Everything News
No fewer than 12 people were reported dead on Tuesday while four others were injured in a lone crash which occurred at about 3:15 pm around Ogere along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. The lone accident involved a White Mazda Bus with registration number DDA733XA. The crash was adduced to wrongful overtaking after which the bus lost
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Embattled Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka in Anambra State, Prof. Bernard Ifeanyi Odoh, has reacted to his sack by President Bola Tinubu. Odoh said on Thursday that he will be heading to his office, insisting that he hasn’t committed any crime. DAILY POST reported that Tinubu on Wednesday approved the dissolution of the
I’m heading to office, didn’t commit any crime – Embattled UNIZIK VC, Odoh insists
Embattled Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka in Anambra State, Prof. Bernard Ifeanyi Odoh, has reacted to his sack by President Bola Tinubu.
Odoh said on Thursday that he will be heading to his office, insisting that he hasn’t committed any crime.
DAILY POST reported that Tinubu on Wednesday approved the dissolution of the Governing Council of UNIZIK.
The President also removed Odoh, the new Vice Chancellor, and Mrs. Rosemary Ifoema Nwokike, the Registrar.
However, speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show programme on Thursday, the embattled Vice Chancellor said he hasn’t been communicated with about his sack as the VC.
He stated that he only saw the information that he had been relieved of his position as the VC of UNIZIK in the media space.
Odoh said: “The visitor set up this council. The council has not been invited by anybody. There’s no written communication either from anybody from the NUC or from the Ministry, asking the council to explain what has happened in Nnamdi Azikiwe University. I haven’t been communicated. There has been no information anywhere. There has been no panel of enquiry. No panel of investigation.
“All I heard yesterday was to see the information on the media space saying that I have been removed. I was not appointed through a press release. I was appointed by a constituted authority and I have your letter. So, I don’t understand. So, after this interview, I’m heading to the office. I haven’t committed any crime. I was appointed by a procedure, and the procedure is straightforward.”
I’m heading to office, didn’t commit any crime – Embattled UNIZIK VC, Odoh insists
The Victor Oko-Jumbo-led Rivers State House of Assembly has reaffirmed its stance that the legislative seats of factional Speaker Martin Amaewhule and 24 others remain vacant following their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC. These seats, the Assembly insists, must be filled through a by-election conducted by the
Pro-Fubara lawmakers insist on vacant seats of Amaewhule, others
The Victor Oko-Jumbo-led Rivers State House of Assembly has reaffirmed its stance that the legislative seats of factional Speaker Martin Amaewhule and 24 others remain vacant following their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
These seats, the Assembly insists, must be filled through a by-election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
This development comes after the Amaewhule-led Assembly, on Tuesday, declared the seats of Chief of Staff to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Edison Ehie, and three other pro-Fubara lawmakers vacant, citing their absence from sittings for 152 days.
During the plenary, Amaewhule stated that Ehie failed to properly notify the House of his new office, which led to the declaration of his seat as vacant.
He further noted that Oko-Jumbo and the two others were absent from sittings for 152 consecutive days without notification or permission, a violation of the 1999 Constitution.
The Amaewhule-led House held three separate votes to declare their seats vacant.
Reacting to the development, pro-Fubara Speaker, Victor Oko-Jumbo in a statement, explained that the 25 legislative seats were initially declared vacant on December 13, 2023, by the then-recognised Speaker, Edison Ehie.
The Assembly expressed frustration with INEC’s delay in conducting by-elections to fill the vacant seats.
Oko-Jumbo criticised INEC’s failure to act since December 13, 2023, which he said has allowed “Amaewhule and his committee of friends” to create unnecessary distractions.
He called on INEC to fulfill its constitutional duties to the people of Rivers State by organising the required by-elections.
Oko-Jumbo said: “Please, recall that on the 11th day of December, 2023, Martin Chike Amaewhule and 24 others defected from the Peoples Democratic Party that sponsored their election into the Rivers State House of Assembly, to the All Progressives Congress. Their defection was headline news and widely reported in print and electronic media.
“On the 13th day of December, 2023, the defection by Martin Chike Amaewhule and 26 others was further cemented in an affidavit deposed to by Martin Chike Amaewhule, when in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1681/2023, Martin Chike Amaewhule & 26 Ors v. INEC & 5 Ors. in paragraphs 15 thereof, he deposed as follows: ‘That faced with the state of uncertainty and confusion in the 2nd defendant (Peoples Democratic Party) caused by division in the political party, the Plaintiffs were forced by the state of affairs within the 2nd defendant to defect and join the All Progressives Congress (APC).’
“On the 13th day of December, 2023, Rt. Honourable Edison Ogerenye Ehie, as then Speaker, declared the seats of Martin Chike Amaewhule and 24 others in the Rivers State House of Assembly vacant, and called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct bye-election to fill their vacant legislative seats. This has not been challenged and set aside by any court of law.
“Subsequently, I was elected as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly. Myself and the Members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have been piloting the affairs of the Rivers State House of Assembly, including passing resolutions and screening various eminent persons as commissioner-nominees and recommending them to His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State to be appointed and sworn-in as commissioners, among others.
“Truth and facts are constant, sacrosanct and indelible. The fact of the defection by Martin Chike Amaewhule and 24 Ors cannot be erased by pretenders like Martin Chike Amaewhule and his committee of friends.
“Today, the 15th day of October, 2024, Martin Chike Amaewhule & 24 Ors who ceased to be members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, on December 11, 2023, purportedly declared vacant the legislative seats of Rt. Honourable Victor Oko-Jumbo and others as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly. They have no such powers. This is an exercise in futility. It is a joke taken too far.
“As the Rt. Honourable Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, I call on INEC to immediately conduct a by-election to fill the legislative seats declared vacant on December 13, 2023. I also call on Nigerians and the good people of Rivers State in particular, to ignore the vituperations and ranting of Martin Chike Amaewhule and his committee of friends.
“They are not members of the Rivers State House of Assembly not to talk of having the powers to declare vacant the legislative seats of legitimate Assembly members, who have remained steadfast and did not defect like them,” he added.
DAILY POST recalls that the Amaewhule-led Assembly had previously suspended Ehie, Oko-Jumbo, and two others, following the causes that rocked the state Assembly after an explosion at the hallowed chamber of the Rivers State House of Assembly complex on October 29, 2023.
However, it remains unclear whether the suspended members were reinstated before their seats were declared vacant.
Pro-Fubara lawmakers insist on vacant seats of Amaewhule, others
Polaris Bank has been recognised as Nigeria’s leading bank in lending to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises at the inaugural MSME Finance Awards 2024. The award was organized by Nairametrics and The Economic Forum. The ceremony, held at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, saw Polaris Bank clinching the title of ‘Best in MSME Lending’
Read More
Polaris Bank has been recognised as Nigeria’s leading bank in lending to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises at the inaugural MSME Finance Awards 2024. The award was organized by Nairametrics and The Economic Forum. The ceremony, held at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, saw Polaris Bank clinching the title of ‘Best in MSME Lending’