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Tag: Governors

  • Setback for Uba as APC members decamps en masse in Aguata LGA to PDP, endorses Ozigbo

    Setback for Uba as APC members decamps en masse in Aguata LGA to PDP, endorses Ozigbo

    A few days to the governorship election in Anambra State, Valentine Ozigbo, the flag-bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gains momentum as the entire executives of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in his hometown dump the ruling party and join the PDP.

    In a power-packed ceremony held at Grand East Hotel in Awka on Monday, November 1, 2021, the 37 APC executives led by the chairman, Mr Paul Chuks Umenduka threw their weight behind Mr Ozigbo declaring him as “the right leader to take Anambra to the promised land”.

    According to Umenduka, the party is abandoning its candidate, Senator Andy Uba, because they feel he is “the worst option for Anambra” and their conscience would not allow them to “support evil in their state”.

    Aguata LGA is the home of Senator Andy Uba the flag-bearer of the APC and Professor Charles Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). So this move is a significant boost for Ozigbo ahead of the November 6 election.

    This is a more significant blow to Uba because the APC chairman in his ward Uga Ward II, Christian Anaeto and other leaders like Ndubuisi Daniel are also among the thirty-seven leader who dumped the party and joined PDP, effectively leaving Uba without a structure in his own locality.

    “We see in Valentine Ozigbo, a leader who will rescue Anambra from the terrible state we are in. We see in him a humble leader who will carry everybody along, who will listen to everyone,” Umenduka said.

    “We see in Valentine Ozigbo the new generation leader that will take Anambra to the promised land.

    “So, we the entire executives of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Aguata LGA hereby decamp from our party and join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    “We hereby collapse our structures into PDP and throw our support behind Valentine Ozigbo. Come November 6, we are urging all Ndi Anambra to come out in their numbers and vote for PDP, the Umbrella party which is big and accomodating to all.”

    Some of the APC leaders who were at the decamping ceremony were Ezenwata Obimma (Deputy LG Chairman), Bibiana Mbamalu (Woman Leader), Vitua Ajugo (Youth Leader, Edith Michael (Exco), Theophilis Onyekwe (Exco), Chigbo Agazie (Umuchi 1), Ifeanyi Eenwamma (Auditor), Chibuike Okpalauchaegbu (Achinna 1), Ndubueze Ezebekwe, Emeka Ilo, Theresa Obiajunwa, Edwin Okeke, Edith Michael, Okoye Okechukwu.

    In his response, Valentine Ozigbo thanked the new PDP members for their courage and urged them to be steadfast, affirming that the PDP would win the Saturday election.

    The Anambra governorship election of November 6 promises to be tension-soaked as the contest comes down to three major political parties, Mr Valentine Ozigbo of the PDP, Professor Charles Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and Senator Andy Ubah of the APC.

  • Governors set to address unresolved issues raised by resident doctors in five states

    Governors set to address unresolved issues raised by resident doctors in five states

    The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has pledged to address the unresolved issues raised by the Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) in five states.

    This was contained in a communique posted on NGF’s Facebook handle on Saturday, three days after the forum held its 33rd teleconference presided by its chairman and Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi.

    “On the suspended strike by the National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria (NARD), the Forum noted that there were still unresolved issues in five states: Abia, Imo, Ondo, Kaduna, and Ekiti, and advised that State Governors appoint either the Deputy Governor or another high-ranking official such as the Commissioner of Health to take up the discussion with the Association at the State level,” said the communique issued on Thursday.

    At the virtual meeting held on Wednesday, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees to the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research Foundation, Babatunde Fashola, made a presentation on a national fundraising initiative.

    The initiative seeks to mobilise resources for the establishment of an endowment for medical research in the country.

    Thereafter, the forum resolved to make a collective pledge to support research in priority medical fields in the country and called on all state governments to individually advance support for the initiative at the state level.

    “Members also received a presentation from Mark Giambrone, MPP the Country Coordinator for PEPFAR in Nigeria, on the status of state engagement that is paving the way towards HIV epidemic control in the country,” the communique added.

    “With the country on the verge of reaching control status by the end of 2022, governors pledged to continue to facilitate access to HIV testing and treatment for more Nigerians and committed to supporting campaigns and initiatives that will reduce stigmatisation among people living with HIV/AIDS.”

    The governors met two days after the leadership of NARD suspended its two-month industrial action and directed its members across the country to resume work fully from October 6.

    But NARD President, Dr Dare Godiya Ishaya, who briefed reporters in Abuja on the development had clarified that the strike was suspended for six weeks to allow the Federal Government to address the issues raised by the doctors.

    He explained that the association took the decision to suspend the industrial action due to a simple majority vote of members at a meeting held on Sunday.

    The strike, which began on August 2 to protest the issues affecting members, has left many patients helpless in government-owned hospitals within the period.

    These include the non-payment of death benefits to families of members who died while treating COVID-19 patients, as well as non-payment of hazard allowance and arrears of salaries of members in various states.

  • 2023: Disagreement between Northern, Southern governors over zoning unfortunate – Ganduje

    2023: Disagreement between Northern, Southern governors over zoning unfortunate – Ganduje

    Kano State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has said the disagreement between the northern and southern governors over the issue of presidential zoning is unfortunate and should never have happened.

    The governor said the issue of power shift is purely a political parties’ affair and not the business of state governors.

    He also reiterated that ranching remains the only solution to the herders/farmers clashes in the country.

    Ganduje spoke his mind on Friday in his address to mark Nigeria’s 61st Independence Anniversary held at the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano. He also spoke to reporters in Government House, Kano, after the Independence parade.

    The governor, who said he was not happy with some of his counterparts for abusing one another over the issue of power shift as regards 2023 general election, advised that the unity of the country was paramount to all Nigerians.

    He said: “I will like to use this opportunity to call on the governors, the elite, religious and traditional leaders and all Nigerians to come together and be united, and ensure our unity grows from strength to strength.

    “The current disagreement between the northern and southern governors is unfortunate and it is not necessary.

    “The governors were elected not to divide Nigeria but to keep Nigeria one for progress and development. It is unfortunate that the two divides are exchanging uncomplimentary languages to each other; this is not civilised and is most unfortunate.”

    He called on the chairman of the Nigeria Governor’s’ Forum (NGF), Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, to convene a meeting where all the governors will apologise to one another and reconcile for the peace of the country.

    Ganduje said: “The other issue causing dichotomy is the issue of power shift.

    “The constitution did not mention that power shall shift from north to south, but it has been a tradition by political parties in Nigeria to zone the presidency. And the zoning is a strategy by political parties to win election.

    “If you think power shift will bring you votes to win elections, you have not offended the constitution. If you think you can retain leadership of this country forever and win election, the constitution is not offended. So I think this issue should be left to political parties to resolve. Not we governors to have two opposing groups.”

    Governor Ganduje also kicked against open grazing, describing it as a crime. He pointed out that apart from the crisis brought by open grazing which often result in killings, the worst crime is that the herders are deprived the opportunity of acquiring western education or at least Islamic education.

    Ganduje said: “Another issue that has brought dichotomy is the issue of open grazing. Each state has the power to make laws and there is diversity in each of these states.

    “What is a problem to one state may not be a problem to another state. So, states have the powers with their state assemblies to make laws.

    “I have been saying it, it is unfortunate that this issue of open grazing has brought a lot of controversies.

    “Like I earlier said, trekking from the northern part of this country to the middle belt down to the south, to me is not acceptable, because the children will not be able to have education.

    “To me, it is criminal. Will the education system follow them along the routes from north to central to southern parts of this country? Can any educational system agree with that?

    “The other issue is that some of these herdsmen are from other West African countries. And because of climatic change, they move down to northern parts of this country to the Middle Belt and to the South with thousands of cattle and with arms.

    “Should that be acceptable to Nigeria? Can’t we take it to the ECOWAS, since it is creating problems?

    “So I think it is better to develop the ranching system where the herdsmen are confined to a place where they can have animal husbandry in the modern system.

    “That is why at the Dansoshiya Forest here in Kano we are creating the Ruga system where we provide water, housing units, markets, veterinary clinic, educational system and schools for the children so that they can also enjoy social developments like any other person in Nigeria.

    “I think that is the answer because now the issue is that as I have been saying herdsmen have not succeeded in killing poverty and poverty has not succeeded in killing herdsmen, because a man with thousands of cattle cannot be called a poor man; he moves with a mobile bank.

    “But there is no doubt somebody who treks from the north to the south cannot be called a rich man, looking at his shoes and his body you will understand.”

  • Miyetti Allah, Governors and Justice, By Sonnie Ekwowusi

    Miyetti Allah, Governors and Justice, By Sonnie Ekwowusi

    By Sonnie Ekwowusi

    Make no mistake about it, the latest resolve of the federating units to collect VAT within their respective units and use the revenue generated therefrom solely for the development of their units as well as enact anti-open grazing laws in order to protect the lives and property of their citizens are indicative of the direction Nigeria is irreversibly, inexorably and irresistibly headed-restructuring so as to create greater regional autonomy and weak centre. The power of the Federal Government under the 1999 Constitution to keep custody and determine the terms and manner of the revenue and allocation of the funds that accrue to the Federation Account to the detriment of the federating units is, to say the least, an unconscionable socio-economic and political injustice. Considering the new self-determinist wave blowing across the different States of the Federation at the moment, I wager that in no distant future all these unproductive parasites idling away in different government offices in Abuja and waiting for monthly allocation and free money will be going hungry for lack of free money. It is a case of Monkey dey work baboon dey chop otherwise how can you rationalize the fact that idle parasites are constantly feeding fat from the revenue generated and wealth created by the federating units?. Happily, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has woken up other State Governors from their slumbers to reality. This is why these State Governors are now enacting the VAT laws in their respective States in order to utilize the revenues accruing therefrom for the socio- economic and cultural development of their respective regions. Lagos State enacted theirs last penultimate week. It is not unlikely that more States will follow suit.

    Additionally, the State governments are enacting their respective anti-open grazing laws in order to get rid of the nuisance of the Fulani herdsmen attacks and killers. Penultimate week I listened to the arguments of the Miyetti Allah chieftains on why the anti-open grazing laws are satanic and therefore should be brought out and quashed. According to the said chieftains, the anti-open grazing laws will work untold hardship and injustice on the Fulani cattle herders and Fulani pastoralists; that the State Governors should learn to accommodate their Fulani herdsmen brothers; that the anti-open grazing laws would send the Fulani herdsmen and millions of people who depend on the livestock value chain into poverty; that the anti-open grazing laws will threaten the social order and undermine the relative peace and stability enjoyed between farmers and Fulani pastoralists in local communities.

    The above arguments, with the greatest respect, are bunkum. They are myopic, unintelligible and gutter arguments and therefore should be ignored by the State Governors. It is a paradox that the Miyetti Allah chieftains are complaining that untold hardship and injustice are being visited on the Fulani herdsmen when in fact it is the herdsmen who are terrorizing innocent local farmers, destroying their crops and farm lands, forcefully dispossessing them of their farmlands and occupying same, raping, maiming and murdering the citizens in their thousands?. Do these chieftains truly understand the meaning of the notion of justice? Do they think that we are fools or what?. Who or what can be adjudged as satanic, Miyetti Allah or anti-open grazing laws?. It is obvious that these chieftains are not reasoning properly otherwise they would not have glossed over the atrocities and crimes being committed by the Fulani herdsmen across Nigeria in demanding for their so-called open grazing right? Is Miyetti Allah not aware that the anti-open grazing laws are the fallout of the atrocities and crimes being committed by the Fulani herdsmen?

    Anyway I don’t blame Miyetti Allah for challenging the State Governors. Why won’t they try to wrestle down the State Governors when Mr. President is solidly behind them?. The reader knows very well that the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, founded in 1970 with the primary objective of promoting the welfare of Fulani pastoralists in Nigeria, has been acting as a parallel or alternative government under the Buhari government. To begin with, the Miyetti Allah is above the law of the land. It meddles in the affairs of government. In fact, the Miyetti Allah is such a powerful alternative government that it can call for the resignation of an elected public office holder. Read again the excerpt of the ultimatum issued by Miyetti Allah to the then Senate President Saraki, “We are tired of Saraki’s style of leadership at the National Assembly. Therefore, we are now warning him to honourably resign his position as President of the Senate or we will force him out.”. Similarly in the aftermath of the killing of about 200 Nigerians on the Plateau State, the Miyetti Allah quicky issued a statement accepting responsibility for the killings. The worst was that instead of regretting that they had wasted many precious human lives on the Plateau, the Miyetti Allah regretted that they had lost about 300 cows. Which means that cow lives are more valuable to Miyetti Allah than human lives. According to Chairman of the North Central zone of Miyetti Allah Danladi Ciroma, “These attacks are retaliatory…“We lost 300 cows, no one should expect peace in Plateau…” .

    To date, the Miyetti Allah still thirsts for human blood. It has continued to utter statements that clearly verge on treason and treasonable felony. It rejects ranching. It has warned that no State in Nigeria has a right to enact anti-open grazing law. It issues threats and ultimatums. Yet the Miyetti Allah is neither proscribed nor prosecuted as a terrorist organization. Instead of proscribing or prosecuting the Miyetti Allah, President Buhari is openly supporting them. Despite murdering many Nigerians the Fulani herdsmen are still moving around freely in Nigeria aided and abetted by our security operatives. Instead of raising such an alarm that the Fulani herdsmen are committing crimes across Nigeria, President Buhari prefers to be raising an alarm that the Fulani herdsmen criminals are not being protected or granted “grazing right” by the State Governors. Do Mr. President and Miyetti Allah understand that right, in the words of the late Supreme Court Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, is not a one-way traffic? Right is reciprocal. Right is intertwined with and conditioned by duties. For example, the “right” of Fulani herdsmen to be freely going about and killing their fellow citizens stops where the right to life of their fellow citizens begins. Besides, what is good for the goose is equally good for the gander. If Mr. President and Miyetti Allah are raising an alarm that the Fulani herdsmen are denied open grazing right, why are they not equally raising an alarm that the same Fulani herdsmen are killing, maiming and raping Nigerian citizens? It is worrisome that Mr. President and Miyetti Allah are yet to understand that by virtue of the Land Use Act all the lands in the various Nigerian States are exclusively vested in the various State Governors (not in the Presidency or Fulani herdsmen) who are at liberty to grant or convey or assign same to any applicant for his use.

    Anyway, the State Governors are unyielding and unbending in their resolve to enact and enforce the anti-open grazing laws to the letter. No amount of cajole, cheap blackmail or open or veiled intimidation can deter them from this resolve. Under our presidential democracy governed by the principle of separation of power and all that, neither President Buhari nor Miyetti kingpins can dictate to our elected State Governors and State legislators the way and manner of enacting their laws. The State Governors and State legislators are primarily accountable to the citizens of their respective States not to President Buhari or Miyetti Allah. State laws are enacted in consonance with the wishes and aspirations of the peoples of the respective States not the wishes of Miyetti Allah. Therefore if the State legislators, after due and proper consultation with the stakeholders and people of their respective States, have resolved to enact the anti-open grazing laws in order to protect the lives and property of the citizens of their respective States, President Buhari and Miyetti Allah have no right to interrogate them for doing that.

  • 2023: PDP, Governors reveal when decision on zoning will be made

    2023: PDP, Governors reveal when decision on zoning will be made

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governors’ forum on Saturday said that a decision zoning of political offices would be made by the party at the appropriate time before the party convention, scheduled for Oct. 30.

    The party and its governors’ forum stated this in separate statements issued in Abuja on Saturday in reaction to Gov. David Umahi of Ebonyi State’s comment on the issue of zoning of presidency by the PDP ahead of the party national convention.

    Umahi has accused the PDP of not ready to zone its 2023 presidential ticket to the south.

    The PDP Governors’ Forum (PDP-GF), in a statement by its Director-General, Hon. C.I.D Maduabum, said that the forum was outraged by Umahi, who left PDP for the All Progressives Congress (APC), attempting “to turn truth on its head”.

    Maduabum advised Umahi, who he alleged to have sabotaged PDP in the 2019 presidential election in the state, to continue his role in the APC and leave the PDP alone.

    On the issue of Zoning, Maduabum advised Umahi to face his issues in the APC and not drag PDP and its Governors into it.

    “PDP is an independent political Party with workable structures and method of doing things. It’s not an appendage of the APC or indeed of any other association or group.

    “The PDP will take its decision on the issue of zoning political offices at the appropriate time. Even the APC has not taken any decision yet on zoning.

    “Different groups and interests are advancing arguments to defend their positions as is required in a democracy. At the end of the day, decisions will be taken by each political party.”

    Maduabum said that the PDP was single minded in its resolve to regain power from the APC in 2023 and would craft strategies to achieve same in the national interest and survival of Nigeria’s democracy.

    In a separate statement, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, also urged Umahi to focus on his APC and leave the PDP alone.

    Ologbondiyan said that Umahi ought to know that the PDP was a party of due process and inclusiveness and that all interests within the PDP would collectively and peacefully take decision on zoning when the time comes.

    He said that Umahi was expected to take his agenda on zoning to the APC but he would not do so because he knows that Nigerians would usher in the PDP in 2023.

    Umahi had on Friday mocked PDP-GF in the Southern Governors’ Forum who joined in adopting the resolution for power shift to the South, saying their body language shows the party won’t zone the Presidency to the South.

    The Southern governors, led by Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, had in a communiqué issued at the end of their meeting in Enugu State on Thursday insisted on power shift to the South.

    Umahi, who spoke on a television programme on Friday, alleged that the PDP governors at the meeting in Enugu were being dishonest with their claim that they were keen about the 2023 presidency going to the South.

    “The body language of one or two PDP governors suggests that the party is against zoning and I can tell you from reliable sources that they are thinking just for their own interest.

    “Let us see what they (PDP) come up with in their zoning in the next few weeks.

    “There are a couple of decisions taken at the Southern Governors’ meeting that I know that together, there is sincerity of purpose in them. But when it comes to politics, I see the hand of Esau and the voice of Jacob,” Umahi said in the television programme.

  • Ortom tackles Miyetti Allah for asking Buhari, NASS to stop governors from enacting anti-open grazing laws

    Ortom tackles Miyetti Allah for asking Buhari, NASS to stop governors from enacting anti-open grazing laws

    One hundred security operatives have so far lost their lives in the course of enforcing the Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranching Establishment Law of 2017.

    Governor Samuel Ortom disclosed on Tuesday in Makurdi, the state capital, while receiving the new Commissioner of Police, Mr Tunji Akingbola.

    He further stated that the perceived failure of the Federal Government to come down hard on foreign Fulani herdsmen bearing weapons poses security threats to the lives and safety of security forces and Nigerians in general.

    “Why do we need to allow Fulani from all these countries to come and destroy our land? That is the point we are saying. They have given unnecessary stress and risks to our security agencies in Nigeria.

    “I say more than 100 security men have been killed in the course of providing security for lives and properties in Benue State in the course of implementing this our law.”

    According to the governor, the affected victims include personnel of the army, police, Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

    He commended security agencies for putting in their best in safeguarding lives in the state, especially as it regards tackling the killings from herdsmen.

    Citing the law, Ortom explained that the Constitution empowers states to enact laws as long as it does not conflict with those existing laws in the country.

    The Benue governor also took a swipe at the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) for challenging state governments over the anti-open grazing laws in their respective domains.

    “Tell me why Miyetti Allah, a terrorist organisation who has taken responsibility for killings will come to challenge governors that laws shouldn’t have been made.

    “We have not committed any evil, we have done the right thing by ensuring we are law-abiding. That was why we legislated and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides that we are free to make laws as a state as long as it does not conflict with the provision of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Ortom stated further.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the Secretary-General of MACBAN, Saleh Alhassan who spoke on Monday during a press conference in Abuja, said the law if passed would undermine the relative peace and stability currently enjoyed in the local communities, threaten the social order and exacerbate cattle rustling.

    “The National Assembly and Mr President should intervene and stop the current attempts by some state governments to criminalise our means of livelihood of cattle-rearing through enacting of satanic and obnoxious laws they call Anti-Grazing Law,” he noted.

  • Miyetti Allah begs Buhari, NASS to stop governors from enacting anti-open grazing laws

    Miyetti Allah begs Buhari, NASS to stop governors from enacting anti-open grazing laws

    The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) on Monday asked the Federal Government to stop state governors from enacting the anti-open grazing law.

    MACBAN Secretary-General, Saleh Alhassan made the comment during a press conference in Abuja.

    He said the law would undermine the relative peace and stability currently enjoyed in the local communities, threaten the social order and exacerbate cattle rustling.

    “The National Assembly and Mr President should intervene and stop the current attempts by some state governments to criminalise our means of livelihood of cattle-rearing through enacting of satanic and obnoxious laws they call Anti-Grazing Law,” he noted.

    “The Federal Government should create a ministry for livestock and fisheries as obtainable in many African countries. Nigerians should adopt strategies in responding to changes of climate change as it affects livestock production not negative laws.”

    Alhassan noted that anti-open grazing laws would destroy livestock production and send millions who depend on the livestock value chain into poverty.

    The Miyetti Allah leader also called on the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to take an inventory of grazing reserves in the country and fully develop at least one grazing reserve in each senatorial zone.

    He appealed to the National Assembly to rescue the pastoralists by resuscitating and passing the Grazing Reserves Commission Bill and other livestock management bills initiated by the previous assembly.

    While referencing the African Union and ECOWAS Protocols/regulation of pastoralists and trans humans, the MACBAN spokesman asked the Nigerian government to domesticate the law in the country.

    According to him, if the protocols are properly documented and implemented, it will effectively tackle the scourge of illegal migration in Nigeria.

    Alhassan’s remarks come four months after the Southern Governors Forum announced a ban on open grazing of cattle across states in the region.

    The governors after meeting in Asaba, the Delta State capital, asked President Buhari to address Nigerians on the state of the nation.

    It also met months later and instructed states in the region to enact anti-open grazing laws in their domain to curb incessant clashes between herders and farmers.

  • We didn’t get N243.8B from Buhari govt, governors

    We didn’t get N243.8B from Buhari govt, governors

    The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) made up of the 36 state governors has denied receiving N243.8 billion as Paris Club refunds from the Buhari administration.

    The NGF Secretariat disclosed this in a statement issued by its Head, Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, on Friday in Abuja.

    Bello-Barkindo described the allegation as a big lie and a figment of the imagination of its author.

    He said that the announcement making the rounds that a disbursement of N243.8 billion to states in the month of August came to the attention of the forum as a surprise.

    “The NGF wishes to state categorically that nothing can be farther from the truth as this disbursement did not happen and could not have happened as there are no further possibilities, that they can happen now, or in the future.

    “The lie is further accentuated by the fact that the announcer has remained anonymous and to all intents and purposes, faceless.

    “If it were true and the announcer sure of his facts, he would have owned the announcement in case anyone wanted to verify the information. But alas! “The faceless announcer of the fake disbursement, is apparently, completely oblivious of, or even clueless, about how the Paris Club refunds came about.

    “This ignorance is either a sincere lack of knowledge of the process, or a deliberate effort to cause confusion in the land,” Bello-Barkindo said.

    He added that the Paris Club is not a reserve institution from which the Federal Government could dip its hands and share monies to States.

    He said it was a cumulative over-payment of debts by States, which has been refunded.

    Bello-Barkindo called on the announcer of the rumour to desist from spreading malicious, mischievous and false information to the Nigerian public, especially where it involves money.

    He said that such act could undermine the nation’s stability, especially at this inauspicious time when Nigeria’s finances are lean and security temperament fragile.

    “There are myriads of ways to encourage the population to call their leadership to account but stoking the embers of discord by dishing out false information is doing the states, the governors and the citizens, as a whole, a disservice or even a calamity that no responsible citizen invites on his people.”

  • Governors speak on receiving fresh N243.8bn Paris Club refund from FG in August

    Governors speak on receiving fresh N243.8bn Paris Club refund from FG in August

    The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has denied alleged disbursement of N243.8 billion from the Paris Club refunds to states in the month of August.

    The NGF Secretariat disclosed this in a statement issued by its Head, Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, on Friday in Abuja.

    Bello-Barkindo described the allegation as a big lie and a figment of the imagination of its author.

    He said that the announcement making the rounds that a disbursement of N243.8 billion to states in the month of August came to the attention of the forum as a surprise.

    “The NGF wishes to state categorically that nothing can be farther from the truth as this disbursement did not happen and could not have happened as there are no further possibilities, that they can happen now, or in the future.

    “The lie is further accentuated by the fact that the announcer has remained anonymous and to all intents and purposes, faceless.

    “If it were true and the announcer sure of his facts, he would have owned the announcement in case anyone wanted to verify the information. But alas! “The faceless announcer of the fake disbursement, is apparently, completely oblivious of, or even clueless, about how the Paris Club refunds came about.

    “This ignorance is either a sincere lack of knowledge of the process, or a deliberate effort to cause confusion in the land,” Bello-Barkindo said.

    He added that the Paris Club is not a reserve institution from which the Federal Government could dip its hands and share monies to States.

    He said it was a cumulative over-payment of debts by States, which has been refunded.

    Bello-Barkindo called on the announcer of the rumour to desist from spreading malicious, mischievous and false information to the Nigerian public, especially where it involves money.

    He said that such act could undermine the nation’s stability, especially at this inauspicious time when Nigeria’s finances are lean and security temperament fragile.

    “There are myriads of ways to encourage the population to call their leadership to account but stoking the embers of discord by dishing out false information is doing the states, the governors and the citizens, as a whole, a disservice or even a calamity that no responsible citizen invites on his people.”