COVER
2023: Saraki, Tambuwal, Bala Mohammed Begin Joint Consultative Meetings with Govs
From Victor Nick Gai, Jalingo and David Torough, Makurdi
.Push for No-zoning Arrangement
.Seek Northern Consensus Candidate
Former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, all of whom are presidential aspirants on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) have remained dedicated to their course of evolving a consensus candidate among the aspirants from the north.
Curiously, former Nigerian Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, who is also from the north and on the verge of contesting the presidency for the fourth time, appear not to be on the same page with them.The threesome of Saraki, Tambuwal and Mohammed began their mission three weeks ago when they met in Bauchi with Mohammed as their host. Addressing the press after their meeting, Saraki declared that their intention was to bring up a northern consensus presidential candidate and to sell the idea to Atiku.
While it appears that Atiku is unyielding in throwing his hat into the ring, Saraki and company have coalesced into a Unity Forum umbrella upon which they have resolved to traverse the country in a consultative meeting with PDP governors.
Apart from pressing for need for the northern presidential aspirants to produce one formidable candidate, they are spreading the message that zoning out the north and making the party’s presidential ticket and exclusivity of the South would be counter-productive at the polls, given that the game-changing votes in every presidential election circle come from the north.
On Monday the trio visited the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, to consult him on their missions.
They held private discussions with Ortom in furtherance of their three-prong objectives as well as in the interest of the country.
Saraki, who addressed Ortom on behalf of the team, disclosed that they decided to form a unity team, mainly to enable them reach a consensus among themselves in the days ahead.
He stressed that they took the initiative to work as a team without anybody forcing them to do so, adding that it became necessary because the country was too divided by personal interests.
According to Saraki “I’m here today with my two brothers, the governor of Sokoto State, His Excellency, Aminu Tambuwal and of course, the governor of Bauchi State, His Excellency, Bala Mohammed. We are here today as part of our ongoing consultation of three of us who have shown indication to aspire for presidency under our great party.
“We, on our own about couple of weeks ago felt that in the interest of our party as well in the interest of our great country that we should be able to come together and find a consensus among us.
“Our interest is very little compared to our country’s at this time when it is in its very defining moment. I believe only our party can rescue this country from where it is today and those of us who are aspiring are committed to ensure that we find somebody who will unite us whom we will all support. That’s a better way to unite the party and reduce the rancour in the process.
“To do that, we must also carry along key stakeholders of the party, leaders in the party like you and that’s why we are here today. Three of us alone cannot win and deliver; it is all of us and that’s why we feel that at this very stage of our deliberation, leaders like you must be part of it. That’s why we held a private discussion for you to know that we are very serious about this.
“The seriousness comes from our total belief that it’s for the unity of our party. All of us are eminently qualified to lead this country; it’s about us ensuring that we put the country first and that is why we are here.”
Saraki thanked the Benue State governor for the fruitful discussions they had, noting that “We’re confident and encouraged by your comments that what we are doing is in the best interest of our party and for our country.”
He added that, “Our plan is to see the other colleagues across the country. We’re hoping today to see you and two other governors and also tomorrow some others.
“We are committed on PDP winning. Any of the aspirants is eminently competent to rule this country and lead this country. But whoever that person is, he needs all of us. That is what is priority, not whether Aminu is president or Bala or Wike or Anyim or Waziri; no! It is what will make Nigeria better and we believe it’s the PDP platform.”
Governor Ortom eulogised the trio, describing all of them as eminently qualified to be the president of Nigeria, adding that, “These two leaders (Saraki and Tambuwal), Nigerians can testify that during their time that they did very well and delivered on their mandate, so I’m not surprised today they are coming out for presidency. My brother, Mohammed, who we were colleagues together at the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, he is also eminently qualified and I’am happy.
In continuation, the three on the same day moved to Abuja, where they consulted the Taraba State Governor, Darius Dickson Ishaku, who promised to work for the emergence of a credible presidential flag-bearer that could make the return of the PDP to power at the federal level in 2023 a reality.
They met with Gov Ishaku at the Taraba State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja.
Gov Ishaku expressed delight that the three aspirants were collaborating to produce a strong presidential candidate for the party and called on leaders of the party to support the initiative.
He said Nigerians of all interests and backgrounds were waiting for the PDP to take over the leadership of the country come 2023 and called on all party members to embrace the initiative being championed by the three aspirants.
Senator Saraki who led the three aspirants on the visit, said they came to consult the governor, being one of the most respected elders and a critical stakeholder of the party.
He said the three of them were working together on a common front in order to ensure the party produced a candidate without rancour.
COVER
How 118 Inmates Escaped from Century-old Suleja Jail
From Dan Amasingha, Minna & Laide Akinboade, Abuja
About 100 inmates escaped from the old Suleja Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) in Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State following a rainstorm that destroyed part of the facility on Wednesday night.
Sources in Suleja hinted that a storm accompanied by heavy rain which started around 9:00pm destroyed parts of the old custodial centre leading to the escape of about 100 inmates from the facility.
It was gathered that the destruction exposed the inner fence of the facility that hitherto fortified one of the cells holding inmates.
A combined team of security agents has been drafted to strategic outlets and black spots of Suleja town to arrest the fleeing inmates.
Daily Asset gathered that the security personnel shot sporadically to scare the fleeing inmates out of their hideouts.
A resident of Suleja town said, “We helped to arrest three of the inmates and handed them over to the prison authorities.”
The source also disclosed that the inmates, who had overpowered the men guarding the facility, escaped towards different directions, making it difficult for the security men to trail them.
Unofficial sources said the manhunt for the fleeing inmates has started yielding positive results as more inmates have been re arrested at some exit points of the state.
Meanwhile, security is been beefed up along Minna-Suleja and Suleja-Kaduna roads, including Madalla axis to Abuja road.
Attempts to get the reaction of the State Comptroller of Prisons proved abortive at press time.
Spokesman of the Federal Capital Territory Command of NCoS, Adamu Duza reacted to the incident yesterday.
He said, “A heavy downpour that lasted for several hours on the night of Wednesday, 24 April 2024 has wreaked havoc on the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Suleja, Niger State, as well as surrounding buildings, destroying part of the custodial facility, including its perimeter fence, giving way to the escape of a total of 118 inmates of the facility.”
According to him, the service has immediately activated its recapturing mechanisms, and in conjunction with sister security agencies has so far recaptured 10 fleeing inmates and taken them into custody, while still in a hot chase to recapture the rest.
Duza said the service is not unmindful of the fact that many of its facilities were built during the colonial era and that they are old and weak, adding that the service is making frantic efforts to see that all ageing facilities give way to modern ones.
“This is evidenced in the ongoing construction of six number of 3000-capacity ultra-modern custodial centres in all the geo-political zones in Nigeria as well as the ongoing reconstruction and renovation of existing ones.
“The service wishes to assure the public that it is on top of the situation and that they should go about their businesses without fear or hindrance.
“The public is further enjoined to look out for the fleeing inmates and report any suspicious movement to the nearest security agency,” said the spokesperson.
The Suleja Prison was built during the colonial era, prior to the Nigeria’s independence from Britain in 1960.
It was designed to hold a maximum of 250 inmates but currently it holds nearly 500 inmates.
COVER
Freight Forwarders Expel Olayoku over NNPP Crisis
From Anthony Nwachukwu, Lagos
Angered by his alleged role in the ongoing crisis in the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), the National Executive Council (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) have expelled the association’s former General Secretary, Mr.
Dipo Olayoku.Olayoku, who was also NAGAFF’s representative at the National Working Committee (NWC) of the NNPP – a party which the association is its parent body, was further declared persona non grata by the joint session of NAGAFF NEC and BoT.
In a statement, the Chairman of NAGAFF BoT, Mazi Chidiebere Enelama said, “Mr.
Dipo Olayoku is hereby declared persona non grata and stands expelled from the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders.“NAGAFF regrets to note that Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso may have allowed himself to be deceived by Mr. Dipo Olayoku, hence his audacity to change the flag, logo and mutilate the constitution of the party in an illegal convention.
“It is our hope that Sen. Kwankwaso’s lawyers would be able to tell him the legal implications. This is outright stealing and conversion.
“We the members of NAGAFF and our founder, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam – the original owners of the New Nigeria People’s Party, which certificate of registration is in our custody, hereby direct Sen. Kwankwaso to sack Mr. Dipo Olayoku with immediate effect for anti-party activities and gross misconduct.”
NAGAFF welcomed the recent judgment of an Abuja Federal High Court, which ruled issues in the party as “internal crisis.”
However, it urged the court “to make a clear decision in line with the constitution of the party to resolve same.”
It insisted that with the presence of Olayoku in the party, it should be commonsense to Kwankwaso and Buba Galadima that peace talk was not possible.
Founder of NAGAFF and NNPP, Dr. Aniebonam, had in a recent media conference accused Kwankwaso and his minders of attempting to hijack the party through an illegal convention, redesignation of the party’s logo and alteration of its constitution.
Stating that he had entered the “arena” after a long wait for reason and conscience to prevail, Aniebonam said it was “disturbing, and if I continue to keep quiet, it will not be in the interest of the soul of the party as the founder and, at some point, its board chairman.”
Aniebonam explained that he single-handedly founded and funded the NNPP for decades before the election, “and Kwankwaso wants to hijack it even when he is not a member of the board of the trustees or leader of the party.
“The party’s constitution says the founder is a life-member of the board, and even when I’m alive, my brother and good friend, Kwankwaso, for whatever reasons, is destroying the party I built from 2002 to 2022 when he joined us to contest the 2023 presidency.”
COVER
Alake Woos Foreign Investors to Nigeria with Mining Incentives, Policies
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake has described Nigeria as Africa’s choice mining investment destination to Australian investors.
He said that was due to its incentives and policies designed to promote ease of doing business in the sector.
Alake made this statement while virtually making his address at the Nigeria-Australia Investment Roundtable meeting.
This is contained in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, on Thursday in Abuja.
Investors in the mining sector in Nigeria are granted a tax holiday of three to five years, deferred royalty payments, and exemption from customs and import duties for their equipment, among other benefits.
He urged the community of investors to consider Nigeria highly as their investment destination, especially with the commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to removing impediments to the ease of doing business.
“Australians seeking to expand their mining portfolio to Africa should prioritise Nigeria in view of our positive investment friendly policies and ongoing rapid transformation.
“Many of the heavy equipment imported for mining can be evaluated to qualify for tax waivers and exemption from import duties.
“Nigeria also has a favourable funds and capital repatriation policy that ensures investors’ funds are not trapped,” he said.
According to the minister, plans have reached an advanced stage for the establishment of a private sector-led Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation.
He said that the corporation was poised for joint ventures with investors on critical minerals such as Lithium, Gold, Baryte, Lead, and Iron-ore.
The minister intimated the Australian investors on efforts to combat illegal mining and insecurity around mining areas, particularly through the establishment of the Mining Marshal Corps, which currently has 2,220 personnel.
He said that out of them, a 60-man rapid response squad has been specially trained and deployed across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
“Illegal mining is not just unlicensed mining. It covers licensed miners operating with invalid licenses or licensed miners operating outside their coordinates or mining minerals not approved in their licenses.
“The specialised mining marshals have in the little time of operations, discouraged illegal mining, brought relief to recognised miners.
“And are clamping down on those involved in nefarious activities around mining areas across the country,” he said.
On strengthening regulatory frameworks, the minister said that 1,633 titles were revoked in 2023 due to default in payment of annual service fees, and punitive measures have been extended to other categories of defaulters.
He explained that the action was aimed at tackling indiscriminate speculation, licence racketeering, and the menace of those who obtained licences over the years but have refused to move to site.
The minister on Wednesday also revoked 924 dormant licences spanning across exploration, mining leases and small scale licenses. NAN