Man Who Was Shot During The Abeokuta Protest Is Alive

 The boy who got shot during the protests yesterday in Abeokuta is alive and responding well to treatment.

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun paid him a visit today at FMC Abeokuta and he pledged to take care of his medical bills.

Omokri: Obi Couldn't Reduce Poverty In Anambra Yet Wants To Reduce It Nationally

 Peter Obi that didn’t reduce poverty in Anambra is promising to reduce it nationally. If Bola Tinubu makes that promise, we can take him serious because of what he achieved in Lagos. Which Obidient in his right mind will relocate from Lagos to Anambra? Not even Obi!

Obasanjo: I Hope Nothing Tampers With 2023 Elections

 Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is optimistic that nothing would interfere with the successful conduct of the 2023 general elections scheduled for February 25 and March 11.

Obasanjo’s comment is coming amid fear that the general elections might be postponed due to the ongoing crisis occasioned by the scarcity of fuel and new naira notes.

The former President spoke when he played host to the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) at his Penthouse residence located within the premises of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The ADC national leaders were led by their Chairman, Dr. Mani Ibrahim Ahmed; the National Chairman of the party, Prof. Ralph Nwosu and a former presidential aspirant of the ADC, Chukwuka Monye.

According to Obasanjo, Nigeria is in an interesting period, urging Nigerians to take the elections with all the seriousness it deserves as being done in developed nations.

The Balogun Owu charged Nigerians to strive towards giving their best to ensure the general elections hold.

Stating that the attention of the global community is now focused on the 2023 polls in Nigeria, he charged Nigerians, as main stakeholders to contribute towards the success of the elections.

“We are in an interesting period in Nigeria. In less than three weeks, we will be going to the polls; well, I hope nothing will intervene against that. In less than three weeks, we will be electing a leader that will pilot the affairs of Nigeria for the next four years from May.

“I have been in Togo, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire from the beginning of the week; and they are as concerned about what happens in Nigeria as every Nigerian should be.

MC Oluomo: Remove Lagos REC Now, Phrank Shaibu Tells INEC

 The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Lagos, Olusegun Agbaje, over allegations of being partisan and compromised.

The call is contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, which noted the insistence of the REC to make use of the Lagos State Park and Garage Management Committee led by Musiliu Akinsanya, also known as MC Oluomo, a member of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council.

The statement dismissed Agbaje’s excuse that INEC would not be able to use the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Road Transport Employees Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) because they had been barred in Lagos State.

According to the statement, “The law is clear that only a court has the power to proscribe an organisation. That was why the Federal Government had to go to court to proscribe the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN).

“What Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu did in Lagos State was to arbitrarily announce a ban on the activities of the NURTW because the organisation suspended MC Oluomo, the APC’s henchman. INEC must not promote illegality by working with a partisan organisation which is filled with APC members that are working for Bola Tinubu.

“How could such people be given sensitive materials to be distributed across Lagos on election day? This has already undermined the possibility of a free and fair election. INEC must sanction Mr Agbaje for insisting on using MC Oluomo’s committee despite protests from members of the public.”

The Atiku spokesman recalled that Agbaje was the REC who superintended over what he called “the fraudulent 2018 governorship election rerun in Osun State which even the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union discredited”.

The statement further said: “Recall that it was Mr. Agbaje who superintended over the fraudulent and violent Osun governorship rerun which produced Gboyega Oyetola as governor. US Consul General, John Bray was spot on when he stated, ‘We witnessed what appeared to be incidents of interference and intimidation of voters and heard reports of harassment or party monitors, journalists and domestic observers.”

APC to him, even election monitoring groups like the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) dismissed the Osun rerun as “fraudulent and anti-democratic”.
Furthermore, it said: “Unfortunately, it is the same Agbaje, who could not effectively supervise a rerun in a few polling units that has been given the task of superintending the election in Nigeria’s largest state with over seven million registered voters. The election is doomed to fail if INEC doesn’t do the right thing by removing him.

“We remind the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, that this will be his last general election before the end of his tenure. We ask him to protect his legacy by removing Mr Segun Agbaje if he insists that MC Oluomo must be the one to handle sensitive INEC materials. This election must not only be fair but it must be seen to be fair as well.”

The statement pointed out that as of Wednesday morning, over 17,000 Nigerians had signed a petition on Change.Org titled, ‘Remove Olusegun Agbaje as the Lagos INEC Commissioner for Incompetence and Bigotry’.
The statement said Agbaje had also been criticised in the last one week over his comments on the inability of a large number of non-indigenes in Lagos to vote. 
The statement observed that while explaining the development on Channels Television, Agbaje stated that people of the southeast migrated to Lagos and engaged in double registration, hence their inability to get their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC).
The statement said: “It is disheartening that the Lagos REC, Mr Segun Agbaje, has begun to show open partisanship. We find it curious that it is the local governments considered as opposition strongholds that were unable to get their PVCs.
“Historians and analysts have described this 2023 general election as a watershed. The destiny of over 200 million people is at stake. INEC says it is ready to deliver a credible and free election but one weak link in the chain of command can undermine the entire process.

“We call on Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to remove the Lagos REC, Mr. Agbaje, as his credibility is seriously in doubt. Again, we call on INEC not to use the MC Oluomo-led partisan organisation to distribute ballot papers on election day,” the statement declared.

Gov Adeleke Inspects Osun House In Abuja abandoned for 12 years by APC

 OSUN HOUSE: After 12 Years Of Abandonment By APC Govts, Adeleke Inspects Multi-Billion High Rise Project In Abuja •Summons Contractor, Litigants

Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has expressed displeasure at the Osun House project abandoned for 12 years by the previous government of All Progressives Congress (APC).

Inspecting the multi-billion naira high rise building located at the Central Area Abuja beside Abia House, Governor expressed shock at the dilapidated state of House, wondering why such a revenue yielding project can be abandoned for so long.

Accompanied by the Chief of Staff, Alhaji Kazeem Akinleye and other top government functionaries, the Governor directed an urgent meeting with the contractor for immediate briefing on the way forward.

“You must urgently call a meeting of the contractor and anyone with involvement on the project. We cannot allow this huge investment to rot away. Our administration will ensure that Osun state completed the project under my tenure. When.completed, this promises to yield a strong stream.of income for our dear state”, the Governor posited.

The project, which was abandoned by successive APC governments, was the initiative of former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola

Seun Kuti Accuses Peter Okoye Of Calling Him A Tribalist

 Below is Seun Kuti post on Instagram where he accused Peter of calling him a tribalist.

I'm just saying.We are going around in circles.We must accept that fact so we can take a proper step forward. No be person Wey him family deh fight because dem marry Yoruba woman wan tell me about tribalism.

Dapo Abiodun Visits Victim Of Abeokuta Protest

 This morning, we paid a visit to yesterday's protest victim, who is currently being treated at the Federal Medical Centre, FMC, Idi-Aba, Abeokuta.

We sympathised with him and loved ones over the unfortunate incident and also made a pledge to foot all his medical bills.

Once more, we're appealing to our young ones to go about their daily activities without recourse to social unrest, as we keep doing our best over the lingering situation. We are hopeful that all of this will be a thing of the past as earlier promised.