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MISLEADING STORY BY SAHARA REPORTERS: FMR. MINISTER BILBIS WAS ARRESTED BY POLICE NOT GOV. BELLO MATAWALLE

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OPINION ARTICLE

By

Sagir Ibrahim Gusau

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I have read the article by Sahara Reporters about the arrest of former Minister of Communication Ikira Aliyu Bilbis and for me the article is not only a reflection of “symbolic folktales” but a mischievous attempt to muscle the fact in order to attract public sympathy.

I will say boldly clear that in the first instance, the Governor of Zamfara is neither the police IGP, Commissioner nor the IPO empowered by law to arrest, investigate and prosecute people with criminal allegations. It will be very unfair to link him with the action of the police who are carrying out their legitimate duties”.

Ikira Aliyu Bilbis the former Minister of Communication was arrested over alleged connection with aiding and abetting political thuggery.

This allegation was made prominent by the suspected political thugs arrested by the Zamfara State standing committee on Anti-Thuggery headed by Bello Bakyasuwa.

They have also made confessional statements linking their ordeal to the former Minister so what is wrong in suing him by the police on behalf of the state for him to defend himself?.

The Chairman of the Anti-Thuggery Bello Bakyasuwa has paraded the suspected thugs before the press and they have made different confessional statements and from their different confessions it seems the former Minister has some questions to answer so what is wrong in given him the right to self defence over allegations labelled against him?

It was on record that these thugs were carrying deadly weapons and these weapons were displayed before the whole world including a campaign truck branded in the name of one of the PDP legislative candidate during the press conference by Bello Bakyasuwa.

In order to cover their shoddy deal, they even attempted to induced Bello Bakyasuwa the Chairman of the Anti-Thuggery committee with money but he declined. Bakyasuwa stated this during one of his interview with Thunder Blowers an online media platform.

And based on the investigation conducted by the committee on Anti-Thuggery they handed over their findings to the police and the police became convinced that Ikira Bilbis has a case to answer in court and police charged him to Court then what is the crime of Governor Bello Matawalle here?.

Is this for setting up the Anti-Thuggery committee with the intention of making sure that political campaigns are conducted without any forms of rascality?

Or is this for refusing to interfare with the job of the police who believed anybody who instigated an act of breach of peace is made to face justice?

So for me PDP and indeed Sahara Reporters are only trying to be mischief for linking Matawalle with what he has no hand in.

Secondly, coming back to the legality of the campaign rally conducted by the PDP gubernatorial candidate Dr. Dauda Lawal Dare which resulted to all this political brauhaha, I think the current judgement of the Federal High Court Gusau which is still enforce has barred him from parading himself as the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP in Zamfara State.

Secondly Thunder Blowers Multimedia Services in it’s Sunday Editorial has highlighted in a very clear voice the illegality of the campaign rally to be conducted by the PDP gubernatorial candidate basing their arguments on the highlight of the multiple judgments by both the lower court in Gusau and appellate court in Sokoto

For me the development in Zamfara with all sense of honesty is triggered by the desperate move of the PDP to enforce their desperate thirsty for power at all means against 2023 general election.

This argument is visible because since from the first instance, the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP knew very well that by status, he cannot do or act in his usual capacity as governorship candidate because the court has barred him from doing that hence the first and second primary elections that produces him as the gubernatorial candidate were annulled.

The first primary election conducted on the 25th of May 2022 was nullified by Justice Aminu Bappa led Federal High Court Gusau.

He graciously conceded to the judgement and went for second primary election which was also nullified by the same Federal High Court Gusau on the ground of electoral irregularities.

The same gubernatorial candidate out of abuse of court process filed an appeal in Sokoto challenging the same judgement he conceded and the panel of judges in their own wisdom strike out the appeal referring to it as “mere academic exercise”.

The same day he got his appeal stroked, he filed a notice of “stay of execution” of the second judgement before the Sokoto Court of Appeal again and up to this moment I am writing, the defence team was not served with the notice of the appeal alleged to be filed.

And because the PDP gubernatorial candidate is allegedly not advised appropriately he had wasted much of his time filing a “motion of stay” instead of concentrating on the appeal of either the second Federal High Court judgement or move to Supreme Court to seek for judicial consideration if at all he can be considered.

Or may be he was clearly informed that the new practice direction of the Court of Appeal has barred courts of appeal from issuing “order of stay either on pre-election or election petition” he opted to create an illegal political rally to attract public sympathy.

The rally conducted by the PDP candidate as argued by the Thunder Blowers is illegal because the judgment of the lower court which barred the PDP from having a gubernatorial candidate for the 2023 election has not been set aside by the upper court of competent jurisdiction.

Now coming back to the violent approach used by some of the PDP supporters, it is disheartening that despite the fact that the leaders of the party knew that their action is illegal they cannot cautioned their followers from using violent means to instigate fear and confusion among the public.

There are multiple evidences that, the PDP supporters crashed many campaign billboards, destroy campaign offices and also forced many innocent people looking for what to earned and sustained a living to shutdown their business premises and leave due to the fear of the unknown.

Innocent commuters plying the road were also made to join the political convoy and were unnecessarily forced on the hold for hours simply because of lack of concern for their right of movement.

It is my expectations that on the premise of this ugly development, the Anti-Thuggery committee in collaboration with other security out fits especially the police “apply the rule where it is due” to make sure that justice is done and rule of law is followed.

Coming back to their insinuation that Governor Matawalle is scared of losing election. It is apparent that Sahara reporters is not following the political development in Zamfara State because they should have understand that APC is a stand alone party for now.

The same PDP by virtue of the Federal High Court Gusau judgement which is still enforce has crashed the party from it’s entire hope of participating in the governorship election of Zamfara and by the special grace of God almighty that judgment stands!!.

So Matawalle and APC fears no one in Zamfara because the Governor has applied one strategy out of many to return the PDP gubernatorial candidate back to the secondary school class room for him to learn the basic rudiments of the science of politics.

More worrisome is the attitude exhibited by some of the PDP supporters at the court premises. It was unfortunate that the blind PDP supporters had to resort to embarking on protest at the premises of Upper Shariah Court Shariah Court at Anguwar Yarima simply because the former Minister has been arraigned.

The attitude demonstrated had clearly embarrassed the state and portray us as people who does not under the civility in democratic engagement.

If our courts cannot be secured then what does the PDP mean? This is a question that required one million answer!!.

As for the constitution of the standing committee on Anti-Thuggery people like us do not understand the wisdom behind what Matawalle did till when I read a press released by Governor Babagana Umara Zulum today the 1st of December 2022 over the act of political thuggery in Borno state as instigated by the same PDP he said:

“I have received reports on renewed acts of political violence in the state. I strongly condemn these extremely unnecessary acts of violence and hereby direct the Commissioner of Police and the DSS to immediately investigate and ensure anyone involved is made to face the full wrath of the law.”

“I am directing heads of security agencies under the Borno State security council to immediately convene a meeting with critical representatives of all major political parties, particularly the APC and PDP, get them to sign undertakings and strikingly warn against all acts of violence with punitive measures rolled out for any culprit, especially politicians who might be instigating violence, no matter how highly placed they might be.”

“In the meantime, I strongly urge supporters of all political parties not to disseminate false statements that can insight violence. We should endeavor to promote peace”.

“I have always been against political thuggery and for us in Borno State, we have seen enough of violence from our over 12 years of insurgency. Instigating political violence is simply being ungrateful to Allah for the peace He is granting us after over 12 years of prayers for His divine intervention. Many soldiers, policemen, personnel of the DSS and paramilitary as well as our volunteers in the Civilian JTF, hunters and vigilantes have given their lives in battles and many are still in the front lines, towards full restoration of peace in Borno State. Insha’Allah, we will not allow anyone reverse the supreme sacrifices of our armed forces and volunteers.”

This mean Governor Bello Matawalle has for long distance seen this tragedy coming and he tried to institutionalized measures of getting this act of inhumanity addressed.

In general note, I think the PDP and indeed Sahara reporters should learned to say the truth and report events as they unfold.

It will be unprofessional to be telling stories not the way the occurred because it will resulted to misleading others especially those that will be reading the narrative about Zamfara from the per distance.

The fact remains that PDP has lost it this time around and for 2023 it is a “road closed” because the rule of law has taken it’s precedence and Ii think the political actors within the PDP are thought the bitter lessons of their lives.

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SUPPORTING SEN. AKPABIO: YARIMAN BAKURA HAS DEMONSTRATED HIS UNENDING CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE NORTH

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BIG STORY

By

Managing Editor

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The Chairman of the APC Defense Coalition, Dr. Suleiman Shuaibu Sarki Shanun Shinkafi had lambasted Sen. Ahmad Sani Yariman Bakura the former Governor of Zamfara state for allegedly backing Senator Gods will Akpabio’s candidature of becoming the Senate President of the 10th National Assembly.

He said the action of Senator Yarima is a clear demonstration of his unending conspiracy against the North and the people of Northern Nigeria by extension.

Sarkin Shanu in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday insisted that it will be an act of conspiracy and mischief for the Zamfara former Governor, Ahmad Sani Yarima to back a southern candidate for the post of Senate President when he already has someone from Zamfara and a fellow Northerner who is buying for the same position.

He noted that the action of Senator Ahmad Yarima is a clear impression that he is an enemy of the North and the people of Northern Nigeria by extension, adding that Northerners need to be awakened and rise to the occasion before people like Yariman Bakura nail the region down for personal self enrichment.

“Yariman Bakura has demonstrated his strong and extreme disregard for the Northern Nigerian by supporting Sen. Godswill Akpabio as against the candidature of the former Governor of Zamfara Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar, and we are ready to fight him to finishing for working against the interest of the North”.

“The North West in particular has produces over 50% of the votes that produces Sen. Bola Ahmad Tinubu as the President during the 2023 election and now that our own from the region is contesting for the post of Senate President we have no option than to stand firmly behind him and enemies of the North like Yariman Bakura will fail woefully when the time comes”.

“Yariman Bakura has never hidden his personal enmity for the progress of Sen. Abdulaziz Yari and this can be demonstrated since what happened in the 2019 political race and now in the 2023 election when he worked openly against the success of the APC in Zamfara state” the statement added.

“It is shameful of Sen. Yarima to show his political solidarity to Godswill Akpabio in the open world and his action is a clear demonstration that he has declared war against the North and Northern Nigeria and by the special will of Allah Yarima he will be humiliated for working against the North” the statement added.

“We implore Sen. Yari to remain firm and focus and continue to mobilize strongly for his candidature for the Senate President, and we assure him he will emerge victorious looking at the dynamics of the way things are going, the APC zoning arrangement will surely fail”.

“For record, the President-elect is from the South, the Chief Justice of the federation who is the head of the judicial arm is also from the South, so there is no way the North will allow the seat of the Senate President who is the head of the legislative arm to shift to the South again”. The statement added.

He called on Senator Yarima to have the fear of God and leave Senator Yari alone, noting that God almighty has already made Yari the political hero of the current generation.

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YARI REMAINS MY CANDIDATE FOR THE OFFICE OF THE SENATE PRESIDENT: SEN. SEN. SUMAILA

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A Kano Senator-elect under the platform of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) Kawu Sumaila has declared to that APC zoning arrangement was an insult to the Nigerian parliament.

Sen. Kawu Sumaila who stated this on the National Television insisted that, former Governor of Zamfara and senator elect Abdulaziz Yari remain his candidate for the office of the Senate President of the 10th National Assembly.

He stated that, the National Assembly, as an independent arm of the government, should be free from the control of the executive.

“It is an insult for the APC to dictate to me where I will go in the choosing the presiding officers”.

He added that the majority of the lawmakers-elect were already discussing working against the zoning arrangements announced by the APC.

He urged Tinubu not to allow political sycophants to dictate the fortune of things for him.

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IMPOSIITION OF LEADERSHIP ON MEMBERS OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DANGEROUS TO NIGERIA’S DEMOCRACY: CISLAC

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The Executive Director Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center Awal Musa Rafsanjani has described the APC zoning arrangements as announced as an attempt to pocket the 10th National Assembly.

Rafsanjani who stated this in an interview insisted that the culture of imposition of leadership on the national assembly has grave danger to the nation’s Democratic process.

Rafsanjani stated “some people endorsed by the party for leadership have corruption allegation against them, having them as presiding officers in the legislatures will neutralize anti-graft fights and will further erode the public image of the parliament.

“What the President-elect and the APC have done is to completely pocket the legislatures and make them not only rubber stamp parliament but also an extension of the presidency” .

While affirming that CISLAC supported equitable zoning of national assembly leadership seats , it condemned the imposition of individuals on the lawmakers.

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