Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi Meets Kaduna State APC Delegates. Governor El-rufai Acknowledged The Efforts Of Rt Hon Rotimi Amaechi In Building The APC.
Tukur Burutai Joins Rt Hon Rotimi Amaechi’s Campaign Train. Massive Advantage In Sight
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2023: Ogun students condemn ‘campaign of calumny’ against Gov Abiodun
The leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Joint Campus Committee (JCC) Ogun State chapter and the National Association of Ogun State Students (NAOS) have disassociated themselves from an alleged petition and protest held last week at the All Progressives Congress Secretariat in Abuja by “sponsored students” against the Executive Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun.
The students condemned the activities of some political leaders in Ogun, in a statement jointly signed by Comrade Damilola Kehinde, Chairman, NANS JCC Ogun, and Comrade Ogunrombi Oluwagbemileke, President, National Association of Ogun State Students, aimed at unnecessarily heating up the political atmosphere in the state.
They expressed their disappointment that persons who are meant to be elder statesmen in the state were involved for funding smear operations against the current governor.
Read Also: Osinbajo engages optimistic APC delegates in Jigawa, Says Nigeria deserves best
“We wish to use this medium to condemn the activities of some of our political leaders in the state aimed at unnecessarily heating up the political atmosphere in our dear state by sponsoring unwarranted and frivolous petitions against His Excellency Governor Dapo Abiodun, the Executive Governor of Ogun State, through their faceless errand boys christened Coalition of Ogun State,” the statement read.
“It’s quite distressing that those who are supposed to be the state’s senior gentlemen are funding smear operations against the current governor.
“This unjustified sponsored media engagement intended at His Excellency, Governor Dapo Abiodun is a high-level display of irresponsibility on the part of the sponsors.”
“Though these leaders attempted to recruit the leadership of all youth and student organisations in the state to join them in this ungodly venture through their representatives and surrogates, when this failed, they now resorted to mobilising Almajiris to stage protests against His Excellency, Governor Dapo Abiodun in the National Secretariat of the All Progressives Congress in Abuja all in the bid to achieve their selfish end,”
“As the legitimate and recognised students body in Ogun State, the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the Joint Campus Committee (JCC) Ogun axis, and the National Association of Ogun State Students (NAOS) will resist any attempt or calculated attempt by any political leader, no matter how powerful, to use our platforms to aid any political tension in Ogun State.”
Read Also: Breaking: A serving member of Anambra State House of Assembly kidnapped (VIDEO)
“May we take this opportunity to call on these leaders to stop fanning the flames of discord and inciting crisis within the state’s youth and student community by calling their errand boys to order, because we will no longer fold our arms and watch any faceless or self-proclaimed group misrepresent us as students and young people in Ogun State.”
“We ask these figures to join our affable governor in his efforts to make our state the epicentre of Nigeria’s industrial revolution and socioeconomic growth,” the students wrote.
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Breaking: A serving member of Anambra State House of Assembly kidnapped (VIDEO)
According to information reaching AIF Media, Hon Dr Okechukwu Okoye, also known as Okey Di Okay, was abducted a few minutes ago. (VIDEO)
In the state legislature, Hon Okechukwu Okoye represents Aguata II. He’s from the island of Isuofia. When he was kidnapped, he was with a black Siena.
Details later
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Three serious house of assembly aspirants YPP should consider for it’s tickets in Nnewi
The number of aspirants joining the race for the Anambra state house of assembly ticket of the young progressive party (YPP) for Nnewi North constituency seems to be taking a new turn, leaving on its trail the marks of three serious contenders in the persons of Hon. Sir Nnamdi Udeaja (CEO of Banquo Global Agency), Sir. James Okoye (MD Jalou Events) and Sir. Augustine Onyedika Ike-Ikedoji (Publisher Bell News).
The three trailblazers in their various fields seem to be gathering lots of momentum in the hearts of the people, most especially Nnamdi Udeaja, who stands out as the destined one and is working assiduously hard towards getting the ticket.
Notwithstanding the pivotal role rumored to be played by the incumbent senator-elect of the party in having the option of endorsing or rather anointing a candidate whom he chooses to favour to ride on his popularity in the state.
An unbiased nomination is more serious because their choice will not be a mere party affair but a candidate not only with the ability to win but a capacity for problem-solving, as seen in the person of Nnamdi Udeaja.
The same should also go for the main ruling party in the state, the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), whose delegates will be exercising similar responsibility to choose leaders like Comrade Uzo Nwosu as well.
Nnamdi Udeaja, aka Banquo, who hails from Edoji Uruagu, is a graduate of political science from Nnamdi Azikiwe University.
Read Also: Soludo: I visited Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, yesterday to discuss lasting peace, security in the South East
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Osinbajo engages optimistic APC delegates in Jigawa, Says Nigeria deserves best
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, met with stakeholders and delegates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Jigawa State on Saturday in Dutse, the state capital, in what the VP described as “very fruitful conversations.”
Prof. Osinbajo’s visit to Jigawa on Saturday was part of a nationwide engagement with APC stakeholders and delegates, with his major message being that decisions for the 2023 elections should be made in Nigeria’s best interests.
When the Vice President arrived in Dutse, the state capital, he was greeted by a crowd of supporters, including APC Chieftains and senior state government officials, led by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Abdulkadir Fanini Adamu, who represented Governor Badaru Abubakar, who was out of town at the time of the visit.
Read Also: Chief of Staff resignation: Ganduje directs Head of Service to take up position
The Vice President reiterated his belief that decisions about the 2023 elections should be made based on what is best for the country, its destiny, and its future as a nation during his townhall-style discussion with delegates, which included a Questions and Answers session.
“We should make a decision based on the future of our children,” he says. We can make improvements and move forward. All I ask is that you vote in Nigeria’s best interests; vote in the best interests of our children.”
He further added that if given the ticket and elected under the APC platform in 2023, his training and expertise in administration as VP under President Muhammadu Buhari would assist him lead the country efficiently as president.
“As Vice President, the President has provided me with a chance that no other vice president has had.”
Prof. Osinbajo later expressed his satisfaction with the discussions with the Jigawa delegation during a brief press conference following the meeting.
“Every subject we covered is one that has a huge impact on the country. We discussed agriculture, youth empowerment, education, technology, and a range of other topics.
“I believe it was really fruitful, and at the very least we all understand where we came from and where we should be in the following years.” We’re all overjoyed that we were able to secure this engagement.”
Members of the State House of Assembly, local government officials, grassroots leaders, and women leaders were among those who spoke during the interactive session.
Many of the delegates mentioned the Social Investment Programs’ successes, particularly the National Homegrown School Feeding Program, which provided first-time jobs for several women, according to the delegates. They also praised the Vice President’s services in this regard, as well as the Buhari administration’s efforts to make fertiliser more accessible and affordable, a benefit that Jigawa State has reaped.
Read Also: In Taraba, APC swears in four new LG party chairmen
Others in the meeting praised the vice president’s “proven honesty and fear of God,” as well as his “great track record, loyalty, and support of Mr. President.”
Several delegates voiced a desire for the VP to expand the SIP and assure youth and women’s participation in government if and when he is elected President, as well as provide Federal support for Jigawa State’s agrarian economy.
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In Taraba, APC swears in four new LG party chairmen
Alhaji Ibrahim Tukur El-Sudi, the All Progressives Congress (APC) state chairman, has swore in and inaugurated four party local government chairmen for the state’s Takum, Ussa, Ibi, and Wukari local government areas.
El-Sudi, who oversaw the swearing-in and inauguration of officials at the party office in Jalingo, said he was following instructions from the party’s national secretariat.
He claimed that when the new officials were sworn in and removed, those who had previously been elected and sworn in could no longer parade as party officials.
“In order to remedy the irregularity that occurred at our national convention, I wrote to the national secretariat, requesting the authentic list of delegates.” I was given a list of new people from these four local government regions by the national secretariat, and I am required to engage with them.Read Also: Chief of Staff resignation: Ganduje directs Head of Service to take up position
“I’ll have to swear them in as our constitution requires.” Anyone who is unsure about this can contact the national secretariat for clarification. “All I’m doing is following orders,” he explained.
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2023: Wike, Amaechi face zoning battle in Rivers
The general elections of 2023 are still reverberating. It is a political tendency that is predicted to spread throughout the federation’s States, regions, and geopolitical zones.
It’s not only about the normal electioneering campaigns, propaganda, voting, and contentious election outcomes this time. The desire for equity and fairness in all of the country’s micro-zones appears to be at the forefront.
Read Also: Chief of Staff resignation: Ganduje directs Head of Service to take up position
This is the situation in River State, where the people are demanding equity from the governing political bloc in the uplands.
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC, as well as other fringe parties, are vying for the 2023 gubernatorial election in the state.
Senator Magnus Abe and his primary competitor, Tony Cole, are both APC guber candidates from Rivers.
Cole is supposed to be the consensus candidate in the APC camp led by former Transport Minister and APC presidential candidate Chibuike Amaechi. Despite being in the same party, Abe and Amaechi each have their own APC parallel structures.
Abe recently accused Amaechi of attempting to “sell the spirit of the State” at a ceremony in Okrika town.
“We are here to inform you that the soul of our dear State is on the line,” he said. The red flag has been raised, indicating that danger is approaching. Rivers State’s soul cannot be sold.
“Our transformers, the Olympia hotel, were purchased by Tony Cole. They will sell the entire state if he returns. The Minister began the process of his second imposition by plotting out those who worked with him, just to bring in a guy from Lagos to lead us for the second time.
“I implore you to join me in opposing the plot against our country. Tonye Cole is unfamiliar with Rivers State, and Rivers State is unfamiliar with him. We don’t want a governor who is far away. If Amaechi wants him to be our governor, he must first restore all of our property that Amaechi sold to him while he was in office.”
Felix Obuah, former PDP State Chairman, Padonson Gabriel, Senator Lee Ledogo Maeba, and Hon. Isaac Kamalu are among the prominent PDP candidates from the upland Rivers.
Kamalu was finance commissioner and immediate previous commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, as well as former Chief Whip of the State Assembly, while Maeba was a PDP Senator representing Rivers South-East from 2003 to 2007.
Read Also:Chief of Staff resignation: Ganduje directs Head of Service to take up position
Gabriel was also the former chairman of the Gokhana Local Council Area and afterwards served in the legislature for the Gokhana State seat from 2003 to 2007. He also served as Chief of Staff to the ill-fated Omehia governorship.
Wike, on the other hand, has his own hidden strategy. According to sources, the furious Governor is already displaying fake confidence as he considers appointing a crucial and trusted member of his cabinet as his successor in 2023.
Wike’s intentions included using the State’s Accountant-General, Fubara Siminayi, as his successor, according to further inquiry. Siminaye comes from the riverine Opobo-Nkoro political bloc and was the previous Director of Finance, DF, of the Government House.
The Governor is currently rumoured to be considering Tammy Danagogo, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), as a prospective replacement. Danagogo hails from the state’s riverine Akuko-Toru Council Area.
Danagogo had also worked with the state and federal governments in a variety of positions. He was the chairman of the Akuko-Turo Local Government Council, the former Commissioner for Urban Development under Amaechi’s governorship, and the former Sports Minister under former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s presidency.
There are three senatorial districts in Rivers State. Senatorial districts Rivers East, Rivers West, and Rivers South East are the three.
The senatorial district of Rivers East includes Ikwerre. It is the most populous of four main local government areas. The Ogonis are the next most populous tribe. Kana, Gohkana, Taia, and Eleme local council regions make up Ogoni.
The riverine people, which include the Ijaw and Ogoni ethnic groups, are currently declaring that it is their time to create the next governor of the state. The Ogoni have even claimed that they have never held the offices of Governor, Deputy Governor, or Speaker of the State Legislature.
To the exclusion of the people of the South East and Rivers West senatorial districts, only the upland people of Rivers East senatorial district have alternatively been chosen governors of the state.
People from the Rivers upland have been occupying the BrickHouse, the State’s administration structure, turn by turn since the fourth Republic began on May 29, 1999.
Former Governor Peter Odili was the catalyst. His term as governor lasted from 1999 until 2007. The governorship of Celestine Omehia was short-lived. A court ruling cut short his term, although he was quickly succeeded by Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, who served as governor for eight years from 2007 to 2015. Amaechi and Omehia are first cousins.
Amaechi resigned from the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the platform on which he ascended to prominence, to the then-newly formed All Progressives Congress, APC, ahead of the 2015 general elections.
He intended to use his incumbency to transmit the governor baton to another zone, but his long-awaited plan fell through.
This is due to the fact that Hon. Dakuku Peterside, the 2015 APC governorship candidate and former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Administration, NIMASA, hailing from the Riverine Opobo-Nkoro council area, lost to Governor Nyesom Ezenwa Wike, the then PDP flagbearer and 2023 PDP presidential aspirant. Wike is from the highland Ikwerre hegemony’s Obiakpor Council Area. He is a two-term governor whose term will expire on May 29, 2023, according to the state constitution.
It is, nonetheless, a truth that the people of the Rivers upland are in charge of the state politically and economically. With a sizable election war chest at their disposal, it will only take a strong political will to correct the state’s glaring power inequities.
Read Also: Enough is enough – CAN directs all churches to hold nationwide protest: Deborah Samuel
By May 29, 2023, the Rivers upland will have had 24 years of uninterrupted government rule.
The littoral people of the State have elevated the stakes of their agitation for power rotation in 2023 on these premises.
However, the upland political establishment has long ignored this solitary demand for a governorship rotation in the state.
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Chief of Staff resignation: Ganduje directs Head of Service to take up position
Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the Governor of Kano State, has asked Usman Bala, the State’s Chief of Civil Service, to take immediate charge of the Governor’s Office of Chief of Staff.
Ali Bukar Makoda, the State Chief of Staff, resigned late Friday after defecting from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP.
In a statement released by the Information Commissioner, Malam Muhammad Garba, Ganduje stated that the supervision would be temporary awaiting the selection of a substantive Chief of Staff.
Read Also: Enough is enough – CAN directs all churches to hold nationwide protest: Deborah Samuel
The Governor expressed his expectation that the Head of Service, who had previously served in the position, would provide good oversight and coordination.
Usman Bala was the State Chief of Staff during Governor Ganduje’s first term, however he was fired and replaced as a Permanent Secretary.
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Why Igbos do not kill or fight in defense of their religion, deities, christian god or any holy person
A natural Igbo man is a born rebel even to his own God. The stubbornness of the Igbos to their various deities and to even the christian God is very legendary if not more defiant than that of any other race I know. Igbo’s continuous worship of a deity or a supernatural force is chiefly based on the deity’s performance and not entirely out of fear. Therefore, it’s a common saying in Igbo land that “Arusi nyebe nsogbo egosi ya osisi ejiri pia ya” meaning that “if a deity becomes unreasonable, it will be told the wood from which its symbol was carved”.
It is an age-long practice in Igboland to “dis-God” a deity by a general consensus or acclamation in a properly constituted meeting of all members or the natural representatives of a village or town . Once a sentence of “no more worship” or “sack” is passed on a deity in a general meeting of the worshippers or citizens of a community, the shrine of the dis-goded deity is destroyed and the deity is expected to take flight and leave the community. The same goes for the evil forests owned by powerful deities.
Nnewi people captures this by a saying that “o bu madu siri Edo nwelu Nkwo” meaning ” that Edo deity owns Nkwo market land and the adjoining thick forest was because it was so given by Nnewi people” and that the same citizens could as well repossess their property from the deity at anytime if they so wish. Edo is the supreme and most powerful deity of the Nnewi people.
The power of Igbos in abridging the influence of their gods was proven in the 1980s at Nnewi, when the town agreed to clear the dreaded Edo evil forest to build the Agbo Edo International Market. The initial attempts by the state government’s contractors to clear the forest were resisted and frustrated by the deity as powerful snakes, bees and mysterious birds openly chased the workers away even with their earthmoving equipment. They were too hasty.
It wasn’t until all the Ndi Isiobi (or village heads) led by the traditional ruler of the town, Igwe KON Orizu, assembled at the precinct of forest and announced to the deity, the decision of the Nnewi people to repossess their land, that the clearing of the forest became possible. The Igwe symbolically felled a shrub and all other village heads followed suit, one after the other. By this single act, the supreme deity had been properly served a notice of repossession. Edo had to comply.
The contractor who was asked to commence clearing after this important ritual was surprised that none of those dangerous animals or spiritual soldiers opposed or harmed their workers until the entire evil forest was cleared and a modern market erected. There is a long list of many deities in Igbo land sacked for either demanding more expensive sacrifices or acting against the interests of the general populace or their worshippers.
It is noteworthy that no one person, not even the chief priest of a deity can summarily sack or de-god a community deity. Due process must be followed. There must be a consensus otherwise the action is severely punished by the deity itself. Many ignorant converts of new religions have gone mad or their children seriously afflicted because they single-handedly destroyed shrines of their community gods or appropriated property belonging to a deity without first securing the permission of the family or community members. Igbo men and women wonder how a deity, called God or Allah would expect mere humans to help it punish its enemies. Such abdication of duty by a supreme being is incomprehensible to an Igbo man or woman.
In Igbo land, a deity worth its reverence or worship, demonstrates its ability to fight its own battles. Why would an entity be worshipped if it relies on a man to subdue human beings or elements to its glory? The tested power to strike dead (as Amadioha deity does) or bloating the stomach of offenders (as Udo deity does) are the marketing tools employed by the Igbo deities to awe their worshippers. It is by routing miserable diseases and misfortunes on enemies and showing instant justice to the supplicants that the obeisance, trust and greater worship are obtained from Igbo followers of a spiritual being.
Igbos believe that the job of a drummer should be separated from that of a dancer. Hence, they would never obey the instruction from any deity that asks them to the beat drums and at the same time expect them to do the dancing. A god should fight its own popularity fight. For an Igbo, it smacks of a high fraud for a spiritual being to recruit him or her to kill and coerce unbelievers to worship it when simple miracles or signs and wonders which should be the hallmarks of such a deity, Allah or God, can do the job.
If an Igbo man must kill a fellow human being, it is must be for an earthly gain or an instant benefit, not for a reward that would be received elsewhere. This is the belief of the Igbos; the very same reason why they fear no human authority because by their nature they can and do fearlessly disinherit, banish and even sack their own gods.
If you are in search of a suicide bomber or someone to kill to exalt a religion, a holy person or a deity, count Igbos out. They see it as a spiritual fraud. Why fight for someone or entity famed for having supernatural powers? But Igbos could fight for their own freedom, rights, dignity, livelihood and their property.
Ikenga Ezenwegbu
15 May 2022 -
Enough is enough – CAN directs all churches to hold nationwide protest: Deborah Samuel
Students at Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto State, where Deborah Samuel, a 200-level student, was lynched, have been given the green light by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to stage a peaceful protest in the country’s capital.
According to the report, tensions have risen across the country as a result of the horrific murder of a Christian student who was set afire for allegedly insulting Islam’s prophet Muhammed.
On Saturday, Muslim men protesting the arrest of the alleged killers of Deborah sparked pandemonium in some parts of Sokoto State.
Some churches, shops, and other Christian-owned properties were demolished by protesters demanding the immediate release of the suspects.
On Saturday night, CAN’s General Secretary Joseph Daramola released a circular that stated that churches across the country would organize a protest to demand justice for those who were killed in the attack.
At 3pm on 22 May 2022, the protest will take place at every CAN secretariat across Nigeria, rather than on the streets. This is in order to avoid further loss of life.”
If you can, please use traditional and social media to spread the word and educate people all over the world. In addition, we urge Nigerian Christians living abroad to join us by contacting one of our embassies in their country of residence.
Deborah’s family and friends, as well as her country, the Church and godly political leaders in this year’s general election, can be prayed for during this time.” The Church organization thanked everyone and wished them well.
“We demand justice for Deborah; Christians are not second-class citizens; no more killing in God’s name; ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, POLICE, STOP UNPROVOKED KILLINGS IN NIGERIA,” the circular read.