Former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, and his wife, Dolapo, on Thursday, expressed condolences to the family of the former Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, who died on Wednesday.

In a post on his X handle, the ex-VP wrote, “Dolly and I express our sincere condolence to Her Excellency Betty Akeredolu, children, family, friends, associates of HE Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu #rotimiaketi and the government and people of Ondo State on his passing.

“I have lost a brother and friend of over 40 years.

“Aketi was bold, courageous, forthright, fair-minded, kind and God fearing. He firmly believed in our democracy, justice, and the rule of law. He loved the people of Ondo State and was passionate about their security and economic advancement.

“We pray that the Almighty God will comfort the family and people of Ondo State on this great loss. Amen. Sun re o Aketi Baba!”

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Akeredolu died on Wednesday morning at the age of 67 while undergoing treatment for prostate cancer in a German hospital.

The acting Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, was also sworn in as the substantive governor on Wednesday, following the death of the governor.

Following the tragic loss of the former governor of Ondo state, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, the state’s commissioner for Infrastructure, Lands and Housing, Raimi Olayiwola Aminu, on Thursday resigned his appointment.

His resignation is coming few hours after Lucky Aiyedatiwa was sworn-in as the substantive Governor of Ondo State.

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In a letter addressed to the Secretary of the State Government, Princess Oladunni Odu, Aminu said his resignation took effect from Thursday, December 28.

Aminu said his decision was anchored on his conscience, as his leader and ‘dear boss, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN, CON, joined the Saint Triumphant’.

“I sincerely thank our dear Arakunrin and the good people of the State for the opportunity to serve in his cabinet as Senior Special Assistant on Lands & Infrastructure, Special Adviser on Lands, Works and Infrastructure and Commissioner for Infrastructure, Lands and Housing.”

Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze has condemned in strong terms the killing of over 150 persons in Barkin Ladi, Mangu and Bokkos local government areas of Plateau State.

In a statement made available to newsmen on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alex Ogbonnia, the group described the attack as brutish, cruel and barbaric.

Dr. Ogbonnia who demanded the immediate restructuring of the country also called for the establishment of state police to address such violence in the country.

The Iwu Anyanwu led Ohaneze warned that if the federal government did not heed the call for restructuring and state policing system to solve the incessant loss of lives and property in various states across the country, the situation in the country may get worse.

The group however noted that the federal security architecture has proved to be ineffective in addressing the myriad of security challenges in the country.

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The statement reads;
“Ohanaeze leadership qualified the killing of over 150 persons, burning of houses, indiscriminate shootings and displacing of residents as an orchestrated act of genocide.

“The President General wondered why in this modern age and civilization, our country, Nigeria is still posting the brutish, cruel and barbaric news of mass killings of such magnitude.

“The Igbo leader lamented that the federal government has refused to heed the Ohanaeze Ndigbo call for Restructuring and State Policing System as a panacea for the incessant losses of lives and property in the various states of the country.

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“Iwuanyanwu added that it has become very obvious that the federal security architecture has proved very ineffective for our diverse demography.

“He reiterates that such heinous and cowardly killings have persisted because in the past the perpetrators of such savage acts often go unpunished. He therefore urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to do everything possible to bring to book those behind the callous crime in Plateau State.

“The Igbo leader uses this medium to direct the Igbo leadership in Plateau State to extend all forms of solidarity with the immediate families of the deceased, the displaced and the sundry victims of this catastrophe.

“Ahaejiagamba, on behalf of all the sons and daughters of Igbo sends his condolences to the governor of Plateau State, His Excellency, Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang; the good people of Plateau State and the Middle Belt Forum led by Dr. Bitrus Pogu.

“The Igbo leader prays the Almighty to grant the souls of the deceased a blissful repose in his bosom,” the statement partly read.

Rivers State Elders and Leaders Forum has stated that the 8-points proclamations of President Ahmed Tinubu to resolve the lingering political crisis in Rivers State are not implementable.

The elders, however, faulted the Presidential Peace Proclamation, asserting that the directives are
against the Nigerian Constitution and the Rule of Law.

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The elders, in two separate letters to President Tinubu and the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, raised several concerns about the 8-points directives, explaining that the president does not have powers to give directives to a democratically elected Governor or impose his will on a state.

Speaking, the Chairman of the body, Rufus Ada-Goerge, a former governor of the state, while addressing members of the press, lauded the President for heeding their call to wade into the crisis rocking the state, but noted that they were at a loss as to whether Tinubu’s intervention has helped in quelling the crisis or escalating it.

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Ada-Geroge insisted that the peace pact is in favour of the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike and to the detriment of the governor and the interest of the state.

He said: “The eight-point resolution or directive asked for the reinstatement of Commissioners who willfully resigned, and the 27 former legislators who in all clear conscience and by legal implication jumped boat and got themselves dismissed from the affairs of the Assembly, should be reinstated and remunerated, smacks of a sense of political irresponsibility, lack of sensitivity to the laws of the land and due process.

“Given the foregoing, it is obviously evident that Governor Siminialayi Fubara, the Chief Executive Officer of Rivers State, was coerced into submitting to your premeditated action plan even when it is well known that Mr President does not possess such powers to give directives to a democratically elected Governor or impose his will on the State.

“As far as we are concerned, that meeting did not happen and those directives are not implementable because to do so will be acting against the constitution and the rule of law.”

While reacting to Fubara’s comment in his statewide Christmas broadcast on December 25 wherein the governor noted that the Presidential Peace Proclamation is not as bad as portrayed, Ada-George insisted that the proclamation is a death sentence because it breaches all legal and constitutional rights the sitting governor swore to protect.

He urged the Governor not to place too much premium on the assurances of detractors, rather be guided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which he swore to uphold.

Ada-George said: “We accept your humility as shown in your Christmas Day Broadcast of 25″ December 2023, to the good people of Rivers State. However, we the people of Rivers state do not see any peace in the so-called “Mr. President’s Peace Proclamation.

“Peace can only be practised in a germane, truthful and just society. In this case, the environment in which the peace was brokered showed no sensitivity to the people’s security, political and social interest,

“Mr. Governor Sir, you stated categorically that you are a principal participant in the entire saga and the Presidential Peace Proclamation is not as bad as being portrayed by those genuinely opposed to it. That proclamation is actually a death sentence as it breaches all legal and constitutional rights you swore to uphold. Mr. Governor, you also stated in your broadcast that the document offers a way and means of peace.”

Michigan’s supreme court has refused to hear an appeal by voters in the US state to disqualify Donald Trump from next year’s presidential primary.

They sought to invoke a clause in the US Constitution, barring anyone who has engaged in insurrection, over Mr Trump’s role in the 2021 Capitol riots.

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The decision comes days after Colorado became the first state to rule that Mr Trump was not an eligible candidate.

Michigan is considered a battleground state in the 2024 general election.

Pro-democracy advocacy group Free Speech for People filed the lawsuit in September.

But unlike in Colorado, the bid failed early on in the process, and the appeal to the supreme court was seen as having little chance of success.

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Courts in Michigan rejected the case on procedural grounds and did not examine the question of whether 6 January 2021 was an insurrection and whether Mr Trump played a part in it.

Supreme Court Justice, Elizabeth Welch explained that Michigan’s laws were different from Colorado’s.

The appellants “have identified no analogous provision in the Michigan Election Law that requires someone seeking the office of President of the United States to attest to their legal qualification to hold the office”, she wrote.

Trump’s legal defeat may turn into political gold
Colorado’s 4-3 supreme court decision last week, which refers only to the state primary on 5 March, does not stop Mr Trump from running in other states.

It is the first-ever use of Section 3 of the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment to disqualify a presidential candidate. The measure was ratified after the American Civil War to block secessionists from returning to previous government roles once southern states rejoined the Union.

The Colorado decision has been put on hold pending an appeal in January. Similar attempts to kick Mr Trump off the ballot in New Hampshire and Minnesota have failed.