The Harbingerngr News

Yinusa Akadiri Following a protest against the appointment of Prince Yinusa Akadiri as the new Akinrun of Ikirun in Ifelodun Local Government Area, LGA, by Osun State government, the monarch has been prevented from accessing the palace  Akadirin was appointed by the state government after being elected by the majority of kingmakers on November 19, 2021, after the demise of Oba Abdulrauf Adedeji in February same year. However, after his announcement on Wednesday, some youths in the town thronged the road, protesting against his appointment. This development led the state government to deploy security operatives into the town. Attempts by the new monarch to access the palace were also being frustrated by aggrieved residents, who placed charms on the entrance gate. A resident, Sofiu Oladimeji, said the gate was locked from behind to avoid easy access for anyone, but added that he could not ascertain on whose instruction the gate was locked. The tense situation, according to him, prevented

...Insists Buhari gave approval ...Says it will curb terrorism, kidnapping Contrary to the claim by Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmad, that her ministry was not informed of the planned to redesign naira notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, the apex bank has said the proposed policy was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari. The bank said due process was followed in the planning of the policy, saying the project would help in curbing terrorism and kidnapping among other benefits.   But the minister, while defending her ministry’s 2023 budget before the Senate Committee on Finance in Abuja, said the CBN failed to consult her ministry on the proposed redesign of the denominations. She said: “We were not consulted. It was an announcement that we heard and there are also consequences. We are also looking at what the consequences will be. There will be some benefits but there are some challenges. I don’t know if the monetary authorities have looked very c

  Gbenga Omotoso •Speaks on Wike's visit to Lagos, closure of Alaba Market, 22,000 students who did not return to school after Covid, among other issues. In response to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Olajide Adediran popular known as Jandor, who said that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has not performed, Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy,  Gbenga Omotoso, lists some achievements of Sanwo-Olu's administration in this interview aired on the ARISE Television. Jandor said your governor has not done anything; that if any, he only completed (former governor) Ambode’s projects. What is happening to the THEMES Agenda? I did not watch the interview. I was told that Panador was here and said Babajide Sanwo-Olu, my principal, has done nothing in three years. I am here to tell you that that is a very wrong assessment. Lagosians know that Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has done a lot. About three days ago, we commissioned 15 brand new schools, about 150

...as r eport says Asiwaju's victory may cause political unrest A report credited to a subsidiary of the influential Fitch Ratings predicting victory for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the 2023 general elections, has sparked controversy as the presidential Campaign Organisations of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) respectively rejected the report. The Atiku/Okowa (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organisation dismissed the report as speculative while the Peter Obi/Datti Campaign (LP) said it called for concern. The Fitch Solutions Country Risk and Industrial Research had, in its report, said the APC candidate had a higher possibility of winning, adding that Nigeria might, however, experience political unrest following Tinubu’s winning. On Atiku, the report said votes for the opposition PDP might experience a split at the expense of its standard bearer. This, it said, would be as a result of the popularity

...Another poisons twin daughters •Youths randomly select people, torture them  to death for being witches and wizards;  •Pastors, lawyers, academics indifferent IT is difficult to separate the facts from  myths as they relate to witchcraft activities and practices in Cross River State. In spite of the fact that after Badagry in the West, the next place Christianity berthed and took roots in Nigeria is Calabar yet,  allusions to  witchcraft  activities and beliefs in related practices  are still predominant in the people’s daily existence, giving credence to the fact that  their mindset is steeped  in primordial thoughts. For instance, if a governor abandons a project or a programme,  the general assumption is that he has been bewitched; if a young man  over speeds, crashes his car and dies in the process, the conclusion would be that witches took hold of his mind; if a young girl aborts pregnancy and dies in the act, witches must be  responsible and if a cat meows at night, then witch

BARELY Forty Eight hours after the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele announced that the apex bank would redesign the country’s currency notes of N200, N500 and N1000 to take effect from December 15 2022, the Federal Government said that it was not aware of the bank’s policy. Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmad who commented on the policy, during the  2023 budget defence session she had with  the Senate Committee on Finance, however said that if implemented, it portends great consequences for the nation and its economy. She then warned CBN of consequences that may arise from it. Senator Opeyemi Bamidele  (APC Ekiti Central) had during the  session told the Finance Minister that barely two days after announcement of the policy by CBN, repercussion of it on the value of Naira to US dollar was being felt. He said, “ just two days after announcement of the policy, value of Naira to a US dollar has risen from N740 to N788 to a US dollar d

*Complain Agberos now reign on Lagos roads, lead police, LASTMA in extortion •Lament breakdown of law and order on Lagos roads, want govt to stop menace IRKED by the excesses of agberos , commercial bus drivers under the aegis of Joint Drivers Welfare Association of Nigeria, have declared to stay off the road on Monday, October 31,2022, for 7 days to drive home their grievances. The association in a statement  signed by its National Leader, Chairman, Secretary and Assistant Secretary; Akintade Abiodun, Opeyemi Suleiman, Ajimatanarareje Feyisayo, and Taofeek Hassan respectively, said the protest would last for seven  days. The association lamented that on a daily basis, its  members  lose half of their  income to the motor park boys, adding that they paid  exorbitant charges in the garages and at every bus stop where they either  drop off or  pick up passengers. The statement read: “We  have been sentenced to the extortion and violent harassment by the state transport agencies – Lagos

ON the heels of the interactive session between Arewa Joint Committee, AJC, and presidential candidates, major southern regional groups and leaders are divided over toeing the same path, insisting the next President must come from the South. The groups, comprising Afenifere, Yoruba Council of Elders, YCE, Pan-Pan-Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, and Oduduwa United People Association, ODUPA, among others, cautioned against abandoning rotational presidency in 2023. They were not keen about doing what the AJC did in Kaduna, but were more concerned about the electoral process and where the next President should come from. However, PANDEF said plans are ongoing to have an interface with candidates from the South in line with the clamour for southern presidency. Some northern political leaders under the auspices of AJC had organised an interactive session for all presidential candidates. Held in Kaduna, last week, presidential hopefuls who participated include Kola Abiola of Peoples Redemption Par

…says weapons enter Nigeria through over 1,000 illegal routes •Speaks on the B/Haram mistake, some  people thought it was a Northern problem •Blames train attack, Kuje Prisons’ raid on poor response to emergencies •‘The problem with Amotekun, other regional outfits bearing arms’ •Says combating insurgents not easy task  …with 200, 000 soldiers By Kennedy Mbele Lt Gen Abdulrahman B. Dambazau (rtd) had a robust service in the Nigerian armed forces culminating in his appointment as the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) in August 2008. Dambazau disengaged from the military in September 2010. After his disengagement, he joined the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in 2011 and became its Director, Security for the presidential election same year. In 2014, he joined then mega opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and was subsequently appointed the APC Director, Security, APC Presidential Campaign Council for the 2015 presidential election. He was also Director of Sec

*S ays strike may come up again if FG fails to do needful ...over 10 professors died during strike   That means no guarantee that strike may not come up again… Tell government to do the needful Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, just called off their strike which lasted eight months, one of the longest industrial actions by the union. In this interview aired on Channels TV, the National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, speaks on why the action took that long among other issues. Excerpts: After eight months of industrial action, would you say your members are now fully back to work? Our own is that we have suspended the strike and it is left for government to do the needful. As members and leaders of the union, we have done our part. Are you sure your members are happy to go back to work? As you can see from our press release through which we announced the suspension of the strike, we are obeying court orders, as we are a law abiding union. No agreement was sig