Police Detain House On The Rock's Pastor Uche Aigbe For Preaching With AK-47

 The Intelligence Response Team, Force Intelligence Bureau, Garki, Abuja has detained the presiding pastor of House on the Rock in Abuja, Pastor Uche Aigbe, for carrying an AK-47 while preaching in the church on Sunday, February 12.

Aigbe caused a stir in the church on Sunday when he came in bearing the weapon in his hand. The FCT police command commenced an investigation this morning and discovered that the weapon was handed over to him by one Inspector Musa Audu who was on an assignment in the church,

When interrogated, Audu told the police that he only offered the weapon to Pastor Aigbe because he wanted to use it for illustration. The Commissioner of Police, Federal Capital Territory Command, Sadiq Abubakar, has made a recommendation to the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, to dismiss Inspector Audu.

Remove Lagos REC, Cancel Oluomo's Contract, LP Urges INEC

 The Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council on Monday says the unholy alliance between the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Chairman of Lagos State Parks Management Committee, Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, is an indication that the country’s electoral umpire is not ready for the forthcoming general election.

This is even as the PCC called of the redeployment of the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Lagos, Olusegun Agbaje, saying his recent statements reeked of sectional bias and partisanship.

The concerns were raised by the Director General of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Akin Osuntokun, on Monday in Abuja.

Osuntokun told journalists that when the news filtered in that INEC had engaged the services of the Lagos State Park and Garage Management Committee led by MC Oluomo, who is a known loyalist of the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, to distribute sensitive election materials at the elections, they didn’t take it seriously.

He said, “We initially took the allegation with a pinch of salt, believing that INEC was conscious of red lines in these elections and that common sense and logic would not permit such arbitrariness.

“However, as days passed by, it became clear to us that the news report was correct, especially as the explanation given by INEC National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, does not go far enough in refuting this association.”

According to him, the provocative action of INEC in entrusting the conveyance of election materials into the hands of political party agents is reprehensible and unprecedented in the annals of Nigeria’s electoral history.

The political scientist stated that he found the insensitivity of the electoral body to the public outcry on the glaring partisan engagement of MC Oluomo as a major logistics contractor in Lagos quite disturbing, an act that he said is capable of jeopardizing the election operation.

“In addition, recent public statements by the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Lagos State, Olusegun Agbaje, bordering on sectional bias and resentment, have shown overwhelming partisanship on his side, and therefore, he cannot be trusted with the onerous task of conducting an unbiased election in a volatile state like Lagos.

“We recall further, with apprehension, that the heavily criticised 2018 Osun State governorship rerun election, wherein Mr. Gboyega Oyetola was controversially declared the winner to the dismay of the populace, including international observers, was also conducted by this same Olusegun Agbaje.

“It is therefore, against the above backdrop, that we demand an immediate cancellation of the logistics contract between INEC and MC Oluomo.

“We also want an immediate redeployment and blacklisting from any election duty, anywhere, of the Lagos REC, Olusegun Agbaje, whose recent actions have raised doubts about his suitability as an election supervisor.

“There are far too many capable Nigerians of good professional and ethical standard available within INEC, to conduct an acceptable election, than to run the risk of any unpopular pre-determined outcome, which his conduct, strongly suggests,” he said.

Southwest Leaders Of Labor Party Speak After Decamping To APC

 The Southwest LP leaders gave the verdict shortly before they collapsed the entire party’s structure into the ruling All Progressives Congress.

They said the LP was not in the race to win any election but to garner money.

Leader of the party in the Southwest, Omotoso Banji, who led other leaders to join the All Progressives Congress(APC), described the LP as a shaky platform.

Other leaders of LP that defected were the party’s chairman in Osun State Tunde Omotunde and his Ekiti State counterpart,  Alabi Adeeyo; Ondo Secretary of LP, Omowumi Olosola, Stella Alabi from Lagos State amongst others.

Omotoso said leaders of Southwest LP decided to quit the party because it was not viable and lacked the clout to win the 2023 elections.

He said: “Labour Party presently is a shaky platform for anybody to contest, Labour Party is a failure platform for anybody to contest, I don’t know Peter Obi and I’m less concerned about him but I’m concerned about those celebrating the Labour Party mediocre within Nigeria.

“In view of this, we leaders of the Labour Party in the South-West have decided to leave the party because we have a lot of mediocre there and what they are looking for is money, they are not ready to serve Nigeria.

“Labour Party is not ready to serve Nigeria and that is why we decided to leave the party and come together with the APC. I collapsed the structures of the party in Ekiti state. So, I don’t know how the Obi can come now and embarrass us here in the South-West.

“We are the pillars of that party in the South-West, and to the glory of God Almighty, we have pulled down the structures today. I was so surprised to hear from the DG of the party, Akin Osuntokun, we don’t know him in Labour Party, Akin Osuntokun is representing his own personal interest.

“So, it is better for you, Akin Osuntokun to come back to the APC and work for Bola Tinubu. I’m here to talk to you Yorubas, to please support Tinubu because he is our own. If you don’t vote for Tinubu, you’re a bastard to Yoruba land.

“We are leaving and collapsing the Labour Party structures in the entire South-West through Senator Dayo Adeyeye into APC. Nobody born of good parents in Yoruba land that will bypass Tinubu and vote for another party.”

Omotunde said they decided not to waste their time in the LP again.

“They are not after winning the election but to share the money. Politics started at the unit level. To win an election, you must start from the unit. Obi cannot go anywhere. There is no way the LP will fly. Asiwaju Tinubu will win this election.”

Receiving the defectors, National Coordinator of SWAGA 2023, Dayo Adeyeye, however, charged them and others APC members across the South-West to go back to their various polling units and canvass votes for Tinubu.

According to Adeyeye: “Tinubu is a man of passion, action and vision, who is ready to transform this country and whether they like it or not, Tinubu is going to win.”
Adeyeye urged the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, to heed advised by the Council of State on the current new naira note scarcity.

The former LP leaders and members tore their membership cards.

Courts Reject Old Naira Notes, Turn Lawyers, Litigants Back

 There was pandemonium on Monday at the high courts in Lagos State as lawyers and litigants were unable to file their court processes using the old naira notes for payment.

Officials at the high court registries rejected the old naira notes, saying banks were no longer accepting them as legal tender.

The development brings a new twist to the lingering naira crisis the country is grappling with.

Account officers at both the Lagos Island and Ikeja high court registries insisted that new naira notes should be paid by lawyers and litigants, explaining that their attempts to pay old naira notes collected from court users into the government account were denied by banks.


A staff at the Ikeja High Court registry, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorised to speak on the matter, said they received a directive from their boss to stop collecting old notes because when they took old notes collected from court users to four different banks, namely FCMB, Polaris, UBA, and Fidelity, they rejected the old money.

The court official noted that, henceforth, lawyers and litigants must come with only the new naira notes.

One of the affected lawyers, who spoke to The PUNCH on the phone but didn’t want his name in print, said the registry at Osborne Division of Lagos High Court rejected the old notes and turned him back from filling his processes.


“Non-acceptance of old notes would be a catastrophe to the nation. The highest court in the land, Supreme Court, order is being flouted with impunity. It is obvious that the CBN, especially the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, is ready to impose a state of anarchy on Nigeria by directing banks against the order of the apex court.”

The Supreme Court had on February 8, 2023, made an interim order, restraining the CBN from going ahead with the enforcement of its February 10, deadline for the use of the old naira note.

A seven-member panel of the court, led by John Okoro, gave the order of interim injunction amid an acute scarcity of the newly redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 currency notes.

Last December, the CBN introduced the new notes amid efforts to fight corruption, terrorism, counterfeiting and related crimes.

However, Nigerians have had a hard time getting the new notes amid scarcity and rising tension across the country.

FG Orders Closure Of Polytechnics For General Elections

 The federal government has ordered the closure of all polytechnics in the country ahead of the general election scheduled to begin on 25th February, IGBERETV reports.

The directive was given by the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, barely a week after the National Universities Commission (NUC) ordered the closure of all universities until after the elections.

The Minister directed that all academic activities be stopped between February 22 and March 14. Idris Bugaje, Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), was asked to convey the directive to rectors and provosts of all polytechnics.

It read; 

"In view of concerns expressed on the security of staff, students, and properties of our respective institutions, the minister of education, Adamu Adamu, has, following extensive consultations with the relevant security agencies, directed that all polytechnics be shut down.

"And academic activities will be suspended between Wednesday, Feb.22 and Tues. March 14, 2023."

If He Is Not Using Religion, It Is Tribe - Adeyanju Mocks Obi's "Strategy"

 From Alaba market to Computer village to Ladipo market' ; Deji Adeyanju mocks Peter Obi campaign strategy calls it 'Sectional campaign'

.

Sectional campaign. From Alaba market to Computer village. If he is not using religion, it is tribe. Imagine Atiku visiting Lagos and moving from one Hausa community to another.

https://twitter.com/adeyanjudeji/status/1625133579205238797?t=kG19aFAmoh_xqfGMGk5UyA&s=19

The guy also went to Ladipo market, any other place where people predominantly from a particular ethnic group are . Na wa ooo! Who are the advisers of this guy? Let’s even forget about the ethnic campaign angle, why waste so much time campaigning to your supporter base?

We Are Still Receiving Old Notes - EcoBank

 Ecobank Nigeria has informed their numerous customers to visit any of their branched and deposit their old notes that they are still accepting them 

We are still receiving old Naira notes.

Visit any of our branches to deposit your old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.

#ecobankthepanafricanbank