The Presidency has bluntly told leading opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to forget about winning the 2023 general elections.
The Senior Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, who spoke shortly after observing the Eid-kabir prayers in Daura, Katsina State, said Nigerians know too well than to allow another party takes over in 2023.
According to him: ’’The President enjoys unshakable support not only in his hometown but also across the country and it is enough for the opposition to admit that the President matters a lot for the ruling party and Nigerians in general, again he constitutes a political obstacle they cannot dismantle come 2023.
’We believe the PDP and other opposition parties are nursing false hopes of taking power comes 2023.
The masses will never abandon President Buhari’s leadership and the APC. I assure you that in 2023, the masses will be waiting for the President to show the way in courtesy of what he has been building for the country in terms of infrastructure and wellbeing of young people in the country’’.
He added: “Nobody will take the risk by inviting another party to come and take over in 2023.”
I want to state this clearly, I am not the talking type or Social media interest free person”
Many have questioned the type of boys and friends I have, to me, I hardly address anyone as my boy because we are all boys to God Almighty.
I don’t have any boy who is into rituals, if you are my boy or my man because I like to address my boys as my men, it means you are working hard and you made your money in a clean way.
In 2013, I pushed 53 uneducated Oba boys into the market to learn trading. In 2017, I withdrew all of them from their Ogas and settled all of them with 3million Naira each and paid for their shops.
I linked 40 of them into importation and made them use my name and platform to import goods into the country. After two years, I checked on them how they were doing and find out some had issues and I supported them again to stand.
I am happy today that out of the 53 men, 38 are billionaires while the rest are in the level of a millionaire.
In 2018, I took 100 educated men out of streets and introduced them to the white men for business and today there are billionaires in dollars.
They also help me in their capacity when I require their help. All their friends both Nigeria and outside patronises me.
I am into hotel and club business and I have so many businesses I am brand ambassadors to.
I have alliance with spirit drinks and wines, I am brand to many businesses in the world.
It gives me joy to see my men do well, non of my hotel managers in Nigeria can small poverty, I encourage them to raise others from their local communities. I have never sacked a worker due to misconduct, I bring you in and speak to you the way you will understand.
I have this understanding that we should allow the stubborn people to exist and cool headed people to exist and we make use of them when their needs arises.
I don’t believe in the supremacy of power rather I believe in the fare share of power and authority and allow everyone to feel belonged.
I have many uncountable people through my hotel business, I have encouraged many, I have made a lot of friends millionaires and billionaires because it gives me joy. Seeing them throw money around gives me happiness and they know, so anytime there are with me, they show such attitude of throwing money to please me.
Yes, I will gift 1 million to 300 Oba boys to start up business and link them up too to make it.
I have a lot of friends and associates and we are like brothers to each other. We love and encourage one another in good and bad as you have seen in my case that all of them came massively to support me.
Critics is normal and there are there to say what they want to say but when you are doing the right thing, you don’t listen to what people say. If I have my way, I will also help those criticising me.
A lot of non Obas will still benefit from me because I am still in the business of making people great.
Cubana chief priest is my man and he is a jolly fellow. People mistake him for me, I am Obi Cubana and he is my Chief priest I hope you understand it now.
I am not into politics and I don’t have interest in it till tomorrow. I respect those in politics because dey carry power. Lol hahaha.
My advice is they should identify talents and make them great, don’t have any fear of who betrays you tomorrow, just make men and move, if they remember good if not be happy that they made it through you.
I didn’t asked my boys/men for donations or help, I didn’t also asked my friends for help or donations they did that on their own and I appreciated their efforts.
At least eight persons travelling to Port Harcourt in a passenger boat have been kidnapped along the Kula-Abonma waterway in Rivers State.
The passengers were abducted by gunmen suspected to be pirates on Monday morning, according to the Rivers Chairman, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) Jonah Jumbo
Jumbo said out of the eight kidnapped persons, five were members of the maritime union in Kula, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area headed to Port Harcourt for a meeting.
He appealed to the abductors to release them unconditionally and called on the State Government and security agencies to intervene immediately.
He said: “The Kula unit and Abomema unit (of martime workers union) were asked to come for a meeting in the state office here in Port Harcourt, this morning (Monday).
On their way from Kula, we got a complaint (report) that the officials who were coning for the meeting were kidnapped.
“All the passengers were kidnapped, including three others in the boat. Up till now, nobody has heard anything from the kidnappers.
So, we are appealing to the general public, the government and security agencies to really help us and see how they can reach the kidnappers,” he said.
When contacted, spokesman of Rivers Police Command Nnamdi Omoni said he was yet to get the report on the incident.
Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo also known as Sunday Igboho, has been arrested in Cotonou, Benin Republic, The PUNCH has learnt.
He was arrested at an airport in Cotonou on Monday night, a top source familiar with the matter told our correspondent.
Igboho was arrested by the security forces in Benin Republic about three weeks after the Department of State Services declared him wanted for allegedly stockpiling arms, an allegation he has since denied.
The source told The PUNCH that Igboho will be repatriated to Nigeria on Tuesday (today) from Benin Republic, one of Nigeria’s neighbouring countries in the West African sub region.
He was arrested in Cotonou while he tried to travel out on Monday night. His destination was Germany. The security forces in Benin Republic should repatriate him to Nigeria on Tuesday,” the source said.
The Nigerian secret police had raided Igboho’s Ibadan residence in the Soka area on July 1, 2021, arrested about 12 of his aides and killed two of them in a gun duel.
He was arrested in Cotonou while he tried to travel out on Monday night. His destination was Germany. The security forces in Benin Republic should repatriate him to Nigeria on Tuesday,” the source said.
The Nigerian secret police had raided Igboho’s Ibadan residence in the Soka area on July 1, 2021, arrested about 12 of his aides and killed two of them in a gun duel.
The Federal Government of Nigeria had placed the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Nigeria Customs Service on alert to stop Igboho from leaving the country.
When contacted, a member of Igboho’s legal team, Pelumi Olajengbesi, said he would speak with the lead counsel, Yomi Aliyu (SAN), and revert later.
DSS spokesman, Peter Afunanya, did not respond to a text message seeking confirmation on the matter.
Afunanya, at a briefing on July 1, 2021, had vowed that “Igboho may run as far as he can. He may hide as long as he wants…But this will be the end of his shenanigans.”
A Lagos Magistrate Court sitting in Yaba on Monday granted bail to the 49 Yoruba Nation agitators arrested and detained by the Lagos Police Command.
The Nation reports the Lagos Police Command had paraded the 49 suspects arrested in connection with Oodua Republic mega rally at Ojota.Those paraded include 47 men and two women.
Some of the suspects, according to Commissioner of Police (CP) Hakeem Odumosu, were intercepted and found with guns, axes, Oodua flags, Yoruba Armed Forces vests and other items. Others were arrested at the protest ground in Ojota.
But the Yoruba self-determination groups’ umbrella body Ilana Omo Oodua (IOO) rose in defence of those arraigned.
The IOO’s Media Communications Secretary, Mr. Maxwell Adeleye, confirmed to The Nation on Monday, the agitators are to provide N300, 000 with two sureties each.
A motion for their bail application was filed by human rights lawyers led by Olasupo Ojo and Oladapo Kayode.
One of the sureties must be a family member and the other a community leader or clergy with proof of tax payment,” Adeleye said.
Among those granted bail are Olasunkanmi Tanimola; Kabiru Lawanson; Chinemerem Emmanuel; Rasaki Musibau; Lukman Olalade; Olasanmi Oladipupo; Bashiru Shittu; Taofeek Abdusalam; Olamilekan Abata; Abdullahi Sikiru; Tosin Adeleye; Babatunde Lawal.
Others include Abiodun Taiwo, Adagunodo Babatunde, Oluwafemi Adeleye, Oloye Taiwo, Saheed Kareem, Adebayo Waheed, Akinbode Sunday, Lawal Akeem, Samuel Ire, Ogundile Dare, Oba Tajudeen Bakare.
An Anambra State High Court sitting at Awka has on Monday 19th July 2021 given a final judgment declaring Senator Ugochukwu Uba as the authentic governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the gubernatorial election scheduled for 6th November 2021.
The Honourable Justice Nwabunike gave the judgment today in a suit no: A/230/2021 between SENATOR DR UGOCHUKWU UBA VS INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION.
Others joined in the suit are the Peoples Democratic Party and Valentine Ozigbo.
The court dismissed all the preliminary objections filed by Valentine Ozigbo and declared that there was only one proper State Congress and primary election won by Ugochukwu Uba and declared that any other result by which Valentine Ozigbo was purportedly declared winner is null, void and of no effect for violation of section 25 of the PDP Constitution, Section 87 of the Electoral Act and extant judgment of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory and directive of INEC that PDP should use the list of authentic delegates of of the party to conduct the primary election.
The court further held that the PDP having used the court approved list of candidates to conduct the election which Ugochukwu Uba won beating Valentine Ozigbo and 13 other aspirants, PDP should not have purported to conduct another exercise same day using only 62 votes out of 218 random names to declare Ozigbo the winner of the primary election.
This judgment has now cleared the way for the Peoples Democratic Party to have a Governorship candidate published by INEC, as the publication made by the National electoral umpire on 16 July 2021 had omitted the name of a candidate for the PDP by merely inserting “Court order” in place of a named candidate.
By this judgment, Ugochukwu Uba is the candidate of the PDP.
Reports reaching the media is that Valentine Ozigbo’s camp is dejected and murmuring along the line of filing an appeal. However, many elders of the beleaguered erstwhile ruling party are urging all camps to rally round Ugochukwu Uba and save the party from avoidable appellate litigation that would not brighten the fortunes of the party in a crowded and keenly contested governorship election in the State.
There’s jubilation in the camp of former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Professor Charles Soludo as a Federal High Court sitting in Awka, the Anambra capital has reaffirmed he’s the Candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA for the November 6th Governorship Election in Anambra.
Delivering the judgement, on Monday, Justice C C Okaa said the other parties in the suit which includes; Jude Okeke, Edozie Njoku and Chukwuma Umeoji are “meddlesome interlopers. ”
On Friday 16th July, 2021, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, published list of candidates for the November 6th poll and said that Chukwuma Umeoji is the Candidate of APGA.
The electoral umpire based their decision on the judgement of Jigawa state High Court.
Electronic transmission of results: NASS has murdered democracy – Ozekhome
A constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Dr Mike Ozekhome (SAN), on Saturday, slammed the National Assembly for rejecting the electronic transmission of election results, describing it as a national tragedy.
While accusing NASS of murdering democracy in Nigeria, Ozekhome regretted that the concept of democracy was no longer in practice in the country.
The lawyer faulted the NASS’ action while delivering a special lecture at the 2021 graduation ceremony/prize-giving ceremony of the Pacesetters School in Abuja.
He said, “The national tragedy in the last two days at the National Assembly is for the sole interest of politicians in order to rig elections.
“Why did we choose to kill electronic voting when across the world, even in the Democratic Republic of Congo, they are using it? You are even now making INEC to be no longer independent.”
A former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Lai Olurode, has also described the passage of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2021 as half-hearted and would not do the public much good.
Olurode, who is also a former Head, Department of Sociology, University of Lagos, said this in an interview with one of our correspondents in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.
He said the condition attached to the approval for electronic transmission of election results which mandated the INEC to get approval from the NCC was a way of eroding the autonomy of the electoral commission.
Olurode said, “The first thing I can deduce is that the National Assembly is still not comfortable with overhauling the whole Electoral Act in a way that will make further transparency of our electoral process visible and possible.
“In summary, it is like Nigeria will still continue to go through electoral ordeals, the waiting time for harvesting result is so much and sometimes, people sleep at collation centres for days because they are waiting for results from one remote part of the country.
“Therefore, for me, what they have done is a half-hearted amendment that will not serve the public good as much. Let me say this to the credit of the National Assembly, a wholesale electronic transmission of results for the whole country is dangerous. If the transmission becomes impossible for reasons of difficulty because the machines are not cooperating, the whole country will be held to ransom. There will be apprehension and trepidation.
“A party will believe because we are winning and that is why they are failing in transmitting the results electronically and that can set the country ablaze. But you cannot give with one hand and take with the other hand.”
Olurode said he preferred the first amendment which stated that INEC might transmit results of elections by electronic means where and when practicable.
He said the second amendment which would now mandate the electoral commission to first go to the NCC and come back to the lawmakers for ratification to transmit results was like placing obstacles in the way of credible polls.
Also, a Professor of Political Science at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, Lanre Olu-Adeyemi, faulted the passage of the Electoral Amendment Act Bill by the Senate which asked INEC to seek clearance from the NCC and the National Assembly before deploying electronic transmission of results.
The don said the action of the senate was unconstitutional and not good for the democracy of the country.
He said, “The INEC is properly constituted by law to have the power to conduct elections in Nigeria. The law gives all powers concerning the election to INEC, which also includes the power to transmit and announce the final results of the election.
Also, a Political Science Professor at the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Femi Omotoso, said for another government agency to determine INEC’s duty would pose problems for the smooth conduct of elections.
He said, “I am afraid politics is blindfolding us for us not to see the benefits derivable in some of these things which can take us to the desired end. As it is now, the electoral system will still remain the same whereas there is a need for us to improve every now and then so that we can have free, fair, credible and transparent elections.
In his submission, the Head of Political Science Department at the University of Jos, Dr Major Adeyi, maintained that the rejection of electronic transmission of election results was an “unholy way” of discrediting government investment in Information and Computer Technology.
According to him, the action by the Senate was “a setback to the electoral process in Nigeria.”
He said, “This action again will expose our electoral process to the democratic world that the giant of Africa is still crawling in the field of technology. If the globalised world is moving towards embracing ICT and promoting election management to my mind, the rejection of electronic transmission is an arrogant display of ignorance, and it is a process that will build confidence among the citizens and election managers.
However, Emeritus Professor of Political Science at Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, Bunmi Ayoade, stated that although the electronic transmission of election results was good, he warned that the idea should be jettisoned if the country would not be able to meet the technology demands of transmitting the results.
He said, “I honestly believe that transmitting election results electronically is good and worthwhile. It saves time, but you need to have the gadgets and the preventive measures to be able to cope with it.
Against the general clamour for a lasting solution to the myriad of electoral problems facing the country, 50 members of the All Progressives Congress in the Senate and two of their counterparts in the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, on Thursday voted against electronic transmission of election results in the forthcoming general elections. Notwithstanding the constitutionally guaranteed independence of the electoral body, the senators insisted that the Independent National Electoral Commission should be compelled to seek clearance from the Nigerian Communications Commission, while the heavily politicised National Assembly would have to approve the verdict of the NCC, which is a department under the presidency.
Kabiru Gaya (Kano Central)
The former governor of Kano State is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC which recommended the controversial Section 53 (3) in the Electoral Act (amendment) Bill 2021 which empowers INEC to transmit election results electronically. Ironically, Gaya voted against the recommendation of the panel he chaired.
Ovie Omo-Agege (Delta Central)
The lawmaker is the current Deputy President of the Senate. He was accused of allegedly leading some thugs to the Senate Chamber in the 8th National Assembly to steal the Maze, which is the symbol of democracy in Nigeria.
Peter Nwaoboshi (Delta North)
The Senator recently defected from the PDP to join the APC in what many people believed was to seek refuge in the ruling party and escape justice in the multibillion-naira corruption allegations hanging on his neck at the Niger Delta Development Commission. Nwaoboshi is incidentally the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, which is saddled with the responsibility of carrying out oversight functions on the intervention agency.
Ali Ndume (Borno South)
The senator, who was the Leader of the Senate in the 8th National Assembly, contested the Senate Presidency with the incumbent, Ahmad Lawan, in 2019 but lost. He is representing Borno South District. Despite his state being ravaged by Boko Haram insurgency and constituents scattered in several internally displaced camps across the country, the state has been producing huge numbers of votes during elections.
Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central)
The Senator was a students’ union activist before he joined politics several years ago after his graduation. He served as a commissioner in Lagos State and was a House of Representatives member before joining the Senate. He is said to be eyeing the governorship seat in Ekiti State after the tenure of Governor Kayode Fayemi ends.
Ibrahim Gobir (Sokoto East)
Gobir is said to hold a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Detroit in the United States, and a doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering and Energy from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University in Bauchi State. He is a chartered engineer and a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical Engineers (UK) and of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
Mohammed Goje (Gombe Central)
Goje is a former governor of Gombe State and was the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee in the 8th National Assembly. He had the intention of contesting the Senate presidency in 2019 until he was allegedly prevailed upon to drop his ambition by the cabal in the Presidential Villa for some obvious reasons.
Yusuf Yusuf (Taraba Central)
Yusuf is a member of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the APC. He was declared the winner of the seat in the Senate on September 29, 2015 after a tribunal sacked the PDP candidate, Bashir Marafa, who was earlier declared the winner of the seat.
Ibrahim Bomai (Yobe South)
The senator served as Deputy Director (Accounts) Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation on posting to the Federal Capital Territory Administration between 2005 and 2008.
Within the period, he served as the Auditor-General for the FCT area councils under the FCTA. Bomai was promoted to the position of Director of Treasury of the FCTA in 2008, a pivotal post he held until he retired from the civil service in August 2016.
Sahabi Ya’u (Zamfara North)
Senator Sahabi Ya’u defected from the PDP to APC on July 21, 2021. He said his decision was necessitated by the endemic crisis that engulfed the Zamfara State chapter of the PDP which led the national body to dissolve the state executive of the party.
Uba Sani (Kaduna Central)
The Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, appointed Sani as the Special Assistant (Political and Intergovernmental Affairs) in 2015. However, in 2019, Sani contested the Kaduna Central senatorial seat and won to succeed Senator Shehu Sani, who occupied the seat in the 8th Senate.
Elisha Abbo (Adamawa North)
Not much was known about this youngest member of the 9th Senate until a viral video about his alleged assault of a nursing mother at a sex toyshop in Abuja surfaced in 2019. The senator who was elected on the platform of the PDP recently defected to the APC.
Ahmad Kaita (Katsina North)
SaharaReporters alleged recently that Kaita, who was invited by his friend, Alhaji Mannir Talba, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, to a wedding ceremony, met with disgrace as irate youths allegedly humiliated him. The online medium reported that the angry youths accused Kaita of inadequate representation of his constituents.
Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central)
Aliero, a former governor of Kebbi State, was appointed the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua in December 2008. He left office in March 2010 when the then acting President Goodluck Jonathan dissolved his cabinet.
Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North)
Abdullahi is the current Leader of the Senate. He tried all means, including using the name of God to beg the Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, to drop his insistence on using headcount to determine senators who were in support of electronic result transmission and those who were against it.
Yakubu Oseni (Kogi Central)
The senator was appointed by Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello as the Executive Chairman of the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service from 2016 to 2018 before he resigned to contest the Senate seat in 2019.
Jibrin Isah (Kogi East)
Isah contested the governorship ticket of the PDP in 2011 but lost to Idris Wada. He also contested against Wada again in 2015 but lost. He invariably got elected as a Senator in 2019 after a supplementary election.
Smart Adeyemi (Kogi West)
He was a former national president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists. He was elected senator on the platform of the PDP twice from 2007 to 2015. He lost to Senator Dino Melaye in 2015 and defected to the APC in 2019 to contest against Melaye, who had also defected to the PDP. Adeyemi lost the election but approached the tribunal. The court declared a supplementary poll which facilitated his return to the Senate.
Ibrahim Oloriegbe (Kwara Central)
The medical doctor, alias ‘giant killer,’ was announced the winner of the Kwara Central Senatorial District in 2019 which was occupied then by the erstwhile Senate President, Bukola Saraki.
Oloriegbe played a major role in the now controversial and crisis-ridden ‘O to ge’ struggle in 2019 aimed at eliminating political power wielded by the dynasty of the late Senator Olusola Saraki in Kwara State.
Oluremi Tinubu (Lagos Central)
Oluremi is the wife of the National Leader of the APC and former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who is unarguably the godfather of Lagos politics.
Solomon Adeola (Lagos West)
Popularly known as Yayi or Omo West, the Awori-Yewa senator is originally from Ogun State but has been representing Lagos West District since 2015 after his sojourn at the House of Representatives.
Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa North)
The former governor of Nasarawa State is said to be eyeing the National Chairmanship of the APC and is believed to have been mobilising massive support to realise his ambition.
Godiya Akwashiki (Nasarawa South)
The Senator was the Deputy Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly until 2019 when he got elected as a senator. A viral video of him shortly before the inauguration of the 9th National Assembly drew public attention to him. He was made the spokesperson of the Senate briefly before his replacement with Senator Ajibola Basiru.
Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West)
The two-time governor of Nasarawa State has been in the Senate after his sojourn at the Government House. He has also been heading the Agriculture Committee of the red chamber. He is reportedly a big-time farmer in Nasarawa State.
Mohammed Musa (Niger East)
Musa sponsored the controversial social media bill and is said to be a major contractor for INEC. He reportedly supplied most electronic devices being used by the agency, including the card readers. His decision to vote against the electronic transmission of election results actually took many people by surprise. He is currently seeking to become the national chairman of the APC.
Aliyu Abdullahi (Niger North)
Abdullahi retired as a federal civil servant and joined active politics. He was the spokesperson for the 8th Senate. He became the Deputy Whip of the 9th Senate as a compensation for the role he played in the emergence of Senator Ahmad Lawan as Senate President. He sponsored the controversial hate speech bill which is still pending before the chamber.
Mohammed Enagi (Niger South)
Not much was known about the Quantity Surveyor who retired as a Director at the Central Bank of Nigeria before he joined active politics. He is not known for controversial issues.
Nora Dadu’ut (Plateau South)
Dadu’ut, a Professor of French, resigned as the Head of the Department of French at the University of Jos, Plateau State, and joined active politics. She joined the Senate in 2020 on the APC platform after she won a bye-election.
Francis Alimikhena (Edo North)
Alimikhena retired from the Nigerian Army as a Major in 2000 and joined active politics. He contested the National Assembly election in 2015 after he defected from the PDP to the APC and won. He became a principal officer in the 8th Senate and he is now the Chairman, Senate Committee on Customs and Excise.
Abubakar Kyari (Borno North)
Prior to becoming a Senator, Kyari was a member of the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003. From 2003 to 2005, he was a commissioner in Borno State. He was also a commissioner between 2007 and 2011.
Ajibola Basiru (Osun Central)
The doctoral degree holder in Property Law was the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Osun State for eight years before becoming a senator. He is the current spokesperson for the Senate.
Robert Boroffice (Ondo North)
The Professor of Zoology was appointed the Coordinating Director for Science in the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure in 1992. He worked on Biotechnology, Information and Communications Technology, and Space Science and Technology. This led to the establishment of the National Biotechnology Development Agency, National Information Technology Development Agency, and the National Space Research and Development Agency.
In 1999, Boroffice was made the director-general of the space agency, a post he held for 10 years before joining politics and elected senator in 2015.
Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North)
A two-time governor of Abia State, Kalu got elected to the Senate in 2019 and was made the Senate Chief Whip. He is currently having a running battle with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Adelere Oriolowo (Osun West)
The senator retired as a civil servant and served during the Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration in Osun State. He was elected senator in 2019 and made the Chairman, Senate Committee on Legislative Compliance.
Aishatu Ahmed (Adamawa Central)
Born in 1971, the senator, also known as Binani, went to the United Kingdom for her university education where she obtained a Higher National Diploma in Electrical Engineering at the University of Southampton. She was a member of the House of Representatives in the 7th National Assembly.
Biobarakama Degi-Eremienyo (Bayelsa East)
Degi-Eremienyo was elected senator in the 2019 general elections and in September of the same year, he was announced as David Lyon’s running mate in the November 16, 2019 governorship election in Bayelsa State.
On November 12, 2019, the federal high court in Abuja disqualified him as Lyon’s running mate for the Bayelsa State governorship election on the basis of falsification of academic documents.
On November 16, 2019, he was declared the deputy governor-elect of Bayelsa State by INEC, and on February 13, 2020, a day prior to his swearing-in as deputy governor, his election was invalidated by the Supreme Court of Nigeria on grounds that he submitted a fake certificate to INEC.
Oyelola Ashiru (Kwara South)
Ashiru and other politicians in the Kwara PDP defected to the APC in 2018 to campaign against the Saraki dynasty. He was a beneficiary of the ‘O to ge’ movement.
Bello Mandiya (Katsina South)
Mandiya, a former chief of staff to the Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari, holds a degree in Mass Communication. He is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Water Resources. His committee will handle the controversial water resources bill whenever it is introduced to the 9th Senate.
Hezekiah Dimka (Plateau Central)
He previously served as a board member, TETFUND North Central, in 2018. He is currently the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Drugs and Narcotics.
Frank Ibezim (Imo North)
The Supreme Court on Friday, April 17, 2021, set aside the disqualification of Ibezim as the authentic candidate of the December 5, 2020 Imo North senatorial election.
Justice Emmanuel Agim, delivering a unanimous judgment, held that the suit which led to Ibezim’s disqualification for allegedly supplying false information to secure nomination was statute-barred at the time it was instituted.
He was sworn in as a senator on April 27.
Kashim Shettima (Borno Central)
The former governor of Borno State for eight years has been maintaining a quiet life since he came into the Senate.
He contested the governorship election in 2011 which he won under the platform of the now-defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party and won re-election in 2015 under the APC. There was rampant insurgency throughout his eight-year tenure.
Sa’idu Alkali (Gombe North)
Alkali holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics. He was commissioner of information in the administration of former governor Danjuma Goje.
Amos Bulus (Gombe South)
Many Nigerians were surprised that Bulus, an air commodore, who was made the Director of Information Technology at the Nigerian Air Force headquarters to ensure operational efficiency and effectiveness, before his retirement, could also vote against electronic transmission of election results.
Danladi Sankara (Jigawa North-East)
Sankara became a senator after many years of effort and has been maintaining a quiet life since he got to the red chamber.
Ibrahim Hadejia (Jigawa North-West)
Hadejia, before becoming a senator, served as the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General in Jigawa State.
Suleiman Kwari (Kaduna North)
Kwari was elected senator in 2019. Before then, he was the Commissioner of Finance in Kaduna State and also a member of the House of Representatives representing Sabon Gari constituency.
Kabir Barkiya (Katsina Central)
One of Barkiya’s constituents, who identified himself as Bishir Subuwar, in an article published in Katsina Post online, wrote:
“Today, Katsina Central Senatorial District is at the mercy of homicidal bandits; women, old and young, are being raped. Farmers could no longer go to their deepest and most fertile farms for fear of being kidnapped or killed.
“Many peasants and petty traders who constitute over 99 percent of the constituency are now living in abject poverty as they lost all their valuables through payment of ransom.”
Jika Halliru (Bauchi Central)
Born in 1976, Halliru was elected as a member of the House of Representatives and served two terms from 2007 to 2015. He was elected a senator in the 2019 general elections.
Lawali Anka (Zamfara West)
Lawali became a senator by circumstances following the disqualification of elected members of the APC in Zamfara State in 2019. Little is known about the senator in the red chamber.
Lawal Gumau (Bauchi South)
Lawan is a two-time House of Representatives member before his election to the Senate.
Stephen Odeh (PDP, Cross River North)
Odey became a senator with the active support of Governor Ben Ayade who recently defected from the PDP to the APC. Unlike Ayade, Odey has yet to defect allegedly because of his running battle with INEC, which had technically removed him from the Senate, having issued a fresh certificate of return to Jarigbe Jarigbe, a member of the House of Representatives.
Shuaibu Lau (PDP, Taraba North)
Lau became a senator through litigation on June 23, 2017, but got re-elected under the PDP on March 28, 2019. Contrary to the position of his party, he also joined the APC senators to shoot down the proposal for the electronic transmission of election results.
Media chiefs in the country have said the media won’t be deterred by the directive of the Federal Government that the media should not divulge “details” of the activities of bandits, terrorists and kidnappers in their reports.
The President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mustapha Isah; the National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Chris Isiguzo; and the Executive Director, Centre for Media Law and Advocacy, Richard Akinnola; made this known in separate interviews with Saturday PUNCH on Friday.
According to them, the media reports activities and does not create events.
They advised the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to tackle the security challenges in the country and desist from its attempts to gag the media through the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.
The media veterans were reacting to a directive by the National Broadcasting Commission that television and radio stations in Nigeria should not “glamourise the nefarious activities of insurgents” during their daily newspaper reviews.
Broadcast stations in Nigeria review newspaper headlines daily before their breakfast shows.
But the NBC, in a letter dated July 7, 2021, issued to television and radio stations, stressed the need for “caution” by broadcasters while reporting security challenges in the country.
The letter titled, ‘Newspaper Reviews And Current Affairs Programmes: A Need For Caution’, was signed by the Director, Broadcast Monitoring, Francisca Aiyetan, on behalf of the new Director-General of the Commission, Balarabe Ilelah.
A copy of the letter obtained by Saturday PUNCH, partly reads, “Headlines of most newspapers on a daily basis are replete with security topics. While bringing information on security to the doorsteps of Nigerians is a necessity, there is a need for caution as too many details may have an adverse implication on the efforts of our security officials who are duty-bound to deal with the insurgency.
“The commission, therefore, enjoins broadcasters to collaborate with the government in dealing with the security challenges by;
“Not glamourising the nefarious activities of insurgents, terrorists, kidnappers, bandits etc.
“Advising guests and/or analysts on programmes not to polarise the citizenry with divisive rhetoric, in driving home their point.
“Not giving details of either the security issues or victims of these security challenges so as not to jeopardise the efforts of the Nigerian soldiers and other security agents.”
According to Global Conflict Tracker, the insurgents have killed nearly 350,000 innocent women, children and farmers in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, amongst other volatile places, since 2009.
On the other hand, the information minister has in recent times attempted to muzzle the press in Nigeria by prodding the National Assembly to amend the Nigeria Press Council Act and the National Broadcasting Commission Act, one that has been fiercely opposed by media stakeholders who described the move as an information blackout akin to the infamous Protection Against False Accusations Decree, otherwise known as Decree 4 of 1984.
Reacting, NGE President, Isah said he agreed with the NBC that broadcast stations should not glamourise the activities of insurgents but stated emphatically that the government could not tell the media how to tailor its reports.
Isah said, “The NBC said broadcast stations should not glamourise terrorist activities which I agree with but I have a problem with the issue of ‘don’t report details of attack’. I don’t know what the NBC mean by that. If there is an attack and certain people die, are you saying that I should not report it? If there is an attack and 20 students are kidnapped, are you saying that broadcast platforms should not report the number?
“I have not seen any media house report details of a planned operation by the military on bandits and terrorists. The media does not do that for security purposes and I don’t think we will ever do that.
“The government cannot tell us how to do how report. This is why we are clearly against the Nigeria Press Council Act.
“The media does not create events; we report events. If there is a terrorist attack, we will report it. In fact, if we don’t report it, that means we are not doing our job. We will not stop doing that, we will not stop reporting events despite the threats.”
Also, NUJ President, Isiguzo told our correspondent that the NUJ would ensure that the media space was not compressed in Nigeria under any guise.
He said, “This latest directive must be reviewed by the commission. The NBC must also ensure that its actions are in line with international best practices and must conform with time-tested models from other nations.”
Akinnola also described the NBC directive as obnoxious and a subtle attempt to gag the press.
Akinnola said, “It is quite unfortunate but it is difficult to gag the Nigerian Press going by its history, no matter the extrajudicial means. It is not possible. If the military failed, there is no way any government will succeed.
“The government has failed in the aspect of insecurity and this is a subtle effort to cover the inadequacy of the government.”
Also, the Socio-Economic Right and Accountability Project kicked against the NBC directive, and asked the government to withdraw the directive.
SERAP in a statement posted via its official social media handle @serapnigeria urged the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) to withdraw the order.
“We urge President Buhari to instruct the NBC to immediately withdraw its illegal order to TV and radio stations not to divulge “details” of the activities of terrorists and kidnappers in their reports.
We’ll sue if this sweeping gag order is not immediately withdrawn.”
