There have been reports of an ugly and unfortunate booing incident that took place outside the palace of our revered Royal Father, the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, on Saturday, July 25, 2020, during the visit of members of the National Campaign Council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The PDP entourage, including the Edo State Governor and governorship candidate of the PDP in Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, were reportedly booed while going in and out of the palace by a motley crowd of mostly young boys, according to media reports.
Some members of the crowd who reportedly embarrassed the PDP team and the State Governor were said to have been subsequently attacked allegedly by some gun-toting thugs and sustained varied degrees of injuries in the attack.
While I condemn the booing of the governor and the PDP team, and the reprisal attack, I am particularly pained that some ungodly insinuations in some quarters have linked me with the unfortunate saga. It is against this backdrop that I have deemed it necessary to make the following clarifications:
1. That I was invited to the Palace of the Oba of Benin for a very private ceremony, which I did not even attend with my friends; and that the private ceremony, which had no bearing at all with politics, took place hours after the booing incident happened outside the Palace;
2. That I was not privy to the ugly incident during which Governor Godwin Obaseki was reportedly booed;
3. That as a responsible citizen and elder statesman who respects constituted authorities, I would not subscribe to any act that tends to disrespect or denigrate any constituted authority whether in Edo State or any other State in Nigeria;
4. That I sincerely frown at the brazen act of disrespect for constituted authorities by the crowd of young men who reportedly became unruly on sighting the entourage of the PDP National Campaign Council and Governor Godwin Obaseki at the palace of the Oba of Benin;
5. That I will never, ever be a party to any plan, plot, action or inaction to embarrass our most revered father, Oba Ewuare II, who is non-partisan; and who plays the role of a father to all sons and daughters of the great Benin Kingdom;
6. That I was not associated with the activities of the unruly crowd and therefore could not have been sent to the palace by me to embarrass the PDP entourage, including the State Governor whom I respect as the number one citizen of the State;
7. That I have equal measure of respect for other State Governors who were on the entourage with Governor Godwin Obaseki, some of whom are my personal friends; and could not have encouraged any plot to boo or embarrass them;
8. That just as I was not privy to the ugly incident outside the palace of the Oba Of Benin, our revered Royal Father, Oba Ewuare II, was also not even aware of what transpired outside until later after he had been briefed about it;
9. That those who made insinuations linking me with the ugly incident were just trying to drag me into their politics and create the impression in certain quarters that I was responsible for their rejection by the people;
10. That I state solemnly that, in my position as a role model to our teeming youths who look up to me for guidance and support, I cannot, under any guise, undertake directly or sanction indirectly any action that will place me in a position of disrepute before them and other well-meaning members of the society;
11. That, for the records, our revered Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, will not, at all times, condone any act of indiscipline by the youths;
12. That I urge my good people of Edo State, associates and supporters to rest assured that I remain the person they have ,good neighborliness who is committed to the promotion of peace, security and orderliness in our society;
13. That I have always preached to the hearing of everybody that the ambition of any man is not worth the blood of any Edolite;
That I call on all Edo people to join hands to ensure that they eschew violence in the electioneering by the political parties and in the forthcoming September 19, 2020 governorship election;
15. God bless Edo people; God bless Edo State; God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Oba Gha to Kpere, Isee!
Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo Sunday, July 26, 2020
The attention of Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has been drawn to the recent rumours making rounds on the social media accusing the agency of secretly laying off some sweepers in the state.
We want to use this medium to categorically state that the claim is spurious, false, misleading and inciting, which should be ignored by members of the public as lacking any form of substance.
LAWMA, saddled with the responsibility of keeping Lagos clean, is currently not laying off her workers, what we have done and continue to do over the years, is to reposition the agency for quality service delivery and effective monitoring.
The Authority, by the law that established it in the state, is a regulator, and it is pertinent to maintain such and completely distance itself from participating in waste operations, to ensure efficiency.
This is to reiterate for the umpteenth time that the Authority will not hesitate to deal decisively with any one or group, no matter highly placed, who attempts to disrupt the smooth operations of the sweeping programme according to the dictates of the law.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Authority has paid its sweepers up to date, as no sweeper is being owed any salary.
The Authority will not rest on its oars in ensuring that every nook and cranny of the state is clean at all times, so we urge residents to support us in this quest, because effective waste management is a collective responsibility.
In the same vein, residents are admonished to show a sense of responsibility towards the environment by shunning all forms of improper waste disposal, rather patronize assigned PSP operators, as we together build a cleaner and healthier city in 2021.
For inquiries and complaints on waste management related issues in your area, please call our toll-free numbers 07080601020 and 617.
Inspector General Of Police Assures Nigerians of Improved Security in 2021
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, has assured Nigerians of improved security in the year 2021. The IGP stressed that the Force will be unrelenting in the fight against all forms of crimes especially kidnapping, armed robbery, banditry, cultism, cybercrime, Sexual/Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), amongst others in the country in the year 2021. The IGP assured that the NPF will implement aggressive, proactive, intelligence-driven and community-based crime fighting strategies in its quests to make the country safer. He promised the Force will take the battle to the door steps of the criminals and also expand its collaboration with the citizens and other Law Enforcement Agencies in its bid to flush out criminal elements in the country.
The IGP, while reviewing the scorecard of police operations at the Force CID and Force Intelligence Bureau, revealed that a total of 21,296 criminal suspects involved in various violent crimes, were arrested and 3,347 firearms, 133,496 ammunition and 960 stolen vehicles recovered. Also, 1,002 kidnap victims were safely rescued from their abductors and reunited with their families.
Meanwhile, in a renewed commitment by the Force to advance the gains recorded in the fight against crimes in the country, particularly in the out gone year 2020, operatives of the Nigeria Police Force arrested eighteen (18) criminal suspects for offences of armed robbery, kidnapping, cattle rustling and other violent crimes. Eight (8) AK47 rifles, One (1) SMG sterling gun, 236 AK47 Ammunition, 12 pieces of SMG sterling gun ammunition, Two (2) Toyota Camry Saloon Cars, 2006 and 2014 models (already released to the owners), were recovered from them.
Notable among the arrests, is the arrest of one Abubakar Umaru a.k.a Buba Bargu, ‘m’, 35 years, native of Kato Shiroro area of Niger State by the operatives of the Special Tactical Squad (STS). Investigations by Police Team revealed that, Abubakar is a member and armourer of a gang that has carried out several kidnap for ransom operations along Lokoja-Abuja/Abuja –Kaduna highways and other major highways in the North-Central States of the country. Interestingly, this group carried out the abduction of one Mohammed Ahmadu a.k.a CONFIRM ‘m’, 30 years, a kidnap kingpin and leader of another notorious kidnapping group in the North-Central when he came to their hideout in the forest to sell live ammunition to the group. He was held and shot in the hand until his gang members paid a ransom of One Million, Five Hundred and Fifty-five Thousand Naira (N1,555,000.00) only for his release. Five (5) AK47 rifles, five (5) magazines and 120 rounds of AK47 ammunition were recovered from Abubakar Umaru at his hideout in the Forest.
Similarly, Police operatives arrested five (5) members of an armed robbery syndicate who have their criminal network and base spread across Edo, Delta, Ondo and Lagos States. The suspects namely; Godspower Ebogie ‘m’, Samede Miracle ‘m’, Efosa Rowland a.k.a Double ‘m’, Michael Ifeanyi Egwuatu ‘m’ and Ifeanyi Ewurum a.k.a Rati ‘m’ were arrested at various locations and linked to several cases of armed robbery and car snatching at gunpoint under investigations by the Police. Two (2) Toyota Camry Saloon Cars, 2006 and 2014 models, robbed from one Mr. Osayuwamen Isokpan and Mr Harrison Eribo on 26/6/2020 and 5/7/2020 respectively in Benin, Edo State were recovered from the gang.
Meanwhile, the IGP has commended the Police Teams for their dedication to duties which resulted in the successes recorded. While appreciating the citizens for their support so far, the IGP calls for improved partnership and collaboration between the citizens and the Police particularly in the area of providing useful information the Police require in tackling crimes and apprehending unrepentant criminals in the country.
All the suspects will be charged to court on conclusion of investigations.