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Rivers State Calm, Peaceful, says Presidency

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The Nigerian presidency has declared that contrary to popular impression and reports in the media, there is no cause for concern about recent political developments in Rivers State.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday and signed by Doyin Okupe, Senior Special Assistant to the President on public affairs, the presidency said the fact that residents of the state are going about their various businesses, religious and political affairs peacefully and the fact that Rotimi Amaechi feel confident enough to travel out of the state is evidence that insinuations suggesting that Rivers State is in crisis are unfounded.

The Presidency also reiterated in the statement that President Jonathan is not interested in the affairs of Nigeria’s Governors’ Forum, NGF.

The Presidency said contrary to reports, the Forum cannot influence the participation of President Jonathan in the 2015 elections.

The Presidency said it was compelled to issue the statement as a result of “activities of some Governors from the northern part concerning political developments in Rivers State which it said are “clearly intended to create fear, despair and sense of apprehension among the citizenry are grossly unfounded, misplaced and a deliberate over sensationalization of the situation.”

The Presidency insisted that the situation in Rivers State is purely a localized political matter and has no dangerous or far reaching consequences for the peace and security of the nation contrary to the impression being created by the Governors.

It also noted that not less than 12 states have witnessed incidents of attempted impeachment of Speakers of Houses of Assembly in Nigeria since the country return to democracy in 1999. It added that none of the attempted impeachment has posed any threat to peace and security in the country.

“Developments in Rivers State do not pose any threat to our democracy. Our democracy remains robust, alive and well. In politics as in every sphere of human activity, different shades of opinion on issues are not uncommon within the polity but often get resolved either politically or through legal channels. It is therefore disingenuous for anyone to suggest that the political disagreement in Rivers State would imperil and ultimately derail our democracy. We recall that in Ogun State in 2010 after series of sustained fracas and attempts at impeachment and counter impeachment, the Inspector General of Police locked up the House of Assembly for several months. In all that time, nobody in the whole country suggested that the situation was a threat to our nascent democracy, and no state Governor went on any solidarity visit,” said the Presidency.

“Nigeria is not in any way in disarray. As is the case in every country of the world, there may be conflicts of ideas and interests here and there, which in itself is the beauty of democracy and should not by any means be construed to mean that there is chaos in the country or that Nigeria is tilting towards anarchy as some people have claimed.

“Nigeria remains peaceful and is not and cannot in any way be threatened by political developments in Rivers State,” the Presidency said.

Rather, the Presidency said the most potent threats to Nigeria’s corporate existence and sovereignty since independence has been the Boko Haram insurgency which it said is being “confronted frontally by government with strong determination and focus, which has led to decisive action that has brought about the containment of the menace by the Nigerian military and other security agencies.”

“Most reasonable Nigerians would have expected these governors to be deeply concerned and appreciative of the laudable effort of the Federal Government, which has brought reprieve from fear as well as comfort and solace not only to the people of the affected areas but also to the entire nation and international community.

“Surprisingly, they appear to be more interested in political maneuvering and grandstanding at the expense of the well-being of the people in their states and the stability of the nation at large.

“ The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) issue like the political development in Rivers State remains essentially an affair of the 36 state governors. The outcome of elections in the body is inconsequential to the orderly governance of the Nigerian state by the Presidency.

“The choice of who becomes leader of the body clearly has no significant ramification on the wider political calculation of who becomes President of the country as events in our recent history bear out. We note that the chairman of the NGF in 2011 was clearly at odds with the President.

“He contested and lost the party’s presidential primaries to the incumbent President of the country who went ahead to be elected President by the overwhelming majority of Nigeria.

“It is clear therefore that occupying the chairmanship of the NGF does not in any way confer any political influence or advantage as regards who becomes President of the country neither will it be of any major political significance in the 2015 Presidential race as is being bandied about erroneously.

Doyin Okupe: No cause for alarm in Rivers

Doyin Okupe: No cause for alarm in Rivers

“We therefore admonish Governors having serious issues with their party to take advantage of various channels within the party machinery to resolve it. Also, they may first of all try to show good example of their commitment to peace by working to put their own house in order through restoration of peace and consensus within the NGF.

“While we note their current political moves, they should be mindful that in all they do as political leaders, they ought to put the interest of the nation and our democracy first. This indeed, is the hallmark of true patriotism.

“We note with satisfaction and appreciation, the subsequent visit by five governors and two deputy governors including Governor Fayemi, Governor Fashola, Governor Aregbesola, Governor Ajimobi and Governor Amosun, who demonstrated high and commendable sense of patriotism and genuine concern for the nation, with very conciliatory disposition and statesmanlike advise to Governor Amaechi towards finding a lasting solution to the political disagreements between the governor and members of the state’s House of Assembly.

“We want to assure Nigerians that the Presidency is not involved in the dispute in Rivers State and will not deliberately engage in any act of destabilization of Rivers State or any state in the country neither is it interested for whatever reason, in destabilization of the NGF.

“In consonance with the dictates and practice of true federalism and the supremacy of the rule of law, it will be advisable that whatever political entanglements may still exist in Rivers State should be resolved politically or by employing due process of law, in the interest of peaceful co-existence and overall well-being of its citizens,” the presidency concluded.

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Posted in Nigeria News. A DisNaija.Com network.

Source: PM News

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Nigeria News

Kano Transfers Over 1,000 Almajiris To Different States Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

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The Kano State Government on Saturday said it has transferred 1,098 ‘almajiris’ to different states of the country.

The commissioner for local government, Murtala Garo, disclosed this while presenting a report before the state’s task force on COVID-19 at the government house, Kano.

Almajiris are children who are supposed to be learning Islamic studies while living with their Islamic teachers. Majority of them, however, end up begging on the streets of Northern Nigeria. They constitute a large number of Nigeria’s over 10 million out-of-school children.

Mr Garo said the Kano government transported 419 almajiris to Katsina, 524 to Jigawa and 155 to Kaduna. He said all of them tested negative for coronavirus before leaving the Kano State.

Despite the coronavirus test done in Kano for the almajiris, the Jigawa government earlier said it would quarantine for two weeks all the almajiris that recently arrived from Kano.

Mr Garo said another 100 almajiris scheduled to be taken to Bauchi State also tested negative to COVID-19.

In a remark, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje said the COVID-19 situation in Kano was getting worse. He appealed for a collaborative effort to curtail the spread of the virus in the state.

Mr Ganduje, who commended residents for complying with the lockdown imposed in the state, said the decision was taken to halt the spread of the virus.

Kano State, as of Saturday night, has 77 coronavirus cases, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

The decision to transfer the Kano almajiris is part of the agreement reached between Northern governors that almajiris in each state be transferred to their states of origin.

However, even before the latest agreement by the governors, the Kano government had been transferring almajiris to other states and neighbouring countries after it banned street begging in the state, most populous in Northern Nigeria.

Despite the transfers, however, no concrete step has been taken to ensure such children do not return to Kano streets as there is freedom of movement across Nigeria although interstate travel was recently banned to check the spread of the coronavirus.

 

Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria

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Nigeria News

COVID-19: ‘Bakassi Boys’ Foil Attempt To Smuggle 24 Women Into Abia In Container

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By Ugochukwu Alaribe

Operatives of the Abia State Vigilante Service, AVS, popularly known as ‘Bakassi Boys’ have arrested 24 market women hidden in a container truck, at Ekwereazu Ngwa, the boundary community between Abia and Akwa Ibom states.

The market women, said to be  from Akwa Ibom State, were on their way to Aba, when they were arrested with the truck driver and two of his conductors for violating the lockdown order by the state government.

Driver of the truck, Moses Asuquo, claimed he was going to Aba to purchase stock fish, but decided to assist the market women, because they were stranded.

A vigilante source told Sunday Vanguard that the vehicle was impounded while the market women were sent back to Akwa Ibom State.

Commissioner for Home Land Security, Prince Dan Okoli, who confirmed the incident, said that  smuggling of people into the state poses great threat to the state government’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID- 19.

 

Sourced From: Vanguard News

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Nigeria News

Woman Kills Her Maid Over Salary Request

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Operatives of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Yaba of the Lagos State police command have arrested one Mrs Nene Steve for allegedly killing her maid, Joy Adole

The maid was allegedly beaten to death by Nene for requesting for her salary at their residence located at 18, Ogundola Street, Bariga area in Lagos.

Narrating the incident, Philips Ejeh, an elder brother to the deceased said that he was sad when they informed him that his sister was beaten to death.

He explained that the deceased was an indigene of Benue State brought to Lagos through an agent and started working with her as a maid  in January 2020.

‘’She reported that her boss refused to pay her and anytime she asked for her salary she will start beating her.

She was making an attempt to leave the place but due to the total lockdown she remained there until Sunday when her boss said she caught her stealing noodles and this led to her serious beating and death,’’ Ejeh said.

He called on Lagos State Government and well- meaning people in the country to help them in getting justice for the victim.

The police spokesman, Bala Elkana, stated that the woman and her husband came to Bariga Police  Station to a report that their house girl had committed suicide.

Detectives were said to have visited the house and suspected foul play with the position of the rope and bruises all over the body which confirmed that the girl had been tortured to death and the boss decided to hang up the girl to make it look like suicide.

He said: “The police moved on with their investigation and found a lot of sign of violence on her body that she has been tortured before a rope was put on her neck.’’

He added that the police removed the corpse and deposited it in the mortuary for autopsy to further ascertain the cause of the death.

Elkana said the matter has been transferred from Bariga police station to Panti for further investigation while the couple have been arrested and will be charged to court.

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Boko Haram Attacks: Buhari Summons Urgent Meeting Of Service Chiefs

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President Buhari and the Service Chiefs in a meeting. (File photo)

Ostensibly alarmed by the latest killings of dozens of soldiers by Boko Haram insurgents, President Muhammadu Buhari has summoned an urgent meeting of Service Chiefs to find ways to stop the trend. 

He has also dispatched the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali, to the neighbouring Republic of Chad for an urgent meeting with President Idris Deby and his defence counterpart. 

Knowledgeable sources said in Abuja on Friday that the president is worried by on the deterioration of security situation on the Nigeria – Chad Border that has led to the recently increased Boko Haram terrorism in the area.

The sources which did not want to be named in Abuja said: “Nigeria has a Chad  problem in the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) put together to secure the Lake Chad basin areas and repeal the Boko Haram terrorist attacks against all the countries neighbouring the Lake.”

The sources noted that Chad is believed to be having their own internal security challenges and this has reportedly led to their pulling away their own troops manning their own border around Lake Chad,  saying: “That lacuna is being exploited by the Boko Haram terrorists, who go in and out of Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon to launch terrorist acts.  This is a clear illustration of the fact that terrorism is beyond national borders.”

When contacted, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed that the Defence Minister is going to Chad but said he is unaware of the purpose. 

Meanwhile, the military authorities are said to be in the process of identifying the families of the latest victims with a view to making contact with them. 

Credible sources revealed that it is the reason the president is yet to make any pronouncement on the matter. 

“The President has called an urgent meeting with the Service Chiefs, as well as the fact that families of the latest victims of the Boko Haram are being identified and contacts made before a government pronouncement on the tragic attacks. This, it is understood, is the reason for the silence of the government over the incident,” the source said. 

 

Sourced From: Tribune

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