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Tag: Resignation

  • BREAKING: Intrigues in Edo as Council vice chairman resigns

    BREAKING: Intrigues in Edo as Council vice chairman resigns

    Intrigues have continued to occasion the Edo State Governorship election as another political office holder in the State has resigned.

    The Vice Chairman of Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo, Mrs Maureen Ekharagbon, has resigned her position in the council.

    In a letter dated June 10, Ekharagbon said her resignation was on grounds of administrative, governance and political reasons.

    Her resignation letter was copied to Gov. Godwin Obaseki, Local Government Service Commission and All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Ekharagbon said, “I tender my resignation based on administrative, political and governance grounds as politics and governance are inextricably connected.

    “I want to use this opportunity to thank Governor Godwin Obaseki for the opportunity to serve and also the Chairman of the Council, Mr Scott Ogbemudia.

    “I am grateful to the people of Ovia North East Local Government at large and the leadership of the APC under which platform I was elected.”

    Heer resignation brings to three, individuals that have resigned from their various posts in the state within the last few weeks.

    The Chief of Staff to the governor, Mr Taiwo Akerele and the Commissioner for Communications and Strategy, Mr Paul Ohonbamu, had earlier tendered their resignations.

    Edo is preparing for gubernatorial elections that will hold in September.

  • Obasa’s alleged fraud: PDP calls for resignation of Lagos speaker, condemns APC’s silence

    Obasa’s alleged fraud: PDP calls for resignation of Lagos speaker, condemns APC’s silence

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, to step aside and submit himself to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigation over alleged financial impropriety that also include the discovery of 64 accounts that linked to his Bank Verification Number (BVN).

    The PDP also lampooned the All Progressives Congress (APC) for not speaking out on the allegations in the public space and stated that the alleged bank accounts operated with multiple names in various banks were being used to siphon funds belonging to the people of Lagos state.

    The PDP, in a statement that was signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, said the allegation has further called to question the sincerity of the APC, particularly in a state like Lagos, where the struggling residents had come under asphyxiating taxes that are largely unaccounted for.

    According to the PDP, “our party is however not surprised that the APC and its leaders have remained silent on an allegation, which had already gained national and international prominence; a development that only points to the complicity of a party that brims as sanctuary of corruption with unequaled proclivity for concealment.

    “This is especially when viewed with the exposed humongous sleazes in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development; the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA); the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) among others, under the APC administration.”

    The PDP unequivocally stated that the expectation of Nigerians at this moment, particularly Lagosians, is for the speaker to immediately step down and allow the matter to be openly and freely investigated.

    The party insisted else would place huge moral burden on both the speaker and the Lagos State House of Assembly.

  • Help, they are after my life, Obaseki’s ex-CoS cries out few hours after resignation

    Help, they are after my life, Obaseki’s ex-CoS cries out few hours after resignation

    This might not be the best of time for Taiwo Akerele, the immediate past Chief of Staff to the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki who resigned his appointment on Friday and has since been with Ethan Uzamereon on Saturday night by the governor.

    According to reports, no fewer than 25 operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on Sunday evening invaded the private residence of the embattled ex-CoS.

    According to multiple newspaper reports, the operatives were said to have arrived the residence located off 1st Ugbor Road, GRA, in Benin, at about 5 pm in an 18-seater bus and three operational vehicles of Operation Wabaizigan.

    It was gathered that a security detail to the Governor had earlier called the Personal Assistant to the former CoS, Jasper Olowojoba to come and remove Akerele’s personal belongings from his former office.

    Olowojoba, who was said to have replied that he would remove the items on Monday, was however prevailed upon to come immediately.

    Security men attached to the office were said to have allowed him to remove all the belongings, after which they followed him home.

    Thereafter, Olowojoba was arrested after using him to search Akerele’s house.

    Confirming the development in an interview with The Punch Akerele said: “They cordoned off my street, arrested all my personal staff, my security man and took away all my children’s birth certificates. They sealed my house, my life is under threat. I said I have resigned and that I shared his vision and I am still with him politically, so what else do they want from me?” he said.

    But reacting, the Edo State Commissioner for Information, Mr Paul Ohonbamu, accused Akerele of attempting to blackmail the governor, saying having accepted his resignation and appointed a new CoS, Obaseki had moved on and had nothing to benefit from attacking Akerele.

    Ohonbamu said, “He is the least of our worry; no one is bothered about him; the governor has moved on. To say that the governor is after him is sheer falsehood and blackmail and it shows the kind of character we are dealing with.”

  • Nigeria’s Health Minister under fire over comments on doctors, nurses hazard allowance

    Nigeria’s Health Minister under fire over comments on doctors, nurses hazard allowance

    Nigeria’s Health Minister Osagie Ehanire is presently under fire over his comments on hazard allowance for doctors and health workers at the frontline of the Coronavirus outbreak in the country.

    The Minister, who spoke while meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly in Abuja on Thursday, said he was not aware if medical doctors and other health practitioners managing COVID-19 patients in Nigeria were paid any hazard allowance.

    Reacting, Ezekwesili expressed disappointment over the statement by the health minister.

    She called on Ehanire to take back his statement, adding that this is the time to collaborate with doctors and health care workers to fight COVID-19.

    Ezekwesili advised the minister to make amends immediately.

    In a post on her Twitter page, Ezekwesili wrote: “What was that I heard the Minister of Health saying before the House Committee?

    “He needs to take back some of those statements and build confidence in our Doctors and other HealthCare workers in that sector.

    “This time more than ever requires collaboration.

    “Dear Mr Minister Ehanire, I do have an advice deep from my heart. Please think about it and make amends. Blessings!
    Irked by the response of the minister, Nursing Group Admin, an alliance of progressive administrators and reliable stakeholders, has called for Ehanire immediate resignation the for not knowing what was happening in the health sector.

    The group expressed sadness and total disappointment at the minister in an open letter sent to him, which was also sent to Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; and President Muhammadu Buhari.

    They claimed that the health sector has for many years suffered from the hands of egoistic leaders, who have misplaced their priorities as against the normalcy to reshape and reform the health sector

    They posited that the rot in the health sector was as a result of the negligence and political bias that has only seen a section of healthcare professionals continuing to be both ministers for health in this country.

    “At this crucial period, the leadership of the Ministry of Health who should be making efforts to boost the morale of healthcare professionals as the frontline defence in this battle to eradicate COVID-19, has failed in careful encouragements to see the success of the battle.

    “It is unfortunate that the minister would be insensitive on national TV to further dampen the morale of the already overwhelmed healthcare staff by saying they only check temperatures and he is not aware of the ridiculous N5,000 hazard allowance being paid to healthcare professionals,” the letter reads partly.

    The nursing group are demanding in addition to the immediate resignation of the minister, an apology letter to all healthcare professionals in the country.

    “We demand an immediate resignation of Dr Osagie Ehanire as Minister of Health.

    “An apology in four national dailies to all healthcare professionals whose spirit you have dampened by your ignorance and gross lack of understanding of your responsibilities.

    “That the government immediately constitute a committee to review the ridiculous N5,000 hazard allowance being paid to health workers and this report made available in two weeks.”

    The group also urged the government to change the status quo of “only fielding a member of the healthcare professional as the minister, a review should be done immediately and other competent members such as nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists and other healthcare professionals are called upon to also serve their fatherland.”

  • Insecurity: Lai Mohammed speaks on Buhari’s resignation

    Nigerians expecting President Muhammadu Buhari to resign due to rising insecurity in the nation are joking, as the nation’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed said emphatically on Thursday that the president will not resign.

    He admitted that the nation was currently going through security challenges, but noted that the challenges were being tackled headlong.

    According to him, there had been some red herrings in recent times, including those calling for the resignation of President Buhari or the sack of the security chiefs.

    “I just want to say that the government, which has provided and continues to provide the military and the security agencies with the wherewithal, believes in their ability to tackle insecurity,” he said.

    Mohammed stated that these challenges would be successfully tackled, while advising all commentators, especially political and religious leaders, to be very careful at this time not to aggravate the situation with incendiary comments and comments that cashed in on religious, ethnic and political fault lines to further divide the nation.

    He explained that the kind of comments that had been attributed to some leaders, especially religious leaders, were incendiary and reckless.

    Mohammed said leaders should be part of solutions to problems, rather than aggravating situations.

    “To those asking Mr. President to resign, I wish to say this: Mr. President will not resign,” he said.

    Mohammed said Buhari had the overwhelming mandate of Nigerians to preside over the affairs of the country till the expiration of his tenure in May 2023.

  • Resignation: APC group vows to expose NASS members plotting Buhari’s fall

    Resignation: APC group vows to expose NASS members plotting Buhari’s fall

    The All Progressives Congress Progressive Youth Council has vowed to reveal the identities of its members in the National Assembly behind the call for President Muhammadu Buhari’s resignation.

    The group gave this warning at a press conference in Abuja on Monday on the nefarious activities of some APC members who are behind this inglorious call.

    In a statement signed by President, Alhaji Sanusi Sheriff, the APC youth wing cautioned those distributing monies to lawmakers in order to oust President Buhari to desist.

    According to Alhaji Sheriff, those behind the plot are desperate politicians hiding in the National Assembly to pursue their dream of becoming Vice President anytime soon.

    The APC youths expressed disappointment with some of its members for succumbing to betray the president and the party and even more shocked with the NASS leadership for allowing such a travesty to take place in the first place.

    The APC Progressive Youth Council, therefore, vowed not to hesitate to expose those behind the call for the invitation of President Buhari to appear before the National Assembly.

    The group believes the president’s achievements speaks for itself and no amount of mischief can bring him down.

    The APC youths, however, advised the NASS leadership not to allow itself to be used as a wiling tool for the destabilization of Nigeria by disgruntled elements.

  • Call for Omo-Agege’s resignation, rape of Urhobo nation – UPU

    The highest socio-cultural umbrella body of the Urhobo Nation, the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), has described the call for the Deputy President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, to resign, both as a Senator and Deputy President of the Senate, as a reprehensible grand scheme to further rape and deprive the country’s fifth largest Nationality of her rightful place in the National Scheme.

    In a statement issued by the Office of the UPU President-General, Olorogun Moses Oghenerume Taiga, the UPU, while describing the allegation against Senator Ovie Omo-Agege as most obnoxious, odious, repugnant and devilishly wicked, said that those calling for Senator Omo-Agege’s resignation are enemies of the “Live and Let Live” basics of democracy, which include fair hearing, due process, based on irrefutable facts.

    The Statement declared that, “for avoidance of doubts, the UPU has never supported criminality or immorality in the polity. Therefore, ordinarily, if there was any iota of substance in their call for his resignation, the Urhobo Nation would have been boxed into a tight corner, but would still have stood firmly and stoutly for moral rectitude. Rather, the call, by the group, lacks the slightest whiff of believable scent.

    “The UPU is well briefed that this odious matter has long been disposed of in the earliest days of Senator Omo-Agege’s entry onto the Political arena. Our Senator has been going to the United States of America, before he became a Senator, and even recently, as his family partly resides there. Even, as we speak, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege’s Californian Law License is very much active.

    “On the issue of the forcible seizure of the Mace of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Omo-Agege was exonerated of any complicity by an Abuja High Court sitting in Bwari.”

    The Statement called on all those who feel Omo-Agege has a case to answer to go to court, “instead of this undemocratic resort to mudslinging and nuisance to the public peace.”

    The Statement urged the Civil Society Coalition, threatening to mobilise a noisome coterie of those they would be misinforming against our Senator, to have a rethink.

    The UPU said that the role and position of the Urhobo Nation in the Nigerian Project, not only in size, but even more critically in her economic wellbeing, dictates that her rights be fully recognised, and upheld, such that no frivolous group should lightly contemplate depriving her of her rightful place in such a critical chamber of Policy-making, as the Senate. It declared that the Urhobos are constitutionally and legally, as well rich enough in numbers to also, mobilise her own people to counter any form assault on her rights.

    The Statement also put the entire Urhobo Nation on the alert, reminding all that this is the all-time highest position any of their nationality has ever held. It states that “it behoves all Urhobo persons the need to be vigilant and watch one of theirs being casually and callously rubbished.”

    The UPU Statement also urged all Urhobo leaders in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, “to sheathe every sword, put their house in order, and end internal wrangling that embolden others to feel free to hatch such schemes to put down such a great nationality as the Urhobo Nation.”

  • Ex-Taraba Speaker opens up on resignation saga, relationship with Gov Ishaku

    Former Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly, Peter Abel Diah who resigned on Sunday night, has revealed he took the decision in the interest of the state.

    He spoke in a statement, in which he congratulated his successor, Joseph Albasu Alkinjoh and all the newly elected principal officers of the Assembly.

    He also thanked Governor Darius Ishaku for the good working relationship they had when he served as the House of Assembly Speaker.

    Diah’s statement was signed by his Chief of Staff, Evang. Philip Munlip.

    “Hon. Peter Abel Diah heartily congratulates the new Speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly, Hon. Joseph Albasu Kunini and the Principal Officers on their election and inauguration.

    “He further wishes to express his profound appreciation to the Executive Governor of Taraba State Arch. Darius Dickson Ishaku for the good working relations they had while he served as Speaker of the House of Assembly.

    “Hon Peter Abel Diah also wishes to appreciate all the members of the Taraba State House of Assembly who resolutely stood by him during his trying period and to Tarabans in general, for their massive show of love and support via the many phone calls and text messages.

    “He remains committed to the peaceful coexistence of Taraba State and, by his resignation, has accordingly placed the interest of Taraba State above anything else,” the former Speaker said.

    The new Speaker, Joseph Albasu Alkinjoh, told reporters he will carry all colleagues along, including the former Speaker and Charles Maijankai who resigned as Majority Leader.

    He said the Assembly will make good legislations for good governance, in the interest of the people and state.

    Governor Darius Ishaku hailed the new Speaker for reuniting members of the State Assembly and as well reuniting the legislature with the executive arm of government.

    Fielding questions from journalists, Ishaku said he will give the lawmakers his maximum cooperation required of him as the chief executive of the state.

  • Server saga: INEC denies resignation of ICT Director

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has refuted claims that its Director of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Mr Chidi Nwafor has resigned.

    The commission made the clarification in a notice on its official twitter handle @inecnigeria, on Saturday.

    It described the rumour as false, urging members of the public to disregard it.

    “The rumour circulating that our Director ICT, Engr. Chidi Nwafor has resigned is totally false and should be disregarded.

    “The Director and another staff have just returned from South Africa where they represented INEC at the high level 5th Annual Meeting of ID4Africa Movement in Johannesburg (from June 18 to June 20).

    “Neither he nor any senior staff has resigned his appointment or indicated such intention, since the elections,” the commission twitted.

  • NJC applauds Buhari for accepting Onnoghen’s retirement

    The National Judicial Council (NJC) has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for accepting the voluntary retirement of former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen.

    It gave the commendation at its emergency meeting yesterday, during which members deliberated on the President’s decision in relation to Justice Onnoghen’s exit from the Bench.

    President Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, had, in a statement on Sunday, said: “President Buhari has accepted the voluntary retirement from service of Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen as Chief Justice of Nigeria, effective from May 28, 2019.

    “The President thanked Justice Onnoghen for his service to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and wished him the best of retirement life.”

    NJC’s spokesman, Soji Oye, said in a statement that members of the judicial body noted that Buhari’s acceptance of Onnoghen’s retirement was in line with its recommendation to the President on April 3.

    The statement reads: “The NJC held an Emergency Meeting today (yesterday) to take formal note of the acceptance of the voluntary retirement of Hon. Mr. Justice W. S. N. Onnoghen, GCON, as Chief Justice of Nigeria by President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR.

    “The President’s acceptance of the retirement is in line with Council’s recommendation to the President on 3rd April, 2019.

    “Council at the end of its deliberations thanked the President for the acceptance which was in the best interest of Nigeria.”

    He claim that Buhari’s acceptance of Onnoghen’s retirement was part of its recommendations creates doubt as to the actual position of the NJC on the issue.

    The NJC had, after concluding its investigation of allegations of “financial impropriety and infidelity to the constitution” raised against Onnoghen in a petition by the economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), kept sealed lips on its findings, but announced that it has sent its recommendations to the President.

    In their recent response to a suit by the Incorporated Trustees of Malcolm Omirhobo Foundation, challenging Buhari’s appointment of Justice Ibrahim Muhammad as acting CJN, the President and the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (OAGF) disclosed that the NJC recommended Onnghen’s compulsory retirement.

    They stated that NJC’s recommendation that Onnoghen be compulsorily retired preceded his retirement letter to the President on April 4, 2019.