The Catholic Diocese of Enugu has condemned and dissociated the diocese from the inflammatory political utterances of the Director of Catholic Adoration Ministry Chaplaincy, Rev. Fr. Camillus Ejike Mbaka against Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections.

The Diocese described the vituperation of Fr Mbaka against Obi as unbecoming and divisive, which it said breached canon 220 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law which prohibits anyone from illegitimately harming the good name of a person.

The statement titled: "disclaimer; Re: In Inflammatory Political Utterances By Fr. Camillus Ejike Mbaka," was signed by Very Rev. Fr. Wilfred Chidi Agubuchie, Chancellor/Secretary; Very Rev. Fr. Geoffrey Aguigwo, Vicar General and Most Rev. Ernest Anezichukwu Obodo, Auxiliary Bishop of Enugu Diocese.

The Church, however, warned Fr Mbaka to refrain from making further provocative prophecies or utterances capable of heating the polity. It advised the Catholic faithful to pray for peace during the elections and discharge their civic responsibilities by getting their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), and casting their votes to elect the right candidates.
The statement which was addressed to all the people of God and the general public, reads, "The attention of the Diocesan Bishop, Most Rev. Callistus V.C. Onaga, and the Catholic
Diocese of Enugu has been drawn to the inflammatory political utterances by Rev. Fr. Camillus Ejike Mbaka, the Director of Catholic Adoration Ministry Chaplaincy Enugu, on Wednesday, 15 June 2022 during his Wednesday Adoration Programme. 
"Fr. Mbaka during his preaching attacked the good reputation of Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party Presidential Candidate, describing him as "a stingy man" and as "a joker", contrary to canon 220 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law which prohibits anyone from illegitimately harming the good name of a person.
"He also made fun of the Labour Party and vowed that Mr. Obi could not be the president of Nigeria. 
"This is a clear violation of the provisions of canon 287 $2 which forbids priests from engaging in partisan politics.
"The Catholic Diocese of Enugu hereby condemns and dissociates herself from such unbecoming and divisive utterances from Fr. Mbaka. 
"We notify the general public that Fr. Mbaka's views on the matter are entirely personal to him and do not represent the position of the Catholic Diocese of Enugu. 
"In an effort to keep him united to the Body of Christ, we enjoin him to refrain from making further provocative prophecies or utterances capable of heating up the polity. We assure the people of God and the general public that the Catholic Diocese of Enugu is taking the due canonical process.
"Finally, we urge all the People of God to continue to pray for peaceful elections and to discharge their civic responsibilities by getting their Permanent Voter Card (PVC) and casting their votes in order to elect the right candidates.
"May Our Lady, Queen of Nigeria, intercede for us."

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Former Central Bank Governor, Charles Soludo

Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State has said that four of the suspected killers of the House of Assembly member, Okechukwu Okoye, have been arrested and are in police custody in the state.

Soludo made the revelation in his country home of Isuofia in Aguata Local Government Area of the state during the burial of late Okoye’s aide, Cyril Chiegboka who was also beheaded by the kidnappers.

Former Central Bank Governor, Charles Soludo

Chiegboka, who was Okoye’s Campaign Director, was kidnapped alongside the lawmaker in May and their lifeless bodies were found on May 15 at Nnobi area of the state while their severed heads were later found at Amichi.

In his condolence speech, Governor Soludo said, “We will not let the killers of Okoye and Chiegboka escape judgment. Already, four persons in connection to the killing have so far been arrested.

“The criminality in the state is a contest between light and darkness. The criminal elements are sworn to gods who demand blood sacrifices, and that is why they are killing, but gradually, we are taking them out, one after the other.”

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Gani Adams

Yoruba elder statesman and the Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, Gani Adams, has raised the alarm that with the rising cases of terrorism, Nigeria may disintegrate sooner than ever imagined. 
Adams made the assertion on Thursday when he wrote to the United Nations (UN) and other relevant international organisations calling for urgent intervention in the country’s worsening insecurity, particularly in the South-West region.

Gani Adams

Adams in a letter captioned “Avoiding a replica of the Bosnian War in Nigeria”, and addressed to Secretary General, of the United Nations, Mr António Guterres; European Embassies, African Union, United States State Departments, the International Association for Religious Freedom in United Kingdom, Council on Foreign Relations and other international organizations, warned that Nigeria is sitting on a time bomb.

He warned that the Yoruba were being pushed to the limit as the Fulani in the Northern region are now engaged in a war of attrition all over Nigeria.
According to the letter, he said, “As you, and hundreds of millions of people globally, are aware, things are no longer normal in Nigeria. Dangerous and despicable things are happening in the world’s most populous black nation.
“What happened in the defunct Yugoslavia that led to the balkanisation of that country is becoming like a child’s play in Nigeria. Pitiably, terrorists moving from Northern Nigeria to the South are being embraced, encouraged and empowered by powers that be in Nigeria.
“I am raising this alarm now because the effect of this dangerous trend may ultimately balkanise Nigeria and affect Sub-Sahara Africa. Similar alarm was raised in the defunct Yugoslavia and sadly, nobody put in check the pogromists, whose actions, led to the massacre in that geographical location.
“This lackadaisical attitude by those benefiting from this national malaise led to the Bosnian War which began in 1992 and lasted until 1995.It was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995.
“Ironically, Nigeria’s President is a Fulani. The Fulani have been fingered in abductions, kidnappings and killings in the North. Now, they are gradually moving down South and the danger is that people in the South are already determined to engage them. This might lead to a full scale war.
“In the last few weeks, these Fulani terrorists have expanded their evil network.
“Deborah Samuel, a 200-Level student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, was killed and her body burnt by some blood- thirsty fundamentals because, according to them, she was guilty of blasphemy. The killers are visible in a viral video seen by peace-loving people all over the world but the government only arraigned them for ‘disturbance to public peace’.
“Prelate of Methodist Church in Nigeria, Rev. Samuel Kanu-Uche, was kidnapped by, according to the highly respected man of God, Fulani boys and they collected N100 million cash arranged in five bags (about $166,000) before he was released. Security agents are stationed near the location of the abduction but they did not move against the terrorists.
“Anglican Bishop of Jebba Diocese in Kwara State, Rev Oluwaseun Aderogba, his wife and their driver were kidnapped and the abductors demanded millions of naira before their release.
“The Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Jos East, Plateau State and a Catholic priest, Rev. Father James Kantoma, was also abducted by Fulani terrorists.In a most wicked manner, Fulani terrorists wielding AK-47 assault rifles and explosives attacked the congregation at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, killing over 40 people. The Federal Government has traced the killing to ISWAP, although it has not told Nigerians and family members of victims how it intends to arrest the perpetrators.
“Another evil traced to religious fundamentalism was that of a prostitute, Hannah Saliu, who was killed and her corpse set ablaze at Alaba Rago, Lagos because she had the effrontery to keep the Holy Quran in her room.
“Those abducted in the Abuja-Kaduna train attack in March are still with the terrorists. Just a few of them have been released. It is unfortunate that the government is begging non-state actors to stop kidnapping Nigerians.
“It is generally believed that those in authority are helpless, complicit or both.Now, Nigeria is at the point of no return, showing all signs of a failed nation.
“Instead of tackling these atrocities by Fulani terrorists, government officials are busy planning and strategising for the 2023 general elections. Something urgent must be done to avoid a final collapse of the country.”
Adams, who said that the only language the Fulani understand is violence maintained that the Yorubas are not cowards and they are ready to pay the Fulani in their coin.
The letter further read, “The Yoruba are not cowards and will do everything legally possible to resist any attempt by Fulani terrorists to expand their territorial expansionist agenda to the South-West.
“It is clear the Federal Government has lost control of the situation because it can no longer keep its citizens safe, secure and protected.
“This inaction on the part of the government and aggressive killing agenda of the Fulani are already affecting Nigeria’s economy, which is the largest in Africa.
“The way Butchers of Bosnia were left to commit atrocities for years before the United Nations moved against them, butchers in Nigeria are already on the rampage and something urgent must be done to stop them.
“The repercussion of leaving them to continue to maim Nigerians, especially Yoruba, is better imagined.
“No part of Nigeria is safe again. The time for the United Nations to escalate this danger to a global concern is now.”

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There is a looming crisis in the ruling All Progressives Congress after a group of youths stormed the party's headquarters in Abuja, threatening the party’s national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu.

It was gathered that the youths from Kogi State protested at the party’s headquarters while a meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) was in progress.

Daily Trust reports they claimed that the ticket of their principal who won a House of Representatives race was fraudulently given to another person.

The protesting youths also threatened that Adamu would not get out of the secretariat if their principal's mandate was not returned. 

However, the security operatives rushed and locked the entrance gate to avert further violence.

They did not allow anybody into the meeting except journalists after identification. 
 

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A civic organisation, Yiaga Africa, which is also one of the observers in the forthcoming Ekiti State governorship election, says it’s Watching the Vote (WTV) scheme will expose malpractices peradventure such occurs.
Yiaga noted this in a statement jointly signed by its Executive Director, Samson Itodo, and Ezenwa Nwagwu, a board member.

While commending efforts put in place by the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure credible elections, the body, however, stated that with its Parallel Vote Tabulation Methodology, it will expose malpractices peradventure there are significant discrepancies between figures collated by its 500 stationary observers and the official figures released by the electoral body.

“If INEC’s official results fall within Yiaga Africa’s estimated range, then the public, political parties and candidates should have confidence that the official results reflect the ballots cast at polling units; however, if the announced results have been manipulated and do not match the polling units' results, Yiaga Africa will expose it."
Yiaga Africa further appealed to both the permanent and ad hoc staff of INEC, security agents, political party candidates and their supporters as well as the people of Ekiti to work together to ensure that the governorship election is credible and peaceful.
Explaining further, the civic body stated, “Yiaga Africa will deploy 500 stationary observers to a representative statistical sample of 250 polling units and 25 mobile observers located in all 16 LGAs of Ekiti State. WTV will also deploy 16 collation centre observers to each of the LGA Collation Centers.
“The sampled polling units were determined by established statistical principles to ensure the resulting information is representative of the state and unbiased.
"Over the course of Election Day, Yiaga Africa’s data centre in Ekiti will receive 4,500 text messages containing approximately 60,500 individual pieces of information about the 2022 Ekiti governorship election.
"Once the text messages are received at Yiaga Africa’s data centre, they will be processed and reviewed to ensure the information is complete, authentic and accurate.
"Since Yiaga Africa is based on official results from a representative random sample of polling units, Yiaga Africa will be able to estimate the state-wide results for the governorship election within a narrow range based on well-established statistical principles.
"If INEC’s official results fall within Yiaga Africa’s estimated range, then the public, political parties and candidates should have confidence that the official results reflect the ballots cast at polling units; however, if the announced results have been manipulated and do not match the polling units' results, Yiaga Africa will expose it.
"The PVT is a component of Yiaga Africa’s comprehensive election observation methodology spanning the electoral cycle.
"Therefore, in assessing whether the 2022 Ekiti governorship satisfies the electoral integrity test, Yiaga Africa will consider a range of issues such as shortcomings in the pre-election period, the quality of Election Day processes, and the scale and scope of critical incidents."
Meanwhile, the body pointed out unresolved challenges which it said had in the past undermined public confidence in the electoral process. While commending INEC's effort to improve voter access to polling units by creating an additional 250 polling units in Ekiti State, it queried why there is an imbalance in the distribution of voters to polling units while noting that there is no adequate public information on the new polling unit’s location.
It stated, “Based on INEC’s final list of polling units there are 75 polling units with over 1000 registered voters, 11 with over 2000 voters and 1 polling unit with 3,429 registered voters."
On the issue of deployment of new technology to promote electoral integrity, Yiaga Africa expressed concern over the low public participation in mock exercise conducted by INEC with the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) noting that this may affect eligible voters on the election day.
It also noted, “As enshrined in the INEC guidelines, the conclusiveness of the election will be determined by a comparison of the total number of voters who collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and margin of lead between the first two candidates.
“To safeguard the transparency of election results, it is imperative for INEC to publish the disaggregated data of the number of PVCs collected per polling unit. While INEC has revealed that 76% of PVCs have been collected in Ekiti State, the collection will end on June 16, 2022.
“As soon as the PVC collection is suspended, Yiaga Africa urges INEC to provide updated figures of PVCs collected before election day and make this information available on its website."
Also, Yiaga applauded the decision of INEC to refrain from storing sensitive materials at the Central Bank of Nigeria amid allegations of partisanship levelled against the Governor of the CBN.

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Motorists and residents of some major cities in the South-West region and in Abuja, the nation's capital, have started to experience the return of long queues at petrol stations.
Although the situation was different in the South-East states as fuel and gas are available in the petrol stations, they sell above the Federal Government’s approved pump price.

Petrol is sold between N175 and N190 per litre while gas is sold between N750 and N890 per litre.
In Ibadan, the Oyo State capital and Abeokuta the Ogun State capital the motorists started to experience the return of long queues at some petrol stations on Thursday.
In Ogun, it was reported that the long queues resurfaced after the South-West zone of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) announced that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) would be sold at N180 per litre.
In Ibadan the story was the same. It was reported that major parts of Ibadan, started to observe the long queues of both private and commercial vehicles at the petrol stations on Wednesday.
Areas the queues was reported to be more were; Bodija, Mokola, Sabo, Agodi Gate, Secretariat Road, Total Garden, Sango, Dugbe, Iyaganku and Queen Elizabeth Road; Apete, Awotan, Ijokodo, Polytechnic Road and Adamasingba.
The private cars and commercial vehicles had a long day queuing at petroleum stations to refill their tanks.
The queue was reported in all the petrol stations in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital on Thursday.
SaharaReporters learnt that the queue might be connected to the outcry of IPMAN members in the state that for over six months, they had been buying petroleum products from private owner depots at a higher rate ranging between N157 and N158, due to irregular supply of products by government depots.
The gates of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), at Oke Mosan axis, had also been shut against customers for the past three days, believed to be as a result of the non-availability of the commodity to dispense.
It was gathered that people are in long queues to buy fuel at Mobil Petrol Station, Onikolobo and MRS petrol station, Isale -Igbein.
A motorist, Ajibola Ayodele, at one of the filling stations said the return of queues at the petrol stations was a result of panic buying.
In Abuja the nation's capital, the return of the queues and scarcity of PMS, fuel marketers attributed it to high cost of transportation.
However, in the South-East States, the story was not the same.
SaharaReporters observed that fuel stations were dispensing petrol to motorist without queue.
A motorist in Anambra, Chika Nwenyi said to SaharaReporters that it didn't take him five minutes to refuel his vehicle on Thursday evening.
The story was same in Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia and Imo states.
In Enugu State, Chief Alex Nawome told SaharaReporters that virtually all the stations owned by Independent Marketers were dispensing fuel except for oil majors.
"I think it is understandable because nobody checkmate or control the price here, there is product in all the fuel stations. The oil majors always sell the product to independent Marketers who now sell the product on their own fixed price. You go to some stations you buy at N170, N175 and in some places you buy at N185 or N190," he said.

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A former Anambra State Governor and Labour Party's presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has discredited a viral news purporting that he responded to the Enugu-based Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, who described him as a “stingy and cursed man.”

This was announced by Peter Obi's media aide, Valentine Obienyem, through a circular he released on Thursday to journalists.

The circular reads: "Our attention has been drawn to a statement credited to Mr Peter Obi as his reply to Fr. Ejike Mbaka.

"We wish to state for the record that Mr Peter Obi did not and is not planning to issue any reply. We advise that any medium trying to publish such an unsigned letter should clarify its authenticity from Mr Obi’s Media Office."

SaharaReporters had reported that the controversial Enugu Catholic priest, Mbaka, claimed that those supporting the LP presidential candidate, Obi, were wasting their money.

The cleric had described Obi as a stingy man who was not concerned about the plights of those around him.

He also declared that the former governor of Anambra State was under a curse, adding that except he came to apologise to him, he would never be Nigeria's president.

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Residents of Ogbete-Mgboji Community in Eha-Amufu, Isi-Uzo Local Government Area of Enugu State have accused the Divisional Police Officer of Ikem Police Station, one Nwachukwu, of making money from the corpses of people killed by Fulani herdsmen.
SaharaReporters had reported on Wednesday that the suspected Fulani herdsmen killed five people and sacked 14 farm settlements where over 3,000 residents where living.

Some community leaders, who spoke to SaharaReporters, claimed that the police and ther security agencies failed to respond to distress calls when the invading armed herdsmen attacked them, but only showed up after the attacks to collect the bodies of those killed.

They alleged that when the relations of the deceased wanted to bury the corpses, the DPO Nwachukwu insisted and forcefully carried the corpses to the mortuary, deposited them and started demanding money from the displaced residents.
They said that since January, more than 16 people had been killed by the Fulani militia with hundreds of houses and property destroyed, while no security personnel came to intervene.
One of the community leaders, Chief Odo Egah, who spoke with SaharaReporters, said the security agencies had all abandoned them. See Also Sahara Reporters Fulani Militias Killed Five, Sacked 14 Enugu Farm Settlements –Community Alleges, Say Police Only Arrive After Killings To Carry Corpses 0 Comments 1 Week Ago
He said, "The only thing the DPO did was to come and carry the corpses; even when the families of the corpse told him that they didn't want to deposit the bodies in the mortuary; give us the corpses to bury; he refused and carried it to mortuary. On Tuesday when they were shooting, we called him that they had killed two people and, he told us that he would not come; that he was going to where somebody was kidnapped.
"He will always insist that unless the police commissioner authorises for anyone to be buried, he will not release the corpse. You don't come to save life but when the person dies; even when the owners of the corpses are begging you to allow them to bury them, you will refuse and carry it go to mortuary."
Explaining that the motivating drive of the DPO was to take corpses to deposit in the mortuary was for the deceased families to come and give him money, the source added, “He will go and deposit the corpse in the mortuary, people who are running for their life, who don't have what to eat, they will be going to the mortuary to pay to collect deceased relations to bury. It is too bad.”
"Our biggest problem now is that the DPO in Ikem that doesn't want to release the bodies of people killed to the community put their corpse in the mortuary and you are telling them to pay money before going to the morgue to collect and bury."
Efforts to get the reaction of the Enugu State Police Command were unsuccessful as the spokesman, Daniel Ndukwe, could not be reached on telephone as of the time of reporting.

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Operatives from the Nigeria Police Force, Delta State command, Asaba, have arrested about 51 suspected cult members of the Eiye Confraternity while carrying out an initiation of new members and anniversary celebration at Ogwashi-Uku, headquarters of the Aniocha South Local Government Area of the state.
It was gathered that the suspected cult members were rounded up at the Big Apple Hotel in Ogwashi-Uku, the venue of the cult's celebration by the command’s buffalo patrol team operatives from the area command, Ogwashi-Uku and Ogwashi-Uku Division following a tip-off.

Confirming the arrest of the 51 suspected members of the Eiye confraternity, the Delta State Commissioner of Police, Ari Muhammed Ali, in a statement signed by the command's Public Relations Officer, DSP Bright Edafe, disclosed that the arrest was carried out on Wednesday followed a tip-off.

"On 15/6/2022, the command received a tip-off, that some suspected Eiye confraternity cult group will be marking their anniversary in Ogwashi-Uku. The command swiftly acted on this information and located where and when the ceremony will be held. CP Ari Muhammed Ali detailed the command’s Buffalo Patrol team, operatives from Area Command Ogwashi-Uku and Ogwashi-Uku Division, stormed the venue at Big Apple Hotel in Ogwashi-Uku.
"The suspects on sighting the police took to their heels, while some of them shot at the police. They were given a chase by the team and fifty-one (51) suspected cultists were arrested; two cut-to-size locally made guns, one expended cartridge, also eiye confraternity regalia were recovered. The suspects have been transferred to the command's Anti-Cult unit (SACU) for investigation, and those found wanting upon completion of investigation, will be charged to court.
"The CP while urging parents and guardians to monitor and teach their wards on the need to stay away from cultism and vices, warned in strong terms that the command under his watch will not tolerate any form of cult related activities in the state and that the command will go all out in identifying them, their hideouts, arrest and ensure that they are brought to book.
“The CP also admonished members of the public to continue to partner with the police by providing useful and timely information to the police that will help in the fight against crime and criminality."

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Tragedy has again struck the family of Yobe State Deputy Governor, Idi Barde Gubana, as his 16-year-old daughter, Khadija Idi Barde (Siyama), died a few days after his son died in an accident.

Khadija, who sustained injuries in the accident, died in the hospital on Thursday morning.

The Deputy Governor’s children were involved in an accident along Maiduguri-Kano highway on Saturday while travelling.

While her seven-year-old younger brother who was named after Governor Mai Mala Buni died during the accident, Khadija had sustained injuries and was rushed to a hospital in Kano State.

Siyama, before her death, was a Senior Secondary II student of Essence International School, Damaturu, the Yobe State capital.

As at the time of filing this report, her remains had been laid to rest according to a statement by the Press Secretary to her father, Hussaini Mai Suleh, which stated that her burial held at 4pm on Thursday at Mai Fune Emir’s in Damagum.
 

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The Anambra State Governor, Prof Charles Soludo, has directed that all commercial drivers operating within the state jurisdiction do biometric registration.

This was announced in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Transport, Mrs Louisa Ezeanya, June 16, 2022, and made available to journalists in Awka, the Anambra State capital.

The statement instructed all the operators of wheelbarrows, tricycles, shuttle and minibuses/semi-trucks, tippers, lorries and heavy-duty trucks operating in the state to do the registration.

The government urged all commercial vehicle owners and drivers to comply accordingly.

It also added that the biometric registration was scheduled to commence on June 2, 2022 according to the order of Governor Soludo, noting that the state government had commenced the revalidation and recertification of all private motor parks across the state at no cost.

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A Nollywood actor, Moses Armstrong, has been arrested by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, Akwa Ibom State command, for allegedly defiling a minor.
His arrest was confirmed by the National President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Emeka Rollas, during an interview with Qed.

Rollas, according to the report described the case as “a very serious one.”
It was gathered that the issue is being handled by the First Lady of the state, Martha Udom Emmanuel, through her Family Empowerment and Youth Re-Orientation Path Initiative.
The AGN president said the accusation was a sad development involving one of their own noting that the organisation would not stand for such a crime.
“To get involved with a child as young as 16 years, is something I and the association I represent, would not stand for and this is a very sad development involving a member of ours, but I wouldn’t want to comment any further on this case.
“As we chat, he is still in police custody,” Rollas was quoted as saying.
Moses Armstrong is a special assistant to the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel.
Moses lost his wife and also an actress, Rita Armstrong, in 2018.
Rita died from spinal cord injuries sustained from an accident.
The mother of two was returning to her husband’s residence in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state from Lagos on Saturday, February 3, 2018, when the Akwa Ibom Transport Company (AKTC) bus conveying her got involved in a ghastly crash at the Ugbogui axis of Benin Ore Lagos Expressway.

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Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa

The South-East socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has reacted to a decision by former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, to appoint Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Atiku had earlier announced Okowa as the preferred vice presidential candidate of the PDP stating that he selected Okowa due to the perceived qualities of the latter in governance and politics.

Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa Google
But reacting in a statement on Thursday issued by Okechukwu Isiguzoro, its Secretary-General, Ohanaeze said the decision of the PDP to present Okowa as a candidate showed that it was not ready to win the election.
The group, according to the statement, described Okowa as a minus for Atiku alleging that Okowa had betrayed the agenda of the Southern people. It further stated that Igbos would never vote the duo of Atiku and Okowa.
The statement reads, “Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide has described the nomination of Delta State Governor as the PDP running mate to Atiku Abubakar as a chaotic selection for a party not ready to win the 2023 elections.
“The reward for a serial betrayal whose inescapable actions will never add national integrity and value to the progress of PDP in 2023, Ifeanyi Okowa is a minus for Atiku, as his choice will decline PDP's fortunes in Delta and Southern Nigeria, a man who misled the Southern Governors’ agenda will never be trusted for the votes of Ndigbo, Igbos will never vote Atiku and Okowa.
”Southeast knows the political directions to go in 2023, but certainly not the PDP. Atiku is satisfied with a serial betrayal because of birds of the same feather flocks together, this is the height of insincerity and deception which will rebound in the 2023 elections, we will teach PDP the language they need to understand in the 2023 polls.
“No Igbo political decisions have been made so far on the 2023 election but at the appropriate time, Ndigbo will decide the political direction to go but not the PDP, for shunning the southeast, Atiku will face the consequences of his actions.”

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A Major of the Nigerian Army has been killed following an ambush on a military convoy by gunmen suspected to be terrorists in the Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State.
The deceased was identified as CB Samuel.
The soldiers from the Nigerian military school and the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) were ambushed on Wednesday evening at Rijiya Daji village.

The gunmen also set ablaze an operational vehicle while guns were carted away.
Also, an officer was declared missing in action and feared abducted by the terrorists.

A military signal exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters also confirmed the incident.
“SUSPECTED ARMED BANDITS/TERRORISTS ATTK*. AT ABOUT 151900A JUN 22, RECCE TEAM FOR FORTHCOMING FTX COMPRISING OF REPS FROM NA MIL SCHLS/TRG INSTITUTIONS AND TRADOC  WERE AMBUSHED BY SUSPECTED TERRORISTS/ARMED BANDITS AROUND  RIJIYA DAJI UNDER MARIGA LGA WHILE MOB TO KONTAGORA,” the signal read.
“DURING THE ATTK,  3 X OFFRS IN THE BUS CONVEYING THE RECCE TEAM SUSTAINED GSW WHILE CHARGING THROUGH THE AMBUSH. THE INJURED OFFRS WERE IMM EVAC TO THE CANT MED CENTRE. MAJ CB SAMUEL WAS LATER EVAC TO  THE GEN HOSP KONTAGORA WHERE HE GAVE UP DURING MED MGT.  ADDLY,  1 X OFFR  MIA (AMONG THE ESCORT PARTY). EQPT CAS.  1 X LEADING ESCORT HILUX BURNT, 1 X HK 21 GUN AND 1 X AK 47 RIFLE WERE CARTED AWAY. OWN RFT TPS FM NATRAC ADMIN BN WILL RESUME SAR OPS FIRST LI. MORE DETAILS LATER. PSE ACK///.”

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The House of Representatives on Thursday reiterated the need for President Muhammadu Buhari to, as a matter of urgency, do all within his powers to secure the release of the remaining 51 Nigerians kidnapped in the Abuja-Kaduna train attack.
Kidnappers who had detained some victims of the March 28 attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train had recently released 11 hostages.

The spokesman to Islamic Cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, the cleric acting as go-between for the government and the attackers, Tukur Mamu, had said that 51 people were still being held captive.
However, the lawmakers on Thursday noted that stories told by 11 of the hostages recently released by the kidnappers depict the increasing deteriorating condition of the remaining hostages including children and women who are getting malnourished, emotionally distressed and psychologically traumatized for over 70 days in the forest.
The resolution was passed sequel to the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Hon. Bamidele Salam, Hon Julius Ihonvbere and nine other lawmakers.
Bamidele in his lead debate, observed that Section 14(2b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), provides that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government; Section 17(2b) of the 1999 Constitution states that the sanctity of the human person shall be recognised and human dignity maintained and enhanced.
“The House notes that in the last 10 years, terrorism, banditry, kidnappings and other forms of violent crimes have become a raging security epidemic in different parts of the country.
“The House is alarmed that according to the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), since 2018, there has been a rapid increase in kidnapping, with a rise from 987 victims in 2018 to 1,395 in 2019.
“The House is worried that the figure of kidnapped persons increased to 2,865 in 2020 and 5,287 in 2021. The House is further worried that over 70 per cent of victims of kidnappings are children, women and elderly persons who were violently attacked and captured by criminals in the normal course of their daily activities on the farms, villages, roads, worship centres and other places.
“The House is concerned that a large number of these kidnapped citizens have remained in captivity for so many years, months and days without any form of sustained help to secure their release or any social, medical or economic support to their grieving family members by Government.
“The House is worried that some of the unresolved cases of kidnappings include the remnant of the Chibok girls kidnapped in 2014, the kidnap of Leah Sharibu since February 2018, the Islamiyya School students kidnapped in Niger state on May 30, 2021, the Bethel Baptist High School Kaduna students kidnapped on July 5, 2021, and the Federal Government College Birni Yauri students kidnapped on 21st of October, 2021.
“The House noted that in the current year 2022, there have been over 100 cases of kidnappings and abduction of innocent Nigerians; One of the most disturbing being the case of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack of March 28.
“The House is saddened that during the train attack, 168 Nigerians were reportedly kidnapped, while 8 persons were killed including a young Doctor due to travel out of the country, the week the incident occurred.
“The House is concerned that the abductors of the train attack recently released pictures and video footages of 62 victims held hostage in terrible, physical and emotional conditions with a threat to kill them if their demands were not met by the Federal Government.
“The House is bothered that the hostages include children aged 2, 5, 7 and 9 years; men nursing bullet wounds sustained during the attack; a victim had his leg amputated; diabetic patients, while others are citizens with various health challenges as well as a nursing mother.
“The House also note that stories told by 11 of the hostages recently released by the kidnappers depict the increasing deteriorating condition of the remaining hostages including children and women who are getting malnourished, emotionally distressed and psychologically traumatized for over 70 days in the forest.
“The House is concerned that if nothing urgent is done to secure freedom for these citizens and hundreds of others in captivity across the country, there may be an increasing loss of confidence in the government which may embolden criminally-minded persons and groups to step up these acts of criminality and thus endanger the stability of our dear country.”
To this end, the House directed relevant committees to ensure compliance.

  News AddThis :  Original Author :  saharareporters, new york Disable advertisements : 

The All Progressives Congress has dismissed claims that a court in Abuja nullified its primaries ahead of Saturday's governorship election in the state.  
In a statement on Thursday by its state publicity secretary, Segun Dipe, the APC asked all and sundry to disregard the rumour.

It said no "High Court is sitting on any matter regarding our primary in Abuja as at today". 
According to Dipe, "the warped rumour is a demarketing gimmick of some desperate opposition who are unmindful of the fact that they are causing further damage to their zero chances at the poll, instead of enhancing it."
He said: "While we do not expect anyone to take such mindless and baseless rumour serious, we however owe the public the duty of care and assurance that they should disregard the rumour, which is farthest from the truth."
 
"Yes, there were some cases filed by some disgruntled elements regarding the governorship primaries we organized in January this year, which saw to the emergence of Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, BAO as the candidate of our party, but none has gone beyond the preliminary stage and all of them have been transferred back to Ekiti for hearing. 
"No High Court is sitting on any matter regarding our primary in Abuja as at today. Furthermore, every matter relating to the primary has been adjourned till September this year. To the best of our knowledge, none is up for hearing at the moment. The only one perhaps is in the wildest imagination of our detractors, which cannot see the light of day. Our party remains focused on the coming election and sure of untainted victory at the end.
"APC therefore calls on all electorates in the state to remain calm and unshaken in their resolve to ensure that their adored candidate, BAO, and adored party, APC coast home to victory come Saturday, 18 June, 2022."

Politics News AddThis :  Original Author :  Saharareporters, new York Disable advertisements : 

The All Progressives Congress has dismissed claims that a court in Abuja nullified its primaries ahead of Saturday's governorship election in the state.  
In a statement on Thursday by its state publicity secretary, Segun Dipe, the APC asked all and sundry to disregard the rumour.

It said no "High Court is sitting on any matter regarding our primary in Abuja as at today". 
According to Dipe, "the warped rumour is a demarketing gimmick of some desperate opposition who are unmindful of the fact that they are causing further damage to their zero chances at the poll, instead of enhancing it."
He said: "While we do not expect anyone to take such mindless and baseless rumour serious, we however owe the public the duty of care and assurance that they should disregard the rumour, which is farthest from the truth."
 
"Yes, there were some cases filed by some disgruntled elements regarding the governorship primaries we organized in January this year, which saw to the emergence of Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, BAO as the candidate of our party, but none has gone beyond the preliminary stage and all of them have been transferred back to Ekiti for hearing. 
"No High Court is sitting on any matter regarding our primary in Abuja as at today. Furthermore, every matter relating to the primary has been adjourned till September this year. To the best of our knowledge, none is up for hearing at the moment. The only one perhaps is in the wildest imagination of our detractors, which cannot see the light of day. Our party remains focused on the coming election and sure of untainted victory at the end.
"APC therefore calls on all electorates in the state to remain calm and unshaken in their resolve to ensure that their adored candidate, BAO, and adored party, APC coast home to victory come Saturday, 18 June, 2022."

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Matthew Kukah

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. Mathew Hassan Kukah, on Thursday, said unless people in political positions shun nepotism, Nigeria will continue to witness violence and other political crisis.
Kukah regretted that the country’s democracy was not developing at the right pace because those making the laws are benefiting from the system collapse.

Matthew Kukah Daily Post
Kukah, the Convener of the National Peace Committee, stated this while featuring on Channels Tv in an interview monitored by Daily Trust.
He said, “The problem with Nigeria’s situation is that the sinners are the ones trying to make the law. These are the consequences of where we find ourselves now."
The Catholic Bishop lamented the continued closure of the Universities on account of the strike embarked by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), describing it as unhealthy for the nation's development.

“I speak to the fact that as long as the universities are the way they are, as long as we do not have privileged intellect and the diagnostic tools required to refine processes, as long as we are hoping that politicians are the ones to set their own rules, as long as we expect that almost all of these are politics, there would not be an improvement in the country.

“In my view, had it been we have a country that is working, a country that takes research seriously, it is the business of political scientists to equip the people in power with the required tools for analysis, to the options that are available to ensure things go the way they should go.

“But unfortunately, if you have a situation where the universities are not funded, the country itself behaves as if it wants to close the universities, what else do you expect?

“Unless and until this government and other governments in Nigeria take academic exercise very seriously, we cannot expect the person who is sick to be the one to provide the medicine for his cure,” he stressed.

He slammed members of the National Assembly for being only concerned about their privileges and opportunities instead of focusing on problems of Nigeria.
Speaking about his committee’s effort to entrench a peaceful electoral process, especially in Ekiti State, where a governorship election would hold on Saturday, Kukah said the committee was looking at all options to ensure that elections are free from violence.
He said: “As you can see from the enthusiasm of our people trying to get their PVCs, it seems that by the day, our people and our democracy are all maturing.
“The challenge really is for political actors to work the talk, for the political actors to become responsible and more responsive to the issues of ordinary Nigerians.
“Ordinary citizens are well ahead of the political actors in terms of what they want, how they see things and they understand the issues.”
He said the amendment in the electoral law would instil greater confidence in Nigeria’s democracy.
“Gradually, as the quality of people’s lives is increasing, people can become a little bit relaxed but for now, politics in Africa and Nigeria seems to be a bit tense because of the nature of the sharing of the political benefits.
“If people in power continue to practise nepotism when people feel that they have voted and the people who are benefiting are those who have just come out of the comfort of their rooms, they are bound to feel frustrated. These are ingredients for violence in Nigerian politics.”

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Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo

On Monday, August 4, 2004, one week after he made a speech at the Democratic Party’s convention in Boston, I wrote a column for the Nigeriaworld called “Obama: An audacity of hope?” Here is how the column started.

“Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Congresswoman, recently visited the White House with a congressional delegation. Making her way out, she passed President Bush, and the president literally jumped back on seeing “Obama” button pinned to her chest. Guessing what the president was thinking, she told him, “Mr. President, it is Obama with a “b”. Still, the president did not get it. The congresswoman briefly explained to Bush who Obama was. “Well, I don’t know him,” the president responded. Jan Schakowsky paused and then said to the president, “You will.”

“No doubt, Mr. Bush now knows, just like many watchers of American politics in America and far beyond. Even Stevie Wonder can tell you there is a new phenomenon in the American political arena. His name is Barack Obama.

“Last week, he stood at the Democratic Party convention podium in Boston and made one speech establishing him as the future of American politics. It was an unprecedented introduction of a state senator and a candidate for the U.S. senate. That single performance alone smashed all conventional wisdom and shifted the paradigm across many lines.

“But who is Obama? Who is that skinny kid with a funny name? Was America waiting for him or did he impose himself on America? As Africans, how will his arrival impact our understanding of America and our place in it, not just today but in years to come? Should his conquest become our dream and the dreams of our children? Will his path bring peace to our divided souls and lead us to the proverbial Promised Land, or shall we look for another? ...

 

I proceeded in the article to introduce my readers to Obama and his dreams from his father. I highlighted what made him unique in American political history and why he was uniquely positioned to redefine the polity. Here is how I concluded the piece.

Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo

“…Recently, while on a visit to Kenya, he was asked if he sees himself as a Kenyan-American. To that, he answered, “I’ve got a lot of hyphens attached to me. I start with the approach that I’m a human being who cares about people all across the globe. I’m an American and proud of it, and I’m also an African-American, which means I share a bond of struggle but also joy with people of African descent everywhere.”

 

“Noam Scheiber, writing in the New Republic, attributed Obama’s popularity to his “exotic background.” He has been called smart and handsome. His picture-perfect story impressed many Americans. But most importantly, most Americans see him as non-threatening. As a politician, his appeal goes beyond the black community because to white voters, he has a lot going for him that differentiates him from typical African-Americans. Asked once how he connects with rural white voters, he said, “I know those people. Those are my grandparents. The food they serve is the food my grandparents served when I was growing up. Their manners, their sensibility, their sense of right and wrong – it’s all totally familiar to me.”

 

“What makes Obama stand out is that he seems not to be weighed down by the pains of the past. He talks about continuing the struggle and acknowledges that he is where he is today because some people before him fought and made sacrifices. But that distance from the pains of the past is one thing Obama shares with most children of African immigrants.

 

“But being a product of biracial marriage and raised completely by his mother’s white family, Obama does not really represent the typical child of a first-generation African immigrant in America. Many Africans in America more often than not marry from their own ethnicity, nationality and the greater African family. When they step out of these groupings, many marry into the African- American family. Though a good number are in biracial marriages, it is in places like Western Europe that one would see a whole lot of Obamas.

“There is a lesson to all Africans in seeing Obama talk about his Kenyan heritage openly. However, that lesson should not be taken at its face value. In trying to understand Obama, his appeal and his approach, it is also important to remember that coming from a biracial relation gave him a historical advantage. Traditionally, when white America wants to embrace black America, they rally around those who are light-skinned with white blood in them. Earlier in his political career, Obama had difficulty being accepted by African-Americans because he was seen as too light-skinned and too white.

 

“Obama has been praised for promoting universal values like personal responsibility, hard work, self-improvement through education and love and service to the nation. He is married to an African-American woman named Michelle and they have two daughters aged five and three. While talking about her life with Obama, Michelle, another Harvard Law School graduate, said, “So much of getting ahead in this world is access, networking.”

 

“When Obama wins the election in November, he will be the third African-American to serve in the Senate since Reconstruction. That in itself is stirring a lot of excitement. The expectation in African communities across America and beyond is that Obama, when elected to the U.S. Senate would become a major advocate for African issues in America. Already, some are saying he would be our man in Washington.

 

“Invariably, Obama is a bundle of promises. There is the hope that he might take that simple dream Hussein Onyango Obama had in his son, Barack Obama Jr. and turn it into “small miracles” and from there bring light to that dark continent of Africa. The other day, he told the Kenyan Sunday Nation newspaper that to the Bush administration, “Africa has been an afterthought, as it has been throughout American history.”

 

“Hopefully, we do not have to wait for Obama’s administration in 2016 to remove Africa from the miserable position of being America’s afterthought.”

 

Yes, rereading this now made me remember the futility of political predictions. I had estimated that Obama would run for president and win in 2016. I was off by eight years.

 

After just four years in the senate, Obama stepped in to run for president against heavy-weight Hillary Clinton. I watched with great interest the enthusiasm that he brought into America's political life. While many felt that he would not dethrone the Clinton machine in the Democratic Party, I accurately read it well that he could. And he did.

 

While I would acknowledge that Nigeria is not America, I could see several parallels in the Peter Obi phenomenon happening in Nigeria now. The great recession that started towards the end of George Bush’s administration made Americans frustrated and irritated at any mention of the same old politicians.

 

APC’s failure to pick Vice President Osinbajo and PDP’s choice of Atiku Abubakar as its flag bearer has brought Nigerians to a similar juncture. By throwing up Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, the two major political parties left Nigerians with no option but to look elsewhere for hope. This search for something fresh and creative has brought about the Peter Obi phenomenon.

 

At the outset of Obama’s run, similar questions today raised about Peter Obi’s run were thrown out. Some said that it wasn’t his time, that he was only testing the waters in preparation for a future run. Some thought that all the white people who cheered Obama would return to their racist baseline and vote for Hilary Clinton during the election. There were those who were sure that Obama counting on small donors, could not march the Clintons' big-money political machine in fundraising. Even black people did not embrace Obama at the beginning. Some resented that Obama was not African-American enough, having a white mother and an African father. When African-Americans overcame their initial skepticism and embraced Obama, some feared their rally around Obama would repel white Americans who started the movement. Obama overcame those odds and won the Democratic Party’s primary in 2008.

Facing Republican John McCain, greater odds emerged. Obama’s pastor, Rev. Wright, was used to argue that Obama was not a saint and could be dangerous to white America. Some went as far as to insinuate that Obama was a closet Muslim. Through hard work and creative politicking, Obama overcame those odds and triumphed. With shocking similarities and unique differences, all these dynamics are playing out in Peter Obi’s run for president.

Dethroning the two big political parties in Nigeria in 2023 does not look possible to those who see political success from the old prism. A paradigm shift has happened in this new world where the biggest taxi company does not own a car and the biggest hospitality company does not own a hotel. If harnessed well, the way Obama’s campaign ran in 2008, Peter Obi’s campaign can overcome whatever odds placed in its front and shock Nigerians too.

If Peter Obi fails, it won’t be because it is not possible. It will be because, like everything about Nigeria, it is assumed to be difficult and left untried. While acknowledging that Nigeria is not America, that Peter Obi is not Obama, that Obama did not solve the deeply-rooted ills of America, that Peter Obi will not solve the fundamental problems with Nigeria, the only relatively peaceful way for Nigeria to see tomorrow and have an extended chance to rethink its path and reposition its faith is to have the audacity to find hope somewhere today – somewhere different from where Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar reside.

Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo teaches Post-Colonial African History at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He is also the host of Dr. Damages Show. His books include “This American Life Sef”, and “Children of a Retired God”.

 

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Nigerian political leaders are evil. They possess a “dark core of personalities.” They put their own interests ahead of the Nigerian people. They take pleasure in causing pain to Nigerians. 

 

Nigeria is the only country in the world where workers are not being paid while the political elites take home millions. Look at the National Assembly. Do you see any sign of representation? Have you ever heard them proposing a job creation bill? Their legislative priorities are fiscal bill for personal remuneration, electoral bill that will rig the next election for them, concubine bill that will add girlfriends to their multiple spouses, mosquito bill that will enable them to loot the treasury, and other pedestrian legislative acts. ASUU has been on an indefinite strike. All they do is sing the praises of “Mr. President”, the symbol of evil leadership.

 

These people are not representatives. They are reprehensible. Talk of leaders without empathy. Leaders without conscience. Leaders without eyes. Leaders without brains. They don’t give a damn about the sufferings of the poor: the hungry, the unemployed, the sick, the naked, the homeless, the helpless, the children, the widow, the disabled, the excluded, the forgotten, the miserable, the old and the infirm. The list goes on.

As disciples of Machiavelli, the ends justify the means, the political elites are morally depraved. Their moral failure inflicts severe injuries, discomfort, tension, stress, frustration, sickness, and hopelessness on poor Nigerians. They preside over a country where the sick cannot get treatment, where the hungry cannot be fed, where the unemployed cannot get a job, where students are on permanent holiday, where children are malnourished and serve as cheap labour, where hospitals have no medicines and qualified staff, where life is short, nasty, and brutish. And where nothing works!

 

Consider the killings, kidnappings, abductions, violence, and other indescribable horrors going on in the country. Yet, the leaders deny the reality. Regardless of how obvious the truth is, they will always deny it. As fabricators and manipulators, they twist facts and words. They justify the killings in the country by saying “People are being killed in advanced nations.” “We know we have security challenges.” “The evils in our regime are better than the evils in the previous administration.” “Thank your God that you’re not being bombed every day.” “Nigerians are ingrates.” “They hate Buhari.” These people are heartless and shameless. They have no remorse. What ruthless, incompetent evil leaders!

 

They engage in brutality, theft of land, natural resource exploitation, looting, and extortion. They exploit the miseries of the poor to enrich themselves. Some of the evils cannot be imagined, described, or explained: Evil. Pure evil. Sadistic evil. Evil for its own sake! Anyone in a position of political power is expected to have a greatly elevated moral obligation to perform. With great power comes great responsibility. Nigerian political leaders are guilty of pervasive gross moral negligence.

They are EVIL!

 

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