Television Nigerian

A close friend of Muhammadu Sanusi II, the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Dallatu, revealed why the monarch was unable to attend the funeral of the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
Recall that Buhari passed away on Sunday at the age of 82 in a hospital in London. He was buried on Tuesday at his Daura, Katsina State, estate.
According to Dallatu, who spoke to Punch, the emir is now on an official assignment in the United Kingdom and is anticipated to return to Nigeria on Wednesday.

“The Emir won’t be there,” he said. He is not in the nation at all. He is anticipated to return on Wednesday from an official engagement in London.

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Emir Sanusi participated in the 2025 Access Bank Polo Tournament on Saturday in Surrey, England, where he was spotted with notable international individuals, such as Thomas Tuchel, the manager of England’s national football team, according to further research conducted by the aforementioned magazine.

On the other hand, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, the 15th Emir of Kano, was present at the state funeral of the deceased former president in Daura on Tuesday morning.

The development was confirmed by Bayero’s spokesperson, Abubakar Naisa, who stated that Jigawa State traditional leaders accompanied the Emir.

According to Kofar Naisa, “His Highness Aminu Ado Bayero left Kano this (Tuesday) morning for Daura to pay his last respects.” “He is with the Emirs of Kazaure and Dutse at the burial.”

After the overthrow of Muhammadu Sanusi II, who was Emir from 2014 until March 2020 under the rule of former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, the Kano Emirate has been embroiled in a power struggle.

At the funeral of former President Muhammadu Buhari in Daura, Katsina state, Rotimi Amaechi, the former minister of transportation, was seen donning a turban.

Buhari, the former president and head of state of Nigeria, died on July 13, causing a funeral in his hometown of Daura as well as nationwide grief.

Amaechi wore the traditional headdress during the previous president’s funeral.

Buhari’s remains, meanwhile, were transported by air on the presidential plane from London to Nigeria on Tuesday morning.

WHY IS AMAECHI DOnning a TURBAN?

In appreciation of his leadership and accomplishments in the transportation industry, Amaechi was given the title of Dan Amanar of Daura on February 5, 2022, which translates to “trusted son of Daura.”

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The former deputy majority leader of the Senate, Silas Zwingina, had denied allegations of political motivation at the time, characterizing the turbaning as a Daura Emirate cultural show of gratitude.

According to Zwingina, the Daura Emirate has a tradition of rewarding people who have made significant contributions to the advancement of the community.

He asserted that the projects Amaechi has carried out in Daura and throughout Nigeria are self-sufficient and that “it is totally out of politics and nobody should read any extraordinary meaning to it.”

Previously, Amaechi’s headwear has drawn criticism, most notably in 2022 when Musa Saidu, the southern Arewa leader, advised the minister to cease donning the turban while running for office.

Saidu urged against using the turban as a political accessory, arguing that it is a powerful Islamic symbol.

Former presidential spokesman Femi Adesina has stated that former President Muhammadu Buhari could have died long ago if he had used Nigerian hospitals.
According to reports, Adesina stated this in an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday.
Adesina stated that anyone protesting Buhari’s death in a London hospital should remember that the former president had always frequented London hospitals before taking office in 2015.

According to Adesina, Nigerian hospitals lacked the facilities and knowledge required for Buhari’s care, and the former President needed to be alive to affect change in the country.

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He stated, “Buhari has always had his medicals in London, even while he was not in office. This is not the same as when he was the only president. Then you must be alive to get certain things corrected or modified in your country.

“If the president had opted to do his medicals in Nigeria, as if it were a show, he could have died long ago because the country may not have the knowledge he requires. But he had to be alive to get the country to a situation where we could have that competence. So many who talk about traveling overseas don’t realize that a man needs to be alive before he can affect change.”

According to Prince Okey Kanu, the state’s information commissioner, the Abia State government has purchased a few electric buses for its mass transit system.

Okey Kanu told reporters in Umuahia during the State Executive Council meeting that the cars are being built in China and would be delivered to the state in November 2025.

The commissioner claims that the essential logistical support has been set up and that the bus routes have been laid out in preparation for the scheme’s successful launch.

Regarding the state government’s efforts to promote Ndigbo culture, the head of state information said that the State Ministry of Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy would begin a creative talent program in 17 LGAs of the state on July 25, 2025, in keeping with the cultural revolution the governor is advocating.

He revealed that the program would promote youth inclusion and grassroots empowerment of the state’s youth population, with the goal of scouting for artistic and other creative skills throughout the state’s 17 LGAs.

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In keeping with the vision of His Excellency, Dr. Alex Otti OFR, Prince Kanu said, “This program further underscores the state government’s commitment to cultural innovation with the engagement and global visibility of Abia’s creative potential.”

In order to raise Aba’s creative profile internationally while adhering to international standards, he disclosed that Abia State has started formal procedures to designate Aba as a UNESCO Creative City. He also mentioned that a delegation is scheduled to visit Aba this week for preliminary evaluations of Aba.

Regarding Abia’s ongoing water crisis, Kanu stated that Dr. Alex Otti, the state governor, will officially launch the Aba Regional Water Scheme’s rehabilitation at CKC Aba on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, as part of his campaign pledge to bring drinkable water back to Abians’ homes in the state’s cities and communities.

He added that the governor will also introduce the Integrated Wash Accelerator Programme (IWAP), an initiative aimed at reviving water sanitation and hygiene in the state. It will be held on Wednesday at the recently built Wash Facility at Okigwe Park in Umuahia.

The Abia commissioner said that the Federal Government’s declaration of a public holiday in the wake of President Muhammadu Buhari’s passing has caused some of the events scheduled to be launched by Governor Otti to be postponed.

According to him, “three significant events between Aba and Umuahia will take place on July 16, 2025.” His Excellency will launch the Aba Regional Water Scheme’s renovation there in Aba.

Due to inadequate operations, maintenance, and malfunctioning infrastructure, the system needs to be rehabilitated in order to regain its sustainability and performance.

The state government gave Vena Cava Limited the contract to redesign the water plan as part of the project’s initial phase, in accordance with the governor’s directive to supply Aba with drinkable water.

The Integrated Wash Accelerator Program (IWAP), which aims to restore water sanitation and hygiene in the state, will also be introduced by His Excellency Dr. Alex Otti earlier on the same Wednesday, July 16, 2025.

The facility’s goal is to serve the state’s present and future development needs by offering safe, easily accessible, and sustainable water sanitation services.

Through the Abia Integrated Wash Accelerator Program, the project is in accordance with His Excellency Dr. Alex Otti’s mandate to achieve Zero Defecation in Abia State, which is the sixth Sustainable Development Goal of the UN.

According to Prince Kanu, the scheme will entail the building, running, and upkeep of contemporary solar-powered water facilities.

In terms of electricity, the commissioner revealed that Otti would put into service 430 kW of battery storage and 150 kV of solar power. This project aims to reduce dependency on grid electricity, which will reduce diesel consumption and promote sustainability by powering state health facilities with solar energy.

The Abia information chief revealed that around N4.1 billion was realized from the launch of the Abia State Security Trust Fund, which took place last week.

According to him, rural artworks are presently being planned at FMC Umuahia, Osisioma junction (Flyover) in Aba, and Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, among other locations, in accordance with the government’s beautification and urban regeneration initiative including designated public areas and roads.

Furthermore, he stated that there is currently direct level work going on at 53 places throughout the state.

The governor is committed to restoring pipe-borne water to houses in Abia state, according to Engineer Ikechukwu Monday, Commissioner for Power and Public Utilities, in his contribution.

He mentioned three important water projects in Aba that are scheduled for renovation: Ogbor Hill, CKC, and Ariaria.

“We have begun awarding contracts,” he said. The Aba Regional Water Scheme, which consists of three water schemes that form and support the entire Aba network, is thus the initial area of focus.

We project that the first phase, which involves redesigning the water scheme to provide well-treated water that satisfies WHO criteria, would be finished in six months.

And the second step is to enter the reticulation, for which we have already prepared the request for quotations. And it will entail testing and distributing the water transmission lines that need to be rehabilitated in Aba. Thus, we will approach them in stages.

Speaking as well, Mr. Matthew Ekwuruibe, Commissioner for Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy, revealed that his ministry is now painting murals as part of the state government’s beautifying effort and would shortly be building monuments.

“In the states, we initiated a beautifying project. You’ll notice a change if you’re driving by FMC Gate and Osisioma Flyover. Additionally, we intend to go so far as to paint murals in some of these locations.

In addition, in order to make sure that we support our principal’s efforts, we will start erecting monuments in appropriate places around the states.

Additionally, we have started the formal Creative Talent Hunt launch in each of the 17 LGAs. You understand why I’m discussing talents. It would be impossible to discuss Nigerian talent today without bringing up Aba. Talents abound in Aba. Curatives are found there, according to Ekwuruibe.

Ireti Kingibe, a senator from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has called President Bola Tinubu’s choice to select Nyesom Wike as FCT Minister his worst error.
Kingibe reportedly stated this in an interview with ARISE Television.

“It is my personal opinion that that is rather unfortunate, because if I were making a list of all the things that President Tinubu has done wrong, the greatest wrong he has done to himself, the thing that has demarcated him the most has been on Minister Wike,” the Labour Party (LP) lawmaker said, criticizing President Tinubu for giving Wike such political prominence despite being a member of the opposition.

She responded to reports of Wike’s popularity in recent surveys by saying, “If, in fact, Minister Wike is as popular as Depending on who did it and how it was carried out, you’re referring to that poll. I’m not disparaging, but I am pointing out that elections for local governments will be held in a few months.

“Can he tell the people, go and do this and they do it,” she added, “when we get to any kind of election? If he is unable to, it indicates that all ministers have been doing is sulking and continuing to make noise.

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Kingibe further charged that the minister had misused property intended for a public hospital. “Land in Bwari has been set aside for a general hospital. Minister Wike cancels it and has a market, shopping center, or other event set up there. Minister Wike has been pestering embassies and the entire FCT over ground rent.

Kingibe went on to say, “Oh, I’m going to take those documents and go to the body, the equivalent of his state assembly, and insist that that assembly, the president from whom Wike derives his powers, goes back to the National Assembly for approval for everything,” in reference to the documents she said demonstrated Wike’s abuse of power.

“Wike, who receives authority from him, only attends the National Assembly to discuss the budget. What has he done with all of his IGR, TSA? He has never been held accountable for anything.