News

Tinubu Has Dodged Poisonous Knife By Not Appointing El-rufai – Shehu Sani Mocks

Published

11 months ago

June 8, 2023

A former senator who represented Kaduna Central at the 8th Senate, Shehu Sani, on Wednesday mocked the immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai for missing out in the recent appointments made by President Bola Tinubu.

Tinubu appointed a former Governor of Benue State, George Akume as Secretary to the Government of the Federation while the outgoing Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila was appointed the Chief of Staff.

Akume, who was sworn-in by the President on Wednesday at the Aso Villa, had served during the second tenure of the former President Muhammadu Buhari as Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Before Akume and Gbajabiamila were appointed, insinuations were rife in various quarters that the former Kaduna State governor would get one of the positions considering his closeness to the President during electioneering.

Reacting to the development, Sani, who was apparently referring to comments credited to El-Rufai on Islamisation agenda, said Tinubu had “dodged a poisonous knife” by scheming the former governor out of the two positions he described as “critical”.

“If Tinubu had appointed ‘Mr Over Sabi’ as SGF or Chief of Staff, he would have sown the seed of discord between the President and the Vice President, speak and move around as more important than the two. Tinubu has dodged a poisonous knife,” Sani said in a tweet on Wednesday afternoon.

El-Rufai was alleged in a trending video on social media to have said that the Muslim-Muslim ticket in the Kaduna governorship election would be sustained beyond 20 years in the state.

In the video, the former governor, who spoke in Hausa, also claimed that Muslim domination was being replicated at the national level, and that the victory of President Bola Tinubu had silenced his critics, particularly the Christian Association of Nigeria.

Headline

Prince Harry visits sick Nigerian soldiers in Kaduna

Published

3 days ago

May 11, 2024

Alero Danjuma

Prince Harry and his team visited the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna to interact with wounded soldiers who are receiving treatment.

The Duke of Sussex is in Nigeria with his wife to champion the Invictus Games, which Harry founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans.

Nigeria joined the Invictus Community of Nations in 2022 becoming the first African country to join.

Prince Harry’s visit to Kaduna came 68 years after his late grandmother Queen Elizabeth II visited the state during the time of the late Premier of Northern Region Sir Ahmadu Bello.

News

Senate approves death penalty for drug traffickers

Published

5 days ago

May 9, 2024

Alero Danjuma

Senate on Thursday, May 9, approved the death penalty for those convicted on the charge of drug trafficking in the country.

The punishment prescribed in the extant NDLEA Act is a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The resolution of the Senate followed its consideration of a report of the Committees on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters and Drugs and Narcotics, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

The Chairman of the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights & Legal Matters presented the report during plenary, Senator Mohammed Monguno (APC-Borno North).

The bill, which passed its third reading, aims to update the list of dangerous drugs, strengthen the operations of the NDLEA, review penalties, and empower the establishment of laboratories.

Section 11 of the current act prescribes that “any person who, without lawful authority; imports, manufactures, produces, processes, plants or grows the drugs popularly known as cocaine, LSD, heroin or any other similar drugs shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to be sentenced to imprisonment for life” was amended to reflect a stiffer penalty of death.

Although the report did not recommend a death penalty for the offence, during consideration, Senator Ali Ndume moved that the life sentence should be upgraded to the death penalty.

During a clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, who presided over the session, put the amendment on the death penalty to a voice vote and ruled that the “ayes” had it.

But Senator Adams Oshiomhole objected to the ruling, saying that the “nays” had it.

He argued that matters of life and death should not be treated hurriedly, but Barau said it was too late, as he failed to call for division immediately after his ruling.

The bill was subsequently read for the third time and passed by the Senate.