The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Yahaya Bello

  • Kogi proscribes ASUU

    Kogi proscribes ASUU

    The Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, on Wednesday announced the proscription of the state chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) with immediate effect.

    The governor announced the proscription on Wednesday after an emergency state Executive Council meeting.

    The Acting Chairman of ASUU, Kogi State University chapter, Dr. Daniel Aina, had earlier sent notice of postponement of a press conference slated for the union’s secretariat in Ayingba to Thursday.

    Governor Bello said the decision to proscribe the union became necessary following the university teachers’ resolve to continue their six months strike.

    He said: “Throughout last week, I undertook a tour of the tertiary institutions in Kogi State, with a view to having first- hand information about the problems in the schools. But while others have since resumed, lecturers in Kogi State University have refused to call off their strike.

    “As a government, we have fulfilled over 90 percent of their demand and have even gone a step further to pay all outstanding salaries of both cleared and uncleared staff including those that had committed one crime or the other.”

     

     

  • Army, other security agencies march for peace in Kogi

    Army, other security agencies march for peace in Kogi

    The Nigeria Army and sister security agencies on Thursday held a joint route march aimed at fostering unity between the military and the paramilitary agencies.

    The exercise, according to Brig. Gen. Henry Ayamasaowei, Commander, Headquarters Command Army Records, was also aimed at engendering peace and security in Kogi.

    Ayamasaowei, who addressed the personnel after the exercise at Chari Maigumeri Barracks in Lokoja, said that the initiative would enhance understanding and ensure harmonious working relationship among the services.

    “For us in the army, it is a routine exercise carried out every first Friday of the month, but we decided to involve our sister agencies to foster unity among security services.

    “Asides the primary function of physical exercise to keep us fit and alert, it also engenders fellowship and builds mutual understanding among us.”

    Briefing newsmen, the army officer said that the security agencies would gain more respect as members of the public would see them as one united front ready to protect everyone from any danger.

    “For the criminals, this togetherness will send a clear signal that it is no longer business as usual,” he said.

    He urged the personnel to work harder to stamp out kidnapping and other vices, and commended Gov. Yahaya Bello for donating vehicles and ensuring prompt payment of allowances to security agencies on the field.

    Commenting on the exercise, Mr. Edward Ebouka, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), said that the paramilitary and the military had a common purpose – preserving law and order, and protecting lives and property.

    “When we meet like this, we develop synergies and get to know ourselves in order to foster unity and jointly combat criminality.

    “Our unity will give the residents confidence that the law enforcement agencies and the military are on ground and prepared to rid Kogi of criminal elements,” he said.

    Among security services that participated in the exercise were the army, navy, police force, as well as the immigration and prison services.

    Others included the Customs, Department of State Services, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the National Youth Service Corps.

     

     

  • Melaye’s recall: INEC is wasting its time – Senate

    Melaye’s recall: INEC is wasting its time – Senate

    The Senate yesterday dared the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to go ahead with the recall of Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West), as demanded by his constituents.

    The electoral agency is embarking on an exercise in futility, the lawmakers said.

    The Senate said the various stages passed so far in the process were not in line with laid down constitutional procedures and guidelines, adding that it amounted to a waste of time by all the parties involved.

    This resolution followed a point of order raised against the move by Melaye.

    Melaye drew the attention of the Senate to what he described as “supersonic move” by INEC to conclude work on the recall petitions written against him by some of his constituents, who he alleged were sponsored by Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello.

    Melaye said: “The score of both valid and invalid votes in the election that brought me into the Senate in 2015 was 118,000 but my governor and his appointees in four days claimed they got signatures of over 188,000.

    They got INEC data base of registered voters and copied in one writing into a recall register and forged all the signatures. As I speak to you, over 120 dead certificates issued by the National Population Commission and these people’s relations and families have sworn to affidavits and these certificates have been deposited.

    “The names of all these dead people appeared on the recall register submitted to INEC.

    “116 of my constituents have sworn to affidavits that their names and signatures appeared in the recall registers and that they did not sign.

    “86 of my constituents have sworn to an affidavit that they were approached and that the government wants to carry out a fertiliser empowerment programme and requested for their PVCs and thereby deceived them into putting their names in the recall register.”

    Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu cited Sections 68, 69 and other relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution to fault the move. He wondered why INEC is not following the laid down procedure in carrying out the exercise.

    Ekweremadu said: “I am wondering why we are dissipating energy on this matter and wasting precious legislative time on a matter we should not.

    “What is happening in Kogi in respect of Senator Dino Melaye, as far as this constitution is concerned, is an exercise in futility. They are just wasting precious time because the constitution is clear on what should happen.

    Saraki, Ekweremadu

    “It is possible that the Attorney- General of Kogi State has not advised them properly. If he had done that, I am sure they would have applied their time to more meaningful ventures in Kogi State.”

    Ekweremadu added that the National Assembly, in 2010, amended the constitution in respect of Section 69, which deals wit the recall of a lawmaker.

    According to him, the Section clearly states that those who are seeking to recall Melaye are supposed to line up somewhere in Kogi State with him and his lawyers, with each person verifying his signature.

    When they are done with that, they go back to Section 68, which states that the President of the Senate receives from the chairman of INEC the recall of the member. They would also present evidence satisfactory to the House or the Senate.

    “So they need to come back here and convince each and every one of us that they have done the correct thing. Unless they do that, they cannot even give effect to it. So why are we wasting our time? Let us move on and allow them to waste their time,” Ekweremadu said.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki said: “As they say, 10 years is no joke in leadership, the Deputy Senate President has explained the processes. So, let the process speak for itself.

    ”I really don’t know why a lot of efforts are being wasted that should have gone into more important things. Eventually, it must come back here for us to decide whether it is satisfactory or not.”

     

  • Melaye not fit to be Senator – Bello

    Melaye not fit to be Senator – Bello

    Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello on Wednesday urged the Senate to ensure the red chamber is made up of men of high calibre, integrity and good character to retain its high esteem.

    He spoke with State House correspondents after meeting with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The governor claimed that Senator Dino Melaye, who is representing Kogi West, was not fit for the Senate.

    He said: “You see, I would rather admonished Nigerians that when a child lacks proper parental care and home upbringing, he constitutes social menace in the society. And if the society does not take steps to check and correct such a child, they can turn into criminal and take into criminality then it will be left to government to check such criminality. And if government does not, such a child can cause a serious embarrassment. That is what is happening in Kogi State.

    “Then talking of the Senate, let me rather admonish the Senate that that is an institution that is held in a very high esteem and I think the Senate and indeed the National Assembly is made up of men of high calibre and of high integrity and good character.

    “I think it is necessary that that wonderful House should as matter of urgency and as a matter of fact check any social deviant that exists within them before they could be adjudged birds of the same feather. I know they are not of the same feather.”

    But he said there is no crisis in the state, stressing that Kogi State is living in peace.

    “Projects are ongoing, we are all happy over there, salaries are being paid as at when due and we are making serious progress.” he said

    On the claim by Melaye that the governor has earmarked N1 billion to remove him, Bello said: “That is figment of his imagination. The good people of Okunland and indeed West Senatorial District have learnt from a bitter mistake of not taming and curbing that social deviant and they have decided to take lawful steps in recalling him.”

    He said he was in the Villa to brief the Acting President on the latest development in his state.

    “I came to brief the Acting President of development in my state. We all know Mr. President is taking a rest and the men at the helm of affairs needs to be periodically briefed. He is pleased with the development in Kogi State,” he stated.

  • Presidency pleased with development in Kogi – Gov

    Presidency pleased with development in Kogi – Gov

    Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello on Wednesday urged the Senate to ensure the red chamber is made up of men of high calibre, integrity and good character to retain its high esteem.

    He spoke with State House correspondents after meeting with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The governor claimed that Senator Dino Melaye, who is representing Kogi West, was not fit for the Senate.

    He said: “You see, I would rather admonished Nigerians that when a child lacks proper parental care and home upbringing, he constitutes social menace in the society. And if the society does not take steps to check and correct such a child, they can turn into criminal and take into criminality then it will be left to government to check such criminality. And if government does not, such a child can cause a serious embarrassment. That is what is happening in Kogi State.

    Then talking of the Senate, let me rather admonish the Senate that that is an institution that is held in a very high esteem and I think the Senate and indeed the National Assembly is made up of men of high calibre and of high integrity and good character.

    “I think it is necessary that that wonderful House should as matter of urgency and as a matter of fact check any social deviant that exists within them before they could be adjudged birds of the same feather. I know they are not of the same feather.”

    But he said there is no crisis in the state, stressing that Kogi State is living in peace.

    “Projects are ongoing, we are all happy over there, salaries are being paid as at when due and we are making serious progress.” he added.

    On the claim by Melaye that the governor has earmarked N1 billion to remove him, Bello said: “That is figment of his imagination. The good people of Okunland and indeed West Senatorial District have learned from a bitter mistake of not taming and curbing that social deviant and they have decided to take lawful steps in recalling him.”

    He said he was in the Villa to brief the Acting President on the latest development in his state.

    “I came to brief the Acting President of development in my state. We all know Mr. President is taking a rest and the men at the helm of affairs needs to be periodically briefed. He is pleased with the development in Kogi State,” he stated.

  • Kogi governor to Senate: Flush out criminals from Senate

    Kogi governor to Senate: Flush out criminals from Senate

    Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, on Wednesday charged the Senate to ensure the red chamber is made up of men of high caliber, integrity and good character in order to retain its high esteem.

    He made the call while speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The governor also claimed that Senator Dino Melaye, who is representing Kogi West in the Senate, was not fit for the Senate.

    He said: “You see I would rather admonish Nigerians that when a child lacks proper parental care and home upbringing, he constitutes a social menace in the society. And if the society does not take steps to check and correct such a child, he can turn into criminal and take into criminality. Then it will be left to government to check such criminality. And if government does not, such a child can cause a serious embarrassment. That is what is happening in Kogi State.

    “Then talking of the Senate, let me rather admonish the Senate that it is an institution that is held on very high esteem and I think the Senate and indeed the National Assembly is made up of men of high caliber, high integrity and good character.

    “I think it is necessary that the wonderful house should as matter of urgency and as a matter of fact check any social deviant that exists within them before they could be adjudged birds of the same feather. I know they are not of the same feather.”

    The governor said there is no crisis in Kogi, adding that the state is living in peace.

    “Projects are ongoing, we are all happy over there. Salaries are being paid as at when due and we are making serious progress,” Bello said.

     

  • Committee identifies communication breakdown as reason for Kogi APC crisis

    Committee identifies communication breakdown as reason for Kogi APC crisis

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Fact-Finding and Reconciliation Committee on Kogi Crisis has blamed acrimony in the state’s chapter on communication breakdown.

    It said that the hitch in communication engendered the ruptured relationship among the party in the state, the government and the governor.

    Chairman of the committee, Chief Tony Momoh, stated this on Wednesday in Abuja, while speaking with newsmen after submitting the committee`s report to the party`s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.

    He said that while the committee`s assignment lasted, it met three times with Gov. Yahaya Bello because the bulk of the issues; “ really stopped on his desk“.

    Momoh added that the committee also met with members of the House of Assembly and other relevant stakeholders in the state.

    He said that while everybody in the state accepted that Bello was its chief executive, issues on his style of governance were raised.

    According to him, lots of people testified on what the governor was alleged to have done.

    “We came to the conclusion that the problem of Kogi is absent of communication, miscommunication or even inadequate communication.

    “There was breakdown of communication and everybody was singing his own song and telling his own story, “ the Momoh said.

    He added that while the committee pleaded with all aggrieved party members in the state to be calm, it ensured that everybody that had a case was heard.

    He, however, said that while most aggrieved party members had their grouse against the governor, he also came up with his own defence.

    Momoh said that some of the identified problems in the state were skewed appointment against the party, non-payment of workers’ salaries and political reconciliation with late Abubakar Audu and James Faleki’s group.

    He said the exclusive membership registration which the governor was said to be doing without relating to the party`s leadership was also identified as a problem.

    Momoh said that also identified was poor state’s House of Assembly relations, dictatorial governance and corruption allegations and not to give anti-party activities during the elections.

    The committee chairman said that the party`s national headquarters complicity and poor stakeholders` consultations was also identified as an issue.

    He stressed that all identified issues were comprehensively discussed, adding that the committed had submitted its recommendations to the party`s leadership for scrutiny.

    This, he said, included five pages of executive briefs which summarised the recommendations and 300 pages of presentations.

    He maintained that the recommendation was a win win consensus and would be acceptable by all parties.

    “I can assure you that the recommendations we gave will be acceptable to all parties.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Momoh, was the former National Peter Chairman of the dissolved Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

    Members of the committee which was inaugurated on April 12, were earlier charged by the party`s leadership to carry on their personal prestige and integrity and undertake the assignment without fear or favour.

  • Gov Bello: INEC is probing the following issues

    Gov Bello: INEC is probing the following issues

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is set to investigate the alleged double registration of th Governor of Kogi State, Gov Yahaya Bello.first in Abuja in January 2011 and reregistered on May 23, 2017 at the Government House, Lokoja.

    Recall that the commission claimed that Gov Bello first registered in Abuja in January 2011 and re-registered on May 23, 2017 at the Government House, Lokoja.

    However, the governor on Friday said his ghost might have been registered by INEC because he was away in Dubai when he was said to have registered again.

    As INEC tried to ascertain the true position of the governor’s registration status, a fresh problem has cropped up.

    Thus, INEC is probing the following issues:

    • Was there any CVR on May 23 at the Government House, Lokoja?
    • Who was registered?
    • How did the INEC team come about the photograph of the registration showing the governor?
    • How was the name of the registrant (Yahaya Bello) de-listed from the INEC register? and
    • Who were those behind the de-listing?

    Certainly, it is now our words against the governor. This is a mystery we need to unravel. The governor said our team might have registered his ghost.  The onus is on us to present the evidence, including our register – INEC

    “But we got information before we issued an official statement on the governor’s double registration.

    “INEC is suspecting foul play by some of its staff. We hope they are not dragging the commission into the dirty politics of Kogi State again.

    “If we are able to establish any shady deals, those concerned will be sanctioned. They may be dismissed from service.”

    INEC, speaking through its National Commissioner and chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Prince Solomon Soyebi,   first raised the alarm over the governor’s alleged double registration.

    He said: “It has come to the attention of INEC that Governor Bello of Kogi State registered as a voter for the second time on Tuesday, May 23, 2017 in Government House, Lokoja, the state capital.

    “His first registration was on January 30, 2011, in Wuse Zone 4, Abuja.

    ”The governor’s double registration and doing so outside lNEC’s designated centres are both illegal.

    ”We wish to make it clear that no INEC staff was authorised by the commission to re-register him or any citizen or to do so outside our designated CVR centres.”

    Speaking after praying at the Presidential Villa mosque on Friday, Bello said: “I travelled on 19th to Dubai for a brief break and I saw the press release and I was taken aback, that I did double registration on 23rd.

    “Probably it is my ghost that has done the double registration.”

  • Why INEC delisted Gov Bello from voters’ register

    Why INEC delisted Gov Bello from voters’ register

    Agency probes alleged double registration 

    Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello’s name has disappeared from the voters’ register after being accused of double registration.

    Bello’s name has been delisted, but the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has a photograph showing how he was registered at the Government House, Lokoja.

    The commission has raised an investigative committee to unravel the “mystery surrounding the alleged double registration by the governor”.

    Heads may roll in the Kogi State office of INEC for the alleged “untoward activities of some of our staff”.

    INEC alleged that the governor first registered in Abuja in January 2011 and reregistered on May 23, 2017 at the Government House, Lokoja.

    But the governor on Friday said his ghost might have been registered by INEC because he was away in Dubai when he was said to have registered again.

    As INEC tried to ascertain the true position of the governor’s registration status, a fresh problem has cropped up.

    It was learned that INEC established that some of its staff were deployed in the Government House for Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) of the governor. The state has denied that it took place.

    It was gathered that although the commission had the photograph of the governor’s registration, it could not trace any Yahaya Bello on its CVR list for May 23, 2017.

    There was suspicion last night that the list of voters registered on May 23 might have been tampered with by some INEC employees.

    A source, who spoke in confidence said: “The INEC management has raised an investigative team to look at the controversy over the allegation of double registration by the governor.

    “It is, however, curious that the investigation has assumed a new dimension. The commission has the photograph of the registration of the governor but his name is not on the list of the CVR for that day in question. The name has disappeared.”

    INEC is probing the following issues:

    • Was there any CVR on May 23 at the Government House, Lokoja?
    • Who was registered?
    • How did the INEC team come about the photograph of the registration showing the governor?
    • How was the name of the registrant (Yahaya Bello) de-listed from the INEC register? and
    • Who were those behind the de-listing?

    “Certainly, it is now our words against the governor. This is a mystery we need to unravel. The governor said our team might have registered his ghost.  The onus is on us to present the evidence, including our register,” the source said, adding:

    “But we got information before we issued an official statement on the governor’s double registration.

    “INEC is suspecting foul play by some of its staff. We hope they are not dragging the commission into the dirty politics of Kogi State again.

    “If we are able to establish any shady deals, those concerned will be sanctioned. They may be dismissed from service.”

    INEC, speaking through its National Commissioner and chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Prince Solomon Soyebi,   first raised the alarm over the governor’s alleged double registration.

    He said: “It has come to the attention of INEC that Governor Bello of Kogi State registered as a voter for the second time on Tuesday, May 23, 2017 in Government House, Lokoja, the state capital.

    ”His first registration was on January 30, 2011 in Wuse Zone 4, Abuja.

    ”The governor’s double registration and doing so outside lNEC’s designated centres are both illegal.

    ”We wish to make it clear that no INEC staff was authorised by the commission to re-register him or any citizen or to do so outside our designated CVR centres.”

    Speaking after praying at the Presidential Villa mosque on Friday, Bello said: “I travelled on 19th to Dubai for a brief break and I saw the press release and I was taken aback, that I did double registration on 23rd.

    “Probably it is my ghost that has done the double registration.”

  • Plan to recall me from Senate dead on arrival – Melaye

    Plan to recall me from Senate dead on arrival – Melaye

    Senator Dino Melaye on Friday described a protest staged in Lokoja, Kogi State, in favour of move to recall him from the upper legislative chamber as a non-issue.

    He said the move allegedly being instigated by the state governor, Yahaya Bello, was dead on arrival.

    The Kogi West senator,  in a text message to our correspondent in Abuja, accused Governor Bello of going around media houses in the country to say “Dino Melaye recall process begins.”