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APC Kano: No plan to influence Supreme Court’s decision

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APC Kano: No plan to influence Supreme Court’s decision

The Kano chapter of the All Progressives Congress refuted a viral story on Sunday that it conducted a covert meeting with President Bola Tinubu and the party’s leadership to influence the outcome of the New Nigerian People’s Party’s Supreme Court appeal.

The development comes two months after Kano APC candidate Nasir Gawuna was declared the winner of the controversial March 18 governorship election by Governor Abba Yusuf and the NNPP.

The Appeal Court’s three-member panel, chaired by Justice M. A. Adumeh, ruled that Yusuf’s name was not on his political party’s membership list.
He stated that a party must hold the names of its registered members in both hard and soft copies, citing a clause of the election statute.
In a statement issued to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday, Kano APC Chairman, Abdullahi Abbas dismissed the rumour, saying it was the figment of the imagination of those peddling it.
“Nowhere has such a meeting been held with either Mr President or any party leader,” he said. President Bola Tinubu is a Democrat who believes in the rule of law and the right thing to do, so he will not be a part of any arrangement or reconciliation to undermine justice and enable those who have stolen votes or violated the election act to become leaders.”

Continuing, Abbas stated that the party was not aware of such an arrangement and would rather concentrate efforts to bring its case before the Supreme Court to a logical end.

The Kano APC head stated that there is no tension in Kano and that the people are pleased with the outcome of both the tribunal and appeal court verdicts.

Despite periodic provocations from the ruling party, Abbas pledged that the party will continue to maintain amicable and peaceful relationships with ethnic groups and nationalities in the state.

Abuja community regrets’ kidnappers’ attacks, seeks govt assistance

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Abuja community regrets’ kidnappers’ attacks, seeks govt assistance

The continuous attacks in the region by some alleged kidnappers have angered the residents of the Kuchibuyi village in Kubwa, Bwari region Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

It was discovered that a few locals reported seeing around three kidnapping attempts in 2023, with the vigilante group stopping two of the attempts.

Based on information our correspondent received on Sunday, there was a kidnapping case that happened in the village about two weeks ago.

According to reports, a victim going by the name Abu was kidnapped from his neighborhood house and freed two days later after providing a sum of money in ransom.

Many inhabitants had abandoned their residences and fled to safer locations as a result of the attacks, according to a local only known as Timmy.

“There have been several kidnapping attacks in this community since 2019,” Timmy stated. These attacks affected me as well. About eight alleged kidnappers, armed to the teeth with an Ak47, broke into this location at night in June. Among the nearly nine people who attempted attacks on the community, I was the only one who was unsuccessful.

A friend of mine was kidnapped approximately two weeks ago; she was only let free a few days later after paying a ransom. My friend is almost completely disabled by the incident. He can’t move while I’m speaking with you.
“Another resident said to be named Austin, who was a victim in November, died about a few weeks after these people collected about N11 million as ransom. There was another resident called Wale, a first-class graduate who was killed in October. One chief in the community was also kidnapped.”
Timmy regretted that despite the vigilantes in the community, its security remained the same despite the kidnappers’ constant attacks.

The secretary to the community, Yusuf Alkali, made a plea to the government to assist it in achieving its goal by setting up a security station and providing a patrol van.

Alkali said, “This has been a very big security challenge in the community. We want the government to come to our aid and provide security men who can support our vigilante men to help us at least tackle these kidnappers. We will also want the government to help us establish a police outpost in the community. There is no security to succeed without proper mobility.

“If we can have a government with at least a security patrol vehicle or motorcycle that can help our men patrol the community at night, we will be happy. If the government can help us with this, we will be happy. We are not asking for money. All we need are these things we have mentioned.”

Corroborating, the commandant of Kuchibuyi vigilante group, Suleiman Ahmed, said even though the security group was trying its best, the community needed the government’s support to put an end to kidnapping incidents in the area.
According to Ahmed, “The community is supporting us.” They help form the vigilante organization and cover the cost of security. Still, we can’t accomplish it on our own. We need assistance from the government. We had the vigilante men when the first event occurred, but they weren’t working as well as they are currently. But after the initial onslaught, we had to make sure that every household gave money to support them in order to mobilize them further.
Attempts to reach FCT police spokesperson Josephine Adeh for comment at the time this article was filed were unsuccessful since she was not answering her cell phone on Sunday.

Two people killed in Rivers police, hoodlum’s gun battle

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Two people killed in Rivers police, hoodlum’s gun battle

After going on a shooting rampage on Saturday in the Ada George neighborhood of Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, a guy only known as Nuhu was shot and killed by the police. He had stabbed a police inspector many times and taken his AK-47 gun.

As soon as another police officer attempted to halt the thug, who was supposedly a scavenger, it was discovered that he had also attacked him and taken off running.
Our correspondent gathered that some passers-by and colleagues of the policeman whose rifle was snatched chased after him until he was out of sight.

On getting to a location called ‘Boro Pit’, the man was said to have started shooting indiscriminately with the snatched rifle and shot a man dead before the operatives arrived at the location
On sighting the policemen, it was learnt that the miscreant became aggressive and engaged them in a shootout before he was gunned down.
“This man (Nuhu) was believed to be on drugs,” stated an anonymous source. Even when the police noticed him, he attempted to fire them, but they retaliated by shooting him.

In confirming the occurrence, Grace Iringe-Koko, a spokeswoman for the state Police Command, stated that the man who was not recognized and who was shot by the miscreant both passed away.
“On November 16, 2023, at about 1500 hrs., the Rivers State Police Command received a message from DPO Rumukpakani Division that one hoodlum (male) identity yet unknown ran towards Inspector Ade Rotimi attached to the APC pin-down point by Ada George Road with three others, suddenly stabbed him multiple times on his head, and collected his rifle,” According to Iringe-Koko.

“He also sprinted in the direction of the Boro Pit Area, wounding Inspector Bala Yusuf on his hand.

Before agents arrived and stopped him from wreaking additional damage, he opened fire randomly and shot two unnamed individuals.

PDP: Aiyedatiwa should end Ondo stagnation

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PDP: Aiyedatiwa should end Ondo stagnation

The decision by sick Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to transfer authority to his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, to serve as acting governor was hailed by the Peoples Democratic Party branch in Ondo State as long overdue on Sunday.

The PDP claims that the governor’s poor health—he returned to Germany last week for additional medical care—is the reason Ondo State has stalled over the past six months.

After accepting a letter from Akeredolu transferring authority to the deputy, the state House of Assembly recognized Aiyedatiwa as acting governor on Thursday.

Speaking about the development on Sunday, Kennedy Peretei, the Ondo PDP’s publicity secretary, advised people that Aiyedatiwa ought to take initiative and advance the state.

He said, “Akeredolu’s medical vacation is long overdue, l don’t know why they waited this long to do this. The Ondo State is already the butt of every joke. Let’s pray that things will at least move in the state instead of the stagnation witnessed in the last six months.”

Meanwhile, the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation Mrs Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, has cleared air on the purported freezing of accounts of the local governments in the state by the state government.

An unofficial piece of information, purportedly from the office of the acting governor, had surfaced online last Friday directing council caretaker chairmen not to tamper with the finances of their local governments.
The information commissioner, however, denied the report’s veracity in a statement released on Sunday, stating that the acting governor had not issued an order freezing the council’s account.

“At no point has the acting governor or any state employee placed a freeze on local government accounts or ordered any closure,” stated Ademola-Olateju. This is false and unfounded information. We therefore request that the good people of Ondo State, in especially the local government authorities, ignore the rumors.

“The government has sent the necessary supplementary staff and civil workers to the LCDAs, and they have been advised to conduct due care and processes in their operations.
“The state government is dedicated to ensuring that the state’s 18 LGAs and 33 LCDAs operate effectively in order to promote development at the local level.”

Oyo civil servants receive 13th month salary this year, says Makinde

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Oyo civil servants receive 13th month salary this year, says Makinde

Governor of Oyo State, “Seyi Makinde,” has promised to pay state employees their thirteenth month’s salary before the new year.

Sunday night at the Remembrance Arcade, Government House, Agodi, Ibadan, during the 2023 Christmas Carol Service with the theme “Unto Us a Child is Born,” Makinde made this announcement.

With the theme “Unto Us a Child is Born,” we celebrated the 2023 Festival of Carols and Nine Lessons tonight, he shared on his verified X account. We had yet another chance to thank God for His kindness and faithfulness during this difficult year economically as a result.

Makinde reassured the civil servants in Oyo State, stating, “Consistent with our practice since 2019, I want to assure the civil servants in Oyo State that, once again, we will be disbursing the 13th-month salary before the close of this year.”

It’s noteworthy that Makinde’s administration has consistently implemented the payment of the 13th-month salary since 2019.

Zamfara: Gov Dauda Lawal Make Use Of State’s Liaison Office Complex Constructed By Matawalle Administration in Kaduna

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Zamfara: Gov Dauda Lawal Make Use Of State’s Liaison Office Complex Constructed By Matawalle Administration in Kaduna

A few months after Zamfara Governor Dauda Lawal Dare, accused his predecessor and now minister of state for defence, Alhaji Bello Matawalle, of not putting a single project worth N200m outside the state capital, the governor was last week sighted at the liason office complex along with the state officials performing official functions.

This liason office complex has saved the state government huge sums of money that would have spent on hotels for accommodation and the functions.

A source amongst the entourage told our reporter that “even the Gov himself who claims to be rich was sleeping in the liaison complex for the whole week they spent in Kaduna.”

Our source said that “upon arrival, the governor expressed his admiration for the newly built complex housing several rooms and the governor’s lodge wing.”

He also said Gov Lawal has given out orders to those managing the liason office complex to ensure that the first family of the state takes up permanent residence there.

The liason office in Kaduna is among the projects of the former governor Bello Matawalle, who he is being widely criticized for by Dr Dauda Lawal, alleging misappropriation of state funds.

In addition to helping to clean the area that Dauda converted into his official residence, an eyewitness who worked in the Zamfara State liaison office reported that “due to the modern infrastructures governor Dauda Lawal saw in the lodge, he even hosted NSDC Vans to Kaduna State Command for a grand ceremonial parade of joy for the memory and hard work of the former governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle who met the place bushy with snakes and converted it to the Mini Aso Villa.”

An official of the state giver embrace said “Dauda should apologize to former governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle administration for always castigating him. This project is commendable amd it’s a befitting structure for the state government in Kaduna state”.

We should not allow politics to take better part of us, we should give kudos to whoever deserves it, this is commendable, I must say! “

Tinubu advises Nigerians not to take unfair advantage of economic situation at moment

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Tinubu advises Nigerians not to take unfair advantage of economic situation at moment

Nigerians have been warned by President Bola Tinubu not to take advantage of the nation’s current economic circumstances for disproportionate gain.

Nigeria’s inflation rate, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, is 28.2%, the highest since August 2005.

In an interview with The Nation on Sunday, Tinubu admitted that some of his economic policies had a “severe impact” on Nigerians and urged people not to take advantage of the circumstances in order to obtain unfair advantages.

“As your president, I am deeply aware of the economic crisis’s severe impact on Nigerians, and we are part of a global challenge with the rising costs of living. To help our people, my administration is taking proactive steps

“Moreover, we urge all Nigerians to be mindful of the current economic situation and avoid exploiting it for abnormal profits,” Tinubu said.

On the Federal Government’s conditional cash transfers to 15 million households, Tinubu said he believes in the “efficacy” of the cash transfer initiatives, adding that it will assist “the most vulnerable segments of our population”.

“I am steadfast in my belief in the efficacy of our cash transfer initiatives. These initiatives are a crucial part of our strategy to target and provide relief to the most vulnerable segments of our population, especially during the last three months of the year when the prices of basic items typically rise,” he said.

2027: Groups caution El-Rufai on plots to destabilise Tinubu’s government

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2027: Groups caution El-Rufai on plots to destabilise Tinubu’s government

…accuses former Governor of using son to control CBN budget

The Middle-Belt Patriotic Congress (MBPC) has alerted Nigerians to an alleged plot by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to manipulate the Central Bank of Nigeria into funding his presidential ambition. 

The group, which made this known at a press conference on Sunday in Abuja, said El-Rufai is already buying northern leaders in his destabilization agenda against President Bola Tinubu’s government.

In his address, the convener of the group, Garuba Jacob, said that Bello Mohammed El-Rufai who is the Chairman of the House Committee on Banking Regulations is part of the grand scheme to finance his father’s ambition by manipulating the CBN. 

The statement said: “We have noted that el-Rufai, being who he is, has perfected the funding plan for his questionable enterprise, which he is hiding under his venture capital/private equity firm, Afri-Venture Capital Company Limited, will begin operations in 2024, with $100 million, that is more than N100 billion that he is deploying for inducing the youth, mostly Muslim youths as part of a plot for further disenfranchise the Christian population. We understand that the youths are being mobilized under the guise of grooming them for enterprise, but they will be later corralled into being willing tools for protests that will ground the country at el-Rufai’s behest.

“Gentlemen of the press, it is at this point that Nigerians should ask how the venture capital firm is getting its $100 million funds. The answer is right before our eyes. His son, Hon. Bello Mohammed El-Rufai is the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Banking Regulations. The position places him in a vantage position to manipulate the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) funds to finance his father’s ambition. It also gives him the leverage to coerce financial institutions to put money in the venture capital firm not minding the glaring conflict of interests.

“In this aspect, we blame the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Right Honorable Tajudeen Abbas for assigning such a powerful and strategic Committee to a member whose family has a long tradition of genocidal anti-Christian and anti-non-Fulani utterances and actions. The Middle Belt Patriotic Congress [MBPC] hereby calls on the Speaker to undo the damage that el-Rufai’s leadership of the House Committee on Banking Regulations is causing the country. It is wrong to put the nation’s well-being in the hands of a family that has shown they hate others in the country.

“The younger el-Rufai’s occupation of that office is nothing but his father having a continuous hold on Nigeria’s commonwealth through a strangling control of the CBN. This control of the CBN is already hurting the economy, which leaves us in fear of what will happen when he unleashes his agenda to forcefully become the president in the 2027 Presidential Election.”

The group, therefore, urged northern elders, including former President Muhammadu Buhari and General Ibrahim Babangida o be wary of further granting el-Rufai audience in the interest of Nigeria’s stability. 

The statement added: “They must carefully weigh the implications of enabling a man who had openly endorsed Fulani reprisals for perceived wrongs done to his ethnic stock and has also vowed Islamic domination of Nigeria because we know that his fanatical views do not reflect the values held by esteemed leaders in the north.

“MBPC advises President Tinubu to take the necessary precautions to ward off el-Rufai’s plot to destabilize his government and the threats constituted to Nigeria by his estranged associate. The President must particularly watch out for contrived security and economic crises, being strategies that el-Rufai had in the past devised to undermine the government at the center whenever he is at loggerheads with the nation’s number one citizen.

“Additionally, we urge our law enforcement agencies, the ones with the jurisdiction, to urgently investigate and review el-Rufai’s activities while he was abroad, particularly as they relate to the networks he maintained while outside the shores of this country and financial transactions around his person, family, and associates since a lot learned about his destabilization plot by following the money.”

Tension as Adamawa awaits Appeal Court’s ruling on Monday in Fintiri vs Binani case

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Tension as Adamawa awaits Appeal Court’s ruling on Monday in Fintiri vs Binani case

The Court of Appeal will, on Monday, December 18, pronounce its decision on the appeal before it by the Adamawa State Governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Aishatu Ahmed (Binani).

Binani is at the court challenging the victory of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the last governorship election, Ahmadu Fintiri, who has since been functioning as the state governor.

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which had earlier heard the case and reserved judgment, will on Monday deliver the awaited judgment, according to multiple sources in Adamawa on Sunday.

Binani had gone to the Court of Appeal shortly after the Adamawa State Governorship Electoral Petitions Tribunal in October 2023 dismissed the petition filed by Binani.

Binani had approached the tribunal asking it to quash the declaration of Governor Fintiri by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as elected governor of Adamawa State.

In her petition challenging the governorship election conducted by INEC on March 18, 2023, Binani, who named INEC, Fintiri, and PDP as the first, second, and third respondents respectively, asked the tribunal to annul the election over non-compliance with the Nigerian Electoral Act.

The tribunal had, however, dismissed Binani’s petition and affirmed Fintiri’s victory, after which Binani filed an appeal at the appellate court.

As the decision of the Court of Appeal pends on Monday, supporters of the two principal figures – Fintiri and Binani – wait in tension.

While Fintiri enjoys the massive goodwill of an incumbent governor, Binani, who did admirably well in the March 2023 election in view, scoring all of 398,788 votes against Fintiri’s 430,861, is also quite popular.

By appearing desperate through accepting, or apparently engineering illegal declaration of herself as governor-elect while collation was yet to be completed after the March 2023 election, Binani has lost the respect of many, but she still has a huge following around the state.

NDLEA finds 1.5m Tramadol, Rohypnol pills at Lagos airport going for South Africa

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NDLEA finds 1.5m Tramadol, Rohypnol pills at Lagos airport going for South Africa

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has recovered 1.5 million pills of tramadol and Rohypnol bound for South Africa at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.

NDLEA arrested two suspects, Bada Akorede, and Amusan Sharafadeen, in connection with the consignment, which contained 1,050,000 pills of tramadol and 510,000 tablets of Rohypnol.

Similarly, operatives of the agency intercepted a consignment of cocaine weighing 2.2kg on the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway.

This was contained in a statement by NDLEA’s spokesman, Mr Femi Babafemi on Sunday in Abuja.

The statement added that the drug shipment originating from Lagos was concealed in condoms and headed for Port Harcourt.

A suspect, Isaac Okoh (45), has been arrested in connection with the drugs, he stated.

The NDLEA also recovered 100kg Indian hemp from the ceiling of a dealer, Ibrahim Yahaya (35), who was arrested when his house was raided in Lafia on Friday, Dec. 15.

Babafemi also said that NDLEA operatives intercepted 1,496 bottles of codeine in Abuja on Dec. 15 and a suspect, Ozioma Enoja (31), arrested in a follow-up operation.

He added that 400 bottles of codeine shipped from Port Harcourt were also seized on the Abaji-Abuja Highway on Dec. 16 and a suspect, Bala Ishaq, was arrested in a follow-up operation.

NDLEA operatives also recovered 17 bags of Indian hemp weighing 195.8kg from a bush at Gbanke village in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo on Dec. 13, he stated.

Babafemi stated also that anti-narcotic officers in Ogun have arrested two suspects at Alamutu Roundabout area of Abeokuta with bags of Indian hemp weighing 279kg.

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