Headlines
My Slapping Incident Occurred in March, Sen Abbo Defended as Nigerians React
By Eric Elezuo
The senator representing Adamawa North senatorial zone in the National Assembly, Elisha Abbo, has defended that the trending video depicting him slapping a nursing mother repeated was shot in March. The 41 years old senator, who is the youngest in the Senate, says he is putting his team together, and will give a ‘robust response’ to the story soon.
Reacting to the incident, Abbo said the incident portrayed in the video showing him beating up a lady in a sex toy shop occurred in March 2019.
Abbo reacted in a message sent to Punch correspondent, “Hello Eniola, I saw your message and I am aware of the report. I am putting my team together. I am aware that the thing happened around March this year but I will get in touch with you when we finish discussion. I am in a meeting now.”
The senator has attracted criticisms from Nigerians after being caught on video posted by Premium Times, slapping a nursing mother repeatedly at a sex toy shop in the Wuse 2 area of Abuja.
The assault, which reportedly occurred on May 11, 2019, was done in the presence of an armed policeman who rather than assist the victim, arrested her.
BACKGROUND
Report has it that Abbo entered the shop around 6pm. with three young women to purchase adult toys.
But shortly after they began shopping for the toys, one of the three girls started throwing up. She vomited multiple times, prompting the shop owner to remark that the woman should have vomited outside and not inside her shop.
Abbo, who was said to be agitated by the sudden illness of the girl, was said to have accused the shop owner of poisoning the store’s air conditioner.
The shop owner’s argument that if the air conditioner had been contaminated others in the shop would have also taken ill was said to have angered Abbo, and the two began exchanging words over the matter.
The senator was said to have called a policeman who he then ordered to arrest the shop owner.
The shop owner quickly called her father to inform him that Abbo had called police over the matter and that she was about to be taken away.
The shop owner’s friend who had been standing nearby tried to intervene by pleading with the second man to take things easy but was slapped repeatedly by the lawmaker.
REACTIONS
Meanwhile, the video has sparked outrage on social media.
On Twitter, the lawmaker is trending under #SenatorElishaAbbo.
Mr Marcus tweeted, “You can see the motor park behaviour of a so-called Senator Elisha Abbo. You are a beast and you need to be behind bars.”
Another Twitter user, Confidence Jonah, expressed shock that a policeman was complicit in the assault.
For Jack Obinyan, Abbo must be suspended indefinitely from the 9th National Assembly and prosecuted with immediate effect.
Muhd El-Bonga Ibrahim tweeted, “These are the kind of people we elect as lawmakers shamelessly slapping a sales employee multiple times. This is an embarrassment not only to Senator Elisha Abbo but the Senate as an institution and he is currently the youngest. The committee on ethics needs to act.”
The senator was elected under the platform of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
By Eric Elezuo
The Presidency has announce that President Bola Tinubu will be departing Abuja to (Wednesday) for Paris, France, on a ‘short working visit’.
A statement to the effect, signed and released by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, was however silent on the shape of international relationship the working visiting the president was embarking on will take, but noted that Tinubu will use the ‘retreat’ to review his administration’s mid-term performance and assess key milestones, as well as review progress of ongoing reforms.
While acknowledging that the president will spend ‘about a fortnight’ on the trip, the statement added he would supervise administration while away.
The statement in details
PRESIDENT TINUBU TO EMBARK ON WORKING VISIT TO PARIS
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart for Paris, France, today on a short working visit.
During the visit, the President will appraise his administration’s mid-term performance and assess key milestones.
He will also use the retreat to review the progress of ongoing reforms and engage in strategic planning ahead of his administration’s second anniversary.
This period of reflection will inform plans to deepen ongoing reforms and accelerate national development priorities in the coming year.
Recent economic strides reinforce the President’s commitment to these efforts, as evidenced by the Central Bank of Nigeria reporting a significant increase in net foreign exchange reserves to $23.11 billion—a testament to the administration’s fiscal reforms since 2023 when net reserves were $3.99 billion.
While away, President Tinubu will remain fully engaged with his team and continue to oversee governance activities.
He will return to Nigeria in about a fortnight.
President Bola Tinubu has sacked the Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mele Kyari.
Tinubu also dissolved its board, removing the Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on information and strategy, announced this in a statement on Wednesday.
Onanuga said Tinubu invoked his powers under section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 to carry out the sweeping reconstitution, citing the need for “enhanced operational efficiency, restored investor confidence, and a more commercially viable NNPC”.
He announced that Tinubu has now approved a new 11-man board, which has Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman.
According to the statement, “Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the chief financial officer last November, has been appointed to the new board by President Tinubu.
“Six board members, non-executive directors, represent the country’s geopolitical zones. They are Bello Rabiu, North West, Yusuf Usman, North East, and Babs Omotowa, a former managing director of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas( NLNG), who represents North Central.
“President Tinubu appointed Austin Avuru as a non-executive director from the South-South, David Ige as a Non-executive director from the South West, and Henry Obih as a non-executive director from the South East.
“Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry on the new board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.”
He added said that all the appointments are effective today, April 2.
President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that Americans want him to run for another term, a step banned by the US constitution but which he continues describing as possible.
“People are asking me to run,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about the possibility of a third term.
“I don’t know. I never looked into it. They do say there’s a way you can do it, but I don’t know about that, but I have not looked into it,” Trump said.
Trump was asked about the prospect of a race pitting him against former president Barack Obama, who served two terms.
“That would be a good one, I’d like that,” Trump said.
“I’m not joking” about the idea of seeking a third term, Trump said Sunday in an interview with NBC News.
The 78-year-old Republican served from 2017 to 2021 and began his second term in the White House on January 20.
The first US president, George Washington, established a tradition by not seeking a third term after completing his second one in 1797.
But this tradition was not formally added to the US constitution until after World War II, with the ratification of the 22nd amendment in 1951.
It says no one can be elected president more than two times.
