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HURIWA Urges NASS to Pass Vote of No-Confidence on Buhari over ASUU Strike
Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, has called on the National Assembly to pass a vote of no confidence on the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
According to the group, the lingering strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, which began on February 14, has endangered the security of the country with students being out of classrooms.
This was contained in a statement signed by the National Coordinator, HURIWA, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, on Wednesday, which noted that students could have been recruited to commit crimes such as terrorism, banditry, Internet fraud, prostitution, and drug trafficking.
The statement read in part, “We call on the National Assembly to impeach President Muhammadu Buhari for letting the ASUU strike linger thereby endangering national security. Everyone knows an idle hand is the devil’s workshop. This is why it is not imaginable that some undergraduate youths would have gone into sophisticated crimes such as kidnappings, cultism, terrorism, and drug trafficking, amongst others.
“The government’s inability to resolve the industrial crisis in the public universities whereby over 70 per cent of youths attend because they are from poor backgrounds is a direct declaration of war on the youths.
“HURIWA, therefore, urged the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to be a man now that he couldn’t get his promised presidential candidacy from the cabal in Aso Rock. He should do the needful and etch his name on the sands of time by impeaching the President.”
The group also stated that the All Progressives Congress-led government was not serious about ending the ASUU strike because the children of the elite were in private institutions and the diaspora.
Onwubiko added that the APC should settle ASUU with the money realised from the sale of forms for the presidential primary election where aspirants paid N100 million for nomination and expression of interest forms.
“The APC-led government has demonstrated nonchalance to tertiary education in public schools obviously because the ruling class send their children to private institutions in Nigeria and overseas.
“The APC raked in over N2.5 trillion naira from its recent presidential primary alone as over 25 aspirants paid N100 million each. The N2.5 trillion is excluding trillions gotten from thousands of governorship, senatorial, House of Representatives and state Houses of Assembly aspirants.
“If the party is serious about ending the ASUU strike and saving its President, Muhammadu Buhari, from ignoble shame, it would have given just N1.1 trillion to ASUU to end the strike. But unfortunately, we have shameless people in power both at the APC top echelon and the Federal Government,” Onwubiko stated.
The group stated that it would write to foreign embassies not to allow children of elected officials to travel for academic purposes and urged the National Association of Nigerian Students to shun “money-based aluta”.
“HURIWA will subsequently write to all Western Embassies to urge them not to admit children of governors, ministers and the President for any academic programmes in their nations until the ASUU strike is permanently solved.
“Also, the National Association of Nigerian Students must sustain public protests and not cave in to intimidation and money-based aluta. They should not eat their future like Esau,” the statement concluded.
The Punch
All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Lagos State, Samuel Ajose, has declared that the endorsement of Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat as the next governor by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) will not stand.
GAC, regarded as the highest decision-making body of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos State, endorsed Hamzat, as its consensus candidate for the 2027 governorship election.
The decision was reached during a closed-door meeting held at Lagos House, Marina, indicating an early alignment within the ruling party ahead of the next electoral cycle.
Speaking after the session, GAC leader, Tajudeen Olusi, said members unanimously agreed on Hamzat, expressing confidence in his ability to sustain and build on the state’s developmental progress.
Olusi explained that the meeting was convened to deliberate on the party’s forthcoming primaries and assess the governorship position ahead of the 2027 elections.
Speaking about the GAC adoption of Hamzat as Lagos APC consensus 2027 governorship candidate on Arise News on Tuesday, Ajose said that Sanwo-Olu and others are trying to force President Tinubu into making a decision.
“I don’t think our president, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is giving in to what they are doing.
“What they are just trying to do is to coerce him into taking a decision, and I don’t think that decision will stand.”
The House of Representatives has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to borrow Five Hundred and Sixteen Million, Three Hundred and Thirty-three Thousand, seven ($516,333,007) US dollars in syndicated financing from Deutsche Bank AG.
The House approved it during the plenary on Tuesday in Abuja after the presentation of a report by the deputy chairman of the House Committee on Aids, Loans, and Debts Management, Abdullahi Rasheed.
The money is expected to fund the construction of sections of the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway.
President Tinubu wrote to the lawmakers, seeking a $516.3 million loan from Deutsche Bank to support the construction of the road.
The president said the loan, to be sourced from a syndicated financing facility by Deutsche Bank, will fund sections 1, 1A, and 1B of the project, which covers about 120 kilometres.
Tinubu requested a resolution in line with Sections 16 and 21 of the Debt Management Office (Establishment) Act, 2011, to enable the federal government to secure the financing for Sections 1, Phase 1A, and Phase 1B of the project.
The project is a flagship initiative of Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and is targeted at enhancing national connectivity, improving the movement of goods across key economic corridors, and drastically shrinking travel time.
The 1,000-kilometre project will link Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos states, connecting Illela to Badagry.
According to him, the financing arrangement will be backed by a partial risk guarantee from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC).
He said the Federal government will provide counterpart funding of over N265 billion for land acquisition, compensation, and related infrastructure.
The former Lagos governor said the loan is structured for nine years and includes a three-year grace period.
It has an interest rate pegged at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange SOFR plus 5.3 per cent per annum.
Already, the Federal Executive Council has approved the financing plan.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested a former chairman of defunct Skye Bank Plc, Tunde Ayeni, over alleged money laundering, misappropriation and diversion of funds amounting to N36.54bn and $30m.
Ayeni, a businessman, was arrested in Abuja on Thursday, and is currently being held at the commission’s facility.
The arrest followed an EFCC probe into alleged misappropriation and diversion of funds said to have been obtained from Polaris Bank through multiple entities linked to him.
“Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested a former board chairman of defunct Skye Bank Plc and businessman, Tunde Ayeni, in connection with alleged money laundering, misappropriation and diversion of funds to the tune of N36,540,058,400.00 and $30m.
“Ayeni was arrested sequel to the investigation of the EFCC into alleged misappropriation and diversion of funds to the tune of N36,540,058,400.00 and $30m obtained from Polaris Bank Plc by different entities linked to him.
“The funds were loans obtained allegedly for specific investment projects but subsequently transferred to other entities’ accounts. Investigations showed that, though the loans were obtained for purposes such as finance of marine security activities, electricity distribution contract, estate development, they were diverted to the NITEL/MTEL asset acquisition through NATCOM account,” one of the sources said.
Another source said the commission is currently probing 12 companies allegedly linked to Ayeni, which it said were used to obtain the loans from Polaris Bank.
“Twelve different companies linked to Ayeni are being investigated by the EFCC. They are entities he allegedly used to obtain loans from Polaris Bank for his shady activities. The loans are depositors’ funds fraudulently obtained and frittered into diverse wasteful purposes. Ayeni will be arraigned in due course upon conclusion of investigations,” the source said.
When contacted, EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale confirmed the arrest but declined to give further details.
The Punch
