TheNewsGuru

Tag: Meetings

  • INSECURITY! Senate plans regional meetings with critical stakeholders across all regions to stem tide

    INSECURITY! Senate plans regional meetings with critical stakeholders across all regions to stem tide

    As insecurity continues unabated in the country, the Senate has revealed its plan to hold meetings with critical stakeholders in each geo-political zone in order to uncover the root causes of the menace and devise pragmatic measures to restore peace and stability in troubled areas.

    The Senate defended this initiative on the ground that no amount of money invested in infrastructure development would guarantee any tangible outcome if peace and stability are not established in the danger zones.

    Leader of the Senate and Chairman, Senate Ad-hoc Committee on National Security Summit, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele reeled out the plans at the inaugural meeting of the committee held at the Senate New Wing, National Assembly Complex, Abuja on Wednesday.

    Amid grave concerns for security of lives, private assets and public installations nationwide, the Senate had constituted a 20-man committee on the national security summit and equally appointed Bamidele to drive the process and proffer measures for enduring peace.

    Alongside Bamidele, the membership of the committee comprises Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Tahir Monguno; Minority of the Senate, Senator Abba Moro, Minority Whip of the Senate, Senator Osita Ngwu; Chairman, Senate Committee on the Interior, Senator Adams Oshiomhole; Chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Ahmad Malam-Madori; Chairman, Senate Committee on Navy, Senator Gbenga Daniel Chairman, Senate Committee on Defence, Senator Ahmed Lawan and Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, among others.

    But at the inaugural meeting on Wednesday, the chairman of the ad-hoc committee canvassed the need to address the country’s security concerns regionally, saying the national summit on security was designed “to ensure that every Nigerian lives and works in peace irrespective of their location and status in life.”

    Bamidele, further, said no amount of money invested in infrastructure development “will translate to any meaningful outcome without peace and security. For this reason, transforming pervasive insecurity to enduring peace is at the heart of the national security summit.

    “To achieve this objective, the committee will first hold meetings with critical stakeholders in each geo-political zone with a view to unravelling the root causes of security challenges, identifying key actors behind it and devising measures for their effective management.

    “The committee shall also engage victims of armed violence in different parts of the federation for the purpose of seeking diverse perspectives to these challenges. We will interact with our people on ground; listen to their fear and apprehension and garner their suggestions on how to transform insecurity to effective order,” he assured Nigerians.

    Bamidele further explained that Nigeria “can only be on the path of development and prosperity when peace and unity are guaranteed. Therefore, the committee will work round the clock to come up with far-reaching measures that will bring about peace and stability

    “The summit will involve every segment of Nigerian society; traditional institutions, government agencies, military and intelligence/security agencies, and local government, the media and other public spirited individuals and groups with good ideas to share towards attaining the desired outcome of the summit.”

    Providing insight into the country’s security dynamics, the senate leader noted the ugly trends of banditry and kidnapping in the North-west; terrorism and extremist violence in the North-east; farmers-herders crisis in the North-central; separatism and gang violence in the South-east; environmental conflict and oil theft in the South-south as well as abduction and ritual killing in the South-west.

    The chairman noted that the activities of insurgents and bandits “were restricted to the North-east and North-west in the past with a few states attacked in the North-central. Today, however, Kwara is negatively affected. The story of Benue is getting worse by the day.

    “In the South-east, the separatist and farmers-herdsmen conflicts are becoming almost a daily occurrence. This is compounded by the menace of kidnap for ransom. The South-west is not left out of this plague, especially with the increasing cases of ritual killing.

    “The South-south, too, is plagued with the incessant vandalisation of national oil assets, kidnapping, oil theft, piracy and sea armed robbery. All these issues constitute economic sabotage to our fatherland,” Bamidele said with assurance to nip the challenges in the bud.

  • APC schedules caucus, NEC meetings

    APC schedules caucus, NEC meetings

    The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has scheduled its National Caucus and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings for Tuesday and Wednesday.

    The party’s National Secretary, Sen. Surajudeen Bashiru, announced this in a notice issued on Friday night in Abuja.

    According to the notice, the National Caucus meeting will take place at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa on Tuesday.

    The National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Wednesday at the party’s national secretariat, located at 40, Blantyre Street, Wuse 2, Abuja.

    These meetings, convened in accordance with Articles 12.5 and 12.3 of the party’s Constitution, will address internal party matters and key national issues.

    An authoritative source confirmed that President Bola Tinubu has approved the meeting dates.

  • LG elections: Ogun APC bans unauthorised meetings

    LG elections: Ogun APC bans unauthorised meetings

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has placed an embargo on sectional and unauthorised meetings within the party by aspirants or their allies ahead of the Nov. 16 Local Government elections in Ogun.

    This is contained in a statement issued in Abeokuta on Tuesday by the APC Party Chairman, Yemi Sanusi.

    ”The Party has absolute control over how it will prepare for the elections.”

    According to him, unless and until the party announces or calls for meetings, any person organising or attending meetings concerning the forthcoming elections does so at his own peril.

    “The party will exercise the full wrath of its disciplinary powers to punish any parallel or unauthorised meetings that undermine our strategy for the elections.

    “The party is also aware of its power to screen out any aspirant who does not conform to the party and its ideals,” he said.

    Sabusi said:” the state Executive Committee observed that certain persons have been calling for meetings of potential aspirants ahead of the Local Government Elections in Ogun.

    ”Elections are an organised and regulated civic activity, with political parties as frontline regulators of the process.

    ”The Nigerian electoral law does not permit independent candidates, so in the coming Local Government elections, APC will be the contestant, not any individual candidate regardless of that candidate’s perceived political status.

    ”The Party has absolute control over how it will prepare for the elections.

    “While we respect the right of party members to meet freely, the overall interest of the party outranks any individual interest.

    ”As such, all preparation for the forthcoming Local Government elections must be uniform and organised, under the direction of the party’s formal leadership in the state and in line with the party constitution, only the party chairman or a person designated by him, can call such meetings, not aspirants or their allies”.

  • 2023: Atiku, team land in United States for Campaigns, meetings

    2023: Atiku, team land in United States for Campaigns, meetings

    The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  for the 2023  elections, Atiku Abubakar, has arrived  the United States of America for campaign purpose.

    Atiku stormed  Washington D.C. in America with his entourage for consultations and meetings ahead of the 2023 election in the country.

    He flew to the U.S, alongside the Director-General of the PDP Presidential Campaign, Governor Aminu Tambuwal.

    Others are ex-Imo Governor Emeka Ihedioha, and business mogul, Raymond Dokpesi, both key members of the campaign team.

    The former vice president and his team are  also expected to meet with top Nigerian business leaders in the U.S., and the nation’s young professionals in the diaspora.

    They were received by ex-Senate President Bukola Saraki, House of Representatives Minority leader, Ndudi Elumelu, ex-lawmaker Dino Melaye, Atiku’s Special Assistant Phrank Shuaibu, among others.

    Atiku’s engagements include a meeting with Nigerians in diaspora, as well as with PDP members in North America.

    Recall that there were speculations that the Waziri of Adamawa has been banned from entering the United States before the 2019 elections in the country.

    Atiku has now traveled to United States on a few occasions since then.

    The trip was then condemned by the APC through its campaign spokesperson, Festus Keyamo. The Minister of State for Labour is serving in the same role ahead of the polls.

    Atiku is expected to return to the country next week Monday and the next point of call for the continuation of his campaign is  Ekiti state  in the South west of Nigeria.

  • 100 days after ban, FG gives updates on meetings with Twitter

    100 days after ban, FG gives updates on meetings with Twitter

    The Federal Government has again pledged to restore Twitter services in the country, hundred days after the tech giant was banned in Nigeria.

    Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing State House reporters after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja.

    He said that the government is working hard to restore Twitter’s operations in Nigeria.

    “Honestly, we have gone very far. I won’t be specific but we have gone very far,” the minister said.

    “Honestly, it is going to be very soon. Just take my words for that. Even Twitter itself gave a progress report on our talks with them.

    “If I want to quote them rightly, they said it has been quite productive and respectful. As to how soon is soon, if the operation has been successful for hundred days now, we are just talking about a few more days.

    “I can assure Nigerians that we are not unmindful of the anxiety and both parties are working very hard to put a closure on the matter.”

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the Federal Government suspended Twitter operations on June 4 after the social media giant deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari for “violation of the company’s abusive behaviour policy”.

    A day after, the suspension was effected by telecommunications companies.

    The country joins nations like North Korea, China, and Iran in halting operations of the social media platform.

    In spite of the development, many in the country have devised means to sidestep the ban including the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).

  • PDP Crisis: Court declines to hear suit empowering Secondus to call for, preside over meetings

    PDP Crisis: Court declines to hear suit empowering Secondus to call for, preside over meetings

    A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has declined to entertain a suit filed by a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking to restrain the party and any of its members from calling, summoning, or presiding over any meeting, except it is called by embattled National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus.

    In a ruling on Thursday, Justice Tijjani Ringim declined to entertain the suit on the grounds that it was not ripe for hearing since the defendants listed therein were yet to respond to it.

    Listed as plaintiffs in the suit were Mr Eddy Olafeso, Mr Rashidi Sunmonu, Mr Daisi Akintan, Mr Bunmi Jenyo, and Mr Wahab Owokoniran.

    They are seeking among other reliefs, “An interlocutory order of injunction restraining the first, third, fourth, and fifth defendants by themselves, their servants, agents, privies or any member of the defendant whatsoever, other than the second defendant, from calling, summoning or presiding over any meeting of the party whatsoever, including the meeting of any committee of the party, any congress of the party, the National Working Committee, the National Executive Committee, the National Convention, and all other organs or bodies of the party pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”

    Those listed as defendants are the PDP, Secondus, Yomi Akinwonmi (PDP Deputy National Chairman, South), Senator Suleiman Nazif (PDP Deputy National Chairman, North), Senator Ibrahim Tsauri (National Secretary, PDP), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).

    At the resumed hearing of the matter on Thursday, counsel to the plaintiffs, Chimezie Ihekweazu (SAN), told the court that his client’s application was ripe for hearing following a ruling delivered by the court on September 1, that all parties in the suit be put on notice while the court fixed September 9 for hearing of the suit.

    But a lawyer, Mr Chuks Ugo, announced his appearance for the PDP and Senator Tsauri – the first and fifth respondents – while another lawyer, Mr Oladayo Ilori, held the brief of Mr Olatunbosun Osifowora who also claimed to be representing all the defendants in the suit except the party’s embattled national chairman, Secondus (the second defendant).

    Mr Ugo and Mr Ilori both informed the court that they have the mandate of the defendants to represent them in the suit.

    After listening to both lawyers, Justice Ringim held that the two counsels were in disharmony and cannot represent the same client.

    He asked the parties to resolve the issue of legal representation.

    The judge also held that since the plaintiff’s processes were served on the defendants on September 2, the defendants were still within time to file their responses.

    He declared that the motion was not ripe for hearing.

    While citing the recent comments of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) on conflicting court orders, Justice Ringim sought to know if the present suit was not before another court and did not constitute an abuse of the court process.

    He also said the suit would be returned to the Chief Judge of the court for reassignment, as there was no urgency in the affidavits filed by the applicants to entertain it during the court’s vacation.