Headlines
UAE Visa: Tinubu Running Nigeria on Propaganda Policy, Says Atiku
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has described as false, claims by the Presidency that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) lifted a visa ban on Nigerians, saying President Bola Tinubu has concluded plans to unleash a regime of propaganda as a policy in Nigeria.
The Presidency, last week, claimed that UAE had lifted the ban after Tinubu met with the president of the Middle Eastern country, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
A UAE official later debunked the claims by the presidency, saying the visa ban on Nigerians is still in effect.
Speaking on the development, Atiku, through a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said the claim of the lifting of the visa ban by the UAE is just the “tip of the iceberg” of Tinubu’s plans to unleash a regime of propaganda as a policy in the coming days.
Shaibu noted that Tinubu has already appointed over 15 media aides with the sole aim of pushing misinformation as a policy and distracting Nigerians from the “deep pains his administration has caused them”.
Atiku’s aide said: “From information available to us, Bola Tinubu is set to push propaganda to overdrive as he heads out for the United Nations General Assembly. He will claim to have attracted foreign investments amounting to $100bn but will fail to provide key details. It is all propaganda. It is all a load of baloney.
“In India, he claimed they had received pledges of over $14bn just as his predecessor, President Muhammadu Buhari, claimed in 2018 that he had secured pledges of up to $6bn. This is nothing but audio investments.
“Last month, the NNPC claimed to have obtained a loan of $3bn with which it would help stabilise the naira. We raised the alarm that it was all a ruse to deceive Nigerians. Now, we have been justified as the naira is now approaching $1/N1,000 on the black market.
“After his trip to the UAE, Tinubu claimed the visa ban had been lifted immediately. Now, they have shifted the goalpost after the UAE authorities revealed that the news was false. This is the sort of embarrassment Nigeria will continue to attract in this season of balablu.
“The report by FTSE revealed that Tinubu’s so-called FX unification policy was failing and Nigeria was degraded from frontier market to unclassified. Having failed to bring economic rebirth, he has now recruited over 15 media aides instead of recruiting more economic experts.”
Shaibu further stated that the Federal government failed to put adequate measures in place after the removal of the subsidy on petrol.
He added: “Tinubu removed the petrol subsidy without any plan whatsoever and decided to hand over a few bags of rice to millions of poor Nigerians. Till date, the minimum wage remains N30,000 or $31 per month based on the parallel market exchange rate.
“This is the punishment Nigerians are facing because the election management body failed to do its work on February 25. This is a manifestation of the words of the Holy Book, which says when the righteous lead, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people suffer.
“In the meantime, we ask Nigerians to remain patient as the judicial authorities do their job in righting the electoral fraud that has brought Nigerians to their knees.”
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.
