Headlines
Tinubu camp jittery as Osinbajo declares for presidency
–—as Asiwaju runs to meet APC governors
— I have requisite experience and insight to lead Nigeria—Osinbajo
The camp of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been put in a frenzy over the declaration of Professor Yemi Osinbajo to vie for the position of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In a Press statement personally signed by the Vice President, he said he has the requisite experience and insight to lead the country to a prosperous destination.
The declaration of Prof. Osinbajo came after months of speculation and denial.
In a statement he personally signed today, the Vice President said his seven-year tutelage under President Mohammed Buhari has put him in a vantage position to appreciate the challenges of Nigeria and Nigerians and equipped him with the necessary administrative and organisational acumen to solve them.
“In the past seven years, I have served as Vice President under a true Nigerian patriot, a servant of the nation in war and peace, and a man of integrity, President Muhammadu Buhari.
“We have, together, worked through some of the most difficult times in the history of our Nation, but we have remained focused on securing the country, providing infrastructure and growing our economy.
“As stipulated by the Nigerian Constitution, our tenure will end next year.
“In this period of seven years, I have served the government in several capacities, and have, at the direction of Mr. President, represented our country in sensitive high level international engagements.
“I have been to practically all local governments in Nigeria. I have been in markets, factories, schools, and farms.
” I have been in agricultural, mining and oil producing communities; in the Delta, in Kebbi, Enugu, Borno; Rivers, Plateau and Ondo; & in all other States of the federation, listening to the diverse experiences and yearnings of our people.
“I have visited our gallant troops in the North East and our brothers and sisters in the IDP camps.
” I have felt the pain and anguish of victims in violent conflicts, terrorist attacks, flooding, fire and other disasters.
“I have been in the homes of many ordinary Nigerians in various parts of the country.
” I have sat with our technopreneurs in Lagos, Edo, and Kaduna, with our Nollywood and Kannywood actors; with our musicians, from Lagos, Onitsha, and Kano.
” And I have spoken to small and large businesses.
“I stood where they stood and sat where they sat. I know their hopes, aspirations and fears; and I believe that in those hopes and aspirations are the seeds for the great Nigeria that we all desire.
“I believe that the very reason why the Almighty God gave me these experiences, these insights, and these opportunities, is that they must be put to the use of our country and its great peoples.
“Which is why I am today, with utmost humility, formally declaring my intention to run for the Office of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, on the platform of our great party, the All Progressives Congress.
“If by the grace of God and the will of the people, I am given the opportunity, then I believe that first, we must complete what we have started;
*radically transforming our security and intelligence architecture,
*completing the reform of our justice system focusing on adequate remuneration and welfare of judicial personnel,
*ensuring justice for all and the observance of rule of law,
*rapidly advancing our infrastructure development, especially power, roads, railways and broadband connectivity,
*providing an excellent environment for businesses to thrive,
*taking the agriculture revolution to the next level especially mechanization and developing the farm to table value chain
*making sure that the government, its agencies and regulators serve the business community,
*creating a tech economy that will provide jobs for millions;
*enhancing our Social Investment Programme to a full-scale social welfare scheme,
*completing the promise of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within this decade,
*completing the task of ensuring that all Nigerians, male and female, attend school,
*reforming our educational system for relevance to the challenges of this century,
*completing the task of universal health coverage for all,
and
*strengthening the capacity of States and Local Governments to deliver on their respective mandates.
“Above all, front and centre of our efforts will be the provision of jobs and opportunities for our young people.
“I now most solemnly and respectfully seek the support of fellow Nigerians everywhere in this land, and the diaspora, young and old, male and female, in the great and exciting journey that we have ahead of us.
“We will work together, establish by the grace of God, the Nigeria of our dreams in a few short years.
” We will build on the foundation laid by our predecessors. We will need to move, with much speed, intentionality, and perseverance, towards the vision of a prosperous, stable, and secure nation.
“I am convinced beyond doubt that we have the creativity, the courage, the talent, and the resources to be the foremost black nation on earth.
” Let us now birth the expectations of greatness conceived generations before us.
“Let us build a Nigeria where the man from Nnewi sees the man in Gusau as his brother, where the woman in Warri sees the woman in Jalingo as her sister, where the love of our nation burns alike in the hearts of boys and girls
from Gboko to Yenogoa.
“Where everywhere, in this land, is home for everyone, where our diversities, tribes and faiths unite, rather than divide us.
“Let our tribes become one tribe; the Nigerian tribe, where all are treated fairly, justly and with respect. Where all are given equal access to the abundant opportunities that God has bestowed on this nation. It’s time.
“God bless and keep our Republic and its great people.
The new development was said to have sent jitters into the spines of the political campaign organisation of Tinubu due to the enormous goodwill enjoyed by the Vice president Osinbajo, who is incidentally Tinubu’s political protege.
It was gathered that hours after Osinbajo’s declaration, Asiwaju Tinubu, rushed to meet the APC government for their reassurance.
The governors hold the structure of the party and are believed to also hold the aces over who will eventually emerge as the APC flag bearer at the primaries.
Political analysts told our reporter that the declaration of Prof. Osinbajo has introduced a new but interesting twist into the 2023 Presidential race among the contestants, especially Asiwaju Tinubu who many believed had better chances than the rest of the gladiators.
“But that was before the Vice President indicated his interest”, a political analyst observed.
“Now that he has thrown his hat into the ring, the political calculations and permutations have changed.
“Tinubu has the structure and a deep pocket but Osinbajo has vast goodwill of people, age is on his side, and has the intellects to steer the country through its difficult terrain” a political analyst declared.
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Headlines
Alleged N8.5bn Fraud: You Have Case To Answer, Lagos Court Tells NIMASA Staff, Ex-JTF Commander
Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Monday, April 22, 2024, told a former Commander of the Joint Military Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield, Major-General Emmanuel Atewe (rtd.), and a staff of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Kime Engonzu, that they have a case to answer in the alleged N8.5bn money laundering case brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Atewe and Engonzu are standing trial on a 22-count charge bordering on money laundering to the tune of N8, 537,586,798.58, which also involves a former Director-General of NIMASA, Patrick Akpobolokemi, and Josephine Otuaga, also a staff of NIMASA.
One of the counts reads: “That you, Patrick Ziadeke Akpobolokemi, Major General Emmanuel Atewe, Kime Engozu, and Josphine Otuaga, sometime in 2014, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Court, with intent to defraud, conspired amongst yourselves to commit an offence to wit: conversion of the sum of N8,537,586,798.58 property of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 (a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2012 and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.”
They pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, thereby prompting the commencement of their trial.
In the course of the trial, the prosecution called several witnesses and subsequently closed its case against the defendants.
However, the defendants, rather than open their defence, filed a no-case-submission.
Akpobolokemi had, in a no-case submission, filed by his lawyer, Dr. Joseph Nwobike, SAN, prayed the court for an acquittal without having him present a defence.
Ruling on the no-case submission on Monday, Justice Faji discharged and acquitted Akpobolokemi and Otuaga, the fourth defendant.
Headlines
EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukayode, threatens to resign if Yahaya Bello is not brought to justice.
According to the EFCC Chairman, he had a telephone conversation with Bello offering him ample opportunities to present himself for interrogation by investigators of the EFCC.
“On my honour, I put a call to him to honour him as a former governor.
He told the media executives that the Commission has recovered more than N120billion from fraudsters within six months and secured more than 1300 convictions.
He called on Nigerians to be more dedicated to the nation, insisting that patriotic Nigerians should offer more support to the EFCC because the Commission is crucial to the growth and development of Nigeria.
Headlines
EFCC denies disobeying court order on Yahaya Bello
The Eyewitness Reporter
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) has denied the widely held claim that it flouted a court order restraining it from arresting or harassing Yahaya Bello, the former Governor of Kogi State.
In a Press Statement signed by the EFCC’s Acting Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, the Commission clearly pointed out that though Bello sought refuge in a fundamental rights enforcement action through an order granted by Justice Isa Jamil Abdulallahi of the Kogi State High Court, the order did not vitiate or nullify an order made by the Federal High Court for the arrest of the former governor for the purpose of his arraignment.“The enrolled Order of the Kogi State High Court only granted an order to enforce Bello’s right to personal liberty and freedom of movement, it didn’t preclude the Federal High Court ‘to make any Order as it may deem just in the determination of the rights of the Applicant and the Respondent as may be submitted to her for consideration and determination”, he said.
He further stressed that “The Order made by the Federal High Court for the arrest of Mr. Yahaya Bello for the purpose of his arraignment is not in conflict with the Order of the Kogi State High Court.
“The case before the Federal High Court is a criminal charge which is different from the fundamental rights enforcement action that is the subject of an appeal”.
Uwujaren pointed out that the EFCC had a shining track record in the prosecution of politically exposed persons and would continue to exercise its mandate in the overall interest of the nation.
” He admonished Bello to turn himself in and answer to the charges preferred against him by the Commission.
He called on all patriotic Nigerians to lend their voices in support of the Commission stressing that ” the EFCC will not relent in its quest to wrestle corruption to the ground”
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