These are the stories you should be monitoring today:
Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto, on Monday said he has all it takes to challenge President Muhammadu Buhari for the Presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the 2019 election.
The governor’s statement was in reaction to claims by the APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu, that he defected to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) because he (Tambuwal) and Senate President Bukola Saraki could not stand against President Buhari in the APC Presidential primaries.
In a series of tweets on the official Twitter account of the Sokoto Government, Tambuwal faulted the claim, as he said reasons for his exit are on record, adding that Tinubu by his statement, has admitted the absence of a level-playing ground for all members of the APC as well as internal democracy.
“Tinubu tried to rock the boat when he was denied Buhari’s Vice Presidency. He thinks every other person could behave his way. If I wanted to contest under the APC as president, I could have done so and only the votes could have produced a winner,” Tambuwal insisted.
The Government of Rivers has described as unfair the comment by the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, that Governor Nyesom Wike lured his Sokoto counterpart, Aminu Tambuwal to join the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) with the promise of getting him the party’s presidential ticket.
In a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Monday by the Rivers Government, State Commissioner of Information and Communications, Emma Okah, said “Governor Wike has not discussed the political ambition of Governor Tambuwal with Senator Tinubu any day, and so he cannot rely on mere rumour to speak unfairly about the governor in the way he did.”
Okah noted that Governor Wike has a culture of respecting elders, including Tinubu but accused the leader of not reciprocating the gesture, as he urged elders to “exercise restraint at times like this.”
“When as Speaker of House of Representatives, Governor Tambuwal defected from the ruling PDP to the APC, why did Senator Tinubu not say that Governor Wike had a hand in it at that time or is it because it favoured Senator Tinubu’s APC?” he queried.
Popular gospel musician, Yinka Ayefele and owner of Ibadan-based Fresh FM, on Monday countered insinuations that his refusal to respond to correspondence from the government led to the partial demolition of his N800million worth Music house, housing the radio station.
Speaking during a press conference at the hall located inside the partly demolished building, Ayefele said: “Immediately, I got this demolition notice last week Monday, August 13, 2018, I started making moves on how we can overcome it. All I can see is the demolition taking place, after we have gone to court.”
The musician added that he also made entreaties to the Governor outside the legal steps he took, “On Saturday, my wife was with the governor of Oyo State. She was on her knees for almost five hours with the governor around 11p.m till 4a.m, in the governor’s house,” he added.
The United States Embassy in Abuja has announced that it will re-open on Friday August 24, 2018, for full services for both visas and American Citizen Services.
In a message posted on it website and shared on its Twitter account, the mission regretted the inconvenience the interruption of service in Abuja had caused,since its shut down on Tuesday, 14th August, adding that visa and ACS applicants with scheduled appointments for Friday should come to the Embassy, as usual.
UPDATE! The U.S. Embassy in Abuja’s consular section will reopen on August 24 for full services for both visas and American Citizen Services (ACS). We regret the inconvenience this interruption of service in Abuja has caused. Read more: https://t.co/mgukCO6uEp
— U.S. Mission Nigeria (@USEmbassyAbuja) August 20, 2018
The Police command in Borno on Monday said Boko Haram insurgents burnt down 40 houses in Mailari village in Guzamala Local Government Area of the state, following the arrest of their member by the community vigilante two weeks ago.
Commissioner of Police in the state, Damien Chukwu, who disclosed this at a news conference, said that “the marauding militants who were pissed with the development decided to launch the massive attack to avenge the arrest.” thereby storming the town around 8pm on Sunday
He added that the command were yet to ascertain the casualty figure.
Temidayo Taiwo-Sidiq is a Journalist, Political Analyst and Satirist with major interest in Nigerian Politics, Governance and Sports.
Leave a reply