NEWS
South-South Royal Fathers Back Otuaro on PAP Reforms
From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa
The South-South Monarchs Forum has backed reforms being carried out by the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Otuaro, to reposition the programme for greater and better service delivery to the Niger Delta people.
The first-class traditional rulers’ body particularly applauded Otuaro for his robust policy of stakeholder engagement aimed at strengthening the peace-building process and development in the Niger Delta.
Chairman of the SSMF and former Minister of Petroleum Resources, His Royal Majesty, King Edmund Daukoru, stated this during a meeting with Otuaro at the weekend.
The meeting was held at the instance of the forum at the Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council secretariat in Yenagoa.
This was just as some Niger Delta youths made up of members of the Ijaw Youths Council, Central Zone, and Phases Two and Three of PAP staged a solidarity rally in the Bayelsa State capital to express their support for the leadership of Otuaro and the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
IYC’s national director of mobilisation, Harry Fubara, and the Central Zone Chairman, Perekosufa Ineife, warned sponsors of negative campaigns against Otuaro to stop their ill-advised activities, noting that the PAP Administrator had achieved a lot since he was appointed.
A statement signed by the Special Assistant on Media to the PAP Administrator, Mr Igoniko Oduma and made available to our correspondent, on Sunday quoted Daukoru as having noted that Otuaro’s practical approach to stakeholder engagement was a testament to his desire to serve the region.
Daukoru, who was represented by the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council, HRM King Bubaraye Dakolo, expressed approval of Otuaro’s appointment and his genuine effort to reinvigorate the programme for sustainable peace, security, and stability in the region.
The royal fathers assured Otuaro that he would complete his tenure in office and urged his detractors to allow him to do his job.
Daukoru, who is the Amanyanabo of Nembe Kingdom, advised the Federal Government to dismiss calls from anti-Niger Delta elements to terminate the PAP, stressing that the issues that necessitated the establishment of the programme had not been resolved.
The former Secretary-General of OPEC noted that Otuaro had, since assuming office, demonstrated a full understanding of his job and the programme’s mandate.
Several members of the SSMF from Akwa Ibom, Delta, and Rivers states, among others, including the Eze Gbakagbaka of Evo kingdom, HRM King Leslie Eke; the Pere of Akugbene-Mein kingdom, HRM King Pere Luke; and HRM King Ogurimerime Ukori, Ovie of Agbon kingdom, in their solidarity speeches, commended Otuaro for hitting the ground running.
While thanking President Tinubu for appointing Otuaro, they equally urged the PAP boss to remain focused on his job and not be distracted by those who did not mean well for the peace, economic growth, and security of the region.
Responding, the PAP administrator stated that he was driven by passion and dedication for service to the people of the region, assuring the kings that President Tinubu was interested in the progress of the Niger Delta.
Otuaro pledged his commitment to reforms and deepening of his policies of stakeholder engagement, inclusivity, and continuity of the schemes that had been strategically reviewed due to the expanding scope of the programme.
“I will always seek your majesties’ advice. I deemed it necessary to come and interact with you, my fathers, because that is the right thing to do. As revered traditional rulers under the auspices of the South-South Monarchs Forum, you mean the business of peace and development of the region,” he added.
The FCT Customary Court, Dutse, Abuja has appealed to the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to facilitate the renovation of its court complex which fell victim to vandalism and arson during the 2020 EndSARS protests.The President of the Court, Aderinto Adesoji, made the appeal during a resumed hearing in a divorce case between a petitioner, Chiwendu Nwadi and her husband, Emeka Nwadi in Ushafa, Abuja.
The Customary Court, Dutse has been sharing the court complex of a sister court in Ushafa for its sittings following the destruction. of its facilities, four years back.NAN reports that while Customary Court, Ushafa, the real owner of the facility, has its sittings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday in a week, the Dutse court has its sittings on Tuesday and Thursday. Report says that Dutse and Ushafa are communities in Bwari Area Council of the FCT and they are about 17 kilometres apart.Addressing lawyers to the parties in the divorce case, when they were finding it difficult to agree on a date for next hearing in the matter, the President of the court said it is a recurrent challenge in matters before the courtAccording to him, the constraint of the panel, sitting only twice in a week has grossly affected quick dispensation of justice.He said most cases before the cout involve families, in particular, custody of children which require urgent adjudication, and should not be encumbered.Adesoji said, considering the fact that lawyers and their clients are affected by the constraints, the NBA should take steps to ensure that the appropriate authorities renovate the Dutse court complex.He said promises have been made by the association to that effect in the past, but they were yet to be actualised.Responding to the President’s appeal, Mr Moses Ibe, the lawyer to the petitioner promised the court that he would convey the message to the NBA, Bwari branch for necessary action.Ibe said this in an interview after the court session, that the distance of the court to its jurisdiction and the restrictive days of sittings have affected quick dispensation of justice.He said the essence of building the Dutse court was to bring justice closer to the people, but it has been defeated by the failure of appropriate authorities to renovate it for useThe Counsel promised to officially write to the NBA, Bwari branch to convey the Judge’s message and request for interventionAccording to Ibe, the Dutse court complex, used to serve as the Secretariat of the NBA Bwari branch, before it was vandalised and set ablaze by the EndSARS protesters.Meanwhile, the court has adjourned further hearing in the divorce petition until Oct. 21 to enable the respondent file his reply.Adesoji and other members of the panel, Nana Atipkoru, Aisha Hamza adjourned the case following the position of the respondent’s lawyer, Cornelius Simon, that his client was not served with the “particular of claims” in the petition.The panel directed that all necessary processes should be filed and served before the adjourned date so that the case would be fixed for definite hearing.The panel also ordered that the parties should maintain the status quo, particularly, as regards the custody of the children – the last child is with the petitioner, while the other two are in the custody of the respondent.In the case, the petitioner is seeking, among others, the dissolution of her 13 years marriage with her husband on the ground that “the union has broken down irretrievably”.She alleged that the husband, “is a man of unimaginable violence and cruelty, fetish, a serial wife beater and adulterer’The petitioner alleged that her husband deliberately poisoned her drink which led to losing her pregnancy.According to the petitioner, the union, consummated in 2011, under the native law and custom, as well as exchange of marital vows in a Church, has produced three children, ages, 12 years, 11 years and 2 years.She urged the court to dissolve the marriage, grant custody of the three children to her and restrain the husband from using thugs or any security agents to harass her. (NAN)
The Northern Youths Assembly has cautioned the National Assembly against passing the Tax Reforms Bill from the executive before the legislature.This is contained in an open letter to the lawmakers signed by the group’s President, Dr Ali Mohammed, and Secretary-General, Dr Garba Abduljafiz and made available to newsmen in Kano on Thursday.
The group said the bill, if passed into law, would not be in the interest of the people, particularly youths, urging for broader consultation on matters of that nature. The youths urged the National Assembly to concentrate on youth-friendly laws to safeguard the country’s future instead.“The youth are Nigeria’s future, “and our prosperity hinges on investments in education, skills development, and job creation.“As the largest political demography in the nation, youth must have a say in laws and policies that directly impact the country’s future.“We call for the creation of a special place at the centre, to allow the youths to contribute to solutions that may promote sustainable development, job creation, and economic empowerment,” the group said.The group urged the lawmakers to focus more on making laws that would improve investment climate and job creation.“We urge the National Assembly members to direct their resources and energy towards creating laws that would prioritise and encourage foreign investment.“The laws should encourage skills development and jobs creation for the teeming population of the youths, to improve measures that risk stifling the Nigerian economic opportunity.“We also urge them to stop complying with the dictates and advisory of the agents of destruction, IMF and World.“We must stay away from the trap of the IMF and World Bank, as they are all out to destroy our country through their ill-formulated policies and misleading advisory’’, the group said. (NAN)
The Defence Headquarters has confirmed the emergence of a new terrorists’ group known as ‘Lukarawas’ exacerbating insecurity in the North Western part of Nigeria.The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, made this known while briefing newsmen on the operations of the military on Thursday in Abuja.
Buba said that the new terror group emerged from the Republic of Niger after the coup that led to the breakdown of military cooperation between Nigeria and Niger. He said that the terrorists began incursion into northern parts of Sokoto and Kebbi States from the Niger Republic and Mali axis, particularly after the coup in Niger Republic.According to him, prior to the coup, there were joint border operations with Nigerien security forces which kept the terrorist at bay.“The terrorists took advantage of the gaps in cooperation between both countries and exploited difficult terrains to make incursions in remote areas in some North Western states to spread their ideology,” he said.Buba said that the group was accommodated by the locals who initially thought that the group meant well for them, adding that they failed to report the movement to the military and security agencies.He gave assurance that toops had sustained Imtelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) to degrade the terrorists.He added that the terror group had continued to take advantage of the vast under-governed areas to hide and evade troops as well as harass the locals.According to him, troops are locating them and eliminating the threat. (NAN)
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