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President Muhammadu Buhari today hosted the Acting Chief Justice Of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Mohammed and other Presidential election petition Tribunal judges to break the Ramadan Fasting in Aso Villa.

“Buhari hosting judiciary to breaking Ramadan fast – same judiciary handling the Presidential Election Petition”.

See more photos…

2019: Rivers State Governorship Election Tribunal upholds Governor Wike’s Re-election, dismisses Labour Party’s Petition

The Rivers State Governorship Election Tribunal has dismissed the petition filed by the Rivers State 2019 Labour Party Governorship Candidate, Chief  Isaac Wonwu against the 2019 Electoral Victory  of the Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.

Chairman of the Rivers State Governorship Election Tribunal, Justice O.K Kaigama dismissed the petition following  a motion for withdrawal, moved by counsel to Chief Wonwu, Mr Uche Ulemene.

Justice Kaigama also  stated that the Labour Party Governorship Candidate withdrew the petition  on his own volition  and that there were  no  illegal  agreements  that necessitated  the  withdrawal.

Counsel to the Rivers State Labour Party Governorship Candidate sought the leave of the Tribunal to withdraw  the petition  and strike out same.

He informed the Tribunal that his application to withdraw the petition is accompanied  by a notice of consent to withdraw, marked as Exhibit A.

He added that also annexed is an affidavit  against  illegal terms of withdrawal.

Counsel  to the Governor Wike, MS Agwu said that they are not opposed  to the withdrawal.  He announced  that he filed an affidavit against  any illegal  terms of  withdrawal, noting that the petitioner withdrew the petition on his own volition.

The  Tribunal dismissed  the Labour Party Petition EPT/RS/GOV/O4/2019, saying  that the Labour Party Governorship Candidate stated that he withdrew  the petition  in the interest of Rivers State.

Counsel  to INEC, Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN) informed  the Tribunal  that INEC filed a preliminary objection to the Petition.  He stated that INEC  is not opposing the application  for withdrawal.

He announced  that INEC filed a preliminary objection because  the petition lacked merit.  He urged the Tribunal to dismiss  the petition.

Governor Wike emerged victorious at the 2019 Governorship Election where he  polled  886,264 . The AAC Candidate scored 173,859 to emerge second.

Exactly three weeks since the Magajin Garin Daura, Musa Umar, was kidnapped by gunmen at his residence in Daura, President Muhammadu Buhari’s home-town, no news of his whereabouts has been heard yet.

Mr Umar was whisked away by four gunmen in Daura town on May 1.

The gunmen, suspected to be kidnappers, arrived Daura town at about 7 p.m., when Mr Umar had just returned from the evening Magrib prayer.

According to a witness, the kidnappers came in a Peugeot 406 saloon car shooting sporadically in the air. They grabbed Mr Umar and forced him into the car, then drove away.

After the gunmen left, the Daura council chairman, Abba Mato, and hundreds of sympathisers came to Mr Umar’s residence, to discuss the incident.

 RESIDENTS ARE CONCERNED

Meanwhile residents of Daura are still in shock since the incident.

Mamman Lawal, a witness and resident of Daura, said people are still in shock. “Let me tell you, we are not happy here. The Magajin Garin Daura is a prominent personality that should not take this long in the hands of Kidnappers. When they took him away, we all were not happy but we had hoped he will return the next day. This is exactly three weeks and nothing has been done.” “He is a popular man and people are always around him. Now they are all missing him. Nobody knows if he is alive or not because nobody is saying anything including the security operatives. Maybe they (police) are being tactical.”

Also, Mohammed Abdullahi, a resident, said prayer sessions are being held for his safe return. “There has been prayer sessions in Daura and even surrounding towns begging God to intervene. But for us here, we are not happy at all.”

When contacted, the Katsina Police Public Relations Officer, Gambo Isa, said that the police are still investigating and have made several arrests.
“We are investigating and we have also made some arrests. I cannot give you the number of arrests so it does not jeopardise the work in progress.”

Mr Isa said that the police also ‘recoveries’ since the search began “and are making progress.”

People given to high-sounding jargon talk of something called the resource curse. Sometimes they get more specific and talk of the oil curse.

In their pessimism, they will soon talk of the weed curse. But for us optimists, we predict that Ondo State will soon become one large happy family, thanks to impending formalisation of cannabis production.

The big boys outside Nigeria have accepted what our grandparents knew ages ago, that the cannabis plant, which thrives fantastically in Ondo conditions, has positive medicinal value.

Looking for the best source, they have identified Ogbese where cannabis has hitherto been a menace because it grows quickly like weed or grass. So our governor, Rotimi Akeredolu has sought to get companies licenced under the watchful eyes of NDLEA officials to grow and export billions of dollars’ worth of the weed every year.

We are told pharmaceutical giants in Israel, Thailand and Canada can’t wait to lay their hands on Ogbese weed. And this is official, by the way.

Forget our other freely acquired resources which people pay to come and see, like the Oke Idanre Hill that doesn’t fetch us a million naira all year long, bitumen which will cause more environmental hazards to our being and climate, and others. This time, we are talking of a precious weed that every citizen can cultivate in their garden with minimal care.

Only one potential problem could vindicate the pessimists; if the big local boys try to exclude the masses from the action and say they are the only ones who will be allowed to sell weed. That could cause an uprising wilder than the one over bread price in Sudan.

For while we have always talked of the great agriculture potential of Ondo, we were not willing to break our backs to exploit it. But growing weed? Did I say growing? I meant sitting back as the foreign buyers come to up pick the weed, pay us and leave us to enjoy life.

And now try and fathom this. Economists have always blamed us for producing what we don’t consume and consuming what we don’t produce.

But now, the ultimate source of joy, for which others pay top dollar, will be just there to pick from our verandas. And this is not speculation; for some months now news of the health benefits of unsmoked weed has been spreading quietly and decent people are increasingly taking to consuming the free stuff, mostly drinking it like tea, for that feel-good effect.

Soon only a few of us ageing conservatives who were raised to frown at the mention of weed will be left behind by this happiness train.

I can’t wait for the day, coming maybe next year, when there will be no more anger in Ondo, and nobody will follow Ajos and Equity to the street to be flushed!

People will be too happy drinking the weed from their compound and making more money from Israeli and Canadian buyers to listen to those emergency activists.

And by the 2020 gubernatorial election, who will care who becomes Governor? Problems will only arise if somebody tries to exclude the majority from the weed windfall.

The daughter of Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello a grade nine (9) pupil of American International School, Abuja by the name Hauwa Yahaya Bello has been expelled from the school and her American Passport withdrawn.

The United States of America took this decision following petition of parents of other pupils who threatened to withdraw their children from the school because according to them, she has become a threat to both student and teachers.

Recall that Hauwa Yahaya Bello was expelled based on the school policy after she poisoned her school teacher but was later reinstated by the American International School after Governor Yahaya Bello, the Executive Governor of Kogi State put pressure on the board to reinstate his daughter or else he will burn down the school.

According to the source, the board succumbed to Yahaya Bello’s threat and reinstate the governor’s daughter who later resumed school with other pupils before this intervention.

Source at the school confirm the story of her expulsion, withdrawal of her American Passport and placing of Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello on watch by the United States of America.
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Let me use this medium to echo my view on the latest development by the executive governor of Ondo state, Bar. Odunayo Akeredolu who in his quest to generate money for development of the sunshine state is advocating for the cultivation of cannabis as a legalized source of revenue in our darling state.

As far as I’m concerned, i believed there are numerous resources in the sunshine state that could be explored for the benefit of the people and for the progress of the entire state. As a matter of fact, the state has the second largest bitumen deposition in the world located in Agbabu, Irele Local Government area which is wasting away untapped. What has the present administration done about this lofty resources?

I’m still wondering how Ondo state would go on its cannabis cultivation in a country where the federal government has sole authority on every resources in the land.

However, has Mr. Governor and his team of cannabis  canvassers ever thought about the aftermath effect of this dangerous but newly found money spinning venture? While making money to boost the state economy for the generality of the people is good, it mustn’t be done on the expense of the ill–health of the innocent people of Ondo state who are the best resources any deep thinking and serious government could tap into any day any time.

I therefore appeal to Mr. Governor to look else where in order to raise fund. I will advise the present administration to Invest in the young people who are the engine room and centre focus of development through capacity training, agro-allied business, ICT etc

As we all know, ours is uncivilized society where every opportunity stands to be abused and every chances taken for granted. The menace of drug abuse among our young people as at today is alarming and indeed worrisome. If cannabis is thereby approved as a source of revenue in our dear state, it will be grossly abused by the young people and the adverse effect of this will never be curtailed by the government and our society will be the worst for it.