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A public affairs commentator, Mohammed Sanusi has appealed to President Bola Tinubu not to pander to “heavily sponsored blackmail and media trial” against the suspended minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, Dr Betta Edu and sack her from his cabinet.
Sanusi said no strategic leader would lose a selfless and zealous cabinet member like Betta Edu in response to sponsored blackmail and campaign of calumny.

He described Edu as one of the most active, innovative, responsive, and result-oriented ministers in President Tinubu’s administration.
The commentator said: “Many Nigerians have watched from the sidelines as she deployed her selfless zeal in bringing succor to those in need.
“In under 140 days, she had visited and successfully initiated various grassroots interventions that had significantly touched the lives of the poor and vulnerable in over 15 Northern states, and some in the southern part of Nigeria as well.

“She has brilliantly represented Nigeria in many national and international fora, successfully attracting donor support to the humanitarian and poverty alleviation ministry.
“For once, the poor and vulnerable across the country can testify to the fact that they are actually benefiting from the federal government’s various programmes.
In the context of the above, why would any strategic leader lose a Betta Edu over paid blackmail?”
Sanusi further claimed that Edu had responded swiftly on behalf of the federal government to humanitarian crises in all parts of the country.

“Little wonder that due to her absence from office when the Ibadan explosion occurred, the federal governments’ humanitarian assistance had scarcely been felt by the victims till date. The same goes for the victims of the renewed Plateau crises. God forbid another crisis should occur, without her at her post,” he said.

Sanusi alleged that the suspension of the minister followed a well-coordinated week-long negative media campaign, coordinated by several known influencers, and heavily sponsored to the tune of over a million dollars from within and outside government circles.

The Abuja chapter of Association of Bureau De Change (BDC) Operators has announced the closure of their business premises indefinitely from Thursday, February 1, 2024.

The chairman of the Association, Abdulahi Dauran, said the scarcity of US Dollars was responsible for their decision while adding that online banking transactions and cryptocurrency were behind of the scarcity of dollars.

Details Later…

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has issued a warrant of arrest for Edison Ehie, the chief of staff to Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

Justice Emeka Nwite, who issued the arrest warrant, noted the Ehie and five others were allegedly involved in the burning of the State House of Assembly last year.

Ehie, who is the immediate past Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly, was ordered to be arrested along with five other persons based in Port Harcourt for allegedly participating in some criminal activities.

Those ordered to be arrested along with the former Speaker are Jinjiri Bala, Happy Benedict, Progress Joseph, Adokiye Oyagiri and Chibuike Peter also known as Rambo.

Justice Nwite granted an order on Wednesday for their arrest while delivering ruling in an ex-parte application brought before him by the Inspector General of Police IGP.

The ex-parte application was predicated on sections 37, 113, 114, 84 and 184 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 and section 35 of the 1999 Constitution as well as 32 of the Police Act 2020.

In the ex-parte application argued by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Simon Lough, the six defendants were said to be at large.

The DCP who is also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, submitted that the defendants are involved in conspiracy, arson, terrorism, attempted murder and murder of a Superintendent of Police SP Bako Agbashim and five other police informants.

The five police informants they are alleged to have killed are Charles Osu, Ogbonna Eja, Idaowuka Felix, Paul Victor Chibuogu and Saturday Edi.

Justice Nwite granted the request of the IGP to declare the defendants wanted and upon their arrest and investigation, bring them before the court for trial.

The IGP had two weeks ago put five Port Harcourt-based person’s on trial on terrorism charges and were remanded at Kuje Prison upon their arraignment.

They were ordered to remain in prison custody till February 2 when their respective bail applications would be determined by another Judge, Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon.

The five defendants are Chime Eguma Ezebalike, Prince Lukman Oladele, Kenneth Goodluck Kpasa, Osiga Donald and Ochueja Thankgod.

In the 7-count charges, the defendants were accused of committing alleged terrorism offences by invading, vandalizing and burning down Rivers State House of Assembly during the wake of political crisis that rocked Port Harcourt in October last year.

Justice Olajuwon ordered their remand at the Kuje Prison.

Meanwhile, the Port Harcourt Division of the Rivers State High Court has granted an ex-parte order restraining the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies from arresting, detaining, and or harassing Ehie.

The pastor of Household of David, Sola Osunmakinde, has revealed how the fire incident that gutted the church started, saying he watched with agony as everything was burnt before his eyes.

The Nation reported that a fire broke out at the church located in the Ikeja local government area of Lagos state earlier on Wednesday, January 31.

The incident was confirmed by the spokesperson for the Lagos State Fire Service, Amodu Shakiri, attributing it to the overheating of the church’s auditorium roof.

Osunmakinde said the fire service was put off but “painfully, we watched till everything got burnt completely. Everything.”

He said: “I came here this (Wednesday) morning and everything was going on well, we were setting up,” he narrated. “All of a sudden, we started hearing something up there and there was fire.”

“Nobody anticipated this. The most important thing is that no life was lost,” he said in a video with a background of burnt carcasses of what is now left of the fancy auditorium with colourful lighting and thousands of steel chairs.

“It’s a painful experience, no doubt but all things work together for good.”

The Mercy Conference was scheduled to take place on January 31, 2024, and numerous Pentecostal preachers, including Yemi Davids, Godman Akinlabi, Pastor Isaac Oyedepo, and Apostle Joshua Selman, were scheduled to minister during the gathering. Notable minstrels including Moses Bliss, Victoria Orenze, Dunsin Oyekan, and Nathaniel Bassey are also scheduled to minister throughout the convention.

Osunmakinde added: “We believe God and we are still going to go ahead with the conference.”

Amid rising insecurity across the country, the Police Service Commission, PSC, has approved the appointment and posting of new Commissioners of Police, CPs, in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Ekiti, Benue and two other states.

Ikechukwu Ani, the Head of Press and Public Relations in the Commission, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the statement, CP Beneth Igwe is the new Commissioner of Police for the FCT.

He was once DCP Operations in the FCT Command.

Other newly appointed CPs are Peter Ukachi Opara, Osun State; Olughemiga Emmanuel Adesina, Benue State; Akinwale Kunle Adeniran, Ekiti State, and Mohammed Umar Abba, Adamawa State.

Others are Abaniwonda Surajudeen Olufemi, Delta State; Ademola Waheed Ayilara, Akwa Ibom State; David Iloyanomon, Taraba State; Abayomi Oladipo Peter, Ondo State and Hassan Abdu Yabnet, Plateau State.

The PSC Chairman, Dr Solomon Arase, warned the new CPs that the Commission will not accept any excuse for failure to provide effective and efficient leadership.

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, secretly held a meeting with Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the FCT, in Abuja to seek support for Asue Ighodalo’s governorship bid.

According to The Cable, the meeting, took place at Wells Carlton Hotel in Abuja, and also had the presence of Ahmadu Fintiri, the Governor of Adamawa State.

Ighodalo is vying for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket in Edo State in the primary election scheduled for February 22, 2024.

The primary election is expected to be keenly contested, with strong opposition from Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, a former member of the House of Representatives and the preferred candidate of Dan Orbih, a key ally of Wike in Edo State.

Another contender is Philip Shaibu, the current deputy governor of Edo State.

Governor Obaseki, in a bid to create a united front, sought reconciliation with Wike and offered a deal wherein Ighodalo would consider picking Ogbeide-Ihama as his running mate.

However, sources indicate that Wike made it clear that he would not engage with Obaseki due to past grievances and trust issues.

During the meeting, Wike emphasized the need for a level-playing field to ensure a fair primary election where the most acceptable candidate could emerge victorious.

……. Demands N30 million

Gunmen suspected to be bandits have kidnapped two teenage sisters in Guita community, Chikakore, Kubwa, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The incident occurred despite the presence of military personnel and police in the area, with the gunmen taking advantage of the challenging security situation.

This abduction took place just eight days after residents of Chikakore protested to the office of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, expressing their concerns about the deteriorating state of the major road leading to their community, which they believed contributed to the frequent cases of kidnapping.

According to sources, the gunmen, numbering six, forcibly entered a residence and abducted three children—two girls aged 16 and 14, and one boy. The attackers later released the boy with a message for the children’s father, demanding a ransom of N30 million.

The police, upon receiving the report, initiated investigations, but the gunmen had already escaped into the forests and hills in the area.

A police source in the area, who confirmed their kidnap to SaharaReporters on Wednesday, said: “The gunmen have changed their approach, when they came; they didn’t shoot like before, but forced themselves inside.

“While they were forcing themselves inside, the owner of the house (a Calabar man) ran to the vigilante’s office, then, he ran to the commander’s house before the commander could call another person, and rush to his house, the gunmen were already gone.

“It was when they were going, they started shooting, unlike before that they would shoot before the operation and till the end.

“They took three of his children, two girls, and one boy, but they went away with two and sent back one (the boy) from the bush that he should go and tell their father to prepare 30 million naira for their ransom.

“When they were taken, the two girls (16 and 14 years) one of the girls was wearing nightgown, the mother tried to plead with the gunmen to let her wear something for the cold, but instead they beat up the mother. She had no option than to just let the girls go the way they were under the cold.

“Before the police came to the scene, they were already gone. Some of the vigilante later traced them to the railway line, to the rocks but there was no trace anymore.

“The man that his daughters were kidnapped is a front liner security payment and he has made some several donations to the community.”

Organised Labour in Nigeria has proposed a living wage of $300 for all workers, arguing that the current minimum wage of N30,000 has been rendered inadequate by inflation and the high cost of living.

The proposal, presented at a recent meeting of the National Public Service Negotiating Council, comes amid ongoing negotiations for a new national minimum wage. Union representatives argued that the current wage is no longer sufficient to meet basic needs, with the high exchange rate and fuel subsidy removal significantly impacting purchasing power.

Chairman, Trade Union Side, Joint Meeting of the National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC), Comrade Benjamin Anthony, presented the position of organised labour on Tuesday at the 2023 meetings of the Separate and Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council held at Goshen City, Nasarawa state.

He said: “As earlier stated, the time to review our Minimum Wage has come, in doing this; we must all agree that the current Minimum Wage of N30,000 has since been eroded by the high exchange rate coupled with the abrupt removal of fuel subsidy which has translated into high cost of living in the Country.

“There is no gainsaying that the cost of a bag of rice is far more than the so-called Minimum Wage, and to worsen the situation, the Government is not prompt in the payment of the collectively and freely agreed N35,000 Wage award.

“In light of the above, Labour has proposed a Living Wage of $300 for Nigerian Workers. This is due to the fall in the value of our currency, today if you carry N100,000 to the market you will come back with a leather bag of items.

“We call on Government to immediately pay the arrears of the N35,000 wage award along with the current and expedited action on the process of getting a new living wage to bring succour to the working class people,” he added.

Currently, with the official exchange rate of N1,482, the new minimum wage would amount to N444,600 per month for the lowest-paid worker in Nigeria, based on yesterday’s exchange rate of the naira against the dollar on Tuesday, January 30, 2024.

Anthony, who was represented by the Secretary of the union, Comrade Boma Mohammed, expressed concern over the non-remittance of third-party deductions, such as cooperative and union dues, causing operational challenges for these organisations. This situation, he said, has led to difficulties in paying staff salaries, pensions, and insurance schemes. He urged the government to promptly release and disburse these funds to alleviate the hardships faced by affected workers.

Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, in response, said there is need for dialogue between organized labor and the government to foster peace and stability, ultimately enhancing productivity in implementing government policies. She commended the positive outcomes of previous engagements and highlighted the theme of the current council meetings, focusing on “Digitalization as an effective and efficient tool for service delivery in the Public Service” to improve performance in the workplace.

Ekiti State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of five suspected kidnappers, 24 hours after the killing of two traditional rulers in the state.

However, the police public relations office stated that it could not confirm whether the kidnappers were connected to the killing of the traditional rulers until investigations were concluded.

The police spokesman, DSP Sunday Abutu, said the suspects were arrested in a forest.

“In a bid to flush out criminal elements, especially kidnappers out of the state, a combined team of the Police, NSCDC, Amotekun, OPC and local hunters embarked on a bush combing operation through Oke-Osun, Ikere/Igbo-Okah, to the thick forest around Iju/Ikere boundary.

“During the Operation, five suspected kidnappers – Usman Jelili, Mohammed Bande, Abubakar Aliu, Isah Abdulahi and Suleiman Abdulahi, were arrested.

“During interrogation, the suspects claimed to be herdsmen but it was later discovered that none of them had cattle and no cattle was found with them in the forest where they were arrested.

“The following items were found with them in the forest – two motorcycles, one cutlass, one jack knife/ dagger and four mobile phones