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I’m not aware of APC’s 3 days resignation order, says Ngige
The Minister of Labour and Employment and one of the leading presidential aspirants seeking to be the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Senator Chris Ngige has denied knowledge of any order emanating from the ruling party ordering political appointees interested in contesting elections next year to resign their appointments.
Senator Ngige also said that even if there is any order to that effect, it has not been conveyed to him and that there is a subsisting judgment from competent court of jurisdiction striking down the judgment.
Speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday, Ngige, who was a former governor of Anambra State said that since section 84 (12) has been challenged in court and judgment entered into, the judgment should be obeyed until it is vacated by the court.
Asked his position on the APC leadership order that political office holders interested in contesting elections in 2023 should resign within 72 hours, Ngige said, “I don’t know about that I’m hearing for the first time from you.
“But like I always say, I’ll be guided by the letters and spirit of the constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria. You are pushing me into something that is not necessary to discuss, because that aspect of the law enacted by the National Assembly, via the Electoral Act, that section 84:12 has been struck down by a court of law and the case is on appeal.
“And for now, no matter how bad the judgment is, that’s the maximum jurisprudence no matter how bad a judgment of court is, it should be obeyed, until upturned or stayed. But there is no stay, that particular pronouncement has not been upturned, and the party is on appeal.
“So the judgment is still subsisting, that aspect of the law was injurious to some persons and should not have been there. I also know that the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria in certain sections, section 107, 137 and 88, prescribe disqualification clauses for people who are going for election and that prescription is supreme, because it’s in the constitution and the constitution is the grand norm of all laws.”
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Equatorial Guinea restricts WhatsApp, installs CCTV
The Government of Equatorial Guinea has imposed a restriction on its citizens, prohibiting the downloading and sharing of multimedia files via mobile data on WhatsApp.
This move comes after the government issued directives to telecommunications companies, urging them to implement measures that would limit access to inappropriate content.
Also, the government suspended all civil servants who have had sexual relations in the offices of the ministries.
Another measure was the installation of surveillance cameras in all government offices.
The tapes
Hundreds of sex tapes involving a high-ranking Equatorial Guinean civil servant with other mens’ wives have done the rounds on social media, prompting the authorities to attempt to curb their spread.
In the videos the married director of the National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF), Baltasar Ebang Engonga, is seen with various partners – including the wives of prominent officials – at his office in the finance ministry.
On Monday, the country’s vice president Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue announced on X that the government would order the “immediate suspension of all civil servants who have had sexual relations in the offices of the ministries, as this constitutes a flagrant violation of the code of conduct and the law on public ethics”.
It is not the first time that sex tapes involving civil servants have been leaked on social media.
But the affair has blown up to unprecedented proportions due to the notoriety of the officials involved.
Last week, Obiang said that he had given 24 hours’ notice to Equatorial Guinea’s telecommunications ministry, regulator and telephone companies “to curb the distribution of pornographic videos that are flooding social networks in Equatorial Guinea”.
“As the government, we cannot continue to see families destroyed,” said the vice-president in charge of defence and security.
According to accounts first spread by Whatsapp groups and then posted to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X, Engonga shot more than 400 pornographic videos in his office.
Nicknamed “Bello” on account of his good looks, Ebang Engonga is a married father and the son of Baltasar Engonga Edjo, the current Chairman of the Commission of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community.
He is also related to the country’s long-serving president.
The sex tapes were leaked on social networks at a time when he had been remanded in custody at Malabo’s infamous Black Beach prison in a case of embezzlement of public funds, according to state television station TVGE.
Equatorial Guinea’s chief prosecutor Anatolio Nzang Nguema, assured TVGE that if medical examinations revealed that Ebang Engonga was “infected with a sexually transmitted disease” he would be prosecuted for an offence against “public health”.
The flow of internet traffic, and in particular the downloading of images, has been severely disrupted in the country after the authorities took measures to curb the sex tapes’ spread, witnesses told AFP.
Social media is awash with speculation that more videos involving other individuals, both men and women, could be released in the next few days.
CCTV
In another post on Tuesday, the vice president said the government would install surveillance cameras in all government offices.
“We have taken this measure to ensure compliance with the law on public officials and to eradicate improper and illicit behaviour.
“We will not admit any fault that denigrates the integrity of our administration and those who engage in these practices will face drastic measures,” he wrote.
News
‘Irresponsible behaviour’ — Equatorial Guinea suspends officials over sex scandal
Equatorial Guinea has suspended all officials who had sexual relations in the offices of ministries.
Announcing the decision on Monday via X, Teodoro Nguema, Equatorial Guinea’s vice-president, said the government would take “severe measures” against such acts.
“Today, we will proceed with the immediate suspension of all officials who have had sexual relations in the offices of the country’s ministries,” the statement reads.
“The Government will take severe measures against these acts, since it constitutes a flagrant violation of the Code of Conduct and the Public Ethics Law.
“This action is a decisive step in our policy of zero tolerance towards behaviors that undermine the integrity of the public service.
“Ethics and respect are fundamental in our administration, and we will not allow irresponsible behavior to compromise public trust.
“Responsibility and professionalism must be the pillars of our work as servants of the State.”
In a follow up post on Tuesday, the vice-president said the government would soon install surveillance cameras in all government offices.
“We have taken this measure to ensure compliance with the law on public officials and to eradicate improper and illicit behaviour,” he said.
“We will not admit any fault that denigrates the integrity of our administration and those who engage in these practices will face drastic measures.”
BACKGROUND
The Central African nation has been embroiled in a sex scandal since officials searched the home and office of Baltasar Ebang Engonga as part of an investigation into alleged fraud.
Engonga is director general of the country’s Anti-graft National Agency for Financial Investigation (ANIF).
Investigators reportedly uncovered about 400 explicit videos purportedly featuring the ANIF boss and multiple women.
Among the discoveries were sex tapes of Engonga seemingly having romps with his brother’s wife, his cousin, the sister of the president of Equatorial Guinea, the wife of the director general of police, and about 20 wives of ministers, among others.
The now viral videos were filmed in his office, hotels, and toilets — allegedly with the consent of participants.
News
Oyewole Adeyeye, Ekiti chief judge, is dead
Oyewole Adeyeye, the chief judge of Ekiti state, is dead.
Adeyeye reportedly died in the early hours of Tuesday.
He was said to have been unwell since July 12, 2023.
The illness followed severe injuries he sustained when a section of the state high court complex collapsed on him.
The association of international female lawyers (FIDA) in the state has issued a condolence message.
“With deep sorrow in our hearts and in total submission to the will of God, FIDA Ekiti consoles with the family of the Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Hon Justice Oyewole Adeyeye on his call to glory,” the statement reads.
“May He find rest with his maker.
“I pray that God grants the family, the Judiciary and the people of Ekiti State, the grace to bear this irreparable loss.
Adieu great one.”
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