With less than 4 months to the end of the second term tenure of Willie Obiano, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has placed the Anambra governor on its watchlist.
Obiano is expected to handover to former governor of Central Bank, Professor Charles Chukwuma in March, 2022.
According to a letter dated November 15 and addressed to the comptroller-general of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the anti-graft agency asked to be informed whenever Obiano is seen attempting to travel out of the country.
It is not clear why the EFCC placed Obiano on its watchlist.
However, according to sources, the Anambra governor is being investigated by the commission.
Popular Nollywood Actor, Kenneth Okonkwo has said that President Muhammadu Buhari has done more for Ndigbo Nigeria under the All Progressives Congress, APC, than the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
IGBERE TV recalls that the veteran Nollywood Actor had contested for governor of Enugu State in the 2019 election but failed.
In a post on his official Instagram page, on Tuesday, Okonkwo cried out over the operation of Fulani Herdsmen in Abuja.
He said :
“This is why ranching is both desirable and inevitable. How can humans and animals be struggling for a right of way in the Federal Capital City of Abuja?” the actor had asked.
“We must move on to the 21st-century system of animal husbandry to reduce tensions between passers-by, commuters, farmers, and herdsmen.”
A critic replied at the actor, putting it to him that he had campaigned for Buhari-led administration.
In his reply, Okonkwo stated that he is still proud to have campaigned “relentlessly” and supported Buhari’s government.
“Yes, I did and I stand by my decision. When I see that the second niger bridge is about to be completed. When I see that runway at Enugu Airport has been expanded to accommodate international flights,” the actor added.
When I see that Enugu-PH express roads are being rehabilitated, when I remember all other things Buhari had done for the South East and remember that PDP was there for 16 years and did nothing for us.
“I am proud of the decision I took and I have no apologies for that. Nothing changed.
“I have been a strong advocate of ranching from day one. Just check through my antecedents. I support the truth at all times. I joined politics for the good of the people and will support good policies irrespective of party affiliation.”
JuThe immediate past President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, has accused the federal government of Nigeria of treating the Igbo race as second class citizens,
Nwodo who made the allegation while delivering a paper on: “Nigeria’s Political and Economic Future – the Dangers We Can Avert”, lamented the exclusion of the Igbo race in the security architecture of the country as well as other sensitive and strategic public positions.
His words: ” We are grossly marginalised and treated by the federal government as second class citizens. No Igbo man, for instance, heads any security arm of the Nigeria Armed Forces.
” Our area is the most heavily policed as if there was a deliberate policy to intimidate us and hold us down.
” The brazen impunity in dealing with matters which concern the South East is provocative.”
” We invest and contribute to the economic and social life of the communities where ever we live. We are proudly Christians but very accommodating of our brothers of other persuasions.”
The former Information Minister regretted that the militarization of the South-East zone and the high-handedness of the federal government in dealing with the zone were the reason for the growing disenchantment among youths in the zone.
” This current approach makes it impossible for leaders in the South East to effectively contain the anger of their youths”.
He said that despite Nigeria’s harshness and unfriendly disposition towards Ndigbo, the race remains the most accommodating and enterprising and religious-tolerant tribe in the country.
” We are the largest ethnic group other than the Indigenous tribe in any part of Nigeria. We invest and contribute to the economic and social life of the communities where ever we live. We are proudly Christians but very accommodating of our brothers of other persuasions”, Nwodo contended
Sagir Hamida, brother of the politician killed by suspected armed bandits on Sunday on the Kaduna-Abuja highway, has narrated how the incident happened.
Mr Hamida, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was a governorship aspirant in Zamfara in 2015 and 2019. He was shot dead at Rijana on the Kaduna-Abuja highway late Sunday
Mr Hamida, who held the traditional title of ‘Sarkin Rafin Gusau,’ had retired as a director at Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) before joining politics.
He was also the proprietor of FAMAKS British Schools in Abuja and Kaduna.
His brother, Surajo Hamida, told reporters in Kaduna that the police orderly of the politician was among dozens of persons abducted by the bandits on the highway in that incident.
He said his brother was shot on the chest and leg while his driver escaped unhurt.
The politician was hit by the bandit’s bullets after his driver hastily made a U-turn to escape a blockade by the bandits. Unknown to the travelers, the area was entirely fortified by the bandits, Mr Hamida narrated.
In the process, he said the bandits opened fire on the vehicle, leading to the death of the politician.
Many travelers were reported to have been abducted in operations on the troubled highway.
The phone contact of Kaduna police spokesperson, Muhammad Jalige, did not connect Monday morning for his comment on the incident.
However, the governor of Zamfara, Bello Matatwalle, said he had received news of Mr Hamidu’s killing with shock.
The governor’s spokesperson, Yusuf Idris, in a statement said the deceased was one of the promising politicians in the state.
The governor said the deceased had a good vision for the enhancement of self-reliance, especially among the youth.
“Sagir Hamida will be remembered for his various contributions to the political and socio-economic growth of the state where he left a wide gap that will be difficult to fill.
“Death is inevitable but losing a worthy son like Sagir Hamida is a great loss and very painful and his contribution will remain indelible in the minds of the people of the state.
“The governor also extended his heartfelt condolences to Gusau emirate Council, his immediate family, the good people and government of Zamfara and prayed to Allah to give them the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss,” the statement said.
The Nigerian Army has accused the Indigenous People Of Biafra, IPOB, and its security wing, ESN of setting vehicles, houses on fire in Awo-Mmamma, Imo State.
In a statement released by Abubakar Abdullahi, Major Acting Deputy Director Army Public Relations 82 Division Nigerian Army and obtained by IGBERE TV, the Nigerian Army said in the quest to compel citizens to comply with the unlawful sit-at-home order, IPOB/ESN criminals indulged in harassment, intimidation and physical abuse of commuters going about their lawful businesses.
According to the statement,
” the criminals went further to carry out arson and destruction of businesses and homes at Ishieke junction (along Owerri-Onitsha express way) as a vendetta against the citizens for not complying with the illegal order.”
“The hoodlums who had earlier blocked the highway, set ablaze a commercial vehicle heading towards Onitsha. Vigilant troops responding to distress calls by motorists and shop owners swiftly moved to the scene and engaged the hoodlums in a firefight. The troops overwhelmed the hoodlums forcing them to scamper in different directions.”
“The troops pursued the hoodlums to their hideout in Akatta Community in Oru East LGA, where a member of the group was neutralized in the shootout. While the troops engaged the hoodlums in their hideout, other members of the group who alleged that some individuals had volunteered information to the troops mustered at Ishieke junction and set ablaze houses and businesses of law abiding citizens. The troops again returned to the junction to disperse the hoodlums. Unfortunately, a galant soldier paid the supreme prize in defence of the people.”
record that since the sad events of 5 April 2021 when some unscrupulous elements invaded the Custodial Centre in Owerri and freed more than 1,800 inmates, there has been an upsurge in criminalities such as kidnapping, car jacking, robbery, unwarranted killing and arson in Imo State. These criminal elements have since then wreaked havoc in the State and its environs.”
” Even in the face of unwholesome propaganda by IPOB/ESN, other criminal elements and their collaborators to misinform and mislead Nigerians on the truth regarding the arson at Awo-Mmamma, the NA will continue to remain professional.”
“The NA appeals to the good people of Imo State to ignore the propaganda and threats by IPOB and its affiliate groups, who despite their deceitful calls cancelling the monday sit at home order, have continued to intimidate and harass citizens who come out to do their legitimate business.”
The co-convener of Bring Back Our Girls, BBOG, Aisha Yesufu, has called on the National Assembly to Impeach the president that even the Northerners are tired of him.
The popular Nigerian activist made the call in reaction to the massive attack on travellers along the Abuja-Kaduna highway where a lot of persons were kidnapped by Bandits.
The National Assembly, what are you doing? What part of the Constitution have you not read on when you can impeach the president?
Impeach Buhari nothing is going to happen, even the people in the North are sick and tired of the president. Go down to the street and feel the pulse of the people about the president.
Buhari is there, watching while the people are being killed, all he does is to travel.
Nigerians are being killed, all he cares about is to carry soldiers to the Southeast. Nnamdi Kanu is his problem while his people are being killed and its non of his problems
Yesufu said the president have failed Nigerians and asked why President Mohammadu Buhari is still the president of Nigeria alleging that the president is “destroying the country for us, our children, grandchildren and our descendants and we are doing nothing about it.”
She also chided Northerners for their silence in the face of the insecurity and questioned why there’s no outrage from they like they do when there’s a national campaign like the #EndSARS protest.
Northern people where are you!! Life does no longer matter right? Where’s is the #SecureNorth?
“When it’s time to do a hash tag against EndSARS or any other person’s problems, you will come out and remember that the North isn’t secured. But when people are being killed, you won’t know that the North isn’t secured. It’s protest is Haram, all of a sudden northern lives no longer matters because a northern person is the president.”
Aisha maintained posited that “Buhari should be chased out of the Villa.”
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has dismissed the report of the Lagos state panel that investigated the #EndSARS massacre as fake news.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, he said the report submitted to Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu is a rehash of already circulating fake news.
Mohammed maintained that instead of sitting for one year, the panel should have just compiled social media reports and wound up.
The minister alleged that the report is ridden with discrepancies, innuendos, inconsistency and errors.
He wondered what the panel meant by its conclusion of “massacre in context,” declaring that it can only be a “phantom massacre.”
The minister remarked that the report did not make any recommendations for innocent victims killed in Lagos, saying that it cannot be relied upon.
Following the threats by the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Senator Andy Uba of going to the Election Petitions Tribunal to contest the outcome of the November 6, 2021 gubernatorial election in Anambra State in which he took a distant third position, the Director, Media and Communication, Soludo Campaign Organization, Mr. C. Don Adinuba has urged Anambra people not to worry about any likely antics by the controversial former senator.
Adinuba who made the call in a statement in Awka on Tuesday recalled that a number of Anambra people, including people from his (Uba’s)hometown of Uga in Aguata Local Government Area, had been warning Senator Andy Uba of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against carrying out his threat of going to the Election Petitions Tribunal following the November 6 gubernatorial election in Anambra State in which he took a distant third position, despite the APC being the national government party.
He observed that the warning was hinged on two considerations: the need to build on the culture of social harmony which the state had created since 2017 when the candidates of the major parties congratulated Governor Willie Obiano on his massive re-election and the need to maintain judicial integrity, since most Nigerians do not regard Uba as someone who played by rules in political games.
He noted that much as the concerns of those people were legitimate and much as it was acknowledged that Uba could ordinarily sue in a democracy if he was genuinely dissatisfied with the process or outcome of an electoral exercise, Anambra people need not worry about any likely antics by the controversial former senator contending that he had no locus standi to approach the Election Petitions Tribunal.
According to Adinuba who is also the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Anambra State, “He was never the APC candidate in the November 6 election. Uba himself knows this to be the fact in his heart. Hence, he instructed his lawyer, Abubakar Magaji Mahmud (SAN), to do everything within his power to stop Mr. Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja from delivering judgment on November 4, 2021 on a case brought by Chief George Moghalu, Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority and founding APC member who sought the party’s ticket to contest in the governorship election.
Chief Moghalu is suing the party for forwarding Uba’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its nominee in the election.
“The reason given by Uba and his lawyer for seeking to stop the judgment was that the outcome of the judicial decision would have severe consequences for them since the election would take place two days later. Justice Ekwo, out of pity, decided to postpone the judgment. From all indications, Uba knows how the judgment will turn out any time it is given. After all, INEC has written a report stating that no primary election took place.”
The Commissioner maintained that every APC leader believed there was no primary election on June 26, 2021, which Senator Uba or any other person could have won and therefore, qualified to be the party’s standard bearer.
“Senator Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment and the party’s leader in Anambra State who is also a former Anambra State governor, has repeatedly stated in public that there was no primary election on June 26.
“It is, therefore, not surprising that on two occasions the Andy Uba Gubernatorial Campaign Council announced that President Muhammadu Buhari would grace the flag-off of its electioneering campaign and on two occasions the president ignored the council. The council later announced that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo would attend its flag-off in Onitsha on September 25, only for the respected Vice President, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and evangelical pastor to distance himself from them for fear of soiling his image. No APC governor or minister or senator attended any function by Uba. Hence, Uba entered the history book as the only APC member to participate in a governorship race without the President or Vice President or even a representative in attendance. Senator Uba also made history as the only APC membership to take part in a gubernatorial election without ever having a campaign flag-off anywhere.
“All this owes to the fact that Andy Uba was never the APC candidate in the November 6 election in Anambra State. His purported candidature will be nullified formally once Justice Ekwo delivers judgment on the suit brought by Chief Moghalu, one of the other 13 APC governorship aspirants swindled by party operatives who came to Anambra State to conduct the party’s congress and primary election after each of the aspirants had paid a whopping 23 million naira for the Expression of Interest/Governorship Nomination Form”, he submitted.
Adinuba went on to explain that Andy Uba and his group took “dubiousness” too far when they claimed that he received 230,201 out of the phantom 348,490 votes cast in the so-called primary election arguing that no journalist saw any APC member vote anywhere, no observer witnessed any party congress and no party member in the state participated in either the congress or the alleged primary election.
He continued, “Of course, there are not up to 20,000 APC members in Anambra State where the party had its worst result in the 2019 general election throughout Nigeria by winning a mere five percent. Hence, Uba could not garner more than 43,285 votes in the November 6 governorship election, as opposed to Professor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) who got 112,229 votes and Mr. Valentine Ozigbo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who scored 53,807 votes.”
While noting that Anambra people were satisfied that the party which took second in the election had congratulated the winner, just as the APC which came third, he further disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari said he was looking forward to working closely with Professor Soludo, a former Central Bank governor and a member of his Committee of Economic Advisers, for the development of not just Anambra State but the Southeast.
“It is, indeed, a mark of gross indiscipline that after President Buhari, the APC leader, has congratulated Professor Soludo on his massive victory in 19 out of the 21 local government areas in Anambra State, Uba, who could not win in even one local government area, is threatening Anambra people with fire and brimstone as well as with the so-called Imo formula which, in his fanciful world, could make a person who took a very pathetic third position occupy Anambra Government House. It is regrettable that Uba has not learned anything from the disgraceful Birnin Kudu High Court drama and the awful Abuja Customary Court ruling which he sponsored against Soludo. The Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court have since corrected the two judicial embarrassments.
“Anambra people and all Nigerians are enjoined to disregard the threat from Uba and his so-called supporters who want to milk so much from him in the belief that he is just what Nigerians call ‘money miss road’. All local and international observers like the European Union/ United Kingdom delegation have confirmed that the November 6 election was free and fair and transparent. Local and international journalists who covered the historic election are of the same view. Foreign governments have congratulated the Anambra people on having a great election. The massive rejoicing in Anambra State and beyond over the outcome shows the profound legitimacy of INEC’s declaration of Professor Soludo as the winner of the November 6 vote. It is time to ignore Uba, a bad loser who was never the APC candidate in the first place”, he concluded.
