News
My fate in God’s hand – Fubara *My govt has no room for oppression
Sim Fubara, on Monday, attributed his survival from the political onslaught in the hands of political enemies to the intervention of God, adding that for rest of the period he would stay in office, the state would hand over its fate to the same God to determine how everything would turn out.
The governor, against this backdrop, charged Edison Ehie, former Speaker of the House of Assembly, who resigned his office and membership of the state legislature to take up of the job of Chief of Staff (CoS), never to use his position to undermine anybody, irrespective of the person’s persuasions.
Speaking on the day Ehie and five other Special Advisers, were sworn in at the Executive Council Chambers, Fubara, who has been having a running battle with Nyesom Wike, his predecessor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), leading to an impeachment plot against him in October 2023, he urged them to set aside partisanship and contribute to the growth of the state, adding the battle won so far was made possible through the divine help of God.
Stating that his administration had surrendered the political situation in the state to God with a strong belief that He would resolve whatever issue that was left in a manner that would prove His supremacy, he said at the ceremony, where some of the cabinet members, including those that were re-appointed last week, were in attendance, that the returning commissioners must not attempt to use their positions to undermine the progress of the state.
Directing the Secretary to the State Government, Tammy Danagogo to reassign the re-appointed commissioners to their previous portfolios, particularly those present at the ceremony today, he admonished the returning commissioners, who had earlier resigned in the thick of the political faceoff with Wike not to return to their offices with the intention of destroying the administration, but to do the things that their children would be proud of.
Eight out of the nine reappointed commissioners were present, while Emeka Woke former Commissioner for Special Projects, who was also the Chief of Staff to Wike during his eight years in office, was absent, indicating that he might not be returning to his office, in line with the terms of the peace agreement the Wike and Fubara camps reached during a meeting with President Bola Tinubu, last year.
Ehie, who was the contender to Martin Amaewhule for the position of Speaker, before recently resigning from the Assembly as part of the process to restore peace in the state, was rumoured a few weeks ago to have been appointed to replace Chidi Amadi, a loyalist of Wike, who resigned alongside some commissioners late last year.
Fubara, who named Ehie as his chief of staff, through a statement by the SSG, also announced the appointment of five aides, including Darlington Oji, who resigned as the Chief of Staff to the Chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Area, Samuel Nwanosike, in the wake of the political crisis in Rivers State; Solomon Abel-Eke, the immediate past Chairman of Ohio/Akpor Local Government Area where the Wike comes from, as well as Prince Ohia, the immediate past Commissioner for Youths Development; Aminayanasam Fiberesima and Deeyah Bariene.
Those peddling fake and substandard drugs in Nigeria should be ready for the hangman’s noose, if the thinking of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), becomes the new law.
Mojisola Adeyeye, Director General of the body, who said on Friday that no other form of punishment is fitting enough, gave instances of where the application of such dangerous substances in form of health drugs, had led to fatalities.
Advocating that only stiff penalties would deter peddlers especially when deaths of children became involved, the NAFDAC boss, who appeared as a guest on The Morning Brief, a breakfast programme on Channels Television, said: “Somebody bought children’s medicine for N13,000 or something like that, another person was selling about N3,000 in the same mall.
“That raised an alarm. Guess what? There was nothing inside that medicine when we tested it in our Kaduna lab. So, I want the death penalty. Because you don’t need to put a gun on the head of a child before you kill that child. Just give that child bad medicine.”
Advocating that the National Assembly and the judiciary to make the proposal a reality, adding that the agency was open to partnering with lawmakers and other stakeholders on the matter, she added: “You cannot fight substandard, falsified medicine in isolation. The agency can do as much as it can but if there is no deterrent, there’s going to be a problem.
“Somebody brought in 225mg of Tramadol that can kill anybody, fry the brain and you give a judgment of five years in prison or N250,000. Who doesn’t know that that person will go to the ATM and get N250,000? That is part of our problem.
“There are no strict measures to deter [people] from repeating the same thing. We can do as much as we can but if our law is not strong enough, or the judiciary is not strong enough to stand up, we’re going to have a problem.
“So, our judiciary system must be strong enough. But we are working with the National Assembly to make our penalties very stiff. But if you kill a child by bad medicine, you deserve to die. We have a lot on our plate in stemming drug peddling.
“Withe about 2,000 staff members nationwide and limited funding, NAFDAC is constrained in carrying out its activities. So, when it comes to staffing, you’re right on the point. We are short-staffed and I am hoping things will be better.”
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday, made a fresh push for the creation of an electoral offences tribunal, to curb the cases of attacks on the Nigerian democratic system.
Mahmood Yakubu, INEC Chairman, told reporters at the commission’s first regular quarterly consultative meeting with the media that the tribunal had become important owing to the backlog of electoral offence cases.
He said: “A major obstacle to the speedy dispensation of justice in this regard is that electoral offences are not time-bound as is the case with post-election offences through the tribunals. Furthermore, they are solely prosecuted by the Magistrate and State High Courts in the jurisdiction where the alleged offences are committed,” the INEC chief told the gathering.
“No priority attention is given to such cases as the courts deal with a variety of other cases. Consequently, electoral offences are carried over from one General Election to another which may sometimes affect the diligent prosecution of the cases. It is therefore imperative to renew our call for the creation of the Electoral Offences Tribunal that have a specific jurisdiction and limited timeframe for the speedy dispensation of cases.”
Bemoaning the delay in the justice delivery system, citing the conviction of a returning officer in Akwa Ibom after six years in court, the INEC boss, said: “The recent successful prosecution of a Returning Officer in Akwa Ibom State is a case in point.
“The Commission has been diligently pursuing the case which arose from the 2019 General Election. In this particular case, it took nearly six years to achieve the successful prosecution at the trial court.
“Through our collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) cases involving 774 alleged offenders from the 2023 General Election are being prosecuted. So far, successful prosecutions have been recorded in Kebbi and Kogi States while our collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on vote-buying has yielded similar results in Lagos, Kwara, and Gombe States. Yet, many cases are still pending.”
A mosque in Bushe community, Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State, fell into the hands of bandits on Friday, after which 10 worshippers including the Imam were spirited away, adding to growing cases of terrorist attacks.
Channels Television reports that the gunmen invaded the mosque on Thursday while worshippers were performing their early morning Subhi prayer, quoting residents as saying that the gunmen had been molesting the people of the community for some time now, even with the presence of security agents.
Ahmed Rufai, spokesman of the Sokoto State Police Command, who confirmed the attack on Friday, said the police authorities were working with other security agencies to rescue the abducted victims.
A member of the Sokoto State House of Assembly, representing the Sabon Birni B state Constituency who also confirmed the attack, commended the security agencies for their timely intervention.
BREAKING: Death penalty for fake drugs! *NAFDAC to push new law at NASS
Give us electoral offences tribunal to take care of heist – INEC
Again, terrorists attack Sokoto, kidnap 10 worshippers at a mosque
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