Presidency breaks silence on ‘gunshots in Aso Rock’

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd .), has ordered a probe into alleged security breach inside the Presidential Villa.

This was made known in a statement by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu , on Sunday.

There had been reports of gunshots and a breach of security within the Presidential Villa recently.

The situation was said to have been as a result of a squabble among family members and officials of the Presidency.

The statement noted that some staff and occupants of the State House have been arrested in relation to the incident by the police.

The statement read in part , ” This is to assure all and everyone that the President and Commander- in- Chief of the Armed Forces , Muhammadu Buhari, is not, and was not at any time in any form of danger arising, either from deadly infections or the reported incident by security personnel which is currently under investigation.

” This particular incident happened outside the main residence of the President.

” Armed guards and other security personnel assigned to the State House receive the necessary training of especially weapons handling and where they come short , their relevant agencies have their rules and regulations to immediately address them.

” Having authorised the proper investigation to be carried out into this unfortunate incident by the Police, the President has acted in compliance with the rule of law.

” That a minor occurrence is being used by some critics to justify attacks on the government and the person of President Muhammadu Buhari beggars belief.

” In this particular instance, the President says the law should be allowed to take its course.”

I’ll reveal my next move after meeting with my supporters and Buhari – Obaseki

Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, said he will reveal his next step after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari following his disqualification from the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election in the state.

Obaseki who is seeking a second term in office, also said he is still consulting with his supporters.

Writing via his Twitter handle on Sunday, the governor described his disqualification as an act of injustice.

Alleged Rape: Fresh facts emerge over 21-yr-old Grace Oshiagwu’s death

FRESH facts emerged on Sunday over the death of a 21-year old Grace Oshiagwu, who was allegedly raped to death by yet unknown assailant(s) on Saturday night at Idi-ori Area Shasha off Expressway, in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State.

According to the Caretaker Chairman, Akinyele South LCDA, Mr Kazeem Bolarinwa who revealed how Oshiagwu was murdered, the deceased who died as a result of machete cuts on her head, was said to have been murdered for ritualistic purpose.

Mr. Bolarinwa, who gave the account of the incident while speaking with Sunday Vanguard, narrated what happened when he arrived at the scene.

“I went to a particular hospital to visit a patient, I made a phone call to the Divisional Police Officer on the issue of security in my Council. The DPO asked me to come to where he was that another sad event had taken place at Idi Ori, Express, behind a newly constructed filling station called Silverstone. I left the hospital immediately, when I got there, I saw a crowd.”

“On getting to the scene of the incident, I was told a 21-year-old lady called Grace has been murdered. She was butchered on the head in four places, it appears to me the incident was not a rape but ritual murder.”

“I say this because the perpetrators of this dastardly act were using rape to disguise and distract people’s attention from their ritual activities.”

“After the lady had died, her underwear was removed halfway. I decided to go round at some houses in the area, the area was not close to a bush and I challenged the residents why they couldn’t raise alarm when they noticed that a stranger had cone to their community. He came, perpetrated his heinous crime and left without being noticed.”

The caretaker chairman said he felt so sad, that such incident could happen in a densely populated area, urging residents to cooperate with the government and security agents by reporting any suspicious movement to the relevant authority.

“As I speak with you, I am sad, the lady was dead before my arrival, it’s painful. We urged the police to do necessary investigation to uncover the plot behind the recent killings in Akinyele local government. I wept uncontrollably, a 21-year-old girl was killed just like that.”

The council boss commiserated with the deceased family and vowed to ensure that the culprits are arrested and made to face the consequences of their action.

Until her untimely death, the deceased was a National Diploma student at the Oke-Ogun Polytechnic, Saki, according to investigation gathered.

Her death made it the third of it kind in the last two weeks. Recall Barakat Bello and Azeezat were killed after suffering a similar fate.

Vanguard

Another Girl raped, matcheted to death in Ibadan

Barely nine days after the murder of a postgraduate student of University of Ibadan, Shomuyiwa Azeezat, who was pregnant, in Akinyele local government area of Ibadan, another lady, a 100-level student of Oke Ogun Polytechnic, Saki, Grace Oshiagwu, has been reportedly raped to death by unknown persons at her parent’s residence, Idi Ori Sasa, Ojoo, in the same Akinyele local government.

The incident, which happened at about 3pm, was confirmed by the Oyo State Police Command, via a statement that was released by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Oyo State Command, Gbenga Fadeyi.

The statement reads, “One Grace Oshiagwu ‘f’ aged 21 yrs, was macheted on her head in a church mission building at Idi-ori Area Shasha off Expressway by unknown assailant(s) today 13/06/2020 about 3.00 pm.

“Investigation has commenced into the matter and the Police Tactical teams are on the trail of the assailant(s).

“While efforts intensified, we want to continue to solicit for credible information from members of the communities around the area and the general public to unravel the misery behind these dastard killings.”

It would be recalled that a year one student at Federal College of Animal Health and Production, Barakat Bello, was also raped and murdered by unknown gunmen that invaded her home in Ibadan, making it three cases of such gruesome murder in recent weeks.

The body, which was discovered by her dad was later examined and it was discovered that she was raped before she was gruesomely killed.

Reopening guidelines: NCDC orders churches, mosques to shut toilets, sales outlets

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on Saturday issued guidelines for the reopening of religious centres across the country, asking children and people aged 60 and above to avoid worship centres for the time being.

It also said public toilets and sales outlets in churches and mosques must be shut during services.

This comes after the Federal Government lifted the ban on religious and other public gatherings to check the spread of COVID- 19.

According to the guidelines posted on its website , the NCDC said before reopening, religious houses should fumigate their auditoriums, car parks and other buildings by wiping all surfaces with a disinfecting agent.

The centre also said during services , windows and doors must be opened to enable airflow while adequate provision should be made for soap, running water and hand sanitisers at entry points.

“ There should be no entry without face masks; provide disposable face masks where practicable.

“ To help educate on COVID- 19, it is recommended for places of worship to have preventive messages from NCDC posted at entry points and around places of worship.

“ Holy communion should be packaged in disposable wraps . Drinking water points, public toilets and sales outlets must be closed for now ,” the NCDC said.

It added that ablution should be done at home and discouraged the sharing of kettles and any personal items.

It said, “ Religious leaders must maintain two metres when praying or counselling and avoid body contact with members. Places of worship should be free of carpets and rugs to allow easy disinfection of the floor.

“ Places of worship must open only between 5 am and 8 pm. Choristers are to go home with their robes ; hijabs are not to be shared; attendance in every service should not exceed one - third of sitting capacity of the auditorium to enable physical distancing . All other members should join the service virtually.”

Furthermore, the NCDC discouraged shaking of hands, hugging and all physical contacts for the time being and discouraged worshippers from 60 years old and above, or those with underlying medical conditions, to stay at home.

Children are also discouraged from attending worship services.

Source: PUNCH

Nigeria’s governance structure, too expensive and unsustainable, set up for bankruptcy — Sanusi

The immediate past Emir of Kano and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Muhammad Sanusi, has again said it is inevitable for Nigeria to be bankrupt with its current governance structure, which he described as too expensive and unsustainable.

The outspoken economist, who has repeatedly complained about the cost of governance in the country, said with the fiscal crisis the country is facing and looking at where Nigeria is headed post-COVID-19 crisis, it had become imperative for Nigeria to ask fundamental questions about the structure of its federation.

Speaking at a webinar hosted by Emmanuel Chapel, with the theme, ‘Mitigation of the economic impact of COVID-19 and the path to recovery’, Sanusi said when he was the CBN governor and the price of oil was over $100 per barrel, the government at the time spent 80 per cent of its revenue on salaries and overheads. “Now, I’m sure that with the shortfall in revenues and where oil price is, after debt service, we probably have to borrow to pay salaries. We have got to look at that structure,” he added.

He stated further, “If you have a company and you have extremely high overheads and you need a high contribution margin to break even, you would be looking at how to reduce cost. So, we have a constitution that says we should have a president and a vice-president, we must have a minister from every state of the federation, whether or not it’s 36 ministries; we should have 109 senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives.

"It also said we should have 36 governors, 36 deputy governors, each state with its House of Assembly and comprising many legislators, 774 local government chairmen, councillors, the personal assistants and special assistants (at all levels), staff members and vehicles.

“With these, you are already set up to be bankrupt. This is something I have been talking about for years. We need to ask ourselves; the structure that we have, does it leave us any option rather than to remain unsustainable over time? This is the kind of conversation we need to have as a country.

“Do we need a bicameral legislature; do we need close to 500 legislators in Abuja; do we need the hundreds of state legislators; what are they doing; do we need all these local government chairmen and councillors or do we need to look at that structure?”

At the event anchored by the founder/CEO, BFA Foundation, Olu Verheijen, Sanusi also said even if it wouldn’t reduce cost, government could increase productivity by redeploying personnel from the civil service where many people do administrative works to areas like education and health care.

“Do we need a bicameral legislature; do we need close to 500 legislators in Abuja; do we need the hundreds of state legislators; what are they doing; do we need all these local government chairmen and councillors or do we need to look at that structure?”

At the event anchored by the founder/CEO, BFA Foundation, Olu Verheijen, Sanusi also said even if it wouldn’t reduce cost, government could increase productivity by redeploying personnel from the civil service where many people do administrative works to areas like education and health care.