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Mushroom parties, You’ll labour till death, Tinubu attacks PDP, LP

by Leading Reporters
written by Leading Reporters

Ahead of the governorship election in Osun State, the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday lashed out at the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Labour Party LP, in the state.

Tinubu said the PDP and Labour Party will labour till death.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had scheduled the Osun State governorship election to hold on July 16.

Governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola is seeking to return to power for his second term, while Ademola Adeleke of the PDP is the front runner for the gubernatorial race.

LP has Lasun Yusuf as its governorship candidate.

However, Tinubu dismissed the possibility of PDP and LP giving the APC a stiff contest.

Speaking at the party’s mega rally, he described PDP and LP as “mushroom parties”.

He urged residents of Osun State to consider their future and vote for APC.

According to Tinubu: “I ask you to please do the same thing you did in Ekiti. Come out with your PVCs and vote massively for APC.

“The voting is now in your hand. Be very vigilant. Be watchful. You will not do it in vain.

“Think about your children and vote accordingly so you can see the future. Come out en masse. Don’t mind PDP and other mushroom parties — parties like Labour; they will labour till they die. God will not make you labourers.”

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Which why forward for Gov Ganduje

by Leading Reporters
written by Leading Reporters

APC auditor, Reps member, Ganduje’s chief of staff dump APC for NNPP

Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has directed the State’s Head of Civil Service, Usman Bala to oversee the Office of the Chief of Staff to the Governor with immediate effect.

The State Chief of Staff, Ali Bukar Makoda, had resigned his position after decamping from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP, late Friday.

However, Ganduje in a statement issued by the commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, indicated that the supervision would be pending the appointment of a substantive Chief of Staff.

The Governor, the statement added, expressed the hope that there would be effective supervision and coordination by the Head of Service, having served in the office before.

Usman Bala was the State Chief of Staff during the first tenure of Governor Ganduje, but was sacked and appointed a Permanent Secretary.

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Attack on NDA: Nigeria’s intelligence network has collapsed

by Leading Reporters
written by Leading Reporters

Northern elders have attributed Tuesday’s morning attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, Kaduna, by bandits leaving two military officers dead and an officer abducted, to failure of Nigeria’s intelligence network.

Recall that the Nigerian Army had earlier confirmed the killing of two of its officers and abduction of a senior officer at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), in Afaka, Kaduna State.

Witnesses said the bandits came in a large number in the early hours of Tuesday, adding that apart from the officers killed and kidnapped, some others sustained gunshot injuries and are currently receiving treatment at the NDA hospital.

The organisation,which said the development was an indication that no Nigerian no matter his or her status was safe in the country, therefore, demanded immediate review of security architecture.

According to the group,the entire security formations were to be blamed.

The group under the aegis of Coalition of Northern Elders for Peace and Development (CNEPD), in the statement by its national coordinator, Engr. Zana Goni, while blaming President Muhammadu Buhari for leaving Monguno behind at the time he replaced service chiefs, however, expressed unflinching support to the president and his party, the ruling All Progressives Congress,APC

Noting that their position was based on patriotism to the country,the elders insisted that it was time for the president to do away with Monguno following the worsening insecurity in the country.

The deteriorating security situation, according to the Coalition,is a sign that Monguno,who manages the nation’s security situation was not on top of his game.

The statement berated stakeholders in the region over what  the group described as “their long silence in the face of unbearable criminal acts by armed herdsmen across the country ‘thereby giving a bad image of the region.”

“We find it once more expedient to comment on the worsening security situation in the country, especially the latest attack on a military formation,the Nigerian Defence Academy,which is the training institute of military personnel.

“We woke up to the sad news of the attack on the NDA, leaving two officers killed and another abducted by bandits with heavy hearts. If it was not the confirmation of this unbelievable action by the Academy’s spokesperson, Bashir Jajira, we would have still been in doubt.

“The fact that a fortified military institute could be so easily invaded by armed militias without maximum resistance has left us with the conclusion that no part of this country and no citizen,no matter his or status is safe again.

“Without mincing words,we wish to attribute this ugly development to intelligence failure. We wish to strongly say here that the attack is a slap on the Nigeria intelligence community.

“The retention of the National Security Adviser, General Babagana Monguno, at the time the president listened to the voice of reason and replaced service chiefs, may be contributing to the continuous deteriorating security situation in the country.

“Given the situation, we wish to humbly and respectively appeal to our dear President, Muhammadu Buhari, to as a matter of urgent national importance, replace the NSA, whose tenure since his assumption of office, has been characterised by heightened Boko Haram activities, banditry, kidnap for ransom and other heinous crimes without end in sight.

We reinstate unequivocally that Monguno has failed to provide useful advice to address the scourging insecurity in the country and therefore,does not deserve continuous stay in office.

As Northern elders,we have found it very important to call on President Buhari to remove the National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno (retd), whose office and responsibilities are critical to the achievement of comprehensive security all over the country but hasn’t used the high esteem of his office in any productive ways since his appointment as NSA.

‘The reason for this call is not farfetched. We believe that Major-Gen Monguno was part of the gross failure associated with the tenure of the former security chiefs and his continued presence in office will make the success Buhari intended to achieve with the changes very difficult, if not completely impossible.

‘It is important that the NSA be replaced so that the process of injecting fresh blood can be completed.

‘We believe that the service chiefs need a clean slate to succced as to avoid being tied to the springs of the past fatal failures. This call is both patriotic and totally apolitical as a responsible group of elders in our dear region.

‘It would be to the highest interests of Nigeria for the president to heed this call and act on it immediately, ”the group said.

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Salome Acheju and the reality of our die trowey system.

by Leading Reporters
written by Leading Reporters

The case of the barbaric murder and the gruesome cremation (if you like) of late madam Salome Acheju Abuh has been done and dusted. Acheju Abuh was until her death, the women leader of Nigeria’s major(?) opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party also popularly called PDP.

So, it happened that the gubernatorial elections in Kogi State which held in November of 2019 could only be remembered for its gross violence, savagery and cannibalistic proclivities. People were maimed, injured and killed. Allegations floated in the atmosphere, and still do, as to whose camp orchestrated the violence.

There were three major candidates in that election. They include the incumbent governor Yahaya Bello of the All Progressives Congress, Natasha Akpoti of the Social Democratic Party  and Musa Wada of the People’s Democratic  Party.

The percussion to violence began in the build up to the elections. It came to a head when even during the Peace meeting convened at the instance of the Inspector General of Police in Lokoja, one of the contenders for the elections was openly harassed. The security agents watched helplessly as the woman was shamed, bullied, harassed and assaulted.

Another incidence that made it clear that the elections were going to be a catalogue of savagery was when Akpoti’s office in the state capital was torched. To make the matter worse, the office was close to a security facility. No one went to salvage the situation.

Gradually but steadily, violence spread across the state as the D-day drew closer. Scary tales of armed thugs openly assaulting law abiding citizens rent the air. There was palpable fear in the entire State as nobody knew who was next in line. The marauders were everywhere.

Every youth was a potential thug, and was ready, at the site of as paltry as five thousand Naira, to unleash terror on the already pauperised and traumatised people. The stories were gory, scary and demoralising. One wondered if we were practising democracy or ‘gangsterocracy’.

In mobilising her people to vote for her party, late madam Acheju Abuh was killed in cold blood, and by her own kinsmen in her home town! How else can inhumanity and the sublime case of brazen animalism be defined?

I know the quiet village of Ochadamu, in Ofu local government area of Kogi State. I am not sure the votes from that place would be enough to swing the results of an election, even if al the votes went to a single candidate. One wonders how anyone in such a small town could kill another person from the same town.

But Ocholi Edicha did it! He it was that led the gang of blood thirsty savages that cut down the woman in cold blood. It sends a chill down my spine to imagine that the ethics and gravity with which the Igala tradition frowns at murder are being eroded by culture contact, greed and the proliferation of urban gangs among our youths.

Secondly, I am amazed that the law in Nigeria doesn’t find such sinister violations of the sanctity of life an offence worth a life sentence. Twelve years behind bars could be enough for manslaughter but deliberate murder, and a callous attempt to cover evidence by burning up the corpse, property and the house of the victim is too deliberate to wave away with a 12year jail sentence.

This is why robbers, kidnappers, bandits and other criminals are becoming bolder by the day. In some case they are even pardoned, given amnesty and given the tax payers money as a rebuke. We have witnessed in this same country how Boko Haram fighters, who murdered thousands, destroyed livelihoods and created orphans in their wake, ‘repented’, were hosted by government, given millions of Naira and patted on the back.

According to the governor of Borno State, Prof Zulum, these ‘pardoned’ boys find their ways back into their organisation again. Who wouldn’t? What else would excite a criminal than knowing he couldn’t care how many times he was caught? As a matter of fact, he gets richer as he gets caught.

It is in this light that the Igala Vanguard rejects the judgement. To the organisation, it is more like a pat on the back of the perpetrator of such a heinous crime. It is a sacrilege to the Igala people. It is an insult to the sensibilities of the Igala conscience. It will further enforce the bourgeoning industry of thuggery in Kogi State. Politicians in Kogi state have weaponized hunger and destitution. The lives of the youths are being condemned by the avant garde in Kogi state. If the law is not stern on this, there would be a time when guns would be cheaper than rice in Kogi State.

The Igala Vanguard has the chance to rewrite the history of the land and redirect its ship. The judgement would be hopefully reversed and Mr Edachi would be made a scapegoat for those who think that Nigeria is home to lawless people.

Congratulations to the Igala Vanguard for the bold attempt at confronting the monster being bred in some quarters which might consume, in the long run, the owners, the community and everyone. Nigerians better wake up.

Alex Agbo is a writer and researcher based in Lagos.

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