A federal capital territory high court sitting in Bwari has fixed September 14 for hearing of a motion against Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The motion seeks to commit Yakubu to prison over alleged disobedience of a court order. Mohammed Madugu, the presiding judge, fixed the date following a committal charge which emanated from a suit marked: FCT/HC/CV/4068/2023 filed by Michael Ajara, counsel to the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs are Otunba Ogidan and Mustapha Rabiu. Victor Oye and Mahmood Yakubu are 1st and 2nd respondents in the suit. On May 31, 2019 Ogidan and Rabiu were elected as national vice chairman of south-west geopolitical zone of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and national welfare officer respectively, during a convention in Owerri, the Imo capital, under the leadership of Edozie Njoku, national chairman of the party. In the application, Oye and Mahmood were alleged to have flouted and ignored the court’s interim injunction of May 10, which ordered parties in the suit to maintain status quo ante bellum pending the determination of the substantive suit fixed for September 28. NOT RECOGNISING NJOKU Yakubu was alleged to have refused to recognise Njoku as the rightful national chairman of APGA and went ahead to publish names of governorship candidates which did not emanate from Njoku for APGA, for the November 11 off-cycle governorship polls in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa. INEC was alleged to have continued to recognise Oye as the national chairman of APGA as against the court order. The motion said Oye also held a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the party in disobedience to the court injunction which barred him from calling any meeting or holding any campaign or convention in the name of the party. “The injunction also ordered Chief Victor Oye to stop parading himself as the National Chairman of APGA,” it said. When the matter was called on Monday, Ajara, who appeared for the plaintiffs, informed the court that the motion is ripe for hearing, having been served on INEC chairman on July 13 which the court verified from its records. However, a copy of the proof of service of the contempt proceedings on Oye could not be found in the court file, although Ajara had certified true copies (CTCs) of the documents for the two respondents. In a bid to unravel the mix-up, the judge called the attention of Joseph Igboyi, the chief registrar, to verify if the signature on the CTC was his and he answered in the affirmative. When Musa Abdulwahab, the bailiff, was called to produce the original copy of the proof of service which was meant to be in the judge’s file, he admitted that he removed the original copy from the file. Musa did not state why he removed the proof of service from the court file and the development generated heated argument in the courtroom. The presiding judge subsequently adjourned Oye’s matter to September 28 for further hearing.

  A public opinion analyst and Convener of the PDP Alliance for Democracy,PAD, Arc. Ekiye Akposeye has raised the alarm over lack of classrooms at the Ogobiri community in Sagbama, the Local Government Area of former Governor Seriake Dickson. Akposeye said the development had compelled students to resort to the use of market stalls as their classrooms.   The Sagbama leader in a statement on Tuesday said: “It is quite honestly, worrying that in 2023 students would have to attend classes in a market square at Ogobiri community. “Even beyond politics, this is bad. As a PDP supporter, this is not good for the optics. Sagbama has been, for years, one of the strong bases of our party. The news of the unfortunate happenings at Ogobiri is not a good show of our party’s value system”. “I am told the governor is freshly aware of the fact children are being taught in the market square at Ogobiri as there are no classes and has directed the Hon. Commissioner for Education who is to arrive there on the 12th of September. “The common thought is for the All Progressives Congress, APC and its governorship candidate not to be aware of the incidence at Ogobiri hence the hasty dispatch of the education commissioner, but sadly, the Ogobiri incidence has been common knowledge for months and it is not something to politicize. “The approach is simple and classical: build classroom blocks at Ogobiri and take our children off the streets and markets.”

  The Kano State House of Assembly has suspended the Chairman of Gwale Local Government Council, Khalid Ishaq Diso, for a period of three months. The House adopted the report of its Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs at a plenary session on Tuesday, after allegations of the chairman’s illegal act of selling government lands was brought before the House. The Assembly said six members out of the council councillors, 10 members petitioned the House over the conduct of the chairman. According to the State Assembly Speaker, Jubril Ismail Falgore, the council chairman was also accused of making unilateral decisions without carrying the councillors along. To this end, the House constituted an ad hoc committee to investigate the allegations and report back in two months and directed the Vice-Chairman to take over the helm of affairs for three months, pending the completion of the investigation.

  Two members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, have been killed following Tuesday’s clash of two factions at its headquarters in Abuja, AIT reports. According to the news media, one of those killed is from the Nasarawa state chapter while the other is yet to be identified. Also, several members and people in neighbouring plazas and houses ran for safety as many are said to have sustained gunshot wounds. As at the time of filing this report, one faction is reported to be having a meeting in the headquarters of NURTW at Garki 2 area of Abuja, while the other has taken refuge at the Nigeria Labour Congress headquarters at Labour House, Central Business District. Men of the Nigeria Police are seen patrolling the NURTW Headquarters building to maintain peace. The Clash may not be unconnected with disagreements in the composition of the leadership as the current president was not the choice candidate of his predecessor. For now calm has been restored at the NURTW Headquarters but there is visible tension around the area.

  The Imo State police command said it has arrested six security operatives over extortion in the State. The security operatives include three officers from the National Drug Laws Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), two from the Nigerian Civil Defence and an Inspector of police. According to the police spokesperson in Imo State, Henry Okoye said the security operatives hide under the umbrella of Operation Search Flush in Imo to harass and extort unsuspecting members of the public via POS to the tune of thousands of Nara, in particular the youths, seizing and checking their phones and thereby bringing untold hardship to them. They include: 1. NA Kelechi Chijoke, ‘m’ 30yrs a National Drug Law Enforcement Agent (NDLEA) operative 2. NA David Nwaji ‘m’ NDLEA 3. CA III Nwaka Ikechukwu NDLEA 4. DSC Obijiaku Israel ‘’ 28yrs Civil Defence 5. ASC II Police Timothy ‘m’ 33yrs Civil Defense 6. Inspector Odidika Augustine ‘m’ 37 yrs an Inspector of Police. More to follow……

  Rescue teams are racing against the clock to find survivors from the rubble of the devastating earthquake that tore through Morocco on Friday — but hope is fading. On Tuesday, officials pegged the number of casualties at 2,800 while the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said about 100,000 children have been affected. The earthquake which was the strongest to hit the North African country in more than 60 years, affected the south of Marrakesh and damaged buildings in major cities. The country’s interior ministry said the tremors were felt in neighbouring Algeria and Portugal. Rescue efforts have proven complicated as the near magnitude 7 quake struck in a mountainous area where access is extremely difficult. While planes from Qatar, Britain, and Spain have arrived Morocco with humanitarian aid and a rescue team, other foreign countries have expressed concern over what seems like a reluctance by the North African nation to accept help. In a statement on Sunday, the Moroccan interior ministry said it would initially accept search-and-rescue teams only from Britain, Qatar, Spain and the United Arab Emirates — which it called “friendly countries” — after taking into account the “needs of the field”.   Other countries including France, Germany, Italy, and the United States, along with the United Nations (UN), however said they were waiting to provide any help they could offer pending Morocco’s request. Tunisia and Saudi Arabia have also said they are sending aid, but it is not clear if any has been dispatched. Survivors of the quake have expressed frustration at the government over an “absence of action” as they have been relying on each other to provide services such as food donations and primary healthcare. The Red Cross said it would take over $110m to provide desperately needed assistance in Morocco.

  President Bola Tinubu has called for a thorough and comprehensive investigation into the recurring tragedy of fatal boat incidents across the nation. This is contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, on Tuesday in Abuja. Tinubu said government agencies would be held accountable for any regulatory or safety lapses, urging that comprehensive safety measures and enforcement must be carried out on boating activities in the country. The president directed various government agencies, including law enforcement, maritime safety and transportation safety authorities to collaborate in identifying the causes of these unfortunate and preventable disasters. Tinubu extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims who lost their lives in the recent boat mishaps in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger and Gurin village, in Fufore LGA of Adamawa. “The President directs various government agencies, including law enforcement, maritime safety and transportation safety authorities to collaborate closely in identifying the root causes of these unfortunate and preventable disasters. President Tinubu underscores his commitment to holding government agencies accountable for any regulatory or safety lapses and further instructs a comprehensive review of safety measures and strict enforcement of existing laws on boating activities in the country,” Ngelale. He expressed solidarity with the governments and people of Niger and Adamawa as they mobilized emergency response teams and volunteers to provide assistance to victims of the incidents. Tinubu wished those injured in the incidences a most speedy recovery, assuring the affected families and communities of the government’s continued support in this trying period. “The President assures the affected families and communities of the government’s continued support and his commitment to the prevention of such tragic incidents from occurring in the future,” the statement added. A boat, on Monday, capsized in a river in Gurin of Fufore Local Government Area, Adamawa State with many people on board. Similarly, 26 bodies were recovered while 44 are still missing after a boat capsized in a river between the Jebba and Kainji dams in Mokwa Local Government of Niger on Sunday.

  Former Minster of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has commended the efforts of President Bola Tinubu in 100 days in office, saying he has restored the confidence and hope of the Nigerian people in the comity of nations. He also said the President has demonstrated in the first three months that Nigeria has risen to the task of leading the African continent. Fani-Kayode made these known via his X page, shortly after the United Arab Emirates lifted the visa ban slammed on Nigeria. The presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, in a press release, on Monday, said the UAE has lifted the visa restriction it imposed on Nigerians in October 2022. He also disclosed that the Etihad and Emirates airlines have resumed flight operations in the country with immediate effect. Ngelale said these decisions were made following the meeting Tinubu had with Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi. Reacting to the meeting and the historic agreement, which has resulted in the immediate cessation of the visa ban placed on Nigerian travelers, Fani-Kayode said, Tinubu achieved what his predecessor could not achieve. “In the last few days our President has placed Nigeria back at the center-stage of international affairs where she rightly belongs,” the former Aviation minister said. He stated, “After a fantastic outing in India at the G20 summit which has attracted billions of dollars in investment to our country and where he rightly told world leaders that they cannot do without Nigeria, he went to the UAE and not only ensured that the visa ban on Nigerians was lifted but also ensured a resolution to the trapped Emirati funds at Central Bank and the issue of flight routes and air travel between our two countries. All these achievements in a matter of a few days. “These are things that the previous administration could not achieve in years of protracted and oftentimes acrimonious negotiations. “I am truly proud of our President and, under his watch, Nigeria is clearly on the rise again. “Not only has he restored our confidence and hope but he has also proved to the world that Great Nigeria, the Giant of Africa, has come alive again. Glory be to God.”