Oluwasegun Adesuyi, Author at SocietyGazette.com

Trouble For Adeleke As Oyetola, APC Submit 1,240-page Petition, Accuses Gov-elect Of Forgery

Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State on Friday submitted a petition at the Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo to challenge the outcome of the July 16 governorship election, which produced Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the governor-elect of the state.

It was gathered that Oyetola was accompanied by his wife, Kafayat, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman in the state, Prince Gboyega Famodun, and some members of the state executive council.

According to reports, the Governor and the party submitted documents challenging 749 polling units across ten local government areas of the state for various electoral malpractice, especially overvoting.

Oyetola, through the petition, claimed that the Osun gubernatorial election was fraught with certain irregularities, adding that Senator Adeleke was not qualified to have contested the election in the first place, having allegedly submitted a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Speaking to The PUNCH, counsel to Oyetola, Kunle Adegoke (SAN), listed 13 grounds on which premises Adeleke should be disqualified.

Adegoke said, “We have nothing less than 50 lawyers, including 10 SANs that we cannot list all of them, so we have listed about 20 lawyers in the petition. We have 13 reliefs. What we are contesting is that the election is fraught with certain irregularities by which the person declared winner ought not to have been declared, and the petitioner, Alhaji Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola ought to have been declared the winner on the ground that Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke was not qualified to have contested the election in the first place, having submitted a forged certificate to INEC.

“The second is that the election in 749 polling units was fraught with irregularities, and the election in those units ought to have been nullified. All the polling units mentioned are in 10 Local Governments out of 30.

“So, if the election in those units is nullified and the votes are canceled, then Alhaji Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola will have comfortable requirements of the constitution to be declared winner of the election.”

On his part, the Chairman, Media Management Team of Osun PDP, Prince Diran Odeyemi, dismissed the petition of the APC.

He said: “It is so unfortunate that APC did not believe in the spirit of sportsmanship. We would have expected them to congratulate Adeleke. Many of them, who are championing the cause of tribunal, lost in their polling units and their wards.

“We wonder what they want to take to the Tribunal now. We are not afraid or losing sleep, Oyetola can’t win. We will meet them at the tribunal. Regarding the allegation of forged certificate, there is nothing like that. They are only looking for an avenue to come back to government through the backdoor. PDP is thorough political party that look at all the certificates presented by the candidates.”

Trouble For AGF Malami As EFCC Grills Aide Over Assets Sale

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has grilled the Head of Asset Recovery and Management Unit, Ministry of Justice, Ladidi Mohammed, over allegations of fraud.

Naija News understands that the EFCC had detained and questioned Mohammed, who is a close ally of the Attorney-general and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, for days over allegations of fraudulent sale of recovered assets running into billions.

Mohammed, who was granted administrative bail on Thursday, was back at the anti-graft commission on Friday for further questioning.

Sources told The Cable that Mohammed had told operatives of the EFCC that she acted under ministerial instructions in disposing of some assets which were forfeited to the federal government by persons undergoing corruption trials, but she could not tender any documented evidence to back her claims.

It was gathered that the Commission is investigating dubious transactions involving Nigerian assets that Mohammed is accused of selling off under suspicious circumstances.

Malami had reportedly secretly granted a company and its attorneys a multibillion-naira assets recovery contract.

Details Of Atiku, Wike’s Meeting To Resolve PDP Crisis Emerges

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, have agreed to set up a joint consultation committee to iron out issues.

Naija News reports that this was the outcome of their first face-to-face meeting held on Thursday at the private residence of Professor Jerry Gana, a member of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT).

A source disclosed that Atiku and Wike agreed to set up a joint consultation committee of equal persons to address the issues.

According to the source, this should be done between now and next week, after which they are expected to brief the various organs of the party.

“This is the first step towards the setting up of our Presidential Campaign Council.

“Very, very soon, all these challenges will be behind us, and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, will know their time in office is up for good,” the source told Vanguard.

However, a source in Wike’s camp disclosed that loyalists of the Rivers State Governor have all agreed to remain in the PDP, stating that their interests will be best served in the main opposition party.

“Our principal is yet to brief me. But I know whatever decision he takes, he will reach out to us, and we will collectively decide the way forward.

“We all agreed at our meeting that our collective political interests will be better served in the PDP.

“The party belongs to all of us what transpired before and after our primary is behind us now,” the source said.

Naija News reports that Atiku and Wike had fallen out after the PDP presidential candidate selected Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as his running mate.

Following Atiku’s decision, Wike and his loyalists have reportedly demanded the resignation of the PDP National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, accusing him of bias during the party’s presidential primary.

Amazing facts You Need To Know About Late IGP, Tafa Balogun

A former Inspector-General General of Police (IGP), Tafa Balogun, was on Thursday confirmed dead at a hospital in Lagos.

Family sources confirmed the death of Balogun at a hospital located in Lekki, Lagos, on Thursday night.

Tafa Balogun is infamous for his corruption trial and his conviction.

Here are important things you should know about the late Balogun:

1) He was born on August 8, 1947 at Ila-Orangun in Osun State.

2) He was at a time, the Principal Staff Officer (PSO) to former Inspector-General of Police, Muhammadu Gambo.

3) He was a member of cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Course 3

4) He was also a Deputy Commission of Police Edo State, the pioneer Commissioner of Police in Delta State. He was also CP in Rivers and Abia states.

5) He was a fellow of the premier highest military institution in Nigeria, the National War College

6) He was named the 21st Inspector-General of Police on March 6, 2002

7) On April 4, 2005, Balogun was arraigned at the Federal High Court, Abuja for stealing and laundering of over $100 million in his three years as Inspector General of Police from the Police treasury.

8) He collapsed on his seat on June 29, 2005, at the Abuja High Court.

9) After pleading guilty to eight of the 56 count-charges directly affecting him, he was convicted and sentenced to six months in each of the charges, which ran concurrently.

10) He was released on February 9, 2006 after serving his sentence.

JUST IN: APC Names Plateau State Governor Presidential Campaign Director-General

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has named the Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, as the Director General of its Presidential Campaign Council.

Lalong is the Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum.

The APC Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, made the revelation to State House Correspondents after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja for a closed-door meeting on Thursday.

“We are here to see Mr. President to brief him and to get his approvals of plans that we are having regarding our campaign outfit,” Adamu said when asked by journalists.

He added: “And once we have his approval, we intend to make major disclosure. We’re on the same page with the Presidential (candidates) and the individuals who will play various roles in the campaign.

“The DG of the campaign is seated by my right here. Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State.

“We have a spokesperson in the person of Festus Kenyamo. The deputy spokesperson is Hannatu Musawa. This is what we came to discuss with the President.”

He revealed that the choice of Lalong was based on his ability to do the work required to ensure victory for the Tinubu-Shettima ticket in next year’s presidential elections.

“He has the ability to do it. The party leadership has seen that he is capable of running the affairs of the campaign outfit,” he noted.

2023: Atiku appoints Dino, Bwala as spokespersons

The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has appointed Senator Dino Melaye and former Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Dr. Daniel Bwala as spokespersons.

Bwala dumped the APC last month over APC candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s choice of a fellow Muslim, former Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima as running mate.

Atiku in a statement by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, Thursday appointed the duo as his spokesperson for the upcoming presidential campaign.

According to the statement, the appointments take immediate effect.
The statement partly read “Malaye is a politician and a member of the 8th Senate, who represented Kogi West Senatorial district. He hails from Ayetoro Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State
“Bwala, on the other hand, is a legal practitioner, politician, and public affairs analyst. He hails from Adamawa State”.

Amidst Nigeria’s rising security challenges, Buhari gifts Niger Republic N1.1bn SUVs to boost security

President Muhammadu Buhari , on Wednesday, came under heavy criticism over the approval of N1, 145,000,000 for the purchase and supply of 10 Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles to Niger Republic.

The revelation was made by an investigative journalist, David Hundeyin, who tweeted that he obtained a document from the Budget Office in Nigeria which showed that the President made the approval for the purchase of the vehicles to the neighbouring country.

Hundeyin also attached a picture of the document to validate the claim that the President approved the release of the money to a company, Kaura Motors Nigeria Limited, on February 28, 2022.

The document read in part, “Being release of funds in the sum of N1,145,000,000 to the office of the Accountant General of the Federation IFO Kaura Motors Nig. Limited for supply of 10 numbers Toyota Land Cruiser V8 Vehicles to Republic of Nigeria vide Mr. President approval on page 83 dated 28/02/2022.”

Defending the purchase of the vehicles, the Federal Government said that the move was to enable the country to safeguard its territory in the best interest of Nigeria’s security.

Fielding questions from journalists after the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said it was not the first time Nigeria was supporting her neighbours.

She explained the President had a responsibility to take such decisions in the best interest of the country.

“This is not the first time that Nigeria has supported Niger, Cameroon or Chad, and the President makes an assessment as to what is required, based on the request of their President and such requests are approved and the interventions provided is to enhance their capacity to protect their own territory as it relates to security also to Nigeria,” Ahmed said.

CSOs knock FG

However, Nigerians had been criticising the Federal Government for disbursing funds to purchase the vehicles for another country amid other pressing needs, including the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities and the harsh economic realities in the country.

The Country Director, Transparency International, Auwal Rafsanjani, said the gesture showed that the current political leaders were not sensitive to the plights of Nigerians.

“It shows a lack of priority for development in Nigeria. Otherwise, our universities have been closed down for months, how much is ASUU asking for to stop the strike, how much is needed to modernise our health sector and also improve the lives of Nigerians? But the current leaders just want to accumulate tax payers’ money for personal use,” he said.

Also reacting, the chairman, Human and Environmental Development Agenda, Olanrewaju Suraju, said the amount the vehicles were purchased was outrageous.

He said, “With the level of insecurity and the lack of resources in the country, the next thing we could think of is to purchase vehicles for the Niger Republic. There is nothing bad assisting sister countries in their time of need but this is wrongly conceived.

“Also, it is nearly impossible that those vehicles would cost that amount,that deserves to be investigated. The anti-corruption agencies should investigate this.”

Insecurity: Military To Implement New Security Strategies As Police Commence visibility policing

The Nigeria Police Force has directed its strategic officers across the country to commence intense visibility policing operation with a focus on crime mapping across the country.

The Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba gave this directive on Wednesday during a meeting with the Force’s Strategic Police Managers.

The managers including the Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, Commissioners of Police, and the Force Management Team met with the IGP in Abuja to deliberate on strategies to curb the growing incidences of insecurity.

The chief boss expressed concern over the proliferation of arms in sub-Saharan Africa which has consequently led to an increase in security threats within the nation, notably the attack on the Kuje Correctional Facility in Abuja.

“The IGP equally directed all strategic police managers to commence an immediate special visibility policing operation across all Commands taking into cognizance crime mapping, and massive deployment of operational and intelligence assets and manpower,” a statement by the Force said.

The statement signed by the Force Spokesperson, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi acknowledged the compliance level of strategic managers in identifying vulnerabilities at custodial facilities in their respective areas and complementing the Correctional Service in upscaling security in and around such facilities to forestall further security breaches.

Similarly, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, on Wednesday said the Armed Forces was working round the clock to implement several new strategies to halt the various security challenges in Nigeria.

Irabor said this while delivering a lecture at the National Defence College on the topic “National Security and Development: Strategic Options for Nigeria’’ on Wednesday in Abuja.

He disclosed that the Armed Forces were working on upgrading the intelligence management procedures of the defence and security sector to strengthen the overall security architecture in the country.

In addition, Irabor urged the media not to become a tool of criminals by promoting terrorists’ agenda, but to uphold the interest of the public while carrying out its duties.

He said, “The media should report on such incidents in an independent and authentic way, but not allow itself to be made the tool of criminals

“The German Press Code for example says in reporting actual and threatened acts of violence, the press should carefully weigh the public interest in information against the interest of victims and other people involved.”

IGP Meets With Police Commissioners amidst Terrorists Threat

The Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, on Wednesday morning met with all Commissioners of Police and other senior officers in the country.

It was gathered that the meeting, which was conveyed as a result of the rising insecurity in the country, would map out strategies to combat criminals.

Also, the documentation and streamlining of the operations of commercial motorcycle and tricycle riders across the country will be discussed.

More to come…

‘Aregbesola’s Supporters Massively Worked Against Oyetola’ – Osun APC Chairman

The crisis rocking the Osun State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken a new twist as the party Chairman in the state, Gboyega Famodun, has accused supporters of the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, of working against the incumbent governor, Gboyega Oyetola.

Aregbesola’s faction had planned to embark on a protest in Osun and Abuja over the alleged poor leadership of Oyetola.

Reacting, the State Chairman of APC, in a statement on Tuesday, condemned the protest against the state leadership of the party and the administration of Governor Oyetola.

Famodun said the protesters lack the moral right to effect any solution on the challenges within the party, stating that it is on record that they worked massively and collectively against Oyetola in the just concluded Osun State Governorship election.

According to him, the protesters should take their agitation for restructuring of APC to Adeleke’s house since they worked for him.

He said: “When I heard that the supporters of the immediate past governor of our state, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, were protesting, I thought my memory was playing me falsely as they cannot insulate themselves from whatever might be the current plight of the APC in Osun State.

“Assuming but not conceding that there are challenges within the party, protesters should be told that they lack moral right to either suggest or effect any likely solution as it is on record that they massively and collectively worked against Oyetola.

“If I may ask, at what point did it occur to you that the political party that you had abandoned for about three years which you have been working against needs restructuring.”