President Muhammadu Buhari currently in London on medical vacation “is in high spirit and is doing very well and recuperating”, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has said.

Osinbajo who visited the president on Tuesday in London said on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 that, “we had a very good time” and good conversation.

The Acting President told state House correspondents that he briefed Buhari on the developments in Nigeria.

Osinbajo returned to Abuja, Nigeria’s capital after visiting President Muhammadu Buhari in London Tuesday night.

Spokesman Laolu Akande, announced Osinbajo’s arrival in a tweet this morning. He said the acting President will be presiding over a Federal Executive Council meeting at 11am today.

It means the briefing promised about the visit would have to wait for now.

Akande had announced Tuesday night that the Acting President would jet to London to see his boss, who had gone on medical vacation since 7 May.

In London, Osinbajo reportedly spent one hour at the Abuja House, where President has been staying since his arrival in the British capital on 8 May.

Osinbajo did not speak to journalists in London, but Akande tweeted later that the meeting was good and that more information will be shared later.

AgP Osinbajo now back in Abuja from London & will be presiding over FEC this morning starting @ 11am at the Council Chambers in Aso Rock

— Laolu Akande (@akandeoj) July 12, 2017

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has described Wednesday’s Supreme Court’s verdict on the leadership tussle in the Peoples Democratic Party as one that would bring the PDP together.

The former president made this statement on Twitter, while also calling for unity and collaboration within the party.

Today's verdict is a judgment where there are no winners or losers. It is a verdict that will bring our party together.

— Goodluck E. Jonathan (@GEJonathan) July 12, 2017

Also reacting to the verdict, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, the immediate past governor of Ondo State congratulated leaders and members of the People’s Democratic Party across the country.

“The judiciary must be commended for this judgement which is a victory for justice, rule of law and democracy,” Dr. Mimiko said in an e-mailed statement to The Trent on Wednesday.

“The judgement, to my mind, will strengthen our democracy and discourage political and judicial rascality of any sort as we move ahead as a nation.”

On Wednesday, July 12, 2017, the Nigerian Supreme Court declared Ahmed Makarfi’s caretaker committee as the authentic national leadership body of the main opposition party in the country.

The Supreme Court in Abuja set aside the ruling of the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt that affirmed Ali Modu Sheriff as the PDP national chairman.

Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour, who read the judgment of the five-man panel, declared the Makarfi-led caretaker committee as the authentic leadership organ of the party.

Jonathan, who commended the Supreme Court judgment, said “I thank God for this day of justice and may God bless Nigeria.

“I believe in our jurists. We may have issues with some individuals but the Nigerian judiciary deserves respect and commendation.

“Today’s verdict is a judgment where there are no winners or losers. It is a verdict that will bring our party together.’’

It is victory for Nigerians, Democracy – Fayose

Ayodele Fayose, the governor of Ekiti State and chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governors Forum, described the Supreme Court judgment as a “victory for democracy and the entire people of Nigeria who are suffering from the All Progressives Congress, APC, misrule”.

The governor, who reacted to the judgment in Abuja said, “With today’s judgment, PDP can now play its role as opposition party and prepare to take over power in 2019.”

According to an e-mailed statement signed by Lere Olayinka, a spokesperson to the Ekiti Governor, Fayose called on genuine members of the party to come together for its repositioning, repackaging and strengthening.

Governor Fayose, who maintained there will be no victor and no vanquished, said; “The ultimate winner is democracy which cannot survive without a virile opposition and the entire people of Nigeria who are already yearning for a return of the PDP, having been short-changed by the APC.”

He hailed the judiciary “for rising to the occasion at a time the ruling APC was almost succeeding in its plot to turn Nigeria to a one party state.”

While congratulating all members and supporters of the PDP for standing firm with the party, Governor Fayose promised that all leaders of the party will join hands to channel of new and enduring course for the party and prepare it for the eventual take-over of power in 2019.

Ayodele Fayose, the governor of Ekiti State, has condemned Nigeria’s acting president Yemi Osinbajo’s claims on President Muhammadu Buhari’s health status and threatened to release 11 current pictures of the president if the acting president, failed to tell Nigerians the truth about the ailing leader’s health status.

Fayose’s threat came a few hours after Osinbajo told journalists that Buhari was recuperating and would return to Nigeria soon.

Outraged at Osinbajo’s claim, Fayose swiftly called a press conference on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 at his Abuja private residence and expressed disappointment about the acting president’s version of the story.

U.S. President Donald Trump has been sued by a free-speech group, which claims his practice of blocking Twitter users violates the First Amendment.

Trump, who uses the @realDonaldTrump account in office, has been sued by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University in New York, along with seven individual Twitter users, reports said.

The suit claimed that Trump’s blocking of users who were critical of him was a violation of the U.S. Constituion.

“President Trump’s Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump, has become an important source of news and information about the government, and an important public forum for speech by, to, and about the President.

“In an effort to suppress dissent in this forum, Defendants have excluded – ‘blocked’ – Twitter users who have criticized the President or his policies. This practice is unconstitutional, and this suit seeks to end it,” the lawsuit read.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the federal court in the Southern District of New York, claimed it was a violation to suppress dissent.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer noted in June that Trump’s tweets are official statements and the White House often sends out official statements every time the President tweets.

Trump, along with Spicer and Dan Scavino, the White House Director of Social Media, are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University is a New York City-based 501(c)(III) organisation , meaning a nonprofit organisation.

The organization “works to defend and strengthen the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital age through strategic litigation, research, and public education,” according to the complaint.

The seven individual plaintiffs in the suit are writer and political consultant Rebecca Buckwalter, Prof. Philip Cohen, political organiser Holly Figueroa, resident in general surgery Eugene Gu, police officer Brandon Neely, former professional cyclist Joseph Papp and comic/writer Nicholas Pappas.

The federal suit is case number 1:17-cv-05205.

The White House is yet to make any comment on the suit.

On Wednesday, July 12, the Supreme Court saved our democracy and the People’s Democratic Party, PDP. It did with its ruling in the matter between Ali Modu Sheriff and Ahmed Makarfi, to determine who among the two is the authentic Chairman of the PDP. The Supreme Court of Nigeria practically threw the party a lifeline. Since it lost the 2015 Presidential election, the former ruling party, the same party that one fellow in a moment of megalomania promised us would rule Nigeria forever, has never been the same. Some people have said the party could not manage victory well but it definitely found it difficult to manage defeat. The PDP went into the 2015 general elections utterly divided among its ranks.

Five governors and their supporters had left the party, the point at which the defeat began, to join a coalition that became the All Progressives Congress (APC) and from outside, the departed malcontents threw stones at their former party and swore to destroy it, if only to teach those remaining behind a lesson. The lack of internal democracy within the PDP, and the arrogance of remaining members further created a situation whereby some governors became over-powerful and unpopular candidates were imposed at the grassroots level. Discontent spread.

The thinking that the power of incumbency and financial muscle could make a difference merely worsened the situation. Founding fathers of the party, who were confronted with a new breed of party panjandrums, became either aloof or they simply left the party, or they soon conferred on themselves the self-serving titles of statesmen. The party thus practically sabotaged itself from within and therefore lacked the strength to stop a rampaging opposition that was determined to win the election by exploiting the weaknesses of the then ruling party.

The PDP never quite recovered from all that after May 2015, and in the midst of that confusion, a certain Ali Modu Sheriff emerged to fill the gap. Modu Sheriff became the party’s albatross in a manner of speaking. Handpicked to complete the term of the former Chairman of the party, Ahmed Muazu, who had changed the game by presiding over a ruling party that lost an important election, Sheriff soon became ambitious and wanted to stay on as Chairman. Matters came to a head on May 21, 2016 in Port Harcourt at the National Convention of the party.

Sheriff at the time enjoyed the support of two vocal Governors of the party, Nyesom Wike of Rivers and Ayo Fayose of Ekiti state. A party convention in Nigeria can be treacherous, divisive and unpredictable. And so it was in Port Harcourt. Sheriff’s ambition did not receive popular support, even the two Governors who had championed his cause abandoned him, and the National Convention decided to appoint a National Caretaker Committee led by former Kaduna State Governor, Senator Ahmed Makarfi.

Ali Modu Sheriff went to court, and more litigations followed, as the PDP became divided into the Sheriff faction and the Makarfi faction, with both factions struggling to assert themselves. This struggle for supremacy in the courts and within the rank and file did further damage to the party. More members of the party defected to the ruling APC, or to some other new parties, other members of the party’s Board of Trustees threatened to retire or did so, some other members announced that the party had lost its soul and they had become non-aligned until further notice. The PDP once boasted that it was the largest political party in Africa and it indeed held on to power in Nigeria for 17 years, but the concatenation of misfortunes and internal wrangling that had befallen it turned it into a sinking vessel and one by one, those who once swore by the party began to jump ship. In the tussle between the two factions, however, it was obvious that the Makarfi faction had more followers, and hence the widespread narrative was that if the Sheriff faction won the battle at the Supreme Court, the PDP should be considered dead.

In that sense, the apex court saved the PDP. But it stood on solid grounds by upholding the Constitution of the party, which declares the National Convention the highest organ of the party and the decisions taken therein supreme. On July 12, the Supreme Court held that the May 21, 2016 National Convention of the PDP in Port Harcourt was validly constituted and the decisions taken there were binding. In effect, the Appeal Court in Port Harcourt arrived at its judgement per incuriam by ruling in favour of the Sheriff faction. Bode Rhodes-Vivour, JSC who delivered the unanimous judgement on behalf of his colleagues, added further, obiter as it were, that Sheriff was guilty of “forum shopping and displayed an infantile desperation to cling to power at all cost”.

While the technical ground for this ruling is jurisprudentially sound, in our view there is in the ruling a tinge of judicial activism that should not be overlooked, the pedagogy of which needs not delay this commentary, other than to say that in a situation such as ours where the rule of law has become a victim of politics, power and vendetta, the activism of the judex is important for modulating and preserving the social order.

The matter is like this: with the possum-ization of the PDP, the largest opposition party in Nigeria after May 2015, opposition party politics had been crippled in Nigeria. Every democracy thrives on the basis of the quality of opposition politics and the contestation of ideas within the public sphere. Since the APC assumed power and office, it has managed to suppress this vital ingredient of the democratic process.

It is so bad that the traditional media is now so afraid, it can no longer fully serve its purpose, the social media which used to be so vibrant now speaks in whispers, media owners were the first to be reminded of the ghosts in their cupboards, and with members and associates of the former ruling party being hounded up and down, the more pragmatic ones have since defected to the ruling party to buy protection. The PDP has been branded a thieving party, but anyone who crosses to the other side is immediately a saint, with all their likely sins forgiven, forgotten and overlooked. By judicially resurrecting the PDP, the Supreme Court has given our country and our democracy an opportunity to have a strong and virile opposition, ahead of the 2019 elections.

But that is also precisely why the real matter is not about this Supreme Court ruling, but what the PDP does with the lifeline that it has been given. It is instructive that the Ali Modu Sheriff faction, save for one or two members boycotted the court on July 12. Truth be told, Modu Sheriff lost the game, long time ago, the moment he was abandoned by Wike and Fayose, the two Governors who originally backed him but who obviously have their own game and aces up their sleeves. Beyond July 12 and the Supreme Court, the game should no longer be about individual ambitions.

The PDP needs to go through a healing process. There are many members of the party who may in fact still be totally indifferent and there are others that left who may be pleased that their original party now has a second chance. It is dangerous for a party to have indifferent members such as the PDP had for close to three years. The urgent task is not to start another quarrel with the Sheriff group (the faction having been eliminated judicially); the task at hand is to unify the party and ensure reconciliation and to bring into the fold, all aggrieved persons who are willing to return.

This should include the aggrieved and alienated founding fathers and former trustees of the party. Nigeria needs a strong opposition party and only the PDP can fill that vacuum. It may not have the experience but it can learn. That learning process must begin with a rigorous, intellect-driven understudying of the achievements and failures of the present ruling party, the APC. The APC as an opposition party thrived on propaganda and the politics of aggressive abuse. The PDP in transforming into an effective opposition party must engage the ruling party at the level of vision, policies and programmes and not be drawn into the trap of vacuous emotionalism. With the example of the APC, Nigerians by now must have seen through the limits of that kind of politics. Every political party wants power; the PDP now has a golden chance to prove that it can be a viable party in or out of power.

A national convention of the party must be held quickly, and the main purpose should be to heal the wounds within the party. When Ahmed Makarfi was made Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee in May 2016, he and his team were given three months. In August 2016, a National Executive Committee meeting, tagged a mini-convention was held at which their tenure was extended by one year till August 2017. Unless another NEC meeting is summoned and an extension granted, the Makarfi committee has just one month to go.

If he would act in good faith, and occupy a higher moral ground, Makarfi should not seek any further extension. Following the Supreme Court ruling, he should in the coming weeks organize meetings of the Board of Trustees, the NEC of the party and hold consultations and ensure that the ground is prepared for a party convention that restores the party. By restoration, I mean, every step must be taken to quickly review the party’s constitution. It is an old process, aborted by feuding stakeholders, particularly the Governors who wanted to seize control of the party.

A new Constitution of the PDP must ensure internal democracy by introducing new reforms. The party failed because it failed to reform and renew itself. The recommended consultations should be targeted at rallying the party base at the grassroots level. At a point, the party’s rank and file at the grassroots became disillusioned. In many states, the party kith and kin do not in fact understand why the party hierarchy in Abuja suddenly collapsed. They need to be reassured and every step must be taken to ensure that the party’s next Convention does not result in another round of litigations.

The net effect of the July 12 Supreme Court ruling is that the PDP has a chance to be whole again and to rise like the Phoenix from its ashes. With the party’s recent victory in the by-election in Osun West, and elsewhere, it seems clear that the Nigerian electorate have not yet forgotten the PDP. July 12 must have been a sad day for the APC, the incumbent ruling party whose members are already staging their own dress rehearsal for an impending crisis.

Reuben Abati was spokesperson and special adviser, media and publicity to President Goodluck Jonathan (2011 – 2015). A former chairman of the editorial board of The Guardian, Dr. Abati is one of the most respected columnists in Nigeria. He writes his syndicated column twice a week. He tweets from @abati1990.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer.

The Nigerian Christian Elders Forum, the organisation of senior citizens in Christianity, has called on Nigerians in the Diaspora to come together and rescue their fatherland which is currently suffering because of a cracking foundation.

The organisation warned that in Northern Nigeria, the prevailing mindset had been “to turn the country into a caliphate.”

The forum premised its argument on the fact that their policies were “responsible for, promoted or established directly or indirectly, Boko Haram as an insurgency and Fulani herdsmen”, all in a bid to justify the theocratic agenda they have for Nigeria.

The chairman of NCEF and renowned legal practitioner, Solomon Asemota (SAN), said these in Washington, D.C, United States in a paper entitled: “A Quest for peaceful resolution of conflict of ideology, democracy and Islamism in today’s Nigeria”, which he presented at the just-conclude Africa Peace, Security and Synergy Summit.

The paper was obtained by journalists in Jos on Thursday, July 13, 2017.

Apart from Asemota, other key members of NCEF include Gen. Joshua Dogonyaro (rtd); Prof. Joseph Otubu, Gen. Zamani Lekwot (rtd), Dr. (Mrs) Kate Okpareke, Dr. Ayo Abifarin, Bishop Joseph Bagobiri, Archbishop Magnus Atilade, Elder Moses Ihonde, Elder Nat Okoro and Prof. Vincent Anigbogu.

Others are Gen. Ishaku Dikko (rtd), Justice Kalajine Anigbogu (rtd), Elder Shyngle Wigwe, DIG P. L. Dabup, Sir John W. Bagu, Dr. Saleh Hussaini, Elder Mike Orobator, Chief Olaniwun Ajayi, Justice M. Ogebe (rtd), Mrs. Priscilla Kuye, Chief Debo Omotosho, Dr. Musa Asake,  Joseph Daramola, Pastor Olatunbosun Emmanuel (Secretary).
Asemota said, “The prevailing mindset in the North is to turn Nigeria into a caliphate. In the circumstance it may not be far-fetched to suggest that their policies were responsible for, promoted or established directly or indirectly, Boko Haram as an insurgency and Fulani herdsmen all in a bid to justify the theocratic agenda they have for Nigeria.

“One may ask why it was necessary that the leadership of the Armed Forces, Army, Navy and Air Force, the Police, Intelligence Services and most of the para-military – the NDLEA, Custom etc are headed by only Muslims.

“Now that the Nigerian foundation is cracking, it is the view of the NCEF that indigenous natives of Nigerians in the Diaspora must come together to liberate their fatherland from 21st century colonialism or Jihad. The above facts are indictments on all Nigerians including members of the NCEF.

“It is time we, as Nigerians, join hands to tell the colonialists and Jihadists to back off. What 21st century Nigeria needs is the reconciliation of all Nigerians and this can be achieved through the South African model of Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  Some say that such a commission might divide us further. This we reject because we know that Taqiyya (deceit) has played a very important part in governance in Nigeria. We are convinced that knowledge of the truth will unite Nigerians.”

The organisation called on President Muhammed Buhari and (acting President Yemi Osinbajo to set up TRC, saying it would identify the points of agreement and disagreement as to what constitute “facts”, “ideology” and “human persona” and how they were exhibited in the past and present to guide the future of Nigeria.

“The commission will strengthen our institutions against future onslaught by strong men, whether Christian or Muslims”, NCEF said.

Asemota described as unfortunate claims which suggest that the menace of Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen were mere miscreants engendered by poverty when Islamist teaching provided that all lands over which Muslims have passed through or settled upon throughout the world are sacred space for which Muslims must conduct a jihad and, if necessary reclaim.

He said, “Cattle grazing routes in Nigeria that were established by the Sardauna in the years before independence in the Middle Belt, have since been declared sacred space which the herdsmen are required to reclaim. If this is incorrect why are the Herdsmen so violent in complete disregard of the sanctity of lives?

“A prevailing narrative that conflicts between Fulani herdsmen and their Christian victims are merely ‘clashes between nomads and farmers over land’ due to global warming is perpetuated by western governments and academics who are afraid to recognize what is happening as a “clash of civilizations.”

Asemota charged Muslims to stop the adulteration of their faith because it will be wrong to blame other Nigerians for Islamism.

“Even now, Nigerians woke up to learn the country had joined a coalition of Islamic countries against terrorism led by Saudi Arabia when Nigeria is not a Muslim country and we were not consulted.

“Colonialism provides an unjust system of rule which condemns the indigenous natives to servitude under the arbitrary domination of strangers first by Fulani, then by the British and now by Fulani/Hausa”, NCEF stated.

One of the top telecommunication firms in Nigeria, Etisalat has changed its brand name 9Mobile.

Etisalat Nigeria has on Thursday, July 13, 2017, changed its name after weeks of management crisis. This decision was taken at a management meeting held in Lagos.

On Tuesday, Etisalat terminated its management agreement with its Nigerian arm and has given Etisalat Nigeria three weeks to phase out the brand in the country.

The decision of the Abu Dhabi owned telecommunications networks resulted after its $1.7 billion loan talks collapsed.

Chief executive of Etisalat International, Hatem Dowidar said on Monday, July 11, 2017 that the there was no need for the brand in Nigeria after the collapse of the loan talks.

Nigerian regulators intervened last week to save Etisalat Nigeria from collapse after lenders were calling for the probe and total takeover of the company.

Although Etisalat Nigeria in a statement issued three weeks ago claimed that it had repaid 42 per cent of the loan.

“As at today, we can categorically state that the outstanding loan sum to the consortium(of banks) stands at $227m and N113bn, a total of about $574m if the naira portion is converted to US Dollars. This in essence means almost half of the original loan of $1.2bn, has been repaid.

“Etisalat continued to service the loan up until February 2017, when discussions with the banks regarding the repayment restructuring commenced,” Ibrahim Dikko, vice-president, Regulatory & Corporate Affairs of Etisalat Nigeria said.

However, Etisalat International announced on Monday that it was pulling out after all UAE shareholders of the company have exited and left the board and management of the Nigerian brand.

Dowidar said discussions were ongoing with Etisalat Nigeria to provide technical support, adding that it can use the brand for another three-weeks before phasing it out.

Nothing has been said about how this will affect the network and its integrity as million of Nigerians are subscribed to the network.

In June, the Nigerian Telecommunications Commission (NCC) assured that the network’s integrity would not be compromised amid the loan disagreements.

Director, Public Affairs of NCC, Mr Tony Ojobo had said that the commission’s attention had been drawn to the planned takeover by the consortium of banks.

Ojobo said that the regulatory body was aware of the indebtedness of Etisalat to the consortium.

According to him, the NCC in conjunction with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has mediated by holding several meetings with the banks, Etisalat and other stakeholders to find a solution.

“Regrettably, these meetings did not yield the desired results.

“The NCC wishes to reassure about 21 million Etisalat subscribers that it will do all within its regulatory power to ensure that Etisalat subscribers continue to enjoy the services provided by the operator.

“The commission has taken proactive steps to cushion the impact of the takeover; this is without prejudice to the ongoing effort between Etisalat and the banks toward a negotiated settlement.

“NCC wishes to reassure all stakeholders in the telecommunications sector, in particular the subscribers on the Etisalat network, that it will ensure that the integrity of the network is not compromised.’’

Additional reports by News Agency of Nigeria.

Femi Fani-Kayode, a prominent thought leader in Nigeria, has challenged Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and ‘the cabal’ in Aso Rock to provide proof of life of ailing President Muhammadu Buhari.

In an e-mailed statement to The Trent on Thursday, July 13, 2017, Chief Fani-Kayode maintained that President Buhari is in a vegetable state and suffering from a sever form of dementia.

On Wednesday, Professor Osinbajo told journalists that he had met President Buhari in London, the previous day and the president was in “high spirits” and “recuperating well” and he would soon return to the country.

“I am constrained to tell the Nigerian people that President Buhari is NOT better and he will NEVER return as President,” Fani-Kayode wrote in the statement titled, A Challenge to Acting President Osinbajo and the Cabal.

“The truth is that his situation is pathetic and critical,” the vocal opposition leader continued.

“Acting President Osinbajo should STOP the lies!

“Nigerians have a RIGHT to know the truth.

“I call on the cabal to stop the cover up and show us our president!

“I challenge them to put him in front of a camera and let him talk!

“I challenge them to let him tell us what country he is in, who the leader of that country is, what date it is and what the weather is like outside.

“I challenge them to give us proof of life and proof of lucidity.

“I challenge them to prove to us that he is familiar with his environment and that he knows who he is seeing, who he is talking to and what he is saying.

“I challenge them to prove to us that he is not suffering from chronic dementia and that he is not a vegetable that is hooked up to a life-support machine.

“I put it to them that if they refuse to do any or all of these things it means that there is more to the whole thing than meets the eye and they have something hideous and very ugly to hide.

“It has been 65 long days since Buhari left Nigeria and since our people last saw him.

“He is OUR president, we care for him and we have a right to know the truth about his welfare, his medical condition and his situation,” he ended his statement.

Below is the press briefing by Osinbajo at Aso Rock.

A human rights group, Save Humanity Advocacy Centre, on Thursday, July 13, 2017 indicted Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Abel Diah and other key actors in the recent crisis between Fulani and farmers in Sardauna Local Government Area.

The organisation said the governor and prominent citizens in his government “must accept responsibilities for the recent massacre of Fulani herdsmen in the Mambilla Plateau.”

While over 50 persons were on June 18 killed and about 120 houses razed in simultaneous attacks allegedly carried out on Fulani herdsmen resident in the area, over 200 cows were also said to have been killed by the attackers who invaded several villages and settlements.

The Executive Director of SHAC, Abubakar Ibrahim, in a protest letter to the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), obtained by journalists in Jos, threatened to stage a nationwide protest if justice and necessary action were not taken on the incident.

He condemned the killings in Mambilla Plateau and suggested reinforcement of security in the area to avert further loss of life.

SHAC said, “Without prejudice to what investigation of the massacre will uncover, going by preliminary information from stakeholders, the Taraba State Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku, the Speaker of Taraba State House of Assembly, Mr. Abel Diah, and authorities of Sardauna Local Govenrment must accept responsibilities for what happened. They must be told the plain truth to make them repent, pay reparation and apologize for what happened or be made to face the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“Community and traditional leaders in the area must also pay for their indifference to the sufferings of those maimed and their properties destroyed. They too must be made to keep a date with the ICC to serve as lesson to others.

“Your Excellency the Acting President, our prayers are therefore that: The attention of the nation and the entire world should be focused on what happened on the Mambilla Plateau as a way of building the consensus that ensures this does not happen anywhere else in Nigeria ever again. An investigation should be ordered into what happened to identify those that should be punished for this crime.

“Your Excellency, the Acting President receives the leadership of the Save Humanity Advocacy Centre and other human rights campaigners in a mass rally on Monday July 17, 2017 to draw attention to the need for ethno-religious tolerance in the country.”

Ibrahim asked the Federal Government to immediately provide relief materials and compensation for the affected persons.

While acknowledging Osinbajo’s prompt reaction to the unfortunate incident, SHAC said he should go beyond relief materials by setting up a panel of inquiry to unravel the root cause of the attack.

He said, “We are however at pains to bring to your attention the need to go beyond these initial reactions from Your Excellency since we know the demands of managing the affairs of a country as complex as Nigeria could soon have the tragic incident on the Mambilla Plateau pushed into irrelevance until another rude awakening exposes the culture of ethno-religious intolerance that has become ingrained in our national psyche having been actively promoted by some state actors.

“The Fulani communities in Sardauna LGA of Taraba State have called for the Acting President’s intervention in the wake of the massacre. In a nation that is being ravaged by sponsored violence by highly placed persons, the plight of these communities may not merit special attention but the concerns they have expressed about the attacks against them being an act of genocide calls for a different approach in addressing the Mambilla Massacre.

“It is a development that can complicate matters for Nigeria before the International Criminal Court since indifference from the Federal Government would be construed as acquiescence with a pogrom. A further imperative to investigate the allegation of genocide in Mambilla, Sardauna LGA of Taraba state is the domino effect that could result if nothing is done.”

The group warned that if the attack is not investigated, it would spell future disaster for the country as ethnic cleansing could become a trend that eventually compromises the corporate integrity of the country.

“The few states that once allowed the folly of ethnic cleansing on their soils are yet to get out the cycle of reprisals till date”, Ibrahim said.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Thursday, July 13, 2017 disclosed that it will halt the process of recalling Dino Melaye, a senator representing Kogi West.

According to Adedeji Soyebi, a national commissioner of INEC, the decision is in line with a court ruling. He also revealed that the electoral body would be appealing the court ruling.

A federal high court sitting in Abuja asked INEC and Melaye to maintain “status quo” pending the determination of a suit filed by Melaye challenging the recall process.

However, INEC continued with the recall process in disobedience with the court order and staying true to the character of the commission under the Muhammadu Buhari regime.

According to the Nation, INEC on Monday pasted the notice of the verification of the recall process at its Kogi state office.

Melaye, representing Kogi West Senatorial District, is facing a recall by his constituents who have filed a recall with signatures; the recall will run from July 10 to August 19.

INEC decided to continue with the process based on precedents and judicial pronouncements, especially the Appeal Court judgement of 2001.

Mallam Mohammed Haruna, National Commissioner of INEC in charge of North-Central, said the Court of Appeal had since 2001 decided that a court cannot stop the recall of a lawmaker.

The INEC “Notice of Verification”, states: “In accordance with Section 69 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999(As amended), notice is hereby given that the verification for the recall of the member representing Kogi West Senatorial District of Kogi State shall hold as follows:

“Date: 19th August, 2017; Time: 8am-2pm; Location: All polling units in Kogi West Senatorial District.”

A source said: “If you look at the provision of Section 87(10) of the Electoral Act, 2010(As amended), which is applicable in this instance, INEC cannot be stopped from doing its work of conducting election in any manner whatsoever.

“The provision of Section 110 of the 1999 Constitution is actually explicit on the recall. As an institution, INEC has nothing against Melaye or any lawmaker. We are expected to follow the constitution and the Electoral Act. Implementing a recall process is not a suicide mission for any lawmaker. If a lawmaker has the backing of his or her constituents, the recall process will be dead on arrival.”

Haruna said: “We have a Court of Appeal judgement on why court cannot stop the process. This judgment is dated back to 2001.

“Since there is a subsisting Court of Appeal judgment, we will abide by it.”

The notice, dated July 3rd, 2017, reads : “In exercise of the powers conferred on the Independent National Electoral Commission(“the Commission”) by Sections 69 and 110 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999(as amended); Section 116 of the Electoral Act 2010(as amended) and of all the powers enabling it in that behalf, the Commission hereby issues this timetable schedule of activities for the recall of the Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Kogi State.”

A new book coming out in September says the former King of Spain, Juan Carlos, is a sex addict and has bedded thousands of women even after marrying Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark.

The explosive book says the retired European monarch had an astonishing 2,154 sexual partners between 1976 and 1994 after he allegedly became estranged from his wife, to whom he is still married.

The 79-year-old abdicated the throne in 2014, making way for his son Felipe VI, who began a tour of Great Britain on Wednesday.

The new book, Juan Carlos I: The King of 5,000 Lovers was written by Amadeo Martínez Ingles. It will be  published in September,  according to a summary published  in The Times.

It claims he was already a prolific lovemaker prior to his 1962 union with the King of Greece’s daughter, to whom he is still married.

He reportedly slept with 332 partners while at military academy as a young man, “which is good for any actor specialising in porn films: four per week,” the book notes.

Juan Carlos became King in 1975, 13 years into his marriage, but was allegedly found by his Queen in a compromising position with actress Sara Montiel a year later. Montiel denies there was any affair.

Since then, according to the book, he has put more than 2,000 notches on his royal bedpost.

His alleged lovers include Barbara Rey, a former Miss World contestant and Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, a German philanthropist.

Rey is alleged to have received $3m (£2.8m, $3.5m) from the Spanish secret service to deny the affair. She says she has not received such a payment.

In 2015, the Spanish Supreme Court dismissed the paternity claim of the 47-year-old daughter of Belgian governess Liliane Sartiau.

Juan Carlos’ reputation was damaged when he took an elephant hunting trip in Botswana in April 2012 at the height of Spain’s financial crisis.

He handed over the throne to his son two years later, saying that the new generation must be at the forefront… younger people with new energies.”

The Spanish Royal Household did not respond to The Times when asked for comment.

Read more at International Business Times

We read a press statement purportedly made by some self-styled Arewa Youth Forum in Abuja on Friday, July 14, 2017, under the leadership of one Gambo Gujungu wherein they accused the Ekiti State governor, Dr Ayodele Peter Fayose and former minister of aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, of being used by southwest leaders to destabilize the country and pitching the rest of the country against President Muhammadu Buhari and the north.

While we normally do not respond to the antics of juvenile delinquents exhibiting a regrettably deep sense of flippancy and nonchalance in a desperate attempt to warm themselves into public spotlight, we find it highly imperative to put the record straight this time round because we know that the macabre dance of these misguided youths is a response to the drumbeat of their elders hiding in the bush.

First, let it be clearly told that Gujungu cannot claim to be “the National President of AYF the umbrella body of all youths in the north” as he brazenly put it in that statement as a good number of reasonable northerners, including the youth, have since realized the evil antics of such contraption which is only used for electoral purposes after which people of the middle belt, northern Christians and other minorities are treated like scum by the same Arewa that is quick to mouth a non-existent “One North” during elections or as elections approach.

One wonders where these youths who claim to be speaking for the entire north were when Buhari whom they profess so much love for today watched while his army killed about a thousand innocent, harmless, armless, helpless and hapless Shiites, many of them youths, in December of 2015?

Where has Gujungu and his co-travellers been while their cousins, the Fulani herdsmen terrorists, have been moving through the length and breadth of Benue, Plateau, Niger, Adamawa, Taraba, Kogi etc leaving in their trails tears, sorrow and blood of farmers whose only offence has always been asking the marauding herdsmen not to destroy their farms, their only sources of livelihood, with their cattle?

Or are these innocent victims from these states not also part of Arewa?

We did not even hear anything from these emergency Arewa activists when the same Fulani herdsmen terrorists killed more than a thousand people over a stretch of time in Southern Kaduna. Or are Southern Kaduna people not supposed to be part of this expired contraption called Arewa? Or are they simply ignored because they are Christians and belong to the minorities in that part of the country?

The fact is that the Arewa Empire has since collapsed. Buhari’s ascendancy to power ensured its final cremation.

If these same Arewa Youths and their elders would see nothing against the evils being perpetrated against the many innocents not only in the north but in all parts of the country under the watch of Buhari, good men like Fayose and Fani-Kayode will not keep quiet because if they do they would ultimately share in the consequences that befall evil people.

The path this duo walks is not one they chose for themselves, it is one which destiny has bestowed on them. To shy away from such a noble but tough and unenviable task divinely placed on their shoulders is to offend God. And who would want to do that? Despite the toughness and risks of confronting Pharaoh, Moses still had to go deliver his divine mandate to the wicked king.

Let it be stated that Fayose and Fani-Kayode’s criticism of Buhari has nothing to do with where he comes from. If it does, then this duo would not be defending the Shiites, people of Southern Kaduna or victims of Fulani herdsmen terrorists who all come from the same north as Buhari. Nigerians will also remember very well that Fayose is one of Obasanjo’s ardent critics. Is Obasanjo also from the north?

Their criticism of Buhari is because the president has proved, with his words and actions, that he has the qualities of tyrannical Pinochet, despotic Stalin and totalitarian Sese Seko all rolled into one. If there is anyone who has pitched almost the entire country against the president, it is Buhari himself!

And if there is anyone peddling lies and falsehood to gullible Nigerians, even kindergartens will jubilantly tell you that it is the APC and their officials.

Rather than focus on Fayose and Fani-Kayode, the so-called Arewa youths will do well to help the president by telling him to be more humane in dealing with citizens according to the laws of the land he swore to uphold.

Those who are egging the president on despite his obvious critical ill health are those who actually hate him. Isn’t it amusing that these youths from the north claim to have gone to see the president, yet, top government officials within the ruling party do not even have an inkling of how bad the president’s case is? This goes a long way to confirm that this president is a president of only a section of this country!

Fortunately, Fayose and Fani-Kayode will not keep quiet. Nobody can silence them. We all own this country together. These two highly placed men of the country are too big for anyone or any group to use to achieve an agenda. They have minds of their own and until there is absence of official tyranny and gross abuse of presidential powers, they will continue to speak no matter whose ox is gored!

Jude Ndukwe is a media aide to Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. He tweets from @stjudendukwe.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

Yakubu Dogara, the speaker of the House of Representatives, has expressed grief over the death  of another serving member of the House of Representatives,  Abdullahi Mohammed Wamakko.

Wamakko died on Friday, July 14, 2017 in Abuja  at the age of 50.

The lawmaker represented Kware/Wamakko Constituency, Sokoto State and was serving his first term.

In a statement issued by the special adviser on media and public affairs, Turaki Hassan, on Friday in Abuja, Dogara expressed his heartfelt condolences to the government and people of Sokoto State.

“Hon Wamakko was a dedicated lawmaker who had the progress of Kware/Wamakko federal constituency, Sokoto State and the entire Nigeria at heart”, Dogara said  in his tribute.

“As we mourn his painful untimely departure, I pray that God will bring solace to his family who will miss him the most and grant him eternal rest.”

The Speaker recalled that Wamakko was a patriotic, committed, peace-loving and hardworking lawmaker who gave his best for the service of his people and said the House will greatly miss him.

“I also condole with the government and people of Sokoto State over this loss. May his soul rest in perfect peace.”

The Speaker later joined  Gov Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Reps. Abdussamad Dasuki and Umar Bago  at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, to take Wammako’s  body to  Sokoto for burial.

He is the second federal lawmaker to pass away in the past three months. Ishiaku Adeleke, a senator from Osun State died suddenly in April 2017.

Additional reports by News Agency of Nigeria.

American president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim stands unopposed for a second term, with an  invaluable endorsement by the US Treasury Department.

In keeping with an unbroken tradition, the US nominee will again fill the presidency at the World Bank, while the International Monetary Fund remains in European hands as Christine Lagarde, also unopposed, began a second term as managing director in July.

After nominations opened, the US Treasury offered its support for a second term for Kim, helping to discourage any other candidate from running for the position.

No other country took the risk of trying to upset this established order — unlike in 2012, when the Nigerian Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala threw her hat in the ring to be leader of the development behemoth, which comprises 189 member states and employs 15,000 people.

A medical doctor and former president of Dartmouth College, Kim won plaudits for mobilizing the Bank against the 2014 Ebola crisis in West Africa and taking action against climate change, as well as for setting a goal of eradicating extreme poverty by 2030 all while expanding World Bank lending.

But he also had to contend with a high degree of internal dissent, stemming from an unpopular reorganization and a controversy in 2014 over bonuses granted to senior Bank officials.

The World Bank Staff Association last month denounced what it called a “crisis of leadership,” and in an open letter several former officials lamented what they said was the lack of a clear strategy. The Economist and Financial Times opposed automatically reappointing Kim and called for a more open process.

Despite all this, poor and developing countries still chose to support a second term for Kim, 56, who will sit for interviews with the Bank’s board before being formally crowned next month.

His second five-year term is due to begin in July next year.

An informal leader of the emerging markets, China has praised Kim’s “impressive achievement and leadership” even if Beijing set about creating its own development bank to counter the Western hegemony of the World Bank and IMF.

“The member states are happy with the overall picture of the World Bank and they don’t want to change its leadership at this time even if there are management challenges inside and if the morale is very low,” said Ian Solomon, a former US executive director at the Bank and chief executive of consulting firm SolomonGlobal.

Kim’s critics hope the member states will at least be aware of the discontent in the air.

via AFP

A battery charger, Adedayo Ajiboye, on Friday, July 14, 2017 filed a petition for the dissolution of his 18-year-old marriage to his wife, Taye Ajiboye.

The 38-year-old man filed the petition at a Customary Court sitting in Ayedun-Ekiti in Ikole Local Government area of Ekiti State.

The petitioner alleged that the wife was found of destroying his properties whenever there was misunderstanding between them, saying he could no longer cope with the woman’s destructive attitude.

“My wife has an attitude of raining curses on our children whenever they misbehaved and if I tried to caution her, she would lock up my shirt, go berserk by scattering my clothes on the roads for vehicles to march on them.

“In 2015, I was sick and I went to sleep in the car outside the house and when I woke up, I discovered that the light in the house were still switched-on, so I scolded the children for not switching it off.

“My wife picked quarrel over that to the extent that she broke my windscreen. I later sold the car at a cheaper price because I could not withstand seeing the car in its damaged state.

“Sometimes in February 2017, my wife asked me to pay up the N37, 000 I borrowed from her.

“I told her I will only pay her money after I have forgiven her because the damage she did to my car was more than what I owed her; she picked quarrel again.

“She destroyed the window in my room and my generator, this time I felt my life was in danger and I can no longer tolerate her,” the husband said.

The petitioner, who admitted that he had not paid the wife’s dowry, said he was also seeking divorce on the ground that his wife had become adulterous.

He sought custody of the children, saying he did not want them to take after their mother’s bad attitude.

When the claims for divorce were read to the defendant by the court, she said if the husband wanted divorce, so be it and that she destroyed those properties due to some reasons.

The president of the three-man panel, Mrs Yemisi Ojo, adjourned the case until July 17 for continuation of hearing.

The Nigerian Navy (NN) says it has successfully foiled an attempted hijack of a Merchant Vessel, MV UAL HOUSTON, around Bonny Fairway Buoy, Port Harcourt, Rivers.

The acting director of information, Naval Headquarters, Captain Suleman Dahun, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday, July 14, 2017 in Abuja.

Dahun said that the incident occurred on July 13, at about 7.45 a.m.

He said six suspected sea robbers boarded the vessel but were unable to access the ship’ s living quarters, bridge or machinery room as the ship was on lockdown by the crew.

“Subsequently, on receipt of the ship’s distress call, the Forward Operating Base (FOB) Bonny dispatched a boat to rescue the vessel.

“On sighting the naval patrol boat, the robbers abandoned their hijack plot and fled,” Dahun said.

He said that preliminary investigation revealed that no crew member was abducted nor any item was stolen during the attack.

He noted that NN had sustained the recent trend of successes in the operations against crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and other illegal activities in the Niger Delta.

The acting director of Information, also said that NN ship (NNS) PATHFINDER had discovered and destroyed seven illegal refineries around Bolo Creek and Isaka axis in Rivers.

“The illegal refineries destroyed at Bolo Creek had several storage tanks, two wooden boats laden with about 80,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil and 65,000 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO).

“The illegal refineries destroyed in Isaka axis had storage pits laden with 45,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil and 5,000 litres of illegally refined AGO,’’ he said.

Similarly, Dahun said, a patrol team deployed by the Forward Operating Base (FOB) Bonny arrested a vessel, MT LEADERSHIP, around Onne axis for conducting illegal bunkering operations.

“The vessel was arrested while receiving unspecified amount of petroleum products suspected to be illegally refined AGO from a barge without valid naval approval.

“The vessel had 12 crewmen while 16 men were on the barge. The vessel and the barge are currently under the custody of the Base, while investigation is on-going,” he said.

According to Dahun, NN has reiterated its commitments to continue to clamp down on illegal refineries and their operators, crude oil thieves and other criminal activities in the maritime domain.

This, he said, was all targeted at meeting operational objectives in line with the Chief of Naval Staff’s Strategic Directive.

A child rape suspect would face prosecution on Friday, July 14, 2017 in Central China’s Henan Province more than 20 years after the crime.

The suspect surnamed Liu, was suspected of raping and suffocating an eight-year-old girl, on Nov. 26, 1996, in an abandoned cave in a rural area of Xinmi city in Henan, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) said.

Local police found the body, now believed to have been buried by Liu before he fled, but failed to identify the suspect.

In 2013, Liu was matched to the crime by DNA evidence and was arrested by local police in March 2017.

When the case extended beyond the prosecution period of 20 years, as stipulated by the country’s Criminal Law, local authorities reported to the SPP for approval of prosecution.

The prosecution was approved due to Liu’s alleged evil conduct and the severe consequences, in spite surpassing the 20-year prosecution limit, the SPP said.

via Xinhua/NAN

Seven alleged members of the dreaded Badoo cult,  accused of bestial killings in Ikorodu area of Lagos, were on Friday, July 14, 2017 docked at  an Ebute Meta Magistrates’ Court.

They were charged with conspiracy and membership of  an unlawful society.

The accused, Afolabi Kessington, 25, Ismaila Shaibu,36, Mutiu Nurudeen, 26, Ibrahim Bello, 25, Lukman Mohammed, 35, Gift Itafa, 50, and Sheriff Adewunmi, 23, all  pleaded not guilty.

The Prosecutor, ASP Fidelis Dike, said that the accused committed the offences between July 3 and 5 at Powerline, Agbala area of Ikorodu and also at Irawo Estate, Owode Onirin in Lagos.

He said that the accused members of the Badoo cult had conspired and gathered in the aforementioned areas to have their meeting which was deemed illegal.

The offences the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports, contravened Section 42(a) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The Magistrate, Mrs Kofo Ariyo admitted the accused each to a bail  of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum, one of whom must be a blood relation.

The case has been adjourned until August 9 for mention.

The activities of the cult group had spread terror in the Ikorodu community of Lagos leading to the rise of community vigilante groups which have produced tragic results.

Ifeanyi Ubah, the chairman and chief executive of Capital Oil Limited, currently embroiled in crisis with the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, over product diversion, has alleged the corporation is owing him N16 billion.

NNPC has been tackling Ubah over N11 billion which it claimed was the worth of the product which Capital Oil diverted.

Ubah made the disclosure at the on-going public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Downstream.

The committee is investigating the alleged disappearance of 82 million metric litres of petrol belonging to NNPC that was stored at Capital Oil tank farm in Lagos.

Ubah said that instead the national oil corporation was owing him N16 billion.

According to him, NNPC blew the entire incident out of proportion.

He added that claims and counter claims by both parties were subject of litigation and investigation by anti-graft agencies.

“The contract which is what we operate with NNPC puts us in a position of a stock manager which is somewhat the vessel akin to an oil bank.

“This allows for coming in and loading out of products so long as we ensure that all parties having products in our storage ultimately receive their total stock.

“The NNPC in the past has also borrowed products from us to keep their supply and distribution chain running.

“NNPC claimed that we owe N11 billion but failed to reveal that they owe us N16 billion with a key portion of the debt spanning over two years,” Ubah said.

He added that his company had not denied that it had in stock products belonging to NNPC but accused the national oil company of failing to conduct a reconciliation with Capital Oil before rushing into making allegations.

Uba said the contract his firm had with NNPC did not contain any clause for the payment for products in its tank farm in cash in the event that NNPC needed its products.

“But it provides for a two-week notice for Capital Oil to be informed to replace the volume of products to meet any shortfall.

“We duly paid for product from NNPC and were issued loading permit.

“However, NNPC diverted the vessel that was supposed to deliver the product and has till date refused to deliver same, thereby causing a break in the chain of product flow that would have plugged any gap.

“The unprofessional way in which the issue was handed led to a run on our company operations thereby destabilising our business and causing us to shut down our operations.

“The circumstances have caused us billions of naira in losses and serious dislocations for our workers,’’ Ubah said.

He further said that on many occasions Capital Oil had loaned millions of litres of petroleum products from its storage to the NNPC group without alerting or alarming the public.

“We have always kept the confidentiality of our relationship sacrosanct.

“It is in the light of these indisputable circumstances that we were shocked at and disappointed with the actions of the NNPC in throwing the issue to the public.’’

He also condemned NNPC for calling in law enforcement agencies without fully exploring available dispute resolution mechanism available within the purview of their contractual relationship.

“However, we have submitted these issues to the jurisdiction of the courts and the relevant law enforcement agencies,’’ Ubah said.

He bemoaned the sacking of the former managing director of NNPC Retail over the alleged diversion incident, insisting that the sack was done in bad faith.

Earlier, the acting Managing Director, NNPC Retail, Mr Danjuma Dansule, said that the total shortfall of petroleum products allegedly diverted by Capital Oil was 82 million metric litres.

Dansule said that this amounted to N11.144 billion out of which two billion naira part payment had been made as at April.

He, however, said that negotiations were on-going as to the actual value of the alleged diverted product and the interest to be paid by Capital Oil.

He also said that Capital Oil was owing NNPC another N359 million under the Kerosene Direct Scheme.

Ahmed Makarfi, the chairman of the National Caretaker Committee of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, has said that the party’s leadership tussle was a “hard battle“.

Makarfi told a delegation of the PDP Ministers Forum led by its chairman, Alhaji Taminu Turaki, who paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja on Thursday, July 13, 2017.

He, however, said that the outcome of the battle as decided by the Supreme Court was sweet and good, not only for PDP members, but also for Nigerians generally.

“It is a victory for all political parties because the issue of convention was involved and the Supreme Court upheld the power of the convention.’’

He noted that the party`s leadership crisis erupted after its convention in Port Harcourt in 2016.

He said that through it, the PDP had paid the price of democracy for other political parties.

Makarfi further said that committees would be set up to resolve some issues in the party`s South-West chapter as well as interact with Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff and other stakeholders.

“We will leave the room open. Sheriff accepted the judgment going by what I read in the media.”

He urged party members who had defected to the All Progressives Congress and the newly formed political parties to return to the PDP fold.

Turaki had earlier congratulated Makarfi and his committee members and all PDP members on the victory at the Supreme Court.

He said the party should look inward, learn from its past mistakes and ensure that things were done in a transparent manner.

He stressed that there should be a level playing ground for all party members to explore, adding that its leadership should adopt an all-inclusive process.

Mr Dayo Adeyeye, the National Publicity Secretary of PDP National Caretaker Committee, had earlier said that the party would grant amnesty to Sheriff and his loyalists.

He described Sheriff as “a monumental distraction, who created a painful and agonising period for the party” and advised him and his supporters to desist from committing fresh offence.

“Our hands are extended to all those on the other side; we will grant general amnesty to everybody; we have declared no victor, no vanquished.

“We want to give them full embrace and cooperate with them,” he said.

On the Osun West Senatorial election, Adeyeye said it was the cooperation of both sides that led to PDP’s victory.

He added that the party would have won in Edo and Ondo states, if its members had cooperated.

Therefore he appealed to those who had cases in court to withdraw them.

Adeyeye said that the PDP would provide virile opposition to the APC as the country prepares for 2019 general elections.

The Supreme Court recently ruled in favour of Makarfi faction which appealed to the apex court against Ali Modu Sheriff whom the Appeal Court recognised as the authentic leader of the party