenced.

The committee found Aribisogan and the six other legislators culpable as a result of their unpatriotic acts that stalled the passage of the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Bill, recommending the impeachment and indefinite suspension of the ex-speaker from office with immediate effect.

The committee also recommended the indefinite suspension of the six legislators for various unparliamentary acts which they allegedly carried out in cahoots with the deposed speaker.

The alleged offenses include causing disaffection, tension, and apprehension among Assembly members whose votes were not allowed to count at the November 15 election of a new speaker to replace the late former Speaker, Rt. Hon. Funminiyi Afuye.

The committee also found them guilty of compromising the security of the House of Assembly members thereby putting the lives of innocent staff and members as a whole in danger by importing hoodlums armed with dangerous weapons into the gallery and chambers of the complex.

The former speaker and his six colleagues were also declared complicit by the committee for their alleged roles in desecrating the premises and the hallowed chambers when in the wee hours of the morning of Monday, November 14, precisely at 2:00 am by bringing people suspected to be juju men for ritual purposes.

The committee, in the course of its investigation, invited leaders of the House to shed light on their roles in the non-passage of the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Bill and other unpatriotic activities.

Mrs Adelugba who was the Chairman of the Finance and Appropriation Committee was summoned before the committee to explain the role(s) played by her or her committee on why the Supplementary Appropriation Bill had not been passed.

The new speaker appeared before the Investigative Committee to clear herself of any wrongdoing in the stalling of the Supplementary Appropriation Bill.

Other Honourable Members that had useful information were allowed to make representation/presentation while others neither appeared nor forwarded any document to the committee in the course of the investigation.

The new speaker, Mrs. Adelugba, after adjourning plenary led her colleagues to the state secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to officially inform party leaders of the change of leadership in the assembly.

2022 World Cup: Shehu Sani Reveals Reasons Why Nigerians Should Support Ghana

0
Spirits Of Murdered EndSARS Protesters, Members Of Islamic Movement Will Continue To Haunt Nigeria – Shehu Sani
Shehu Sani

Amidst Nigeria’s absence in Qatar for the ongoing football World Cup fiesta, a former federal lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani, has advised Nigerians to support Ghana to win the competition.

Sani said he is aware it would be difficult for Nigerians to support Ghana.

Recall that Ghana’s Black Stars ousted Nigeria’s Super Eagles en route to qualifications for the World Cup.

The former lawmaker said Ghana did not deny Nigeria the chance to go to Qatar, noting that they should not blame Ghana as it assembled the best team against the Super Eagles.

Taking to his verified Twitter handle, he wrote: “Nigerians should support Ghana to win. I know it’s difficult to do so. They didn’t deny us the chance of going to Qatar. They simply assembled their best players and played better. I don’t know if the ones who played for us were our best. #FIFAWorldCup.”

NFF Always Picking Wrong Players, Coaches For Super Eagles – Amokachi

0
NFF Always Picking Wrong Players, Coaches For Super Eagles – Amokachi

Former Nigeria striker, Daniel Amokachi has said the national team’s problems are down to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) appointing the wrong coaches and calling up the wrong players.

Amokachi stated this during an interview on Channels Television on Sunday.

He was reacting to the Eagles’ hapless 4-0 defeat against Portugal in an international friendly match last week.

Amokachi, however, noted it’s too early to allow the current head coach, Jose Peseiro go, saying that he should be provided with help wherever he needs it.

“When you look at the Portugal game, that tells you that we don’t even deserve to be there (World Cup).

“There are one, two, three different angles that you have to look at it, bringing in the right coach, bringing in the right players, and getting the right environment to play.

“We always bring the wrong coaches to handle a country like Nigeria; we always bring the wrong players,” Amokachi said.

Declare Your Assets Now, FENRAD Tells 18 Governorship Candidates In Abia

0
Abia Govt, FG Have Failed, FENRAD Reacts To Abduction Of Methodist Prelate Kanu, Others

Foundation for Environmental Rights Advocacy and Development, FENRAD a pro-democracy has written the governorship candidates of 18 registered political parties in Abia state, urging them to declare their assets.

The anti-corruption & human rights advocacy group says by availing Abians a copy of their asset declaration form from the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, the candidates will be fulfilling the law of the federation (Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution, as amended).

FENRAD in a statement on Sunday said this will enhance accountability.

READ ALSO: PDP Crisis: G5 Meet With South West Leaders, Insist On Ayu’s Removal

“It is our thinking that it is appropriate for all the gubernatorial candidates aspiring for governorship positions under the support of the registered 18 political parties in the state to make this disclosure in the interest of accountability and transparency. This letter was informed by the current economic realities confronting Abia State, which, to us, require that aspirants show that when elected the resources of the state will be managed effectively and due process followed with mechanism for Accountability.

“Currently, Abia has fallen on hard times, in a manner not known before. The situation was compounded by the fall in oil prices following the pandemic. Even though oil prices had since risen following the war in Ukraine, Nigeria is not able to rake in revenue due to subsidy payments, oil theft, and sundry issues that have made the NNPC (now a limited company) unable to remit to the Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC. Worst is, Abia, in the face of all these, has not upped its independent source of revenue to at least ₦5 billion monthly, an idea FENRAD thinks is possible should the state expand its tax base (not by introducing new or increasing payable taxes), build infrastructure, integrate informal sector businesses and look more inward. The result is that deficits and shortfalls continue to constrain and hamper budgetary performance,” FENRAD says.

FENRAD noted that the issue of non-payment of salaries and wages for which some tertiary state institutions lost their accreditation is worrisome.

“Only few months ago, senior citizens took to the streets to drive home their demands over twenty-year outstanding gratuity arrears. State parastatals and institutions like Abia State University Teaching Hospital and so many others had remained shut down because of poor funding. Most recently the Nigeria Medical Association threatened to strike in solidarity to residents and Doctors in the state due to a backlog of unpaid salaries and wages.

“Abia state past administrations since 1999 are still answering cases of corruption with the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over issues of misappropriation of public funds and fiscal recklessness.

“It is our considered opinion that Abia state cannot continue in her old ways. So we call on all Gubernatorial political aspirants for the 2023 elections, including you, to do the needful. Even though this exercise (asset declaration) should come upon assumption of office but is submitted during the expression of interest to contest for the position..we wish to remind you that it is needful and will go a long way in making a case for your integrity and accountability. It is also the basis on which FENRAD as an anti-corruption advocacy organization and other civil society groups in Abia will make informed political decisions going forward.”

FENRAD says it’s ready to enter into full litigation in line with the anti-corruption instruments and will join the Code of conduct bureau (CCB) if the Asset declaration process is not adhered according to the provision in the law.

Latest News

Popular News Now