By Chiburoma Glory Nwabueze
On Sunday, September 8th, The Director General of, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, said the agency had sealed a table water factory, Globod Table Water, in Delta State for allegedly helping and abetting the production, sale, and advertisement of unregistered and unwholesome miracle water under the pretext of fake NAFDAC registration number.
Adeyeye, in a statement, said none of the products advertised and sold were registered with the agency. According to NAFDAC, the sealed factory, located at Km 4 DSC Expressway, Otokutu, Delta State, was producing and churning out the miracle water in cohort with a faith-based organisation, Christ Mercy Land Delivery Ministries, led by Prophet Jeremiah Omoto.
On Monday, the Department of State Security came under heavy criticism over the arrest of the National Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport by its officials and also the report of the raid on the Abuja office of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP.
Ajaero was arrested on Monday morning on his way to the United Kingdom for an official assignment. The NLC president was billed to attend the Trade Union Congress conference in London, which began on Monday.
In response, the NLC held a closed-door meeting with stakeholders in Abuja on Monday, demanding Ajaero’s immediate release and instructing all chapters to prepare for a possible nationwide strike.
The NLC Deputy President, Adeyanju Adewale, in a statement, described the detention as “brazen and illegal” and an “affront to the rights of workers and democratic principles.”
Reacting to the development, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, called for caution, stating that Nigeria has now entered a full-blown dictatorship under President Tinubu. The NNPP National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, described Ajaero’s arrest as shocking. He called on Tinubu’s administration to urgently explain why the Labour leader was whisked away to douse the tension. Meanwhile, the APC, in a statement, called for restraint, stating that the DSS could not have acted without a reason.
Ajaero was later released on administrative bail before Monday midnight.
Also on Monday, the Director-General of the National Oil Spillage Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Emeka Woke, dismissed a recent criticism by former Rivers State Governor Rufus Ada-George led Rivers Elders Forum against the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
In a statement, he described the forum’s actions as misguided and stated they should be disregarded. He accused Chief Rufus Ada-George of being an interested mediator and insincere.
He said: “He has no standing as a neutral mediator, especially given his dubious legacy. Apart from being a former governor, what qualifications does he possess that justify his role as an elder statesman?
“His motives are tainted by a clear upland/riverine bias. His lack of support for Dr. Odili’s governorship ambition is a glaring example of his entrenched partisanship.
On Tuesday, a report emerged from Borno state that an unspecified number of inmates at the Maiduguri correctional center have escaped following a prison break after the facility was submerged in flood. The prison authorities confirmed that the escapees were considered highly dangerous, stressing that they may be armed.
The development may heighten security threats in the state, occasioned by the activities of terrorists, bandits, and other criminal elements. It was, however, gathered that a manhunt is underway to locate and recapture the escaped inmates, with law enforcement agencies mobilising additional resources.
Also on Tuesday, a chieftain of the Labour Party, LP, in Rivers State, Prince Favour Reuben, alleged that the Action Peoples Party, APP, is engaging in irregularities by selecting its candidates for the upcoming October 5th local government elections without following due process.
Reuben, accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his Chief of Staff, Eddison Ehie, and members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, of orchestrating the APP’s candidate selection process inside the Government House in Port Harcourt
Reacting to this, the Action Peoples Party, APP, in Rivers State refuted the allegations urging Reuben to focus on preparing for the elections instead of engaging in unfounded accusations.
On Wednesday, the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, hinted that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP may not sign the traditional Peace Accord ahead of the September 21 governorship poll, because the Nigeria Police responsible for enforcing the accord are already acting in the interest of the rival All Progressives Congress. He disclosed this while playing host to members of the Peace Committee headed by Abdulsalam Abubakar, former head of state and retired general.
The state chairman of the party, Tony Aziegbemi, later confirmed that the party did not sign the peace accord by the Peace Committee headed by Abdulsalam Abubakar. Aziegbemi said that the party can only sign the accord if members of the party arrested by the police are released.
He also called for the arrest of some members of the APC that the party accused of being behind the Benin Airport attack that claimed the life of Akor Onuh, Police Inspector attached to Monday Okpebholo, the APC governorship candidate, on July 18, 2024, and the redeployment of the state Resident Electoral Commissioner.
Also, on Wednesday, a report emerged that the Vice President, Keshim Shettima, told the distraught victims of the Alau Dam flood disaster in Maiduguri that the government would support them with 50 trucks of rice.
He added that the government would also collaborate with the North-East Development Commission and other agencies to ensure they did not spend more than two weeks at the camp.
On Thursday, the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, approved the contentious Rivers State congresses from wards to the local governments and the state.
The Damagum-led NWC approved the congresses in Rivers State. There was some opposition from the party’s National Legal Adviser, Adeyemi Ajibade, that it was not fair to recognise the Rivers State congresses alone as there were some legal challenges that were yet to be resolved. He was, however, overruled by the NWC.
Also on Thursday, the Rivers State House of Assembly led by Martins Amaewhule said the Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency created by Governor Siminalayi Fubara is illegal and that all appointments made by the governor on account of the board are unknown to law.
In a statement issued by the media aide to the Speaker, Martins Wachukwu, they argued that there was no law allowing for the creation of the agency, and no communication was sent to the house to that effect.
On Friday, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, vowed to never support Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara in his political life again.
In an interview with Channels Television on Friday evening he said: “I will never support Fubara in my political life again. Anybody knows me, it’s not about me. People labored to put up a structure.
“People labored: you wouldn’t have even taken the 50th position. I sacrificed to talk to the Ogonis; I sacrificed to talk to several other people who let us go this way.
“You turned it that I am asking for N50 billion, N100 billion. You turned up lies against me; I brought you up and put you here. Today, I turned out to be over-demanding.
“What is Wike demanding? In every politics or political family, you run elections under people, and people work together. We must have to keep our political structure.”
