The Nation Newspaper

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  • Breaking: Ganduje queries Emir sanusi, demands response within 24 hrs

    Kano State Governor Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on Thursday queried Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II on Thursday over allegations of fund misappropriation.

    The Kano State Anti-Corruption and Public Complaint Commission on Monday indicted the emir and recommended his suspension.

    The Chief of Staff to the Emir, Munir Sanusi, who confirmed the receipt of the query, said the state government sought the response of the emir within 24 hours regarding allegations of misappropriation of funds.

    “We received the query today (Thursday). The state government has demanded the response of His Highness within 24 hours. The council is studying the content,” he said.

    Details shortly…

  • Canadian man opens safe locked for 40 years on first try

    A man has spoken of his “total disbelief” after opening a safe that had been locked for 40 years on his first try.

    Canadian Stephen Mills went to Alberta’s Vermilion Heritage Museum last month.

    One of its attractions is a 2,000lb (907kg) safe that had not been opened since the late 1970s.

    While being shown round by guide Tom Kibblewhite, Mr Mills decided to have a go at opening it “for a laugh”.

    Noticing the dial numbers ran from zero to 60, he decided to try 20-40-60.

    “I cracked it, it opened, and it was just total disbelief,” he told CBC Edmonton.

    “Tom was equally surprised, the whole family was. It was great. The kids got excited, they were like ‘we beat it, we beat the code!”

    (news.sky.com)

  • Jukun/ Tiv crisis: Gunmen kill three at border village

    Gunmen suspected to be involved in Tiv- Jukun communal strife in Wukari Local Government area in Taraba state have reportedly killed persons in Jande Ikyula village, Taraba state.

    Jande Ikyula village is a town bordering Wukari and Ukum Local Government area but the inhabitants are predominantly of Tiv ethnic group.

    For more than two months Jukun and Tiv ethnic groups have been at war with each other.

    So many houses have been set ablaze with food stuff and crops destroyed while over 50, 000 persons were rendered homeless.

    A victim of the crisis, James Ugbe, told The Nation on phone that the gunmen numbering over 10 stormed Jande Ikyula village at about 8 pm, shooting sporadically in the air.

    Read Also: Residents displaced, farmlands destroyed as flood as wreaks havoc in Calabar

    According to Ugba, as the people attempted to escape in the ensuing melee, they were gunned down.

    “Three people were shot and killed while the entire village was razed down,” the source stated.

    Ugbe appealed to security agencies to save them from the hands of hoodlums.

    Benue police spokesperson Kate Anenez A DSP, told The Nation on phone that Benue Police command was not aware of the killings.

  • Breaking: Appeal Court quashes suit against Nwosu as AA guber candidate

    The Appeal Court sitting in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on Thursday struck out a suit challenging the emergence of Uche Nwosu as the authentic Imo State governorship candidate of the Action Alliance (AA) in the 2019 general elections.

    The Presiding Judge, Justice R.C Agbo, ruled the appeal was statute barred in line with the virtue of the 4th Alteration of the 1999 Constitution section 285(12).

    Read Also: Nwosu to Ihedioha: focus on governance

    The Plaintiff, Mr. Leonard Okolienta, had appealed the judgment of the lower Court, which earlier ruled that Nwosu was the authentic governorship candidate.

    Details shortly…

  • Ninth Assembly: Independence of Senate may be under threat, Ndume warns

    Former Senate Leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume, on Thursday said that the Ninth National Assembly must work to protect its independence to avoid turbulent sessions.

    The Borno South senator said that the only thing every parliament has going for it is its independence which it must guard zealously.

    Ndume who is also one of the front runners for the position of the Senate President spoke while contributing to the valedictory session to mark the end of legislative business for the Eight Senate.

    He noted that the difference between democracy and military government is the independence of parliament.

    He insisted that the legislature must be seen as the symbol of democracy whose independence must be guarded and protected at all times.

    He said that the parliament remains the pillar of democracy in any country.

    Ndume said: “We had loads of disagreements. I respect your resilience and your ability to stand for what you believe in. We started together and we were doing fine. What happened was part of the learning process.

    “My concern is the independence of this arm of government. That is not to say we must not work with the other side (Presidency).

    Read Also: Dokpesi protests alleged witch-hunt by NBC boss

    “I see a dangerous thing coming. The only thing that makes democracy different from military rule is the Parliament. We need to ensure the independence of the Parliament.

    “If we take away the Parliament, what we have is not democracy. I am one of those that were controversial in the last four years. Within the process, we may have offended one another. I take nothing personal.

    “This institution is very important. Let us protect the sanctity of the parliament. This is the Nigerian Senate. There is no APC or PDP Senate. This is the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “We will continue to support the other side but we must work at all times to protect the sanctity of the institution of the parliament. We must continue to enhance the sanctity of the Senate at all times.

    It was sobering when Ndume singled out Senator Dino Melaye to apologise to him “if I offended you in the during my stay in the Eight Senate.”

  • Dokpesi protests alleged witch-hunt by NBC boss

    Media mogul and founder of DAAR Communications, owners of African Independent Television (AIT), Chief Raymond Dokpesi, has alleged witch hunt of the AIT by the Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr. Ishaq Modibbo Kawu.

    At a world press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Dokpesi called on the Presidency to remove Kawu from office in the collective interest of the nation’s broadcast industry.

    Bemoaning what he described as persecution of his media establishment, Dokpesi said there were deliberate moves by the NBC boss to gag AIT and other privately owned broadcast stations in the country.

    Accusing Kawu of creating a siege mentality on the AIT and others, Dokpesi said the DG NBC has turned the regulatory role of the NBC into a partisan weapon against private broadcast stations perceived not to be pandering to the whims of the government of the day.

    He cited an instance where Kawu unilaterally increased broadcast licensing fees to N500 million for privately owned broadcast stations against the N10 million charged federal and state owned stations.

    Dokpesi said despite intervention by notable stakeholders, including the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), Kawu has gone ahead to document the N500 million as debt owed by the AIT, insisting the amount be paid in one feel swoop.

    He regretted that while his organisation has been remitting its licensing fees to the NBC up to date, Kawu has continued to harass and intimidate the AIT, even when public- owned broadcast organisations have not been meeting their financial obligations to the Commission over the years.

    The media mogul regretted that a man standing trial for alleged corrupt practices could still be harassing and frustrating law abiding organisations for no just cause.

    Dokpesi said: “Ishaq Moddibo Kawu, was dragged to court by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on a 12-count-charge bordering on fraud in the Digital Switchover Project of the Federal Government and members of his management at NBC have openly testified against him in court.

    “Can this man remain independent of external and clandestine influences? Can the scandal he is embroiled in be used to influence his performance as a regulator?

    “Is it possible that he will go the extra mile over and beyond the powers of the NBC to gain favour from politicians and powers who may have influence on whether to retain him as DG and offer him a soft landing on the charges against him?

    “Is he a fit and proper person with the interest of the industry at heart to lead the regulatory body?

    Read Also: Six lawmakers shun valedictory session in Edo

    “Kawu must know that the right thing for him to do is to step down from the leadership of the NBC at least until such a time that he is acquitted of the charges against him. Do I need to tell him the right thing to do?

    “Can the broadcasters he is regulating freely raise these issues against him as a public figure? I make bold to unequivocally call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to immediately relieve him of his duty at the NBC to allow the industry to breathe fresh air”.

    Dokpesi linked his travails in the hands of the NBC boss to his status as an opposition figure, stressing that Kawu was being instigated against him by certain forces in the Presidency.

    He said: “Every broadcast which appears to them to offer a dissenting perspective to the position of government is reprehended as a threat to national interest.

    “Every reference and reportage from various sections of the country concerning injustice, inequality and iniquity is reprehended as a threat to national security.

    “If we are critical of this government’s commitment to the tenets of democracy, it is because we have witnessed unabated interferences, harassment and intimidation by the agencies under the executive arm of government on the institutions of democracy and their principal officers.

    “This includes the leadership of the National Assembly, the Judiciary and now the Fourth Estate of the realm”.
    Continue on page 2

  • Ekiti Monarch in court over alleged theft

    A Traditional ruler in Ekiti State, Oba Akin Adeyemo, has been arraigned before an Ado Ekiti Chief Magistrate’s Court for allegedly stealing the monthly allowances of minor chiefs under him.

    Oba Adeyemo, the Obalemo of Odo Ora Ekiti in Ido/Osi Local Government Area was charged to court alongside one Chief Samuel Fayigbe for allegedly conspiring to defraud the chiefs of the community of their monthly allowances totaling N2.4 million.

    The case was filed in court by the Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State Command, Mr. Asuquo Amba, after the state command has concluded its investigation.

    According to the charge sheet marked MAD/231c/2019, the Oba Adeyemo and Chief Fayigbe are facing four count charges.

    The charges are conspiracy, stealing, forgery and fraudulently conversion of the sum of N2, 453,000 (Two Million, Four Hundred and Fifty Three Thousand Naira) belonging to minor Chiefs of Odo-Ora Ekiti in Ido/Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti State.

    Read Also: Court remands man, 43, for defiling 10-yr-old girl

    Chief Fayigbe and Oba Adeyemo were docked for forging the signatures of other Chiefs on the Odo Ora-Ekiti in Ido/Osi Local Council Chieftaincy payment Vouchers.

    The Officer in charge of Legal Matters in the State Police Command, Mr Femi Falade, expressed confidence in the discretion of the Court.

    In his ruling, Chief Magistrate Adesoji Adegboye, however granted the bail to Chief Samuel Fayigbe on condition of N200,000 with two sureties on N250,000 each while Oba Adeyemo was granted bail on self-recognition.

    Adegboye subsequently adjourned the case till the 10th of July 2019.

  • Miyetti Allah’s threat: be ready for self defence, Ohanaeze tells Ndigbo

    Umbrella Igbo sociocultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo rose from its monthly meeting on Thursday with a call to Ndigbo to reactivate their local defence outfits in readiness against the alleged threat by Miyetti Allah to invade the South East.

    The group said in a communique signed by the president general, Nnia Nwodo that “Ohanaeze Ndigbo has noted the assertion and denial of Miyetti Allah that the South East will soon boil. We are waiting for them.”

    It directed Ndigbo to be vigilant and await “our next directives after consultation with our political and religious leaders, legislators, traditional rulers, town unions and affiliate organizations.”

    The group frowned at the “ongoing negotiations between the Federal Government and Miyetti Allah to give them a grant of N100 billion and queried: “Why on earth these gun trotting militants should be protected financially and insulated from criminal prosecution whilst IPOB, an armless group of Igbos is proscribed and categorized as dangerous to national security, bugs our imagination.”

    Ohanaeze lamented that in the South East and South West, colossal ransoms are daily extorted from helpless citizens by kidnappers and many captives killed by the bandits.

    It states: “In the South East and South West of Nigeria, kidnapping of several indigenes including priests, reveal a huge network of armed herdsmen camped in various bushes and farms. Local reports in some areas point to helicopters sighted in these bushes dropping arms and ammunition in some of these occupied areas.”

    Read Also: Anglican Church bombs Obiano for insulting Ohaneze boss

    While regretting with great disappointment the collapse of national security and “the continuous failure of the Federal Government in confronting the situation,” it noted that there have been unabated increased state of insecurity such as killings, kidnapping and various types of banditry in the country.

    It further notes: “Several local and international mining companies have without license occupied parts of Northern Nigeria and engaged in continuous and inhibited illegal mining of Nigeria’s mineral resources, protected by local and foreign militia and carting away and selling valuable mineral resources whose proceeds are undeclared in the national treasury, whereas oil deposits in the South are exploited and used for the benefit of the entire nation.

    ” A Muslim militant group with all the features and characteristics of ISIS is invading parts of Northern Nigeria, capturing district heads, stealing and rampaging in various communities and forcing Nigerians in these areas to flee from their homes, in some cases, away to neighbouring countries.

    “That in Kaduna and other parts of the Middle Belt, Miyetti Allah and their militant herdsmen have continued to kill, maim and destabilize Christian areas of these parts of the country with very little containment of these attackers by our national security forces.

    ” What is most is that very few arrests, seizures of arms or prosecution have been made in all these instances by our national security forces. The impression is created that their activities have the encouragement, sanction or acquiescence of our national security forces. In the President’s home state Katsina, the District Head of Daura is now under captivity for 32 days.”

    Ohanaeze concluded by re-emphasizing that as long as the persisting situation subsists, the only solution to it is for the country to be restructured.

    It directed its youth wing, women wing and affiliate organizations to desist from issuing any statement on the state of the nation as long as the tense security situation of the country lasts.

  • Osun 7th Assembly: Timothy Owoye emerges Speaker

    Mr Timothy Owoeye, representing Ilesha East State Constituency, has emerged as the new Speaker of Osun 7th House of Assembly, during the inauguration of the new Assembly on Thursday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the emergence of Owoeye, makes him the 5th Speaker of the state Assembly, since the creation of Osun in 1991.

    Mr Femi Popoola, representing Boripe/Boluwaduro Constituency, emerged the Deputy Speaker as both of them were sworn-in and administered the Oath of Office by Clerk of the House, Mr Simeon Amusan.

    In his first official duty as the new Speaker, Owoye inaugurated the 24 remaining lawmakers comprising 22 males and two female members, to pilot affairs of the Assembly with him for the next four years.

    Owoeye also conducted election for other lawmakers into the principal offices of the Assembly, where Mr Moruf Olanrewaju , representing Irewole/Isokan Constituency emerged the Majority Leader while Mr Adewunmi Babajide of Ede North, emerged the Minority Leader.

    Mr Tunde Olatunji of Ife North also emerged the Chief Whip while Mr Kunle Akande (former NAN editor) representing Olorunda Constituency emerged the Deputy Majority Leader.

    The Speaker in his inaugural speech, titled “As the great work continues”, recounts his sojourn in the assembly from 2007 till 2019, where he started as a Minority Leader in 2007 to later become the Majority Leader from 2011 to 2019.

    Read Also: Senate Presidency: We appreciate Goje’s sacrifice – El-Rufai

    He said the assembly was filled with people across party divides and promise to be a bridge between the party lines and work harmoniously with the executive to bring dividends of democracy to people of the state.

    Osun Governor, Mr Gboyega Oyetola, in his remarks, commended the 6th Assembly for working cordially with the executive, which reflected in the developmental projects, peace and tranquility that existed in the state.

    He called on the 7th Assembly to follow the footsteps of the last assembly by working with the executive to deliver dividends of democracy to the people and urged them to engage in vibrant debates.

    Mr Najeem Salaam, the outgoing 4th Speaker of Osun Assembly in his remarks, urged the new Speaker and the lawmakers to give their constituents adequate representation and work in unity, putting aside party differences.

  • Okowa swears in senior political adviser

    Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta on Thursday swore in Chief Funkekeme Solomon as his Senior Political Adviser (SPA), saying the position is not for a ”neophyte”.

    The governor, who performed the function at Government House, Asaba, said that Solomon remained the most qualified for the position.

    He, however, charged Solomon to bring his wealth of experience to bear while ensuring fairness, equity and justice in execution of his duties.

    The governor thanked the former SPA, Mr Festus Ochonogor, for his loyalty and sacrifice in the past four years, wishing him well in his future political career.

    According to Okowa, the office of a Political Adviser is very important, as the governor needs to be guided on the right policies and programmes.

    “I wish to congratulate Funkekeme Solomon who has just been sworn in as Senior Political Adviser to the government.

    “The SPA must be a person with high political pedigree; he cannot be a neophyte, but a political gladiator with wide network and this will enable him advise the government properly.

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    “Rt.Hon. Funkekeme Solomon is the right man for the Job.

    “He is a man with vast media and political experience, he has been a minority leader in the state house of assembly.

    “Until his appointment, he was the Director General, PDP Campaign Organisation 2019, who led the party to victory,” Okowa said.

    He congratulated him and prayed God to give him wisdom to carry out his assignment with equity, fairness and good conscience toward all persons.

    On his part, Solomon thanked God for the favour that had led to his new appointment and appreciated the governor for giving him the opportunity to serve.

    He pledged to deliver good leadership with fairness and ensure equity while carrying out his duties.