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Sunday, 19 November 2017

Ex- kwara State Governor set ablaze by hoodlums

Three people have been confirmed dead, while six people sustained severe injuries in Lafiagi, Kwara State as irate youths burnt down a part of the house of a former governor of Kwara State, Senator Shaaba Lafiagi.

The Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Kwara State, Mr. Henry Bilesanmi, confirmed

the death of three people, though some sources put the death toll at five.

Also, the Wakillin Lafiagi, Umaru Shaaba, said the dead victims included Abubakar Alhassan and Musa Abdullahi.

According to a death certificate from the General Hospital, Lafiagi, 24-year-old Abdullahi died from gunshot wounds in the femoral region.

The death certificate, which was signed on behalf of the hospital medical director by an official, identified simply as Mrs. Abdul, stated that Abdullahi was shot by soldiers in Lafiagi township.

The Wakillin Lafiagi told our correspondent on Saturday that over 300 youths had attempted to stop the former Kwara State governor from entering the town on Friday night.

He stated that Lafiagi, who is the senator representing Kwara North Senatorial District, was attempting to enter the town from Ilorin with political associates for Saturday’s local government elections in the state.

Shaaba said the youths stopped the senator from entering the town because of uncompleted culverts and projects on Lafiagi Road, around Sodo River, about four kilometres to Lafiagi town.

He added that the youths had complained that there were avoidable deaths because of the non-completion of the projects.

Shaaba said, “The community boys complained that the place had recorded about four accidents within a short time; a couple had been killed as a result of that culvert. A Fulani was riding a motorcycle and ran into the culvert. There was a family travelling from Lagos to Abuja; because they did not know the road, they drove into the culvert.

“The youths then said, before Alhaji Shaaba (Lafiagi) and his political team would enter the town, the culvert should be covered. They also said the number of deaths that had been recorded because of the unfinished job was too high and that the culvert must be filled so that the people could use it. That was the genesis of it. By the time Shaaba came, over 300 youths had blocked the way.”

But the former governor was said to have invited the Divisional Police Officer in the area who tried in vain to mediate.

The senator was said to have later invited soldiers, who tried unsuccessfully to pacify the youths.

According to Shaaba, the security agencies later escorted the senator to his residence.

He said the aggrieved community members protested while security agents shot sporadically to disperse them.

He stated that in the ensuing pandemonium and sporadic shooting from security agents, three people were killed by bullets while six were injured.

It wa gathered that when members of the community heard about the killing, they matched to the senator’s residence and burnt part of it.

According to the, Deputy Director, Public Relations, 2 Division, Ibadan, Nigerian Army, Lt. Col. Ezindu Idima, said, “The shooting had already taken place before our soldiers were deployed when the situation was getting out of hand.

“Our soldiers only came to bring the situation under control. They were not there before and during the shooting. What our soldiers did there was just to bring the situation under control. They were not involved in the shooting.”

Anambra election: Fayose reacts to Obiano’s victory

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has congratulated Anambra Governor Willie Obiano for his landmark victory in Saturdays election. He said that the results clearly showed that connection to the people was key to winning an election. Fayose also hailed the conduct of the poll, describing the performance of theIndependent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security […]

UK: Leaders, academics raise alarm over Saudi 'crisis'

Saudi Arabia is a country in crisis, from the kingdom’s contribution to more bloodshed in Yemen to its growing rivalry with Iran, as it attempts to convince the rest of the world that liberalism is expanding at home, delegates at a conference in the UK capital have heard.

Prince Mohammad bin-salman

As the kingdom reels from a rapid response succession of developments, politicians and academics gathered in London to speak on Saturday at the “Crisis in Saudi Arabia: War, Succession and the Future” summit, attended by around 200 people and organised by the non-profit press monitoring organisation Middle East Monitor.

Paddy Ashdown, the former leader of Britain’s Liberal Democratic party who once mediated in the Bosnian conflict, warned that it was crucial for countries such as the UK and US not take sides in a stand-off unfoldingbetween Saudi Arabia and Iran.

“Now we are in a really dangerous situation where if a war breaks out, you have the great powers supporting opposite sides,” he said, referring to Russian support of Iran and the West’s backing of Saudi-led initiatives, such as the coalition in Yemen.

“I have long been warning that if we didn’t help to build bridges and the West simply supported the Sunnis, in this case Saudi Arabia, that it would be inevitable that Russia would support the Shia,” he said.

Ashdown also described the sale of British arms to Riyadh for use in the war in Yemen and the UK’s “tacit support” for the Saudis as “shameful”.

“It is shameful that Britain is supplying weapons and indeed tacit support to Saudi Arabia when it is clearly in breach of international law in its indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Yemen.”

Tensions between Riyadh and Tehran, already heated over the Yemen war, have risen in recent weeks after the kingdom precipitated the sudden resignation of the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, focusing attention on the potential for the escalation of a wider conflict with Iranian proxies such as Hezbollah.

His latest move – the arrest in a corruption crackdown of more than 30 senior figures, including members of the extended royal family – has been interpreted by critics as a political purge to defuse public disquiet over corruption at the highest levels, but also to neutralise potential rivals.

But Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to assert the kingdom’s regional primacy through an assertive foreign policy have backfired in Yemen and Qatar, and are opening a new front in Saudi Arabia’s regional rivalry with Iran.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia, along with the kingdom’s Gulf neighbours Bahrain and the UAE launched a blockade against Qatar in June, accusing Doha of supporting “terrorism” – a claim Qatar strongly denies.

Madawi al-Rasheed, a visiting professor at the London School of Economics, said the rise of Mohammed bin Salman represented a concentration of power in a country once distinguished by multiple “fiefdoms” in which power was shared between clans.

“Of course this is a great PR initiative because all of us love to see those corrupt people behind bars, but these anti-corruption purges take place in an opaque kingdom with no freedom of expression and with no independent judiciary,” she said.

“We know that dictators pick a few people, put them in jail, accuse them of corruption, and that’s a very effective, populist way of getting rid of your rivals.”

Madawi warned liberals outside Saudi Arabia not to be “taken in” by Mohammed bin Salman’s recent reforms concerning women, such as permitting them to drive.

“These are media and PR exercises that want us to believe that the regime has actually changed,” she said.

“Nothing has changed, all we have seen is a concentration of power in the hands of one man and a purge of the … regime to pave the way for the arrival of a new elite that will appropriate the resources and that is under no obligation to explain its budget or its corruption to anybody.”

Professor Ahmed al-Dubai, a Yemeni scholar, traced the historical role Saudi Arabia had played in his country, and interpreted the current conflict as an attempt to limit the progress of democratisation in the wider region since the uprisings of 2011.

Hugh Miles, a journalist who exposed the Saudi government’s secret programme to kidnap defectors and dissidents living in Europe, argued that the principal motive for the recent crackdown by Mohammed bin Salman, known colloquially as “MBS” was personal rivalry.

“The main reason for the purge is money: MBS needs to cover the deficit and he also wants to enrich himself,” said Miles.

“He was not happy with the slow pace of enrichment through normal means like defence contracts, so he decided to speed it up by seizing his cousins’ money.”

She dismissed the corruption crackdown spearheaded by the young Saudi as a public relations stunt.

2018: Joining APC is like leaving Jesus Christ for satan - Fayose - Vanguard News

Fayose making secret moves to join APC- Senator Aluko
…Says Gov won’t be a factor in 2018 election

By Adekunle Aliyu and Rotimi Ojomoyela

Ado Ekiti- ‎Former Senate Deputy Chief Whip between 1999 and 2003, Gbenga Aluko on Sunday accused Governor Ayo Fayose, Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ forum of making surreptitious moves to join the All Progressives Congress(APC), having realized that the PDP can’t win the impending election.

But Fayose’s Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, in a statement Sunday night , said to say ‘Mr Ayodele Fayose is making moves to defect to APC, is false’and that Joining APC was like leaving Jesus Christ for Satan. It is like wanting to die by taking Gamalin 20, or planning to commit suicide by jumping down from sky scrapper.

Fayose

Aluko, who declined further explanation on the moves being made by Fayose over this allegation, said : “In APC, there is no move that you make that a leader like me won’t know. Fayose knew that he can’t win the forthcoming election and we are following every of his moves and attempt to join APC”.

Aluko, , added that Fayose had always been riding on back of the presidency to win election, saying the 2003 and 2014 elections that produced him as a governor were fraught with irregularities.

As against the rumour flying around that former Governor Kayode Fayemi is interested in the 2018 Governorship poll in Ekiti State, Aluko, declared that the Minister still remain a strong backer of the zoning agitation in the state.

Aspirants from the south senatorial district are agitating for the zoning of the governorship ticket to the area, which has never produced the governor since 1999.

At a press conference in Ado Ekiti on Sunday, where he reviewed his visits to 11 local governments and 122 wards to canvass for votes ahead of the APC primaries, Aluko said Fayemi shared the view that it is the time for the south to produce the governor.

Fayemi , has been rumoured to be eyeing the governorship seat he lost four years ago. “Fayemi himself is an advocate of zoning. At various fora, he has made it clear that he backs the agitation. He believes there is logic and sense in it that the south should also be given the ticket in the spirit of justice and fairplay”.

On the widespread impression that he may have obtained the endorsement of the presidency, Aluko, former Southwest Campaign Director of Buhari/Okadigbo presidential campaign organization in 2003, said he has been campaigning vigorously around the state despite his closeness to President Muhammadu Buhari.

“If I am waiting for President Buhari to impose me, I won’t be working hard like this. The President doesn’t believe in imposition. But I will work hard to get the ticket after which I will go to him as my political father and soul mate to seek his endorsement”, he said.

Expressing confidence that the APC would triumph in the 2018 poll, Aluko said: “Fayose has always been riding on presidential power to win election in Ekiti.

“In 2003, he won election in Ekiti because of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s desperation to make inroad into the southwest.

“The same scenario played out in 2014, when the former President Goodluck Jonathan wanted to use Ekiti and Osun to make inroad to the south west for 2015 presidential election.

“The revelations of Fayose’s close ally, Tope Aluko and that of Capt Sagir Koli corroborated the fact that the election was massively rigged. Fayose had never won any free and fair election in Ekiti.

“In 2011, when election was free and fair, he lost senatorial election in the Central district to Senator Babafemi Ojudu of the APC. So, the 2018 will prove him wrong that he is only overrating his popularity, because he can’t win without the federal might”.

Aluko discountenanced the insinuation that there were divisions in his party, disclosing that “the large number of aspirants doesn’t amount to division.

“The aspirants shall be sorted out by the delegates at the primary. Ondo APC started with 46 aspirants and 26 of them went into the primary and the party still went ahead and won. This confirmed that the large number is of no consequence provided that the process is free and transparent”, he said.

Fayose’s Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi in a statement Sunday night, said to say ‘Mr Ayodele Fayose is making move to defect to APC, is false.’

The news going viral that Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose is making moves to defect to APC, is false. I

t is a figment of imagination of the APC which manufactured the story.

Joining APC is like leaving Jesus Christ for Satan. It is like wanting to die by taking Gamalin 20, or planning to commit suicide by jumping down from sky scrapper.

Fayose will never join the APC, rather, he would welcome APC members to the PDP.

When PDP was embroiled in leadership crisis, Fayose did not leave the party. Is it now when PDP is positioning itself to win back power in 2019.

Is it APC which merely exists only on pages of newspaper in Ekiti that Fayose will join? Fayose is too big for the APC to accommodate.

Fayose is preoccupied with plan to transit power from PDP to PDP Ekiti in 2018

Just in: FLASH: INEC Declares Anambra Elections 2017 “INCONCLUSIVE”

Why ANAMBRA ELECTION 2017 Was Declared INCONCLUSIVE. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has declared Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Anambra State inconclusive. Read full details below. Announcing the decision to journalists and election monitors, on Monday, James Epoke, Returning Officer and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calabar, said that a supplementary election would be conducted …

Buhari leads birthday chorus for Jonathan - Vanguard News

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan will be 60 tomorrow.But ahead of the milestone, President Muhammadu Buhari has led the chorus of birthday well-wishers, praising his younger predecessor for his humble beginnings and his rise to the topmost post in Nigeria.

Buhari

President Buhari in the message sent out by Special adviser on media, Femi Adesina warmly felicitated with Jonathan on his 60th birthday, November 20th, 2017.

“President Buhari joins members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), professional colleagues, associates of Dr Jonathan, and his family in celebrating the unique history of the Nigerian leader, who within a short period rose from being a Deputy Governor, Governor, Vice President to becoming Nigeria’s President for six years”, Adesina wrote..

“President Buhari believes Dr Jonathan’s foray into politics and ascendency to the highest political office in Nigeria from a humble riverine background testifies to the greatness and inclusiveness of Nigeria’s democracy, and serves as an invitation to all those with interest to add value to the nation.”

Zimbabwe's traditional chiefs abandon Mugabe, join calls for his retirement

- Zimbabwe's traditional leaders weigh in on the ongoing political turmoil

- Interestingly, the traditional chiefs had endorsed Mugabe for another term

- They now want the 93-year-old president to leave office and pave way for a new leader

Zimbabwe's traditional chiefs have joined growing calls for President Robert Mugabe to leave office and pave way for a new leader.

According to local news outlets, the traditional leaders had actually endorsed the 93-year-old Zanu-PF party leader for a fresh mandate, but it seems they have changed their position and some of them are even celebrating the military for their intervention.

"We appreciate our defense forces for intervening to stop an economic, social and political crisis in our country," says Chief Ephias Murinye, Zimbabwe's Council of Chiefs representative as quoted by Pindula News.

Mugabe meeting Zimbabwe's traditional chiefs.Photo:Pindula News.

The traditional chiefs now believe that Mugabe's retirement will enable them to discharge their duties without any fear or intimidation from the politicians.

"It is our hope that once he is gone, our economy will take shape. Politicians have been interfering with our work long enough," says Chief Murinye.

Mugabe and traditional chiefs. Photo:Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP

Meanwhile, Mugabe is expected to meet the army chief today to decide on his fate and bring to an end the ongoing political stalemate in the country.

Tuko HOT episode 10 - Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga, Jalang'o is in a big scandal - On Tuko TV

APGA Wins ANAMBRA ELECTION as INEC Declare Polls INCONCLUSIVE

APGA Wins ANAMBRA ELECTION 2017. Nigeria’s apex electoral body, The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has declared Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Anambra State inconclusive. Announcing the decision to journalists and election monitors, on Monday, James Epoke, Returning Officer and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calabar, said that a supplementary election would be conducted at a …

BREAKING: Obiano wins Anambra governorship election

Willie Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, has won the 2017 governorship election in Anambra State.

Going by the results of the Governorship election so far announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the APGA candidate, who is also the incumbent governor of Anambra State, is leading his other contenders with wide margin.

Of the 21 Local Government Areas of the state, results of 18 Local Government Areas have been submitted, out of which Obiano is comfortably leading in all the LGAs.

However, a formal declaration of the winner as well as three remaining LGs is being awaited‎ as of the time of this report.

1. Anaocha LGA

APC 5297

APGA 11237

PDP 6554

2. Ayamelum LGA

APC 5412

APGA 14593

PDP 2323

3. Awka South LGA

APGA 18957

APC 6167

PDP 5354

4. Dunukofia LGA

APC 7016

APGA: 8, 575

PDP 1530

5. Njikoka LGA

APGA 16944

APC 5756

PDP 3477

6. Orumba South LGA

APC 3808

APGA 8125

PDP 2412

7. Ekwusigo LGA

APC 5412

APGA 8595

PDP 3856

8. Aguata LGA

APGA 13167

PDP 4073

APC 5807

9. Onitsha North LGA

PDP 4143

APGA 10138

APC 3808

10. Ogbaru LGA

APC 3415

APGA 6615

PDP 4416

11. Idemili South LGA

APC 4063

APGA 5742

PDP 2629

12. Awka North LGA

ACP 3727

APGA 7162

PDP 3347

13. Orumba North LGA

APGA 8,766

APC- 3,551

PDP- 3,865

14. Onitsha South LGA

APC 2012

APGA 7082

PDP 3423

15. Ihiala LGA

APC 7,894

APGA 14,379

PDP 4706

16. Anambra East LGA

APC 5248

APGA 20510

PDP 1132

17. Nnewi South

APC 2,765

APGA 10,465

PDP 2,255

18. Nnewi North

APC 3616

APGA 10845

The Thread: “See who’s talking about corruption” “How many private jets do you have?”

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos state and godfather to our Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, had stinging words for Goodluck Jonathan at a book launch in Aso Rock recently.

He said:

“One minister and her rogues’ gallery picked the pocket of this nation for billions of dollars. While poor at governance, these people could give a master thief lessons in the sleight of hand. In governance, they earned a red card but in corruption, they won the gold medal.”

Ouch. That must have hurt.

Indeed, from these replies by GEJites, it did. But GEJites do not pull punches, they basically reminded Asiwaju that a pot cannot call a kettle black.

See below:

Dang, man.

Statues of Obasanjo, Ekwueme, Awolowo, Mbakwe To Be Unveiled By Okorocha

Reports gathered reveal Governor Rochas Okorocha of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Imo State might have 10 more statues of eminent political figures to unveil.

Some statues as seen in Imo State

After unveiling the statues of two African presidents, Jacob Zuma of South Africa and Ellen Sirleaf Johnson of Liberia, Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha is set to unveil 10 more statues.

Even though his actions had generated lots of controversies, Saturday PUNCH learnt on Friday that the governor would soon unveil more statues.

A correspondent visited the Ikemba Ojukwu Centre in Owerri, Imo State capital, where the statues were erected, but security men didn’t allow him to enter.

However, a top Government House official told a correspondent that Okorocha was set to unveil statues of former President Olusegun Obasanjo; a former Vice-President, Alex Ekwueme; a former Senate President, late Evans Enwerem; and the first civilian Imo State Governor, Sam Mbakwe.

According to the source, others whose statues would soon be unveiled are those of the first Nigerian President, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe; former Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa; late sage, Obafemi Awolowo; and Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo.

The source said that of Akufo-Addo would be unveiled at a ceremony when he visits the state soon.

The government official said the idea of unveiling the statues was to celebrate leaders, who had through “selfless efforts” contributed to the development of the state, Nigeria and the African continent.

The source said, “The governor is interested in celebrating those who have contributed to the development of mankind, especially on the African continent. In the years to come, these leaders will be no more but their statues will keep them evergreen in the minds of the people.

“With the statues, they have been inducted into the Imo Hall of Fame and have received the highest award in the state called the Imo Merits Award.”

When asked how much each statue cost the state government, the official said they were not as expensive as people were exaggerating.

“It is not as costly as people had exaggerated. Though I don’t know the exact amount, the government cannot use about N500m to erect one statue. It is not possible. The governor is a prudent manager of resources,” he said.

Meanwhile, a former governor of the state, Ikedi Ohakim, has criticised Okorocha for spending state resources on building statues.

Ohakim, who handed power over to Okorocha in 2011, said that his successor had impoverished the people and failed “comprehensively” in terms of leadership and development.

He said, “Should I praise Okorocha because civil servants now receive half of their salaries instead of 100 per cent? Should I praise his government for owing pensioners for over 30 months and recently issuing dud cheques to them? What exactly are those good works for which I was supposed to be showering praises on the governor?

“The fact is that no right-thinking Nigerian can praise Rochas. Our biggest industry, education, is in a free fall. Youth unemployment has risen to an unprecedented height. Executive promises are discarded like used napkins like the promise of conducting local government area election, which has been made eight times but discarded eight times.

“Quality and due process have been relegated to the background, leading to an unmitigated infrastructural disaster like roads collapsing within 90 days. There is also a deliberate strategy to destroy our judicial system.

“Court orders are hardly obeyed, judicial quarters are bulldozed with recklessness and as of today, judicial officers are being owed 11 months’ salaries, while monuments costing hundreds of millions of naira are being mounted for foreign dignitaries and whereas our children are killed in their countries.”

Similarly, a group called the Igbo National Council said it was a show of shame by the Okorocha administration to have erected Zuma’s statue in the state.

INC also said that the naming of a street in Owerri after Zuma was unfortunate. INC President, Chilos Godsent, told Saturday PUNCH that South Africa, in recent times, had recorded the “wanton killing of many Igbo youths who are doing business or working in South Africa in the name of xenophobia.”

He said, “Zuma cannot be said to be a Nigerian or an Igbo patriot; he has not contributed in any capacity to the well-being of Imo State indigenes or the Igbo.”

INC said the INC was, therefore, calling on Okorocha “to immediately reverse the naming of a street in Owerri after Zuma and dismantle his statue.”