The Cross River State Chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress embarked on an indefinite strike on Monday, thereby bringing government activitiesto a halt in the state. 

The state chapter of the NLC, led by Comrade Benedict Ukpepi, had declared an indefinite strike over non-payment of pension, gratuities, removal of names of civil servants from payroll, non-implementation of promotion, among others.

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However, it was gathered that some agencies and offices still rendered services, though skeletal, and their workers closed early.

At the new secretariat on Murtala Mohammed highway in Calabar, a team of NLC officials, policemen and other security agencies were seen reportedly enforcing compliance.

READ ALSO, We are reluctant to reopen schools- FG

The NLC chairman said, “The strike is successful. The few staff at the New Secretariat are mostly members of Trade Union Congress who cannot work without our members.”

Some offices were also shut at the old secretariat when our correspondent visited the place.

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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, has disclosed why the federal government is reluctant in reopening schools in the country

NCDC’s Head of Risk Communication, Yahya Disu said poor public perception and compliance to health protocol on COVID-19 prevention was responsible for government’s refusal to reopen schools.

Disu spoke during a webinar hosted by Plan International Nigeria’s Country Director, Hussaini Abdu, with support from the European Union, EU, over the weekend.

He maintained that reopening of schools will further spread the virus, hence they must remain locked. Recall that some time ago, the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba had said majority of parents were against the reopening of schools.

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Disu explained that children were at risk of contracting the virus due to their inability to comply with the protocols.

He said: “The risk perception by the public is still very low and it’s because our population structure consists mostly of youth who may have the disease and not have symptoms.

“Reopening schools will further spread the disease. If there is a good level of compliance, then we could consider school reopening.

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“School children are likely not going to comply and it could spread the disease among them as majority of our pupils go to school in vehicles and the transport sector is known to have a poor record of compliance.”

The federal government had shut down schools as measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, yesterday, accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, government of pursuing the enthronement of Hausa/Fulani supremacy in the country.

This was declared in a statement issued through the Media and Publicity Secretary of IPOB, Emma Powerful. In the statement, the group also said that the present Buhari-led APC administration also came in to reposition the security agencies to favour the Hausa/Fulani. This, they claimed was done by removing the competent hands and replacing them with their kinsmen in order to drive their ethnic domination of the South.

“When the APC was campaigning vigorously for election, Nigerians thought they were coming to grow the economy, enthrone justice, breed unity and tolerance, love for one another but Nigerians got them wrong. 

“They actually came to enthrone Hausa/Fulani supremacy, to reposition the security agencies by sacking all competent hands and replacing them with their kinsmen in order to drive their ethnic domination of the south. 

“Our leader predicted that the herdsmen will be armed and encouraged to slaughter us with impunity and their masters will protect them and that is happening.
 “He said they were coming to ensure that his people are enslaved forever. Those who do not believe him will soon see it happen before their eyes. The Fulani will take over the entire south as a continuation of their age-long agenda to Islamize Eastern Nigeria. 

READ ALSO, Lagos and Ogun have been infected with the anti-church virus- Bishop Oyedepo

“Mazi Kanu said they will brazenly seize our land in pretence of creating grazing fields. Then the conquest will be complete, we will then become their slaves forever. “The only thing he predicted that is yet to happen is the public admission by some governors and traditional rulers on the ongoing stealthily creation of grazing fields and the conquest will be complete. “Don’t forget that Mazi Kanu said he will restore Biafra without firing a shot. The world awaits.”

APC's aim is to enthrone Hausa/Fulani supremacy — IPOB

Mrs Florence Ajimobi, wife of the deceased former Governor of Oyo State, yesterday, accused the Oyo State government of playing politics with her husband’s death. 

Following the burial of her husband’s remains amid tight security at his Oluyole residence yesterday, she also accused Governor Seyi Makinde of not calling her or paying a condolence visit to her since Ajimobi’s death last Thursday. 

Earlier, the place of burial of the former governor had generated a heated controversy. It was gathered that the Oyo State Government had been reluctant in allowing the Ajimobi family to bury the body at Agodi GRA due to a pending court case. 

Meanwhile, Mrs Florence Ajimobi advised Governor Makinde to avoid playing politics with the death of her husband. According to her, “I read in the newspapers a few days ago that the governor of Oyo State, Mr. Seyi Makinde, claimed to call me and I didn’t pick up, he never visited Ajimobi’s family since my husband was admitted in the hospital, neither has he sent anyone nor sent us a message. 

“I don’t have his contact and I have never spoken to him. Even if he called me and I didn’t pick up because of my mourning state, he could have sent me a message. 

“Ajimobi’s family is not competing with him in any way, we are all working for the growth, development and progress of Oyo State, although our party might be different, we are working for the same goal. “Do I need to send an official message to the governor to inform him about the death of my husband before he could send us a condolence message or pay us a condolence visit? It is not pleasant to hearings. What kind of politics are we playing?

 “As a former public chief servant, who had assiduously served this state, he deserved some honour and not a show of shame when he had gone to rest. He never planned to go this soon; it could have been anybody as no one knows the next moment.” 

In a show of respect to the former governor, the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Governor Kayode Fayemi, paid a condolence visit to the family. Speaking on behalf of the governors, Fayemi, sympathised and prayed for the repose of the deceased’s soul. Other governors, who visited include Umar Ganduje (Kano), Abubakar Bagudu (Kebbi) and Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa).

The Oyo State Government has however denied insinuations that it was responsible for the delay in burying the immediate past governor. The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, stated that the insinuations amounted to a wicked lie.

His statement read: “In view of the intense enquiries from news media organisations regarding the perceived delay in burying the late former Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, the Oyo State Government wishes to place on record that there is no truth in the rumour making the rounds that the burial is being delayed by the state government.” 

“The rumour, which is being deliberately spread to give the state government a bad name  and to play undue politics with the dead, initially came by the way of social media gossip, which gained traction to attract the attention of traditional media outfits. 

“Several media outfits reached out to the Media Office of the Governor of Oyo State to make enquiries on this barefaced lie on Saturday. Let it be stated clearly that the Governor of Oyo State, Engineer Seyi Makinde, has played no role at all in causing any delay whatsoever regarding the burial of his immediate predecessor, Senator Ajimobi. 

“The truth of the matter is that the family, through a proxy, approached the state government and sought approval to bury the late governor on a plot of land at Agodi GRA, which is currently under litigation. Incidentally, it was the same former Governor Ajimobi who instituted the legal action. Governor Seyi Makinde had no choice than to state the facts as they are to the emissaries and turn down the request. 

“Governor Makinde, however,  against the established land use rule in Oyo State, gave approval that the family can bury the late governor in his Oluyole Estate residence. “It is to be noted that the rules guiding land use in Government Reservation Areas (GRA) forbid the burial of bodies in such locations as Oluyole Estate and Agodi GRA. 

“Let us also put on record that whereas the family did not follow the laid down protocols in passing information on the sickness and eventual demise of  Senator Ajimobi, Governor Makinde overlooked all that and directed the full cooperation of the government with the family on this matter. 

“It can only amount to a wicked lie to insinuate that the incumbent government in Oyo State attempted to obstruct the burial of the immediate past governor.”
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Seyi Makinde did not send any condolence message since my husband's death- Florence Ajimobi

Following the decision of the Lagos and Ogun State governments to keep churches shut, the Presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church International, aka Winners’ Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo, has said the states have been infected with anti-church virus.

Oyedepo stated this while delivering a sermon on Sunday. According to him, it was ironic that while marketplaces remained open and people no longer observed social distancing or hygiene, the church was being suppressed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He added, “No hand-washing, nothing, everyone is in the market running over one another every day of the week and there is no outbreak from the market, but there is now outbreak, perceived outbreak from the church. Prophets are God’s voices to the nations. Caution!

“Now, freedom of worship is no longer a constitutional right, it’s now determined by some individuals. It is a hard thing to kick against the pricks. This is no longer coronavirus, at least in two states – Lagos and Ogun. It is now anti-church virus, clean and clear.”

READ ALSO, Seyi Makinde did not send any condolence message since my husband's death- Florence Ajimobi

Oyedepo said in the last one week, 10 people testified to have been healed of the disease. He argued that the church, which had the power to heal people, remained closed.

According to him, what was happening to the church could be likened to the experience of the children of Israel when they were in Egyptian bondage.

“Can anybody silence the church? No! I have never heard of anybody that God healed in the market, but people get healed in every church day and night, real, tangible healing. We have recorded 114 coronavirus healing testimonies. We got 10 this week. And that is the place that is vulnerable, not the market,” Oyedepo added.

Lagos and Ogun have been infected with the anti-church virus- Bishop Oyedepo 

Following the declaration of Nigeria as a polio-free country yesterday, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) on has declared that Nigeria is still at risk of Polio epidemic. 

This was stated by the agency’s Executive Director, Dr Faisal Shuaib, while speaking at a Zoom meeting held to celebrate the new status with some donor partners and stakeholders in Abuja. This is even as Nigeria waits to be formally certified polio-free in August. Shuaib assured Nigerians that all actions, particularly vaccination would be intensified to prevent a resurgence of the disease. 

The African Regional Commission for Certification of Polio Eradication (ARCC), an organ of World Health Organisation (WHO), accepted Nigeria’s Wild Polio Virus Free Documentation after 30 years, on June 18, 2020.

READ ALSO, WHO declares Nigeria polio free

Shuaib stated that though the certification meant that Nigeria was free of the wild polio virus, this did not mean the work was over. According to him, the virus can still be imported from other endemic countries. 

“As a matter of fact, the earlier the work starts, the better, because we have to maintain this [polio-free] status.This means we have to continue to give our kids the vaccination that they need against the virus, and all the other vaccine preventable diseases.

”We should not forget that we still have Afghanistan and Pakistan that are endemic for wild polio viruses, which means there is still a potential that these viruses may be imported into Nigeria. 

“We live in a global village, you can see how COVID-19 spread so fast from China, by the same token, we could have wild polio virus spread from these two endemic countries,” he said.

In addition, Shuaib said that though donor partners would withdraw funding, Nigeria has enough to sustain ongoing vaccination across the country, including hard-to-reach communities. According to him, the government was gradually taking responsibility for health. 

“The country will continue to make sure that we put in place all of the strategies. We will continue to look everywhere to make sure that there is no child anywhere in Nigeria that will be paralysed from the wild polio virus.”

Shauib said that the National Assembly had committed enough resources to make sure that the agency has all of the vaccine needed in abundance, and the operations needed to convey the vaccines to remote areas. He also added that the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) had also been signed into law and would be released in a few weeks for funding to be partitioned for vaccines.

“It’s an amazing opportunity that we have to make sure that we do not see a resurgence of the wild polio virus, an opportunity to make sure we protect all our kids from vaccine preventable diseases. 

“With the support we are getting from state governors and traditional institutions, I think we are in a better place than we were a few years ago. There is a steady increase in coverage. 

“In 2015, we had 40 per cent routine immunisation but, in 2018, it increased to 57 per cent, we are at 67 per cent now,” he said.
 The executive secretary said that the certification would take place from Aug. 24 to Aug. 28, when a formal certificate would be awarded to the President. He said the skills garnered from the polio eradication programme were being deployed to eradicate the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the country. 

Earlier, Dr Osagie Ehanire, the Minister of Health, said the declaration of Nigeria as polio free did not mean the work had finished as the country was being threatened by COVID-19. Ehanire said that all stakeholders involved in the eradication of polio would not rest until Coronavirus was defeated. 

“We face a new enemy. There is the Coronavirus out there. After defeating the polio virus, there is no time for rest. NPHCDA will also be in the battle to ensure that Nigeria is kept safe from another virus threatening the world,” Ehanire said.

Nigeria still at risk of wild polio virus- Health agency warns

Says Biafra is the kingdom of God on earth.

The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has condemned the arrest of the convener of the Katsina protest over the unending killings of the people there, saying that more protest would be witnessed in the north over the spate of insecurity.

He wondered why the convener was arrested for organizing a protest over the killing of his people on daily basis and blamed it on what he called “Fulani cabal” ruling the country. 

“The people of Katsina protested something that is even their right as is being done around the world in the name of “black lives matter”, but then the organiser of the same protest in Katsina, Nastiwa Sharif, was arrested.

“Amnesty international has reported that they have arrested this man because he is crying out about the killing of his people by bandits. What is happening today we foretold it, and we knew it would happen”.

Kanu noted that misrule, injustice and hardship are hitting hard on the people of Nigeria who are neglected by their leaders, and added that “for the first time in the history of Nigeria, the indigenous People of Katsina have risen up and have asked for a state of emergency. 

According to him, “if the Federal Government does not call him and IPOB to discuss Biafra exit, with what happened in Katsina, they will lose Sokoto also.”

Kanu also condemned the constant killing of Christians in the north. According to him, if the Christians in north decided to retaliate, with the way they outnumbered the Muslims, it would be fatal. 

The IPOB leader urged the Federal Government to take action to stop the incessant killings. He warned whom he called the Fulani cabal that “very soon, you are going to lose your emirate in Sokoto, if you keep delaying people’s right to separate”.

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He berated Church leaders in Nigeria for not speaking out against the bad governance, injustice, killings and other atrocities going on in the country- “The problem with the churches in Nigeria is that you are just about money; you keep quiet with all the happenings in the country. You don’t condemn the killings in Nigeria.” 

According to him, “IPOB is light and it wants the light to shine on the people of Biafra. I want people to understand that we have proof for the migration of our people from Israel.

“The book of Zephaniah 3:10 says, after Ethiopia you will see my people there. Look at the map, after Ethiopia, it is Biafra. I told you that Biafra is the kingdom of God on earth. Everywhere they are, they represent light. How else do you need me to tell you that you are special?   Biafra is not like any other nation of the world and we make no apologies to that”. 

READ ALSO, IG orders probe of D’Banj over rape allegations

Kanu emphatically condemned Igbo traditional rulers and community leaders who give out land to killer herdsmen in return for money, who turn back to main, rape and kill the owners of the land. He also cautioned IPOB members and Ndigbo that “not everyone that shout Biafra, Biafra is one of us. To be one of us, you must be committed. If you are not a family member, you are not one of us.

He said: “There will be no tolerance of cabals in IPOB. For those in the USA, there must be financial transparency, no body must be in possession of cash; everything must go through the banks.” “And back home in Biafra land, nobody is allowed to levy anybody in Biafra land, if you know you did so, you should resign before Sunday or be disgraced on air.”

Let us negotiate peaceful exit of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu to FG

The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has ordered a probe into the allegations of rape levelled against popular Nigerian musician, Oladapo Oyebanjo who is more popularly known as D’Banj.

This was contained in a letter signed by the Principal Staff Officer to the IG, DCP Idowu Owohunwa, with the reference number CB.7000/IGP.SEC/ABJ/VOl.484/801.  It was addressed to the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Force Criminal Investigation Department, Area 10, Garki, Abuja.

The IG’s probe request was in response to a petition written to him by Mr. Tommy Ojoge-Daniel, a lawyer to Miss Seyitan Babatayo, who accused D’Banj of raping her in 2018.

In reply, the IG requested a probe in letter written titled, ‘Re: Petition Against (1) Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo (Aka D’Banj) for Rape Indecent Sexual Assault, Attempted Assault on Miss Seyitan Temidayo.’

The letter read in part, “I forward herewith copy of letter dated June 5, 2020 received from Ojoge, Omileye and Partners on the above underlined subject. I am to respectfully convey the directive of the Inspector-General of Police that you treat this as urgent… Accept the assurances of my esteemed regards please.”

The story of Seyitan’s abuse in the hands of D’banj was made first made by Seyitan’s friend, Benjamin Ese, in a Twitter thread in early June. She had told the story of how D’Banj allegedly raped Seyitan at a hotel in December 2018.

According to Ese, the incident happened at an all-white party where D’Banj allegedly offered her friend some money to spend the night which she rejected. However, D’banj surprisingly showed up in Seyitan’s hotel room around 2 in the midnight.

“D’Banj drove all the way from Eko hotel where he was lodged and came down to Glee hotel in Victoria Island around 2.40 am and collected the spare key from the receptionist,” Ese said in the thread which has since sparked an outrage.

She said D’Banj allegedly “got into my friend’s room and forcefully threatened he would walk her out of the room naked, kept his fingers in her vagina and repeatedly raped her.” Ese claimed that the rape experience had left Seyitan traumatized.

One month after Ese’s tweets, Seyitan publicly presented herself as the lady who was allegedly raped by D’Banj in December 2018.

The musician, however, denied the accusations and asked Seyitan to make a public apology and also pay him the sum of N100m in damages.

On Tuesday, however, some policemen allegedly acting on the instruction of the musician detained Seyitan for over 24 hours and intimidated her, making her delete all chats, social media posts and other vital information from her phone.

The incident has sparked an outrage on social media and D’Banj has been trending on social media for the last two days as Nigerians berated him for misusing his influence.

D’Banj is one of Nigeria’s biggest artists having won several music awards, including the awards for Best African Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2007, Artist of the Year at the MTV Africa Music Awards 2009, Best International Act: Africa at the 2011 BET Awards, and Best-selling African Artist at the 2014 World Music Awards. 

In addition, he also won the Evolution award at the 2015 MTV Africa Music awards. He boasts of a scandal-free career, and there have been speculations that he is bent on protecting that reputation at all costs.

Feminists and several human rights groups have since called on the police to ensure that justice is served regardless of the musician’s status.

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IG orders probe of D’Banj over rape allegations

World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Nigeria a polio free country, after three consecutive years of non record of outbreak.

The organisation on its Twitter handle said the devastating disease was at the moment endemic in only two countries, thereby bringing the world one major step closer to achieving the goal of ending polio for good.

Nigeria was said to have received the status after completing documentation which was accepted by the African Regional Certification Commission for polio eradication.

It said, “The outstanding commitment and efforts that got Nigeria off the endemic list must continue, to keep Africa polio-free. We must now support the efforts in Pakistan and Afghanistan so they soon join the polio-free world.”

WHO Nigeria Country office, in a tweet, on Thursday, said, “Today, Nigeria’s complete documentation for wild polio virus free status was accepted by the Africa Regional Certification Commission for polio eradication (ARCC).

“It is a historic day for Nigeria, Africa and the Global Polio Programme!”

While reacting to the development, the Director of Media in National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Mohammed Ohitoto, said that it was a form of joy to Nigerians and the agency.

ALSO READ, Disaster ahead if Buhari does not split Nigeria now - Nigerian Pastor

Meanwhile, Dr Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director and CEO of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), in a tweet at @drfaisalshuaib described the documentation as historical. 

“Amazing moment in history to have had our polio-eradication documentation accepted by (ARCC); the Nigeria team led by NPHCDA and partners demonstrated evidence of our polio-free status. 

“Nigeria achieving a Wild Polio Virus-free status today, is significant on multiple fronts. I look back at the incredible leadership that has brought us here. Apart from President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, the two most important people who have made it possible due to their financial and technological contributions have been Mr Aliko Dangote and Mr Bill Gates. “Thanks for this unquantifiable gift to Nigeria,’’ he said.

A Nigerian pastor, who is the leader of Awaiting the Second Coming of Jesus Christ Ministry, Adewale Giwa has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently split Nigeria into parts before the 2023 elections.

Giwa made this known in a statement on Thursday where he specifically stated that the crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress was a result of the presidential ambition of some politicians who want to rule the country at all costs. The cleric urged President Buhari to allow Nigerians seeking secession to peacefully go their different ways before the 2023 elections.

In Giwa’s words, “Nigerians are ready to forgive the maladministration of President Muhammadu Buhari in the last five years if he can listen to the cries of the citizens this time around and split the country into parts.

“We should not wait till the 2023 presidential election tears us apart before the president makes this decision. Already, some politicians are playing the game against the rules.

“If nobody could fix Nigeria since 1960, 1999 and now, I don’t think we should expect any Messiah to wipe the tears from our eyes after the exit of president Buhari.

“Our population is over 200 million and we have over 500 languages being spoken across the country. So, it is glaring that the nation is too big for one person to control.

“Abram (Abraham) and Lot parted ways when the land of Bethel could not support them with their flocks and herds. When fights broke out between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot, Abram talked it over with Lot and allowed him to choose any land (region) he wanted. 

They parted ways and that solved their differences. You don’t join people together by force when things are not working.

“There are a lot of hypocrites in Christianity and Islam who cannot call a spade a spade. I have decided to come out to say this for peace to reign in Nigeria.

“2023 presidential election will do more harm than good in the country. The current crisis rocking the APC is all about who wants to be the next president.

“The North is not ready to cede power to the South, while the East is also yearning for the position. Boko Haram and other terrorist groups are busy killing innocent Nigerians on a daily basis. Where is unity in Nigeria?

“It is those who do not want the progress of the country that would want things to continue this way so that they can continue to get a share of 'the national cake.' ”

Disaster ahead if Buhari does not split Nigeria now - Nigerian Pastor

The Federal Government on Wednesday faulted the image of the debt profile of the country that the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar painted. They described his words as criticism anchored on a false premise.

According to the federal government, the figure of Nigeria’s debt to revenue ratio of 99 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, quoted by Atiku “is not in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, where he claimed he got it from.”

In addition, a statement by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, noted that while the Federal Government welcomes constructive criticism, it must be based on verifiable facts rather than conjectures and innuendos. He also stated that the debt service provisions in the annual budgets included principal repayments, and interest payments.

‘Therefore, the statement that debt servicing does not equate to debt repayment is not only wrong, but ill-informed,’ he emphasized. 

The Minister of information also said, “There is no doubt that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar loves our country and wishes it well, otherwise he would not have sustained his serial quest for the country’s highest position.

“One can only hope that his resort to the use of such words as ‘precipice’, ‘foreclosure’ and ‘economic ruin’ does not reflect anything but best wishes for the country at this time.

“We are also not able to ascertain the source of the first quarter figures of N943.12 billion for debt servicing and N950.56 billion for retained revenue, which he also quoted.”

The minister, while speaking on Atiku’s claim that revenue needed to increase, stated that the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had introduced several measures to shore up revenues. He stated that contrary to the statement made by Alhaji Abubakar that Nigeria had experienced alarming and unprecedented increase in the ratios of debt to Gross Domestic Product and debt service to revenue, Nigeria’s debt ratio to GDP is one of the lowest in the world at 19.00 per cent as at December 31, 2019.

“One of the reasons why debt service to revenue is high is because revenue generation in Nigeria has been low, with over-dependence on the oil sector. This is corroborated by the fact that the ratio of Nigeria’s tax revenue to GDP is one of the lowest in the world at about 6 per cent,” he said.

READ ALSO, Blame monarchs for herdsmen attacks on Igbo communities –MASSOB

Lai Mohammed added that unlike the past, when the nation borrowed to service the crass indulgence of a few fat cats, the loans being obtained by the current regime were primarily used to finance infrastructure projects, including roads, railways, bridges and power.

“We have said that in the face of massive infrastructural decay, no responsible government will sit by and do nothing. This administration’s borrowing, therefore, is aimed mostly at revamping our infrastructure.

FG faults Atiku on criticism of debt profile, says he is ill-informed

The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB has declared that traditional rulers in Igbo land should be held responsible for the killings of Igbo people by marauding Fulani herdsmen.

The Director of Information, MASSOB, Mr Sunday Okereafor, accused the traditional rulers of keeping silent while herdsmen continued to kill the people of the South-East.

Okereafor stated this while reacting to the recent killing of a 65 year old farmer in Obudi Agwa in the Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State. He added that some communities in Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu and Anambra had witnessed a similar unfortunate occurrences in the past.

He blamed the repeated killings on the monarchs of Igbo land whom he accused of selling their voices. This he claimed they did by collecting a monthly stipend of N100, 000 from the Federal Government. According to Okereafor, the monthly stipend ensured that the Ezes would keep silent in the face of killings by Fulani herdsmen.

Okereafor said, “In some communities in Igboland, a monarch will sit on his throne and a Fulani man will come with his cattle and pass through the palace of the traditional ruler. But they (Ezes) will not make any comment because they have compromised.

“You can imagine (a monarch) allowing the Fulani herdsmen to stay in his backyard in the bush; doing what? But we are telling the Ezes and the governors that we are aware of what is going on and their days are numbered.”

READ ALSO, Anambra doctors commence indefinite strike over looted COVID-19 funds

However, the traditional ruler of Ishiala Umudi community in the Nkwerre Local Government Area of Imo State, Eze Joel Udenkwo, dismissed the allegations made by MASSOB.

Eze Udenko debunked Okereafor’s claims and stated that no Igbo traditional ruler was collecting N100,000 from the Federal Government in order to allow herdsmen herd their animals into their communities.

“The claim (that monarchs in Igbo land collect N100,000 from FG) should be discountenanced,” the traditional ruler said.

He also added that as custodians of the Igbo culture and tradition, it was unthinkable that monarchs would compromise the security of their communities for financial gain.

Blame monarchs for herdsmen attacks on Igbo communities –MASSOB

Nigerian newspapers,on one page.

NLC embarks on strike in Cross River

We are reluctant to reopen schools- FG