CODIFIER

Over 300 appointees who served in the administration of former Governor of Kogi State, Capt. Idris Wada, on Sunday, commended Governor Yahaya Bello over what they described as the complete turn around of critical sectors of Kogi State, saying they had decided to totally submit to his leadership.    They also declared their total support for the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the November 11 polls, Usman Ododo, describing his detrabilised personality as a good selling point.  Speaking on behalf of the others during a courtesy visit to the Government House in Lokoja, the leader of the delegation and former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Abubakar Sadiq Ainoko, highlighted specifically that it was pleasant to see that the first flyover in the state had been watered to fruition by the pragmatic leadership of Governor Bello.  He added that the project completion had improved the rating of Lokoja in terms of aesthetics....

The sobriquet of Small Alhaji, is undoubtedly a very popular one and it means different things to different people. Although the man with the appellation was named Tajudeen Adeyemi Adefisoye ; but he is widely and better known everywhere he goes as Small Alhaji.   To some people, Small Alhaji is a politician while others see him as a philanthropist. Several others know him to be shrewd businessman, just as some other group of persons see him as a trail blazing democrat. Interestingly, he was and still known amongst members of the 9th National Assembly as the poster boy of the House of Representatives.   Adefisoye is evidently a man of many parts as he had set new records, carved niche for himself and also impacted several lives in his almost 39-years of existence. It is no longer news that Small Alhaji, against all odds won election at the age of 34, on the platform of a relatively unknown Social Democratic Party (SDP) to represent Idanre/Ifedore federal constituency...

The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Friday, refused the applications for bail of suspected criminals allegedly associated with the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party in Kogi State, Muritala Yakubu.  The Appellants/applicants' motion for bail had earlier been refused by Hon. Justice Jamil Isah of the Kogi State High Court, sitting in Lokoja.  The Court of Appeal, presided by Hon. Justice Mohammed Mustapha JCA, in a well considered judgement delivered on Friday, in the appeals marked "CA/ABJ/PRE/CR/544MI/2023", also refused their bail applications.  Ojonimi Apeh, Esq appeared for the Appellants/Applicants, while Badama Kadiri, Esq (DPP) appeared for the Respondent.  The Appellants - Kabiri Echi Iyalo, Adama Kerim, Kabir Abdullahi and Salisu Isah Umar - were intercepted during a joint operation of security agencies on their way to Abuja on March 26, 2023, according to a statement signed by the spokesperson for the Department of State Services, Peter Afun...

By Ojochide Samuel Now, one needs to question the credentials this man called Muritala Ajaka has to qualify him to contest for the governorship of a state in Nigeria beyond his reliance on fruitless propaganda since the beginning of this election season.  If he is not shouting that they want to assassinate him, he is defending well established criminals in a state that has produced world acclaimed professionals across all fields. He and his managers have not, for once, tried to market what they have to offer the people of the state other than this ignoble dance around ethnic jingoism and character assassination without substance.  I was one of those that bought the wide misinformation in the past about Yahaya Bello, the Governor of the state, until I saw proof without being told, that he had actually achieved far more in the state, in terms of development, than had been achieved in over a decade before him.  For a long time too, Kogi State has not been at the centre of po...

...Affirms Ododo's victory  ...'Will of a few can't override will of majority' - Court A Federal High Court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Wednesday, dismissed a suit filed by an aspirant in the All Progressives Congress' governorship primaries in Kogi State, Senator Smart Adeyemi, against the emergence of the candidate of the party, Usman Ododo, saying it lacks merit.  Delivering judgement in the suit marked "FHC/CS/556/2023 Smart Adeyemi v. APC & 2 Ors", Justice J.K. Omotosho held that Adeyemi's allegations were criminal in nature, as he alleged that elections did not hold and that the produced results were forged.  He said the Applicant needed to prove the allegations of forgery, falsification of results, beyond reasonable doubts.  The court noted that the burden rests on the Applicant to produce the forged result or the original and the forged results to discharge the burden, adding that failure to discharge the burden "is fata...

  The Kogi State Government has berated the Social Democratic Party (SDP) gubernatorial candidate in the State, Muritala Ajaka, for allegedly spreading “falsehood with reckless abandon so as to put himself a garment of importance”  In a statement signed by Kingsley Fanwo, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, on Tuesday, warned those spreading falsehood to prepare to face the law.  The statement read, “we wouldn't have bothered to respond to the watery, evasive and sympathy seeking sinking candidate of the Social Democratic Party, who is dipping himself in the messy mud and and having an ignominious macabre dance on the sensibilities of Kogites and Nigerians as a whole.  “It is important to tell Nigerians and the world that Muritala Yakubu Ajaka, the said Governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party, is on a blisteringly shameful agenda of whipping sentiments, spreading falsehood with reckless abandon so as to put on himself, a garment of impor...

  . Vows to do everything lawful to guarantee peaceful poll in November  . Reiterates endorsement of recent joint security operation  . Reveals it has reduced crime by 40%  . Says 'we'll never submit our authority to criminals' The Kogi State Government has reiterated its endorsement of the recent joint operation carried out by security agencies in the state, in which a notorious gang leader was neutralised, saying that the operation has reduced crime in the area by over 40 per cent.  The Commissioner for Information in the state, Kingsley Fanwo, who said this at the quarterly press briefing of the ministry on Monday in Lokoja, stressed that no amount of blackmail by desperate enemies of the state would stop the government from protecting lives and property of Kogites and cooperating totally with law enforcement agencies to rid the state of crime.  He said the Kogi State Government would not submit its authority to criminals, while calling on security agenc...

  .Ask Kogites to shun mischievous politicians playing victims, sponsoring crime  . Call on DSS, others to fish out, arrest politicians behind anti-security propaganda  Lawyers, leaders of Civil Society Organisations and professionals across all sectors of the economy have called on Kogi State indigenes at home and in the Diaspora to help security agencies to make the state uninhabitable for criminals masquerading as politicians in the state, especially as the November 11 governorship election draws closer.  They called on the good people of Kogi State to resist those they described as criminal political merchants trying to blackmail security agencies in the interest of their "unpopular ambitions."  Representatives of more than 50 CSOs and scores of lawyers, under the broad platform of Lawyers and Activists for Good Governance, made this position known at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday.  Barr. Mohammed Abdulrazaq Sani, a lawyer from Igalamela LGA,...

  The Kogi State Government has called on security agencies to invite politicians expressing “sadness over the death of a criminal for questioning”. Kingsley Fanwo, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, stated this in a statement on Tuesday. He noted that residents of the state have thrown their weights behind actions being taken by security agencies to rid the state of crimes. Fanwo, therefore, stressed that no extra Judicial killings in the state, noting that “some naysayers and purveyors of violence who were hard-hit by recent onslaught on criminals in the state want people to believe” The statement read, “the Kogi State Government wishes to state clearly and unequivocally that the good people of the state are totally in support of actions being taken by the security agencies to rid the state of crime and allow the peace that has been enjoyed over the years endure”  “If there is anyone on the streets protesting against the peace and security of the state, that...

. Advise him to limit Kogi politics to Kogi Elders Forum  Longstanding members of the Arewa Consultative Forum have warned the new Chairman of the forum, Gabriel Aduku, to desist from dragging the ACF into his personal political warfare in Kogi State or risk being removed as Chairman.  According to the members, representing the different Arewa states, the idea behind the formation of the ACF is, among others, to promote the development, unity, peace and prosperity of the Arewa North as an entity, while having a healthy relationship with other areas of the country.  In a statement on Tuesday, titled, "Stop Using ACF For Your Political Fights in Kogi State", jointly signed by  Dr. Asha Manga, who was the Governorship Candidate for Action Alliance in the just concluded elections; and Alhaji Sadiq Bulama, member, Borno State/ Secretary to the immediate past chairman of ACF, among others, the Arewa leaders said the ACF was never meant to be a divisive political tool in th...

  Former Presidential candidate and Restructuring campaigner,Rev Chris Okotie has broken his silence since the Presidential inauguration. In an explosive statement released in Lagos early today by his media adviser,Ladi Ayodeji, the Reverend expressed concern on a range of burning national issues and capped them up with his vision for Nigeria. Below is the full statement, issued to mark the Reverend 's 64th birthday: " It is hubristic naivety to envisage the emergence of a new Nigeria from a moribund political cocoon corrupted by duplicity, political criminality and the travesty of the electoral-social etiquette. "The current presidential system of governance has again manifested itself as a hydra-headed monstrousity. "No matter the outcome of the adjudications of the cases brought before the Nigeria assizes, by opposing political parties, nothing tangible will be achieved under this debilitating system. "We must be willing and courageous enough to abandon this ...

  There was jubilation in Lagos on Thursday as leaders of over 150 Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organisations gathered with their supporters to celebrate what they termed the first step in the cleaning process for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.  They hailed the President Bola Tinubu administration for showing a bold will to fix the wrongs in critical areas of the Nigerian system and doing the right things in seemingly complex circumstances.  They noted that the suspension of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, was long overdue.  According to them, genuine Anti-Corruption CSOs are indeed happy that their struggle against "politicisation of the EFCC, disobedience to lawful court orders and infringement on the human rights of Nigerians with impunity" has yielded a positive result at last.  The anti-graft crusaders, led by popular human righ...

  . Sets aside Commission's invitation to past, serving Zamfara officials  A Federal High Court, sitting in Gusau, Zamfara State has declared that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission does not have the powers to invite (by letters, telephone calls or any other means of communication) serving and past officials of the Zamfara State Government for the purpose of explaining how the state's funds are utilised.  The Court held that the power to audit the public accounts of Zamfara State is not vested in the 1st Defendant (EFCC) or any other authority, person, body or organisation other than in the Auditor General of Zamfara State.  Justice Aminu Bappa Aliyu made this known on Wednesday while delivering judgment on a suit instituted by the Government of Zamfara State and Attorney General of Zamfara State against the EFCC and the Attorney of the Federation.  The Court also set aside EFCC's letter of invitation to the past and serving officials of Zamfara State ...

  By Adeboye Ado  The Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Usman Ododo, on Sunday, paid a courtesy visit to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State.  The Candidate and his entourage were in Lagos to meet the Kogi Community in Lagos as part of activities lined up for consultations ahead of the governorship election in the state.  Governor Sanwo-Olu held a private meeting with the candidate where their discussions centred around winning the November 11 Governorship poll.  After the meeting, the Governor addressed the entourage, assuring them that the entire APC family would ensure victory for the party in Kogi State.  He thanked them for the visit.  On the entourage of the APC Governorship Candidate were the State Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Bello; leader of the delegation, Deedat Ozigi; Bashir Gegu, Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo; former Accountant-General of the state, Jibrin Momoh; former Commissioner fo...

  The Court of Appeal, Abuja Judicial Division, has dismissed the appeal filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, challenging the decision of the Kogi State High Court that it has jurisdiction to try the defamation suit instituted against the Commission by the State Government over the purported N20 Billion bailout fund.  The Court of Appeal in a ruling delivered on 18th May, 2023 in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/290/2022,  agreed with the Kogi State Government that the suit was properly commenced at the High Court of Kogi State, and therefore Ordered the EFCC to go back to the High Court of Kogi State to file their defence.  Contrary to a false narrative in some sections of the media, the appeal has nothing to do with Ali Bello, as he was neither a party to the appeal nor joined in the appeal.  The appeal is the defamation suit instituted by the Kogi State Government against the EFCC, Sterling Bank Plc and Central Bank of Nigeria in appeal No. CA/ ABJ/290/...

Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has asked the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, to step aside and surrender himself for investigation.  Matawalle said he and some other eminent Nigerians "have evidence of corrupt practices, breach of public trust and abuse of office against him (Bawa) and the commission led by him."  He said this in a statement on Monday, in reaction to invitations reportedly sent by the EFCC boss to all outgoing Governors and Commissioners.  The governor said no one would stop the anti-graft agency from performing its duties but it must extend its searchlight to officers of the Presidency and members of the Federal Executive Council.  He argued that the investigation must be holistic and not selective, noting that Bawa would have to explain, among others, how seized assets by the EFCC were being sold without adherence to due process.  "He should explain, for instance, how he has assumed the r...

  Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos, on Monday, refused to entertain an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, seeking a stay of execution of the ruling that lifted a forfeiture order on some assets linked to the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.  The judge adjourned the hearing of the application indefinitely because the matter is now before the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal.  Justice Oweibo had, on April 26, 2023, struck out a suit by the EFCC seeking the final forfeiture of the properties on the grounds of provisions of Section 308(1) of the Constitution.  The Judge had held that “given Section 308 of the Constitution, which provides immunity to a sitting governor from any civil/ criminal prosecution, the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the matter”, and the suit was struck out.  When the matter was called on Monday, the EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), informed the court that he had filed ...

  Hon. Tajudeen Adefisoye, popularly known as Small Alhaji is the outgoing member representing Idanre/Ifedore federal constituency of Ondo State in the Nigerian House of Representatives. He opens up for the very first time on his shocking loss in the February 2023 National Assembly election. He also speaks on his expectations of Bola Tinubu’s government after his inauguration and on other national issues.   Did you see it coming that you would lose your bid to become a ranking member of the House of Representatives?  I didn’t see it coming. In fact, I never thought that I could lose the election. The result came as a surprise to so many people. I truly rated myself before the election based on my legislative performance, high level of dedication to my constituency and unprecedented projects that I brought to my constituency. Going by the judgment of people in my constituency, I am obviously the best MHR in the legislative history of the constituency.  I won my p...

.... commends Governor Bello over hitch-free primaries  The Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, has thrown her weight behind the candidature of the All Progressives Congress Governorship candidate in the State, Usman Ododo, saying his emergence was a reflection of the "excellent leadership of Governor Yahaya Bello".  The minister, who said this on Monday while receiving the Governorship candidate of the party and his entourage in Abuja, expressed confidence that the APC would win the November 11 governorship election "resoundingly".  She said, "Let me congratulate you on your emergence as the candidate of our party. Your success at the primary is a triumph of loyalty. Never stop being who you are.  "I was initially worried about the number of aspirants in the race. But the manner the Governor went about providing excellent leadership made the primary hitch-free and successful.  "For me, party is supreme and no ma...

  The President-elect of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Saturday, gave the Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Kogi State, Usman Ododo, his blessings, ahead of the November 2023 elections in the state.  Ododo, who emerged the Kogi APC governorship candidate through a direct primary election on April 14 and was ratified through a special Congress of the party on April 15, was presented to Tinubu by Governor Yahaya Bello in Abuja.  The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Chairman, Kogi APC, Abdullahi Bello; were among the party stakeholders who interracted with Ododo, the party's flagbearer in Kogi State, during his visit to the President-elect.  Tinubu, while congratulating the candidate, lifted his hand up as a show of acceptance and affirmation of his candidacy and expressed absolute confidence in the capacity of APC to win the November governorship election, landslide, in Kogi State. Recall that Ododo had, on Friday,...