Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Wednesday 30th September 2020
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 30/09/20
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The Lokoja And Iju-Ishaga Explosions Must Be The Last By Ibrahim B. Anoba
I anticipate that religious societies must have started designing vigils and weekly prayers to fight against the devil for masterminding incessant gas explosions rocking the country. But I have news for them: the devil is no longer in the winds; it has transformed into humans and now dwells in government houses and in offices of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation. If anyone wishes to bind and cast the devil, they now know where to go.
While the country is still gripped by a BBC forensic analysis that appears to implicate the NNPC in the Abule-Ado 2B pipeline explosion, which killed over a dozen people in March, more than two dozen Nigerians perished in tanker explosions in Lokoja and Iju-Ishaga just last Wednesday. But pipelines and tankers are not exploding for no reason.
These explosions are direct results of how irresponsible politicians heading the NNPC and their cronies in the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMA) have put greed before public safety. It is rather unfortunate that both organizations must yet again be lectured on how to conduct businesses without killing innocent Nigerians as if they do not know what to do.
Indeed, petroleum products must be transported across the country to meet market demands. But the transportation of these products must be largely relegated to the pipelines while tankers should be removed from inner city roads. Transporting petroleum through the pipelines is more efficient than through tankers. This especially as tankers are moving explosive devices awaiting the slightest trigger. It is unimaginable to think that a society would be comfortable seeing a tanker carrying thousands of gallons of petrol plying the same inner city roads that host hot-snack stalls and food canteens.
In higher-income countries, including the United States and most of Europe, petroleum products are almost exclusively transported through well-maintained networks of pipelines. I have lived in the United States for close to three years, and not once have I seen a tanker in the streets. How could that even be allowed when senators and minimum wage earners live on the same inner city streets, which automatically condemns both to the same fate if a tanker were to explode? However, the option of pipeline transportation would still not offer any iota of safety if the Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company Limited, the relevant subsidiary of the NNPC in pipeline maintenance, does not thoroughly assess all networks in the country.
But the families of those that lost their lives in Ijegun, Idimu, Abule-Egba, Abule-Ado, Lokoja, and now Iju-Ishaga must all get justice. Certainly, a society that refuses to punish anyone for such a rampage of callous accidents is destined for anarchy. Accidents of this nature just don’t happen for no reason. People have to be held accountable. If the federal government can deploy resources to prevent Boko Haram from murdering innocent Nigerians, nothing must stop it from deploying the same resources to identify and prosecute the individuals responsible for the tanker and pipeline explosions.
A good way to start the pursuit of justice would be for the federal government to urgently set up a commission to investigate these explosions. This commission should not include the NNPC or IPMA but must comprise of non-Nigerian petroleum forensic investigators and members of the Nigerian civil society.
Accidents are avoidable and avoidance starts with good leadership. Nigerians must first understand that they deserve better leadership before equitable changes in reforms can happen. It is an absurdity that no level of calamity can keep politicians straight on their toes. But after the incidents in Lokoja and Iju-Ishaga, the country’s leadership must bury its head in shame.
However, the onus of making life less miserable in this country rests on the shoulders of Nigerians. The civil society must pressurize the NNPC to reassess its handling of the maintenance of pipelines. Regular Nigerians must also call on their elected representatives—perhaps through protests—to pursue reforms that would keep tankers off inner city roads and make pipelines safer.
Tankers and pipelines crisscross all major highways, and inner city roads, which means everyone’s house would always be around the corner. This is not the time for the public to sit and observe.
Ibrahim B. Anoba is Managing Editor at African Liberty and a fellow of the Center for African Prosperity at the Atlas Network. He tweets via @Ibrahim_Anoba
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I Never Begged Salami Panel For Mercy, Says Magu
Magu
The suspended Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, has said that he never admitted to the allegations against him.
Magu is being investigated by a Presidential panel headed by retired Justice Ayo Salami.
Magu
Since July, the panel, which was set up by President Muhammadu Buhari had been probing the suspended boss of the anti-graft agency for various allegations including abuse of office and mismanagement of recovered assets levelled against him in a memo sent to Buhari by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN).
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Magu in a statement by his lawyer, Wahab Shittu, said the report that he confessed to the panel that he was overzealous as EFCC chairman and begged for mercy was misleading.
He said, “Our attention has been drawn to a misleading story in a certain online medium with a misleading headline – Magu confesses, Begs: I Was Overzealous as Acting Chair of EFCC, Please Save My Career. We wish to state that this story was twisted fundamentally out of context by my client’s accusers who want to hit back at my client without justification.
“It is true that Magu and my humble self-addressed the panel at the conclusion of his defence while Magu clarified that he threw himself to the job of acting chair because of his passion for the anti-corruption war, a situation that may be alleged overzealousness in some quarters. He however pleaded for justice and fair play by the panel members in the context of his overall achievements and career which hitherto remain unblemished and will terminate in two years’ time.
“At no time did Magu admit to guilt to the allegations, the subject matter of the inquiry. Indeed the only thing going for Magu is his conviction of his innocence. A member of the panel had cause to inquire from me whether I am convinced that the panel will do justice to my client. I responded in the affirmative and I hope my optimism of the justice of the process at the end will not be illusory.”
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Ondo: Three Injured As Armed Thugs Attack PDP Governorship Candidate’s Convoy
At least three supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo State were wounded on Tuesday during an attack on the party’s campaign team.
The attack occurred at Ipele in the Owo Local Government Area of the state when the convoy of the governorship candidate of the PDP, Eyitayo Jegede, visited the area.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who is seeking re-election under the All Progressives Congress platform, is from Owo LGA.
The attack comes a few days after the police threatened to jail anyone caught causing trouble in the state ahead of the election.
Jegede’s convoy was attacked a few weeks at Oba Akoko during a campaign tour.
Confirming the attack, Samuel Fasua, spokesman for Eyitayo Jegede Campaign Organisation, said the armed thugs blocked the entry points of the community and started attacking some of the campaign vehicles in Jegede’s convoy.
He explained that three members of the party identified as Mr Amuda Sikiru, Mr Taye Akintufede, and Seun Ogunlade were brutally injured during the attack by the armed thugs.
He said, “These members were shot in the face and abdomen during our campaign rally in Owo town by the APC thugs but we have rushed them to the hospital.
“Our campaign vehicles were damaged, as was witnessed in the Oba-Akoko community recently and one of them was completely burnt down.
“The armed thugs were later dispersed by a joint team of the security agencies.”
Tee-Leo Ikoro, spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, who also confirmed the attack, said the incident was currently being investigated.
He disclosed that some persons linked to the attack had also been arrested by the police.
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E2%80%93yiaga-africa Armed Thugs Terrorising Ondo Communities Ahead Of Governorship Election –Yiaga Africa
Yiaga Africa has raised the alarm on the activities of political thugs in the build-up to the Ondo State governorship election.
Yiaga Africa in its pre-election observation report berated security operatives for not moving against thugs, who are in the act of brandishing small arms to terrorise members of opposition parties and voters.
The group predicted that the act could lead to low turnout of voters in the October 10 poll.
“Yiaga Africa LTOs reported cases of political thugs brandishing arms and weapons during political campaigns without restraint from security agencies.
“Based on Yiaga Africa findings, Akoko South West LGA has a high case of arms build-up. In addition, armed political thugs were reported to be terrorising communities in Ilaje and Ileoluji/Okeigbo LGAs.
“These unrestrained acts of lawlessness and impunity creates apprehension which could lead to low turnout of voters during the election.
“Given the background of pre-election violence and gangster politics, the state may witness a further decline in voter turnout during election. This is exacerbated by the failure of security agencies to curb acts of lawlessness and impunity perpetrated by armed political thugs and political actors.
“Low voter turnout may further enhance chances for electoral manipulation in the strongholds of the major political parties particularly in the rural areas where election rigging usually takes place,” the report reads.
Yiaga Africa also noted that only about 31.6 per cent of the Ondo State population was eligible to participate in the electoral process.
The group also said political parties are failing to comply with social distancing guidelines in all political party campaigns.
It, however, noted that parties are complying with the wearing of face masks and use of hand sanitiser.
The group urged the federal and state governments to desist from partisan use of the police and security forces to manipulate the electoral process.
It also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to collaborate with other stakeholders in promoting peace and also continue the use of results viewing portal deployed during Edo State election.
“INEC should collaborate with other stakeholders like the National Peace Committee, traditional/religious institutions, security agencies, media, and CSOs to de-escalate the rising political tension and violence by signing peace accord or pact between the candidates in the election.
“INEC should sustain the use of the election results viewing portal and ensure timely post of the Form EC 8 A at the polling units. Also, INEC should post information on polling units where elections were cancelled or PUs where elections didn’t hold on the results viewing portal.
“INEC should take concrete steps to address the perceptions of its lack of independence, impartiality, and professionalism.
“This will include proactive disclosure of election-related information, consistency in the application of electoral guidelines, and transparency in the results collation process,” Yiaga Africa advised.
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Oodua Republic: Yoruba Group Urges Protesters To Avoid Clash With Security Operatives
Prof Banji Akintoye
The Yoruba World Congress has called on Yorubas across the country, who will be joining the protest on October 1, 2020, to avoid a clash with security operatives.
The group fixed a rally for that date, which is Nigeria’s 60th independence anniversary, to draw global attention to the need to “liberate Yoruba race.”
Prof Banji Akintoye
Speaking ahead of the scheduled rally, Prof Banji Akintoye, President-General of YWC, urged protesters not to engage in confrontation with police as violence will cause distractions to its agitation.
He said, “For Yoruba people at home in Nigeria, my message is to repeat my earlier messages: please keep our rallies thoroughly peaceful. Never display any rowdy or disruptive behaviour. Never get into any argument or confrontation with law enforcement personnel. If the police anywhere ask you not to rally or to dispense, disperse peacefully.
“Always remember that your message is too important to allow confrontations or distractions. Your Yoruba nation is powerful. It commands the intellectual, human and other resources to achieve its self-determination in a peaceful and law abiding manner.
“It is good to hold rallies. Rallies help to spread the message. But we must not allow our rallies to create outcomes that can disrupt, obstruct or distract from our central message.”
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We’ll Get Yoruba Nation Without Violence –Prof Akintoye
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Prof Akintoye commended Yoruba outside Nigeria for joining the call for Oduduwa republic, saying “Yoruba people at home are grateful that you are showing the world the horrific conditions in which Yoruba people live in Nigeria.
“As Yoruba people in Diaspora hold mass rallies in many countries of the world on October one, I very warmly congratulate and thank them all.
“All Yoruba people back home in Nigeria are watching them with joy, gratitude and pride.
“The barbarous invasion of our land by a people, the Fulani, who are part of Nigeria, the fiendish killings of our people and the destruction of our homes and means of livelihood. And the massive importations of armed men to our towns and cities.”
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Yoruba Diaspora Group To Stage Oodua Republic Rally On October 1 In Six Continents
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CUPP Slams NLC, TUC For Backing Down On Strike Against Hike In Petrol Price, Electricity Tariff
The Coalition of United Political Parties has berated the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress for suspending its agitation for the reversal of the increase in the price of petrol and electricity tariff.
Noting that the increment was ill-timed, CUPP stated that the people had lost confidence in the NLC and TUC for suspending its planned strike.
High Chief Peter Ameh, National Secretary of CUPP, in a statement said the NLC and TUC no longer had the capacity to represent the interest of the Nigerian people.
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How Nigeria Labour Congress Leaders Betrayed Workers To Strike Deal With Government Over Planned Industrial Action
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Ameh posited that the union should have embarked on its planned protest for people to use the medium to voice their anger.
He said, “NLC and TUC should know that the ordinary man on the street has lost confidence, trust, and faith in their ability to actually speak or act for them.
“CUPP believes that NLC and TUC do not have the capacity to represent the interest of the Nigerian people and as such have no answer to these questions.
“The masses must develop the will to speak for themselves on these matters meant to enslave and imprison their conscience and destinies. We all know that all is not well in Nigeria, politically, economically and socially and this administration is still rolling out policies that will finally destroy the little fragment of life left with the masses while NLC and TUC refuse to act to protect the interest of the people.
“If the NLC/TUC meant well for the people, they would have insisted on using the two weeks as an opportunity for people to protest and voice out their grievances for the rulers to hear and know how to mend their ways rather than to use the two weeks to silence the people and devise ways to deceive us as usual.”
CUPP charged the NLC and TU to reinvent themselves and start to act in the interest of Nigerians.
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E2%80%94osinbajo Whistleblowers Must Be Protected For Exposing Corruption, Gross Mismanagement —Osinbajo
Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, has said that the country’s whistleblower policy must be expanded to protect those, who expose corruption, gross mismanagement as well as acts inimical to public health and safety from backlash and reprisals.
Osinbajo made the call while delivering a virtual keynote address at the National Conference on Whistleblower Policy on Tuesday in Abuja.
He said, “It is clear that under the current whistle-blower policy, it is only with respect to acts of corruption that whistle-blowing is considered lawful.
“However, there is a whole range of issues that may not endanger public finance directly but may constitute public safety or security risks. Reporting such may save lives and or property.
“The scope may then cover such matters as a violation of law, gross mismanagement of the rights of people and waste of public resources, or acts inimical to public health or safety.
“Exposing corruption is for the good of our nation; our goal in this regard is to harness the huge potential of the people to deliver on their moral obligation to report cases of corruption within their immediate environments.
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Present Cracks May Lead To Nigeria’s Break-up, Osinbajo Warns
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“As we deliberate on the finer details of the implementation of this policy, we must consistently remind ourselves of the importance of the task at hand notwithstanding the difficulties.
“These may include witness protection type provisions and this will give the whistle-blower some protection where they may have to appear in court.
“Certainty and clarity of the reporting processes and adequate protection of the whistle-blowers would improve confidence in the initiative.
“Similarly, enhanced transparency and accountability in the implementation of the policy will result in more discoveries and recoveries.”
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E2%80%99t-regret-heading-magu%E2%80%99s-probe-panel-says-ex-appeal-court-president-ayo-salami I Don’t Regret Heading Magu’s Probe Panel, Says Ex-Appeal Court President, Ayo Salami
A former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, has denied expressing regrets for accepting the appointment to chair the panel investigating Ibrahim Magu, suspended Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Magu is being investigated over allegations of abuse of office and mismanagement of recovered assets from May 2015 to May 2020.
In a memo on Tuesday, Salami accused the lawyers of planting reports in the media that he regrets chairing the panel.
He said, “The reports were a figment of the wild imagination of the reporter, the two lawyers quoted as his sources and the medium that published the story.
“There was no time anything near the unthinkable scenario painted in the false story occurred in any meeting between myself and the lawyers to Magu or any other person, for that matter, since the Judicial Commission of Inquiry began its sittings.
“l have no cause to express any regret over my chairmanship of the commission, not to talk of betraying any form of emotion before anyone about it.
“I see my appointment to serve as the chairman of the commission of Inquiry as an honour and call to service, thus my decision to accept diligently and patriotically discharge this responsibility.
“I have never appointed any of the two lawyers or any other person(s) to speak on my behalf as I can express myself without recourse to the lawyers of the persons we are probing.
“As an eminent jurist, who retired as the President of the Court of Appeal, I have handled much more complex cases than the current one before the commission.”
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REVEALED: Justice Salami Sitting Allowances, Emoluments And Luxurious Lifestyle That Made Him Ask For Extension
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Salami said the panel, which he chairs, will continue its investigation of the allegations against Magu with a view to unearthing the truth and ensuring that justice was done.
“The false reports were aimed at causing mischief and tarnishing my hard-earned reputation and integrity.
“I remain resolute and committed to the service of the nation and ready to champion the ideals of justice and fairness,” Salami added.
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Justice Salami Ordered DSS To Throw Us Out, Put Our Colleague In Cell Inside Presidential Villa, Magu’s Lawyer Reveals
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Take It Back Movement Calls For Protest In Sweden
The Take It Back Movement, Sweden chapter, has announced plans to hold a mass action against poor governance in Nigeria on October .
The group in a letter signed by its President, Prince Ewemade Konkons, to Nigeria’s Ambassador to Sweden, called on all Nigerians in the country to participate in the planned protest.
TIB said it can no longer pretend that all was well with Nigeria as a nation.
The letter reads, “That the country is becoming a failed state is a given. As reflected in our political, economic and security institutions. We can no longer pretend that all is well with us as a nation. It is our strong conviction that the quest for good governance, economic empowerment and great security will not happen with the present crop of polticians, who take delight in dividing us on the premise of relgion in order to fan their amber of greed.
“That corruption is worse than we have ever known it, under the current governmnet is not a conjecture but a statement of fact. These malfeasnces have real life economic and social consequences on the lives of our people. Little wonder we are the poverty-capital-of-the-world-in-waiting. 2050 soon come! As we continue to fund the outrageous lifestyles of polticians, we still top the charts of the number children that are out school, kiddnaping is now more lucrative than banking as a career, religious intolerance and ethnic faultlines are now causing social tremors across all the political zones.
“All these, while we live in denial and those who benefit from this rigged arrangement see people like Sowore as an enemy of the state.Rather than make life better the goverment chooses to make it unbearable for the people. How logical is it that tarriffs of electricity and petrol prices got increased at the height of the pandemic.
“For a government that initially said subsidies are a scam, to turn around and use the same reason to justify corruption, incompetence and greed is hard to swallow. As we mark October 1, we want to say a big no to corruption, insecurity, nepotism, rigged electoral system, godfatherism. We are tired of being ruled by misfits for the last 60 years.”
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E2%80%98agberos%E2%80%99-because-they-are-our-cousins-brothers-says-hamzat-lagos-deputy We Cannot Ban ‘Agberos’ Because They Are Our Cousins, Brothers, Says Hamzat, Lagos Deputy Governor
Obafemi Hamzat
Obafemi Hamzat, deputy governor of Lagos State, has said that ‘Agberos’ cannot be banned in the state because they were “our brothers and cousins”.
‘Agberos’ in Lagos are notorious for charging taxes that are not remitted to the government, terrorising neighbourhoods, robbing passengers and rigging elections for corrupt politicians.
Obafemi Hamzat
Hamzat, while speaking with journalists to commemorate his 56th birthday in Lagos, said the National Union of Road Transport Workers to which the touts belong, had the same legitimacy and backing of the law as the Nigeria Medical Association.
He said, “We have all agreed that we live by the constitution and laws. The National Union of Road Transport Workers is actually a union recognised by law. I know some people say ban them, but the government must also be careful. When you just say arbitrarily ban them, what stops you from saying I want to ban the Nigerian Medical Association? Do you understand? There are times government and NMA have issues; does that mean they should be banned? They are expressing their opinion.
“They might be wrong or right but they have the right to express those opinions. And then remember these people (NURTW) are Nigerians; they are our brothers and cousins. So, one of the things we have been telling them is that if you are the chairman in Ajeromi and we see that there are all sorts of contraventions in Ajeromi, we will remove you as a chairman. We are not banning your union but it means you are incompetent.
“So, that is the outcome of one of the meetings we had with them, that if there’s an infraction in any of the areas due to the executive in that area, then it should be dissolved. And then you know we complain about our society, why people fight on the road; we have all gone around the world and it is only here we see people fighting on the road and tearing clothes off themselves, why? That has to change, but changing that does not mean banning them.
“It is to make sure we find the time and interact with them, and say, ‘look this is how it works’. Remember during former (Governor Bola Ahmed) Tinubu’s administration when we started BRT; it was a tug of war, but we took the union to Colombia to see how the union there metamorphosed into owning the BRT and so a lot of those blue buses at that time were owned by the union.
“We said, ‘See you can send your children to school by this; this is a job you can say you are proud of.’ Surprisingly they paid back the loans for the buses quickly. The same thing is happening in the abattoir (business); people say they don’t want the machines, some of our brothers said it is un-Islamic that they want to kill the cow themselves. So, we went to Kenya and Tanzania and we saw Muslims killing in an automated way, and so they agreed. So, it is a matter of engaging people and letting them see the reason they need to change their attitude. That is our way of doing things, not just say put them away.”
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