Donald Trump has become the third US president in history to be impeached by the House of Representatives, setting up a trial in the Senate that will decide whether he remains in office.
The House voted on two charges – that the president abused his power and that he had obstructed Congress.
Nearly all Democrats voted for the charges and every Republican against.
President Trump’s Republicans control the Senate so it is highly unlikely he will be removed from power.
As voting took place in the House, Mr Trump was addressing a campaign rally in Battle Creek, Michigan.
He told a cheering crowd: “While we’re creating jobs and fighting for Michigan, the radical left in Congress is consumed with envy and hatred and rage, you see what’s going on.”
The White House released a statement saying that the president was “confident that he will be fully exonerated” in a Senate trial.
What happened in the votes?
After 10 hours of partisan debate on the merits of the two impeachment charges against President Trump, the House called for votes at about 20:30 local time (01:30 GMT).
The first charge is abuse of power, stemming from Mr Trump’s alleged attempt to pressure Ukraine to announce investigations into his Democratic political rival, Joe Biden.
The process has drawn protests from both those in favour and against.
It passed by 230 votes to 197, almost completely on party lines. Only two Democrats opposed – New Jersey’s Jeff Van Drew, who is set to leave the party, and Michigan’s Collin Peterson.
The second charge is obstruction of Congress, because the president allegedly refused to co-operate with the impeachment inquiry, withholding documentary evidence and barring his key aides from giving evidence.
It passed by 229-198. Democrat Jared Golden of Maine voted for the first charge but opposed this.
No Republicans supported impeachment, although ex-party member Justin Amash, from Michigan, did.
Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard voted “present” on both charges – effectively an abstention. Two members were absent for personal reasons.
Being impeached places Donald Trump alongside only two other presidents in the nation’s history – Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.
The Nigerian social space has been filled with mixed reactions following the filtering-in of information about the alleged approval of about thirty-seven billion naira for the renovation of the National Assembly complex. It begins to become clear the reasons they were trying to ‘govern’ social media and decide what to be aired and what can be said to be hate speech. It’s safe to say Nigeria is back many years; God help us.
Every nation of influence in the world has great interest and heavily invests in education. Their investments in education paved the way for their advancements in every other sector.
Mark Zuckerberg for example. A Mark thinking of how to get early to school so he could get a front seat to stand a chance to hear anything the lecturer would say in an overcrowded lecture hall wouldn’t have had the clarity of mind to come up with modalities and technicalities to build the Facebook idea to what it is now. We know how much Mark now influence what we see and hear.
Say he didn’t follow through with his academics, but the conditions where enabling enough for him. That’s a country where security matters. Learning the old and unveiling the new matters in that clime. That’s a country fortunate enough to have had leaders who put the people above selfish and personal interests.
Nigeria had issues in 2015; so we thought. And maybe we were right then. But, compared to what obtains now, Nigeria was better: speaking as the average Nigerian. Corruption was eating real bad into almost everything Nigerian and Baba was thought to be disciplined enough to bring that to an end. Godswill Akpabio is a minister in his cabinet; res ipsa loquitur.
Now we have a Nigeria that is ruled by a ‘democrat’ who chose to be silent at the anomaly that played out in the court by an agency answerable only to him. I guess that’s an attempt to warn the judiciary of what can happen, even if it means going against the norms. Threaten them into submission; that can sometimes be counter-productive.
The legislature has, by its own leader, pledged allegiance to the President and do whatever he asks of them. Little wonder the President is ‘returning the favour’ by approving the sum of 37billion naira for the renovation of the National Assembly. One will wonder if all the money ever tied to Nigeria could build the National Assembly complex if the renovation of it cost that much.
Great countries build institutions and not just buildings over-inflated at construction and occupied by the worst of us. The EFCC chairman was asked to speak on how he was building the EFCC as an institution, he went aloud telling us how many buildings they have. Weak minds; how did we get there?
A country that budgeted 46billion naira for capital expenditure in education has the luxury of renovating the National Assembly; one can’t help but ask whose interest the leader(s) of such nation serve and seek to protect. Definitely not the populace.
Life as we know it comes with all kinds of actions, reactions, re-reactions and so forth. At the core of it all is the ineluctable, insuperable fact that we humans are at best pawns in a grand scheme of events which we cannot always control. But, yes, we are indeed bequeathed with some control. An amount that spares us the regard of robots or minions.
The fair amount of control we possess empowers us with a large dominion over the affairs of our lives. Never the total we so crave, for in the process of living is the interplay of life forms which occurs because of sheer inevitability but especially because it is part of the grand design of life. So you are in control of your life .But well, not really. This is a statement that transcends us and those before us. The power to choose is perhaps the most important form of Will we possess.
Choices are indeed what guide us through our lives. But what guides us through these choices? Vicissitudes and whatnot. Instincts. External forces. The divine. And most especially situations. The ones we are not in total control of. But these choices have to be made. It is not a choice to make these choices, no. It is a function of the living for only the living can make choices.
Choices beget sequences of life events. And as time passes these choices we made determine how our lives play out. Whether we look back in hindsight and maunder regretfully or guffaw in satisfaction. But should we lay blame on ourselves for our regrets? Should we in fact retrospectively say we made mistakes when some of the life choices we made led us to quandaries? Should we always ponder to ourselves: I could have done better, I should have waited longer, I should not have done this.
In all fairness, not always. As much as present choices lead us through paths into the future, we are, as I stated earlier, hardly in control of the choices we get. The best choices do not always pan out good. But they were probably the best choices at the time we made them. They were perhaps the only choices we had. Why then the endless regrets? Why the excessive brooding over the past? Yes, we probably could not have done better. And that is a truism that we can always choose to accept.
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A tear-gas canister allegedly fired by police personnel attached to the Operation Puff Adder in the direction of drug peddlers and hoodlums has allegedly set a thatched house ablaze in Calabar, Cross River State.
The house, located on No. 6 Murray Street, off Target Road, caught fire after the police team allegedly fired gunshots and tear-gas canisters while pursuing suspected drug peddlers and one of the canisters fell on the roof of the thatched house.
The owner of the house, Prince Francis Ephraim, said the incident had left him and his family of seven without a roof over their heads.
“That early morning I wanted to go out but decided to prepare something to eat and when the food was ready, I took it to the parlour and suddenly there was a lot of firing by the police and I heard a sound on the roof of my house. And I came out and saw smoke coming out from the place the sound came from,” he narrated.
He said when he went inside to get some water to pour on the roof, he heard neighbours shouting “fire” and he rushed out to try to extinguish the fire, but the flames were increasing in intensity.
The House of Representatives yesterday rejected a move to amend the nation’s constitution to pave the way for a single term of six years for the president and governors and multiple terms of six years for national and state assemblies members.John Dyegh (APC: Benue) who sponsored the bill had sought the alteration of sections 64 (1), 64 (2), 105 (2), 135 (2), 137 (1), 180 (1) and 180 (2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended at the plenary presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Wase. But the bill was flatly rejected by the lawmakers after deliberation.
Leading the debate on the general principles of the bill, Dyegh argued that an elongated tenure offers a promising long-time solution to the avoidable loss of limbs, lives and sources of living attributable to conflicts arising from re-election processes. He further argued that a six-year consecutive tenure for legislators would not only deepen democracy, it would save the country the high turnover of legislators which, according to him, constitutes loss of experience and institutional knowledge.
“You will agree with me that the present four years plus four years’ tenure of eight years is not helping matters, it is taking us backwards. Practically speaking, the occupier of the seat spends only two years in the first tenure and the remaining two fighting reelection which in Nigeria is many times more expensive than the first election and mostly dependent on lean resources of the state allegedly.
“In the second tenure, he spends two and half years working on the remaining one and a half years preparing his exit/soft landing and installation of a successor. So, the total time spent for actual work for the state is not more than four and a half years of the eight years.
“The six-year single term will afford the president or governor to he more focused, more dedicated and the usual do-or-die battles for reelections will be eliminated, no lives will be lost, money will be saved, we shall experience better development.
“If we must deepen our democracy, we must reduce ‘wars’ that occur during reelection of presidents and governors by supporting a single term of six years.”To further buttress his argument, Dyegh said: “This is as opposed to the civil service practice where a fresh graduate rises through the ranks, using over 30 years to become a director or permanent secretary and as a custodian/bundle of knowledge of all that pertains to the service.
“In the judiciary, a law graduate rises from a magistrates’ court through the ranks to be a high court judge or supreme court justice and as such, the judiciary is very rich in terms of experience and institutional knowledge. Judges can very easily make references to cases dating over 30 years. This is totally lacking in our legislature.
“The first time I was elected in 2011 into this hallowed chamber, this House recorded over 200 of us as new members. Similarly, this happened in 2015 when I was elected the second time, over 200 members never returned. A similar thing happened in 2019, where again over 200 members lost the bid to return.
“This is totally unwise if we must move forward as a nation. There are many constituencies where members serve only one term and are asked to go back which means to this institution that there is no experience, no institutional knowledge.“In the United States of America and other climes, most constituencies have multiple terms and you can see their level of democracy, their level of debate on the floor. The legislature is like wine, the older the better, because you cannot master the process of lawmaking and oversight in just four years.
“Therefore, since we cannot force our constituents to keep representatives here for more than a term and the legislature is losing experience, we must do something by increasing the length of a term from four years to six years.”In his contribution, Sagius Ogui said he was in support of the bill because it would “save our democracy”, considering the huge amount the executive always spends while seeking a second term in office.
But his position was not convincing to Yusuf Gadji who argued that the country’s democracy does not require a six-year single term for the executive, stressing that the Electoral Act should rather be strengthened.Olumide Osoba who spoke in the same vein said that what the country needed was electoral reform and not tenure extension, just as the House Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, said that the immunity clause for governors and president should be removed.
“Why we are having all these issues is because of immunity. We should remove immunity clause for the governors and the president to allow accountability.”
Also yesterday, the lawmakers took far- reaching decisions on other national issues, including directing the committee on labour, employment and productivity to investigate the activities of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, especially in relation to the expenditure of N2.3 billion by the management, and report back in four weeks for further legislative action.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion moved by Francis Ejiroghene Waive during the plenary. The lawmaker made reference to a newspaper report alleging a fraud of N2.3 billion allegedly committed by the management of the NSITF through some spending without the authorisation of the board.
Specifically, the report alleged that the management awarded multi-million naira contracts for the construction of office complexes of the fund in 12 states, in addition to approving millions of naira as duty tour allowances for trips, in contravention of a recent directive from the presidency banning such trips in order to reduce wastage.
The House queried the authorities of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) for allegedly misapplying N1.2 billion.
When the issue came before the Wole Oke-led Committee on Public Accounts, officials of the NRC failed to offer convincing explanation on the missing monies.
The committee probe was based on an audit query raised by the office of the accountant general of the federation between the 2013 and 2014 financial years.
Consequently, the committee stepped down the presentations of Mrs. O Osunmade and Alhaji A Niyi who represented the corporation at the sitting for “misrepresentation of facts before the parliament”.Oke said: “These documents before this committee cannot stand the text of time What these officials are telling this committee are different entirely from what is contained in the documents the corporation submitted to us.
“We will have to step down their matter for the misrepresentation of facts. Consequently, a sub-committee will be set up to look into the financial books and the activities of the corporation for accountability.”
The lawmakers also yesterday threatened to drag the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to court for accusing them of stealing monies meant for constituency projects over the years.Adopting a motion sponsored by Dyegh under matters of urgent national importance at the plenary, the House challenged the ICPC to prove the allegation beyond reasonable doubt or be prepared to face the consequences in court.The lower chamber mandated its committee on ICPC to probe into the issue and report back for further legislative action.
A 28-year-old woman from Bayelsa State, Mrs Chidinma Robinson, has called on the Inspector-General of Police to intervene in the sudden disappearance of her husband, Mr Imonima Robinson, from the custody of the IGP Monitoring Team in Rivers State.
Chidinma told journalists in Port Harcourt on Tuesday that she suspected that her husband had been extra-judicially killed while in the custody of the police after a court ordered his release.
The woman, who clutched her baby, said her husband was arrested on August 1, 2019, in Port Harcourt by the cops, who accused him of being a friend to a wanted kidnapper.
She stated that though her husband insisted that he was a businessman and not a kidnapper, the policemen held on to him and transferred him from one station to another until his sudden disappearance at the station of the IGP Monitoring Team in the state.
She maintained that the 33-year-old Imonima was shot in the leg by the cops after the court had ordered that he should be released.
Chidinma stated, “My husband was arrested when he went to buy something on Aggrey Road in Port Harcourt. He was later transferred to the Divisional Police Station, Old GRA.
“He was again transferred to the Anti-Cultism Unit, Port Harcourt. I went there several times when I got information that he had been moved there. But they did not allow me to see him. There, they handcuffed him to a generator.
“They were asking that I should send N500,000 to them. I told them that I didn’t have such money and that after my husband was arrested, we had not been feeding well. They later transferred him to the IGP Monitoring Team’s office in Aluu. When I got there, they had already shot him in the leg.
“Since that time, I have not seen my husband. I learnt that he had been killed. We have been looking for him; we can’t find him. I am calling on the IGP to tell his men to please produce my husband. If they have killed him, they should show me his corpse.”
The lawyer to the family, Mr Godwin Omereji, confirmed that the family had taken the matter to court and got an order for Imonima’s release.
Omereji expressed dissatisfaction that the police disregarded the court order for Imonima’s release and demanded that the businessman be released from police custody dead or alive.
The lawyer also demanded that the Commander of the IGP Monitoring Team in the state should be prosecuted in the interest of justice.
He stated, “No matter the gravity of the crime that Imonima Robinson allegedly committed, he is still presumed innocent by the constitution, and this constitutional presumption of innocence encapsulated in Section 36 (5) of the Nigerian Constitution (as amended), 1999, remains until a court of competent jurisdiction adjudges him guilty.
“Our law does not provide for jungle justice and also the law establishing the Nigeria Police Force does not empower the police to be the accuser, investigator, prosecutor, judge and executioner at the same time.”
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Nnamdi Omoni, said he was not aware of the matter and Chidinma and the family’s lawyer to visit his office.
The Lagos State High Court in Ikeja, on Tuesday, sentenced a mobile policeman attached to the First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Epe branch, Salisu Ibrahim, to seven years’ imprisonment for accidentally shooting a security guard attached to the bank with his AK-47 rifle.
Ibrahim, while on duty at the bank on July 8, 2013, around 7.45am, accidentally shot the guard, Olanrewaju Majofodun, in his buttocks, which caused his death.
The policeman was subsequently arraigned on one count of manslaughter on April 28, 2015.
Delivering her judgement on Tuesday, Justice Raliat Adebiyi, noted that Ibrahim’s confessional statement was plausible and believable.
The convict had said in his confessional statement read in the court during the trial that he had booked 13 rounds of ammunition from the Epe Police Station, adding that he had gone out of the bank premises during a downpour to fire two rounds of ammunition to test his rifle, because the armourer had told him that it had just been serviced.
“When I came back, I was trying to pull my rifle when it went off and a bullet hit the security man, Olanrewaju Majofodun, in the buttocks. I did not intend to kill him; it was an accidental discharge,” he had stated.
Justice Adebiyi, however, held that the prosecution was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the firing of the AK-47 rifle by Ibrahim caused the death of the guard.
She said, “The defendant is a police officer; therefore, the AK47 was lawfully issued; the firing of the rifle was in a reckless manner without regard to human life. The court finds that the prosecution was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the firing of the AK-47 rifle by the defendant caused the death of the deceased.
“The court finds the defendant rightly convicted as charged. Salisu Ibrahim is hereby found guilty of one count of manslaughter contrary to Section 227 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.
“Section 227 stipulates and I quote, ‘Anyone who commits the offence of manslaughter is liable to imprisonment for life’.
“In considering the aggravating and mitigating factors, the court finds that there were no aggravating factors, but there were several mitigating factors in favour of the defendant. The first is the show of remorse; second is no previous conviction; third is care for the deceased; fourth is the confessional statement; and fifth is the fact that the defendant is a family man with children.
“The defendant, Salisu Ibrahim, is accordingly hereby sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for the offence of manslaughter and the time spent in prison custody while undergoing trial shall be discounted from the prison sentence.”
Ibrahim, however, walked out of the court a free man, having spent six years and five months in prison, which exceeded his jail term.
The Lagos State Government on Tuesday commenced the sale of its popular brand of rice, Lake Rice, in preparation for the Yuletide.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Gbolahan Lawal, said in a statement that the rice was available for sale in centres across the state.
He said a 50 kilogramme bag of Lake Rice costs N17,000, while the 25kg bag would be sold for N8,500, warning that the commodity should not be sold above the approved prices.
Lawal said the rice was available at the Agricultural Development Authority Complex, Oko-Oba; Lagos State Agriculture Inputs Supply Authority, Ojo; and the Blue Roof at LTV Complex, Agidingbi, Ikeja.
The commissioner outlined other centres such as the Lake Rice Sales Centre at Farm Service Centre, Epe; Odogunyan Farm Service Centre, Ikorodu; Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere and Farm Centre, Ajah.
The rice can also be bought at Government Technical School, Ikotun; Farm Service Centre, Badagry and the Mobolaji Johnson Sports Centre, Rowe Park, Yaba.
Lawal said the state government remained committed to boosting food security in Lagos.
He said the government would continue to ensure adequate production and fair distribution of Lake Rice, with a view to ensuring its availability to the masses in the various designated sale centres across the state.
If there is anything that makes Lagos unattractive, it’s the almost unavoidable traffic one has to plan for and with; no matter who and what you are. That Lagos is traffic-prone at almost all times isn’t something anyone should attempt to come against. Lagos, to me, is the headquarter of world traffic; don’t blame me: I can only speak as far as I know.
I was to fix my phone yesterday and headed out almost as early as I can. By the time I got to Computer Village (Ikeja), I was as stressed as I was as angry with the system. What exactly is the Lagos State Government doing or planning to do to end this ‘rough-outlook’?
Lagos is a very busy state. It is said to be the “commercial capital” of the country; and that’s unarguably true. I have known Lagos with traffic misgivings for as long as I can remember ever stepping on Lagos ground. This has gone on for way too long; we need to find a way round.
The number of lives that would have been lost as they couldn’t get to better health-care facilities or help centers is better imagined. People turning up late to work; almost an everyday occurrence in offices. Delayed movements and trips to accommodate the traffic congestion would be too many to put up with. And many other side-effects.
I have heard people tell me they can’t stay at Lagos; more than ninety-nine percent don’t fancy Lagos for its traffic control issues. Granted, the population is much, but I want to believe Lagos isn’t the most populated city in the world.
Lagos has too many traffic control structures; LASTMA readily comes to mind. This is aside the Traffic Warders the Nigeria Police put on roads. Yet, the situation seem to deteriorate. Are these traffic officials not doing their jobs or are they short-staffed? With the right ideas, I really believe Lagos traffic can be managed to bring congestions to the barest minimum.
I heard the Lagos State Government is trying to fix bad roads and create as many routes as possible to places; that’s a welcome development. Before that, government should ensure strict compliance with all road-related rules and have its officials really interested in their work and not the “side-money” they make. Lagos is too “important” to be traffic-clumsy. I hope to one day see a Lagos where traffic isn’t part of the everyday plan.
