Digital Leonard Blog

The Kogi State Governor-Elect, Yahaya Bello, on Tuesday, has refuted claims that he was owing salaries, describing such claims as “lies.” Bello said his administration met salary backlog owed workers in the state, but insisted that his administration did not owe workers. The governor-elect said this while featuring on Channels Television, also alleging that thugs of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, stabbed a resident after he was declared winner of Saturday’s election. Bello also alleged that the wife of his deputy was also shot at after he emerged winner of the election. He said: “ All these reports of me owing salaries are lies. Past governors of Kogi State were owning salaries starting from Audu to my immediate predecessor. Kogi state is not owning any dime at the state level, what is left is the ten percent from the previous government. “ As for El-Rufai kneeling, he was begging that Kogi people should forgive Bello for ensuring security and ensuring the state was peaceful and no...

The Senate received six aviation sector bills from President Muhammadu Buhari for consideration and passage into law on Tuesday. The request was contained in a letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan and read on the floor during plenary. The letter reads: “ Pursuant to Section 58 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), I formally request that the following Six (6) Bills be considered for passage into law by the Senate. “ The bills are: Civil Aviation Bill, 2019; Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria Bill, 2019; Nigerian College of Airspace Management Agency (Establishment) Bill, 2019; Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (Establishment) Bill, 2019; Nigerian Meteorological Agency (Establishment) Bill, 2019; and Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (Establishment) Bill, 2019. ” The Senate President, after reading the letter, directed the clerk to ensure that the bills are gazetted and distributed to Senators. The Senate also swore...

  Governor Atiku Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi State has disclosed that former President Goodluck Jonathan is happy with the victory of David Lyon in the Bayelsa Governorship election. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared David Lyon the winner of the Bayelsa Governorship Election. Lyon scored a total of 352,552 votes to defeat his closest rival and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria’s main opposition party, Duoye Diri, who polled 143,172 votes. After the election, Governor Atiku alongside other chieftains of the APC paid a visit to the home of the former Nigerian leader. The delegation of APC leaders also met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday. While speaking to State House correspondents, Atiku said despite being in another party, Jonathan was pleased because the victory of the APC was transparent. He said: “ We were in Bayelsa for over 72 hours, we didn’t see a tyre burning, we didn’t see peopl...

Senate’s Deputy Chief Whip Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi has stated the proposed Hate Speech Bill recently introduced by the Senate was not meant to give President Muhammadu Buhari alleged third term agenda. Abdullahi, while addressing reporters yesterday in Abuja, said the Bill is meant to check what he called abuse of the nation’s “faultiness of ethnicity and religion” to cause crisis. “ For those who think their ludicrous assessment that the Hate Speech Bill is meant to give the current President (Muhammadu Buhari) a third term, it is not true ,” he said. Also yesterday, Acting Senate spokesman Godiya Akwashiki described the Hate Speech Bill as a private member Bill which will be thoroughly scrutinised by the Senate during second reading. Abdullahi regretted that many Nigerians, who decried the Bill merely “jumped the gun” by reaching conclusions before reading it. “ For those shouting and using words that by every definition is Hate Speech, let them be guided ,” he said. “ People said that ...

The Presidency on Monday reprimanded the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for always “disparaging every unfavourable result” of elections. It advised the opposition party to accept its defeat in Saturday’s governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states with grace instead of “casting aspersions” on the exercise The All Progressives Congress (APC) had been announced the winner of Saturday’s governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states, but the PDP rejected the results, citing rigging and violence.   Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu in a statement, said rather than accept defeat, the PDP is engaged in accusation of results fabrication. He said: “ Predictably, we have seen the accusation of fabricated results from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party. Yet, the only fabrication is PDP’s conduct. “ It has now become standard procedure for the party to challenge any poll that does not return its candidates.   El...

The All Progressive Congress (APC) has announced that the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party will be convened on Friday, November 22, 2019. The last NEC of the party was convened in August, 2018, contrary to the party’s law, which stipulates quarterly meeting of the body. Reliable sources at the party’s national secretariat made a revelation in Abuja on Monday that a circular had been issued to the effect. According to reports, the party’s National Caucus will meet on Thursday, while the NEC is scheduled for Friday. The failure of the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole-led executive council to convene the NEC for more than a year has been a major concern among party stakeholders. It led some stakeholders of the party, including the non-National Working Committee (nNWC), the Forum of State Chairmen and the Director-General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Salihu Moh Lukman, calling for its convocation. A source in the party’s executive council, who pleaded anonymity, said the...