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APC Mismanagement Responsible For Rising Insecurity – Obaseki

Published

3 years ago

May 5, 2021

Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, on Tuesday, took another swipe at the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, blaming the rising insecurity in the country on the party’s mismanagement of the nation’s economy.

Obaseki who spoke while receiving the leadership of the South-South Zonal Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, led by its National Vice Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, said the “lawlessness and indiscipline” of the APC had brought the nation to her knees security wise.

“The way the ruling party has managed and mismanaged the economy of this country is the reason why we are having the level of insecurity that we faced today. The lawlessness, indiscipline by the ruling party has brought us to where we are”, he maintained.

He continues, “The challenges of insecurity just show the dysfunctionality of our federal system. We should not lose hope in Nigeria but focus on how to create confidence to give our people hope by managing the country well”.

The Governor, who had three weeks ago stirred up a hornet’s nest, when he informed a bewildered nation that the APC-led Federal Government printed over N60 billion to shore up the March 2021 allocations, urged Nigerians not to lose hope in the country amid the challenges facing the country, but work collectively to ensure a better Nigeria.

Taking a jab at the lopsided federation, Obaseki queried why security should be on the exclusive legislative list to the detriment of the remaining two tears of government.

“We run a Federation; we have three tiers of government: Federal, State and Local Government. Why should security be exclusive to the federal level? What happened to the other two? Until we address that structural imbalance, we are not going to be able to deal with security at its core”, he posited

To get out of the current appalling security challenges, the Edo State governor submitted that only the opposition PDP had the capacity to rescue the nation, just as he called on the South-South geo-political zone to rise up and defend itself in every way.

“The country has a major problem and it’s only the PDP that can help the President solve the problem but not his party. Let us as party men and Nigerians help rescue the nation and call on those that have the capacity to rescue Nigeria. Security is local and we can rescue this nation; that is why Edo is relatively peaceful”, Obaseki submitted.

“In the South-South, we must stand up to defend ourselves economically, politically and security wise. We have pretenders in the region who try to exploit the region and we must stop them.

“When you concentrate resources at the centre, you can’t get results. The security structure that we have in Nigeria has expired; we need a new security arrangement. The system that we operated till now is not tenable,” he noted.

Speaking earlier, Orbih noted that “The South-West and South-East have both formed a security network to protect its people. As South-South, we need to look for a way to check insecurity and protect our people in the region”.

The PDP National Vice Chairman, South-South appealed to Governor Obaseki “to lead the stand for state policing. It’s time to rejig the security architecture of Nigeria. We urge you to lend your voice to the struggle to make the country safe for all.”

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Man, 38 Escapes Assassination Attempt In Benin

Published

9 months ago

July 22, 2023

Editor

Innocent Omoruyi

By Omokha Andrew

A 38-year-old activist, Innocent Omoruyi, narrowly escaped assassination in the early hours of Wednesday, July 19, 2023 as his residence at Obe Community,Sapele Road in Benin city was attacked by yet to be identified gun men.

The attack which eye witnesses say was viciously executed on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 bore the markings of a dreaded cult group terrorizing Benin City, the state capital.

The Obe, Sapale Road incident, it was learnt, happened soon after Omoruyi left the house to attend to matters of interest some few metres away from his home.

The assailants were said to have shot sporadically in their frustration as residents scampered for safety.

However, Omoruyi escaped unharmed.

One of the eye witnesses who craved anonymity said: “The felons apparently went for the kill, weilding guns and other dangerous weapons. “We are shocked that they didn’t see Innocent Omoruyi who was just some few metres away from home when they arrived”.

“How that happened, only God knows and it was obvious that it wasn’t his time to die yet and just before that not long ago his business place on Lagos Street, Benin City was burnt down in the middle of the night by unknown arsonists.

“This sequence of events is not ordinary. We know it’s politically motivated due to the role he played in the last general elections. He has been advised to go into hiding at the moment for his personal safety”, he concluded.

When contacted, the police Public Relations Officer Chidi Nwabuzor said he was yet to get any information as regards the latest incident. He promised to feed our correspondent with relevant details as soon as they become handy.

Our information source however revealed that the matter has already been incidented at the Love World Police station on Sapele Road, Benin city.

Business

Nigeria To Earn Over $4bn Revenue As FEC Okays Concession Of Abuja, Kano Airports

Published

11 months ago

May 18, 2023

Editor

Nigeria will earn over $4 billion in nominal revenue as the Federal Executive Council, FEC, on Wednesday okayed the concession of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, to the Corporacion American Airport Consortium, a Luxembourg-based company.

James Odaudu, the Special Assistant on Public Affairs to the Minister of Aviation, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

According to him, the Council also approved that the Federal Ministry of Aviation would be renamed the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace.

The statement noted that the company would make combined upfront payments of $8.5 million for the concession of NAIA and MAKIA.

He added that the development would spur evidential growth within the Nigerian aviation industry.

“In alignment with the Aviation Roadmap, approved by Mr President on 18th October 2016, the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace is delighted to inform all stakeholders, both local and international, and the media, that the concession of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano has been approved by the Federal Executive Council,” the statement said.

In December 2022 and January 2023, Corporacion American Airport Consortium was announced as the preferred bidder for the airport’s concession after scaling through a series of evaluations of technical and financial bids.

Nominal revenues mean income not adjusted for inflation and decreasing purchasing power.

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Russia Expelled From Council Of Europe Amid War With Ukraine

Published

2 years ago

March 16, 2022

Editor

The Council of Europe says it has expelled Russia with immediate effect after 26 years of membership because of the Ukraine war.

The Committee of Ministers took the decision in a special session, the rights body announced in the French city of Strasbourg on Wednesday.

Earlier, Russia had already declared its withdrawal from the Council of Europe after it had taken steps to exclude it.

On Tuesday evening, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted unanimously in favour of Russia’s exclusion.

Russia joined the Council of Europe on Feb. 28, 1996.

Together with the formal notification of the withdrawal, the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe also received information from the Russian Federation on Tuesday about its intention to denounce the European Convention on Human Rights.

In a statement on Tuesday evening, the leaders of the Council of Europe once again condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

They expressed their solidarity with the Russian people, who continue to belong to the European family and share its values.

The body said it would continue to stand by Ukraine in the fight against the aggressor.

The Council of Europe monitors the observance of human rights in its 46 member states and is not part of the European Union.

The body reacted to the Russian invasion of Ukraine two weeks ago by suspending Russia’s membership, this decision was considered historic.