Folarin Kehinde

Nineteen persons were, on Thursday, kidnapped in the Bwari Area Council of the nation’s capital, Abuja.

This was as it emerged that about 30 people were, few days ago, killed in a landslide caused by the activities of illegal miners in the Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory FCT.

News of the developments came to the fore on Thursday at a maiden meeting between the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike and the six Area Councils Chairmen.

The minister who was miffed at the developments said he would summon the FCT Director of State Services as well as the Commissioner of Police to receive adequate briefings on the kidnap and facilitate rescue operations.

While he asked the council bosses to set up surveillance taskforce in their areas to monitor mining activities, Wike said he would meet with his counterpart in Solid Minerals, Dele Alake to eliminate illegal mining in the FCT.

Speaking on the challenges confronting the councils, Kwali Area Council chairman, Danladi Chiya appealed to the minister and the Minister of Stare, Dr Mariya Mahmoud to come to their aide.

He said; “When we had about your appointment, we were happy because you have been a Council Chairman and therefore understand our challenges.

“Our challenges are inadequate funding of the local government system.

“We have the major challenge of insecurity across the six Area Councils. Just today (Thursday), about 19 people were kidnapped in Bwari Area Council. I just received about five in my council who were in captivity for about six days.

“The next is the development of satellite towns. The issue of sanitation is one of the major challenges confronting us.

“There is also no efficient transport facility. The Abuja Urban Mass transit buses are no longer functional.

“Then there is the issue of land allocation. You sit in your council, and your backyard will be allocated to someoje you don’t even know. Your graveyards and worship centres would be allocated and we are saying that we should be carried along in terms of land allocation.

“The responsibility of primary school teachers is on the local governments. The UBE’s payment of salaries lies on the council which by law is supposed to be the 60-40 percent. We are pleading that you help us so that this issue can be looked into”.

Kuje Area Council Chairman, Abdullahi Sabo lamented the menace of illegal miners.

He said; “The issue of illegal mining in the FCT. There is indiscriminate mining licences given out and this has led to insecurity. They give letters of consent to Chinese people.

“Just few days ago, there was a land slide that took the lives of 30 people as a result of the activities of illegal miners. We appeal to you to engage the Minister of Mines to stop mining in the FCT”.

On his part, Chairman, Bwari Area Council, John Gabaya advocated greater inclusion of council chairmen in land allocations.

“Sometime ago in 2017, I was a Council Staff then. All the Council lands department are centralized in Area 11 and since then there is no way of checkmating their activities. If you look at Dutse, you will see unplanned developments and you would be wondering who is controlling them. We only watch. We can’t do anything because we can’t control them”.

Reacting to the issues, Wike promised to address them, saying as a former council boss, he understood their predicament.

He said; “I am here to work for the FCT, not to work for any political party. I am here to support the administration of Asiwaju to realize the dreams of the founding fathers. It doesn’t matter your political affiliations or religion, I am here to serve all.

“We cannot achieve anything without support from the Councils. We are not struggling for power and so we have to collaborate.

“It is in your interest as council chairmen to work for the people and that you can do by collaborating with us. What affects you affects me and so I will not be anywhere and allow Area Councils to be shortchanged.

“I will want to advise that we manage what we have but we will work to ensure that what you are supposed to get, that you get it and nobody will shortchange you.

“Insecurity is a major problem all over and those of you who are outside the Municipality, you have to work hard. Information is key. The incident of kidnap you talked about, nobody has reported that to me. It is a serious issue and we need to call an emergency security meeting. I have to call the Director of SSS and the CP now to give me more details because it is every embarrassing to me. Though, I am happy you said the SSS official and the DPO in the affected council are informed and on the situation.

“On sanitation, we have a problem. Sanitation is a big issue. It is the duty of the council not just to collect the fees but to dispose refuse. We have to sit down and work together on this by adopting a common template.

“On illegal mining, I will talk to the minister. Ordinarily, I would say you should also form your own surveillance taskforce as Chief Security Officers of your councils and make arrests and we will support you. However, I will meet with the minister”.

The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has begun hearing the petition filed by Peter Obi, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25, 2023 presidential election.

Leading reporters recalls that Obi is alleging that Tinubu was disqualified from contesting the election by reason of the double nomination of his running mate, Kashim Shettima, in more than one constituency in one election cycle.

He also alleged that Tinubu was ineligible to contest the election because he was fined $460,000 in the United States.

In addition, Obi is alleging that the non-upload of results of the election from the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines to the INEC Result Viewing portal (IREV) resulted in blurred results from INEC with 18,088 polling unit results and votes cast by 2.55 million voters. He submitted that he was the only candidate with the majority of lawful votes cast and the 25 per cent required in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under Section 134(2) of the Nigerian Constitution.

Speaking after the judges took their seats, Justice Haruna Tsammani, Chairman of the five-member panel, told the court to be patient because “judgement is a bit lengthy”.

The tribunal is expected to give its verdict on the petition today.

Former Vice president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Abubakar Atiku and his counterpart in the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi are conspicuously absent at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal where judgment in their petitions are to be delivered.

Apart from Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, no notable politician from the PDP is in court.

However, Labour Party was represented by Julius Abure, the national chairman of the party.

LEADING REPORTERS could not immediately ascertain the reasons for their absence as Atiku’s media director, Mr Paul Ibe did not respond to phone calls put across to him.

At the time of this report, the Tribunal members led by Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani have arrived to deliver judgment in the three petitions

Justice Tsammani has ordered that judgment in the petition of Peter Obi and Labour party be first delivered.

The long-awaited judgement day is here. There is tension, anxiety across Nigeria.

Leading reporters recalls that hours after the Presidency issued a statement, on Sunday, September 3, to disclose that President Bola Tinubu will be travelling to New Delhi, India, for the G-20 Summit, the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, PEPT, finally announced that it had set a date to deliver judgement in petitions filed against the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.

Interestingly, the PEPT said the judgement delivery would be televised live.

Tinubu will not be in the country when the tribunal decides whether to affirm his victory, or nullify it, as requested by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, and the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, who filed separate petitions to challenge the result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, after the February 25 presidential poll.

It could be a coincidence that the tribunal fixed the judgement on a date the President would be away from the country but Nigerians are waiting with bated breath for the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led panel to deliver its verdict.

The 2023 presidential election was one of the most keenly contested, and fiercely disputed since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999 and the anxieties that surrounded the polls has heightened as the tribunal gets set to announce its decision today, Wednesday.

President Bola Tinubu has arrived in New Delhi, the Indian capital for a six-day office visit, during which he will attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit and other engagements.

The President arrived in the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi alongside some senior government officials, including ministers and presidential aides. He thereafter proceeded to a meeting with Mr. Gopichand Hinduja, the Chairman and CEO of the Hinduja Group of Companies, a conglomerate with a total asset portfolio exceeding $100 billion U.S. Dollars.

This was disclosed in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President, Ajuri Ngelale, saying the meeting began around 8:00 p.m. local time.

“We are here for business. I am here to personally assure our friends and investors that there is no bottleneck that I will not break. Nigeria will become one of the most conducive places on earth to make good profits and create lasting jobs,” Tinubu was quoted as saying.

“With my support, there is nothing standing in your way of enjoying the unrivalled opportunities presented by our massive market and the ingenious & hardworking nature of the Nigerian people. We are open for business.”

On his part, the Hinduja Group Chairman told the President that he was a living witness to his landmark effort as Governor of Lagos in turning a coastal erosion and water encroachment crisis into a massive free trade zone where industry now thrives. This, he said, was partially responsible for his excitement to partner with Nigeria’s new President to create win-win prosperity for Nigeria’s talented population.

“We believe in you as a leader who has done this before. You know what the challenges are. You know how to fix them. We are going to make investments into the billions of dollars under your leadership, because we see you are already addressing the systemic problems.

“I am ready now to sign an MoU and to begin execution. You tell me who to liase with and we will get to work immediately, particularly with respect to bus and automobile manufacturing in Nigeria, amongst other areas,” the industrialist said.

The Senate has rejected calls to cut down on its expenses, despite the economic hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy.

Leading reporters learnt that the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, said on Monday that the National Assembly is not responsible for the economic hardship.

He pointed out that lawmakers play many important roles, including committee work and oversight, without any allowances attached.

He made the remarks moments after a tribunal ruled in his favour, upholding his electoral victory against Senator Biodun Olujimi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The removal of fuel subsidy has significantly contributed to the economic hardships faced in the country.

The Senate has recently been perceived as out of touch with the reality of most Nigerians, especially following Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s announcement of distributing ‘tokens‘ to lawmakers to facilitate their holidays.