Category Nigeria News

Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, has spoken out against his supporters who label him a fundamentalist.

El-Rufai, who addressed these concerns in an interview on Sunday Politics on Channels Television, argued that those holding them are unconnected and had no prior experience working with him.

“I don’t care,” I said. People who believe I am a fundamentalist don’t know me, have never met me, and have their opinions developed.

Frankly, I don’t care what other people think, so my enemies are very hostile toward me. I’m just how I am. I feel very at ease with who I am. What you think matters to me. He said on Sunday, “Those who work with me know me.”

El-Rufai refrained from assuming that his leadership style reflected hostility toward people in some Southern Kaduna regions.

They are free to think whatever they want. He declared, “Governance is not a joke, and I don’t tolerate nonsense.”

When you’re electing 10 million people, as I did in Kaduna, you must not discriminate between A and B, the former governor said. No one can convince me that the law doesn’t apply to him because he is a Christian.

“We didn’t take it, I dealt with them because there are some people in Southern Kaduna who feel entitled to behave in a certain way.” Some of the government employees I worked with were from Southern Kaduna. They are aware that this is untrue.

Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, has argued that he is free to use his constitutional right to freedom of association without getting police permission.

El-Rufai, who was a guest on Sunday Politics on Channels Television, refuted claims made by security forces that the ADC (African Democratic Congress) meeting in Kaduna had been canceled because the police had not been notified.

What constitutes proper notification? Which section of the Constitution is subject to law, and which section? No one can limit my ability to join or require me to provide a notice. He said on Sunday, “I can give if I choose, but it is not a legal or constitutional requirement.”

People should stop repressing themselves just because they are in charge today, the former governor continued. I served as governor of that state for eight years, but I never authorized or directed a political gathering to be held there.

El-Rufai claimed that the Kaduna State Government was behind the attack and that the police officers on the scene had no way of defending the residents.

“These thugs are funded by the government,” they claim. Former police officers were present, but now there are shadows of officers. I’m writing a petition to the Police Service Commission and the Inspector General of Police about their presence.

We are on our way to the total destruction of everything we stand for in this country, he said when law enforcement agents are used to facilitate and protect those who commit violence.

Governor Sani has never been my friend, according to El-Rufai.

alleged thugs allegedly hacked into a coalition of opposition parties in Kaduna State on Saturday, preventing the transition committee members from inauguration.

The assailants attacked participants and vandalized property while wearing cutlasses, clubs, and stones.

Along with the NPP, SDP, NPP, NPP, Labour Party (LP), and ADC, members of an All Progressives Congress (APC) faction that opposes the state’s leadership were also present in the coalition.

The inauguration continued despite the violence, even in tense circumstances. El-Rufai was given the blame for the incident, according to the Kaduna State Police Command.

Despite receiving numerous warnings, the former governor, according to its spokesperson, DSP Mansir Hassan, who claimed he misled the police and other security forces.

Hassan stated that an investigation had been launched into the alleged political hostility and the alleged shootings at the gathering.

El-Rufai criticized the police’s response and referred to the incident as “a dangerous descent into lawlessness” and warned against stopping political thuggery in the state.

Following the recent desecration of the Alaba Rago Market by the Lagos State Government, the Arewa Broadcast Media Practitioners Forum (ABMPF) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to lead an “onslaught” against Northern traders in Lagos.

The Forum expresses its regret over the demolition project, which is said to have affected hundreds of shops and over 40 mosques, in a statement released on Sunday and signed by its Chairman, Abdullahi Yelwa. The organization claimed that Northerners’ businesses were disproportionately targeted by the operation.

The demolition was carried out without prior notice or due process, leaving thousands of traders without access to their goods or property, according to the ABMPF. The Forum claimed that the state government had fabricated a land grab under the guise of modernization and that the economic losses were over 20 billion.

The statement read, “This inhumane action has left thousands of Northerners without a source of livelihood,” as it clearly shows that Lagos State governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu wants to drive away people from some ethnic groups.

Also read: A Kaduna Power Surge kills two and destroys homes.

The Forum urged political, traditional, and religious leaders in Northern Nigeria to intervene before tensions escalate further and warned that such actions could lead to retaliatory sentiments.

They noted that Alaba Rago Market has been in operation for more than 80 years and is a major trading hub for the region’s Northern communities. The Forum argued that the practice of labeling its residents and traders as squatters is both unfair and historically inaccurate.

The ABMPF criticized what it perceives as a double standard by drawing comparisons to Northern states like Kaduna and Katsina, where Yoruba communities reportedly live peacefully and own property without discrimination.

The Lagos State Government should treat Northerners in Alaba, who have lived there for generations, as non-indigenes who can be evicted at will, according to the statement.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has confirmed that Senator Kabiru Marafa will step down.

The Zamfara State presidential campaign coordinator for the former Tinubu/Shettima 2023 made this known to Channels Television via a text message on Sunday.

Following a meeting held last Wednesday or Thursday where leaders unanimously voted to dump the APC over what they saw as injustice, neglect, and worsening insecurity in Zamfara State, Marafa was confirmed.

The group expressed grave concern about the state’s depreciating security situation in a communiqué released at the conclusion of the meeting, citing recent data that showed Zamfara to be the state with the most kidnapping cases nationwide.

READ MORE: Thugs disrupt the ADC Committee’s inauguration in Kaduna.

The group also claimed that during the recent Kaura Namoda bye-election, security forces were deployed to ensure the APC’s victory rather than defend lives.

Despite the state’s contribution to APC’s 2023 presidential victory, Marafa’s loyalists criticized what they termed deliberate marginalization of Zamfara for political appointments.

They noted that Zamfara received just one ministerial slot, compared to other states in the North-West, and that the federal government has not or has not intervened in areas that have been devastated by banditry attacks.

In Oso Edda, Edda Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, a middle-aged man reportedly been beheaded by suspected warlords.

The man’s head is currently missing, and the incident took place on his farm on Thursday.

During the New Yam Festival celebrations, the council chairman, Chima Ekumankama, made the announcement over the weekend.

A moment of silence was observed at the Nguzu Edda Community Primary School in honor of the deceased, expressing the community’s respect and solidarity.

Ekumankama threatened to resign from his position because of the ongoing violence in the area and expressed his deep regret over the suspected warlords’ execution of Nnachi.

READ MORE: Thugs disrupt the ADC Committee’s inauguration in Kaduna.

He urged the State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, to immediately set up a security checkpoint to stop further property and life losses.

“Sometimes I just feel like resigning to go back to my business just because I feel pained and depressed every time I see an Edda man’s blood drop on the floor.”

Know that I have resigned because I have to do so if you hear back on it one day. Your Excellency, I’m in a very bad way.

Your Excellency, if it’s possible, set up an army, police, and other security forces in Oso Edda to protect its citizens.

“Every time our people cry to me, I shed tears, and I cry as well. Our people are being slaughtered.” Please, my Excellency, please, I’m asking you to do something.

We no longer desire blood to spill. Every year, I pray for the land to be cleansed, but enemies never do it. We’ll repeat the prayer to purge the victim, but we don’t want the killings to continue.

Please, my only request for today is “Your Excellency, please.” Do something, Your Excellency, because of the conflict between Oso Edda and Amasiri, he told Governor Francis Nwifuru, who was represented by Moses Odunwa, the state’s Speaker of the House of Assembly.

A team of policemen have been dispatched to the disputed area, according to the State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Joshua Ukandu, who also confirmed the incident to Channels Television through a phone call.

He advised the conflicting communities to avoid the region, which had been designated a buffer zone by security forces and the government.

Afikpo Local Government Area in the state’s Afikpo Local Government Area has a long-standing and violent land dispute that has resulted in the deaths and destruction of properties worth billions of naira.

The Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, intervened to save more than 10 people from a road accident on Saturday on the Benin–Auchi highway.

After the bypass, the governor encountered a significant gridlock and immediately set foot in the Esan Central Local Government Area of the state to assess the situation.

He arrived at the scene of the accident, where he encountered several victims who were seriously injured, many of whom were bleeding profusely, and many bystanders who stood helplessly.

READ MORE: Police Recover 16 Abducted People In Edo State

Governor Okpebholo ordered his aides to transport the victims to a hospital for treatment using two of his security Hilux vehicles in response to the victims’ dire state.

He was in charge of helping the injured passengers, including a woman who had severe injuries, get loaded into the waiting car and taken to a hospital where they needed to be treated quickly.

Eyewitnesses described the accident as occurring when a white Toyota Venza’s driver, with the number ABUJA, GWA 50 AW, struck traffic, causing a four-vehicle collision.

Three large, passenger-loaded commercial minibuses were the other vehicles involved.

Scores were hurt and the traffic was completely stopped as a result of the impact.

Before continuing his journey to Irrua, the governor stayed at the accident scene until he was assured that the victims had been safely transported to a medical facility under the protection of another security vehicle.