The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Wednesday warned the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Buhari Presidency to desist from any plot to push a third term agenda for President Muhammadu Buhari.

The party described the alleged plan as ‘dangerous’, noting that it would derail and destabilize the country’s democracy if not checkmated.

Disclosing this in a statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyban, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, PDP described the statements by the Presidency and the APC as unhealthy ploy to introduce a repugnant issue into official discourse in a bid to give it a life and achieve its fruition in the political arena.

Recall that the Presidency had vowed that noting would make Buhari seek for a third term after his second term.

It went further to emphasize that in no circumstance would President Buhari vie for presidency come 2023.

A statement by Garba Shehu explains better;

“The Presidency wishes to correct internet-based gossip and un-informed media commentary regarding presidential term limits, given credence by so-called support groups, staging street demonstrations asking President Muhammadu Buhari to do a third term.

“There are no circumstances – nor set of circumstances – under which President Buhari may seek to amend the Constitution regarding the two-term term limit on holding office as President. “President Buhari intends to serve his full second elected term in office, ending 2023 – and then there shall be a general election in which he will not be a candidate.

“There is not even the faintest possibility that this will change. It is important to note that there was a past attempt to change the Constitution to allow for the-then incumbent president to stand for a third term. That attempt was wrong, unconstitutional – and rightly rebuffed.

“No such attempt will happen under this President. President Buhari is a democrat. He respects the Constitution. Any activity aimed at altering the two-term limit will not succeed and shall never have his time nor support.” Buhari will not come back for a third term – Presidency (Opens in a new browser tab) But in a riposte on Wednesday, the opposition party accused APC and Buhari Presidency of plot to push Buhari for a third term.

Read the full statement below:

“The PDP says it is preposterous for the Presidency cabal and the APC to think that Nigerians cannot see through their shenanigan to import and elevate what they labeled as rumor and internet-based gossip, into official national discourse. Our party notes that Nigerians will not be surprised when, after the statements by the Presidency and APC, new groups surface to orchestrate more forceful agitations in the public space for the alteration of the 1999 Constitution to achieve an ignoble aim.

The PDP however cautions the Presidency and the APC to note that Nigerians are already aware of individuals and political interests in the Presidency cabal in addition to known APC agents who are behind the street demonstrations for a third term for President Buhari.

The party invites Nigerians to note how, having been busted, the presidency cabal and the APC are now groping for ways to cover their trails by making frivolous allegations which directly point back to them.

Stop playing politics with insecurity Omo-Agege tells politicians(Opens in a new browser tab) The party therefore urges President Muhammadu Buhari to personally speak out and immediately call his supporters to order as Nigerians will never allow anybody, no matter how highly placed, to alter any part of our constitution to serve a selfish interest.

The PDP insists that this has become imperative in view of the series of constitutional violations and provocative undermining of our laws by the APC and power mongers in the Buhari Presidency.

Away Without Leave: Industrial Court Declares Dismissal of Ex-Seaman not unLawful

The Presiding Judge, His Lordship, Hon. Justice Sinmisola Adeniyi of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Kaduna division has declared the dismissal of Mohammed Salisu appointment from Nigerian Navy not unlawful.

The court held that no proof on record to support Claimant’s submission that he was not given fair hearing in the proceedings leading to the termination of his appointment other than the allegation made. 

The claimant Mohammed Salisu had sought against the defendants among others for a declaration that his dismissal is unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect whatsoever. likewise, An Order directing the Defendants to pay the Claimant all his salaries, emoluments and other entitlements from the date of his purported dismissal till the date of his reinstatement.

From facts, the Claimant was a seaman in the service of the 1st Defendant. While in service, the Claimant was alleged to have been absent from duty without leave. The Claimant contended that he was remanded on board for thirty – five (35) days for the alleged offence, that after being remanded, he was again charged with the same offence and was summarily dismissed from the Nigerian Navy that he was not given fair hearing in the proceedings leading to the termination of his appointment. 

In opposition, the Defendants maintained that the dismissal of the Claimant from the Nigerian Navy by the Commanding Officer was proper and in accordance with the Law, and further that the court lack jurisdiction to adjudicate on the matter for being statute-barred.

The Defendants’ counsel argued that the cause of action arose on 12/12/2014, which was outside the three (3) months allowed by the POPA, urged the Court to dismiss the same for want of jurisdiction. 

Delivering the Judgment, the presiding Judge, Hon. Justice Sinmisola Adeniyi held that the authorities relied upon by learned counsel for the Defendants that the Claimant is totally barred from proceedings against the Defendants who are public officers no longer represent the current or correct position of the law on the issue.

 “In employment founded by statute, the staff cannot be validly removed from the employment unless the provisions provided in the statute for removing the staff is followed strictly.

“Contrary to the case put forward by the Claimant, the evidence on the record of the Court by the Defendants is that the Claimant was not remanded for 35 days as alleged but that he was charged and summarily dismissed by the Commanding Officer who had the authority and power to dismiss him. Furthermore, the Claimant had admitted under cross-examination that he did not obtain approval for his leave of absence to travel to Calabar.

“I hold the firm view that the Claimant did not establish or prove that he was remanded by the Defendants for 35 days. In other words, the Claimant has failed to discharge the burden required by law.

“In the circumstances, therefore, I hold the firm view that the Claimant has not established the fact that he was unlawfully dismissed from the service by the Defendants. Based on the foregoing, therefore, I am of the firm view that the Claimant’s dismissal was not unlawful. I so hold.

Full Judgment, Visit the Judgment portal

Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori’s impressive starts to the season will see them earn call ups to the England squad when it is announced this afternoon.

It caps a blistering start to the season for Abraham, who has had to endure years of loans away from Chelsea, but the transfer ban placed on Chelsea presented him with a golden chance which he has exploited. He scored his first Champions League goal on Wednesday on his 22nd birthday and has bagged an impressive seven (7) league goals in seven games, just a goal shy of the League’s top scorer, Sergio Aguero.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Tomori is set to step up from the U21s into England’s senior squad for the first time when it is announced at 2 pm. Having initially linked up with Frank Lampard at Derby County where he was on loan last season. Tomori has established himself as Frank Lampard’s first-choice center-back at Chelsea this season, and Southgate and assistant Steve Holland – a former Chelsea coach – have been impressed by the maturity of his performances at the top level.

Southgate and Holland see Tomori as a possible fix to England’s problems in central defence, where despite the number of candidates, there hasn’t been an obvious first-choice partner for Harry Maguire.

Tomori has played youth football for England and Canada – the country of his birth – but he is also eligible for Nigeria via his parents.

It is believed that England sits atop Tomori’s list, and if he wins a senior England cap in the upcoming European Qualifiers against Czech Republic or Bulgaria, that would put the question marks over his international future to bed.

Abraham is also eligible to represent Nigeria, and after the 2-1 win over Lille in the Champions League, he said he had not yet decided his international future.

Facts have occurred of the people sponsoring the dreaded terrorist oganisation, ‘Boko Haram’ in Nigeria.  It has been proven that Boko Haram is allegedly being funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The statement by Nicephore Soglo, former president of Benin Republic, at the constitutional term limits summit, covered by TheCable, in Naimey, Niger Republic, revealed that friends from Qatar and Saudi Arabia are the ones sponsoring Boko Haram.

Soglo said, “Boko Haram is funded by our friends from Saudi Arabia and our friends from Qatar. Are we friends or not? Let’s tell ourselves the truth. We have to stand together. “I’m optimistic we are going to win if we stand together.”

How Boko Haram started T

he terrorist organization started in 2009. The 2009 Boko Haram uprising was a conflict between Boko Haram, a militant Islamist group, and Nigerian security forces. Violence across several states in northeastern Nigeria resulted in more than 1,000 dead, with around 700 killed in the city of Maiduguri alone.

The group has killed thousands of Nigerians in Bauchi State, Maiduguri, Borno State, Potiskum, Yobe State, Wudil, Kano State and other states in the country.

They are derailing and destabilizing the peace of the country and has made Nigerian government to spend millions of dollars in equipping her soldiers to combat the organization.

However, countries like United states of America, Togo, Benin Republic and others have formed alliance with the Nigerian government in the fight against terrorism, which undoubtedly is bedeviling the growth and development of the country.

A statement by Donald Trump, US president, led credence to the above statement. “Nigeria is among our strongest partners in Africa.  We share common goals of expanding trade and growing our economic relationship.

“We are allies in the global battle against terrorism, and we want to see Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa (ISWAP) driven out of the region and other insurgencies like them dismantled”, Trump said in a congratulating statement to Nigeria @59.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari’s major campaign promise, was to fight terrorism to its barest minimum.

Buhari had in 2018 ordered immediate procurement of critical equipments for the armed forces in line with the Federal Government policy of purchasing such items from the original manufacturers on government-to- government basis.

The president also directed the enhancement of the welfare of troops, particularly those serving in operational areas within the country.

A promise he is trying to maintain, inspite distractions from other sectors.

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) on Thursday said it had arrested three suspects for alleged conspiracy and obtaining N7.1m by false pretense in Benue.

This was contained in a press statement signed by its Zonal Head, Public Affairs Department, Ms. Nwanyinma Okeanu and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Makurdi.

Ms. Okeanu in the statement named the suspects as Adewuyi Adebayo, 31, Osikoya Gboyega, 44 and Akintunde Ogunrinde, 47. She explained that the suspects were arrested at different locations in Lagos on Sept. 9, following a petition received by the commission from a complainant.

“The petitioner alleged that on 18th of February, 2018, he noticed his MTN line 08062751577 had stopped working as no calls or messages came to his phone and the phone displayed a message saying, ‘invalid SIM card’.

“He went to the MTN office to lodge a complaint but was told to apply for a welcome back SIM that someone else had swapped his SIM card in Abia State.

“He immediately contacted his account officer at FCMB bank to inform them of the development and to change his alert phone number to another line only to discover that transactions had occurred on his account without his consent.

“The threshold limit for online transfers on his account had also been increased above five hundred thousand Naira and the sum of seven million, one hundred and Seven thousand, five hundred and forty Naira (N7,107,540.00) removed from his account.”

The statement said further investigations revealed that a syndicate comprising of Adebayo, Gboyega, Ogunrinde, and others now at large, were allegedly behind the fraud. She said during interrogation, the suspects claimed that one Alhaji White was their leader but could not provide his full name.

“Alhaji White is alleged to have met with Akintunde Ogunrinde a.k.a Kekere for a UBA account number. Ogunrinde approached Osikoya Gboyega who then approached Adewuyi Adebayo. “Adebayo supplied the account number used for the business.” She said the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded. Source: NAN

Nigerian Veteran Nollywood Actress, Genevieve Nnaji, is excited as her movie ‘LionHeart’ was nominated for the 2020 Oscars in the category of Best International Film.

The actress, who could not hide her joy, took to her instragram page to react to the nomination and also appreciates her fans for their wonderful support.

“The Nigerian Oscar Selection Committee has chosen @lionheartthemovie to represent Nigeria for the 2020 Academy Award for Best International Film!

“This is the first entry ever for Nigeria. It’s an honour to be a part of such a pivotal moment in the history of Nigerian cinema.

“A moment we know will be replicated as our stories continue to resonate with audiences around the world.

“On behalf of the entire LIONHEART team and TEN Productions, we are grateful for this recognition and proud to carry the torch. Thank you all for the love and support thus far,” she wrote.

Nigerian Oscars Selection Committee (NOSC) had on Wednesday picked Genevieve’s ‘Lionheart’ as the country’s submission to the International Feature Film category of the 2020 Oscars.

The group also announced the selection following a statutory vetting and subsequent voting of entries received from Nigerian filmmakers at home and in the diaspora.

The movie ‘LionHeart’, which happens to be the first ever entry for Nigeria, was Produced by Chinny Onwugbenu and directed by Nnaji.

The movie was premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and was acquired on Sept. 7, 2018 as first Netflix original film produced in Nigeria.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that since the inauguration of the NOSC in 2014, this is the first time Nigeria is advancing a film to the Oscar, adding that previous entries did not meet basic criteria.

LionHeart is a 2018 Nigerian drama film that featured some Nigerian movie icons like Pete Edochie,Genevieve Nnaji, Nkem Owoh, and music icon Onyeka  Onwenu, etc.

The movie was Nnaji’s directorial debut as well as Peter Okoye’s acting debut and was released worldwide on Jan. 4 on Netflix.(NAN)

The Senate on Wednesday urged security agencies in the country to secure lives and property of commuters plying the Abuja-Lokoja and other roads across the country.

The resolution of Senate followed a motion of urgent public importance brought by Senator Dino Melaye (PDP Kogi) on the repeated killings and kidnapping of commuters on the road.

Melaye, who brought the motion under Order 42 and 52 of the senate rule, said that eight people were kidnapped on September 11, while eleven persons were kidnapped on September 18.

He said that another 18 people were kidnapped on September 24, while eight people, including a senior police officer, were killed.

He said that no proper security had been made to protect commuters, adding that it was part of the responsibility of the senate to protect Nigerians.

He said it was time for the senate to enforce citizen diplomacy, noting that the primary function of government is to ensure the protection of lives and property of its citizens.

He decried that kidnapping and killings of Nigerians along Abuja-Lokoja road and other roads across the country were becoming a normal activity for the kidnappers.

He said that the Senate and the federal government must do something extraordinary to curb the menace of kidnapping on the roads.

Sen. Enyinayya Abaribe, (PDP Abia) corroborated Melaye, saying that kidnapping was happening in all parts of the country.

He said that security agencies, saddled with the responsibility of protecting Nigerians must understand that the country was in a difficult situation.

Senator Danjuma Goje (APC Gombe) called on security agencies to adopt modern technology to curb issues of kidnapping and other forms of banditry.

After a voice vote, the Senate in its prayers further called on the Inspector-General of Police to secure the lives and property of Nigerians on the highways.

It also called for the full implementation of the report of the eighth senate ad hoc committee on security designed to overhaul the security architecture of Nigeria.

It also resolved to enact anti-kidnapping legislation.

Commenting on the motion, President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan said there was the need for the senate to appropriate additional funds to tackle insecurity.

He, however, said that accountability and transparency must be ensured in the use of the funds.

(NAN)

Gunmen have abducted the father of the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Doodei Week.

Chief George Agbabou Week was kidnapped in the early hours of Thursday from his home at Ayama-Ijaw in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.

The Sokoto State chapter of the All Progressive Congress has rejected the Wednesday tribunal ruling which affirmed the incumbent governor and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, as the duly elected governor of the state.

In a press statement issued by the Sokoto State Chairman of the party, Honourable Isa Sadiq Achida, to journalists in Sokoto on Thursday, the party maintained that the entire judgement is rejected.

The one-page statement said, “The Sokoto State chapter of the All Progressive Congress wishes to state categorically that it rejects the ruling.

“We believe that the judgement has turned justice on its head.

“Our lawyers are studying details of the judgement, with a view to filing an appeal at the appropriate court of law.”

The party, however, called on its teeming supporters across the state to continue to remain calm and be peaceful, saying the party will explore all available legal means to reclaim its stolen mandate.

“We wish to thank all our members for their continued support and loyalty, we remain committed to defending your interest at all times,” the statement added.