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Gbandi Again!!!Re: Redeployment of Senator Victor Umeh, a necessary change for diaspora
Gbandi Again!!!
Re: Redeployment of Senator Victor Umeh, a necessary change for diaspora
By: Emmy Ekong, Warri.
Barely 24 hours after the redeployment of Sen. Victor Umeh from the Senate Committee Chairman on Diaspora and Non-Govermental Organizations (NGOs), Hon. Kenneth Gbandi, a man renowned for not seeing anything good in Nigeria and Nigerians, has taken to town again in his usual stock in trade of running down achievers and compatriots as if he has no other job, which, in fairness, he does not. So, may be he has created an oversight function for himself to keep him busy, albeit a very mischievous one.
This time around, he took on Sen. Umeh, who has achieved greatness during his short tenure on
his last committee assignment as well as a Senator representing his people well.
It is obvious from his write up that he did not get the attention of Senator Umeh who refused to be dragged into petty, tribal politics.
It is worthy of note that most of the allegations labelled against him on the issue of diaspora voting is not correct. His view is that a lot needs to be put in place before subjecting the Diaspora to vote to avoid breach in any form whatsoever. To me, this is not a bad opinion, an opinion echoed by many.
As a Senator, he has his fundamental human rights to air his own opinion on any matter.
Similarly, regarding the condusive Investment Climate Policies, it is not the responsibility of the Senator to create that for the Diasporas beyond his legislative duties which he has performed creditable well. It is the duty of the Executive arm through its Ministries, Departments and Agencies. Such responsibilities are being handled by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Investment, as well as Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM). The Commission every November holds the annual Nigerian Diaspora Investment Summit, (NDIS), a platform where business owners and prospective investors meet and interacts for possible investment opportunities.
Sen. Umeh attended the past two events since inauguration of his Committee and had the opportunity to interact with the Diasporas in attendance. The Diaspora in the last five years have been investing massively in healthcare, good business, education, ICT, agriculture. And a lot more is on the way, with the Minister of Trade promising soon to be rolled out targeted incentives.
Am equally aware that , NiDCOM in collaboration with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) has the Diaspora Mortgage Housing Scheme Project, a project designed for the Diaspora to own their own properties in any part of the country without loosing funds
Senator Umeh’s legislative backing has been crucial
In a nutshell, it will be unfair for Gbandi and his cohorts to rubbish the achievements of the Distinguished Senator on the alter of opposition.
Umeh has in many occasions identified with the Dispora Communities and has been so acknowledged.
Encomiums still continue to pour in on his most recent robust engagements in Canada and South Africa, and his demand for intervention in cases of Nigerians in foreign Prisons.
On the issue of board for the Diaspora Commission, this is at the behest of Mr President and has nothing to do with the Senator, even though, the whole world knows that Gbandi is desperately lobbying for it since the establishment of NIDCOM, so as to turn it to be another sit-tight NIDO Europe where Gbandi refused to vacate the seat even after the expiration of his tenure. Thanks to Gbandhi and his handful of cohorts, NIDOe is now torn apart . And with the Oronsaye report which recommends NiDCOM to be an agency rather than a Commission ,the status of the board is unclear.
Let me use this opportunity to advise the newly appointed Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora and NGOs, Natasha Akpoti to be wary of slippery critics like Kenneth Gbandi and concentrate on her legislative duties geared towards achieving excellence for her Kogi constituencies as well as Nigerians in the Diaspora. Gbandi ’s criticism, in less than 24 hours of Senator Natasha’s appointment is just an attempt to lick her boots. She should consult widely and intelligently so that she will not fall prey to the likes of Gbandhi.
We wish Senator Umeh well in his new Chairmanship position but one thing is certain. The Diaspora community would miss his wealth of knowledge, words of encouragement and wisdom.
Gbandi Again!!!
Re: Redeployment of Senator Victor Umeh, a necessary change for diaspora
News
VP Shettima Mourns Borno Terror Attack Victims, Says No Religion Endorses Killing Of Innocent Lives
VP Shettima Mourns Borno Terror Attack Victims, Says No Religion Endorses Killing Of Innocent Lives
By: Our Reporter
Ahead of his trip to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, Vice President Kashim Shettima , has expressed grief over the death of 25 persons killed in the multiple explosions in different locations across Maiduguri, the Borno State capital on Monday.
He pointed out that no religion sanctions the killing of innocent lives, as the sanctity of human life remains a core tenet of major world faiths.
VP Shettima, who spoke on Tuesday during the closing of the Annual Ramadan Tafsir at the State House Mosque, Abuja, prayed Almighty Allah to grant the souls of those killed in the terror attack in Maiduguri eternal rest, reward them with Aljannah firdaus and give their family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
Praying Almighty Allah to also vanish all agents of terror from the surface of the earth, the VP said, “May the lives of innocent souls – 25 of them – that lost their lives in Maiduguri last evening rest in peace. May Allah grant their souls eternal rest and reward them with His Aljannah firdaus, and may Allah also grant their families the fortitude to bear the irreparable losses.
“May Allah bring this madness to an end. No religion sanctions the killing of the innocent. Whatever that is motivating them, may Allah either guide them on to the right path or May Allah vanish them from the surface of the earth.”
The Vice President emphasised the need for all Nigerians to continue to pray for the country across every sector, as well as pray that the Almighty should continue to grant President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and members of his team wisdom, courage, sincerity and equity in service.
He noted that each season of Ramadan reminds Muslims of a truth that power often tries to hide from man, and that no sit is permanent, just as no office is ultimate and no human being stands above his dependence on his creator.
VP Shettima said, “In the presence of Allah, the distance between the mighty and the unknown vanishes. What remains is character, what remains is accountability, what remains is what we did with the trust placed in our hands.
“This is why gatherings such as this matters. They rescue public lives from arrogance; they retain soul to scale; they teach those entrusted with authority that the nation is not built by policy alone but by conscience; not by proclamation alone but by restraint; not by ambition alone but by fear of Allah.”
The VP called on the Muslim faithful to continue to live in the teachings and lessons of the month of Ramadan, as the final days of Ramadan begins to sleep through their fingers.
“The question before us is not whether Ramadan is ending. The question is whether its teachings will continue to live in us after the moon has changed.
“It is quite easy to cut the head when the atmosphere is charged with devotion. The harder task is to carry it into ordinary days, into the market, into the office, into the home, into the chamber of power, and into the private corners where only Allah sees what we are doing, ” he noted.
While drawing from the lessons of Ramadan, the Vice President said the holy month had thought the Muslim faithful that pity without mercy is noise and worship without service is incomplete.
“So, as we close this year’s Tafsir, let us not return to the habits that weaken our common lives; let us not go back to bitterness, to reckless speech, to indifference dressed as sophistication. A believer doesn’t spend the whole month learning only to become a captive again of anger, greed and division.
“Nigeria needs homes where children encounter good examples before good advice. Nigeria, indeed, needs leaders in every spare who understand that influence is a trust, not a license, ” VP Shettima said.
He paid growing tribute to the Chief Imam of the State House Mosque, Sheikh Abdulwaheed Suleiman Abubakar, and his lieutenant for conducting the Tafsir with wisdom, calm hearts.
Earlier, the Chief Imam prayed for sustainable peace and development of Nigerian and the success of the Tinubu administration’s policies and programmes.
The cleric emphasised the need for leaders at all levels to continue to discharge their responsibilities with the fear of Allah for the process and development of the country.
VP Shettima Mourns Borno Terror Attack Victims, Says No Religion Endorses Killing Of Innocent Lives
News
IGP Visits Maiduguri Bombing Sites, Assesses Security Measures
IGP Visits Maiduguri Bombing Sites, Assesses Security Measures
By: Zagazola Makama
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has visited victims of the recent IED explosions in Maiduguri and assessed the security situation at key attack sites, underscoring the force’s commitment to public safety.
The IGP visited the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), where casualties of the bomb blasts are receiving medical attention. He commiserated with victims and their families, assuring them of the Nigeria Police Force’s resolve to identify and dismantle networks responsible for the attacks.

Following the hospital visit, he proceeded to the Maiduguri Monday Market, one of the sites targeted by the terrorists, for an on-the-spot security assessment. The visit included interactions with local security personnel to review operational preparedness and strengthen coordinated response measures.
The IGP also visited the Borno State Government House and the State Police Command Headquarters as part of ongoing engagements to enhance collaboration between federal and state security agencies.

He emphasized that security has been significantly tightened across Maiduguri and its environs, with increased patrols, surveillance, and joint operational deployments aimed at preventing further incidents. Residents were reassured of the force’s commitment to safeguarding lives and property in the aftermath of the attacks.
IGP Visits Maiduguri Bombing Sites, Assesses Security Measures
News
Save us From Heavy Trailers Killing Our People… Muna Garage Residents Cry Out to Zulum
Save us From Heavy Trailers Killing Our People… Muna Garage Residents Cry Out to Zulum
By: Bodunrin Kayode
Residents of Muna axis after customs area in Maiduguri have called on Governor Babagana Zulum to save them from the excesses of heavy duty vehicles who deliberately clog the international highway leading to Gamboru Ngala council area on a daily basis.
Some of the residents who spoke to this reporter after a recent crash which almost killed all the occupants of a commercial “Keke” regretted that the road traffic authorities in the state have not given this international highway the priority it deserves in terms of traffic management due to it’s prominence.
A careless trailer which was parked along the road close to the Alkome police hospital had narrowed the road for another trailer and a Keke nappe which struggled for the little space remaining all driving towards the Muna Garage area when a brush occurred and a sudden bang from the back by a third trailer which almost killed all the occupants of the keke nappe.
Some of the commuters came out alive from the crushed Keke with minor wounds while a particular man had his forefoot crushed almost hanging away from the ball of one of that very foot.
It was a bloody weekend for the commuters as blood from one of them flowed freely into the Keke and on the tarred road leading to Muna while onlookers rushed to see if anyone survived the crash.
Since no security personnel showed up within the first 30 minutes of the crash, the wounded were rushed to a nearby hospital while the trailer cleared from the road to ease traffic movement.
Most of the eye witnesses were enraged by the incident with some blaming it on the Keke riders while others castigated the trailers who insist on parking on the shoulder of this international route which should be free from these kinds of challenges.
Baana, a vulcanizer who says he has spent over three decades on this axis of the town called on Governor Babagana Zulum to as a matter of urgency build a massive modern trailer park for the heavy trucks so that they will stop parking along the road while they wait for clearance in the morning to embark on their journeys to Ngala and beyond.
“Lack of a modern trailer park is the main reason why we keep recording lingering accidents on a daily basis here with countless of people being wounded and are not recorded in the government statistics.” He stressed.
For mallam Isa, a teacher inside the suburb behind Alkome police Hospital, the Governor should as a matter of urgency sign an executive fiat to stop trailers from parking on main roads like this one leading to Mafa,Dikwa and Ngala.
” We are calling on the Governor to invoke an executive order based on section 5 of the 1999 constitution by banning all trailers from parking on the trunk A roads leading to Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
” This is because, apart from endangering the lives of commuters, prolonged stay on the tarred roads cause a lot of damage to the roads which the Governor has dualized after destruction by insurgency.”
Mallam Isa also called on Federal and State Road Safety managers in the state to create a road side emergency station along this route that would be assisting them in clearing accident victims in the road throughout the week and even during the weekend.
“look at this accident that just happened, they are all guilty of one offence or the other. But I equally blame the Keke riders because if they have respect for human lives, they will not be contesting for right of way with heavy duty trailers.
” These trailers are very wicked people. They use their big structures to block and entrap people only to be begging for mercy when the damage has been done.
” Their excesses are as grave as that of the keke napep people. The Federal Road Safety and the Borno traffic management authorities should increase their fines further to serve as deterrent on the rest.
Save us From Heavy Trailers Killing Our People… Muna Garage Residents Cry Out to Zulum
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