Today's Headlines: Gov Uzo roll out palliative, Ignore calls for Kanu’s release, N'groups tells FG

LP Crisis: Candidates Endorsed By Abure In Kogi, Bayelsa, Imo Null, Void

Chief Lamidi Apapa, the Deputy National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), has called on the electorates in the off-sea­son Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi governorship polls to vote for candidates presented by his faction of the party.

Lamidi said that any can­didate presented by or “doc­ument signed by Abure now that he is restrained by a court of competent jurisdiction is null and void”.

Apapa, who spoke to Sun­day Independent at the week­end, in Abuja, said: “I am the legitimate leader of the party by all ramifications. The law and everything is on our side.”

On the faction controlling state chapters, the Deputy Na­tional Chairman said: “By the time Abure was calling people for meetings, he was in charge of the party’s money. But, as of today, the majority of them now understand the truth; that ac­tually, Abure committed fraud.

“And if by tomorrow anoth­er meeting is called, they know where to go because they know that if they go to another place, they’re on their own. They are doing that at their peril.”

He also explained that the Independent National Elector­al Commission (INEC) would recognize its candidates in the upcoming governorship elections.

He added: “They must be­cause the law is on our side. But, where they fail to, we know what to do.

“I don’t want to pre-empt it. But, since INEC is a creation of the law, they must respect the law.

Gov. Uzodimma Raises Workers’ Minimum Wage To N40,000, Rolls Out Palliatives

 Governor Hope Uzod­imma of Imo State at the weekend rose to the challenge of hard­ship recently made worse by the removal of fuel subsidy in the country, raising the minimum wage of workers in Imo State to N40,000 and rolling out multiple palliatives that will go a long way in alleting the sufferings of the citizens.

The multiple palliatives include but are not limited to en­hanced free transportation, feeding and medical care for workers, generous loans to gen­uine farmers, the establishment of marketing and commodity boards, payment of gratuities to retirees, mass housing, re­cruitment of more teachers for primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, bursary and schol­arship for Imo State students, among others.

Oguwike Nwachuku, Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the Governor, in a statement on Saturday, stated that Governor Uzodimma un­veiled the package at a special meeting of critical stakeholders comprising religious leaders, politicians, farmers, traders, labor leaders, among others, which he convened at the Rock­view Hotel, Owerri.

The Governor said he knows that “because we are buying pet­rol now at the rate of N530 per liter as against the previous rate of N189, you may hardly believe it. But I know that faith and hope are recurring words in our ev­eryday lives.”

“Because you have hope and I know you also have faith in what we are doing, you will ultimately triumph. And I want you to be rest assured that this promise will come through. My dear brothers and sisters, you must believe me, when I tell you that I am truly touched by the reality on the ground. Yes, I am personally affected because whenever the nose weeps, the eyes join.”

Ignore Calls For Kanu’s Release, Northern Groups Tell FG

The Coalition of North­ern Groups (CNG) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to resist and disregard what it describes as “the unpatriotic calls” by the Igbo leaders for Nnamdi Kanu’s release.

A statement on Saturday is­sued by Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, CNG Spokesperson, told Presi­dent Tinubu to remain resolute in seeing through Kanu’s prose­cution along with his sponsors, backers, and collaborators for the heinous crimes against the Nigerian state and innocent Ni­gerian citizens, so as not to set the wrong precedent of region­al leaders interfering with the course of justice.

The CNG reminded Mr. Pres­ident that by acceding to the demands for Kanu’s release, his government would be exposed to questions as to the status of the innocent Nigerian citizens of other regions killed, dispos­sessed and displaced as a result of Kanu’s incitement.

The group rather called on the Federal Government to intensi­fy ongoing action to disband all militias and armed groups in the South East and other parts of Nigeria, by resorting to the use of force if need be, to ensure that no group can chal­lenge the state in its prerogative to maintain law and order and protect citizens’ lives and prop­erties.

According to Suleiman, “The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has taken stock of events unfolding in Nigeria, noting especially, the unrelenting dis­turbances created by certain in­terest groups in the South-East, ignited and incessantly fanned and executed through the force of arms and terrorist tactics by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and co-authors of mind­less violence and separatism.

Tinubu’s Post-Subsidy Palliatives Dubious Analysts

The Centre for Anti-Cor­ruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) has asked President Bola Tinubu to shed more light on his request for N500 billion to be used to provide palliatives for Nigerians.

CACOL’s Chairman, Debo Ad­eniran, in a statement signed by the organization’s Director of Ad­ministration and Programmes, Tola Oresanwo, recalled that President Tinubu’s request was contained in a letter sent to the National Assembly and read during plenary by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.

In the letter, the president pro­posed an amendment to the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act, saying, “The request has be­come necessary to, among other things, the source for funds neces­sary to provide palliatives to mit­igate the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy on Nigerians.

“Thus, the sum of N500bn only has been extracted from the 2022 Supplementary Act of N819,536,937,815 for the provision of palliative to cushion the effect of petrol subsidy removal.”

Adeniran stressed: “We be­lieve Nigerians need to know more about the N500bn the pres­ident is requesting. He should make the details of how the mon­ey would be spent more clearly to the average Nigerian.

“Since we are not against the provision of palli­atives for Nigerians who have been negatively affected by the removal of the fuel subsidy, we are calling on the President to re­veal the details of how the money will be spent.

“In a country where a hu­mongous amount of money had been expended in the past years majorly on palliatives and the low number of people that benefitted from the said palliatives, it will be unthinkable for this administra­tion to follow the part of the past administrations.

“We are all living witnesses to the way and manner some food­stuffs that were meant to serve as palliatives for Nigerians were locked up in warehouses across the country by some greedy and selfish people in power at the detriment of pauperized, trau­matized and famished Nigerians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“To avoid the mistakes of the past administrations, the Tinu­bu-led government should pub­licise how it intends to spend the money, the names and locations of the beneficiaries, the modal­ities for disbursing the money, and the conditions attached to the disbursement (if any), and other details that would set the minds of Nigerians at peace knowing fully well that the money would be used as planned.”

Akabest (
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