The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, said the Federal Government gave Twitter “a lot of conditions” to meet before the ban placed on is microblogging app in Nigeria is lifted.
According Keyamo, the company agreed to fulfill all the conditions to have the suspension lifted.
The minister disclosed this while featuring on Channels TV’s ‘Sunday Politics Today’ on Sunday.
Keyamo, who is a member of the committee set up to engage Twitter over its suspension, said the company “agreed to all the conditions” levied against it.
“The reason why the president took that step is to recalibrate our relationship with Twitter and not to drive them away from our country.
“That recalibration, we have started it and the president graciously added me to the committee,” he said.
He said the committee then came up with conditions for the tech giant to fulfill, and that it was Twitter who first reached out to the government to find out what they could do to have the suspension lifted.
“We also set up a technical committee to interface with Twitter and come up with a lot of conditions for them to fulfil for us to lift the suspension.
“It was Twitter that reached out to the federal government to say they want to know what and what they can do to straighten up the relationship with the federal government and so, we have gone far but I may not, at this forum, let out a lot but we gave them a lot of conditions and they have agreed to all the conditions,” he said.
The social media giant was banned in Nigeria in June after a tweet made by President Buhari was removed from the platform for going against its rules.
The government, however, maintained that the ban was not because the president’s tweet was deleted.
Nollywood actress Foluke Daramola-Salako has responded to the criticisms projected towards her and her colleague for singing Tinubu’s praise in a viral video in which they chant “Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.”
It was reported that the video offended many Nigerians who accused her of endorsing Tinubu. Foluke said, however, she did not receive any money, claiming, instead, that they were preaching peace.
She insisted that the video had nothing to do with politics nor her singing was intended to endorse Tinubu’s candidacy for the general election in 2023.
The 43-year-old actress said that despite her being a card-carrying member of the APC, she had not endorsed anyone at that time.
“I need to set the record straight, I never endorse anyone, please don’t get things twisted,” she said in a video uploaded to Instagram.
“What we went to do yesterday had nothing to do with politics, we are in a group advocating for peace and unity in Nigeria.
“Although I’m a card-carrying member of APC, we did not go in the capacity of endorsing Asiwaju Tinubu for President and it was not a Nollywood thing.
“I was not paid in any way for this, it was meant to be a unity and peace campaign nothing more.
“Don’t let us get it twisted, it does not have anything to do with politics or Nollywood, let’s be guided!”
Daramola-Salako is most notable for being nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in 2013 at the Africa Movie Academy Award.
Chiemeka Arinze, a co-defendant with alleged billionaire kidnap kingpin, Chukwudi Dumee Onuamadike, popularly known as Evans, has died in Kirikiri Medium Correctional Centre.
Evans is standing trial alongside, Joseph Emeka, Arinze and Udeme Upong, over the attempted kidnap of Chief Vincent Obianodo, the Chairman of the Young Shall Grow Motors, before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of an Ikeja Special Offences Court in Lagos.
They are facing a seven-count charge of murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, attempt to kidnap and sale and transfer of firearms.
According to POLITICS NIGERIA, Arinze died last Friday.
The Nigerian Correctional Service has confirmed a jailbreak at its facility in Jos, Plateau State, by suspected terrorists.
The Service in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Francis Enobore, revealed that the armed group invaded the Medium Security Custodial Centre at about 5:20 pm on Sunday.
THE WHISTLER had reported that the correctional facility located on Joseph Gomwalk road, Jos, is about 5.6km away from the Plateau police headquarters.
Enobore said the assailants “stormed the facility in large numbers with sophisticated weapons and immediately made for the main gate where they engaged the armed squad personnel in a gun battle before breaking into the yard.
“Although they gained entrance to the yard, they are however trapped within as men from sister security services were immediately mobilised to assist the armed guards to cordon the perimeter wall and the entire area”.
“Reinforcement from the response squad of the Service has also been mobilised to the center.
“The situation is presently under control as the attackers firing power is being subdued by superior fire from a combined team of security agencies. Update will be made available as event unfolds.
A tanker, loaded with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS or petrol) on Sunday morning exploded around Oju Irin in Lafenwa area of Abeokuta, Ogun state.
Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi, the Spokesperson, Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), confirmed the incident to newsmen, saying the tanker was engulfed in fire due to the uncooperative attitude of people around the axis who were scooping fuel and other unwholesome act which sparked the fire.
The TRACE spokesman explained that the tanker, due to an axle problem overturned around 4 :45 am while making its way inbound Rounder from Oju-Irin, Lafenwa, spilling its content on the road.
He advised the general public to vacate the vicinity, saying that TRACE, police, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Fire Service were all on ground to put the situation under control.
“Moreover, the motoring public going inward Rounder axis from Lafenwa, should use Olomore and Oke-Ata axis respectively as alternative routes, since traffic has been diverted away from the area of incident,” he said.
Akinbiyi stated that further information would be provided to the media as soon as possible.
Mr Ahmed Umar, the FRSC Sector Commander in the state, also confirmed the incident, saying that officers of the command are around to control traffic.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that some shops in the axis were affected by the fire. (NAN)
The investigation of the circumstances surrounding the death and burial of the Obafemi Awolowo University MBA student, Timothy Adegoke, took a twist yesterday following an allegation that the deceased was buried by workers of the Ife Central Local Government with the consent of the police.
Mr. Abiodun Williams, counsel to the detained Chairman of Hilton Hotel and Resorts, Chief Ramon Adegoke, now wants the police to widen the scope of their investigation to cover this allegation.
Williams, in a November 26,2021 petition to the Osun State Police Commissioner, claimed that some people working close to where the corpse was dumped reported the matter to the LG authorities who, in turn, contacted the police to seek their consent for burial.
The police subsequently granted the request, Williams said.
He said: “You will recall that some of the suspects in your custody allegedly confessed to dumping the corpse of late Mr Timothy Adegoke in the bush, they did not admit to burying him. You will equally recall that during the interview you granted to Rave 97.1 FM Radio on the 22nd day of November 2021, there it was insinuated that some of the suspects confessed to have buried the corpse in the bush at about 2km to the hotels somewhere along Ede Road, Ile-Ife, Osun State. However, there is now a strong rumour peddled by some people to the effect that that position may not be correct after all.
“It was the officials of the Department of Public Health, Ife Central Local Government, Ile-Ife that buried the deceased having received clearance from the officers of the Nigerian Police of one of the Divisions in Ile-Ife. We could not establish which of the divisions in Ile-Ife gave the clearance. However, we are of the view that, if the information is correct, discreet and diligent investigations will establish it.”
He said if the police could establish that officers of the Public Health Department, Ife Central Local Government were the ones that buried the corpse of Adegoke, it would go a long way in assisting the pathologists in their quest to unravel the circumstances that led to Adegoke’s death.
Williams said: “It would stop the question: ‘why did those that buried the corpse of Mr Timothy Adegoke keep silent all this while and allow an innocent man to be languishing in detention?’”
He added: “We also gathered from the stories going round in the public domain that the artisans, workers and business owners around the premises where the body of late Timothy Adegoke was initially found reported the case to the police; who in turn cleared the officials of the Department of Public Health, Ife Central Local Government, Ile-Ife to bury the corpse.
“We heard that activities leading to the burial of the deceased young man were properly recorded on video and pictures taken by the officials.”
He implored the police commissioner to “use your good office to confirm the truth of the information stated here-above for the purpose of truly determining what role each of the suspects and/or anyone or officers of government played in the events that led to the death and burial of Mr. Timothy Adegoke to ensure that justice is done above all things.
“We are of the view that if the information relating to the burial of the corpse of the deceased is promptly investigated, it would further establish the innocence of our client.”
The Chairman of the LG, Hon Olayera Elugbaju,had told The Nation on Friday that speculations that some local government staff had been arrested by the police for their involvement in burying the corpse of Adegoke were untrue.
“No staff of the secretariat was arrested by the police. I cannot confirm to you now if our staff buried the corpse of Adegoke until I see the file they record corpses that the local government had buried in the time past,” he said.
There seems to be a silent war between Fuji singer, Mayegun Wasiu Ayinde, and his best friend, Bolaji Basia, following his recent marriage to Emmanuella Ropo.
Basia was the first to fire the shot in his congratulatory message to KWAM 1, saying that in as much as he would love to wish KWAM 1’s new wife to be his last, he knew it might not be possible. He then added: “But please try not to dump one for another since you are so blessed to have as many as you want.”
In a recent performance, thesinger said he would not curse anyone who was praying that his new marriage would not see the light of the day. According to him, they are not God; so, they should shut up.
The Mayegun also stressed that every one of them had their own shortcomings, which they should focus on.
His response was immediately tagged as an indirect reaction to the earlier post made by his best friend.
On Thursday, November 18, 2021, the Mayegun of Yorubaland, tied the knot with Ropo at the Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Even though it was meant to be a low-key ceremony, the number of dignitaries that graced the event was huge.
Some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress aspiring to contest for the National Chairmanship of the party are in danger of losing out due to indictment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, THE WHISTLER has learnt on Friday.
The APC is currently being administered by a 13-man Caretaker/Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee CECPC led by Governor Mai Bala Buni of Yobe State. It was inaugurated in June 2020, following the removal of Mr Adams Oshiomhole, about two years to the end of his tenure.
While there was high hope that the Buni-led Committee will steamroll the party to early successful National Convention, that hope was dashed early on when many bigwigs started feasting on the party following the decision of the Supreme Court on Ondo State Governorship Election.
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr Eyitayo Jegede, had gone to court to challenge the legal validity of Mr Rotimi Akeredolu’s nomination by the national Caretaker Committee of the APC headed by the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mal Buni.
The Supreme Court ruled through the majority decision that the non- joinder of Buni as a party in the matter, proved fatal to Jegede’s case, acknowledging that the issue raised by the appellants had merit and constitutional implications.
Soon after that decision, party top shots and stakeholders began to call for Buni’s removal as all decisions undertaken by the caretaker Chairman will be a nullity if joined in any suit.
The schism finally reached boiling point few weeks ago leading to the convenance of APC Governors Forum to chart a new course towards the party’s convention.
While the meeting hit a stalemate, a closed-door meeting by some delegated governors of the party with President Muhammadu Buhari led to the announcement that February 2022 will be ideal for the party to hold its convention.
However, the party, sensing bashing from the main opposition PDP, has decided on easing out from the race those who have been indicted by the EFCC, a reliable source told this paper.
The PDP held its National Convention which produced Mr Iyorchia Ayu in October, and few days ago held a 2-day national retreat for all elected officers at both the national and state levels.
It has put the PDP on good footing, a development that the APC national hierarchy and supporters are not unaware of thus triggering systematic purging of the contenders to ensure whoever eventually emerges does not have the baggage that could be used against it as the election year approaches.
With the development, top contenders may directly be affected.
One of the few frontrunners that may be eased out is current senator, who’s a former governor of Nasarawa State, Mr Tanko-Al-Makura.
The senator and his wife were arrested in July 2021 for illegal retention of government funds, misapprehension and money laundering.
EFCC indictment was based on possessing about 55 accounts controlled by the couple and their companies, that they were involved in suspicious transactions, amounting to billions of naira, when Mr Al-Makura was the governor of Nasarawa State between 2011 and 2019.
It said in one of the accounts, less than $250 was lodged there in the two years preceding his assumption of office, but soon started receiving huge sums after he became governor.
In one case, one business entity paid over N200 million, broken into structured nine transactions, in a single day, August 9, 2016, into one of Mr Al-Makura’s accounts, according to the anti-graft agency.
Also, another contender from Nasarawa State, Mr Abdullahi Adamu, a former governor of the state and current senator, was arrested in 2010 by the EFCC for allegedly misappropriating N15 billion alongside 18 others.
He was subsequently arraigned on a 149-count charge of fraud to the tune of N15 billion alongside his co-accused. The case is yet to be concluded
In February 2018, the EFCC arraigned Nuraini Adamu, a son of the senator, and one Felix Onyeabo Ojiako before judge, Farouq Lawal of the Kano State High Court on a four-count charge of conspiracy, forgery and obtaining money by false pretence.
Yet another contender and former governor who is having a running battle with the EFCC, is Mr Danjuma Goje of Yobe State.
Goje, who has been standing trial since 9 years ago and still a senator, is being accused of conspiring with four officers of his administration while he was a governor, to defraud the state of N25 billion via illegal acts.
The former governor of Zamfara State and current senator, Mr Abdulaziz Yari has also been arrested severally by the EFCC on suspicious monies stuffed in his bank accounts including the sum of $56,056.75 reportedly lodged in his account with Polaris Bank; N12.9m, N11.2m, $l303m, N217,388.04, and $311.8m said to be kept in different Zenith Bank accounts in the name of the ex-governor and his companies, EFCC indictment said.
In February 2021, Yari was first arrested and grilled by EFCC operatives in Lagos, while the Federal High Court in Abuja had, on January 26, 2021, ordered the final forfeiture of funds belonging to Yari domiciled in Zenith and Polaris Banks.
But for former interim Chairman of the PDP, Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff, his controversial nature and alleged excessive baggage like his linkage to Boko Haram terrorists is working against him.
THE WHISTLER could not verify this claim as calls and text messages sent to the phone of Mr John Akpanudoedeh, the National Publicity Secretary of the party were not replied.
However, the source at the APC National Secretariat revealed that these individuals will most likely miss out because of the need to ensure a rancour-free convention and getting a clean National Chairman.
“It’ll be suicidal for the APC to elect a national Chairman who has a case with the EFCC,” he said, noting that the way the PDP handled it convention was encouraging and that APC cannot do less.
He pointed out that the APC, facing already angry Nigerians, will be faced with cleaning the image of its National Chairman, “who looted the treasury of his people because he was a governor.
“The 2023 election will be crucial. We will have to prove we are a great party to transit from one president to another and not end with President Muhammadu Buhari.”
He said the guidelines that will emerge towards the convention will be one that will first and foremost disqualify these persons with “questionable characters and past misdeeds.”
A founding member of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and elder statesman, Tanko Yakasai, has revealed that national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu was at his Abuja residence on Wednesday to solicit support for his (Tinubu’s) presidential ambition in the 2023 general elections.
Although Tinubu has yet to declare his intention to contest any office in 2023, there have been reports and veiled indications that he might be interested in the exalted seat.
Speaking to Saturday Punch, Yakasai divulged: “He (Tinubu) just came to visit me but actually I have two of them (presidential aspirants) that I have earmarked right from the beginning and I made a vow that any one of them who came to ask for my support first is the person I would support. Tinubu is the first person.”
When asked whether Tinubu told him he would be contesting for President in 2021, Yakasai said, “He (Tinubu) did and he asked for my support.”
Furthermore, Yakasai said interested aspirants must first scale the hurdles of primary elections in their various political parties “then we will begin to compare them.”
The 2023 Nigerian general election will be held on 18 February to elect the President and Vice President.
President Muhammadu Buhari is in his second term in office, and cannot run for re-election.
The federal government has ordered all civil servants on Grade Level 12 and below, who have been working from home as part of measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19 to resume duties on December 1, 2021.
The Head of Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi- Esan gave the directive in a circular HCSF/ 3065/ Vol. 1/ 107 dated 26th November 2021.
Yemi Esan in the circular, which was addressed to the Chief of Staff to the President, Deputy Chief of Staff the President, Office of the Vice-President, Ministers/ Ministers of State, Permanent Secretaries, National Security Advisers, Chairman Code of Conduct Bureau and Federal Civil Service Commission among others, said the directive followed the advice of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 that this category of officers were expected to resume duties on December 1, 2021.
She noted that in line with the recommendation of PSC, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the vaccine mandate policy whereby all government employees were required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or present negative COVID-19 PCR test result done within 72 hours.
She advised all public officers who are yet to be vaccinated to visit the following centres in Abuja: Federal Staff Clinic, Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase I, Federal Staff Clinic, Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase ll, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing Clinic, Mabushi, Federal Ministry of Finance Staff Clinic and Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Staff Clinic and other centres nationwide that can be found on the website of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).
She enjoined all permanent secretaries and heads of government agencies to bring the contents of the circulars to the attention of their staff as well as ensure strict compliance.
It will be recalled that civil servants from GL 12 and below have since March 2020 been directed to stay at home until further notice to streamline the number of workers who come to work daily as a preventive measure to curb the spread of the virus.
