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Reps In Rowdy Session Over Buhari’s June 12 Declaration …As Senate Directs INEC To Announce 1993 Polls Results

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6 years ago

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The House of Representatives was in commotion, yesterday, as members disagreed over President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to declare June 12 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day.
While some lawmakers supported the move, others asked the president to rescind his decision.
Other lawmakers also kicked against the honour given to the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Moshood Abiola.
Some lawmakers who also spoke on the issue said there was need to ensure the rule of law was followed regarding the matter, while others spoke in favour of the president’s decision.
Also, the Senate, yesterday, gave President Muhammadu Buhari three conditions for which the posthumous award he recently accorded late MKO Abiola, the acclaimed winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election would not be considered a Greek gift.
It would be recalled that Abiola contested the annulled poll under the Social Democratic Party, SDP.
This resolution followed an adopted order 42 and 52 raised by Senator Biodun Olujimi representing Ekiti South Senatorial District.
In her words, “Mr. President, my distinguished colleagues, I want to thank Mr. President for the feat he scored yesterday by posthumously honouring late MKO Abiola for winning the annulled 1993 presidential election.
“To make good his intentions, Mr. President should ensure the release and declaration of the annulled results of the poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Also, Abiola’s family should be paid reparations and all other entitlements due to him as former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And that Ambassador Babagana Kingibe should be recognised henceforth as former Vice President of Nigeria and be paid his accompanying entitlements.”
However, the lawmakers have agreed to the submission by the deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, saying that for the award to be real, it must be backed by constitutional amendment.
The Senate similarly asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to announce the results of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
The Senate made the request, yesterday during plenary.
President Muhammadu Buhari had on Wednesday declared June 12 to replace May 29 as Democracy Day, in honour of late MKO Abiola, the presumed winner of the election.
Buhari said that June 12 was more symbolic than May 29 and also conferred a posthumous GCFR title on Abiola.
A Second Republic lawmaker, Junaid Mohammed, yesterday, lambasted President Muhammadu Buhari for declaring June 12 as the new Democracy Day and posthumously awarding Chief M.K.O. Abiola, Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR).
Mohammed maintained that Buhari’s recognition of Abiola at a time elections were close was “deceitful”.
Speaking with newsmen, the former lawmaker stressed that Buhari’s “sinister antics” was aimed at amassing votes from the South-West in 2019.
The fierce critic of the current administration said Buhari should be, “ashamed of himself” for waiting till 2018 before correcting a past “injustice.”
According to Mohammed, “This is deceitful politics, Buhari is doing that in anticipation of the forth coming election in 2019 but those who know him like I do will tell you that he has never respected or admired Abiola. So doing this now shows that he is so desperate and is prepared to do anything deceitful and dishonourable to motivate votes.
“Buhari has no other arithmetic because the bulk of the votes Abiola got did not come from the South West, they came from the North and the East, so he thinks this action is the master’s stroke that will win him the election but he is mistaken.
“Nigerians are smart enough to see through this deceitful antics, Buhari was one of those against Abiola. To confirm this deceit, he took a traitor of Abiola, Babangana Kingibe to honour him too.
“I don’t understand why anybody who was familiar with that election will honour Abiola and Kingibe, who is a traitor never known to be loyal to anybody than himself.
“As we speak, Kingibe is an employee of the Presidency and he is part of the cabal, so this is sinister because 2019 is around the corner.
“Buhari has been in power since 2015, he didn’t remember to rectify an injustice but only now that elections are coming that he remembered to do so, he should be ashamed of himself.”
Daughter of the late MKO Abiola, Mrs Hafsat Abiola-Costello hailed the declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day by the Federal Government.
Abiola-Costello, in a statement, yesterday, in Lagos, said the declaration had ended the family’s long wait for government to recognise their father.
She described the declaration as succour and triumph of justice after 20 years of waiting.
She thanked Buhari for recognising their father at last, praying for “more days of triumph of justice over injustice”
Also, the leader of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo said that the declaration though belated was a welcome development.
He, however, urged the government yields calls for the restructuring of the country as that was what June 12 stood for.
“Although belated, it is a welcome development, but we believe that the June 12 struggle stands for restructuring of the country and that is what we want the government to do”, he said.
Reacting to the new development, Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, took to his Twitter page, noting that the greatest honour by Buhari would be to conduct free and fair elections even as he commended him.
“MKO Abiola is worthy to be honoured and we in Ekiti honoured him with a public holiday on June 12, 2017, we will do it again this year.
“However, the greatest honour anyone can bestow on MKO Abiola is total respect for the rule of law and conduct of free, fair & credible elections,” Fayose wrote.
The Muslim group, in a statement by its Director, Prof Ishaq Akintola, said the recognition of June 12 as democracy has quenched their grievances towards the marking Democracy Day on May 29 by previous regimes, adding that celebration of democracy on May 29 was fraudulent and that June 12 was far more truly symbolic of Democracy in the Nigerian context.
Akintola further called on Buhari to also honour Ken Saro Wiwa even as he commended the tireless struggles of Gani Fawehinmi and other SANs, including Femi Falana and Beko Ransome Kuti.
“Yet like Oliver Twist, MURIC will ask for more from the father of this great nation, President Muhammadu Buhari. The declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day will definitely heal wounds and we appeal that another giant step should be taken to heal more wounds. We are referring to the case of Ken Saro Wiwa, the environmental activist of the Niger Delta. His case still hurts the Ogoni people in particular and the Niger Delta region in general.
“We in MURIC believe that the killing of Ken Saro Wiwa was extra-judicial, unlawful, illegitimate and unconstitutional. Ken was murdered in his prime before his appeal was due. His killing was one of the unwise and unpatriotic actions taken by the military to fuel the hatred of one Nigerian ethnic group for another. We appeal to Mr. President to review his case, grant him presidential pardon, compensate his family adequately and give him a posthumous award of no less a status than the one given Gani Fawehinmi.
But the Peoples Democratic Party said the national honour proposed to be conferred on the acclaimed winner of June 12, 1993, Chief MKO Abiola, by President Muhammadu Buhari, smacks of hypocrisy and political desperation ahead of 2019 presidential election.
PDP said that President Buhari’s action merely sought to use the name and person of Abiola to gain a political capital and not out of genuine reverence and recognition for him.
In a statement issued in Abuja and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, the party recalled that President Buhari, who was serving in the military administration of General Sani Abacha during the travails of Abiola, did not associate either by words or actions with the late winner of June 12election.
Ologbondiyan further stated that history did not record President Buhari as sympathetic to the Abiola’s family when his wife, Kudirat, was gruesomely murdered by the agents of a government which President Buhari served.
He said: “It is, therefore, a sign of political desperation for President Buhari to seek to use Chief Abiola’s name as a tool to sway Nigerians in less than twelve months to an election where he, (President Buhari) is seeking a second term.
“It is also shocking that the respectable grave of Abiola can be dishonoured by granting a posthumous award on him along with someone who denounced the June 12 mandate and preferred the company of his (Abiola’s) traducers”.
Buhari had last Wednesday announced that Democracy Day would henceforth be celebrated on June 12 of each year.
The president said after due consultations, the Federal Government has decided that henceforth, June 12 would be celebrated as Democracy Day.
A statement signed by the president said for 18 years, Nigerians had been celebrating May 29 as Democracy Day, saying that was the date when for the second time in Nigeria’s history, an elected administration took over from a military government, adding that the first time was October 21, 1979.
“But in the view of Nigerians, as shared by this administration, June 12th, 1993, was far more symbolic of democracy in the Nigerian context than May 29th or even the October 1st.
“June 12th, 1993 was the day when Nigerians in millions expressed their democratic will in what was undisputedly the freest, fairest and most peaceful election since our independence. The fact that the outcome of that election was not upheld by the then military government does not distract from the democratic credentials of that process.
“Accordingly, after due consultations, the Federal Government has decided that henceforth, June 12th will be celebrated as Democracy Day. Therefore, government has decided to award posthumously the highest honour of the land, GCFR, to late Chief MKO Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12th, 1993 cancelled elections.
“His running mate as Vice President, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, is also to be invested with a GCON. Furthermore, the tireless fighter for human rights and the actualisation of the June 12th elections and indeed for democracy in general, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, is to be awarded posthumously a GCON,” he said.

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Fubara Moves To Restore Dignity Of Rivers Assembly Quarters … Says New Speaker Has Emerged …Inspects Emohua-Kalabari Road

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1 day ago

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May 10, 2024

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Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has explained that his visit to the residential quarters of the State House of Assembly is to undertake on-the-spot assessment of condition of the structures for a possible rehabilitation work to restore its status and make livable.
Governor Fubara gave the explanation after he inspecting the 15.24 kilometers long Emohua – Abalama -Tema Junction dual carriageway road project yesterday.
The Governor said: “Is the Assembly quarters not part of my property? Is there anything wrong in going to check how things are going on there?
“You are aware of the developments. We have a new speaker, and I went there to see for my myself how things are. There might be a few things I might want to do there for the good of our people.”
The Governor, who took a walk round the facility, said that he decided to visit the place to get better appreciation of what needs to be done to make the quarters conducive for lawmakers.
Commenting on the road project, Governor Fubara said he was assessing the extent of job that had been done to know what else was needed in preparing the road for commissioning during his one year anniversary.
He said, “As a matter of fact, we added this section of the road as one of the projects we will be commissioning. So, I needed to see it myself, and what is remaining is just the lighting. By the grace of God, we will commission it.”
Governor Fubara pointed out that the road project was inherited from the immediate past administration but a greater chunk of the cost was borne by his administration.
He said: “We feel justified to add it as our project and to commission it for the good of our people here.
“Governance is all about the people. When the people are out of the centre of governance, then it is no longer governance.
“So, this road, as we all now know, was in a very bad state. A lot of criminal activities were being carried out here: kidnapping and all sorts of things. So, putting this road in order is appropriate.”
Governor Fubara said further: “You can see the little manhour we spent coming here. Before, it takes you 30 to 45 minutes to drive from Emohua to this place. But look at it, less than 15 minutes we are here.
“So, it is about the people, the good of the people, making life easy for the people. That is the way I see governance. Anything outside that has nothing to do with me.
“It is not about me. It is not about glory to me as a person. I am just a vessel that God is using to provide succour to the good people of Rivers State, and more especially, our dear people of Kalabari extraction.”

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Oko-Jumbo Emerges New Rivers Assembly Speaker, Sokari As Leader …Promises Transparency In Legislative Duties

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1 day ago

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May 10, 2024

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The member representing Bonny State Constituency, Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo, has emerged as the new Speaker of the 10th Rivers State House of Assembly.
He was elected on Wednesday at 10am during plenary, in line with the Standing Order of the House.
In his acceptance speech, Rt. Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo, thanked the members for electing him as the new Speaker sequel to the resignation of the former Speaker, Rt. Hon. Edison Ogerenye Ehie.
Speaking on the floor of the House, Oko-Jumbo said: “This is in line with Section 92(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (CFRN 1999) as Amended.
“You will agree with me that after the House last sat on the 13th of December, 2023, and adjourned sine dine, there has been an avalanche of legislative rascality perpetrated by the 25 former members of the 10th Rivers State House of Assembly, led by the former Speaker, Rt. Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule.
“These former members, being fully aware of the provisions of Section 109(1)(g) of the CFRN 1999, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Party (APC) on the 11th of December, 2023.
“Consequently, the Rt. Hon. Edison Ogerenye Ehie-led Assembly, on the 13th of December, 2023, wrote to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), declaring the seats of the 25 lawmakers vacant in line with Section 109(1)(g) and (2) of the CFRN 1999.
“My distinguished colleagues, there are a plethora of cases pending in our courts further to the defection of the former lawmakers.”
Rt. Hon. Oko-Jumbo emphasised: “All laws, plenary sessions and actions taken by the illegal House members are hereby declared void and a nullity in the eyes of the law by virtue of the judgment of Lord Denning in the celebrated case of MacFoy v UAC (1961) 3 All ER 1169.
“Lord Denning held in that case that you cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand. Particularly, Lord Denning stated: ‘If an act is void, then it is in law a nullity. It is not only bad, but incurably bad. There is no need for an order of court to set it aside.
“It is automatically null and void without more ado, though it is sometimes more convenient to have the court declare it to be so’.”
Rt. Hon. Oko-Jumbo stated further, that every proceeding which was founded on the activities of the former lawmakers had become ‘bad and incurably bad’.
“You cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stay there. It will collapse”, he added.
The new speaker called on the Executive arm, the Judiciary and the general public to disregard every law purportedly enacted by the illegal Assembly members because they all amount to nothing but an exercise in futility.
He said, “Furthermore, this House would want to most respectfully urge and call on His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, DSSRS, to desist forthwith from further dealings with the 25 former lawmakers, in whatever guise.
“Those members are merely floating and do not have any landing ground or anywhere to berth their ship since their defection to the All Progressives Congress on the 11th of December, 2023.
“This House is the legally and constitutionally recognised House of Assembly by virtue of the defection of the other members, and is ready to receive correspondences from and work with His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara. Distinguished colleagues, let me thank you once again.
“I know I can count on your unalloyed and unwavering support as we work with His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara in moving our dear Rivers State forward in promoting the progress and welfare of the State.”
Speaking to newsmen after the 10am sitting of the House, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo, said he will stay true to his constitutional duties and work assiduously for the growth and development of Rivers people and the State.
“We will sit again, and communicate our proceedings to the public and make sure that we are doing what we ought to do to ensure there is transparency and clarity of leadership of the 10th Legislative Assembly.”
Also speaking, the newly elected Leader of the House, Hon. Sokari Goodboy Sokari said: “As the chairman of the business committee in the 10th Assembly, as you’ve heard our speaker say, we will work in line with set goals to achieve synergy with the Executive.
“But away from that, we want to further warn that if His Excellency, the Governor ever have any dealing with those former members, we, the original members of the 10th Assembly, who by the provisions of the Constitution, form the quorum to address legislative business of the day, will have no choice than to raise the gavel, which is to commence impeachment proceedings against him.”
He, therefore, urged the Governor of the State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, to cooperate and work in tandem with the legitimate members of the 10th Assembly to ensure the delivery of good governance and quality dividends of democracy to Rivers people, who have bestowed their trust and mandate on them at this time.
Meanwhile, the new Speaker was led to the plenary with the original mace of the Rivers State House of Assembly by the Sergeant-at-Arms, David Wariboko, who managed the last sitting of the Amaewhule-led Assembly in the same position.

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Invictus Game: Prince Harry, Wife Arrive Nigeria, Today

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1 day ago

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May 10, 2024

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The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, are billed to visit Nigeria today.
The visit of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to Nigeria is at the invitation of the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa.
The Director of Sports, Defence Headquarters, Abidemi Marquis, said Harry – the founder of Invictus Games, would spend three days in Nigeria and would interact with wounded soldiers and their families.
The visit scheduled for May 10-13, 2024 would help the wounded soldiers in their recovery efforts.
This follows Nigeria’s debut appearance at Harry’s 2023 Invictus Games which was held in Düsseldorf, Germany.
The couple will visit the wounded soldiers at the Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna State.
Thereafter, a novelty match will be played between the CDS team and the Duke team at the armed forces Officers’ Mess on Saturday.
Marquis said, “Because we realised that 80% of our soldiers have been involved in this recovery programme, they are getting better. Their outlook on life is positive.
“The recovery programme has given them (wounded soldiers) an opportunity to improve their self-esteem, to improve their mental health, their emotional intelligence has been improved and also their families. This engagement with Invictus is giving us the opportunity for a recovery for our soldiers.”
He added that Nigeria is also looking forward to hosting an Invictus game hence, the reason for the visit.
Marquis emphasised the need to build a state-of-the-art structure for the management of the wounded and injured soldiers, “particularly the post-traumatic syndrome and the post-traumatic stress syndrome that are manifesting due to our engagement in the counter-insurgency operation.”
Harry and his wife, according to the statement, will visit Kaduna and Lagos states where they would also interact with the Governors Uba Sani and Babajide Sanwo-Olu, respectively.
“So, to be specific, now, they will be arriving here tomorrow and they will be received and the reception will be a quiet reception because they will be traveling 14 hours to get to this place. They will be taken to the hotel,” Marquis stated.
The sports director at the DHQ said the couple, after resting at the hotel, would return to visit the Chief of Defence Staff by noon.
The director added that the couple “have their own NGO they are supporting somewhere in Wuse Light Academy. They are going to visit that place.
“They will be proceeding to Kaduna to visit the Nigerian Army Reference Hospital. You know, that is where our wounded and injured soldiers are kept for their medical recovery. He will be going there.
“On Saturday, we’ll be having something like an exhibition of novelty matches. The CDS team and the Duke team will be having a volleyball match at armed forces officers’ mess in the morning. And this is just to engage with the wounded and injured soldiers. It’s a sitting volleyball match coming in the morning.”
“So after that, we have a programme for them by 1 p.m. A reception, where they will be interacting with families of wounded and injured soldiers and families of soldiers and officers killed in action and service members generally. The programme will start at 01:00 p.m. On Saturday thereafter, they will go back to the hotel to rest.
“So on Sunday, we have a programme in Lagos. They will pay a courtesy call to the governor of Lagos State, and they also have an NGO. They are supporting Lagos over time, and we are going there. They built a basketball court for the school in Lagos. So they will be going there also. And there will be a basketball exhibition Match, 20 minutes, 30 minutes will be played.
“From there, they proceed to the governor’s place. After that, there is a reception also for them in Lagos. And when we finish that, we come back to Abuja, and they’ll be leaving Nigeria on Monday morning,” the statement added.

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