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JUST IN: Punch Newspaper Declares President Tinubu Missing On Transit

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By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

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Tinubu Goes Missing In Transit Again – Punch Editorial Team

President Bola Tinubu’s overseas travels and exact whereabouts have again become a subject of speculation. On August 29, Tinubu embarked on a trip to China, and Nigerians were told he would make a brief stopover in Dubai. He suddenly reappeared in London on Wednesday.

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He had landed in Beijing in the early hours of September 1. He had a busy week meeting and signing agreements with Chinese political and business leaders on the sidelines of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. The President concluded his official engagements in China by meeting with Nigerians living in the country on September 5. He left China the same day.

Since then, Nigerians have not been told exactly where he was until he visited King Charles III on Wednesday. A State House statement on September 6 said that the President had directed that victims of the Maiduguri flood should be evacuated, and relief provided. The statement neglected to indicate where the President was issuing orders from.

It is disturbing that citizens do not know the whereabouts of their President. The office of the President is a public trust, and citizens have a right to know where the President is. Between his departure from Beijing and appearance in London, no explanations were offered. Such evasiveness is below the Presidency.

This is not the first time that Tinubu has given Nigerians the slip. On April 23, the President travelled to The Netherlands to visit the then Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, before journeying on to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to attend the Special Meeting of the World Economic Forum held between April 28 and 29.

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Six days after the event, he had not returned, and Nigerians started asking questions which were met with silence by the Presidency until May 8 when it revealed that Tinubu would be returning from Europe the next day.

On January 24, Tinubu left for a “private visit” to France details of which were shrouded in secrecy and set off health rumours until his return after two weeks. On August 19, Tinubu flew for the first time in the new presidential jet to Paris, France, for what the Presidency described as a brief work stay, details of which were not given. He returned after three days.

While the President has been away, the home front has been in disarray with the petrol crisis lingering for over a month and floods overtaking many states including Borno and Bauchi. Terrorists and bandits have been running riot as usual. Such situations require the leader of the country to be on the ground, rallying a response and finding solutions, not taking extended holidays.

The President should appreciate the weight of his responsibilities. Pontificating in China about the necessity of petrol subsidy removal being the magic wand to bridge the country’s massive infrastructure deficit when citizens at home are spending 16 hours in petrol queues is insensitive.

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It is inconceivable that the leaders of France, the United Kingdom and China will not account for their whereabouts to citizens.

Tinubu has continued in the disdainful tradition of his predecessors, taking Nigerians for granted. The late President Umaru Yar’Adua spent months in foreign hospitals in a vegetative state while his aides lied to Nigerians about his ability to function in office until he died in May 2010. Former President Muhammadu Buhari spent 225 days abroad on medical trips without any accounting to the citizens.

In a presidential system, the office of the President is of utmost importance as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The president of the United States travels around with the country’s nuclear codes. Americans know where he is always.

Democracy means accountability and Tinubu should know. A penchant for the President to undertake surreptitious visits to foreign capitals diminishes the office.

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I Can’t Feed My Family Again; I Make N20,000 Daily But Spend N17,000 On Fuel — Taxi Driver Laments

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Despite earning N20,000 daily, Ajibaye says he takes home only N3,000 after fuel expenses, leaving him unable to cater to his children and wife.

A commercial driver identified as Wahab Ajibaye based in Ilorin, Kwara State has expressed frustration over the rising fuel prices, saying it has left him struggling to provide for his family.

Despite earning N20,000 daily, Ajibaye says he takes home only N3,000 after fuel expenses, leaving him unable to cater to his children and wife.

He said: “I am buying fuel for N1100 and I make N20,000 (daily) but I take only N3,000 with me to my house (after work). I am the owner of my car but I am no longer making enough to cater to my children and my wife. The All Progressives Congress (APC) government will not end well. Nigeria is becoming worse and we pray God takes away this set of current leaders.”

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Ajibaye blamed the ruling APC government for the hardship faced by Nigerians, saying, “Their government is bringing more suffering. They’re not ashamed, despite many Nigerians cursing them. They should rethink.”

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had recently agreed that the policies initiated by President Bola Tinubu resulted in growing economic hardships in Nigeria.

The party in a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Barrister Felix Morka had said this, while responding to a former national vice chairman (North West) of the party, Salihu Mohammed Lukman.

Recall that Lukman had berated the party for bad governance, adding that former President Muhammadu Buhari and incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu have failed to deliver on their campaign promises.

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Lukman, therefore, urged opposition leaders to unite and work hard to defeat the APC-led government in 2027.

But reacting, Morka in a statement on Tuesday argued that President Tinubu was taking bold measures to reset the country’s “long broken economy”, explaining that his reforms had increased economic hardship in the country.

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LASG shuts down Idera market over ‘environmental pollution

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By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) says it has sealed off the Idera market in the Oshodi metropolis.

In a statement on Thursday, Ajayi Lukman, LAGESC spokesperson, said the agency sealed the market due to unhygienic practices and indiscriminate dumping of refuse, which contravened the environmental law of the state.

He said the measure was taken to enforce adherence to environmental cleanliness across registered markets in the state.

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‘‘Our operatives stationed across the Oshodi division during routine market monitoring identified the filth, unhygienic practices, and indiscriminate dumping of refuse around the Idera Market area, which prompted us to seal off the market until further notice,” the statement reads.

Lukman quoted Olaniyi Cole, the corps marshal of the agency, as decrying the level of hygiene at the market, which could lead to an outbreak of diseases.

He said Cole frowned at the inability of the market leadership to provide a valid waste collection contract, which resulted in the heaps of refuse in the facility.

He added that the display of wares for sale on road setbacks, lay-bys, medians, verges, kerbs, street trading, and hawking remained banned in the metropolis.

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The LAGESC corps marshal reiterated the ban on the sales, distribution, and usage of styrofoam in the state, noting that anyone found culpable would be punished decisively.

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Hours to Edo guber polls, major opposition candidate crumbles structure for Ighodalo

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By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Hours to the Edo State governorship election, the guber candidate of the All Peoples Party (APP)Amb Osalumese Areloegbe on Thursday morning collapsed the structure for the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Asue Ighodalo and his running mate, Osarodion Ogie Esq.

Addressing journalists at the party secretariat in Benin City, Areloegbe said his decision to collapse the structure for the PDP candidate was because he believed that Ighodalo had all it would take to govern the state to greater heights.

According to him, I urged all my followers and supporters to disregard any information that I have aligned with the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo.

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“I am supporting Asue Ighodalo because he is competent, not that I am not competent but I believe Asue is on the forefront. That is my reason for supporting his candidacy.

“My party is aware because they have been having a series of negotiations for us to align with the APC, and I told them categorically that I am supporting PDP. My eighteen local government followers are in full support of my decision, I mean 100 per cent supporting the PDP candidate, Barr. Asue Ighodalo and his running mate, Barr. Osarodion Ogie in this election.

“My choice for Asue Ighodalo is because, apart from myself, I see him as the next better candidate that I can support and I can put my weight on because he has the capacity, mentally, physically and otherwise to pilot the affairs of Edo State to greater heights.

“The national secretariat of my party, APP – they are in Abuja and I am in the state, and know much more of what is happening in Edo State. They are not here and don’t know what is going on here in Edo. And I am in a position to tell them what will be better for the Edo people.

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“There is a parable that says, ‘You cannot shave a man’s head when he is not present’. I am here in Edo State and I know who to support and why I am supporting him. The national leadership might have taken a different tone, but this is what I and my followers have chosen.

“We had a series of other politicians who had made such decisions before. That is why I agreed with the support of my supporters to collapse my structure for the governorship candidate of the PDP Barr. Asue Ighodalo and his running mate, Barr. Osarodion Ogie.”

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