Nigerian Newspapers
Shocking fallout from Alamieyeseigha’s pardon
I did not realise how immensely Nigerians had profited from the public lecture theSpecial Adviser to the President on Media, Dr. Reuben Abati, delivered on clemency and pardon last week until an experience I had with my wife and her housemaid last Saturday.
Abati had described the widespread criticism that trailed the pardon President Goodluck Jonathan granted former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepriye Alamieyeseigha, as “sophisticated ignorance” and took time to educate those who described the pardon granted the likes of the late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, Gen. Oladipo Diya and Gen. Tajudeen Olanrewaju as superfluous. He insisted that what the former military henchmen got from the Abdulsalami administration was mere clemency and not pardon which was why many of them had not received their entitlements.
Seeing that our six-year-old son failed to do his homework on the excuse that there was no public power and our generator failed to work, my wife decided to suspend the daily menu of sausage roll and juice the lad used to take to school. I pleaded with her not to make good her threat, particularly because it was the first time he would do such a thing in a long while. But I was surprised that the following morning, he cried to my room and complained that mum had withheld his fruit juice and gave him only a sausage roll.
I called my wife and asked why she still had not forgiven the poor boy in spite of my earlier intervention. “Of course, I have forgiven him,” she said. “I would not have given him the sausage roll if I hadn’t forgiven him. But his forgiveness was only a clemency. Tomorrow, I will turn his clemency into pardon and then he will have both the sausage roll and juice!”
But the worse fallout came from a fraudster who sent a text message to my phone after reading my piece on the pardon saga last Saturday and introduced himself as Dr. Reuben Abati, Senior Special Assistant to President Jonathan on Media. Buoyed apparently by state pardon the Jonathan administration granted a fugitive and convicted pilferer of the public purse, the fellow has been carrying on with the boldness of a lion, bombarding me with calls and text messages from his telephone number 08027456324. He said my name was being considered for a board appointment, and that to ensure that this came into fruition, I should send the sum of N250,000 into the UBA account of his CSO whose name he gave as Mumuni Kadiri with telephone number 07058881113.
Sensing that the impostor was doing a great disservice to the name and reputation of Dr. Reuben Abati, I sent the President’s spokesman a mail, drawing his attention to the development I saw as a clear and present danger. But Abati’s response was anything but urgent. It took almost 24 hours before his terse reply hit my phone, with nothing in it to show that he was angry or worried. “That is not my number. Someone has been using my name. Beware of 419,” he wrote.
Now certain that Abati had nothing to do with the fellow, I sent him a text message and tried to drive fear into him. I told him that he would rot in jail because I had alerted Abati about his antics and SSS officials were already on his trail. But I was disarmed by the temerity contained in his response. “Hahahaha, I return that to you,” he wrote back, boasting that his CSO would buy “two cartons of moet rose drink and clear drinks with SSS into the Villa (sic).” At this point, it struck me that the apparent impunity with which the Boko Haram sect has operated for two years might have rubbed off on fraudsters and could soon extend to other anti-social elements around the country. Clearly, there is anarchy on the horizon.
Such grim prospects were responsible for the public outrage that greeted the Alamieyeseigha pardon, including the following responses to my piece on the subject last week, in spite of Abati’s tirade:
•Your article every Saturday is like the fresh palm wine we used to enjoy in the village many years ago. Please tell me, when will Nigeria return to democracy and do away with this criminal arrangement that has made life worse than hell for the masses? For how long must we allow these outdated political godfathers to continue to toy with our collective survival in the name of politics?
Today, Nigerians are calling fraud democracy and paying duly for it. Alamieyeseigha was not alone when he stole Bayelsa blind. Somebody deputised him, and that person cannot claim ignorance of what was going on then. Today, if that person decides to help his partner who is down, why should anybody tongue-lash him. Don’t birds of a feather flock together anymore?
A young man got married. He did not wait for a child to arrive in the family before he hurriedly bought a dog and named it Paul. After 15 years of barrenness, he took his wife to a native doctor for spiritual solution. To his shock, the traditional doctor told him that his trouble started when he a domestic animal the name of a human being, and that unless he killed the dog, he would not hear the cry of a human being in his house.
Ifeanyi O. Ifeanyichukwu.
Can someone tell the President that he forgot to include on his posthumous pardon list the likes of Oyenusi, Anini and the extra-judicially killed Boko Haram leader. What about Cecilia Ibru. In fact, he forgot all the convicted corrupt felons. Long live corruption in the land of the giant of Africa.
And who says we don’t deserve this? Of course, we deserve the nonsense we voted for on sentiment grounds and for exhibiting total lack of wisdom despite the handwriting on the wall to the effect that we were voting for a candidate from a party that had heaped misery on us for 12 years. Have we learnt anything yet?
080642867..
•Whether or not President Jonathan changes guards by recruiting OBJ’s sworn enemies into his government his winning another term in 2015 is not yet guaranteed. He will definitely need OBJ. The sympathy votes of 2011 are gone. Many things have changed in all the six geo-political regions, particularly in the South West.
Granting Alamieyeseigha state pardon was and remains an economic and transparency error. The nation’s image has been brought down!
Lanre Oseni.
•The presidential pardon granted Alamieyeseigha is an embarrassment to Nigerians and an avenue to encourage corruption in governance. While it is in our constitution to grant pardons, it is not in cases of corruption. Other countries are busy fighting against corruption in governance.
Gordon Chika Nnorom.
The Nation
•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
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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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