1. Let South-East produce next president, Afenifere, others say.
The Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere; Pan-Niger Delta Forum and Middle Belt Forum on Monday said it was the turn of the South-East to produce the President of the country.
The MBF, Afenifere, PANDEF and other groups made the call during the ‘Greater Nigeria Conference’ which was held in Abuja, and organised by leaders and friends of the South-East.
Among Igbo leaders at the event were a former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi; former governor of Imo State, Achike Udenwa; Senator representing Imo West, Rochas Okorocha; former governor of Anambra State, Okwesileze Nwodo; ace Journalist, Chris Anyanwu; and former chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Senator Victor Umeh.
An elder statesman and leader of Afenifere, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, said there was a need for aspirants from the South, especially from the South-East to be united.
According to him, the decision of presidential aspirants including the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and the Governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike who are from the South-South to contest would only give the North undue advantage over the South.
He stated, “I told Bola Tinubu himself, not in the paper, face-to-face. You believe this man (Buhari) will make you President? He said ‘yes’. I said he wanted to make you President, he asked (Yemi) Osinbajo to contest? He asked (Kayode) Fayemi to contest, he asked Ibikunle (Amosun to contest? All in the West, why? He wanted to divide the West first.” The leader of PANDEF, Chief Edwin Clark, appealed to all Nigerians to concede the Presidency to the Igbo in 2023.
2.Other Top 10 Headlines include:
Catholic Church Asks Umahi To Release Priest Detained By Ebonyi State Government Since 2021:
The Ebonyi State government and the Catholic Diocese of Abakaliki traded words over the arrest and incarceration of a Priest, Reverend Timothy Ngwuta, in Abakaliki. WEEKDAYS had earlier reported that Ngwuta was illegally detained by security operatives in Ebonyi State since 2021.
This comes amid the lingering communal crisis between Ezza-Effium and Effium people of the Ohuakwu Local Government Area of the state since January 2021, which had resulted in the death of innocent persons and the destruction of property worth millions of naira.
A soldier, who does not want his name in print, had said the Reverend Father who was recently posted to the community, was arrested and framed for being responsible for a crisis that had been ongoing for a while.
According to him, Ngwuta was arrested while paying a visit to some of his parishioners who had now been displaced from their homes as a result of the crisis.
“It was during one of these visits he was arrested and has since been detained without trial, nothing, an ordained Reverend Father for that matter.” He had noted that Ngwuta’s arrest had a political undertone as he called on the state governor, Dave Umahi to immediately order the release of the Reverend Father.
Also, Parishioners of Saint Bernard’s Catholic Parish, Ugueze Effium, Ohaukwu Local Government Area had called on Ebonyi Governor, Dave Umahi to release their parish Priest, Ngwuta from detention.
3. Elon Musk buys Twitter for $44bn.
Twitter on Monday confirmed it is selling the platform to billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk in a deal valued at $44 billion.
The sale was a dramatic shift for the board, which had originally maneuvered to block Musk from taking the social media network private.
“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” Musk said in a joint statement announcing the takeover.
4. Terrorism charge: Nnamdi Kanu rejects secret trial, heads to court.
The detained leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has gone to court to challenge the practice direction of the Federal High Court which ordered that his trial should be done in secret.
He asked the court to declare that the provisions of Order III of the Federal High Court Practice Directions (On Trial of Terrorism Cases) 2022, were already the subject of Section 36 (4)(a) and (b) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, and consequently, “they are otiose, inoperative and outrightly ultra vires.”
Kanu in the origination summons filed by his lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, asked the court to declare it “invalid, null, void and of no effect whatsoever.”
The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, and its Chief Registrar were listed as defendants in the suit which processes were obtained by journalists on Monday.
4. Sit-at-home: Gunmen attack Owerri.
There was panic in Owerri, Imo State on Monday evening as suspected hoodlums took over the streets and were shooting.
The shooting brought all commercial and social activities in the affected areas to an end. The shooting, which started around 4.30 pm, saw residents and visitors scampering for safety.
2023 Presidency: Amaechi, Wike’s Presidential Ambitions Dead On Arrival — Igbo Congress.
The World Igbo Congress. (WIC), a group of Igbos in Diaspora, has said the presidential aspirations of Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike are “dead on arrival.”
The group, in a post on its Twitter handle labelled the politicians as “the preferred Fulani caliphate choice option” in the 2023 presidential election.
6. Blame military, not Kukah, for Tucano’s delay – Northern Elders Forum..
The Northern Elders Forum, on Monday, said contrary to the presidency’s assertion on Sunday, the delayed delivery of military equipment from the United States Government to Nigeria was a result of the military’s conduct and not the doing of the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah.
The elders said rather than blame a clergyman for military setbacks, the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), should upgrade military’s operations to a standard that satisfies globally accepted norms.
7. Save our varsities, Catholic bishop begs FG, ASUU
The Catholic Bishop of Ekiti Diocese, Felix Ajakaye, has appealed to both the Academic Staff Union of Universities and the Federal Government to resolve the lingering crisis that led to the closure of all public universities in the country.
The bishop said there was the need to end the crisis for the sake of the students, whose future was at stake.
8. Kaduna police arrest six for stealing tanker with N6.2m petrol
The Kaduna State Police Command has arrested six suspects in connection with the theft of a tanker loaded with 40,000 litres of petroleum products worth N6.2m in the state.
This was contained in a statement by the state command’s Public Relations Officer, Mohammad Jalige, in Kaduna on Monday.
9. Lebanese firm workers in Ogun lament poor salaries, welfare.
Some staff members of a Lebanese company, Buildwell Plants & Equipment Industries Limited, at Magboro, Ogun State, have decried the poor salaries and treatment meted out to workers in the firm.
The workers last Thursday staged a protest on the company’s premises. The drivers told WEEKDAYS that for over 15 years, they had been receiving the same salary despite driving the company’s trucks across the country to deliver goods and heavy duty equipment.
They also alleged that whenever they tried to press for better working conditions, they were either sacked or threatened.
