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APGA leadership tussle: I’ve accepted Supreme Court verdict – Njoku
Chief Edozie Njoku said he has resolved to abide by the Supreme Court judgment which removed him as the National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Supreme Court had, on Wednesday, declared Sylvester Ezeokenwa as the national chairman of APGA, this bringing to an end the lingering leadership tussle which had rocked the party for years.
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had, in his judgment, restrained Njoku from parading himself as the APGA national chairman.
Omotosho, while delivering the judgment in a suit filed by APGA and Ezeokenwa, held that there was no valid court judgment that recognised Njoku as the party’s national chairman.
He held that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) erred by recognising the Njoku-led leadership of the party.
Dissatisfied with the verdict, Njoku approached the Supreme Court to set it aside.
However, at Wednesday’s proceeding, the apex court dismissed the appeal for being frivolous and awarded N20 million for each of the three charges against him.
Reacting to the judgment at a news conference in Abuja, Njoku said that he believed in the rule of law and the verdict of the court.
“Everyone who knows me knows I believe in the rule of law and hierarchy. In any establishment, there must be a hierarchy. The hierarchy of the judiciary in Nigeria is the Supreme Court.
“We in Nigeria must learn that when the Supreme Court speaks, no matter how or what you think, you must obey it.
“We must be a country of law and order. Things cannot just be turned to suit you because you are uncomfortable. Things cannot just turn to suit Chief Edozie Njoku or Chief Henry Okechukwu or the secretary. We must follow the system,’’ he said.
Njoku said that as democrats, his removed executive members believed in the unity of Nigeria.
“We will do everything within our powers to make sure that there is peace in this country called Nigeria.
“But one thing I promise you is that you can never muffle the voice of the people. The people of Anambra State, in the next election, will speak, and it will be so resounding,’’ he said.
Njoku said that there would be anarchy in the states and the country if citizens decided to choose the judgments to obey or not to obey.
“All said and done, the Supreme Court has spoken and I truly believe in the Chief Justice of Nigeria who had made it clear in so many fora that she must bring sanity to the judiciary.
“I will not and I cannot be a clog in the hog. I cannot and I will not add to the pressure of those who are putting in relentless efforts to make sure that the judiciary can survive a very telling time,’’ he said.
Njoku commended the Supreme Court and its justices for following the right path in the journey.
He also commended the people of Anambra for keeping calm and accepting the court judgment in good faith, saying there must be an end to litigation.
“I’m happy that the Supreme Court said it is an internal democracy of the party. You can do whatever you want on the earth but you cannot change the grassroots.
“The grassroots will decide who are their leaders. And I promise you that Anambra will speak,’’ Njoku stated.
He also commended the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, even though his faction of the party had criticised, fought and taken him to court.( NAN)
By Abubakar Yunusa
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has further reduced the ex-gantry price of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, to N835 per litre.
According to sources at the refinery, the plant dropped the price of the petrol sold to oil marketers to N835 per litre, six days after the refinery reduced it to N865 per litre.
“The refinery reduced the price of the petrol to N835 per litre,” a source told TheCable.
The reduction in Dangote petrol price followed an announcement by the federal government on April 9, that the naira-for-crude oil deal will continue after the first phase ended on March 31.
“The stakeholders reaffirmed the government’s continued commitment to the full implementation of this strategic initiative, as directed by the Federal Executive Council (FEC),” the finance ministry said.
“Thus, the Crude and Refined Product Sales in Naira initiative is not a temporary or time-bound intervention, but a key policy directive designed to support sustainable local refining, bolster energy security, and reduce reliance on foreign exchange in the domestic petroleum market.”
On April 15, Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), said the estimated pump price of petrol in Nigeria is less than that of neighbouring countries in West Africa.
Ahmed also said Nigeria’s petrol importation reduced by 29.9 million litres in eight months due to increased contributions from local refineries.
Three suspected herdsmen have been arrested following the attacks that led to the killing of 11 persons at Otobi community in Otupko local government by suspected herdsmen.
Governor Hyacinth Alia disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing journalists at the Government House in Makurdi, the state capital.
He expressed worry over the situation and called on security agencies to track down the perpetrators.
According to Alia, National Security Advisor, Nuhu Ribadu, has promised to deploy more security assets to the State to arrest the renewed wave of attacks in the state, especially the Otukpo axis.
The governor also announced the deployment of security personnel to the affected area, with three suspected herdsmen arrested in connection with the Otobi killings.
According to the member representing Otukpo-Akpa Constituency in the Benue State House of Assembly, Kennedy Angbo, nine corpses were recovered Tuesday night, followed by one in a hard-to-reach area later that evening.
By dawn Wednesday, other corpses were found, bringing the total number of fatalities to 11.
The attack has sent shockwaves through the state, particularly because the Otobi community—home to the Federal Ministry of Water Resources Multipurpose Dam—has now come under assault twice this April.
A security guard was previously killed at the dam site just days before this latest massacre.
Earlier, the governor sent his deputy, Samuel Ode, on an assessment tour to the devastated community.
He offered condolences to the grieving families and reassured residents of the state government’s commitment to tackling the spate of violent attacks across rural areas.
Ode also made some cash donations to carter for some immediate relief while the state emergency management agency has been tasked to move in for needs assessment and provide emergency response to those in need.
The attack on Otobi is the latest in a disturbing string of assaults along the Otukpo-Ado Road, from Okpamaju to Asa One and Asa Two down to the Ebonyi State border.
At least 15 million Nigerians are at risk of flood disasters in 2025, Vice President Kashim Shettima has disclosed.
He made the disclosure at the commencement of a one-day Validation Workshop on the Anticipatory Action Framework for Nigeria held at the National Counter Terrorism Centre in the Office of the National Security Adviser Abuja on Wednesday.
The Vice President, however, said the Federal Government is taking a proactive approach as against a reactive approach to forestall the disaster.
He emphasized the need for collaboration among all the agencies of government at the states and Federal Government level to tackle floods and other disasters in the country.
Some of Maiduguri communities submerged in flood following a leak in the Alau Dam in 2024.
VP Shettima decried that Nigeria loses 5 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to floods.
However, he disclosed that President Bola Tinubu has approved the sum of N15 billion to be released for emergency responses.
The Vice President, who also condemned the recent heinous attacks in Plateau state, expressed the sympathy of President Bola Tinubu to the affected families.
He, however, advocated a non-kinetic approach to tackling the security challenges on the Plateau and North-East.
According to him, “There can never be a military solution to the crisis in Plateau, North-East.”
Last week, the Federal Government predicted heavy rains and floods in 30 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The high-flood risk states are: Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross-River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara and the Federal Capital Territory.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, said coastal and riverine flooding would be experienced in some parts of the South-South geopolitical zone of the country due to a rise in sea level.
Among these states are Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, and Rivers while Akwa-Ibom and Edo fall under the high-flood risk states.