Headlines
Kano Assembly Dissolves Four New Emirates Created by Ganduje
The Kano State House of Assembly has dissolved all the four newly created emirate councils in the state.
The dissolution of the affected Emirates was a sequel to deliberations on the floor of the House during plenary on Thursday.
The Kano State Emirates Council Amendment Bill was considered on the floor of the House after scaling second and third reading on Thursday morning.
Earlier, the Deputy Speaker, Muhammad Butu, explained that repealing the law would revive the lost glory of Kano as the division of Kano emirate to five reduced the capacity and dignity of the state at national level.
The Majority Leader, Alhaji Lawan Dala, said that the emirate council served as a custodian of culture which was distorted by the creation of the four additional emirates.
With the amendment of the law, all four new emirate councils were abolished leaving only the Kano Emirate.
The House also adopted a motion to create a new second-class emirate council in the state.
The move could pave the way for the return of the deposed Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II.
Also in January 2024, Former Kano governor and the leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Sen. Rabi’u Kwankwaso, said that the issue of Kano emirates would definitely be revisited.
Former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje had split the Kano emirate into five and dethroned the then Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II.
Following the victory of the New Nigerian Peoples Party in last year’s election, Kwankwaso had said the government of Abba Kabir Yusuf would review the dethronement and balkanisation of the emirate.
“Honestly it (the Kano Emirates issue) is one of the things that nobody has sat with me to discuss so far but I am sure we are going to sit and see how to go about it. Is it going to be allowed, demolished, corrected, or whatever? It will be revisited, and what’s supposed to be done will be done.
“There were a lot of things and this was a trap. All these things were not done in good faith or intention. It was brought with some bad intentions which every one of you here and our listeners are aware of.
“Sometimes you come with things that are good and they turn out to be bad while sometimes you bring bad things and they turn out to be good. So, all I know is that I was not consulted as of now but definitely, we will come to discuss and see what should be done.”
The Punch
President Bola Tinubu has dismissed five ministers from his cabinet and appointed seven new ones as part of a cabinet reshuffle.
The President re-assigned 10 ministers to new portfolios and nominated seven new ministers for Senate confirmation.
He dismissed Uju-Ken Ohanenye as Minister of Women Affairs, Lola Ade-John as Minister of Tourism, Tahir Mamman as Minister of Education, Abdullahi Gwarzo as Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, and Jamila Ibrahim as Minister of Youth Development.
Among the nominees, Tinubu selected Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Nentawe Yilwatda as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, marking the official end of suspended Betta Edu’s tenure.
Other nominees include Maigari Dingyadi for Minister of Labour and Employment, Jumoke Oduwole for Minister of Industry, Idi Maiha for the newly established Ministry of Livestock Development, Yusuf Ata for Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, and Suwaiba Ahmad for Minister of State for Education.
“The appointment of Shehu Dikko as Chairman of the National Sports Commission.
“The appointment of Sunday Akin Dare as Special Adviser to the President on Public Communication and Orientation working from the Ministry of Information and National Orientation,” the President said.
The President appreciated the outgoing members of the Federal Executive Council for their service to the nation while wishing them the best in their future endeavours.
He then charged the newly appointed ministers and their reassigned colleagues to see their appointment as a call to serve the nation.
Source: Nairametrics
The Federal Government on Wednesday withdrew the money laundering charges preferred against Binance Holdings Limited executive, Tigran Gambaryan.
Binance, its U.S. head of financial crime compliance, Gambaryan, and the exchange British-Kenyan regional manager for Africa, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were facing money laundering charges to the tune of $35 million brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were initially both detained in the custody of the office of the National Security Adviser.
Anjarwalla, however, fled lawful custody on March 22, 2024, while his counterpart, Gambaryan, was arraigned in April.
Following his arraignment, the court ordered his remand to Kuje Correctional Facility.
The Senate, on Tuesday, set up an Ad-hoc Committee to investigate allegations of drug trafficking against Senator Oyelola Yisa Ashiru, who represents Kwara South Senatorial District.
The setting up of the investigative committee came after Ashiru raised Order 42 of Senate Rules, which borders on personal explanation, noting that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) accused him of involvement in drug trafficking, which led to the arrest of some of his aides.
Ashiru argued that the allegation against him by NDLEA is baseless and unfounded, stressing that the agency is angry because he contributed to a proposed bill on the establishment of a drug-related agency on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.
He urged the Senate to take action on the matter, saying that the allegation was an infringement on his person and his privilege as a sitting senator.
He explained: “Mr. Senate President, I come under Order 42 – personal explanation. My personal explanation is NDLEA’s malicious reaction to my debate on a bill seeking to establish an institute on drug awareness and rehabilitation.
“I expressed my concern on this bill for so many reasons. For the reason that there are a lot of information from my constituency on the negative effect of drug consumption and trafficking to the extent that one of my constituents has ascertained that in the last two years, he can count up to 50 people who have lost their sanity due to consumption of drugs.
“Equally, they are visible examples of drug barons who are making money through distribution of drugs in my constituency and other constituencies too.
“We have observed that there are increase in drug related crime. Because of these and many other reasons, I strongly contributed on the floor of the Senate that the Senate should look into the operation of NDLEA and advise that issue of corruption among operatives should be looked into to the extent that after debate, I supported the establishment of another agency that will take care of rehaibilitation.
“Mr President, I come under Order 42 to clear insinuation published especially by Daily Trust that Senator Ashiru is involved in distribution of drugs. In my life, I am 68 years now, I assert that I cannot even identify cannabis or any drug. Beyond taking water, I don’t do drugs, I don’t drink caffeine, I don’t even take carbonated drinks,” the senator submitted.
