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  • Mutfwang inherits N307b debts, says report

    Mutfwang inherits N307b debts, says report

    • •No records of expenditure between Jan-May 2023

    The Caleb Mutfwang administration in Plateau State inherited a debt of N307 billion from the immediate past government, according to committees’ reports.

    This was made known yesterday when the reports of the Committee on a Four-Year Strategic Development Blueprint for Plateau State and that of the Plateau State Transition Committee headed by Prof. Ganyir Lombin were presented to Governor Caleb Mutfwang at the New Government House in Jos, the Plateau State capital.

    Lombin expressed gratitude for the opportunity given to them to serve the state but said the committee was faced with some challenges that did not allow them to make a joint presentation.

    He lamented that the outgone administration of Simon Lalong did not avail the Committee the opportunity of making input into the handover documents submitted to the joint committee before May 29, 2023.

    Lombin said the notes presented to the governor on 29 May 2023 were scanty as they did not follow the agreed template developed by the Joint Committee.

    He said: “The handover notes stated that the revenue which accrued to the Plateau State Government from May 2015 to May 2023 stood at N872 billion. The total expenditure was only given from May 2015 to December 2022 and not up to May 2023 at N810 billion.

    “Does this suggest that there was no expenditure from January 2023 to May 2023? Or was it deliberate misinformation? The government needs to look at this critically and where necessary, take approximate action.

    “There is no clear figure for the state’s Monthly wage Bill. However, this administration has inherited a backlog of four months of unpaid salaries to public servants amounting to over N11 billion. Outstanding gratuity and Pension arrears of N24 billion was also inherited.

    Read Also: Mutfwang imposes 24-hour curfew on Plateau Council

    “The Legacy  Projects are marred in controversies and unresolved legal cases which have stalled their implementation. Currently, the sum of N12 billion for this project is still in the custody of the Trustees of the funds.

    “There are 3, 692 items of Government  Assets and Properties including cars, houses that were sold and auctioned at a ridiculous price both within and outside the state. This needs to be further investigated and where necessary, appropriate action be taken.”

    Lombin said Mutfwang inherited a near-bankrupt state, with weak institutions, low public morale, and a high level of insecurity but with high expectations from the citizenry.

    He described the task ahead of Mutfwang as enormous but not insurmountable.

    Receiving the reports, the governor said: “I want to assure you that these reports will not gather dust on the shelves. We are going to make prudent use of them and study them appropriately. These reports will give rise to further investigation, will give rise to further studies that we need to embark upon and we will not waste time in doing so by the grace of God.

    “You highlighted the debt burden. I knew that throughout the campaign, we were under the mistaken belief that our debt burden was around N200 billion and to hear that it is  N307 billion is quite intimidating and worrisome.

    “But by the grace of God, the challenges we are confronted with are not insurmountable. Of particular concern is the issue of security which unfortunately has become to us, a major distraction. We are confident that by the grace of God, with some of the new security personnel on the ground, and with the Special Adviser on Security assuming responsibility, we will be able to see a difference, not too long from now.”

    The governor expressed his determination to fulfill his constitutional mandate of protecting the lives and property of the people of Plateau State and said no stone would be left unturned in ensuring that the Plateau legacy as a Home of Peace and Tourism is restored within a short time.

  • Activists knock 10th Senate leadership on gender balance

    Activists knock 10th Senate leadership on gender balance

    The composition of the 10th Senate, with only three women out of the 109-member legislative chamber is the poorest since 1999 in terms of women’s representation. But gender advocates insist that the leadership of the 10th Senate ought to have made up for this imbalance by electing one of them as a principal officer. Correspondent SANNI ONOGU reports

    The leadership of the 10th Senate is now properly constituted. This followed the emergence of Senator Godswill Akpabio as Senate President and Senator Barau Jibrin as Deputy Senate President during the inauguration of the 10th Senate on June 13, 2023. After this, vacancies for the position of Principal Officers and presiding officers to manage the affairs of the Senate were still outstanding. The Principal Officers include Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Chief Whip, Deputy Chief Whip, Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Whip and Deputy Minority Whip.

    These leaders are often chosen in line with the number of political parties that constitute the Senate. The party with the majority often produces Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip, while the minority parties get the positions of Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Whip and Deputy Minority Whip.

    Following the outcome of the February 25 National Assembly elections, the All Progressives Congress (APC) emerged majority with 59 senators, while the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) secured 36 seats, the Labour Party (LP) eight seats, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the New Nigeria Peoples’ Party (NNPP) have two seats each and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Young Progressives Party (YPP) have one seat each.

    With the composition of the membership of the 10th Senate, the six opposition parties have altogether 50 senators, against the APC’s 59. It was based on this scenario that Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the Principal Officers of the 10th Senate recently. The officers that emerged on the platform of the APC are Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central, Senate Leader), Senator Dave Umahi (Ebonyi South, Deputy Senate Leader), Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South, Chief Whip) and Senator Lola Ashiru (Kwara South, Deputy Chief Whip).

    For the opposition parties, Akpabio named Senator Simon Mwadkwon (PDP Plateau North) as Minority Leader and Senator Oyewunmi Olalere (PDP Osun West) as Deputy Minority Leader. Senator Darlington Nwokocha (LP Abia Central) emerged as the Minority Whip, while Senator Rufai Hanga (NNPP Kano Central) was named the Deputy Minority Whip.

    However, the election of presiding officers and appointment of Principal Officers of the 10th Senate is negatively devoid of gender balance in line with the Geneva Convention which stipulates 30 per cent seats for women in any political hierarchy. While the non-representation of women in the leadership of the 10th Senate has been greeted with uproar, the presence of only three women in the 10th Assembly has remained of great concern to gender advocates.

    Unlike previous sessions, only three women senators are in the 10th Assembly. The women who are from different political parties are Senator Idiat Oluranti Adebule (APC Lagos Central), Senator Ireti Kingibe (LP FCT) and Senator Ipalibo Harry Banigo (PDP Rivers West). The 9th National Assembly had more women like Senators Oluremi Tinubu, Abiodun Olujimi, Uche Lilian Ekwunife, Stella Oduah, Akon Eyakenyi, Betty Apiafi, Nora Ladi Dadu’ut, Aishatu Ahmed and the late Senator Rose Oko. Before this, the 8th Senate had eight female Senators, namely the late Rose Okonji Oko, Uche Lillian Ekwunife, Stella Oduah, Fatimat Raji Rasaki, Oluremi Tinubu, Binta Masi Garba, Biodun Olujimi and Monsurat Sunmonu. Olujimi emerged as Minority Leader towards the end of the 8th Senate.

    Even though the advocacy for women empowerment and gender balancing has assumed a global dimension, the ability of women to occupy leadership positions falls short of the required expectations in the Senate as none of the Principal Officers named by Akpabio is a woman. Politics they say is a game of numbers and male lawmakers used their numbers to advantage by occupying the leadership seats.

    A political analyst said the mere fact that only three women are in the 10th Senate is a direct function of their not being represented in the leadership of the Senate. A public affairs analyst, Chibuzor Okereke said even the current development in the Senate where no woman was considered for a Principal officer’s position is worrisome. He added: “It also boils down to how the women project and work to be recognised before the exercise. The fact that the three women are freshmen in a legislature with an abysmal rate of women representation has not helped matters.

    Okereke, who is also the convener of the National Political Equity Movement-Nigeria, said women should strive to take power and not wait for it to be given to them. He said: “If you look at the 2023 general elections, I think it has about the lowest rate for women representation in the National Assembly when you compare it with Ninth Assembly. Several factors account for that. This is a transition election. Transition elections are highly very competitive and women are highly discriminated against also in our politics.

    “In terms of the decision about principal officers of the Senate, if you look at it, I think the women there are both freshmen and two of them are from the minority caucus and the decision about principal officers is a political decision.

    “Although, I am a bit concerned that with all the push, we had about nine women serving in the 9th Senate with women having very low representation In both chambers of the National Assembly and that since Principal Officers are by nomination, this could have been an opportunity to give one of the women opportunity in the Senate to emerge as a Principal Officer. But, having said that, it is highly competitive because it is a diverse National Assembly with about seven parties in the Senate and eight in the House of Representatives and there are a lot of factors that account for how people emerge into leadership positions.

    “One of them is the kind of role they played in the process of electing presiding officers and their relationship with the power brokers because in a democracy power is not given, power is taken. Unfortunately, we believe that concessions can be made that would project the agenda of women or women mainstreaming. But, again, women have to step up to play the role that could put them in the position.

    “If you do that in contrast with what happened in the House of Representatives the woman who emerged as Deputy Whip, you could see that she was even running for the position of the Speaker of the 10th Assembly. So, maybe that kind of strategy put her forward and then since she didn’t get the position of speaker, considerations were made to give her deputy whip.

    “It is all about the role you played and your network which is entirely different from the argument about competency and cognate experience. This is a political decision. We have to understand what political decision means. It means that the interests of party and stakeholders are prime considerations for people to emerge.”

    A legal practitioner Chief Francis Wainwei said it is important for women to occupy leadership positions in any society because of their unique characteristics. Wainwei, who is the National Secretary of the Citizens Network for Peace and Development in Nigeria, added that it was wrong not to have picked a woman to occupy one of the eight principal positions in the Senate. He called on the Senate leadership to consider women for the chairmanship of an important committee when the time comes.

    He said: “For us as a civil society organization working for the development of Nigeria, we also know that gender balancing is very important in a leadership position because when you have a good representation of women in what you do, it brings in the diverse way of thinking because women are wired in a particular way which is different from the way men think.

    Read Also: Senators hail emergence of Akpabio as 10th Senate President

    “So, for us to have robust deliberations and laws that will be implemented to better the lot of Nigerians, we also need to think in that direction of making that gender balancing. For us, the leadership of the Senate would have included at least a woman among the leaders. It is only three women that in the Senate and out of the three if none was picked for leadership it is not a good one. The Senate leadership should have considered at least one woman for one principal office to show that yes, we are gender sensitive.

    “In whatever we are doing, we need to think about gender equality to balance it in line with the 25 per cent affirmative action. We should balance it in the way we choose our leadership; that gives us a more encyclopedic view of things because the things that affect women can only be resolved by women who are objective and who want to provide those solutions. Men cannot always think for women because we are not women.

    “Two, when we bring in gender equality or gender balancing into leadership roles, it gives us the flavour to be able to think for everyone and that is the reason why the advocacy for gender equality has been very prominent in recent years globally. So, for the Senate not to have given any role to a female is not a good one. At least, now that they have chosen the leadership, at the committee level they should think of how they can balance this so that women can be given some roles that are critical to national development and critical to their relevance in our national thinking.

    “That is what I would want to suggest, that the leadership of the Senate should consider the three female senators in the appointment of Committee chairs and committee members. Let them be given very important positions that would also give them that sense of belonging that they are not gender biased. What I think is that functionally in terms of how it operates it might not have any effect, but what the leadership should do is they should consult on topical issues, on any issue that has to do with the welfare of women, the female senators should be consulted but in terms of it hurting the leadership, I don’t think so as far as there are consultations.”

    The Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, described the phenomenon of poor women’s representation in the 10th National Assembly as extremely disappointing. To continue to deprive such a significant half of our population of the opportunity to offer their quota to national development, according to him, is a disservice to the country.

    Rafsanjani, who is also the chairman of the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), blamed the development on the refusal of the 9th National Assembly to pass critical legislation aimed at boosting the number of women in both elective and appointive positions in the country. He lamented that while the civil society and other stakeholders championed legislative enhancement of women’s participation during the constitution review process in 2021, by pushing critical bills that aimed to provide constitutional backing to women’s emergence to elective and appointive positions in the governance of Nigeria, the National Assembly unfortunately shut down all the women’s rights bill in the process and thereby maintained the status quo of poor women representation in decision making positions in the legislative and executive arms of government.

    He added: “Unsurprisingly, the first general election since the rejection of the bills at the legislature has reflected one of the worse representation of women in parliament since Nigeria’s democratic rule in 1999. The 10th Assembly has seen only three women elected to the Senate which had eight women in the 9th Assembly.

    “Fortunately, the House of Representatives slightly made up for the shortfall as it increased women to 17 from 13 in the 9th Assembly. This does not in any way reflect an increase in women’s representation in the 9th Assembly as there is now a 0.2 per cent reduction of women from the previous assembly standing at 4.5 per cent from 4.7 per cent of the entire assembly. These numbers squarely put Nigeria at the bottom of ranking for women in African Parliaments.”

    The civil society activist said while this situation is not surprising, it is extremely disappointing and disturbing. He said: “The constitution alteration bill that was meant to provide special seats for women in parliament should have been a low-hanging fruit for the National Assembly to harvest. However, like the four other women’s rights bills, the bill failed at the assembly, leaving the faith of women in Nigeria hanging in the balance concerning having a say in the decision-making processes in Nigeria.

    “In a further display of this misogynist tendency, the ruling political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in all its scheming for leadership positions in both chambers of the National Assembly failed to recognise the importance and canvass for any of the few women elected to parliament from the party to leadership positions. This is sad and negates all the promises made during electioneering campaigns to guarantee women in leadership roles.

    “The opposition parties ought to have come together and seized the opportunity to present a woman candidate for any of the leadership positions. Unfortunately, also, it appears the legislators, including the few women themselves, are rather interested in playing politics of convenience as opposition legislators were seen supporting and galvanizing for the choices of the majority.

    “As a people, Nigerians must realize how significant the women force in Nigeria is. To continue to deprive such a significant half of our population of the opportunity to offer their quota to national development is a disservice to the country. As a reflection of democracy in Africa, Nigeria cannot afford to be comfortable in such important rankings as the women in the African parliament ranking. Deliberate efforts must be made to ensure improved women’s representation in governance.

    “While the elections may have come and gone, we look forward to seeing women lead committees of the National Assembly as well as appointed to key ministries, departments, and agencies. When this is not seen to be done, it will be assumed that all to promises to women inclusion are mere electioneering deceits.”

    A women’s rights activist, Ms. Opeyemi Marcellina Aderinto, said that even though women are seen to be better managers of homes and institutions as their impact is always felt in any position they occupy, “it is however pathetic that oftentimes they are not usually given the chance to show what they are capable of doing because of some factors ranging from traditional and ethnic beliefs and above all the name tag: ‘weaker vessel.”

    Aderinto, who is also the Executive Director of the African Centre for Human Advancement, Social and Community Development, a non-governmental organization, added: “A testament to how women are being muscled out, most especially politically, is the current form of Nigeria’s 10th National Assembly in which women were not given important positions like their male counterparts and this can even be traced to election processes in which many women were not given tickets to represent their various political parties. Those who got were because of godfatherism and those that scaled through primaries couldn’t win main elections.

    “During the electioneering campaign period, women are always at the forefront but it is disheartening that they are not usually allowed to take the front seat in the decision-making process. It’s time we advocate for a paradigm shift in election and selection of our leaders and women need to be considered just like their male counterparts because ability and capability can’t be judged by physiology but competency and women are competent just like men.”

    Another civil society activist, Pastor Ifeanyi Odili said that given low women representation in the 10th Senate, the leadership should have devised a means to accommodate any of them since they belong to a critical population that cannot be relegated in any sane society. Odili, who is the National President of the Campaign for Democracy (CD), insisted that their exclusion from leadership positions does not reflect the true spirit of fairness, equity and justice, “hence the need to correct the anomaly. Their exclusion is one of the anomalies in the present Senate”.

    He added: “It seems that women did not come out to contest in the last election. Or better still, they contested but lost out in their respective senatorial districts. If that was the case, the 10th Senate couldn’t have manufactured women to occupy principal positions at the Red Chamber. As to why they were not given positions in the upper chamber, I think certain factors were responsible for that. For Instance, if the three Senators are first-timers, then I don’t think it is politically expedient to appoint them to man principal positions since they are novices of the Senate business.

    “On the other hand, if they are returning Senators, then it would be readily concluded that they were cheated and marginalized because they are weaker vessels. Because, no matter their number, they belong to a particular folk that cannot be rubbished in any sane community due to their very nature.

    “I consider it cheating and marginalisation. The 10th Senate ought to have technically and diplomatically fixed them up if only to balance the equation between male and female parliamentarians irrespective of the number of women Senators. Their exclusion from leadership positions does not reflect the true spirit of fairness, equity and justice, hence the need to correct the anomaly. Their exclusion is one of the anomalies in the present Senate.”

  • OGD’s gaffes and illogical logic

    OGD’s gaffes and illogical logic

    • By Femi Ogbonnikan

    Conscience is the inner light that guides the conduct of all humans. It is a higher court than courts of justice as it supersedes all sense of judgments. Whatever you do, deep below the surface of the average conscience, a still, small voice will tell you something is out of tune. But there are always a few exceptions. Those whose heart is firm and whose conscience approves of their conduct will pursue their goal till the end. Either they ignore its right dictates or consign them to their innermost souls.

    Former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel falls into this category. With a friend like OGD, you don’t need an enemy. Some of his recent tirades against Governor Dapo Abiodun serve as a sad reminder of the old lyrics of the late Bob Marley: “Your best friend can be your worst enemy and your worst enemy could be your best friend.” Years after the demise of Reggae Maestro, that philosophy still remains an eternal logic of how to deal with the unpredictability of human character.

    I have read several articles, interviews, and commentaries about the perceived frosty relationship between OGD and Governor Abiodun and I shuddered. I did because of the mischief, deliberate lies, and outright distortion of facts that were deployed in the negative media campaigns being promoted against the innocent Governor.

    The one that stunned me most is where a Professor of Philosophy, Onigbinde, went beyond the call of duty, ascribing the victory of Governor Abiodun in the March 18 governorship election to the support of Senator Daniel. As I read the submission he made about the presumed popularity of Daniel in an interview with a national newspaper, I cringed. I recoiled in disbelief because of fallacies, gaffes and willful distortions of facts coming from an intellectual giant such as Akin Onigbinde. He rubbed the lies on our faces as if we have forgotten how Daniel went into political oblivion immediately after the woeful defeat of the ruling PDP and his anointed governorship candidate, Gboyega Nasiru Isiaka (GNI), by Senator Ibikunle Amosun of the defunct ACN in the 2011 general election. GNI, a satisfied Chartered Accountant, with all his intimidating career experience and pedigree, lost the election not because he was not popular but for Daniel’s liabilities. People saw him as the face of the ignominious eight-year reign of OGD.

    Regrettably, Onigbinde turned logic upside down when he declared that Daniel’s support gave Abiodun victory in the last election. But upon further investigation into the antecedents of the renowned don, before I could draw a conclusion, I realised that there was a sinister motive behind the barefaced lie.

    In retrospect, Professor Onigbinde was a former consultant to Daniel on Research and Documentation. We do not have figures of how much of the state resources went down the drain while conducting the so-called research that didn’t have any positive effect on the socioeconomic fortune of the state. What we do know is that some people fed on the cluelessness of the administration that promised so much but gave very little in return. It is out there that the erudite Professor made money through consultancy services on white elephant projects that never saw the light of the day, leading the state to a big into deep shit.

    Without prejudice to the right of Onigbinde to express his personal view,  the submission he made in his interview about Abiodun’s victory is laced with bias, myopic, and absolutely lacks merit. It is devoid of objective analysis of the real situation. As a scholar of note, he should have been more circumspect in making unsubstantiated claims that run counter to objectivity and critical analysis of the issue.  

    Why didn’t OGD pick the ticket of the PDP on whose platform he contested and won the governorship election twice-2003 and 2007 if he knew that his popularity was as overwhelming as Onigbinde was trying to make us believe? Who put guns in his head when he in 2014 as the Director-General of the Atiku Campaign Organisation announced his resignation from the PDP and made a public declaration of his intention to take full retirement from active politics to take on “new challenges’ ‘? This was after his failed bid to be the chairman of the party.

    Read Also: Gbenga Daniel didn’t support Tinubu, Gov Abiodun – Ogun APC

    In a letter dated March 14, 2019, addressed to the National Chairman, he stated that the decision was personal and he wanted to “rejuvenate” his charity-based organization, the Gateway Front Foundation (GFF), and to also resuscitate the “non-partisan Political Leadership Academy (POLA)”, which was “established some years ago as a platform of political education to our citizens”.

    While playing the intrigue, he indeed failed to reveal the real reason for his exit when he stated further in the resignation letter thus: “Notwithstanding these widely acclaimed achievements, however, our party, the Peoples Democratic Party ran into trouble waters towards the end of our administration (about the year 2009) which led to the sad loss in the election of 2011, and regrettably ten (10) years after the party has been unable to resolve those internal disputes and challenges.”

     Everything is rooted in deception as well as his vaulting ambition to achieve power relevance. The truth is that having failed in his bid to assume the chairmanship position of the PDP he knew that he had reached the nadir of his political career. And to achieve that, he needed to latch on to the popularity of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State under the leadership of Governor Abiodun.

    But, as if we have all forgotten how he was running from pillar to post to gain admission into the party, Onigbinde told us that Abiodun would have lost his re-election bid without the support of OGD. Who is supporting who?

    And what has changed in the political arrangement between now and then? Nothing! The fact of the matter is that Governor Abiodun has been too generous to have tolerated his (Daniel’s) overt and covert infidelity till this time. As the leader of the party who holds the knife and the yam, he could have denied him admission into the party. But he generously conceded everything in respect for the former National Secretary of the APC, Senator Iyiola Omisore, former Governor Olusegun Osoba, and the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, whose intercession ultimately led to the concession that gave him Ogun East Senatorial ticket of the party. 

    Now, having been rehabilitated with the Senate election, his way of saying thank you is the media campaigns he has been promoting against Governor Abiodun to cover his act of betrayal in the last election.

    Who could now blame former governor Ibikunle Amosun who declared him a ‘persona non grata’ in the Ogun state all through his eight-year in office?  Isn’t it an error of judgment that APC readmitted him back into the progressive fold forgetting how he betrayed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2003 and pitched tents with the PDP?  Is it a crime for Abiodun to ‘say let’s forget the past and forge ahead? Is it really a fault to show clemency and pardon a wrongdoer? These are and many more are questions left to the conscience of Daniel to answer as he pursues his selfish personal agenda at the expense of the people who trusted him with their votes.

    With his eyes on the 2027, OGD has got it wrong and he tacitly went back to his vomit by supporting the candidate of the PDP, Oladipupo Abiodun, against the APC’s standard bearer, Prince Abiodun. By his action, he is fully back in the trenches, playing the spoiler’s game. In his latest mischief-making, he has found a willing tool in Professor Onigbinde who is churning out lies and desperately making an effort to ram them down our throats.

    By condescending to the level of promoting falsehood, the renowned don has descended from his Olympian height into the arena of politics. He seems to have forgotten that politics and academics are different callings. In academics, two plus two is equal to four. But in politics, white or black can be interpreted in a different way depending on the eyes with which you view things. At any rate, there is always an interplay of deceit and mischief.

    For the APC faithful who feel unhappy with the turn of events, the best way to deal with the present situation is to accept the reality of his betrayal and treat him as a lost member of the party. He became a lost member the day he sealed up a clandestine agreement to work for Adebutu. And history will judge.      

    Birds of a feather, they say, flock together. While some APC stakeholders are still in shock over the latest intrigues from the OGD camp, another lie from the pit of hell came from Adebutu. Adebutu, who is on self-exile, in a statement he personally signed claimed that his family had been supporting Governor Abiodun’s political activities since 2019 with funds.

    It reads: “How callous and ungrateful can someone be to his benefactors? The same OGD for the sake of Remo-Land favoured him over me in 2019, by rallying his entire political forces behind him when it was obvious Kunle Akinlade – the APM governorship candidate was going to defeat him. Ditto my Dad – Sir Kesington Adebukunola Adebutu CFR- Odole Oodua of the Source who willingly gave hundreds of millions naira in 2019 to both our political structures, because he regards both of us as his sons from the same Iperu Town. Furthermore, Odole continued to support his government with huge donations during COVID-19 pandemic and several other projects in the state. I am sure Mr. Governor will not deny this.  How has he acknowledged or appreciated these gestures?”

    What gesture? Is it the gesture of funding your political opponent?  Well, this is a game of politics; the unthinkable can happen, but not to the extent of funding your perceived enemy. Who is that gullible to believe such a telltale?  Anyone who believes this can believe anything. As for the Ogun state electorate, they are too sophisticated to take such a weird tale of generosity hook, line and sinker. It calls for some sense of reasoning.    

    Those with pernicious minds can go to any length in their mischief-making. They can join forces, conspire and conjure up all manners of lies against the innocent governor whose preoccupation is to leave the state better than he met it. In the final analysis, regret, disappointment, and disgrace will be the end game of their plot. No matter how long it takes, Adebutu will come down to face the consequences of his action. From all available evidence, his much-touted litigation at the governorship election petition tribunal is going to be a case of a double whammy. In the face of overwhelming evidence of bribery, corruption, and money laundering allegation that is hanging precariously on his neck, he will lose his bid to unseat Abiodun, lose the money he spent on vote-buying, and then face the full wrath of the law. By the time the long arm of the law catches up with him, he would serve as a good lesson for the survivalists who like to pull others down in order to achieve their ends. His co-conspirator, OGD, is also in the eyes of the storm even with all the frenetic energies in the media to exonerate him of wrongdoings.

    •Ogbonnikan wrote from Abeokuta, Ogun State capital

  • Fed Govt arraigns PDP’s Adebutu, nine others for ‘vote buying’ in Ogun

    Fed Govt arraigns PDP’s Adebutu, nine others for ‘vote buying’ in Ogun

    The Federal Government yesterday arraigned in absentia, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2023 governorship election in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu before a State High court sitting in Abeokuta, the state capital.

    Adebutu and nine others were arraigned on a four-count charge marked AB/10C/2003 for vote buying-related offences.

    The charge comprised “criminal conspiracy contrary to Section 121 of the Electoral Act, 2022, bribery contrary to Section 121 of the Electoral Act, 2022, and two counts of undue influence contrary to Section 127 of the Electoral Act, 2022.”

    Adebutu, some months ago, travelled abroad for a medical check-up, but the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state claimed that he fled to avoid appearing in court for alleged vote buying and money laundering.

    The party, through its Ogun State Chairman Chief Yemi Sanusi, had earlier written to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) over the allegation, which was investigated by the State Criminal Investigations Department Eleweran, Abeokuta.

    Upon conclusion of the investigation, the government through the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Federal Ministry of Justice, filed the charges against Ladi and his co-defendants.

    When the case came up for the first time before Justice Abiodun Akinyemi, the judge adjourned till yesterday because the defendants had yet to be served following their inaccessibility.

    Read Also: Ogun tribunal dismisses Adebutu, PDP application

    Adebutu was also absent when proceedings resumed yesterday, but the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 10th defendants – Ogunbona Hammed, Tiamiyi Waleed, Egunsola Owolabi, Sanni Adejoke and Malik – were present.

    They pleaded not guilty.

    Their counsel Muyiwa Obanewa prayed the court to grant them bail.

    Prosecution counsel Rotimi Jacobs SAN did not oppose the bail application. 

    Justice Akinyemi admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of N100,000 and one surety each who shall be either bondsmen or relatives of the defendants with evidence of tax payment.

    The court adjourned till September 26, 2023, for hearing.

    The particulars of the alleged offence against Adebutu and the defendants read in part: “On or about 18th of March at Ibara, you did conspire among yourselves to corruptly give gifts in the form of verve prepaid cards which had inscribed on them ‘Dame Caroline Oladunni Adebutu Memorial Endorsement Scheme for the Less Privileged’ in order to induce voters to endeavour the return of PDP candidates during the gubernatorial and state assembly elections in Ogun State.”

    Adebutu was further accused of providing 200,000 prepaid verve cards loaded with N10,000 each and inscribed with the same name “for the purpose of corruptly influencing voters to vote for PDP candidates” during the said elections.

  • Niger governor dissolves commissions, boards, parastatals

    Niger governor dissolves commissions, boards, parastatals

    NIGER State Governor, Mohammed Umar Bago has dissolved Commissions, boards, and parastatals.

     In a statement, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Abubakar Usman, said that officials of the affected organisations should comply with the directive and hand over government properties, including official vehicles, to the most senior Director in the organisations.

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    The governor praised the outgoing members of the commissions, boards, and parastatals for their contributions to the development of the state and wished them success in their future endeavours.

  • Bago enlists EFCC, ICPC, Police to oversee fertiliser sale

    Bago enlists EFCC, ICPC, Police to oversee fertiliser sale

    NIGER State Governor, Umar Mohammed Bago has said the state government would involve the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Police to oversee the sale of fertiliser to farmers across the state.

     This, he said, would prevent agricultural merchants from monopolising the fertiliser and prevent the resale of the fertiliser by farmers.

     Speaking at the kick-off of this year’s wet season sales and distribution of fertiliser as well as other agricultural input to farmers in Minna, the governor said the government had procured 60,000 bags of fertiliser while 120,000 more bags were being procured.

    He said the farmers would be given the fertiliser at a 20 per cent subsidy on each bag of 50kg of fertiliser sold at N18,000 as against the open market price of between N24,000 and N30,000.

    “This is our way, as a government, to encourage farming and agriculture in the state. We must gravitate from subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture.We have put in place structures and machinery for distribution. We have made it a policy that only 10 bags can be sold to an individual. Bank details, and BVN of individuals will be taken into consideration and we have invited the EFCC, ICPC, and the police to make sure that this is done right. We are bringing subsidy in agriculture and it must be sustained,” he assured

    Read Also: Gov. Bago, deputy visit IBB, Abdulsalami to seek counsel

    He added that EFCC, ICPC, and CID would oversee the sale of fertiliser.

     Meanwhile, Bago said the state government would purchase 300 tractors, which would be distributed to local governments to assist farmers in adopting modern farming techniques. His wife, Hajiya Fatima Umaru Bago, also donated 300 water pumping machines to boost irrigation farming.

    The governor urged young people and civil servants to look at farming to key into the agricultural plan of the state by embracing farming.

    The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Idris Usman Gbogan, said the sale of the fertiliser would be done in the designated stores across the state, adding that internal control mechanisms were in place to ensure that only resource constrained farmers benefit.

     Gbogan said the Ministry, Local Government Directors of Agriculture, Niger State Agricultural Mechanisation Development Agency (NAMDA) Zonal officers, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), security operatives, and Sarkin Nomas, among others, would act as the monitoring teams for the zones.

     The Permanent Secretary appreciated the governor for his doggedness to ensure that the agricultural potential in the state were properly harnessed, adding that the Ministry had commenced the provision of one hectare of land to each of the civil servants to cultivate.

  • Badagry accident: Sanwo-Olu sympathises with victims’ families

    Badagry accident: Sanwo-Olu sympathises with victims’ families

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday expressed sadness over the auto accident that claimed the lives of no fewer than 14 persons at Age Mowo axis, along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway in Lagos on Sunday.

    Sanwo-Olu in a condolence message issued by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Gboyega Akosile, sympathised with the victims’ immediate families.

    The deaths followed a collision between a commercial bus (Mazda) coming from Lagos with registration number MUS 411 XU carrying 19 passengers, and a truck with registration number AKM 926YQ, coming from Badagry.

    Apart from the 14 deaths, about nine persons sustained injuries.

    Governor Sanwo-Olu said: “I am deeply saddened by the news of an auto accident that occurred on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, which claimed the lives of some people, including a four-month-old baby. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families during this difficult time.

    “This is a very sober time for us as a government, and while we acknowledge God as the giver of life, the one who determines every man’s destiny, it saddens us when we experience incidents like this.

    “The death of a loved one is usually very painful. On behalf of the Government and people of Lagos State, I sympathise with the immediate families, friends and associates of the victims of the auto accident. We pray that God will grant them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

    The Senator representing Lagos West District, Dr. Idiat Adebule also commiserated with the victims and their families.

    Senator Adebule said: “I was broken when I learnt about the terrible accident that happened at Age Muwo area of Badagry Local Government of Lagos State that was reported to have claimed the lives of about 14 people who were commuters on a bus going to Benin Republic from Lagos. What a great loss of human lives.

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    “To the families of the deceased, please accept my heartfelt condolences on the loss of your loved ones. I pray that almighty God will comfort you all and grant the departed eternal rest.”

    The former Lagos State Deputy Governor also condoled with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on the tragedy.

    But, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the management of General Hospital Badagry, on Sunday night, released the bodies of 15 dead passengers to their relatives.

    Dr. Olatunde Bakare, the Medical Director of the hospital, told NAN that eight other injured passengers had also been discharged and handed over to their relatives.

    He said relatives of the discharged passengers had insisted on taking them to Benin Republic for further treatment.

    According to the medical director, 13 passengers were brought to the hospital dead while 10 of them were gravely injured.

    “We started treating them immediately but unfortunately two of them gave up the ghost during the treatment making the dead to increase to 15 altogether.

    “Their relatives from Benin Republic came to identify them and later brought a Police report, saying they wanted to continue their treatment at home in Cotonou.

    “They also brought Police reports asking us to release their dead bodies to them so that they can go and bury them at home.

    “So, eight treated passengers and 15 dead bodies involved in a fatal accident on Sunday morning have been released to their relatives and they have taken them to Benin Republic,” he said.

    Bakare said that the injured passengers enjoyed free medical treatment, courtesy of the Lagos State Government and General Hospital, Badagry.

  • Abuse of power

    Abuse of power

    • •Security agents turning on civilians with their arms violate stewardship

    Recent incidents in the polity showed up undue high-handedness by some uniformed personnel in their engagements with the civilian populace. At least two persons were reported killed in a demonstration by natives of Afokpella community, in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State, penultimate week. They died from gunshots allegedly fired by soldiers who intervened to arrest a breach of communal peace arising from that demonstration. Also in Edo State, in Ekpoma area, some policemen ran their patrol vehicle over a suspected traffic offender they had handcuffed.

    In the Afokpella incident, the families of Oyegwu Afoso and David Agbagie rued their loss after soldiers allegedly shot these victims in the course of a civil protest by community members over reported underemployment by two cement factories operating within the community and alleged exploitation by neighbouring traditional rulers. Youths of Afokpella community staged the protest to complain that their members in the employment of the cement factories were mere casual workers, and that chiefs of neighbouring communities were taking out 40 percent of their pay as tribute from the firms. The civil action ran into a storm, however, when the protesters sought to compel participation by members of the neighbouring communities, who for their part were bent on going to their work posts at the cement factories and therefore enlisted soldiers, along with personnel of the Nigeria Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), against the protesters. It was in the melee, according to reports, that  the protesters vented their grievance by vandalising a vehicle belonging to one of the cement companies, upon which the soldiers allegedly began to shoot at random to disperse them.

    Reports cited community members saying some protesters escaped unhurt, others sustained varying degrees of bullet injuries in the course of scampering to safety, while Agbagie got killed. Subsequently, the soldiers returned and allegedly marauded through the community in search for indigenes who took part in the protest; and it was in that process that Afoso, who reportedly had not even joined the protest, was felled in his house by a bullet. A community member said to be Afoso’s relation was quoted saying: “The soldiers returned and started shooting at people again. We don’t know why, because at that point we had already stopped the protest. And that was how they shot my brother who didn’t participate in the protest. We could not take him to the hospital because soldiers were everywhere, they threatened to shoot anybody they see outside, and that was how my brother died at home.” According to the reports, the official spokesperson of the Nigerian Army was not available to respond to media enquiries about the incident, while the spokesman for Edo State Police Command, Chidi Nwabuzor, a Superintendent of Police (SP), merely said he had not been briefed. 

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    As for the Ekpoma incident, the police confirmed that seven officers deliberately ran their patrol vehicle over a handcuffed man. The incident, which occurred on June 29 elicited public outrage. A 19-minute video clip that emerged online showed the handcuffed man lying on a road as a police vehicle – a Sienna van – ran over him. The callous act made angry bystanders to scream at the officers to stop and surge at the vehicle, upon which the driver eventually stopped and the occupants opened the car door and fled the scene.

    Force Public Relations Officer Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement, cited Acting Inspector-General of Police Olukayode Egbetokun saying the incident was “disturbing” and that the officers’ act was unprofessional. He ordered that the erring personnel be apprehended and brought to the Force Headquarters in Abuja for “further action.” The Edo police command, which confirmed the arrest of the officers, said commissioner of police Adamu Dankwara also condemned their action as “barbaric, inhumane and unprofessional.” Command spokesman, Nwabuzor, identified the leader of the police team as Magdalene Osayande, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), and the victim as Success Ehimare whom he said was intercepted with an unregistered Lexus car and had allegedly refused to show the vehicle’s papers to the officers. Nwabuzor added that the victim had received treatment at a hospital and was in good condition following the incident.

    Incidents cited afore showed just how the privilege of being entrusted with force of arms to keep society safe gets abused by being roguely turned on society. In the Afokpella case, the participation of soldiers in quelling a civil protest was unwarranted in the extreme; that ought to be the call of the police and NSCDC. Worse is that appropriate rules of engagement were disregarded. Operatives in all the armed services need to be properly schooled in the rules of engagement and held strictly accountable for breaches. It is heartwarming that the police often hold erring personnel to account; latest reports, for instance, indicated that the acting IGP had disbanded the Ekpoma police team and ordered disciplinary measures against officers involved. Soldiers who played a role in the Afokpella killings should likewise be fished out and disciplined. The armed services are trustees of the security of the civil populace and must conduct themselves as such at all times.

  • 2023 polls: Why EU report should be disregarded, by U.S associate professor

    2023 polls: Why EU report should be disregarded, by U.S associate professor

    A United States-based associate professor of medicine, Dr. Yemi Oladimeji, has explained why the European Union (EU) reports on this year’s general election in Nigeria should be disregarded.

    The academic described the EU report as a threat to Nigeria’s unity, adding that it portends danger to peaceful co-existence among diverse ethnic groups and established interests.

    In a statement, Oladimeji said the report was not comprehensive enough to be valid since the European Union (Election Observer Mission) failed to cover a substantial number of polling booths across the country during the election.

    Oladimeji, who is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Community Hospital and Diagnostic Centre in Abuja, said the time of release of the report was suspicious as it was apparently meant to serve a “political purpose”.

    He said: “The EU, knowing its limitation in interfering directly with the internal affairs of Nigeria, now resorts to a subtle appeal to make the world believe something was amiss with the nation’s 2023 general election through that report.

    “They may come as our friends but we must learn not to fall for their antics. Nigeria must assert her sovereignty at all times, not minding their measures.

    “How, on earth, could 40 observers on the EU platform present true and objective report on the election with a large population and size of Nigeria? How can a body with little knowledge of the peculiarities and variables that form the basis of the electoral process now present a report to undermine its integrity?

    “If I should be historical about the formation of Nigeria after the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern protectorates in 1914 by Lord Fredrick Lugard and the introduction of indirect rule in the country, just for an administrative purpose, you will agree that with the consequences of that singular action, nobody can define us from afar and impose measures on us.

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    “Nigeria is just trying to smart out of the complexity and complication of the amalgamation foisted on her people, when the EU is surreptitiously playing the role of ‘who pays the piper dictates the tune’. Because they have been supporting Nigeria and other African nations financially and otherwise is not enough reason to keep us under their feet. That is not acceptable to us.

    “What we desire as a people is for Nigeria to forge ahead, in spite of its myriads of challenges. The President that majority of Nigerians voted for, Bola Tinubu on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), must be allowed to stay focused and chart a way out of the woods for a country already bedeviled.

    “No election anywhere in the world is perfect; even countries like the United States of America, England, Ireland and so on, are not exempted. Reports of skirmishes in few areas cannot be used to determine the overall performance and integrity of our electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    “A candidate among the contestants, Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), swept all the votes in his Southeast stronghold and even beat Tinubu in his homestead in Lagos, while Abubakar Atiku of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also made a significant performance in some states of the Southwest.

    “But I think we should all wait for the Judiciary, an arm of government empowered by the Nigerian Constitution, through an election petition tribunal, to give a final verdict on the matter rather than the EU speaking for all of us.”

  • ITF hails Tinubu for assent to Student Loan Act

    ITF hails Tinubu for assent to Student Loan Act

    • •Fee increase will create dropouts, says NAAT

    The Director General of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Joseph Ari, has praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for signing into law the Access to Higher Education Act, 2023, popularly called the Student Loan Act. 

    Ari said the Act, which had been canvassed for by stakeholders in the tertiary education sector for years, would help students to fund their higher education, thereby boosting school enrolment across the board.

    The ITF boss spoke at the third annual Forum for Innovation in African Universities (FIAU), with the theme: Strengthening Africa’s Higher Education in a Post-COVID-19 World, in Abuja.

    He said: “By signing this Act as his first executive action in office, President Tinubu has indicated in bold terms that he is committed to breathing life into our flailing tertiary education system in Nigeria. We pray that he continues on this path as he seeks to rebuild all facets of Nigeria.

    “However, for the President’s vision to become a reality, it is pertinent for us as regulators, government agencies, employers of labour and multilateral institutions, to continue to brainstorm and generate implementable ideas that will further shape his plans and actions, especially concerning policies on tertiary education in Nigeria.

    “The path to this forum will be traced to the collaboration of the ITF with the German Government under the German Dual Vocational Training (DVT), which the fund has adopted. It was in the course of this interaction and following the launch of the framework for the Implementation of the National Apprenticeship and Traineeship System that the ITF commenced full engagement with Rohde and Schwartz, which is one of our partners in the organisation of this forum.”

    Also, the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) has opposed an increase in tuition fees and other charges in Federal universities. 

    The union said the development may compel many students to drop out of school because of the current economic hardship their parents face and the lack of resources to meet up with economic demands. 

    NAAT gave the warning in a statement by its President, Ibeji Nwokoma, at its 52nd National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Kano State. 

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    The statement reads: “NAAT is worried and concerned too with the recent development regarding the increase in fees and charges in our Federal institutions, particularly universities. This development may compel many of our students to drop out of school, occasioned by the current economic hardship facing parents and lack of adequate resources to meet up with economic demands. 

    “We are aware that over 200 per cent increase in fees and charges are now being imposed by university authorities. NAAT, therefore, appeals to the government to consider the plight of the poor and rescind the decision by returning to the status quo until the loan issue is properly addressed.”

    NAAT expressed support for the student loans scheme recently signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    But the union urged the government to consider giving grants, especially for indigent ones, as an alternative to students’ loan. 

    “While the idea behind the students’ loan to pursue their education is not a bad one, but we are concerned that conditions attached to assessing the loan are too stringent such that it may be impossible for a student to access it.

    “Therefore, we call for an urgent review of the conditions in order to make it accessible to concerned students.

    “Rather than loan, NAAT is strongly of the opinion that the government should also consider giving grants, especially to indigent ones, as a viable alternative to students’ loan,” the union said.