Barely two days after 15 persons died in a boat capsize, another 11 others have been confirmed dead in a fresh boat accident in Adamawa State, North-East, Nigeria, has learnt. The accident reportedly happened at Kwatan Mallam Adamu in Gurin village in the Fufore Local Government Area according to residents of the area. On September 9, had reported that at least eight persons have been confirmed dead, while seven others are missing in a boat mishap in Adamawa State, North-East, Nigeria. Authorities also confirmed that another eight passengers have been rescued, according to the Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA). A resident, Dahiru Gurin who spoke to Saharareporters said the deadly boat capsize happened Monday afternoon when farmers were scampering to reach home to escape rainfall. “About 40 passengers including women and children crammed into the boat to get home before today’s heavy downpour. “Unfortunately midway, strong wind and thunderstorm set in, causing the boat capsize. About now about 20 persons have not been accounted for. “A mother who held up her infant on the surface of the water drowned, but the baby was saved by a diver. I think those who were rescued are not more than 20,” Gurin told our Correspondent. Adamu Mai-nama said his wife, two children, a sister and two in-laws were on board. “Only one child of mine was rescued alive, all the rest of my family members have drowned,” Mai-nama said. The Information Officer of Fufore Local Council, Jngai Abdullahi has confirmed that 11 bodies have so far been recorded. “As of now, local divers have recovered 11 dead bodies,” Abdullahi said. Also, the Executive Secretary of Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA) Dr. Suleiman Aminu, has confirmed the incident to our correspondent in Adamawa State “He said, definitely there was a boat capsize in Gurin, because when it happened they called to inform me. But as of now I can’t give further information pending assessment report,” he added. Recall last Saturday, the deputy governor, Kaletapwa Farauta, visited the earlier accident site and directed ADSEMA officials to identify all crossing points in the state, so that live jackets would be provided for passengers. Just Dr. Aminu also advised operators of inland waterways commercial transportation to avoid overloading and bad weather periods.

  The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) has told President Bola Tinubu to frame his policies in a manner that will yield immediate results for the masses experiencing hardship. Some of the policies introduced by the Tinubu-led government have led to hardship, especially the removal of petrol subsidy, which tripled the pump price of fuel.   But the president has repeatedly told Nigerians that there were brighter days ahead, likening the current situation to pains of a woman in labour. Speaking in Ilọrin, Kwara State capital, on Monday, NASU General Secretary, Prince Peters Adeyemi, said there was need to find immediate solution to the hardship in the land. He spoke at a press conference during the ongoing 2023 quadrennial delegates conference/election of the universities and inter-university centres trade group council. This government has good intentions and policies, but these are not what the masses are going to eat. “Nigerians, and our members are dying; we implore President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government to kick start the harmonisation of all his policies that will positively rub off and address the effect of the present hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy. It is funny that the government will go ahead and remove fuel subsidy without planning an appropriate economic solution.” According to him, president Tinubu’s celebration of 100 days in office was full of promises amidst sufferings by Nigerians. Adeyemi stressed that there is the need to put in place appropriate machinery to increase salaries measured by the present cost of living index. He appealed to the president to clear the outstanding backlog of their four months’ arrears. “The IPPIS payment platform has been extremely problematic with a whole lot of crises and it took us almost two years to be able to resolve a few of them. “As we speak, we still experience delay in the payment of third parties deduction, half hazard salaries, lack of payment of increment as at when due and some of our allowances initially omitted that we fought for were spread beyond our members that are entitled to it. “And UTAS which we designed to address the problem has proven to be very reliable and competent in resolving the issue, the government is shying away from adopting it. Yet they have not had the courage to improve on the abnormalities,” he said. He said the government cannot “force us to strike through its nonchalant attitude to honour MoUs and MoAs and refuse to pay us for the period it lasted”.

  The National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal, on Monday, sacked the son of Prof. Jerry Gana, Rep Joshua Audu-Gana, from the House of Representatives. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Rep Joshua Audu-Gana was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Edati/Lavun/Mokwa Federal Constituency of Niger State in the Feb. 25 general elections. Gana, who won the election with 47,942 votes as against 40,003 votes scored by the candidate of All Progressive Congress (APC), Mr Abdullahi Usman Gbatamagi, was declared the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Dissatisfied with the declaration, the APC and its candidate, Gbatamagi, through their Counsel, Johnson Usman, SAN, challenged the return of Gana. The petition is via a petition number: EPT/NG/HR/06/2023 on the ground that the election was invalid by reason of non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022 in that the margin of win was less than the permanent voter cards (PVCs) collected in the polling units where elections did not hold or were cancelled. Delivering the judgment on Monday, the three-member tribunal headed by Justice Sylvester Godspower agreed with Mr Usman’s arguments. The tribunal proceeded to invalidate votes in the 26 polling units of the constituency, thereby reducing the votes of Gana to 46,494 votes while that of Gbatamagi now stood at 39,159 votes, leaving the PVCs collected in the affected polling units at 14,411. The tribunal consequently set aside the Certificate of Return issued to Joshua Gana by INEC and ordered the commission to conduct a supplementary election in the 26 polling units within 90 days of the judgment with a view to determining the winner of the election. (NAN

  Two suspected cultists were reportedly shot dead after a rival cult clash in Ilesa, Osun state. The State Police Command spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola confirmed that the two victims were identified as Machine and S. Kay.   It was gathered that the two were found dead after an exchange of gun shots at the Imo area of the town on Sunday evening. A source in the area known as Olawale Ismail disclosed that one of the victims was killed in front of a bear parlour while the other was found dead at Imo junction close to the bar. Opalola while confirming the incident said the cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained but said security has been deployed to avoid escalation. “Security personnel have been deployed to the area to avoid any act of retaliation as well as breakdown of law and order in the area”, she added.

  THE Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB yesterday replied to the Nigerian Army, describing it as bizzard and brazen blackmail against it and the Eastern Security Network, ESN, their purported arrest of 80 IPoB members and ESN operatives. IPoB said that the purported arrest of 80 IPoB and ESN operatives by the Nigerian Military, is their and police way of arresting innocent Igbo youths and killing them in the name of killing pro-Biafra activists.   The pro-Biafra group categorically stated that it has no problem with Nigeria security forces that have been arresting and killing innocent Igbo youths, saying that it is not interested in engaging the security forces, but should not be pushed to the wall for such engagement with their killing of Igbo youths, adding that should ESN decide to engage Nigeria Police and the military for their alleged tagging of Igbo youths of being IPoB members and ESN operatives and extra judicially killing them, they will not have the temerity to boast of arresting of IPoB and ESN operatives. A statement by IPoB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful entitled, “The purported arrest of 80 IPoB members and ESN operatives by the Nigerian military is a hoax”, said that “the Nigerian Army spokesperson has only succeeded in making a caricature of their institution by their constant illusion of killing ESN operatives.” It added that “The bizarre and brazen blackmail against IPoB and ESN by the Nigeria Government and her security agencies shows that IPoB remains the only obstacle to their annihilation and extermination of Ndigbo, saying that it will not relent in its efforts towards the emancipation of Biafra land from the terrorist herdsmen and their Fulani military and Police collaborator. The Biafra agitating group also stated that the military presence in the East is basically for three reasons which it said are to extort money from the people and motorists, provide a safe heaven for their alleged infiltrator criminal agents, and for the protection of Fulani terrorist herdsmen. “We want Nigerian Army spokesperson to keep making caricatures of their institution by their constant illusion of killing ESN operatives. They have not killed any single IPoB or ESN operatives, we are only aware of the innocent Igbo youths they have been tagging IPoB Commanders and ESN operatives like they have done recently in Anambra State and killing them. “No 80 IPoB volunteers or ESN operatives were arrested by the military. The fake claim of arresting 80 IPoB volunteers or ESN members by the military is a hoax and should not be believed. If indeed the military arrested any person, they must be innocent Igbo youths or criminals enforcing sit-at-home in the East. Military presence in the Southeast Region, Biafra land is basically for three purposes, namely to extort money from the people and motorists, providing a safe haven for their alleged infiltrator criminal agents, and for the protection of Fulani terrorist herdsmen. “ESN operatives are disciplined and focused on their primary objective of dislodging Fulani terrorists nicknamed herdsmen from our farmlands and forests. They do not engage the Nigeria security forces nor are they involved in any criminality. “Unfortunately, the Nigerian military keeps making caricatures of themselves by fake claims of capturing and killing of IPoB members or ESN operatives. For clarity purposes, IPoB members are not terrorists, neither are ESN operatives. ESN operatives are volunteers who are keeping the land in peace against Fulani terrorists terrorizing the entire Biafra land.   “Let it also be on record that Nigeria’s security forces, particularly military, are committing genocide in Biafra land. The people they claimed to have killed are always innocent Igbo youths and men, not IPoB members or ESN operatives. “ESN operatives are not on the streets of Biafran and can’t be captured or killed like civilians. If the Nigeria military goes after ESN operatives doing the legitimate job to secure our forest and farmlands, they will also count their losses. For one ESN operative to go down, means Nigeria soldiers will go down too. Nigeria security agencies are aware that there are criminal gangs in the Southeast region parading themselves as ESN. The ESN operative does not parade themselves because they are focused and disciplined on their assigned tasks. ESN does not have a social media handle and doesn’t engage in social media showbiz. “Nigeria government and her security agencies should stop displaying their unprofessionalism by linking ESN or IPoB family members to the activities of criminal gangs. Some of the criminal gangs in the East, are creations of the Nigeria government through DSS to blackmail IPoB peaceful struggle under Mazi Nnamdi Kanu”

  Nyesom Wike has assured Nigerians of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to fulfilling his campaign promises, telling them that the Nigerian leader feels their pain. The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) said this during the flag-off of the rehabilitation of roads in the Garki area of Abuja on Monday. The FCT minister of state and I are here to assure you that his [Tinubu’] agenda of Renewed Hope works and to let you know that the FCT is working. The agenda of Mr President is not just by talking [but also in doing]. And that is why we have come to start with flagging off a number of roads in this area,” Wike told the gathering. “This is just phase one. In the next few weeks, we go to phase two. This is about road – infrastructure. So many things Mr President has promised. We are taking them one after the other. “I have told you here if anything was not going to work, I would not be a party but because I know Mr President means well for this country, he wants the best for the country, that’s why I said I would serve in his cabinet because he has shown Nigerians that he feels their pains,” the former governor of Rivers State added. ADVERTISEMENT Wike who lamented the state of infrastructure and others in Nigeria’s capital city, assured Abuja residents of his administration’s commitment to giving the FCT a better bargain. “FCT before now is not the same FCT as of now. We would change everything,” he said, asking residents of the area to support the government and be patient as the road projects commence. ‘It Would not Work’ But he has a warning to contractors handling the projects. “Nothing like variation. It would not work. A job of N1 [would] in the next seven days become N15. It would not work. Don’t even try it,” he maintained. “There is no variation in this job. If you like, go to engineering services and do anything with them. It would not work.”

  President Bola Tinubu has met with the leadership of the United Arab Emirates in a bid to resolve the Emirates Airline flight suspension to Nigeria, visa ban and other diplomatic issues. The PUNCH reports that the UAE imposed a visa ban on Nigerians in October 2022, shortly after Emirates Airlines suspended flights to Nigeria. The move was reportedly in response to Nigeria’s failure to repatriate billions of dollars in trapped funds. In a statement released by the president’s spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, the presidency said that Tinubu and the President of the UAE, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, have finalised a historic agreement. In this report, PUNCH highlights the five significant agreements made by the President with the UAE, as outlined in the official statement. The immediate cessation of the visa ban placed on Nigerian travellers. Both Etihad Airlines and Emirates Airlines are to immediately resume flight schedules into and out of Nigeria, without any further delay. The immediate restoration of flight activity, through these two airlines and between the two countries, does not involve any immediate payment by the Nigerian government. An agreed framework has been established, which will involve several billions of U.S. dollars worth of new investments into the Nigerian economy across multiple sectors, including defense, agriculture and others, by the investment arms of the Government of the United Arab Emirates. The President has successfully negotiated a joint, new foreign exchange liquidity programme between the two Governments, which will be announced in detail in the coming weeks. An agreement to fully normalise and reset to excellence, the standard of relations between the two important countries.

  The Governorship election tribunal sitting in Jos, Plateau State has dismissed the petition of Alfred Dabwan, of the NNPP against Caleb Mutfwang, of the PDP and awarded the cost of N1.5m against the petitioner.   Dabwan had sought the nullification of the March 18, 2023 election which Mutfwang emerged victorious over what he termed the unlawful exclusion of the NNPP log by INEC in the ballot. In another development, the National Assembly election tribunal nullified the election of Napoleon Bali, Senator representing Plateau South Senatorial District and declared Simon Lalong as the duly elected Senator for the zone. The tribunal held that the votes scored by Napoleon Bali in the February 25, 2023, general elections were wasted votes as he was invalidly nominated because, at the time of the nomination, the PDP had no valid structure in Plateau State. Similarly, the National Assembly election tribunal on Monday sacked Peter Gyendeng of the PDP as a Member representing the Barkin-Ladi/Riyom federal constituency and declared Fom Chollom of the LP as the winner of the said election. Fom had challenged the declaration of Gyendeng of the PDP as the winner of the said election by INEC on the ground that Gyendeng was not validly nominated as the PDP at the time of the nomination because the PDP had no valid structure.