Senate Suspends Senator Abdullahi Adamu

The Senator representing Nasarawa West Constituency , Senator Abdullahi Adamu has been suspended from his responsibilities as the Northern Senators Forum.
Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu who presided announced after close of plenary Tuesday. He is replaced by Senator Aliyu Wamakko.

Details soon.

Senate May Suspend Senator Omo Agege

The senate, yesterday, resolved to probe Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (APC, Delta) over his statement that the reordering of elections sequence was targeted at President Muhammadu Buhari. 

Oma-Agege had shortly after the passage of the amendment to the 2010 Electoral Act, told newsmen that the change in the sequence was targeted at Buhari.

Daily Trust recalls that Omo-Agege, with nine others: Senators Abdullahi Adamu, Malam Ali Wakili, Abu Ibrahim, Abdullahi Gumel, Binta Masi, Yahaya Abdullahi, Andrew Uchendu, Umaru Kurfi and Benjamin Uwajumogu had addressed the press where they expressed reservation over the change of elections sequence. 

During the briefing, Omo-Agege said, “You don’t make a law to target one person. The perception is that the law is targeted at the president. I will continue to protest it. I can tell you it will not become a law,” he said.

During yesterday’s plenary, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the FCT, Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi), raised a point of order demanding that Oma-Agege be probed.

Recall that it was Melaye that raised the point of order that led to the suspension of Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno) for six months in March last year. Ndume’s “offence” was his statement on Melaye and the Senate President, Bukola Saraki. 

Melaye said, “President Muhammadu Buhari is not only my party man; he is a president we all laboured to vote for. My colleague, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, addressed the media last week. He said the decision taken by this senate was targeted at President Buhari. 

“I cannot be part of any group of persons to move against the president; the allegations are weighty. I followed President Buhari to 35 states of the federation during the campaigns. 

“When I was following the president round the country, Omo-Agege was in the Labour Party (LP). To now allege and put the integrity of the senate under check that the amendment was tailored towards the president is unheard of; it is in bad taste,” he said.

“I want to ask that the statement made by Omo-Agege, among other statements, be investigated by the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions. They need to find out if our actions were targeted at the president, he added.”

The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the plenary, referred the matter to the ethics committee, saying they should bring their report within two weeks. 

Senators Angry Over Demolition of Colleague's House by Gov El'Rufai

SENATORS were angry yesterday over the demolition of a house belonging to the Senator representing Kaduna North, Suleiman Hunkuyi, by the state government.

Senator Shehu Sani told his colleagues that Governor Nasir El-Rufai allegedly led a team of soldiers and policemen to 11, Sambo Road, Kaduna to demolish a house belonging to Hunkuyi.

Sani noted that it had become obvious that members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State “cannot accommodate somebody who has the tendencies of Adolf Hitler, Mobutu Sese Seko and Nebuchadnezzar.”

Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who presided, said that Sani’s report was not open to debate.

Ekweremadu said, “This is not open to debate. We need to condemn this action. I send my sympathies to Hukunyi. This democracy has no place for tyranny and impunity. If we decide to go on the road of democracy, we must accept some of the things that come with it. One is the rule of law. If we have any grievances, we should use the courts.

“This is why some Nigerians are opposed to the issue of immunity for public office holders. I think that this is something we need to watch. As we approach 2019 general elections, we must appeal to politicians not to overheat the polity and imperil our democracy. I hope this should be the last. Our courts can be trusted to deliver justice. We hope this will not happen again.”

Sani told the Senate: “I stand to formally report something. As early as 4am on Tuesday, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State led a team of soldiers and policemen to Number 11, Sambo Road in the state. He supervised the demolition of our new APC office. The said property belongs to Senator Suleiman Hukunyi (Kaduna North).

“This is coming one year after the same governor demolished a house belonging to the vice chairman of APC in North West, Abdulkadir. This is a series of brigandage and tyranny carried out by the governor against opposition voices.

“Governor El-Rufai is an affliction on the Kaduna State. He is a curse to us. We want to call on Buhari to caution his son. If this crisis is not nipped in the bud, it will grow into something bigger. We in Kaduna State cannot accommodate somebody who has the tendencies of Adolf Hitler, Mobutu Sese Seko and Nebuchadnezzar.”

Speaking to reporters in Abuja, Sen. Hunkuyi described the demolition as “bizarre, rare and unimaginable decisions”.

“My property, which doubles as the state APC office in Kaduna is part of my contribution to the party; the structure of leadership of the party has been brought down.

“This action was carried out with his supervision. I have no case, I have forgiven him as a person. I am not joining issues with him, and he is my brother.

“There are concurrent issues that go with his act. What will he be doing at the site at that time of the day?

“To me, if the intention is to shut Hunkuyi down, it has given me more reason to believe and stand strongly with majority of the electorate. This should not have happened but it has happened. Let that be an incident for growth of democracy in my constituency.

“Should I bear the consequences of bringing him to leadership? Is it too much price to pay? People like that have no business in executive position.”

BREAKING: Okonjo Iweala Lands Common Wealth Appointment

Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been appointed into a High Level Group on Governance of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Prof. Ben Maloney, Communications Officer, Commonwealth Secretariat, said in a statement that the High Level Group would make recommendations on governance of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The Commonwealth, however, denied that the group was constituted to secretly begin considering who might succeed the Queen as its head.

“At their last Summit in Malta, Commonwealth heads of government directed the Secretary-General to form the Group.

“Today members are discussing the scope of the group’s work and the areas of governance it will examine over the coming months.

“The process is open and the High Level Group reports to the heads.

“The issue of succession of the Head of the Commonwealth is not part of the Group’s mandate,” the statement said.

The group is chaired by Anote Tong, former President of Kiribati from 2003 to 2016.

Okonjo-Iweala, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, is among the seven-member group.

Others are Lord Howell, former British Energy Secretary; Louise Frechette, former UN Deputy Secretary-General; and Robert Hill, former Australian Defence Minister.

Dame Miller, former Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados and Dr George Vella, former Foreign Minister of Malta are also members of the group.

The group operates independently of the London-based Commonwealth Secretariat and would report only to the heads of Commonwealth governments.

However, further members may be appointed, the Secretariat said.

The group is expected to report to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London in April, which is likely to be the last that the Queen would attend. (NAN)

BOKO HARAM: 94 Girls Still Missing In Yobe School Attack

Ninety four 94 students are missing after suspected Boko Haram terrorists attacked a girls’ secondary school in Yobe state Monday night, Dailytrust is reporting.

The attack on Government Girls Secondary School Dapchi came after sunset when some of the students were breaking their fast which they usually observe on Mondays.

A source in the school told Daily Trust yesterday that the number of missing students was established in the afternoon after a head count.  

“After the roll call, 610 out the total number of 704 students have returned. We are still searching for the remaining 94 students”, he said.

On whether the students were abducted, he said: “We cannot say, because the insurgents went into the students’ hostel, and many of these students scaled the fence and escaped into the bushes. No one can tell if they are abducted or not.”

He said some parents had reported to the school authorities that their children, who fled into the bushes, had returned home safely.

 “We are calling on parents to help the school update its list by reporting immediately their children arrived home safely”, he said.

The Yobe State Police Commissioner Abdumaliki Sunmonu said no case of abduction had been established yet.

The State Commissioner of Education, Lawan Ali, who is outside the state for official assignment, said senior officials from the ministry had been dispatched to the school.

“The team is profiling the students to know those who are missing? And, how many of them were able to return or ran home to their families,” he said.

The attack evoked memories of the kidnapping of 276 girls from Chibok Girls Secondary School by the insurgents on April 14, 2014. 

A teacher in the school, who escaped the attack, said the insurgents stormed the school around 7:00pm through the eastern part of the town.

Parent besiege school as early as 6am

Parents besieged the school as early as 6:00am to know the whereabouts of their children. 

One of the parents, Lamuwa Yadi, said he has two daughters in the school but could only find one of them. "We have no idea where she's now, her sister said they were at the hall when the insurgents struck, and it was the last time she saw her. 

"We are calling on the state and the federal government to act fast before it gets worst."

A mother of one of the students, Amina Usama, who could not trace her daughter, said she cannot forgive herself at the turn of event.

"I forced her to go back to school against her wish, unknown to me that this calamity is awaiting her here. My daughter always complained that there was no security in the school", she said 

Government shuts down school 

The Yobe State government has closed the school for one week and send the students home so as ease tension  

Announcing the closure, the state commissioner of Education, Alhaji Mohammed Lamin, who was represented by his permanent secretary, called on the parents to take solace as the government is doing its best to search for the missing students.

He said that over ninety percent of the students have returned to the school while others have reached their parent safely.

Students vows not to return

Some of the students told Daily Trust that they would not return to the school until government stations security operatives in the school.

Maimuna Lawan, an SSS3 student said the insurgents stormed the gate around 6:30pm, “They were shouting that we should not run. We got terrified by the gunshots and scale the fence, we are not sure if they abducted some student but we suspected they did because, they were calling some students when I ran away"

Meanwhile the Local Government chairman, Alhaji Zannah said he had sent security personnel to trace those still missing "We believed they are in the bush and we will intensify our search until we find them, God willing" he said.

FG Rejects Cattle Colonies

No regrets whatsoever - Wike

The House of Representatives which is an equal organ of the Government has thrown its weight  behind the establishment of cattle ranches across the country, as panacea to clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

The House adopted a motion on the need to educate herdsmen on the benefits of ranching, specifically opted for the establishment of cattle ranches across the country.

Consequently, the Green Chamber urged the Executive to liaise with interested states and work out modalities of establishment of  ranches.

The House also directed the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources to liaise with state Ministries of Agriculture to urgently educate  and encourage herdsmen on the benefits of ranching.

The chamber urged government to consider a soft loan scheme for herders, to enable them buy land as incentive to embrace ranching.

The House mandated its Committee on Agriculture Production and Services to ensure implementation of the resolution and report back within eight weeks, for further legislative action.

In his lead debate, sponsor of the motion, Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo said most of the clashes between herdsmen and farmers across the country were fallout of the herders roaming about in search of pastures for their cattle and in the process trespassing into farmlands and damaging crops.

Onawo said the incessant clashes  between herdsmen/ farmers across the country has presented  serious security challenges for the nation. Besides, the lawmaker argued that open grazing also exposes the herdsmen to dangers, as they sometimes fall prey to cattle rustlers and kidnappers.

He contended that the decision of the government to set up cattle colonies across the country as a measure to stop herdsmen/ farmers clash is a “violation of  Section 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and the Land Use Act.”

Meanwhile, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, declared that he would not apologise to anyone for rejecting cattle colony in the state. 

Wike stated this yesterday, during a solidarity rally organised by Rivers East senatorial district, at Yakubu Gowon Stadium, Elekahia, Port Harcourt.

GRAZING LAW: Taraba Backs Down

Taraba Governor, Darius Ishaku, has agreed to suspend and, in the process, receive the state’s grazing law. The Sun reports.

Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, disclosed this in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Emmanuel Uzor, yesterday.

Umahi said Ishaku,  as well the leadership of Miyetti Allah,  farmers and stakeholders agreed to review the grazing law in the state.

He also said end to intermittent clashes between farmers and herdsmen across the country, especially in Benue,  Nasarawa and Taraba states, are in sight, following a ceasefire agreement reached by the parties in the affected states, to drop their weapons and return to table for dialogue. 

As part of the National Economic Council (NEC) sub-committee set up by the Federal Government,  led by Umahi, on fact-finding mission to Taraba state, yesterday, both farmers and herdsmen agreed ceasefire and return to the negatiation table, to enable the committee broker final peace. 

Addressing the media at the Executive Council chambers in Jalingo, Umahi said after several hours of meetings and deliberations involving farmers,  leaders of Miyetti Allah,  Taraba state government and the House of Assembly,  the committee was able to plead with Ishaku and Speaker  Peter Abel Diah to revisit the anti-open grazing law, to accomodate Fulani herdsmen. 

Governor Umahi further disclosed that in the cause of a closed-door meeting with security chiefs in the state,  it was discovered that the latest crisis at the Mambilla Plateau hadnothing to do with farmers and herdsmen clash but was purely a land issue which he said the state government has shown enough commitment to solving. 

The governor blamed the leadership and members of Miyetti Allah for boycotting the public hearing on the grazing law, which he identified as one the problems that culminated into the crisis,  and cited  ignorance of the said law as another reason why the crisis persisted. 

“We are here as part of fact-finding, to ascertain the remote cause of the crisis between farmers and herdsmen across the state. In the cause of our assignment,  we met with the Taraba state government led by governor  Darius Ishaku,  the leadership of Miyetti Allah,  farmers, stakeholders and security agents and we arrived a far-reaching solution to the crisis and the parties agreed that there should be ceasefire and that all the parties should dialogue.

“There were so many issues raised and the committee, after much deliberation with those concerned, was able to make some recommendations, including our request for some amendment to some sections of the law which the herders considered against them. 

“We agreed that all cases pending in court be withdrawn, to enable the committee conclude their assignment,” Umahi said.

The governor also said the herdsmen agreed to observe ranching but requested that state and federal governments should come to their aid, to adapt to the new exercise,  and added that the herdsmen should start making use of already-existing ranching facilities in Mambilla while the state government start  the pilot ranching programme in the three senatorial districts of the state.