Nigerian Gazette

I will lead Ekiti PDP to victory in 2022 - Bisi Kay A chairmanship aspirant in the forthcoming People Democratic Party (PDP) State Congress in Ekiti State,  Hon. Bisi Kolawole has said that his core mandate will be to lead the party to electoral victories in 2022 and 2023. Kolawole, who promised to run the party with fairness and equity if elected as the State Chairman, called on all members of the party to come together as a family to confront the misgovernance of the State by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).  Speaking in Ado Ekiti today,  at a meeting with party leaders and forum of former Party Chairmen (1999-2016), he said PDP under him will be a vibrant party that both the State Working Committee and all party members will be proud of. He said that he joined the chairmanship race as a result of the trust and support I enjoy among various stakeholders in the party and his desire to restore the party's stolen glories.   "We must return the party to...

'Nigeria doomed under Buhari’ – Arewa youths attack President over frequent trips abroad   The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, has declared that Nigeria was in for a doom under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Speaking exclusively with DAILY POST, President General of AYCF, Yerima Shettima made the remark while describing Buhari’s foreign trips as a political jamboree. Urging Nigerians to be wary of the highlights projected of Buhari’s trip to Russia, Shettima maintained that there was no time Buhari traveled abroad and came back with anything good. According to Shettima, Nigerians should start looking inward to come up with ideas that can move the country forward. He said: “There has never been any time Buhari traveled out of this country and came back with anything good. I have come to a level where I don’t believe in anything I hear or see online by this President until I see it physically. “It is one thing for them to discuss something and later come forw...

The Road to the final verdict between Atiku and Buhari The 2019 Presidential elections have come and gone, but the effect on the major candidates and their supporters is yet to go away, with some of them having the hope of retaining power while others are hoping to emerge as winner through court process.  After the conclusion of the 2019 presidential election, that threw up President Buhari as the winner, his closest rival, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar headed to the Presidential election petition tribunal (PEPT), to demand that he was the rightful winner of that election, but tribunal ruling presided over by Justice Muhammed Garba, ruled in favour of Buhari, dismissed all the allegations, including forgery of certificate and other grounds on which he was challenged.  INEC results showed that Buhari pulled 15.1 million votes, while Atiku was able to clinch 11.2 million votes. According to Atiku, the result issued in his name and party, does not tally with what his party agen...

Emefiele speaks on border closure after meeting with Buhari President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday engaged the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, in a closed-door meeting. The meeting, which held at the President’s office within the State House, Aso Villa, started around 11.30 am. DAILY POST reports that the meeting will be one of the last official activities of the President before he jets to Saudi Arabia and later the United Kingdom.  Speaking with State House correspondents after the closed-door meeting, the CBN Governor insisted that neighbouring countries must engage with Nigeria before the Nigerian border is reopened.

VIDEO: Fire guts Federal Inland Revenue Service headquarters in Abuja There was a fire outbreak on Monday morning at the headquarters of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in Abuja,  officials said. According to the officials, the outbreak affected a store attached to a canteen used by the agency’s staff members at the headquarters’ annex. Federal Inland Revenue Service spokesman, Wahab Gbadamosi, said the inferno was contained from further spread by firemen. “Firemen who put out the fire are investigating the source of the fire,” he said. Footage seen on social media showed firemen standing atop a fire truck and pouring water as thick smoke billowed from a patch of the building. Mr Gbadamosi said additional questions seeking clarification about whether or not crucial or sensitive material were affected would be answered later.

Again, Buhari heads for Saudi with four govs, ministers President Muhammadu Buhari will leave Abuja on Monday (today) for Riyadh, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to attend the third edition of the Future Investment Initiative with the theme, ‘What’s next for global business?’ During the trip, which comes barely 48 hours after returning from Russia, the President will travel with ten political office holders, including four governors and three ministers. The President will be accompanied by Governors Babagana Zulum (Borno State), Abubakar Bagudu (Kebbi) and Aminu Bello Masari (Katsina State). Also scheduled to be on the entourage are the Minister of State (Foreign Affairs), Zubairu Dada; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo; Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva; and Minister of Communications, Ibrahim Pantami. Others billed to be on the trip are the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd); Director-General, National Intell...

Decomposing body of a missing boy found in Ekiti bush Epe-Ekiti in Ijero local government area of Ekiti State was thrown into mourning this evening, as the decomposing body of a secondary school boy who had gone missing for ten days was found hanging on a tree. It was gathered that the decomposing body of the boy was found on a tree which is located in a thick bush opposite his father’s house. Sources in the town told Vanguard that the boy has been missing for over ten days after he was reportedly tortured by his father. An eyewitness revealed that the father of the boy who is a drunkard was in the habit of subjecting the boy to abuse at every slightest provocation. Some members of the community disclosed that the mother of the boy also suffers the same fate once the man is drunk, which has become a regular affair. Eyewitness said sometimes the man uses cutlass, cudgel, stick, knives and other dangerous weapons on mother and child once he is drunk It was also reported by some...

VAT increase’ll impact manufacturers negatively, Guinness cautions Chairman of Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Babatunde Savage, has expressed concern over the proposed increased in Value Added Tax, VAT, rate, stating that it would negatively impact manufacturing firms in the country, increase the cost of doing business and further reduce the disposable income of Nigerians. Speaking at the 2019 Annual General Meeting of Guinness Nigeria in Abuja, Savage also declared that Nigeria still remained a challenging environment to conduct business with the glaring absence of critical infrastructure, such as good roads, reliable power supply and good transportation system among others. He said, “This lack of infrastructure is epitomized by the continued gridlock at the Lagos ports which has constrained access to the port and getting out imported raw materials and finished products, as well as serious constraints for export. Northern Coalition vows to reclaim jobs from southerners in the Nor...

Probe on NDDC will bury APC in Akwa Ibom  - APC Chieftain A leading Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State and one of the coordinators of the 2019 APC Campaigns Council, Mr Solomon  Johnny has accused Chief Godswill Akpabio of launching attacks against the Ibibios who are the largest ethnic group in the state. In a message put up on his Facebook media platform, Solomon who started by saying "APC has been killed in Akwa Ibom State",  wondered why Chief Godswill Akpabio has decided to instigate a forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC that may likely ruin Obong Nsima Ekere, its immediate past Managing  Director.. He alleged that a similar plot was hatched against Amb. Sam Edem who headed the commission some 15 years during Akpabio's reign as Governor.  "A false alarm was raised against Ambassador Sam Edem, then Chairman of NDDC. Before we could understand what was going on, Ambassador Edem was manip...

The beginning of a new Odooro - Ekiti Since I was born in Odooro- Ekiti, no event was well attended by the people like the one we witnessed on Monday 21 October,  2019. That day, a youthful and vibrant lawyer, Babatunde Ojo Adebayo Jemilehin was installed as the Onise of Odooro- Ekiti. The secondary school students and primary school pupils deliberately refused to go to schools to welcome the new king.  The market women refused to go to the markets to witness the installation of the new Onise. The farmers ignored their farms to be part of the history making event.  The elites showed patriotism as they travelled down to the town to grace the occasion.  The name which the new Oba prefers to bear ( ALADESODEDERO 1) has something to do with the rebirth of Odooro- Ekiti. Therefore,   I am calling on all Committed sons and daughters of the town to join hands with the Onise to make Odooro-Ekiti witness new things.  Ayegbusi O...

Fayose's Trial: EFCC accused of "Prosecutorial misconduct" over replacement of witness who contradicted himself Attempt by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to introduce a new witness in the alleged N2.2 billion trial of former Ekiti State Governor,  Ayodele Fayose was today,  opposed by the defense counsel,  accusing the anti-corruption agency of engaging in prosecutorial misconduct. Fayose’s lawyers, Ola Olanipekun (SAN)  and Olalekan Ojo (SAN), had opposed the attempt to replace Adewale Aladegbola, a former bullion van driver with Zenith Bank, Ado-Ekiti branch with Johnson Abidakun, who is the Head of Operations, Zenith Bank, Ado-Ekiti branch. The defence lawyers contended that the prosecution did not have the liberty to change a witness just because such a witness failed to give evidence favourable to them. Olanipekun and Ojo, who cited provisions of the Administration of Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 and the Evidence Act,  described the attempt ...

REVEALED: How Akpabio’s Men Displaced Nsima’s Boys at NDDC There is currently a simmering between the camp of the APC caucus leader in the Akwa Ibom Senator Godswill Akpabio and the former MD of NDDC, Mr. Nsima Ekere over alleged displacement of Ekere’s loyalists from the employment recruitment list of the interventionist agency, this newspaper has learnt. Last week what appeared as a secret recruitment document was made public and was all over the social media, prompting heated arguments by members of both camps and other members of the public who were surprised to notice that indeed there was a secret recruitment exercise by the commission without public knowledge. An APC supporter who is in Ekere’s camp who would not want the name mentioned has expressed anger over what he described as the ‘shortchanging’ of Nsima’s loyalists by the Niger-Delta Affairs Minister, Senator Akpabio. According to the source “we are not happy about the discovery of a secret recruitment in the NDDC where o...

Election: APC urges FG to withhold Bayelsa N7bn VAT refund to prevent vote-buying The All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on the Federal Government not to release N7 billion Value Added Tax (VAT) refund to Bayelsa Government. A statement by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Mr Yekini Nabena in Abuja on Thursday, said that this would prevent vote-buying before and during Nov. 16 governorship election in the state. He said that if the money was withheld, it would prevent the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led-government from diverting the money for the election of its governorship candidate. “Therefore, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajia Zainab Ahmed, should delay approval of an N7 billion VAT refund to the Bayelsa Government until after the  Nov. 16 governorship election. “Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa has committed to a commercial bank to give him the N7 billion with an agreement that the ministry will, in turn, pay the money...

Prediction on Nigeria’s break-up may be fulfilled –Jega A former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, on Wednesday warned that if preventive measures were not taken, the prediction on the disintegration of Nigeria will come to pass. Jega gave the warning on Wednesday in Abuja in a keynote address he delivered at a conference on ‘20 Years of Democracy’, organised by TELL magazine. It had been predicted in the build-up to the 2015 General Elections that Nigeria would disintegrate. The anticipated crisis was however averted when former President Goodluck Jonathan readily accepted his loss to President Muhammadu Buhari. “The CIA thought that 2015 was the do-or-die period for Nigeria, that there would not be a Nigeria in the way you know after the 2015 General Elections. That has come and passed but I think if we do not take care, a lot of these predictions will come to pass. That is why we need to do quite a lot, much more ...

The sprawling community of Odo-Oro Ekiti in Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State, on Monday went agog as a new traditional ruler for the town ascended the throne. The new Oba, a lawyer by profession, is Oba Ojo Babatunde Adebayo Jemilehin Aladesodedero 1. He succeeded Oba Joseph Ibiloye Ogusakin Olowoselu 1 , who joined his ancestors on August 20, 2018. In a press statement issued by the Chairman of Onise Coronation Central Working Committee, Chief Foluso Oluwagbemi, the Aro Idofin of Imiro Quarters, Odo-Oro Ekiti stated that Oba Aladesodedero 1 "is the 13th Onise of Odo-Oro Ekiti and he is from the Niniosukarun Ruling House of Ilise Quarters who are the traditional ruling families of Odo-Oro Ekiti" "It is a thing of joy for all sons and daughters of Odo-Oro Ekiti that a new Onise of Odo-Odo Ekiti was installed today. Today remains a watershed in the history of this town as we end the regency period that nature imposed on us following the transition of Ob...

Fayose's Trial: No payment was made to Fayose,  Obanikoro from NSA office - EFCC witnesses tell court The trial of former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose,  continued today,  before a Federal High Court in Lagos, with two of the witnesses called by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) telling the court that names of former governor,  former Minister of State for Defense,  Musiliu Obanikoro and Abiodun Agbele were not in the lists of beneficiaries of the fund released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) based on payment instruction from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). A former Head of Treasury at the Diamond Bank Plc., Lagos, Olaitan Fajuyitan also told the court that based on the documents before him which were already admitted as Exhibit E Series, there was no payment to Obanikoro, Fayose and Agbele from the Diamond Bank account of Silva McNamara, the company paid a sum of N2.2 billion by the NSA office.  While be...