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  • Ex-Northern governor desperate for Fowler’s job

    People who say that politicians without political offices are like fish out of water surely know what they are talking about if the case of an immediate past governor of one of the northern states is anything to go by.

    Since he lost his bid for a second term in the 2019 general elections, he has been angling for juicy positions in the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

    One of the positions he is eyeing desperately, SENTRY gathered, is that of the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) currently occupied by a former Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, Dr. Babatunde Fowler.

    Although many expect that the former governor would take his scanty academic qualifications into consideration in angling for the juicy office, he is driven by his belief that he could get anything he wants by pulling the right strings.

    He is busy pulling the strings in Abuja at the moment and even telling whoever cares to listen that he would succeed Fowler. Some of his close pals were said to have drawn his attention to his limited academic qualifications but he reportedly told them it is a political battle and not an academic one, hence he would fight it to the last point.

    Ironically, the former governor was said to have failed woefully to grow the internally generated revenue of his state while he held sway as the state’s chief executive.

  • Yes, I’ve seen Buhari’s certificate, but any further need?

    Since Atiku Abubakar lost in his bid to become our President, he has made great issue of whether or not President Muhammad Buhari possesses the minimum educational qualification to run for the high office of President of Nigeria.

    I have combed all relevant documents to know that to be our President, you must be educated up to a minimum of West African School Certificate level. Atiku, the PDP and their lawyers are telling us that our President does not have a secondary school leaving certificate and that if he has, he couldn’t produce it. They offered to help Buhari search for it – from his weather-beaten cupboard in his native home in Daura to the remnants of the burnt records of the West African Examinations Council at their imposing office headquarters in Jibowu area of Yaba in Lagos.

    Açcording to tales by Atiku, since the search for Buhari’s certificate had, to them, ended up in futility like the guys out there looking for the head of the air that circulate round the world, Buhari should be asked to relinquish the mandate given to him by the Nigerian people and surrender the presidential ‘tiara’ Atiku has coveted so much since his barely disguised bid to oust his boss, Olusegun Obasanjo in the post-military Presidency of 1999 to 2007.

    But the elusive certificate, I am happy to report to the Atiku crowd, has been found by some concerned citizens in the vault of Tafa Adeoye, the deceased leader of the Yoruba militant group otherwise known as Agbekoya Movement, at his headquarters at Akanran, the border town between Ijebu Igbo in Ogun State and Ibadan in Oyo State. The ‘but’ in the matter is that the certificate has been partially eaten by termites and thus defaced to be presented in the President’s favour at the Supreme Court where Atiku is headed in his desperation to win through the courts, the presidency he lost at the polls.

    Some hope for Atiku? If you ask me, I’d say his ice hasn’t got a ghost of a chance in hell in this case. In the first place, it is uncommon for a 5-0 unanimous decision of a presidential election appeal tribunal to be upturned by any Supreme Court. One could have made a safe guess of victory for Nigeria’s serial presidential contestant if the appeal tribunal verdict had been split, say 3-2!

    In the second place, no Supreme Court of the calibre of the eminent jurists sitting there will be consciencelessly audacious enough to throw a whole country into chaos by upstaging a sitting president whose popularity rating on integrity and piety has no parallel among his peers.

    That said, this columnist calls to question the patriotic and intelligence credentials of those who thought educational qualification could be a basis for blighting Buhari’s victory.

    I move forward to say all those who think that way have insulted the collective intelligence of citizens of this country and portrayed the nation in bad light by suggesting even remotely that a man who rose in the nation’s Army to become a General, a state governor, a federal minister of petroleum, a head of state and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and a democratically-elected president, is un-educated and unfit to lead the country.

    Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the afro-beat legend, had not seen much when he sang his popular song “Ye-ye dey smell”. This is it! The putrid odour of this Atiku desperation and the height it has been taken is offensive to the nose and altogether unacceptable. He should wait till 2023 to try his luck again.

  • ‘No plan to dethrone Emir of Kano’

    The Kano State Government, on Friday, denied allegations that Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, is planning to dethrone the Emir of Kano, Malam Muhammad Sanusi II.

    Earlier, a Kano group, Renaissance Coalition, in a press statement, signed by its spokesman, Ibrahim A. Waiya, which was made available to The Nation, alleged that plans were under way by the Kano State Government to transfer the Emir of Kano, Malam Muhammad Sanusi II to Bichi Emirate.

    According to the statement, if the monarch resists the move, he would be dethroned.

    Read Also: Ganduje’s, Sanusi’s feud worsens

    However, the statement cautioned Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje against, the plot, which is capable of destabilizing the peace and stability being enjoyed in the state.

    The group, in the statement, threatened that if the governor goes ahead, with its plan, it would have no option than to compel the Federal Government to declare a state of Emergency in Kano.

    When contacted,  Governor Abdullahu Umar Ganduje’s Chief Press Secretary, Abba Auwal, dismissed as false, allegations that the State Government was planning to depose the Emir, insisting that there was no such plan.

  • ‘I sold my children with their fathers’ consent’

    One of the six suspects arrested by the police for stealing and selling babies  to childless women has confessed that she sold two of her own children with the consent of their fathers.

    The suspect, Blessing Stephens, was arrested by the operatives of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) after stealing a boy from a couple at Ikota area of Ajah, Lagos State.

    The 25-year-old suspect was arrested alongside five others, including a homeopathic medical doctor, Una Ekong Godwin, 58; Blessing John 27; Israel Ariyo 33; Itoro Anthony, 40, and Mrs. Mforbong Itoro, 48.

    She said:” I am from Nsitayi, Odor Akwa Ibom state but resides in Ijota Ajah area in Lagos. I dropped out of Bright Academy Secondary School, Ajah, due to a financial problem.

    ‘’There, I dated one Julius Abang and he impregnated me. I had a boy called Emmanuel with Abang in 2010 but we broke up in 2011. Only my mother was taking care of me and when life became unbearable for me I sought an advice from one Mrs. Mforbong and she advised me to sell the child and tell the father that the child had died if he ever cared to ask.

    Read Also: Woman arrested for allegedly stealing two-month-old baby in Ekiti

    ‘’I was working as an office assistant and my mother did not know that the child was sold. In 2012 I started another work in a shopping complex in Ikota. When I went to Akwa Ibom for my mother’s burial  I dated another guy, a truck driver and he impregnated me but after two years he abandoned me after impregnating another girl. After one month I sold the baby but I got only N100,000.

    ‘’In 2013, I got another lover named Israel who is an iron bender. Within six months he impregnated me but he was so poor that he could not even feed me nor pay house rent. The motorcycle he usually used to find small money was destroyed by someone who put salt into the engine and the motorcycle became useless.

    ‘’We decided to sell the baby for N250,000. Mrs. Ntoro collected N20,000 and she advised us to tell whoever asked after the child that the baby diead and had been buried.

    ‘’Later, Mrs. Ntoro called from village that she needed another baby boy. I told my sister Blessing John to steal a baby boy from Ikota. It is this one that put us in trouble.’’

    On July 14, 2019, a four- year-old boy, Master Ojo Adegboyega Fapounda was stolen from his parents in Ikota housing estate Ajah, Lagos by his neighbour identified as Blessing John.

    She allegedly took the stolen child to Ibadan on July 15, 2019 to meet her childhood friend, Blessing Stephen. The child spent three days in the house of Stephens’s husband identified as Israel Ariyo.

    The stolen child was taken to Akwa Ibom and sold to one human trafficker, Mrs Mforbong for N350, 000. Unfortunately for the buyer, the toddler started crying uncontrollably to the hearing of neighbours who wondered why the child was crying in the house of the old woman who had reached menopause.

    Afraid that she might be exposed, the woman advised Blessing Stephen to return the child to his parents in Lagos after three days on the pretext that the child was too old for her to buy and that she preferred a week- old baby instead.

    Blessing (Stephen) returned the child to Ibadan and handed him over to Blessing (John) to return the boy to his parents at Ikota in Ajah area of Lagos.

    Determined to take the child to a place close to Ikota, she tried to deceive a security man attached to a church at Ketu, a Lagos suburb that she wanted to leave the boy with him in order to pick some items across the road, but the security man declined.

    Unknown to the security man, Blessing later sneaked into the church through the back door and dropped the baby and bolted.

    On discovering the baby in the church, the security man reported the matter to the church authorities and the matter was reported to the nearest police station.

    The baby was subsequently taken to a child care centre in Lagos by the police.

    Operatives of IRT traced the suspects to Ibadan, Oyo State capital following a petition by the father of the boy leading to their arrest.

    It was said that the syndicate had sold over 30 stolen children.

  • Buhari condemns abuse of children in Kaduna ‘reform institution’

    President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned reported horrific acts at a ‘reform institution’ in Kaduna where about 400 persons were rescued by the police.

    According to a statement by Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, in Abuja on Saturday, President Buhari condemned all forms of rights abuses whether of adults or children.

    While commending the efforts of the police for the discovery and subsequent arrest of operators of the horrific hub, the president said all children must be safeguarded and protected from all evil influences in the society.

    The statement read in part: ‘‘In commending the police for their discovery of this horrific hub and arrest of suspected operators of the unedifying, so-called “reform institution,” the administration of President Buhari categorically condemns rights abuses whether of adults or of children.

    ‘‘We are glad that Muslim authorities have dismissed the notion of the embarrassing and horrifying spectacle as Islamic School.

    ‘‘The place has indeed been described as a house of torture and a place of human slavery.

    ‘‘The President holds the view that children will be safeguarded from roaming the streets and protected from all evil influences that assail idle hands and idle minds, when they are sent to school.

    ‘‘When he inaugurated the National Economic Council for the year 2019/2023 at the Presidential Villa, in Abuja, President Buhari warned that keeping children away from school is a criminal offence.

    ‘‘He also stressed the need to take seriously and enforce the statutory provisions on free and compulsory basic education.

    “Citing Section 18(3) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, which he says places on all of us – public leaders and political office holders – an obligation to eradicate illiteracy and provide free and compulsory education.

    ‘‘He added that “Section 2 of the Compulsory Free Universal Basic Education Act provides that every government in Nigeria shall provide free, compulsory and universal basic education for every child of primary and junior secondary school age.

    “It is indeed a crime, he stressed, for any parent to keep his child out of school for this period.”

    Read Also: Yes, I’ve seen Buhari’s certificate, but any further need?

    According to the president, his administration has introduced a number of programmes, including the school feeding programme which is now in 32 states in the country, with 9.8 million children in its roll.

    He said the school feeding programme was meant to encourage school enrolment and enhance the health and learning capabilities of pupils.

    President Buhari maintained that ”state and local governments are obliged under the law to ensure that every child of school age goes to school throughout the crucial nine years of basic education”.

    The president enjoined religious and traditional authorities to partner with the three tiers of government to check the menace of what he described as ‘unwanted cultural practices’.

    He said: ‘‘To stop unwanted cultural practices that amount to the abuse of children, our religious and traditional authorities must work with the federal, state and local governments to expose and stop all types of abuse that are widely known but ignored for many years by our communities.’’

  • TCN moves to recover N270b debt from DisCos

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has written a letter to the Minister of Power, Engr. Sale Mamman on how to compel the electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to pay the outstanding debt of N270billion to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc.

    Speaking at the TCN’s/Donor/Stakeholders meeting in Abuja on Saturday, its Managing Director, Mr. Usman Gur Mohammed, noted that with the application of the market rule, the company has been able to collect its 100 percent revenue from the DisCos.

    But the outstanding N270billion debt was the revenue that the Discos failed to remit to the TCN before he assumed office as the Chief Executive Officer of the TCN.

    His words: “We have written to the Minister of Power, we also suggested to him, his we can work with NBET, if they will agree to work with us to force the DisCos to pay them their money. We are going to enforce it if they (ministers) agree. There is no reason we cannot enforce it.”

    With the enforcement of the market rule, the TCN’s boss noted that the company has discovered that the DisCos that are weak, those that are strong, which can survive and those that will collapse under real market conditions .

    He added that the enforcement has improved discipline and transparency in the electricity market.

    Mohammed expressed hope that enforcing the market rule will reduce the federal government liabilities in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

    The TCN, according to him, is now working with state Governors to secure the right of way for the expansion of network (25 meters both side for 330Kv line and 15 meters on both sides for 132Kv.

    Read Also: Police intercept van fully loaded with Indian Hemp in Ekiti

    On the essence of the meeting, he noted that the TCN has received loans and grants totalling $1.6b from donor agencies.

    He noted that the meeting was to give the donors an updated breakdown of the projects for them to guide the TCN on whatever ways they feel.

    Mohammed said that aside from the Abuja Wheeling Scheme Project, non of the projects for which funds have been disbursed.

    The CEO insisted that the projects are at their procurement stages in sustainable manner.

    He revealed that the management of the TCN has reintroduced the Pupillage Training Program under engineers work under the tutelage of senior engineers for a period of one year before they can start work on their own.

    He added that pupillage program existed in the PHCN where young engineers were trained for two years.

  • Ekiti APC suspends LG primary elections indefinitely

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Ekiti State Chapter on Saturday said it has postponed the local government primary elections in two local government areas of the state.

    The ruling party’s shadow primary which was scheduled to hold on Saturday was suspended indefinitely in Ado and Ikole Local Government over security concern while the elections held in other 14 local councils.

    The party spokesperson, Ade Ajayi who stated this in Ado Ekiti in a telephone chat with newsmen, said the decision was reached by the party high decision making organ following emergence of a security report that some hooligans were plotting to tinker with the political atmosphere and disrupt the exercise.

    Ajayi said that a new date would be communicated to all concerned stakeholders as soon as report shows that the coast is clear.

    “The reason for the postponement in respect of the two local government is due to security concerns. We had it on record that there would be breakdown of law and order.

    “And it was on this basis we decided to postpone the election in the two local government until further notice. The remaining 14 Council election will hold today as scheduled”, he said.

    The indefinite postponement has created fear and re-awakened the suspicion of some aspirants who alleged the party leadership of plotting to impose its anointed candidates on the people.

    Two of the aspirants who spoke to newsmen at the venue of the primary including Alhaji Tajudeen Gidado, and Tosin Aluko, expressed displeasure over the suspension of the party’s shadow election.

    They accused the leadership of the party of being undemocratic, warning that they would resist any attempt to impose on the party.

    Read Also; No cold war in the Presidency -APC, Govs.

    In her reaction, Mrs Aluko, an aspirant in the election lamented that the leadership of the party were determined to impose a candidate.

    “I just heard it here now that the election has been Postponed. I don’t want to believe it because Governor Kayode Fayemi issued a statement last week that there would be primary election and that there won’t be imposition.

    “We have been waiting here since morning for the primary. Some people are with the Deputy Chairman of the party now, Sola Elesin, they don’t want the election to hold because of the plan they have to impose one of us as the candidate.

    ” I don’t know why they are doing this, they should allow people to make their choice because this is democracy. They’re doing this because they want to impose someone. But the governor they are dropping his name has come out to say he has no preferred candidate.”

    But the party Spokesman described the allegations as a conjectural statement that lack content of validity in all its measure.

    Ajayi maintained that all aspirants will be given a level playing ground to participate in the excercise, noting that the election will be conducted in a transparent, free and fair manner without compromising the basic principle of internal democracy.

  • Osun begins screening of Commissioner, Special Adviser-nominees Monday

    The Osun State House of Assembly has released the time table for the screening of Commissioner and Special Adviser nominees.

    The screening exercise split into four batches will start from Monday, and end on Friday.

    There will no screening on Tuesday because of the national public holiday for the celebration of the nation’s 59th independence anniversary.

    According to the time table released by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Timothy Owoeye, on Day 1, Monday, September 30, Oluremi Omowaiye, Agunbiade Nathaniel, Sola Oladepo, Ibitoye Felix Adebisi Obawale, Egbemode Funke, Ogunfolaju Sola Oyehan, Ajisefini Abiodun and Folorunsho Bamisayemi are scheduled for screening.

    On Day 2, Wednesday 2nd of October to be screened are Adewole Adedayo, Akande Oluwafemi, Adeleke Adebayo, Olamiju Olasiji, Yinusa Olalekan, Isamotu Rafiu, Olasunkanmi Tadese Raheem, Adeosun Rasaq and Oladimeji Olanubi Segun.

    Read Also: ‘Osinbajo’ll subdue detractors’

    On Day 3, Thursday 3rd of October: Bakare Akande, Jamiu Olawumi Olaniyan Hussein, Badmus Rahmon Lekan, Bola Oyebamiji, Olumide Babatunde Olawale, Lawal Yemi Azeez, Akeju Taiwo and Giwa Lateefat.

    On Day 4, Friday 4th of October, the nominees to be screened are Kareem Akande, Oyegbile Rufus, Olaboopo Olubukola, Kolajo Aderemi, Babalola Idiat Lawal Tajudeen, Muminu Adekunle and Olaonipekun Henry.

    The state governor, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, on Tuesday forwarded the list of his 35-cabinet to the state Assembly

  • ‘Osinbajo’ll subdue detractors’

    A group, the Southwest Youth Congress,(SWYC) on Saturday criticised those behind the current attack against Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, describing them as enemies of the country.

    The group in a statement in Akure, the Ondo state capital and signed by its Coordinator,Bamise Akintonide noted that the perceived threat against Osinbajo bears the imprints of a desperate cabals’ wicked strategy for relevance.

    Besides, the group pointed out that they have also enlisted the support of agents of calumny of desperate opposition

    However, the group assured that such campaign of calumny against a decent character like Osinbajo would fail in the presence of the right-thinking Nigerians.

    The group said ” We do know that the orchestrated allegations against Prof Osinbajo, especially the baseless accusation of misusing a non-existing N90b campaign fund, are all targeted at achieving the singular objective of dissuading the VP fro the idea of running for the presidency in 2023.

    “While the VP has not told anyone that he will be running for office in 2023, the SWYC will like to emphasize that the leadership shown by Osinbajo over the period he has worked alongside President Muhammadu Buhari to pilot the affairs of this country have proven his capacity for effective and result-driven governance.

    Read Also: Ondo APC dissociates from pro-Osinbajo campaign group

    ‘Therefore it is our hope and desire that come 2023 he will be on the ballot to run for the highest office in the land. If he decides to contest, it is our belief that he is immensely qualified and therefore he has our support and deserves the support of all well-meaning Nigerians.

    “While it is true that there is no amount of gimmicks or lies that can stop Osinbajo from becoming Nigeria’s President if God so wishes, we, however, call on all stakeholders and political leaders in the South West to unite in support of the Vice President.

    The group maintained that the Senior Advocate has displayed the attributes of competence and loyalty, both of which have brought honour to the entire Yoruba race and the Southwest region.

  • Nwajuiba proffers solution to intraparty dispute over primaries

    Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba wants political parties, especially the All Progressives Congress (APC) to adopt a different approach to the conduct of party primaries to avoid a repeat of the crisis that is currently rocking the party as a result of the conduct of the 2018 party primaries ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    The Minister wants the party to adopt a method of first screening aspirants who expressed their interest to contest the party and sell nomination forms to only those they found to have met the party guideline and therefore qualified to contest the primaries for the party ticket.

    He told leadership of the APC Aspirant Forum led by its National Coordinator, Lt. Col. Abdulaziz Yar’adua that if the party allow only those who scaled through the screening after expressing their interest to go to the next stage of nomination, crisis arising from disqualification from contesting the primaries after paying huge amount of money will be a thing of the past.

    He also wants the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to adopt a different method of election by staggering voting process across several days to ensure that everybody is allowed to participate in the process, pointing out that this will erase the current trend of election rigging and manipulations.

    He said “I have been contesting election since 1992 and for 27 years we have been running election the same way. Nobody has said let us reform it. Cant we enact policies around them?

    “Why do you have parties that sells you form and you cant trace them? We can also have a situation where we do screening and only those who win can go and pay. What s wrong in that? If you express your interest, we evaluate you and if we don want you, we tell you not to continue after that stage.”

    Nwajiuba associated the crisis that rocked the party before, during and after the last party primaries to a carryover from the events of 2015 that were not properly handled and the fact that the party leadership was not properly settled to understand the party machineries after the national convention.

    He said “what happened was a carryover from what happened in 2015. When we were designing the forms for the 2018 primaries, there were mistakes at the level of the convention. The convention ended and we went into an election and the National Organising Secretary had not taken charge sufficiently the matter of how to run the primaries.

    “This was very fundamental in the way it was delivered. The nature of our democracy viz a vis the sociological framework it was supposed to operate are taken for granted in Nigeria.

    Read Also; FG to drag judge before NJC for granting Sowore bail

    “There is a midterm convention of the party coming up. The issue is, when are we going to agitate for a midterm convention, how do we expand the working space to include other opinion. There are sensitive offices we may have to ask them to bring in women.

    “The next agenda for APC must be project Nigeria. How do we sustain all progressives, how do we take the idea of projecting 100 million people out of poverty and progressing into the next stage of development.

    “ So, ahead of the 2021 midterm convention, how do we engage the party, how do we restructure the party to function better. Governance function around four things.
    Principles being driven into policies, policies being driven into programmes and programmes being driven into projects. We said we are progressives and that means we are principled minded people and so, we want the welfare of the largest number in an all-inclusive scenario. That is what everybody professes.”

    While commending members of the forum for standing by the party, he told them that after losing out in the primary process of the party, “we pleaded with the President to engage some members and in his nature, he does not want to halt anybody. When we met with the President, we felt that some of the cases that can be redressed should be redressed and those who can go their own should do that.

    “I did some extra work because we had an understanding which was in the interest of Nigeria. We felt that the right thing that the south-east would get was the Speaker of the House of Representatives and so, I went and did the extra work to make sure that I am available to be used for that purpose.

    “The work you did for the party is the reason why we are here and we are grateful to you and the rest of the country. Those who are still with us in the party should know that we are no longer aggrieved aspirants. We have arrived at the next level because that thing for which we were aggrieved, we have arrived at it. But we have arrived at it in different capacities. We are the generation next.

    “As progressives, it is our duty to act as the conscience. We now know how other people might feel in case this is done to them. The only thing we owe ourselves is to have learnt from this collective experience and then improve on it because if we don’t, the lessons learnt will be completely lost.

    “In this business, find out what is wrong with the process before you amend them. So, for the party, there is a lot of work to be done. That is what we should begin to do now and strategise around them.”

    Speaking earlier, the National Coordinator of the Forum, Lt. Col. Abdulaziz Yar’adua (rtd) told the Minister that they have resolved to work with the leadership of the Party and President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that the President leaves a lasting legacy including retaining the Presidency in 2013.

    He said their major concern right now was for the President to leave a lasting legacy behind for the nation and ensuring that the APC retain power in 2023, adding that “if the APC does not retain power in 2023, all the legacy of the President will go to waste”.