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Chidi Lloyd: Court Decides On A-Gs Power, Morrow

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The coverage of the Rivers State House of Assembly virtually shifted to the court room, last week may be regarded as the most eventful that focused more on an individual member of the House.

But for the momentary diversion to confirm the power of the Police to invite and question the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Otelemaba Dan Amachree, over the alarm he raised regarding the security of the life of the State Governor and some top government officials, as well as the matter involving the five anti-Amaechi lawmakers and the other 27, the week under review would be best christened “Hon. Chidi Lloyd’s week”.

It started on Sunday with an alarm raised by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Leyii Kwanee, to the effect that the Leader of the House, Hon. Lloyd was going blind. He explained that the gradual blindness was the result of ill-treatment meted out to Lloyd by the Police while keeping him in their custody.

Such ill-treatment, he said, included being blind-folded, tortured and sprayed with tear-gas all over his body, especially in his eyes as a means of extracting information from him. In order to stop what he called dehumanizing treatment of the Leader, Kwanee said the 27 pro- Amaechi lawmakers were considering taking the matter outside the shores of the country to protect the rights of Hon. Lloyd.

By Tuesday, when the prosecution (Police) was to produce the accused (Lloyd) to make a plea of guilty or not guilty to facilitate his release on bail in the High Court presided over by Justice L. L. Nyordee, they failed to produce him, warranting the defense counsel, Beluolisa Nwofor (SAN) to threaten to pray the court to strike out the matter and sue the prosecution for malicious prosecution if they fail to produce his client the next day. Justice Nyordee had adjourned the matter to Wednesday, after the defense counsel had waited for hours in the court and the prosecution, led by Donald DENwigwe did not turn up.

When the court reconvened on Wednesday, and the Leader was produced, Lloyd’s plea could not be taken because his counsel queried the right of Denwigwe, who is a private lawyer to appear in a criminal charge by the Police without a fiat from the Attorney-General (AG) of  the state. He therefore, urged the court to delist Denwigwe from the counsels to prosecute the matter, pending when the fiat could be granted.

Denwigwe argued that the matter was not initiated by the AG, but by the Commissioner of  Police (CP), hence it does not require him to provide an authority from the AG of the state.

He insisted that the court should rule on the application on the jurisdiction of the prosecution before the plea could be taken.

At a point, the AG, Nworgu Boms, invoked the powers conferred on him by Section 211(1)(b) of the Constitution to take over the prosecution, saying that he was acting with the sense of public duty and law. This announcement, Denwigwe said, was premature because the accused had not been duly arraigned; hence there was nothing for the AG to takeover.

Justice Nyordee therefore adjourned the matter to August 6, 2013, saying that plea cannot be taken and the court cannot make any order on the custody of the accused.

On Thursday, the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Amachree in a press statement appealed to the Police to stop torturing Hon. Lloyd, while also debunking insinuations that he sneaked out into a West African country in order to evade arrest by the Police following Justice Adolphus Enebeli’s judgment that the Police had the right to invite and question him. He explained that he was on official assignment to Windhoek, Namibia where he led the state’s deligation to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) meeting.

On Friday the court reconvened again to hear a bail motion by Chidi Lloyd, but Presiding Judge, Latan Nyordee refused to hear the motion because no plea had been taken in the case preferred against him by the Police. Adjourning the matter to the earlier adjourned date of  August 6, Nyordee held that when an interlocutory application is filed in a criminal charge as serious as the one Lloyd is facing, it is proper for the accused person to be properly arraigned before application for bail can be heard.

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Makinde Renames Polytechnic After Late Ex-Gov

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Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has renamed The Polytechnic, Ibadan as Omololu Olunloyo Polytechnic, Ibadan, in honour of a late former governor of the State, Dr Omololu Olunloyo.
Dr Olunloyo, who died on April 6, 2025, was the pioneer Principal of the Polytechnic, Ibadan, while he also served as Governor of Oyo State between October 1 and December 31, 1983.
Governor Makinde made the announcement at the state interdenominational funeral service held yesterday in honour of the late former governor at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Liberty Road, Ibadan.
Governor Makinde said Dr Olunloyo lived an eventful life, adding that his attainment and personality could not be summarised in one sentence.
“He was not a man we could summarise in one sentence. He was a scholar, a statesman, a technocrat, a lover of culture and, above all, a man of deep conviction.
“While giving the exhortation, I was listening to Baba Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu and he said in 1983, Baba became Governor of Oyo State. Though his time in office was brief, his election victory over a popular incumbent remains a powerful testament to the trust people gave him.
“I talked about preserving and digitising his library yesterday [Wednesday] as a mark of honour to Baba Olunloyo.
“Today, we will be giving Baba another honour to immortalise him. He was the first Principal of The Polytechnic, Ibadan; that institution will now be named Omololu Olunloyo Polytechnic, Ibadan.”
Earlier in his sermon, a retired Methodist Archbishop of Ilesa and Ibadan, Ayo Ladigbolu, described the late Olunloyo as a role model with intellectual inspiration and unassailable integrity.
The cleric said the deceased also demonstrated leadership in most superior quality during his lifetime.
In attendance were the state Deputy Governor, Chief Abdulraheem Bayo Lawal; wife of a former Military Governor of the old Oyo State, Chief (Mrs) Dupe Jemibewon; wife of a former Governor of Oyo State, Chief (Mrs) Mutiat Ladoja; former Deputy Governor and PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja; and former Deputy Governor, Hazeem Gbolarumi.
Others were the member representing Ibadan North-East/South-East Federal Constituency, Hon Abass Adigun Agboworin; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Otunba Segun Ogunwuyi; Oyo State Exco members; Chairman of Oyo State Elders’ Council, Dr Saka Balogun; Chairman of All Local Government Chairmen in Oyo State, Hon Sikiru Sanda; President-General of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), Chief Adeniyi Ajewole; religious leaders and family members, among other dignitaries.

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10 NWC Members Oppose Damagum Over National Secretary’s Reinstatement

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Ten members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC) have countered the Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, on the reinstatement of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary.
The dissenting members, led by the Deputy National Chairman ( South), Taofeek Arapaja, in a joint statement, said no organ of the opposition party could overturn the decision of the 99th meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC).
The dissenting NWC members include Arapaja; Setonji Koshoedo, Deputy National Secretary; Okechukwu Obiechina-Daniel, National Auditor; Debo Ologunagba, National Publicity Secretary; Ologunagba; Woyengikuro Daniel, National Financial Secretary and Ahmed Yayari Mohammed, National Treasurer.
Others are Chief Ali Odefa, National Vice Chairman (South East); Emmanuel Ogidi, Caretaker Committee Chairman (South South); Mrs. Amina Darasimi D. Bryhm, National Woman Leader and Ajisafe Kamoru Toyese, National Vice Chairman (South West).
The group also insisted that contrary to the position of the acting National Chairman, the 100th NEC meeting of the party would be held on June 30 as earlier scheduled.
The statement read: “The attention of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been drawn to a press briefing by the acting National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum, today Wednesday, June 25, wherein he attempted to overturn the resolution of the 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting which scheduled the 100th NEC meeting for Monday, June 30.
“The acting National Chairman in the said press briefing also reportedly announced that Senator Samuel Anyanwu has been asked to resume as National Secretary of the party contrary to the resolution of the 99th NEC meeting, which referred all matters relating to the office of the National Secretary to the 100th NEC meeting.
“The pronouncements by the acting National Chairman have no foundation as no organ of the party (including the NWC), individual or group has the power to cancel, overrule, veto or vary the resolution of the National Executive Committee (NEC) under the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017).
“For the avoidance of doubt, the NEC is the highest decision-making organ of the party, second only to the National Convention. By virtue of Section 31 (3) of the PDP Constitution, the resolution of the NEC to hold its 100th meeting on Monday June 30, is binding on all organs, officers, chapters and members of the party and no organ, group or individual can vary or veto this resolution of NEC.
“Furthermore, the claim by Damagum that Sen Anyanwu has been asked to resume office as the National Secretary of the party is, therefore, misleading being contrary to the resolution of NEC.
“In the light of the foregoing, the 100th NEC meeting as scheduled for Monday, June 30, has not been canceled or postponed.”

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Presidency Slams El-Rufai Over Tinubu Criticism …Says He Suffers From Small Man Syndrome

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The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has fired back at former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, following the latter’s scathing criticism of President Tinubu’s administration and his 2027 re-election prospects.
In an interview on live television, Mallam El-Rufai said it would take a “miracle” for President Tinubu to be re-elected in 2027, citing an internal poll that purportedly shows a 91 percent disapproval rating for the president across key regions in the country, including the South-East and the North. He also claimed that President Tinubu’s disapproval rating in Lagos stood at 78 percent.
Reacting on Wednesday via a post on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Onanuga took a swipe at the ex-governor, quoting a harsh assessment of Mallam El-Rufai’s character from former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s memoir, My Watch.
“Nasir’s penchant for reputation savaging is almost pathological,” Mr Onanuga wrote, citing Chief Obasanjo’s words. “Why does he do it? Very early in my interaction with him, I appreciated his talent. At the same time, I recognised his weaknesses; the worst being his inability to be loyal to anybody or any issue consistently for long, but only to Nasir El-Rufai.”
The presidential adviser emphasised Chief Obasanjo’s remarks that Mallam El-Rufai often tries to elevate himself by diminishing others. “He lied brazenly, which he did to me, against his colleagues and so-called friends,” Mr Onanuga continued, quoting the former President. “I have heard of how he ruthlessly savaged the reputation of his uncle, a man who, in an African setting, was like a foster father to him.”
Chief Obasanjo, who appointed Mallam El-Rufai as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory between 2003 and 2007, did not mince words in the memoir, describing Mallam El-Rufai as suffering from “small man syndrome.”
Mr Onanuga’s post is seen as a direct rebuttal to Mallam El-Rufai’s recent criticism and growing opposition role. The former governor is reportedly playing a central role in forming a new coalition to challenge President Tinubu in the 2027 general election.
In March 2025, El-Rufai officially dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP), intensifying speculations about his 2027 political ambitions.
As the political rift deepens, Mallam El-Rufai remains one of the most vocal critics of the Tinubu administration, while Mr Onanuga and other presidential allies continue to push back against what they describe as “reckless” opposition rhetoric.

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