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Don’t disgrace ex-governors; come out of hiding, face EFCC, Ortom tells Bello

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A former Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, has asked the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, to come out of hiding and answer his case with the Economic and Financial Crime Commission.

Mr Ortom stated this on Sunday in Makurdi during a church thanksgiving service organised by his aides to mark his 63rd birthday anniversary.

He urged Mr Bello to come out and defend his administration, adding that his continuous hiding would bring disgrace to former governors across the country.

The ex-Benue State governor also urged his former appointees to always come forward and give account of their stewardship when called upon, saying that they could only run when they had something to hide.

“I want to use this opportunity to advise my younger brother and friend, Governor Yahaya Bello, not to disgrace former governors. You don’t need to hide. You don’t need to resist arrest or anything. Go there and respond. EFCC are human beings. If they are making enquiries, the laws are there. I have tried to get him on the phone, but I could not. I have tried those around him, but I could not do so. I want this to be noted. So wherever he is, if he can hear me, thank God the press are here, he should come out,” Mr Ortom said.

The former governor appreciated the Benue people for their support throughout his eight years tenure and for celebrating him on his birthday.

He said that being at the top for eight years was not an easy task and called on the people to always pray for their leaders.

Mr Ortom urged Benue youths to stop insulting the elders on social media and take advantage of the internet to add value to their lives and bring development to the state.

He said, “Do not insult the leaders or elders on social media. We all must be part of the process to bring peace so that progress, prosperity and development will come. The youth must take advantage of social media to bring development to themselves and to the state.

“The whole world is in your palms, in your tablets and on your phone. Look at the essence of the internet. Now that you cannot go to the farms, go to the website and see what people are doing in order to be part of the world and to add value and bring wealth to yourselves.”

Mr Ortom expressed gratitude to God for his mercies over his life and family saying he left government house a better Christian, adding that he would continue to be and worship in the house of God.

In their remarks, a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoakaa, Chairman, Benue Peoples Democratic Party, John Ngbede, Senator Abba Moro among others appreciated Mr Ortom for his dogged fight for the security of the people.

They prayed to God to give him more opportunities to continue to contribute to the peace and development of the state.

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Politics

JUST IN: Niger Republic Dumps French, Adopts Hausa As National Language

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Niger’s military-led government has declared Hausa as the country’s new national language, replacing French, in another decisive step away from its former colonial power, France.

The national language is now “Hausa” while the working languages are English and French,” the junta stated in a new charter .

Hausa is Niger’s most widely spoken language, particularly prevalent in the regions of Zinder, Maradi, and Tahoua.

The language is understood and spoken by a large portion of the population in the country of 26 million.

By contrast, French is spoken by only about 13 per cent of Nigeriens — roughly three million people.

 

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Trump moves to restore some terminated foreign aid programmes

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US President Donald Trump on Tuesday moved to reinstate at least six recently canceled US foreign aid programs for emergency food assistance.

The quick reversal of decisions made just days ago underscored the rapid-fire nature of Trump’s cuts to foreign aid.

It has resulted to programmes being cut, restored then cut again, disrupting international humanitarian operations.

USAID Acting Deputy Administrator Jeremy Lewin, who has previously been identified as a member of billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, asked staff in an internal email to reverse the terminations.

Lewin also asked to restore awards to the World Food Programme in Lebanon, Syria, Somalia, Jordan, Iraq and Ecuador.

The administration has also reportedly resumed four awards to the International Organization for Migration in the Pacific region,

“Sorry for all the back and forth on awards. There are a lot of stakeholders and we need to do better about balancing these competing interests — that’s my fault and I take responsibility,” Lewin said.

Ekwutosblog reported on Monday that the Trump administration had ended life-saving aid programmes for more than a dozen countries including Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and Syria, totaling over $1.3 billion.

Stand Up For Aid, an advocacy group of current and former US officials said World Food Programme contracts canceled on Lewin’s orders last weekend for Lebanon, Syria, Somalia and Jordan totaled more than $463 million.

 

Many of the terminated programmes are said to have been granted waivers by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio following an initial round of cuts to foreign aid programs.

As of the time of filing this report, the State Department has not commented about restoring the awards.

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INEC Chairman, Mahmood not sacked – Spokesman

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INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu
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By Omeiza Ajayi, ABUJA

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has disclaimed social media reports that its Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has been sacked by President Bola Tinubu.

A viral WhatsApp message had indicated that Mahmood was sacked and replaced with one Prof. Olamilekan.

“INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmud Yakubu has been replaced with Prof. Bashiru Olamilekan by President Tinubu,” the message, which had no attribution, read.

In response to a message from Vanguard, the Chief Press Secretary CPS to the INEC Chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, simply said: “Please, disregard. It is not true.”

Yakubu, who is rounding off his second tenure in office, is expected to exit the system towards the end of the year.

The process of appointing an INEC chairman is the President nominating a candidate and forwarding his particulars to the Department of State Services, DSS, for profiling.

After such screening, the President thereafter takes the name to the National Council of State for its advisory review. Based on the outcome, the President sends the name to the Senate for screening and confirmation.

Presidency, too

The Presidency also debunked the widespread report claiming that President Tinubu has sacked Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman.

The Senior Special Adviser to the President on Digital and New Media, O’tega Ogra, described the news as false.

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