Headline

Why I Went All Out to Unearth the Truth Behind Tinubu’s Academic Records – Atiku

Published

1 year ago

October 5, 2023

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

A former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has given reasons behind his long search to unearth the details of President Bola Tinubu’s academic records, saying that “The ground rules for legitimate governance in our country need to be upheld, and the reputation of our country is at stake.” He added that loss of reputation affects Nigerians everywhere.

Atiku made these revelations while addressing a world press conference in Abuja on Thursday.

He appreciated everyone that made one contribution or another to unravel the age long mystery behind the identity and academic history of Nigeria’s president, who had held previous hig profile public positions in the past.

Among those, who merited Atiku’s commendation were late human rights lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, investigative journalist, David Hundeyin among a history of others.

The former Vice President also took a swipe at the electoral body, noting that “It should not take months or, indeed, decades, for the institutions concerned to be able to do their work in establishing the credibility of any certificates presented by candidates for public office.”

Noting that “The constitution prescribes the requirements for those who seek the highest elective office in the land”, Atiku said that the findings of his quest are therefore, left for the interpreters of the Constitution to do due diligence.

“We entrust these facts to us all as citizens and as leaders of the institutions charged with interpreting our constitution,” he observed.

Below is a detailed text of Atiku’s statement:

Gentlemen of the Press, Fellow Citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I consider it important to address and report to you today on issues that define the future of elective government and legitimate leadership in our country.

Political leadership and active citizenship matter because they are ways through which we all work together to build a country that works for all who live in it. Our country is bigger than any of us, and its standing in the world affects the fate of all who come from or live in it. As leaders, it is our duty to advance the well-being of all our people and of the country.

For this purpose, my generation worked hard to return the soldiers to the barracks and to defend the right of the people to elect and establish for ourselves a legitimate government. Our elections are established and governed by law and founded on the constitution from which leadership and government in Nigeria alone derive their legitimacy.

The people look up to us as leaders to respect these rules and, where necessary, to defend them. This is what brings us here.

Today, we are called upon again as a people to uphold and defend the ground rules of elective government in our country. The constitution prescribes the requirements for those who seek the highest elective office in the land.

It should not take months or, indeed, decades, for the institutions concerned to be able to do their work in establishing the credibility of any certificates presented by candidates for public office.

We undertook this journey at great cost and for important reasons. The ground rules for legitimate governance in our country need to be upheld, and the reputation of our country is at stake. That affects everyone, Nigerians everywhere.

I am a democrat by conviction and a citizen of a country that I love. The issues at stake in this case require us once more to re-dedicate ourselves to both the country and our constitution.

Now, we entrust these facts to us all as citizens and as leaders of the institutions charged with interpreting our constitution. I should thank the lawyers both in Nigeria and in the United States, who have assisted us in bringing clarity and definitive answers to these issues that appear to have defied our institutions for nearly a quarter of a century. I also want to extend my gratitude to Nigerian citizens and friends of Nigeria both within and beyond the shores of our country for their patience as we have sought to find the facts and establish the truth.

I wish to pay tribute to the late human rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, who inspired us on this path of discovery. Now, he can truly rest in peace in the assurance that what he started about 23 years ago has come to fruition. Gani’s vindication today gives credence to the saying that no matter how fast a lie runs, the truth will someday overtake it.

Former American President Thomas Jefferson once said, “If I had to choose between government without newspapers, and newspapers without government, I wouldn’t hesitate to choose the latter”. From exposing the Watergate scandal and unravelling the dubious certificates of politicians, journalists have maintained eternal vigilance by bridging the gap and stepping in when other arms of government failed.

It is for these reasons that commendation must be given to David Hundeyin, an independent journalist whose extraordinary work and those of many more young people like him has become a source of inspiration. Special thanks must be given to the millions of Nigerian youths and citizen journalists too who continue to put out the truth online even when no one is listening. Indeed, the price of Liberty is Eternal Vigilance. They have put the country first in their firm commitment to unravel the truth and hold leaders accountable. This gives me the hope that we have worthy partners in the struggle to reclaim the country we call home.

This quest is not for or about Atiku Abubakar. It is a quest for the enthronement of truth, morality, and accountability in our public affairs. In line with this, therefore, I am calling on all well-meaning Nigerians, leaders of thought, our religious leaders, our traditional leaders, our community leaders, our political leaders, and in particular, Governor Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP and, the leaders of every political party in Nigeria, and, indeed, every single person who loves this country, as I do, and who wishes nothing but the best for the country, as I do, to join me in this campaign to enshrine probity, accountability and the basic principles of justice, morality and uprightness in our country and in our government. This is a task for each and every one of us.

Thank you for listening. May God bless you, and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Headline

Peddle Drugs and Die: NAFDAC Goes for the Jugular

Published

3 days ago

February 10, 2025

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

Drug peddlers and their sponsors are in for a harder time if recommendations and proposal of death penalty, by the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mrs Mojisola Adeyeye, sails through.

The formation of NAFDAC was inspired by a 1988 World Health Assembly resolution requesting countries’ help in combating the global health threat posed by counterfeit pharmaceuticals

Speaking bitterly at a live television show on the hard-heartedness of peddlers, whose actions, direct and indirect, have caused the deaths of not a few Nigerian children, and in some cases, adults.

According to the Director-General, only stiff penalties will deter peddlers, especially when it leads to the death of children.

She noted that “Somebody bought children’s medicine for N13,000 or something like that, another person was selling about N3,000 in the same mall,” the NAFDAC chief said on Friday’s edition of Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.

“That raised an alarm. Guess what? There was nothing inside that medicine when we tested it in our Kaduna lab. So, I want the death penalty.

“Because you don’t need to put a gun on the head of a child before you kill that child. Just give that child bad medicine,” Adeyeye said.

The NAFDAC DG is also seeking the cooperation of the judiciary and the National Assembly to make such a move a reality. According to her, the agency is open to partnering with lawmakers and other stakeholders on the matter.

“You cannot fight substandard, falsified medicine in isolation. The agency can do as much as it can but if there is no deterrent, there’s going to be a problem,” she said.

“Somebody brought in 225mg of Tramadol that can kill anybody, fry the brain and you give a judgment of five years in prison or N250,000. Who doesn’t know that that person will go to the ATM and get N250,000?

“That is part of our problem. There are no strict measures to deter [people] from repeating the same thing. We can do as much as we can but if our law is not strong enough, or the judiciary is not strong enough to stand up, we’re going to have a problem.

“So, our judiciary system must be strong enough. But we are working with the National Assembly to make our penalties very stiff. But if you kill a child by bad medicine, you deserve to die,” she said.

While NAFDAC has a lot on its plate in stemming drug peddling, Adeyeye decried the shortage of manpower in the agency.

She believes with about 2,000 staff members nationwide and limited funding, NAFDAC is constrained in carrying out its activities.

“So, when it comes to staffing, you’re right on the point. We are short-staffed and I am hoping things will be better,” the NAFDAC DG said.

It would be recalled that in times past, and in recent times, the deaths of children from medicine intake has been rift, prompting a form of emergency in the medical sector to checkmate the activities of the saboteurs, who are bent on reaping gains at the expense of life and wellbeing.

Mrs Adeyeye has promptly toed the lines of former NAFDAC DG, the late Dora Akinyuli, who declared an all out against drug peddlers and couriers.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is a federal agency under the Federal Ministry of Health that is responsible for regulating and controlling the manufacture, importation, exportation, advertisement, distribution, sale, and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, chemicals, and packaged water established in 1993 under the health and safety law.

The establishment of NAFDAC was to counter the production and sales of adulterated and counterfeit drugs, which has become a menace in Nigeria, and to Nigerians. It would be recalled also that in one incident in 1989, over 150 children died as a result of paracetamol syrup containing diethylene glycol, among a list of other horrifying incidents.

At a certain stage, fake drugs issue was so severe that neighbouring countries such as Ghana and Sierra Leone officially banned the sale of drugs, foods, and beverage products made in Nigeria.

Headline

El-Rufai Lacks Capacity to Win Even Senate Seat – Presidency

Published

6 days ago

February 7, 2025

Eric

Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, has stated that the former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the lacks the influence to “unsettle” President Bola Tinubu.

Bwala made the remarks during an interview with TVC News on Thursday, stating that former Kaduna State governor does not have the capacity to win even a senate seat.

He emphasized that President Tinubu is not troubled by El-Rufai’s ongoing criticisms of his administration.

Bwala also noted that el-Rufai only gains political prominence when aligning with a strong, revolutionary leader, adding: “Let me tell you something about my elder brother, el-Rufai, and whether we should be concerned.

“There’s a dynamic around him. El-Rufai needs a solid revolutionary figure to thrive. On his own, El-Rufa’i might not even secure a Senate seat.”

Headline

Reps Propose Creation of 31 More States

Published

1 week ago

February 6, 2025

Eric

The House of Representatives Committee on the review of the 1999 Constitution has proposed the creation of 31 additional states in the country.

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, who presided over plenary on Thursday read a letter from the committee containing the proposed states.

If approved, this will increase the number of states in Nigeria to 67.

The letter read: “This is to inform members that the House of Representatives Committee on the Review of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered), has received legislative proposals for the creation of states and local governments in the following order:

NORTH CENTRAL

1. BENUE ALA STATE from the present Benue State.
2. OKUN STATE from the present Kogi State
3. OKURA STATE from the present Kogi State
4. CONFLUENCE STATE from the present Kogi State
5. APA-AGBA STATE from Benue South Senatorial District
6. APA STATE from the present Benue State.
7. A 37th state, namely FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY, ABUJA

NORTH EAST

8. AMANA STATE from the present Adamawa State.
9. KATAGUM STATE from the present Bauchi State.
10. SAVANNAH STATE from the present Borno State.
11. MURI STATE from the present Taraba State.

NORTH WEST

12. NEW KADUNA STATE and GURARA STATE from the present Kaduna State.
13. TIGA STATE from the present Kano State.
14. KAINJI STATE from the present Kebbi State.
15. GHARI STATE from the present Kano State

SOUTH EAST

16. ETITI STATE as the sixth (6th) state in the South East geopolitical zone.
17. ADADA STATE from the present Enugu State of Nigeria.
18. URASHI STATE as the sixth (6th) state in the South East geopolitical zone.
19. ORLU STATE from the South Eastern Region of Nigeria.
20. ABA STATE from the South Eastern Region of Nigeria.

SOUTH SOUTH

21. OGOJA STATE from the present Cross River State.
22. WARRI STATE from the present Delta State.
23. BORI STATE from the present Rivers State
24. OBOLO STATE from the present Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.

SOUTH WEST

25. TORU-EBE STATE from the present Delta, Edo, and Ondo States.
26. IBADAN STATE from the present Oyo State.
27. LAGOON STATE from the present Lagos State.
28. IJEBU STATE from the present Ogun State.
29. LAGOON STATE from the present Lagos State and Ogun State
30. IBADAN STATE from the present Oyo State.
31. OKE-OGUN and IFE-IJESHA STATES from the Present-day Ogun, Oyo, and Osun states.

The request for states’ creation can only materialise if at least “the third majority of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives (National Assembly) and the House of Assembly in respect of the area, and the Local Government Council in respect of the area is received by the National Assembly.”