The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has denied arresting Ebele, the wife to the immediate past Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano.
Ex-first lady of Anambra State, Ebele Obiano was reportedly whisked away by operatives of the Abuja anti-fraud agency over allegations of fraud.
Speaking on the development, Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC Spokesperson, when contacted by the Guardian denied such reports.
“I am not aware of that information or that any arrest was made,” he simply said.
Sources at the commission had, however, requested more time to confirm the report.
This development is coming barely a month after her husband, Obiano was arrested and detained for days over alleged misappropriation of funds to the tune of N37bn.
Some yet-to-be identified gunmen have attacked a permanent voter’s card collection center in Ihitte Uboma Local Government Area of Imo State.
The attackers who wielded sophisticated assault rifles commanded the people at the centre to lie down while shooting in the air.
A viral online video showed some men and women lying on the floor while their children who were gripped with fear could be seen crying.
One of the assailants was heard saying, “These are the stupid people we are fighting for their freedom, as you can see, they are here making votes and preparing for election.
“Today is the 14th of April, we are sending a warning to you people, we don’t want any election, no more elections, no more voter cards.”
Festus Okoye, the spokesman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), confirmed the attack in a statement on Thursday.
2023: Tinubu Rallies APC Speakers, Ex-Legislators Ahead of Primary Election
– Says Nigeria Is In Need Of Drastic Solutions To Challenges
+ Mentions Qualities Needed By Nigeria’s Next President
The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has declared that Nigeria needs a courageous leader to urgently meet the desire of citizens for drastic solutions to the challenges facing the country.
Tinubu also described himself as the most qualified for the position of President in 2023 adding that his aspiration is for a nation that would not be an index of poverty.
The presidential aspirant said this at a one-day parley held for serving Speakers and former Speakers and deputies held in Lagos with the theme: The Legislature, Changing Times and Nigeria’s Democratic Journey.
“We have the brilliance, the resources, the focus. We don’t just know how to run the race and take care of the gear of progress,” Tinubu said at the event hosted by the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa.
Tinubu further described himself as brilliant, courageous and sound enough to know the solutions to Nigeria’s problems adding: “Just as I need Nigeria, Nigeria needs me.”
Noting his can-do attitude, he recalled how he changed the fortunes of Lagos when he became governor of the State at a time of its challenge.
“In the face of tyranny, I have survived, struggled for democracy, I have endured the bush path, lived without a family, spent resources.
“To make Nigeria one is a task and who could do it? I am one. I am the first governor to grant autonomy to the House of Assembly. I survived non-allocation of local government funds. We didn’t suffer, we didn’t retrench. We made progress out of adversity.
“I inherited N600m as Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) with zero allocation from Federal Accounte Allocation Committee (FAAC). But we survived and today, Lagos is number one economy.
“That is why I am begging you to do me a favour so that I can do Nigeria a favour.
“It is a very challenging time for us in the country and we have to get it right. We need to intellectually interogate ourselves.
“I am the first governor to bring Independent Power Project (IPP) to Nigeria. It was 300 megawatts. If they had followed my advice then, Nigeria will not be facing epileptic power supplies,” he said recalling how he brought major investors to Nigeria and promising that he is ready to do it again.
Tinubu also said he believed in religious tolerance and women’s participation in politics.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was a guest of honour at the parley, described Tinubu as his mentor and benefactor.
He also urged the legislators to key into the desire to make Nigeria a better country with Tinubu as President.
Speaking with his colleagues, Dr. Obasa described Tinubu as a true democrat.
“I am standing here before you because Asiwaju is a talent hunter. He is someone that would support you, raise you to a point of leadership and give you room to excel.
“I can confirm that he is the brain behind the legislative autonomy that we enjoy today at the Lagos State House of Assembly and he did this far before the clamour for it by other states.
“So we can see that he is a person that will support the legislative arm of government to remain strong. Dear colleagues, let us all stand with him and support him,” he said.
Award-winning Nigerian singer Oluwatosin Ajibade, better known by his stage name Mr Eazi, has received a gift from one of his friends after his proposal to his long-term girlfriend Temi Otedola.
Recall that the singer/businessman got on one knee and proposed to the billionaire’s daughter over the weekend.
Congratulating him on his new engaged status, Eazi’s doctor sent him £1,000
The singer took to his Instagram account to share a screen shot of the credit alert.
Mr Eazi and Temi dated for six years before deciding to get engaged. The duo met through Temi’s sister DJ Cuppy.
The couple have a podcast together where they share insights on their relationship.
In one of their podcast episode the couple revealed Mr Eazi pays for their dates while Temi is responsible for planning them.
Temi stated that she has no problem paying for dates because she doesn’t believe in the social construct around the gender roles that put it upon the man to pay for dates, but Mr Eazi does not care.
2023: Community Leaders, APC Chieftains Endorse Speaker Obasa
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt Hon. (Dr) Mudashiru Obasa, on Sunday evening got the endorsements of respected leaders of the State from Agege and Orile-Agege for a return to the House.
The leaders all agreed that the Speaker has an unbeatable chance of winning if he vied for a seat in the Senate ahead of the 2023 election, but said their appeal for his return to the House of Assembly was in the interest of the entire Agege people and Lagos state, which he has made better through effective legislations and related activities.
At an Iftar programme that inadvertently provided an opportunity for the leaders to speak about Obasa’s achievements so far, the leaders said the Speaker had become a pride, not only to Agege, but to Lagos State.
At least 80 leaders, political appointees and chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC), including Dr. Babatunde Adejare of the House of Representatives; Wale Ahmed, Lagos Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs; Afolabi Ayantayo, Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Parastatals Monitoring Office; and Oba Ambaliu Hakeem Agbedeyi, the Alaige of Orile Agege supported that the Speaker return to the House.
Some of the others who gave their support included Chief Safari Adaranijo, APC Apex Leader in Agege; Gani Owolabi Dada, leader; Elder Rotimi Adesina; Olaniyi Salau Ojo APC chairman in Orile-Agege, Alhaji Tunde Azeez; APC chairman in Agege; former and current local government council chairmen; vice chairmen; councillors; supervisory councillors and Special Advisers of the two council chairmen.
While urging that the Speaker be asked to return to the House, Adejare said Agege is now noted for good road networks with the help of Obasa.
“Days ago, during the 80th birthday of Ebenezer Obey, a visiting Senator was marvelled that Agege now has very good roads. I told him not to forget that we have the Speaker of Lagos here,” he said while praying for more wisdom for Obasa in his leadership position.
Wale Ahmed who said he expects Obasa to be unopposed, added: “My prayer is that after the elections next year, we would all gather here to celebrate again.”
Oba Agbedeyi, while thanking Obasa for positively making Agege a place to reckon with, urged the Speaker to return so as to bring more developments to the area.
Mr. Johnson Sunday Babatunde, chairman of Orile-Agege LCDA, who led the conversation, warned that Agege must not lose all that it had gained through Speaker Obasa. Rather, he said, the area should experience more dividends of democracy.
“A lot of people from Agege have been employed because of Obasa. A lot of infrastructure have come to us because of Obasa. There should be no vacancy in Agege Constituency 1,” he said.
He noted that one way Agege can appreciate Obasa’s love for the area is to ask him to return and work for him to occupy the position again.
Supporting the collective decision by the leaders, Ganiyu Egunjobi, chairman of Agege local government council, said the Speaker had brought glory to Agege and that he should be encouraged to return to the House unopposed.
Earlier, the Islamic clergy at the Iftar, Chief Imam Quadri Abdul Ganiu Ayorinde, harped on love and the importance of Ramadan.
He prayed for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, National Leader of the APC, and Obasa and described those who invite Muslim faithful to break fast with them as blessed.
A 25-year-old housewife, Sadiyya Idris and her 4-year-old daughter have been brutally murdered by unknown gunmen in Labarana rice mills area in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State capital.
The father of the deceased, Malam Idrisa said he was informed of his daughter’s passing around 5am on Monday morning.
Idrisa told the deputy governor of Kebbi state, Colonel Samaila Yombe (rtd) and Wazirin Gwandu Abdullahi Umar, who paid condolence visit, that the assailants broke into his daughter’s matrimonial home and carried out the dire act.
He said, “When I and my relatives came we saw our daughter and our granddaughter in a pool of blood, lifeless, nothing was missing and no traces of the murderers, we want justice for our gruesomely murdered daughter he told government officials who visited on behalf of Kebbi governor”.
Sister to the deceased told Vanguard that the deceased husband who is a tailor left their home around 1am for his shop and his wife was killed around 4 am with a machete.
She said that Sadiyya also had a 3-month-old daughter who was breastfeeding.
The husband, Hakilu Muhammad is currently undergoing treatment at the Sir Yahya memorial hospital as he collapsed from shock after hearing the news of his wife and daughter murder.
However the State Police Spokesman, SP Nafiu Abubakar, could not be reached when contacted by the publication.
A Competition and Consumer Protection (CCP) tribunal sitting in Abuja has directed MultiChoice Nigeria Limited to maintain the status quo on its subscription packages, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive matter.
Multichoice is the owner of the satellite television services, DStv and Gotv — popular subscription-based platforms in Nigeria.
A three-member tribunal, presided over by Thomas Okosun, gave the order on Monday
following an oral application for adjournment moved by Jamiu Agoro, counsel for the firm, to enable him to respond to counter-affidavit and written address, including the contempt charge, filed against his client.
Agoro also said he had filed an application challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal to hear the matter.
Festus Onifade, a legal practitioner, had sued the company on behalf of himself and the coalition of Nigerian consumers.
While MultiChoice Nigeria Limited is the first defendant, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) is the second respondent.
Onifade had prayed the tribunal for an order, restraining the firm from increasing subscription for its services and other products on April 1, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice dated and filed on March 30.
The tribunal had granted the ex-parte motion, directing parties to maintain “status quo antebellum” (to maintain the situation as it existed before).
But on Monday, Onfade said he had filed a written address and contempt proceedings against John Ugbe, managing director of MultiChoice, and the company’s directors for them to show cause why they should not be committed to prison for alleged disregard of the panel’s order made on March 30.
Checks by TheCable showed that the prices of DStv, GOtv packages have been increased to the new rates announced by the company.
When asked about disobeying the court’s order, Agoro said, “As much as the questions which the tribunal has posed, the issue has been where there is an order of the court and an aggrieved party who had either applied to set aside that order or had exercised its rights of appeal against that order, such party cannot be held to be in contempt of that order.”
He cited previous cases to back his arguments.
“So on that basis, as contained in this authorities and avalanche of others, we submit that we are not in contempt of order of this honourable tribunal,” he said.
He said in view of his application challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal, “this court is to first inquire whether it has the jurisdiction to determine the application”.
Onifade said the matter was slated for the hearing of the motion on notice, seeking a perpetual restraining order against the firm pending the determination of the suit.
He said he also filed a counter-affidavit against a motion filed by the company challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal to hear their application.
In a short ruling, Okosun ordered that the status quo be maintained antebellum, pending the hearing and determination of the matter.
“Having listened to arguments of counsel to parties and upon the argument of counsel to 1st defendant and 2nd defendant for adjournment to enable them file their processes, this matter shall be adjourned,” Okosun said.
“Therefore, an order of March 30 still subsists and parties shall maintain status quo antebellum.”
At least one inmate died, while 12 others were injured, during a fight that snowballed into an attempted jailbreak at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre on Monday.
It was gathered that two inmates were engaged in a fight, which led to the death of one of them, even as a protest ensued amongst other inmates.
The situation spiraled as many inmates tried to scale the facility’s high walls, but were repelled by a combined team of security operatives who shot outside the fence, with 12 of them sustaining serious injuries.
Three persons have been reportedly killed as armed members the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) unleashed mayhem in Fagba area of Lagos State on Monday morning.
Recall that the Lagos State Chairman of the Tricycle Owners and Operators Association of Nigeria (TOOAN), Alhaji Azeez Abiola, popularly known as Istijabah had earlier alerted security operatives of an imminent danger in the state.
Istijabah had been involved in a leadership tussle since the start of the year, with Musiliu Akinsanya, aka MC Oluomo, the suspended Lagos State Chairman of the NURTW.
Istijabah’s TOOAN is a sub-component of NURTW in Lagos State. While MC Oluomo wants to have total control of TOOAN, Istijabah and his followers feel they should have their autonomy.
Speaking with Vanguard in a telephone conversation, Istijabah said the body language of some people suggests plans to launch an attack in some parts of Lagos this week.
His fears have now been confirmed as reports reaching this newspaper indicates that people have been killed by NURTW thugs on Monday morning. A tricycle was also burnt.
Police officers have arrived the scene, and have kept the situation under control.
