PDP crisis worsen as Keshi is buried - Newspaper Review

As the PDP controversy continues, the court has decided to recognize Ali Modu Sheriff as the chairman of the party. The worsening crisis h...

As the PDP controversy continues, the court has decided to recognize Ali Modu Sheriff as the chairman of the party. The worsening crisis has affected the upcoming PDP convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers state.

Let us take a quick look at the major headlines of the dailies this Friday, July 29.

The Punch reports that Justice Okon Abang of a Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, 28 July, declared as illegal the Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee of the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The judge made the declaration in his ruling after entertaining arguments from separate lawyers from the Makarfi and the Ali Modu Sheriff-led factions of the party, who were jostling for the right to represent the PDP in a pending suit instituted by the Sheriff faction.

The judge ruled that the Makarfi-faction was illegal because it was a product of the party’s convention which held on May 21 in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, in defiance of an earlier order of Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court, which had stopped the said convention from holding.

But the Makarfi caretaker committee described the ruling of Justice Abang as objectionable, questionable and very strange in the history of Nigeria judiciary.

As the PDP controversy continues, the court has decided to recognize Ali Modu Sheriff as the chairman of the party. The worsening crisis has affected the upcoming PDP convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers state.

Let us take a quick look at the major headlines of the dailies this Friday, July 29.

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The Punch reports that Justice Okon Abang of a Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, 28 July, declared as illegal the Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee of the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The judge made the declaration in his ruling after entertaining arguments from separate lawyers from the Makarfi and the Ali Modu Sheriff-led factions of the party, who were jostling for the right to represent the PDP in a pending suit instituted by the Sheriff faction.

The judge ruled that the Makarfi-faction was illegal because it was a product of the party’s convention which held on May 21 in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, in defiance of an earlier order of Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court, which had stopped the said convention from holding.

But the Makarfi caretaker committee described the ruling of Justice Abang as objectionable, questionable and very strange in the history of Nigeria judiciary.
READ ALSO: PDP replies court, adopts plan ‘b’ over Ali Modu Sheriff
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Speaking on MTN, The Guardian reports that South Africa’s telecommunications firm, MTN, will list its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in 2017 .

Analysts say the decision was part of agreement the company reached with the Federal Government as a condition for slashing the fine imposed on it by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) from $5.2 billion to N330 billion.

The fine was imposed when the Nigerian subsidiary, MTN Nigeria, was found to have breached the ‘know-your-customer’ rules set by the NCC.

 MTN, however, says the listing will be subject to suitable market conditions in commercial and legal terms.
Telecoms operators in Nigeria have been under pressure to list on the exchange to widen equity ownership and tame what many consider as undue profit repatriation. Analysts also believe that listing the telecoms firms on the exchange would deepen the market.


MTN, in a statement, says it has appointed Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited (together with its affiliates, The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited and Standard Advisory London Limited) (collectively “Stanbic”) and Citigroup Global Markets Limited (“Citi”) as its joint transaction advisors and joint global coordinators with Stanbic acting as lead issuing house. It added that a full syndicate, including Nigerian receiving agents, Nigerian receiving banks and other advisers would be appointed in due course, as appropriate.

As the National Assembly faces continuous internal conflict, Vanguard reports that trouble that may worsen the frosty relations between the executive and legislative arms of government appears to be looming as the Federal Government moves to punish the brains behind the insertion of illegal projects worth N481 billion by the National Assembly into the 2016 budget.

Dogara and Jibrin Although President Muhammadu Buhari grudgingly and belatedly assented to this year’s budget, the executive is settled that the fiscal document would not be fully implemented, given the ‘padding’ of the budget with a significant amount of money, which it claims had seriously distorted its permutations.

Vanguard learned from competent sources that the Presidency is still seething with anger over the distortion of the first budget presented by President Buhari by a cabal within the NASS and that it was determined to wield its sledgehammer against the masterminds.

The Daily Sun has a picture of the burial of former Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi. In an interview with Chief Ogbuenyi George Ofuokwu who is the Odogwu of Illah and a close member of the Keshi’s family. The retired 81 years old administrator spoke about the late AFCON 2013 winning coach when Daily SunSports met him in Illah, Delta state. He revealed the following:

“Late Stephen Okechukwu Keshi’s career as a football player was not by coincidence or sheer luck. It was an innate ability and desire to succeed that drove him to such an enviable level in football. As a kid he used to kick every object he came across and that was how he developed strong interest in football.

I knew Stephen since when he was a 2-year-old when his family was living in Idi-oro, the area between Baba Olosha and Moshalasi in Mushin, Lagos. His father, Pa Aniemeka Keshi took me as a son and was instrumental to my coming to Lagos many years ago. Stephen Keshi’s father was a strict individual and the education of his children was of utmost importance to him. I consider myself as a close member of the family and I also helped to mediate anytime Keshi went against his father’s decision.”

The Nation reports that former minister of defence (state) Musiliu Obanikoro’s head of security has told the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) how his principal moved funds to Ekiti state for the June 21, 2014 governorship election.

Lt. Commander A. O. Adewale gave a blow-by-blow account of the cash movement when he was grilled by some EFCC operatives.

The EFCC is investigating the N1.299billion cash taken to Governor Ayodele Fayose by Obanikoro in chartered flight before the election.

The cash was part of the N4.745 billion paid into Obanikoro’s company, Sylva Mcnamara by the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).

Fayose’s associate,  Abiodun Agbele, who received the cash from Obanikoro, is in EFCC custody awaiting arraignment in court. A court last week declared his dention illegal and ordered the EFCC to pay him N5million as damages.