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Northern APC Stakeholders Reject Badaru, Others Hail New Criteria for Appointments
Some stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress in the North under the banner of Northern Progressives Union (NPU) have outrightly rejected any attempt by the immediate past Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Abubakar Badaru to smuggle himself as the ministerial nominee of the party from the northern states.
In a statement signed on behalf of the group by Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim Kiyawa, the group appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to resist the temptation of appointing any of the immediate past state governors in his soon to be constituted cabinet as a ministerial nominees based on the fact that they are all spent forces, failed politicians and disgruntled so-called leaders who don’t fit into today’s reality of the present vision of the Renewed Hope mantra of the present administration.
“We are the foot soldiers of the APC in this part of the country and therefore making a categorical statement urging Mr. President and the APC as a political party not entertain the idea of nominating any of the former Governors from the region in the incoming cabinet “as they do not have the required capacities and capabilities to drive the process.
“Our demand is legitimate and is consequent upon the misdeeds of some of them during the 2023 general elections where most were moles and fifth columnists used by the opposition parties and in most cases funds given to them for elections were personalized and kept for self-serving purposes”.
“While President Tinubu was mobilizing at all levels, the former Governor seeking ministerial nomination could not deliver votes from his area”.
According to them, Jigawa,
Yobe and Zamfara states can be adjudged among the least politically astute states in the northern Nigeria and thus they are most likely to move in line with the body language of their key leaders that they identify with and not necessarily any other factor.
“In Jigawa State 2023 presidential election, the Hadeijia Emirate consisting of Birniwa, Kirikasamma, Guri, Hadejia, Malam Madori, Kaugama, Auyo and Kafin Hausa local governments, massively voted for APC owing to the fact that one of them was made APC governorship candidate for the first time ever since the creation of the state, the votes were not necessarily due to any funds disbursed by the former Governor. In the first place, the Governor never disbursed any money; the truth is that for some of us on the ground, it was found out that People’s Democratic Party outspent APC, thus the reason for PDP gathering some considerable votes otherwise. It should have been landslide for APC because of the zoning arrangement in favour of the governorship candidate of our great party as stated.
The PDP had a very good show in the Gumel Emirate comprising Gumel, Maigatari, Sule Tankarkar local governments, this again may be due to those places being traditionally PDP apologists and perhaps APC’s non-mobilization of the appropriate resources, the group stated.
“APC did very well in the Ringim Emirate consisting of Ringim, Garki, Taura, Gagarawa owing to the philanthropy of a man called Gerawa who’s arguably the biggest entrepreneur in the state and the biggest investor in the politics of the state”.
“As for Kazaure zone which is the governor’s zone, it was more of even between the two parties, again it may be due to lack of necessary goodwill and lack of appropriate resources. The local governments include: Babura, Kazaure, Gwiwa, Roni, Yankwashi”.
The group posited that Dutse Emirate was majorly PDP owing to it being Sule Lamido’s zone as well as perhaps passing a vote of no confidence on Governor Badaru whom they didn’t really support throughout his tenure. The local government areas include: Dutse, Gwaram, Buji, Kiyawa, Miga, Birnin Kudu and Jahun. PDP won Dutse, Birnin Kudu and Gwaram with wide margins while the places that APC won in the other areas were a slim margin.
“That it amounts to injustice and morally unjustifiable on the part of anyone to smuggle the former governor as the representative of the state in the federal cabinet”.
“We whole-heartedly align with the new policy of Mr. President as announced by Mr. Dele Alake, Special Adviser to the President on Stategy and Communication stating that anyone seeking a federal appointment must attach a copy of his voter’s card and results of his polling unit during the elections.
“We commend such a wonderful criterion in other to checkmate desperate politicians seeking to reap where they did not sow and failed politicians who go about grandstanding without doing anything for their people nor have the support of the grassroots”.
“That it is inconceivable, unimaginable, irreconciliable and unacceptable that in this era of “Renewed Hope” some members of the old order are trying to pollute the agenda with their continued presence in the system when they are supposed to retire and watch from the sidelines for the new and young breed to give Nigerians a new lease of life. There is need to tackle this anomaly and quickly too in the interest of the Nigerian people.
“Therefore, we have resolved to constitute ourselves as the vanguard and agenda setter that would monitor and ensure the new cabinet is devoid of old order syndicate vaunting to use their money to buy their way into the cabinet. We shall resist them for our own good and that of the generation yet unborn.
“We are going to institute a legal action to stop them making to the new cabinet. While it is the turn of the new breed in the block, it is turn of the immediate past class of 2015-2023 Governors, Ministers and other political office holders to take the back seat and allow patriotic citizens with fresh blood and ideas to contribute their own quota in the process of nation building in a government progressive, promising and performing administration geared towards changing the narrative for the betterment of Nigerians and the socio-economic development of the country.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared four individuals wanted over the alleged fraud perpetrated on crypto bridge exchange (CBEX), a trading platform.
The four suspects are Adefowora Olanipekun, Adefowora Oluwanisola, Emmanuel Uko, and Seyi Oloyede.
More to follow…
The Oodua Integrity Group, a Nigerian civil society organisation, has called on Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun to investigate and arrest an alleged gun runner, land grabber,popularly called then insert Lucky Blessings Abuah aka bullets of Achala Ibusa village operating in Asaba and Ibuzor, Delta State, accusing him of orchestrating criminal activities with the aid of rogue police officers.
Tosin Olaoluwa, the group’s South-South coordinator, made the appeal following intelligence gathered from concerned residents.
The suspect, identified as Achala Ibusa but popularly known as “Bullet,” is accused of running a network involving illegal arms trafficking, land grabbing, and cult-related activities.
Olaoluwa claimed Bullet operates with the protection of police officers from Rivers State, in violation of regulations prohibiting officers from working outside their command without approval.
According to the group, four AK-47 rifles were recently discovered hidden in a house in Ibuzor.
Two mobile police officers guarding the property reportedly distanced themselves from the find, raising suspicions of their involvement with Bullet, who is allegedly a leader of the Viking cult.
The Oodua Integrity Group further alleged that an assistant commissioner of police is complicit in Bullet’s activities.
The group highlighted that up to 10 mobile police officers are attached to Bullet, despite IGP Egbetokun’s recent directive to withdraw such personnel from individuals not legally entitled to their services.
“We urge the IGP to take immediate action to arrest the culprit in the interest of the general public,” Olaoluwa said, describing Bullet as a miscreant exploiting government security agents to perpetrate crimes.
In a separate incident, the group claimed that security agents from an agency in Abuja, acting on intelligence, were prevented from arresting Bullet by his police escorts.
The officers, reportedly from Rivers State, allegedly used tear gas and fired shots to obstruct the operation.
The Oodua Integrity Group warned that Bullet’s activities, including stockpiling AK-47s and other weapons in Asaba and Ibuzor, pose a significant threat to public safety.
They called for a thorough investigation into the allegations and the immediate apprehension of those involved.
The Nigeria Police Force has yet to respond to the allegations. Efforts to reach a spokesperson for comment were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.
The competition and consumer protection tribunal has upheld the $220 million fine imposed on Meta Platforms Incorporated by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
In a statement on Friday by Ondaje Ijagwu, the agency’s director for corporate affairs, FCCPC said the tribunal also awarded $35,000 to the commission as the cost of investigation.
On July 19, 2024, FCCPC imposed a fine of $220 million on Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, for multiple data privacy violations.
However, Meta said it would appeal the fine.
The case stemmed from a 38-month joint investigation by the FCCPC and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) into the privacy practices and consumer data policies of WhatsApp and Meta.
Delivering judgment on Thursday in Abuja, the tribunal led by Thomas Okosun ruled that the FCCPC acted within its constitutional and statutory powers in investigating and sanctioning the companies for alleged anti-competitive and exploitative practices.
The tribunal dismissed the appeals filed by Meta and WhatsApp, which challenged the legal basis of the commission’s findings and orders.
Instead, it upheld the commission’s position on nearly all contested issues.
Gbolahan Elias (SAN) led WhatsApp and Meta’s legal teams, while Babatunde Irukera led the FCCPC’s legal team.
According to the statement, both teams had made their final arguments on behalf of their respective clients on January 28.
‘FCCPC ADHERED TO DUE PROCESS’
The tribunal, in its ruling, found that the FCCPC adhered to due process and acted within the law.
It resolved issues one to seven primarily in favour of the commission.
“The Tribunal resolved Issues 1 to 7 largely in favour of the FCCPC, dismissing the appellants’ objections to the Commission’s findings, orders, and legal competence,” the statement reads.
“One of the central issues (Issue 3), which alleged a breach of fair hearing, was decided in favour of the Commission, with the Tribunal affirming that the FCCPC fully discharged its quasi-judicial responsibilities by affording the appellants ample opportunity to respond.
“The Tribunal found no violation of constitutional due process.
“On Issue 4, which questioned the Commission’s powers in data protection and privacy, the Tribunal held that the FCCPC acted within its statutory mandate, reaffirming its authority under Section 104 of the FCCPA to regulate competition and consumer protection even in regulated industries.
“On Issue 5, which challenged the Commission’s findings regarding Meta’s privacy policies, the tribunal also resolved in the FCCPC’s favour.
“The Tribunal found no error in the Commission’s conclusions and held that the privacy policy in question did, in fact, offend Nigerian law.
“While issue 7 was largely resolved in favour of the commission, the tribunal set aside Order 7 of the commission’s final order, stating that it lacked sufficient legal basis.”
Commenting on the judgment, Tunji Bello, executive vice chairman (EVC) and chief executive officer (CEO) of the FCCPC, welcomed the ruling, describing it as a landmark judgment reinforcing the commission’s mandate to protect consumers and ensure fair market practices.
He commended the commission’s legal team for their diligence.
Bello reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to enforcing the provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) in line with President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda.