Atiku Endorsement: Ohanaeze Sacks Secretary-General For False Statement

The controversy trailing the endorsement of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, by the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has claimed it's first casualty as the organisation on Thursday night suspended its Secretary General, Uche Okwukwu.

The suspension was contained in a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, Uche Achi-Okpaga, and made available to journalists at the end of its emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Enugu on Thursday.

The statement said that Okwukwu was suspended both as Secretary General and member of all organs of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

The body accused the suspended scribe of engaging in false representations of decisions of meetings of the NEC and the Imeobi of Ohanaeze at different for a in the last three days.

“These actions having taken place in the public domain and reported copiously in the mass media, NEC in an overwhelming majority decision after confronting Okwukwu has resolved as follows.

“That  Okwukwu is from this day,January 31,  2019, suspended from his office as Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and membership of all organs of Ohanaeze Ndigbo,” the release said.

The Ohanaeze NEC gave Okwukwu seven days to publicly retract the alleged misrepresentations and publish same in the mass media, failure of which the matter would be referred to a Disciplinary Committee for further inquiries and appropriate action and subsequent referral to the Imeobi for final decision.

“In the prevailing circumstance, every member of Ohanaeze, Branches and Affiliate Bodies are advised, in the mean-time, to take note and desist from dealing with Okwukwu as the Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo," the group stated.

It would be recalled that following the endorsement of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP), Alhaji Abubakar and his running mate, Mr. Peter Obi by the Imeobi Ohanaeze on 24th February, 2019, Okwukwu had two days later issued press statements contradicting Ohanaeze.

CUPP Wants Court to Declare Buhari Unfit for Re-election … DSS planning to arrest me, CUPP spokesperson cries out

The opposition political parties under the auspices of Coalition of

United Political Parties (CUPP) have filed a suit at the Federal High

Court, Abuja seeking that President Muhammadu Buhari be declared medically unfit to seek re-election in the February 16 presidential poll.

The CUPP spokesperson, Ikenga Ugochinyere, who stated this at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, said the coalition also sought an order directing Buhari to make public the result of his medical examination.

The CUPP described the step as a patriotic decision, saying re-electing the president would only empower members of a purported cabal who have hijacked the presidency to rule for another four years as earlier alleged by the wife of the president.

He said: "We have come to the conclusion that re-electing Buhari will only empower members of the cabal that his wife admitted has hijacked his presidency to rule us for another four years from the dark.

“In order to save this great country from the disaster that will follow if

President Buhari is in a rare happenstance re-elected, we the

opposition political parties have therefore filed a litigation in court seeking to declare him unfit to contest for 2019 election because of his mental instability."

Ugochinyere further said the parties were also seeking from the court an order disqualifying President Buhari from contesting the election to the office he presently occupies and an injunction restraining INEC from recognising his

candidacy.

"Nigerians will also be glad to know that to prove that we are on the right path, we are also asking the court to grant an order directing President Buhari to make public the results of the medical examination which we ask that he be subjected to so that no citizen will be in doubt that we are saving the country from calamity by taking these steps."

The co-plaintiff and presidential aspirant of National Interest Party

(NIP) who is also a member of CUPP, Eunice Atuejide, reiterated that all presidential candidates are ready to disclose their certificate of medical fitness and challenge President Buhari to also do so.

Meanwhile, Ugochinyere on Thursday raised the alarm over an alleged move by men of the Department of State Services  (DSS) to arrest him within

24 hours.

The CUPP leader, who raised the alarm at a press briefing in Abuja, said the plan was to arrest him and keep him away until after the February 16 presidential elections.

He stressed that his problem was because he is in possession of copies of Asset Declaration forms of some top government officials, including that of the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu.

He said: "I have been informed by our contact in the DSS that the service has perfected arrangements to arrest me any moment from today or tomorrow and charge me to court, so that I will be kept in detention until after the elections.

"The reason they want to these offences against me, I have been approached by multiple sources in the government to tune down the level of my opposition to the government. But because of my conscience and conviction that the president is unfit to hold this office, I can't betray that trust and belief people have in the opposition and also as the spokesman for the opposition."

Kogi PDP Petition IG, Others over Alleged Bribe Scandal by INEC REC

 

The Kogi State Presidential Campaign Council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  has petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mohammed Adamu, and others over an alleged plan by the state Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, to rig the forthcoming general election by bribing the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Professor James Akpam.

The Head of Media and Publicity, Kogi State PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Usman Austin Okai, made this known on Thursday in a statement issued in Lokoja.

According to him, the trend in the state was capable of igniting unprecedented scale of violence only second to the conflict in Somalia.

He alleged that the state government has already settled the INEC REC, Akpam, with the sum of N10 million, stressing that he has accepted to rig the election in favour the state governor during the presidential and other elections in the state.

He noted that 21 days ago, the PDP council exposed some covert attempts by the governor to deploy widespread violence as means of intimidating voters such that the outcome of the elections will be as desired by some nefarious forces.

According to him, "Nigerians may also remember that within the same period, intelligence emerged about an unwholesome relationship between the state REC of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Akpam, and the state governor which was brokered over sacks of rice.

"It is pursuant to the foregoing and newest developments that this council hereby alerts the good people of the state that finally, the REC, Akpam, has cemented his relationship with the Kogi State government.”

The statement also alleged that Akpam had accepted a list containing 200 names from the governor, Bello, for the purpose of ensuring their enlistment as ad hoc staff of the INEC who will play a crucial role in the collation of results in already determined flashpoints across the state.

"Whereas the identity of these 200 individuals are unknown, members of the state Presidential Campaign Council of the PDP have been harassed by persistent calls from the Kogi people suggesting that these individuals are members of a special strike force well-funded by the state government and trained in combat, drills and handling of weapons, training manuals and other document of INEC, including specimen of result sheets, card readers and ink, which have been handed over to Bello for onward delivery to his 200 nominees.”

Okai therefore called on the Chairman of the INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to immediately replace the Kogi State REC Akpam, before the general election.

N100bn Campaign Funds Pitched Lagos Assembly against Ambode, CSOs Allege …Threaten to shut down assembly on Monday

…Agbaje warns against plunging Lagos into crisis

… APC debunks N100bn allegation

A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) on Thursday alleged that the Lagos State House of Assembly moved to impeach the state Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, because the governor refused to release the sum of N100 billion the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership in the state demanded for electioneering. 

Also lending his voice against the governor’s plan, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, urged the lawmakers not to plunge the state into chaos with the plan to remove Ambode.

The Convener of the coalition, Mr. Mark Adebayo, made the allegation at a world press conference held at the Airport Hotel in Ikeja, noting that with the removal, it was obvious that the assembly was becoming a political abattoir for the murder of democracy in Nigeria.

Coming together under the aegis of Lagos Liberation Movement (LLM), the CSOs that formed the coalition are the Campaign for Democracy (CD), United Action for Democracy (UAD), Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC)(Reformed) and Lagos People’s Assembly (LPA) with a mandate to stop the assembly from witch-hunting Ambode.

Speaking at the conference yesterday, the convener alleged that the assembly threatened to remove Ambode because he refused “to release the sum of N100 billion tax payer’s money to the party to fund political campaigns.

 “It has been alleged that Ambode’s refusal to hand over the state's treasury key to the Lagos slave master-in-chief is the current cause of his travails. His non-compliance with the directive to make available N100 billion by an insatiable political godfather provoked the current backlash against the governor.

“We have already put together a comprehensive petition to the anti-graft agencies and multilateral organisations on the reckless and irresponsible waste of the state's resources by the legislative arm of government in the state.”

He noted that the coalition was interested in knowing how the Speaker of the Lagos State Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, “has been administering N800 million "running costs" allocated to the assembly monthly.

The convener noted that this was not inclusive of individual honorable members' weekly and monthly allowances, which he alleged “are extremely expensive and injurious to the development potential of Lagos State.”

Adebayo noted that the political situation of the state “has become untenably desperate and requires the immediate attention of all true Lagosians and genuine compatriots across Nigeria. This is no time for fence-sitting. This is no time to claim political insulation or neutrality popularly called ‘Sidonlook’.

“This is no time to play the ostrich. This is no time to allow the rulers of darkness in this state and the merchants of confusion to reign unchallenged. Rather, it is time to rein them in. The time cannot be more auspicious than now.’’

He noted that the removal process against Ambode “is aimed at humiliating and embarrassing him. A few political marauders are determined to supplant our democracy and jeopardise the peace and development of the state.

 “Ambode is the governor of Lagos State and not the governor of the APC. If they have internal issues within the APC, that should not be allowed to negatively affect the smooth running of government and make the people suffer. The whole state cannot be reduced to the parochial shenanigans of a highly corrupted political family.

‘’The office of Lagos State governor is beyond Ambode and as such, any further humiliation, disrespect and embarrassment from any quarter will be utterly resisted by the people. Lagos residents are unequivocal in their view that Ambode is a performing governor based on his style of governance and project execution.”

In a statement by his Directorate of Media and Publicity yesterday, Agbaje asked the assembly and the APC not to plunge the state into chaos over moves to remove Ambode, saying the move was capable of jeopardising the smooth running of the state.

According to him Of course, the way Lagos politics has been structured over the last two decades, government actions are often dictated by open and covert objectives.

“That the legislators are hinging their action on the purported delay of the budget is simply a smokescreen for a very shameful undertone that the assembly members will not want to make open. They are yet to tell us their actual motivation for this superfluous move to shame the governor.

 “I received the news of the impending removal of Ambode with a lot of reservation, especially with its timing and motive. This is just 19 or so days to the federal elections, and the governorship, a fortnight thereafter. So the natural questions to ask are: Why this haste? And what is the motive?” He asked.

Meanwhile, the APC has debunked the N100 billion allegation, noting that it was fake news, which according to the party, should not be taken seriously for any reason.

While speaking with journalists on phone on Thursday, the party Publicity Secretary, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, said the allegation “is propaganda from the opposition camp. It is not true that the party leaders demanded such money for the purpose of funding our campaign. It is fake news, which no person should believe.”

He, therefore, said the allegation should be dismissed, claiming that it “is not true. I cannot react to fake news. At times, all sorts of fake news is being circulated all over the country. It is propaganda against our party.”

However, the PDP candidate, Agbaje, called Lagos residents to note what he termed an unfolding tragicomedy, urging them “to choose his party, PDP, as a viable alternative to the ruling APC that had proved incapable of putting its house in order.

“Governance has ground to a halt owing to the schism between the two arms of government, both of which are dominated by APC. From all indications and from the findings that I have conducted, the action of the lawmakers is nothing but self-serving as dictated to them by the cabal ruling the state.”

Obasanjo Promises to Do Everything Possible to Save Nigeria’s Democracy

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has stated that he will do “everything humanly possible” to save Nigeria’s democracy.

Speaking during the launch of “Politics as Dashed Hopes in Nigeria”, written by his former special assistant on federal capital territory administration (FCTA), Auwala Anwar,  in Abuja on Thursday, Obasanjo said the world is watching how Nigeria will handle upcoming elections.

The former president also called on Nigerians to guard the nation’s democracy ahead of the general election.

“If we cherish democracy, we will all guard and protect our democracy. And that I believe is the main purpose of the book,” he said.

“I am in despair; our hope lies in democracy and good governance as one of the hallmarks of free fair and credible election.

“As for me, I will do everything humanly possible to safeguard democracy, with good governance for Nigeria and for all Nigerians.”

He added that he is happy most Nigerians are “rising up to their duties and responsibilities in guidance of our democracy.”

“Remember that if you stand aloof when evil is being perpetrated, you become an accomplice in the perpetuation of the evil,” he said.

‘QUALITY OF NIGERIAN POLITICIANS DETERIORATING’

Obasanjo said he agrees “the quality of politicians (in Nigeria) is deteriorating.”

“I also agree that money has become an unnecessary important aspect of our politics. And that the elites are not putting their act together,” he said.

“(But) I believe we have one thing that joins us together which is Nigeria’s nationality. I believe strongly that Nigeria should not be divided.”

Anwar, the author, said the book gives an insight into the activities of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) (which President  Muhammadu Buhari co-founded) started as “an article in a newspaper.”

“When the CPC went into crisis. There were committees set up … we created a code of conduct because we believed the principal problem of the CPC was indiscipline,” he said.

“It was not a normal political party. There were various segments including the owners, labourers and workers, and the slaves.”

EFCC Charges Babachir, Oke To Court Over Fraud, Money Laundering

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday dragged  former Secretary to Government of Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, to High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja following fraud charges filed against him.

The charges against Lawal are coming over one year after the former SGF was sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari following public outcry.

Also, a former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ayodele Oke, and his wife, Mrs Folashade Oke were dragged before the Federal High Court in Lagos.

Reports say Lawal and five others, including his company, Rholavision Engieneering Ltd are faced with 10 counts, while the Okes are faced with four counts.

It would be recalled that the presidency sacked Lawal and Oke following a report of investigations by a panel headed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo into allegations of fraud leveled against them in 2017.

We Are Not Desperate about Elections, Says el-Rufai

Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, declared on Wednesday in Kaduna that he does not  care whether he wins or loses the March 3 governorship election so long as  the mandate of the electorate is not stolen.

Speaking  at a ‘high level dialogue on peaceful elections in Kaduna State’ jointly organised by the State Peace Commission,  National Peace Commission and the United Nations (UN), el-Rufai said he was not desperate about the election.

He said the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state was committed to peaceful, issues-based campaigns and peaceful elections in the state.

The governor called on politicians to stop buying drugs for the youths and arming them for political thuggery.

He warned that anyone caught with weapons at campaigns “will be arrested by the police and prosecuted whether he is a member of our party or not.

“Let me say this on behalf of the state government that our most important job now is to govern the state. What does governing the state means? Governing the state means ensuring peaceful coexistence during the elections and after.

“We took an oath of office to govern the state on fairness and justice, and we are going to do that till May 29, 2019, whether we are re-elected or not.

“It does not matter if we are re-elected, we will continue to do our best. It also does not matter if we are not re-elected. We will move on with our lives, politics is not our permanent profession.

“This is part of the reasons we are ready to sign the peace accord. This election is not a do or die affair, as we are not desperate.

“We are campaigning on our records, and we do not care to lose the elections so long as it is not stolen against the will of the electorate.”

The state governor noted that the UN and other stakeholders came to Kaduna because there is a reasonable belief that there would be electoral violence in the state.

He said the biggest threat before the elections is the conduct and utterances of desperate political actors and their supporters.

El-rufai lamented that there are lot of fake speeches, adding that the state government has taken vigorous steps to prosecute those involved in hate speech.

Speaking earlier, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, noted that Nigeria occupies a strategic position in West Africa, the African continent and indeed the world.

“It is therefore, crucial that Nigeria delivers credible, peaceful and fair elections in 2019 in a manner that improves upon the performance of the 2015 elections and strengthens as well as consolidates the democratic dividends this country has accrued over the years,” he said.

Chambas said election in Nigeria is not about Nigeria alone, stressing that “what affects Nigeria, affects all of us especially West Africa and Africa, as we are all stakeholders in Nigeria.”

He said the UN would continue to amplify calls by the National Peace Committee and other voices for all stakeholders to double their efforts in ensuring an issues-based election campaign, conducted within an environment respectful of fundamental human rights and the rule of law.

“I urge you, in accordance with your pledges under the peace accord, to avoid hate messages and the politics of bitterness and rancour that undermines peaceful conduct of elections.

“I also hope that all of us will work together to ensure that the inter-communal conflicts that have raged for long will soon become history so that peace and harmony shall be sustained in Kaduna State and Nigeria as a whole,” he said.

We're Using Our PVCs to Sack Buhari, Says Group

A Coalition of Youth with PVC, a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) on Wednesday in Kano vowed to prevail on its members all over the country to use their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) to send President Muhammadu Buhari out of the Presidential Villa in the forthcoming elections.

The spokesman of the coalition, Malam Mikail Hassan, said it is the right of every citizen who believe in the rule of law to express disaffection with the manner being exhibited by  President Buhari's administration in violating the constitution guiding and legitimising  the present political system.

He said the Nigerian democracy is still young and a replica of the United States democratic system, and that the only way its legitimacy could be sustained is by way of lending credence to respect for the rule of law by all citizens.

He pointed out that it would be fool hardy for the federal government to berate America, Britain and the European Union for crying foul over Justice Walter Onnoghen's  suspension as the Chief Justice of the Federation.

“We have converged here because of the unconstitutional and unilateral removal of the Chief Justice of the Federation, by President Buhari without recourse to the rule of law, and to seek redress to the undemocratic precedents and tendencies being perpetrated by the incumbent administration in Nigeria. This is the time to move against tyrannical, despotic and unconstitutional governance.

"Failure to reinstate the CJN would leave us with no alternative than to use our PVC to boot President Buhari government out of power. 

“We want remind the executive arm of government that the judiciary is an independent arm of government and should remain as such. We are reminding them that we have the power to change the government because we have the PVCs at our disposal," he stated.

NBA Attempt to Disrupt Appeal Court Proceedings End in Attack

An Attempt by the Port Harcourt branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to enforce the decision of the national executive council of the association to boycott sessions at the Court of Appeal ended in fiasco as suspected litigants pounced on the NBA officials, beating them up in Rivers State.

The Court of Appeal had adjourned last Monday sitting to Wednesday to hear the motion of Stay of Execution on the judgment of a Federal High Court, which barred the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the sstate from fielding candidates for the 2019 elections.

The adjourned date had coincided with the two-day boycott of court proceedings declared by NBA national executive council over the Justice Walter Onnoghen saga.

When the Court resumed to commence hearing, NBA members in the state led by its Chairman, Sylvester Adaka, arrived at the court premises in the company of some lawyers, with placards.

It was gathered that the presiding Justice, Justice Ali Gumel, had agreed with the protesters to only take appearances and adjourn sitting.

The NBA officials were however taken aback when the court went ahead with the matter, leading to Adaka ordering lawyers to leave the court in compliance with the decision of the NBA NEC.

While the lawyers were about to leave the court, people suspected to be interested in the matter being handled by the court pounced on the NBA officials, especially the Chairman, Adaka, beating them up.

The angry litigants chased the protesting NBA team out of the court room, causing fear among the judges and some big wigs of the APC who were in court.

The court hurriedly adjourned the matter to today for hearing of pending motions and for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be served the hearing notice.

Reacting to the incident Justice Gumel said it is unethical for the Bar to attempt to disrupt the sitting of the Bench, adding that courts ought to be respected.

According to Gumel, “You have seen people barge into our proceeding. This is incivility. We will not be intimidated. We will do our work. We are here to do a solemn job and we will give justice.

“The Bar is entitled to respect the Bench and the Bench should carry the Bar along. If the ethical behaviour handed to us by our fathers are maintained we will make headway.

 “It is about all the courts and Administration of Justice and not just the Appeal Court in Rivers State.”

Also, Justice Isaiah Akeju, also in the panel, noted that the panel was not officially notified of the boycott order by the NBA, adding that notice ought to have been served on the Bench to that regards.

Akeju said: “Advise your colleagues that it is not in their best interest to disrupt the sitting of the Bench. We are not aware because they did not inform us. What stops them from doing a small notice to us on the issue?”

Coca-Cola Completes Acquisition of Chi Limited

The Cola-Cola Company has completed the acquisition of Chi Limited

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Coca-Cola announced that it has extended its minority investment in the company to full ownership.

In 2016, the company acquired a 40% minority stake in Chi and expressed interest in increasing ownership within three years.

“Coca-Cola is continuing to evolve as a total beverage company, and Chi’s diverse range of beverages perfectly complements our existing portfolio, enabling us to accelerate expansion into new categories and grow our business in Africa,” said Peter Njonjo, president of the West Africa business unit of Coca-Cola.

“We will support the Chi management team in building on the company’s remarkable heritage and achievements while using the scale of the Coca-Cola system to replicate their success in more markets across Africa.”

Chi Limited was founded in Lagos in 1980. It produces juice under the Chivita brand, Caprisonne and value-added dairy under the Hollandia brand.

In a September 2018 interview, Njonjo had said that the company’s drive to diversify its product range would give it some flexibility.

“We realise that in certain pack formats you can only go down so low. But once you start looking at pouches and still products, like juice and drinking yoghurts, that allows you to start accessing much lower price points,” he said.

“Affordability will start becoming a bigger issue in this market than it was in the past. As a company, that is what we need to factor in as we are thinking about the future of our business in Nigeria.”

...Courtesy The Cable

Pro-Ambode Protesters Ask Lagos Lawmakers to Account for N28bn

Hundreds of protesters  on Wednesday gathered at the Lagos State House of Assembly, asking the lawmakers to account for N28 billion constituency allowances they collected between 2015 and 2018 or face mass action.

Besides protesters’ call for explanation, sources alleged that the lawmakers had demand the sum of N100 million from the State Executive Council to facilitate the presentation and passage of 2019 appropriation bill.

The protesters made the call under the aegis of Lagos Peoples Assembly (LPA) yesterday, warning the lawmakers against plan to initiate impeachment proceedings against the state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode.

The lawmakers had at a plenary last Monday alleged that the governor had started implementing the 2019 Appropriation Bill without presenting it formally to the assembly, which they claimed violated Sections 120 and 121 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Contrary to the claims of the lawmakers, the governor sent the 2019 Appropriation Bill and virement to the assembly on December 22, 2018, with a cover note, requesting to present the 2019 budget on December 28.

But the assembly turned down Ambode’s request on the ground that the lawmakers were on recess. Aside, the assembly had frustrated subsequent attempts by the governor to formally present the 2019 budget.

Specifically, the assembly agreed that the governor would present the Appropriation Bill on January 21. But the lawmakers did not attend to the governor on the day the budget was scheduled for public presentation.

The protesters, who displayed placards of diverse messages of grievance, claimed that the decision of the state assembly was basically to witch-hunt the governor, who according to them, had within the last three years achieved more than any other governor in the country.

Their placards reads: ‘He is a performing governor, we reject impeachment; Lagos APC should be careful, election is around the corner; Lagosians love Ambode for his good works; We say no to impeachment of the governor, and enough of this intimidation of Ambode’.

According to the protesters, they are asking the lawmakers to account for N28 billion constituency allowances they collected between June 2015 and December 31, 2018. The assembly received the sum of N500 million monthly without accounting for it.

 

In a letter of protest signed by Mr. Declan Ihekaire, the protesters stressed that they were concerns by the actions of the lawmakers against a governor that has considered the plights of residents as priority.

The letter said the legislative and the executive arms “are partners in business of governance. They must work seamlessly for the development of the state. Our credible investigation revealed that both arms of the government are worried that the budget delay will invariably affect the ability of the government to complete various infrastructural projects commenced by the administration littering the state.

“The fear of both parties which is well founded is that opposition would make case of the uncompleted projects as campaign items to disparage the ruling party in the forthcoming general election. No matter whatever other hidden factors, this is the main bone of contention leading to the political feud for supremacy between the governor and the assembly.

“The ongoing impasse, if not ended urgently, will act as setback for Lagos and could become another campaign slogan ahead of the forthcoming election. As far as we are concerned, if the two tiers of government are determined to ensure that the welfare of the people is the supreme law of governance, then it should be convenient to find a common ground to resolve any ensuing misunderstanding.

“However, if this impasse is allowed to fester into huge political conflagration, the state and the residents would be the victims of such conflict. Besides, the fact that general election is fast approaching, mischievous detractors of both sides would not hesitate to gain maximum personal aggrandisement from the conflict.

“The friction between the two arms has potential to disrupt the state tradition of seamless transition of power. It can also undermine its social and economic geometric pace of development. We therefore on behalf of the good people of the state, call on both the governor and the assembly to shield their swords and concentrate on the dire need to complete all the ongoing infrastructural projects in the state.”

The protesters in the letter further stated that “the peace, sustainable development of Lagos and welfare of Lagosians should be the primary, sole and fundamental concern of both elected arms as well as officers of the state.”

After the protest,  sources accused the lawmakers of witch-hunting the governor, alleging that they had demanded N100 million from him to facilitate the presentation and passage of 2019 Appropriation Bill.

One of the sources, who spoke with journalists in confidence, alleged that after demanding N100 million, the lawmakers had also asked the governor to release public funds for their re-election campaigns.

According to the group, the lawmakers are witch-hunting the governor despite conceding defeat after the party’s primaries. He has done everything to please some leaders of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state. Yet, they are coming up with fictitious allegations against him.

 

In his response to the protesters yesterday, the Majority Leader of the assembly, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade, said their opinion would be deliberated upon on the floor of the assembly because the lawmakers were elected by the people.

Agunbiade, who led three other lawmakers to receive the protesters, said there was never any face-off between the executive led by the governor and lawmakers, saying, we are only doing our responsibility as stipulated in 1999 constitution.

Many Feared Dead, Vehicles Burnt, in Fuel Tanker Explosion

A 33, 000 litres petrol-laden truck exploded on Wednesday morning, along the Mile-II/Badagry expressway in Lagos after falling and spilling its content on the ground.

According to an unconfirmed report, a yet to be ascertained number of people were believed to have lost their lives in the inferno, with scores of vehicles burnt to ashes.

The incident occurred at a bad spot in front of Onireke police Station around Barack bus stop in the area.

However, the Lagos State Fire Director, Musibau Rasaki, just confirmed that two persons died, one person injured and five vehicles burnt in the explosion.

...detail later