Liz Truss, Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister, suffered further political ignominy Friday when she sensationally lost her seat in parliament at the British general election. Truss’s defeat came as the constituencies of all her predecessors since the Tories won power in 2010 turned either Labour or Liberal Democrat — a damning indictment on the Conservatives’ 14 years in power. Truss, who sparked financial turmoil during her 49 chaotic days in charge in 2022, lost her Norfolk South West constituency in eastern England to Labour by 630 votes. Labour candidate Terry Jermy overturned Truss’s massive majority of more than 26,000 which she secured at the last election in 2019 — a notional 27.85 percent swing. Her defeat, announced shortly before 7:00 am (0600 GMT) capped a shocking performance for Rishi Sunak’s Conservative party as Keir Starmer’s Labour opposition won a landslide to return to power after 14 years Truss, a member of parliament since 2010, was slow hand-clapped onto the stage after keeping the other candidates waiting for several minutes. She left without making a speech. But she told the BBC afterwards: “I think the issue we faced as Conservatives is we haven’t delivered sufficiently on the policies people want.” Asked if she bore some responsibility, she said: “I agree. I was part of that. That’s absolutely true.” Truss — whose shelf-life as premier was lampooned as shorter than that of an Iceberg lettuce — said she had “a lot to think about” when asked if she wanted to stay in politics. Sunak held onto his seat in northern England but the Tories also lost the seats held by Truss’s predecessors Boris Johnson, Theresa May, and David Cameron. Labour took Johnson’s previous constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip in northwest London while May’s ex-seat of Maidenhead, also near the capital, was gained by the smaller Liberal Democrats party. The Liberal Democrats also won Cameron’s old seat of Witney in Oxfordshire.

  Controversy has enveloped a $150bn Samoa trade deal signed by the Federal Government of Nigeria with the European Union. Last November, the European Union, its 27 member states and 79 member states of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) signed an agreement in Apia, the capital of the Pacific island country of Samoa. Hence, it was referred to as the ‘Samoa Agreement’. With the new agreement which succeeded the Cotonou Agreement, the parties are expected to be better equipped to address emerging needs and global challenges, such as climate change, ocean governance, migration, health, peace and security. Nigeria signed the agreement on June 28, 2024, but it became public knowledge this week after a disclosure by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu.   Controversy The disclosure about the Samoa deal sparked a barrage of reactions online with many opposing what they believed was a recognition of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) rights, which is contrary to the laws of the land. In 2014, then President Goodluck Jonathan assented to a bill outlawing same-sex marriages and gay relationships, making LGBT unacceptable and unlawful in Nigeria. A former lawmaker Shehu Sani, in a post on X, said, “African states should not accept loans or grants from any country, group of countries or international institutions that came with demonic conditions antithetical to our culture, religious faiths and values. All African countries including Nigeria who appended their signatures should go back and ‘unsign’ the Samoa agreement. An official of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Abubakar Akande, also reportedly opposed same-sex marriage and LGBT rights, stating that the agreement goes against the country’s moral and religious values. On its part, the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) called on the Federal Government to withdraw from the controversial agreement saying, “This treacherous move is a betrayal of the Nigerian people’s trust and values, and we demand that the government immediately withdraw from this agreement.” ADVERTISEMENT A Facebook user Muhammad Yaqub also said, “History will have it that the LGBT Samoa agreement was signed under the Muslim-Muslim administration.” Consistent With Laws — Minister Amid the raging reactions, Bagudu’s spokesman Bolaji Adebiyi said, “The documents signed by the Federal Government, were strictly for the economic development of Nigeria, nowhere in the documents were LGBT or same-sex marriage mentioned even remotely, and it would be wrong for anyone to imply that Nigeria had accepted those tendencies. What Bagudu signed was about a $150 billion trade component.”   Also, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga in a Thursday post on X faulted the notion that the deal had elements supporting LGBT rights, contrary to the laws of the land. mohammed-idris The Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris Also, Information Minister Mohammed Idris in a statement on Thursday said Nigeria signed the Samoa Agreement in the best interest of the country after extensive reviews and consultations. He said, “It was ensured that none of the 103 Articles and Provisions of the Agreement contravenes the 1999 Constitution as amended or laws of Nigeria and other extant Laws. “In addition, Nigeria’s endorsement was accompanied by a Statement of Declaration, dated 26th June 2024, clarifying its understanding and context of the Agreement within its jurisdiction to the effect that any provision that is inconsistent with the laws of Nigeria shall be invalid. “It is instructive to note that there is an existing legislation against same-sex relationships in Nigeria enacted in 2014. “It is necessary to assure Nigerians that the President Bola Tinubu Administration, being a rule-based government will not enter into any international agreement that will be detrimental to the interest of the country and its citizens.”   A Mix-Up? In a review of the Samoa Agreement after it was signed last November, the European Parliament observed that the initial draft agreement contained the LGBT provision but noted that member states “were reluctant to see the foundation agreement mention sexual orientation and gender identity (LGBTI rights)”. Parties, however, reached a compromise to commit only to the implementation of existing international agreements on the matter. Subsequently, LGBT rights were expunged from the final agreement and replaced with “gender equality”. Specifically, Article 2, clause 5 of the final agreement stated that “the parties shall systematically promote a gender perspective and ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed across all policies”.

  Keir Starmer on Friday will become Britain’s new prime minister, as his centre-left opposition Labour party swept to a landslide general election victory, ending 14 years of right-wing Conservative rule. “The Labour Party has won this general election, and I have called Sir Keir Starmer to congratulate him on his victory,” a sombre-looking Rishi Sunak said after he was re-elected to his seat. “Today, power will change hands in a peaceful and orderly manner with goodwill on all sides,” the Tory leader added, calling the results “sobering” and saying he took responsibility for the defeat. At a triumphant party rally in central London, Starmer, 61, told cheering activists that “change begins here” and promised a “decade of national renewal”, putting “country first, party second”. But he cautioned that change would not come overnight, even as Labour snatched a swathe of Tory seats around the country, including from nine Cabinet members, and former prime minister Liz Truss. Truss’s disastrous 49-day tenure effectively sealed the Tories’ fate with the public two years ago, when her unfunded tax cuts spooked markets and crashed the pound. She had been facing a campaign to oust her by grassroots activists — dubbed “the Turnip Taliban” — in her rural constituency and lost by just 630 votes.   ‘Keir we go’ Labour raced past the 326 seats needed to secure an overall majority in the 650-seat parliament at 0400 GMT, with the final result expected later on Friday morning. An exit poll for UK broadcasters published after polls closed at 2100 GMT on Thursday put Labour on course for a return to power for the first time since 2010, with 410 seats and a 170-seat majority. The Tories would only get 131 seats in the House of Commons — a record low — with the right-wing vote apparently spliced by Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform UK party. In another boost for the centrists, the smaller opposition Liberal Democrats ousted the Scottish National Party as the third-biggest party. The results buck a rightward trend among Britain’s closest Western allies, with the far right in France eyeing power and Donald Trump looking set for a return in the United States. British newspapers all focused on Labour’s impending return to power for the first time since Gordon Brown was ousted by David Cameron in 2010. “Keir We Go,” headlined the Labour-supporting Daily Mirror. “Britain sees red,” said The Sun, the influential Rupert Murdoch tabloid, which swung behind Labour for the first time since 2005.   Tory future Sunak will tender his resignation to head of state King Charles III, with the monarch then asking Starmer, as the leader of the largest party in parliament, to form a government. The Tories’ worst previous election result was 156 seats in 1906. Former leader William Hague told Times Radio the projections would be “a catastrophic result in historic terms”. But Tim Bale, politics professor at Queen Mary, University of London, said it was “not as catastrophic as some were predicting” and the Tories would now need to decide how best to fight back. Right-wing former interior minister Suella Braverman and Mordaunt, who was leader of the House of Commons, both said the Tories failed because they had not listened to the British people. But Brexit champion Farage, who finally succeeded in becoming an MP at the eighth time of asking, has made no secret of his aim to take over the party. “There is a massive gap on the centre-right of British politics and my job is to fill it,” he said after a comfortable win in Clacton, eastern England.   To-do list Labour’s resurgence is a stunning turnaround from five years ago, when hard-left former leader Jeremy Corbyn took the party to its worst defeat since 1935 in an election dominated by Brexit. Starmer took over in early 2020 and set about moving the party back to the centre, making it a more electable proposition and purging infighting and anti-Semitism that lost its support. Opinion polls have put Labour consistently 20 points ahead of the Tories since Truss’s resignation, giving an air of inevitability about a Labour win — the first since Tony Blair in 2005. Starmer is facing a daunting to-do list, with economic growth anaemic, public services overstretched and underfunded due to swingeing cuts, and households squeezed financially. He has also promised a return of political integrity, after a chaotic period of five Tory prime ministers in 14 years, scandal and sleaze.

  Friday 05 July 2024 APC divided as A’Court returns pro-Wike lawmakers to Assembly Iran begins presidential election runoff amid low turnout Court sacks judges heading Ganduje’s probe panels Cholera: FG To End Open Defecation By 2025 Nigeria’s Economy Can Be Turned Around In Months — Dangote Kano Emirate Tussle: Bayero’s Lawyers Withdraw Legal Representation Nigeria Clinches Right To Host African Energy Bank Headquarters TASUED Suspends Exams After Student’s Killing By Suspected Cultists Edo Guber: Disquiet as court nullifies PDP’s primary, voids Ighodalo’s candidacy Queues Resurface As NNPC Incurs $6bn Petrol Payment Backlogs Tinubu injects N2 trillion to stimulate economy   Visit a newspaper stand this morning, buy and read a copy for yourself…

  The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, said intelligence at the disposal of some Civil Society Organisations showed that a former governor and two former ministers are behind the protests being organised against the agency. On Wednesday, the commission had raised the alarm that some groups were planning a series of protests against the EFCC. Addressing journalists at the Strategic Communications Inter-agency Policy Committee briefing on Thursday in Abuja, Oyewale said 259 civil society organisations under the aegis of the Coalition for Transparency and Economic Reform have pulled out of the protest. He noted that according to them, an ex-governor, and two former ministers are the masterminds of the protests against the commission. Father who loses daughter to suicide in UK points fingers at ex-wife, daughter’s ex-boyfriend0.00 / 0.00 Oyewale said, “I received a report that about 259 civil society organisations under the aegis of the Coalition for Transparency and Economic Reform came out publicly on Wednesday to dissociate themselves from the so-called protests. “If you have 259 civil society organisations coming out publicly to say that we are not going to support you (protests), then, their moral base is totally weakened. “Even this same group, they are saying that their own intelligence shows that an ex-governor, and two former ministers, according to them, are the arrowhead behind the so-called protests. That is their own intelligence. “We also have our own intelligence, but the sum and substance of everything is that the protest is not in the overall interest of the nation and that youths should be wary so that they will not be recruited, they will not be used as cannon fodders in a cause that they really don’t understand. “So, you can see that across the country, the Commission is receiving very, very reliable support, including the media and every stakeholder in the anti-corruption project. “Generally and holistically, all of these people that are talking about end the EFCC, don’t end EFCC, kill EFCC, don’t kill EFCC, they are people that are tangentially affected by the activities of the commission. “If you have a commission like the EFCC, you are not receiving some kind of an attack, it either means that we are not effective, or the public is not concerned about what we are doing. “So, we know that, yes, our activities are affecting people that have one thing or the other to hide, and we know that it’s natural that they want to fight us. “And that’s why we came out publicly to say that tomorrow, the planned protests, what they have said is not what they actually mean. And we have a responsibility to tell the public,” he said. Oyewale said the attacks on the EFCC were a result of its ongoing fight against corrupt elements in the country. He said, “Generally and holistically, all of these people that are talking about end the EFCC, don’t end EFCC, kill EFCC, don’t kill EFCC, they are people that are tangentially affected by the activities of the commission. “If you have a commission like the EFCC, you are not receiving some kind of an attack, it either means that we are not effective, or the public is not concerned about what we are doing. “So, we know that, yes, our activities are affecting people that have one thing or the other to hide, and we know that it’s natural that they want to fight us. “And that’s why we came out publicly to say that tomorrow, the planned protests, what they have said is not what they actually mean. And we have a responsibility to tell the public.” Oyewale warned parents and guardians to prevail on their children not to join protests on the issues they have no clear understanding of.

  Amid controversies that trailed the Kano Emirate tussle, the legal team of the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero have withdrawn their services in the case before the Kano State High Court. The action by the legal team including two Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN was due to the court refusal to adjourn the case to a new date to enable them respond to the applications. When the matter came up for hearing on Thursday, counsel to Bayero (1st respondent), Abdul Muhammed SAN notified the court about an affidavit of fact, that it has a motion of appeal and notice of stay of proceedings before the Court of Appeal. Muhammed urged the court to stay the proceedings pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice. He also told the court that they were served with the court processes this morning by the plaintiff and however, sought for an adjournment to enable them to respond but the court refused his prayers. He therefore, announced his withdrawal of service from the case before the court after the court refused his prayers. Similarly, a member of the team, Barrister Sanusi Musa SAN on behalf of the other counsels for the first respondent announced their withdrawal from the case. In his words: “Myself and other counsels apply for the withdrawal of our representation and appearances,” Musa told the court. On their part, counsel to the 3rd, 4th and 5th respondents, Hassan Tanko Kyaure told the court that they have filed an application for an extension of time dated July 2 and counter affidavit in response to the originating motion. Kyaure urged the court to set aside the Kano State emirates council repealed law as due process were not followed and urged the court to dismiss the application with the cost of N1 billion. Counsel to the applicant, Eyitayo Fatogun SAN urged the court to discountenance the motion of affidavit of facts pursuant to order 39 rule 1 and 2 of the Court. “The motion refers to a proposed notice of appeal not a notice of appeal. “The filing of notice of appeal does not guarantee the stay of proceedings. It shows that the affidavit of facts is just to delay the proceedings. My lord the business of today is for the hearing of all pending applications.” He also urged the court to dismiss the 3rd, 4th and 5th respondents application on the issue of repealed law because the issue is not before the Court. In her ruling, the presiding Judge, Justice Amina Adamu, refused to grant the application for the stay of proceedings. “The affidavit is unknown to the rules of Court. The respondent did not disclose any special fact to warrant any stay of proceedings.” She therefore adjourned the case to July 18 to rule on the applications of extension of time, notice of preliminary objection, setting aside exparte order, joinder application, examining deponent, application for the Judge to recuse herself and originating summon. Earlier, before delivering her ruling, the Judge, Justice Adamu had ordered the lawyers in the matter to stop granting interviews to journalists before and after her ruling on stay of proceedings. The applicants in the case are: the Attorney General of Kano State, Speaker Kano State House of Assembly and Kano State House of Assembly, through their counsel Ibrahim Isah Wangida Esq, filed a motion exparte dated May 27. The applicants are seeking the court to restrain the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, and four other dethroned emirs from parading themselves as emirs. The respondents are, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, Alhaji Nasiru Ado-Bayero (Bichi), Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar ll (Karaye), Kabiru Muhammad Inuwa (Rano) and Aliyu Ibrahim Gaya (Gaya). Others are Inspector General of Police, Director State Security Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and Nigeria Army.

  A federal high court sitting in Kano has ordered two judges to resign their appointments as chairmen of the commission of inquiry constituted to probe Abdullahi Ganduje, the former governor of the state. In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Simon Amobeda, the presiding judge, held that Farouk Adamu and Zuwaira Yusuf ought not to have taken the appointment by Abba Yusuf, the governor of Kano, since they are still serving judges of the high court of the state. Amobeda ordered the judges to resign from the commission within 48 hours. He said the National Judicial Council (NJC) (first defendant) shall stop forthwith the payment of any remuneration, allowances, and benefits meant for judicial officers from the consolidated revenue fund of the federation to the judges if they fail to comply with the 48-hour deadline. Amobeda faulted the governor for setting up the commission without appealing an earlier court judgment by A. Liman, a judge, declaring that Ganduje can only be investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). THE JUDGMENT Citing relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution as amended, the judge held that the Kano state government lacks the power to appoint the two judges to serve as chairmen of inquiry constituted by the governor. “That, by the combined provisions of Sections 153(1)(i) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, CFRN, 1999 (as altered), Paragraph 21(d) of Part I of the Third Schedule Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered)and sections 1, 3 and 6 of the Commission of Inquiry Law, Cap. 26, Laws of Kano State, the governor of Kano state has no power to appoint the 4th and 5th defendants and administer another oath of office on them to serve as chairmen of commission of Inquiry constituted by the governor of Kano state, an office meant for commissioners of Kano state government in order to exercise executive powers assigned to them by the governor of Kano state and stop them from performing their functions as judges of the high court of Kano state, without recourse to the 1st defendant,” the court held. “That, by the combined effects of the provisions of Sections 6, 84, 153(1)(1), 271(2), and 272 together with Paragraph 21(c) of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered), the 4th and 5th defendants are not legally permitted, while still purporting to hold the office of judge of the high court of Kano state, to accept appointments as chairmen of commissions of inquiry with quasi-judicial powers equivalent powers to that of a magistrate court and subject to review by a judge of the high court of Kano state. “That, by the combined effect of Sections 5 and 6 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered), the action of the governor of Kano state of appointing the 4th and 5th defendants as chairmen of the commissions of inquiry pursuant to the provision of Sections 3 and 6 of the Commission of Inquiry Law, Cap. 26, Laws of Kano State, instead of appointing from amongst the commissioners of Kano state government is an encroachment into and undermining the judicial arm of government, a breach doctrine of the separation of powers, a grave violation of the Constitution, and gross misconduct on the part of the governor of Kano state and the 3rd defendant who administered the Oath of Office and Oath of Allegiance to the 4th and 5th Defendants. “That, by the combined effect of the provisions of Sections 5, 6, 84 and 271 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered) and Paragraph 21(c) of Part I of the Third Schedule thereof as well as the provision of the Preamble and Rule 3.7 of Revised Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, issued by the 1 defendant, the 4th and 5th defendants, having accepted an executive appointment as chairmen of commissions of inquiry, abandoned their judicial functions and turned their Courtrooms to a place of performing executive function assigned to them by the governor of Kano state, cannot simultaneously continue to hold office as judges of the high court of Kano state and cannot be entitled to salaries and allowances of judicial officers, as fixed by the 2nd defendant and being paid by the 1st defendant. “That, in view of the decision of this honourable court coram: Hon. justice A.M. Liman in Suit No.FHC/KN/195/2023 (Between Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje v. Nigeria Police Force & Ors) delivered on 5th day of March 2024 declaring that the plaintiff herein can only be investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), it is an abuse of office and undermining the sanctity of the judiciary for the governor of Kano state to set up a commission of inquiry which is inferior to this court to purport to investigate the administration of the plaintiff. “That the 4th and 5th defendants, being serving judicial officers, shall respectively resign from their appointments as chairman of judicial commission of inquiry for the recovery of misappropriated public properties and assets, and chairman of judicial commission of inquiry to investigate political violence and missing persons respectively, and shall desist forthwith, from performing executive functions assigned to them by the Governor of Kano state in courtrooms meant to adjudicate disputes between persons and authorities in Kano state. “That, where the 4th and 5th Defendants fail to comply with this order within 48 hours of its service on them, the 1st defendant shall stop forthwith the payment of any remuneration, allowances, and benefits meant for judicial officers from the consolidated revenue fund of the federation to the 4th and 5th Defendants while they are still holding office as chairmen of commissions of inquiry.” However, the court declined to order that the judges cease to be judicial officers. The

  Officers from Ikorodu Area Command have rescued a nineteen-year old teenager who was on the verge of committing suicide few days ago. According to a statement by the police spokesperson in Lagos State, SP Benjamin Hundeyin said that a concerned citizen last Sunday, informed police authorities about a young girl who was attempting to commit suicide by ingesting a harmful chemical known as Sniper. Promptly responding to the tip-off, officers were dispatched to the scene where the girl was located and prevented from causing herself harm. “Upon rescue, the lady, whose identity remains confidential, confessed that she had been driven to the brink of suicide due to severe emotional distress. She revealed that she was impregnated by a man who subsequently refused to take responsibility for the pregnancy. Additionally, she had fallen victim to a fraudster who scammed her of her earnings from her Point of Sale (POS) business, further compounding her emotional and financial struggles. “The young woman is currently receiving necessary psychological support while investigation is underway to identify and apprehend all individuals involved in her predicament. “The command also wishes to highlight the importance of mental health awareness and encourages anyone facing similar challenges to seek help promptly.