Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno South, has urged the upper legislative chamber to support Uchenna, the wife of the late lawmaker Ifeanyi Ubah, to succeed him.

Ndume made the call during a valedictory session held on Tuesday in the Senate to honor the late Anambra South senator, who passed away in July at the age of 52.

He told his colleagues that Ubah’s wife should take over his seat in the Senate to preserve his “legacy and aspirations.”

“This has happened before. When Chuba Okadigbo, a great politician, passed away, his wife, Margery, joined the Senate and carried on his legacy,” he said.

“Similarly, our first lady, Oluremi Tinubu, served in this chamber, largely supported by the goodwill of Lagosians and the legacy of her husband, who was a former governor. In fact, she told me that her dream was to be a pastor.”

Ndume also mentioned that Abdulaziz Yar’Adua carried on the political legacy of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua by joining the Senate.

“Senator (Iyabo) Obasanjo, if you remember, is the daughter of General Obasanjo. Sitting in front of me is Dafinone; his father was a great senator.”

“What I want to appeal to you, Mr. President, is that we keep the spirit and aspirations of Ifeanyi alive.”

“His wife, fortunately, is around 50 years old and has been a wonderful support system to him.”

“Finally, Mr. President, my appeal to you and distinguished colleagues is that we support his wife, who is around 50 years or so—a wonderful wife.”

“Let us support the family to have a representative in the chamber who embodies the spirit of Ifeanyi when the election for the Anambra South senatorial district comes up. This will ensure continuity and honor for the Anambra South senatorial district.”

Senate membership is neither automatic nor transferable from one individual to another.

According to Section 65 of the 1999 Constitution, a person can only become a member of the Senate through election.

The individual must be qualified for election by having been educated up to at least the school certificate level or its equivalent, being a member of a political party, and being sponsored by that party.

Doyin Okupe has stated that Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, did not present any policy document to support his “consumption-to-production” mantra during the campaign.

Okupe, who was a former director-general of the LP presidential campaign, made these comments on Tuesday while evaluating President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

He argued that Tinubu has a more comprehensive policy document than his rivals in the 2023 elections.

Okupe also claimed that Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), based his plans on theoretical loan arrangements.

He said that Tinubu has “meticulously” implemented the “renewed hope agenda” and has worked to pay off crippling debts in order to stabilize the economy.

“Tinubu has a better policy document than any of his two rivals during the 2023 presidential election,” NAN quoted Okupe as saying.

“Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is an experienced, knowledgeable, and thoroughbred politician.

“I know for a fact that he also came with a testament that would have been binding on him and Nigerians.

“But when you put the testament side-by-side the current reality on the ground, it is not applicable.”

Okupe added that the administration of former President Muhammad Buhari faced a dire financial situation, with international institutions refusing to lend loans to Nigeria.

“So, the premise Atiku placed his testament on was sinking, and it can’t work,” he said.

“As for Peter Obi of the Labour Party, he did not give any document to Nigerians that he was going to work on.

“In the Labour Party, we didn’t have a document that we could adopt as a policy document for what was going on.

“All we were saying was that we wanted to take Nigeria from consumption to production; good rhetoric, but it was not grounded either in policy development or principle application.”

Okupe also noted that Tinubu took action on foreign exchange issues, stopping individuals from exploiting earnings through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) connections.

“Two months after getting into government, he put up a committee to look into tax reform, which was in his agenda,” he said.

“This man (Tinubu) has a systematic, reliable, focused, and applicable agenda that can take Nigeria to enviable heights.

“Though I never supported Tinubu ahead of the election; he is not my friend, and we were not in the same party, in retrospect, however, his reform agenda is the most credible.

“The renewed hope agenda he (Tinubu) brought is one that can address, and is addressing, the country’s current challenges.”

The Nigerian Army has promised to probe officers allegedly involved in the assault of a couple in Abuja.

On Tuesday, a video of some soldiers, including a “major general,” seemingly beating up a couple in the nation’s capital city, went viral.

Eyewitnesses said the soldiers stopped the couple for “unlawfully overtaking” their convoy.

The video showed men in military uniforms hitting the man as his wife hollered and protested.

“How did I bash your car? Oh God!!” the man said as he took one punch after another while writhing in pain.

Blood could be seen dripping from the man’s forehead following a slap from a soldier.

The couple said after the assault, the “major general” and his aide handcuffed them, shoved them into the trunk of a car, from where they were whisked to the Gwarimpa police station.

The soldiers reportedly ordered police officers to detain the couple indefinitely.

• ‘CIRCUMSTANCES LEADING TO INCIDENT UNCLEAR’

In a statement on Wednesday, Onyema Nwachukwu, army spokesperson, said Olufemi Oluyede, the acting chief of army staff, has ordered an immediate investigation of the incident.

“The attention of the Nigerian Army (NA) has been drawn to a viral audio-visual recording circulating on social media platforms, purportedly showing a senior Army officer and 2 other soldiers in an altercation with a man and woman within the Abuja metropolis,” the statement reads.

“The circumstances leading to this incident are not clear at the moment.

“However, the Acting Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, has ordered an immediate investigation to unravel the true circumstances surrounding this altercation.

“The NA remains committed to serving and protecting all law-abiding Nigerians as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Therefore, we urge the public to be rest assured that due diligence will be applied to reach a logical conclusion on this matter.”

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