News
PDP Alleges Plot To Arrest Saraki, Ekweremadu …Says Oshiomhole, APC Mobilising To Impeach Saraki …Wants Akpabio’s Seat Declared Vacant
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has said that it has uncovered plans by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), to arrest Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
The PDP made this known in a statement on its Twitter handle, yesterday.
The party said, “We have again uncovered another plot by the failed and dysfunctional @APCNigeria and the cabal in the @MBuhari Presidency to use compromised security agencies and the @officialEFCC to invite, arrest and detain @SPNigeria @bukolasaraki and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu.”
It further said that it has unravelled fresh facts confirming that the pressure by the Presidency for the reconvening of the @NGRSenate is out of a sinister motive and not for any emergency in the approval of the budget of the @inecnigeria for the 2019 election.
“We have again uncovered another plot by the failed and dysfunctional @APCNigeria and the cabal in the @MBuhari Presidency to use compromised security agencies and the @officialEFCC to invite, arrest and detain @SPNigeria @bukolasaraki and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu. pic.twitter.com/jfMTDCOX67. — Official PDP Nigeria (@OfficialPDPNig) August 12, 2018.
“We have also unraveled fresh facts confirming that the pressure by the Presidency for the reconvening of the @NGRSenate is out of a sinister motive and not for any emergency in the approval of the budget of the @inecnigeria for the 2019 election. pic.twitter.com/RMRPtpxJSQ. — Official PDP Nigeria (@OfficialPDPNig) August 12, 2018
The fresh plot to detain the two presiding officers is part of renewed design to keep them out of circulation, so as to enable the heavily induced @APCNigeria senators, who are now in the minority, to throw up two of their members as @NGRSenate and Deputy Senate President pic.twitter.com/n71aIQxwMy Official PDP Nigeria (@OfficialPDPNig) August 12, 2018.
PDP was further informed that contrary to claims by the @APCNigeria &the Presidency, @inecnigeria actually submitted the budget to the presidency since February 2018, only for the Presidency to submit it to the @nassnigeria in July when the legislature was already going on recess pic.twitter.com/OvCouEzjl2. — Official PDP Nigeria (@OfficialPDPNig) August 12, 2018
“Furthermore, we advise the Acting President @ProfOsinbajo to stop acting saint, as Nigerians are aware that he is part and parcel of the actors behind the sordid developments playing out in the @nassnigeria @NGRSenate pic.twitter.com/9KLZo2nV2G. — Official PDP Nigeria (@OfficialPDPNig) August 12, 2018.
Meanwhile, ahead of resumption of the National Assembly, the splinter group of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the Reformed-APC, yesterday, raised the alarm that the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole and the party have concluded arrangements to impeach the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
According to R-APC, Oshiomhole has mobilized and ordered all APC Senators to ensure that they participate in the plenary to effect the removal of Saraki by interpreting the 1999 Constitution would be used to cause commotion, then a vote of no confidence would be passed on the Senate President and there after remove him.
The R-APC however called on the Senate President to invoke the provisions of Section 68 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) in declaring the seat of Senator Godswill Akpabio vacant against the backdrop that there is division in the opposition PDP, hence the declaration will be a step in the right direction.
In a statement, yesterday, in Abuja by the National Publicity Secretary of R-APC, Prince Kassim Afegbua and entitled, “they are at it Again”, the group said that as the National Assembly plans to resume today, all Nigerians and lovers of democracy must be extra-vigilant before and during the plenary, adding that the latest plans by the APC may yet again leave unsavoury taste in our mouths.
The R-APC while calling on the Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo to as a matter of urgency, sack the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris following last Tuesday’s siege of the National Assembly by men of the Department of State Services (DSS), however, questioned why the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), Habila was at the meeting of the APC at Aso Drive prior to the incident that took place at the National Assembly.
The R-APC has also condemned what it described as the use of cash-for-votes allegedly introduced by APC into the nation’s electoral process.
The statement by Afegbua read, “By this statement, the National Working Committee of the R-APC wishes to alert the public that the factional leadership of the All Progressives Congress, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has perfected plans to make the Tuesday, August 14th resumption date another kettle of fish for the illegal impeachment of the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki.
This time, they are hell-bent on giving nebulous interpretation to the provision of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) by using the numbers of Senators present to provoke an impeachment.
To this end, they have called on all APC Senators to make it a point of duty to participate at the plenary on Tuesday to pass a vote of “no confidence” on the Senate President.
This will be followed by orchestrated rancorous plenary session from where impeachment motion would be raised and their illegality perpetrated.
“There have been two meetings of the leaders and the Senators in the last 48 hours to perfect this approach. The security agencies have also been briefed according to information reaching us. The APC factional chairman has been boasting and insisting that the Senate President would be impeached by whatever means because he no longer deserves to wear the ‘crown’.
“It is possible that the leadership of the factional APC now sees the National Assembly as a Palace, where crowns and beads are the instruments of authority. Needless to remind them that the National Assembly is an arm of government represented by elected persons who are vested with the responsibility of making laws for the good governance of the country.
“It is neither a kingdom of princes and princesses, nor is it a sanctuary for traditional doctrinaire where crowns and beads are used to impose monarchical authority.
“We are also using this medium to condemn the blatant use of cash-for-votes which the APC has introduced into our electoral process. The just concluded by-elections in Katsina, Bauchi and Kogi states are testimonies to this fact.
“This is a sad commentary for a government that preaches anti-corruption as its cardinal philosophy of governance. The desperation to win at all cost and the killings associated with the elections are bad signals towards 2019 general elections.
“We are also calling on the Acting President to sack the current Inspector General of Police who has shown a manifest incompetence in the discharge of his responsibilities. For example, how can an interim report of the police on the Lawan Daura saga litter the pages of social media platforms when the investigation remains yet inconclusive? How can the Police exonerate itself from the act when it was reported that a Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG Habila was seen in a meeting with Senators at the Aso Drive private office of the factional chairman of APC Comrade Adams Oshiomhole?
“We are also condemning the high-handedness against our members who have defected to the political parties of their choice. The deputy speaker of Kaduna State House of Assembly has become a victim of executive lawlessness in the past couple of days. We also condemn the wanton killings in Kogi State during the just concluded by-election. Under this government, human lives have become cheap and of no value.
“The political tension in the country is avoidable if only the APC-led government and the party chieftains could refrain from making reckless militarised utterances to heat up the system instead of facing the huge task of providing leadership for the country. The level of extreme poverty and increasing rate of unemployment across the country are realities that should worry any serious-minded government that has the interest of the people at heart.
“We are calling on the Senate President to invoke the provisions of section 68 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) in declaring the seat of Senator Godswill Akpabio vacant. It is not on record that there is division in the opposition PDP, hence this declaration will be a step in the right direction.
“As the National Assembly plans to resume on Tuesday, we are calling on all Nigerians and lovers of democracy to be extra-vigilant before and during the plenary. The latest plans by the APC may yet again leave unsavoury taste in our mouths.”
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has called on Nigerians to reject silence in the face of extrajudicial killings and other abuses of human rights.
Soyinka stressed that accountability and civic courage remain essential to rebuilding public confidence in the nation’s institutions.
He made the call during the 28th Wole Soyinka Lecture held in Port Harcourt, last Friday as part of activities marking his 92nd birthday.
The lecture, themed “Reclaiming the Nigerian State through Accountability, Justice and Civic Courage,” drew participants from different sectors of society.
The renowned playwright and human rights advocate said the country’s greatest tragedy was not only the unlawful killings carried out by state and non-state actors, but also the silence that often follows such incidents, allowing perpetrators to evade justice.
According to him, indifference by citizens to abuses of power and violations of fundamental human rights has contributed to the persistence of extrajudicial killings and other forms of injustice across the country.
Soyinka said he dedicated this year’s lecture to victims of unlawful killings, noting that the event was intended to honour individuals who had lost their lives as a result of failures within the justice system and society’s inability to protect the sanctity of human life.
He stressed that the lecture was dedicated to what he described as the basic unit of every society – the human being, and urged Nigerians to place greater value on human dignity irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social status.
The Nobel Laureate recalled several incidents of violence, including the fatal shooting and killing of a young man in Ugheli in Delta State by a police officer, and the mob killing of Deborah Yakubu in Sokoto State sometime ago, lamenting that many of those responsible are yet to face justice.
He expressed concern that some perpetrators of violent crimes had openly admitted their actions without fear of prosecution, describing such situations as evidence of serious failures within the nation’s justice system.
Soyinka maintained that when justice is delayed or denied, public confidence in state institutions continues to erode, thereby encouraging further violations of human rights.
Responding to critics who accuse him of promoting religious or ethnic divisions whenever he spoke on such issues, Soyinka dismissed the allegations and pointed out that his advocacy has always centred on the protection of human life and the rule of law.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and continue demanding justice in cases of alleged extrajudicial killings, including the recent shooting of a young man by a police officer, stressing that every life deserves equal protection under the law.
The literary icon also recalled an earlier pledge by a past incoming president to make public the files relating to unresolved assassinations and extrajudicial killings, questioning the status of the promised investigations.
He challenged citizens to continue asking questions about unresolved cases, insisting that justice, accountability and respect for human dignity are indispensable to building a peaceful, democratic and inclusive Nigerian society.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has clarified that there was no fire at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, contrary to its earlier advisory.
Earlier yesterday, FAAN had announced that a fire incident had occurred at Terminal 2 of the nation’s busiest airport, and assured that its Aerodrome Rescue and Firefighting Service had been deployed to contain the situation.
There were also reports that activities were briefly disrupted at the airport yesterday after smoke was seen inside parts of the terminal.
Videos circulating online showed passengers kept standing outside the terminal while firefighters responded to the incident.
However, in an update issued less than two hours later by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, and posted on FAAN’s official X handle, the authority said preliminary findings showed that the smoke seen at the terminal was caused by the discharge of the facility’s FM-200 fire suppression system.
“Further to our earlier advisory regarding the incident at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to provide the following update,” the statement read.
“Preliminary findings indicate that there was no fire at the terminal. The smoke observed within the affected area resulted from the discharge of the terminal’s FM-200 fire suppression system. The reason for the activation of the fire suppression system is currently being investigated,” FAAN stated.
The authority said normal operations had resumed at the terminal while investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the incident.
“Normal operations have since resumed at the terminal, while detailed investigations are ongoing to determine the exact cause of the incident,” the statement added.
The authority thanked passengers, airlines, airport users and other stakeholders for their understanding and cooperation.
FAAN appreciated the understanding and cooperation of passengers, airlines, airport users and all stakeholders, and reiterated its commitment to the safety and security of all airport operations.