Attorney General of the federation and minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, was recently a guest at Channels television. Channels TV host, Seun Okinbaloye took up the duty to interview the minister.
However, many Nigerians are of the view that Seun Okinbaloye is not an intelligent host as he failed to ask sensitive and vital questions. They felt Malami should have been grilled with so many big questions in relation to Nigeria’s current situation.
Here are some interesting tweets concerning Seun ‘s interview:
Lee tweeted: Seun Okinbaloye should resign and go home
His interviews on channels this days is nothing to write home about , very annoying , asking baby questions instead of reasonable and challenging questions
If you’re scared then stop doing interviews
Another tweet read: They give little or nothing but feel so entitled. Spare parts sellers rent shops, buy landed properties, pay taxes, kill no one, rapes no one. But those who destroy alcohol and still enjoy its tax revenues from other state are making weak comparisons, Seun you are not doing well!
Channels TV tweeted: On the issue of banning grazing, the AGF asks if you deny the rights of a Nigerian citing the example of Northern governors coming together to ban the trade of spare parts in the north. Does it hold water.
Nigerians on Twitter were displeased with such comparison and called it a weak one.
OG tweeted: That was a very poor comparison.. selling of Spare parts does not lead to insecurity… but open grazing clearly does, Seun just didn’t point that out.
A.zed tweeted: And this is my biggest frustration with Seun. He gets the biggest newsmakers on his show but rarely challenges them nor does he ask intelligent follow up questions.
Anybody – Malami, Fayose, Gumi – can come on his show, make the most ludicrous claims & Seun will let it slide
It’s obvious from tweets that Seun lacks the skills required of a good host. Do you think so?
NLC suspends 5-day warning strike as FG invites el-Rufai, Labour to meeting in Abuja today
THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Wednesday, suspended the five-day warning strike in Kaduna, to honour the invitation of the Federal Government to a meeting in Abuja today. The union president, Ayuba Wabba, confirmed the receipt of the invitation by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, adding that the leadership of the union thereafter met and agreed to honour the invitation.
The development in Kaduna State since Monday made the Federal Government to invite both the state governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and the labour leadership to an emergency meeting today.
Ngige sent personal letters to both Governor el-Rufai and the NLC president, Wabba, to invite them for the meeting.
Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations in the ministry, Charles Akpan, said the minister “has, therefore, invited the two parties to the trade dispute, the governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Na- sir el-Rufai and top officials of the state on one hand as well as the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba and top NLC leaders on the other hand, to an emergency conciliation meeting by 11.00 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, May 20, 2021 at the office of the Minister of labour and Employment, Federal Secretariat, Abuja.”
The minister further directed the two parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum, pending the resolution of the issues in contention. Also speaking, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, while briefing correspondents at the end of the virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday, said apart from efforts by Ngige to resolve the issue, security apparatus have taken pre-emptive measures to ensure that the protest is not hijacked by hoodlums.
Mohammed said: “The Federal Government is not folding its arms and already, the Minister of Labour and Employment has waded in and is in touch with both the government of Kaduna State and also the Labour.”
The leadership of the National Assembly will also engage both el-Rufai and NLC leadership over the crisis as former Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, told a delegation of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), led by its president, Comrade Ambali Olatunji, that the governor ought to have negotiated with the unions before it degenerated into the present level.
Earlier on Wednesday, another set of thugs had invaded the state secretariat of NLC in Kaduna as early as 6.30 a.m., while some pro-government protesters also took over the NEPA Roundabout Junction, venue of the labour unions protest.
Numbering about 50, the thugs were later dislodged by the security personnel before the workers assembled between 9.00 a.m. and 10.00 a.m., from where they moved to the Secretariat. Among the protesters were another group of women who came to protest against the NLC but had to fight their contractors for deceiving them and failure to pay them as mobilised.
One of the women who spoke on camera in Hausa language said, “we were only given placards to come and support the governor in a political rally. How can I support the governor on this after all our relations were sacked?”
While addressing the workers, Wabba gave the reason why the action would take its full course, unless the state government opted for dialogue. He vowed that the strike would be to escalate to the national level, adding also that Nigerian workers will report the Kaduna State government to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for prosecution against violation of human rights.
As he was set for show-down, el-Rufai had also threatened the labour leaders to get ready for prosecution over their “criminal” act of grounding the economy of the state. Speaking while declaring open the 23rd Annual Tax Conference organised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria ((CITN), currently ongoing at Murtala Square, Kaduna, Kaduna said as much as workers have the right to embark on strike or stage protest, they do not have the right to shut down institutions and businesses who are willing to open to transact their legitimate businesses.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has charged Governor el-Rufai to immediately and unconditionally reinstate all workers he sacked from the state public service. In a statement by the party’s national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, it said it was alarmed that the administration had sacked about 70,000 workers since 2016, as it described such act as “wicked, insensitive and unacceptable.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said yesterday it had concluded arrangements to resume Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) on June 28.
Its chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, stated this at the commission’s meeting in Abuja with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) for the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Yakubu said the commission was working to update its registration software to accommodate the newly established polling units to enable prospective voters to register.
“However, more work still lies ahead.
“Apart from the CVR, we shall continue our preparations for two bye-elections scheduled for June 19 in Sabon Gari State Constituency in Kaduna State and Gwaram Federal Constituency in Jigawa State,” he said.
He said the commission was waiting for the official declaration of vacancies by the House of Representatives for the Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency in Plateau and Lere Federal Constituency in Kaduna State.
“Furthermore, preparations for the Anambra State Governorship election to be held on Nov. 6 and the FCT Area Council election scheduled for Feb. 12 will be prioritised.
“Similarly, we shall continue our early preparations for the 2023 general elections.
“In this regards, the commission has already established an Election Project Plan (EPP) committee to work on the 2023 election plan.
“The idea is to complete the plan early enough and make sure that we are fully ready for the election, which is now only 640 days away,” he said.
Yakubu said INEC had successfully concluded stakeholder engagements on the expansion of voter access to pulling units.
The chairman said the commission would soon meet to finalise the compilation and coding of polling units and would thereafter make the information public.
Curfew has again been imposed on Ikere Ekiti, headquarters of Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti state following another round of bloody cult clash that has claimed two lives.
This was made known in a statement by Mr Femi Ayodele, Chairman of the council, citing security reasons and the need to restore normalcy to the area on Wednesday.
It was gathered that this was the second time within two months that such curfew would be imposed for similar reasons.
It could be recalled that only last month, the town, which is the second largest in state after Ado Ekiti, was thrown into mourning as a result of killing of six persons while several others sustained varied degrees of injuries during a rival cult clash.
According to the Wednesday’s statement by the chairman, the 6 pm to 6 am curfew had become necessary as two people were reportedly killed by cultists on Tuesday, May 18, 2021.
He called on the people of the town to abide by the curfew as security personnel had been drafted to deal with recalcitrant persons who may wish to forment trouble, saying anyone caught violating the order would face the consequences.
“In view of the rising killings among the suspected cultists in lkere Local Government, the leadership of the Council has now imposed curfew from 6pm to 6am from today, Wednesday, May 19, 2021 to Sunday, May 23, 2021, to curtail this ugly act.
“This step is necessary following the killing of two people in lkere-Ekiti by suspected cultists on Tuesday 18h May 2021.
“This is to therefore call on the good people of lkere Local Government to adhere strictly to this instruction as security personnel will severely dealt with anyone arrested violating this order”, the statement reads in part.
Also speaking on the development, the spokesman of the Police Command in Ekiti, ASP Sunday Abutu, confirmed the incident, saying investigation had commenced and that security had been intensified in the area to forestall breakdown of law and order.
The Senate, on Wednesday, moved to prohibit the payment and receiving of ransom for the release of any kidnapped, imprisoned or wrongfully confined victim in the country.
This followed the consideration and second reading of a Bill by the upper chamber, titled: “Terrorism prevention (amendment) Bill, 2021,” and sponsored by Senator Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi.
Onyewuchi in his lead debate said the Bill seeks to amend the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2013 to outlaw the payment of ransom to abductors, kidnappers and terrorists for the release of any person who has been wrongfully confined, imprisoned or kidnapped.
According to Onyewuchi, the bill essentially seeks to substitute for section 14 of the Principal Act a new section to read: “Anyone who transfers funds, makes payment or colludes with an abductor, kidnapper or terrorist to receive any ransom for the release of any person who has been wrongfully confined, imprisoned or kidnapped is guilty of a felony and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years.”
He expressed worry that kidnapping has become a fast and lucrative business, saying “it has now remained the most virulent form of banditry in Nigeria and the most pervasive and intractable violent crime in the country.”
Attributing the spate of kidnappings in the country to factors such as corruption, unemployment, poverty and connivance of security agents, Onyewuchi lamented that the frequency at which persons are kidnapped daily puts most Nigerians at risk.
“Kidnapping is on the increase in Nigeria and it is prevalent across all the geopolitical zones.
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“Some blame the rise of this criminal activity on poverty, religion, politics, deficiency of existing laws, unemployment, connivance of security agents, corruption, and greed among others.
“Our unemployed youths are also turning out to kidnapping to get money (ransom) as a survival strategy.
“Whatever the reason, it is most obvious that kidnapping in Nigeria puts everyone at risk, the rich and the poor, old and young, male and female, foreigner or indigene, expatriate or non-expatriate, traditional rulers and religious leaders, among others,” he said.
Citing a report compiled by the Financial Times and the USA Global Risk Consultancy in November, 2019, the lawmaker noted that Nigeria has the highest rate of kidnaps for ransom of both locals and foreigners in all of Africa with kidnappers operating in each of its 36 states.
According to him, “the reason behind payments of ransom is rooted on the fact that people easily identify with individual suffering.
“However, History has shown that even where ransom is proven to have been paid, the life or safe return of a kidnap victim may not be guaranteed.”
He observed that countries like the USA and the United Kingdom do not support payment of ransoms to kidnappers.
“Payments of terrorist ransoms is illegal under the UK Terrorism Act 2000 while the USA adheres to a strict No-Concessions policy on the payment of ransom,” Onyewuchi said.
He advised that, “the continuous payment of ransom must not be encouraged, in addition government should provide adequate security and strengthen the economy as a matter of urgency, accelerate its poverty alleviation programs, provide employment opportunities targeting youths who are mostly involved in abductions and kidnappings, strengthen our law enforcement agencies, and provide the necessary support to end the menace of kidnapping.”
The Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Bill, 2021, after scaling second reading, was referred by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters for further legislative work.
The Committee, chaired by Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele was given four weeks to report back to plenary.
Meanwhile, two separate bills seeking to establish the Federal University of Science and Technology, Lau, Taraba State, and to amend the Federal Universities of Technology Act 2004 also passed second reading on Wednesday.
The bills were sponsored by Senators Shuaibu Isa (Taraba North), and Oyelola Yisa Ashiru.
Both Bills were referred by the Senate President to the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND for further legislative work and to report back in four weeks.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai has again threatened to prosecute the labour leaders who have been protesting against ‘anti-workers’ policies in Kaduna state, noting that he will pursue them with the law to ensure they don’t return to Kaduna.
Speaking as a guest of honour at the 23rd annual tax conference organised by the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) in Kaduna on Wednesday, el-Rufai said as much as workers have the right to embark on strike or stage protest, they don’t have the right to shutdown institutions and businesses who are willing to open to transact their legitimate businesses.
According to the governor, the protesters have prevented businesses from opening, an issue which he described as “criminal” and “unacceptable”, vowing to prosecute and take action against them in due course.
He said, “those of you that are in Kaduna know that our government is functioning, our economy is running and we are making efforts to ensure legitimate businesses are open. They have prevented businesses from opening. This is criminal, unacceptable and we are going to take action. We are making efforts to provide security for all businesses that want to open.
“We are not against the right to strike. You are free to strike but walk away from your institution and allow it to function without you, you have no right to stop any business from remaining open.
“We are going to take a very strict measure against people that have tried to do that. I think what this strike is about is to answer fundamental questions the part of which is this: Should an employer keep person with poor education, inadequate skills, qualifications, bad attitude in employment whether he likes it or not? Our answer in Kaduna state is negative.
“The second question is this: Is the right to protest or to withdraw your services as an employee equivalent to the right to shutdown the institution in which you work and attack public infrastructure?
“Our position is very clear and the law is very clear. You can walk out, you can strike but you cannot shutdown anything because public infrastructure is a public asset that belongs to the federation, belong to all the people of Nigeria. If you do, you are liable to be convicted under the Miscellaneous Offences Act which attracts a minimum of 21 years imprisonment.
“We are going to pursue the people that engage in this sabotage to the full extent of the law. We will deal with the criminals. We will prosecute all those that have broken the law. I assure you, they will never come back to Kaduna again by the time we are done them.”
Islamic human rights group, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has warned against the move by the Nigerian legislature to legalise cannabis in Nigeria.
According to the group, the legalization of cannabis will be the last nail in the coffin of morality in Nigeria.
Recall that Benjamin Kalu, a spokesman of the House of Representatives, had on Monday in Akure, Ondo State, said that cannabis would aid Nigeria’s industrial drive and boost her internally generated revenue (IGR).
But MURIC, reacting to this in a statement signed by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, said it strongly condemned the attempt to compartmentalise Nigerians into vicious drug cartels.
The group accused Kalu of trying to turn Nigeria into another Mexico on the African continent, adding that the country already has serious security challenges which could be compounded by the legalisation of cannabis.
“The security challenges we are currently facing are punishments for our recklessness. Instead of thinking of making criminal elements in the country ‘turn back from their evil’, Kalu wants to cap the edifice with drug war,” the group said.
“There is no gainsaying the fact that the legalisation of cannabis will be the last straw that broke the camel’s back in terms of its impact on insecurity and the last nail in the coffin of morality in Nigeria in terms of the country’s descent into the abyss of moral debauchery which began a long time ago,” it said.
MURIC further made a connection between Kalu’s statement and an earlier position of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu on the matter.
“This lawmaker spoke in Akure, the capital of Ondo State. Nigerians will recall that Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has been advocating for the legalisation of cannabis since 2019,” MURIC said, adding that “There is no doubt that he has not given up. Kalu is his latest recruit into his cannabis promotion camp.
“The Akeredolu school of thought is only thinking of the material aspect and economic gains obtainable from the legalisation of cannabis sativa (also known as Indian hemp).
“Have they put in place the necessary precautions? Do Nigerians obey laws? Do they listen to simple instructions?”, MURIC added.
The group further attributed major road accidents to the use of cannabis by commercial drivers.
MURIC also believes that those who burned hundreds of luxurious buses of the Lagos State Government during the #EndSARS protests were under the influence of drugs.
“Nigeria is passing through unimaginable social trauma at this period. The crime rate is very high and it is mostly induced by drug.
The major point raised by Kalu and Akeredolu keredolu has been economic benefit but what have the politicians done with all the billions of dollars from oil all these years?
“Cannabis may have its benefits but the disadvantages outway the advantages,” MURIC said while call on the federal lawmakers to reject any attempt to smuggle the cannabis bill into the hallowed House.
Hunters Group of Nigeria (HGN) yesterday stormed the National Assembly complex in Abuja to seek the opportunity and recognition under the law to assist the federal government in tackling the ravaging insecurity in the land.
The Commandant of the Akwa Ibom State Command of the organisation, John Essien, who spoke with journalists, said they specifically needed the backing of the law to compliment the efforts of the relevant security agencies in apprehending bandits and the insurgents terrorising the country.
He also disclosed that they were at the National Assembly for a public hearing on a bill for an Act to establish the Nigerian Hunters Council of Nigeria.
According to him, “The bill has gone through the first and second reading, and the reason we are here is for the public hearing. As you can see, we have members across the entire villages. When you talk about the security challenges, if the opportunity is given to us, we can perform very well because as community-based officers, we know all the strangers in our environment and can easily identify those that are not from there. Maybe from there, you can find out what the person’s mission is in the area.
“That is the reason we are here to tell the government that we can do the job. I want to tell us that if the opportunity is given to hunters, the security challenges in the country would be minimised. If you look at our Facebook and social media pages, you would see that we have been doing a lot of work in arresting kidnappers and other criminals. With our presence and other security agencies, when we come together, it would make the job easier, and that is why we here today. We believe the government would not hesitate to give us a try.”
Former Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed has said he was not invited by the the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged diversion of N9billion.
Recall that Ahmed was alleged to have been grilled at the headquarters of the EFCC in Jabi over fraud.
It was alleged that his invitation by the agency was connected to how funds to the tune of about N9billion were diverted from the coffers of Kwara State Government during his tenure as Governor of Kwara State, between 2011 and 2019.
But writing on his Twitter page, Ahmed said he was invited over a contract awarded by the State government when he was commissioner for Finance.
He further stated that he had been released on bail.
He wrote, “In response to an invitation by the commission via a letter dated 26th April 2021, I voluntarily visited the EFCC in Abuja yesterday with regard to a complaint about a contract awarded by Kwara State Government while I was State the Commissioner for Finance.
“I was not accused of any wrongdoing. Neither was I questioned about any N9b transaction. I have since been granted bail.”
President Emmanuel Macron of France has pledged to support Nigeria combat insecurity bedeviling the Lake Chad basin area and the entire stretch of the Sahel region.
Macron spoke at a bilateral meeting between him and President Muhammadu Buhari.
The meeting was hosted by the Nigerian leader on the sidelines of the Financing Africa Summit in Paris.
The French President pledged his steadfast support for the West African that is currently facing a number of security challenges.
In a statement signed by Garba Shehu, Buhari Spokesman, and made available to media houses, the French leader said that his country will “absolutely be there on the side of Nigeria and it is willing to support with everything to assist the country to overcome the security threats.”
Macron promised to help the most populous black nation in the world in confronting the challenges of COVID-19 vaccines.
He added in the statement that “President Buhari outlined the challenges all round facing the country as well as its neighbours and spoke about the steps he has taken to reignite response to the situation, which he said included the appointment of the new Service Chiefs.”
The Nigerian leader said his country was willing to work with France and all international partners to overcome the West African country’s security challenges.
