Some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) on Friday defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Yobe State.

Mamman Mohammed, Director General, Press and Media Affairs, to Governor Mai Mala Buni disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Damaturu, the state capital.

Buni, while receiving the new entrants, charged them to work for the unity of the party and its success in 2023.

The governor was joined by the State APC Chairman, Alhaji Muhammadu Gadaka, and his Special Adviser on Political Affairs, Alhaji Aji Bularafa.

The Governor of Borno State Babagana Umara Zulum has gifted the sum of five million Naira to one almajiri in Borno who made a farming plough machine manually pushed for tilling of farmlands towards planting.

Ploughs are usually attached to tractors, other means of transport, or manually dragged in farms.

As a Professor of Irrigation Farming, Zulum was excited that the 25-year-old Laminu Mohammed who hails from Gubio Local Government in northern Borno has never attended any formal school except traditional Islamic education called Tsangaya and popularly called almajiri system across northern Nigeria.

Laminu used components of a lister engine which is originally made for water pump to construct a plough which works like a tractor that is pushed by hand.

Informed of Laminu’s talent by a Government official, Zulum invited Laminu and during technical interaction the almajiri proved his skills for the invention after which he was rewarded with N5m

The Governor said the amount is aimed to inspire the ‘unschooled engineer’ to produce more ploughs and possibly other agricultural machineries that can serve farmers in Borno.

Zulum’s support for Laminu came barely two weeks after MAIDAWAAREWA reported that the Governor approved over N5m for a 13-year old primary school boy who used mud to copy-design Borno’s first flyover located along the Maiduguri – Gamboru Ngala highway

In another vain Zulum had presented five mini buses and N20m cash to a young Borno man who specializes in converting buses with petrol engines into solar-powered electric vehicles.

The deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Ahmed Idris Wase, has said the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the most qualified of all candidates running to become Nigeria’s President in 2023.

Wase said none has the level of political and leadership credentials possessed by the APC candidate.

To this end, he assured the APC candidate and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima of his total support in the build-up to the 2023 general election and beyond.

While receiving the leadership of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (ABAT) Support Group on a courtesy call in his office, Wase said “Of all the candidates in other political parties, none has the qualities and capacity of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”

He continued, “I want to assure you that we in the House of Representatives, particularly members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), shall collaborate with every organisation to ensure victory for Tinubu/Shetima ticket.”

He, however, charged the group to campaign for Asiwaju everywhere in Nigeria saying “We have good products to sell, this is somebody that had turned around the economy of Lagos within a short time and has built people across the country, irrespective of region or religion.

“I charge you all to go out in full force with your head high seeking for those votes as you have a good product to sell to Nigerians. I urged you not to relent in ensuring the victory for our candidates.”

Earlier, the national coordinator of the organisation, Hon. Oyinkansola Okiwuyi, said they were at the National Assembly to seek the support and cooperation of the deputy speaker and to also inform him about the strategy they are using to galvanise and solicit for votes.

He said the organisation is seeking not only support for Tinubu but the entire APC structure so that the party will have an overwhelming majority in states and National Assembly.

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has linked the spate of insecurity in the country to financial leakages.

According to him, criminals are still in business of the money getting into their hands.

The Minister added that insecurity would drastically reduce when the sources of their finances are blocked.

Aregbesola, according to a statement on Friday by the Director of Press, Ministry of Interior, Afonja Ajibola, spoke at the formal inauguration of a 10-member Inter-Ministerial Committee, set up to implement the adoption and implementation of the assigned roles to the Ministry of Interior, on the Financial Action Task Force.

The statement partly read, “Let me reiterate the Federal Government’s unflinching commitment to the eradication of money laundering, financing of terrorism and related corrupt practices. This has made us willing and active partner with other African and indeed global partners in this advocacy and fight.

“Some of the security challenges we face at the moment could be resolved if the financial lifeline of the actors are cut off. That some of them are still in business suggests strongly that they have strong internal or external financial leakages.”

The minister promised that Nigeria would work with the International Community to overcome the challenge, adding that “money laundering undermines the legitimate private sector and the integrity of financial markets, loss of control of economic policy, causes economic distortion and instability as well as loss of revenue, among other untoward consequences.”

The 10-Member Committee is headed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Shuaib Belgore.

The committee is expected to report to the Honourable Minister every two weeks for progress assessment.

The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has granted the suspended Accountant-General of the Federation, Idris Ahmed, and his co-defendants’ bail on terms and conditions given by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Adeyemi Ajayi, in her ruling, ordered that the defendants not leave the Federal Capital Territory without the court’s permission.

The court threatened to revoke the bail of any of them who failed to appear for trial.

The court also stated that the defendants should sign an undertaken that they will abide by the bail conditions by the EFCC.

According to the ruling, the defendants should not have and should not procure alternate passports until the case is expensed, having deposited their original passports to the commission.

The judge ruled on grounds that the allegations against the defendants are yet to be proven.

The court also stated that in line with the rule of law, the defendants are entitled to bail despite allegations against them since the prosecution did not mention that the defendants misbehaved while in EFCC custody.

The trial began immediately after the bail ruling.

Leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, yesterday, said Nigeria needs foreign assistance to tackle its worsening insecurity situation.

Reacting to the planned attack by terrorists and bandits in Zamfara, Kano and Lagos States and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, the Afenifere leader lamented the Federal Government has failed in securing Nigerians.

Adebanjo said: “My reaction to the alarm is that it has shown the inability of the Buhari government to protect lives and properties. I have said it severally that this government should have left the place for an interim government to take over to tackle our security challenges and conduct a new election. If we don’t do that, the whole country will be finished before Buhari leaves office. I am not surprised but, unfortunately, Nigerians are incapable of defending themselves.

The terrorists are now bold enough to threaten our Commander in Chief, they have attacked our military guard, attacked our defence academy, attacked strategic places and they have told us that their target is Aso Rock. They know our government is incapable of taking out the terrorists and protecting people. I have said that before that no one can come and help us except the international community comes to our aid.”

When asked whether Nigerians should resort to self-help, the Afenifere leader said: “What else can we do if the government has failed to help us? We need foreigners to come and help us but in the meantime, we need to help ourselves. “The authority cannot help itself and it cannot help us. We have seen how the terrorists attacked the president’s guard and they threatened to kidnap him and another governor; where does that leave us? Nigerians will have to resort to self-help when they can’t help themselves. That is why we need foreign intervention if we must tackle insecurity.”

The Presidency has boasted that the National Assembly cannot impeach President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Presidency boasted that the ruling political party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, has the majority of lawmakers in the Red Chamber, thereby making it impossible for the minority to have their way.

MAIDAWAAREWA reported that Senators across party lines, on Wednesday, stormed out of plenary, calling for the impeachment of Buhari, as well as the Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan over the increasing rate of insecurity in Nigeria.

But Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, played down the possibilities of his principal being impeached.

Speaking on Channels Television in reaction to the move, which is still very much in its early stage, Adesina said, “The National Assembly has a self-regulatory mechanism. It is so composed that minorities can’t have their way.

“They cannot force it down the throats of the majority and fortunately, in those Chambers, we have sensible people who will say ‘No, it’s true we have insecurity in the country and the President is doing his best, so let us continue to encourage the security agencies to do better.’

“Mr. President is not going to wave a magic wand to solve the security issues. No one has such a magic wand. It is something that would be done methodically.

“It’s something that will be done systematically… It’s not going to be by magic wand. There’s no magic wand to solve this kind of problem.”