Headlines
Obaseki Sacked Only Commissioner I Nominated, Laments Oshiomhole
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, says the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, sacked the only commissioner he nominated into his cabinet.
Oshiomhole, who is the immediate past governor of Edo State, said this during an interview onChannels Television on Saturday.
He said the irony was that Obaseki took the drastic action after a reconciliatory meeting which was attended by some APC stalwarts including Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State.
The APC chairman said, “We have no argument over money or appointment… In the meeting we held with four governors, including Governor Bagudu, I asked the governor, how many commissioners I nominated into his cabinet. He agreed that I only nominated one person out of more than 20 commissioners.
“Not many Nigerians will believe that because for me, I was out of government and I have convinced myself that the day I step out of government, that is it. After that first meeting, the governor decided to remove that one commissioner along with seven others.”
Oshiomhole, who has been at loggerheads with his successor, said he was also disturbed that Obaseki decided to abandon some of his projects.
He said, “The governor can never tell you that I have interfered in his choice of projects and so on. The only thing I feel a bit worried about is that some of the projects we started together have been abandoned.
“Let me assure you. This governor is not under threat. It is those who make money from crisis; those I call merchants of confusion, who can tell the governor that he was to be impeached. What will I gain if Godwin does not run a second term?”
Obaseki and Oshiomhole’s feud deepened in June when the former issued a letter of proclamation for the inauguration of the House of Assembly.
The inauguration subsequently took place at night in the absence of lawmakers loyal to Oshiomhole, thereby making it possible for those loyal to Obaseki to emerge as presiding officers of the Assembly.
Also in a statement on Sunday, Oshiomhole said he could not support Frank Okiye as the Speaker of Edo State Assembly because he emerged through illegality.
He said Okiye’s emergence was an insult on the nation’s democracy.
He said, “Okiye is not the Speaker, he is a member-elect. The question I will put to you is: Is it within the discretion of state governor to decide who becomes the Speaker?
“The only option for him is to lobby and if he lobbies and in end he is unable to get everybody to toe his line, he has to concede that these are not his commissioners or special assistants for which he has absolute monopoly to appoint.”
The Punch
The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (NWC) has suspended the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade; National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; Deputy Legal Adviser, Okechukwu Osuoha; and National Organizing Secretary, Umaru Bature for one month.
The suspension comes on the heels of the judgement of the Federal High Court On Friday, which stopped the party’s planned national convention.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, told journalists in Abuja on Saturday, that the decision followed an emergency meeting of the national working committee, which was held in Abuja.
President Donald Trump of the United States on Friday designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), in response to allegations of widespread persecution and genocide against Christians.
Writing on his Truth Social account, Trump stated that Christianity faces a serious threat in Nigeria.
The US leader also added Nigeria to a State Department watch list.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote.
According to the US president, he was placing Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer and most populous nation, on a “Countries of Particular Concern” list of nations the US deems to have engaged in religious freedom violations.
According to the State Department’s website, the list includes China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, and Pakistan, among others.
Trump said he had asked US Representatives Riley Moore and Tom Cole, as well as the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, to look into the matter and report back to him.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has removed Hon. Abubakar Gummi from the House of Representatives after he left the Peoples Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress.
The lawmaker represented the Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency in Zamfara State.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu delivered the ruling, holding that Gummi’s defection breached the Constitution.
The court said the seat does not belong to any politician but to the political party that sponsored the election.
According to the judgment, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, is barred from recognising Gummi “as a member representing Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency.”
The judge also instructed the Independent National Electoral Commission to “conduct a fresh election” for the vacant seat within 30 days.
The case was instituted by the PDP and its Zamfara chairman, who insisted that Gummi’s move to the APC had no legal justification. They argued that there was no division in the PDP to support his defection, as required by Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution.
Gummi, through his counsel, claimed he left the PDP due to internal crises which he said made it “impossible” to serve his constituents effectively. The judge, however, dismissed his arguments and granted all the reliefs requested by the plaintiffs.
Justice Egwuatu, in a firm comment, warned politicians against what he described as reckless party hopping.
“Political prostitution must not be rewarded,” he declared, adding that lawmakers must not transfer votes won on one party’s platform to another party.
The court also ordered Gummi to refund all salaries and allowances received from October 30, 2024, until the date of judgment. He is also barred from earning any further benefits as a member of the House.
Additionally, the judge imposed a N500,000 cost against the defendants in favour of the PDP.
