The Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, has approved the leadership zoning plan of the All Progressives Congress for the 10th National Assembly, saying the choice of Godswill Akpabio and Jibrin Barau for President and Deputy President of the Senate, respectively, will ensure stability in Nigeria.

Shettima gave the endorsement while addressing Akpabio and Barau, who visited him in the company of “over 70” senators-elect in Abuja on Wednesday.

Shettima, who is a serving member of the Senate, stated that “politics shouldn’t be a means of disuniting our people, it should rather be a means of uniting us.”

He added, “The President-elect and the Vice President-elect are both Muslims. It is in the interest of the stability and unity of this country that the next position be given to the Christian faith. If not, it would further validate the alleged Islamisation agenda of the APC-led administration.

“It would be perceived as a gratuitous insult to our Christian brothers and sisters who stuck out their necks to support us. That was why I was quite pleased with the choice of the party leadership that my uncommon brother and leader, in the person of Senator Godswill Akpabio, should be the number three citizen of this country.

“The stability of this nation is much more important than whatever political considerations we may think of. We need to have a stable and united nation before we can talk about politics and positions. This is what our leader could do to unite this country in the current circumstances.”

Shettima also disclosed that he would reach out to other Senate presidential aspirants who are aggrieved with the choices of the APC.

“Senator Abdulaziz Yari is my brother and friend. We became governors together from 2011-2019 on the same political platform. But the nation is superior to other personal considerations. I am quite happy with what I see here today. It is a reflection of those who crave the stability and unity of this country in a bipartisan manner,” he said.

The Vice President-elect also thanked Governors Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and David Umahi of Ebonyi States for their contributions and support for the APC.

“The Governor-General of the South-South is a man of honour and integrity. Whatever you see is what you get, as far as Wike is concerned.

“These are people that have contributed immensely to the stability of this country. Umahi is the best-performing governor in the South-East. He is a man of honour and integrity. He wanted to contest for the Senate leadership but he had to drop it in reverence to the party’s decision.

“I have seen the names of those who are yet to join us. Rest assured that we will positively engage them and make them see the reasons why they have to come on board.

“My principal, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is a veteran politician. He knows how to go about bringing them into the fold before the inauguration of the National Assembly,” Shettima said.

In his remarks, Akpabio noted that his support group was made up of members from across political parties who decided to come together to produce the leadership for the 10th Senate in order to stabilise Nigeria.

He added that the Stability Group believed that the success of the Tinubu-Shettima administration would be the success of Nigeria.

“We know very well that once somebody crosses the door into the Red Chambers, you are no longer a Senator of a political party but a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The Stability Group members are going to work with the incoming administration to evaluate the policies and ensure the stability of the country.

“We are not here because the party zoned the position to the most ranked Senator from the South-South, Senator Godswll Akpabio. We came together to ensure national cohesion and the stability of the polity and to ensure that Nigeria moves forward in the right direction,” Akpabio said.

Ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly on June 13, when presiding officers of the Senate and the House will be adopted or elected, several pressure groups made up of intra and inter-party alliances had emerged in the House.

The NWC of the APC had on May 8, 2023, released the zoning formula for the leadership of the 10th National Assembly, picking Godswill Akpabio (Akwa-Ibom/South-South) President of the Senate; Jibrin Barau (Kano/North-West) for Deputy President of the Senate; Tajudeen Abbas (Kaduna/North-West) for Speaker; and Benjamin Kalu (Abia/South-East) for Deputy Speaker.

In a surprising admission, Tony Mwaba Kazadi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Minister of Primary, Secondary and Technical Education, acknowledged having an unplanned pregnancy with Aminata Namasia.

Yet he said it was an accident at work.

In spite of the fact that they were both married, Namasia is claimed to have fallen in love with Kazadi after being appointed as the National Deputy Minister of Primary, Secondary, and Technical Education in Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde’s cabinet on April 12, 2021.

Namasia, however, was cited by a local newspaper, The Street Journal, as having refuted the story on her Twitter page, claiming that outside of her official and public duties, she has a life that must be respected by all; a right, she claimed, that is guaranteed to all Congolese by their constitution.

She argued that damaging her reputation shouldn’t be a practice that was condoned because it could jeopardise not only her relationships but also the reputations of her married male coworkers and their houses.

She said: “On the eve of the electoral contests scheduled for December of this year, political detractors can attack my opinions and political actions rather than opting for practices tending to smear my person.”

The tale was debunked by “a reliable Congolese” named Nugandu, who was quoted in The Street Journal, and claimed that it was all a part of the DRC’s political theatre.

The Senate on Wednesday passed for second reading, a bill seeking to compensate victims of the EndSARS protest.

The bill titled, “A Bill for an Act to Amend the National Emergency  Management  Agency Act” was sponsored by Senator Gershom Bassey a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, Cross River State

Massey, in his lead debate, said the bill seeks to provide for the establishment of the EndSARS Victims Compensation Fund.

He said, “Distinguished colleagues, you may recall that as a result of the Endsars nationwide protests in October 2020.

“Judicial panels of inquiry were constituted to address the demands of protesters and compensation for verified victims of the EndSARS protest.

“The findings of the judicial panels of inquiry and the Senate Joint Committee on Endsars revealed the killing of protesters, and destruction of private and public properties by rampaging hoodlums, who seized and took over the protest vandalizing and looting valuable assets.

“However, the implementation of the recommendation of all the panels and committees regarding compensation has been very discouraging.”

According to him, the victims have been left to continually groan under the pains of injury inflicted by hoodlums during the protest.

He said the eventual establishment of the fund and implementation of the recommendation of the judicial panel of inquiry and Senate Joint Committee on Endsars would certainly bring succour to the victims of the 2020 EndSARS nationwide protest.

“Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, it is my prayer that you support this amendment bill that seeks to bring hope to the victims of the 2020 EndSARS protest,” he said.

President of Senate Ahmed Lawan, therefore, referred the bill to the Committee on Special Duties for further legislative input and report back to plenary in one week.

A former academic staff member of Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic, Kebbi State, Muhammed Sani Nuhu, has been sentenced to five years imprisonment for deviously allotting over N6 million belonging to the polytechnic to himself.

This was after the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission had secured his conviction.

According to a statement by the Commission Spokesperson, Azuka Ogugua, on Tuesday, in a 4-count brought before Hon. Justice Hassan Usman of the Kebbi State High Court, Birnin Kebbi Judicial Division, the Commission stated that Nuhu, conferred a corrupt advantage on himself when he converted into personal use the sums of “two million Naira (N2,000,000:00) in 2015 and four million, one hundred and seventy-three thousand, four hundred Naira (N4,173,400:00) in 2016.”

It was revealed that Nuhu, a dismissed academic staff member of the polytechnic, received the monies under a special grant offered to him to attend an international conference in Aberdeen, United Kingdom, and the first tranche of payment advanced to him for the Doctor of Philosophy programme at the University of Technology Malaysia, respectively.

In charge No. KB/HC/4C/2020, counsel to the ICPC, Mashkur Salisu, was said to have told the court in a two-year trial that the convict refused to embark on the said programme and converted the money to his personal use.

His action was contrary to and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practises and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, as well as Section 311 of the Penal Code, and punishable under Section 312 of the Penal Code Law (Cap 89) Laws of Northern Nigeria, 1963.

The trial judge found the former poly lecturer guilty on counts one to three and dismissed count four levelled against him.

In his judgement, therefore, Justice Usman sentenced him to five years imprisonment on each of the three counts.

The court also held that the convict made restitution of the sum of N6.5m million, which was the proceeds of the crime, to the Federal Government. The sentences are to run concurrently.

The United States President Joe Biden has announced a delegation that will attend the swearing-in of the former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu as the 16th President of Nigeria at the Eagle Square, Abuja, on Monday.

The White House in a late Monday statement disclosed that the nine-member US delegation would be led by the Secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Marcia Fudge.

The announcement came as the Federal Government  tightened security across the Federal Capital Territory ahead of the inauguration ceremony.

Top security sources told our correspondents that security agencies had started raiding  hideouts of criminals and thugs who could be used to foment trouble on the inauguration day.

Against the backdrop of protests by some Nigerians dissatisfied with the election victory of the former Lagos State governor, security agencies have deployed plainclothes and intelligence operatives to contain any outbreak of violence on the day of the inauguration.

With less than a week to D-Day, law enforcement agencies have been placed on red alert as they heightened security in preparation for the event which is expected to attract no fewer than 65 Heads of State, diplomats, other representatives of foreign governments and heads of international organizations and prominent Nigerians.

The PUNCH gathered on Tuesday that security agencies including the elite Presidential Guards Brigade, the police, Department of State Services operatives and men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps had been given strict orders about their responsibilities in terms of general security, and protection of dignitaries.

It was gathered that more undercover and intelligence operatives had been dispatched to different parts of the city, including dark and vulnerable spots to ensure hitch-free activities.

A security source stated, ‘’We have been carrying out confidence-building and visibility patrols. By Friday, Eagle Square would be shut down. Because of the influx of people in Abuja, we have been combing and monitoring areas, including drinking joints and clubs.

Police ready

‘’We do 24-hour patrols now. We have more men in plain clothes on duty. The security agencies are also raiding black points and any suspects found there will be arrested and cautioned.”

A senior officer disclosed that the ongoing operation was an inter-agency security collaboration to ensure that the inauguration recorded no incident.

“We have been ordered to ensure that security around Abuja is tight. We would be doing this alongside other security agencies. Some of us have been stationed at key points of entry into the FCT.

‘’Others would be in charge of traffic control and ensure there is no movement of vehicles in the restricted areas. You would soon be seeing patrol vehicles more often now.’’