WOODPECKER BLOG

INTERVIEW: Why Saraki must quit as Senate president — Gbajabiamila August 21, 2018 Festus Owete and Nasir Ayitogo Femi Gbajabiamila Related News APC Crisis: Kwara, Lagos chapters clash over Saraki APC Chairmanship: Reps caucus endorse Oshiomole APC welcomes Gbajabiamila’s choice as House leader; indifferent on Saraki, Ekweremadu APC welcomes Gbajabiamila’s choice as House leader; indifferent on Saraki, Ekweremadu Defections: Dogara absent as APC Reps caucus meet Oshiomhole The leader of the House of Representatives and chairman of the APC Caucus, Femi Gbajabiamila, in this interview with  PREMIUM TIMES’ Festus Owete and Nasir Ayitogo,  speaks on the defections in the House, his relationship with Speaker Yakubu Dogara, the demand by the APC for the resignation of the Senate president, Bukola Saraki and other issues. Mr Gbajabiamila only agreed to respond to questions written and transmit...

THROWBACK: The Day Adams Oshiomhole Bowed Down Before Saraki The photo, as you can see, shows Oshiomhole bowing down to Saraki, while his pretty wife Iara, Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun and Zamfara Governor Abdulaziz Yari watched on. by SaharaReporters, New York Aug 17, 2018 Who is the Nigerian most desperate to remove Bukola Saraki as Senate President? This question would be the cheapest trivia on Nigerian politics at the moment. Adams Oshiomhole! And he has never hidden it. Since July 31, when Saraki hurriedly announced his resignation form the All Progressives Congress (APC) after getting wind of his impending dismissal from the party, Oshiomhole has never hidden his determination to ensure Saraki loses his office. The former labour leader has taken advantage of every APC caucus meeting, every meeting with the party leadership, every encounter with state house correspondents, every press conference since then, to preach the g...

IPOB women protest, demand Nnamdi Kanu’s release August 18, 2018 IPOB women demand Kanu’s release. [Photo credit: NAN] The police in Imo on Friday arrested some women protesting over the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for allegedly conducting an unlawful assembly. Some of the women, mostly of middle age and from the Southeast states, were half nude, while others dressed in black and marched through the streets of Owerri. They disrupted vehicular movement and other activities in some parts of the town. The protesters chanted war songs and displayed different placards with inscriptions asking the federal government to release Mr Kanu. The women claimed that the security agencies knew the whereabouts of Mr Kanu who has been out of public view since he had an encounter with the military in Umuahia about one year ago. They asked Governor Rochas Ok...

APC Asks: Where Did A 'Senate Presiding Officer' Get The Money To Acquire 22 Properties From? "It is difficult to fathom how a federal lawmaker, who before his current position was an Associate Lecturer and Local Government Chairman, owns 22 high-end properties in Nigeria and other exclusive locations across the world," the statement read. BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK AUG 16, 2018   The All Progressives Congress (APC) has tasked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to publish its findings on the properties of "a current Senate presiding officer facing EFCC investigations". The party said it is difficult to fathom how "a federal lawmaker, who before his current position was an Associate Lecturer and Local Government Chairman, owns 22 high-end properties in Nigeria and other exclusive locations across the world". Although the party did not expressly say so, the lawmaker is believed to be Deputy ...

Ozekhome tackles Nigerian govt over detention of PREMIUM TIMES journalist August 17, 2018 Mike Ozekhome, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Rel Constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Mike Ozekhome, has faulted the police’s continued detention of PREMIUM TIMES journalist Samuel Ogundipe, for refusing to name the sources of a story he wrote which was published by the newspaper. In a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria condemned the arrest of Mr Ogundipe and the earlier detention of newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief, Musikilu Mojeed. The police had accused Mr Ogundipe of publishing a classified document of the police which detailed the role of the sacked SSS Director General, Lawal Daura, in the siege of the National Assembly, and which was addressed to the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo. The police also mounted pressure on Mr Ogundipe to disclose his source, which the reporter has refused to do as accepted by global jo...

Information minister denies ransom for Dapchi girls' claim Mohammed refuted the claim that ransom was paid for the release of Dapchi schoolgirls saying it's a mere conjecture without evidence. P play Mohammed refuted the claim that ransom was paid for the release of Dapchi schoolgirls saying it's a mere conjecture without evidence.  (NAN) Minister of Information and Culture,  Lai Mohammed , has denied claims that the Federal Government paid a ransom to get  Dapchi schoolgirls released  from Boko Haram's captivity. Mohammed refuted the claim saying it's a mere conjecture without evidence to support its authenticity. In a statement on Thursday, August 16, 2018, the minister said  ”It is not enough to say that Nigeria paid a ransom, little or huge. There must be a conclusive evidence to support such claim. “Without that, the claim remains what it is: a mere conjecture. ” play A grab from a video released in January 2018 by Isl...

Court adjourns journalist Jones Abiri’s case to September August 17, 20 18 Jones Abiri (Photo Credit: The Cable) Rela An Abuja Chief Magistrate court presided by Chukwuemeka Nweke has adjourned the trial of a journalist, Jones Abiri, to September 5. The adjournment Friday followed the absence of the prosecution counsel in court and after the court realised the prosecution counsel had not served the defence application. Mr Abiri, who was detained by the State Security Service (SSS) for two years without trial over alleged linked to armed militancy in the Niger Delta, was released on Wednesday after meeting his bail conditions. His release came after the court  reviewed his bail conditions . Mr Abiri, publisher and editor-in-chief of Weekly Source Newspaper, had been granted bail after he was  c harged to court following public outcry . On Friday, the Chief Magistrate when put on notice that the prosecution counsel was absent ruled for an adjournment. ...