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President Peter Mutharika battles for re-election after irregularities voided last year's result.

Agboola Ajayi, deputy governor of Ondo State, has given reasons why he dumped the All Progressives Congress to join the Peoples Democratic Party.

In a statement on Monday by his Press Secretary, Babatope Okeowo, the Ondo deputy governor while being officially welcomed into the PDP, described the APC as a "poisoned space" he needed to move away from.

According to him, the APC was now like "a house divided against itself in Ondo State, adding that the party was having breathing difficulties because one man was kneeling on its neck".  Agboola Ajayi

He said, "For too long, I watched like a typical bystander within APC, Ondo State, in the administration I am supposed to be part of.

"I have always seen the political party system and position as privileged platforms to serve the people and not self, members of one’s family, clan or cronies.  See Also Sahara Reporters I'm Ready To Participate In PDP Governorship Primary, Ondo Deputy Governor Says 0 Comments 1 Day Ago

"At the moment in Ondo State, democracy and wide participation by the people have given way to unsolicited and illegitimate outsourcing of power, familitocracy, nepotism, clannishness and primitive accumulation of illegal wealth under state cover.”

Speaking further, Ajayi expressed delight at joining PDP, promising to abide by the rule governing the party.

Akeredolu Orders Police To Detain Deputy Governor As Deputy Concludes Plan To Defect To PDP WATCH: VIDEO: Ondo Governor, Akeredolu Orders Police To Detain Deputy Governor In Office For Over Four Hours As Deputy Concludes Plan To Defect To PDP Politics News AddThis :  Featured Image :  Original Author :  Saharareporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
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The Peoples Democratic Party has extended the sale of nomination forms for the Ondo State governorship election primary.

The party has extended the last day for the sale of nomination forms from the earlier announced date of Monday, June 22, 2020 to a new date of Wednesday, June 24, 2020. 

PDP in a statement on Monday by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, said, "All other time frames related to the nomination processes for the Ondo State governorship election remain as earlier announced.

"All leaders, governorship aspirants, critical stakeholders and members of our great party in Ondo State should be guided accordingly."

See Also Sahara Reporters I'm Ready To Participate In PDP Governorship Primary, Ondo Deputy Governor Says 0 Comments 1 Day Ago

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One Joshua Sayo Oki, a resident of Osun State, has been arraigned before an Osun State Magistrate Court for making a Facebook post against Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Mr Timothy Owoeye.

Oki, 48, was alleged to have published contemptuous pictures and words on his Facebook account on June 19, 2020.

He was arrested and charged by the Department of State Services for making the post allegedly portraying the Speaker in an embarrassing way.  Osun Assembly Speaker, Timothy Owoeye.

He was charged for defamation as the prosecutor, Mr Boo Nweke, stated that the offence committed by the accused person was contrary to Section 374(1)b & 374 and punishable under Section 375 of the Criminal Code Cap 34, Vol. 2 Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2002.

At the hearing of the case on Monday, Oki pleaded not guilty to the allegations as his legal counsel, Ibraheem Imran, applied for his bail.

The Magistrate, Modupe Awodele, granted him a bail bond in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum.

The case was adjourned till 14th of July, 2020, Daily Trust reported.

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Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director-General of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, has warned Nigerians against false optimism following 'COVID-19 free' declarations by some state governments.

Ihekweazu said no state in the country can be declared Coronavirus free unless a vaccine was developed to treat the virus.

The NCDC boss made this known in Abuja during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on Monday.  NCDC Boss Chikwe Ihekweazu

He said, "Concerning some states declaring themselves COVID-19 free because they were discharging patients, I will like to say no single state in Nigeria is COVID-19 free, not one.

“No country in the world is COVID-19 free. Even New Zealand that is an island state is still having new cases after a period of not having any. We can’t separate ourselves from the rest of the country because we live in a context and viruses spread.

“That is why prevention is very important; if you can’t prevent, then you must detect. It is that detection that we call lab testing, and that is why we have to scale our lab test.

“We can only start talking about any state or community being disease-free when we have an effective tool to fight that disease. That will come when we have a vaccine. Until then, there is no easy way to say this. We have to keep pushing on these preventive measures and we have to develop our laboratory capacity to test.

“I think there are six or seven states in the country that do not have a testing facility yet; there are some that are in progress using the GeneXpert technology. By next week, we will be able to say that the country is covered.

“The challenge will now be about how to convey the samples from one part of the state to the other depending on how big the state is. We want to make sure we have testing capabilities in every state in Nigeria.”

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Despite initially dismissing claims by beneficiaries of the N-Power programme that they have not been paid their monthly stipends, Sadiya Umar Farouq, Nigeria's Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, has now said 12,000 beneficiaries are yet to receive payment.

Farouq on May 23 said all beneficiaries had been paid in response to allegations that not all participants of the scheme had received payment.

However, after overwhelming complaints reported across the media, she has now backtracked to admit that not everyone had been paid. 

Speaking on Monday during the briefing by members of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, the minister said, “As far as the ministry is concerned, we have paid N-Power beneficiaries that have been verified and recommended for payment. We have 500,000 N-Power volunteers.

“Those who are claiming that they have not been paid, we are looking into these issues with the Office of the Account General of the Federation.  See Also Sahara Reporters Despite Irregular Payment Of Beneficiaries, N-Power To Begin Fresh Recruitment 0 Comments 2 Days Ago

“We have had issues around migrating from the platform that we used to operate to the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) platform. So, these are the administrative issues that have hindered the payment of some of the volunteers.

“There are about 12,000 of them based on our record and as I am speaking with you, the permanent secretary of the ministry is in the office of the accountant general to sort out these issues and once we get the report, we will make it available to all.”

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Saudi Arabia has banned all international visitors from making the Islamic pilgrimage known as Hajj this year as part of measures to stop the spread of Coronavirus.

Saudi Arabia has so far recorded 161,005 cases of infection and 1,307 deaths. 

Only a very limited number of people currently living in the kingdom may take part, BBC reports.

There are fears that Hajj might be cancelled altogether.

So far, only citizens from countries around the world, who are already resident in Saudi Arabia will be allowed to attend this year.

The authorities say this is the only way they will be able to make plans for social distancing that will keep people safe.

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The Peoples Democratic Party on Monday tackled President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, saying the country’s economy was slippery under his watch. 

Uche Secondus, National Chairman of the party, who stated this in Akure, Ondo State, said the ruling All Progressives Congress government at the federal level, had failed Nigerians. 

He spoke while receiving Ondo State deputy governor, Mr Agboola Ajayi, and some of his supporters to the PDP at its secretariat in Akure. 

Secondus condemned the increasing cases of banditry and kidnapping in the country, noting that the economy was in comatose. 

He said, "The APC has fooled this nation for the past five years and they have even performed woefully. 

"The APC under Buhari had damaged this country and destroyed the economy and there is no longer security anywhere. 

"As we can see, our country is slippery and sliding under his watch, if they cannot see it, we can see it clearly."

While welcoming the Ondo deputy governor to the PDP, Secondus described his exit from the APC as an act of God, which will boost the chances of the main opposition party in the state during the governorship election.

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The Peoples Democratic Party on Monday tackled President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, saying the country’s economy was slippery under his watch. 

Uche Secondus, National Chairman of the party, who stated this in Akure, Ondo State, said the ruling All Progressives Congress government at the federal level, had failed Nigerians. 

He spoke while receiving Ondo State deputy governor, Mr Agboola Ajayi, and some of his supporters to the PDP at its secretariat in Akure. 

Secondus condemned the increasing cases of banditry and kidnapping in the country, noting that the economy was in comatose. 

He said, "The APC has fooled this nation for the past five years and they have even performed woefully. 

"The APC under Buhari had damaged this country and destroyed the economy and there is no longer security anywhere. 

"As we can see, our country is slippery and sliding under his watch, if they cannot see it, we can see it clearly."

While welcoming the Ondo deputy governor to the PDP, Secondus described his exit from the APC as an act of God, which will boost the chances of the main opposition party in the state during the governorship election.

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Rasheedat Taiwo Saka, an eight-month pregnant Nigerian woman trafficked to Lebanon, has cried out for help after she was abandoned to her fate by Nigerian authorities. 

Saka told SaharaReporters on Monday that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, she has had no access to food or medical care and was currently locked up in her traffickers' office alongside other victims.

Narrating her ordeal, Saka said she left Nigeria after her husband died in November 2018 and things became difficult financially. 

She said three agents in Nigeria including one Mr John and another person named Victor approached her and presented her the opportunity of working in Lebanon. 

"Before I left for Lebanon, they bought our passport and ticket and said two months of our salary will be theirs' when we got there.

"I didn't know I was pregnant when I left Nigeria. When I got to Lebanon, the agency and my employer took me to the hospital, they found out I was pregnant but still forced me to work.

"Despite my condition, I was forced to work for six months from house to house until the house where I worked last. I had started showing very well, the woman returned me to the agency.

"I have not been paid. I reached out to the agent, Mr John, and narrated my ordeal to him saying I wanted to come home because the agency in Lebanon claimed I owed them. He dismissed me, saying my trouble was too much and asked me to contact my family to settle the Lebanese traffickers even when he knew I have no family. He has also been disturbing me, asking me to pay him, claiming I still owed him after collecting my salary from the agency in Lebanon," she said.

Saka, SaharaReporters gathered, is currently locked up in the trafficking agency called Damaj Services in Lebanon. 

"I, alongside other women, some from Nigeria and others from Ghana, are currently locked up in an office building.

"The bed we are sleeping on is children's size and I am eight months pregnant. Throughout yesterday I could not sleep because I am in severe pain. 

8 Month Pregnant Nigerian Woman Trafficked To Lebanon And Locked Up In Trafficker’s Office WATCH VIDEO

"I am hungry too. In fact, so hungry that I had to beg one of the staff in the building to buy food for me yesterday to eat, he bought bread and gave me. Then we were given five pieces of potatoes to eat; we are more than six in number," she lamented. 

When SaharaReporters contacted Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, over the issue on Monday, her phone rang out without response. 

A text message sent to her was also not replied as at the time of filing this report. 

Adekola Damilola an activist with Rescue Africans In Slavery (projectferry), a project working to draw attention to the plight of trafficked Nigerians in Lebanon and Oman, said the biggest challenge they encounter is the unwillingness on the part of the Nigerian Government to rescue women and girls in danger abroad. 

"There is unwillingness on the part of government. They can do more by sending a flight, like an amnesty and asking all women and girls who are trafficked and want to return to come back home from Lebanon, Oman and Saudi Arabia. 

"Immigration officials are also part of the problem. They collect money from these agents who are traffickers and allow them. 

“If staff from agencies like NAPTIP are positioned in airports, they're trained to know who is being trafficked and can intervene even before the women leave Nigeria. They should also be positioned in embassies abroad because I have heard of many cases where embassy staff just take names and complaints and send the women back to their traffickers without any action."

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Mayor Jenny Durkan says the violence is "increasingly difficult" for businesses and residents.

A former presidential candidate and Minister of Education in Nigeria, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili, has lost her mother, Mrs Cecilia Nwayiaka Ujubuonu.

An official press statement by Ezekwesili’s spokesperson and publicist, Mr Ozioma Ubabukoh, stated that Mrs Ujubuonu died in the late hours of Sunday, June 21, 2020 at the age of 78.

A native of Ndodolu Village, Umunuko, Ukpor, in Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State, she was widowed after the death of her husband, Benjamin Ujubuonu, in 1988. 

Born on April 18, 1942, Ujubuonu, a retired businesswoman, devoted her life to her children, grandchildren, the church and service to humanity.

She died in the arms and home of her daughter, Ezekwesili, in Abuja on Sunday night from cancer.

Until her death, she was a member of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

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Former Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Alhaji Kabiru Adjoto, has announced his resignation from the All Progressives Congress.

Adjoto tendered his resignation to the Edo State APC chapter, adding that his action was in line with Article 9.5(i) of the APC constitution.

“My resignation takes immediate effect," he said. 

He added that he took the decision after deeply consulting with his conscience, family, friends and supporters.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Adjoto disclosed that he was leaving the APC because it was necessary for him to do so.

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Ajaokuta Steel Company Ltd has paid only N1m in electricity bills in nine quarters of reporting on the electricity industry by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission.

The inactive company has been billed for power supplies worth at least N3.71bn within this window, although there are discrepancies in the data published by the commission, SaharaReporters has gathered.

Since its commissioning in 1983 by then President Shehu Shagari, the steel mill has stayed idle but has still managed to pile a substantial deficit on the overburdened electricity industry.

The government-owned entity is designated in the regulator’s reports as a special customer and distinguished from other distribution companies along with Nigeria’s two foreign electricity buyers – CEB which supplies 200mw of power to Benin Republic and Nigelec which transmits 100mw of energy to Niger Republic. 

These three companies failed to make any remittance to the government in nine of the ten reports released by NERC, covering the third quarter of 2017 till the fourth quarter of 2019.

2017 Records

The first NERC publication on the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) was for the third quarter of 2017. In this period, the commission failed to break down the monies owed by Ajaokuta and its foreign co-debtors but said:

“During the third quarter, the total invoice issued to international customers (CEB/SAKETE and NIGELEC) and the special customers (Ajaokuta) stood at ₦21 billion. However, no payment was received from these customers during the quarter under review.

“On account of the bilateral nature of the export of energy to the Republics of Niger and Benin, efforts are being made at the appropriate levels to ensure that the utilities pay for the energy supplied from Nigeria.” Although it grouped the steel mill’s spending with the other two, the regulator only addressed the deficit owed by the foreign firm and said nothing about retrieving its monies from the derelict entity.

In the last three months of the year, the pattern was repeated. The unpaid bills owed by Ajaokuta was not separated from the debt incurred by the utility firms buying power from Nigeria on behalf of Niger and Benin Republics in its summary of invoices sent to distribution companies and remittances received from them. 

“The total NBET’s and MO’s invoices to international customers (i.e. CEB and NIGELEC) and special customer (i.e., Ajaokuta Steel) during the fourth quarter stood at ₦31.1billion. However, no payment was received from the international and special customers for the period,” the Q4 2017 report said.

This time, however, there was a table detailing the invoice sent to Ajaokuta, CEB and Nigelec by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) which purchases power from the generation companies and the market operator, the business arm of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) that serves as the wholesaler in the industry.

The data in that table differs from what the commission summed up as N31.1bn though.

 

In the table, NBET is recorded to have given Ajaokuta N250m in Q4. The data shows MO gave Ajaokuta an invoice of N50m in the quarter as well.

NERC recorded NBET and MO as giving CEB invoices of 8.15bn in the last quarter of the year in view, while Nigelec received invoices that summed up to N3.06bn in the final three months of 2017. These bills do not add up to the N31.1bn NERC listed in the summary before its invoice and remittance table in the final three months of 2017.

In August of this year, the former Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said the two foreign customers paid $159m or N48.50bn, based on the then official conversion rate of N305 to a dollar. Three months later, the minister said another $64.63m or N19.71bn had been paid, totalling N68.20bn in defrayed debts to NBET and the market operator.

The payments left a balance of $18m or N5.49bn. In this period, there was no recorded payment of electricity bills by the ‘special customer.’ The monies paid by Nigelec and CEB were also not recorded in either the third or fourth quarter report for that year.

2018 Record

In the first three months of this year, the steel mill in Ajaokuta was given a bill of 1.63bn by NBET and MO. The commission, again, complained about the fugitive foreign customers but failed to speak of the N1.63bn owed it by the government’s steel corporation. The service charge to the corporation by the Market Operator – N1.38bn, surprisingly outstripped the actual N250m worth of electricity alleged to have been consumed.

There was no variation in the amount the report said the steel mill and the two foreign firms owed in the first quarter of 2018. The calculation of the figures invoiced by NBET and the Market Operator to the three companies in the table below the above quote tallied up to N12.23bn.

In the second quarter, Ajaokuta accumulated an electricity bill of N250m from NBET and a service charge of N50m from the MO. The commission’s figures were in alignment in the period spanning April to June 2018, which saw the three companies incur a debt of N13.30bn to Nigerian’s electricity supply industry.

The discrepancy in figures returned in Q3 2018. NERC said in its summary of its DISCO – distribution companies’ quarterly remittance table that Ajaokuta was billed N316m by NBET and MO. It is during this period the firm graciously paid N1m of its debts.

“The total market (NBET’s and MO’s) invoices issued to Ajaokuta Steel Co. Ltd (classified as a special customer) and the international customers (i.e., Communaute Electrique du Benin (CEB) and Societe Nigerienne d’electricite – NIGELEC) during the third quarter of 2018, were ₦316million and ₦12.11billion respectively,” the report said.

“However, while ₦1million was received from Ajaokuta Steel Co. Ltd, no payment was received from the international customers,” NERC concluded, saying nothing about the unpaid bills piling up in Ajaokuta’s name. Inside the invoice and remittance table, the ‘special’ catatonic ‘customer,’ was billed N270m for the electricity consumed and N50m as service charge from the TCN’s Market Operator— N320m, a contrast of N4m from what the commission said the steel company was invoiced. The N12.11bn summation for the foreign customers added up, however.

 

In the final three months of the year, NERC said Ajaokuta consumed another N300m worth of electricity it failed to pay for. Its foreign co-debtors received power worth N12.40bn and combined to pay 9.62bn to cover all its debts.

“The total market (NBET’s & MO’s) invoices issued to the special customer (Ajaokuta Steel Co. Ltd) and the international customers (i.e., Societe Nigerienne d’electricite – NIGELEC and Communaute Electrique du Benin -CEB) during the fourth quarter of 2018 were ₦300million and ₦12.4billion respectively,” the report said.

“However, while $31.5million (₦9.618million) was received from the international customers as part payment of their total debt, no payment was received from the Ajaokuta steel Co. Ltd. The Nigerian government has continued to engage governments of neighbouring countries benefitting from the export supply to ensure timely payments for the electricity purchased from Nigeria.”

2019 Record

The trend of unpaid bills persisted in 2019. Ajaokuta received an invoice of N260m from NBET and N40m from the MO but paid nothing.

The electricity companies from Benin and Niger Republics received invoices worth N12.75bn and remitted no cent. The figures from NERC, in the summary of invoices sent to the three companies and the remittance table, rhymed in Q1 2019.

In Q2 2019, the scribes of NERC gaffed again. Above the summary of the invoice and remittance table for distribution companies, the commission said Ajaokuta received N0.32bn or N320m from NBET and the MO. 

In the table itself, Ajaokuta is said to have collected a payment request of N280m from NBET and N50m from the Market Operator, which comes up to N330m. Neither Ajaokuta nor the two West African electricity utility firms honoured the invoice.

The commission again gave different figures when summing up the invoices given to Ajaokuta and the two other international firms in Q3 2019. It said the steel mill was invoiced N210m, which was accurate with the breakdown it presented in the invoice and remittance table. NBET billed it N180m, while the MO charged it N30m. It said Nigelec and CEB were billed N6.38bn, the figures in the table read N6.37 when totalled though.

In the final quarter of 2019, which was released in June 2020, NBET did not send any invoice to the steel company. Still, the Market Operator charged it N30m.

Only Nigelec, which supplies electricity to Niger Republic, received an invoice for the electricity consumed in the three months leading up to 2020. The sum of electricity it was billed for was the same as the service charge it received from the Market Operator – N1.03bn each, summing up to N2.06bn, according to the table on invoice and remittance in its Q4 report. The NERC scribes said in the summary above the table that the sum was N2.07bn, an increase of N10m.

The former MD of TCN, Usman Mohammed, told Channels Television that both Nigelec and CEB owed NBET and MO $16m or N4.88bn, a reality that was not reflected in NERC’s reports. 

He, however, said that CEB and Nigelec would be disconnected until they paid up. In two full years of reporting, Nigelec and Ceb received invoices worth N80.14bn according to the data in the quarterly invoice and remittance table published by NERC in its eight reports spanning the 24 months but paid approximately N9.62bn, living a deficit of N70bn unpaid to NESI.

A source conversant with the power industry, who didn’t want his name mentioned, told SaharaReporters the area around the obsolete Ajaokuta Steel Company LTD has been in perpetual darkness for a long while and had become a den for kidnapping. The source said it was for distribution companies to keep issuing bills to post-paid customers consuming any kilowatt of energy.

The Federal Government reached a legal settlement with the last of the firms it unsuccessfully tried to concession the company to in 2016, creating a panel for its resuscitation. With the set-up of a panel in May 2020 to handle the upgrading and operation of the steel mill, perhaps the controversy surrounding the unpaid electricity bills would be resolved.

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The police in Enugu State have rescued a 40-year-old lady from the Philippines, Irene Torento Panas, who was lured to Nigeria by a 54-year-old man named Chukwudi Odo.

The woman was rescued six months after arriving Nigeria from her country in an apparent but unsuccessful search for love.    

Panas, an accountant by profession and a native of Manila in the Philippines, arrived Nigeria in November 22, 2019 on a visit to Odo in Enugu State whom she met on Facebook on March 8, 2017. 

The visit, which was originally intended to be for 10 days however, turned out to be a full case of abduction following Odo’s refusal to allow her return to her country against her will. 

She was held incommunicado by the suspect until police operatives attached to the Unity Police Division, Ibegwa Nike, Enugu State rescued her following a tip-off from some residents of the area.

She was immediately taken to the hospital for medical attention where she was admitted from June 5 to 16. 

In a statement, spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force, Frank Mba, said, “Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect deliberately lured the victim into the country with the aim of confining her, sexually abusing and extorting money from her.     

“The IGP while enjoining members of the public to tread cautiously in their use of the social media, warns against any abuse of the cyberspace, noting that such criminal acts will not go undetected and unpunished by the Force. 

“Meanwhile, the Force is already in contact with the Embassy of the Philippines in Nigeria so as to reunite the victim with members of her family.” 

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The Peoples Democratic Party has debunked insinuations that the party has adopted Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo as its chosen candidate for the governorship election in the state.

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, disclosed this while speaking with SaharaReporters on Monday.

He said the primary election slated for Tuesday was an open contest among aspirants, adding that the party would not pile pressure on any candidate to step down for anyone. 

He said the defection of Governor Obaseki to PDP would not create any rift in the state, adding that leadership in PDP was about collegiate system.

Kola said, "We don't have a structure where one person will say I am the automatic leader. What we have is a collegiate system. People hold consultations across various levels of leadership in the PDP.

"In our party, we have utmost respect for our governors. Governors have their opinions on every issue which we put before collegiate leadership and once they agree on them, there is no issue."  See Also Elections Edo Poll: PDP NWC Considers Waiver For Obaseki, Postpones Primary 0 Comments 3 Days Ago

One of the governorship aspirants in the party, Kenneth Imasuagbon, had insisted that he would not step down for Governor Obaseki during the primary.

He said, "If there is anyone who should step down for the other, it is Obaseki."

Imasuagbon added that he has been on his governorship project for the past 16 years and would therefore not give it up “in just 24 hours” because of Obaseki.

Meanwhile, before Obaseki’s defection, the PDP had screened and cleared Imasuagbon, Gideon Ikhine and Ogbeide Ihama for the primary, which was supposed to have been held last weekend.

However, Obaseki’s defection to the PDP forced the party leadership to delay the primary by three days.

SaharaReporters gathered that the meeting between Obaseki and key leaders of the PDP and the three governorship aspirants on Saturday night ended in a deadlock.

Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal and Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, are said to be doing everything possible to get Obaseki the PDP ticket.

It was gathered that the governors have arrived in Benin, Edo State’s capital, to persuade the three governorship aspirants to step down in the overall interest of the party.

A reliable source told SaharaReporters that the governors would convey another meeting with the aspirants tonight which will determine the fate of Obaseki.

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The Elites Network for Sustainable Development, a Kwara State-based civil society organisation, has berated the state’s House of Assembly for dismissing bills from members of the public and civil society groups.

The group knocked the Assembly, saying it was worrisome that the KWHA that was supposed to give priority to requests from members of the public has been turned to a place where a public request can be swept under the carpet without any hope of being attended to.

The group expressed disappointment at Razaq Owolabi, representative of Share/Oke-Ode Constituency (and Chairman of House Committee on Health and Environment) in the 9th Kwara State House of Assembly, who appeared on a radio programme and denied knowledge of a bill seeking to repeal the Kwara State governor and deputy governor (Payment of Pension) Law 2010. 

"Neither the Speaker nor any member of our Assembly has received any request about Governor Pension Law as at today. No member of the 9th KWHA has raised it on the floor of the house," Owolabi said.

Responding to Owolabi, Coordinator of ENetSuD, Dr Alagbonsi Abdulateef, expressed disappointment in the Danladi-led 9th KWHA on how requests of public origin are being handled in recent times.

He said that since the inauguration of the ninth state assembly, 10 bills were brought before the state Assembly, adding that eight were passed while two were not attended to. 

The two bills left unattended by the Assembly were those that emanated from the public, while the remaining eight bills emanated from the governor and Assembly members.

Abdulateef said, "The negligence and lackadaisical attitude of the 9th KWHA on these two bills of public origin show that the Assembly does not value ideas from the members of the public, which is against the doctrine of participatory governance that is driving many developed nations.

"It is very shameful to learn that a public request to repeal an obnoxious pension law for past governors and deputy governors was received by the Speaker of KWHA but not announced to other members of the Assembly after 166 days.

"Is the public now at the mercy of the Speaker to determine which request will be made known to the House?"

Abdulateef said it was not clear whose interest the Speaker was protecting, questioning why the request of the public submitted to his office to repeal the governor and deputy governor (Payment of Pension) Law 2010 was not brought to the attention of other House of Assembly members.

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Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State on Monday announced that 50 confirmed Coronavirus patients have been discharged.

This brings the total number of discharged patients in the state to 197.

Obaseki urged residents to comply with all safety and precautionary guidelines against the spread of the virus in order to protect the aged population, which accounts for only five per cent of the state’s total population. 

He said, “We have discharged 50 COVID-19 patients from our isolation centres in the state. A total of 197 people have recovered so far. 

"However, the death toll has risen to 31 with the elderly making up a large number of the fatalities. Please, keep safe and protect the elderly.”

Meanwhile, Commissioner for Health official in the state, Dr Patrick Okundia, said the state had recorded a total of 784 confirmed cases, 5555 suspected cases and exited 2052 others, including 1706 line-listed contacts and 346 persons of interest, who have completed the compulsory 14-day follow-up and tested negative.

 

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Family members, political associates and relatives of former Oyo State governor, Abiola Ajimobi, are fearful as hopes of him recovering from coma fades away by the minute.

The 70-year-old slipped into coma on Thursday for the second time as a result of COVID-19 complications.

The news sparked rumours of his death, sending panic across the landscape especially among his supporters and members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) where he is the National Deputy Chairman (South) of the party.

On Monday, a reliable source close to the ex-governor told SaharaReporters that Ajimobi had been on life support machine since Friday after he slipped into a deep coma and may not make any recovery going by the observations of medical experts around him. 

The source further disclosed that the former Oyo governor has had a lung surgery since being hospitalised but made no progress while his kidneys have also failed.

Doctors treating Ajimobi, it was reliably gathered, on Friday informed his family that his situation had defied every medical intervention and that only a miracle can bring him back to life.

To douse tension generated by his health condition, SaharaReporters discovered that his supporters have circulated an old video on the Internet of Ajimobi having lunch, claiming that it was captured during the recent Muslim festival to mark the end of Ramadan fast just to show that he was alive and in fact healthy.  See Also Breaking News BREAKING: Ajimobi Alive, Family Says As Ex-Oyo Governor Slips Into Coma Due To Coronavirus Complications 0 Comments 3 Days Ago

According to the source, who spoke with SaharaReporters, the move was a deliberate attempt to deflect attention away from his precarious state of health. 

"He is in very bad shape, he has been hooked to a ventilator since and on life support machine since Friday. There is only a very slim chance of him making it alive from that hospital.

"The video in circulation is an old one meant to douse tension among his supporters," the source said.

Ajimobi has been in the Intensive Care Unit at First Cardiology Hospital, Ikoyi, Lagos, since he was rushed to the place few weeks ago after it emerged he had Coronavirus.  See Also Exclusive REVEALED: Lagos Senator, 'Pepperito', Died At First Cardiology Hospital, Ex-Oyo Governor, Ajimobi, Reportedly In Critical Condition At Same Facility 0 Comments 1 Week Ago

The former governor first slipped into coma on June 8 but was revived and stabilised by doctors until last Thursday when he again went totally unconscious.

First Cardiology is the same hospital where former Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari, was treated for Coronavirus until he died of the disease.

 

See Also Politics REVEALED: Abba Kyari Died At Lagos Hospital, First Cardiology Consultants 0 Comments 2 Months Ago

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