TAMBUWAL BOWS OUT, HANDS OVER TO IHEDIOHA

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, bowed out on Tuesday, handing over the leadership of the legislature to his Deputy, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha, who will round off the tenure of the House on June 5.

Tambuwal, who is the Governor-elect for Sokoto State, will be inaugurated on May 29 (Friday) as governor.

His decision to transfer power to Ihedioha ahead of May 29 was to avoid a possible constitutional crisis of taking oath of office for two separate offices.

While he will be inaugurated as governor on May 29, his current tenure as a member of the House will terminate on June 6.

Tambuwal, who spoke with journalists soon after Tuesday’s sitting of the House, disclosed that the members agreed at an executive session that Ihedioha should preside over the affairs of the House till June 6.

“My stay here in the House would have effectively come to a end on May 29 after I would have been inaugurated as governor.

Where Jonathan and I disagreed —Amaechi

Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State explained yesterday that the refusal of President Goodluck Jonathan to repay over N105 billion spent by the state government on the repairs of federal roads in the state was the major cause of their disagreement.
Ameachi spoke in Abuja after the presentation of a documentary titled:  Dynamic of Change, which chronicled the achievements of his administration in the last eight years.
He said that even with three days to the expiration of the life of the present regime, the money was yet to be refunded.
He also hinted that his quarrel with President Jonathan escalated following the unnecessary interference of the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, in the affairs of Rivers State.
According to him, his resistance to the unsolicited actions of Mrs. Jonathan whom he accused of unleashing Police, military and other security agencies on the state to achieve her aim, fueled their disagreement.

I’VE WIKE’S RECORDS, AMAECHI DARES GOV-ELECT ON PROBE

River State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has asked the state Governor-elect, Chief Nyesom Wike, to go ahead with his threat to probe his administration, saying he has Wike’s records as his (Amaechi) Chief of Staff between 2007 and 2011.
Amaechi said this during one of the programmes organised by Committee of Friends to mark the Rivers State governor’s 50th birthday in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
“I heard that Wike says he will probe me. I have not asked him not to probe me. He should remember that he was my Chief of Staff for four years; I have my records on him. He should go ahead,” he said.
Amaechi added that he did not use his tenure to probe the past administration in the state, noting that such exercise might be a waste of time and resources.
He explained that the people of the state would not applaud him on the basis of how many people he had probed but for his accomplishments in office.
“Go and check, the road leading to Wike’s father’s house, I constructed it. But in front of that same house, a relation of mine was killed on election day,” he added.

Constitution amendment: S-Court urges Jonathan, NASS to settle out of court

The Supreme Court, yesterday, urged President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Assembly to seek an amicable settlement of the controversy surrounding the proposed amendments to  the 1999 constitution.
A seven-man panel of justices of the apex court, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, gave the two parties 24 hours to explore an out-of-court resolution of the matter.
In a short ruling, yesterday, the CJN adjourned the matter till tomorrow to entertain arguments on whether or not the apex court should vacate the order that directed the NASS to maintain status-quo on the issue.
At the resumed sitting on the matter, yesterday, Mr Bayo Ojo, SAN, who represented the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, applied to amend the originating process to reflect President Jonathan as the plaintiff in the case.

COURT ORDERS NDLEA TO VACATE KASHAMU’S RESIDENCE

A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the more than 50 operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to immediately vacate the Lagos residence of the senator-elect for Ogun East Senatorial District, Mr. Buruji Kashamu.
The NDLEA, whose operatives had laid siege on Kashamu’s residence in Lagos since Saturday, said it had received a formal extradition request on Kashamu from the government of the United States of America and was coming to court to secure an extradition order.

DPR/Diezani Madueke: Deceiving Buhari On Renewed Modular Refineries’ Licensing By Ifeanyi Izeze

THere are so many things the Mohhamadu Buhari-led government would need to do immediately it comes on board to in the first instance, correct the impression that Nigeria is a country of unserious-minded people.

How do you reconcile that the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) few days to a new government taking over the administration of this country has suddenly remember that all we need to solve the lingering crisis in local production of petroleum products is the modular refinery concept?

APC DENIES BUKOLA SARAKI'S TWEET, SAYS THEY NEVER ZONED SENATE PRESIDENCY TO NORTH CENTRAL

It appears APC is having a silent battle over who becomes the next senate President. Two hours ago, Senator Bukola Saraki who is gunning for the seat of the Senate president, tweeted that the party had reaffirmed its position to zone the seat of the Senate Presidency to the North Central.

A few minutes ago, his claim was refuted by a statement released by the party's National Secretary Mai Mala Buni, which was shared on the Facebook wall of Kaduna governor-elect, Nasir El Rufai.

BURKINA FASO EXHUMES SANKARA’S REMAINS

Authorities in Burkina Faso yesterday began exhuming the remains of former president Thomas Sankara in a bid to establish responsibility for a murder that has dogged the West African country since 1987.
Sankara’s relatives have for years pressed for the remains to be tested, saying they suspect it may not be that of the former president, who died in a coup that brought his former ally Blaise Compaore to power.
Witnesses at the Daghnoen cemetery on the outskirts of the capital Ouagadougou said the exhumation of Sankara’s body and those of 12 colleagues had begun with the families of the victims and lawyers present.
“We are worried. What if these are not the bodies of the people who are supposed to be in these graves?” asked Arouna Sawadogo, president of a civil society organisation. “If we open the supposed grave of the president of Burkina Faso and it is not him, what will happen?”

CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT: SUPREME COURT ORDERS JONATHAN, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TO SETTLE DIFFERENCES IN 48 HOURS

The Supreme Court Nigeria on Monday gave the Executive arm of Nigerian government and the National Assembly 48 hours to resolve their differences over the Fourth Alteration of 1999 Constitution Bill.
They are to return to the court after harmonising their respective positions and with the report of their out-of-court settlement on May 27, the apex court ordered.
President Goodluck Jonathan had vetoed the Bill passed by the National Assembly. The lawmakers threatened to override the President’s veto but were restrained by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court on May 7 fixed June 18 for hearing of the matter, but last week suddenly reversed the hearing date to May 25, today.
The decision was informed by an application filed by the National Assembly, through its counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo, seeking re-listing of the case before the expiration of the current National Assembly on June 5.
He had urged the court to discharge its order of interlocutory injunction made on May 7 for the maintenance of status by parties and restraining the NASS from overriding the president’s veto of the amendments.

I’LL PROBE AMAECHI, SAYS WIKE

THE Rivers State Governor-elect, Chief Nyesom Wike, has indicated his readiness to probe the Rotimi Amaechi administration after being sworn in as the chief executive of the state.
Wike, who gave this hint while receiving the interim report of the Transition Committee in Port Harcourt on Monday, declared that his administration would carry out a forensic audit of all government accounts.
He explained that the measure would enable him to recover funds that might have allegedly been stolen by top officials of the outgoing administration in the state.
Wike specifically said that those who participated in the use of N4.5bn to conduct a local government election by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, even when the court had stopped the exercise, would be made to account for their actions.
The governor-elect maintained that RSIEC embarked on an illegal local government election despite the court’s position on the matter.
Explaining that the days of impunity and corruption were over, Wike noted that Rivers would be a test case in the fight against corruption.