Folarin Kehinde

…..Assures of his presence and security during the late Monarch’s burial

The Chairman of Police Service Commission, CFR, retired Inspector General of Police and an illustrious son of the South-South Geopolitical zone of the country, Dr. Solomon Arase, has described the late Kalabari Kingdom Monarch, King Prof.TJT Princewill as a man who carried himself well and gave selfless Service to the people of the Niger Delta.

Dr Arase stated this when a delegation of eminent indigenes of Kalabari Kingdom in Rivers State paid him a visit in Abuja.

Among the delegation led by the son of the late king of the kingdom, Prince Tonye Princewill were Pastor Tonye Patrick Cole; Opunabo Inko-Tariah, Chief Dr. David Briggs and His Royal Highness, Dr. Diamond Enoch Tobrin-West.

Others were His Highness Anabs Sara-Igbe and Mrs. Chinwe Ezeanya.

The delegation was in Abuja to inform the PSC Chairman of the passing onto the glory of King Prof.TJT Princwill, the Amayanabo and Natural Ruler of Kalabari Kingdom, and arrangements for his burial

Princewill who spoke for the delegation officially invited Dr. Arase to the burial and requested for his assistance in ensuring adequate security during the ceremony.

Dr. Arase assured of his presence at the burial and noted that the late King lived a distinguished life and also positively touched many lives.

According to him, “he carried himself well and gave selfless Service to the people of the Niger Delta.”

He promised to do the needful and ensure that there would be adequate security during the ceremonies of the burial.

Dozens of Kogi indigenes loyal to Muritala Ajaka, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate in Saturday’s governorship election have stormed the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja.

The supporters are demanding the immediate resignation of INEC chairman, Mahmoud Yakubu, over the conduct and outcome of the election.

Defying the scorching Abuja sun, the supporters trooped out in the numbers armed with placards and chanting solidarity songs.

Politics Nigeria gathered that Ajaka was also at the INEC headquarters to air his grievances amid heavy security in the area.

Recall that INEC had declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ahmed Usman Ododo, as winner of the election with 446,237 votes.

INEC said Ajaka came second in the exercise with a total of 259,052 votes and that the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Dino Melaye came third with a total of 46,362 votes.

Electricity workers across Nigeria have shut down the national grid, leading to a nationwide blackout.

The strike was called by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in protest of the assault on Joe Ajaero, the President of the NLC, on November 1, 2023, in Imo State.

Ndidi Mbah, the spokesperson for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), confirmed the strike on Tuesday. She said that electricity workers, members of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), followed directives of the NLC to withdraw their services around 11:20 am on Monday.

“Electricity workers are NLC members; they’ve followed the directive by organised labour to withdraw their services from Tuesday”, she stated.

Currently, the Federal Capital Territory and its environs are experiencing a blackout.

Recall that the NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) announced a nationwide indefinite strike starting Tuesday despite a court order restraining the unions from doing so.

The Nigerian Union of Railway Workers has directed its members to withdraw services as it plans to join the indefinite strike.

The development is in compliance with the directive of the Nigerian Labour Congress to its associated unions to commence indefinite strike by 12:00am on Tuesday.

The union communicated to its members in a circular signed by the Secretary-General, Comrade Segun Esan.

He said, “This is a critical moment that we all must rise in strong and indivisible unison to salvage the credibility and integrity of the Nigerian workers who have for long been seized in the jugular by the State and its coercive instruments.”

The union served the circular to NRC’s Managing Director; Commissioner of Police, NRC Police Command; Commandant, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps among others.

Esan directed the union members to join the nationwide strike action from 12:00am on Tuesday, November 14, 2023.

Recall that last week, aviation unions withdrew all services to all Owerri flights both inwards and outwards from any airport in Nigeria with effect from midnight November 8 over the assault on the NLC president, Joe Ajaero in Imo State.

Ajaero and the NLC had stormed Imo State to protest the non-payment of salaries and other entitlements of workers but the NLC president was manhandled by the Nigerian Police.

Ajaero accused the State Governor, Hope Uzodinma of masterminding the assault.

The NLC and TUC consequently issued a 5-day ultimatum to the federal government to remove the police boss over his alleged involvement in the attack.

The Federal Government has urged workers to shun the directive by the Nigeria Labour Congress (TUC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to embark on strike even as it also warned the two unions that proceeding with the industrial action will violate existing court orders.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, said this in a statement issued in response to notice by the unions to workers across the country to embark on a nationwide strike at midnight, on Tuesday.

The unions had called for the strike over alleged brutalisation of the President of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC in Imo State.

But in a statement late Monday, Kamarudeen Ogundele, the Special Assistant Communication & Publicity to the AGF & Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi, reminded the unions that there is an existing court order barring them from going on strike.

“We wish to remind the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress that there is a subsisting court order stopping the unions and their affiliates from embarking on the strike,” the statement read.

The interim order was granted on November 10 by the President of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Justice B. B. Kanyip.

“The unions have been served the court order and, therefore, must surrender themselves to the authority of the court which is already seized with the facts of the case. Any action taken contrary to the order will be tantamount to contempt of court.

The Attorney General therefore asked the unions to “respect the court order and adhere to the principle of the rule of law. There is no need to resort to self-help.

“We urge workers to report for duties and not to entertain any fear as their safety is guaranteed and will be protected within the ambit of law.”

Vehicle owners in Abuja have begun to throng filling stations even as fuel stations have hiked the price of premium motor spirit (PMS), checks by Daily Trust have shown.

Daily Trust reports that the price of PMS, popularly known as petroleum has been jacked up to N640 in some private filling stations in the capital city, up from the N617 it was formerly sold.

Investigation revealed that some filling stations observed long queues, especially in NNPC retail stations who still maintain the old price.

The queue led to traffic gridlock along Olusegun Obasanjo Way at Wuse as the two NNPC stations along the route had long queues of cars waiting to fill their tanks.

While Total Energies’ station at Wuse Zone 6 was closed when our reporter visited, the one at Wuse Zone 2 was opened with a fairly long vehicle queues but not as much as the ones at NNPC stations.

The Mobil Filling Station at Utako also had vehicles waiting to purchase fuel even though it was sold at N640 per litre while ETERNA fuel station in Jabi was closed.

The situation was the same on Airport Road with long queues in stations like BOVAS, SALBAS OIL, AA Rano and SHEMA.

At AA Rano located at Jabi, only one fuel pump was dispensing the product from the 30 fuel pumps in the station.

Few cars were allowed into the station with the main gate to the station locked to prevent other cars from coming in.

A taxi driver, Salisu Ibrahim, who spoke with our reporter in one of the stations said the queue started on Friday with some selling at N630 and others at N640.

Naira scarcity is biting harder across the country as banks have limited cash withdrawals, findings by Daily Trust have shown.

Residents of Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa and Adamawa and in other parts of the country are expressing concerns over their inability to withdraw huge cash in their banks, raising fears of scarcity as experienced during the naira swap.

This has also affected business transactions in local markets, especially in the northern part of Nigeria where buyers and sellers prefer to deal in cash instead of bank transfers.

Daily Trust had, on November 1, reported that cash scarcity had resurfaced in Borno and Kano states as the December 31 deadline for the use of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes draws nearer.

The report had forced the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to explained that “The seeming cash scarcity in some locations is due largely to high volume withdrawals from the CBN branches by Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and panic withdrawals by customers from the Automated Teller Machines, ATMs).”

The CBN, through its Director, Corporate Communications, Isa Abdulmumin, added, “While we note the concerns of Nigerians on the availability of cash for financial transactions, we wish to assure the public that there is sufficient stock of currency notes for economic activities in the country. The branches of the CBN across the country are also working to ensure the seamless circulation of cash in their respective states of operation.”

The CBN had announced in March that in compliance with the order of the Supreme Court, banknotes remained legal tender alongside the redesigned banknotes until December 31.

Last week, the apex bank reassured that both old and new notes remained legal tender and urged Nigerians to continue transacting using them.

“For the avoidance of doubt, while reiterating that there are sufficient banknotes across the country for all normal economic activity, we wish to state unambiguously that every banknote issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) remains legal tender and should not be rejected by anyone, as stipulated in Section 20(5) of the CBN Act, 2007,” Abdulmumin had said in the statement.

He had added that branches of the CBN across the country had been directed to continue to issue different denominations of old and redesigned banknotes in adequate quantities to deposit money banks for onward circulation to bank customers.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially declared the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in Bayelsa, Duoye Diri, as winner of the state governorship election.

According to INEC, Diri got 175,196 votes to seal his re-election as governor of Bayelsa state.

Diri had polled a total of 137,909 votes while Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress (APC) got 73,503 before INEC postponed collation of results on Sunday.

The results of two local governments — Brass and Southern Ijaw — were yet to be announced before the postponement.

At the collation center on Monday, Sylva won Brass with 18,431 while Diri got 12,602 votes.

Announcing the results for Southern Ijaw a while ago, the resident electoral officer disclosed that the PDP polled a total of 24,685 while the APC got 18,174 votes.

Hope Uzodimma, under the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate and incumbent governor of the state, has been declared the winner of the Imo State governorship election.

Professor Abayomi Fashina, the Returning Officer for Imo State, declared Uzodimma as the victor, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Earlier, Nairametrics reported that Uzodimma cleared all 27 local government areas in Imo State, winning with a sweeping 540,308.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party had 64,081 while the PDP candidate, had 71,503, coming behind the winner.