Labour Party on Monday passed a vote of confidence on its National Chairman, Julius Abure, who was allegedly suspended by a factional group of the party.
The party recalled that some groups who claimed to be Ward 3 executives of the party in Edo, led by the Ward’s Chairman, Martins Osigbemhe, had earlier announced the suspension of the LP national chairman .
The suspension was over allegations of forgery, perjury, mismanagement of funds, anti-party activities, among others.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja, the Chairman of the party in Edo State, Mr Kelly Ogbaloi, said that the constitution of the party did not empower any group or party members to suspend a national officer who was elected by national convention.
He said “imposters “who were not registered party members cannot suspend him, so their action is out of ignorance .
“Those who did it do not even understand the message they were asked to deliver.
“It’s nonsense when few boys assembled themselves in Abuja and made the pronouncement they made.
“Those that issued the suspension were not members of the party, nobody knows them at ward level nor Local Government level talk more of the state level.
“In the constitution of Labour Party, no state, no local government, no ward has the right or whatsoever to assemble anywhere to suspend a national chairman who is a product of a national convention,” he said.
Ogbaloi said that it might be possible in other political parties but not in Labour Party.
He said that whatever action carried out by the group, had no effect on the leadership of the party.
“Mr Julius Abure remains the National Chairman of our party and we have since passed a vote of confidence on him and he shall take this party forward.
” No reasonable person will come and be talking about the suspension of a chairman who had delivered on the just concluded elections,” he said.
Mr Patrick Obed, the Local Government Chairman, Esan East, Edo, said that the suspension of Abure was a rumour and a rift.
According to him, Abure is the National Chairman and has not been suspended at any level.
“He has been good to us, he has been working assiduously to move the party forward,” he said.
Mr Thompson Ehiguese, Chairman Ward 3, Esan East LGA, said they came to Abuja to clear the air on the purported suspension by some persons impersonating as the ward chairman and ward executives of ward 3 Esan North Senatorial zone.
“We are here to dismiss the information about the suspension, that is not correct. Ward 3, Uromi, where the national chairman hails from. I am his ward chairman.
“The truth of the matter is that those who claimed to have suspended the national chairman are not members of the party.
“Their names are not in our party register. They are impersonators and they will be arrested,” he said.
Youths of Umueze Village in Uga, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, on Sunday, threatened to attack and harm this reporter, Izunna Okafor, for attempting to investigate the recent agonizing and dehumanizing treatments they meted out to a poor widow whom they accused of killing her daughter.
Recall that some videos started trending on the social media on Thursday last week showing a large number of villagers as they gathered at the Ozoemena (also known as Emena) Family in Umueze Uga to behold what may be described as one of the most shocking dramas of the year.
A young girl, Miss Ogochukwu Ozoemena, who should be in her mid 20s, had died the night before, and was said to have some gory wounds all over her body, which made the youths of the village insist that she would not be buried, until they unravel the true cause of her ‘mysterious’ death.
After a few more dramatic incidents that led to exhuming of charms purportedly buried at different locations in the compound, the villagers ended up accusing the mother of the deceased of being responsible for her daughter’s death. The locations of the charms were said to have been revealed by one Mr. Nonso Ozoemena, a brother to the deceased, who was said to be a prophet. It was during the said revelation and exhuming of the charms that the villagers started accusing the mother of having hands in her daughter’s death, based on the fact that she was said not to be in good terms with the deceased and her brother, Nonso. They also accused her of burying the said exhumed charms.
Consequent upon these accusations and allegations, the widow was subjected to all manner of agonizing treatments by the villagers, to the extent that she was compelled to hug, carry, lap, and almost kiss the corpse of her daughter, among other forms of jest they made of her.
On seeing the videos online, this reporter, however, could not rely wholly on the social media content; hence, he was moved to dig deeper and get further details on the incident, as well as the contact details of the accused and the members of bereaved family, for subsequent follow up. To satisfy this curiosity, he defied all odds and set for Uga, on Sunday.
Upon arriving the village at about 5:23pm, it was observed that everywhere was unconventionally calm, signifying that the village was held moody by the demise of the promising young girl.
The Ozoemena Family has two opposite compounds divided by road, with one belonging to Nonso (the brother of the deceased), while the other was the residence of the accused widow. At Nonso’s compound, about 15 persons were seen eating yam porridge, while a sword was stuck at the center of the compound, with a bowel of water near it, as well as white chalk powder that gave it a shrinlike look. Upon enquiry, it was gathered that Nonso was not around, but might be in the other side of the family (the widow’s compound).
There at the other compound, a group of youths, numbering about 26 or more, were seen, uprooting a tall Irvingia gabonensis tree (Ugiri/bush mango tree) in front of the compound. Bottles of assorted alcoholic drinks and substances suspected to be Indian hemp were also sighted at the corner, which motivated the home boys, and from which they caught their cruise and tapped their muse to carry on with their work.
When asked about the widow, some of the villagers who were around said they did not know her whereabouts, while some said she was not around. They also denied having her phone number or any information that could lead to locating her.
Same was also the case when they were asked about Nonso, who was also not seen in the compound. While some eventually said he might be at the other compound, some others said he might be at the backyard, which made this reporter to go behind the house in search of him, accompanied by one of the villagers. At the backyard, it was observed that all the trees therein had been uprooted and fractured by the youths, while work was also ongoing on the remaining one at the front of the compound. No fewer than 12 haphazardly dug holes were also seen at various locations in the compound, purported to be the place from where the said charms were exhumed by the youths. Recall that Nonso had ordered the uprooting of some trees in the compound, as he said charms were buried beneath them.
There was, however, sign of recent grave sighted anywhere at the compound, which implied that the deceased was still in the mortuary, and had not been buried.
When neither Nonso nor his mother was found at the backyard as was directed by the villagers, this reporter made his way back to the front of the compound, where the youths then began to question him abashedly and ferociously. After enquiring and getting satisfactory answer and proof about his identity; they started questioning his reason for searching for Nonso and his mother and their contact details —a question he had earlier responded to.
When they could no longer think of any further question to ask him, nor see any further reason to withhold the contact details of the bereaved as were requested by this reporter; they resorted to questioning why he has his interest in investigating the story. Before he could give an explanation, they had already labelled him a spy and threatened to treat him as such.
“So, you mean you came here all the way from Awka to look for Nonso and his mother, and to hunt for news? You resemble person wey dey like gossip oo,” one of them said.
“And if we harm you here now, they will say we are wicked, abe?,” another one rhetorically questioned, with smoke oozing out from his mouth.
“Bros, before I close my eyes and open them now, you have disappeared from this place, or else…,” one of them roared from a corner, as he made to pick up the axe with which they were uprooting the tree; while this reporter cautiously hurried out of the scene.
“I degburu onwe gị na news!” he vituperated (in Igbo language). They also threatened the journalist never to come anywhere around the village again, else, he would lose his life in the course of the investigation. Before they could finish issuing the threat, the reporter was already at the next junction, for the fear of the unknown. His plan to visit the Traditional Ruler of the community did not materialize, as the monarch’s palace was just the adjacent to the compound of the deceased, where the home boys were and where they had threatened him never to come near again.
Through enquires from some of the villagers met at the next junction in the village, it was gathered that the youths had already banished the widow from the community the following day after the day of the incident (on Friday). A villager who did not want his name in print, revealed that the villagers ostracized the widow on Friday evening, to a certain area along the boundary between Uga and Nkpologwu community, which is a neighbouring community in the area.
The source also hinted that the widow was a native of Ekwulobia (in the same Aguata Local Government Area), but got married in Uga. She was also said to be in tears and crying out for help and justice when she was being banished by the youths, who were said to have made jest of her and taken videos and photos of her, with palm fronds tied around her waist and neck, as if she committed an abomination.
However, all efforts made by this reporter to get the contact details of the widow and her son, Nonso, or that of the Traditional Ruler or the President-General of the community, proved abortive, as the villagers he met denied having their contacts. Be it as it may, upon consistent persuasion, one of the villagers eventually requested a token of one thousand naira (₦1000) to release Nonso’s phone number. Surprisingly, the number has never rung since then, till now.
This reporter left Uga for Ekwulobia where the widow was said to hail from. He toured some of the villages, in all attempt to get the exact address of the widow’s father’s house in Ekwulobia, which did not yield any positive fruit as he could not locate it, even till nightfall when he eventually made his way back to his base in Awka.
However, through sustained efforts, he was eventually able to get the contact details of both the President-General of Uga and the Village Chairman of Umueze; whom, when he contacted, both claimed to be hearing about the incident for the first time, given that they just returned from trips. They also utterly condemned the actions of the youths, which they described as unlawful. Furthermore, the duo promised to make further enquiry to get more details about the incident, as well as the contact and address of the victim, as were requested by the journalist.
Be it as it may, further enquiry from a villager who pleaded anonymity revealed that the youths of Umueze village also threatened the President-General of Uga community and nearly launched an attack on him when he visited the deceased’s family on Monday to make more enquiry on the incident. He was said to have been given a hot chase by the youths.
The source also revealed that, consequent upon the mob action, the President-General decided to embark on a journey to the hometown of the widow (with some members of his Executives) to utterly dissociate the leadership of the town from everything the people did to the widow, as well as to make it clear to them that the banishment of their daughter was never a unanimous decision of the people of Uga, but that of those who are involved in it.
As at the time of filing this report, efforts are still on top gear to get the contact details and address of the widow.
Early morning of today Monday Boko Haram terrorists have attacked Dabna community in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State, killing three, injured dozens and setting both houses and shops ablaze and carting away food items Worth’s thousands of naira.
According to an eye account from the community, who spoke on phone said the attackers came on many motorbikes in the wee hours of Monday, shooting sporadically.
Local vigilantes are said to have shot at one of the terrorists but he was carried away by his colleagues.
Reacting to the early morning attack, the Commissioner of Police Adamawa State Command, CP Afolabi Babatola condemned the raid, describing it as unfortunate.
The CP confirmed the killing of three persons by the suspected insurgents.
According to a statement by the image maker of Adamawa State Police command, SP Sulaiman Nguroje, the Commissioner of Police has given men of the command a swift and marching order to trail and arrest the masterminds of the ugly incident.
The police, however, warns that attacks on innocent citizens would not be tolerated under whatsoever guise because the command hold the lives of citizens sacrosanct, and as such unwarranted attitude would be strictly treated in accordance with extant laws.
CP Babatola reiterated the command’s readiness to work with other sister security agents in protecting the lives and property of the people.
The police chief appealed for calm, emphasizing that the command is doing everything legally possible to detect the perpetrators of the dastardly act.
The secretariat of the Labour Party in Imo State has been sealed by the police.
In a statement issued on Monday by the national secretary of the LP Umar Farouk, stated that the secretariat was sealed by the police in connivance with the state government.
The statement read “the national leadership of the Labour Party is shocked over the Invasion and Occupation of its Secretariat in Owerri, today, Monday April 3, 2023 by the agents of Imo state Governor, Hope Uzodimma, including thugs and unauthorized police men drafted from the government house.
“Such illegal occupation was akin to similar invasion on the same Secretariat on Wednesday March 15, 2023.
“Unlike the March invasion, where no reason was given by the state government on why it took such unlawful action against our political party, this time, they said that the action was due to a Court Order.
” But as at the moment, no such Order to our knowledge was given. No Order has been presented to us by the court or their agents. The Police men presently occupying our Secretariat have not even shown us the Order. At the moment, all our officials and staff have been barred from accessing the Secretariat.
“We have contacted the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) on the on going development in the state, and it has been confirmed that the Force is not aware of any security breach whatsoever in the state to warrant the occupation of our Secretariat.
“The Police have also informed us that it has not detailed any of their officers and men to the Labour Party Secretariat in Imo state; and that the officers may have been drafted from the State House in the state.
“The Labour Party however is not unmindful of the efforts of the Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma to hijack the leadership of the Party in Imo state.
“These actions have confirmed the information available to us of plots by the governor to plant some surrogates wearing the garments of aspirants in the party. This game plan, as archaic as it seems, has been detected and punctured, the consequences being the aggression unleashed on the party by the state government.
The leadership of the Labour is determined to bring the needed changes the people of Imo state have yearned since inception of this present dispensation.
“The state has been deprived of good and quality leadership. The resources of the state have being balkanized and liquidated by the administrations in the past. This is in spite of the fact that the state is not lacking in personalities with decent background and pedigree in services to the state.
“Labour Party is therefore assuring the state that it will field as its governorship candidate, a person with proven integrity in both personal and public life; and with OBidient blood running in his/her veins. No amount of intimidation by Governor Hope Uzodimma and his army of thugs will deter the party from fielding and winning the governorship election.
“We therefore call on all the members of the Labour Party and OBidient family in Imo State to be peaceful even in the face of the present provocation as the party will do everything within the books to retrieve our Secretariat from the state security officers and sponsored thugs that are presently occupying our Secretariat.”
Reacting, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Oguwike Nwachuku, said that the allegation was unfounded.
The governor’s spokesperson said ” the Labour Party’s allegation is unfounded. They should stop pointing fingers at the wrong.
Every effort to reach the police spokesperson in Imo State to hear the police side of the story was proved abortive.
There were serious gunshots on Monday when members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State clashed in Port Harcourt, the state capital over the inspection of electoral materials.
This trouble according to an eyewitness, started when the APC Governorship Candidate in the March 18 poll, Tonye Cole and members of his party arrived the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state capital to inspection of materials used in the last election in the state.
The source said; “Cole was forced to turn back by members of PDP who were already on ground at the INEC office before his arrival. The situation caused pandemonium as the PDP members demanded the joint inspection of election results and the Certified True Copies of result sheets for the just-concluded 2023 general elections.”
The members of the Peoples Democratic Party had blocked both the waterlines and GRA areas of Aba road, the two major access points to the INEC head office. No car was able to drive through that stretch of Aba road from the ground lanes, while those on the GRA flyover are trapped because there is no exit route
247ureports gathered that the protest was led by the Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Edison Ehie who was re-elected in the March 18 election and Samuel Nwanosike, the Chairman of the Ikwerre Local Government Area.
It could be recall that the PDP won the governorship and State Assembly elections in Rivers State in the just concluded election.
However, the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly who jointly led the protest, demanded that INEC grant the party a joint inspection of the materials used in conducting the March 18 elections.
Meanwhile, apart from the demand for joint inspection of materials, some inscriptions on the placards displayed during the protest also request INEC to make available the Certified True Copies of results.
Some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State are currently protesting at the INEC office demanding joint inspection of election results and Certified True Copies of result sheets for the recently concluded 2023 general elections.
The Protesters who are mainly youths and some masquerades with traditional band groups, obstructed both the waterlines and GRA areas of Aba Road, the two major access points to the INEC headquarters.
They carry placards with inscription “INEC we won the elections and you declare us winner! Release the CTC of the result sheets”, “INEC do what is right, release the certify tire copy of the results you declared “, etc.
No cars were able to drive through those area in Aba road from the down lanes, while those on the GRA flyover are trapped because there is no exit route.
The protest is led by the re-elected Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly Edison Ehie, and the Chairman of the Ikwerre Local Government Area, Samuel Nwanosike.
As of the time of filing this report, INEC is yet to address the protesters
Crisis is gradually building up in the leadership of the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS) as the Director, Media to the NANS President, Comrade Usman Umar Barambu, Prince Mohammed Sani Hassan has resigned his appointment with immediate effect.
In a letter to that effect addressed to the NANS President, Comrade Usman Umar Hassan Barambu dated 2nd April, 2023, copies of which were made available to Journalists in Bauchi, Prince Sani Hassan explained that, “I resigned because am not satisfied with the way the NANS president runs the activities of the Nigerian Students.”
The letter reads, “I, Prince Mohammed Sani Hassan wishes to inform you that, I have resign from my appointment as the Director, Media to the NANS President, Comr Usman Umar Barambu.”
He declared that, “The aim of NANS is to protect the interest of Nigerian Students. As it goes, almost all the Federal Institutions of higher learning in Nigeria today, have increased their school fees.”
He stressed that, “Most parents could not afford to pay the school fees of their children’s. I feel I cannot be part of this NANS government.”
Sani Hassan added that, “I call on the government of the President-elect, His Excellency, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, to please give education 100 percent attention, because education is what the children of the less privileged will benefit most.”
He stressed that, “I resigned because of the interest of Nigerian Students, I can’t hold my hand seeing things are going wrong. The NANS President is going on a one man army squad.”
A group, under the auspices of Concerned Northern Political Trackers of Nigeria (CONPTRAN), has called on politicians in the country to desist from blaming the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for their defeat during the 2023 general elections.
The National Coordinator of CONPTRAN, Isah Haruna, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, said rather than engaging in continuous attacks on INEC and its members of staff, the aggrieved candidates in the February 25 and March 18 elections should approach the court for redress.
Haruna reminded aggrieved politicians who lost in the presidential poll that, in every contest, there will always be a winner and a loser.
He said the attack on INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu and the Director of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) at the commission, Engr. Paul Omokore is unnecessary.
“The attention of Concerned Northern Political Trackers of Nigeria (CONPTRAN), an independent election tracking organisation, has been drawn towards attacks and baseless allegations lavelled against the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and Engr. Paul Omokore, the serving ICT Director, by some political jobbers in the country.
“The politicians who have issued conflicting statements and comments to the Nigerian public through various media platforms in what looks more like a reaction to losing the recently concluded elections, in which Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerged as president-elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, are not only presenting the INEC boss and Mr Omokore in a bad light but also defaming the good image of INEC.
“Part of the allegations levelled against Mr Omokore include among others, that he was bribed to shut down the INEC server to favour a particular political party in the wake of the election.
“It should be noted that the said INEC portal is resident in Amazon Web Service (AWS), a world-renowned and reputable secured cloud-based server.
“As regards this allegation, the AWS had issued a statement that no portal was at any time shut down from its end.
“The glitches were from the Presidential Application which was not developed by Mr Omokore from the onset,” the statement said.
The group further said that part of the ICT technical team’s record is that it made the BVAS work optimally up to 86%, where 11% malfunctions were repaired and 3% restored, according to reports by Yiaga Africa.
The Ward Chairman of the ruling APC in Oganenigu Ward of Dekina LGA in Kogi state alongside several people were brutally killed by Gunmen who strike the area at the weekends.
Late James Adah met his death during un precedented attack by gunmen’s during an attack on Aloko, a community in Oganenigu Ward of Dekina Local Government Area (LGA) of Kogi State.
Several people have been killed as gunmen burnt hundreds of houses during the attack
According to reports, the gunmen in their hundreds attacked the community in the early hours of Sunday, April 2, 2023, from a base in the neighbouring Bassa LGA.
The Oganenigu Ward chairman of the ruling APC, James Adah, is said to be among those killed in the attack
Residents said that the invading militia started shooting anyone in sight and set houses ablaze on arrival.
It was gathered that a detachment of the Nigerian Army from Oguma Army Base in Bassa came after the marauders had left
The President-elect, Bola Tinubu, has already begun team building ahead of his inauguration by May 29, 2023 with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila who is said to have been penciled in as his Chief of Staff.
Those believed to being considered for some serious assignments in the coming administration are his former Commissioner for Finance, Wale Edun and the Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, among others who are currently being identified for different positions.
In preparation for his administration’s commencement next month, 247ureports.com gathered that the current Speaker of the National Assembly Gbajabiamila, has already begun to discharge the duties of the chief of staff to Tinubu, having unofficially resumed with him in France, with a view to working out processes and plans, including calendarising his activities.
“Femi is gradually resuming with him in Paris, and they are trying to work out procedures and plans, ”a source revealed.
The source added that the president-elect was already looking at building national security and economic teams.
According to the source, Tinubu has appointed Edu and Atiku Bagudu into his economic team, which he considered a critical sector requiring attention immediately he assumes office.
He hinted: “Wale is supposed to be the coordinator of the economy, either as Finance Minister or the CBN governor. It is not clear yet what his plans are for Bagudu. But he has also been penciled in and is going to be operating at a very high and serious level in the administration.”
Meanwhile, a renowned playwright and popular Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka warned the president elect against failing to restructure Nigeria.
According to the erudite professor who spoke in some of the brief released of his exclusive interview with Channels Television in Lagos stated that Nigerians would never stop demanding restructuring, hence, it was the way to go.
