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The People Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday took a swipe on President Muhammadu Buhari, following the controversy surrounding the Martin Luther King award he received few days ago in Abuja. The Martin Luther King Centre has distanced itself or the family of the late activist from the said award after few days it was given.

Reacting to the controversy, Buhari’s Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, admitted that the award given to her principal was a “commemorative plaque.”However, the PDP described the announcement by the Presidency as a “national disgrace and embarrassment.”

In a statement by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP said the lie by Buhari’s handlers “smacks of desperation by the Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC), to procure international endorsement, ahead of the 2019 general elections.” PDP said “this embarrassing act has again made our nation a laughing stock before the international community.”

The party said the nation was jolted when the King Centre distanced itself from the award and noted that, “the award given to President Buhari of Nigeria was not given by The King Center, at the request of The King Center or by the children of Martin Luther King jr”.

The statement reads, “It is now clear that this sinking, incompetent and deceptive APC administration, in their desperation, can fabricate and stage-manage anything, including name-dropping of international figures and agencies, in their desperate attempt to delude Nigerians, once again, now that the 2019 general election is fast approaching.

“Nigerians have discovered that having failed to gain any endorsement from reputable international figures such as Bill Gates, the APC and the Presidency have now cheapened the nation by resorting to this despicable act of name-dropping of world-renowned human right activist, Dr. Martin Luther King jr, further dragging down our once sterling image before the comity of Nations.

“The fact remains that not many Nigerians believed in the authenticity of the award in the first place, as the Buhari-led administration, by its undemocratic and anti-people proclivities, including records of violations of rights of citizens, is not deserving of any form of recognition by any human rights group, let alone the family of the world-acclaimed Martin Luther King jr.

“Today, the PDP has been vindicated in its stand that the APC government is not only hypocritical but overtly deceptive and must not be trusted.

It would be recalled that we had issued a statement, earlier this year, cautioning Nigerians and the international community to be wary of information and claims coming from the APC and the Presidency, particularly on endorsements and performances indices.

“While we urge the Presidency to shed its proclivity for lies, we demand the immediate arrest, investigation and prosecution of all the Presidency officials involved in this messy scandal and crime against our nation.

Moreover, the Presidency and the APC should save the nation further embarrassment by jettisoning other planned endorsement stunts and fabricated performance indices, as Nigerians are already rallying with the repositioned and rebranded PDP in their collective quest to end the misrule of the APC and restore a sincere, purposeful and people-oriented government come 2019.”

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I Must Draw Blood From You, Says Ekiti Universty Bully As She Brutalises Fellow Student [VIDEO]

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A video making rounds on social media shows a female undergraduate of Bamidele Olumilua University of Education Science and Technology, Ikere in Ekiti State, brutally beating a fellow student with a stick.

Despite pleas from the victim, the bully was heard saying, “Let me draw blood from you easily or hardly.”

The incident reportedly occurred on Sunday, the same day the video surfaced on social media, and the witness who filmed the video claimed it happened on BOUESTI’s campus.

According to the video’s commentator, the victim is Ajayi Precious Gloria, while the perpetrator is a “very popular” Mass Communication student.

The commentator further claimed that the two were friends.

The video showed other individuals present during the assault, but none intervened to stop the attack. The reason for the attack is not yet known.

There was outrage on social media over a viral video of a female student at Lead British International School, Abuja, being bullied by her classmates.

Same month, another video depicting a separate case of bullying involving some male students in the school’s uniform emerged.

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Edo Crisis Deepens As Speaker Suspends Shaibu’s Loyalists, Two Others

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Speaker Blessing Agbebaku of the Edo State House of Assembly created a stir on Monday when he suspended three members indefinitely over a purported plot to remove him and other key officers.

There were also rumours of charms discovered within the house. Two members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and one member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are among the parliamentarians on suspension.

The only suspended member to refuse to sign the letter of impeachment for former Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu was Donald Okogbe (PDP), who represented Akoko-Edo II.

The other suspended members are Addeh Emankhu Isibor (APC), representing Esan North-East I constituency, and Iyamu Bright (PDP), representing Orhionnwon II state constituency.

Agbebaku alleged that the suspended lawmakers plotted to change the house’s leadership, influenced by external forces seeking to cause chaos and effect changes in leadership. He also claimed that unidentified individuals brought native doctors into the house at midnight on May 1 to perform rituals and placed charms in the assembly complex to effect these changes.

The suspension led to tension and a rowdy session in the house, with the affected lawmakers protesting the speaker’s unilateral action and demanding a vote by members on the matter. But sensing the potential for chaos, the Speaker adjourned plenary hastily.

The suspended members, in response, described their suspension as vendetta and politically motivated, stating that the speaker’s actions were an attempt to suppress democratic ideals and principles.

Donald Okogbe emphasized that the speaker does not have the unilateral power to suspend a member, arguing that such action should have the support of the majority of the members according to the house rules and the constitution of Nigeria.

“The allegations levelled against us are untrue and founded; the action of the speaker is just impunity and tyranny of the red chair. So, our position is that the speaker does not have the sole power to suspend. That is the point we made in the house. The power to suspend a member rests on the members of the house, not the speaker alone,” he said.

On the allegation of fetish items deposited at the premises of the house, Donald said that, as a Catholic, he does not involve himself in rituals.

Iyamu Bright also criticized the suspension, stating that it did not follow the relevant house rules and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Meanwhile, reactions have continued to trail the development in the state House of Assembly. The governorship candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) for the September 21 governorship election in the state, Udoh Oberaifo, condemned the suspension of three members and called for their immediate recall.

“Our courts have consistently held that the disciplinary powers of legislative houses like the Edo State House of Assembly do not extend to reckless suspension,” he noted.

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BIG STORY

Six Top NSCDC Officials Under EFCC Probe Over N6bn Fraud

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Six senior Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel have been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on suspicion of N6 billion in fraud. EFCC interrogators are currently grilling the senior staff at the commission’s headquarters in Jabi, Abuja.

It was gathered that the NSCDC personnel were turned over to the EFCC on Monday at the command of NSCDC Commandant General Ahmed Audi, despite the fact that specifics of the investigation are still hazy.

The EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, had already demanded in a letter to the NSCDC CG that the officers be released for questioning, according to impeccable sources who wished to remain anonymous.

It was gathered that, “Six senior NSCDC officers are currently in our custody. They’re being grilled by our investigators over alleged fraudulent activities running into over N6bn.”

Confirming the development, another source said, “The EFCC did not arrest the NSCDC CG, neither is he being probed. We only have six senior NSCDC officers in our custody, and they’re being probed over alleged N6bn fraud.

“The EFCC Chairman had earlier written to the NSCSC CG to provide the officers, and the CG did. Now they’re in our custody and are being grilled by EFCC interrogators.”

The spokesperson for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, could not be reached for comments on Monday as phone calls and text messages to his phone lines were not responded to nor returned.

Meanwhile, when contacted for comments, the spokesperson for the NSCDC, Babawale Afolabi, said he was not aware of the development.

“I’m not aware of this,” Afolabi said in a terse WhatsApp message sent to our correspondent on Monday.

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