Former Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, alongside Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Governor of Bauchi, Sen. Bala Mohammed and former MD, FSB International Bank, Mohammed Hayatuddeen, last night met with former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
All five PDP presidential aspirants met to discuss the ongoing unity and consensus-building initiative being championed by Saraki, Tambuwal and Bala.
Details later.…
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the new National Chairman of All Progressives Congress, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and others who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party and elected into the APC’s National Working Committee are repented sinners.
The President made his position known in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
The statement on Sunday followed the criticism by the PDP that Adamu and some others who defected from the PDP to the APC were accommodated in the ruling party at the federal level to cover for their “sins”.
Apart from Adamu, others who defected from the PDP and now in the NWC of the APC elected by consensus on Saturday at the party’s National Convention in Abuja on Saturday included Senator Iyiola Omisore, Hon. Victor Gaidom and Osita Medener. But reacting in the statement by Shehu on Sunday, Buhari said: “That some of the APC’s new leadership were once in the opposition was the new line to take to the media, somehow suggesting that those who have left one party should not hold positions in another. Yet, do the Scriptures not teach us of the virtue of sinners who repent and change their ways?
“What the Scriptures say less is of sinners who repent, change their tune, and then choose to re-sin in full public view by returning to their former ways. Given that most important leaders of the opposition PDP first left the party before they returned to it, we might expect the media to ensure criticism of them is damning and absolute.
“It is incredulous that anyone would consider them trustworthy or acceptable candidates for any public office.”
Speaking on the next line of action for the party, President Buhari said the time had come to prepare the grounds for the primaries for the 2023 elections.
He said: “No doubt some will attempt to argue the impossible – that an APC primary election is a source of division while an opposition primary election is a source of consensus.
“But the good …
Fifty-four consensus candidates were endorsed as members of the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress at its National Convention on Saturday in Abuja.
At the National Convention held at the Eagle Square in Abuja, all positions were filled by consensus, achieved through dialogue.
This saw six other aspirants stepping down for former Nasarawa State Governor, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who emerged as National Chairman.
The full list
Abdullahi Adamu – National Chairman
Abubakar Kyari – Deputy National Chairman (North)
Emma Eneukwu – Deputy National Chairman (South)
lyiola Omisore – National Secretary
Fetus Fuanter – Deputy National Secretary
Muhazu Bawa Rijau – National Vice-Chairman (North Central)
Mustapha Salihu – National Vice-Chairman (North East)
Salihu Lukman – National Vice-Chairman (North West)
Ijeomah Arodiogbu – National Vice-Chairman (South South)
Victor Ton Giadom – National Vice-Chairman (South East)
D.I. Kekemeke – National Vice-Chairman (South West)
Ahmed El-Marzuk – National Legal Adviser
Uguru Mathew Ofoke – National Treasurer
Bashir Usman Gumel – National Financial Secretary
Suleiman M. Argungun – National Organising Secretary
Betta Edu – National Woman Leader
F.N. Nwosu – National Welfare Secretary
Felix Morka – National Publicity Secretary
Abubakar Maikaf – National Auditor
Abdulahi Dayo Israel – National Youth Leader
Tolu Bankole – Special (Persons With Disability) Leader
Ibrahim Salawu – Deputy National Legal Adviser
Omorede Osifo – Deputy National Treasurer
Hamma-Adama Ali Kuro – Deputy National Financial Secretary
Nzo Chidi Duru – Deputy National Organising Secretary
Yakubu Murtala Ajaka – Deputy National Publicity Secretary
Christoper Akpan – Deputy National Welfare Secretary
Olufemi Egbedeyi – Deputy National Auditor
Zainab Abubakar Ibrahim – Deputy National Woman Leader
Jamaluddeen Kabir – Deputy National Youth Leader
Oluwatoyin Opawuye – National Ex-Officio (North Central)
Sirajo Dahuwa – National Ex-Officio (North East)
Allyu Ahmed Yako – National Ex-Officio (North West)
Aqunwa Anekwe – National Ex-Officio (South East)
Diriwari Akedewei – National Ex-Officio (South South)
Bunmi Oriniowo – National Ex-Officio (South West)
Yakubu Mohammed Adamu – Zonal Secretary (North Central)
Mohammed Wali Shettima – Zonal Secretary (North East)
Bello Goronyo – Zonal Secretary (North West)
Azobu Innocent Tapa …
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has moved immediate past Anambra Governor, Willie Obiano to Abuja after he was arrested in Lagos Thursday night.
EFCC spokesperson Wilson Uwujiaren, confirmed this when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Friday in Lagos.
“The ex-governor was arrested in Lagos, but was moved to Abuja this morning (Friday),” Uwujiaren said.
Recall that the anti-graft commission busted Obiano at about 8.30p.m., Thursday, at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Lagos, on his way to Houston, Texas, U.S after handing over to his successor, Governor Charles Soludo. The commission’s spokesperson added that Obiano had been on the EFCC’s watch list for some months, adding that his immunity as a Governor prevented his arrest until he handed over to his successor.
Uwujiaren said the commission had requested the Nigeria Immigration Service to provide information on the former governor’s movement out of the country from airports, or other points of exit from the country.
As at time of filing this report, the EFCC is yet to release details on Obiano’s offence.…
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on members of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party to be united in working towards the victory of party in 2023.
Abubakar spoke in an interactive session with BoT members to seek their support for his presidential aspiration in Abuja.
He said anything short of victory would not be good for the party.
He said that the 2023 general election offered the party the opportunity to return to power. He said: “I am worried and you should be worried too that if we do not win, it means we will be in opposition again for the next eight years.
“By the next eight years, I don’t know how many will be left in politics and it may even ultimately lead to the death of the party because people gravitate, particularly in developing countries, towards governments.
“Ordinary people naturally gravitate towards government.
“So this is a very, very crucial and historical moment in history, for our survival.
“I want you to think about it.
“We are now at a crucial moment in this country.
“Many of you here, it is either we retire together or we move on together.”
The former vice president said that PDP administration had from 1999 to 2007 had remarkable achievements that has not been matched by any subsequent administration.
Abubakar said that PDP would scored more votes in 2023 if the BoT members worked together.
He said: “Somebody said that we recorded 12 million votes during the last election.
“Those are not only my votes.
“Those were our votes.
“In achieving or recording those 11 million votes, it was all of us and I believe if we work together again, we can surpass those votes.”
Abubakar dismissed insinuations that he was working against the possible zoning of the PDP presidential ticket to the South East.
He said: “In the party, we invented and formulated this zoning policy simply because we wanted every part of this country to have a sense of belonging and I personally have …
Kassim Afegbua, a former campaign spokesman for ex-Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has disclosed that the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, and his Deputy, Philip Shaibu, cannot win against the Peoples Democratic Party and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State in the ongoing verbal war occasioned by an intra-party crisis.
This is as he also alleged that Obaseki had been in the habit of manipulating Shaibu and “making him (Shaibu) the fall-guy of a system that has been heavily compromised.”
Both governors had been engaging in verbal war, with Wike and Obaseki going after each other jugular.
While Wike said he was not in the same class as his Edo counterpart when it comes to party politics, Obaseki warned Wike not to cause disruption in PDP, adding that the party is not his personal property. But Afegbua, a former PDP member in the state, said he was in “doubt if they (Obaseki and Shaibu) will live to enjoy the spoil of their new agitation.”
Giving insight into the protracted party crisis in an article titled, ‘Wike and political asylum seekers in Edo (1)’, Afegbu blamed Obaseki and his deputy for the ongoing verbal war.
According to him, Wike’s position is predicated on the new arrogance of power that has become the second nature of the Edo first two citizens.
The article read in part, “For being an insider to all processes that threw up Governor Obaseki and his Deputy, Governor Wike knows exactly what he was talking about. And the solution to all these is the 9-lettered word; gratitude.
“Just show appreciation and gratitude… Otherwise, the present political impasse in the state will continue its macabre dance.
“Governor Obaseki and his co-travelers often behave like political asylum seekers. As migrants who were helped to cross the border, they got into the asylum camp, participated in the internal politics of the camp, and got familiar with it. Having been given residency, they now want to undo the real citizens of the country.
“In fact, they are telling the real citizens that though …
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday said that the country must strive to enthrone justice, equity and fair play in order to build a strong, united nation.
Obasanjo, who is on a tour of the South East, said this when he made a brief stop at the Vision Africa Radio, Umuahia.
He was the Special Guest of Honour at the prize/award presentation to the winners of the 2021 Schools’ Debate, organized by the station, in conjunction with the Abia State Ministry of Education.
He said: “One of the things I believe we need in this country is nation building. “We have not built a nation.
“We have a country but we need to weave, integrate that country into a nation.
“And you will not get that unless you have justice, fairness, equality and everybody having a stake in that project called Nigeria.
“If that is the situation that we need at the national and continental levels, it means you have to have it at other levels down to the family level.
“Any family where there is no justice, fair play and equity will not be stable.
“This applies to any country, community and state.
“If Nigeria needs these attributes, then any state in Nigeria needs it as much as Nigeria.”
Obasanjo said that this was one of the gospels he had been preaching since he celebrated his 85th birthday last week.
He congratulated the three schools that emerged winners at the debate and admonished them to learn to be good communicators, if they hope to become great achievers in future.
According to him, it takes a good communicator to marshal out his points convincingly, saying that bad communicators end up as poor achievers because of their inability to put their ideas across convincingly, notwithstanding how beautiful they might be.
He also commended the President of the station, Bishop Sunday Onuoha, for organizing the program designed to groom young ones and support the growth of education.
The topic of the debate was: “The development of a nation’s sound education system ensures …
No fewer than 427 Nigerians based in the troubled Ukraine arrived Nnamdi Azikwe International airport, Abuja Friday morning.
They arrived en route Romania on Maxi air.
It was gathered that the Federal Government will give each of them $100.
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday approved over $5m to effect the immediate evacuation of stranded Nigerians in Ukraine which has been over week invaded by Russia.…
The gloves have been worn and the fight for who controls the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State promises to be bloody, literally.
The mud fight may have already been brought to the doorstep of National Leader of the party and presidential hopeful, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
If something is not urgently done to pull the combatants back from the brink, the center might hold no longer, both for Tinubu’s political family and his presidential ambition.
Sources close to the first layer of Tinubu’s political lieutenants told The Guardian that the maverick politician might face stiffer opposition to his presidential ambition from his supposed loyalists more than people outside his political caucus. Specifically, it was learnt that some of his core loyalists do not see him as “politically fit to govern the country apart from his rumored health challenges.”
And the seeming crack in the “Bourdillon school of politics” is said to be the chief reason many beneficiaries of his magnanimity are also gunning for the presidency or supporting another aspirant against their supposed leader.
It was gathered that while some governors in the country are planning to “retire” Tinubu from active politics by 2023, some other ‘enemies within’ are working round the clock to whittle down his political influence and stop his bid for the presidency.
But sources close to the former Lagos State governor said the gang-up against him is not new and expressed confidence that Tinubu will clinch the party’s presidential ticket and become Nigeria’s president by 2023.
One of them said: “Go and check the records, many politicians that worked against him in the past later came back to be his friend, and he was magnanimous enough to welcome them back with open arms. Those working against him now will soon know that they are political featherweights.”
Sources said the open vituperation by Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, against Tinubu in a video that has gone viral is mere child’s play compared to what would be coming out from his “loyalists” in the …
Pro-Russia rebels in Ukraine have accused government forces of shelling a village on Friday while Russian media reported more infantry and tank units were returning to their bases in contrast to Western fears of an imminent Russian invasion.
For a second consecutive day, pro-Russian separatists who have been at war with Ukraine for years said they had come under mortar and artillery fire from Ukrainian forces, according to the Interfax news agency.
Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed rebels in the country’s east traded fresh accusations of shelling and other ceasefire violations on Friday, escalating tensions amid fears of a Russian invasion. Kyiv and the rebels blamed each other for the escalation after artillery and mortar attacks Thursday, prompting fears that Russia, which has massed over 100,000 troops near Ukrane’s borders, could get involved. The Kremlin said on Thursday it was “deeply concerned” with the flare-up in Ukraine and was watching the situation closely.
The United States said Russia was looking for a pretext for war.
Kyiv and the pro-Russian separatists have been facing off for eight years, and a ceasefire between them is routinely violated, but the intensity of fighting increased notably this week.
U.S. President Joe Biden Thursday said Russia is preparing a pretext to justify a possible attack on Ukraine, whose ambition to one day join the NATO military alliance has angered Moscow.
In Europe’s biggest security crisis in decades, Russia has massed troops, tanks, and heavy weapons on Ukraine’s borders and demanded assurances that Kyiv never joins NATO, something the Ukrainian government has refused to do.
Even so, Russia says it has no intention to invade Ukraine and accuses the West of hysteria over its military build-up, saying some of its troops have returned to bases.
Interfax news agency cited Russia’s defense ministry as saying on Friday that several Russian mechanized infantry units had returned to their bases in the regions of Dagestan and Chechnya after completing drills in Crimea.
Interfax also cited the ministry as saying that a train loaded with tanks had departed to an …
Africa into knowledge-based and innovation-led society.
Osinbajo made the call through the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Maryam Katagum, who represented him at the maiden edition of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) Young CEOs Summit.
He identified Africa’s vibrant human resources as its greatest hope for development.
“Young people make up the bulk of Africa’s population with an estimated 75 per cent of the continent’s population below the age of 35 years. “From a demographic point of view, this calls for a paradigm shift towards the recognition and support of young people to harness their potential.
“Therefore, to accelerate Africa’s transition to an innovation-led, knowledge-based economy, our human resources must be empowered with requisite skills.
“Greater emphasis must be placed on innovation, including appropriate adaptation of technology,’’ Katagum said on behalf of Osinbajo.
She emphasized the need to promote creativity and innovative technologies to process the continent’s abundant resources locally in addition to creating more wealth and jobs for the continent.
She said there was the need to develop internal capacities and marketing of new or improved products and services through engagement with end users.
Following this, VP disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology had been rebranded to meet future technology demands.
“This will create new opportunities for value-added employment and the nation’s GDP will improve as a result of innovation and technological development,’’ Katagum added.
She expressed hope that Africa would continue to develop capacities to take advantage of relevant technologies to facilitate e-commerce and leadership excellence.
“Leaders are expected to think creatively and facilitate the creative work of others, but traditional approaches to developing leaders have not fully addressed this need.
“A key problem with regards to developing creative and innovative leadership capacity is the low leverage on technology.
“Young leaders must explore and leverage on technology means such as e-mentoring, multisource feedback, social media, and succession planning programs,’’ she said.
She also reiterated that the FG’s commitment to create an enabling environment to facilitate the actualization of innovative …
President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered that producers and providers of consumable products be held accountable for substandard services and or products sold by them.
The President has also given directives to the relevant government agencies to take every step in line with the laws of the country to ensure the respect and protection of consumers against market abuses and social injustices.
The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement on Thursday, said Buhari gave the directive while reacting to the issue of petroleum product shortages linked to the inadvertent supply of products of foreign origin into the Nigerian market.
According to the President, the protection of consumer interests is a priority of the present administration and is ready to take all necessary measures to protect consumers from hazardous products, loss or injuries from the consumption of substandard goods. Buhari, therefore, directed that in line with the law, service providers must make full disclosure of relevant information with respect to the consumption of their products and that dissatisfied consumers are entitled to a proper redress of their complaints.…
The Federal Executive Council has granted Nigerian citizenship to 286 foreign nationals.
The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, made this known to State House Correspondents at the end of the FEC meeting.
The meeting was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Wednesday.
Aregbesola said the successful candidates emerged out of 600 applicants. He disclosed that 208 of those approved were granted citizenship by Naturalization, while 78 others were granted citizenship by registration, and they cut across various countries of the world.
He said: “The Ministry of Interior through me presented the Advisory Committee on Nigeria citizenship approval to the Council today.
“And is the first set by the end of this first quarter or latest by the middle of the year another set will be presented to council.
“But what is it about?
“We received 600 applications from several people, foreign nationals who have been residing in Nigeria, but desirous of being Nigerians.
“These applicants are from virtually every part of the world.
“Americans, North and South Koreans, Australians, Europeans, Arabs, Asians, all over of the South Africa.
“Out of the 600 applicants, the Advisory Committee approved for the consideration of the council 280.
“Before the presentation, let me say, some agents of government scrutinized these applicants.
“The Agencies are the Department of State Services, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Nigeria Immigration Service, and the state of domicile of those individuals.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Federal Government had in 2017 granted 335 foreign nationals citizenship.
Also commenting on Wednesday’s approval, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, described the decision as groundbreaking, especially at a time “when some Nigerians say the country is unfit to live in”.
Mohammed said: “It’s a groundbreaking memo as it will tell you because just as some people think Nigeria is not a fit and proper place to live, we have thousands of people who are applying daily all over the world from virtually every continent to be citizens of Nigeria.
“I think that is very …
The Inter-Party Advisory Council in Lagos State has applauded Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s renewed efforts to reduce the number of children roaming streets or hawking during school hours.
Sanwo-Olu on Thursday halted his convoy to interact with two underage girls on errand for a bean cake vendor during school hours.
The governor, who noted that there were many children like that, said his encounter with the girls brought the need to bolster government’s support to public schools and raise the standards.
Sanwo-Olu said that the two girls would be under his care and that of the First Lady. The girls: Amarachi Chinedu, 9, and Suwebat Husseini, 12, were forced to skip school by their parents in order to carry out some domestic assistance around Anthony Village area.
Reacting, the Lagos State IPAC Chairman, Olusegun Mobolaji, in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos, said that every idea and initiative to reduce the number of children roaming street or hawking during school hours was commendable.
Mobolaji said: “This is a good initiative in the right direction. It will go a long way to build a great future for the State and build a better community.
“I will also plead with the State Governor to also look for a similar program to help remove teenagers and youths from the streets to reduce crime, cultism and cyber crime.
“The youths of this nation need urgent rescue and we can start from somewhere, no matter how little.
“The journey to Rome, as they say, begins with a step.”…
The pan-Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere, has reacted to the recent kidnappings on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and worsening security in the country.
The group spoke in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, on Wednesday in Lagos State.
Afenifere said the kidnapping of seven people around Isara Remo on Lagos/Ibadan Expressway last Sunday was evidence that the governments have failed in their primary duties of providing security to the people and seeing to their welfare.
Ajayi said in the statement: “Reports had it that some displaced terrorists in the northern part of the country led by one Belo Turji are making an incursion into Yorubaland in the western part of Nigeria. “We recall the incessant kidnapping of and attacks on innocent people in Ondo, Ogun, Osun and Ekiti States. We also recall the sacking of certain villages in the Imeko area of Ogun State last week.
“These are unacceptable and must be stopped forthwith by all means.
“The lamentations by Governors of Niger, Zamfara, Benue, Nassarawa, Borno, Kaduna, Sokoto and Katsina states on how terrorists seem to be dictating the pace in their areas ought to serve as a wake-up call for the governments and the security agencies.
“Afenifere acknowledged that President Muhammadu Buhari was aware of the security situation going by his recent expressions on the issue. For instance, the President ordered for a ‘robust’ military intervention in the wake of terrorists’ take-over of some local government areas in Niger State just as he asked Nigerians to put their prayers for security before God. The latter he said in a message delivered on his behalf when Governor Ganduje of Kano State hosted the head of Tijanniyah organization worldwide in Kano last week.”…
The Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church Worldwide, Yaba District Headquarters (Ogo Serafu) has thrown its support on the Peace Walk planned by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The Chairman of the church’s 50th Anniversary Celebration, Special Apostle Samuel Sogunro, made this known.
Sogunro, who spoke on behalf of the church, gave the backing during a news conference at the church’s headquarters in Ijeshatedo.
Sanwo-Olu had on November 30 called on the youths and other stakeholders to join him in a Peace Walk for the healing of Lagos State after the disturbances that trailed the 2020 #EndSARS protests against police brutality. The news conference was to announce the 50th Anniversary of the church, Cathedral Dedication and 51st Harvest Thanksgiving.
Sogunro, a former Rector of the Lagos State Polytechnic, said that what had happened was irreversible, but all had to come together and move the nation forward.
According to him, the whole issue about #EndSARS protest and its aftermath came with a lot of lessons learnt.
He said: “The bottom line is that we must move forward as a nation.
“And we continue to learn everyday.
“I believe that what happened during that EndSARS will never repeat itself again.
“So many things, many infrastructure of government were destroyed/
“I bet you if it had been other states, they will not get over it till thy kingdom come, but we want to appreciate the Lagos State Government for rising up to that challenge.
“Lagos State Government has been doing very well as far as infrastructural development and listens to the masses.
“So, the Peace Walk is the thing that everyone wants to embrace.
“What has happened has happened.
“We need to move on.
“Let us come together and forge ahead.
“I believe the government is reasoning in the right direction.
“So people should join hand with the government to make sure that we come together and build our country ourselves.”
Sogunro said that the church, formerly known as The Holy Order of Cherubim and Seraphim Church Movement, Ijeshatedo, was founded in 1970 …
The family of late representative of Ogun East Senatorial District, Buruji Kashamu, has reacted to reports that his son, Adewale, was one of the alleged cult members that beat to death a 12-year-old student of Dowen College in Lekki, Lagos State, Sylvester Oromoni Jr.
The reaction of the family to the death of Oromoni was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by Mutairu Kashamu.
The statement said: “Since the news of the unfortunate incident broke, we have made our own private enquiries and carefully questioned our son about his involvement. This is why we did not rush out to respond to the cyber-stalking, name-calling, and negative commentaries that have taken over social media about our son’s alleged involvement in this sad incident.
“Our son, Adewale Michael Kashamu, had acted as a school father for the late Sylvester in his first session in the school at the request of Sylvester’s sister who is also a student of the school. “However, in the 2021 session commencing in September 2021 Adewale Michael Kashamu was moved to a different floor in the boarding house, and engrossed in his own studies and activities, he was no longer as close to Sylvester as in the previous session.
“Adewale Michael Kashamu is a compassionate and considerate boy. Sometime last session, some boys had been accused of beating Sylvester with belts and seizing his foodstuff but Adewale Michael Kashamu was not involved at all. He was in fact in sympathy with Sylvester over that incident.
“On that occasion, Sylvester’s parents made a report to the school and the affected students were questioned and one of them at least was suspended.
“Adewale Michael Kashamu is not aware that an identical incident occurred again this year leading to Sylvester’s injury and death.
“Adewale Michael Kashamu had seen Sylvester limping sometime late in November and (assuming he might have been injured playing football) merely empathized with him and advised him to go to the school clinic.
“Other students who knew the circumstances of Sylvester’s leg injury have all testified that …
Nigerian rapper Folarin ‘Falz’ Falana has called out the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu over his proposed ‘walk of peace.’
The rapper had earlier shunned the call by the governor to join him and other celebrities for the walk of peace.
In a post shared via his Instagram page on Wednesday, December 1, 2021, the music star called out the governor over his planned trip.
“Please tell your governor that there is no “March for peace” without justice. He is still trying to deny the massacre that happened. All the lives that were wiped away unjustly,” he captioned the video of the governor addressing the press.
“You set up a panel to investigate the matter. Panel don tell you say people die by the hands of soldiers and policemen wey una send. Una still no want no want do the right thing. And you’re here asking for a ‘peace march’ DISGRACEFUL.”
It would be recalled that the rapper had called the governor’s ‘walk of peace’ disrespectful.
Sanwo-Olu had sued for peace and harmony, Tuesday, as he broke his silence on the report of the Lagos judicial panel of inquiry into police brutality and the Lekki tollgate shooting of unarmed, peaceful protesters.
The panel’s report indicted the army, police and the Lagos State Government.
The panel had also submitted that what transpired at the Lekki tollgate on October 20, 2020, was a massacre.
Nigerian Instagram comedian Mr Macaroni has declined the ‘walk of peace’ match championed by the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The governor had sued for peace and harmony, Tuesday, as he broke his silence on the report of the Lagos judicial panel of inquiry into police brutality and the Lekki tollgate shooting of unarmed, peaceful protesters.
In a series of tweets shared via his Twitter page on Tuesday, November 30, 2021, the popular skit maker said the government should implement the recommendation by the panel to build trust from its people. “I humbly decline the Invitation of Mr Governor. The Government themselves set up a panel. The panel has made recommendations. I believe that genuine peacemaking will begin by first implementing the recommendations of the panel. Then we can begin to trust the government,” he tweeted.
“Mr Governor has said it in his speech. That to be a center of Excellence, we have to be a Center of Truth. Before there can be healing, the government has to be sincere. There must be acceptance of wrongdoings and willingness to correct them.”
The Lagos state government is all but set to release a white paper on the report.
The internal crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress worsened on Monday with the party’s Youth Wing sacking the Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee.
In a quick reaction, the leadership of the party said the APC Progressive Youth Movement was not a recognized body.
The APC Progressive Youth Movement on Monday handed the CECPC, led by the Yobe State Governor, Mai Male Buni, an ultimatum to pack and go.
The Chairman of the APC-PYM, Mustapha Audu, said: “Today is the day that story of youths are leaders of tomorrow ended. “Today, we are leaders of here and now and we will change Nigeria.
“We have been recognized by Mr. President and by all the members of the party.
“I can tell you that the leaders are currently scrambling and having meeting on how to align with us.
“This Caretaker Committee has sacked the Buni-led caretaker committee and (it) stands dissolved, disbanded and no longer represent the APC members.
“As the new committee, we will take up the monumental task of reconciliation.”
Speaking in Abuja on Monday, Audu gave the party’s national leadership a January 3, 2021 ultimatum to vacate the national secretariat.
He said the group would not only write to the Buni-led committee next week to hand over and vacate the national secretariat, but would also write an audit firm to look into the accounts of the ruling party since the caretaker committee took over last year.
He said: “It is clear that there are issues in our great party and we all know that there are constitutional lacuna we are facing and the opposition is not happy with what is going on.
“The composition of the sacked APC was in clear violation of the party and Nigeria’s constitution, but we have resolved that constitution lacuna and we are no longer unprepared for the 2023 general elections.
“To show you the power of young people, we met just a week ago in Kaduna and fixed our convention for February 2022 only for the governors to assemble in Abuja 24 …
