Headlines
Edo 2021: Kogi Athletes, Officials Test 100 Per Cent Negative to COVID-19
All 41 athletes and 35 officials from Kogi State in the 20th National Sports Festival have tested negative to COVID-19.
Kogi State government had persistently maintained that the state is COVID-19 free despite reports by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) that it had some cases.
The state contingent, who arrived at the festival on Saturday, got their COVID-19 test results early Sunday.
They were reportedly subjected to a lengthy wait under the elements.
Observers noted that the suspicion from the NCDC officials was high and not unconnected with Kogi State’s official stance on the coronavirus disease, which has killed millions around the world and 2, 058 in Nigeria.
Recall that in the early days of the pandemic when panic measures were taken by many world leaders, the Kogi Governor, Yahaya Bello, was caught on video declaring, “We ain’t got no COVID.”
He dismissed reports that he either had the disease or that it had reached his state.
The video, which subsequently went viral, was said to have set the pace for the governor’s controversial positions on the disease over the next year.
Governor Bello also refused to institute a universal mask mandate and would not join in the lengthy lockdowns adopted by his colleagues at the NCDC’s insistence.
He kept his state and economy open throughout and this set him on a collision course severally with the NCDC, the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19, and other bodies in the coalition managing the disease for the country.
A top health official at the sports fiesta in Benin City said it was against this background that the closer-than-usual spotlight was put on the Kogi State contingent.
“The 100 per cent negative COVID-19 result for Kogi contingents in the ongoing sports festival in Benin is now raising questions. Could Governor Yahaya Bello have been right all along? Should we have listened more to him?” she queried.
The Guardian
Headlines
Abiola Cannot Be Recognised As Former President; He Was Never Sworn-in – Gen Ishola Williams
By Eric Elezuo
One of the prime actors of the June 12, 1993 incidents, General Ishola Williams, has said that much as Chief MKO Abiola wrong was created having won the election, and denied victory, he cannot be recognized as a former President of Nigeria.
Gen Williams made his revelation while speaking as a guest on Channels television socio-political programme, Inside Source.
He maintained that only those who were sworn in that recognised as former presidents, and Abiola was never sworn in.
“Abiola cannot be recognised as former president because he was never sworn in.
The General, who said that he resigned from the army as a result of the wholesome reception given to General Sani Abacha, when he overthrew Chief Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government, contrary to expectation, also picked flaws in the narratives given by former Military President Ibrahim Babangida, in his recently launched book, A Journey In Service.
Williams rose in the army to become the Commandant of Army Signals, Commander of Training and Doctrine (TRADOC) and Chief of Defence Training and Planning, from where he resigned.
Headlines
Breaking: Supreme Court Recognises Martin Amaewhule As Rivers Assembly Speaker, Orders CBN to Stop Releasing Funds to State
By Eric Elezuo
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has in its ruling on Friday recognised Hon Martins Amaewhule as the authentic speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, mandating him to urgently resume sitting with elected members of the assembly.
The apex court also ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria to stop releasing to the Rivers State government until a proper assembly is constituted.
Details soon…
Tension escalated at the Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday as impeached Speaker Mudashiru Obasa made a dramatic return to reclaim his position.
Accompanied by heavily armed men, Obasa stormed the Assembly complex in a bold move that has thrown the State’s legislature into turmoil.
In a stunning turn of events, security details assigned to the substantive Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mojisola Meranda, were abruptly withdrawn on Thursday morning, clearing the path for Obasa’s controversial comeback.
Sources revealed that the Inspector General of Police (IGP) ordered the withdrawal of all security operatives attached to Meranda, leaving her exposed in the midst of an intensifying power struggle.
The Speaker’s Special Adviser on Information, Mr. Victor Ganzallo, expressed concern over the security vacuum created by the withdrawal of personnel.
“In the early hours of Thursday, we woke up to the startling news that all security details assigned to Madam Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, had been withdrawn.
This includes the police and DSS officers, leaving her exposed to threats amid the ongoing speakership crisis,” Ganzallo stated.
He further called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, as the State’s Chief Security Officer, to intervene urgently to prevent a complete breakdown of law and order within the Assembly.
“The withdrawal of security personnel has left the Assembly naked and vulnerable at a critical time. Urgent action is needed to restore order,” he pleaded.
With the speakership battle taking a dramatic new turn, political watchers are keenly observing how the crisis will unfold in the coming days.
