The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • MC Oluomo, actors root for Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu at rally

    MC Oluomo, actors root for Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu at rally

    By Tajudeen Adebanjo and Barakat Ibrahim

    Thousands marched for All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, running mate, Kashim Shettima, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, Lagos West senatorial candidate Dr. Idiat Adebule and others in Oshodi-Isolo.

    Leading them are Chairman of Lagos State Parks and Garages (LASPG), Musiliu Akinsanya (MC Oluomo), Chairman of Oshodi-Isolo, Kehinde Oloyede; House of Assembly candidate of Oshodi-Isolo Constituency 1, Stephen Ogundipe, and Nollywood stars under the umbrella of Connecting Grassroot Initiatives (CGI).

     The crowd moved from council secretariat to some important parts of Oshodi-Isolo and ended at Boladale.

    Akinsanya enlightened people on how Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) works, and how to avoid void votes.

    Describing Tinubu as man of the people, Akinsanya urged Lagosians to vote for him and other party’s candidates.

    CGI Director-General, Ebun Oloyede (Olaiya Igwe) said people should vote Tinubu.

    “You can’t compare other candidates to Asiwaju. He is tested and trusted… We thank MC Oluomo for making our campaign for Tinubu easy by providing logistics,” he said.

    Financial Secretary of Arewa Group in APC, Lagos State, Mohammed Abba informed the people that northerners in Lagos and outside support Tinubu.

    Member of CGI’s media team,  Damola Olatunji , said Tinubu is a revolutionist who did wonders in Lagos State.

    “He has the capability to make things right. He is a man that thinks outside the box. What we are facing is for a while and Asiwaju is coming for a better Nigeria,” he said.

  • Court dismisses suit seeking IGP Alkali’s sack

    Court dismisses suit seeking IGP Alkali’s sack

    FEDERAL High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking the sack of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Baba.

    Justice James Omotosho held yesterday Michael Idoko, self acclaimed “social crusader,” lacked locus standi to file the suit.

    He held the plaintiff cannot hide under public interest to approach the court on the issue of whether or not Baba should retain his office.

    The judge said the plaintiff failed to establish he had any interest in who occupies Office of the IGP over and above other Nigerians.

    Justice Omotosho described Idoko as a busybody and meddlesome interloper.

    He noted there was no evidence Idoko is a serving policeman qualified for appointment or has applied for IGP position and denied.

    The judge cited Section 7 (6) of Police Act 2020, which puts tenure of any IGP at four years.

    Justice Omotosho also held that Baba’s retirement from the Police has nothing to do with his appointment on the grounds that the four-year tenure remains sacrosanct.

    Idoko had, through his lawyer, James Onoja (SAN), filed the suit to challenge legality of the continuous stay in office of the IGP, having allegedly served out his tenure.

  • Election: NYSC tells members to resist bribe

    Election: NYSC tells members to resist bribe

    NATIONAL Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has warned corps members serving as ad hoc workers at the elections to avoid financial inducement from politicians. 

    Director General, Brig.-Gen. Yusha’u Ahmed, warned that compromised corps members would be dealt with.

    Addressing reporters at unveiling of a distress call centre (DCC) for corps members who will work as ad hoc workers, he assured them of adequate security during the elections.

    The director general said the distress centre would alert security authorities of danger.

    He gave the emergency number as 6972, explaining the centre was meant to enhance security and safety of corps members.

    Ahmed said once the centre gets a call from a corps member, they will get the issue and location of the caller and alert security agents.

    The NYSC chief advised corps members to conduct themselves properly.

    He said: “Those participating in this election have been trained, guidelines given, and they are informed and willing to give their best.

    “I met with security agencies. Every hand is on deck to make sure corps members are safe.

    “NYSC has sensitised corps members on their security and maintaining ethics of the election.”

    He said over 200,000 corps members would serve as ad hoc workers at Saturday’s poll.

  • Foundation seeks divine intervention for Nigeria

    Foundation seeks divine intervention for Nigeria

    Spurred by the need for divine intervention in the nation’s polity, the Fatimah Charity Foundation (FCF), has offered special prayer to enable the country overcome the myriad of challenges bedevilling her.

    The prayer session, held at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos yesterday attracted Muslim and Christian faithful.

    The foundation expressed gratitude to Allah and urged participants to pray for the emergence of faithful, patriotic and able men who have learnt the art of good governance and nation-building.

    Welcome the guests, President of the foundation, Chief Bintu-Fatima Tinubu, said she was grateful to God for making this year’s occasion a reality.

    Chief Tinubu, the Iyalode of Lagos, said the grace of Allah has kept the country together over the years.

    She said: “Nigeria would soon be heading to the polls to elect a new government, making it 24 years of uninterrupted democracy. You would all agree with me that God has been our help and sustaining grace as a country and a people. Despite this lofty achievement, there is still the need for our collective commitment ensuring that our fragile democracy is not disrupted…We realized that understanding the importance of maintaining a lasting democracy is key to the growth of Nigeria as a Nation.

    “We must be courageous, confident and committed in our quest to see a better Nigeria emerge always. Above, we must join the faith in prayers irrespective of our various religions but as well-meaningful Nigerian: striving toward a common goal, determined to have their say in the country’s future, seeing it as an opportunity; for a reset, encouraging hopes for good leadership that will reform the country’s governance.”

    The guest speakers, Chief Missioner, Jamaa’tu Ahli Llahi Sheikh Abdullah Akinbode and General Overseer, Covenant Harvest Christian International Ministry, Pastor Dotun Ojelabi expressed hopes that Nigeria would overcome her challenges and be greater.

    The duo urged Nigerians to play their roles in developing the country and elect good leaders.

    Sheikh Akinbode canvassed votes for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    He said Tinubu’s presidency would return better days to the country.

    Pastor Ojelabi said Nigerians must be ready to make sacrifices if they want progress.

    “We are going to face a lot of discomforts but if we want this country to be great, we must be ready to toe the part of righteousness,” he said.

  • Railway temporarily suspends train services weekend

    Railway temporarily suspends train services weekend

    NIGERIAN Railway Corporation (NRC) has announced a temporary suspension of train services from Saturday because of the general election.

    Services, the corporation said, will resume on Monday.

    It said NRC took the decision to enable Nigerians vote.

    The Federal Government has announced restriction in movement and this would affect train operations in its three standard gauge networks: Abuja–Kaduna Train Service (AKTS), Warri–Itakpe Train Service (WITS), Lagos–Ibadan Train Service (LITS), and Iddo Lagos-Ijoko interstate transit passengers’ train services.

    But the management assured the public normal train services would resume on Tuesday.

    NRC had said only cash is allowed on Warri-Itakpe and Lagos-Ibadan routes.

    It urged passengers to bring naira notes that are legal tender as illegal notes would not be collected at ticket counters.

    NRC said electronic ticketing is okay for Abuja-Kaduna corridor, adding this would be deployed on WITS and LITS corridors to ease challenges of fare payments on the train networks.

  • 8,393 farmers get over N504.5m in flood claims

    8,393 farmers get over N504.5m in flood claims

    NIGERIAN Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) has said it paid claims of over N504.5 million to 8,393 farmers affected by 2022 floods.

    Assistant General Manager/ Head of Corporate Affairs, Ms. Magdalene Omosimua, told  News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos.

    Omosimua said more verified reported flood claims were being processed for payments.

    “NAIC has paid claims to 8,393 insured farmers, amounting to N504,580,067.83, as flood claims in 2022,” she said.

    She noted that efforts were made by management to penetrate agricultural sector through sensitisation.

    Omosimua said NAIC introduced personal accident cover, herdsmen damage cover to encourage insurance penetration in the sector.

    She listed such products as production risk on insurance for subsided and commercial crops, production risk on livestock insurance for poultry, piggery, cattle, fishery, among others.

    Omosimua advised farmers and others to ensure their businesses are insured.

    She said: “This would sustain jobs, income stabilisation, food security, poverty alleviation and wealth creation.

    “The 2022 floods displaced over 1.4 million, killed over 603, injured over 2,400, damaged about 82,035 houses with 332,327 hectares affected.”

  • Falana: Nigerians are not sure elections will hold

    Falana: Nigerians are not sure elections will hold

    Human rights advocate and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, said there is no guarantee that Nigeria is prepared for the upcoming general election.

    Falana spoke while appearing on Arise TV programme yesterday. He said Nigerians have been battling the scarcity of naira notes fuelled by the Federal Government’s decision to redesign the N200, N500, and N1000.

    The hardship from the cash crunch, coupled with petrol scarcity, has ignited nationwide protests in the last few weeks.

    Concerns have been raised about how the situation may affect the conduct of the presidential and governorship elections on February 25 and March 11 respectively.

    Speaking on the development, Falana said there is “no indication” that people are ready for the elections.

    The human rights lawyer said despite assurance by the armed forces, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be the agency guaranteeing Nigerians of the situation.

    He said the issue of naira notes and petrol scarcity must be addressed before the country can be truly ready for the elections.

    He said: “By now, Nigerians should be fully prepared for the election. But unfortunately, there is no indication, and people are still saying will the election hold or not,” Falana said.

    “The chief of defence staff has no business with respect to our election. We are under a democratic system of government, and it should be the IGP that should be speaking about security. Because, it is the police, under the law, that will man the polling units. The armed forces are only asked to stand by.

    “Let us all appreciate that we are operating a civilian dispensation and the military must go back to their barracks. The person that should be doing the talking is the INEC chair, who has said the commission needs cash to take care of some logistics.”

  • I never stepped down for Atiku, says Al-Mustapha

    I never stepped down for Atiku, says Al-Mustapha

    The presidential candidate of the Action Alliance (AA), Maj. Hamza Al-Mustapha (retired) says he never stepped down nor adopted the presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Saturday’s election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

    Al-Mustapha made this known while appearing on a Human Rights Radio FM, Abuja and monitored by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday.

    He said the insinuation that he had stepped down to back Abubakar was untrue.

    He described the statement credited to the factional chairman of AA, Mr Kenneth Udeze, through whom he emerged as a candidate, “as a scam”.

    He added: “The announcement by someone (Udeze) that Action Alliance is supporting Atiku was a scam. The AA has not endorsed anybody. I am still in the race and if I am going to lose, I will lose pretty well and if I am going to win, I will win pretty well.”

  • ‘PDP candidate won’t hound Wike for his political views’

    ‘PDP candidate won’t hound Wike for his political views’

    The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has assured Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike that he would not be hounded for his political views by Alhaji Abubakar Atiku should he emerge as president.

    PDP Presidential Campaign Council Spokesman, Charles Aniagwu, made the remark when he spoke to reporters in Asaba.

    He said despite Wike’s opposition to the Atiku-Okowa ticket, the party’s presidential candidate will not haunt the Rivers governor or any of his allies for not supporting him.

    However, he slammed the Rivers governor for criticising Atiku’s meeting with Rivers leaders in Abuja and blamed him for making it impossible for the party to hold its presidential campaign in the state.

    He said: “Wike is quarrelling on why we are meeting the Rivers State people I outside the state and claiming that those persons are not Rivers people. We met with critical stakeholders of Rivers who we believe would be able to talk to their people to understand that Atiku and Okowa value them.

    “But that Wike made it practically impossible for us to come to Rivers to campaign. And because we do believe that if we want to come to Rivers to campaign, given Wike’s position, he could take steps that would undermine the survival of a number of persons. That we are not ready to do.

    “This is because we are very clear on the fact that our ambition is not worth the life of anybody, no matter how lowly placed that person may be. But we do know that our people in Rivers are very clear on the fact that Atiku means well.

    “If Wike, rather than adding value to the human resources in Rivers, continues to deploy its resources to begin to insult every well-meaning Nigerian who has disagreed with him; Atiku is not going to take that path.”

  • Over 400 CSOs endorse Atiku for president

    Over 400 CSOs endorse Atiku for president

    After perusing his manifesto for Nigeria’s development, about 4,000 civil society organisations (CSOs) yesterday expressed their support for the presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

    The endorsement took place at an event in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), under the theme, ‘The Role of Civil Society Organisations on Election Credibility in Nigeria’. The organisations also said they would on Saturday (February 25) be playing their constitutional roles, one of which is to monitor the election across the country.

    Speaking at the event, Convener of the CSOs for Atiku Abubakar, Kunle Yusuf, said the organisations chose the PDP presidential candidate after assessing his programme for the country and agreed that it aligned with their view of what a development agenda should be.

    The CSOs said Atiku has the experience, vision, focus and leadership qualities to redirect the ship of Nigeria if elected president on Saturday.

    “Civil society is a very key sector in Nigeria most especially at this time. They will be playing their constitutional role on Saturday by observation. Some of them will be doing that by monitoring. I’m from them, they are my colleagues.

    He said: “They have called themselves together and they said they want to work with Atiku Abubakar, having studied and scrutinized his manifesto.

    “They said his manifesto aligned with the development agenda and because they are also development agents, they have accepted, agreed and are ready to work with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and they are ready to work with him based on development purposes.

     “The CSOs have different roles, in education, in the environment and others. In Nigeria today, we have over 40,000 CSOs registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

    “All of them are performing different responsibilities with over 5 million workforces. If you now have a cluster of civil societies that are ready to endorse you as their president, you know that is a very good positive development.

    “This is the same hall where in 2011 the CSOs endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan coordinated by the late Oronto Douglas and again in 2015 when they refused and we all knew what happened in 2015 when General Muhammadu Buhari became the president.

    “Today we are happy that in the same hall a few days before the election, the civil societies have agreed to accept to partner with the development agenda of Atiku Abubakar’s manifesto.

    “We all know what is happening in Nigeria. We know where we are. We need a president that will take us from this point to another point. We need a president that knows what development is all about and a president that will be accepted globally and that is Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

    “In his manifesto, he has taken properly the issue of social inclusion, youth development, the IDPs and most critically the issue of climate change.”