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Fubara’s deal: APC defection, Tinubu’s recall loading! The Jonathan connection
All things being equal, Siminalayi Fubara, suspended Governor of Rivers State, could be heading to the All Progressives Congress in the coming days with President Bola Tinubu expected to announce his reinstatement at the same time.
Vanguard, is reporting that former President Goodluck Jonathan and other prominent Nigerians, especially from the South South, including members of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), particularly leaders of Ijaw extraction, are engaging in the trade-offs that could land a deal before the end of the week ahead of the celebration of Democracy Day in Nigeria on June 12.
In recent weeks, signals have been manifesting of some troubleshooting efforts to reach a truce in the political imbroglio that engulfed the state in October 2023, which climaxed with a State of Emergency imposed by Tinubu on March 18, as the 27 members of the House of Assembly, known as the G27, moved to impeach the embattled governor.
Before Tinubu’s pronouncement, which was sealed by both the Senate and House of Representatives, making up the National Assembly, the lawmakers said to be loyal to Nyesom Wike, Fubara’s predecessor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), had served the governor a fresh query indicating a fresh move at impeachment after the initial one in November 2023 failed to stick.
Apart from the reports that Fubara actually met with Tinubu in London in April, a more telling outing came out last week, when the governor was seen in a photograph, said to have been taken after another visit to the President at his home in Lagos, indicating the level of talks.
Benjamin Okaba, President of Ijaw National Congress (INC), the socio-political group representing Fubara’s ethnic Ijaw, confirmed Fubara’s move to the APC as part of the deal when he told Channels Television on Thursday that the defection would take place before June 12 – ceteris paribus – all things being equal.
The INC boss, a university professor, while justifying the move instead of Fubara staying back to fight on the basis of ideology, said: “There’s nothing wrong about that. At this point we must be realistic, and we must have an understanding of the Nigerian politics. We operate a ‘malutocracy.’ We don’t have political parties anymore, but platforms for political contestations.
“What we have are just platforms put together from people to transmit or oscillate from one place to another. If we have state governors and former vice presidential candidates of parties just moving on, to the extent that one of the governors said, If you don’t move with me, I will sack you.
“I had a conversation with a former state party chairman and I asked him, you have moved from PDP to this, and he said yes, I now asked him what is the first item in schedule this of your party, and he said he doesn’t know.
“What I’m trying to say is this, Fubara said he will do anything for peace in Rivers State. However, Nigerians should not interpret this as him planning to defect. Even tomorrow, Tinubu may decide to defect to PDP if he finds the party as a veritable platform.”
Vanguard, informed that Jonathan, had engaged the President in at least one telephone conversation on the need to reinstate the suspended governor on or before June 12 in the spirit of Democracy Day.
The report said that Wike, was not aware of Tinubu and Fubara’s meeting at his private home on Bourdillion Street, Ikoyi, Lagos State, quoting sources as saying: “The governor requested the unexpected visit,” implying that the former governor himself could lose out eventually.
It was another day of misery in Kwara State, when daredevil terrorists reportedly stormed Yashikira Community in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, and as has been the case in many of the attacks, abducting scores of residents including women and children.
But, apparently to register their authority, the gunmen, who were said to have operated for hours without challenge from the security operatives, were said to have torched the palace of the Emir.
The attackers, which reportedly occurred late Sunday night were said to have announced their presence through heavy firing and after storming the palace of the monarch during the period, set it on fire before whisking away their victims, but a similar attempt at the police station in the community, was repelled.
While some of the residents, narrated how the spent hours without resistance, leaving behind destruction and fear in the border community, another account said the villagers were caught unawares as the gunmen invaded the town under the cover of darkness.
However operatives made up of the police and military personnel, were said to have launched a manhunt immediately for the immediate rescue of the victims, including throwing a cordon in the area as part of the mission.
“The suspect offered ₦500 million to the SPU commander in an attempt to make the team stand down and allow him to contact his associates to move the consignment elsewhere. The offer was rejected immediately and properly documented for further investigation.”
These were the exact words of Olohundare Jimoh Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), with which he detailed how operatives of the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) scoffed at a N500million bribe to turn their eyes off the importation of a huge consignment of drugs imported into the country.
This was part of the details of a major breakthrough by the operatives after bursting a major drug trafficking syndicate in Lagos, which led to the seizure of suspected illicit drugs estimated at ₦7.8 billion and arresting several suspects, including the alleged kingpin.
In the operation, reportedly carried out by officers of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) in collaboration with divisional police detectives, the operatives, were said to have stormed a house in Mende, Maryland area of Lagos, following months of surveillance and intelligence gathering coordinated by the Zone 2 Headquarters.
The recovered drugs consisted of hundreds of bags of suspected Canadian Loud, allegedly stored in the residence of the prime suspect, Jimoh, said disclosing that the suspect was apprehended on May 19 after weeks of strategic monitoring by operatives.
Offering further details, he said the operation was executed with technical support and guidance from the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, alongside coordinated efforts between the SPU and divisional police teams.
Jimoh revealed that during the operation, the suspect allegedly attempted to bribe the SPU commander with ₦500 million to compromise the mission and allow the movement of the drug consignment.
The AIG described the development as a reflection of the renewed professionalism and operational discipline being entrenched in the Force under the current policing strategy.
He noted that the success of the operation underscored the importance of deploying specialized police units alongside conventional divisional teams in tackling organized crime.
According to him, the operation demonstrated the effectiveness of rapid containment strategies, intelligence-led policing, and professional conduct among the operatives involved in the raid.
“Rapid containment was achieved as the Special Protection Unit worked with divisional teams to secure the perimeter and prevent escape or interference with evidence.
“The operation was intelligence-driven, following months of surveillance and technical monitoring before the raid was carried out.
“The immediate rejection and documentation of the bribe attempt also reflect the standard expected from redeployed personnel at the divisional level,” Jimoh added.
Reacting to the development, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, commended the operatives for their professionalism, saying the success of the operation validated the ongoing redeployment of personnel to divisions and units across Lagos and Ogun states.
The IGP noted: “Policing must be close to the people, and our specialized units must work side by side with divisional teams on the ground.
“The professionalism shown by the SPU commander in rejecting a ₦500 million bribe and following due procedure is the standard we expect. It shows that when you put your best foot forward at the grassroots, you get results and restore public trust.”
Disu further assured that the Force leadership would continue to reward integrity while holding officers accountable to the highest ethical standards.
Police authorities said exhibits recovered during the operation have been properly documented and will be tendered in court. The suspects are currently in custody while investigations continue to track down other members of the drug trafficking network.
Slavery is a wound on the memory of the Universal Church, Pope Leo XIV, said on Monday, as he issued a fresh apology over the participation of the the Catholic Church in the centuries-long delay in condemning slavery.
The pontiff stressed the position of the church after his predecessors had offered similar apologies, said: “For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”
Writing in a major text that warned about “new forms of slavery” behind the digital economy, the joined John Paul II, who denounced slave trade in 1992 before issuing a sweeping request for forgiveness for historical injustices in 2000 and Pope Francis who also repeatedly denounced contemporary forms of slavery.
In his own vein, Pope Leo, pointed out that the Church owned slaves until the Middle Ages and it also advised European sovereigns on how to justify the enslavement of “infidels.”
He stressed in “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), a document focused primarily on the rise of artificial intelligence, that it was only in the 19th century that “a formal, absolute and universal condemnation of slavery was clearly articulated.”
Hear him: “It is true that past events cannot be judged anachronistically, as though the moral criteria that matured over time had always been available. Yet neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery. This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached.”
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