Atiku Denies Collecting Money From Sanwo-Olu For 2023 Election Campaign

Atiku denies collecting money from Sanwo-Olu for 2023 election campaign. Mr Ibe, in the statement, described the insinuations as a lie and kindergarten propaganda.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar says he never collected any money from Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos for his 2023 election campaign.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Atiku Media Office in Abuja on Thursday.

The media aide to Mr Atiku, Paul Ibe, who issued the statement, denied the reports making the rounds that Mr Sanwo-Olu gave money to the former vice president for his 2023 presidential election campaign.

Mr Atiku was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections.
Mr Ibe, in the statement, described the insinuations as a lie and kindergarten propaganda.

He said that the report had claimed that Mr Sanwo-Olu had made available to Mr Abubakar money purportedly belonging to Lagos.

The media aide stated that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was also credited with investigating the matter.

Atiku Denies Collecting Money From Sanwo-Olu

Mr Ibe described the report as ‘a blatant lie from the pit of hell, a contrived political hogwash and a futile campaign of calumny aimed at advancing a political interest against Abubakar’.
He said that Mr Abubakar did not know Mr Sanwo-Olu and had never met him before.

“How is it possible for an Atiku that did not know and had no connection with Sanwo-Olu to be having a transaction with him involving the exchange of money—let alone during the presidential election of 2023 in which his boss was a contestant? To what end would that be?” he queried.

Mr Ibe advised the EFCC to make public the outcome of its alleged investigation since it had been dragged into it.

He called for an immediate halt to what he described as a voyage of misadventure and campaign of calumny against the person and reputation of Mr Abubakar.

Traders Protest Demolition Of 500 Shops In Lagos Market

Traders protest demolition of 500 shops in Lagos market. He also called for an investigation to prosecute those responsible for what he described as the illegal demolition of the Owode-Onirin spare parts market.

Some traders from the Owode-Onirin motor spare parts market in Lagos State on Thursday protested the demolition of 500 shops in their market.

Speaking for the protesters, the association’s chairman, Hammed Abiodun, described the market as a vital hub providing spare parts and sustaining the livelihoods of numerous families and traders.

Traders carried placards with messages like: “IGP, tell police to stay away from land matters” and “Obasa, stand up for Owode traders” during the demonstration at the state House of Assembly.

Mr Abiodun urged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to intervene and halt further actions threatening the livelihoods of thousands of families who depend on the market.

He also called for a thorough investigation to identify and prosecute those responsible for what he described as the illegal demolition of the Owode-Onirin Motor Spare Parts Market.

Mr Abioidun said traders had always been law-abiding, operating peacefully and conducting their businesses in an orderly and legal manner for many years.

“On Thursday, March 6, officers of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, armed policemen, and thugs with dangerous weapons invaded the market,” Mr Abiodun alleged.

He claimed they were enforcing a court judgment against Agbajowo Market, which shares a boundary with Owode-Onirin, despite the market belonging to the Lagos State government.

“There is no court injunction, nor do we have any legal dispute with any family or individuals,” he insisted, calling the demolition unjustified and unlawful.
“When officials of LABSCA arrived with excavators, they beat us and began demolishing our shops without any prior notice,” he alleged.

He said traders received no notice to vacate or remove their goods, appealing to President Bola Tinubu and the Lagos State governor to intervene immediately.

Alex Omotehinse, president of the Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights (CHSR), described the demolition as an illegal act designed to impoverish struggling traders.

Mr Omotehinse condemned what he called a brazen act of land grabbing, arguing that it violated property rights and posed a threat to the state’s economic stability.

He urged authorities to compensate affected traders, ensuring they were not left without means to sustain their businesses and livelihoods.

A trader, Samuel Oluwole, stated that market traders were law-abiding citizens who promptly paid their taxes to the Lagos State government.

Traders Protest Demolition

“We plead with the Lagos State government to rescue us from intimidation and persecution,” he added, urging authorities to halt further demolitions,” he said.

Addressing the protesters, Lagos Mainland Constituency II lawmaker Adebola Shabi commended them for conducting a peaceful demonstration.

Mr Shabi assured them that Speaker Mudashiru Obasa and other House members sympathised with their plight and would take necessary action.

“The House will summon all stakeholders once the assembly resumes fully. This issue will not be ignored but will receive an accelerated hearing,” he assured.

Reps Approves Bill To Expand Lagos LGAs To 57

Reps approves bill to expand Lagos LGAs to 57. The House of Representatives has approved a bill seeking to upgrade Lagos State’s 37 Development Area Councils into full-fledged Local Government Areas (LGAs), increasing the state’s total number of LGAs from 20 to 57.

The bill, one of 42 constitutional amendment bills passed on Wednesday, was sponsored by Hon. James Abiodun Faleke (Ikeja Federal Constituency), Hon. Babajimi Benson (Ikorodu Federal Constituency), and Hon. Enitan Dolapo Badru (Lagos Island I Federal Constituency), alongside 19 other lawmakers.

Reps Approves Bill To Expand Lagos

Titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) to Accommodate the Thirty-Seven (37) Development Area Councils of Lagos State as Full-Fledged Local Government Areas, Increasing the Total Number of Local Government Areas in the Federation to Eight Hundred and Eleven (811), and for Related Matters (HB. 1498),” the proposed legislation scaled its second reading during Wednesday’s plenary session, presided over by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu.

If enacted, the bill will increase the total number of LGAs in Nigeria from 774 to 811, making Lagos the state with the highest number of LGAs, surpassing Kano (44) and Katsina (34).