BREAKING NEWS, Political Briefs
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THE Nigerian Air Force is changing and updating its tactics in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East. Air Marshal Adeshola Amosu, chief of Air Staff, said disclosed this in Kaduna on Wednesday, August 6, while assuring Nigerians that in no distance time the military would dislodge the insurgents.
Amosu said the military had made a significant progress in the war against the Boko Haram sect and would continue to fortify its staff through a review of operations and retraining.
The air chief who spoke after the 43rd graduation ceremony of students from the Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna, said the Nigerian Armed Force, especially the NAF, was doing everything possible to succeed against terrorist insurgents. He also noted with satisfaction the level of achievements of the Nigerian Air Force so far in tackling security challenges in the country.
He said with the graduation of 260 aerospace engineers, the new institute was part of the NAF contribution that would help address the national security challenges.
“What we are asking for now is the AFIT Bill before the National Assembly. When passed, it will help us to develop more technologies that will further help in the fight against insurgency in the country,” he said.
Earlier, David Mark, Senate president, who was guest of honour at the event, commended the giant strides of the AFIT. He said he was aware that the institute was willing and able to surpass its current achievements, given the necessary resources and legal backings. “I wish to assure you that the issues of resources and legal backing under the pending AFIT Bill at the National Assembly, is being given an utmost attention,” Mark said.
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Ngillari Challenges Adamawa Assembly For Governorship Seat
THE removal of Murtala Nyako and Bala Ngillari as governor and deputy governor of Adamawa State is assuming a new dimension. Ngillari has asked a federal high court in Abuja, federal capital territory, to order that he be sworn in as the governor of the state and to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from conducting a fresh election to elect a new governor in the state.
In an originating summons filed on his behalf by Festus Keyamo, his counsel, Ngillari said his purported resignation in the wake of the impeachment exercise that led to the removal of Nyako as governor, was null and void. He, therefore, asked the court to issue an order removing Ahmadu Umaru Fintri as the acting governor of Adamawa State forthwith.
In his argument, Ngillari said he did not resign as stipulated by sections 306(1), (2) & (5) of the 1999 Constitution. Ngillari said that if he was sworn in as governor of Adamawa State there would be no need to conduct a by-election. He asked the court to hold that by the combined provisions of section 306 (1), (2) and (5) of the constitution as deputy governor of Adamawa State, he did not resign his office by addressing a letter of resignation dated July 15, 2014 to the speaker of the state House of Assembly.
He also asked the court to declare that by the combined provisions of section 306 (1), (2) and (5) of the 1999 Constitution, his purported resignation as deputy governor of Adamawa State did not take effect when the purported letter of resignation was received by the speaker on July 15.
He is further seeking the following declarations: That by the combined provisions of section 306 (1), (2) and (5) of the Constitution, the declaration of the office of the deputy governor of the state (then occupied by him) vacant on July 15 vide the votes and proceedings of the Adamawa State House of Assembly was unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.
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My Travails in PDP-Oyinlola
OLAGUNSOYE Oyinlola, former governor of Osun State, is blaming the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and President Goodluck Jonathan for his exit from the party. Oyinlola, who on Tuesday defected from the ruling PDP to the All Progressives Congress, APC, said the president and other national leaders of the PDP were responsible for his suspension as the national secretary of the party, a development, which he said, occasioned his exit from the party.
Speaking with journalists in Osogbo on Wednesday, August 6, Oyinlola said that his love for the people and his intention to cater for the welfare of the populace influenced his defection to the APC.
He, however, said that former President Olusegun Obasanjo, General Ibrahim Babangida, former military Head of State, and David Mark, Senate president, did their best to ensure that he was returned as secretary of the party but to no avail.
Oyinlola also stressed that President Jonathan was responsible for his removal from office in 2010, saying, “I hold Jonathan responsible for my removal from office as the Governor of Osun State in 2010.” The former governor, who opined that his closeness to Obasanjo was responsible for his long suffering in the PDP, recalled that his travails in the party was dated back to 2011 when the president consulted him on his intention to contest the presidential election.
He also said that Bamanga Tukur, a former national chairman of the party, contributed to his travails in the PDP, pointing out that Tukur initially influenced his suspension as the national secretary of the party shortly after his emergence.
Oyinlola however, described the APC as the only formidable party in the country, saying that his decision to join the party was as a result of the ideology of the party and the performances of the governors of the party. He declared that he would not miss anything in the PDP, just as he promised that his relationship with members of the party would not be affected by his defection to the APC.
— Aug. 18, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT
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