Drop your Presidential ambition im 2027, it’s Tinubu’s turn – Ganduje tells Norther politicians

The national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has advised northern politicians nursing presidential ambition for 2027 general election to discard the idea as incumbent President Bola Tinubu will serve two terms in office.

Ganduje gave the advice when he played host to the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Centre (PBAT Media Centre) and Tinubu Northern Youth Forum (TNYF), at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday

He said anybody day-dreaming that the presidency will return to the North in 2027 should wake up from his or her slumber as that would not be possible.

“When a leader from the northern part of this country was in office for eight years, we advocated that the next president in our party should come from the South.

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“And luckily enough, we worked very hard with the cooperation of Nigerians. Our president has come from the South and is going, Insha Allah, for the second term in 2027. And then after that, it will return to the northern part of this country.

“There is no doubt that many things went wrong over a long period of time, and it requires surgery before we can get it right.

“We are happy that we have started seeing the outcome of the reforms, especially on the economic front, and we believe this will continue to yield positive results so that the legacy and the Renewed Hope Agenda will be achieved,” Ganduje stated.

Policeman sent to jail allegedly for defiling Teenage Girl inside Police Station

A police officer, who allegedly defiled a 17-year-old girl at the Ogudu Area Command premises, has been arraigned in court on Tuesday.

Mrs Adejoke Ladenegan-Oginni, the Head of Public Affairs at the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) praised the process in a statement.

The suspect was remanded in Kirikiri Correctional Facility and the case was adjourned to March 11, pending the issuance of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions’ (DPP) legal advice.

Ladenegan-Oginni reiterated DSVA’s commitment to ensuring justice and the Lagos State Government’s zero-tolerance stance on sexual violence.

She urged everyone to “say something whenever they see something” and to reach out to them via their toll-free line or social media platforms.

“You can reach out to us by calling our toll free line 08000-333-333 or send a DM to @lagosdsva on all social media platforms,” Ladenegan-Oginni said.

The incident occurred on June 29, when the girl, who had reported her phone stolen, was allegedly tricked by the officer, Owolabi, into visiting his office, where she was allegedly raped. (NAN)

BREAKING; IGP under fire over 3,907 missing rifles from formations, Commands

The Senate came down heavily on the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, at the National Assembly complex over 3,907 missing assault rifles, as revealed in the 2020 report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, AuGF.

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, apologised to the Senate Committee on Public Accounts for failing to honour previous invitations to explain queries raised against the police regarding alleged financial infractions in the 2019 audit report.

After his apology and oath-taking, Egbetokun nominated Assistant Inspector-General of Police, AIG, in charge of Public Accounts and Budget, Suleiman Abdul, to respond to the eight queries issued against the police by the Auditor-General’s office.

The committee, chaired by its Deputy Chairman, Senator Peter Nwaebonyi (APC, Ebonyi North), vacated the first query, which concerned N1.136 billion in contract splitting, and stood down the second, which related to the alleged non-execution of a N925 million contract. However, it sustained the third query regarding the alleged disappearance of 3,907 assault rifles, many of which were AK-47s.

Trouble arose for the police when a representative of the Auditor-General read the query aloud to committee members and AIG Suleiman Abdul. According to the 2019 audit report, as of January 2020, a total of 3,907 assault rifles were unaccounted for.

According to the Auditor-General’s representative, “The total number of lost firearms as of December 2018 stood at 178,459, out of which 88,078 were AK-47 rifles.

“However, as of January 2020, based on a thorough audit, 3,907 assault rifles and pistols across different police formations could not be accounted for.”

He further broke down the missing firearms as follows: 601 from 15 training institutions, 42 from 23 police formations, 1,514 from 37 police commands, 29 from Zones 1 to 12, and 1,721 from the Police Mobile Force, PMF, units 1 to 68.

Irked by the report, committee members bombarded the police team with questions about why the queries had remained unanswered for so long.

In response, neither AIG Suleiman Abdul nor any of his lieutenants could provide the committee with a convincing explanation for the missing 3,907 assault rifles.

Apparently overwhelmed by the barrage of questions, AIG Abdul requested a closed-door session, but the majority of the committee members—including Deputy Chairman Nwaebonyi, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, and Senator Joel Onawakpo-Thomas—rejected the request.

Rejecting the request outright, Senator Nwaebonyi stated: “This is a public accounts committee that has no room for closed-door sessions. In the United States of America, proceedings of Public Accounts Committees are televised live. So, whatever response the AIG wants to give on the missing assault rifles should be made in full view of everyone, particularly journalists.”

Senator Oshiomhole also rejected the request, saying: “The police are known for arresting and parading thieves of rats and rabbits, so we expect the same level of diligence regarding the missing assault rifles.

“The AIG should let Nigerians know what steps the police have taken over the years concerning the missing rifles, who was involved, and the extent of any recoveries made.”

In his feeble response, AIG Abdul could only account for 15 out of the 3,907 missing rifles—14 of which, he claimed, were lost when personnel were killed in active service, while one went missing in 1998. This response further infuriated the committee members.

For a soft landing, the committee resolved that the AIG and his team should return with a more thorough response to the query, stating that the matter would not be swept under the carpet.

The committee consequently directed them to reappear on Monday next week at 12 noon and suspended consideration of the remaining five queries.