Tag: Nigeria News

House of Representatives on Thursday urged the Federal Government to establish a military zone in the boundary between Agila community in Benue State and Ngbo area of Ebonyi State, to curb the incessant communal clashes in the communities.

The lawmakers also urged the National Boundary Commission to identify and demarcate the actual boundary between the two states as it affects both communities.

This followed a motion brought before the green chamber by the member representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency of Benue State, Dr. Francis Ottah Agbo.

Agbo, who is the chairman of House Committee on Narcotic Drugs and spokesman for the Minority Caucus, said: “There have been reoccurring communal boundary disputes between Agila community of Ado Local Government Area of Benue State and Ngbo Community of Ohaukwu Local Government of Ebonyi State for over 33 years.”

“These protracted boundary disputes, according to the lawmaker, “were initially resolved in 1986, when Ebonyi State was yet to be created, as Ngbo community was then in Anambra State. The military governors of both Anambra and Benue states created a buffer zone to be managed by the two states through a technical committee pending the final resolution of the boundary dispute”.

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The Chairman of the House Committee on Drugs and Narcotics said: “There have been several clashes between these communities, which have led to the loss of lives on both sides, with a lot of people displaced from their homes as a result of the destruction of their houses and infrastructure, including schools, health facilities and even places of worship in both states. Indeed, several people have been killed in the internecine feud between the two communities”.

Agbo, who is named the Moving Train, posited that since greater number of the affected persons are poor people, women, vulnerable people as well as productive farmers who had hitherto contributed hugely to the economy of Nigeria, the incessant crises have now under-developed Ado and Ohaukwu local governments because the means of livelihood of the people have been destroyed.

“Schools are now permanently shut for fear of attacks. Aside the fact that they no longer go to their farms, the people now live in fear of being attacked,” added Agbo.

The House, therefore, called on the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Yusuf Buratai and the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to provide adequate security for the Boundary Commission to enable them effectively demarcate the boundary.

To open up the area for development, the House urged the Benue and Ebonyi State governments to jointly construct a road linking the two communities.

In the alternative, the House wants the Federal Government to link the Otukpo-Utonkon- Igumale-Agila road to Ekwassi Ngbo in Ohaukwu Local Government  in Ebonyi State.

Reacting to the resolution of the House, Chairman, Ado Local Government of Benue State, Comrade James Oche, commended Agbo for effectively representing Ado and hailed the Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila and the entire lawmakers, for addressing the Agila/Ngbo crisis.

The council boss, who was present at the House of Representatives’ gallery in solidarity with the motion, said, if followed strictly, the resolution of the lower chamber would bing succour to the people of the area.

Oche said the good people of Agila had suffered for too long on the account of these crises, adding that it was about time those who had been displaced returned to their ancestral homes.

While pledging to give logistics and other support to the government agencies coming to the area as a way of appreciating the Reps’ intervention; the council boss also appreciated Hon. Agbo for bringing the plight of his people to the front burner of national discourse for the first time.

Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku on Thursday explained why it was taking him long time to appoint commissioners, who would form the executive committee (exco).

He spoke on Thursday on the phone in a brief but exclusive interview with The Nation.

The governor said he was “consulting diligently” to bring on board a credible team that would be productive to “offer results.”

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“Forming an exco is not just about assembling a group of people. So I am still consulting, and I am doing it diligently to come up with people who can give result. Or, is it not performance the people want?

“Even in my first tenure, it took me three months to form the exco. However, I will announce the list of commissioner-nominees very soon,” he said.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Adamawa State has received petitions from 18 aspirants, who participated in the chairmanship primaries on Sunday.

The poll was conducted to elect the party’s candidates for the 21 local governments ahead of the council election scheduled for November.

The Chairman of the Local Government & Ward Congresses Appeal Committee, Dunama Azurah, who addressed reporters over the petitions, said the treatment of the complaints would be concluded on September 26, and where a supplementary primary election is indicated, it will be done on or before September 28.

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The PDP chairmanship primary election was trailed by protests, with many aspirants reportedly complaining of imposition of unpopular aspirants.

The appeal committee chairman said he had read most of the petitions and none complained of imposition.

“We have not received complaints of imposition. The nearest we’ve had is allegation of use of money. I have not seen issue of imposition in all the cases I have read, but if I get anyone, subsequently, we will see about it,” he said.

Azurah said reports of protests were doubtful or at best not as serious as they might have been made to sound, “but in any case, complaints are natural in the prevailing circumstances.”

The leadership of the Tiv and Junkun warring factions in the southern part of Taraba State yesterday agreed to a ceasefire to allow the return of peace.

This was contained in a communique issued at the end of a two-day peace meeting held in Jalingo, Taraba State, with representatives of both tribes, government officials and state security chiefs.

Government officials and security agencies also attended the meeting.

According to the communique, speakers at the meeting condemned the crisis and stressed the need for cessation of all forms of hostilities between the two communities, to pave the way for the peace building effort being spearheaded by the state government.

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“The meeting noted that the crisis had been hijacked by criminals from both the Jukun and Tiv communities and therefore, the two communities should expose the criminals among them.

“We also resolved to stop reprisal attacks or revenge from both parties, but report all form of security breaches to the security agencies for appropriate action.

“There is every need for the government to take deliberate steps to encourage the Internally Displaced Persons to return to their homes since adequate security operatives have been deployed in the affected communities to protect lives and property,’ the leaders said.

The Chief Judge of Benue State, Justice Aondover Kaka’an, has said the judiciary is almost at a crisis point, as 11,737 criminal and civil cases are pending at courts.

He said the High Court recorded 2,836 criminal cases and civil ones, out of which 470 were disposed of, while 2, 366 are pending.

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Justice Kaka’an, who spoke in Makurdi at a special court session marking the 2019/2020 legal year, said the High Court also recorded 2, 287 motions and disposed of 975, leaving 1,312 pending.

He said the magistrates’ and area courts registered 14,054 criminal cases, out of which 2,317 were disposed of.

The chief judge said more hands should be brought in to reduce the work load on overburdened judicial officers.

Flood has displaced over 5,000 families in Ibaji Local Government Area of Kogi State.

It destroyed property worth millions of naira.

Mostly affected are communities close to the River Niger and Analo River, which overflowed their banks, submerging houses, schools and farmlands.

Residents were forced to vacate their homes. Some of the victims raised wooden platforms above the water level to serve as beds.

The Chairman of Ibaji Local Government Caretaker Committee, Mr. William Iko-Ojo, who led council officials on an inspection tour of the affected areas, lamented the plight of those displaced.

Read Also: Appeal Court headquarters groans under floods

He said the victims were experiencing hardship, adding that many sought refuge in makeshift structures.

Iko-Ojo said: “The situation calls for urgent intervention, because Ibaji is totally submerged. From Onyedega, the council headquarters, up to Ujeh, down to the boundary, no structure is spared. Unless the government rescues the affected people, the situation may degenerate into a calamity.

“The local government is working hard to create Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs’) camps, to resettle those rendered homeless, but their immediate need is food. The situation is so bad now. Even the palace of the traditional ruler of Ibaji, Chief John Egwemi, has been submerged.”

He urged the federal and state governments as well as donor agencies to assist the victims.

Eyewitnesses said farm produce were washed away by the flood, adding that the major road leading to the council’s headquarters from Idah had been cut off at different points.

The battle of supremacy between Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and Emir of Kano Muhammad Sanusi 11 has taken a frightening dimension.

A group, the Renaissance Coalition-Nigeria, has raised the alarm over alleged plot to transfer the Emir of Kano to the Bichi Emirate.

A statement by the group’s spokesman, Ibrahim Waiya, alleged that the move was a calculated attempt by the Ganduje administration to depose Emir Sanusi.

According to the statement made available to reporters in Kano yesterday, “it has come to the notice of the Renaissance Coalition that the Kano State Government has planned to transfer the Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammadu Sanusi II, to Bichi, and in the event he resists, he shall be deposed.

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“This is quite unfortunate that despite a subsisting court ruling, which has ordered the maintenance of status quo pending conclusion of the matter before it, and even the contentious law, which was maliciously and hurriedly made, and is being challenged before the court, has not explicitly provided for such swap.

“This is indeed a very dangerous move that is likely to cause violent unrest in the polity, and the alleged plot also shows extreme desperation on the part of the governor to advance a personal vendetta at the expense of the peace and wellbeing of the citizens he swore to protect.

“We deem it our responsibility to do everything possible within our power to advocate for the peace and wellbeing of the citizens, by calling on all well-meaning individuals and the Federal Government to call the governor to order, to cease and desist from any further hostile action against the Kano emirate and the person of the Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammadu Sanusi ll.

“We believe in the adage, better safe than sorry. We always want to be on the right path and the right side of history, expressing our objective opinions and engaging relevant authorities for appropriate and timely action to prevent societal disasters.

“We decided not to wait and be reactive, but to be proactive because of the perceived heavy toll the repercussion of the alleged action of Governor Ganduje awaits the people of Kano, if the alleged plot is materialised and remains unchecked.”

Waiya said: “Therefore, as responsible and concerned citizens, we strongly call on the governor to desist from going on with this alleged plot and such similar action, which is capable of jeopardising the relative peace we enjoy in the state.

“We also call on security agencies, political leaders, respected elders, venerated Ulamas, intellectuals, opinion leaders and any person or people with the means to reach out to advise the governor to desist from such act.

“However, in the event that the governor refuses to heed the counsel and goes ahead to actualise the evilly hatched dastardly agenda, we will be left with no other option but to call on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in Kano State as soon as the governor makes the pronouncement of the alleged plot, in order to save Kano State from the consequences of the governor’s action.

“We wish to use this medium to remind the people and Kano State Government about the consequences that occurred when a similar action was attempted against the then Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, in 1981.

“We are of the strong belief that today if such action is attempted, it may likely be the worst because of increased social and economic stress, which are already keeping people on edge, ready to erupt, as well as a much higher restless youth population.

“It is our prayer that the Federal Government must do everything possible to prevail on the governor to forestall the alleged plot of swapping the Emir of Kano, to ensure our dear state remains peaceful.”

The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, on Thursday, upturned the judgment of the Election Petition Tribunal, which nullified the election of Hon. Ikengboju Gboluga of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as the member representing Okitipupa/Irele Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.

Gboluga was sacked by the tribunal in July for swearing to an oath of allegiance to the United Kingdom (UK), having acquired the citizenship of the country. The tribunal subsequently declared Albert Akintoye of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the election conducted on February 23, 2019.

It also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue Certificate of Return to Akintoye after withdrawing same from Gboluga.

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Dissatisfied with the tribunal’s judgment, Gboluga filed an appeal against the judgment.

But in a unanimous judgment, the three-man Appeal Court comprising Justices M.A Danjuma, R.M Abdullahi and P.A Mahmood, ruled that a Nigerian citizen by birth cannot be disqualified from contesting election because he acquired additional citizenship of other countries to which he swore an oath of allegiance.

The Appeal Court said that the petition tribunal was wrong to have sacked Ikengboju Gboluga-a Nigerian citizen by birth- based on his acquisition of additional citizenship and swearing of an oath of allegiance to such a country.

The appellate court accused the trial tribunal of speaking from both sides of the mouth and interpreting the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria wrongly.

The Appeal Court, therefore, set aside the judgment of the tribunal and upheld the election of Ikengboju Gboluga as the duly elected representative of the people of Okitipupa/Irele Federal Constituency.

The Court also awarded the sum of N2million cost against Albert Akintoye, the candidate of the APC.

The court, however, said that the cost must be paid before October 1, 2019.

Lagos State monarchs have pledged their support for the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration.

They spoke when the Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, Mrs. Yetunde Arobieke, Permanent Secretary Dr. Taiwo Olufemi Salaam and other top government functionaries visited the palaces of the five divisional paramount rulers, namely Oba Rilwan Babatunde Osuolale Aremu Akiolu 1; Oloja of Epe, Oba Kamorudeen Animashaun; Oba Kabiru Adewale Sotobi, Ayangburen of Ikorodu; Onigando of Igando, Oba Lasisi Gbadamosi and Akran of Badagry, De Wheno Aholu Menu Toyi I.

The essence of the visit, according to Arobieke, was to inform the traditional rulers about the T.H.E.M.E.S. agenda of the Governor Sanwo-Olu administration, which is: Transportation and Traffic Management, Health and Environment, Education and Technology, Making Lagos a 21st century economy, Entertainment and Tourism, and Security and Governance.

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She said the governor attached importance to the role of traditional rulers in the society as great influencers and mobilisers, which necessitated the visit not only to inform them of the government development agenda for the state, but also to seek their support.

The commissioner said: “The governor has great respect for traditional rulers because of your roles as community leaders, who are connected and closer to the people.

‘For this reason, the government seeks your support in all government programmes and agenda in making Lagos a better place for us all.

“The governor is a listening governor. That was why he approved this visit, which is to carry you along regarding the developmental agenda of the state, as well as get your input.

“As a former two-term local government chairman, the traditional institution is a familiar terrain. I will always appreciate your contributions to the development of our great state.”

Responding, Oba Akiolu1 said traditional rulers are behind the government and will join hands to support the present administration to enable it succeed.

He urged the government to fill some of the vacant stools in the Obaship council.

The monarch described the visit as very strategic and a sign of the importance the Sanwo-Olu administration attached to the institution of Obaship.

This, he said, would foster a good relationship between the government and the institution of Obaship.

Dr. Salaam thanked the royal fathers for the warm reception accorded them.