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Tag: Peoples Democratic Party

  • Ekwueme, a strong pillar in National Development – Yakasai

    Ekwueme, a strong pillar in National Development – Yakasai

    An elder statesman in Kano, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, has described the late former Vice-President, Dr Alex Ekwueme, as a very meticulous and hard working person who contributed a lot toward the development of the country.

    Yakasai made the remark in an interview in Kano on Tuesday.

    Ekwueme died on November 19, 2017, at a London Hospital after a brief illess and he will be buried on Friday.

    Yakasai, who was a Special Adviser to President Shehu Shagari on National Assembly Matters, said the late Ekwueme was also a committed politician who believed in the unity of Nigeria.

    “The late elder statesman was a principled and very intelligent person, who bagged five degrees in different fields.”

    Read also: Senate, Jonathan, ACF, Ita-Giwa mourn ex-VP Ekwueme

    According to him, Ekwueme spearheaded the campaign for a number of issues, including zoning and rotation during the National Constitutional Conference held between 1994 and 1995.

    “So, zoning and rotation was originally part of the defunct National Party of Nigeria ( NPN ) Programme as it was the party that introduced the idea of zoning and rotation.

    “During the conference, Ekwueme articulated a number of issues which the conference eventually adopted.”

    He said that Ekwueme’s connection with the NPN, gave him the opportunity to be adopted as the Chairman of G34, a group of Nigerians who eventually formed Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ).

    He said he was very close to late Ekwueme even when they were in Kirikiri Prison together after the military coup of 1983.

    “I and the late former governor of old Kaduna State, Alhaji Lawal Kaita, kept Ekwueme company in the prison. He even requested me to teach him Hausa language.”

    He said there was good understanding between them when they were in government as they used to visit each other’s families.

    “We used to disagree on certain issues but we lived peacefully when we were in government,” Yakasai said.

    On the state of political parties, he said disloyalty was the bane of Nigeria’s democracy, noting further that governors had hijacked their political parties in their respective states.

    He, therefore, urged politicians to change the trend by being loyal to their parties in order to strengthen democracy in the country.

    “Disloyalty to political parties is the bane of Nigeria’s democracy and this is a major challenge threatening the system, Yakasai said.

    NAN

  • Buhari, Obj and 2019

    Buhari, Obj and 2019

    Last week Tuesday was a day President Muhammadu Buhari and those around him will not forget in a hurry.

    It was a day the former President Olusegun Obasanjo decided to come down hard on Buhari’s democratic governance.

    Obasanjo, who had spent two terms of four years as a democratic President, criticised the Buhari’s administration, which just crossed two and half years mark.

    The former President said that the Buhari’s administration and his party, the All Prgressives Congress (APC) have failed Nigerians.

    Stressing that Buhari’s administration was not different from those of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before his assumption of office, Obasanjo believed that the present administration is also enmeshed in corruption.

    The long and short of his letter was that President Buhari should take a well-deserved rest and not contest the 2019 Presidential election, when his first term of four years expires.

    Following the release of the letter, the mood in the Presidential Villa that Tuesday remained very dull till sunset when workers closed for the day.

    None of the President’s media handler was also willing to take on the elder statesman over the letter that day.

    Last Tuesday was not the first time the former President was releasing such letter to the public. Obasanjo had written such open letters to former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Those letters, many Nigerians believed, played a great role in the defeat Jonathan suffered at the polls in 2015.

    Even though, the President Buhari’s administration had disclosed that it received Obasanjo’s latest letter in good faith, the letter no doubt have caused a great division among Nigerians.

    While some Nigerians hailed Obasanjo for being courageous, patriotic and hitting the nails on the head, others felt that his criticism was misplaced.

    Apart from others believing that the economy under Obasanjo’s eight years rule was nothing to write home about in spite of the higher prices of oil in the international market, some Nigerians were also of the view that Obasanjo, in government, will never allow himself to be tele guided by anybody.

    For the National Secretary of Action Democratic Party (ADP), James Okoroma, Obasanjo’s letter has set the stage for a new Nigeria.

    He said: “The damage caused by the Buhari Government is enormous and we must endeavour to rebuild our country. The former President made it clear in his statement that the Buhari government is a monumental failure.

    National Chairman of United Progressives Congress, (UPP) Chief Chekwas Okorie described the letter as timely, adding that the Buhari administration has done enormous danger to the unity of the country than any administration before it.

    He said: “The fact remains that Buhari is non performing, nepotism, sectional and very clueless. He has put Nigeria in more danger than any President before him. He doesn’t behave like one who fought during the civil war. Nigeria is more divisive under Buhari.”

    Also, National Chairman of Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) National Chairman Alhaji Ganiyu Galadima said “The advice of President Olusegun Obasanjo to President Mohammad Buhari not to contest in 2019 is apt and sincere. President Obasanjo is a former Nigerian President known for his truth and bluntness.”

    The PDP, through a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan said that Obasanjo’s letter has vindicated PDP’s position on Buhari and the APC.

    A former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and leader of the National Intervention Movement (NIM) Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) said President Buhari has nothing more to offer, describing Obasanjo’s suggestion for Buhari not to run for second term as “great”.

    Activist-lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), supporting Obasanjo’s statement, said it was a wake-up call for President Buhari.

    Falana said: “President Olusegun Obasanjo’s intervention is a vivid expression of the frustration of the Nigerian people with the Buhari administration.

    “The statement is a clarion call on President Buhari to remove the incompetent and corrupt cabal of power mongers that has hijacked political power from him. Through sheer nepotism and cronyism, the regime has lost the massive goodwill that heralded it to power.

    “The success recorded in the fight against insurgency in the northeast zone has been eroded in the wave of kidnapping and reckless killing of unarmed Nigerians by AK47-bearing herdsmen.

    “The success of the fight against corruption and impunity has been rubbished by the inability of the regime to remove corrupt public officers.”

    Although Vice President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Monday Ubani felt Obasanjo’s letter was long overdue, he warned that Obasanjo should not see himself as the determiner of Nigerians’ fate.

    Ubani said “Recall that former President Obasanjo has written such letters to virtually everyone that took over from him and if you will remember such letters were even written to former military leaders like IBB and Abacha. Such scathing and virulent attacks on leaders before and after him are therefore not novel.”

    Rooting for the incumbent, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Dr. Victor Oye, said that Buhari does not need Obasanjo’s advice.

    He said: “Obasanjo’s opinion and Nigerian’s opinions differ. People might have different opinion. What we need now in Nigeria is for us to remove unnecessary tension.

    “Even if Buhari is not going to run in 2019, we shouldn’t create unnecessary tension because the man himself knows what to do and he doesn’t need Obasanjo’s letter to take such decision. It is Buhari’s entitlement to run for second term, but if he is saying he cannot run, he knows what to do.

    “When Obasanjo was president what did he do? Was he a wonderful leader? Did he tar road in South-east? Enugu to Port-Hacourt road he didn’t do it. Okigwe to Oga he didn’t do it, and so on, and he is busy talking about nepotism. Obasanjo does not have moral justification to say such a thing,” he said.

    Also the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), declared that Obasanjo cannot stop Buhari from running for Presidency in 2019.

    A member of the House of Representatives Alhassan Ado Doguwa (APC, Kano), in a press briefing had said Obasanjo lacks moral and political credibility to advise Buhari not to contest in 2019 considering Obasanjo’s own attempt at returning to the Presidency contrary to the provision of the nation’s constitution.

    He said, “The former President, who was used to engaging in very unreasonable political comments should know that he cannot in any way be a stumbling block against the popular desire of Nigerian to give President Buhari a second term to rule this great nation, which unfortunately was put to a state of economic and political quagmire by the likes of Obasanjo and his cohorts.

    “After all a man who is involved in all sorts of corruption issues in his administration and indeed his unpopular bid to violate our respected constitution by wanting to take a third term is not any way a credible democratic voice to count on.

    “Nigerian should consider him as mere confusionist, mischievous and an enemy of true democracy in Nigeria as he has always been,” he said.

    The APC also said that weit remained the best option for Nigerians in spite of Obasanjo’s criticism.

    The party’s National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abudullahi, said “We acknowledge our challenges as a new political party, even as we believe that APC remains the best option at this time for all Nigerians who are genuinely committed to the country’s progress and development.

    “While we do not agree with everything the former president said, especially on his assessment of the government and our party we note the sundry issues raised by the former President, and we assume these were made in good faith,” he said.

    Although the Buhari’s government had disagreed with most of Obasanjo’s positions and criticism of the administration, but many Nigerians will really want to know if Buhari, at the end of the day, will not re-contest in 2019 as a result of the letter.

    Only time will tell as events towards 2019 general elections unfold.

     

  • Ekweremadu to Buhari: Accept defeat if you lose in 2019

    Ekweremadu to Buhari: Accept defeat if you lose in 2019

    Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, yesterday said President Muhammadu Buhari administration should not only conducts a credible, free and fair election in 2019, but to also accept the outcome of the election should he and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), fail to win the presidential contest.

    A statement by his Special Adviser (Media), Mr Uche Anichukwu, in Abuja, said that Ekweremadu made the call at the Parliament of the United Kingdom in London.

    In a lecture on “African Politics: The Dynamics and Lessons”, he urged the president to accept the outcome of the presidential election “should he and the All Progressives Congress (APC) fail to win’’.

    Ekweremadu also decried sit-tight syndrome by Heads of State in Africa, describing it as a grave danger to democracy in the continent.

    He said that his admonition became necessary owing to the pivotal and strategic roles Nigeria was playing in Africa.

    The deputy president of the senate pointed out that for the continent to be respected by the rest of the world, Nigeria must not only lead the way but also earn the respect of the world.

    “Former President Goodluck Jonathan put Nigeria on the global map as a leading democratic nation when he put in everything to ensure a free and fair election.

    “He not only lost the presidential poll as an incumbent, but also willingly conceded defeat.

    “In fact, he called the incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari, and congratulated him even before the announcement of the final results.

    “In addition, neither former President Jonathan nor the Peoples Democratic Party challenged the outcome of the election in court.

    “Therefore, to whom much is given, much is also expected,’’ he said.

    He added that the onus was now on Buhari “to likewise provide a level-playing ground and show uncommon statesmanship if he and his party lose the 2019 presidential election.

    “That way, Africa’s biggest democracy will further entrench the culture of peaceful and smooth transfer of power from a ruling party to the opposition in both Nigeria and Africa.

    “Any attempt to manipulate the 2019 elections to the advantage of self or party will not augur well for peace and democracy not only in Nigeria, but the entire continent.

    “In present age of technology, I will like to see the countries of Africa deploying the latest technology in voter registration, vote counting, and announcement of results.

    “We must ensure that the process is sufficiently transparent and unarguably so, such that losers will see and be convinced that they lost fairly.

    “That way, election tribunals will be eliminated”.

  • Attend court Feb. 5 or be returned to prison, judge tells Metuh

    Attend court Feb. 5 or be returned to prison, judge tells Metuh

    Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered a former spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Olisa Metuh, to attend court on February 5 or be arrested and returned to prison.

    Justice Abang gave the order yesterday whiling on two applications. One by Metuh’s lawyer, Okezie Ikpeazu (SAN), for adjournment on health ground and the other by prosecution lawyern Sylvanus Tahir, seeking the revocation of Metuh’s bail for allegedly being absent in court for not cogent reasons.

    The judge said Metuh had been absent from his trial since Monday without any lawful excuse. This, the judge said, was a sufficient reason to revoke the defendant’s bail.

    Metuh and his company, Dextra Investment Limited are being tried on money laundering charges before the court.

    Last Monday, Metuh was absent in court and his lawyer said he was on admission at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra State. He drew the court’s attention to a letter to thate effecr from the hospital.

    On Tuesday, Ikpeazu applied for an adjournment of the case to a period outside this week based on the health situation of his client, an application Tahir objected to.

    Tahir described the letter from the Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital, relied on by Ikpeazu as worthless.

    He urged the court to revoke  Metuh’s bail and return him to prison, from where he should be made to attend his trial.

    Justice Abang, in his ruling, noted that  the medical report  relied on by Metuh to stay away from court was fraudulently smuggled into the court’s file and aimed at forcing the court to stay proceedings in the trial indefinitely.

    He agreed with Tahir to the effect the hospital’s letter dated January 21, 2018 indicating that Metuh had been on admission since the previous day, for treatment for an ailment, was sent to the court to frustrate the trial.

    He queried why the medical report had to be issued barely 24 hours to the resumption of the trial on January 22.

    The judge also queried how the letter issued in Nnewi, Anambra State, could find its way to the court’s file in Abuja within 24 hours.

    He said the letter was fraudulently smuggled into the court’s file and defence lawyers chose to rely on it to ask for an adjournment yet refused to disclose the identity of the person who sent the document to the court.

    Ikpeazu and lawyer to Destra, Tochukwu Onwugbufor (SAN), thanked the judge for showing sympathy to Metuh.

    They promised not to stall the trial, and noted that the judge has always given the case accelerated hearing before the January 12, 2018 judgment of the Supreme Court, which directed that the case be promptly decided.

  • Don’t declare ex-Speaker’s seat vacant, Abia APC warns

    The Abia State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned that any attempt to declare the seat of former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon Martins Azubuike vacant by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would not be accepted.

    Hon. Azubuike, former member of the PDP representing Isiala Ngwa North was among the four members of the Assembly who defected to the APC during its mega rally held at the Umuahia Township Stadium on January 9.

    Others who also defected were Hon Ikedi Ezekwesiri (APGA), Umunneochi; Hon Solomon Chibuzo Okogbue (APGA) Bende South and Hon Theophilius Ugboaja Ikwuano State Constituency.

    Speaking over the alleged surreptitious move by the PDP that is in the majority to declare the seat of the former Speaker vacant, the state Publicity Secretary of the APC, Comrade Benedict Godson said the era of impunity was over, stressing that any attempt to declare the seat of the former Speaker vacant under any guise would be seen as a declaration of war on APC which will resist such.

    Questioning the rationale behind the PDP’s move against Hon Azubuike, Godson said last year, about four members of APGA in the House defected to the PDP and they were received with pump, wondering why the people that were happy when other members decamped to their party should now tinker with the idea of declaring the seat of their former member vacant because he left for another party.

    “If the PDP thinks that APC in Abia is quiet over the years in the face of what have been happening was a sign of weakness, it is making a mistake. The former Speaker, Hon Azubuike is a bona fide member of APC and we are solidly behind him and nothing will happen to his seat.

    “We are sounding this note of warning that any attempt to declare his seat vacant would be seen not only as a declaration of war on his person and constituents at Isiala Ngwa North, but also on APC as a party and this will be stoutly resisted.

    “Since 2015, we’ve seen over 200 defections of members from the National Assembly and states’ Houses of Assembly and the seat of none of them was not declared vacant and that of the former Speaker should not be an exception”, Godson said.

    He advised Hon. Azubuike to go about his legislative duties without fear of any intimidation or harassment, assuring that APC will always give him the necessary backing.

  • PDP chieftain Lado defects to APC in Kano

    PDP chieftain Lado defects to APC in Kano

    Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman from Kogi State hails the decision of Senator Basheer Lado to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State and urges others of like-mind to team up with the ruling party to achieve the vision of a better Nigeria.

    He belonged to the 12 original senators who were the pro-All Progressives Congress (APC) arrowheads that started the APC movement in the 7th Senate, clearly a tricky project at the period. Some of the senators in that group of 12 include Senators Bukola Saraki, now Senate President Muhammad Bindow Jubrilla (now Adamawa State Governor), Shaba Lafiagi, Abdullahi Adamu, Aisha Alhassan (current Women A8ffairs Minister), Danjuma Goje, Ibrahim Musa, Ibrahim Gobir, Dahiru Tambuwal, Bello Tukur, and of course Basheer Garba Lado. Senator Magnus Abe was like the spokesperson and the face of this group of 12.

    The then Senate leadership under Senator David Mark being not too comfortable with the idea of PDP Senators fronting the emergence of APC in the senate chamber dangled a subtle threat of declaring their seats vacant. This was aimed at dissuading them from pursing their association with the new political party, APC. Prior to that time, there was an unwritten policy in APC  to handover the party structures to defecting Governors of those states. These states were Rivers, Sokoto, Adamawa, Kwara and Kano.

    Indeed in Kano,  the APC structure was handed over to Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso who was  rounding up his tenure as Kano Governor and had just lost in the APC presidential primaries clearly had his eyes set on the Kano Central Senate ticket. At this point, Senator Lado being a canny and discerning mind, held back in the PDP in other to be able to pursue his ambition of a return to the Senate.

    Of course, Lado couldn’t have been accurately described as lacking ambition. He simply bidded his time. This stern forbearance was inspired by the compelling vision and discipline of his political model, late Northern sage, Mallam Aminu Kano. This encapsulates the substance and measure of the man.

    He simply demonstrated that in history, men are defined by how astutely they manage and direct the energy of ambition. Senator Basheer Lado, close friend, businessman, notable philanthropist and politician who ably represented Kano Central Senatorial District in the 7th Senate is indeed no less a child of providence as a man destiny has prepared for leadership and service. With 15 LGAs, Kano Central Senatorial Zone is the largest in the country and bigger than many states.

    Basheer, following his reading of the nation’s and Kano State’s political barometers and after extensive, painstaking consultations with critical stakeholders in his turf as he is wont, he has come to the conclusion that the time for a strategic shift in his political station is now. This important decision has set the stage for his imminent declaration for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), from the opposition PDP. Folks who know him as close as I do, can easily confirm he does not change his positions on important issues lightly.

    It’s then little wonder that in his home base Kano, critical political stakeholders are sitting up and keenly following the developing trend. A restrained excitement is building up in the politics of the whole city of Kano.

    Although I hail from Okene, Kogi State and represented Kogi Central in the 7th National Assembly, I was actually born at the Nassarawa Hospital Kano. I attended St. Louis Primary School Kano, grew up in Fagge, Sani Ungogo Road, Kano and have spent most of my life in Kano.

    As I write, some of my siblings are married and still live in Kano. Senator Lado has been a close friend over the years and my insight into his strength and vision of life derive from this close association. My family home is in Lado’s constituency of Kano. Besides my relationship with him in the Senate, I actually consider myself his constituent.

    In Kano, a place where the level of political awareness and participation ranks highest in Northern Nigeria, political stakeholders and interestingly, the masses, recognize quality and pedigree. Almost in equal measure, they are impatient with mediocrity and incompetence. The script that confers this outstanding status on Kano was largely inspired by the late Mallam Aminu Kano the formidable advocate of Talakawa politics  and incidentally, Senator Lado’s political model.

    As colleagues in the 7th Senate and as rookie Senators I readily recall asking him how he managed to influence and fund such a project as the N2.5billion Kano flyover, popularly known as Gadan Lado. He also influenced the N14.5billion Kano-Katsina road dualisation as his constituency project.

    In a political arena where numbers represent its defining feature, to pull in over 116,000 followers from one party into any political family is no mean feat. This essentially will redefine the political equation  significantly in Kano politics. But then Senator Lado has the pedigree and track record to deliver this powerful political statement and more.

    Lado defeated former Reps Speaker, Hon. Ghali Umar Na’abba in the primary that cleared the way for him to contest and win  in Kano Central, founded the ‘Ladon Alheri Foundation.’ Through this platform, he has committed a lot of time and funds to impactful philanthropy which has touched and changed many lives – from quality interventions in the health arena to education and more.

    As Kano awaits the January 27 date of Senator Lado’s declaration for APC with over 116,000 loyalists, the emerging consensus is that a major youthful force who believes in a just, united Nigeria has indeed emerged. This is hardly debatable. I want to use this opportunity to congratulate him in advance and welcome him to the progressives’ fold where I believe, he truly belongs. Welcome my friend and brother to the APC home.

  • Constituencies, states should decide their representatives, says Secondus

    Constituencies, states should decide their representatives, says Secondus

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Prince Uche Secondus has advised leaders of the party to allow people at the grassroots decide their representatives in the 2019 general elections.

    Secondus spoke during an interactive session of the National Working Committee (NWC) with the former PDP Ministers Forum yesterday in Abuja.

    He said allowing people to decide their representatives would make the elections easier for the PDP.

    The national chairman said in accordance with the slogan of the party, “Power to the People”, the PDP NWC intended to devolve power to the grassroots.

    “You are aware we are not in government at the centre, so the only way is to make sure that the choice of the people are the best.

    “If it is the popular choice of the people, the people will stand by them and elections become easy for us to win.

    “The NWC is also putting all the necessary strategies together, and we assure that come 2019, Nigerians will vote for PDP, ” Secondus said.

    He said that the best way to go for PDP is to make sure its elections are transparent; be it congresses or the primaries.

    Secondus, who described the former ministers as key factors in the PDP, said the NWC was ready to work with them.

    He charged the forum members to move to their constituencies and reignite the party by assuring them that power belongs to the people.

    “Very soon, we shall roll out our programme. We are going back to online membership drive and it is going to be aggressive.

    “We also want to assure you that members of the NWC are not ready to seat at Wadata, in the confines of air-conditioning.

    “We want to roll out our programme and move to the States and the local governments, and we will get to the wards and if possible the units, to seek for membership.”

    The Chairman of the Former Ministers Forum, Tanimu Turaki, said with the current NWC, the war to bring back what rightly belongs to the people had started.

    He advised the NWC to work with members of the forum in its crusade of saving Nigeria democracy, and the country from hunger, poverty, insecurity, hopelessness and joblessness.

    “Whenever people criticise PDP, they are not criticising PDP for what it has done or not done for the party, they are criticising PDP for what it has done in government.

    “So, the best set of people that are positioned to respond to those kinds of criticisms would be those who have served in government.

    “These are people that have knowledge of what was done and what has not been done.

    “These are the people who are aware of why those decisions, some of which have been very painful, had to be taken in the overall interest of Nigeria,” Turaki said.

    He assured the NWC of the forum’s maximum support, saying:”when you move into the trenches, you will meet us there waiting for you”.

  • N400m fraud: Court orders Metuh to appear in court Feb. 5 or risk jail

    N400m fraud: Court orders Metuh to appear in court Feb. 5 or risk jail

    The Federal High Court, Abuja, has asked former Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) spokesman, Mr Olisah Metuh, to be present at his trial on Feb. 5 or face jail.

    Justice Okon Abang gave the order on Thursday, when he delivered ruling in an application filed by Metuh, seeking an adjournment to his trial on health grounds.

    The judge said that the letter which Metuh wanted the court to rely on to grant the adjournment was not a proper document before the court.

    “I  agree with the prosecution that the purported letter written by Dr O.C. Ekweogwu, who is unknown to the court, is trash and a useless paper meant for the dustbin, which was dumped on the court by the defence.

    ” The said letter was fraudulently smuggled into the records of the court by a person unknown to the court with the intent to stall proceedings. ”

    The judge said that there was a laid down procedure for filing a medical report in court.

    He said it was not the place of a medical practitioner to write a lengthy letter with several medical terms that were meaningless to the court.

    Read Also: EFCC urges court to revoke Metuh’s bail

    “The medical practitioner is to state the name of the illness and the period that the person will be incapacitated.”

    The judge further said that although the application by the prosecution to revoke Metuh’s bail and commit him to prison deserved to succeed, he would not grant it based on compassionate grounds.

    ” It is my humble view that the application of the prosecution to revoke the defendant’s bail deserves to succeed, but I have given due consideration to the arguments of counsel to the defendant.

    “In view of the passionate plea of the defendant’s counsel who I have respect for, I hereby suspend my decision to revoke bail, but I ask that the defendant turns a new leaf.”

    The judge, however, said that if Metuh failed to appear in court on the next adjourned date, he would revoke the bail.

    “Arrest is a consequential order if bail is revoked, and so if the defendant’s bail is revoked, he will be arrested.

    “The outcome of his response when he appears in court will determine whether or not to put him in prison.”

    The court said that it was not inclined to try Metuh in absentia, as it was contrary to Section 266 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

    The judge also said that he would no longer accept any medical report with respect to Metuh,  issued by a doctor in Nigeria.

    He further granted the application by the defendant’s counsel to bring seven additional witnesses, saying he will not accept any application for more witnesses.

    He adjourned the matter until Feb. 5 and 6 for continuation of trial.

    The Repoter reports that Metuh’s trial was to resume on Monday but he was absent in court.

    When the matter was called, Mr Onyeachi Ikpeazu (SAN), counsel to Metuh informed the court that his client was admitted at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, and  was unable to attend court.

    Ikpeazu presented a letter written by a doctor in the hospital to the court, but both the judge and the prosecutor questioned the authenticity of the letter.

    The prosecutor went further to ask the court to revoke Metuh’s bail for breaching his bail conditions and commit him to prison.

    Metuh is standing trial over allegations of receiving N400 million from the former National Security Adviser, retired Col. Sambo Dasuki and also money laundering charges involving $2  billion.

    NAN

     

  • Ogun lawmaker denies news of decamping to PDP

    Ogun lawmaker denies news of decamping to PDP

    Mr Olusola Odofin-Sonuga, a member of Ogun House of Assembly, on Tuesday denied the news that he had left All Progressives Congress ( APC ) for Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ).

    Odofin-Sonuga, representing Ikenne Constituency, said in Abeokuta that he had no issues with his party, APC.

    He said he had no reasons to dump APC for another party.

    The social media was awash with reports that the lawmaker had dumped APC ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    “My attention has been drawn to the fake news going round the public that I have decamped to the PDP.

    “That is not true and it is important to address the issue immediately.

    Read also: No plan to dump PDP for APGA – Oduah

    “Last week Tuesday, I visited Ladi Adebutu, House of Representatives member under the platform of the PDP, in his house in Iperu Remo, Ogun State.

    “I paid him a visit to commiserate with him over the unfortunate fire incident that gutted a building in his house.

    “But to my surprise, I received news from social media that I had decamped and there were several calls to confirm if I had decamped to the PDP.

    “I want to state categorically that I was not the only prominent APC member that visited Adebutu that day to commiserate with him.

    “Moreover, I don’t think visiting a senior colleague and a good friend has anything to do with me decamping from my party to the PDP.

    “I, Olusola Odofin-Sonuga, hereby publicly declare that I have not decamped to the PDP and any news of such should be ignored,’’ he said.

    The lawmaker urged his supporters not to be distracted, saying that the current government at the state and national levels meant well for citizens.

    NAN

  • Nigerian army has succeeded in keeping the country united – Secondus

    Nigerian army has succeeded in keeping the country united – Secondus

    The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) Prince Uche Secondus has said that the nation’s armed forces have succeeded in keeping the country united.

    Prince Secondus said in a statement today, Sunday, to mark the armed forces Remembrance Day, emphasised that Nigeria is standing as one country today due largely to the contributions of the armed forces to keep it United.

    The PDP boss noted the gallantry of Nigeria troops in containing the Boko Haram insurgency and the supreme sacrifice paid by federal troops and urged them to remain focused to the cause of a United Nigeria.

    “You must remain committed to your profession and to the development of the country’s armed forces in particular and the country in general,” Secondus advised the rest of the citizens, especially political leaders to appreciate the huge contributions of the soldiers and those who paid the supreme sacrifice by being more patriotic and accommodating.

    The PDP leader called on the security agencies to be more civil in carrying out their obligations and know that their responsibility is to the country and its citizens and not to only government in power.