Nigerian Newspapers
Rivers legislators trade blame over fracas
•Wike faults Soyinka on Patience Jonathan
•ADC, CSO duty bound to protect Amaechi – Rep
In spite of denials by his aides, President Goodluck Jonathan has been accused of taking sides in the political crisis in Rivers State, with the support of his wife, Dame Patience; the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, and some chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
A member of the Rivers House of Assembly, Victor Amadi, accused the President of not being fair to Governor Rotimi Amaechi and the state government.
However, Wike, insisted that the President had been neutral in the crisis.
The minister, The Nation gathered, supervised the flying overseas of the injured anti-Amaechi lawmaker, Michael Okechukwu Chinda, who represents Obio/Akpor II constituency, for better treatment, in view of his critical condition.
Wike also faulted the comment credited to Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka that First Lady, Patience Jonathan is behind the crisis that has engulfed the state.
Wike, who stated this when he went to the hospital to visit Chinda, said it was wrong for Soyinka to make such comment, noting that it was capable of escalating the crisis.
“How can Prof. Wole Soyinka make such a comment? Governor Amaechi has totally lost control of the state and that is why he went to the Assembly to disrupt proceedings in the House. You don’t need a soothsayer to tell you that he is no longer in control of the state,” he said.
Speaking further, Amadi alleged that a pro-Wike lawmaker, Kelechi Godspower Nwogu, ordered that some policemen should shoot Amaechi on the floor of the Assembly.
He also alleged that the self-acclaimed “Speaker”, Evans Bapakaye slapped the Speaker, Otelemaba Dan Amachree, after punching the leader of the House, Chidi Lloyd.
Also speaking on the crisis, a member of the House of Representatives, Dakuku Peterside, maintained that the Aide-de-Camp (ADC) and the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to Amaechi, were duty bound to protect the governor, whose life was threatened in the Assembly.
Peterside’s position was also corroborated by his colleague in the House, Asita Honourable. But a Port Harcourt-based lawyer, Tubotamuno Dick, had a contrary opinion.
Asita, Peterside, Amadi and Dick were guests on Rhythm 93.7 FM, Port Harcourt’s phone-in programme, Viewpoint, yesterday, and almost exchanged blows.
On Chinda’s health condition, Wike said, “In view of his (Chinda’s) critical condition, he is being flown abroad for further treatment. This is a sacrifice to be made for democracy to survive. Whatever has happened will not scare me and my teeming supporters. We will never be intimidated. We will not go outside of the law. Rivers people are yearning for change. I am surprised that a fellow lawmaker could be thoroughly beaten and badly injured.”
He also alleged that Amaechi had derailed and was no longer wanted as governor.
Amadi, however, disagreed. He said, “The Presidency has taken sides in the political crisis. I was in the hallowed chambers of the Rivers House of Assembly on July 9. The lawmakers took precautionary measures to avoid the crisis.
“On May 6, we wrote to the Presidency on the plan by five of our colleagues (anti-Amaechi lawmakers) to unleash mayhem in the Rivers House of Assembly. To allow frayed nerves to calm, we waited till July 9, before reconvening for the third session of the 7th Assembly.
“We wrote to the Rivers Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu, which he admitted later at a news conference in Port Harcourt; the Brigade Commander (of 2 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Bori Camp, Port Harcourt) and the State Security Service (SSS) of the sitting and to provide adequate security.”
He accused the police commissioner of partisanship adding that “The Sergeant-at-Arms said he was abducted by Evans Bipi’s group and could not play the role on July 9. Another person from the same office had to play the role.”
He also expressed optimism that the crisis would soon be over, but insisted that Amachree remained the duly-elected speaker of the House.
However, Dick stated that Amaechi had no right to be in the chambers without being invited, declaring that Bipi remained Speaker of the House, asking those against his emergence to go to court.
He insisted that Amachree’s impeachment was legal, with due process followed.
The Port Harcourt-based legal practitioner said: “I was in the gallery of Rivers Assembly on July 9. The sitting was properly constituted. Those not pleased with the development can go to court. I did not see anybody jumping from the gallery into the hallowed chambers with a gun.
“Not all the 27 lawmakers are with Amaechi. Many of them took part in the sitting of July 9 to elect Bipi. They later changed their minds when things did not go their way and started unleashing mayhem, with the backing of Amaechi.
“Governor, deputy governor or commissioners can only be allowed into the chambers of the House of Assembly, based on invitation. So, it was wrong for Amaechi to have stormed the House with his ADC, CSO and others, without formal invitation.”
But Honourable defended the governor’s visit to the House. He said that the distress call from one of the 27 lawmakers loyal to Amaechi, demanded his urgent intervention.
He added that Amaechi was on oath to protect lives and property of Rivers people.
He stressed that the NGF chairman should not have handled the threat to the lives of the lawmakers with levity.
Peterside said: “Governor Amaechi would not have intervened with muscles, in the Rivers Assembly crisis, when he got the distress call, but through the authority he has.
“Governor Amaechi alone cannot police over five million Rivers people. He is entitled to security aides. Blaming his ADC and CSO for joining him to the House of Assembly is uncalled for. They are duty-bound to protect their principal (Amaechi).
Peterside admonished Rivers people to continue to give peace a chance, while being resolute in their support for Amaechi.
Meanwhile, Rivers PDP chairman, Chief Felix Obuah, had called for a thorough investigation, arrest and prosecution of the lawmakers and others involved in attempted murder in the Rivers Assembly on July 9.
In his own comment, the Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt, Chief Tony Okocha, however, admonished Nigerians to stand up against the impunity, harassment and intimidation in Rivers State, which he described as the only panacea for the nascent democracy.
On July 10, the Assembly was sealed off by the police, when the five anti-Amaechi lawmakers, in a 32-member House, attempted to sit, with the main gate of the expansive premises taken over from 6 am by the Rivers governor’s supporters, who were later confronted by Wike’s loyalists, led by Bipi.
Soldiers and policemen had to use teargas to disperse the protesting youths, with some of the teargas canisters landing in the Government House, Port Harcourt, which angered Amaechi, who declared that the state was under siege.
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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. A DisNaija.Com network.
Source: The Nation Newspaper
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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