Atiku: ‘We will place curse on you’ – Wike threatens Rivers Assembly candidates
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has threatened to deal with the National and State Assembly candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state if they betray him and join those in Abuja, the Atiku Abubakar camp.
Wike made the threat when he spoke during the state Peoples Democratic Party campaign rally in Obio/Akpor Local Government of Rivers State, the last campaign rally of the PDP in the state.
He said, “All the other candidates, the Senatorial candidates, my Deputy Chairman, Doctor Ipalibo Harry-Banigo, Chief Allwell Onyeso and Barinada Mpigi, and all the House of Reps candidates and the Assembly candidates, let me tell you people, if any of them like, let them go to Abuja and misbehave, we will teach them lesson as we are teaching these other people now.
“I want to sound it clear, all of them are listening to me, if they are not here, they are watching the television. If you follow this betrayal, we will place a course on you and you will suffer the way they are suffering, so if you have the mind to do that, be very very careful”.
Wike has been at loggerheads with some PDP chieftains in the state, following their resolve to support the PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, after Wike lost to him at the party’s primaries last year.
Source – Daily Post
10 states drag Buhari to S’Court over ban on N500, N1000
Ten State Governments in Nigeria have asked the Supreme Court to set aside the pronouncement of President Muhammadu Buhari’s banning of the old N500 and N1,000 currency notes.
The governors, in Suit No SC/CV/162/2023, filed on Friday by their counsel, A.J. Owonikoko (SAN), want the apex court to declare the President’s directives in his Thursday’s broadcast as unconstitutional.
The plaintiffs in the suit are the Attorneys General (AGs) of Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara, Ondo, Ekiti, Katsina, Ogun, Cross River, Sokoto, and Lagos states while the respondent are the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), as well as the AGs of Bayelsa and Edo states.
The plaintiffs, in a 12 grounds of application, argued that Buhari’s directive extending the validity of old N200 notes for 60 days and his ban on old N500 and N1,000 notes are an “unconstitutional overreach and usurpation of the judicial power” of the Supreme Court being that the case is already before the court.
The counsel for the applicants cited Section 232(1), Section 6(6)(b) and Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, which includes the protection of the Supreme Court’s dignity and which ensure compliance with its orders by all persons and authorities.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had extended the deadline for the swap of old N200, N500, and N1,000 from January 31 to February 10 following complaints by many Nigerians but the Supreme Court held that the Federal Government, the CBN, commercial banks must not continue with the deadline pending the determination of a notice in respect of the issue on February 22.
However, the President, in a national broadcast on Thursday, directed the apex bank to release old N200 notes into circulation to co-exist with new N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes for 60 days.
He said old N500 and N1,000 banknotes are no longer legal tender in Nigeria.
However, there have been a flurry of reactions and stark criticisms against the President’s directive including from governors of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo) and many top stalwarts of the ruling APC have openly censured and faulted the President’s directive, arguing that it has no grounds because the case is before the apex court.
Source – Vanguard