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Release Nnamdi Kanu, Other Detainees, Peter Obi Tells Tinubu

Published

3 days ago

June 29, 2024

Eric

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, and other freedom fighters in detention.

Obi said there was no reason for the continuous detention of the IPOB leader, especially as the courts of the land have freed him.

The former Anambra State governor made this call when he spoke to journalists on Saturday, in Onitsha, Anambra State, while also calling on leaders to double their efforts in tackling insecurity, saying that if nothing was done, the country may slide into a failed nation.

Obi, who also spoke on other issues, said, “I don’t see any reason for his continuous detention, especially as the courts have granted him bail. The government must obey the court.

“The rule of law is an intricate asset that we must cherish and live with. I use this opportunity to plead with the Federal Government to ensure that all those who are in similar conditions are released and discussed.

“We are in a democracy, and we should not be doing things that are arbitrary and not within the law.”

He lamented the increasing insecurity in the country, saying that Nigeria was gradually becoming a failed state if nothing was done urgently to salvage the situation.

He said, “The primary work of government is the security of lives and property. It is the foundation on which people can live in any nation because no one can stay in an insecure place.

“It is worrisome what is happening in Nigeria with the news of killings, abductions, and other vices that have made Nigeria one of the most insecure places on the earth. In fact, it is leading to a failed nation.

“I commend the government for their efforts so far, but there is a need to do more, and all leaders must come together to join hands and fight this. In the South-East, there is a need for the governors to come together to be able to tackle it.

“Even in economic agenda, I want to see the South-East governors work closely more. We want to see them come together and also bring together other groups in the zone.”

Obi expressed displeasure on the ongoing protests in Kenya, saying that the destruction of the government’s assets and property brings setbacks to any country.

“I am against riots or destruction of government assets and property because it is still scarce resources that we are going to use to repair them, but I’m not against peaceful protests.

“Peaceful protest is allowed, but it must be for a reason and not the personal interest of some people to satisfy a particular interest. It must be properly articulated and properly directed.

“I recall when people said they were protesting police brutality, and I said to them, no, let’s rather deal with the leadership. If we have good leaders, their agents can’t be bad. The problem is leadership. If the leaders are competent, have the capacity and do the right thing, their agents will follow their examples.

“I want to use this opportunity to say that all those who are being held because of one protest or the other should be released. Whether it is freedom fighters, EndSARS protesters, or even because of freedom of speech, be it journalists, let them all be released immediately.

“We are in a democratic country, and people have the right under the constitution to express themselves freely. They also have the right to peacefully protest, and we must listen to them. We must listen to those who say they are not happy, that is why it is a democratic nation. We should stop acting dictatorial and behave as if this is not a democratic country,” he added.

On whether there are plans for him to join other politicians to form a mega party to oust the All Progressives Congress, Obi said he had no such plans.

He said, “I will rather say that I am more particular on how the poor Nigerians can feed. I would rather talk about things that are affecting Nigerians today. We politicians are preoccupied with elections, and that is not what I am after. I am talking about how we reduce the price of food.

“Our people are dying of hunger, how do we make life more conducive for the poor Nigerian, how do we make our people earn more money, how do we pull people out of poverty? That should be our concern, and not forming a mega party.

“But if forming a mega party is to be able to provide all these things I have illustrated, then I am all for it. But if it is for state capture, so that politicians can take power and continue with the consumption, consumption, consumption, that we are seeing today, I will say no. But if it is to move the country to production, production, production, then I will say yes.”

Featured

Fake News: Adelabu Debunks Report of Explosion at Zungeru Hydro Power Plant

Published

3 hours ago

July 2, 2024

Eric

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has dismissed as untrue, reports circulating on social media that an explosion occurred at Zungeru Power Plant in Niger State.

Adelabu stated that the Power Plant is on the grid and is running at full and optimum capacity.

The minister’s Special Adviser, Strategic Communication and Media Relations, Bolaji Tunji, described the report as a figment of the imagination of peddlers of the falsehood.

“I have spoken with the Managing Director of Mainstream Energy and I can assure you that nothing of such took place in Zungeru. The plant is working and it continues to supply to the grid.

“We have video evidence from Zungeru that nothing like that occurred today and whoever is interested should go there to find out. It is rather unfortunate that people will sit down somewhere and cook up this sort of story. It is unpatriotic, such people should desist from creating unnecessary panic.”

The minister, while assuring Nigerians of adequate supply of energy, however said: “We have seen the worst in the sector, we can only get better. We promised incremental supply of power and that is what is happening now and that’s why we have the present improvement and it will continue.”

Featured

Finally, Nigeria Air, Ethiopian Airlines Pact Ends

Published

21 hours ago

July 1, 2024

Eric

Ethiopian Airlines has announced that the Nigerian government is no longer interested in establishing the proposed Nigeria Air joint venture.

This confirmation came from the Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Mesfin Tasew, in Dubai over the weekend.

The announcement was reported by Ethiopian Tribune, a major Ethiopian media outlet.

In May 2024, during the ministerial briefing marking the first year of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, announced the indefinite suspension of the Nigeria Air project.

Keyamo had previously criticized the deal with Ethiopian Airlines as unfair to Nigerian airlines, stating it would be irresponsible for the Federal Government to allow a foreign entity to monopolize Nigeria’s aviation industry, thereby compromising the growth of local businesses.

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Tinubu Reads Riot Act to Borno Suicide Bombers

Published

22 hours ago

July 1, 2024

Eric

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has condemned last weekend’s suicide bomb attacks in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State and warned that purveyors of wanton violence in the country will certainly face justice.

Tinubu described the incident, which resulted in the loss of several lives, as cowardly. He stated that it was an isolated episode, and the government was already taking necessary steps to secure citizens.

Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, also condemned the act and expressed condolences to the victims, government and people of Borno.

Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, said it was sad that suicide bombing was to resurfacing in the North-east.

Director-General of Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Dr. Barkindo Saibu, gave a vivid account of how the teenage female suicide bombers detonated explosives that killed 18 children, pregnant women, men and others on Saturday in Gwoza.

Gwoza is the birthplace of Chief Whip of the Senate, Mohammed Ali Ndume.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Air Force, yesterday, said the Air Component of the Joint Taskforce, Operation Delta Safe, intercepted fleeing speed boats with stolen oil in the Niger Delta, and killed some terrorists at Kuchi-Kapana community in Munya Local Government Area of Niger State.

In a release by his media adviser, Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu described the Borno attacks as desperate acts of terror, a clear manifestation of the pressure mounted against terrorists, and a mark of the success achieved in degrading the terrorists’ capacity to launch offensives.

He declared that perpetrators of wanton violence will have a certain encounter with justice, adding, “These cowardly attacks are only but an isolated episode.” He said his government will “not allow the country to slither into an era of fear, tears, sorrow, and blood.”

He emphasised that his administration was applying necessary measures to secure citizens, stressing that efforts would be redoubled to ensure that those who trouble the country, dispatching precious lives, and disrupting law and order are completely removed.

Tinubu condoled with the victims of the attacks, the families of the deceased, as well as the government and people of Borno State.

But Boko Haram conducted yet another bombing at Monguno, in the northern part of Borno State, on Sunday.

Meanwhile, two female suicide bombers were, reportedly, arrested in Borno State in connection with the detonation of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Gwoza. A local government official, who confirmed this to Channels Television, said 30 of the female suicide bombers were sent into Gwoza to detonate the IEDs at different locations.

But only four suicide bombers exploded so far, the source said.

The source added that one of the female bombers that came from Pulka Axis was being interrogated by the military at a checkpoint when she panicked and detonated the IED, killing herself, a soldier, and a civilian JTF member.