Governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo has said that he visited the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu at the the Department of State Services, DSS, custody.
Soludo said he visited the incarcerated leader on Friday to discuss critical issues affecting the southeast and also in search of lasting peace and security in the region.
Kanu, according to Soludo was in very high spirit and condemned the constant killings going on around the south east.
Soludo wrote in a statement: “I visited Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, yesterday, (Friday, 13th May, 2022) to felicitate with him and also as part of the wider consultations with critical stakeholders in search of lasting peace and security in the South East.
“He was in very high spirits and we had quality and frank discussion in a very convivial atmosphere.
“He expressed sadness over what he described as “sacrilegious killings” of innocent persons, kidnappings and all forms of criminalities, including the brutal enforcement of the senseless “sit at home” perpetuated by sundry groups claiming to be acting for or on behalf of IPOB.
“He assured that if the opportunity arises, he will be glad to personally broadcast to his followers to maintain the peace.
Together, we shall restore peace, security and prosperity in Anambra and the Southeast,” the statement added.
The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on Saturday, announced a sit-at-home order ahead of the court outings of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
IPOB announced May 18 and 26 as sit-at-home in honour of Kanu’s court outings.
Emma Powerful, the spokesman of the separatist group, announced the dates while denying a voice note in circulation on the sit-at-home.
Powerful said the purported voice notes regarding the sit-at-home did not emanate from IPOB.
In a statement he issued on Saturday, Powerful said any dates other than May 18 and 26 is not from IPOB.
Powerful said: “The attention of the global movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) ably led by our great leader Mazi Nnamdi KANU has been drawn to a purported voice note ordering Biafrans and residents of Biafraland to sit at home on a date other than May 18th. This is the handwork of Nigerian paid agents and should be totally ignored.
“IPOB is not a faceless movement and does not announce its activities through voice messages. Biafrans must be very much on alert because the Nigerian government working through its security agencies the DSS and the BBC is trying so hard to create confusion in our land in its attempt to set Biafrans against themselves and scuttle our struggle for liberation. But we assure them that Biafrans know their plans and will not fall for their evil agenda.
“Like Mazi Nnamdi Kanu said, if you did not hear it on radio Biafra then it is not from IPOB. IPOB announces its activities and events only through official channels which are (i)Radio Biafra (ii) Press Statement from Emma Powerful (office of IPOB Media and Publicity Secretary) and (iii) Memo from the Office of IPOB Head of Directorate.
“To this end therefore the only Sit-At-Home order emanating and announced by IPOB leadership are the 18th and 26th of May, 2022 being the dates our leader Mazi Nnamdi KANU will appear in court. The IPOB leadership is very strategic in its actions and directives to the Biafran people knowing fully well that our enemies are desperate to scuttle this heaven ordained freedom movement.
“Our core reason is the well-being of Biafrans all over the globe but with added emphasis on the well-being of Biafrans in the homeland of Biafra.”
IPOB accused the Department of State Services, DSS, of circulating the voice note.
“Those behind the purported voice note should inform their paymasters to stop dissipating their energy and resources on a hopeless attempt to stop the collective will and decision of the Indigenous people of Biafra IPOB worldwide to pursue our Self Determination Right.
“Biafrans, friends of Biafra and lovers of freedom across the world and especially in Biarraland should therefore pay no heed to faceless DSS agents and impostors recruited to serve the interest of the Fulani Caliphate,” Powerful added.
The Governor of Enugu State, Rt Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has ordered an immediate end to the compulsory fee of 45,000 for hostel accommodation imposed on the students of the Institute of Management and Technology, IMT, by the management.
The Governor granted the students audience on Friday, 13th May following their protest earlier in the day to register their displeasure about the development in their school.
Speaking after their meeting with the Governor, the leader of the protest march, Obetta Blessing Munachi said that the Governor has shown them love and great leadership.
“Out of his humility and kindness, he granted us audience today and after the whole (sic) deliberation, he has ordered the school management to go and take a census (sic) of the things the management has to do in order to curtail the excessive payment as its affecting the students and their family members.
“He also removed the issue of paying mandatory hostel fee of N45,000, we’re happy, he has done us good.”
The visibly elated students also appreciated the public and those that supported their agitation in one way or the other.
The students had taken to the school premises to protest the fees and pleaded with the government to come to their aid as the fees are making life unbearable for the students.
No fewer than 25 presidential aspirants will contest for the presidential ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
As of midnight Friday, the 25 aspirants were able to meet the deadline for the submission of completed forms.
To this end, the 25 aspirants will slug it out at the presidential primary of the party slated for May 30.
The list of the presidential aspirants that submitted their nomination forms includes
Senator Bola Tinubu, Vice President Yemi Osibanjo, former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, former Minister of Niger Delta Development, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, former Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, former Imo State governor, Sen. Rochas Okorocha and former Ogun state governor, Sen. Ibikunle Amosu.
Others are Pastor Tunde Bakare, Cross River State governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, his Ebonyi State counterpart, Gov. Dave Umahi, Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Minister of State, Education, Hon. Emeka Nwajiuba, former Senate President, Sen. Ken Nnamani, Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, Jigawa governor Mohammed Badaru Abubakar and former Zamfara State governor, Sen. Ahmed Yerima.
Also on the list of presidential aspirants that filed their papers are Senator Ajayi Borroffice, the only female aspirant, Barr. (Mrs) Uju Kennedy Ohnenye, Pastor Nicholas Felix Nwagbo, former Speaker of Representative, Hon. Dimeji Bankole, Senate President, Dr. Ahmed Lawal, AfBD Managing Director, Akinwumi Adesina, former Minister of State, Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, former Minister of Information, Chief Ikeobasi Mokelu and Mr Tein Jack Ric
The bid to draft former president Goodluck Jonathan and Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele into next year’s presidential race on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress appeared to have hit the rocks with uncertainty over their interest in the race, Saturday Vanguard reports.
According to the report, both the expression of interest and nomination forms, which different groups bought for them were neither completed nor submitted at the close of deadline for the submission of forms yesterday.
Although no reason was given for their sudden loss of interest in the APC presidential ticket, a reliable source confided in Saturday Vanguard that the whole process surrounding the participation of the former president in the race as a consensus candidate of the party, had been enmeshed in uncertainty and controversy, leaving the former leader with no choice but to opt out. Emefiele was said to have taken no further action after his lawyer sought the interpretation of court on the electoral law. He wanted to know if section 84(12) that compels appointees to resign before contesting elections.
For President Jonathan, it was learnt that some key loyalists of the former president, who could have given him the nod to go ahead with the race, had since become convinced that it would not be possible for the APC to concede the ticket to him, given the mood in the party and the body language of its leaders.
Jonathan’s backers, it was also gathered, had also not been forthcoming with details of how they intended to push through with his candidature given the array of other presidential aspirants who are laying claim to being ‘anointed’ by the powers that be.
The Jonathan’s circle of friends, it was learnt, were convinced that the renewed moves by some hawks within the APC to throw open the APC presidential ticket as is being done by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, would also not favour their leader and therefore, advised him to steer clear of the muddy political water and keep his head high as a former president. “We are not sure of anything as at the time I am speaking with you. We cannot say if the forms had been filled and submitted as at the close of submission of forms on Friday. We are monitoring the situation,” a source close to the former leader said without giving details.
Anambra state government has established two new Ministries which are the Ministry of Homeland Affairs and the Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources.
This was contained in a circular signed by the State Head of Service, Barr. Okwy Igwegbe, dated May 6, 2022.
The establishment of the two ministries, was in line with the efforts of the Governor Chukwuma Soludo- led administration in repositioning Anambra state.
The establishment of the ministries necessitated the abolition of the former Ministry of Tertiary Education in Anambra state, and the streamlining of the new ministries to have the following professional departments.
The Ministry of Education would now have within it’s structures the Technical and Vocational Department, Schools Department, Educational Services, Educational Development Centre and Higher Education Departments.
While on the other hand the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources would include Mineral Resources and Energy, Hydrometerology Department, and finally Scientific Innovations, Research & Development Department.
The Circular also contained the restructuring which moved the ICT Department in the former Ministry of Tertiary Education to the Anambra State Information and Communication Technology Agency (ANSICTA).
Furthermore, the Industry Department hitherto in the Office of the Deputy Governor has been returned to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Again following the restructuring, some Ministries such as the Ministry of Works gained a new nomenclature and would now be known as the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure.
Others were the Ministry of Youth Entrepreneurship and Creative Economy, now the Ministry of Youth Development, Ministry of Economic Planning, Budget and Development Partners’ Coordination now simply the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget.
Ministry of Social Welfare, Children and Women Affairs now the Ministry of Women and Social Welfare, Ministry of Trade and Commerce now the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Public Utilities now Ministry of Power and Water Resources.
The Ministry of Basic Education and the Ministry of Tertiary Education, Science and Technology were collapsed into one, now the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Information and Public Enlightenment now the Ministry of Information.
The document also confirmed that the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, Indigenous Art Works, Culture and Tourism would be known as the Ministry of Culture, Entertainment and Tourism. Finally the Ministry of Housing and Urban Renewal, now the Ministry of Housing.
The circular also directs the professional staff of the forgoing Ministries and Agencies to re-align and move to their new Ministries and commence duty.
The changes, restructuring, renaming and streamlining contained in the circular is to take full effect from May 6, 2022.
President Muhammadu Buhari strongly condemns the resort to self-help by the mob in sokoto, resulting in violence, destruction and killing of a second year student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, Deborah Samuel, following an allegation that she had blasphemed Muhammad (SAW), the Prophet of Islam on Thursday.
President Buhari said the news of the killing of the young lady by fellow students was a matter of concern and demanded an impartial, extensive probe into all that happened before and during the incident.
The President noted that Muslims all over the world demand respect for the Holy Prophets, including Isah (Alaihissalaam,Jesus Christ) & Muhammad (SAW) but where transgressions occur,as alleged to be the case in this instance, the law does not allow anyone take matters into their hands.
Moreover, religious leaders preach that it is not for the believer to judge the actions of another person. The constituted authority must be allowed to deal with such matters when they arise.
“No person has the right to take the law in his or her own hands in this country. Violence has and never will solve any problem,” said the President.
President Buhari also directed the Ministries of Information and Culture, Police Affairs and that of Communications and Digital Economy to work with GSM providers and Tech companies to help contain the spread of false and inflammatory information through social media.
The President extended the nation’s condolences to the family of the deceased student and wished all those injured a quick recovery. He commended the immediate response to the incident by the Sokoto State Government and urged religious and community leaders to call citizens’ attention to the need to exercise the right to freedom of speech responsibly.
President Buhari called for tempered comments by the media and calm among the general population while investigation is ongoing to find out the remote and immediate causes of the incident.
Human rights activist and lawyer, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, has said he will not be part of the Section on Public Interest and Development Law, SPIDEL, conference in Sokoto State, because of the murder of Deborah Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, and, more importantly, SPIDEL’s leadership’s reaction to the incident.
According to Odinkalu, who compared Deborah’s murder to “pre-Neanderthal killings of Nigerians”, “SPIDEL was set up to defend the meaning of human life in Nigeria.”
Deborah was stoned to death and then her body burnt by her raving colleagues, who claimed she blasphemed Islam.
Since the tragedy yesterday, there have been calls for the cancellation of the conference. It was scheduled to hold in Sokoto from May 22 to 26, on the theme “Rule of Law and Democratic Evolution in Nigeria”.
Odinkalu’s decision to pull out of the event was the latest in the outcry against the murder of Deborah or according to him, “killings of Nigerians anywhere in Nigeria,” although he expressed displeasure more with the reaction of SPIDEL’s leadership.
Odinkalu’s “personal statement” read in part: “I am gratified that the Chairman of SPIDEL, my brother, Monday Ubani, MoU, has responded to this horrific incident in Sokoto.
“Sadly, much of the contents of his statement are beside the point at best. Others parts are gratuitously insulting.
“It seems clear his statement is more focused on saving a conference, which can take place anywhere, or on NBA politics, which is unending rather than on valorising human life and responsible government.
“The issues here are clear and his statement fails to reckon with any of them at all. That is why I consider it necessary to respond.
“If all that MoU has done is send SMS to the state governor and HAG, he sadly fails to get the point about this.
“You mean all that bloviating evident on the face of his statement was done in order to convey the point that he has sent a mere SMS to the state governor?
“And on the back of that he accuses colleagues of lacking ‘locus’, whatever that means.
“The reality is life has lost meaning in Nigeria. SPIDEL was set up to defend the meaning of human life in Nigeria. I know because I did.
“In case my brother does not recall, the guarantor of life under our constitution is not the state governor. It is the president.
“I may have missed it but I am yet to see what the President or Federal Government has said about this incident.
“Nor has MoU said that he sent an SMS to the President or to Abubakar Malami, since, in his view, an SMS is all that this incident requires. But an SMS addressed to the wrong recipient is not an SMS at all.
“I was prepared to suspend final decision on participating in Sokoto until I heard from the leadership of SPIDEL.
“Having now heard from them, it is clear to me that they do not get the significance of this issue. I am now convinced that I will be unable to accept an invite to participate in the SPIDEL conference.
“So, I, Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, am cancelling my participation. I will, in addition, actively campaign against the meeting.
“Everyone has to take their own decision. The SPIDEL leadership has taken its decision. I have taken mine. This is a matter of conscience,” he wrote
A Delta State High Court, Kwale Division, has granted an order restricting the Board of Central Bank of Nigeria and Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from stopping the CBN governor, Godwin Emiefele from seeking an elective post.
According to our Report, the application was filed on May 5, 2022, and the order was granted on Thursday, May 12.
Recall that Emefiele when told that Nigerians were anxious about his position, had replied journalists at the Presidential Villa after having a closed door meeting President Buhari that Nigerians can have a heart attack about his presidential ambition, while he’s having fun.
Emiefele had through a proxy, Augustine Eddiego approached the court asking, “An order restraining the defendants from treating the provision of section 9 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 as amended as a bar on the Governor and Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from seeking political offices pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice herein in this suit which borders on the interpretation and supremacy of the 1999 CFRN.”
Section 9 of the CBN Act provides that “the Governor and the Deputy Governors shall devote the whole of their time to the service of the Bank and while holding office shall not engage in any full or part-time employment or vocation whether remunerated or not, except such personal or charitable causes as may be determined by the Board and which do not conflict with or detract from their full-time duties.”
Justice DC Maidoh granted the order on May 5th while adjourning the matter to May 25th.
“The applicant is to enter an undertaking if the order sought ought not to have been made.”
Court documents obtained by SaharaReporters shows that, “The court upon reading through the Motion papers and hearing C.N. Ofiah Esq. for the claimants/applicants ordered as follows: I have read the processes in this suit, the applicant has complied with order 39 of our rules.
“Applicants also deposed to an affidavit of urgency. From the processes before this court, I find that the said application at this stage has merit pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.
“In the circumstances, in line with order 39 rule 3 of our rules, this motion is hereby granted. The motion on notice is accordingly adjourned to 25/5/2022 for hearing. The applicant is to enter undertaking if the order sought ought not to have been made.”
Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, has made a clarion call on Ndi Anambra in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to support and partner with his government to take back Anambra State from criminal elements.
Governor Soludo made the call during a dinner session with Ndi Anambra resident in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory on Thursday, May 12, 2022.
The Governor revealed that the rising insecurity witnessed in the State is being perpetrated by criminal elements and no longer about political agitations.
He said that such criminals have now turned kidnapping, killings and other forms of criminality to business enterprise because of the huge sums of money they make from it.
Professor Soludo revealed that the criminals have become more daring as they having constituted themselves into a parallel government collecting taxes and levies from the citizens of the State.
Governor Soludo said the state government cannot fold its arms and allow such criminals continue to hold the state and the people to ransom, and vowed that Anambra State must be taken back, no matter the price.
The Governor therefore called on wealthy Ndi-Anambra to donate generously to the Anambra State Security Trust Fund which has been set up to raise money in combating insecurity in the State.
He stated that government alone cannot provide all the resources needed to effectively combat the rising insecurity in the State.
Governor Soludo also made a presentation to the audience where he outlined the activities and other strategies being put in place to reposition Anambra into a livable and prosperous homeland for people living and doing business in the state.
He again appealed to every Ndi-Anambra to invest at least fifty percent of their investments in Anambra State as a way of boosting the economy of the state.
He advised the audience to always think about developing their homeland, adding that they will never earn the respect of their host if they do not have a livable and prosperous homeland to return to.
The dinner was well attended by Ndi Anambra in the FCT who also donated generously to the State Security Trust Fund.
