Author: oduduwanews

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IPOB Pleads With Yoruba Nation Agitators, Others To Join In One Month Sit-At-Home

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has enjoined other agitators for self-determination from other ethnic nationalities in the country to join its one-month sit-at-home protest commencing on October 21.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Media and Public Secretary of the separatist group, Emma Powerful, on Sunday.

According to him, the one-month protest would be subject to the refusal of the Directorate of State Services to bring its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, to court on the said date.

The group alleged that it had learnt that there was a plan by the Nigerian Government not to bring Kanu to court on that day as a ploy to continue to incarcerate him. File photo used to illustrate story.

The statement read in part, “Following our earlier declaration of one-month lockdown of Biafra land should the Nigeria Government fail to bring our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, to the court on October 21, we, the global family of the Indigenous People of Biafra request our brothers and sisters in Oduduwa republic and Middle Belt, including Igbo and Biafra businessmen and women, traders who are doing business outside Biafra land, to shut down their businesses to demonstrate our resolve for the emergence of our new nation, Biafra, and support for our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and others who are facing a similar fate with us to join us in sympathy protest.

“We need to put our differences behind us and rise as one people to defend our ancestral land against our common enemy and show Fulani and their cohorts that Nigeria belongs to all of us and any Biafra man residents in Kano, Kaduna, Jos, Jigawa, and other parts of North and western parts of Nigeria must shut down their shops in support of this fight for freedom and release of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

“We cannot afford to abandon him at this point after sacrificing so much for us all. We must not fail to understand that the Federal Government dread Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Igboho; two heroes of freedom, and that is why it wants to keep them out of circulation. But we must resist the evil plot.”

In June, the IPOB leader was arrested in Kenya and extradited to Nigeria to face treason charges.

He was subsequently arraigned and brought before Binta Nyako, a judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who asked him to be remanded in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).

Kanu is facing charges bordering on treasonable felony instituted against him at the court in response to his agitation for the Republic of Biafra.

The scheduled trial in July suffered a setback, with the judge adjourning till October 21.

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Igangan People Seek N193m Damages Over Destruction of Community By Herdsmen

The people of Igangan community have requested for compensation on the damages incurred during the attack which led to the death of fifteen residents by killer herdsmen.

The community is seeking N193 million compensation for over 70 properties, including houses, shops and gas refilling stations that were destroyed and looted when unknown gunmen suspected to be criminal herders descended on the sleepy community on the night of June 5.

The list, a copy of which was obtained by The Nation, showed that 11 indigenes were killed on the fateful night. Four members of the about 100-strong attackers, also lost their lives during the three-hour attack.

Waiting for the expected compensation, many of the shops and houses, including the palace of the Asigangan, were already being repaired through self-help when The Nation visited the town last week.

The attack was believed to be a reprisal to the forceful ejection of Seriki Fulani in the community Soliu Abdulkadir earlier in the year.

Popular Yoruba nation agitator Chief Sunday Adeyemo (aka Sunday Igboho) sent Abdulkadir packing by visiting Igangan on January 7.

The January 7 sack visit followed a previous visit to the Seriki during which Igboho ordered him to leave the community based on established claims that he was fronting for kidnappers who were alleged to be among herders of Fulani origin.

He gave him a seven-day ultimatum but the Fulani head refused to leave. He, however, fled on learning that Igboho was on his way to sack him on January 7.

Irate youths in the community used the opportunity of Igboho’s last visit to vandalise Abdulkadir’s palace to prevent him from returning.

The community believes that Abdulkadir was behind the attack. They insisted that he recruited Fulani in the neighbouring Benin Republic to avenge him. The community borders Benin Republic.

But the seriki denied involvement in the attack. He also said he was never involved in kidnapping, stressing that he was doing genuine business in the town

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Lagos Assembly Calls For More Investments To Boost Water Transportation

More work is needed to attract private investments to the Lagos waterways transportation sector, lawmakers at the State House of Assembly have said.

The lawmakers, who belong to the House Committee on Transportation, made the position known during a recent visit to the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) and the Lagos State Ferry Services (LAGFERRY).

Led by its chairman, Hon. Temitope Adewale, the committee agreed that the government had to improve the environment that would enable such business thrive.

Hon. Adewale noted the interest of the House of Assembly in the success of waterways transportation as an alternative to the ever-growing traffic challenges faced by residents of the state.

To this end, the lawmaker urged LASWA to ensure the security of the state’s waterways through effective collaboration with security agencies.

Adewale expressed belief that securing the waterways would help increase public confidence and boost chances of Public Private Partnership (PPP).

Commending the agency for the success so far recorded, the committee chairman appealed for more efficiency while advising that the waterways must not become escape routes for criminals.

He, therefore, urged for more patrol boats to monitor waterways in the state.

Describing LAGFERRY as one of the agencies that had added value to the governance of the state and the transportation sector, Adewale pleaded for more activities that would help attract investors.

He also promised that the House would continue to assist in areas that would ease the job of the agency and help it meet its goals.

Speaking earlier, Mr. Oluwadmilola Emmanuel, General Manager of LASWA, enumerated the achievements of the agency to include the creation of a control room to monitor the various routes on the waterways.

According to him, this strategy has helped to keep the waterways safe and secured just as he added that the agency currently has two patrol boats for the patrol of waterways to avoid criminal activities on the waterways.

He said the agency had provided 294 life jackets and was expecting 845 more.

The agency, Emmanuel said, also collaborates with security agencies for the protection of the waterways.

He, however, said the Marine Police can be equipped further for effective enforcement.

On his part, the Managing Director of LAGFERRY, Hon. Ladi Balogun, said his agency with a mandate to provide ferry services to ease pressure on road transportation, currently has a fleet of 20 boats.

He noted that at least, 480,000 waterways users routinely patronise the boats.

While explaining that the agency was already setting standards for other operators in the industry, he lamented that recurrent expenditure appropriated for it was not enough as the price of fuel affects business.

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LekbadColumn: PDP’s Cede Of Deceit And Zoning Formula Of Falsehood

Comrade Lekan Badmus is a Columnist with Oduduwa News and Public Opinion Analyst.

Politics to a lay man, is a game of number. The lay man may not be wrong by virtue of his level of understanding of the word politics. To him, the party with the highest number of votes during an election wins the race and whatever that is cast at the polling booth is all that matters. This is a myopic view. In politics, the more you look, the less you see !

Elections in Nigeria is much more than voting. Rather, it is filed with pre-primary intrigues, manipulation, maneuvering, betrayals, compromise and sacrifice. I was once a full-term staff of the moribund National Electoral Commission, NEC, Lagos Island. That puts me at a vantage position and an ample knowledge of the scenes beneath the masquerade garb.

The recent announcement by PDP NEC that the party has ceded her Chairmanship position to the north was received with so much elation by party faithfuls in the south. The ecstasy is understandable.

In retrospect, there have been several calls for the party to zone her national chairmanship slot to the north with the belief that; by so doing, the presidential ticket would be sorted out by party men from the south. This is in line with the principle of rotation within the party. Although, this is not grounded in the nation’s constitition but it is not a misnomer. After all, democracy could be defined in tandem with the peculiarity of each sovereign nation.

I have read few reports and opinions about the so-called zoning; many of which agreed with the decision, with a particular emphasis and harping on the technical knock-out on Alhaji Atiku. In the views of some of these erudite opinionists, Alhaji Atiku stands no chance to clinch the presidential ticket again. The submissions of these opinions stem from the fact that, once the national Chairman comes from a region, the presidential candidate would not be picked from the same region.

Periscoping the zoning proposal by the NEC of the party, I can smell a rat. I have a reservation for that resolution. The decision to me; was warped in deceit.

Of truth, the southern governors recently met and requested that the next president should be a southern extraction but their northern brothers have insisted that the electorates should decide. Therefore, the decision as agreed upon at NEC level was a victory for the southern presidential candidate agitators.

However, the resolution of the governors is only a suggestion to the zoning committee of the national convention. The main convention where a replacement would be picked for Uche Secondus, would hold on October 30 and 31 in Abuja. Therefore, the Southern governors need to hold their popping of champagne at least till the end of the convention. Or succinctly put, till the selection of the presidential flagbearer. How do I mean !

The body language of the the north across the two major political parties is not suggestive of their readiness to allow power shift. Really, power is intoxicating but at the same time, transcient.

In an interview granted by
Professor Umar who is the National Secretary of Fulani Development Association of Nigeria, FDAN, the erudite scholar posited that power could only be won and not derived through blackmail or intimidation. This is a figment of my apprehension to the pyrrhic victory of the southern governors. The statement of the professor is a representation of the general stance of the north.

The position of the party chairman is crucial to the nomination of the presidential flagbearer. To say that the north has willingly succumbed to the agitation of the south in ceding national Chairman to the north needs a second thought. In my opinion, the north might want to use the occupant of the position of chairman to install the presidential candidate of northern origin with the plan that the chairman would relinquish his position for the south in a bid to balance the equation. This is not impossible. The zoning, as agreed upon by the governors may be a decoy and a bait.

The communique that emanated from the meeting of the substantive zoning committee under the chairmanship of
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State was highly pregnated with secrecy, deceit and decoy which confirmed my apprehension especially with regards to the first three statements of the communique as presented hereunder:

  1. The National Zoning Committee of the PDP was given the mandate to zone National offices to be contested by all PDP Members of the Party at the PDP National Convention of the Party scheduled for October by the National Executive Committee of the Party.
  2. That the mandate of the Committee does not include Zoning of the offices of the President, Vice President and other Executive and Legislative offices of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
    And the decision of the Committee to zone the Party offices does not in any way affect the executive and legislative offices in Nigeria.
  3. That zoning of offices on PDP has traditionally been between the North and South of Nigeria.

From the above, there is nothing suggestive of any blanket ban on Alhaji Atiku or any other northern politician to vie for the presidential ticket of the party. The zoning is limited to party offices. There is a line of demarcation between Party Officials and Presidential or Legislative Representatives.

As it is, the zoning holds no water and the ticket is open. The party flagbearer might come from any region depending on the pedigree, astuteness, doggedness and above all, cash at disposal.

For Comments:
lekanbadmuscolumn@gmail.com

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Lagos Govt Reads Riot Act To Nightclubs, Bars Over Noise Pollution

Lagos State Government, on Sunday, read the riot act to night clubs, bars and lounges, especially those in the Lekki axis, to desist from noise pollution or risk being shut.

A statement signed by the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tunji Bello, said enforcement raids were carried out on some nightclubs in Lekki following repeated complaints by residents of the area and environs.

He stated that a visit by enforcement officers of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) to Prest Jazz Club on Admiralty Way, Lekki, following complaints of flagrant noise pollution, revealed the use of different giant speakers and musical instruments for stage plays and shows, necessitating its closure.

The Commissioner noted that many residents of highbrow Lekki, especially elderly citizens, have inundated his office with petitions and complaints about the adverse effects of noise pollution on their health every night until the early hours of the next day.

Reiterating that the exercise will be a continuous one, Bello advised all clubs that engage in noise pollution to retrace their steps before it is too late, maintaining that apart from putting such clubs or bars under lock and key, the owners of the relaxation points would also be prosecuted according to the dictates of the law.

He stated that no one or organisation would be treated as a sacred cow in the latest campaign, pointing out that research has also shown noise pollution as one of the causative factors for reduced lifespan.

Bello restated that the second pillar of the six-point Development Agenda of the present administration is Health and Environment, which includes combating noise pollution.

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JUST IN: Factory gutted by fire in Iwo, Osun State

ODUDUWA NEWS has just gathered that a popular factory, RABSIH IMEC NIGERIA LIMITED (Ile Isẹ Mogaji) said to have gutted by fire in Iwo, Osun State.

The popular factory caught in fire in the early hours today. Fortunately, the fire was suppressed by the people of the community who waded into the incident immediately the fire outbreak was discovered.

It was confirmed to ODUDUWA NEWS correspondent that fire fighters were later mobilized to the scene to curtail further spread.

Details later.

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Ekiti residents lament astronomical rise in price of cooking gas

The residents of Ado Ekiti, on Friday, lamented the recent increase in the price of cooking gas, saying that the astronomical increase has taken its toll on the them while calling on government to address the development.

A resident, Segun Adekunle, said that the hike in the price of cooking gas was quite alarming, especially given the fact that no reason had been given for the increase.

He questioned how the price could have moved from N3,000 to N7,000 for a 12.5kg cylinder within the span of a few months, saying that the development had compounded the hardship in Ado Ekiti, as he now used firewood and charcoal for cooking.

“Cooking with firewood is dangerous to the health,” he, however, complained.

Another resident, Bunmi Ajisafe, a trader, expressed worry over the continuous increase in the price of cooking gas, noting that the hike had further worsened the economy of her family.

Mrs Ajisafe said she was surprised at the astronomical increase in the price of commodities these days, not only gas.

”It is so frustrating that you are not sure of the next price you would meet when you go to the market. I am really worried and surprised. I thought Nigeria is a country with an abundance of gas,” she said.

She appealed to the federal government to urgently intervene, otherwise, she may have to return to the use of a kerosene stove, charcoal or firewood.

A civil servant, Tope Ogunfowokan, said that Nigerians were yet to recover from the hardship brought on by COVID-19 which crippled many businesses and rendered many people jobless.

Mrs Ogunfowokan also said she remembered there was a time the federal government was campaigning for citizens to key into cooking with gas.

“Many people did nothing to that effect, but people gradually keyed into it. Then the present gas situation; it is frustrating and unimaginable and the government should intervene,” she said.

A gas dealer, Micheal Ogunsakin, said all he had to say was that the whole hike simply had to do with the government.

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Gov Makinde Reveals Reasons Why Aggrieved PDP Members Should Not Work Against Him

The Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde has revealed the reasons why the aggrieved members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, should not work against his administration.

Makinde made the disclosure known today while unveiling a homegrown digital television outfit, SATVIEW Network.

He said as the only PDP Governor in the South West, working against him would go against the interest of the party in the zone.

According to him such a move stood against the grain of good sense.

He also said that only a restructured Nigeria will help the nation regain her past glory adding that it was unbelievable that Nigeria, which had the first television station in Africa, now has to rely on foreign television networks if its people must watch clear signals.

He said : “So, I came here today to let our people know that all is not lost. We are pushing for a restructured country because when we achieved all of these firsts, the country was not overcentralised at that time. We believe that when we push through the agenda to restructure the country, we will be in a better position for people to unleash their talents, not just the local economy, but also to place us where we really belong in the comity of nations right across Africa.”

“So, the SATView Network is not the first network to bring programme to our people but what is unique about this offering is, once you buy the decoder, you are not going to pay any money. That is the difference.

“Oyo State, Ibadan precisely, hosted the first TV station in Africa. Almost all of us here have DSTV at home and the money we are paying to DSTV is going directly to South Africa because that is where the parent home is.

“We missed the road but we believe that, with the talents that we have, if we nurture them, we can get our position back as truly the first in Africa.”

He eulogized the contributions of coalition party members in the build-up to his election in 2019, adding that Chairman, Teaching Service Commission, TESCOM, Pastor Akin Alamu, and his colleagues in the Alliance for Democracy (AD) stood out.

He also said that since Alamu was chosen as TESCOM chairman, he has had no reason to second-guess his duties.

He said: “I saw a replica of myself coming up in SATVIEW NETWORK. I started my private business at 29 and it is still in existence today. So, I want to encourage the management and other members of staff that this may be a small beginning but you can change the world with it.

“I came here to, first of all, validate my position that there are several young talents within us that we need to encourage. They may be doing their things in the smallest of our villages, I will go there, seek them out and support them.

He commended Pastor Alamu for withstanding harassment and intimidation during the 2019 election, adding that though “voters were threatened not to vote for the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) at the man’s polling unit, he withstood the challenge and voted his conscience.

“They told everybody(in his polling unit) that, look, if you don’t want to vote APC here today, leave. “But Baba said such cannot happen because he was supposed to vote there and would not disclose whom he wanted to vote for. So, Baba voted because they saw him as an elderly person. But they saw that Baba voted for PDP and did not leave there.

“Anyway, majority of the people there voted APC. Out of about 60 people, it was only Baba that said he was going to vote for his conscience and they allowed him. They tried to harass him but he stood his ground. “Majority of the people voted APC. Because of Baba’s presence, they voided all the other ballot papers and when they counted the actual votes I think we got 24 votes”.

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Gov Akeredolu Calls For Urgent Restructuring, Says Time To Renegotiate Nigeria Is Now

Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, has called for urgent restructuring of the country to reflect the diversity and address the various misunderstandings and high rate of criminality in the polity.

The Governor made the call on Friday in a statewide broadcast in commemoration of the 2021 Independence Day Celebration.

Governor Akeredolu, who said the current system adopted in the county does not encourage ingenuity, noted that it is time for all patriots to unite and speak with one voice .

He maintained that the current system in the country does not take into account the diverse status of the people, adding that the country faces serious challenges bordering on redefinition.

“It has become imperative that the current structure be tinkered with in a fundamental way. It is no longer sustainable,”Governor Akeredolu said.

While noting that the country must not shy away from the reality of her diversity, the Governor said the unique diversity which should ordinarily be a source of strength is gradually becoming the country’s albatross.

He said: “Our country is blessed abundantly. There is hardly any part of this vastly endowed space that should not be self-sustaining. This land should not be a place where hunger, poverty and a general sense of lack predominate.

“We must be bold enough to interrogate why these challenges appear perennial. We must not shy away from the reality of our diversity which should, ordinarily, be a source of strength but is gradually becoming an albatross.

“We must inquire for the reasons why those who regarded themselves as brothers and sisters no longer feel comfortable seeing or accommodating one another. We must be willing to confront whatever system which has reduced the once self-reliant sub-national entities to perpetual dependencies practically.

“The states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria appear independent nominally at present. Serious attempts must be made to return our country to the path of progress trodden by the founding fathers. Conscious efforts must be made by both the political and communal leadership in all the parts of the country to reorientate the people to embrace the pristine values which held lofty promises for advancement.

“Consequently, I am of the firm view that this occasion affords us yet another opportunity to reflect deeply, on the current difficulties and proffer frank suggestions which will assist in addressing our fundamental challenges of nationhood.

“Our people must strive under a system which recognize their God-given talents and promotes unique initiatives. All federating units must be less dependent on the Federal Government for basic survival.” He said.

Governor Akeredolu, who commended the Federal Government for the current victories recorded in the war against insurgents and terrorists in the Northern region, also acknowledged the great strides taken in abridging the infrastructural deficits in the country.

“We must, however, admonish on the immediate necessity to restructure the polity in a manner that will engender progress and amity. There is no other way to solve the current socio-economic problems facing the country.

“The security challenges bedeviling the country will become a thing of the past if proper devolution of powers is undertaken. The over centralization of the security architecture is a major impediment.

“Having a police command structure in a country of over 200 million is not sustainable. The attempts by some states to complement the efforts of the security agencies are at best tokenistic. Let each State be in charge of internal security in its locality.

“As a corollary to this submission, each region must be encouraged to take charge of the resources in its area. A system which permits strangers to take over the mineral resources in a place without any recourse to local authorities encourages dispossession and promotes misery and want. Development of any given space must be about the people,”Governor Akeredolu noted.

He called on the legislators at the National Assembly to look critically into the 1999 Constitution as amended with a view to expunging and amending relevant provisions of the document which militate against the march towards nationhood.

Arakunrin Akeredolu also called on Citizens to rededicate themselves to the ideals which assisted other nations to establish abiding systems.

The Governor said: “We must restructure the country to reflect our diversity. We must pursue policies which support rebirth. We must interrogate, continually, an arrangement which ensures that a country richly like ours endowed continues to wallow in abject poverty and want.

“We must make the country work for posterity. It is time to renegotiate, restructure and reinvent Nigeria for the good of all.”

He congratulated the people of the State for witnessing this year Independence anniversary, saying it is his hope that the next one year will record remarkable progress for the benefit of the people.

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