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Electoral Bill: Direct Primaries Best option For Political Parties -Saraki

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Nigeria’s former Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, believes that if done correctly, direct primaries are the best option for political parties.

On the sidelines of the 9th memorial prayer for his late father, Dr Olusola Saraki, held at the family’s Ilofa road residence in Ilorin on Sunday, Saraki spoke with journalists.

He stated that the debate over the propriety or otherwise generated by the National Assembly’s passage of a direct primary for political parties must not be allowed to derail the electoral bill.

According to him, the important thing is for President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the assent to the electoral bill for Nigerians to benefit from its other parts.

“But I am sure Nigerians are not prepared for it because there is still a lot of work to be done.

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“But now the National Assembly has passed it, we should make the best out of the situation rather than allowing the controversy one item to throw away the other good parts of the bill.

“What is important, is for the President to assent to it and enable Nigerians to benefit from the other parts.”

On the performance of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the recent election in Anambra where the party came a distant third, Saraki noted the exercise was a success for Nigeria and democracy.

“The Anambra election was a success story for Nigeria because many of us were sceptical that it would hold.

“But it not only held, it was peaceful and credible and we commend INEC for bringing in technology which we have advocated to improve our electoral process.

“Yes, there are still some works that needed to be done, no doubt, but we can improve on that for the next election to be better. People can now say we are having elections that are closer to best practices. That election was a good day for democracy and Nigeria and we thank the security agencies also”, he added.

Read Also:  Defence Headquarters Report Warning Soldiers Against Coup debunks

Saraki said the PDP has demonstrated the capacity and leadership qualities to deliver the country with the way it’s leaders reconciled themselves to hold the National Convention.

He further noted that what is important now is Nigeria and not personal ambition of anybody.

“The party that cannot manage itself cannot rule the country”.

The former Senate President described his late father as a selfless leader which Nigerian should adopt today in the light of the country’s sorry situation.

Other top dignitaries that also graced the event were the Minister for Transportation, State, Gbemisola Saraki, Senator Rafiu Ibrahim, former PDP National Secretary, former Acting National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje who is also the Tafida of Ilorin, former Minister of Transportation, Bio Ibrahim, former Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Dr Ali Ahmad and the National Legal Adviser of the PDP,  Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN) amongst others.

Buni ignores Convention Call, Issues notice for the sale of forms in Ekiti, Osun

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Even as APC stakeholders demand a timeline for the party’s National Convention, the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee CECPC has issued an official notice for the sale of nomination forms for the gubernatorial elections in Ekiti and Osun States.

Sen. John James Akpanudodehe, secretary of the CECPC, signed the official notice, which set the sale of nomination forms for the two states to begin on November 16th and 18th, 2021, respectively.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed June 18, 2022 for Ekiti governorship election and July 16, 2022 for the same exercise in Osun state.

Recall that some Stakeholders of the party had recently become restive over the delayed Convention as rumours of another extension of the life of the caretaker Committee beyond December persist.

Read Also:  Buni Caretaker Committee should be disbanded, according to concerned APC stakeholders

Already Stakeholders are already pointing to an anomaly in the sale of nomination form for Osun State especially that Governor Oyetola, a member of the CECPC, will be involved in the sale of forms in a race he is a participant.

Defence Headquarters Report Warning Soldiers Against Coup debunks

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The Defence Headquarters has been alerted to a false report by the online newspaper Naija News House about the Nigerian military warning politicians and officers about a coup, which it attributed to Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, the Army Spokesman.

“The online newspaper manipulated with the intent of disinformation a previous message released in May 2021 by the then Director Defence Information, who is now the current Army spokesperson,” said Brigadier General Bernard Onyeuko, the Acting Director Defence Media Operations.

“The publication is a handiwork of mischief makers and enemies of the state. It is a deliberate and calculated attempt to mislead the general public aimed at causing disharmony in the polity.

Read Also:  Bauchi govt to receive N30bn collateral from World Bank to tackle flood

“It is a malicious attempt to bring the military to disrepute. It is obvious that the online newspaper has its own sinister intention to cause confusion.”

According to him, the Military High Command hereby warns all mischief-makers and their proxies not to draw the military into their engagements.

“The Armed Forces of Nigeria remains apolitical and would not hesitate to deal decisively with any person or group of persons that want to tarnish its image or draw it into partisan politics.“

The Armed Forces of Nigeria restated its loyalty to President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR and also swore to defend the nation’s democracy as well the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Belarus should not use people as weapons, says EU Chief Diplomat

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On Sunday, Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, spoke by phone with Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei about the migrant crisis on the Polish border and European sanctions against Minsk.

On Twitter, Borrell stated that he had brought up “the precarious humanitarian situation at the EU border.”

He wrote, “People’s lives must be protected, and humanitarian agencies must be allowed access.” “The current situation is intolerable and must be changed immediately. “No one should be used as a weapon.”

Read Also:  JUST IN: The United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union have been instructed to deploy observers to watch Nnamdi Kanu’s trial.

The EU and Belarus held talks the day before the EU plans to impose new sanctions on Minsk to include airlines and travel agencies thought to be involved in bringing migrants to the bloc’s border.

“Futility of sanctions was highlighted… by the Belarusian side,” the Belarusian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Thousands of migrants have travelled to Belarus in the hope of crossing into the European Union (EU), only to find themselves trapped on the border in freezing conditions.

Europe accuses Belarus of mounting “a hybrid attack” by flying in migrants and pushing them to cross illegally into Poland. Belarus has repeatedly denied the accusation.

Makei informed his counterpart about steps taken by Belarus to reduce the migrant flow and providing them with humanitarian aid on the border, the ministry said.

Bayelsa received N26.8bn total net revenue in two months

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The Bayelsa State Government has announced that the Federation Account provided it with a total net revenue of N26.8 billion in July and August 2021.

While the government received N14.2 billion in July, the state received N12.6 billion in August.

However, the state’s total gross inflow over the two months was N31.5 billion, with N16.5 billion in July and N15 billion in August.

The Commissioner for Finance, Maxwell Ebibai, disclosed these during the income and expenditure briefing for the two months at the Treasury Building in Yenagoa.

Read Also:  Bauchi govt to receive N30bn collateral from World Bank to tackle flood

Ebibai said receipts from other sources in July amounted to N12bn in addition to an internally generated revenue (IGR) of N1bn, bringing the total receipts for the month to N26bn.

According to him, the total deductions for July at Federation Account Allocation Committee was N2.3bn while total expenditure stood at N21.7bn, leaving a net balance of N4.6bn which was added to N2.9bn brought forward from June to close July with N7.5bn.

The Finance Commissioner said in August, the state also recorded N1bn as IGR while revenue from other receipts was N2bn.

He said that the total expenditure was N9.5bn which left a balance of N6bn from the N15.6bn net inflow for the month of August with recurrent and capital payments gulping N8.1bn.

Read Also:  How we used woman to seduce lawmaker and rob him of $2,000 –Suspected kidnapper

According to Ebibai, the state had a deficit of N2.1 billion in August, but the sum of N7.5 billion brought forward from July brought the month’s total to N5.4 billion.

How we used woman to seduce lawmaker and rob him of $2,000 –Suspected kidnapper

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Police have arrested Cyril Isong, an information technology expert, for the alleged kidnapping of a member of the House of Representatives.

Isong, who lived in Abuja, is said to have conspired with others on the loose to lure the lawmaker to a short-term rental apartment in Asokoro, Abuja, with a woman and then held him hostage, robbing him of $2,000 and N65,000 in the process.

Following a petition addressed to the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, by Isong, operatives of the Force Intelligence Response Team led by DCP Tunji Disu tracked him down recently in Akwa Ibom.

Read Also: Bauchi govt to receive N30bn collateral from World Bank to tackle flood

The victim was said to have alleged in the petition that on August 4, 2020, he received a call from an unknown caller who introduced himself as Sani and claimed to be a  former National Assembly member.

Sani reportedly claimed that he was having health challenges and was advised to contact the lawmaker who was in charge of the affairs of former members of the House.

The rep alleged that he directed Sani to his house in Abuja but the caller gave an excuse he had been rendered immobile by the illness and appealed to the lawmaker to come to his apartment in Asokoro.

On getting to the short let facility, the victim reportedly  met two men who introduced themselves as Sani’s brothers. He was said to have been attacked immediately he was ushered in, blindfolded and tied up.

“They collected $2,000 and N65,000 found on him. They searched his car and took all his valuables. They demanded a number to call for a ransom. He begged them and they freed him. He reported the incident at the Asokoro Police Station. Luckily on August 31, 2021 Isong was arrested in his state in Akwa Ibom.” a police source said.

Isong, 36, claimed he read chats between his wife and the lawmaker on the former’s phone, adding that the wife broke up with him when he confronted her about her relationship with the rep.

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He said, “I studied Information Technology and got married in 2017. The first two years of our marriage were beautiful and we travelled across the world for business and pleasure. I thought our marriage was made in heaven until the COVID-19 pandemic destroyed everything. We lost many goods and we were indebted.

“Suddenly I noticed that my wife started locking her phones and as a computer guru, I was able to tap into her line and started reading her discussion with various men. I was frustrated reading how she begged them for money. The honourable (lawmaker) was one of such persons. He even visited our house pretending to be a family friend. It was his visit that led to the final break-up of my marriage because I confronted my wife and she got angry and left.”

Isong said he organised the kidnapping to ‘deal with’ the lawmaker and involved some cult members he knew while in the university.

He explained that they lured the lawmaker into an apartment in Asokoro, held him hostage and dispossessed him of his cash and other valuables.

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He stated, “They were the ones who arranged one beautiful lady who spoke to him through a video call. The apartment is a short let in an estate in Asokoro and it’s N80,000 per night. On the agreed date, the honourable came; we grabbed him and tied him up. I did not speak throughout because he might recognise my voice

“We gathered all of the valuables and cash found on him and in his vehicle.” Instead of calling his family for more money, he requested our account number. We decided to leave him and flee because I knew he was planning a trap for us. We didn’t succeed in defeating him. Because I couldn’t afford to pay rent in Abuja, I returned to Akwa Ibom. The cops apprehended me when I went into a bank to open an account.”

Isong claimed that he had defrauded two other people using similar methods to those used against the lawmaker.

He said, “One of the victims was Tania who ran a restaurant. We were friends but when my wife left, we started dating. She closed down her restaurant and I helped her to sell the valuables. I kept N300,000 and promised to give her but failed.

“She kept disturbing me and I knew that I would not pay because I was indebted. She is rich but refused to let go. I called her with an unknown number and introduced educational tourism to her in case she wanted her daughter to study abroad. We lured her into an apartment and collected N80,000 cash from her.’’

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He stated that the third person was her sister-in-law who he invited to the Asokoro apartment under false pretences.

He added, “When she arrived, I tied her up. We saw a lot of money in her dollar account but to withdraw. It was  hard. We just took the N500,000 cash found on her and disappeared.”

Bauchi govt to receive N30bn collateral from World Bank to tackle flood

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The state government will receive a N30 billion intervention from the World Bank to help combat environmental problems caused by flood disasters in various local government areas of Bauchi State during the rainy season.

This was revealed on Saturday by Dr Kabir Ibrahim, Director-General of Bauchi State Environmental Protection Agency (BASEPA), at the start of sand evacuation in Cheledi, Kirfi Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

Flooding was rife in the state, according to Ibrahim, and it had wreaked havoc on many local government areas, including Kirfi.

Read Also:  Gbajabiamila Mourns Tordue Salem Vanguard reporter

According to him, the devastation caused by flooding was so enormous that the state government solicited the support of the World Bank in order to tackle the menace.

The BASEPA boss informed that the state government had agreed to pay N1 billion as its own counterpart fund, adding that this had been captured in the state’s 2022 budget proposal.

“We know that the state government cannot do it alone. That is why we asked for World Bank intervention funding, which they promised after paying the counterpart fund and it is one of the state government priorities at the moment,” Dr Ibrahim said.

In his remarks, the chairman of Kirfi LGA, Garba Musa Bara, said people of the area were determined to contribute their quota to the evacuation exercise with a view to avoiding the disaster it could cause.

According to the council boss, “We have been able to get the listening ears of the DG BASEPA, who mobilised to come here and evacuate the sand that is a menace to us from our pathways.

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“We have made arrangements to run away from what would eventually bring such disaster in the future.”

On his part, the district head of Cheledi, Alhaji Sale Bello, commended the state governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, for his prompt action and self-response during the last flooding in Kirfi communities.

Bello assured that the people of the area are always ready to abide by the laws of the land and respect constituted authority as well.

He explained that the sand evacuation exercise was timely, considering the fact that the harvesting period had commenced, while people were also preparing for the next line of action for irrigation farming.

Gbajabiamila Mourns Tordue Salem Vanguard reporter

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Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, has expressed sorrow over the death of Mr. Tordue Salem, a reporter for the Vanguard newspapers who covered the House.

Police discovered Mr. Salem’s body on Thursday, a month after he went missing.

Salem, whom the Speaker described as a “vibrant and committed journalist,” went missing for nearly a month before his body was discovered in an Abuja morgue, according to the Speaker.

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Salem distinguished himself as one of the best journalists who covered the House’s activities for many years, according to Gbajabiamila.

In a statement signed by his spokesperson Lanre Lasisi, Speaker Gbajabiamila sent his condolences to the late Salem’s family, Vanguard newspapers, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), and the House of Representatives Press Corps.

While praying for the repose of the soul of the late journalist, Gbajabiamila prayed God to grant his family and colleagues the fortitude to bear the loss, adding that Salem would be sorely missed.

NAF jet kill Several ISWAP fighters in Matte

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In Marte Local Government Area in Borno State, Nigerian Airforce jets killed a large number of Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters.
According to sources, the attack happened on Friday while they were meeting with their new leader, Sani Shuwaram, at Sabon Tumbun and Jibularam.
The Nigerian Army and Air Force jets carried out a coordinated aerial and ground operation, targeting the newly-appointed Wali of ISWAP, Sani Shuwaram, and his other Senior Commanders. “The strikes were carried out after the Air Task Force conducted an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance study.

“Several jihadists were killed, including high-ranking insurgents’ commanders, foot soldiers and Hisbah police of the ISWAP faction

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“A ground assessment confirmed that some of the ISWAP top Commanders that were at the scene at the time of the strikes include; Muhammed Bako, Special Militant Forces Commander (Rijal Ann); Muhammad Malumma, a Chief Judge of Marte; Goni Mustapha, the Chief Imam; Muhammed Ba’ana, Commander of Kirta; Muhammed Ali, Amir of Kwalaram; Ibn Umar, Chief Prosecutor; Bakura Gana, Commander of Jubularam; and Malam Musa, Amir of Jubularam.”

BREAKING: Army confirms Brig Gen’s death in Borno attack

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On Saturday, a Brigadier General was killed in an attack by Islamic State West Africa Province in the Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, according to the Nigerian Army.

The Army stated in a statement signed by Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, Director, Army Public Relations, on Saturday that the troops of Joint Task Force, North East Operation Hadin Kai were engaged in a fierce gun battle with terrorists, which resulted in the deaths of three other soldiers.

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“A gallant senior officer, Brigadier General Dzarma Zirkusu, and three soldiers paid the ultimate sacrifice in a very rare display of gallantry as they provided reinforcement in a counteroffensive against the terrorists, and successfully defended the location,” the statement read in part. The senior officer’s family and soldiers have been contacted.

“The Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Faruk Yahaya deeply commiserates with the families and relations of the fallen heroes. He has also directed that the troops continue in the ferrocious counter offensive and hot pursuit to eliminate the remnant of the fleeing terrorists.”

Nwachukwu, in the statement, also noted that the military had deployed five A – Jet, two A-29, two Dragon combat with which they destroyed nine gun trucks and one armoured personnel carrier of the terrorists.

Read Also:  In Borno, troops kill’scores of ISWAP terrorists’ destroy equipment

He went on to say that the fight was still going on when he filed the statement.

Earlier, the Brigadier General and three other soldiers were killed in an attack on a military base in Borno State.

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