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New Naira: Seven Notable Quotes From El-Rufai

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The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has been firing from all cylinders, claiming some unnamed persons in Aso Villa were working against the All Progressives Congress’ victory during the presidential election.

The PUNCH reports that the governor on Thursday claimed that the said people were inciting voters against the APC.

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Below are seven of his salvos:

1. Saboteurs will be unmasked, defeated

Unmasking them is not as joyful as defeating them. They will be unmasked in time. But we have defeated them when they wanted their own people in the national working committee of the party.

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READ ALSO::CBN Not Ready For Naira Redesign, Gov. Badaru Slams Emefiele

“We have defeated them when they wanted their own anointed person to be the presidential candidate without due regard, due process or respect for those of us that are governors, that have slaved to put this party together, campaigned for it and delivered the election twice. We didn’t matter.’’

2. Saboteurs are political amateurs/lighter weights

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“Meanwhile, none of them has contested an election as a councillor, and if they did, they won’t win. I have been elected twice with over a million votes in Kaduna State. I can claim to speak for the people.

‘’None of these people can. We will come to the unmasking stage, this is not the stage. The stage now is to draw the attention of Nigerians that they are elements that are doing this and they don’t mean well for our party, they want to incite voters against our party, so that we lose the elections.’’

3. Saboteurs, cabal misled Buhari

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“Once Nigerians know that they will know where some of these funny decisions are coming from and when the election is done and settled by the grace of God in about three weeks, and I’m confident, we are not sleeping.

“We are going to work hard until (February) 27th when all the election results are out and by the grace of God, Asiwaju (Tinubu) is elected and other candidates of the APC; then we will unmask them.

4. Dummies to President

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This has been an ongoing issue and we just feel that some of these things that are being thought of and clothed with good intentions, and dummies being sold to the President so that the electorate will be incited; the people of Nigeria will be inflicted needless pain at the point in addition to all the other challenges that they are facing just so that they will revolt and say, look, we will vote for the other party. It is clear.’’

5. Case for old notes

He stated, “I have a map of Nigeria with blind spots where there is no network; PoS won’t work there. It is not everywhere that you have bank branches. It is not everywhere you have PoS working. So, let’s sit and look at this thing and find out the reasonable time it takes to do this.

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“Even the Central Bank Act that gives the President the power to issue to the Central Bank directives with regard to currency redesign says that reasonable time must be given before the currency ceases to be legal tender.’’

6. CBN deadline unreasonable

“The question is: Is a few weeks a reasonable time in a country of one million square kilometres and over 200m people? How many bank branches are in Nigeria? How many ATMs?

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“In Borno State, there are only two local governments out of 27 with a bank branch. In Yobe, only two local governments out of 17 have a bank branch.

READ ALSO: JUST IN: Aso Rock ‘Elements’ Working Against Tinubu’s Victory – El-Rufai

“Even a cosmopolitan state relatively in the north like Kaduna has two local governments that have no bank branches and 10 with only one bank branch. So, everyone in that local government must come to that one bank branch? And this PoS that you are seeing in every street of Lagos; do you think you have PoS in every street of Kubau, Ikara and Makarfi which are local government headquarters in my state?’’

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7. Atiku exploiting Nigerians’ hardship

“But this week, because of a mere extension of 10 days, he’s (Atiku) turning round to say don’t extend; it means there is something. He’s clearly benefiting from this pain Nigerians are going through every day till today.

“I have reports that people in Kaduna cannot buy food and they cannot sell because there are no currency notes around. But the presidential candidate of the PDP is saying don’t extend because he’s gaining from it. The incitement of people against the APC is in his view to his advantage and this incitement is stronger in northern Nigeria where Atiku is to benefit from,’’ he submitted.
PUNCH

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Sanwo-Olu makes U-turn, Unblocks Lawyer Who Sued Him Over Blocking On X

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Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has unblocked human rights lawyer, Festus Ogun, on X after a meeting with him at Lagos House, Marina, on Friday.

The lawyer, who had accused the governor of rights violations, announced the development in a post on his X account on Saturday.

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According to him, Sanwo-Olu personally invited him for a brief meeting to address his complaints.

Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has unblocked me on X (Twitter). I met briefly with him yesterday at Lagos House Marina, on his invitation, to amicably resolve my complaint of human rights violations. We will continue to hold authorities accountable, regardless. Aluta continua!” Ogun wrote.

READ ALSO:Lawyer Sues Sanwo-Olu For Blocking Him On X

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Tribune Online reports that Ogun had earlier filed a suit against Sanwo-Olu at a Federal High Court in Lagos, accusing him of violating his fundamental rights by blocking him on his verified X account.

In the suit marked FHC/L/CS/1739/25, which he shared on Facebook, the lawyer claimed the governor blocked him over his 2021 “constructive criticisms” and “demand for accountability” on the October 2020 #EndSARS killings.

In 2021, I noticed that the Governor blocked me on his official X handle @jidesanwoolu owing to my constructive criticisms of his policies and demand for accountability in respect of the October 2020 #EndSARS Massacre.”

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READ ALSO:‘Court Of Corruption’ — Obasanjo Knocks INEC Chairman, Judiciary In New Book

Ogun said the action has prevented him from accessing vital government updates and information.

“Blocking me on X has prevented me from accessing public updates and receiving information about policies and governance in Lagos, which constitutes a violation of my right to receive information without interference,” he said.

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In his originating summons, he asked the court to declare the move unconstitutional, arbitrary, and discriminatory.

 

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Tragedy Deepens As Prime Suspect in Taraba Student’s Death Found Dead

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The investigation into the death of Comfort Jimtop, a 100-level Mass Communication student at Taraba State University, has taken a dramatic turn following the discovery of the lifeless body of Emmanuel Kefas, the prime suspect in the case.

Kefas’s body was discovered on Friday in the Tudiri community, Ardo-Kola Local Government Area, under unclear circumstances, intensifying public concern and adding a tragic dimension to a case that has already gripped the university community and residents across Taraba State.

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Confirming the development on Saturday, the spokesperson for the Taraba State Police Command, James Lashen, said the police received a report from the village head of Tudiri about the discovery.

READ ALSO:Army Kills Notorious Bandit, Babangida, In Kogi

A lifeless body was found in Tudiri, and a Tecno Android phone was recovered beside it,” Lashen stated.

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Upon charging the phone, investigators found a photograph showing the deceased with the late Comfort Jimtop, suggesting they were in a romantic relationship.”

Lashen added that the body has been taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Jalingo for autopsy. At the same time, efforts are ongoing to officially identify the remains through the suspect’s family.

READ ALSO:Four Feared Killed As Gunmen Attack Burial Ceremony In Anambra

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Police have yet to determine whether Kefas’s death was the result of suicide, homicide, or an accident. Investigations into both deaths are continuing.

Comfort Jimtop’s mysterious death had earlier sparked outrage on campus and across the state, with students and rights groups demanding justice. Kefas was named a prime suspect in the case, which remains open.

This latest development has left many unanswered questions and deepened the grief surrounding the case.

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Students, residents, and civil society groups are closely monitoring the situation, calling on authorities to ensure a thorough investigation and bring clarity to the tragic chain of events.

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Ossiomo, Chinese Impasse: This Is Our Story — Management

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The management of Ossiomo Power Plant has cleared the air on the dispute between its Chinese partners and the circumstances surrounding the shutting down of the power plant early this month.

Representative of Ossiomo management, Engineer Festus Evbuomwan, during an interactive session with customers on the impasse between the two partners, said contrary to the rumour making the rounds, the management of Ossiomo Power Plant had paid over ₦2bn to its Chinese partner — Jiangsu Communication Clean Energy Technology (CCETC) — since the power plant started operation.

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Recall that representative of CCETC who identified himself as Mr. ‘W’ had, during a telephone phone interview two weeks ago, claimed that “instruction to shutdown was because we lost lots of money and did not get any return on investment,” adding that “all the $20m investment was done by us including the distribution lines.”

But Evbuomwan during the interactive session, said the management was not aware of the $20m investment the Chinese partner claimed, just as he disclosed that “when they generate power, we sell and pay them.”

READ ALSO:Edo Govt Denies Shares As Ownership Tussle Rocks Ossiomo Power

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He disclosed that after shutting down the power plant, the Chinese partners came up with a request of ₦185m to be paid to two Chinese not known to the management, stressing that this was declined.

According to him, the Chinese partner, having seen how lucrative the business is, “went to some quarters and raised some issues probably thinking they can manoeuvre us with the help of some big persons, so that they can use their machines to generate power and sideline us but this is not possible.”

The Chinese partners also claimed that they borrowed $20m from their native land to invest, we are not aware of such investment, and we do not know where the money was invested up till now.

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“They have been also saying they have not been receiving anything, but I want to tell you unequivocally that first, the partners run a joint account where their investment is going into. More so, The Chinese partners have received over ₦2bn so far for the power they generate with their machines. When they generate the power, we sell and pay them.”

READ ALSO: Five Years After, Edo Govt Reconnects To BEDC As Ossiomo Shut Down

Engr. Evbuomwan, while apologising to customers for the power outage caused by the dispute between the two partners, said Ossiomo had started power generation though not in full capacity, assuring that power generation would be fully restored soon.

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“We have purchased turbines, and one have started working. They are working on the second one, so, by the time our five turbines start working we will be in full capacity. Even with that, those connected to the government may not be reached immediately. This is because the government bought the poles and contracted the wiring, and we cannot force the government to do our bid. Also, we are making efforts to site 33kva transformer along Airport Road and Lagos Road as soon as possible, so that our customers there will get power.”

He said the Edo State government does not have a stake in the company, just as he appealed to the “government to let us supply power to customers in through their Lines. I want to emphasise that Ossiomo is not completely shut down.”

He further urged the “government to encourage the Nigerian citizens to invest and not to work against local investors.”

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