TheNewsGuru

Tag: Deputy Governor

  • Deputy Gov threatens sick Akeredolu: ‘Hand over to me or law would be invoked’

    Deputy Gov threatens sick Akeredolu: ‘Hand over to me or law would be invoked’

    Ondo State deputy governor, Agboola Ajayi has told his principal, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu who is currently in isolation receiving treatment for coronavirus infection, to hand over the affairs of the state to him.

    According to Ajayi, Governor Akeredolu has 21 days to hand over power to him or the constitution would be invoked.

    Akeredolu had on Friday vowed that he would not hand over power to his Deputy who he is having a long-running battle in acting capacity.

    Speaking through his Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, Akeredolu had said his Deputy was the greatest threat to his administration and has since left the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    But the Deputy Governor said it was ignorance to proclaim for Governor Akeredolu to have said he won’t hand over running of government to him because of political differences.

    The Deputy Governor who spoke through his Media Adviser, Comrade Allen Sowore, said Section 190(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) was apposite in this circumstances even as he continues to pray for Akeredolu’s quickest recovery.

    He said the Governor was at liberty to handover or not within 21 days after which the constitution becomes operational.

    According to him, “Refusal and failure of Mr Governor to handover the running of government to his deputy while in self-isolation and temporarily incapacitated underscore his absolute disregard for the rule of law; a spite on the people and a direct assault on the provisions of the constitution which he swore to uphold.

    “Our candid advice is that the energy decipates to pull down the office and person of the deputy governor should be channelled towards resolving the lingering crisis in the health sector particularly, the current strike embarked on by medical practitioners in the state, in the middle of this pandemic.

    Nobody will take us seriously when doctors are on strike and yet we pretend to be fighting a pandemic. It will only indicates that we’re taking the health of the people for granted.

    “The Deputy Governor has a track record of performance in the various offices he has held – first as supervisory Councillor, LG Chairman, Member of the National Assembly – where he served as the chairman of the House Committee on NDDC and even now as the Deputy Governor.

    “It’s imperative to inform the general public that, Mr Governor and members of his kitchen cabinet have deliberately barred the Deputy Governor from all government activities as all the daily itinerary and work schedules released from Chief of Protocols, have not allocated any function or duty to the person or office of the Deputy Governor in recent time.

    “The Deputy Governor empathises with the good people of Ondo State, at this critical period of our statehood that Mr Governor has decided to personalise administration and governance of our dear state.”

  • IGP orders Ondo CP to restore deputy gov’s security details

    IGP orders Ondo CP to restore deputy gov’s security details

    The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has ordered Ondo Commissioner of Police, Bolaji Salami, to restore the security details of Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi, with immediate effect.

    The IGP’s directive was contained in a memo addressed to the police commissioner through the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Operations, Force Headquarters Abuja on Monday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that men of the Nigeria Police attached to the deputy governor were withdrawn after he had defected to the Peoples Democratic Party from the ruling All Progressives Congress.

    Ajayi had, last Wednesday, cried out that his life was in danger when policemen attached to his office were withdrawn on the orders of the Commissioner of Police in the state.

    The memo with Ref. No CB: 2002/DOPS/FHQ/ABJ/VOL/77/168 was signed on behalf of the IGP by Austine Agbonlahor, Assistant Inspector-General of Police.

    The deputy governor, who accused the Commissioner of Police of working on the instructions of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to withdraw the officers, had for a while, been having a running battle with him.

    Ajayi had engaged in a confrontation with the police at the Government House following the alleged refusal of the latter to allow him to leave the premises allegedly on the orders of the governor.

    Meanwhile, the deputy governor had in a statement released by his Media Aide, Mr Babatope Okeowo, lauded “the integrity and courage displayed by the majority of the lawmakers for shunning all entreaties, inducement, and intimidation to impeach him”.

    The statement also urged lawmakers to also shun another latest plan to move the next meeting of the impeachment plot to a private hotel in Akure.

  • Akeredolu orders CP to prevent deputy from exiting govt house

    Akeredolu orders CP to prevent deputy from exiting govt house

    Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu has allegedly ordered the Commissioner of Police, Bolaji Salami to prevent his deputy, Agboola Ajayi from leaving the Government House.

    In a viral video circulated by one of the aides to the deputy governor, Ajayi was seen confronting the police boss, asking him why he is being prevented from moving out of the seat of power.

    According to reports, Governor Akeredolu sent the Police Commissioner to bar the deputy governor from leaving, following his planned defection to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

    Confirming the incident, the Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor, Babatope Okeowo said that Salami prevented Ajayi from moving out having gotten wind that some political thugs were coming to attack him there.

    According to Okeowo, his principal was detained by the CP for about four hours, between 8pm and past 12 midnight.

    He added that the police at the Government House snatched the keys of the vehicle from the driver, while the driver abandoned the vehicle and left.

    But in his reaction, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Akeredolu, Segun Ajiboye debunked the incident.

    He explained that what actually happened was that the deputy governor was about moving out of the government house in the night and the security detailed there advised him to wait till daybreak so that proper inventory could be done.

    Ajiboye noted that when the deputy governor insisted on moving, the Chief Security Officer of the promptly called the CP who rushed down to the scene to persuade the deputy governor.

    Meanwhile, the spokesperson of Ondo State Police Command, Tee-Leo Ikoro revealed that the police boss was invited by police details at the Government House to settle a clash between the governor’s aides and those of the deputy governor.

    Ikoro said it was false that the governor ordered the CP to prevent the deputy governor from leaving the government house.

    According to him, the CP was there to calm down the situation and prevent any breakdown of law and order that could arise due to the disagreement.

  • Rivers Deputy Gov, Ipalibo Banigo reacts to reports of being sidelined by Wike in fight against COVID-19

    Rivers Deputy Gov, Ipalibo Banigo reacts to reports of being sidelined by Wike in fight against COVID-19

    Rivers State Deputy Governor, Dr. Ipalibo Banigo, has dismissed an allegation that the Governor, Nyesom Wike, sidelined her in the ongoing management of COVID-19 in the state.

    Recall that a group, Centre for Public Trust (CPT), at the weekend, accused the governor of marginalising Banigo, who is a public health expert, in all programmes and policies designed to contain the pandemic in the state.

    But Banigo in a statement signed by her Head of Press, Owupele Benebo, described the position of the group as false and appealed to members of the public to ignore it.

    He said the deputy governor continued to enjoy cordial and robust relationship with the governor in COVID-19 management and other programmes and policies of the state government.

    He said: “We would like to state categorically, that there is no iota of truth about Governor Wike’s alleged sidelining of his Deputy, Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo as regards COVID-19 or indeed any Programme or Policy of the State Government.

    “She has continued to enjoy a cordial and robust relationship with the amiable and gender-friendly Governor of Rivers State and the pride of Rivers State, from the inception of this administration in May, 2015 to date, so the purported sideling of his Deputy is a mere figment of the Imagination of the group”.

    Benebo said the group was not comfortable that Wike and all members of his team including Banigo were committed and working to actualise the New Rivers Vision.

    He said: “This is why they want to cause a rift between the governor and his deputy where there is none? They should look elsewhere. The deputy governor is a public health physician, but it is very uncharitable to insinuate that Wike would be jealous of his deputy, when he has very impressive credentials himself.

    “The governor is a legal luminary and a Life Bencher, a two-time Chairman of Obio Akpor Local Government Area, a former Chief of Staff Government House, a former Minister of State Education, former Supervisory Minister of Education and a second term Governor of Rivers State.

    “COVID- 19 is real and it has claimed many lives across the globe. Governor Wike has continued to demonstrate leadership in the country in the fight against COVID 19, which has been emulated by other states of the Federation and the Federal Government.

    “These upheavals about Governor Wike and his deputy concerning COVID 19 is absolutely unnecessary, because the governor himself cleared the air in a Live Television Programme that his deputy has been contributing her quota in the quest to stem the COVID 19 onslaught or do they want the governor to take the back seat in this war?

    “We are in a state of war with an unseen enemy, COVID-19, instead of the purported Centre for Public Trust to join forces with Governor Wike and his team to reduce the prevalence rate of the killer virus in our state they are playing politics.

    “Our advice to them is simple, do not cry more than the bereaved and please do not try to be more Catholic than the Pope. Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo is fine and is totally committed and loyal to the governor in his quest to protect the Rivers People against COVID 19, his strategy is working. Do not distract him”.

  • Benue index COVID-19 case rejects treatment, sues state, FG – Deputy Governor

    Benue index COVID-19 case rejects treatment, sues state, FG – Deputy Governor

    Benue State Deputy Governor Benson Abounu has said the state’s first patient of Coronavirus, Mrs. Susan Okpe, was refusing treatment for the dreaded virus.

    Abounu said the woman sued the state and the Federal governments when she was transferred to Abuja for treatment.

    Addressing reporters in Makurdi, the state capital, the deputy governor, who doubles as chairman of the Emergency Committee on COVID-19, explained that there was no other COVID-19 case besides that of Mrs. Okpe’s.

    He said the state government had procured 100,000 face masks from Cross River State garment industry to be distributed free to the residents.

    Abounu said 40 youths who were camped in a house in Makurdi would be conveyed to their states of origin.

    On palliatives, the deputy governor said the committee received three trucks of rice from the Federal government and distributed same across the three senatorial zones.

    According to him, the COVID-19 emergency committee is working round the clock to stop the spread of the virus in communities.

    Also, the state government is to establish a Centre for Emerging Infectious and Tropical Diseases Intelligence and Management in the state.

    Governor Samuel Ortom announced this on Thursday in Makurdi while receiving a proposal from the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Benue State University, Prof. Terlumun Swende, on the need to kick-start the project.

    The centre is to be domiciled at the College of Health Sciences of the state university.

    Ortom, who expressed happiness at the proposal, said the establishment of the centre would enable the state to tackle various diseases across the state.

    “This will be a plus and a milestone for the health sub-sector, not just in Benue State but the entire country,” he said.

    The governor set up a committee, headed by Health Commissioner Dr Sunday Ongbabo, to examine the proposal and fine-tune the key areas in a bid to fast-track the kick-off of the institution.

  • Bayelsa: How Slyva’s insistence on his cousin as deputy gov aided our victory – PDP

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bayelsa State chapter, has revealed that the decision of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, to foist his “cousin”, Senator Degi Erimienyo, on his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the running mate to the sacked Governor-elect, Chief David Lyon, aided its court victory.

    The party asked the minister to look inwards and stop the unnecessary vilification of the Supreme Court and the judiciary.

    The party also called on the international community to impose a Visa ban on the minister alleging that his statements were capable of further plunging the state into violence.

    The state Secretary of PDP, Chief Godspower Keku in a statement insisted that Sylva and the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, played a critical role in helping the PDP to wrest power from the APC through the bold decisions of the court.

    He commended Sylva and Oshiomhole for making it easier for the PDP through their choice of a running mate.

    He said that Sylva’s intention was to make David Lyon and Degi his stooges following his ambition to combine the position of minister with that of the Governor of Bayelsa State.

    Keku made the comment while reacting to Sylva’s disagreement with the Supreme Court judgement during a programme on Channels Television.

    He said that with the final verdict of the Supreme Court on the issue of the Bayelsa Governorship, Sylva ought to have apologized for the Nembe violence that erupted in Nembe during the PDP campaign.

    He said the minister should also apologise for the vandalism of the houses of former Governor Seriake Dickson, Governor Douye Diri; the attack on the PDP Secretariat, the Steve Azaiki Library, the judiciary among others rather by his party members, who embarked on violent protests after the judgement.

    He further said that Sylva should show remorse for the sponsored protests at the residences of Justice Mary Odilli in Abuja and Port Harcourt.

    He said: “Sylva should not blame the Supreme Court and the Judiciary. The fact is that he helped us; his people worked with us to reclaim the mandate wrongfully taken by the All Progressives Congress to avert a disaster.

    “He should stop blaming the judiciary; apologize for the massacre of 21 persons in Nembe, and the killings which the Federal Forces backed him to perpetrate against the good people of Bayelsa.

    “But We thank him and Oshiomhole for making it easy for us, the PDP and the good people of Bayelsa, to stop the catastrophe he and his party wanted to foist on Bayelsa because of his burning ambition to be both minister and Governor by installing a stooge who never won primaries; by bringing Degi, his cousin and foisting him on David Lyon and the APC.

    “He should apologize for the Nembe killings, the attack on my home, Gov Diri’s home, the attack on the High Court, the Azaiki Library, the PDP Secretariat and several other places rather than the immoral assault on the Supreme Court.”

    He called on the Federal Government to investigate the minister for foisting extreme violence on Bayelsans and Bayelsa since 2015.

    He also called on the international community to investigate the minister and impose a visa ban on him for hiding under the influence of the Presidency to perpetrate political terrorism in Bayelsa.

    Keku, who called for investigation of the minister, raised the alarm that the interview he granted was to set the stage for further violence in the state.

    He appealed to the youths of the state to ignore the antics of Sylvia who according to him was trading with their future.

  • PDP faults removal of Kogi deputy governor

    PDP faults removal of Kogi deputy governor

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted the impeachment of the Kogi State Deputy Governor, Mr Simeon Achuba, describing it Governor Yahaya Bello’s desperate and underhand measures to forcefully remove Achuba from office.

    Achuba was on Friday impeached by the state’s House of Assembly against the recommendation of a report of an investigative panel by the state’s Judiciary that cleared him of allegations of wrongdoing.

    In a statement on Saturday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the main opposition party said the governor was clinging on straws.

    The PDP said that by coercing the state House of Assembly against the deputy governor even when the State Judiciary Panel acquitted him of all allegations, Governor Bello only confirmed that he has lost public trust and now desperately resorting to dirty politics and crafty methods for survival.

    The statement said, “This action of trying to remove the deputy governor via unconstitutional methods and in total disregard to the verdict of the judicial panel is, in itself, a gross misconduct and grave constitutional violation for which the state assembly, as an institution, ought to have removed Yahaya Bello as the governor of the state.

    “The PDP however alerts that the next victim of such underhand methods would be the state assembly itself, which now appears to be on the way to being used to enact draconian rules to suppress and intimidate the people of Kogi state, since there is no way Yahaya Bello will win the November 16 election and return to office.

    “It is however instructive to state that the action of the House of Assembly, in yielding to Yahaya Bello’s antics, has further reduced Kogi state to a butt of jokes among compatriots in other states of our federation.

    “What it means is that Yahaya Bello can wake up tomorrow morning and shut down institutions of government, including the state legislature, the judiciary and even the civil service and become a law unto himself.

    “However, whether the State House of Assembly has any morsel of courage left in its chamber to protect the state and her people or not, Governor Bello will surely face the judgment of the people on November 16, where he will be kicked out of office through the ballot box”.

    The party further stated that it’s also public knowledge that the governor seeks to repress the deputy governor over the latter’s decision to expose the impunity and corruption in the Bello administration, which the PDP said, had brought so much suffering to the people of Kogi state in the last four years.

    “What Nigerians expect is for Governor Bello to respond to the allegations by the deputy governor instead of this resort to bullying and attempts to remove him through unconstitutional method; a scheme that cannot stand.

    “Our apprehension is that Governor Bello, in his desperation to cling unto power, even when he has been rejected by the people, is now turning Kogi state into a state of “anything goes.” We, therefore, call on all compatriots to condemn and resist the reprehensible actions of Governor Yahaya Bello.

    “Nigeria is a nation governed by law and nobody, no matter the desperation, should be allowed to turn her, or any part thereof, to a Banana Republic”.

  • Impeached Deputy Governor not under house arrest – Police

    Impeached Deputy Governor not under house arrest – Police

    The Police authorities in Kogi State have debunked claims that impeached Deputy Governor, Elder Simon Achuba, has been placed under house arrest.

    Kogi Police Commissioner, Mr. Hakeem Busari, on Saturday, said that the presence of security personnel at the official residence of the Deputy Governor in the Government Reservation Area (GRA), Lokoja, was to prevent looting of government property.

    This, he said, followed advice to Achuba to relocate from the official residence since he is no longer the Deputy Governor and has not lost the entitlement to residing there.

    According to reports, the official residence on Saturday morning, noticed the presence of armed security personnel manning the gates.

    The CP said that the security personnel at the gate will remain until the impeached deputy governor finally moves out.

    Achuba was impeached on Friday shortly after the seven-man committee investigating allegations of gross misconduct against him submitted its report to the state house of assembly.

    Achuba has however described his removal as an exercise in futility and will not stand.

    “As I speak to you, I am under house arrest. My security aide has been withdrawn.

    “Currently in my house, security operatives from government house have taken over my residence.

    “Nobody can come in and nobody can go out,” he had claimed.

    He described the action exhibited by the Kogi Assembly as a rape of democracy, which he said will not stand.

    But the newly appointed Deputy Governor, Edward Onoja, would be screened on Monday by the House of Assembly.

    He is also expected to be sworn-in on the same day.

    The Assembly is made up of 25 members, who are all members of the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC).

  • Impeachment: Yahaya Bello picks running mate, Onoja as new Deputy Governor

    Impeachment: Yahaya Bello picks running mate, Onoja as new Deputy Governor

    …to be sworn in today

    The running mate to Governor Yahaya Bello in the November 16 governorship election for Kogi State, Edward Onoja, will be sworn in on Saturday as the new Deputy Governor of the state.

    A seven-member Judicial Panel of Enquiry was set up by the State Chief Judge, Justice Nasir Ajanah, on August 26 to investigate the allegations of gross misconduct leveled against erstwhile deputy governor Simon Achuba.

    Chairman of the panel, Barrister John Baiyeshea, flanked by six other members of the panel, submitted the report to the Speaker, Prince Matthew Kolawole, at plenary.

    Receiving the report, the Speaker, Matthew Kolawole, expressed appreciation to the chief Judge for appointing men of proven integrity as members of the panel.

    Kolawole explained that the task of ensuring good governance required collective efforts of all, and thanked the members for the timely presentation of the report.

    “We shall go into the reports thoroughly, look into the recommendations and do justice to it,” saying that the committee had gone into the annals of history in Nigeria as the first to perform a thorough work devoid of interference.

    In his remarks, the Deputy Speaker of the House, Ahmed Mohammad (APC- Ankpa I), said the exercise followed due process and thanked everyone for being responsive to the development of Kogi.

    The committee which was inaugurated on August 26 with a 90-day duration within which to complete the assignment and submit its report, completed the job in 49 days.

  • Alleged misconduct: Kogi SSG testifies against deputy governor

    Alleged misconduct: Kogi SSG testifies against deputy governor

    The Secretary to the (Kogi) State Government (SSG), Mrs. Folashade Ayoade-Arike, on Monday, entered the witness box to testify at the panel hearing investigating allegations of gross misconduct against the deputy governor of the state, Elder Simon Achuba.

    Others that testified at the panel sitting at the state High Court, Lokoja, included the Acting Director (Treasury), Office of the Accountant General, Mr. Elijah Ebinemi, who presented before the panel, evidence of alleged salaries/allowances payment, to the embattled deputy governor.

    The certified true copies of said payment was said to have covered between 2016 and 2017.

    Also testifying was Saliu Hassan Itopa, Cashier, Office of the Deputy Governor.

    The Chief Judge (CJ) of Kogi State, Justice Nasir Ajanah had on August 23, constituted a seven-man panel to investigate allegations of gross misconduct raised by the state House of Assembly against the Deputy Governor.

    Members of the panel are: Mr. John Baiyeshea (SAN) (Chairman), Hajia Bilikisu Abdulmalik Basher, Mr. William A. Aliwo, Canon Z. A. Asun, Alhaji Isa Adeboye, Mr. Muhammed A. Aikoye and Mr. Ada Shaibu. Mr. Bamidele Aina, while the Deputy Court Registrar (DCR), Special Duties at the High Court will serve as secretary to the panel.

    The SSG under cross examination by lead counsel to Achuba, Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), among others, alleged that the state deputy governor last attended the weekly state executive council meeting, in August 2018.

    She said that she was incompetent to issue query to the deputy governor, the latter being her boss.

    She stated that while it is not under the schedule of the Office of the SSG to pay the salary of the deputy governor, all workers of the state, including the deputy governor and his aides, have however been paid “up-to-date”.

    She said that her office is responsible for the payment of salary to political office holders.

    Under cross examination by Mr. Anthony Adeniyi, lead counsel to state government, Itopa, the cashier in the office of the deputy governor, explained that allowances and other monies, including impress are paid direct into the bank accounts of those concerned.