A 75-year-old woman has died of Coronavirus-related complications in Ekiti State.
This was disclosed by the state government in a tweet on Thursday.
With the new fatality, the number of COVID-19 deaths has increased to two in the state.
“We can confirm that one of the samples sent to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control-accredited laboratory for testing returned positive of the #COVID-19 virus infection.
“The new positive case, a 75-year-old female, has died from complications of the virus,” it tweeted.
EKITI COVID-19 UPDATE: We can confirm that one (1) of the samples sent to the NCDC accredited laboratory for testing returned positive of the #COVID19 virus infection.
The new positive case, a 75 year-old female, has died from complications of the virus. pic.twitter.com/Toy7oFOCTG
— EKITI COVID19 UPDATES (@Ekiti_COVID19) May 21, 2020
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Members of the Ondo State House of Assembly have confirmed receiving documents of transactions on the N4.3bn uncovered in a ‘secret’ account with Zenith Bank.
Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts, Edamisan Ademola, acknowledged the receipt of the documents on Thursday during plenary.
Recall that the Assembly summoned the Commissioner for Finance in the state, Wale Akinterinwa, and the Account-General, Mr. Olaolu Akindolire, to furnish the lawmakers with the financial documents on transactions on the account. Ondo State House of Assemblygoogle
Edamisan said the Assembly will not relent in its investigation and will make sure the documents were properly scrutinized.
According to him, findings of the committee will be relayed to members of the parliament after proper investigation.
Speaker of the Assembly, Mr Bamidele Oleyelogun, also confirmed receipt of the documents.
The lawmakers after the plenary immediately went on a month recess.
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Members of the Ondo State House of Assembly have confirmed receiving documents of transactions on the N4.3bn uncovered in a ‘secret’ account with Zenith Bank.
Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts, Edamisan Ademola, acknowledged the receipt of the documents on Thursday during plenary.
Recall that the Assembly summoned the Commissioner for Finance in the state, Wale Akinterinwa, and the Account-General, Mr. Olaolu Akindolire, to furnish the lawmakers with the financial documents on transactions on the account. Ondo State House of Assemblygoogle
Edamisan said the Assembly will not relent in its investigation and will make sure the documents were properly scrutinized.
According to him, findings of the committee will be relayed to members of the parliament after proper investigation.
Speaker of the Assembly, Mr Bamidele Oleyelogun, also confirmed receipt of the documents.
The lawmakers after the plenary immediately went on a month recess.
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Jamie Rolando Urbina Torres, the mayor of a town in Peru, has been caught faking his own death to evade arrest after he violated COVID-19 lockdown rules.
A photo of Torres wearing a mask and lying in a coffin has now gone viral.
Torres was caught by police while drinking with friends in the town of Tantará.
A photo of Torres wearing a mask and lying in a coffin has now gone viral.
Police say he violated curfew and social distancing laws in order to drink liquor with his friends and was drunk when he was arrested.
It is not clear exactly where he and his friends were drinking or why there were open caskets there.
Torres had previously been accused by locals of failing to take the threat of the virus seriously and failing to implement safety precautions in the town.
Locals say Torres has spent just eight days in the town since the start of the lockdown and had failed to put in place any local safety measures.
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Jamie Rolando Urbina Torres, the mayor of a town in Peru, has been caught faking his own death to evade arrest after he violated COVID-19 lockdown rules.
A photo of Torres wearing a mask and lying in a coffin has now gone viral.
Torres was caught by police while drinking with friends in the town of Tantará.
A photo of Torres wearing a mask and lying in a coffin has now gone viral.
Police say he violated curfew and social distancing laws in order to drink liquor with his friends and was drunk when he was arrested.
It is not clear exactly where he and his friends were drinking or why there were open caskets there.
Torres had previously been accused by locals of failing to take the threat of the virus seriously and failing to implement safety precautions in the town.
Locals say Torres has spent just eight days in the town since the start of the lockdown and had failed to put in place any local safety measures.
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Anthony Okolie, the businessman, who was detained by the Department of State Services for using a SIM card previously owned by President Muhammadu Buhari’s daughter, Hanan, has asked the secret police to pay him N10m as ordered by a Federal High Court in Asaba, Delta State, last week.
In a letter signed by his lawyer, Tope Akinyode, and addressed to the Director-General of the DSS, Yusuf Bichi, Okolie asked to be paid the money within 24 hours.
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Asaba had ordered the DSS to pay Okolie N10m for illegally detaining him for 10 weeks after purchasing the SIM card at a MTN outlet.
The letter reads, “We have been instructed by our client to recover the said debt of N10, 000, 000 from you. You are therefore requested to forward your cheque to us forthwith in settlement of the judgment debt.
“Take notice that unless we receive our cheque in settlement within 24 hours after the receipt of this letter, we shall have no choice but to take all steps available under the law to recover the said sum.
“This will include but will not be limited to instituting contempt proceedings against you and going after assets of your establishment. We are certain that you will want to avoid the costs and embarrassment which our next course of action will entail and we hope that good counsel will prevail.”
Anthony Okolie, the businessman, who was detained by the Department of State Services for using a SIM card previously owned by President Muhammadu Buhari’s daughter, Hanan, has asked the secret police to pay him N10m as ordered by a Federal High Court in Asaba, Delta State, last week.
In a letter signed by his lawyer, Tope Akinyode, and addressed to the Director-General of the DSS, Yusuf Bichi, Okolie asked to be paid the money within 24 hours.
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Asaba had ordered the DSS to pay Okolie N10m for illegally detaining him for 10 weeks after purchasing the SIM card at a MTN outlet.
The letter reads, “We have been instructed by our client to recover the said debt of N10, 000, 000 from you. You are therefore requested to forward your cheque to us forthwith in settlement of the judgment debt.
“Take notice that unless we receive our cheque in settlement within 24 hours after the receipt of this letter, we shall have no choice but to take all steps available under the law to recover the said sum.
“This will include but will not be limited to instituting contempt proceedings against you and going after assets of your establishment. We are certain that you will want to avoid the costs and embarrassment which our next course of action will entail and we hope that good counsel will prevail.”
Zainab Ahmed, Nigeria's Finance Minister, has said that the country may go into recession due to the slowing down of economic activities as shown in an assessment by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics.
She made the prediction while speaking with journalists after the National Economic Council meeting on Thursday.
She said, “The National Bureau of Statistics has made an assessment. So, it is the NBS assessment that Nigeria will go into a recession measuring at an average of -4.4 per cent.
“But with the work that the Economic Accessibility Committee is doing bringing stimulus packages, we believe that we can reduce the impact of that recession.
“And if we applied all that have been proposed and we are able to implement it we may end up with a recession that is -0.4 per cent. In any case, we will go into recession but what we are trying to do is to make sure that it is shallow so that we will quickly come out of it come 2021."
Ahmed added that this will be worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic which has put a strain on all facets of life in the country.
She said, “This is a very difficult time because the challenges we have now are double. There is health challenge, there is an economic challenge. Even as we are addressing the current health challenge, we still have to look at how we can support the economy so that the economy does not fall into a depression.
“We have to feed the people and you can only feed the people if people go out and farm. We are a very large population, we don’t want to take the risk and we don’t have enough fund to cushion the effect.”
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Zainab Ahmed, Nigeria's Finance Minister, has said that the country may go into recession due to the slowing down of economic activities as shown in an assessment by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics.
She made the prediction while speaking with journalists after the National Economic Council meeting on Thursday.
She said, “The National Bureau of Statistics has made an assessment. So, it is the NBS assessment that Nigeria will go into a recession measuring at an average of -4.4 per cent.
“But with the work that the Economic Accessibility Committee is doing bringing stimulus packages, we believe that we can reduce the impact of that recession.
“And if we applied all that have been proposed and we are able to implement it we may end up with a recession that is -0.4 per cent. In any case, we will go into recession but what we are trying to do is to make sure that it is shallow so that we will quickly come out of it come 2021."
Ahmed added that this will be worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic which has put a strain on all facets of life in the country.
She said, “This is a very difficult time because the challenges we have now are double. There is health challenge, there is an economic challenge. Even as we are addressing the current health challenge, we still have to look at how we can support the economy so that the economy does not fall into a depression.
“We have to feed the people and you can only feed the people if people go out and farm. We are a very large population, we don’t want to take the risk and we don’t have enough fund to cushion the effect.”
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Senior staff members of the National Intelligence Agency have written a petition against the nomination of Mr I. A. Yusuf, the agency’s Director of Administration, as an ambassador.
They also informed President Muhammadu Buhari of the appointment of one Ms. Atinuke T. Mohammed believed to be the girlfriend of the DG’s former boss and mentor as Consul-General in Dubai.
The senior staff also accused the Director-General of unilaterally making decisions without consulting other members of the Senior Management Committee.
Faulting the nomination of Yusuf, they stated that he had few months left before retirement, adding that he has an ongoing case with anti-graft agency.
They posited that the NIA DG has suppressed all actions on the case against Yusuf with the anti-corruption agencies.
The petition reads, “We gave him this advice in order to avoid a situation where it will look like the implementation of government rules and regulations are selective and discriminatory where some people will be seen as being above the law.
“We tried to draw his attention to the fact that, Mr Yusuf has barely a year or so to retire from the service, and that his nomination runs contrary to the circular barring officers with less than 24 months in the service from becoming ambassadors.
“It is also a fact that he has an uncleared petition against him which borders on damning allegations of corruption that was sent to the EFCC and ICPC by some of our junior colleagues believed to be his disgruntled close confidants.
“Your Excellency, we advised the DG that these uncleared issues of time and corruption allegations against him may jeopardize his chances of passing through the DSS and Senate screening if discovered, which may negatively impact our chances of retaining the slot thus consequently allowing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take over the slot.
“The DG also dismissed our fears here outrightly, bragging openly, that the Senate is in his pocket. He said that he had loaned the Senate, the sum of $7m that is yet to be repaid, and that the agency played a leading role in the emergence of the Senate Leadership, as such he expects a positive reciprocal payback.”
Informing President Buhari of the appointment of Ms. Mohammed, the senior staff said she was below rank when appointed and due process were not followed.
“The second abhorrent and contentious issue is the appointment of a young and very junior lady Ms. Atinuke T Mohammed believed widely to be the girl friend of his former boss and mentor as the Consul General in Dubai.
“The DG has stubbornly refused to listen to all wise counsel despite the fact that the lady was just a GL.14 Officer when she was appointed. She has now been hurriedly promoted to GL 15 without following any due process. There are highly qualified directors and deputy directors who are her seniors by far, but were denied,” the petition reads.
The senior staff of NIA alleged that a lot of government money was used to redeploy all officers that are her seniors to Tunis, Abu Dhabi and other places, in order to maintain her authority and seniority in Dubai, a decision that automatically means the downgrading of the Consulate General in Dubai.
They urged the president to urgently act on the matter adding that the issue has created resentment and anger in the agency asking that an independent team be set up to investigate the allegations.
“Your Excellency, the issue of national security is paramount to your administration, therefore all issues pertaining it that would reverse your gains should not be treated with kid gloves.
“These two issues has caused a lot of resentment, anger and disillusionment among the generality of officers in the agency.
“We, therefore, plead with your excellency to do something urgently to douse the current tense atmosphere of uncertainty that has engulfed the agency which is clearly affecting staff progression and productivity.
“We finally plead with your excellency to order an independent inquiry into these allegations and why the anti-graft agencies refused to act on the petitions they received and acknowledged several months ago.”
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Senior staff members of the National Intelligence Agency have written a petition against the nomination of Mr I. A. Yusuf, the agency’s Director of Administration, as an ambassador.
They also informed President Muhammadu Buhari of the appointment of one Ms. Atinuke T. Mohammed believed to be the girlfriend of the DG’s former boss and mentor as Consul-General in Dubai.
The senior staff also accused the Director-General of unilaterally making decisions without consulting other members of the Senior Management Committee.
Faulting the nomination of Yusuf, they stated that he had few months left before retirement, adding that he has an ongoing case with anti-graft agency.
They posited that the NIA DG has suppressed all actions on the case against Yusuf with the anti-corruption agencies.
The petition reads, “We gave him this advice in order to avoid a situation where it will look like the implementation of government rules and regulations are selective and discriminatory where some people will be seen as being above the law.
“We tried to draw his attention to the fact that, Mr Yusuf has barely a year or so to retire from the service, and that his nomination runs contrary to the circular barring officers with less than 24 months in the service from becoming ambassadors.
“It is also a fact that he has an uncleared petition against him which borders on damning allegations of corruption that was sent to the EFCC and ICPC by some of our junior colleagues believed to be his disgruntled close confidants.
“Your Excellency, we advised the DG that these uncleared issues of time and corruption allegations against him may jeopardize his chances of passing through the DSS and Senate screening if discovered, which may negatively impact our chances of retaining the slot thus consequently allowing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take over the slot.
“The DG also dismissed our fears here outrightly, bragging openly, that the Senate is in his pocket. He said that he had loaned the Senate, the sum of $7m that is yet to be repaid, and that the agency played a leading role in the emergence of the Senate Leadership, as such he expects a positive reciprocal payback.”
Informing President Buhari of the appointment of Ms. Mohammed, the senior staff said she was below rank when appointed and due process were not followed.
“The second abhorrent and contentious issue is the appointment of a young and very junior lady Ms. Atinuke T Mohammed believed widely to be the girl friend of his former boss and mentor as the Consul General in Dubai.
“The DG has stubbornly refused to listen to all wise counsel despite the fact that the lady was just a GL.14 Officer when she was appointed. She has now been hurriedly promoted to GL 15 without following any due process. There are highly qualified directors and deputy directors who are her seniors by far, but were denied,” the petition reads.
The senior staff of NIA alleged that a lot of government money was used to redeploy all officers that are her seniors to Tunis, Abu Dhabi and other places, in order to maintain her authority and seniority in Dubai, a decision that automatically means the downgrading of the Consulate General in Dubai.
They urged the president to urgently act on the matter adding that the issue has created resentment and anger in the agency asking that an independent team be set up to investigate the allegations.
“Your Excellency, the issue of national security is paramount to your administration, therefore all issues pertaining it that would reverse your gains should not be treated with kid gloves.
“These two issues has caused a lot of resentment, anger and disillusionment among the generality of officers in the agency.
“We, therefore, plead with your excellency to do something urgently to douse the current tense atmosphere of uncertainty that has engulfed the agency which is clearly affecting staff progression and productivity.
“We finally plead with your excellency to order an independent inquiry into these allegations and why the anti-graft agencies refused to act on the petitions they received and acknowledged several months ago.”
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The primacy of the media in any society is indubitable. The media is the iron curtain between tyranny and democracy. It is the bastion of the ethos, truth and spirit of a people. And it serves no interest but the public’s.
Cliched as the fourth estate of the realm, the essentiality of media is commonplace but prodigiously unemphasised. In fact, it is the institution that is accorded a “special envoy status” in the Nigerian constitution, and even in those of some advanced democracies.
Section 22 of the Nigerian constitution says: “The press, radio, television and other agencies of mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives ...and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people....”
So, naturally, the media exists in the service of public interest – to hold the government to account. It is a public institution beholden to no one. Considering, the preeminent place of the media in Nigeria, should it be allowed to flounder and decay under financial constraints? Fredrick Nwabufo
Who will come to its rescue, the people or the government?
As a matter of fact, before the COVID-19 tsunami and its attendant economic perils, most newspapers or rather, news organisations were struggling to stay afloat. Salaries and allowances of staff were privileges rather than entitlements in some media organisations. COVID-19 has worsened the situation.
Media organisations which had kept their terms of contract with workers cannot afford to keep paying staff salaries anymore. There have been forced leave, salary cuts, sackings, and other Siberian measures in the industry.
Who will come to the rescue of the Nigerian media?
I read the note by Dapo Olorunyomi, publisher of Premium Times, where he said: “Emerging from a recent legacy of perhaps the hardest hit industry by the economic downturn further complicated by the COVID-19 crisis, the media in Nigeria today face a truly existential threat of an unimaginable proportion”, and solicited donations from readers through community membership.
I consider this as noble, and the righteous thing any independent news organisation will do. But we are all made vulnerable by COVID-19. The Nigerian reading population is not insulated from the economic menace of this disease. So, how far can the media industry go with this approach?
Let me emphasise this, the independence of the media is crucial, and the institution should be not be bankrolled by any interest. But how independent can a news organisation experiencing severe financial denudation be? Even media organisations subsisting on grants are not entirely free of influences – the grantors give conditions for these grants -- conditions which look innocuous and reformist on the surface but purposive on the agenda of the home country of the grantors.
Again, I know bailout for the media is a question of ethics or ethical appearances. The question is, can you still hold to account a government you received a financial bailout from? Will there be a conflict of interest? But really, most media organisations including the “independent” ones survive on adverts mostly from government institutions. And this does not corrode their independence to say the least.
Also, bailout funds are not resources of some people in power, but of the Nigerian people, and they should be deployed to keep the media, as a public institution of a great consequence, oxygenated.
In April, the federal government of Australia announced a $50m bailout for the regional media financially wizened by the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision of the government was celebrated by industry experts in the country.
In Canada in May 2019, the government mulled bailing out the parlous media industry with $600m – long before COVID-19. And with the pandemic, most Canadians support a bailout for the media, according to a survey conducted by Nanos Research for Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, a non-partisan media watchdog.
It is a matter of survival here; survival of the most important public institution in any society. Taxpayers’ funds are often deployed dubiously in feeding and bracing banks in times of financial stress, I believe they should be put to where it matters most now.
The war against Boko Haram insurgency has not abated since it took off in 2009.
Every day, attacks are carried out on Nigerian soil, dealing deadly blows to even the country's military, a situation experts have described as owing to massive intelligence failure and lack of funding on the part of government.
Ona Ekhomu, a security expert, on Thursday told SaharaReporters that the intelligence infrastructure in the war against Boko Haram was faulty, leading to ambushes during critical operations.
He said, "The dynamics of the war against insurgency are changing and perhaps the entire military high command has to figure out how to change with that dynamic. A boy walks past the remains of a village burnt down by Boko Haram on the outskirts of MaiduguriAudu Marte/AFP/Getty
"Take for example the battle commission that they have which is an integrated battle commission whereby when there is an attack or when there is a legal operation, the air cover provides support for the ground troops. In fact most of the times, the air troops go and get the bad guys then the ground troops move in for mop-ups so the battle plan is sound but we still have attacks here and there which is quite dihabilitaing.
"You know, the frequency of attacks, the widespread nature of attacks, what that says to me is that the intelligence infrastructure is very faulty. We don't have enough intelligence, so we are not able to learn of their (Boko Haram) intentions before they carry out operations. So, this is a problem with the intelligence community (IC) that is the DSS, the DIA, and so on.
"That is where the government really needs to focus on as a fighting army. The war has dragged out for so long and as you know if you stay in the toilet for so long, you will see a lot of flies.
“Why insurgency is not over today is that there is a massive failure of intelligence and there is a need to reorder the war because the fight that General Buratai came to fight which is a frontal assault has proved a little effective.
“There used to be local governments under the enemies control but now they have been reclaimed because even though some has fallen again to the enemy. Like I said, if you stay too long in a war, you start seeing all kinds of dynamics.
Lawrence Alobi, a former Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory, told SaharaReporters that one of the biggest barriers to winning the war against insurgency in the country remained lack of funding.
Alobi said without funding and access to the latest technology and weapons, troops have no chance in confronting the insurgents.
He said, "The government is doing its best in line with section 35 of the constitution which says the primary responsibility of government is protection and wellbeing of the citizens.
"Security is something that is key and central without which there will be no government, no development. There is nowhere with total security because life is dynamic. For instance, the issue of COVID-19 was never there and right now it has brought about some challenges for the government.
"They (government) have gotten to a situation where they are going after soft targets. The government has not been able to fund and equip the security agencies which include the military and the police because they are both fighting this war in the North-East.
"So, I think they need to be motivated, they need to be well equipped because security now is technology driven and that requires funding, to gather intelligence, to have weapons and training. The officers and men need to be trained for them to have the capacity to confront the terrorists."
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The war against Boko Haram insurgency has not abated since it took off in 2009.
Every day, attacks are carried out on Nigerian soil, dealing deadly blows to even the country's military, a situation experts have described as owing to massive intelligence failure and lack of funding on the part of government.
Ona Ekhomu, a security expert, on Thursday told SaharaReporters that the intelligence infrastructure in the war against Boko Haram was faulty, leading to ambushes during critical operations.
He said, "The dynamics of the war against insurgency are changing and perhaps the entire military high command has to figure out how to change with that dynamic. A boy walks past the remains of a village burnt down by Boko Haram on the outskirts of MaiduguriAudu Marte/AFP/Getty
"Take for example the battle commission that they have which is an integrated battle commission whereby when there is an attack or when there is a legal operation, the air cover provides support for the ground troops. In fact most of the times, the air troops go and get the bad guys then the ground troops move in for mop-ups so the battle plan is sound but we still have attacks here and there which is quite dihabilitaing.
"You know, the frequency of attacks, the widespread nature of attacks, what that says to me is that the intelligence infrastructure is very faulty. We don't have enough intelligence, so we are not able to learn of their (Boko Haram) intentions before they carry out operations. So, this is a problem with the intelligence community (IC) that is the DSS, the DIA, and so on.
"That is where the government really needs to focus on as a fighting army. The war has dragged out for so long and as you know if you stay in the toilet for so long, you will see a lot of flies.
“Why insurgency is not over today is that there is a massive failure of intelligence and there is a need to reorder the war because the fight that General Buratai came to fight which is a frontal assault has proved a little effective.
“There used to be local governments under the enemies control but now they have been reclaimed because even though some has fallen again to the enemy. Like I said, if you stay too long in a war, you start seeing all kinds of dynamics.
Lawrence Alobi, a former Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory, told SaharaReporters that one of the biggest barriers to winning the war against insurgency in the country remained lack of funding.
Alobi said without funding and access to the latest technology and weapons, troops have no chance in confronting the insurgents.
He said, "The government is doing its best in line with section 35 of the constitution which says the primary responsibility of government is protection and wellbeing of the citizens.
"Security is something that is key and central without which there will be no government, no development. There is nowhere with total security because life is dynamic. For instance, the issue of COVID-19 was never there and right now it has brought about some challenges for the government.
"They (government) have gotten to a situation where they are going after soft targets. The government has not been able to fund and equip the security agencies which include the military and the police because they are both fighting this war in the North-East.
"So, I think they need to be motivated, they need to be well equipped because security now is technology driven and that requires funding, to gather intelligence, to have weapons and training. The officers and men need to be trained for them to have the capacity to confront the terrorists."
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COVID-19 infections across the globe have been increasing at a rate of one million per week since the beginning of April.
This is according to a Coronavirus tally by Reuters, which observed that the increase was in sync with decisions by economies across the world to start opening up their previously locked down economies.
The news agency said after the report of the first 49 cases in Wuhan, China, on January 10, 2020, it took the world until April 1 for one million persons to be infected.
Now, over five million persons have been infected with the virus at some point.
The number of deaths are still below 10 per cent, with over 326,000 fatalities so far.
Despite dire predictions about Africa being overwhelmed, South America, led by Brazil, has become the epicentre of the virus.
According to the report, the country, whose President failed to take the virus serious, has passed Germany, France and United Kingdom to become the third most infected country after Russia and the United States.
The total number of cases in Africa is nowhere near the top five cases in the world – the entire continent has recorded 95,482 cases and 3,000 deaths.
The USA leads the way with 1.58m infected persons, Russia has 318,000, Brazil has now reported 293,000, the UK has 251,000, while 233,000 persons have tested positive in Spain.
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The apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has expressed concerns over the influx of Northern youth to the South-East.
The group said it was unfortunate that while President Muhammadu Buhari President had drafted the army to stop the invasion of bandits in Katsina, the “President and the entire security look away from this continuous movement of people to the South.”
President-General of the group, John Nwodo, made the remarks while speaking with SaharaReporters.
Nwodo disclosed that vehicles belonging to the companies of Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, had become notorious in transporting Northern youth to the South. Ohaneze National President, John Nwodo at Ukehe
He said the group had tried to draw Dangote’s attention to the issue but nothing appears to have changed.
He said, “Lots of trailers from the North are carrying a lot of able-body young men who have no place of habitation, no legitimate business of engagement and coming down here in great proportion.
“It is interesting that this is coming at the same time neighbouring youths in Katsina State from outside Nigeria have invaded Katsina and had clashes with the local community and the President has drafted the army to go and engage them but the President and the entire security look away from this continuous movement of people to the South.”
Nwodo said the influx of the Northern youth worries people in the South because of past threats made by Boko Haram against the region and recent issues of kidnapping.
He added, “Northern governors have also taken a resolution banning the movement of almajiri within their states and they order that all almajiri should be returned to their home state.
“The social media is awash by a lot of news, some I’m sure are not authentic, some are authentic but they all point to the fact that we are all witnesses of this impunity. Not too long ago, Boko Haram boasted that they are going to start a war from the South-East and South-South.
“We are all witnesses of the invasion of the west after the murder of Chief Fasoranti’s daughter and several kidnappings along Lagos and Ibadan and Ondo. We are beginning to get worried and we have spoken out and have called on the Federal Government to address the situation.
“We are being as vigilant and trying to turn back as many (Northern youth). We have made a representation to Alhaji Aliko Dangote whose vehicles have become notorious in the transportation of these youth, in case he is not aware of what is happening. I do hope you use your medium to express our profound dissatisfaction about what is happening and readiness to defend ourselves if the government fails to intervene.”
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Worried by the dust raised by a newspaper article he wrote against Prof Ibrahim Gambari, new Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, in 2008, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, is said to have adopted a new way to repair any sort of damage that article might have caused to his relationship with the ex-United Nations diplomat.
According to informed Aso Villa sources, Adesina, knowing the importance of the office Gambari now occupies in the President Buhari administration, has been writing persuasive articles but using the names of other persons to push them out to the public in a desperate move to ‘soften’ the heart of the new Chief of State and make him forgive and forget the incident of the past.
Sources also said that Adesina had been using Aso Villa mail distribution list to circulate the articles in order for them to hit maximum reach.
Recall that Adesina had in his column on Saturday, July 12, 2008 in the SUN Newspaper said Gambari enslaved himself to please his paymasters by defending the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa and others by the late General Sani Abacha military regime. Femi Adesina's article (Gambari: The Slap Next Time) was first published on July 12, 2008 in the Saturday SUN NewspaperSaharaReporters Media
He wrote, “Gambari enslaved himself to please his paymasters. Now, 13 years after, the shackles are still tied around his neck, threatening to asphyxiate him. What an eternal lesson for fawning bootlicking grovellers to learn. Old sins indeed have long shadows.”
However, in one damage-control article seen by SaharaReporters on Wednesday, the writer, believed to be Adesina but hiding under another identity, while justifying the 2008 missile to Gambari, wished both presidency officials a good working relationship in the service of President Buhari and Nigeria.
The article expressed optimism that Adesina would find it easy to get along with the new Chief of Staff, whom was encouraged to allow the past slip away forever.
The article reads partly, “President Buhari and Adesina are great friends who deeply respect each other. For Buhari, Adesina is a bosom friend united in their quest for a new Nigeria. When Adesina's mum passed on in the days of our struggle for his enthronement, General Buhari attended her burial. You can count the times he had honoured anyone in that manner on your fingertips. To underscore their bond, it may interest you to recall that Adesina was the very first person given appointment by President Buhari after he assumed office in 2015. I was notified as soon as Adesina arrived at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
“I am certain Adesina would find it very easy to get along with Prof Ibrahim Gambari as Chief of Staff because they are united in their resolve to give the President the best of themselves.
“Adesina, being a cultured Yoruba man and a good Christian, will respect and support Prof Gambari not only as a matter of duty but in conformity with cultural etiquettes of according elders respect due our parents and, Biblically, as though serving God. Nothing will obstruct that. Not any mischievous reference to an old article.
“I am quite certain the article would have no impact on Prof Gambari's attitude to Adesina as a thoroughbred academic for whom criticism is a norm, and as a cosmopolitan world citizen who has waded through many troubled waters, seeking peace across the world during his stint as super-diplomat/ Under-Secretary General with the United Nations. See AlsoOpinionGambari: The Slap Next Time By Femi Adesina0 Comments3 Days Ago
“I wish both Prof Gambari, our father, our teacher, and my brother, Adesina, a good working relationship in the service of President Buhari and Nigeria.”
According to the sources, since the death of Buhari’s former Chief of State, Abba Kyari, Adesina and fellow Presidency spokesperson, Garba Shehu, have found their stay at the Villa shaky.
Shehu had a well-publicised standoff with First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari, in December 2019 where she accused him of causing crisis in the first family.
On the other hand, Adesina’s position has come under intense threat following the emergence of Gambari, who he once tore into shreds in his newspaper column.
With Kyari gone, the protection both men enjoyed in the Villa by being loyal to him has since been stripped off them, thereby exposing them to any type of ‘attack’.
It was gathered that more of such strategic and fence-mending articles will surface in the coming days and weeks as Adesina desperately tries to settle old scores with the occupier of one of the most powerful offices in the country today – Gambari.
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Deputy National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (North), Lawal Shuaibu, has accused the party's leadership of flouting guidelines ahead of the governorship primaries in Ondo and Edo states.
Shuaibu disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said the process towards the two elections was shrouded in secrecy, which was in violation of the constitution of the party.
The statement reads, “With regards to Ondo and Edo primary elections, there is already absence of transparency.
"The regulations issued that will guide the processes are already in violation of Article 20 (v) on page 76 of the APC constitution as amended where only the National Executive Committee is the only organ that shall approve such guidelines and regulations which includes the mode of nominating our candidates.
"I am crying for APC inside me!”
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