Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is expected to lead a Christian crusade for improved security and economy as President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration’s battles to keep Nigeria from falling apart amid vicious bandit attacks and weakened naira.
Osinbajo and David Abioye, the Presiding bishop of Living Faith Church, Goshen, Abuja, are billed to grace the event themed ‘Faith in Jesus Christ in times of crisis’.
“The fellowship decided to hold the 2021 version via Zoom, and we are trusting God that the event will hold tomorrow (Thursday) by 7.00 a.m. By the grace of God, the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, will be joining us as well as a couple of other dignitaries including diplomats,” said Emmanuel Bwacha, the chair of the National Assembly Christian Legislators Forum, while briefing journalists at a press conference.
On Wednesday, his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari, “spent quality time” at the mosque of the Prophet Muhammed, “engaging in prayers and recitation of the Holy Qur’an,” said presidential spokesman Garba Shehu in a statement.
“The National Prayer Breakfast is an annual fellowship where we pray for our country, pray for our responsibilities as parliamentarians for wisdom in passing bills that will benefit Nigerians. It was not held last year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that has wreaked havoc on our economy, political and social sphere,” Bwacha explained.
The prayer session will also be used to mark the 11th edition of the National Prayer Summit organised by the forum.
“As a fellowship, we are not partisan. Ours is to pray. We are not unaware of the fact that it is not easy to ask people to follow. But ours is to intercede,” he noted. “The increasing prices of foodstuff does not recognise political parties. It does not recognise geopolitics. It does not recognise tribe and has no segregation of age. So, our own is to pray on all issues so that our lord and saviour, Jesus Christ, will intervene and restore the glory of our nation and that we be able to overcome these challenges.”
The Speaker of the Plateau State House Assembly, Hon Abok Ayuba Nuhu, has been impeached over corruption-related accusations.
His impeachment occurred at the plenary on Thursday after 16 out of 24 members of the Assembly voted him out, Daily Trust reports.
He was replaced with Sanda Yakubu, who hails from Pingana constituency of Bassa Local Government Area of the state.
The cause of Nuhu’s removal could not be ascertained at the time of filing this report.
A group known as the Youths Rights Against Corruption (YRAC) had petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accusing Nuhu of financial misappropriation.
The group also alleged that he had been abusing his office.
The Executive Director of the group, Comrade Abednego Musa, in the petition titled “Petition Against Plateau State House of Assembly Speaker, Nuhu Abok Ayuba On Gross Financial Misconduct, Criminal Breach Of Public Trust And Abuse Of Office,” had asked Nuhu to immediately step down from his position, pending the completion of the EFCC investigation.
The petition addressed to the chairman of the EFCC, said, “Further to a popular demand by some members of the public to our office, this petition is written to acquaint your agency EFCC, with the gross financial misconduct and the abuse of office being perpetrated by the Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Honorable Nuhu Abok Ayuba, for a thorough investigation so as to avert a further bleeding of the public treasury under his care and restore sanity in the functioning of the state’s legislative establishment.”
The African Union said Wednesday it had suspended Sudan until civilian rule in the country is restored, saying it rejected the military takeover as an “unconstitutional” seizure of power.
The continent-wide bloc said it “strongly condemns the seizure of power” and was suspending Sudan from all AU activities “until the effective restoration of the civilian-led transitional authority”.
Sudanese General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Monday ordered the dissolution of the government and declared a state of emergency, sparking widespread international condemnation.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was placed under military arrest, along with his ministers and civilian members of Sudan’s ruling council, sparking angry protests on the streets on Khartoum.
Hamdok was later released under close guard, but other ministers and civilian leaders remain in detention.
Security forces launched sweeping arrests of anti-coup protesters Wednesday, in a bid to end three days of demonstrations against the power grab.
A number of Western powers have called for an urgent meeting with Hamdok, saying they still recognise the prime minister and his cabinet as the constitutional leaders of Sudan.
The AU suspended Sudan in June 2019 after pro-democracy protesters demanding civilian rule were gunned down outside army headquarters in Khartoum.
Their membership was reinstated three months later after Hamdok announced the appointment of Sudan’s first cabinet since the ousting of veteran leader Omar al-Bashir.
The Police Command in Ogun has filed criminal charges against a man, Sikiru Jamiu, at the Ijebu Ode magisterial district for addressing a married woman, Opeyemi Adegbesan, as “babe” in a WhatsApp chat.
According to the case filed on October 20, Jamiu, a resident of Ijebu Ode, committed the offence at 08:02 a.m. on September 19.
Jamiu is accused of conduct likely to cause a breach of peace in Opeyemi’s marriage to her husband, Akintunde Adegbesan.
He risks one-month imprisonment under the state’s criminal code.
“That you Sikiru Oluwaseun Jamiu ‘m’ on September 19, 2021, at about 8.02 a.m along Fidipote Street, opposite IBEDC office, Ijebu Ode in the Ijebu Ode Magisterial District did conduct yourself in a manner likely to cause a breach of the Peace in the marriage between one Akintunde Adegbesan ‘m’ and Opeyemi Adegbesan T by using the word ‘Good Morning Babe’ on WhatsApp no. 08059491562 and 08138868837. and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 249(d) of the Criminal Code, Revised Laws of Ogun State of Nigeria, 2006,” a court document seen by Peoples Gazette said.
The section also stipulates that anyone who commits such an offence will be deemed idle and arrested without a warrant.
“Every person who, in any public place, conducts himself in a manner likely to cause a breach of the peace, shall be deemed idle and disorderly persons and may be arrested without warrant, and are guilty of a simple offence and liable to imprisonment for one month,” the section of code stated.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Ogun chapter, on Wednesday in Sango-Ota, blocked the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway over the deplorable state of the highway.
The NLC Lagos chapter of the congress joined their Ogun counterpart to stage the protest.
The protesters carried placards with inscriptions, ‘We don’t want palliatives’, ‘we want good roads’, ‘Dapo Abiodun save our souls from bad roads’, and ‘We are not slaves in our country’.
The NLC chairman in Ogun, Emmanuel Bankole, said the NLC was not happy with the condition of portions of the Lagos-Abeokuta and its environs.
“We will not allow anybody to take away our right. In times like this, we do not have any option other than to express our displeasure with the government,” he said.
The chairman added that the 21 days ultimatum given by NLC after the visit of Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola to Sango-Ota, had lapsed.
Bankole explained that Fashola promised to commence palliative work on the road, but nothing much had been done since then.
“We deserve better than what we have seen today. What we see today is below our expectations,” he said.
The NLC chairman in Lagos, Funmi Sessi, added, “We believe in action and the time for talking is gone. There is an urgent need to ameliorate the sufferings of the masses.”
Sessi noted that the action was long overdue as people were inflicted with serious pains following the deplorable condition of the Sango-Ota portion of the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway.
She further stated that members of the Lagos chapter of NLC came to partner its colleagues in Ogun in the struggle to ensure good roads are delivered to the state’s residents.
When two years ago the Sudanese people bravely organized a spontaneous revolution that ended three decades of brutal dictatorship led by Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir the global democratic community heaved a sigh of relief that another barbaric bloody dictator (wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court) had fallen by the way side. The glory of that revolution was however stolen as it were by the military (much like in Mali) that helped in achieving a protracted gory civilian insurrection that lasted for weeks culminating in loss of precious lives and destruction of properties.
Following the deposition of Gen. Bashir a power-sharing arrangement (diarchy) was reached between the Generals and the triumphant civil society groups. Abdallah Hamdok was appointed the Prime Minister and he formed a transitional government comprising of the military and civilians. The power-sharing pact specified the roles to be played by each party with the ultimate goal being the organization of a credible free and fair general election.
The signed document equally made it clear that the Generals would lead the transitional government for eighteen months and the remaining 18 months are to be led by the civilians. Under normal circumstances the military led by Abdel Fattah Abdelrahmane al-Burhan ought to hand over the presidency of the transitional sovereign government to the civilians by November 17th. The process ought to conclude in three years period.
Shockingly however, the Generals, last Monday, moved swiftly against the Prime Minister and the other civilian executives by arresting all of them in a dawn military operation. Lo and behold chaos had set in! The Internet and other communication networks had been shut down.
Gen. al-Burhan appeared briefly on the state television where he imperially declared the end of the diarchy decreeing a state of emergency. It was a bombshell! The Head of the military junta had claimed in the national broadcast that the Sudanese politicians were divided and this division led to the dissolution of the transitional government.
Reactions from the international community had been pouring in, most condemning in strong terms the glorified coup d’etat. The US announced that it had put on hold the millions of Dollars destined for Sudan. And it called for the immediate unconditional release of PM Hamdok and other government officials arrested and detained.
The UN, EU, AU were all united in condemning the putsch imploring the Generals to free their executive hostages and arrange for a dialogue.
The streets in Khartoum and other cities in the country had witnessed demonstrations with protesters chanting ‘No Return To The Past!’ Close to dozen of them had been killed and hundreds more wounded! The Sudanese army and the militias loyal to the Generals were shooting protesters with live bullets!
And in a press conference that followed his first public intervention after the coup d’etat Gen. al-Burhan hd announced that the deposed PM Hamdok was safely in his (al-Burhan) residence for his own security. He equally claimed that the PM shared the fears of the military over the threat to the national security.
Describing the military action as “rectification” of the transitional trajectory the strongman was obviously under intense international pressure to be conciliatory in his rhetorics and act responsibly to avoid the worst scenario playing out.
Breaking news had since reported that PM Hamdok had been brought back to his house in what amounted to a house arrest. He had since spoken on telephone with the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken.
The diarchical transitional system put in place post-Bashir was bound to produce friction and tension. It was akin to negotiating a leadership of the jungle between lions and sheep. Alas, the lions have taken over their jungle by feasting on the sheep!
The apparent naivety of the international community in negotiating the cohabitation is deplorable. An impressive interposing counter force should have been arranged to accompany the process protecting the civilian transition team till full-blown democracy is eventually restored.
Condemnations, threats and sanctions may not do much to bring down the Jackboot. What might work remains a coordinated global military intervention led by America and her European allies.
The days and weeks ahead would be crucial and decisive for the future of Sudan. The civil society groups have called for general strike, civil disobedience. And roads and highways are blocked. Sudan is currently paralysed. Saturday is slated for a million-man march across the country.
The notorious allies of the Generals in power (notably Egypt and UAE) must be called upon to apply pressure on the coup plotters to negotiate their exit from power. Otherwise another violent revolution is imminent! And this time Generals al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (alias Emety) would be victims.
In a country where economic hardship has been accentuated by the secession of oil-rich South Sudan following years of bloody conflict and war thereby shrinking the oil and gas revenues it is only a sound democratic leadership that is capable of offering lasting solution to the deteriorating social conditions under which the Sudanese live.
We, therefore, call on the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, the African Union and other regional bodies to unify their forces and efforts to end the military nonsense in Sudan. Democracy (and not diarchy or despotism) must be made to prevail in Khartoum.
The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, yesterday, insisted that the country must return to the 1963 Constitution to be on the right path.
It emphasised that restructuring must take place before the 2023 general elections.
In a communique made available to journalists by its National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, the organisation stated this at the end of its meeting held at the house of the Acting Leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, at Sanya-Ogbo, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.
Adebanjo presided over the meeting, while participants came from all the states in the South-West, as well as Kwara and Kogi states.
The meeting deliberated on social, political, security and economic situations of the country, lamenting that the country is going through a lot of trauma.
The group also deliberated on the consistent advocacy by Dr. Ahmed Gumi on the government to pardon terrorists and to even compensate them in various ways.
MEANWHILE, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, yesterday, said that the reason for visiting Lagos State former governor, Bola Tinubu, was purely humanitarian.
Ajayi, who spoke with journalists after the meeting, said: “The visit of our leaders to former Governor Bola Tinubu is purely on humanitarian ground. He is a Yoruba son. We do not forsake ourselves. Afenifere members are Omoluabis and humanists.
“What the leaders have done is the hallmark of thoroughbred Yoruba men and women. We may disagree on principles but we are not political enemies. Even if there is a disagreement on issues, it does not mean that we should not relate.
“The interest of the Yoruba is what is uppermost in our minds.”
IN another development, Chairman, Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), Wale Oshun, has urged the new executive members of Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) to sustain the legacy of the founder of the organisation, the late Dr. Fredrick Fasehun, by continuous demand for restructuring of Nigeria to true federalism, resource control and equal opportunity for all Nigerians.
Oshun, who spoke at the inauguration of the executives in Lagos, also enjoined members of the Congress that the only way they could sustain and achieve what Fasehun stood for is by working in harmony and doing every thing possible to ensure Nigeria remains one despite the demand for restructuring.
He stressed the need for all groups of OPC under the leadership of Aare Ona Kakanfo, Iba Gani Adams and Osibote to harmonise in fighting the true course of Yoruba nation.
Rangers International FC of Enugu media officer, Norbert Okolie, says the club has signed former Mountain of Fire and Miracle (MFM) goalkeeper, Bamidele Adeniyi.
Okolie made this known on Tuesday, saying that Adeniyi would compete for the number goalkeeping slot against Nana Bonsu, Oko Chizoba and Seidu Mutawakilu.
He noted that the 29-year-old goalkeeper made 19 appearances, with seven clean sheets, for his former club in the 2020/2021 season.
Okolie said the goalkeeper was impressive in goal in some of the practice matches played by Rangers FC during the club’s week-long close camp at Nsukka.
Daring bandits have begun imposing levies on the residents of eastern part of Sokoto State, with the would-be assailants asking them to pay the money before next Friday or they would be attacked.
The locals are also barred from their farms by the bandits pending payment of the prescribed levies, a resident revealed.
According to Daily Trust, some of the communities had settled the bandits while others were working hard to raise the money.
The population of each community is said to be considered in determining the amounts they would pay.
“Some are asked to pay N400,000, some N700,000 while some even pay less than that and is left for the community to decide how the money will be raised.
“In some communities, heads of households are asked to pay N2,000 each and young men that are not married pay N1,000 each,” another source said.
According to the report, Attalawa, Danmaliki, Adamawa, Dukkuma, Sardauna and Dangari villages were asked to pay N400,000 each. While residents of Kwatsal village billed N4million were said to have already paid N2million out of the money to the bandits.
“All the villages were given up to Friday to pay the money or risk attack. People are paying because they have no other option,” one of the sources added.
Confirming the development was a member representing Sabon Birni North Constituency, Aminu Almustapha Gobir, who said there had been no attack in Sabon Birni in recent times because the locals were complying with the directive of the bandits.
“The people prefer to pay and live in peace in their communities than to rely on security agencies or go on exile,” he said.
However, a former Chairman of Sabon Birni Local Government Area, Idris Muhammad, however, frown at the payment of levies to bandits, stressing that doing so would not guarantee people’s safety.
“We have different groups of bandits in the area, if you pay a levy to this group how sure are you the other group will not attack you?”
“The same scenario unfolded in Gatawa and Tarah, which were attacked and several of their people abducted by different groups of bandits. Their relatives had to pay ransom to those different groups before their release.
“This is what will continue to happen, if one group places a levy on you and you pay, another group will come to either attack you or demand for levy again and you must pay them or face the consequences,” he said.
The spokesman for the police in Sokoto, ASP Sanusi Abubakar, and the Commissioner for Security and Carriers Matters, Colonel Garba Moyi (retd), didn’t respond to several calls placed across to them including text messages sent to them.
Minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed (Photo Credit: Twitter)
Lai Mohammed, President Muhammadu Buhari regime’s head of propaganda and state-sponsored disinformation, says his perennial agitation for social media clampdown in Nigeria is to prevent another global war.
On Monday, Mr Mohammed, who has called for social media to be regulated in Nigeria, insisted that the platforms spread fake information.
“With fake news today and misinformation — I have always said here that the next world war will be caused by fake news,” he said while defending his ministry’s 2022 budget before the house of representatives committee on information, national orientation.
While recounting the means of disseminating information decades ago, the minister explained that Nigerians had deserted the old means by embracing the “unseen enemy,” social media.
“Information is not what it used to be, 20 to 30 years ago if the state or federal government had a television or radio and probably a newspaper, that was what we needed,” he noted.
According to Mr Mohammed, the Buhari regime will always be criticised if it refuses to take adequate measures to regulate social media content.
“The people today, they don’t read newspapers, they don’t watch television — it’s social media. And it is most expensive; the most unseen enemy, they are there every moment, and until we go to the same battlefield with them, there is nothing the government will do that will seem right,” he said.
Infamous for his propaganda, Mr Mohammed himself has been caught circulating fake news previously as opposition spokesman and now as cabinet information minister.
Angered by Mr Mohammed’s notoriety for spreading misinformation, a lawmaker in January described the minister’s statements as “senseless and unpatriotic.”
“You can see even the U.S. that use to pride itself on the freedom of the press is now questioning the role of the social media,” he added.
Mr Mohammed had hailed former U.S. President Donald Trump for endorsing Mr Buhari’s Twitter ban on June 4.
“Congratulations to the country of Nigeria, who just banned Twitter because they banned their President,” Mr Trump had said after Mr Mohammed announced the ban of the social media platform primarily used to gather information and contribute to issues of national interest.
“Donald Trump has congratulated Nigeria,” Mr Mohammed said. “If that means anything, that that is what we ought to have done. But that’s just by the way.”
While defending the 2021 budget proposal of the Information sector of his ministry in October 2020, Mr Mohammed had reasoned that Nigeria should also go the way of China to tackle misinformation.
“If you go to China, you cannot get Google, Facebook or Instagram, but you can only use your email because they have made sure that it is regulated,” he said.
Stating that there was an urgent need for a policy to curb fake news on social media, the minister said, “We need a social media policy that will regulate what should be said and posted and what should not.”
He added that “We also need technology and resources to dominate our social media space.’’
