Afolabi Fashanu (SAN), Obasa’s lead counsel, confirmed on Tuesday that they are fully prepared for the February 28 court hearing, despite ongoing political efforts to resolve the Assembly crisis.

Fashanu emphasized that Obasa will not return to the Assembly until a judgment is obtained, arguing that any attempt to resume the speakership before the court’s ruling would be illegal.

Obasa, who was impeached on January 13, 2025, by a majority of lawmakers, filed a suit at the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja, challenging his removal and the emergence of Mojisola Meranda as the new Speaker.

Political Mediation Efforts

The Lagos Assembly crisis has proven difficult to resolve, even for the powerful Governors Advisory Council (GAC). In an attempt to mediate, President Bola Tinubu reportedly assigned Chief Bisi Akande and Aremo Olusegun Osoba, both former governors, to intervene.

Following marathon meetings from Sunday through Monday, reports suggest that the mediating panel recommended that both Obasa and Meranda should step down for another lawmaker from Lagos West Senatorial District.

Additionally, Obasa was reportedly asked to withdraw his court case and voluntarily resign, with the panel expected to brief President Tinubu on its intervention.

Obasa’s Legal Team Unmoved

However, when asked about these reports by The PUNCH, Fashanu denied any official communication regarding a settlement.

He said: “Well, that intervention, for me, is still a rumor because nothing of such has been communicated to us, as the legal team. So, what we all read in newspapers, we don’t even know the genuineness or authenticity of the news on the purported settlement.

“Our client has not communicated anything to us in the nature of withdrawal. So, we are still preparing for the case until otherwise.”

Restating the legal team’s commitment, Fashanu added:“Nothing is certain in life except death. But on our part, we will put in our maximum effort, and we believe he has a very good case. So, subject to the overriding power of the deciding judge, we are good to go.”

No Resignation, No Illegal Moves

A source close to Obasa also dismissed claims that he would voluntarily resign, insisting that “it has not gotten to that level.”

On whether Obasa would return to the Assembly before the court ruling, Fashanu clarified that such a move would be illegal, stating:

“That means he will be taking laws into his own hands, and I don’t think he would want to do that. If he had wanted to do that, I’m sure from day two or day three, he would have done that.”

[NaijaNews]

The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN) has expressed disappointment over the Muslim-Muslim ticket that brought President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima into office in 2023, stating that it has not yielded the expected benefits for the Muslim community.

Speaking at a Pre-Ramadan Lecture, the President of SCSN, Sheikh Abdurrasheed Hadiyyatullah, criticized the administration for failing to address the plight of Nigerian Muslims, despite the general belief that the ticket would be advantageous to them.

“We have seen Nigerians vote for people of the same Islamic faith into the Presidency without turning the country into an unceasing battlefield, but we have not seen justice and equity done to all communities, irrespective of their faith,” Hadiyyatullah stated.

He further lamented that millions of Muslims remain politically marginalized across various parts of the country despite their significant population and constitutional rights. He warned against what he described as an attempt to suppress the rights of South West Muslims to organize mechanisms that would enhance their coexistence with Christians within their communities.

“We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the South West and we advise those who think they can divide the Nigerian Muslim Umma to find other mischief to engage themselves,” he said.

Hadiyyatullah also raised concerns over the worsening economic hardship in the country, urging the federal government to take immediate action to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians.

“The Umma looks up to us for guidance and assurances that their faith will not be sacrificed on the altar of political opportunism and greed. Many Muslims are being encouraged to think they have been betrayed to vote for this administration,” he added.

[DailyPost]

The United Kingdom Foreign and CommonWealth Development Office in Nigeria through its programme, strengthening peace and resilience, has organised a four-day training workshop for traditional rulers on conflict resolution and mediation

Declaring the training open, Katsina Governor, Mallam Dikko Umar Radda who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Barr. Abdullahi Faskari, highlighted the role of the traditional rulers on peace resolution which he said cannot be overstretched.

He said: “We all know that peace is fundamental and significant for socio-economic development in the society and without peace, nothing can be achieved.

”Any attempt  to.strengthen the issue of having peace in the society is very significant and important for all of us,as these traditional rulers were the closest to the people and everything starts from there.

“This is surely inherent in their own activities from time immemorial for them to settle people for peaceful coexistence.so attempts to bring about modernisation, new ideas, ways and knowledge that will improve their activities, I think is a welcome development”.

Radda further added that bringing peace in Nigeria is the sole responsibility of everyone and that It is a religious duty for everyone and whoever comes to assist on this regard

Underscoring the importance of the training in Katsina State, the team lead, SPRiNG programme, Dr. Ukoha Ukiwo, noted that considering the laudable contribution of the Nigerian government in maintaining peace especially in Africa, the UK government has indicated interest to promote efforts to restore peace and establish security.

He said: “The interest in Nigeria is because of its important role played especially in maintaining peace and security across Africa and there are concerns all over the world that if Nigeria is not stable, Africa will also be unstable”

“Nigeria is very important to the world that is why the UK government is quite interested in supporting the effort of the Nigerian actors and institutions to address issues that affect peace and security in Nigeria.

“All it has to do is to work with Nigerian stakeholders like you to ensure that we are better even to respond to issues around conflict, security, stability particularly that are also related to access to natural resources in a more peaceful way. 

The Training Coordinator, Green Horizon, Prof Muhammed Tabiu, said the programme was aimed at equipping and strengthening the traditional rulers’ skills on mediation as well as basic knowledge of the justice system in Nigeria.

He further added that Katsina State and the rest of the North-West region of Nigeria have become even more important because of the destructions that were brought about by the criminality, banditry and terrorism and that traditional rulers are up to the task if they are equipped with relevant skills, techniques for maintaining law and order and conflict resolution. 

He said: “The subject matter is mediation and conflict resolution aimed at sharpening the participant’s skills and to improve their capabilities to make peace, mediate between members of their communities as well as maintain law and order”.

The participants were expected to be equipped with the basic knowledge of the justice system in Nigeria in order to build their confidence especially when interacting with law enforcement agents during conflict resolution ,mediation and family disputes.

Not a few Nigerians were relieved after former military President Ibrahim Babangida finally admitted, at the recent launch of his book, “A Journey of Service”, that Bashorun MKO Abiola indeed won the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

Though his attribution of the dastardly act almost solely to his subordinate, General Sani Abacha, who eventually succeeded Earnest Shonekan, his successor, may be a true and accurate account of who actually did what and why, it revealed a flaw in his character.

Gumsu, daughter of General Abacha, reportedly posted the cryptic remark, “Weakling,” to General Babangida’s “revelation” that he was in (faraway, unreachable outer Mongolia, Southern Succotash boondocks?) Katsina when General Abacha instigated the annulment of Abiola’s election.

By the way, Abacha’s son, Sadiq, who reportedly accused some faceless people of tarnishing his father’s image, and his sister, Gumsu, should appreciate that it is an exceeding act of cruelty if their father indeed caused the annulment of the election, and turned around to imprison MKO and ordered the assassination of Kudirat, his wife.

According to General Babangida, Nduka Irabor, press secretary of his vice president, Admiral Augustus Aikhomu, suddenly “read out a poorly worded statement from a scrap of paper, which bore neither the presidential seal nor the official letterhead of the government, annulling the presidential elections.”

Of course, he “was alarmed and horrified” about the poorly worded statement, and he, the indulgent patriarch, must have probably thrown up his arms in resignation, as he wailed (?), “These nefarious ‘inside’ forces opposed to the elections have outflanked me!”

Though he alleged that he “would later find out that the ‘forces’ led by General Sani Abacha annulled the elections”, he did nothing other than to acknowledge that he “was caught between ‘the devil and the deep blue sea!”

He adds, “From then on, the June 12 elections took on a painful twist, for which… (he) would later take responsibility.” It is, of course, easier to take responsibility for a wrong, willfully carried out by a dreaded subordinate than risk looking down the barrel of that subordinate’s gun.

Prior to what now amounts to General Babangida’s one-witness narratives, National Electoral Commission Chairman, Prof Humphrey Nwosu, had, “without (General Babangida’s) prior knowledge and approval… announced the suspension of the June 12 elections results ‘until further notice’.”

Though he “knew instantly that certain fifth columnists were at work”, General Babangida did not bother to fish out or sanction them. He (tactically?) withdrew “to (his) home in Minna to reflect and hold series of meetings with various (nameless?) people, within and outside the military, on the situation, oblivious that something even more severe and sinister was about to happen”.

You might be correct if you thought that General Babangida chose to be a gentleman and preserved his life, rather than be an officer who would be brave enough to lay down his life if necessary. Lt-Col Adekunle Fajuyi, the first military Governor of Western Nigeria, had offered to die with his Commander-in-Chief, Major General JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi, when the counter-coup plotters came calling on that fateful day in July 1966.

If General Babangida indeed told his confidant, Prof Omo Omoruyi, that “I see disaster for myself and family,” and asked in desperation, “Where do I go from here?” you will appreciate the mindset of a coward.

If IBB had stood his ground and called the bluff of General Abacha, he may have lost his life (probably alongside MKO), but he would have been the hero that would have been celebrated every June 12 in Nigeria. Wouldn’t that have been more honourable for a four-star general?

The Yoruba would say that it is better for a man to prostrate for his in-law than to fall down for nothing. If you agree with the Yoruba, who seem to agree with British economist John Maynard Keynes that “In the long run we are all dead,” you might also agree that it would have been more honourable for a general to die in the defence of the honour of his country.

Think of the number of Nigerians who died and the businesses that perished needlessly in the wake of the criminal annulment of the free and fair election. Also, think about Hafsat Abiola-Costello and her siblings, who lost their dad, MKO, and their mom, Kudirat, because a general lost his courage.

General Babangida should have written this whitewashed autobiography while General Abacha was alive. But Nduka Irabor needs to help clarify these gaps, omissions and inconsistencies by confirming who asked him to release the innocuous press release.

All this is not to beatify General Abacha, with his innumerable warts, but to recognise that a general feared a subordinate general to the extent that he would compromise the national interest and security of his country to preserve his own life.

When William Shakespeare averred, “Cowards die many times before their death,” no one could tell if he had in mind some Nigerian generals, who shot other generals, who happened to be their childhood friends, for allegedly planning a coup against them.

In executing General Mamman Vatsa for an alleged coup attempt, General Babangida had argued, “I had to choose between saving a personal friend and the nation’s future… The national stability and the cohesion of the armed forces were too high on the scale of priorities to be sacrificed for personal considerations. The law and the imperatives of order and national security are overriding.”

Pray, which did he choose between the consequences of arresting and sanctioning General Abacha for annulment of the June 12 presidential election, a clear breach of national security, and tactically choosing to preserve his own life, even if Nigeria became an abyss of chaos, civil unrest and instability?

By failing to stand up to General Abacha, Babangida’s dedication of his book to “To our fallen heroes, my comrades-in-arms, who fought gallantly to protect the unity of Nigeria”, appears hollow, insincere and just plain trying to be politically correct.

He needs to tell Nigerians if he eventually went along with General Abacha on the willful annulment of the election, or not. He could also suggest what actions should be taken against those who initiated the annulment and those who merely went along with the perfidious act.

Col. Abubakar Umar, who General Babangida described as one of his trusted allies, seemed to have done what his idol could not do. He was reportedly picked up for canvassing support within the army for a reversal of the annulment of the election and the installation of MKO Abiola as president. Though he was eventually eased out of the army, he still openly criticised General Abacha’s plan to transmute into an “elected” president.

In case General Babangida is not aware, actions like those of Col. Umar are the stuff that brave (and maybe foolhardy) soldiers are made of. The general should not have waited for more than 30 long years to reveal who annulled the election, which he admits that Abiola won.

Finally, General, if your career in the military and government was “A Journey In Service,” it would not be an apt definition of altruism, but an obscene adventure in self-service. And as for “dignitaries” at the book launch, and those who shelled out N17bn…

The payment of access fees, otherwise known as tolls, by road users, is a global practice that also has a long history in Nigeria. Before former President Olusegun Obasanjo stopped the tolling of federal highways and demolished the toll gates in 2003, motorists paid a token for using some of the federal roads. Even after the Federal Government stopped tolling 22 years ago, some states and federal agencies still collect tolls for road usage. For example, there was the collection of tolls at the Lekki area of Lagos (where the controversial #EndSARS protest took place in Lagos in October 2020). Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria better known as FAAN also collect tolls from motorists using the airport road.

This newspaper in its February 4, 2025, online edition reported that the Federal Government had officially launched toll operations on the Abuja–Akwanga–Lafia–Makurdi Road corridor to repay the $460.8m loan obtained from the China Exim Bank for the road’s rehabilitation and upgrade. It also announced that motorists using the highway would begin paying tolls ranging from N500 for saloon cars to N1,600 for multi-axle vehicles. However, police and military vehicles are exempt from toll fees to facilitate their operations.

The toll gates on the route are divided into four sections: Keffi, Akwanga, Lafia, and Makurdi. The 227.2km road was rehabilitated and upgraded through a preferential credit loan from the China Exim Bank. The last administration secured a $460.8m loan from the bank, covering 85 per cent of the project’s $542m total cost. As part of the loan agreement, the Federal Government committed to tolling the road upon completion, with revenue collected from toll operations prioritised for loan repayment.

Speaking at the inauguration of toll operations at the Garaku Toll Station in Nasarawa State, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring the proper maintenance of Nigeria’s federal roads through sustainable funding mechanisms. Represented by the Minister of State for Works, Bello Goronyo, Umahi stated that the road was rehabilitated and upgraded through a preferential credit loan from the China Exim Bank. According to him, funds generated from tolls would also be used for the maintenance of federal roads nationwide, adding that toll operations would help sustain road networks across the country. He explained that in 2023, the previous administration executed a 25-year “Operate and Maintain” concession agreement with Messrs China Harbour Operations and Maintenance Company Limited in partnership with Messrs Catamaran Nigeria Limited.

The minister stated that the project aligned with the priorities of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which aimed to build a robust and interconnected infrastructure network. He was quoted as saying, “It is important to state that the toll order/fee schedule has been gazetted as follows: saloon cars will be tolled at N500, SUVs/jeeps at N800, minibuses at N1,000, and multi-axle vehicles at N1,600. However, frequent road users, such as commercial light vehicles defined under the Federal Highway Act, will enjoy a 50 per cent discount.  Additionally, tricycles, pedal vehicles, motorcycles, and other two- or three-wheeled transport modes primarily used by disadvantaged populations will be exempt from toll charges.” Other roads listed for tolling include the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano Road and Makurdi-9th Mile Road. The nine roads listed for concessions are under Phase I of the Highways Development and Management Initiative.

I have granted several media interviews since the reintroduction of the tolls on our highway and I have offered my support with a caveat. I agree to the reintroduction provided the mistakes of the past will not be repeated. Recall that Nigeria previously had tolls on her highways, mostly those owned by the Federal Government until 2003 when former President Olusegun Obasanjo shut them down. Obasanjo, in his justification of the decision to abolish the tolls, said the roads should be maintained through revenue from the increase in fuel pump price, which meant petrol tax. He also said the tolls generated only N63m daily and claimed the revenue was insignificant in terms of the opportunity cost of operating them. Additionally, the then-president noted they were a cesspool of corruption because the government found it difficult to track their earnings.

It is heartwarming that the payment of toll on the Akwanga–Markurdi Road is cashless as motorists are to pay with debit cards. This initially caused delay, which resulted in long queues, but this teething problem has been surmounted. I travelled on that road in September 2024 and I dare say commuters and motorists on that axis are very happy, as it has cut the travel time between Abuja and Makurdi by two to three hours. It is now possible to come to and from Abuja to Markurdi on the same day, which was impossible before due to the hitherto bad road. In fact, the road is very smooth, well-paved and well-lit. My friends who are from Plateau State wished that the Akwanga to Jos road could be similarly fixed to give them a sweet travelling experience.

Aside from providing revenue to be used for road maintenance, toll gates will also stimulate the local economy as micro-small and medium enterprises will spring up within the vicinity of the toll gates. Food vendors and those who sell water and beverages, farmers selling raw farm produce, grocery store owners, vulcanisers and mechanics will take advantage of the toll gate to make brisk business. Just imagine the beehive of activities around the Lagos-Ogere-Ibadan Expressway tollgates. That is what will be replicated along all the corridors where tollgates will be reintroduced. The vicinity of the tollgates will also provide security to motorists because there will be the presence of heavily armed security patrols.

I am happy that commercial vehicles have been offered a 50 per cent discount while tricycles, motorcycles and bicycles are exempt from toll payment just as military and police vehicles are. This is commendable. I, therefore, recommend this Federal Government model of public-private–partnership in the form of Build, Operate and Transfer to states and local government authorities. Sincerely, no tier of government can single-handedly fund road construction and maintenance. But for the PPP arrangement, it would have been daunting for President Bola Tinubu’s government to raise N15tn to fund the Lagos–Calabar Superhighway.  It is a lack of sufficient budgetary allocations that has led to the abandonment of many road projects in Nigeria.

I am baffled that the Keffi–Makurdi Highway does not have weighbridges. Could this be an oversight? Weighbridges are very important to deal with the menace of stubborn drivers who overload their trucks and articulated vehicles. It is this category of road users that shortens the lifespan of our roads. Every truck has approved tonnes they are expected to carry. It is at the weighbridges that measurements will be taken to know if the truck drivers have complied with this maximum carrying capacity. I am, therefore, using this opportunity to call for the reintroduction of weighbridges as well. Most importantly, as the saying goes, to whom much is given, from him much is expected. The Federal Government must keep its side of the bargain by ensuring prompt and proper maintenance of these tolled roads.

The national secretariat of the ruling All Progressives Congress was a beehive of activities on Wednesday morning as governors elected on the platform of the APC and party chieftains trooped in for the long-awaited meeting of the National Executive Committee.

Early arrivals at the meeting include members of the National Working Committee, APC State Chairmen, former governor of Zamfara state, Sen. Abdulaziz Yari, former governor of Kebbi state and Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Goodwill Akpabio and Speaker, House of Representatives, and Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas are expected to be in attendance.

As early as 8.30am, there was heavy vehicular movement and party supporters blaring music and displaying APC banners around the party headquarters and neighbouring streets.

Stern-looking security operatives including agents of the Department of State Security were also manned at the entry and exit point of the venue to provide security.

US President Donald Trump unveiled plans Tuesday to sell new “gold card” residency permits for a price of $5 million each — and said Russian oligarchs may be eligible.

Trump said sales of the new visa, a high-price version of the traditional green card, would bring in job creators and could be used to reduce the US national deficit.

“We’re going to be selling a gold card. You have a green card, this is a gold card. We’re going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

The Republican president, who has made the deportation of millions of undocumented migrants a priority of his second term, said the new card would be a route to highly prized US citizenship.

“A lot of people are going to want to be in this country, and they’ll be able to work and provide jobs and build companies,” Trump said. “It’ll be people with money.”

Sales of the cards would start in about two weeks, Trump added.

“We’ll be able to sell maybe a million of these cards. We have it all worked out from a legal standpoint,” Trump added.

The billionaire former real estate tycoon said that all applicants for the new gold cards would be carefully vetted.

But asked if wealthy Russians would also be able to apply, Trump said it was a possibility.

“Possibly. I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people. It’s possible,” Trump said. “They’re not as wealthy as they used to be. I think they can. I think they can afford $5 million.”

A number of Russian oligarchs have been hit by western sanctions since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago.

Trump has caused shock in European capitals by suddenly opening negotiations with Russia to end the war, amid fears that he could be willing to sell Ukraine short.

The US president told reporters that lifting sanctions on Russia was possible “at some point” but was not currently on the table.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, standing at Trump’s side in the Oval Office, said of the gold cards that “we can use that money to reduce our deficit.”

Trump, who has branded a series of hotels and casinos in a long business career, even suggested the new cards could also be named after him.

“Somebody said, ‘Can we call it the Trump gold card?’ I said, ‘If it helps, use the name Trump,'” he said.

AFP

Senate President Godswill Akpabio says lawmakers who reclaimed their electoral mandate through the courts are part of the problem of the upper legislative chamber.

Akpabio spoke on Tuesday while announcing that Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, lawmaker representing Kogi central, would face disciplinary action over her outburst regarding seat reallocation.

The lawmaker had on February 20 disrupted plenary by rejecting her assigned seat, defying Akpabio’s order and repeatedly raising a point of order despite being overruled.

During plenary on February 25, Akpabio described the altercation as stemming from a lack of understanding of senate guidelines and directed the national assembly management to organise periodic orientation for senators.

“I think part of the problem is when people come from court… court-declared senators; they missed the orientation,” the senate president said.

“The management of the national assembly is hereby ordered to organise periodic orientation, particularly for senators who are midstreamers, who came midstream and did not start when their colleagues started.

“I remember that this particular senator (Natasha), on the day she was sworn in, raised her hand to speak. I was scared, but I had to recognise her, because I was saying we just gave her the rule book.

“Part of what we give to you when you are sworn in is the standing order of the senate. I asked if she opened the rule book to know what to say, but she made a contribution on that day. I think two days later she brought a motion.

“There is nothing wrong in being vibrant, but there is a lot wrong when you don’t know anything about the procedure.”

LAWSUIT

Akpoti-Uduaghan has filed a N100 billion defamation suit against Akpabio.

In the suit filed at the federal capital territory (FCT) high court, Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged that Akpabio and Mfon Patrick, his legislative aide, made defamatory comments against her.

The Kogi lawmaker asked the court to compel the respondents to withdraw the defamatory comments and apologise to her in a national newspaper.

In February 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Abubakar Sadiku-Ohere of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the Kogi central senatorial district election.

Not satisfied with the outcome of the polls, Akpoti-Uduaghan filed a petition seeking to nullify the election over “irregularities”.

The national assembly petitions tribunal upheld the prayers of the PDP candidate and nullified Sadiku-Ohere’s election.

The court of appeal in Abuja later affirmed Akpoti-Uduaghan as winner of the election.

In November 2023, she was sworn in as the senator representing Kogi central.

[TheCable]