News
Suspension of 18 Edo LG Chairmen illegal, AGF declares
• EFCC confirms quizzing suspended chairmen
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi(SAN), on Thursday, condemned the suspension of the 18 local government chairmen in Edo State by the state House of Assembly.
The Assembly suspended the 18 LG chairmen on Monday over what it termed insubordination to Governor Monday Okpebholo.
The governor had written the Assembly, complaining that the 18 LG chairmen flouted his directive for them to submit the financial statements of their councils.
The Assembly, therefore, slammed two month suspension on the LG chairmen.
Reacting to the development on Thursday, the AGF, who in July secured a Supreme Court judgment, granting autonomy to the 774 LGAs in the country, described the suspension of the Edo council chairmen as an illegality.
Fagbemi said, “One thing that I know and can say without fear is that under the present dispensation, the governor has no right to remove any local government chairman. That much I know.
“If I did not know before, since July 11, 2024, I became aware of it that the removal of any local government chairman or official would be the prerogative of that local government, through their legislative house.”
Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Thursday grilled the suspended Edo LG chairmen.
Our correspondent gathered that all the 18 suspended local government chairmen were invited by the anti-graft agency.
While nine of them reported to the commission’s office on Thursday, the remaining were expected on Friday.
A top source in the commission, who carved anonymity, because he was not permitted to speak on the matter, told our correspondent as of 5:30 pm that the suspended chairmen were still being grilled.
“They are here and are still being interrogated as I speak with you. The chairmen were earlier invited based on the allegations against them. They are in two batches; the first batch, which included the chairmen of Akoko-Edo, Egor, Esan Central, Esan North East, Esan South East, and Esan West, came today; others are expected tomorrow.
“Those here already came with documents of their payroll and statement of accounts from the beginning of the year,” the source said.
Another source said the embattled chairmen were invited following a petition from the state governor over the alleged diversion of local government workers’ salaries.
“The governor wrote a petition to us, alleging that all the chairmen diverted money that was meant for workers of the various local government’s salaries between October and November. As a result of that, the salaries of workers were not paid and the workers have been grumbling and he called for an investigation.
“It was based on the petition that the chairmen were invited. Nine came today (Thursday) and they were at our Benin Office. We have started investigating the matter,” the source said.
When contacted, the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, confirmed that the suspended chairmen had been invited but declined further comments on the matter.
On Wednesday, the Edo State Governor, Okpebholo, inaugurated a panel to probe the council chairmen.
But the LG chairmen have rejected their suspension, describing it as an illegality in the face of LG autonomy.
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the suspension of three permanent secretaries over the discovery of another fake agency operating within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The affected PS are M.S. Danjuma, Nadungu Gagare, and Richard P. Pheelangwah.
The President also ordered the arrest of one George Buchi Nwabueze.
Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, disclosed this to State House correspondents on Friday after briefing the President for the second time in two days, following an earlier meeting on Thursday.The
Aliyu said the newly uncovered fake office, operating under the name “National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office,” had been illegally allocated office space within the premises of the OSGF, contrary to extant laws and without presidential authorisation.
He said the discovery emerged in the course of the commission’s broader investigation, as earlier directed by the President.
The ICPC boss identified the promoter of the fake office as one George Nwabueze, who was said to be operating under multiple aliases.
“The fake agency office, National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, was promoted by one George Buchi Nwabueze, with active suspected collaborators in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, contrary to extant laws and without authorisation of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The promoter was discovered to also operate under four other variations of his name: George Nathan, George Nathan Nwabueze, Honourable George Buchi Nwabueze, Prince George Buchi Nwabueze and George Nwabueze,” Aliyu said.
He revealed that the ICPC had engaged the OSGF to ascertain vital information relating to the fake office under investigation, and had comprehensively briefed the President on the new developments.
“I have briefed Mr President comprehensively on these new developments. ICPC will continue with its investigations accordingly,” he said.
Aliyu said following the discovery, “Mr President has directed as follows: the immediate arrest of Prince George Buchi Nwabueze; the immediate suspension of the following permanent secretaries; M.S. Danjuma, Nadungu Gagare, and Richard P. Pheelangwah,” he said.
Friday’s development is the latest in a scandal that began with the exposure of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, whose self-styled Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi, is currently facing prosecution on charges of forgery and impersonation.
The ICPC’s interim report, submitted to the President on August 6 after a 30-day investigation, had earlier disclosed the existence of two other fictitious bodies, the FCT Investment Promotion Agency and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency and Public-Private Partnership.
The National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office is the fourth fake agency uncovered after the PFIFC scandal since early April.
Tension and grief have enveloped the political community in Enugu State following the suspected murder of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Chairman in Udenu Local Government Area, Chisimdiri Emmanuel Ngwu.
Ngwu, said to be one of the longest-serving members of the ADC in the state, was reportedly found dead in the early hours of Wednesday, August 19, 2026, in circumstances suspected to be suspicious.
A family source, who spoke to our correspondent, said Ngwu left the house shortly after waking up on Wednesday morning but never returned alive.
“He woke up early in the morning on Wednesday and walked out and that was the last we heard of him,” the source said.
According to the source, the family became worried after discovering that Ngwu was missing, before his lifeless body was later found outside the compound.
“When we woke up, we didn’t see him only to discover his lifeless body in front of our compound. We saw scratches on his neck which was twisted backwards,” the source added.
The circumstances surrounding his death have continued to generate concern among family members, friends and political associates.
Meanwhile, two persons have reportedly been arrested in connection with the incident.
However, their identities and the circumstances surrounding their arrest were not immediately disclosed as of press time.
The development has reportedly sent shock waves through the ADC in Udenu and the wider political community in the state, with calls for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding Ngwu’s death.
Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele has claimed that President Bola Tinubu will relocate the capital of Nigeria to Lagos if he is declared the winner of the 2027 general elections.
Primate Ayodele made this statement in a video posted on X.
President Tinubu is seeking re-election under the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Speaking about Tinubu’s re-election, the cleric said, “Lagos architecture will change. You may not see this one very seriously, but if Tinubu wins the second time, the capital of Nigeria will be relocated to Lagos.
“When this happens, the capital can be in Epe or Lekki or anywhere at all in Lagos.”
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