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Governors can’t run their states alone- APC stalwart

From Ahmed Mohammed, Gombe

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Gombe State, Comrade Adamu Abubakar Modibbo says it is erroneous to say that governors can run the affairs of their states in the absence their executive council.

Comrade Adamu, who was the secretary of the Gombe State APC governorship campaign organisation, made his view known while responding to a statement, issued by a legal practitioner, which argued that it was not mandatory for governors to have commissioners within a stipulated time.

Our correspondent reports that widespread dissatisfactions have greeted the inability of some state governors to appoint commissioners, almost nine months after they were sworn-in.

Modibbo said: “We are very worried in Gombe State, for instance, over the inability of Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo to appoint commissioners. I remember, even during his first tenure, the governor spent one year and three months without appointment of commissioners. They need to be appointed. I have said it time without number that the governor cannot continue to run the state with just his deputy. The Constitution says how a governor should be elected. The same Constitution gives room for the appointment of commissioners and special advisers.”

The APC stalwart also picked loopholes in the 2016 budget submitted to the state’s lawmakers, advising them to expunge unnecessary spending earmarked for chartered flight, travels and other recurrent expenditures.

Foundation plans symposium in honour of Awo

From Femi Akinola, Lagos

The Executive Director of Obafemi Awolowo Foundation, Dr. Tokunbo Dosumu Awolowo, Tuesday, announced the readiness of the foundation to hold a one-day symposium to commemorate the late sage’s birthday.

Dr. Tokunbo, daughter of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who disclosed this in Lagos, said the foundation, which she described as the custodian of the intellectual legacy of the late sage, planned to devote the symposium titled: “AWO, Then and Now: Politics, Economics, and Education,” to an examination of several aspects of the governance legacy of the first premier of defunct Western Nigerian.

While speaking at the Foundation’s base in Gbagada, Lagos, she said: “We do this, as the title suggests, with a view to teasing out important lessons from the governance record of the sage, in order to provide a compass for the nation’s ongoing journey to political, economic and social transformation.”

She said that doing this was in keeping with the foundation’s aim of generating ideas, as well as provoking conversation to jumpstart national development.

Tokunbo, who went down the memory lane about how the foundation started in 1992 with a 3-day dialogue, said many resolutions and communiqués have been transformed into books for people to use as points of references.

Meanwhile, this year Obafemi Awolowo Foundation’s one-day symposium has been schedule to take place at Ikenne, the home town of the late sage in Ogun State, on Thursday, next week.

The symposium will be chaired by the Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir el-Rufa’i while the keynote address will be delivered by Prof. Segun Gbadegesin of Howard University in the USA.

‘N/Assembly‘ll pass Disability Bill – Rep

From Dele Ogunyemi, Ibadan

The National Assembly will soon pass the disability bill into law, a member of the House of Representatives, representing Lagelu/Akinyele Federal Constituency, Temitope Olatoye, has said.

The lawmaker gave the ray of hope on Monday, while declaring open a one-day workshop on “Covering and Reporting Persons With Disabilities,” organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Oyo State Council, at the Press Centre, Iyaganku, Ibadan.

While revealing that the bill had already passed the first and second readings, he said when passed into law, the rights of persons with disabilities will have constitutional backing.

He lamented that the number of people with disabilities has continued to increase globally due to accidents, illness and defects during delivery.

Immortalise Mai Talle Tara – Group tells Buhari

By Zulei Mohammed

Director-General of Think Nigeria First Initiative (TNFI) Abubakar Tsanni, yesterday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immortalise Hajiya Fadimatu Mai Talle Tara Koko, the old woman that donated N1 million towards his presidential campaign in 2015.

The 90-year-old woman died nearly three weeks ago in her home town, Koko, Koko/Besse Local Government Area of Kebbi State, where she was a popular food vendor.

She was a widow who left behind 15 children and 15 grandchildren to mourn her.

In a statement issued, yesterday, Tsanni said a major street or building in any part of Nigeria should be named after Mai Talle Tara, so that her starling qualities of love for democracy, selflessness and sacrifice will not be forgotten.

The statement said: “Of course, many glowing tributes have been offered to the late Mai Talle Tara, especially within the first week of her death. However, since then, almost everything about her is gradually fading away and this is not good for Nigeria.

“There is the need for President Muhammadu Buhari and governor of her home state to immortalize her. We want her legacy celebrated and written in gold so that when the generation yet unborn asked why a street was named after the woman, they would be told of the sacrifice she made at the height of Nigeria’s transition to greatness.”

APC, Lagos assembly eulogises Tinubu

By Muideen Olaniyi (Abuja) & Femi Akinola (Lagos)

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and a member of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Sam Nkire, have extolled virtues of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, following his award as The Sun Man of the Year 2016.

In a statement signed by APC’s National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni, the party described Tinubu as “a veritable pillar of Nigeria’s modern democracy and a proven political genius of our times.”

The statement read: “Your efforts, as a major arrowhead, alongside other like-minded progressive Nigerians, led to the merger of parties to form the APC. This ultimately resulted in the defeat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the installation of the current APC-led government.

“Indeed, you have shown the world, through your doggedness and qualitative leadership, that Nigeria can indeed take its right of place among comity of progressive nations.”

Also, a member of the APC BoTand leader of the party in Abia State, Chief Sam Nkire, has extolled the virtues of Tinubu for his role in bringing about change in Nigeria.

Chief Nkire, who made this remark at Sun newspapers awards event in Lagos, thanked the publisher Dr Orji Kalu and management of Sun for bestowing the Man of the Year award to Asiwaju Tinubu who led the coalition that brought about the President Muhammadu Buhari regime.

He also called on Nigerians to support President Buhari’s fight against corruption, adding that it would be a sad commentary for the people to incite their leader to war only to abandon him mid-way.

Similarly, members of the Lagos State House of Assembly have described Tinubu as their hero for winning The Sun Man of The Year Award.

They said the award was well deserved.

Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, described the honour as significant and well-deserved in view of the various attributes and contributions of the former governor of Lagos to political development of the country.

The Speaker said, “Words cannot describe the qualities of the living legend, who stand tall among his contemporaries in the country and even beyond the Africa sub-region.”

According to him, Asiwaju remaind a dogged fighter and selfless philanthropist, who has extended his kindness to humanity beyond the continent of Africa, bringing succour and hope to the hopeless.