Tinubu on defense as comments on Buhari backfires
The acclaimed National Leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Senator Ahmed Tinubu over the weekend tried to clean up his claim of personal responsibility for the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 elections.
In the statement, which the former Lagos State governor made on Thursday at Abeokuta, Ogun State, he implied that he deserves the ticket of the APC as a matter of right because he was instrumental to saving President Buhari from another loss in 2015, after he (Buhari) lost in 3 previous attempts.
Following the controversy the statements generated, Senator Tinubu on Saturday tried to backtrack from his claims, which he says his political detractors have twisted with “gross misinterpretations in some sectors of the media.”
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“We have entered the meat of primary season. Sensationalism and willful inaccuracy tend to push aside truth during such moments. I make this statement so that truth and accuracy may have a chance. It is important that people truly know what I said and where I stand. Whatever view you have of me is within your right to make. But let it be based on truth and not on falsehood or reckless exaggeration. There have been gross misinterpretations in some sectors of the media regarding comments I made on Thursday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.”
“To a degree, the erroneous interpretations may be somewhat innocent given that I spoke in Yoruba. Those who do not understand the nuances of this richly layered and subtly language may have inadvertently yet erroneously missed the true meaning of what I said while attempting to translate my statement.
“Instead of weighing what I said carefully, they translated so quickly and thus inaccurately in an attempt to meet media deadlines. Of course, there are also those who knew better but they conveyed these inaccuracies because the sensationalism suits their political purposes.
“Again, such propaganda and misinformation becomes daily fare in the heat of the political season. Let’s just state what needs to be stated. My opponents want to present a narrative that I made comments disrespectful of President Muhammadu Buhari in hopes that such a narrative would convince President Buhari to oppose my aspirations regarding the approaching primary. President Buhari is an experienced and accomplished leader. I do not believe he will be taken by the tricks of such people.
“Let me also erase any doubt. My respect and regard for President Buhari as Commander-in- chief of this nation and as a person are high and unfailing. I shall never denigrate him. I certainly did not do so in Abeokuta. We have been political partners for a long time and I hope that partnership continues well into the future. I would do nothing to jeopardize it.
“I believe our party is the best hope for the nation to right itself. I believe I have a future role larger than the one I now have. I also believe President Buhari has a continuing and important role to play even after his tenure as president is over.
“Indeed, I consistently supported the president and his administration. Even when the administration has come under intense criticism, my feet have always been planted solidly in defence of the president.
“The president personally nominated me to coordinate his re-election campaign in 2019. He did this not because I opposed him or because I was indifferent. He did so because I was firmly with him in 2015 and has stood firmly beside him ever since.
“When I publicly announced my aspiration to seek the party nomination for the upcoming presidential election, I stressed that my strategic objective was to build on the foundation laid by the Buhari administration. In fact, I believe I was the first aspirant to inform President Buhari of this presidential intention. It was a sign of the respect I have for him and his office.” Said the former Lagos State governor.
APC Chairman threatens Tinubu with sanction
In a related development, following Senator Tinubu`s initial outburst about how he made Muhammadu Buhari president, the national chairman of the All Progressive Congress, APC have disclosed the displeasures of the party over Tinubu`s comment`s
Addressing newsmen at APC national secretariat in Abuja on Saturday, the Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu said that the former Lagos State governor, who is also a presidential aspirant under the APC insulted President Buhari in his comments.
Consequently, he said that Senator Bola Tinubu will be sanctioned by the party for these comments, which he made while addressing APC delegates in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Lagos goes after Okada riders, promotes alternatives
The Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso have urged the Okada riders in the State to embrace the sundry alternatives in the mode of transportation planned by the Lagos State government, which includes the First and Last Mile buses initiative.
He gave this admonishment following the seizure and crushing of thousands of motorcycles (by) by the State Task Force. The Commissioner while addressing reporters on Friday.
He also disclosed that there were plans by the Lagos State government to bring in additional numbers of the First and Last Mile buses into the State.
In his own contribution, the State Commissioner for Transportation, Frederic Oladeinde, clarified that the popular tricycle popularly called Marwa, which is also used for transportation in the State does not fall into the Lagos transport masterplan.
However, according to him, the government is willing to tolerate their usage for now until the necessary replacements are put in place by the State government.
He went further to admonish the Okada riders on the need to take seriously the government resolve to completely crush every attempt to violate the Okada prohibition policy of the State.
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Speaking further the State Commissioner for Transportation, Frederic Oladeinde said:
“Tricycle is also not part of the strategic transport master plan, but we understand the gap we have in our system. So, over time, as we develop our rail system, BRT and increase the number of boats on our waters, I think the tricycles would disappear. But they would, however, be incorporated into the new systems through cooperatives. That is why there’s a systemic approach to ensuring that while we get rid of one mode, we absorb them into another.
“My message to Lagosians is that they should be calm, obey traffic laws and patronise the alternatives provided to okada. We are putting more high capacity buses on the road, and the government is working to make sure our rail system works fine,”.
“But people believe in violating the law, which is not good enough in a cosmopolitan city like Lagos.”
“The enforcement didn’t just come into play on June 1, it came first in February and we have been on it since then. But people believe in violating the law, which is not good enough in a cosmopolitan city like Lagos.
“Since we began enforcement on June 1, there have been more than 85 per cent compliance because the number of okadas on the road has reduced greatly.
“However, I will urge the riders to continue to stay off because the enforcement will continue still. They might believe we will relax after the first week, but I am telling them now that there will be more intense enforcement starting next week. We will visit those areas we could not visit last week,” he said.
“There is no going back because it’s government policy and the government does not make a mockery of its decisions,” he concluded.
Mr Gbenga Omotoso, the Commissioner said the following:
“So, taking okada off our roads is not hurting our people. We are not leaving them to their own devices and so we have said anyone who is interested in doing a decent business can form a cooperative and join the First and Last Mile Bus Scheme. Some of them have come up to do that actually because they know okada is not in the transportation plan of Lagos State.
“They can present their proposals to the State Employment Trust Fund and get money to fund their businesses. We have vocational centres where they can learn a trade and start a new life. So anyone saying okada is the only way to earn a living in Lagos is not doing any good,” Omotoso said.
On the 18th May when the Okada alternatives were lunched, the governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu said:
“Today, we launched 500 units of First and Last Mile (FLM) buses and 100 high and medium capacity buses for standard routes,” Sanwo-Olu said.
“The FLM buses will serve 286 identified routes within our communities as an alternative to addressing the menace and security threat constituted by Okada riders.
“FLM buses are safe and convenient as commuters will be able to use Cowry Travel Cards – an automated payment system already in use for BRT buses.
“We have delineated the FLM bus corridors into eight zones, comprising Ikeja and Ketu (Zone 1), Oshodi, Mushin, and Surulere (Zone 2), Berger, Yaba and Oyingbo (Zone 3) and Lagos Island, Ajah and Ibeju Lekki (Zone 4).
“Others are Iyana-ipaja and Agege (Zone 5), Mile 2, Iyana-Iba and Ajeromi (Zone 6), Ikorodu (Zone 7) and Epe and Badagry (Zone 8).”
The Governor said the FLM buses will be increased to 5,000 in the coming days.
“We added the 100 brand new high and medium capacity buses into the fleet of Lagos Bus Service Limited (LBSL) to replace vehicles burnt at BRT stations during the wave of violence last October,” he added.
“The launch of the FLM Bus Scheme is an important milestone in our quest to achieving the intermodal transport system which gives our teeming population the choices they deserve, reducing congestion and journey times, and improving the quality of life.”
Governor Hope Uzodinma`s men led by “Chinaza Nwaneri abducts court officials
“Men” from Imo State government house led by “Chinaza Nwaneri” on Friday attacked and abducted four court officials who were on official duty to enforce a lawful order made by the National Industrial Court Nigeria (NICN), Owerri division against Zenith Bank.
Following this unfortunate development, the president of the NICN, Justice Benedict Kanyip ordered immediate and indefinite closure of the Owerri division of the Court, and instructed all staffs of the Court to stay home and away from their duty posts until further notice.
This disclosure was made in a statement made available to reporters in Abuja by the Chief Registrar of the National Industrial Court, Olurotimi Williams Daudu following the ugly development in owerri.
The court official who were abducted on Friday, 3rd June, by these suspected government sponsored tugs were given as Nze Moses, Akoma Jeremiah, Ikedi Amadi and Chima Emeka Ndukwe.
They were said to have gone for the execution of the judgement of the National Industrial Court on the order of the same court in the case with suit number: NICN/OW/16M/2022, between Prince Eze Madumere V Governor of Imo State, Zenith Bank Plc, the Attorney General of Imo state and the Imo state government.
THE COURT ORDER
The National Industrial Court had on Wednesday the 1st of June, 2022, granted a former Deputy Governor of Imo State, Prince Eze Madumere, who is a judgment creditor in the suite, the leave to enforce the garnishee order absolute, which was made on the 27th of May, 2022, against the garnishee bank (Zenith Bank Plc).
The order was granted for the sealing off all the Zenith bank premises in Owerri, Imo state.
The court order was also to the effect that Zenith bank should within 72 hours from the date of the pronouncement of the order, pay the sum of N1.9 billion judgment debt to Prince Eze Madumere, the judgement credit in the suite.
Following this court order, the branches of Zenith Bank were sealed by the court officials on Thursday, the day after the order was made by the court. The court seals were however reportedly removed by these same tugs, who were reportedly acting with the support of the State government.
On returning to replace these court seals on Friday the court officials were attacked and abducted by these tugs.
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The Nigeria Industry Court`s order reads in part: “It is hereby ordered as follows; the Order Nisi made on 15 October 2021 is hereby made an Absolute against the Garnishee this 27/5/2022.
“The Garnishee, (a new generation bank) is ordered to transfer the sum of 1,970,666,584.68k only into the Judgment Creditor’s Counsel account (GTB Bank Plc, Account no. 0223523624, A/C name: M/s Njemanze & Njemanze) forthwith within 24 hours of this order absolute. The Garnishee shall upon compliance with this Order be discharged from these garnishee proceedings.”
A petition written to the Inspector General of Police, on the same day over the incident partly reads:
The court officials were “waylaid, abducted and the court’s official vehicle snatched at gunpoints, to an unknown destination, in broad daylight, by several men of the Government House reportedly led by on Chinaza Nwaneri and some other heavily armed Mopol policemen.
“A frantic and immediate search was initiated by the registrar who later discovered that the four men above, were whisked to the anti-kidnapping unit of the police command and detained unlawfully and without justifiable cause,” the letter reads.
In reaction, the Imo State Commissioner for Information and strategy, Declan Emelumba, said:
“We have appealed against the judgment. There is no how he could be owed N1.9 billion putting all his allowances together. Secondly, the government suspects that there is a conspiracy because the judge who gave the judgment even barred the government from appealing. We have never seen this kind of thing before. However, we have appealed the judgment.”
BACKGROUND
The judgement creditor, Prince Madumere was a former Deputy Governor in Imo State under the government of former Governor Rochas Okorocha. He was removed from office under controversial circumstances and with the support of his boss, the governor.
He challenged this in court under Justice Benjamin Iheka, who on 25th September 2018, declared his purported impeachment null and void and of no effect.
Consequently, he returned to court in 2019, to recover his arrears of unpaid entitlements and emoluments.
The National Industrial Court in 2021, after his tenure with Rochas had expired, granted the prayers of the former deputy governor and ordered the Imo State government now under Governor Hope Uzodimma to pay his accumulated emoluments.
