Dino Melaye is arguably the most extravagant senator in Nigeria. He represented Kogi west before he was ousted by the court and replaced with Sam Adeyemi after the tribunal sat on the 2019 elections.
Yesterday, the airwaves were abuzz with pictures of Dino Melaye’s luxurious mansion and the Nation Newspaper wrote an article on it with the headline “Dino Melaye Acquires Multi-Billion Naira Mansion (Photos)”
The Senator in response to this has threatened to sue the news outlet for attempting to defame his character by saying he acquired the mansion after becoming a senator which he says is untrue.
Nigeria’s former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has reacted to Bola Tinubu, National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC’s, statement on the establishment of the Southwest security outfit, Amotekun.
Tinubu had on Wednesday called for private discussion between the Governors of the South-west and the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mallam Abubakar Malami, over Amotekun.
He said the foundation of the country had not been put at risk with the South-west regional security outfit launched by the governors of the zone in a bid to confront the insecurity in their respective states.
But reacting, Fani-Kayode said Tinubu’s statement on Amotekun was an attempt to defend Buhari government.
He wrote on Twitter:
I read BAT’s wishy washy statement on Amotekun & his futile attempt to defend the FG. He should stop trying to defend the indefensible.
If by now he does not know that the FG openly supports, encourages & protects those that kill our people then he is far dumber than I thought.
Former Lagos governor, Bola Tinubu, has suggested ways to resolve the disagreement between the Buhari government and Southwest governors over Amotekun.
Amotekun, an initiative of Southwest Governors, has been declared illegal by the Buhari government.
Tinubu, the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in a statement on Wednesday, told Nigerians that the matter cannot be resolved on the pages of newspapers or by attributing negative motives to either side.
He noted that the best way is for the two sides to enter into private discussions; that either the governors should seek an official but private meeting with the Attorney-General, or the Attorney-General can initiate the contact.
Tinubu said: “Since Amotekun is their initiative, the governors bear the greater onus in seeking the meeting. The meeting will initiate further discussion on how to resolve what appears to be a misunderstanding caused by an unfortunate lack of communication. Remedy the gap in communication and the misunderstanding will begin to disappear.
“I again stress to well-intentioned Nigerians to shun those who employ heated language to inflame emotions. It does us no good to rush toward exaggerated statements that suggest calamity of the highest order. Don’t allow yourselves to be fodder for those who seek to divide us.
“The fabric of the Republic has not been put at stake by Amotekun. However, that fabric could be torn by the dangerous rhetoric of those who should know better. Those claiming that this limited, inoffensive addition to security threatens the Republic have taken themselves upon a madcap excursion.
“Those claiming that the Federal Government seeks to terribly suppress the Southwest have also lost their compass. Those who occupy these two extremes have sunken into the dark recesses of fear and political paranoia that can undo a nation if such sentiments are allowed to gestate.
“We are one nation, 200 million strong with 36 states and a great complex of federal authority residing in dozens of federal ministries and agencies. If everyone is allowed their democratic expression, there are bound to be disagreements. This is inherent in the federal structure.
“Nations that have practised federalism much longer than us still frequently debate over where the line between state and federal power is to be drawn. They have hundreds of court cases each year on this very issue. Yet they do not attack each other as we do. We must all learn to be more restrained and judicious in our reactions when such disagreements arise.
“Before leaping from our seats to lift our voice to the high rafters in profound indignation, we first would be wise to properly discern the situation. We must ascertain whether it merely is a tempest in a teapot or whether our house and all its teapots are swirling in a real tempest.
“Despite the ominous headlines and heated talk, an objective analysis points more clearly to the former than the latter. The resolution of this matter is not beyond us if only we allow ourselves to be the democrats that our better conscience and the very documents of our national existence call us to be.
“In trying to help resolve this matter, I have initiated communication with the Chairman of the South-West Governors’ Forum, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, with a view to meeting the South-West governors to explore amicable solutions to the avoidable controversy. I am sure that, at the end of it all, peace, security, and progress shall reign in our nation”.
US visa process to get more difficult as Trump adds Nigeria to travel ban list
Donald Trump, president of the United States of America, may sign an executive order expanding visa restrictions to seven countries including Nigeria.
The affected countries may be Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Trump administration might not place full visa bans on these countries as the restriction may be limited to certain types of visas like the business or visitor visa popularly referred to as B1/B2 visa type.
Trump is expected to announce the expanded travel restrictions on Monday, which would also mark the third-year anniversary of the first travel ban.
However, the list is not final.
The first travel ban issued by the Trump administration affected seven countries with a Muslim majority.
The second was issued in March 2017 and a third in September 2017.
The supreme court upheld the travel ban in 2017 after two appeal courts had initially blocked the move.
The US government had said the travel restriction is necessary to prevent potential acts of terrorism because countries on the list do not adequately screen travellers.
At present, restrictions blocks travellers from Libya, Iran, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, North Korea and Venezuelan politicians. Chad, a West African country, was removed from the list in April 2018.
Wall Street Journal reports that the new countries have a “relatively higher rates of their citizens overstaying visas in the US”.
According to data released by the department of homeland security, 24% of Eritreans, 15% of Nigerians and 12% of people from Sudan overstayed their visas in 2018.
Chelsea took the lead in the first half of the game against Arsenal in Stamford Bridge after Tammy Abraham was brought down by David Luiz in the penalty area. The defender was shown a red card, with Jorginho converting from the spot.
Gabriel Martinelli equalised for the Gunners after capitalising on a slip from N’Golo Kante, before Cesar Azpilicueta turned home a cross with around 10 minutes remaining, which looked like grabbing all three points.
But Hector Bellerin had the final say, cutting in from the right and finding the bottom corner on his first appearance since December 5.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed the election of Governor Samuel Ortom of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as the validly elected governor of Benue State.
In dismissing the appeal filed by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Emmanuel Jime, as lacking in merit, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, who read the unanimous judgment, held that he agreed with the submissions of respondents the concurrent findings of the two courts ought not to be dismissed.
The appellant had contested the return of Ortom of the PDP by the National Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) on the grounds of substantial noncompliance with the provisions of Electoral Act, 2010 as amended.
The petitioner alleged in his petition that Ortom was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast.
The APC governorship candidate also challenged the results declared in Buruku, Gboko, Guma, Gwer East, Gwer West, Konshisha, Kwande, Logo, Ukum, Ushongo and Vandeikya.
He, therefore, asked the election petition tribunal to either declare him the winner of the March 2019 governorship election in Benue or nullify Ortom’s election and order the conduct of a fresh election in the state.
Jime appealed to the apex court after his petition was unanimously dismissed at the tribunal and the Court of Appeal for lacking in merit.
Danfo, Tokunbo, Okada: Oxford Includes "Nigerian English" For The First Time Into The Dictionary (See Full List)
My English-speaking is rooted in a Nigerian experience and not in a British or American or Australian one. I have taken ownership of English.
This is how acclaimed Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie describes her relationship with English, the language which she uses in her writing, and which millions of her fellow Nigerians use in their daily communication.
By taking ownership of English and using it as their own medium of expression, Nigerians have made, and are continuing to make, a unique and distinctive contribution to English as a global language.
The Oxford English Dictionary thus highlights our contributions in this month’s issue as a number of Nigerian English words make it into the dictionary for the first time.
The majority of these new additions are either borrowings from Nigerian languages, or unique Nigerian coinages that have only begun to be used in English in the second half of the twentieth century, mostly in the 1970s and 1980s.
As at 10: 50, members of the Yoruba World Congress including Youth Groups, Agbekoya group, Atayese, Yoruba Reconciliation Groups, Kaaro Ojiire group, Oodua People Congress, Majiyagbe Group are beginning to arrive the Rememberance Archade, venue of the Oyo State Solidarity walk in support of Operation Amotekun, the Southwest regional security outfit.
As at the time of filing this report, members are just gathering with placards and banners with various inscriptions.
The list of the security operatives at the venue has also been boosted with the presence of officers from the Department of State Service and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.
The venue is also besieged with reporters, photojournalists.
Inscriptions on the banners displayed by the protesters read “Yoruba Omo Oodua: Protect Yourself, Amotekun”, “On Amotekun we stand”, “We want to know who owns the Land. Amotekun”, No Amotekun, No Hisbah”, among others.
Ex Edo Speaker To Expose Oshiomhole’s 'Dark Side' In 3-Hour Documentary
The immediate past speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Alhaji Kabiru Adjoto, says he is set to release a three-hour documentary, “exposing Mr Adams Oshiomhole’s dark waters.’’
But the Oshiomhole camp says the former Edo governor has done no wrong.
Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin on Monday, Adjoto said the documentary would be showed to the public on Jan. 30 in Abuja.
Adjoto, who descried Oshiomhole as his long-time political confidant, said the documentary would expose Oshiomhole’s “dirty malfeasance in his days as governor of Edo State.
He said that the documentary was part of his planned nationwide campaign against Oshiomhole, who is currently the national chairman of the ruling APC.
Adjoto disclosed that the three-hour documentary highlighted some shady deals allegedly carried out by Oshiomhole in Edo’s Central Hospital contract and the N30 billion Benin Storm Water project.
The former speaker named other questionable projects executed during the Oshiomhole era as the airport road contract and some other transactions, handled by Oshiomhole at the tail end of his administration.
“The problem I have with Oshiomhole is not personal but a disagreement over reversal of initially professed democratic principles.
“Every atom of principle he preached and benefited from is a sharp contrast to what he is championing today.”
Adjoto claimed that he had the backing of critical APC stakeholders, including seven governors, whom he said, had thrown their weight behind the ‘Oshiomhole must-go-campaign, which he said, would hit the streets soon.
Commenting on the forthcoming Edo APC governorship primaries, the APC chieftain reiterated that any team sent by Oshiomhole to conduct the primaries would be vehemently rejected.
He said that the rejection of Oshiomhole was because the APC national chairman had been suspended from the party and that he lacked constitutional powers to preside over any affair of the party.
“Oshiomhole should be ready for a Zamfara showdown in Edo State if he makes any attempt to spearhead the primary process because he is behind the crisis bedeviling the party in Edo State.’’
He said that Oshiomhole’s suspension from the party had been ratified in his ward, local government and the state’s executive committee of the party.
The former lawmaker noted that the incumbent, governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, must enjoy the right of first refusal during the primaries, otherwise the process would be enmeshed in catastrophe.
He disclosed further that he would be meeting with notable traditional rulers in Oshiomhole’s senatorial zone, including the Otaru of Auchi, to inform them of the looming consequences that would face the “suspended national chairman of the party if he failed to retrace his steps.
“Without mincing words, the next few weeks will be very interesting.
“After the release of the Oshiomhole documentary, Nigerians would judge if he’s qualified to lead a party, whose principal trademark is fighting corruption,” Adjoto added.
He advised the four APC governorship aspirants against falling into what he called “Oshiomhole’s crafty political web’’.
Adjoto said he would meet with the aspirants to make them see reason to queue behind Obaseki for the common good of Edo people.
But reacting to allegations of fraud against Oshiomhole, a member of the Oshiomhole camp, Mr Henry Idahagbon, said that Obaseki and the current Secretary to the Edo Government, Mr Osarodion Ogie, should also be included in any fraud charge against Oshiomhole.
Idahagbon, who was Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice during Oshiomhole’s administration said that every project executed during Oshiomhole’s era was approved by Obaseki as the chairman of the administration’s economic team.
He said that the contracts cited by Adjoto were over 90 per cent completed by Oshiomhole before he left office, dismissing accusations against the APC national chairman as unfounded.
Edo State is set for governorship elections in August this year.
The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal by Ahmed Aliyu challenging the election of Governor Aminu Tambuwal in the March 9, 2019 governorship election in Sokoto State.
In a unanimous judgment by a five-member panel led by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, the apex court held that Aliyu failed to prove his claims against the election.
In the lead judgement, read by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, the court held that the evidence presented by Aliyu had no evidential and probative value having not been properly certified at the tribunal.
Recall that the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad was absent when the Supreme Court commenced its judgement in the governorship appeal on Kano State.
In his place, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta led the five-member panel of justices.
Counsel to the APC candidate in the election, Alex Izinyon (SAN) asked the Supreme Court to nullify the election of Tambuwal because he had not led evidence to justify the 342 votes which separates him from the APC candidate.
Aliyu polled 511,661 votes against 512,002 votes by Tambuwal after conclusion of collation in the rerun.
But lawyers to PDP and Tambuwal, Emmanuel Ukala (SAN) and Muyiwa Akinboro (SAN) asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal. They argued that they have met the standard of proof that they won the election.
“The Supreme Court cannot tamper with the concurrent judgments of the lower courts if it is not in any way perverse or proved to be wrong,” Akinboro said.
