Politics

Fake voters cards are sweeping through Port Harcourt and other towns in the South South ahead of 2019 election. Fake or cloned Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) have swept through Rivers and a few other States in the South of Nigeria, Pulse can report.Residents of Port Harcourt, Asaba and Warri have been sending images of cloned PVCs across to our newsroom.Ekanem, a Port Harcourt resident, alleges that the fake PVCs are part of a broader plan by the opposition APC in Rivers to rig the next governorship and presidential votes. “It’s the APC that is mass producing them and distributing them all over the place”, Ekanem alleges, without providing that much of a proof to back his claim. “They want to take back Rivers by force but God will not allow that to happen”, he added.Wike says APC loves to rigRivers, a PDP controlled State, is governed by Barrister Nyesom Wike who has had public spats with his predecessor Rotimi Amaechi, a minister in the President Buhari cabinet and chieftain of the APC. Wike often alleges that the APC government at the center has perfected plans to rig elections in Rivers. “The plan of INEC and its cohorts to transplant the Edo State rigging model in Rivers State will fail, the people of the state will resist them. “Anyone planning to steal our mandate will be resisted, nobody can intimidate us, those having such plan will rig themselves into the water,’’ Wike had said in the build up to legislative elections in his State in 2016.Pulse contacted APC spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi for a response but he wasn’t immediately available for comments.’Fake PVCs won’t change anything’However, Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi told Pulse that anyone cloning PVCs is wasting their time. “Anybody with a fake PVC is just wasting his time. They can’t use fake PVC to vote. It’s impossible. I don’t know how the fake PVC came about. I don’t know who…I mean, this is the first time I’m hearing about fake PVC. “If the PVC is not given by INEC, you cannot use it. I can assure you of that. Because our smart card reader will expose it. And I’m sure that whoever has a fake PVC will not even have the courage to vote on election day because he’s going to be caught and handed over to the police”, Oyekanmi said. Nigerians will head to the polling units to elect political leaders in 2019.The presidential and National Assembly elections have been slated for February 16, 2019, while elections for State governors, State house of assembly representatives and council representatives will take place on March 2, 2019.

He said the party may be in grave danger if it fails to implement its manifesto before the 2019 general elections. Kogi state lawmaker, Senator Dino Melaye, has accused the ruling All Progressives’ Congress (APC) of failing to fulfill its promises to Nigerians because it is disorganised.The lawmaker representing Kogi West said this while speaking during an interview he posted on his Instagram account (@dinomelaye) on Thursday, April 19, 2018.He said the party may be in grave danger if it fails to implement its manifesto before the 2019 general elections.He said, “So far, APC has not taken charge in implementing the manifesto they promised Nigerians. The party is not organised or showing capacity and capability. “I do hope that in 2019, what we sold to Nigerians is the manifesto and the ideology of the party, but the party has taken the backseat. “In 2018, I do expect that the party will take her rightful place in pushing government to implement the manifestos that was sold to the people. If we don’t do that, there’s a grave danger.”During the same interview, he also said that Nigerians who sell their votes to politicians during election periods deserve the sort of poor leadership they eventually get.”People collect N500, N1000 on election day to vote a politician. That act of collecting the N500 and N1000 is greedy. You, the electorate, who monetised your conscience in electing your leaders are practicing greediocracy.”The politician who purchased the conscience of the people is greedy.”The means to getting power determines what you do in power. You cannot see a man who uses very crooked criminal means of getting to power becoming passionate about the people,” he said.

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Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, says it is important for the Federal Government to regconise the fact that the youths are the nation’s greatest asset.
He said this in a Facebook post on Thursday, apparently in reaction to the comments made by President Muhammadu Buhari about the youths.
READ ALSO: ‘We Are Not Lazy’, Nigerian Youths Reply Buhari
In a video, the President had said that many of the youths below the age of 30 were uneducated, but waiting for everything to be done for them, just because Nigeria is an oil-rich country.
Atiku, on his part, said he would never refer to the youths as people who sit and do nothing, stressing that they are all hardworking.
“I should know, I have thousands of youths working for me all over the country who have been the backbone of our success.
“I’ve always said oil is not Nigeria’s greatest asset; our greatest asset is our youth who created Nollywood out of nothing and an entertainment industry that is second to none in Africa,” he stated.
The former presidential candidate noted further that Nigerian youths are charting new frontiers and creating a huge technology industry on their own.
He added that their entrepreneurial spirit, work ethic, and creative abilities are things of pride that should be applauded, encouraged and nurtured by the government.
Meanwhile, Many of the reactions to the President’s comments have been critical, some of whom accused him of describing the youths as lazy and being humourous with national pride.
However, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina, in a statement on Thursday, accused mischief makers of twisting President Buhari’s comments.
“There is no way President Buhari, father of the Nigerian nation in every sense of the word, who equally has biological children of his own in the youths age bracket, pass a vote of no confidence on all youths.
“It can only exist in the imagination of those who play what the President has described as ‘irresponsible politics’ with everything,” Adesina said.
The post Nigeria’s Greatest Asset Is Our Youth – Atiku appeared first on Channels Television.

 
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, Shehu Sani, has alleged the thugs that invade the National Assembly carting away with the mace got help from persons within Senate.
He described the incident as an act of ‘collusion’.
“If it is not collusion then what should we call it?
“As far as I am concerned they went in and the securities simply melted away, try entering the National Assembly and see the security checks you face”, he insisted that it was collusion.
The Senator made this known on Thursday where he appeared as a guest on Sunrise Daily.
His comment comes after unidentified persons invaded the Senate Chambers and disrupted the ongoing proceedings.
The invaders snatched the symbol of authority which is the mace thereby taking it away.
But the Senator lamented that such activities took place because of the lack of adequate security in the National Assembly which makes them dependent on the other arms of government like the police or DSS for security.
He insisted that “If we have our own security that would not have happened”.
He also advised the Executive arm of government that “if it could happen to the Senate, it can also happen to the Executive one day”.
Following the incident, the National Assembly gave the Police and the DSS an ultimatum to recover the stolen mace.
However, less than 24 hours the police recovered the mace and returned it to the National Assembly.
 
 
 
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PDP National Chairman, Mr Uche Secondus, speaks at an event in Abuja on March 26, 2018.
 
The National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party Uche Secondus has assured aspirants and members of the Party in Ekiti State that the forthcoming May 8 governorship Primary will not be compromised in favour of any of the three screened aspirants.
Mr Secondus who led members of the National Working Committee of the Party to meet with party members in the state ahead of the primary urged them to close ranks and ensure power is retained by the party in the state come July 14.
”The Ekiti election is very strategic and must be taken very seriously.
“We have given our words that there will be no imposition of candidate while the constitution of the party will adhere to”
But the former Senate President, David Mark, who chairs the reconciliation committee on Ekiti election said the three aspirants have promised to work together and support whoever emerges among them.
Although Governor Ayodele Fayose reiterated his preference for his deputy as his successor at the forum, he, however, promised to work for the interest of the party even if the preliminary poll does not favour his anointed man.
” I am for Kolapo Olusola, I stand by my word any day, but whoever wins the primary will get my full support because the most important thing for us is to win the governorship election. I am confident of victory, if APC wins 10 out of the 177 wards in Ekiti, I will concede that election to them” Fayose declared.
The two other aspirants who are not Fayose’s preferred choice, Senator Abiodun Olujimi and former Minister of State for Works Prince Dayo Adeyeye said only a free and fair preliminary election will be acceptable to them.
The May 8 governorship primaries will, therefore, be a major test for the PDP in Ekiti State, and the party will be better for it if all the aspirants will adjudge it to be credible and throw their weights behind the winner according to the assurances they gave the party’s national leadership.
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Here are all the times the life of a mace has been threatened in a Nigerian parliament since 1960. No, the disappearance of the mace from the floor of the senate on Wednesday, April 18, 2018, isn’t the first time that lawmaking symbol of authority has come under attack in a Nigerian parliament.We go back in Nigeria’s history to present five such instances where the mace has either been stolen or used as a weapon of mass destruction.1. Ebubedike, 1965 Chief Obafemi Awolowo was Premier of the Western Region in 1965 when Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa tried to impose a state of emergency in Nigeria’s western region.It was a move that didn’t sit well with Awolowo. As lawmakers deliberated Balewa’s position in the Western regional assembly, Mr. Ebubedike who represented Badagry East in parliament, seized the mace and deployed same as a head battering weapon; with a fist fight breaking all around him. As chairs were flung all over the floor of the House, Ebubedike grabbed the mace and dared anyone to come close. When the Speaker and other members came close, Ebubedike used the mace on them. The mace as a weapon of head destruction was thus born in Nigeria. 2. Okadigbo, 2000 Chuba Okadigbo was president of the fourth senate when then President Olusegun Obasanjo began moves to impeach him by using presidency loyalists in parliament.Okadigbo snatched the mace and took it to his house in Abuja–all in an attempt to stall his impeachment.When the police arrived Okadigbo’s residence to retrieve the mace, he told them they were only going to get the mace if they killed him.“The police arrived at 5.55 a.m. (0455 GMT) in six jeeps fully loaded with armed officers”, Okadigbo told the BBC afterwards. “They told me they had come to collect the mace and that they were acting on orders from the Inspector General of Police. I said I would never give them the mace. I have to be dead before you get the mace, I told them. “This is executive lawlessness and is unprecedented in Nigeria’s history,”Okadigbo fumed. After the police left his residence, Okadigbo (fondly called the Oyi of Oyi) took the mace with him to Ogbunike, his home town in Anambra State, and left the senate’s symbol of authority in the custody of a seven foot python.Okadigbo lost the battle to remain senate president, however, as he was impeached weeks later. He died on September 25, 2003. 3. Rivers State, 2013 When Speaker Otelemaba Amachree, convened a session of the legislature to amend certain portions of the Rivers State budget on July 9, 2013, he didn’t know trouble was brewing in the horizon.Hon Evans Bapakaye Bipi who represented Ogu/Bolo constituency, arrived the Rivers House of Assembly with thugs, pounced on house leader Chidi Lloyd and the mace was next.Reports say a fake mace had been smuggled into the house by the anti-Amaechi lawmakers in an attempt to unseat the speaker. Rotimi Amaechi is a serving minister and was Governor of Rivers State at the time. Evans Bipi then walked up to Chidi Lloyd who was a pro-Amaechi lawmaker and slapped him in the face. The speaker who had just arrived the chamber, tried to stop the slaps and shouting from becoming a full blown fight, but Bipi went for him too; the (fake) mace in his vice grip. Hon Lloyd then seized the mace from wherever and used it to attack Hon Chinda.Chinda ended up in a hospital from mace beating. 4. House of Reps, June 2015 On June 23, 2015, lawmakers in the federal House of Representatives didn’t like the fact that the APC was trying to decide their principal officers from Bourdillon, Lagos. So, they went to war among themselves. House Speaker Yakubu Dogara and Majority leader Femi Gbajabiamila supporters went for each other’s throats. Dogara had defeated Gbajabiamila to emerge speaker. One group of lawmakers tried to grab the mace but that wasn’t allowed to happen by the other group of lawmakers.The poor mace couldn’t but heave a sigh of relief after.5. Benue State, June 2015 The APC and PDP lawmakers engaged themselves in a free for all fight at plenary when the speaker of the Benue Assembly, Mr Terkimbi Kyange, read a letter from the APC. The letter read that the APC was the majority party in the house following the defection of a PDP legislator.As tempers flared and blows rained, the Sergeant At-Arms quickly removed the mace from harm’s way. So, yes, Omo-Agege of Delta Central is pretty much in good company.

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the invasion of the National Assembly and the seizure of the Senate mace as a direct assault on the legislature and a bold attempt to truncate Nigeria’s democracy.
In a statement from its National Publicity Secretary Kola Ologbondiyan, the party accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of “interferences and direct attacks” on the institution of the National Assembly.
The PDP alleged that the ruling party has gone beyond limits to make Nigerians accept a government that does not respect the ideals of democracy, particularly the constitutional separation of powers.
“Is it not strange that a legislative day appointed to further deliberate on the re-ordering of the sequence of election will be the day that strange elements would invade the National Assembly, particularly, the hallowed chambers of the Senate, to disrupt legislative proceeding and seize the mace?” the opposition party questioned in the statement.
It further wondered how an invasion could have occurred at the National Assembly, stressing that the parliament, all over the world, is the bastion of democracy.
The party noted that government becomes autocratic and totalitarian without the parliament and urge Nigerians to reflect on the recent happening in the legislature, including the purported declaration of a serving senator wanted by the police.
It also asked the National Assembly to bring forth every legislative instrument to protect itself from external aggression, as well as unravelling every persons, offices and institutions that played any form of roles in the Senate invasion and mace theft.
“Our nation has accepted democracy as the best form of governance; those whose adrenaline cannot accommodate democracy and its constitutionally guaranteed tenets should either shape in or be forced to conform with the best ideals of democracy,” the PDP said.
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Here’s a chronicle of how the mace was stolen in pictures and videos. On Wednesday, April 18, 2018, hoodlums invaded the upper legislative chamber in the National Assembly complex, seized the mace of the chamber and fled in a black SUV.This theft was blamed on the lawmaker representing Delta Central senatorial district, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, who had allegedly led the hoodlums into the chamber before they seized the mace.The lawmaker had been suspended for 90 legislative days for his conduct in objecting to the electoral amendment bill which is seeking to reorganise the order of elections in the country.Senator Omo-Agege was arrested after plenary session yesterday but was released hours later after answering questions over what he described as deliberate and unfair allegations from the leadership of the Senate.The FCT Police Command has already arrested five suspects in connection to the crime, all of them from Delta.Here’s a chronicle of how the mace was stolen in pictures and videos:1. Even though Senator Omo-Agege was suspended last week, he made a surprise appearance at plenary session on Wednesday, which led to mild confusion in the chamber.Here he is approaching the day’s presiding officer, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, with the hoodlums right behind him: 2. This is the moment one of the hoodlums that had been trailing behind him seized the mace and made a dash for the door: 3. Here, one of the hoodlums holds the mace above his head and runs out while confused Senators look on: 4. Here’s a video of Senator Omo-Agege’s approach and how the theft took place: 5. Here’s another video, an aerial view of how the hoodlums that seized the mace ran out. 6. Here’s a picture of unidentified people struggling over the mace after it made its way outside of the chamber, in the halls of the National Assembly complex: 7. Here’s a video of the hoodlums running out of the complex with the mace amid a lot of commotion: That’s the last time the mace was seen before it was found under the flyover before the City Gate in Abuja where the hoodlums abandoned it for a passer-by to find. The police have already recovered the mace.

The mace is a very important component of legislative processes in the National Assembly. If you’ve logged out of Nigeria-related comedy over the past few hours, then you have missed out on one of the most intriguing political episodes found in any part of the world.On Wednesday, April 18, 2018, hoodlums stormed the upper legislative chamber in the National Assembly complex, seized the sacred mace of the chamber and ran out of the door into the unknown.For the uninitiated, the mace is a very important component of legislative processes in the National Assembly, so it’s kind of a big deal. It’s the same as if someone comes into your house and steals your power fuse box and you suddenly cannot watch Big Brother Naija on your television until they bring it back.This disgraceful attack on Nigeria’s democracy has been blamed on the lawmaker representing Delta Central senatorial district, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, who had reportedly entered the chamber the same time as the perpetrators of the crime. The lawmaker is a prime suspect because he has a standing beef with the Senate after he was suspended for 90 legislative days for his conduct in objecting to the electoral amendment bill which is seeking to reorganise the order of elections in the country.Senator Omo-Agege was arrested after plenary session yesterday but was released hours later after he applied the Shaggy defence, “It wasn’t me,” we assume he said. Anyway, as the controversy swerves and turns, here are a few things you should know about the mace and the events around its theft.1. The mace is a really big dealThe mace is the symbol of authority in the Senate and no plenary sessions can legitimately take place in its absence from the chamber. It signifies that the Senate is formally in session and that its proceedings are official.2. It has its own personal securityLike all elected officials in the National Assembly, the mace is important enough to get its own personal security in the mould of the sergeant-at-arms. The sergeant-at-arms is tasked with the safety of the mace but he was reportedly overpowered by the hoodlums that stole it on Wednesday.3. The Senate President sort of needs it for recognitionThe mace is used to announce the arrival of the Senate President into the chamber which typically leads to the commencement of plenary sessions where legislators of the Republic deliberate on all the important stuff that Nigerians never seem to understand.4. It’s made of gold……or, at least, gold is one of the core components of the mace; so maybe someone might be tempted to sling it around to be able to cover ticket fees to leave Nigeria for good. 5. It has a replacement (poor thing)Despite the veneration tied around the mace, it turns out stealing it does not mean the Republic crumbles. When the mace was stolen on Wednesday, Senators proceeded to hold a closed door executive session where it was decided to recommence the day’s plenary session with a spare mace. What a way to make a guy feel important.6. It’s been stolen before!Wednesday’s abduction is not the first time the National Assembly’s mace has been stolen for selfish reasons. Way back in 2000, then-Senate President, Chuba Okadigbo, abducted the mace in an attempt to stall impeachment proceedings against him.He took the mace to his residence in Abuja and refused to hand it over to armed police officers sent to politely recover it. He eventually lost and was impeached.

According to the schedule of activities, the local govt area congresses will hold on May 5. The All Progressives Congress (APC) has announced the date of its national convention to be May 14, 2018.The ruling party will be electing officers for a new term in its leadership.The APC organising secretary, Osita Izunaso, released the schedule of activities for the convention on Wednesday, April 18.According to the schedule, the party said ward congresses will hold on May 2, while appeal that may arise from the conduct will be entertained on May 3.The local government area congresses will hold on May 5, with appeal arising from the exercise fixed for May 7.On May 9, congress at states’ level will elect executive committees of the party in all states in the country. The party fixed May 10 for hearing of appeal that may arise from the conduct of the state congresses.Its had on Sunday constituted a 68-member committee to oversee its convention.ALSO READ: Suspended Senator Omo-Agege allegedly breaks into NASS with thugs, steals maceThe committee is headed by the Governor of Jigawa state, Badaru Abubakar while Rotimi Akeredolu, Governor of Ondo state is the deputy chairman and Ben Uwajumogwu as secretary.Other committee members include Governors Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Kashim Shettima (Borno), Aminu Bello Masari (Katsina), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), and Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe), among others.The governors in the party had agreed to fund the convention.

 
The All Progressives Congress will on May 14 this year hold a National Convention as the party looks to put behind it the controversy that has surrounded the fate of its current National Working Committee.
A timetable for the APC’s congresses and National Convention, released on Wednesday by its National Organising Secretary, Senator Osita Izunaso, indicates that the party will first hold ward congresses on May 2.
A day after the ward congresses, appeals arising from the election of ward officers will be heard. Two days later, on May 5, Local Government Area Congresses will be held with appeals from the exercise to be heard on May 7.
On Wednesday, May 9, state congresses will be held with the appeals to come up the next day.
The ruling party found itself faced with a leadership controversy in February after its National Executive Committee decided to extend the tenure of its NWC by a year effective June 2018.
It was a decision that led to grumblings in the party, which was already facing increasing internal conflicts, and some questioned its legality.
One month later, President Muhammadu Buhari shocked many in the party by declaring the tenure election illegal.
The President explained that after due consultation, it became imperative to overturn the resolution to extend the NWC’s tenure as it contravened Article 17 Sub-section 1 of the Party constitution which recommends a 4-year tenure for all elected officials.
Although shocking for many, the President’s U-Turn on the tenure elongation was welcomed by top members of the party, including Senator Shehu Sani.
Senator Sani said the President had saved the party from disaster by calling for the reversal of the tenure elongation.
Almost two weeks later, at another NEC meeting on April 9, President Buhari said the APC might consider granting waivers to its National Chairman, John Oyegun, and other party executives at all levels when the party holds its convention – should they seek reelection.
This consideration, he explained, is because they might not be able to comply with the provision of Article 31(1)(iii) of the APC Constitution which requires any serving officer desirous of seeking re-election to resign from office 30 days before an election.
Based on the schedule released by the APC, the national convention is 26 days away. There is, however, no information yet about whether any official in the NWC is interested in seeking re-election.
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Senator Omo-Agege was arrested after hoodlums who accompanied him into the Senate snatched the mace. The Presidency and Senators close to the Presidency have been calling the inspector general of Police to release Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, a source told Pulse.Senator Omo-Agege was arrested at the National Assembly after hoodlums who accompanied him into the Senate carted away the mace during plenary on Wednesday, April 18, 2018.The suspended lawmaker was walked into a waiting Police vehicle at the entrance to the White House at the end of the day’s plenary.A source who craved anonymity told Pulse that top government officials are “trying to influence” Omo-Agege’s release, a situation which has left the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami in disarray. “Police are under pressure to release Omo-Agege,” the source said.ALSO READ: Shehu Sani’s waist belt ‘used in place of stolen mace’“People in the Presidency and Senators close to the Presidency have been calling the IG to release him.”The IG is torn between allowing due process to be followed, or releasing an ally of the President. The AGF is also torn between filing charges against him, or letting it just slide,” the source added.When contacted, president spokesman, Garba Shehu, however, declined comments on the matter.Similarly, Police spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, was not available for comments on the matter as calls placed to his cellphone were unsuccessful.

 
 
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that the invasion of the Senate and the theft of the mace is an attack on Nigeria’s democracy.
The party’s comment comes after unidentified hoodlum on Wednesday invaded the Senate Chambers and disrupted the ongoing proceedings, carrying away the symbol of authority (mace).
The party, however, referred to the action by the invaders as an “attack on Nigeria’s democracy”.
In a statement by the spokesman of the party, Bolaji Abdullahi, the action is a desecration of the hallowed institution of the National Assembly and has called on security agencies to bring the perpetrators to book.
“We, therefore, call on security agencies to take all necessary actions to recover the stolen mace and ensure that the perpetrators and their sponsors are brought to justice”.
 
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Senator Omo-Agege led thugs to cart away the mace from the senate. Here’s the full story of a chaotic day in the national assembly. The symbol of authority in the senate–otherwise called the mace–is missing at the moment after thugs led by Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (APC, Delta Central) invaded the national assembly, created an uproar and took the mace along with them.To understand why the mace is missing from the senate on a warm Wednesday afternoon, you need to follow the short story below:Election sequence1. February 14, 2018: The red chamber of the national assembly dissolves into a rowdy session as senators adopt the amended electoral act.2. INEC’s order of elections has the presidential election holding before other elections. The senate doesn’t like this for obvious reasons.3. The electoral act as amended by the senate, has the presidential election coming last and the national assembly election holding first.  4. The sequence of elections cause disharmony in the senate as it’s seen as a ploy by the Saraki led national assembly to unseat Buhari in 2019.Buhari withholds assent5. March 13, 2018: Buhari refuses to assent to the amended 2018 electoral act as forwarded his way by the national assembly.6. In withholding his assent, Buhari said the amended sequence of elections by the legislature will infringe on the constitutional role of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organise, undertake and supervise elections as enshrined in Section 15(A) of the third statue to the Constitution.7. The president also cited grounds upon which an election can be challenged by candidates and the national assembly’s possible interference in local government elections as other reasons why he prefers to keep his ink dry.8. The senate is now split between lawmakers who support Buhari’s withholding of assent and those who favour amendment of electoral act. 9. Senator Ovie Omo-Agege is in the camp of senators who back Buhari’s position.Buhari support group10. Omo-Agege floats Buhari support group in the senate. 11. Omo-Agege’s group is called ‘Parliamentary support group in Senate for President Muhammadu Buhari’.12. The senate doesn’t like this, so Omo-Agege is called to order by his colleagues. He apologizes in plenary for his actions.13. However, after apologizing, he sues Senate President Bukola Saraki.14. The senate is livid. Saraki is miffed; his ego bruised. 15. The senate’s ethics and privileges committee sits over Omo-Agege and finds him guilty. Omo-Agege suspended16. The senate ethics committee recommends that Omo-Agege be suspended for 181-legislative days for his actions.Senate President Saraki who presides at plenary on the day is fuming as he says: “I think in this chamber, if we want to talk about who has the right to say he is Chairman of a Parliamentary Support Group for Mr. President both by action and by what we have done, I think that I have the right to lead that — more than anyone else here.“Those of us that understand politics, understand that because of our own peculiar interest, sometimes some people decide to act like they are holier than thou or more committed — at the expense of others.  “This is not something that we should tolerate, and I believe that in an institution like this we must show discipline, but at the same time we must also show compassion”.17. Saraki reduces Omo-Agege’s sentence from 181 legislative days to 90 legislative days. Saraki adds that; “There are some people who are fanatics and such actions will expose a lot of people and allies.“The senator involved, Senator Agege should withdraw the case, the support group should be disbanded and out of compassion, we amend the recommendation of the committee to 90 days and we move forward”.Omo-Agege is suspended for 90 legislative days.Mace is stolen18. April 18, 2018: Omo-Agege and a couple of thugs sneak in through one of the glass barricades within the national assembly and make for the mace. Time check 11:55am19. Omo-Agege shields the thugs who seize the mace, dash through the aisle in the red chamber and disappear into thin air. 20. Senate President Saraki is absent from plenary. He is away in the United States of America where he is attending this year’s Spring Meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). That means Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu taking charge of proceedings on the day the thugs came visiting. 21. The senate heads into an executive session. Because there is no mace, Senator Shehu Sani takes off the belt from his waist and places it on the table as the symbol of authority. “The senate invaded. Mace taken away. Deliberations on whether to adjourn or not. I and others insisted that the senate must not adjourn.  I removed my waist belt and lay to serve as a mace for us to continue. My colleagues seconded. Then a spare mace brought in and the session continued. Good drivers are not known when the road is smooth,” Senator Sani said.Omo-Agege returns 22. Senate resumes plenary at about 12:30pm. April 18, 2018. 23. Omo-Agege returns to the senate in his three piece suit and looking fly.  24. Police officers arrest Omo-Agege around 1:50pm and drive him off in a black Hilux van. 25. Meanwhile, the stolen mace remains stolen at the time of filing this.

 
A member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Oladimeji Fabiyi, has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government of failing Nigerians.
He made the claim on Wednesday while appraising the performance of the ruling party, about 300 days to the general elections.
Fabiyi noted that the APC has performed below expectation in the key areas of economy, security and the war against corruption, compared to what it told the people it would achieve in 2015.
“What Nigerians demanded of you is simply good governance,” he said during his appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
“In the area of infrastructural development, the rail the APC is taking credit for was a baby of the PDP; you keep hinging on corruption and even the template for fighting corruption is faulty from day one,” he added.

The PDP member further accused the APC government of plunging the nation into recession, stressing that the party brought the country backward since they took over power.
He claimed the economic situation was so bad for the people that Nigerians have become beggars on the streets while businesses were reportedly packing up.
“What have they (APC) done differently? I know people that ordinarily will come around and assist others, but they can’t do it anymore; they’ve not done anything differently, they have taken us backwards,” Fabiyi insisted.
An APC Member, Jasper Azuatalam, swiftly dismissed the claims by the member of the opposition party, saying it was the PDP who achieved nothing in 16 years.
He stressed that government is a continuous process and the APC and Buhari led government have shown responsibility.
Azuatalam noted that it would be absurd for the present government to abandon the uncompleted projects of the previous government.
He, however, said, “When there is a project completed, PDP will say ‘we started it’, and what did you complete for 16 years and how suddenly has this government started completing everything within two years and 10 months?
On the issue of recession, the APC member stated that the efforts of the APC government were so obvious to the people that the inflation and interest rates have been dropping consistently since last year.
He also recalled that economists had predicted recession during the past administration, maintaining that President Muhammadu Buhari’s government deserved to the praised for bringing the nation out of recession.
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