May 29: Remove Your Aircraft From Abuja Airport, FAAN Orders Airlines

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has ordered airline operators to relocate their aircraft from the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) Abuja, to alternate airports.

FAAN, in a circular dated May 8 and issued on Tuesday to operators, stated that the May 29 presidential inauguration is a high security event, which safety and security must be enhanced.

“This is to inform you of a need to temporarily relocate your aircraft to alternate airports due to upcoming Presidential inauguration slated for May 29th 2023.”

The circular with reference number: FAAN/ABJ/NAIA /RGM/NC/AM/1000/VOl-1 signed by the Regional General Manager (North Central), Airport, Kabir Mohammed, stated that “the Presidential inauguration is a high security event, and in order to ensure the safety and security of parties involved, it has become necessary to temporarily relocate all aircraft parked at the GAT to alternate airports.

“To this end, you are kindly requested to relocate your aircraft on or before 22 May, 2023.”

https://leadership.ng/may-29-remove-your-aircraft-from-abuja-airport-faan-orders-airlines/

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Adeleke Vs Oyetola: Supreme Court Delivers Judgement Today

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke and his predecessor, Gboyega Oyetola will know their fate in the controversy trailing the outcome of the July 16, 2022 governorship election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the poll, saying he polled 403,371 votes to sack Oyetola who was the then incumbent with 375,027.

Oyetola and his party – the All Progressives Congress (APC) had alleged irregularities in the polls and challenged Adeleke’s victory in the Election Petitions Tribunal.

Respite came for the former governor on January 27, 2023, as Justice Tertse Kume who gave the majority judgement upturned Adeleke’s victory and declared Oyetola the winner of the poll.

Justice Kume held that Oyetola scored the majority lawful votes of 314,931 against Adeleke’s 290,266.

Not satisfied with the judgement Displeased, Adeleke and the PDP headed to the Court of Appeal, which on March 24 nullified the tribunal judgment and returned Adeleke as the winner.

Aggrieved with the Appeal Court verdict, Oyetola and the PDP headed for the Supreme Court, which held the matter on Monday and fixed judgment for today (Tuesday).

Channels Television which monitored the sitting of the apex court panel on Monday reports that the parties adopted their briefs and addressed the court after which the panel announced Tuesday for judgment.

However, both the ruling PDP and the opposition APC are hopeful that the highest court in the land will rule in their favour to strengthen their grip on the South-Western state.

https://www.channelstv.com/2023/05/09/osun-election-adeleke-oyetola-to-know-fate-today-as-supreme-court-delivers-judgement/

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INEC, APC, Bola Tinubu Footdrag Over Atiku's Request For Live Proceedings

On Tuesday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) appeared before the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja to respond to the Peoples Democratic Party’s motion for “an order directing the Court’s Registry and the parties on modalities for admission of media practitioners and their equipment into the courtroom.”

Chris Uche SAN, the PDP’s counsel, informed the court that he filed his pre-hearing information sheet on April 27 and has adopted the replies contained therein.

However, he requested an urgent ruling on his motion for live transmission dated May 5, saying that he had served all respondents but had yet to receive their reply.

“We urge the court to permit the televising of the proceedings, especially at this critical moment in the nation,” Mr Uche pleaded.

However, INEC’s lawyer, Abubakar Mahmoud SAN, responded in open court to Mr Uche, stating he would only answer after speaking with his client.

“We will, of course, be needing time to respond, we were served yesterday, we need to take instructions from our client and respond appropriately,” he said.

Chief Tomi Aliyu SAN, who represented Bola Tinubu, said he was planning to answer the case in accordance with the court’s guidelines.

Aside from that, he requested the court to dismiss or strike down the PDP’s plea.

Lateef Fagbemi SAN, who represented the APC, verified receipt of the PDP’s motion for live transmission.

“My immediate response is that you will hear from us within the time allowed by the rules of court,” Mr Fagbemi said.

However, Mr Uche urged the court that in the spirit of collaboration already agreed upon by the parties, the respondents should serve any motions they have on him immediately in order to save time.

Mr Uche stressed that if the pre-hearing process was to be shortened, the respondents must react to his petition soon.

However, Mr Fagbemi stated that he will not be forced to violate court rules in order to answer to procedures served on him within the time limit.

“Nothing can be done outside the rules,” Mr Fagbemi said in response to Mr Uche.

As a result, the five-member panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani deferred the case until May 11 (2 p.m.) for further pre-hearing.

He urged counsels to prioritise the matters they want to be resolved at this point.

The judge ruled that the PDP’s demand for live streaming of hearings will be considered with all other applications.

https://gazettengr.com/tinubu-apc-inec-foot-drag-on-atikus-request-for-live-broadcast-of-tribunal-proceedings/

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Lionel Messi Heads To Saudi Arabia Next Season In ' A Huge Deal'

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi will play in Saudi Arabia next season under a "huge" deal, a source close to the negotiations told AFP on Tuesday.

"Messi is a done deal. He will play in Saudi Arabia next season," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity and without naming the club.

"The contract is exceptional. It's huge. We are just finalising some small details," added the source, who is not authorised to speak to media.

Asked about the comments, Messi's current club Paris Saint-Germain simply noted he remains under contract until June 30.

A separate PSG source said: "If the club had wanted to renew his contract, it would have been done earlier."

The 35-year-old World Cup winner was suspended by Qatari-owned PSG last week for an unauthorised trip to Saudi, where he is a tourism ambassador.

Messi's expected arrival in the oil-rich kingdom follows in the footsteps of his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr in a massive deal in January.

Ronaldo's agreement to June 2025 is said to total more than 400 million euros ($439million), making him the world's highest paid athlete according to Forbes.

Both deals are being bankrolled by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), one of the world's biggest sovereign wealth funds with more than $620 billion in assets, the source said.

"The negotiations didn't take as much time as the ones with Ronaldo. As we now know the recipe to contract world-class players," said the source.

"It's Saudi Arabia that brought him not a specific club. The Money comes from one place -- PIF."

Ronaldo's arrival has not had the impact Al Nassr would have hoped for on the pitch.

They have lost top spot in the Saudi Pro League table and are out of the running in the King's Cup and Super Cup.

French coach Rudi Garcia departed in April.

- PSG protesters -

Messi, who turns 36 in June, has had two lacklustre seasons in Paris after a glorious era at Barcelona where he won four Champions League and 10 La Liga titles, and is still worshipped by the fans.

The record seven-time world player of the year, joining a mouth-watering attack featuring Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, scored just 11 goals in his first season as he helped PSG to a routine Ligue 1 title.

But PSG have got no closer to a coveted maiden Champions League victory, bowing out twice in the last 16 even with the illustrious Argentine in the line-up.

Frustrations boiled over last week when black-clad PSG protesters let off flares and sang hostile chants targeting the underperforming Messi, Neymar and Italian midfielder Marco Verratti.

The angry scenes contrasted with Messi's career-crowning moment in December, when he led Argentina to a breathless World Cup final victory over Mbappe and France in Doha to fill the biggest gap in his resume.

Qatar's emir draped him in a traditional bisht robe at the trophy ceremony, a reminder of the fossil-fuel riches pouring into football and Messi's bank account via PSG.

However, Messi is also a highly paid tourism ambassador for Qatar's neighbours and sometime rivals Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter that is attempting to diversify its largely single-stream economy.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/messis-move-saudi-done-deal-095609047.html

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Soyinka: I didn't Meet Peter Obi For Reconciliation, Rather He Apologised

I Never Met Peter Obi For Reconciliation, Rather He Apologised Several Times For The Misconduct Of His Followers —Soyinka

Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, on Monday, noted that the visit of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, to his residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State, was not for “reconciliation” but an apology visit for the misconduct of his (Peter Obi’s) followers.

Soyinka in a statement obtained by SaharaReporters titled, “A visitation and the Allure of 'Reconciliation'” said Obi’s meeting with him was where “discussions were frank and creative.”

Earlier, the LP candidate had also confirmed meeting with the Nobel Laureate. He was silent on the issues discussed, but rather said the visit was "intended to erase the needless misconceptions about the relationship between the great icon and the OBIdient family."

Soyinka, in his release on Monday, clarified the visit, noting that it was to offer an apology.

He said, “Before it gains traction and embarks on a life of its own, I wish to state clearly that the word “Reconciliation”, inserted into some reports of Peter Obi’s visit to me yesterday, Sunday, May 7. is a most inappropriate, and diversionary invocation. Let me clarify: I know the entity known as Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party. I can relate to him. I know and can relate to the Labour Party on whose platform he contested elections.

”There are simply no issues to reconcile between those two entities and myself. However, I do not know, and I am unable to relate to something known as the “Obidient” or “Obidient Family”. Thus, albeit in a different vein, any notion of Reconciliation, or even relations – positive, negative or indifferent - with such a spectral emanation is simply grasping at empty air.

“During that meeting, attended by two other individuals only, the word “Reconciliation” was never bruited, neither in itself nor in any other form. It simply did not arise. By contrast, there were expressions of “burden of leadership” “responsibility”, “apology”, “pleading”, “formal dissociation from the untenable”,,,.all the way to the “tragic ascendancy of ethnic cleavage”, especially under such ironic, untenable circumstances. Discussions were frank, and creative. The notion of Reconciliation was clearly N/A – None Applicable. It was never raised.

“The following should be understood, but never underestimated. What remains ineradicable from that weekend of orgiastic rave in the social media was the opening up of the dark, putrid recesses in the national psyche that we like to pretend do not exist. It invited – into minds seeking a grasp on reality - gruesome variations on images from Dante’s Purgatorio. A fathomless pit was exposed, at the bottom of which one glimpsed a throng of the damned, writhing in competitive lust for the largest of the gangrenous ladles in a diabolical broth. To peek over the edge of that pit for a prolonged spell was to turn giddy, with a risk of falling into the tureen of inhuman pus. To attempt to navigate one’s way, however gingerly, along a mat spread across the infernal abyss, is an invitation to moral suicide.

“For the serious minded, I call attention to essays I have offered on the theme of Reconciliation based on Truth, and the ethical imperative of Restitution. There will be further elaborations forthcoming in DEMOCRACY PRIMER III – Bookcraft’s INTERVENTION series, now brought forward for publication on June 12, the watershed extorted from the current regime as the nation’s Democracy Day,

“If, from here on, I now comply with entreaties from several valued, genuinely concerned directions, and ignore new provocations, however vile, it is only because I also approve of Mohammed Ali’s strategy of Rope-a-Dope, where blind menace is left flailing hopelessly at the disdainful manifest of Truth.” 

https://saharareporters.com/2023/05/08/i-never-met-peter-obi-reconciliation-rather-he-apologised-several-times-misconduct-his

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Declare Your Spouse, Children’s Assets, CSO Tells Tinubu, Others

A civil society organisation, Fixing The Future, has demanded that the President-elect, Bola Tinubu; Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, incoming governors and other public officials should declare their assets ahead of their inauguration on May 29.

The group noted that spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 of the public officials are also mandated by the Code of Conduct Bureau Act to declare their assets.

The FTF said the Assets Declaration Compliance Survey it conducted revealed that “about 94 per cent of public officials in Nigeria do not comply with the provisions of Section 15 (1) (c) of the CCB and Code of Conduct Tribunal Acts on full disclosure of assets and liabilities.”

The Executive Director of the FTF, Stanley Ekpa, at a press conference in Abuja, on Monday, emphasised that politicians should ensure full compliance with the provisions of the extant laws on assets declaration.

Ekpa said, “We want to draw the attention of public officials to the fact that the law requires all public officials, their spouses, and their unmarried children under the age of 21 to declare their assets and liabilities, in the asset declaration forms as prescribed by the Code of Conduct Bureau.

“The cost of corruption is staggering. of the approximately $13tn that governments spend on public projects across Africa, more than 45 per cent is lost to contract corruption. Data from the African Union shows that Nigeria loses over $7bn to corruption annually. At the continental level, it is estimated at $140bn, a figure that is equivalent to the GDP of all but five countries in Africa.

“PwC projects that corruption in Nigeria could cost up to 37 per cent of GDP by 2030 if it is not curtailed. As we all know, corruption drains public finances, affects efficiency in governance and lowers standard of living.

“To curtail corruption in public service in Nigeria, public officials must observe and obey the provisions of the extant law on full disclosure of their assets and liabilities before and during their tenure in office. They should also declare the assets of their spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 as prescribed by the Code of Conduct Bureau Act.”

Ekpa said beyond the press conference, the group would also hold a national symposium on Asset Declaration and Declared Asset Verification, in partnership with all relevant stakeholders.

Source: https://punchng.com/Declare-your-spouse-childrens-assets-CSO-tells-Tinubu-others

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Ooni Asks Atiku, Obi Supporters To Embrace Tinubu's Government.

Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife, has urged all Nigerians, irrespective of party affiliations, to support the government of Bola Tinubu, the president-elect.

The monarch addressed supporters of Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), while speaking in Lagos.

He was hosting a delegation sent by William Ruto, the president of Kenya, at his Lagos residence.

Present at the event were Francis Koskie, Kenya’s chief of staff; Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Group; Harry Ebohen, CEO of Propetrol; Dapo Abiodun, Governor of Ogun state; and Kunmi Demuren, a fintech executive.

The delegation met with Tinubu for a discussion on how Africa can unite to pursue collective development.

Ooni said it would be best for all Nigerians to be invested in the country’s path forward with Tinubu, regardless of political affiliations.

He said putting Nigeria on the right path to greatness should be a collective effort as the election has come and gone.

“As the presidential inauguration approaches, I beseech you all, young and old, Obidients and Atikulates, hopeful and weary, amiable and passionate, to lay down your arms,” Ooni said.

“There is no reason to waste time looking back; all we have is today and the future. Now is the time to embrace our diversity and uniqueness.

“We may differ in opinions and approaches to achieving a better Nigeria, but we all want a nation we can be proud of. Let us come together to support the vision of Asiwaju Gbogbo Ile Oodua.”

After meeting with the delegation, Tinubu said he was ready to partner with other business leaders in his quest to transform Nigeria’s economy.

He said one of his priorities has been to transition Nigeria from a consuming economy to producing one.

https://www.thecable.ng/no-reason-to-waste-time-ooni-asks-atiku-obi-supporters-to-embrace-tinubus-govt/amp

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