Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State has revealed those who will decide the presidential flag-bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 general election.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari, APC governors and other party leaders will decide who becomes the party’s presidential candidate in 2023.
Zulum made this known on Friday when he received members of the Progressive Consolidation Group (PCG) at his office in the Government House in Maiduguri, the state capital.
Zulum said: “I am solidly behind initiatives aimed towards enhancing the unity of our party and progress of Nigeria; at this crucial time, no one and nothing will prevent the party from moving in unison.
“We have to identify the right individuals to lead the nation and the task requires governors, party hierarchy and the President working together in concert.
“Individual aspirations may have to be downplayed because we all have to concur with the decision of the leader of our party.
“Borno state under me will promote unity and all efforts to ensure the success of APC; we shall work with the party hierarchy, our leaders at the National Assembly and our party leaders at ward and state levels, to arrive at the best solutions for taking the country forward.”
Earlier, the Chairman of the PCG, Aliyu Rabiu Kurfi, stressed the need for Zulum, other state governors, and party leaders at the ward, state and federal levels to forge a consensus towards making Professor Yemi Osinbajo Nigeria’s next president.
“The Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo deserves the right of first refusal and even in a crowded race with great individuals, he stands out as an insider with the right level of competence and intellect to do the job better than all others,” he said.
The Police Service Commission (PSC) on Friday gave an update on investigations involving allegations against the suspended former head of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), DCP Abba Kyari.
Kyari is facing investigation over alleged involvement in a fraud case by arrested internet fraudster, Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi.
The commission in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Ikechukwu Ani said it will defer any decision until a report on further investigation is received.
However as earlier reported by Naija News, the PSC directed the Nigeria Police Force to conclude its investigation on the case involving Abba Kyari within two weeks.
It added that the investigation should be carried out by a different panel.
The decision was reached at the 14th plenary meeting which was chaired by retired Inspector-General of Police and Chairman of the Commission, Musiliu Smith.
Apart from the Kyari case, the PSC also considered issues ranging from disciplinary issues among operatives, promotion, and court rulings/judgments.
Below is the full statement from the Police Service Commission.
DCP ABBA KYARI CASE –PSC DEFERS DECISION UNTIL REPORT ON FURTHER INVESTIGATION IS RECEIVED, DIRECTS THAT POLICE MUST CONCLUDE INVESTIGATION IN TWO WEEKS AND SHOULD BE CARRIED OUT BY A DIFFERENT PANEL; REAFFIRMS DECISION ON SP SHAABA ADAMU GBOYAKO; PROMOTES 89 STAFF
“The Police Service Commission has deferred decision on the case involving suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba A. Kyari, who until his suspension by the Commission was the Officer in charge of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT). Kyari had earlier been indicted by a Report of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States and was also investigated by a special Panel set up by the Inspector General of Police.
“The Report had earlier been forwarded to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice for legal advice by the Inspector General of Police.
“The Commission also directed that further necessary investigation should take half the time it took the Police to conduct the original investigation and that the investigation should be carried out by a different panel.
“The Commission took the decision at the continuation of its14th Plenary Meeting which ended in Abuja on Thursday, February 11th 2022 and which was chaired by Alhaji Musiliu Smith, a retired Inspector General of Police and Chairman of the Commission.
“The Commission at the Plenary Meeting also considered 20 Pending Disciplinary Matters and five appeals and petitions from the Inspector General of Police and aggrieved serving and ex-Police Officers. It also considered five promotion appeals.
“The Commission reaffirmed its earlier decision to exonerate SP Shaaba Adamu Gboyako a former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to former Inspector General of Police taken at its I9th Plenary Meeting of 28th and 29th September, 2020. The Commission was mindful of the need to safeguard its corporate image and defend its institutional integrity. It directed the Inspector General of Police to implement its decision as its affects the Officer without delay.
“The Commission also directed that the judgment of a Kano High Court in an application for enforcement of the fundamental right to life brought by the father of one Abdulkadir Nasiru (now deceased) be forwarded to the Inspector General of Police for implementation of the orders of the court.
“The appellant was seeking justice for the alleged torture of his son to death by Police.
“The appeal for accelerated/notional promotion based on merit from CSP Ita Lazarus Udom was also considered and approved by the Plenary. The Commission approved the adjustments of promotion dates of the Officer from the rank of Superintendent of Police to a Deputy Commissioner of Police in line with his course mates.
The Commission also considered and promoted 89 staff of the Commission with a promise to ensure that staff promotion will continue to receive priority attention while they should ensure they, at all times put in their best.”
The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, has distanced himself from the report claiming that he contacted the Governor of Osun State, Adegboyega Oyetola, to solicit support for a proposed wedding in Kano State.
A letter was shared online where the monarch allegedly solicited money for the Kano wedding.
The letter dated February 8, 2022, and addressed to the state Governor was received on behalf of Oyetola by the Special Adviser to the governor on Chieftaincy Affairs.
The letter read in parts, “I have the instruction of the His Imperial Majesty, Oba (Dr.) Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi, the Oluwo of Iwo, to notify you of Oluwo’s decision to marry a princess from Kano Emirate, to be precise, Ado Bayero Dynasty.
“I wish to remind your Excellency that this kind of royal wedding within two notable traditional institutions in Nigeria will require huge expenses, which necessitate the support of the state government financially, even logistically.”
The Press Secretary to Oluwo, Alli Ibraheem, when questioned on the development noted that the palace did not forward any letter to the Governor.
He said, “We didn’t author any letter. The letterhead you saw is not the one used by Oluwo. Moreso, if Baba will write government, it will carry his signature.”
Oluwo’s marriage to his Jamaican wife, Ms Chanel Chin, had crashed in December 2019.
Two factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) on Friday morning clashed at the Agbado area of the Alimosho Local Government Area in Lagos State.
Naija News reports that this caused pandemonium amongst residents of the area.
It was gathered that road users and passersby scampered for safety when the two factions violently engaged each other.
An eyewitness told The PUNCH that gunshots were also heard during the conflict over ticket collection at the parks.
This online newspaper reports that NURTW factions have been behind recent violence erupting in Lagos State.
It has been gathered that the violence which has led to killings are mostly due to territorial control dispute.
Recall that a Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Yaba, Lagos State, has ordered an executive of the NURTW, Azeez Adekunle Lawal, popularly known as Kunle Poly, and two others to be remanded in the facility of the Nigeria Police Zonal Monitoring Unit, Zone 2 Headquarters, Onikan-Lagos,
The Chief Magistrate, Linda Balogun on Thursday ordered that Kunle Poly, Prince Idowu Onikoyi Johnson and Agboola Akeem Kosoko should be remanded for 30 days over the last Thursday Idumota mayhem.
The executives of the NURTW were remanded after the police’s application for remand was moved by Barrister Morufu Animashaun.
Barrister Animashaun, while urging the court to remand the three, said the application is pursuant to sections 264(1), (2), (3), (4) and (6) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State, 2021 (as amended); Section 4 and 10 of the Police Act, 2020, and sections 6(c), 35(1)(C)(5) and (7)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 199 (as amended).
He further stated that the application sought, is to enable the police to conclude an investigation of a case of threat to life and property, violence, cultism, mayhem, conduct likely to cause a breach of peace, unlawful possession of firearms, conspiracy and murder against the three men.
Society gazette reports that the National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and presidential aspirant, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Muhammad Mahmud, from Borno State, as his National Media Coordinator.
While addressing newsmen recently in Maiduguri, Mahmud, 31, solicited support from everyone to ensure that the ambition of the former Lagos State Governor, is actualized ‘in order to consolidate on President Muhammadu Buhari’s unprecedented transformation and development’.
“I received with joy my appointment as the National Coordinator, Tinubu Media Support Group.
“Without doubt, this is a daunting assignment taking into account that our principal is a game-changer of Nigerian politics. He is as well a man of many flanks.
“Therefore, our approach shall be very tasking, as we aren’t oblivious of the fact that with the support of well-meaning Nigerians and prayers, we will wither the storm insha’Allah (By God Grace),” Mahmud said.
The identity of an operative in the Oyo State Police Command that was killed in the armed robbery attack on a bullion van in Ibadan on Thursday has been revealed.
Naija News had earlier reported that armed robbers attacked a bullion van at the Idi-Ape area of Ibadan.
There were claims that the robbers killed some innocent citizens, while several others sustained an injury in the attack.
The deceased was identified by his close associates as Mr Sulaiman Mubarak Olanrewaju.
A close associate to the police officer that was killed, Ridwan Abiola, in a message forwarded to Daily Post to confirm the identity of the victim.
According to Abiola, he has lost a brother and friend.
He said, “I lost a brother and friend to this incident. This happens when we have a government that condones the excesses of thugs.
“This happens when we have in government people who think they are capable but play politics with people’s lives.
“From Ibarapa to Shasha, Iwo Road, Idi Ape and other places not reported. May Allah have mercy on my brother and other deserving servants of Allah killed in these avoidable killings.
“May Allah take our rights from this nonchalant government and give them to us.”
Abel Damina, the senior pastor of the Power City International Church in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has advised politicians who are serious about taking power in 2023 to prepare to snatch ballot boxes and rig elections.
Damina gave the advice in a video currently trending on social media.
“Somebody said they are rigging elections. There’s no government that doesn’t rig elections, including America. That is the way the system works. It is survival,” said the popular Uyo pastor.
“So, if you are thinking of politics, start thinking of contending as survival. So, they are stealing ballot boxes, steal your own. That’s the way the system works. It means all of us are thieves – steal, I steal. The man that steal pass (sic) becomes governor.”
To back his teaching, Damina quoted verses from the eighth chapter of the first book of Samuel in the old testament of the Bible which records the rise of the monarchy in Israel.
But a Facebook user, Ifiok Udoh, disagreed with the preacher, saying “I am sure there are many other scriptures to overturn this assertion. You don’t lift a particular scripture and make a doctrine out of it. Dr. Damina is good at that and I respect his candid opinion but this and as always is not absolute.”
The cleric has similarly stirred controversies with his sermons in the past. One such was when he claimed that “sin can’t take a man to hell.” This, he said, was because Jesus Christ died for sin.
Pandemonium broke out on Thursday afternoon when robbers attacked a bullion van in Idi-Ape area of Ibadan, the Oyo state capital city.
Sources said the masked gunmen carried out the attack on the unsuspecting convoy of two vehicles suspected to be conveying cash from one of the new generation banks located on the Idi-Ape-Agodi Gate axis.
Four persons were confirmed dead after the attack.
The victims, according to eyewitnesses, included two police officers in the bullion van, a yet-to-be identified driver in a private car and a female student said to be on her way home from school.
The gunmen began to shot sporadically few minutes around 1pm.
It was gathered the assailants, apparently on the trail of the two-car convoy, took advantage of the traffic light at the Idi Ape junction which stopped oncoming vehicles from Iwo-Road enroute Agodi and the slow traffic at the Foodco/Maryhill Convent School Junction to unleash mayhem on the bullion van.
Heavy gunshot marks were seen on the bullion van with the back damaged, an indication that the robbers successfully carried out the operation.
No official statement has been released on which bank the bullion van was coming from and amount of money lost during the operation.
The heavy gunshots caused many of the business and office complexes in the axis to immediately shut down while many drivers took cover, abandoning their vehicles.
For more than the 20mins the operation lasted, the entire axis was completely deserted, making escape easy for the robbers.
Security operatives including Police, members of the Oyo State Security Network codenamed Amotekun Corps, officials of the Oyo State Road Transport Management and officials of the State Joint Security Task Force Team codenamed Operation Burst, later took over the scene to enforce law and order.
During an on-the-spot assessment, Oyo Commissioner of Police, Ngozi Onadeko said she could not confirm yet the number of police officers who died during the attack.
Onadeko, who arrived the State from an official assignment shortly before then, however confirmed that no fewer than two officers sustained gunshot wounds.
According to her, the gallant officers also killed one of the robbers but the corpse was taken away by the gunmen.
She promised to make more information available to the public as soon as the police lay hands on it.
The CP said: “You can see the Amotekun, the police men, everyone is here working hand in hand so that we can get the people involved and get the root of what has happened today.
“I will give more information on this when we finally get the details of what actually happened.
“One of the police men on escort with the bullion van shot dead one of the robbers and they carried the robber that was shot with them.
“First of all I have to say it’s an unfortunate incident, we just finished the retreat and I am coming from the airport directly here.
“It was a coordinated attack but we are still trying to find out what actually happened because they trailed the bullion van from where it took the money and where it went to dispense it, we could see the shot they made, they were indeed prepared.
“”We can’t actually say what went wrong now but all the exits and borders that lead to Oyo state have been blocked so we are trying our possible best to get them to know what actually happened.
“Nobody was killed as of now and in fact, I can’t really say anything now because I am still trying to access the situation and to find out what actually happened but I can tell you sure that two of my men were shot on the leg.
“Let’s just do our investigation and then we will be able to tell you and give you more details.”
Super Eagles of Nigeria have been ranked third in Africa and 32nd in the world in the latest FIFA Ranking released by the World Football Governing Body on Thursday.
Society gazette reports that Nigeria came third in Africa behind Morocco and the winner of the recently concluded African Cup of Nations (AFCON), Senegal, rising four places in the World ranking.
The top 10 best teams in Africa are Senegal, Morocco, Nigeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Cameroon, Algeria, Mali and Ivory Coast in the same order.
While the top 10 best teams in the World include Belgium, Brazil, France, Argentina, England, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Denmark and Netherlands.
In a statement on its website, FIFA said the new ranking method named “SUM” relies on adding/subtracting points won or lost for a game to/from the previous point totals rather than averaging game points over a given time period as in the previous version of the World Ranking.
The statement reads: “The points which are added or subtracted are partially determined by the relative strength of the two opponents, including the logical expectation that teams higher in the ranking should fare better against teams lower in the ranking.”
Recall that Nigeria, who exited AFCON at the Round of 16, commanded an impressive display during the group stages by collecting all available 9 points.
