Politics
What A 57th Birthday Present For Kano!
On May 27, 1967, Kano State was born. It has since given birth to Jigawa State which happened on August 27, 1991. Internally, it gave birth to 44 Local Governments Areas as known to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
About four years ago, the current Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, then governor of Kano State created four new Emirates, bringing the number of Emirates within the state to five.
Ganduje acted under the Kano State Emirates Council Law, 2019.
But Ganduje’s successor as Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf would have none of that!
Yusuf has moved to bring back Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, as the 16th Emir of Kano.
Yusuf is backing his actions with the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Bill 2024, which he signed into law less than seven days ago.
And this with a subsisting order of the Federal High Court restraining him!
Interestingly, he has not sought to have Jigawa State back into the Kano Emirate.
He would also not return the humungous Federal Allocations to the 44 Local Governments of Kano, which he wants to squeeze into one Emirate under one ruler.
The 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, who was given a 48-hour order to hand over to the Kano State Commissioner of Local Government Affairs, probably acting on awareness on the court’s order returned to Kano on Friday.
Yusuf had on Friday handed over the letter of appointment to Mohammed Sanusi as the 16th Emir of Kano and personally led him back to the Emir’s Palace.
Now the Armed Forces of Nigeria are backing Emir Bayero, based on order of the court, with the substantive hearing of the suit slated for June 3.
Those who know say the court would be irked, having been overreached, and even threatened by the governor.
The actors for the throne of the Emir are first cousins!
The power-flexing politicians are Yusuf and Ganduje.
The pawns in their hands are the suffering masses of Kano State.
As the good people of Kano look forward to another birth anniversary for their state, they cannot but be wondering what a 57th birthday present for our dear state from our leaders.
Politics
PDP Governors Probe Ondo Polls, Criticizes Edo Result
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the outcome of the Ondo State governorship election, accusing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of electoral malpractice, including vote-buying and result manipulation.
This was disclosed during a meeting of the PDP Governors’ Forum on Saturday in Jos, Plateau State.
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The forum, chaired by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, criticized the conduct of the election, which saw APC’s Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa secure a landslide victory for another four-year term in Alagbaka, Akure.
“We are still reviewing documents from the Ondo election, where the APC openly bought votes and manipulated results,” Mohammed said.
He urged the judiciary to “save Nigerian democracy” and called on the National Assembly to strengthen electoral laws to prevent what he described as “institutional sabotage of the people’s will.”
The PDP governors also condemned the September governorship election in Edo State, describing it as a “rape of democracy.”
The forum accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of colluding with the APC to declare its candidate the winner despite claims that the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo, had secured the majority of lawful votes.
“INEC blatantly manipulated the results in favor of the APC candidate. This undermines the credibility of our electoral process,” Mohammed said.
Beyond electoral grievances, the governors urged the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) to convene a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting by February 2025.
They emphasized the need for broader consultations with stakeholders to resolve the party’s internal leadership crisis and strengthen its position as the main opposition party.
The forum reiterated its commitment to democratic values and vowed to push for electoral reforms that would restore public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process.
The Ondo governorship election has sparked a renewed call for transparency in the country’s electoral system, with the PDP vowing to challenge what it views as a subversion of democracy.
Politics
Gaetz Withdraws From Trumps Cabinet Nomination
Following his observations that ‘the momentum was strong’ Matt Gaetz whom 47th POTUS elect, Donald Trump nominated for Attorney General has withdrawn.
Biztellers reports that this follows his meeting with Senate and the feedback, which included two women, represented by their attorneys, who accused him of having paid for sex.
Consequently, Gaetz placed on record his full commitment to seeing “that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history.”
His withdrawal according his statement on micro-blogging site, X, was based on his conviction that “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle”.
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In is view, “Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1”.
Gaetz wrote, “I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.
“I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.”
His backers have promptly encouraged to take his seat in the House of Representatives, having been elected to the house under the flag of the Republicans to represent Florida.
Politics
Adeleke Represents SW On Ad Hoc Committee on Nat’l Electrification Plan
The Executive Governors from Nigeria’s South West have unanimously nominated Senator Ademola Adeleke as the chairman of the zone on the National Economic Council (NEC).
Adeleke is the Executive Governor of Osun State, southwest, Nigeria.
This, according to the Spokesperson to Governor Adeleke, Olawale Rasheed, transpired on Thursday, at a meeting of the NEC.
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He noted that the meeting reviewed the state of Nigeria’s electricity sector and resolved to engage subnational structures to address current challenges in the sector.
“The meeting particularly sought to build on the devolution of the electricity sector and its movement into the concurrent legislative list which empowers state governments to regulate the sector in their respective areas,” he stated.
Consequently, the NEC, therefore set up an ad hoc committee to review actions in the sector by state governments and explore ways to ramp up activities through coordination, Rasheed highlighted.
The full list of members of NEC’s Ad-hoc Committee on National Electrification:
- Governor of Cross Rivers State, Bassey Out – Chairman, South-South
- Governor of Katsina State, Mallam Dikko Umaru Radda – Chairman, North-West
- Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya – Chairman, North-East
- Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke – Chairman, South-West
- Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma – Chairman, South-East
- Governor of Plateau State, Barr. Caleb Mutfwang – Chairman, North-Central
- Hon. Minister of Finance, Wale Edun
- Hon. Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu
- Special Adviser, NEC and Climate Change, Rukaiya El-Rufai
- Special Adviser, Power Minister, Hon. Bolaji Tunji
- MD/CEO Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu
- MD/CEO Niger Delta Power Holding Company, Jennifer Adighije
- Chairman, Nigeria Governors Forum, AbdulRahman AbdulRazak
- NEC Secretariat