News
2019 Presidency: Why Atiku Can’t Beat Buhari – Tony Momoh
A former minister of Information, Chief Tony Momoh, on Thursday said he was confident that President Muhammadu Buhari would win the 2019 presidential election.
Momoh told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone that the president had done his best as a leader to deserve re-election.
He said the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, could not stop Buhari as he (Abubakar) was only popular with the elite and not the masses.
Momoh, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said the Buhari administration has impacted on many ordinary Nigerians, and they would vote for him in 2019.
He, however, admitted that Buhari would lose some votes in the North because Atiku is from the region, but that the APC candidate would make up in other regions to be able to win.
“I don’t think Atiku can defeat Buhari. No, he can’t, Buhari has done well in the delivery of his electoral promises and he will get the support of the people.
“Look at the war against insurgency for instance, has he not done well? Is the situation in the North East as it used to be? Of course there is relative security in the region and the people will want to vote for an administration that made that possible.
“Again, the school feeding programme, the conditional cash transfers and the other social programmes of the government, tens of thousands of Nigerians have benefitted. You don’t expect them not to vote Buhari.
“These are the real people that will vote, not the people on Facebook or Twitter. The people who are moving against the president now are the elite, not the people, and the reasons are obvious.
“Yes, Atiku is popular with the elite, but how many are they? So I don’t see him winning, though, he will get votes in the North as he is from that region and he is a Fulani and a Muslim like Buhari.
“However, the president will make up for lost votes in other regions like South East and South-South where he has delivered many projects to win,’’ he said.
The former minister said the achievements of the president’s fight against corruption and the power of incumbency would work in Buhari’s favour in 2019.
Momoh said it was an illusion for the PDP to believe the selection of former governor, Peter Obi of Anambra State as Atiku’s running mate would deliver the region to the party.
He said the Igbo are politically sophisticated and it had never been easy predicting their direction in any election.
Momoh argued that Buhari picked running mates, late Chuba Okadigbo and late Ume Ezeoke on two occasions for elections, but still lost in the South East.
The former minister said the region was open to both candidates in 2019, based on large number of both the APC and PDP members in the area.
He urged Nigerians to participate in the electoral process and obtain their Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, to vote leaders of their choice.
“The power to choose in 2019 belongs to the people. For that reason, I urge Nigerians to obtain their PVCs to participate in the process.
“It is only when we participate that we can vote people of our choice to help realise the development objectives of our nation,’’ Momoh said.
News
Okpebholo orders freezing of ALL Edo government accounts
Monday Okpebholo, governor of Edo, has ordered a freeze of all bank accounts belonging to the state government.
Okpebholo issued the directive on Thursday through Fred Itua, chief press secretary to the governor.
He asked commercial banks, ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to immediately comply with the order or face severe consequences.
“All bank accounts in all the commercial banks have been frozen. Commercial banks must comply with the order and ensure that not a dime is taken out of the coffers of Government until further notice,” the statement reads.
“Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies must comply with this order without further delays.
“After the necessary investigations and reconciliations, the Governor will do the needful and decide on the way forward. For now, this order stands.”
Okpebholo also directed relevant agencies to reverse the naming of the ministry of roads and bridges to the ministry of works — a nomenclature changed during the Godwin Obaseki administration.
“It is funny how you can call a Government institution Ministry of Roads and Bridges,” the statement reads.
“Ironically, no single bridge was built by the same administration. Not even a pedestrian bridge
“In the coming days, we will look at more actions taken by the previous administration and more decisions will be taken that will be done in the best interest of the state.”
The development comes days after Okpebholo took over the reins of power in Edo.
The governor had earlier ordered an indefinite suspension of revenue collection in the state — including at motor parks.
News
NESREA seals two facilities in FCT, Kogi for violating environmental regulations
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has sealed two facilities in Abuja and Kogi for breaching environmental laws.
The facilities are Geld Construction Limited, located in Abaji, FCT, and Arno Energy, a charcoal production company in Okaba, Kogi.
In a statement on Wednesday, Amaka Ejiofor, NESREA’s spokesperson, said the companies were sealed for failure to conduct their environmental impact assessment (EIA).
Ejiofor noted that the facilities also failed to provide important environmental documents, including an air quality permit, an environmental audit report, and a waste management permit, necessary for maintaining standards in companies.
“The EIA provides guidance on mitigating the negative impact of a facility’s operations on the environment,” the statement reads.
“Their failure to do so led to the closure of the facilities to save human health and the environment.”
The NESREA’s spokesperson added that the facilities were also operating in an environmentally harmful manner, resulting in negative impacts on the host communities and the environment.
She said procedural measures, including the issuance of compliance notices, had been taken to force the facilities to address and rectify their violations.
Innocent Barikor, the director-general of NESREA, urged industry operators to ensure their activities and operations follow the stipulations of the law.
News
Federal high court to commence Christmas vacation December 16
The federal high court says it would go on break from December 16 to mark the Christmas holiday.
In a circular, John Tsoho, the court’s chief judge, said the Abuja, Lagos, and Port-Harcourt judicial divisions would remain open to the litigating public during the break.
Tsoho added that the court would resume proceedings on January 6, 2025.
“The vacation is pursuant to the provisions of order 46, rule 4 (c) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019 (as amended),” the circular reads.
“Only matters relating to the enforcement of fundamental rights, arrest or release of vessels and matters that concern the vacation judges shall entertain dire national interest.”
The notice added that Emeka Nwite and M. S. Liman would be judges at the Abuja division during the vacation, while Akintayo Aluko and Isaac Dipeolu would sit at the Lagos division of the court.
P. M. Ayua and A. T. Mohammed would be the adjudicators at the Port-Harcourt division pending the resumption of complete court activities.
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