The Ebonyi State Chapter of the Labour Party (LP) has expressed confidence that only its presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, can salvage the Nigerian economy from its declining fortunes.

LP made the assertion in a communiqué issued at the end of an expanded stakeholders meeting in Abakaliki, signed by Linus Okorie (Ebonyi South Senatorial Zone), Dr Ezeh Emmanuel Ezeh (Ebonyi North Senatorial Zone) and Emmanuel Nwobo (Central Senatorial Zone).

The party urged Nigerians to identify with its quest to take power and move the nation to greater heights.

The stakeholders also urged feuding party members to sheath their divisive swords in the overall interest of the Labour Party and target to better the lives of many Nigerians.

The communiqué stated, “The members of the National Transition Committee, NTC, of the Labour Party, Chief Fidelis Nwankwo, Rt. Hon. Linus Okorie and Dr Ezeh Emmanuel Ezeh, convened the stakeholders briefing with a view to informing members of the Labour Party, Ebonyi State Chapter, about the future political activities of the emerging Labour Party, which include mobilisation of new members and registration.

“The members of the NTC also shared details of the 2023 post-election reviews conducted by the national and state working committees of the party and consequently resolved as follows:

“That His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi, remains the National Leader of the Party and he, Mr Obi, is bestowed with the appropriate competences to salvage the Nigerian economy from its declining fortunes.

“Stakeholders observed the need to support the National Transition Committee in her bid to conduct an all-inclusive state congress and national convention of the Labour Party, respectively.

“Furthermore, stakeholders urged feuding stakeholders of the party to sheath their divisive swords in the overall interest of Labour Party and our target to better the lots of Nigerians.

“That a united Labour Party, Ebonyi State Chapter, shall pursue vigorously the conversion and registration of new members into the party at the right and designated time and also set a target of 400,000 members.” 

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Mustapha Muhammad Inuwa, has asserted that the crisis rocking the party at the national and state level was lately fuelled by the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, and former Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom.

Inuwa, the campaign director of Atiku/Lado in Katsina State during the 2023 general elections, made this known at a stakeholders’ meeting in Katsina where issues about the party’s crisis in the state were discussed.

A former national secretary of the PDP, Umar Ibrahim Tsauri, who chaired the meeting, vowed to do anything possible to salvage the party in Katsina before the upcoming congresses.

Also speaking at the meeting, Inuwa said Wike and Ortom are destabilising the opposition party in favour of President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election.

He said, “It is a common knowledge that both Wike and Ortom have declared that they have no presidential candidate to support in the 2027 elections, but they endorsed President Tinubu.

“Their main aim was not to win election but to weaken the party (PDP) ahead of the 2027 election in favour of President Tinubu and that is why they are using stooges in the state to fulfil their mission.” 

Recall that some stakeholders in Katsina have accused a faction led by the 2023 governorship candidate, Yakubu Lado Danmarke, with the backing of the state caretaker committee appointed by the national working committee, of concealing the party Congresses forms.

A former national vice chairman (North-West) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, has described former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo and the likes of former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai as political orphans.

Lukman, who spoke of a proposed coalition among top political bigwigs in the country, listed El-Rufai, Osinbajo, former Minister of the Interior of Nigeria – Rauf Aregbesola, former Governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun and former governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, among others seeking to occupy the nation’s top political seat via merger.

According to him, the APC leaders have been sidelined by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government and have been pushed to the peripheral edges of Nigerian politics.

Lukman, however, in a press release issued to the media in Abuja on Sunday, said the APC chieftain must bury their presidential ambition and focus on pushing for a better Nigeria.

He emphasized that as long as the goals of Nigerian politicians are confined to winning elections and installing new elected officials, Nigerian democracy will be incapable of combating the phenomenon of ‘state capture’, which is currently at an advanced stage of infiltrating the Federal Government.

He said: “Unfortunately, given the advanced stage of ‘state capture’ at the Federal level, most political leaders, including the leading opposition leaders such as Alh. Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Peter Obi and Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso are all operating in isolation to one another. APC leaders such as former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun, Mal. Nasir El-Rufai, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesole etc., who are more like political orphans on account of being excluded from the President Asiwaju Tinubu government, have been pushed to the peripheral edges of Nigerian politics.

“Although there are some indicative political activities taking place around some of these political leaders, it has not graduated to the level of commitment to building the kind of strong political parties capable of threatening the APC and President Asiwaju Tinubu, which is needed to guarantee the future of Nigerian democracy.

“Building strong political parties in the country capable of responding to the challenges facing citizens and reversing the phenomenon of ‘state capture’ at all levels is about political leaders agreeing to form a united front across all parties. Forming a united front is about recognising the shortcomings of individual leaders and being able to forgive misgivings of the past. The ability to forgive misgivings of the past is a fundamental requirement for political leaders to be able to orient themselves and provide the needed leadership for national reconciliation. The inability of APC, both under former President Buhari and now under President Asiwaju Tinubu, to orient itself on the path of national reconciliation represents one of the biggest political failures ever experienced in the country.”

Lukman emphasized the necessity of creating a united political front that can bring together leaders from all regions of the country, especially in light of the widening fault lines caused by the failure of the APC.

He said it is crucial that this new front garners widespread acceptance across Nigeria.

Lukman stressed that all political figures, including Atiku and Obi, should refrain from exploiting this opportunity to further their Presidential ambitions.

Similarly, he urged APC leaders like Osinbajo, Amaechi, Fayemi, El-Rufai, Amosu and others with aspirations for the Presidency to set aside their ambitions during the negotiations for the united political front.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, will swear in 12 judges into the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.

According to Channels Television, this was disclosed on Sunday in a statement by the Director of Press and Information of the Supreme Court, Dr. Festus Akande.

The ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Main Courtroom of the apex court by 10am.

Meanwhile, among the 12 judges to be sworn in is the CJN’s daughter-in-law, Ariwoola Oluwakemi Victoria.

Here is the full list of all 12 judges:

1.Ariwoola Oluwakemi Victoria (Oyo State)
2.Ademuyiwa Olakunle Oyeyipo (Kwara State)
3.Bamodu Odunayo Olutomi (Lagos State)
4.Iheabunike Anumaenwe Godwin (Imo State)
5.Odo Celestine Obinna (Enugu State)
6.Hauwa Lawal Gummi (Zamfara State)
7.Sarah Benjamin Inesu Avoh (Bayelsa State)
8.Maryam Iye Yusuf (Kogi State)
9.Buetnaan Mandy Bassi (Plateau State)
10.Lesley Nkesi Belema Wike (Rivers State)
11.Ibrahim Tanko Munirat (Bauchi State)
12.Abdulrahman Usman (Taraba State)

Recall that on May 17, 2024, the National Judicial Council recommended a total of 86 judicial officers for appointment into federal and state courts across the country.

The recommendations were made by the council’s Interview Committee on Appointment of Judicial Officers of all Superior Courts of Record in Nigeria, during the NJC’s 105th plenary meeting held between May 15 and 16, 2024.

This was according to a statement issued by the council’s Director of Information, Soji Oye.

…as ABUAD/NSE hold maiden industrial park trade fair

Legal luminary and Elder Statesman, Aare Afe Babalola has said that Nigeria will remain perpetually poor it fails to produce rather than consume more.

Babalola made this known over the weekend in Ado-Ekiti, while performing the dual role of declaring open, the maiden edition of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD) Industrial Park Trade Fair, in conjunction with the state chapter of the Nigeria Society of Engineers, (NSE), and later, while receiving the executives of the Akure Branch of the Nigeria Bar Association, (NBA), who came to present to him, the Icon Award for Excellence.

Babalola warned that the country might continue in stagnation, for as long as the incurable attitude of indiscipline, poor work attitude, lack of vision and patriotism are tolerated.

He called Nigerians and its leaders to be genuinely ready and willing to change the narrative, for the country to grow while describing the industrial park as a technology hub, designed to bridge the gap between research and industry, as well as provide employment opportunities for many jobless graduates and youths.

He also expressed regrets over rising incidences of some Courts, now in the habit of fragrantly delivering contradictory judgments, on same subject matter, asking members of the NBA nationwide to urgently convey a meeting, and rise to the occasion, to put a stop to further dent and embarrassment such abnormality was daily causing the legal profession.

“It is true Nigeria today, is in the doldrums. That however does not mean we should throw patriotism and national interest into the mud. This is because to me, Nigeria can still become like USA of this world, or other great countries alike.

“But the bitter truth is that Nigeria can not suddenly become a USA with the way we do things continually and still expect different results. Nigeria is such a rich country, blessed with resources, good weather, friendly climate and money.

“Unfortunately however, aside many other obvious factors, the very point where we began to get things wrong is that Nigeria is a nation that consume more than it produces, and the bitter truth here is that, any country that does that, will remain perpetually poor.

“As a leader by example, even at my age, I abhor laziness and complacency. I do work for 18 hours daily. I do not buy food, I grow them in the farm, I do not buy pepper, tomatoes, chicken or fish, I produce them. How many Nigerians does that?

“As a result, ABUAD was conceived by me, not only as an innovative institution to change things for the better, but also as a deliberate way of giving back to the society, what I did not get, on a platter of gold.

“Even though I did not have the opportunity of going beyond conventional primary School, neither did I have opportunity of conventional, class studies of secondary or university education, I struggled on my own, out of strong determination to succeed, coupled with uncommon commitment, to get myself educated at both secondary level, and later university of London, all through correspondence studies.

“But I thank God today that in all, God has rewarded my dedication, and endowed me with something extra: the ability to work hard, to achieve desired results.

He therefore urged Nigerians to embrace hard work, honesty and faith in the country, to achieve greatness.

He expressed confidence that the country would be great again, only if leaders and the citizens can start emulating some of the principles that ABUAD had imbibed over the few years of it’s establishment.

“I make bold to say that our performance gives us the hope in this country that Nigeria can achieve what we have achieved, if we all agree to change the old ways of doing things.

“Nigeria can be greater. With hard work, the way we are doing things here, with hard work, honesty and faith, Nigeria can be better and get out of doldrums. I believe that hardship breeds determination, determination breeds faith, and faith never fails.” he said.

In his remarks, the NBA Akure, Ondo State Branch Chairman, Banjo Ayenakin, who described Babalola as a trailblazer and exceptional icon, commended him for being a most generous and versatile Nigerian.

He said: “If we have a few more of your type in this country, the story will change for the better. If we all work and lift individuals and groups, the way Baba Afe Babalola is doing on regular basis, across tribes, cultures and political divide, even at his age, and at the expense of his hard earned resources, there will be no much problems of any sort for anyone in this country.”

Also speaking, at the industrial park maiden trade fair, Chairman, Ekiti chapter of the NSE, Prof. Oluwasegun Aluko, expressed gratitude to Babalola for establishing the park, which he said was designed to accommodate124 cottage industries, and thereby give a boost to use of locally explored raw materials.

The Vice Chancellor of ABUAD, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, in her welcome address at the events, commended Babalola for deploying his hard-earned resources in championing the needed revolution in the education sector with the establishment of both the University, and the industrial park, among others.

According to Olarinde, ABUAD was recently ranked the best Nigerian University for the third consecutive time, 4th in Africa and 142th in the world, as recently published in the 2024 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.

Besides, she said the university also ranked first globally for SDG 7 on Affordable and Clean Energy, Outreach Programmes scoring 98%, and Stewardship Programmes with 98.2%.

She said though only about 15 years old, ABUAD’s accomplishments in Law, Medicine, Engineering, the Sciences and Social and Management Sciences in the past few years of its existence, had put the university on the international grid of world-class institutions.

A Nigerian couple, Agbakoba John Mmadu and Agbakoba Ijeoma Chinwe, who allegedly led a high-profile cocaine syndicate based in Lagos, have been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The couple was apprehended along with an associate, Okoye Ifeoma Maryjane, during a raid where significant quantities of cocaine intended for export and local distribution were seized.

Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, announced in a statement on Sunday that the arrest followed months of intelligence gathering and surveillance by a special operations unit targeting the notorious drug syndicate.

The group is known for packaging, distributing, and trafficking cocaine within Nigeria and internationally.

Babafemi said, “The 54-year-old Agbakoba John Mmadu was arrested at Ago palace way, Okota while his wife, Agbakoba Ijeoma Chinwe, 39, and associate, Okoye Ifeoma Maryjane, 31, who doubles as their stash keeper, were nabbed at Plot 2205 Eugene Ndubisi close, Lilly Estate, Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos, all on Wednesday, 3rd July 2024.

“While seven parcels of cocaine with a total weight of 7.652 kilograms were recovered from Mmadu at Ago palace way, not less than one hundred and twenty-two (122) compressed pellets of the same drug weighing 2.42kg were seized from the duo of Ijeoma and Ifeoma at Lilly Estate, bringing the total seizure to 10.1 kilograms valued at over N2.1 billion in street value.”

President Bola Tinubu’s tenure as the chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government comes to an end today (Sunday).

The 65th Ordinary Session of the Authority is holding at the Presidential Villa in Abuja where he is expected to pass on the torch to another leader.

Tinubu was unanimously endorsed as chairman in July 2024 at the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau.

Since then, the Nigerian leader has dealt with challenges particularly military coups in member states.

The president initially took a strong stance against unconstitutional changes of government in Niger Republic, Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea, overseeing the imposition of sanctions on them.

However, the sanctions were later lifted as the sub-regional body opted for a more peaceful approach to resolve the issues.

The president played a critical role in ensuring the success of the 2024 Senegalese election by facilitating dialogue between stakeholders.

This was as he demonstrated a strong commitment to promoting democracy in the sub-region during the year.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), on Sunday, announced that the national grid, which experienced a partial disturbance yesterday, has been fully restored.

Recall that the grid collapse, which occurred for the fourth time in 2024, threw Nigerians into total darkness.

The incident, which occurred at approximately 15:09PM on July 6, 2024, and restored by 21:57PM, marked the third partial disturbance and the fourth overall grid disturbance this year.

However, TCN in a statement issued by its General Manager of Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, in Abuja, said the grid disturbance was triggered by the unexpected tripping of three units at a power generating station, resulting in a sudden loss of 313MW from the grid.

She said the restoration efforts began immediately after the incident, adding that by 21:57 hours on the same day, the affected sections of the grid were successfully restored.

“The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, hereby states that there was a partial disturbance of the grid at about 15.09 hours yesterday, 6th July 2024.

“The system disturbance, which brings to three, the partial grid disturbances, with one total disturbance this year, is suspected to have been triggered by the unexpected tripping of three (3) units of a power generating station, which suddenly removed 313MW from the grid, causing system instability that led to the loss of bulk supply to a section of the national grid.

“Meanwhile, the System Operator reacted to the sudden drop in generation which led to a dip in frequency, by islanding a section of the grid which includes the Ibom Power Station through which the company continued to feed Uyo, Aba, Itu, Eket, Calabar e.t.c even when the other section of the grid had no supply.

“Also, the operators commenced grid restoration efforts immediately after the incident. At about 21.57 hrs yesterday, the entire part of the grid that was affected by today’s incident was successfully restored”, she said.

Following last Wednesday’s floods in Lagos State, occasioned by heavy rainfall, the state government has given a 48-hour vacation notice to squatters and owners of illegal structures along Gbagada-Bariga drainage channel.

The state’s Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, who disclosed this on Sunday, said the activities of squatters and property owners in the area had blocked drainage channels, thereby resulting in the flooding experienced during the week.

“Lagos State government gives property owners who built illegal structures and squatters along Gbagada Bariga Channel a 48-hour vacation notice.

“The drainage channel which defloods Bariga, Gbagada, Sholuyi downstream communities and environs, and discharges into System 1 has been taken over by squatters who has constituted nuisance and security risks to the Estate, and property owners who deliberately built to obstruct free flow of water in the area. Shanties were erected along the length of the channel and their activities had blocked collectors that are supposed to carry stormwater into the Channel which resulted to the flooding experienced during the week,” Wahab said in a post on X.

He noted that upon expiration of the notices served, the operatives of Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources would commence removal of contravening structures in order to unflood the area.

Last Wednesday downpour lasted for about 10 hours, and affected areas such as Eredo, Bojije, Epe, Sangotedo, Ibeju-Lekki, Awoyaya, Labora, and Abijon.

Other areas affected include Iyana-Oworo, Agege, Ijegun-Isheri Osun and Gbagada.

The flood grounded vehicular movement, and led to the collapse of a two-storey building in the Mushin area of the state.

Also, a 61-year old man, while wading through the floods around Orile-Iganmu, held on to a street light pole and got electrocuted.

A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered a former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development, Sadia Umar-Farouk to account for the payments of ₦729 billion to 24.3 million poor Nigerians for six months.

Umar-Farouk was also ordered to provide the list and details of the beneficiaries who received the payments, the number of states covered and the payments per state.

The judgment was delivered in June by Hon. Justice Deinde Isaac Dipeolu following a Freedom of Information suit numbered FHC/L/CS/853/2021, brought by the Socio-Economic Rights And Accountability Project (SERAP).

SERAP disclosed that it obtained the certified true copy of the judgment last Friday.

In his judgment, Justice Dipeolu held that, “The former minister is compelled by the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act to give information to any person including SERAP.

“I therefore grant an order of mandamus directing and compelling the minister to provide the spending details of N729 billion to 24.3 million poor Nigerians in 2021.

Justice Dipeolu ordered the minister to “provide SERAP with details of how the beneficiaries have been selected and the mechanisms for the payments to the beneficiaries.”

Justice Dipeolu also ordered the minister to “explain the rationale for paying N5,000 to 24.3 million poor Nigerians, which translates to five percent of Nigeria’s budget of N13.6 trillion for 2021.”

Justice Dipeolu also stated that, “The minister did not give any reason for the refusal to disclose the details sought by SERAP.  SERAP has reeled out the relevant sections of the Freedom of Information Act 2011 that the minister contravened and has, in line with sections 20 and 25(1) of the Act, prayed this Court for an order of mandamus to direct and compel the minister to provide the information sought.”

Justice Dipeolu dismissed the objections raised by the minister’s counsel and upheld SERAP’s arguments. Consequently, the court entered judgment in favour of SERAP against the minister.