Today’s Headlines: Don’t Provoke Nigeria Into Waging War Against You – Fani-Kayode Warns Niger, Other Military Junta; AAC As Voice Of Opposition – Independent Nigeria

Don’t Provoke Nigeria Into Waging War Against You, Fani-Kayode Warns Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso Military Juntas

Photo credit: SaharaReporters

A former ation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has warned the military regimes in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso not to provoke Nigeria to wage a war against them.

Following the recent coup d’etat in the Niger Republic deposing President Mohamed Bazoum, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) gave the military junta in Niger seven days to restore the ousted leader.

Regional bloc ECOWAS has imposed sanctions on Niger, including halting all financial transactions and freezing its national assets. It also threatened to use force to reinstate Bazoum. Meanwhile, there have been protests in the Republic of Niger, warning ECOWAS, especially Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu who is the Chairman of the regional bloc, not to interfere with the affairs of their country.

The military governments of Burkina Faso and Mali have warned that any military intervention against the coup leaders in Niger would be considered a “declaration of war” against their nations.

Niger’s neighbours – whose governments were also results of coups – issued the warning in joint statements read out after West African leaders threatened to use force to reinstate the ousted Nigerien leader.

But Fani-Kayode has described the open anti-Nigeria sentiments in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso as provocative.

He said he had faith in the envoys sent to Niger Republic to resolve the impasse but warned that Nigeria – which he described as a sleeping sword – should not be woken up.

He said, “Before you threaten us with war think twice, study our history and learn about who we are and what we are capable of doing.

“As Shakespeare wrote, ‘wake not our sleeping sword lightly’ and know that we are ‘slow to anger but irresistable in battle’.

Photo credit: Google

AAC As Voice Of Opposition

Photo Credit: Independent Nigeria

With two months into the current political dispensation, there is every indication that there is no voice for the opposition in the country.

This becomes so pronounced as none of the political parties has really come out to challenge most of the actions of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu since his inauguration on May 29, 2023.

Although there are 18 political parties that contested for the last general elections, the victory which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) awarded to the All Progressives Congress (APC), most of the parties seem to have lost their voices since after the elections.

Some of the political parties are in the courts still trying to reclaim their perceived victories and so believe that they indeed should be the real ruling party.

Interestingly, for the first time, there are more than two political parties in the legislature, unlike in the past when it was just the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

This time around, in the 10th National Assembly, APC retained majority in Senate with 59 senators, PDP trailed with 36 senators. The Labour Party (LP) has eight senators, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) have two seats each. The Young Progressives Party (YPP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) have one seat each.

APC Denies Forcing Legal Adviser To Quit NWC

Photo Credit:Punch papers

The National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress has described as ‘untrue’ the report that the National Legal Adviser of the party, Ahmad El-Marzuq, may have been forced out of the committee.

The development is coming two days after the former legal adviser threw in the towel.

El-Marzuq had tendered his resignation on the eve of the National Caucus meeting of the ruling party held at the banquet hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Online and social media were awash with reports of how the presidency and APC governors pressured El-Marzuq into quitting the NWC on Thursday.

Reacting, Deputy National Organising Secretary of the APC, Nze Chidi Duru, reiterated that there was no iota of truth in the viral report.

Duru also dismissed speculation that the lawyer was shut out at the NEC meeting as the handiwork of rumour peddler.

Chicago Court Dismisses Atiku’s Suit On Tinubu’s Records

Photo Credit:Punch papers

A Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois County, United States of America, has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the general elections, requesting President Bola Tinubu’s academic records from the Chicago State University.

During the campaigns in 2022, Tinubu stated that he had a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with honours.

Despite Beverly Poindexter, who is in charge of official transcript requests, enrolment and degree verification at the Office of the Registrar, CSU, affirming Tinubu’s comment, some persons still had some doubts.

Recently, Atiku filed a suit, seeking to subpoena the university but was said to have, before the date of hearing, withdrawn the case before the court.

According to the Circuit Court papers dated July 31, and obtained by Sunday PUNCH on Saturday, Judge Patrick J. Heneghan dismissed the case without prejudice.

In the judgment, the judge held that the “petitioner’s subpoena in this case is withdrawn and thus Chicago State University will not be deposed pursuant to the subpoena in this case.”

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