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A board of Trustees member, Senator Grace Ben has dumped the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP for the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Senator Grace Folashade Jackson Bent on Saturday formally joined the ruling party in Adamawa State. She was welcomed by the National Chairman, extraordinary caretaker committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC), His Excellency, Mai Mala Buni, represented by a former Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani.
The APC Chieftain from the South-East said Bent was the first female Senator to formally decamp to the APC because she considered the party to be a moving train.
Nnamani said, “APC is getting stronger by the day, it’s becoming more vibrant than ever before, Grace is a crowd puller. We welcome her to the moving train.
“With her, we are claiming our political relevance in Adamawa State and in 2023, APC will retain the presidency seat.â€
Bent formally registered her membership in the Dung Ward of Numan Local Government Area of the State as a full member of APC. In a remark, the Governor of Jigawa State, Mohammed Abubakar Badaru said despite fake news, lies, campaign of calumny against the APC government, the Nigerian masses believed in the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari
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Good afternoon and welcome to breaking news stories for this afternoon, Sunday, July 11, 2021.
Note: Please, click on the “CONTINUE READING..†link to read full details of each of the stories.
Below are the breaking news stories you need to read this afternoon:
1. BREAKING: Nigerian Rapper, Sound Sultan Is Dead!
Nigerian rapper, Sound Sultan has been confirmed dead, until his death, he was 44 years. Popular rapper Lanre Fasasi aka Sound Sultan is dead. The family of the 44-year-old ‘Jagbajantis’ crooner confirmed his death on Sunday in a statement. Below is a statement from CONTINUE READING
2. Nigerians Reacts As Pictures Of VP, Osinbajo Holding Umbrella Goes Viral (See Photos)
Nigerians has gone excited as pictures of Vice President Osinbajo holding umbrella goes viral. Thousands of Nigerian social media users could not hide their excitement at Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who was seen in a viral picture holding an umbrella
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja has declined a request by daughter of former President Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua, Mrs Zainab, for a restraining order against the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and three others over a disputed plot of land in Abuja.
Zainab, through her counsel, Chief Sebastine Hon, SAN, filed had a motion on notice praying the Abuja High Court to issue an injunctive order to stop the FCT Minister and other defendants in her suit from taking any further actions on the disputed land.
The ex-President’s daughter, through her company, Marumza Estate Development Company Limited, is laying claim to ownership of plot 506, Cadastral Zone B09, Kado District, Abuja.
The ownership claim was voided by the Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, upon discovery that the Irrevocable Power of Attorney used to procure the land through alleged donation was forged, prompting her to file a suit to challenge the action.
However, when her motion was about to be moved, Justice Olukayode Adeniyi asked parties in the case to go into the substantive matters instead of seeking injunctive order.
The Judge held that request for injunctive order at the present stage of the suit would not only delay the hearing of the matter but will affect the substantive claims and counter claims in the case.
Based on agreement by parties, the Judge ordered that status quo be maintained pending the resolution of issues in dispute.
The court ordered accelerated hearing into the case and adjourned its definite hearing till October 12, 13 and 15, 2021.
The daughter of former the President and ex-wife to former Kebbi governor, Saidu Dakingari through her company, Marumza Estate Development Company Limited sued another Company, Itban Global Resources Limited, its founder, Halliru Saad Malami, FCT Minister and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) as 1st to 4th defendants, respectively over the disputed land..
She claimed that the plot of land was donated to her through an Irrevocable Power of Attorney executed at the Federal Capital Development Authority FCDA by Itban Global Resources Limited through a purchase.
In a writ of summons dated June 24, 2021, with suit number: CV/1270/2021, Ms Yar’Adua’s company, urged the court to order the 1st defendant, Itban, who had allegedly been given an “irrevocable power of attorney†over the disputed property to surrender the land to her firm.
She added that having been issued with irrevocable power of attorney on the plot of land, Itban Global Resources Limited had transferred its interest in the land to her own company, Marumza Estate Development Company Limited.
The claimant urged the court to make an order compelling Itban Global Resources Limited, 1st defendant and its directors including Alhaji Malami (2nd defendant) to executive within 72 hours of the delivery of judgment on the matter, a “Deed of Assignment in favour of her company.
Yar’Adua’s daughter further sought an order compelling the FCT Minister and the FCDA, to do all that is necessary to vest the legal ownership of the disputed property in her within 30 days from the delivery of the verdict.
While seeking the sum of N500 million as General damages, the claimant equally asked the court to issue a perpetual order of injunction restraining the 1st and 2nd defendants and their agents from laying claim to the property.
However, in a counter-affidavit by Mr Malami and his company filed by their counsel Dr Remi Peter Olatubora SAN, they alleged that Ms Yar’Adua, using one Sani Rabo and others as “fronts,†unlawfully procured documents pertaining to the disputed property in the name of the 1st and 2nd defendants respectively.
Itban alleged that one Sani Rabo who knew the history of the land conspired with the claimant to forge letters, power of attorney, resolutions, among others to fraudulently transfer ownership of the land to the claimant.
The 1st and 2nd defendants claimed that two Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Joseph Bodunde Daoudu and Rickey Tarfa who were earlier engaged by the claimant withdrew their Chambers from the suit upon the alleged discovery of magnitude of fraud used to fraudulently claim the land.
Claiming that the land was allocated to them on June 5, 2009 upon payment of all mandatory fees, the two defendants said the land was not developed because it was in the bush then.
They claimed that the Alternative Dispute Resolution ADR employed by FCDA resolved the matter in their favour presentations of their title documents that made FCDA to void and cancel the purported power of attorney that fraudulently transfer the land to Ms Zainab.
In their 72- paragraph affidavit, the two defendants described Ms Zainab’s Company as a sham having been allegedly registered in gross violation of Company And Allied Matters CAMA laws at the Corporate Affairs Commission CAC.
Specifically, they alleged that the two directors paraded to register the company on July 15, 2009, Umar Ibrahim Lange and Maryam Sa’idu were her biological children from her two former husbands who were 7 and one years respectively at the time they were used as directors to secure registration in breach of CAMA laws.
Malami who deposed to the counter-affidavit dated June 7, 2021, averred that Ms Yar’Adua “unlawfully†erected a structure on the property in dispute without the knowledge of the FCDA or the authority of his company.
He, however, claimed that since he discovered Zainabu Yar’Adua’s trespass on the land in dispute in March this year (2021), his own company and its directors have been in effective occupation of the land.
The two defendants pleaded certified true copies of documents obtained from Corporate Affairs Commission CAC and FCDA to counter the claim of the claimant and to establish their ownership of the land.
•Nation divided as battle for 2023 presidency rages
By Charles Kumolu
Amid raging controversy over the zoning of the 2023 presidency, no fewer than six northern governors are backing the South for the nation’s top office.
They spoke about their preference for power to move from the North in the next elections.
The incumbent, President Muhammadu Buhari, from the North, is due to complete his maximum eight years’ tenure in government in 2023.
He succeeded former President Good luck Jonathan who hails from the South.
Jonathan had completed two of the four-year term of his predecessor, Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua, a northerner who took ill and died in office in 2009, and won another four-year term which he also completed in 2015.
Subsequently he sought another term but lost to the incumbent.
The latest of the six governors to speak are Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State and his Borno State counterpart, Professor Babagana Zulum
Of the 36 governors in the country, 18 are from the North.
Their 17 counterparts from the South had stoked the latest controversy, last Monday, when they lay claim to the 2023 President.
Argument
Zoning had been an issue in the polity.
The argument of those in favour had been that power going round the country would give every section a sense of belonging.
Some even went further to say it should be a constitutional provision while others believe it should be a party policy.
But those against contend that zoning should have no place the polity as it breeds mediocrity at a time the nation needs its brightest in government to move her forward.
Of the six geopolitical zones of the country, only the South-East has not been President, prompting many who cite equity to root for the nation to concede the presidency to the zone dominated by the Igbo tribe.
The Southern governors had argued, in a communiqué they issued after a meeting in Lagos, last Monday, under the aegis of Southern Governors’ Forum, that the next President of Nigeria must emerge from the South.
The southern governors, from both the ruling party at the federal level, All Progressives Congress (APC), and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), unanimously resolved that the presidency of the country must be rotated between southern and northern Nigeria, and insisted that the next President of Nigeria should emerge from the southern region.
“The Forum reiterates its “commitment to the politics of equity, fairness and unanimously and agrees that the presidency of Nigeria be rotated between Southern and Northern Nigeria and resolved that the next President of Nigeria should emerge from the Southern Regionâ€, a communiqué read by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, who is the Chairman of the Forum, said after the meeting.
Rebuke
The statement immediately drew a sharp rebuke from Northern Elders Forum, NEF, which rejected the position of the governors, stating that the presidency is a democratic and not a rotational position.
The group accused the southern governors of blackmail.
“NEF sees the decision of the Southern governors as an expression of sentiment that could be best discussed within a political processâ€, a statement signed by the group’s Publicity Director, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, read.
“We are running a democratic government and decisions over where the next president comes from are basically decisions that will be made by voters exercising their rights to choose which candidate best serves their interestâ€.
NEF admonished the southern governors to influence their parties to zone the presidency to southern states and then work to convince voters from all parts of the country to vote for that candidate.
The Coalition of Northern Groups, CNG, spoke in similar vein, accusing southern governors of ganging-up against the North ahead of 2023.
CNG’s spokesman, Abdul-Azeez Sulaiman, said the call was a gang-up to deprive the North of the presidency in 2023.
Suleiman said the southern governors’ action was undemocratic.
A statement by the group read: “The gang-up against the North, especially to force a regional shift of the presidency in 2023 by whatever means and tactics, include those that are clearly undemocratic.
“The governors’ resolutions on 2023 exposed a deliberate attempt to impose a contentious system of rotational presidency aimed at achieving dubious political goals to weaken the North.
“This conspiracy is actively perpetrated with the connivance of some northerners and accommodated by the personal ambition of a few of those that present themselves as northern political leaders.â€
Support
But in a reaction to the southern governors’ demand, Ortom commended them for their position on rotation of the presidency
“Governor Ortom believes that only equity, fairness and justice can strengthen the unity of Nigeria, give all citizens a sense of belonging and reduce tensions across the country,†a statement by his spokesperson said.
Zulum, on his part, clarified that the southern governors were not wrong in calling for power shift to their region since it would promote unity, but frowned on the use of the phrase ‘’must.’’
He said on a television programme: “I have said it times without number that I am of the view that the presidency should go to the South in the year 2023 because the unity of our country is very important.
“Secondly, inclusivity is very important. Thirdly, I am in the APC. Six or seven years ago, APC had zoned the presidency to northern Nigeria based on the agreement that, in 2023, the presidency should go to the South.
“But again, this is politics. We are supposed to meet and discuss this issue among ourselves, among the political class.
“This statement that people are saying that the President must go to the South, I want them to remove the word ‘must.’â€
The four other northern governors who previously spoke about the contentious issue of the 2023 zoning of the presidency are Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Kano Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, Katsina Governor Aminu Masari and Nasarawa Governor Abdullahi Sule.
El-Rufai argued that Nigeria’s next President in 2023 should emerge from the South.
“The southern part of the country is supposed to produce the President come 2023; I don’t support a northerner to vie for the seat after President Muhammadu Buhari based on Nigeria’s political arrangement,†he said.
According to him, although the power shift arrangement among the various regions is unconstitutional, it is a political design that must be respected.
Also speaking, Ganduje recently said presidency in 2023 must be zoned to the South.
The Kano governor said he was not unmindful of the fact the Constitution does not have provision for zoning but that it was important to adopt it since it was strategic in winning elections.
Masari also called for the rotation of the presidency in 2023.
The Katsina governor said the southern region should produce the next President.
According to him, a non-northerner should succeed Buhari in 2023 in the spirit of equity, fairness and justice.
Sule recently expressed support for rotational presidency.
The Nasarawa governor said it was necessary for the next President to come from the South.
The governor stressed that, for fairness and distribution, if the presidency is zoned to the South, the APC national chairmanship should be zoned to the North.
He said it would be unfair for him, having benefitted from power rotation, to denounce same.
“That is why, from all indications, I have never said anything against the agitation for rotation of the presidency to the South. It’s because I don’t think it’s a bad idea for peace in Nigeria, if there is rotational presidency,†Sule said.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) and governor of Kebbi State, Senator Atiku Bagudu, was quoted as saying, “APC belongs to all Nigerians. Everyone, from every part of the country, is free to aspire to any position in the party in line with the provisions of our party’s constitution and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.â€
In PDP, a panel, headed by Bauchi Governor Bala Mohammed, which recommended that the party’s ticket be thrown open to all zones, had attracted reactions, prompting the party leadership to deny that it had taken a position on zoning.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, was compelled to clarify that the party was still studying the report and would take a position on zoning after a broader political meeting
2023 Presidency: APC Govs, Senators Behind Tinubu To Succeed Buhari
Deji Adeyanju, a popular Nigerian activist has disclosed that Bola Tinubu, National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, stands a better chance to clinch the party’s presidential ticket, ahead of 2023.
Adeyanju explained that Tinubu has the backing of most APC governors and Senators.
In a tweet, he noted that Tinubu’s wide support within the party structure was responsible for the delay of APC’s national Congress.
The convener of Concerned Nigerians also claimed that both the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, plans to field a Northern presidential candidate in 2023.
According to Adeyanju: “Both APC and PDP are going to present Northern candidates in 2023. But if primaries takes place in APC today, Tinubu will win because he has more support of their Govs, Senators structures, etc. This is one of the reasons they are delaying APC congress. Politics is deep.â€
This is coming at a time the Primate Elijah Ayodele of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, had warned Tinubuagainst vying for the presidency.
Primate Ayodele had said Tinubu’s handling of Nigeria would be a disaster and disgrace to his family and Nigerians.
The clergyman had urged the former Lagos State governor to retire from politics and focus on his health
