Tag Archives: Tension

Oshiomhole Blames PDP For Tension In Niger Delta

Posted on by
1

Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, yesterday, regretted that the current tension in the Niger Delta was created by the immediate past Peoples Democratic Party, PDP-led administration through the empowerment of people he described as “wrong guys who showed capacity for violence.”

He urged the new Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru and the Minister of State, Niger Delta Affairs, Prof. Claudius Daramola to reform the ministry, saying, “You have a huge challenge due to the disastrous performance of your predecessors under the last PDP government which made more noise about the Niger Delta than work.

“They empowered the wrong people because they showed capacity for violence and then ignored the real people who were peaceful, who just wanted development. Therefore, you have a huge task to bring development and carry out massive reforms for our people and you need to re-enlighten our people to recognise that the long term challenge of bringing prosperity to our people will not necessarily continue to be driven by intervention agencies, it has to do with creating jobs and making the region peaceful.”

Oshiomhole spoke when the new leadership of the Niger Delta Ministry, led by the minister, Pastor Uguru, paid him a courtesy visit at Government House, Benin City.

Credit: Vanguard

Tension In Ile-Ife Over Selection Of Ooni’s Deputy

Posted on by
1

There was tension in Ile-Ife, Osun State, yester­day in the ongoing screening of candidates for the selection of Obalufe of Ife as deputy to Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye, Enitan Ogunwusi.

The position became vacant after the demise of the late Obalufe, Oba Solomon Omi­sakin in 2015.

Obalufe is the traditional ruler of Iremo, in Ile-Ife; head of Ife kingmakers and next in command to the Ooni in hier­archy according to the tradi­tion of the town.

The process of selecting a new Obalufe started with the inauguration of a committee under the chairmanship of Ayoola Olafiranye.

Daily Sun gathered that the committee was saddled with the responsibility of screen­ing all the 10 contenders from the Aga Ruling House for the stool and report its findings to the house.

The committee reportedly invited all the aspirants and screened them but, before it could submit its reports, majority of the contenders accused it of planning to an­nounce the name of an aspi­rant, Elu Abayomi, from the female lineage. They insisted Abayomi is not qualified to contest.

This led to rancour by the supporters of the contenders who threatened to shut down the town if Abayomi, alleged­ly preferred by the committee, was announced as planned.

A traditional chief in Ife, Atimi Bada, the Logun Apata of Ile-Ife told Daily Sun that the contenders for the vacant stool must come from a male lineage and that those from the female lineage could only contest only if there was no competent candidate from the male lineage.

Credit: Sun

Tension Over N3bn Owed Prison Food Contractors

Posted on by
1

Months after the Federal Government increased the feeding allowance of prison inmates from N200 to N300, tension is mounting among contractors who supply the food over non-pay­ment of about N3billion outstanding bills.

A non-governmental organization, Alliance for Good Governance and Democracy (AGGD), ex­pressed concern over the development, urging the Federal Government to expedite action in the pay­ment of monies owed the food contractors.

In a statement signed by its national coordina­tor and national secretary, Shadrack Nwokolo and Jimi Sanwo respectively, the group revealed that after a thorough investigation of the state and con­ditions of prisons across the nation, it discovered that contractors responsible for food supplies were being owed huge sums of money for the services they rendered to Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) in the last one year. According to the group, in January 2015, the Federal Government increased feeding allowance for prison inmates from N200 to N300 daily, excluding N150 allowance for gas per inmate a day. The group explained that the to­tal provision for feeding each inmate is N450 per day.

Read More: sunnewsonline

Tension In Rivers As Unknown Gunmen Kill 8

Posted on by
1

Unknown gunmen, weekend, shot eight people dead at Agbonchia market area, Eleme Local Government of Rivers State, according to eyewitnesses.

State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ahmad Muhammad, however, said five people died, adding that a suspect had been arrested.

According to him, the killers stormed a place around a market where people wash motorcycles and opened fire on those around.

“The assailants came on motorcycles, opened fire at a motorcycles wash point at Agbonchia Eleme and fled. Five persons lost their lives.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the attack was related to cult activities. One suspect is right now undergoing interrogation, while moves to arrest other fleeing miscreants has begun.”

Witnesses said the assailants pretended as if they wanted to wash their bikes. “Suddenly, they started shooting at those around and when they were done, they hopped on their bike and fled,” the eyewitnesses said.

Meanwhile, Rivers State Police Command said it had uncovered plans by two rival political groups to protest, today, the Federal High Court ruling in Port Harcourt that nullified the May 23 elections of 22 local government executives.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Austin Agbonlahor in a statement in Port Harcourt, warned that the police will not allow any act that would cripple peace in the state, urging those aggrieved over the high court judgement to explore legal means to express their feelings. He appealed to the political class to allow peace reign, stressing that the state had seen enough of politically-motivated protests.

“Information at the disposal of Rivers State Police Command indicates plans by unknown individuals to hold a protest today in Port Harcourt metropolis and other locations in the state against the recent Federal High Court judgment nullifying the election of the chairmen of 22 councils and the swearing-in of caretaker committees in their stead.

“Similarly, the command has credible intelligence that the protesters will be countered by another group. This could lead to confrontation with unpleasant consequences.

“We are in a democracy, where the Rule of Law and the right to protest are legitimate rights and aspirations. However, these rights stop where those of the other person begins.

“We acknowledge that anyone can hold a legitimate and peaceful protest; it is also fair to admit that the protest planners would not be able to control the process as pro- and anti-forces, and hoodlums, could hijack it and turn the state into a theatre of violence.

“So we are advising that all aggrieved persons should sheathe their swords and toe the path of honour by resorting to legal means of seeking redress and justice,” Agbonlahor said.

NASS: Tension In PDP Over Principal Officers

Posted on by
1

Indications emerged yesterday that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may be heading for a deep crisis over the choice of its principal officers at the National Assembly.

The choice of who gets what in the Assembly among PDP lawmakers, it was gathered has pitched many party stalwarts against one another as they differ on who should get what in the National Assembly.

It was gathered that while former President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, are in support of Senator George Sekibo who is from Rivers State for Minority Leadership position, the Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike were against that.

It was gathered that whereas both Ekweremadu and Wike are against the choice of Senator George Sekibo as Minority Leader as suggested by the former first family, the immediate-past governor of Akwa-Ibom State and now senator, Godswill Akpabio has indicated interest in the same position.

Read More: leadership

Tension Heats Up As APC Picks Senate Presidency Candidate

Posted on by
Reply

The criteria recently announced by the National Working Committee, NWC, of the All Progressives Congress, APC, on how the Senate President in the 8th Senate will emerge is generating ripples among senators.

Meanwhile, it was learnt last night that the meeting between the APC leadership and senators-elect where a consensus on the issue of the Senate President was to be resolved may have been shifted.

One of the two camps was said to have pressed for the shift because of the insufficiency of the support it was expecting to show to the party leadership. The APC NWC, at its meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, Tuesday night, had listed certain criteria which the next Senate president must possess.

Some of the criteria stipulated that the party’s candidate for the post must come from the geopolitical zone with the second highest number of votes after the North-West during the Presidential election held on March 28.

It also said that the next Senate president must not have any corruption charges hanging on his or her neck and should be one of the most ranking senators in the current Fourth Republic.

A senator privy to the meeting said the leadership of the party was mandated to, within three days, present the most eligible aspirant as consensus candidate for the post based on the listed criteria during inauguration next week.

The two leading contestants are Senators Bukola Saraki (Kwara Central) and Ahmad Lawan ( Yobe North ).

Read More: vanguardngr