Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, at his office in Alagbaka, Akure. The acting Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has urged the people of the state not to relent in their prayers for Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who has embarked on a medical leave abroad. This comes barely 24 hours after the revelation of Akeredolu’s temporary departure from the country to seek medical attention. The Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly Olamide Oladiji, who confirmed receipt of a letter from the governor indicating his travels for treatment, stated the reins of office had been handed over to Aiyedatiwa, his deputy. Aiyedatiwa, in a statement on Wednesday, assured the state that there was no politically debilitating division in the government. “We, therefore, enjoin the good people of Ondo State and all friends of our dear Sunshine States not to relent in their prayers for Mr Governor’s quick recovery, so that he can resume duty after his medical vacation, to continue with his good works for the betterment of Ondo State in particular and Nigeria at large,” he said. “I cannot but enjoin the political class to be guided by good conscience in the pursuit of ambition in order to sustain the atmosphere of peace and unfettered development that we have been witnessing in our dear State in the last six years.” See the full statement below: PRESS STATEMENT.   MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE OF ONDO STATE. On behalf of the Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN, CON, I note the concerns of our people about governance in Ondo State and all rumours and insinuations making the rounds in the State. Let me aver without mincing words that rumours about the disruption of government activities are misplaced and only arose as a result of impatience and lack of proper understanding of the running of the machinery of government. In any case, such misrepresentations and apparently baseless allusions are to be expected when political gladiators by their activities in the build up to party primaries and gubernatorial elections in any state try to heat up the polity. Ondo State cannot definitely be an exception. It is, therefore, important to assure our people that governance is on course in the State. Mr Governor has laid a solid foundation for One Administration in the State and there is, undoubtedly, no politically debilitating division in the government. Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN, CON, my boss, is a revered democrat who has always demonstrated his respect for the Rule of Law and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended). It should be recalled that by his usual practice, he has always transmitted power to the Deputy Governor whenever he proceeds on annual vacation. This is what he has again re-enacted by transmitting power to proceed on a medical vacation. He is human like all of us. Whenever the need arises, everyone finds time to rest and take care of their health when medically challenged. As we are also aware that the 10th House of Assembly of the State was recently inaugurated. Though currently on recess, the House being led by the Honourable Speaker, Rt. Hon. Olamide Oladiji, will function in line with its constitutional mandate upon resumption. The State Executive Council and the Parliament will continue to enjoy mutually beneficial relationship in our avowed duties to move the State forward. We, therefore, enjoin the good people of Ondo State and all friends of our dear Sunshine States not to relent in their prayers for Mr Governor’s quick recovery, so that he can resume duty after his medical vacation, to continue with his good works for the betterment of Ondo State in particular and Nigeria at large. I cannot but enjoin the political class to be guided by good conscience in the pursuit of ambition in order to sustain the atmosphere of peace and unfettered development that we have been witnessing in our dear State in the last six years. Service to our people should, consequently, be the ultimate goal of our politicking. The sustained welfare of our people, the success of our administration and the victory of our great party in successive elections should, therefore, be our guiding principles. Our administration shall neither be deterred nor distracted. Furthermore, let me assure you that the State Government will continue to uphold and pursue the constitutional primary responsibility of government to secure the lives and property of the people of the State. We are fully committed to the mandate we are holding in trust for the good people of Ondo State. On behalf of Mr. Governor, l thank our people in Ondo State for your prayers, loyalty and support, while also urging you to continue to keep calm and be law-abiding as the State Government remains focused and committed to the delivery of dividends of good governance to all. I thank you all. Signed: Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, Acting Governor and Deputy Governor of Ondo State. June 14, 2023.

  President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, signed the Data Protection Bill into law. This was contained in a statement signed by the Head, Legal Enforcement and Regulations, Nigeria Data Protection Bureau, Babatunde Bamigboye. The NDPB National Commissioner, Dr Vincent Olatunji, expressed optimism on the prospects of Nigeria’s Digital Economy following the emerging regulatory dispensation. He applauded the president for renewing the hope of over 200 million Nigerians in the advancement of privacy rights and other fundamental freedoms both in cyberspace and in analogue transactions, The statement read in part, “Nigeria has taken a giant leap forward in the global data race with the assent to Nigeria Data Protection Act by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Act was signed on the 12th of June 2023. “The NDPB, pursuant to the express provisions of the new act, has transmuted into a full-fledged commission and it is mandated to among others: (a) regulate the deployment of technological and organisational measures to enhance personal data protection; (b) foster the development of personal data protection technologies, in accordance with recognised international best practices and applicable international law; conduct investigations into any violation of a requirement under the Act; (c) impose penalties in respect of any violation of the provisions of the Act or subsidiary legislation made thereof; (d) where necessary, accredit, license, and register suitable persons to provide data protection compliance services; (e) issue regulations, rules, directives and guidance under the Act; and (f) register data controllers and data processors of major importance.” The bureau further disclosed that the act is one of the strategic ways the president is fulfilling his campaign promise of creating 1 million jobs in the digital economy sector. About 500,000 jobs are expected to be created through the training of data protection officers and licensing of data protection compliance organisations to offer services to data controllers and processors.

  President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the indefinite suspension from office of Mr. AbdulRasheed Bawa, CON, as the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to allow for proper investigation into his conduct while in office. This was disclosed in a statement signed by Willie Bassey, the Director of Information in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. This follows weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him. Mr Bawa has been directed to immediately handover the affairs of his office to the Director, Operations in the Commission, who will oversee the affairs of the Office of the Chairman of the Commission pending the conclusion of the investigation. More to follow…

  Abdullahi Ganduje, immediate past governor of Kano, has asked a high court in the state to perpetually restrain the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from inviting or investigating him over video clips allegedly showing him receiving dollars from a contractor. The clips trended on social media in 2018. Published by Daily Nigerian, the clips allegedly showed the former governor receiving bundles of dollar notes and stuffing them inside his flowing dress known as ‘babanriga’. While the governor debunked the content of the videos, the Kano house of assembly subsequently set up a committee to investigate the allegations. The committee is yet to turn in its report and a new assembly was inaugurated on Tuesday. In a suit seen by TheCable, the attorney general of Kano asked the court to restrain the anti-graft agency from investigating him until a suit between Ganduje and Jafaar Jafaar, publisher of the Daily Nigerian, is determined. The EFCC is the only defendant in the suit. Ganduje, through the former Kano attorney general, asked the court to declare that the invitation and interrogation of the state universal basic education board (SUBEB) chairman and accountant general of Kano in connection to the video is illegal. Some of the prayers read: “A declaration of this Honourable Court that by virtue of the supremacy of the 1999 constitution as established by Sections 1 (1) thereof, since the Kano state house of assembly has begun investigation pursuant to its powers under section 128 of the 1999 constitution in connection with the video clips of bribery allegation against Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. “The defendant cannot exercise its investigative powers under the Sections 6, 7, 13 and 46 of the Economic and Financial Crimes (Establishment) Act 2004 (EFCC ACT), until after the Kano state house of assembly concludes or bring its investigation to an end. “A declaration of this Honourable Court that by virtue of the supremacy of the 1999 constitution as established by Sections I (1) thereof, and the doctrine of separation of powers since there is a pending Case No: CV/1598/2021, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduic y, Jaafar Jafaar & Anor, before high court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja (Coram: Hon. Justice Y. Halilu) in which Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje is challenging the authenticity of the said video clips. “The defendant cannot exercise its investigative powers under the sections 6, 7 and 13 of the Economic and Finance Crimes (Establishment) Act 2004 (CFCC ACT), until after the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja (Coram: Hon. Justice Y. Halilu) has decided the matter before it.” It is unclear if the new administration of Abba Yusuf will continue with the case.

  Senator representing Borno South District in the 10th National Assembly, Ali Ndume, says his first wife is a high court judge and his friends usually mount pressure on him.   The lawmaker said it takes being strong in character to stand against the pressure mounted by friends. “My wife is a high court judge, my first wife. And when people know that your wife is a judge, especially your friends, they will put pressure on you,” he said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday. “We are all humans, depends on how strong you are to stand against this kind of thing.” Bulkachuwa: My first wife is a high court judge. When people know your wife is a judge, they pressure you. We are all humans. It depends on how strong you are to stand against these things. When the system is compromised, you will be tempted – Ndume.#CTVTweets#PoliticsToday pic.twitter.com/4wdrzrl8qx — Channels Television (@channelstv) June 13, 2023 The lawmaker was commenting on the startling revelations by a Senator in the 9th National Assembly, Adamu Bulkachuwa, who disclosed that his wife, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa extended help to some politicians during her time as President of the Court of Appeal between April 2014 and March 2020.   Bulkachuwa, 83, who represented Bauchi North Senatorial District in the 9th Senate, made the disclosure during Senate Valedictory Session on Saturday.   Many senior lawyers including Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former President of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba have since tackled Bulkachuwa, labelling such disclosure as a “monumental disgrace” and asked that security agencies and President Bola Tinubu act immediately. Ndume, who spoke on Channels Television’s programme hours after the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly, said he is bothered by Bulkachuwa’s comment, saying, “people are caught in between what is right and moral and what is social”. “Sometimes, when the system itself is more or less compromised or can be compromised, you will be tempted but I like his courage for confessing publicly even when he can decide to say no. It will help the system and people to look inwards.”

  Gunmen have killed at least 23 people in separate attacks in Jos, Plateau State, police said on Tuesday, in the latest violence within an area struggling with clashes between herders and local farmers. Plateau, sitting on the dividing line between the nation’s mostly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south, has seen a surge in tit-for-tat attacks in recent months. Two cattle herders were killed on Sunday before 21 farmers were killed in attacks later in several villages, Plateau State police spokesman Alfred Alabo told AFP. “The two herders were killed first while the second attacks were launched later in the night,” he said. “The commissioner of police has visited the scene of the incident. We are investigating the cause of the attack.” In a statement, Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang said he was saddened by the killings and said the security situation had become “alarming”. “The security architecture has become like an old abandoned engine that needs to be reserviced and retooled,” he said. In May, local officials said more than 100 people were killed and several thousand more displaced by attacks in Plateau’s Mangu district. Clashes between nomadic herders and farmers over land, resources and water are common in several parts of Nigeria, including the central and northwestern states. But violence often spirals into attacks and mass kidnappings by heavily armed gangs and vigilante groups set up to protect communities. The local leader of cattle breeders association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Bello Tafawa, told AFP two herders were shot dead on Sunday evening on their way home in an unprovoked attack. “We have already reported the case to the security agencies in the area,” he said. A local youth community leader Rwang Tengwong said 21 persons were killed by suspected “herders” in various villages later on Sunday. “Twenty one persons were killed and several others injured on Sunday during coordinated attacks,” he said, blaming ethnic Fulani herdsmen. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who began his term last month, has called on Nigeria’s armed forces to better coordinate to manage the country’s multiple security threats. Security forces are still battling to end a 14-year-long jihadist conflict in the northeast, intercommunal violence, mass kidnappings for ransom and also separatist tensions in the country’s southeast.

  The Central Bank of Nigeria has reportedly directed Deposit Money Banks to remove the rate cap on the naira at the Investors and Exporters’ (I&E) Window of the foreign exchange market, to allow for a free float of the national currency against the dollar and other global currencies. The development came barely two weeks after President Bola Tinubu promised to unify the nation’s multiple exchange rates. According to the chief executive officer of a commercial bank, who confirmed the development to The PUNCH, banks are now allowed to trade forex on the I & E window at any rate, subject to N1 spread. “The CBN has called banks that the rate cap has been removed at I&E Window. Hence, banks and customers are allowed to trade freely at any rate subject to N1 spread between buy and sell rate”, the bank chief said. Following the development, the naira depreciated to over N700/dollar during trading on the I&E window on Wednesday. Details later…

  The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons says no fewer than 25,000 trafficked Nigerian women and girls are trapped in Mali. The Commander of the Benin Zone of NAPTIP, Mr Nduka Nwanwenne, gave the figure on Tuesday at a workshop organised for media professionals in Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the workshop was to develop the capacities of the participants in creating awareness about the dangers of human trafficking. It was organised by NAPTIP in collaboration with FIIAPP — International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies—and Action against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants in Nigeria (A-TIPSOM). He said, “NAPTIP’s investigation into this category of victims revealed that they were attracted to Malian men because they spend more money on women compared to Nigerian men. “The second major reason is that Malian men are proud of sleeping with women from Nigeria, the giant of Africa.” Nwanwenne added that NAPTIP arrested over 9,102 human traffickers, out of which 604 were convicted while 20,660 victims were rescued between 2004 to May 2023. The team lead for FIIAPP and A-TIPSOM, Mr Federico Millan, a Spanish police officer, said, “Prevention is important in tackling human trafficking, and the media is a major channel for creating awareness and protecting victims.” Also, NAPTIP Director General, Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi, identified Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, and India as the top five countries that Nigerians are trafficked to in the world. Waziri-Azi disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja, during the Inaugural Joint Technical Working Group meeting on a memorandum signed between Nigeria and The Gambia to prevent, suppress, and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children. Waziri, “Top countries where Nigerians are trafficked in order of scale include Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, and India. In 2022, as an agency, we received 1,440 reported cases, of which 412 were external trafficking cases and 1,028 were internal trafficking cases. We rescued and received 2,743 victims, out of which 1,454 were female adults, 688 were female children, 363 were male adults, and 233 were male children. “Victims of human trafficking were 45; returned victims from outside Nigeria were 251; and intercepted victims from various border points were 1,484. Top on the list for trafficking in persons was sexual exploitation, followed by labour exploitation and domestic servitude. “As a country, we have scaled our efforts to tackle this crime through our five broad strategic approaches of prevention, protection, prosecution, partnership, and policy.” Also speaking during the meeting, the Executive Director of The Gambia National Agency against Trafficking in Persons, Isatou Dabo, said, “This MOU is an important step towards our concerted efforts in combating human trafficking between Nigeria and The Gambia. Collaboration is important because it will enable us to enhance our capacities and strengthen our efforts in the fight against the trafficking of persons. We believe the partnership will bring about groundbreaking impacts.”

  Lucky Irabor, chief of defence staff, has mandated the troops of Operation Udoka to redouble their efforts and flush out criminal elements destabilising peace and businesses in the south-east states. Irabor spoke on Tuesday while addressing the troops at the headquarters of the Nigerian army 82 division in Enugu. The defence chief praised the troops for a “very successful operation leading to violence-free, fair and credible elections in the south east”. “You are mandated to flush out the criminal elements disturbing the peace and socio-economic well-being of the south-east,” NAN quoted Irabor as saying. “From the briefs, I have been receiving from the general officer commanding 82 division, who is the overall commander of the operation and other field commanders, I am proud of your conduct during the general election. “I say well done to you for your effectiveness and commitment that led to a resounding success during the general election. “However, it is not over yet, I want you to redouble your efforts and get ready for more serious work to see that pockets of insecurity in the South-east by criminal elements are totally checked.”   Irabor said the recent move by Peter Mbah, the state governor, and other governors in the region to stop the sit-at-home order by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) must be supported by the troops. “I am using this medium to call on the people of Enugu state and the south-east that they should not allow any criminal enterprise, a space to operate within Enugu state and the South-east any more,” he said. “They should join efforts with members of the security agencies to defy illegal orders of sit-at-home in the region. “I am counselling the criminals to desist from the illegal and criminal enterprise of keeping people down on the guise of sit-at-home.”   Irabor said that the sit-at-home order “does no good to anyone; rather there are avenues that the aggrieved can channel any grievance”