Politics
LG poll: APC faction defies Ganduje, nominates 23 chairmanship candidates
The crisis rocking the Benue chapter of the All Progressives Congress deepened on Monday after the dissolved Austin Agada-led All Progressives Congress announced that it had nominated 23 chairmanship and 276 councillorship candidates ahead of the October 5, local government election in the state.
The primary exercise took place in all the wards across the 23 local government areas of the state on Saturday.
The development comes five days after the aggrieved executive members, who were dissolved by the APC National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, dragged him to court for ignoring the exparte order restraining the National Working Committee from acting.
A Benue High Court sitting had ordered the APC not to remove Agada and the current executives of the party.
A copy of the exparte order granted by Justice Theresa Igoche in motion No MH /1585m/2024 stopped the Ganduje-led NWC from sacking the Austin Agada-led State Working Committee until the expiration of their four-year tenure.
The Benue chapter of the APC had been at loggerheads with Governor Hyacinth Alia over the leadership of the party in the state.
While the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, is in support of the Agada-led state working committee, Alia, on the other hand, has thrown his weight behind the Benjamin Omakolo-led faction.
But the ruling APC ignored the court order and announced the dissolution of the Benue exco on Wednesday and immediately inaugurated a seven-man caretaker Committee to take over the affairs of the party at the state level for six months, an action the Agada-led exco vowed not to obey.
A statement released by the Benue APC chairman, Austin Agada, in Abuja on Monday, said the primary election was conducted through consensus and affirmations.
In the statement, the APC Chairman of Guma Local Government, Lazarus Asema, also described the process as peaceful and lauded the leadership of the APC in the state for effective leadership and proper organisation.
He said, “I am impressed with the process and commended stakeholders in the Local Governments for the successful primary election.
“I also thank the people, particularly party faithful for conducting themselves and the exercise peacefully.”
The primary exercise produced the following chairmanship candidates: Elias Ogbu (Ado), Tarkaa Solomon (Konshisha), Chia Terna (Vandeikya,) Atom Phillip (Kwande), Andrew Ocheme (Ogbadibo), Ogbole Mathew (Obi), Napoleon Otache (Agatu), Elias Ogbu (Ado), Eje Elvis (Apa), Washima Haris (Katsina-Ala), Ajeh Ogah (Ohimini) and Akombo Stephen (Logo).
Others include Terver Agwaza (Ukum), Benjamin Atoza (Gwer), Denise China (Gwer West), Vincent Apera (Guma), James Agudu (Buruku), Tyopaase Benjamin (Ushongo), Mrs Ene Ameh (Okpokwu), Jonathan Shimgbe (Makurdi) and Jackson Udama (Oju).
In Katsina-Ala Local Government Area, Simon Aluor, who took part in the primaries said that APC has shown a good example of orderliness and peace.
In Otukpo, the party faithful in the area also trooped out in their numbers and voted in affirmation of their preferred chairmanship aspirant, Oleho Augustine.
Education
BREAKING! END of road for Fubara as FG halts allocation
The Federal government has confirmed that it has stopped the October monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC revenue payment to Rivers State amid the ongoing crisis in the oil rich state.
The Spokesperson of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, disclosed this exclusively to an online newspaper on Friday.
This comes as the Nigerian Government on Wednesday announced the approval for the disbursement of N1.1411 trillion as the October 2024 Federation Accounts Allocation Revenue to Federal, State, and local government councils.
However, a report emerged that FAAC revenue in October was not disbursed to Rivers State following a court stopping the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian government from carrying out such action.
Reacting to the development, Mokwa said the OAGF as a government agency will respect the court order.
Meanwhile, he stated that the October monthly FAAC revenue has not been disbursed to respective states as of filing the report.
“What I got is that the October 2024 FAAC has not been distributed yet. However, the Federal Government will obey the court order on the matter of Rivers State allocation.
“We are going to follow due diligence as long as there is no contrary order. In case there is a contrary, the status will remain,” he revealed.
He added, “The process of disbursement of the October 2024 monthly allocation is going.”.
Recall that on October 30, this year, Justice Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court barred CBN and the Nigerian government from disbursing monthly allocations to the Rivers State government.
This comes after an originating summons filed by the factional Rivers State Assembly, led by Martin Amaewhule.
The Amaewhule case was based on the grounds that the Rivers State Executive, under the leadership of Simi Fubara, was yet to comply with the order of a Federal High Court directing it to re-present the 2024 appropriation bill to the Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
In the past month, the Amaewhule faction, backed by Wike, former Governor of Rivers State, had been in a political battle with Fubara.
Recall that upon the emergence of Fubara as governor, he fell apart with his predecessor, Wike, which had led to a month-long crisis in the oil-rich state.
Daily Post
Education
No feud between Akpabio, Bamidele
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele has denied ever having any altercation with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
This was contained in a statement issued by his media office noting that:
“Our attention has been drawn to fake news currently being circulated on the X handle of one Jackson Ude, a known serial blackmailer and cash-and-carry journalist.
“The post is about an alleged altercation and physical fight between Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele and President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio on Wednesday.
“For the record, it is a verifiable fact that Senator Bamidele has never been involved in physical assault in over two decades of his political trajectory, not even when he was a young man leading the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) as President.
“It is surprising that the purveyor of this misleading information in his selfish agenda and unprofessional conduct threw ethos of Journalism into waste bin and decided to feast on roadside gists to tarnish the image of the Senate Leader.
“We are aware that the fake news is meant to cause disaffection within the Senate and by extension; heating up the political system.
“To think that the Senate Leader, President of the Senate and other principal officers of the Senate together received the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. YU Dunhai and his delegation few minutes after leaving the plenary on Wednesday is a significant testimony against Ude’s imagination.
“Further to this, photographs of the Chinese envoys with the leadership of the Senate were widely published in today’s major national newspapers. It is equally verifiable that the Senate Leader and the Senate President both drove out of the National Assembly premises in the same vehicle yesterday.
“This time again, the Senate Leader is sounding a note of warning to all attention seekers in the ilk of Ude to be careful and not take the Leader’s gentlemanliness for granted.
“Henceforth, the Leader will be forced to use the instrumentality of the law to protect himself and his office as enshrined in the CyberCrime Act 2015.
” We, therefore, urge the public to disregard this misinformation and treat it with the disrespect it entirely deserves.
Politics
Obi Urges Nigerian Graduates to Seek Opportunities Overseas if Needed, Vows to Fix Nigeria for Their Return
Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate in Nigeria’s 2023 election, has encouraged Nigerian students to seek better opportunities abroad if local conditions don’t meet their needs.
Obi shared this advice during his visit to Anambra State, where he made donations to Peter University in Achina/Onneh and the College of Nursing Sciences in Adazi-Nnukwu. Addressing nursing students, he reaffirmed his commitment to supporting institutions that nurture skills, professionalism, and character.
Obi advised students that, if career opportunities are limited locally, they should feel free to explore options abroad.
“If things aren’t working here, go where they will work for you,” he said, expressing optimism that, with efforts to improve the country, Nigerians working abroad would eventually return.
Speaking at Peter University, Obi urged students to dedicate themselves to their studies, highlighting education as a transformative force essential for national development.
Emphasizing that investment in education is an investment in the future, he encouraged them to aim for excellence, assuring that a stronger Nigeria would await them.
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