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COVID-19: Nasarawa Assembly Complex to be fumigated for lawmakers, others safety
By Abel Leonard, Lafia
The Nasarawa State House of Assembly, has urged Gov. Abdullahi Sule to direct the state Ministry of Environment to fumigate its complex including offices as part of measures to prevent the spread of second wave of Coronavirus in the state.
This, the House said, was to ensure the safety of Honourable members, staff and other visitors coming into the assembly as members resumed sitting after seven (7)weeks of recess.
Rt. Hon Ibrahim Balarabe Abdullahi, the Speaker of the House made the call after the Majority Leader of the House, Hon Umar Tanko Tunga (APC Awe North) moved a motion under matters of public importance to that effect during the House proceedings today in Lafia.
The speaker said that the fumigation of the House would not only protect Honourable members and staff but would also protect their constituents and other members of the public when they visited the House.
” We are requesting His Excellency, Gov. Abdullahi Sule to direct the state Ministry of Environment to fumigate the House tommorow, Tuesday, February 16, 2021.
” This is to ensure our safety, the safety of the staff of the assembly and other visitors,” he said.
The speaker assured of his continued commitment to operate an open door policy and an inclusive leadership for the overall development of the state.
Earlier, Hon Tanko Tunga, the Majority Leader of the House while moving the motion on the need for the state government to fumigate the House said that it was necessary to enable members, staff and other visitors to remain safe due to the second wave of coronavirus as the house has fully resumed.
” I want to move a motion that this House should be adjourned to next week Monday so that the House should be fumigated.
” This will enable members, staff and other visitors to remain safe, ” he said.
Hon Danladi Jatau, the Minority Leader of the House seconded the majority leader motion.
The Minority leader said that the fumigation of the House was necessary due to the effect of COVID-19.
Besides, the speaker appreciated members of the PDP in the House for their support and understanding when the House extended its recess by one week from February 8th, 2021 to February 15th, 2021 to enable APC lawmakers register and revalidate their party membership as well as ensure full mobilisation of their people for the exercise.
” We have been away for recess as our recess was characterised by events. One of them is APC revalidation registration and update exercise in which I directed members of APC to go to their various constituencies to register and revalidate their membership.
” I want to appreciate PDP members for their support and understanding over the extension of our recess.
” I want to assure members of PDP extraction that the same gesture will be extended to them when the need arises,” he said.
It would be recalled that the House on December 22nd, 2020, went on recess for Christmas/ New Year celebration and is expected to resume on Monday, February 8th, 2021 before its recess was extended to February 15th, 2021 over APC Revalidation Registration and Update Exercise.
It would be reported that the House today adjourned to next week, Monday, February 22nd, 2021 to enable the state government fumigate the House.
February 15, 2021
Tinubu’s silence on attack against Yoruba people selfish – Timi Frank
By Joyce Babayeju
Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has urged former Lagos State governor and national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, to speak up in defense of the Yoruba race amidst the crisis that has rocked South-West states in recent times.
Frank, who made the call in a statement on Monday, also decried the spate of insecurity in the country, especially in the South-West with reference to the recent Oyo crisis.
He said it was high time the APC leader broke his silence and spoke up against the attacks in his region, stressing that his continued silence did not portray him as a leader with the interest of his people at heart.
Frank alleged that Tinubu’s silence over time was simply because of his ‘selfish’ political ambition to run for presidency in 2023.
He said: “The crisis in the South-West should be solely blamed on Tinubu who foisted Buhari on Nigerians and especially on the South-West.
“How can Tinubu continue to keep mute over the attacks in Oyo State and other South-West states?
“Tinubu is a leader of the Yorubas in the South-West. Asiwaju cannot be silent over matters involving threats to life, peace and security of his people.
“His continued silence has become too loud, especially owing to the fact that he was the major influence and the reason the Yorubas voted massively for Buhari in 2015.
“He does not want to shatter his relationship with Buhari which in turn, by his calculation, would attract the President’s nod for him to have a shot at the presidency come 2023.
“But as a leader of the region, Tinubu should speak against the attacks against his people and not be driven by his selfish 2023 presidential ambition.”
The Bayelsa-born activist added: “Nigeria is more divided under Buhari than it has ever been before. Buhari’s government has polarised the country across religious and ethnic lines.
“This government is so clueless and incompetent that it recognises and shows a soft hand on terrorist groups like Boko Haram, killer herdsmen and bandits, but sadly mete out cruelty on innocent and patriotic Nigerians.
“Look at the number of security personnel it sent to wickedly dehumanise and arrest peaceful #EndsSARS protesters at the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos.
“Yet, the Buhari government can’t send a similar proportion of law enforcement agencies after killer herdsmen.
The activist, however, urged all Nigerians and especially the leaders in the South-West to unite and fight the common enemy: insecurity.
He urged other regions to also join in the fight, warning that if the trend is allowed to fester, sooner or later, the crisis of insecurity may grow out of proportion in every region of the country.
February 15, 2021
Many brothers are returning to PDP from APC – Goodluck Jonathan
Former president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan has said “many brothers” are returning to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Jonathan stated this on Sunday, while speaking at the Ecumenical Centre in Igbogene, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, during the first anniversary thanksgiving of Governor Douye Diri’s administration.
“I again urge Bayelsans not to see those in the opposition as enemies. Today ,they are there but tomorrow they might be here.
“As I speak, many of our brothers in the All Progressives Congress (APC) are returning to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” he said.
Jonathan, however, urged politicians to see politics as a means of developing the people and not as welfare
Others present at the event included: Dame Patience Jonathan, Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo); Bala Mohammed (Bauchi); Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom); National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Uche Secondus, among others
February 15, 2021
Those of us in politics should learn to play politics as politics and not as a war – Jonathan
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has urged politicians to see politics as a means of developing the people and not as warfare.
Jonathan spoke yesterday at the Ecumenical Centre in Igbogene, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, during the first anniversary thanksgiving of the Governor Douye Diri administration.
The thanksgiving was also used to celebrate the February 13, 2020, Supreme Court judgment that ushered in Diri as governor.
Others at the thanksgiving were Dame Patience Jonathan, Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo); Bala Mohammed (Bauchi); Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom); National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Uche Secondus, among others.
The former president stressed that at the end of every political contest, politicians should sheathe their swords and work with the winner.
He praised Diri for his non-discriminatory style of politics, which ‘had seen him embrace everybody regardless of their political leanings’.
Jonathan also called for support from the people to enable the Diri administration to succeed.
He said: “Those of us in politics should learn to play politics as politics and not as a war. At the end of the process, let us come together and support the winner.
“I thank our governor for opening his mind to accept everybody irrespective of the political divide, and I urge him to do more.”
Diri thanked God for the miracle that brought him to office, saying he would forever remain grateful and committed to the service of the state.
The governor also thanked the judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court Justices, for their courage in delivering such a landmark judgment. Diri said the Justices proved that the judiciary remained the last hope of the common man.
He also thanked those who stood by him after the election and before the court ruling, especially Senator Seriake Dickson, Emmanuel and Makinde. According to him, they allowed God to use them to make his dream a reality.
The governor urged the people to always exude love and embrace one another irrespective of party affiliations, stressing that the development of the state was bigger than any group or individual consideration.
He said: “They say the judiciary is the last hope of the common man. For us, the judiciary was our last hope. We thank all those who contributed one way or another toward ensuring our victory.
“I again urge Bayelsans not to see those in the opposition as enemies. Today they are there but tomorrow they might be here. As I speak, many of our brothers in the All Progressives Congress (APC) are returning to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).”
Deputy Governor Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo recalled that their hope was dashed but God served them to victory. He said they are grateful to God and the people for their solidarity during the difficult moments that led to the court victory.
In their goodwill messages, Governors Makinde, Emmanuel and Mohammed, and Secondus hailed Diri for his strides in office. They were confident he would transform the state, and urged Bayelsans to support him.
Pastor Lazarus Mouka of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Movement delivered a sermon ‘It is the Lord’s Doing’. He described Diri’s emergence as divine.
According to him, there were limitations with man, but with God, all things were possible. He urged the people to turn to God for salvation.
The cleric hailed the governor and people for the attitude of thanksgiving and prayed to God to enable Diri to fulfil his purpose for the state.
February 15, 2021
Criminal Herdsmen Are Being Tried And Convicted Across the Nation – Presidency
The Presidency on Monday said “thousands of” herdsmen are being tried and convicted across the country for illegal activities.
President Muhammadu Buhari has faced criticism for taking a soft approach to the herdsmen crisis based on ethnic affiliations.
Most herdsmen are Fulani, the same ethnicity as the President.
But speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said there is no substance to such criticism.
“I hope that the police will take responsibility and publish the full list of Fulani herders who are undergoing trial in various states, particularly in Benue State,” Mr. Shehu said. “Trials are going on, convictions are being made and the President cannot be complicit in the kind of things that are being said of him.”
Mr. Shehu also said the President is fully aware of the country’s security situation and is working to ensure the safety of lives and properties.
“The President is more than concerned about the ongoing situation,” he said “And he is fully conscious of the fact that it is the responsibility of his government to work with all Nigerians to secure lives and stop the ongoing crises, whether they are kidnapping or ethnic hatred and violence. He condemns it.
“It is for community leaders – local, traditional, and elected – to work with the President.
“The country’s military, as we speak, is overstretched because they are active in at least 34 of the 36 states of the federation, including the FCT.
“The Air Force, the police, they are recruiting, day and night; people are being trained in special operations and are being sent to the forest.”
February 15, 2021
Insecurity: Buhari Needs To Come Out And Condemn Herdsmen Violence – Sen Abaribe
Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe on Monday faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s handling of the nation’s herdsmen crisis.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Abaribe suggested that the President’s posture appeared to give fuel to the activities of these violent herdsmen.
“The President needs to come out and say I do not support these types of actions, these criminal elements,” Abaribe said. “He has to come out and everybody sees that he is owning this problem.”
But “We have never heard it,” he added. “Where did the President ever say that these criminal herdsmen will never be tolerated in this country? What we’ve heard from 2016 all the way down is ‘live in peace with your neighbour’ and ‘try to accommodate your countrymen’ and stuff of that nature.
“And that now enables those who are committing these crimes, that there is no punishment.
“And when you see the rest of the country, eruptions here and there, all targetted at a particular segment of people, you should be very worried. And why you should be very worried is, what is it that gives these people the impetus to continue to commit these crimes?”
Abaribe is ‘Uncharitable’
Responding to Abaribe, presidential spokesman Garba Shehu described his comments as “uncharitable.”
He stressed that the President, through his spokespersons, has condemned such violent activities.
“Senator Abaribe dwelt a lot, attacking President Muhammadu Buhari, saying that he has not, even at a rhetorical level, spoken against this kind of violence,” Sheu said. “That is most uncharitable.
“When Femi Adesina or myself speak for the President, people should accept that it is the President that is speaking.
“For this President, it is the actions that should speak for him. He is not a showman. He doesn’t have to be there.”
February 15, 2021
Dismissed SARS police constable sentenced to death for extra-judicial killing
The police constable and member of the defunct SARS, is said to have conspired with other constables, who are now at large, to kill a suspected criminal in 2015.
A State High Court in Benin City, Edo Sate, on Friday, sentenced a police constable, Joseph Omotosho, to death for conspiring with four other constables, said to be at large, to kill a car dealer in 2015.
The slain car dealer, Benson Obodeh, was suspected by the police to belong to a criminal gang.
Mr Omotosho, who was dismissed from the Nigerian police after the incident, served with the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a police unit that was notorious for its brutality and other forms of human rights abuses.
The four other dismissed constables were also convicted but not sentenced because they were not present in the court.
They were identified as Adeleke Adedeji, Abena John, Oniyo Musa, and Henry Shobowole.
The four were said to have escaped while on trial from one of the Medium Security Correctional Centres in Benin City during the October, 2020 jailbreaks.
The judge, Ohimai Ovbiagele, found all the accused persons guilty on an eight-count charge, which included conspiracy to steal and murder.
From the court proceedings, the slain Mr Obodeh, 26, a Benin-based car dealer, was listed as a member of a criminal gang who allegedly stole a Peugeot car in Lagos.
He was said to have been arrested at his home in Benin City on May 21, 2015 and tortured to death the same day by the five police officers.
February 14, 2021
Insecurity: Emir of Bauchi, oba, other stakeholders meet, discuss herders’ crisis
The Emir of Bauchi, Dr Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu, has declared that Nigeria needs divine intervention to save it from an impending crisis over the current herders’ issue.
The first class royal father stated this when he received the Yoruba community in Bauchi State in his palace on Saturday, emphasizing the need for peaceful coexistence among all ethnic groups in the country.
Adamu appealed to Nigerians irrespective of their religious affiliations to turn to God in this trying period and seek His divine intervention, expressing the belief that Allah would solve the problem which is currently putting the country’s existence on the line.
The traditional ruler advised politicians, especially political office holders to be mindful of what they say on the issue with a view to not escalating the issue beyond what it is now.
The Emir declared that Nigerians were related one way or the other through various means and submitted that to sever such a relationship now would be very difficult.
While calling on the Yoruba people in the state to continue to live in peace and harmony with their host communities, the royal father said they had become part of the state.
“You have become part of the place you are; you have married and given out your daughters in marriage. You are, therefore, part of here,” the Emir told his visitors.
Speaking earlier, the Ọba Yoruba of Bauchi, Tirimisiyu Adegoke, appealed to the Emir to be in the forefront in mobilising traditional rulers across the country with a view to preaching peace and peaceful coexistence among the different ethnic groups in Nigeria.
Adegoke assured the Emir that the Yoruba people resident in Bauchi State are not only law-abiding but also peace-loving citizens working hard to earn legitimately in the state, adding that the Yoruba community would not do anything to breach the existing peace in the state
The highlight of the visit was the formal introduction of the new leaders of the Yoruba community by Adegoke to the Emir.
February 14, 2021
Senate Set To Screen Service Chiefs, Says Ndume
Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, Senator Ali Ndume has said that Senate Joint Committee on Defence, Army, Navy and Air Force may start the screening of the newly nominated Service Chiefs this week.
Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on Wednesday, referred the request of President Muhammadu Buhari seeking the confirmation of the new service chiefs for appointment to the Senate Joint Committees on Defence, Army, Navy and Air Force for further legislative work.
Lawan, gave the committees two weeks to carry out their assignments and report back to plenary.
The newly nominated Service Chiefs are: Maj. Gen. Lucky Eluonye Onyenuchea lrabor as Chief of Defence Staff; Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru (Chief of Army Staff); Rear Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, (Chief of Naval Staff); and Air Vice Marshal Isiaka O. Amao as Chief of Air staff.
They are to replace the former Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.
While responding to a question, Ndume said: “It is not advisable to screen service chiefs in the open.
“If you do, it means you will be compromising the security of the country especially if there are issues that borders on national security.”
He said the Service Chiefs would be screened this week since the joint committee was given only two weeks to submit its report.
“We have been given two weeks so it will definitely be done next week and we shall keep you informed,” Ndume said
February 14, 2021
Osinbajo Condemns Shasha Violence, Calls For Peace
Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo has condemned the violence that led to the loss of lives at the Shasha Market, in Oyo State, calling for peace between the northern traders and those in the southwest.
Professor Osinbajo made the appeal while addressing journalists after he paid a condolence visit to the family of the late Chief Lateef Jakande in Lagos State, describing the incident as unfortunate and tragic.
The Vice President said the market has been a melting pot for traders bringing foodstuff from the north to the southwest for decades and they have lived in peace and even inter-married.
He believes that when a disagreement arises between individuals or a criminal act is committed by one against the other, Nigerians must ensure that they see it for what it is, (a criminal act) which must be punished according to law and not as an ethnic conflict.
The Vice President also believes that every Nigerian has a constitutional right to live, work and enjoy their lives in safety, peace under the law.
He, therefore, maintained that it is the duty of government through the police and other law enforcement agencies to arrest and prosecute any person who commits a crime against a citizen and it is also the role of the citizen to assist the police to identify the criminals.
“We must never take the law into our own hands, if we do we will be promoting chaos, and a breakdown of law and order, and all of us especially the most vulnerable amongst us, will be at risk. I urge all community leaders to work together to preserve the brotherly co-existence that our people from different parts of the country have enjoyed in Shasha market for several decades,” Osinbajo said.
February 14, 2021