Nnamdi Kanu: IPOB orders members to boycott Kenyan products, airline by Sodiq Oyeleke

Members of the Indigenous People of Biafra have been asked to boycott travelling with Kenya Airways or patronising the country’s products. Head of membership and mobilisation of the group in Australia, Kennedy Ochi, made this known in a statement on Sunday. Despite denial by the Kenyan Government, members of IPOB and Nnamdi Kanu’s family argued that the secessionist was arrested and extradited from Kenya. Kanu, who is facing an 11-count charge of treason, treasonable felony, terrorism and illegal possession of firearms, among others, jumped bail in 2017 and left the country. The former London estate agent disappeared in 2017 after being released on bail, only to re-emerge in Israel and then in the United Kingdom. He was re-arraigned before a Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday and ordered to be remanded in the custody of the DSS, while the case was adjourned till July 26 and July 27. The statement read, “Our leader was arrested, repatriated back to a country he does not possess its passport. “It is our wish to notify the public that President Keyatta Uhuru of Kenya has a question to answer on the role he played in the abduction of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. He betrayed our leader and must be held fully accountable for his atrocities. “This is pure man’s inhumanity to man and he will tell all Biafrans how much he was paid to partake in this devilish act. “We, IPOB in Australia, support the leadership of IPOB worldwide and our able Directorate of States (Chika Edoziem) and the head of our Media and Publicity (Emma Powerful) to categorically state that all IPOB members both home and abroad should boycott travelling with Kenya Air Line; stop patronising any product made in Kenya and all businesses dealing with Kenyans, following their country’s betrayal. The battle line is drawn. “Our question to the Nigeria government is will the abduction of our leader solve the continuous marginalisation of south easterners from the current political structure in Nigeria?” The Federal Government said security and intelligence agencies were on the trail of Kanu for over two years before he was re-arrested, adding that the head of the outlawed IPOB movement was detained again on Sunday – without giving details on the location of his arrest. Kanu was initially arrested in late 2015 after calling for a separate state for Biafra, in South-East Nigeria. His detention sparked mass protests and clashes with security services. IPOB, which agitates for a separate Igbo state, has denied being behind the violence, accusing the government of a smear campaign. Election offices have also been attacked by suspected members of the group.

JUST IN: Lagos Assembly passes bill barring police from parading suspects By Oyebola Owolabi

Lagos Assembly has passed an amended version of the Criminal Justice Law of the State barring the police from parading suspects before the media henceforth. × The bill was passed at a sitting presided over by Deputy Speaker, Wasiu Eshilokun-Sanni, on behalf of Speaker Mudashiru Obasa. Section 9(A) of the newly passed bill states: “As from the commencement of this law, the police shall refrain from parading any suspect before the media.” The bill also stipulates conditions under which a policeman can arrest without warrant, one of which is that a person must be reasonably suspected to unlawfully be in possession of firearms or other such dangerous instruments. Read Also: Suspend passage of Electoral Act Amendment bill, PRP tells NASS A subsection of the bill also barred the police or any other agency from arresting a person “in lieu of any other person in a criminal matter”. The bill adds a person who is arrested “shall be given reasonable facilities for obtaining legal advice, bail or making arrangements for defence or release. ADVERTISEMENT “A suspect should also be ‘accorded humane treatment, with the right to dignity of person; not subjected to any form of torture, cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment; be brought before the court as prescribed by this law or any other written law; or be released conditionally or unconditionally.” After a voice vote, the Deputy Speaker directed the acting Clerk of the House, Olalekan Onafeko, to transmit the bill to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for assent.

Crystal Palace appoint Vieira as new manager

t Crystal Palace announced former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira as the club’s new manager on Sunday, following a prolonged search for a successor to Roy Hodgson. Vieira, who won three Premier League titles as a player with the Gunners, has had mixed results in charge of New York City and Nice in his two previous managerial jobs. The Frenchman, who also won the World Cup and European Championship with his country, is highly regarded in England for his stellar playing career under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. “Crystal Palace Football Club are delighted to confirm the appointment of Patrick Vieira as its new manager for the next three seasons,” Palace said in a statement. The Eagles have been searching for a new boss since Hodgson announced in May he would step down at the end of last season when his contract expired. Vieira has a busy few weeks ahead, with a host of Palace players also out of contract and just six weeks until the Premier League season starts with a trip to European champions Chelsea. “I am really excited to have this opportunity to return to the Premier League, and manage this great football club, as we begin a new chapter together,” said Vieira. “It is a project that is really appealing to me, having spoken a lot with the chairman and sporting director about their ambition and plans for the whole club, including the academy. “The club has fantastic foundations in place after many years in the Premier League, and I hope we can make further improvements and continue to drive the club forward.” In his four seasons in charge, former England boss Hodgson managed to keep Palace out of the relegation battle. However, there was a desire at the club to freshen up the ageing squad he had assembled with a younger manager. “I’m delighted and excited that Patrick has agreed to join Crystal Palace as our manager following successfully learning his trade at the City Group, and experiencing positive managerial spells at New York City and then Nice, who he led to the Europa League,” said Palace chairman Steve Parish. “We have a lot to do to prepare in the coming weeks and I look forward to working closely with Patrick and (sporting director) Dougie (Freedman) in bringing in some new faces to help us all to a successful season.” (AFP)

Full text of Southern Govs communique By Samuel Oamen

COMMUNIQUÉ ISSUED AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE MEETING OF THE GOVERNORS OF SOUTHERN NIGERIA AT THE LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT HOUSE, IKEJA, LAGOS STATE, ON MONDAY, 5TH JULY, 2021 NIGERIA. The Southern Governors Forum at the end of the meeting held on Monday, 5th July, 2021 reviewed the situation in the Country and focused on the current security situation, constitutional amendment, Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). Rising from the meeting, the Forum agreed on the following: 1. Re-affirmed their commitment to the unity of Nigeria on the pillars of equity, fairness, justice, progress and peaceful co-existence between and amongst its people. 2. The Forum reiterates its commitment to the politics of equity, fairness and unanimously agrees that the presidency of Nigeria be rotated between Southern and Northern Nigeria and resolved that the next president of Nigeria should emerge from the Southern Region. Read Also: PHOTOS: Southern Govs meet in Lagos 3. Security a. The Forum reviewed the security situation in the country and commends security operatives for their relentless efforts in restoring security and safety and commiserates with families and loved ones of those who have fallen in the line of duty; b. Re-emphasised the need for State Police; c. Resolved that if for any reason security institutions need to undertake an operation in any State, the Chief Security Officer of the State must be duly informed; d. the forum frowns at selective criminal administration of Justice and resolved that arrests should be made within the ambit of the Law and fundamental human rights; e. Set a timeline of Wednesday, 1st September, 2021 for the promulgation of the anti-open grazing law in all member States; and f. Resolved that Funds deducted from the Federation Account for the Nigeria Police Security Trust Fund should be distributed among the States and Federal Government to combat security challenges. 4. Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) Law: i. The Forum commends the National Assembly for the progress made in the passage of the PIB; ii. The Forum rejects the proposed 3% and support the 5% share of the oil revenue to the host community as recommended by the House of Representatives; iii. The forum also rejects the proposed 30% share of profit for the exploration of oil and gas in the basins; iv. However, the forum rejects the ownership structure of the proposed Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC). The Forum disagrees that the company be vested in the Federal Ministry of Finance but should be held in trust by Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) since all tiers of Government have stakes in that vehicle. 5. In order to consolidate our democracy and strengthen the Electoral process, the Southern Governors’ Forum reject the removal of the Electronic transmission of the election result from the electoral act; and also rejects the confirmation of exclusive jurisdiction in pre-election matters on the Federal High Court. 6. The Forum unanimously chose Lagos State as its permanent secretariat and appreciated the Governor of Lagos State for the wonderful hosting of this meeting while commending him for his good work in the State. Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu SAN Governor, Ondo State and Chairman, Southern Governors’ Forum

36 investors move to buy power plants put up for sale by FG By Emma Ujah

Thirty-six power sector investors have submitted Expressions of Interest (EoIs) for the five National Integrated Power Plants (NIPPs) put up for sale by the federal government. Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex Okoh, told journalists in Abuja, yesterday, that the privatisation of the five NIPP plants was in line with the bureau’s 2021 workplan as approved by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP). The affected plants are: Benin Generation Company Limited at Ihovba, Edo State; Calabar Generation Company Limited, Cross River State; Geregu Generation Company Limited, Kogi State; Olorunsogo Generation Company Limited, Ogun State; and Omotosho Generation Company Limited, Ondo State. According to BPE boss, the five NIPPs put up for sale would be sold as planned, in line with President Muhhamdu Buhari administration’s determination to resuscitate the power plants and put them to full use for the much needed power needs of the economy. Mr. Okoh revealed that based on the approval of the NCP, the BPE has already engaged the services of a Technical Adviser who would assist the agency in the transaction process. He added that the Evaluation Committee constituted by the Management of the Bureau, which also included nominees of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, has commenced work on the EoIs. The initial process was for the ten NIPP plants to be privatized. That process commenced in 2012 and by November 2013 bidders had submitted technical and financials proposals for their privatisation. “In the Request for Proposal (RfP), the bidders were informed that they would be required to pay the full purchase consideration for the acquisition of 80% equity in the NIPP generation companies”, Mr. Okoh stated, adding that an approval was given through the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) in February 2016, to proceed with a phased implementation of the programme by negotiating with the Preferred Bidders of the four (4) NIPP generation companies with the least challenges. However, the D-G noted that the transaction was eventually stalled largely due to the liquidity challenges in the power sector, amongst other factors. He said that the challenges were being addressed comprehensively by the federal government through various programmes like the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), the World Bank Distribution Intervention Programme (DISREP), the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank’s interventions in addressing the sector’s payments management, as well as, the bottlenecks between the Distribution Companies (DISCOs) and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN). Mr Okoh added that with the earlier termination of the NIPP transaction in accordance with the provisions of the RfP, the bureau after securing the approval of the NCP of its 2021 workplan, subsequently presented a memo to Council at its 2nd meeting for the year 2021 held on Thursday, 22ndApril, 2021 for approval of the transaction, as well as, an expedited transaction process, following which council approved the privatisation of the five NIPP Plants. Vanguard

[BREAKING] Igboho: Security agents must notify us before undertaking any operations in our states -Southern govs by Kayode Oyero

Southern governors, on Monday, resolved that security agencies must notify them as the chief security officer of their states before they carried out any operations within their domain. This was contained in a communiqué issued today at the end of the governors’ meeting in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos State. The communiqué didn’t mention the recent raid of the Department of State Services on the Ibadan residence of Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo also known as Sunday Igboho but the decision of the governors was a veiled reference to the incident. The governors in the communiqué, “Re-emphasised the need for State Police; “Resolved that if for any reason security institutions need to undertake an operation in any State, the Chief Security Officer of the State must be duly informed; “Frowns at selective criminal administration of Justice and resolved that arrests should be made within the ambit of the Law and fundamental human rights.”

BREAKING: Next president should emerge from the South – Southern Governors.by Sodiq Oyeleke

Southern states governors have agreed that the successor of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), should come from the Southern region. This was part of the decisions they reached at their meeting on Monday in Lagos. During the meeting, the governors also deliberated on insecurity, constitutional amendment, PIB and anti-open grazing law in all member-states. While commending lawmakers for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, they opposed three per cent revenue allocation for the host communities. Read Also Why I won’t care about our next president’s tribe, party — Ajiboye, BSN scribe No serious politician will ignore opportunity of becoming President –Fayemi The meeting held eight weeks after the governors met in Asaba, the Delta State capital. Aside from the host governor, others at the meeting are Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Emmanuel Udom (Akwa Ibom), Diri Duoye (Bayelsa), Willie Obiano (Anambra), Ben Ayade (Cross Rivers), Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), David Umahi (Ebonyi), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Hope Uzodimma (Imo), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Adegboyega Oyetola (Osun), Oluwaseyi Makinde (Oyo), and Nyesom Wike (Rivers).