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Your Government Is Corrupt – Bukola Saraki Tells Buhari

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Senate President Bukola Saraki has said that President Buhari’s government has lost its moral ground in the fight against corruption because of corrupt practices within the administration.

Saraki in an exclusive interview with Channels Television said the Buhari-led government came in on a promise to oust corruption but have rather allowed a new set of corrupt officials to thrive. Saraki said there is no way the present government can be speaking of integrity when it has “a member who has been found wanting, left without charge or prosecution”.

According to Saraki, in 2015 the Jonathan administration was ousted on three major promises which are: security, economic growth and the fight against corruption. The lawmaker, however, opined that “Nigerians are not better off today than they were in 2015”.

He said that Boko Haram insurgency has worsened, in that “more territories are being lost”.

Speaking about the economic situation in the country, the Senate President said: “creation of more jobs has failed”. He also added that Nigeria has dropped to a very disturbing position on the poverty chart.

Regarding the pace of the PDP campaign, Saraki said the steam has not fizzled out for the opposition party. He, however, noted that the environment has become very different and hostile under the All Progressives Congress.

“the people are more edgy because of the intolerance of the government”, citing the arrest of Deji Adeyanju. The Senate President further noted that there is no issue within the PDP, arguing that the opposition presidential candidate has the full backing of all members and stands a great chance against President Muhammadu Buhari. he said

Saraki also alleged that there is massive fraud within the oil sector saying, ‘applying subsidy on assumption that Nigeria consumes fifty million litres (50million litres) of fuel a day, is fraudulent.

Saraki said in the Jonathan administration subsidy was based on an assumption that the nation consumes 30million litres of fuel daily. He added that he and some other lawmakers warned that the Jonathan government was condoning corruption “by over importing fuel and because of that we were losing a lot of money”.

The Senate President said the present government instead of changing the process, jerked up the importation by 20 million litres extra. He said, “you would have thought that a government that was to fight corruption and prevent leakages would even if you are going to continue subsidy, ensure that it is better managed.”

Saraki added that there is no way Nigerians can consume 50million litres a day, “it is just money being stolen,” he alleged. He further argued that there is almost no way that President Muhammadu Buhari is not aware of what is going on within his government, stressing that the Senate has investigated the issue but “we have an environment where agencies of government are emboldened to disregard the National Assembly, it is a big issue”.

Politics

I cannot support Peter Obi again, says Doyin Okupe

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Doyin Okupe, former director-general of the Labour Party (LP) presidential campaign in 2023, says he “cannot support” Peter Obi again.

Okupe spoke on Monday during an interview with Seun Okinbaloye on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

He was reacting to a viral clip of Obi commenting on how the country’s economic situation offers little succour to people in the south-west despite President Bola Tinubu being from the zone.

“Let us talk about what is happening today. Rice is about N100,000. We are not even sure where we are going to be. ‘It’s our turn’, ‘he is a Yoruba man’ — ask the people in Ogun, here is there any place you people buy bread cheaper?” Obi said in the viral clip.

The video generated mixed reactions on social media, with some supporting Obi’s comments while others criticised him.

Adding his voice to the criticism, Okupe described the former LP presidential candidate’s remark as an “insult” to people in the south-west.

He said Obi’s statement publicly brought down south-west people even though “eminent Yoruba people” supported him during his presidential bid in 2023.

“When Obi made that statement, it insulted us. I am a Yoruba man; I left everything and followed Obi.

“For the first time, Obasanjo left his circle of influence and deviated to support Obi,” Okupe said.

“I do not regret supporting Peter Obi. But now I cannot do it again. The reason why I did it was because we agreed that a southern president must emerge.

“I was approached that if a southern president must emerge, which zone must it come to? I said the south-east.

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Politics

APC wins ALL 18 seats in Cross River LG elections

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) has won all 18 chairmanship positions in the Cross River LG elections held on Saturday.

Ekong Boco, chairman of the Cross River State Electoral Commission (CRSEC) and the election’s returning officer, announced the results on Sunday at the commission’s headquarters in Calabar.

The APC won in Abi, Odukpani, Bakassi, Akpabuyo, Ogoja, Akamkpa, Bekwarra, Etung, Biase, Boki, Calabar Municipality, Obubra, Yakurr, Yala, Obanliku, Obudu, Ikom, and Calabar south LGAs.

The chairman of CRSEC issued certificates of return to the elected chairpersons.

Bassey Otu, the governor of Cross River, commended the winners, describing the elections as peaceful.

The governor expressed optimism that the new LG leaders would align with the state’s “people-first” agenda.

“We have a well-defined vision for the state, and we believe the new leadership at the local government level would understand that they must align with the state government’s agenda and exhibit unwavering dedication to realising good governance,” he said.

Nine opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP), participated in the elections but did not field candidates across all 196 local council wards in the state’s 18 LGAs.

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‘There is no longer a place for her’ — Onanuga says Betta Edu won’t be returning to Tinubu’s cabinet

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Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, says Betta Edu has now left the federal cabinet for good.

Edu was minister of humanitarian affairs.

Onanuga spoke on Sunday during an interview with Channels Television.

On January 8, Tinubu suspended Edu after a memo surfaced wherein she asked Oluwatoyin Madein, accountant-general of the federation, to transfer N585 million to a private account.

The president also asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the financial transactions of the humanitarian ministry.

After she was suspended, the former minister was grilled at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja.

Subsequently, the president suspended all programmes administered by the National Social Investment Programmes Agency (NSIPA) for six weeks, as part of the probe into alleged malfeasance in the management of the agency and its activities.

In April, the EFCC said it recovered N30 billion following investigation into the ministry’s activities, adding that 50 bank accounts were under probe.

There were appeals from certain quarters for the president to reconsider and recall Edu.

Although Edu vanished from public glare, she sent a condolence message to victims of the Jos building collapse in July using the ministry’s letterhead.

Last Wednesday, the president named Nentawe Yilwatda as Edu’s replacement during a cabinet reshuffle.

‘SHE’S GONE’

Onanuga was asked if Edu remains a minister since she was only suspended by the president.

The presidential aide said Edu is no longer a minister and that her portfolio has been handed to someone else.

“Betta Edu is gone. She was suspended in January, and this is October. She is gone. Her position has been taken over by somebody else… that is the man from Plateau state (Yilwatda),” he said.

“As far as this government is concerned, there is no longer a place for her in that cabinet.”

Asked about the outcome of the investigation on Edu, Onanuga said the EFCC is yet to make the details public.

“The EFCC has not shared whatever they have, but if you go by what the president has done, it shows that maybe the EFCC has submitted something that actually justifies that suspension,” he added.

“If we follow what the president has done, it means EFCC has revealed something that has formed the basis of the president’s action.”

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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