Politics
Blame FG For Violence In Nigeria, Ortom Tells US
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has called on the American government and the international community to hold the government of Mohammadu Buhari accountable for the spate of violence in Nigeria as well as his safety.
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Affairs, Peters Ichull, made available to newsmen weekend in Makurdi the Governor made the call while interacting with officials of the State Department in Washington DC, USA.
According to the statement, the Governor cited the series of threats he had been receiving and the attempt made on his life in March last year as signals that the Presidency and its conspirators were after him. He pointed out that till date, those who attacked him had not been prosecuted.
He said he was at the State Department to present the traumatised Nigerian victims’ side of the story after discovering that wrong narratives were being circulated across the globe by the government of President Buhari to shield itself from complicity.
The Governor said the false narrative of “herder-farmer clashes” was deliberately crafted to delay farmers’ doomsday until they were gradually wiped out and their ancestral lands confiscated, saying “the truth is that farming populations in Nigeria are under siege and are being decimated; agriculture is gradually dying and food security is being threatened”.
Governor Ortom alerted the international community not to take the insecurity in Nigeria as a distant problem, stressing that the outbreak of war in any country would cause migration problems to America and Britain due to their friendly immigration policies.
He said: “In the last seven years, the Buhari administration has seen children rendered as orphans, farmers being displaced, schools, hospitals and social services disrupted, without doing anything to restore normalcy.
“The federal government’s punitive neglect has led to increasing number of internally displaced persons in Benue State which now stands at 1.5 million.”
The Governor called on the United States of America and the rest of the international community to take steps to end the spate of violence in the country, especially in Benue state, by demanding accountability from Buhari’s government on the death of innocent citizens.
Among others, he called on the US to appoint a special envoy to Nigeria to deal with the flashpoint of the violence; ensure that international funding of IDPs gets to Benue State, the epicentre of the current violence as well as Plateau, Kaduna, Niger, Zamfara and other states affected by terrorists’ attacks in the country; and encourage the establishment of state police in Nigeria.
Responding, the US State Department officials headed by the Under Secretary, Africa and Middle East, Padgett Douglas
said “the US government was aware of random terrorism, weaponization of religion and importation of violence in Nigeria.”
He noted that since the security of the political system was paramount to the US government, it had set up a conflict bureau to fund IDPs in Nigeria, promising that he would ensure that such funding did not go to the wrong channels, while assuring to make a case for the Benue IDPs and also investigate other issues raised by Governor Ortom.
Politics
Why I Won’t Help Tinubu’s Govt Overcome Economic Challenges – Sanusi
The 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, says he would not help President Bola Tinubu’s administration to correct the administration’s policies affecting the citizens.
Emir Sanusi spoke on Wednesday in Lagos as the chairman of the 21st Anniversary of Fawehinmiism (Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture 2025).
The emir stated that while there were “a few points” he could offer to explain the trajectory the administration had taken and how such decisions were predictable, he chose not to do so because “they don’t behave like friends.”
He said explaining the government’s policies would help the government, but he did not intend to assist them due to the way they had treated him.
“I can give a few points that are contrary, that explain perhaps what we’re going through and how it was totally predictable, most of it, and maybe avoidable. But I am not going to do that.
“I have chosen not to speak about the economy or the reforms or to even explain anything because if I explain, it would help this government, but I don’t want to help this government,” the emir said while addressing some of the points made by speakers about the economy.
He added: “You know they’re my friends, but if they don’t behave like friends, I don’t behave like a friend. So I watch them being stooges. And they don’t even have people with credibility who can come and explain what they are doing. I am not going to help. I started out helping, but I am not going to help. I am not going to discuss it. Let them come and explain to Nigerians why the policies that are being pursued are being pursued.
“Meanwhile, I’m watching a very nice movie with popcorn in my hands. But I will say one thing: What we are going through today is, at least in part, not totally, but at least in part, a necessary consequence of decades of irresponsible economic management.
“People were told decades ago that if you continue along this path, this is where you’re going to end up, and they refused to open their eyes. Now, is everything being done today correct? No.”
Emir Sanusi, who was deposed as the 14th Emir of Kano in 2020 by then-Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the current national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was reinstated as the 16th Emir of Kano in 2024 by the New Nigeria People’s Party-led Kano State Government.
His emirship has faced ongoing challenges from forces believed to be backed by the federal government, including federal officials’ continued recognition of his predecessor, Emir Aminu Ado Bayero.
Last month, the police barricaded his palace, with the state government accusing the federal government of orchestrating the action to stir unrest in the peaceful state.
Politics
Reps Loses Deputy Chief Whip
The Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon. Oriyomi Onanuga, is dead.
Also known as Ijaya, Rt Hon. Onanuga, who was the member representing Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo North Federal Constituency, is said to have died following a brief illness.
This was confirmed in a tweet on the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the House of Representatives, on Wednesday night.
Rt Hon Onanuga, who was born in Hammersmith, London, to Nigerian parents on December 2, 1965, was a politician and entrepreneur. She held the position of Deputy Chief Whip in the Nigerian House of Representatives since 2023.
She contested and won a seat in the House of Representatives under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019. She also served as the Chairperson of the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development.
Politics
Aiyedatiwa Dissolves Cabinet, Retains Finance Commissioner, Attorney-General
Gov. Aiyedatiwa, however, exempted two members of the cabinet from the dissolution due to the critical nature of their duties.
The two commissioners exempted include the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Kayode Ajulo, SAN, and the Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Omowunmi Isaac.
This was contained in a statement issued by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Mr Adeniyan said in the statement that “All the affected cabinet members are to hand over all government properties in their care to the accounting officers of their respective ministries.
Gov. Aiyedatiwa thanked the executive council members “for their service and contributions to the development of Ondo State under his administration and wished them well in their future endeavours”.
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