Headlines
Reappointment: Lai Mohammed Gets APC Leaders’ Nod
The Local Government Chairmen of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara South Senatorial District of Kwara State have expressed support for the reappointment of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, into the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari in his second term.
The party chairmen urged members of the public to dismiss the press statement by the party’s Elders’ Forum in the senatorial district which claimed that the minister didn’t deserve reappointment.
The APC leaders said the Elders’ Forum was not in existence, submitting that their claims against the minister, who is from Oro in the Ifelodun Local Government Area, should be ignored.
The APC LG chairmen, in a statement jointly signed by Mohammed Shilo Awobimpe, Chairman, Ifelodun LG; Aransiola Oyeyemi Samson, Chairman, Irepodun LG; Bamidele Ogunbayo, Chairman, Isin LG; Muhideen Shittu, Chairman, Oke Ero LG; Olawale Awelewa, Chairman, Ekiti LG; Taiye Olaniyi, Chairman, Oyun LG; and Yusuf Kehinde, Chairman, Offa LGA, urged Buhari to reappoint Mohammed.
The statement read in part, “Our attention had been drawn to a press release issued on May 22, 2019 by some elders claiming to be speaking for Kwara South APC elders. This should be disregarded in its entirety and whatever it stands for.
“We wish to state unequivocally that Alhaji Lai Mohammed, as minister, provided all the necessary apparatus required of a leader in making the APC to record a resounding victory in the last general elections.
“We know the antecedent of all individuals involved in this act as this is the only way they know in getting patronage, especially during the period of appointments.”
The Punch
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.
