National

By Muhammadu Sabiu

The Senate has scheduled a hearing on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) most recent cash withdrawal limit policy for Tuesday, December 13, 2022.

In its plenary session on Wednesday, the Senate voiced its concerns.

In a point of order, Senate Minority Leader Aduda Phillip called attention to the CBN’s new policy because it will have an impact on many people, particularly small company owners.

In response, Senate President Ahmad Lawan instructed the banking committee to speak with the CBN and discuss the issue during the screening of the CBN Deputy Governor, which is anticipated to take place before the next week. 

Recall that Lawan had previously advised the CBN not to approach the policy immediately.

The CBN limited the maximum weekly cash withdrawal over the counter (OTC) by corporate organisations and individuals to N500,000 and N100,000, respectively, under the new withdrawal policy.

The new withdrawal rule set the weekly limit cash withdrawal by Automated Teller Machine (ATM) at N100,000, with a daily maximum of N20,000.

By Aisar Salihu Musa

Dr Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso clearly stated that, if elected as the president of Nigeria in the forthcoming 2023 presidential elections, the Local Government funding (LG Funds) will come directly from the Federal Government’s treasury without passing through the hands of the state governors. However, some people are now making noise about it, maintaining that Kwankwaso was the one in Kano who initiated that LG funds must pass through his hand before going to LG chairmen.

My worry now is; what is wrong in having a second thought? What’s wrong? We do have second thoughts on many things but that’s not a problem. To some, the problem is for Kwankwaso to have it. This your obsession or rather hatred with anything Kwankwaso will cause you serious problem. Adjust, please.

Politician decamp with you from one party to another, that’s not a problem. They come with their trial and error policy, it is not a problem. Clerics change fatwas, it is not a problem. You run from one girl to another, it is not an issue. The problem is for Kwankwaso to change a stand. Guys, what’s your problem? You should know that, Kwankwaso is still the best among all the contenders by whichever form of parameter you choose to judge and assess. He is just the best of all of them in terms of everything.

In the beginning, Kwankwaso saw how LG administrators were recklessly embezzling LG funds without any meaningful projects that will better the lives of their people. In order to solve that problem, he said LG funds will remain in the account of the state government, not his personal account. Any LG administrator with a project should write to the state government and request funding for its execution. I think at that time it was a good decision from him and it was purely out of good intention. Now that things have changed and he thinks giving them their money directly is better than entrusting it in the hands of the state governments, I think is something we should commend him about.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Lagos State Government has announced that the State is ready to comply with the Supreme Court judgement on the use of hijab by female pupils and students in Lagos schools.

In July 2022, the Supreme Court had dismissed an appeal by the Lagos State Government and upheld the use of hijab in Lagos schools.

Lagos State Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola, announced the state’s readiness through a circular he issued and signed on behalf of the government on Monday, December 5, 2022.

“It’s hereby notified for general information that the supreme court judgment SC/910/2016 delivered on the 17th of June 2022 on the use of Hijab as it affects pupils/students in Lagos State schools has delivered that the students should be allowed to wear the hijab if desired,” the circular read in part.

Mr Muri-Okunola stated that a comprehensive guidelines on the use of hijab will be issued to all agencies of the government in due course.

He added that, “you are to note that the judgement is binding on all schools in the State.

“As a law-abiding administration, all accounting officers are to note the contents of this circular for immediate compliance and give it the deserved service-wide publicity,” He said.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Aminu Muhammad Adamu, the detained critic of the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has apologized to Aisha Buhari and thanked the people who stood for him on social media.

Following Aminu’s release from detention, he took to his Twitter handle on Saturday to apologize to the First Lady and thank his supporters for their supports.

Aminu, a student of the Federal University Dutse, Jigawa State, was arrested for trolling Aisha Buhari on Twitter. He was then secretly arraigned and remanded at a correctional facility in Suleja, Niger State.

Aminu in his tweet said, “I would like to use this medium to express my sincere apologies to those I’ve hurt especially our mother, Aisha Buhari it was never my intention to hurt your feelings and insha Allah I will change for the better. However, I’m also grateful for your forgiveness, thank u mama😊🤝.”

Aminu also thanked those who supported him in another tweet. He noted that his ordeals amount to a lessons for everyone

“I would also like to use this medium to express my heartfelt gratitude toward those that helped me go through the darkest hours of my life, man cannot escape his destiny but my incidence should serve as a lesson to all of us. Thank you all and one love❤️🌹.” He said

Aminu’s arbitrary abduction and consequent detention was condemned by international human rights organizations, media influencers and many people nationwide.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has demanded that the Wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha Buhari, apologize and give compensation for the arrest and detention of Aminu Adamu, a final-year student of the Federal University, Dutse, whose tweet berated the First Lady.

This was said in a statement released Saturday and signed by Comrade Kehinde Damilola Simeon, Chairman of the Joint Campus Committee (JCC) for Ogun State.

According to the students’ body, it was an abuse of power for Aisha Buhari to order Adamu’s arrest and incarceration for nearly two weeks.

The Daily Reality recalls how security personnel detained Adamu for reportedly tweeting an offensive remark about the first lady.

The statement reads, “We consider that the meeting of the President with Aminu after his release from detention is not enough.

“Madam Aisha Buhari should apologize publicly in at least four daily newspapers. Aminu and his family should be compensated for the inhumane condition the first family had thrown them into in the last few days.

“These principles are what we consider as the fundamental basis for demanding the release of the unjustly victimized Nigerian student, Aminu Adamu, who had only said nothing but the truth, which is visible to all”.

By Uzair Adam Imam

There have been sharp retorts since the presidency’s claim on Thursday that pronounced the state governors as corrupt.

The governors continue to distance themselves from the laid down accusation, challenging the presidency to identify the governors involved in the process.

Barely 24 hours after governor Nayesom Wike of Rivers and his Benue State counterpart, Samuel Ortom criticised President Buhari over the allegation of corruption against governors, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State also distanced himself from the allegation.

The President, while speaking about the height of corruption in the country at an event hosted for members of the Senior Executive Course 44 (2022) of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, blamed the governors for looting the local governments’ allocation.

Buhari said the ugly behaviour by the governors also encourages corruption at the local government level, thereby inhibiting development at the grassroots.

But reacting to what Buhari said, Okowa, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Olisa Ifeajika, said it was unfortunate for the president to have made such a “blanket statement.”

He said: “I want to say that Mr President, as one who has all the information about issues in the country, knows the governors who fall into that category of the so-called ‘thieves’ he was referring to.

“We all know that our own Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, does not belong there. He was one of the first governors, if not the first, to embrace local government autonomy when it was agreed on just like he did with the judiciary and the legislature.

“He went as far as getting legislation to grant autonomy to the legislature and the judiciary. He allowed them to run autonomously. And, for a man, who allowed these organs of government to have autonomy, he cannot have anything to do with funds belonging to the local governments.

“I repeat that the government of Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, every month, augments the finances of local governments in the state with more than N300 million to make sure they are able to pay their salaries and stay afloat.

“He does that religiously monthly; so, for a man who does that, how can he be among those who steal local government money?

“Our governor is not part of it. You are also aware that the government of Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa recently released N5 billion for pension arrears; N2.5 billion of that was a grant to the local government for payment of pensions.

“It is a grant to the local government; they are not going to pay. The governor did that because the local governments have to fund their activities, pay their teachers and healthcare workers.”

By Uzair Adam Imam

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and his Benue State counterpart, Samuel Ortom, have denied the allegation of corruption and diversion of public funds laid against governors by President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday.

The duo challenged the president to name the governors he accused of stealing and diverting the funds meant for local governments.

The president, at an event hosted for members of the Senior Executive Course 44 (2022), accused the state governors of corruption and diversion of the local government alocations to own personal treasury.

He said the state governors used to collect money on behalf of the council areas in their states and remit just half of such allocation to the council chairman.

He also described the development as one of the major challenges that hinders the country’s development.

However, Wike and Ortom challenged Buhari to name those he claimed were stealing local government funds on Friday at the inauguration of the Mgbuosimini internal road project in Port Harcourt, Rivers capital.

The governors said the president claims could be termed as defamation against the state governors.

By Uzair Adam Imam

President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday accused the state governors of corruption and diversion of the local government allocations to own personal treasury.

President Buhari decried the menace, saying it was one of the major challenges that hindered the country’s development.

He said the state governors used to collect money on behalf of the council areas in their states and remit just half of such allocation to the council chairman.

Buhari disclosed this at the Presidential Villa in Abuja at an event hosted for members of the Senior Executive Course 44 (2022) of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru.

Buhari, who spoke about the height of corruption in the country, said the ugly behaviour of the governors also encourages corruption in the local government system, thereby inhibiting development at the grassroots.

He added, “Speaking from personal experience, a Chief Executive of a state, a qualified lawyer, trained, the treatment of local governments, what they did, this is my personal experience.

“If the monies from the federal government to state governments is N100m, let’s put it at N100m. N50m will be sent to the chairman with a letter that he’ll sign that he received 100 million.

“The governor will pocket the balance and share it with whoever he wants to, and then the chairman of the local government will see how much he must pay in salaries; to hell goes development. Monies for the salaries will be given, and the balance will put in his pocket. This is what is happening.

“This is Nigeria. It’s a terrible thing. You cannot say the person who was doing these was not educated. He was a qualified lawyer, and he was experienced, yet he participated in this type of corruption.

“So, it’s a matter of conscience, whichever level we find ourselves. As a leader, you sit here, with all the sacrifices the country is making by putting you through institutions and getting you ready to lead.

“The fundamental thing is personal integrity. May God help us.” The president said.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has denied disobeying any court order.  

The denial is coming after Justice M O Olajuwon of the Federal High Court sitting at Abuja ordered the detention of the IGP on the ground of contempt of court. 

In a statement made available to newsmen and signed by the Police Spokesperson, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in Abuja on Tuesday, the IGP claimed ignorance of the said disobeyed court order. According to the Police, the order was not made during the tenure of the current IGP

“The Nigeria Police Force wishes to state emphatically that the office of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, psc(+), NPM, NEAPS, fdc, CFR, did not disregard Court Order or the rule of law as the office is not aware of any Court Order, during the current IGP’s tenure, with respect to a matter making the round in the media that the IGP disobeyed a Court Order for the reinstatement of a dismissed officer of the Force.” The statement reads

However, the IGP said he had directed the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Force Legal Unit to investigate the allegation in a bid to ascertain the position of the court and proffer informed legal advice for the IGP’s prompt and necessary action.

The statement further stressed that the IGP is committed to upholding the rule of law and synergizing with the judiciary to ensure quick dispensation of justice.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

A civil liberty and human rights group, Northern Nigeria Human Rights Advocates (NONIHIRA), has in very strong terms condemned the “unlawful arrest and detention of Adamu Aminu Muhammad at the instance of Nigeria’s First Lady Aisha Buhari.”

In a statement signed by the group secretary, A.A Hakima Esq and made available to the Daily Reality on Monday, NONIHIRA described Aminu’s detention as arbitrary and unlawful.

“The Northern Nigeria Human Rights Advocates condemns in strong terms, the arrest and incarceration of Aminu Adamu Muhammad, the 23 year old student of Federal University Dutse over frivolous allegation of defaming the character of Nigeria’s first Lady Aisha Buhari,” part of the statement reads.

NONIHIRA further stated that defamation if proven is a simple offence for which punitive fine is awarded.

The group urged persons and authorities involved in Mr Aminu’s incarceration to release him immediately and issue him with an apology and compensation.