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Ortom’s Ceaseless Diatribes Against Atiku: A Call for Restraint

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By Terry T Waya

It has become necessary for me as a mutual friend of His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, Wazirin Adamawa and Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, to intervene and correct some misleading insinuations peddled in recent media outbursts.

I wish to begin by stating that I have stood by Governor Samuel Ortom through all his political challenges beginning from his unfair treatment in the hands of the PDP landlords which forced his defection to the APC. I was one of the stakeholders who paved the path to his crossover to the APC where he was instantly rewarded with the gubernatorial ticket of the Party. In the course of his successful campaign to be Governor, I learnt my modest financial, moral and security support.

Sometime last year, my friend and associate of several years, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar Wazirin Adamawa informed me that he needed to meet with my Governor, to sort out some issues that seemed to brew tensions between them as well as to seek his support in the PDP Presidential Primaries. I swung into action and got the Governor’s consent for us to proceed to Makurdi on a Sunday. I led a delegation of political leaders, who accompanied the Waziri to the People’s House in Makurdi where in spite of initial misgivings, the Governor hosted us very well.

Since then, Alhaji Atiku has always sought my counsel in every matter involving him and my Governor.

Shortly after the PDP primaries with Atiku emerging victorious, I was mandated to engage Governor Ortom for the purpose of peace, reconciliation and cooperation.

Several meetings were held in the pursuit of the above goals despite incessant attacks on the Former Vice president. I even engaged close members of his family, who advised that he should embrace peace to which he agreed.

To my greatest worry, the hostility became aggravated with the supporters of both parties and sometimes the principals themselves exchanging words.

I was once again brought in to help broker a meeting between the two leaders. When I approached Governor Ortom, he gave a condition which must be fulfilled before he could come to the roundtable. The condition was that Atiku must talk to him like he has been doing with the four other Governors. The Waziri agreed to the meeting after speaking with Governor Ortom, and they both agreed to meet upon the return of the Governor from one of his numerous trips abroad.

However, Governor Ortom backed out of the scheduled meeting because of comments by Atiku in Kaduna to the effect that Governor confided in him that Tiv people steal cows from his farm. I totally understand Governor Ortom’s anxiety given that this accusation is coming against the background that he had earlier called Tiv people drunkards.

Governor Ortom after yet another intervention from me demanded an apology from the former VP. Despite his age and status, Atiku bent over backwards and apologised.

I was still in the process of getting my two friends back together when matters took an ugly bend. Governor Ortom had gone to the residence of the PDP National Chairman Dr Iyorchia Ayu and rained expletives on him in the presence of Senator Gabriel Suswam. In that shocking encounter, Ortom called Ayu unprintable names like Fulani slave, corrupt politician, etc.

At this point, my appeal to Atiku to meet with Ortom led to Atiku seeking guarantees from me that such a meeting will not result in physical harm to himself, and neither should it become a platform to profile his race. Atiku also said the meeting must take place in my house.
My attention was later drawn to a video clip in which Governor Ortom openly disparaged the former VP and vowed “never to be a slave of the Fulani”.

This statement is to say the least reckless and does grievous harm to our behind the scene efforts to achieve reconciliation .

I can say with confidence that Atiku Abubakar in spite of the hostility still has a special fondness for Governor Ortom, and is still open for dialogue.

As the man caught up in the middle of this crossfire, I can say with confidence that there is nothing personal, neither are there any fundamental issues that cannot be amicably resolved. I know for a fact that both personalities are united in the common goal of winning the 2023 elections. There is therefore, no need to continue along the path of venomous attacks. As a senior stakeholder, who hails from Benue State, I shall continue to positively engage with my Governor and would not stop from telling him to refrain from being externally influenced to burn bridges he may need for himself and his people in the near future.

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British-Nigerian, 14, Killed in Knife Attack in UK

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UK police named a 14-year-old boy killed in a sword attack in London this week as Daniel Anjorin, as officers released more details about how the violent rampage unfolded.

Anjorin, a British-Nigerian pupil attended Bancroft’s private school in Woodford Green – also attended by Nottingham attack victim Grace O’Malley-Kumar.

He died on Tuesday morning as he walked to school in Hainault, in the east of Britain’s capital, when he was attacked by a man wielding what appeared to be a Samurai-type sword.

Police tasered and arrested the suspect, a 36-year-old man who remains in custody on suspicion of murder. He has not been named and was not previously known to police.

The independent school attended by Anjorin said in a statement Wednesday that they had been left in “profound shock and sorrow” at the pupil’s death.

“He was a true scholar, demonstrating commendable dedication to his academic pursuits. His positive nature and gentle character will leave a lasting impact on us,” Bancroft’s, in Woodford Green, near Hainault, said.

London’s Metropolitan Police force said Tuesday’s horror unfolded just before 7:00 am (0600 GMT) when the accused crashed a van into a house fence, hitting a 33-year-old man before stabbing him in the neck.

A 35-year-old man was then attacked inside a nearby property, causing lacerations to his arm, before Anjorin was killed.

Police arrived on the scene 12 minutes after the first emergency call and attempted to neutralise the suspect with incapacitant spray and a Taser gun but these had little effect.

The suspect seriously injured two police officers, both of whom required surgery on Tuesday and remain in hospital.

One, a woman, suffered severe injuries to her arm and nearly lost a hand, the Met said.

The man fled again as terrified witnesses took cover in houses before police used a Taser to overpower him, detaining him 22 minutes after the initial call.

Police have said the attack was not terror-related.

It came amid a rise in stabbings in the United Kingdom and shortly before voters decide whether to re-elect London mayor Sadiq Khan for a record third term in local elections Thursday.

Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has criticised the opposition Labour Party’s Khan for his record on crime.

Anjorin’s death is the second recent tragedy to hit Bancroft’s, after a former pupil, Grace O’Malley-Kumar, was killed in Nottingham last year as she tried to save her friend from a knife attacker.

Valdo Calocane was sentenced to indefinite detention in a psychiatric hospital for stabbing to death 19-year-old O’Malley-Kumar, fellow student Barnaby Webber and 65-year-old school caretaker Ian Coates.

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Adebogun Commends Tinubu over Rehabilitation of Ikorodu-Imota-Itoikin-Epe Road

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Renowned educationist, and Proprietor/Chief Executive Officer, Caleb Group of Schools, Dr. Oladega Adebogun, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for speedy and comprehensive rehabilitation of the Ikorodu-Imota-Itoikin-Epe Road, which formerly ranked as one of the worst in Nigeria, and had been albatross to past administrations.

A statement signed by the Director, Public Relations, Caleb University, Imota, Mr. Abimbola Olulesi, and made available to this medium, noted that Adebogun gave his commendation during an interactive session with the media, affirming that President Tinubu, by his singular action, has renewed the hope of residents, motorists and commuters, who had lost hope that the road will ever be repaired, considering its total deplorable state.

He recollected that the Ikorodu-Imota-Itoikin-Epe road, before the rehabilitation, ranked among the worst roads not just in Lagos State but across the country.

“The road usually gets abandoned during the rainy season, and had posed a recurring nightmare to motorists and commuters along the Ikorodu through Imota to Itoikin axis, and as far as Epe. It was a particularly harrowing experience for road users during vacation and festive periods,” Adebogun said.

The Proprietor joyfully noted that it was a huge sigh of relief for residents when the rehabilitation was completed in March this year, reducing Ikorodu to Epe travel time from about two hours to less than thirty minutes.

He added that the rehabilitation of the road is a positive pointer and attestation to the fact that many more development projects promised by the people-oriented, focused and egalitarian government of President Tinubu would be completed and delivered.

Adebogun also commended the Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency, Dr. Dave Umahi, the Executive Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Senator representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Senator Adetokunbo Abiru for the various roles they played in the actualization of the rehabilitation of Ikorodu-Imota road.

He recalled that Governor Sanwo-Olu had personally visited to access the deplorable condition of the road early this year while Senator Abiru had moved a motion in 2021 on the floor of the Nigerian Senate on, “The Urgent Need for the Rehabilitation of the the Ikorodu-Sagamu and Ikorodu-Itoikin-Epe Roads to further bridge the Infrastructure Gap and Enhance Economic Growth in Nigeria”.

Senator Abiru also has to his credit many laudable achievements which earned him the appellation of “Doing Good Senator” such as: The Senator Abiru Innovation Lab(SAIL), which is “the first of its kind innovation hub” in Lagos East Senatorial District which he set up for young people and entrepreneurs; N300 Million Naira Constituency Intervention Revolving Loan, Health facilities and construction of blocks of classrooms he facilitated across the district, provision of grant to 1,250 market women, award of bursary to 600 higher institution students and monthly support for over 2500 vulnerable constituents. Others include provision of many transformers across Lagos East Senatorial District, building of Epe Sports Complex as well as sponsorship of many legislation and motions of national significance.

Adebogun also remarked that, in less than one year of assuming office, President Tinubu had performed beyond expectation and deserves the goodwill and support of all Nigerians to actualise all aspects of the Renewed Hope Agenda.

He further paid tributes to President Tinubu for the promise announced by the Honourable Minister of Works, Dr. Dave Umahi, that the dualization of the Ikorodu-Imota-Itoikin-Epe Road would commence in earnest as the second phase of the road repair project.

He therefore appealed to all well-meaning Nigerians to put aside mundane differences and join hands with the government for the full realization of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

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No Such Deals Exist, Maersk Debunks $600m Investment Agreement with Nigeria

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A report from Lloyd’s List has debunked the statement of the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government that Maersk has concluded and signed an agreement for a $600 million into the port sector.

The paper’s report reads:

A $600m investment into Nigeria’s port sector from Maersk, announced personally by the West African state’s president Bola Tinubu on Sunday, appears to be less solid than the government initially claimed.

Despite a presidential statement from Tinubu detailing how he had secured the purported investment during a World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh over the weekend, Maersk officials have confirmed that no such agreement is in place and no deals have been signed.

The Nigerian government statement detailed how A.P Moller-Maersk chairman Robert Maersk Uggla had discussed the investment with president Tinubu on the sidelines of a meeting discussing energy development and growth. The statement even included a direct quote attributed to Uggla saying: “We believe in Nigeria, and we will invest $600 million in existing facilities and make the ports accommodating for bigger ships”.

But according to Maersk, that deal does not exist.

Company officials said while Uggla did meet the president, no such deal had been signed.

“Maersk has been present in Nigeria for 35 years and, as a global provider of logistics services, we remain committed to develop opportunities for growth to people, the port sector and businesses locally,” the company said in a statement to Lloyd’s List.

“Therefore, it is natural to have an ongoing dialogue with the administration. However, we are not able to comment on any investment talks.”

Maersk is due to report first-quarter results on Thursday, meaning that management are in a regulatory quiet period limiting what they can say publicly about the company’s activities.

Nigeria has promised to revamp its ports, including in the commercial capital Lagos, to ease congestion.

Tinubu’s statement explained that his government would support the modernisation and automation of its ports to improve trade, reduce corruption and boost efficiency. He claimed that the purported Maersk investment would “complement the administration’s ongoing $1bn investment in seaport reconstruction across the eastern and western seaports of Nigeria”.

“A bet on Nigeria is a winning bet. It is also a bet that rewards beyond what is obtainable elsewhere,” he said. “We need to encourage more opportunities for revenue expansion and minimise trans-shipments from larger ships to smaller ships.”

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