NEWS : Zabarmari resident says Boko Haram killed more than 43 farmers, Zulum attends funeral

 

Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, was at Zabarmari on Sunday.

Zulum and the villagers attended the funeral of 43 farmers slaughtered by the Boko Haram insurgents.

Zabarmari, a farming community in Jere local government area, is famous for rice cultivation and local processing.

The victims were attacked on Saturday at Koshebe village in Mafa Local Government Area.

Zulum was informed that the actual death toll was yet to be ascertained.

“Your Excellency, as you have seen here, 43 corpses were buried, but others have not been retrieved from the scene of the incident. Nobody can tell you the exact number of people killed. Some of the victims are still missing”, said a prominent resident (name withheld).

The governor commiserated with the bereaved community.

“Please accept my deepest sympathy over this carnage that affects all of us and every human with conscience.

“I am told some persons are still missing. We have been discussing with the military since yesterday, Insha Allah, the remaining people will be traced soon,” he said.

Speaking to reporters after the visit, Zulum decried the gruesome murder.

“Our people are in difficult situations. On one side they stay at home they may be killed by hunger and starvation; on the other, they go out to their farmlands and risk getting killed by the insurgents. This is very sad.

NEWS : Buhari asked to resign or be impeached over insecurity in Northern Nigeria

 

Deji Adeyanju, popular activist, has called for the resignation or impeachment of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Adeyanju, co-convener of Concerned Nigerians Group, said the spate of kidnapping on Kaduna-Abuja road was enough reason for the president to resign or be impeached.

He made the call while alleging that over 100 people are abducted along that route at times.

Tweeting, Adeyanju wrote: “The number of people abducted on Kaduna road alone is enough to make a president resign or be impeached.

“Several sources say sometimes over 100 people are abducted on that road and the issues go unreported.”

Over time, the spate of insecurity in the North had been alarming, especially kidnapping and banditry.

On November 17, 2020, nine students of the Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria were abducted and a ransom of N270m was demanded.

This led to Datti Garba, a member of the House of Representatives moving a motion to fence the university.

TODAY NEWS : Wike warns Buhari against setting Nigeria on fire

 

The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has warned President Muhammadu Buhari to address the demands of Nigerians, or he will put the country “on fire”.

Wike’s comment comes two days after the federal government met with leaders in the South-South region.

At the meeting, the South-South leaders demanded the restructuring of Nigeria, in line with the principle of true federalism.

Wike, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, said: “We must understand in this country that political leadership is very key.

“Having the political will to implement what the people want is very serious.

“I don’t want to talk about the issue of distrust or no trust in government. People have raised such issues, that they don’t think that anything will come out of all this dialogue. I don’t agree with that. I believe that if the president does not do, given the opportunities he has now, then, he will be putting Nigeria on fire.”

NEWS : Nobody can rename Rivers State – Wike declares

Governor, Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has vowed that nobody can rename any part of the state.

The Governor said this while making veiled reference to the activities of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) in the state.

Wike spoke on Friday at the Government House in Port Harcourt when he played host to a delegation of Tiv people living in Rivers State under the aegis of Mdzough U. Tiv led by Mr. Caleb Yashi.

The Governor called on Tiv people to continue to live peacefully with people of their host communities.

Wike noted that the Tivs have not caused any trouble in Rivers State even though they are warriors, and very strong.

“Rivers State is a place that is very accommodating. We accept everybody to stay with us peacefully. It is only those who want to rename Rivers State that I have said, I will not agree.

“Nobody can rename Rivers State. As per living peacefully, we have good relationship with all ethnic nationalities that live in Rivers State.”

US presidential election : State Department declares position on Biden transition

 

The State Department is ready to work with Joe Biden on transition.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed this in an interview on Fox News.

The United States top diplomat assured that the State Department would respect the Trump administration’s “promise” to begin shift.

“Those things that are required that the President has directed us to do in compliance with the decision that the GSA made yesterday, we’ll do all of those things. It’s a legal requirement, and we’ll always honor that promise,” Pompeo said.

The General Services Administration is in charge of the process.

The agency coordinates access to federal assets during transmutation from one administration to another.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump hinted that he will leave the White House if the Electoral College affirm Biden’s win.

The American leader has still not conceded to the former Vice President.

The Democrat has won more than 80 million popular votes and 306 electoral votes.

TODAY NEWS : 2023 Jonathan is working for Buhari government – APC

 

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said former president, Goodluck Jonathan, is working for the current government.

The ruling party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, stated this while answering questions on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday.

Nabena also slammed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for not being a worthy opposition.

According to him, Jonathan has been working for the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, because he is a ‘progressive’ statesman.

The visit by some APC chieftains to Jonathan last Friday, who contested in the 2011 and 2015 presidential elections on the platform of the PDP, raised the stakes in permutations for the 2023 general elections.

But Nabena said, “We are not desperate. Goodluck Jonathan has been working for this government, he has been going to all African countries.

“If he is not a progressive person, he won’t have been working for this government.”

BIAFRA NEWS : Igbo group attacks Arewa youths over call to arrest Senator Abaribe

 Igbo Renaissance Forum, a pan Igbo movement, has vehemently condemned the call by the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, for Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, the minority leader in the Senate, to be arrested.

Recall that the AYCF, in its reaction to the court order to detain Senator Ali Ndume for failing to produce Abdulrasheed Maina, former Chairman of the defunct Pension Task Team in court, had questioned the authorities’ refusal to arrest Senator Abaribe who stood as surety for Nnamdi Kanu.

And in a statement signed by its International Coordinator, Nze Ugo-Akpe Onwuka (Oyi), the organization said it was baseless comparing Abaribe’s situation with that of Ndume.

The statement reads, “We wish to express our deepest disappointment at the grossly unfortunate call by the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, for the arrest of Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe following the order of a court to remand Senator Ali Ndume in Kuje Correctional Centre, over his failure to produce Maina in court.

“We want to unequivocally state that such a hatchet job by a Youth organization is a terrible development at this stage of our national life.

“It is sad that Alhaji Yerima Shettima is still stuck in his tribal quandary, and has been so blinded to see things from objective and realistic national perspectives.

“It is sad and heartbreaking that the instead of commending the court for taking such an action that would deter other looters in the Nigerian state in line with the Federal Government’s push for zero tolerance to corruption, this youth leader veered dangerously off course and started making demands that ultimately makes corruption look like a noble venture.

“We would not hesitate to advise Alhaji Yerima Shettima to retrace his steps and cease from being used as a hatchet man.

“We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to take immediate actions to prevent the desecration of the judiciary by such unguarded and vexatious narratives from tribally sequestered minds.

“It is very pertinent to note that if such rhetorics are ignored and those who propagate such divisive and unintelligent narratives are allowed to go scot free, it would surely embolden such myopic and tribally twisted elements to rubbish the judiciary and other arms of government in future.

“IGBO RENAISSANCE FORUM demands that Alhaji Yerima Shettima be made to withdraw his putrid statement which goes to paint the judiciary in a very terrible light.

“Comparing the case of Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe to that of Senator Ali Ndume is a classical case of comparing apples to oranges, and this can only happen where intelligence has been suspended based on pecuniary interests.

“Finally, we want to state that we would not stand by and watch hired hands raise questionable issues with the ultimate aim of targeting Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe for harassment.”