The Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi  Ganduje, on Monday, dethroned the 14th  Emir of Kano, Muhammadu  Sanusi II. 

The Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, in a statement in Kano on Monday, stated that the removal of  Sanusi, whose grandfather,  Muhammadu Sanusi I,  was deposed in 1963,  was unanimously approved by the state executive council.

Prior to Sanusi’s dethronement at 11am on Monday, there were signs that a major decision was in the offing as heavily armed security agents were drafted to the major parts of the city, including the palace of the monarch.

About six hours after Sanusi was deposed, the state government announced Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, a son of the 13th Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, who died in 2014,  as the successor to the dethroned monarch.

The state government as early as 8am had  invited journalists to the Government House for what a top officer said was “an important state matter.”

READ ALSO CORONAVIRUS: BUHARI SETS UP TASK FORCE

The secretary to the state government stated that  the emir was dethroned for  “total disrespect to lawful instructions from the office of the state governor and other lawful authorities, including his persistent refusal to attend official meetings and programmes organised by the government without any lawful justification which amount to total insubordination.”

He further alleged that  Sanusi breached part 3 section 13 (a-e) of the Kano State Emirate Law 2019, adding that if left unchecked the deposed monarch would  “destroy the good and established image of the Kano Emirate.

“This removal is made after due consultation with the relevant stakeholders and in compliance with part 3 section 13 of the Kano State Emirate Law 2019 and other reasons stated above. It was  reached in order to safeguard the sanctity, culture, tradition, religion and prestige of the Kano Emirate built over thousand years.”

The state governor, through the secretary to the state government, approved the appointment of Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, as the 15th Emir of Kano in the ruling Fulani dynasty.

The SSG, Usman Alhaji,  at the press conference, said “In my capacity as the secretary to the state government,  I have been directed by His Excellency, Governor Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, based on Sections 11 Subsection 1 of Kano State Emirate Council law 2019 to announce the appointment of Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, the former Emir of Bichi as the 15th Emir of Kano in the ruling Fulani dynasty.”

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The Emir has since been banished to Nasarawa State. Since his ascension to the throne, Sanusi, who is a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has been an advocate of reforms in the largely conservative North.

In addition to condemning the Almajiri system, he has been critical of the northern elite. Recently in Kaduna, he warned that the North was destroying itself by not embracing education. The crisis between him and the Kano State government worsened last year when the state anti-graft agency probed him for corruption.

EMIR'S DETHRONEMENT: GANDUJE APPOINTS ADO BAYERO'S SON NEW EMIR

Following the confirmation of a second case of coronavirus in Nigeria by the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, on Monday, the Federal Government moved to stop the spread of the disease as the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.),  set up a 12-man Presidential Task Force for the Control of  Coronavirus-19. 

According to the minister,  the Federal Government had so far committed about N1bn to monitoring and preventing the spread of the disease.

The presidential task force is chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha. A State House statement by Buhari’s media aide, Garba Shehu, announced the appointment on Monday.

Shehu said, “Given the current global outbreak of the novel Coronavirus and its potential of causing significant disruption to health services in the country as well as impacting negatively on the economy, President Muhammadu Buhari has established a Presidential Task Force for the Control of the Coronavirus-19 Disease.

“This action is in preparation for the unlikely but probable major outbreak of the disease in the country which will require a multi-sectoral inter-governmental approach as advised by the World Health Organisation similar to that adopted for the HIV epidemic in the last two decades.”

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 The committee, whose National Coordinator is Dr Sani Aliyu, has a mandate of six months to deliver on the assignment. Other members include the Minister of Health,  Osagie Ehanire; Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika; Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Services, Sadiya Umar-Farouk; Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu; Minister of Environment,  Mohammed Mahmoud; Director General, Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi; Director General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control; Chikwe Ihekweazu; and World Health Organisation Country Representative.

Emir Refuses to Follow Instructions - Kano Govt 

The Kano State government has dethroned the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II. This was announced by the  Secretary to the State Government, Usman Alhaji, on Monday at the State Executive Council meeting which held at the Government House in Kano.

He explained that the state government took the decision over allegations of consistently refusing to abide by instructions given to him.

BREAKING: EMIR OF KANO, MALLAM MUHAMMADU SANUSI II DETHRONED 

The international oil benchmark, Brent crude, which stood at $45.72 per barrel on Sunday, has further slumped to $33 per barrel.

Oil prices suffered an historic collapse overnight after Saudi Arabia shocked the market by launching a price war against onetime ally Russia. Brent, against which Nigeria’s crude is priced, fell by $11.62 to $33.45 as of 9.00am Nigerian time on Monday. It earlier dropped to $31.02, it’s lowest since February 12, 2016, according to Reuters.

Traders are bracing for Saudi Arabia to flood the market with crude in a bid to recapture market share, according to CNN Business. The negotiations between the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners broke down last Friday.

READ ALSO BREAKING: NIGERIA CONFIRMS SECOND CORONAVIRUS CASE

Russia, the leader of the 10 allies, adamantly refused to go along with a plan for deeper crude production cuts to tackle the coronavirus’ impact on global oil demand. Brent, which has been on a downward trend since the coronavirus outbreak, fell by $3.84 to $46.15 per barrel as of 8:10pm Nigerian time on Friday.

OPEC had on Thursday revealed a plan under which it would slash its production quotas by an additional 1 million barrels per day for the rest of the year, contingent on Russia and nine other non-OPEC allies agreeing to shrink theirs by 500,000 barrels per day.

Oil prices were already stuck in a bear market because of the coronavirus outbreak that has caused demand for crude to fall sharply. Saudi Arabia then escalated the situation  over the weekend. The kingdom slashed its April official selling prices by $6 to $8, according to analysts, in a bid to retake market share and heap pressure on Russia.

OIL PRICE CRASHES TO $33, AS SAUDI ARABIA LAUNCHES PRICE WAR

A second case of Coronavirus Covid-19 has been confirmed in Nigeria. The case is a contact of the index case, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said on Monday morning.

READ ALSO ASUU RESISTS IPPIS, SET TO STIKE

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire announced this on Monday at a press briefing in Benin City, the Edo State capital. He said the fresh coronavirus case tested positive on March 8. However, the Minister noted that the newly confirmed case was one of the contact persons of the index case and not an importation into the country.

Ehanire briefed Journalists at the conference room of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, where he gave an update on the coronavirus infection in the country.

BREAKING: NIGERIA CONFIRMS SECOND CORONAVIRUS CASE

Following the decision of the Federal Government to stop salaries of lecturers who have not enrolled in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, the Academic Staff Union of Universities has hinted on a nationwide strike. This was revealed when ASUU held its National Executive Council meeting at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu, on Saturday and Sunday, and issues such as the IPPIS and the Federal Government’s failure to honour the 2009 agreements were discussed.

February salaries ofFG workers, including university lecturers, who had registered on the IPPIS is due this week.  However, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zanaib Ahmed, at a management retreat in Kano on Thursday, had said lecturers who did not enroll for the IPPIS would not be paid their February salaries. This followed the directive of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.),  in October last year that all Federal Government workers  enroll in the IPPIS to ensure transparency.

However, recall that ASUU resisted  the directive on the grounds that it negated the principle of autonomy of Universities. The union directed its members to shun government officials sent to universities between October 25 and November 7, 2019, for the purpose of enrolling workers in the IPPIS.

On Thursday, the finance minister said 55 per cent of ASUU members had registered for the IPPIS, saying, “the ones that have not are not getting their February salary.”

The Chairman of ASUU at the University of Nigeria Nsukka,  Dr Christina Opata, said lecturers at the university were waiting for directives from the leadership of ASUU at the national level before embarking on strike, if their salaries were stopped. 

According to the ASUU branch chairman, the integrated payroll system is defective and corrupt. She said, “The Federal Government has not told Nigerians the truth about what it wants to achieve through the IPPIS because the IPPIS is an embodiment of corruption itself. There is evidence to prove that many people are on the payroll under IPPIS yet they are not working anywhere. If they are sincere they should decentralise it.

“Each university should have desk officers so that anytime somebody has a complaint, it doesn’t require the person going to Abuja; you walk over to the desk officer in your university and put up your complaint. But as it is now, if you go to Abuja you will hire a hotel and you may spend three, four days without meeting the officer in charge. These are the things that people have been pointing out but they don’t want to understand it that way.

“They say they want a centralised system of payment as if those who are there are the saints of society. But whatever it is, our own concern, the concern of ASUU is that the IPPIS is not corrupt-free.  You say you want software that can control everything about Nigeria, yet the software is not domiciled and controlled by Nigeria. It is controlled by a foreign country. The software that they are using is that of the Apple domiciled in the United States of America which means every information about Nigeria is to be managed by the US.”

The Chairman of ASUU, University of Ibadan, Prof. Ayoola Akinwole, when asked what ASUU would do if the Federal Government failed to pay February salaries, said the union would respond appropriately when February salaries were paid.

The Federal Government will soon stop the salaries of its workers not captured on the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System. This was made known by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed. 

She made the announcement in Kano State at the 2020 management retreat organised by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation for treasury directors of finance and accounts and directors of internal audit.

The Minister also said the Federal Government had approved the posting of treasury directors from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to revenue generating agencies as directors of revenue.

READ ALSO MAN COMMITS SUICIDE IN ANAMBRA AFTER WIFE DESERTS HIM

The IPPIS scheme is one of the Federal Government’s reform initiatives designed to achieve a centralised payroll system. It facilitates easy storage and retrieval of personnel records for administrative and pensions processing to aid manpower planning and budgeting as well as to comply with global best practices.

The President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had directed the finance ministry to ensure that all employees of the Federal Government were enrolled on the IPPIS platform.

The development had made the government to open a three-week window for the IPPIS enrolment between November 25 and December 7 across 43 universities.

The Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr Ahmed Idris, had said out of the 94,990 university workers so far enrolled, about 8,146 were academic staff while the balance of 86,844 were non-academic staff. Branches of the Academic Staff Union of Universities in federal universities across the country had resisted the move stating that it was against universities autonomy.

The union had threatened to mobilise its members for a nationwide strike if the Federal Government stopped the salaries of lecturers for resisting enrolment on the IPPIS platform. However,  the finance minister said her ministry would commence the stoppage of the salaries of all Federal Government’s employees not on the platform.

FG WILL STOP SALARIES OF WORKERS NOT ON IPPIS- MINISTER OF FINANCE 

A 47-year-old man simply identified as Mr Samuel Nweke, in Anambra state has committed suicide over a disagreement with his wife, leaving behind a suicide note.

It was gathered that the victim’s wife left him on February 25, 2020, following a quarrel.

According to a statement issued by SP Haruna Mohammed, the PPRO, Anambra State Police Command that was made available to newsmen in Awka, said the disagreement led to the deceased’s wife abandoning him, which unfortunately led to his demise.

READ ALSO FG ORDERS SUSPENSION OF UNILAG CONVOCATION

He said “On 04/03/2020 at about 12:10 pm, there was a report at Awada Police Station that a decomposing body of one Samuel Nweke ‘m’, aged about 47years was discovered in his apartment at No 5 Chief Nwankwo Street Awada in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

“Following the report, Police detectives attached to Awada division visited the scene, cordoned off the area and photographed the victim after he was confirmed dead by a medical doctor.

“No mark of violence was seen on the victim’s body but what appeared like a suicide note was discovered beside the body of the deceased. The corpse was thereafter evacuated by the victim’s relatives.” he said

Meanwhile, Haruna said preliminary investigation revealed that the deceased had an altercation with his wife which made her leave her matrimonial home on 25/02/2020 leaving the deceased alone in the house.

It was suspected that the action of his wife may have driven him to take his own life.

He said the state commissioner of Police John B. Abang, has ordered for a discreet investigation to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the incident.

MAN COMMITS SUICIDE IN ANAMBRA AFTER WIFE DESERTS HIM

Suspension Due to Overbloated Ego of Pro-chancellor: ASUU

Following the directive of the Federal Government, the authorities of the University of Lagos have suspended the forthcoming convocation ceremonies slated to hold from Monday March 9th to Thursday 12th March, 2020. This, according to the directive, was because they did not get the approval of the school’s governing council.

A letter from the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education to the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC) which contains the directive reads:

“The attention of the honourable minister has been drawn to the attached copy of letter dated 2nd of March, 2020 from the pro-chancellor and Chairman of Council, Dr. B.O Babalakin to the effect that the 2019 convocation ceremonies were not approved by the Governing Council in line with the laws of the university.

“I am to, therefore, request that you kindly advise the Vice Chancellor to suspend the Convocation and ensure full compliance with due process. Please, accept the assurances of the best regards of the Honourable Minister.”

The Dean of Students Affairs, Prof. Ademola Adeleke, on Thursday stated that the management regretted the inconvenience the development might cause the fresh graduates and their families.

The Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, UNILAG branch, Dr Dele Ashiru, said the suspension was due to the disagreement between the varsity management and the Pro-Chancellor, Dr Wale Babalakin. Ashiru explained that Babalakin had written to the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, to say he was not carried along in the convocation programme.

The minister was said to have written the National Universities Commission and the varsity was asked to suspend the programme.

According to ASUU, “Our union condemns in the strongest terms the unilateral postponement of the convocation of the University of Lagos based on the overbloated ego of the pro-chancellor. It is indeed worrisome that the Ministry of Education will accede to an evil demand to postpone the convocation of a first-generation university on the complaints of a man who only wants his ego to be massaged.”

FG ORDERS SUSPENSION OF UNILAG CONVOCATION

Investigation Triggered by Whistle-blowers

The Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammad Sanusi II, has been invited by the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission over a fresh allegation of N2.2 billion land scam. 

He is to appear before the commission on Thursday to be probed over alleged violation of the provisions of Sections 22, 23 and 26 of the Commission. This was made known in the invitation letter, dated March 2, 2020, signed by the commission’s Executive Chairman, Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado,

“This Commission is investigating an alleged violation of the provision of Sections 22, 23 and 26 of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission Law 2008 (as amended) in the management of land reserved as ‘GANDUN SARKI’ spread all over the state.” 

Usman Bello, the commission’s Director of Special Assignment/Communication Adviser, disclosed that the investigation was triggered by some whistle blowers and added that Section 31 of the law establishing the commission empowered it to initiate such investigation and ordered any invitee to appear before it to defend him/herself in the face of any allegation.

In the course of investigation, the commission discovered that a company, Country Wide House Limited, served as a corporate vehicle to allegedly launder N520 million as proceeds of 20 hectares of land at Darmanawa II. According to him, the land in question, which was under formally Right of Occupancy CON-RES-2016-503, was illegally sold to Messrs Family Home Fund Limited at the alleged instance of the Emir of Kano (Sanusi ll).

Investigations also revealed that all the alleged illegal transactions for the sale of the landed properties at Darmanawa, Hotoro and Bubbugaje belonging to the Emirate was done by the trio of Shehu Muhammad Dankadai (Sarkin Shanu), Sarki Abdullahi Ibrahim (Makaman Kano) and Mustapha Kawu Yahaya (Dan Isan Lapai). 

READ ALSO US ANNOUNCES $7m BOUNTY ON BOKO HARAM LEADER, SHEKAU

The spokesman explained that the trio were invited in the spirit of fair hearing and they visited the commission on several occasions to provide useful information. According to Bello, “Investigation further revealed that some of the proceeds of the sales remitted to the Emirate Council Bank Account can be traced to the companies of interest by His Highness.”

The Emir was also alleged to have ordered for the payment of N175 million to Messrs Apple Integrated Resources as facilitation fee for the agreement of provision for side and services at Darmanawa 33.4 Hectares by Messrs City Scape Limited, which was against the decision of the Emirate Council of June 8, 2016.

“A (2016) fourth meeting, which rejected such move of payment to the company, which now investigation confirmed that has never participated in any dealing with the City Scape arrangement with Ado Bayero Royal City Trust Fund,” he said.

According to him, some senior councillors in the Emirate cooperated with the commission and facilitated the current probe. It was based on the foregoing and in compliance with the spirit of fair hearing that the commission requested the monarch to come forward for clarification on March 5, 2020 at 11am.

Recall that a Federal High Court sitting in Kano had last month quashed the report of the commission that indicted the Emir over an allegation of N3.4 billion fraud from the Emirate Council fund. Nullifying the action of the commission, the court held that the fundamental human right of Mallam Muhammad Sanusi II was violated because he was not given fair hearing.

The court said the failure of the commission to invite the Emir to defend himself against the allegations nullified any step taken or recommendation made by the commission. Meanwhile, there are two pending cases before the Kano State High Court over the N3.4 billion fraud allegations against the emir being investigated by the commission.

EMIR SANUSI SUMMONED BY KANO ANTI-GRAFT AGENCY OVER ALLEGED N2.2b LAND SCAM

Shekau, World's 8th Most Wanted Terrorist

The United States Department of State is offering a reward of up to $7m (N2.5bn) for information leading to the arrest of Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau. The government has on three separate occasions claimed to have killed Shekau but the Boko Haram leader has resurfaced on several videos to show that he is still alive.

The Rewards for Justice Programme, which is the counterterrorism rewards programme of the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, made this announcement in a tweet on its official Twitter handle on Tuesday.

READ ALSO ABDUCTED BENUE PRIEST RELEASED, GIVEN #4000 FOR TREATMENT

The tweet read, “The United States Department of State offers a reward up to $7m for information leading to the arrest of the terrorist, Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram.” 

The terrorist group, which has been headed by Shekau since 2009, has killed tens of thousands and displaced about 2.3 million from their homes, many of whom have fled to Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. It was at one time the world’s deadliest terror group according to the Global Terrorism Index, having carried out suicide bombings of police buildings and the United Nations office in Abuja.

The group has carried out mass abductions which included the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in April 2014 and in 2016 abducted some schoolgirls from Dapchi in Yobe State, releasing all of them except Leah Sharibu for refusing to deny her Christian faith.

The Federal Government has since initiated a plan to give amnesty to repentant terrorists while the Senate is currently debating a bill to establish an agency that will cater for the repentant insurgents.

Shekau is currently the 8th most wanted terrorist by the United States.

US ANNOUNCES $7m BOUNTY ON BOKO HARAM LEADER, SHEKAU

The Otukpo Catholic Diocese priest, Rev. Fr. David Echioda, who was kidnapped on Sunday has been released by his abductors.

This was made known by the director of communications, Otukpo Catholic Diocese, Rev. Fr. John Okopopu, on Wednesday. He said that the kidnappers released the priest on Tuesday around 6:30, apologised to him and informed him that he was not their target.

The Rev. Fr. said that the abductors told the victim that he was wrongly abducted as they initially planned to kidnap a top politician who they had information would be passing the route around 2:00 pm on Sunday. They waited until around 4:00 pm and did not see their target.

The director of communication said that the priest ran into the gunmen numbering six who were armed with sophisticated weapons.

“Unfortunately, when the gunmen could not see their target, they began to rob and the priest was the first to run into them and they dispossessed him of his belongings including the church’s money.

“They forced him into his vehicle – three men in the front, three at the back while one was searching the priest. All of them carried AK-47 and were speaking Hausa.

“Although the priest understands Hausa and communicated with them in Hausa, they tortured and later released him with an apology that he was not their target.

He was given 4000 naira to treat himself. 

ABDUCTED BENUE PRIEST RELEASED, GIVEN #4000 FOR TREATMENT

Nigerian newspapers,on one page.