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Alleged multiple certificate forgery: Why Dr. Dankaka shouldn’t be unnecessarily persecuted

When the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria confirmed Dr. Muheeba Farida Dankaka as the chairman of the Federal Character Commission, it ushered in a new era at the commission. Having been part of a 38-man list submitted by the President, Mohammadu Buhari for appointment into the Commission, Dr.Muheeba Dankaka, a native of Offa in Kwara State, was confirmed as the chairman of the commission on merit.

The circumstances sourrounding the appointment of the second principal officer of the Commission raised some eyebrows as Mohammed Tukur Bello is from Taraba state also from the north. This was perceived by the many cynics to be a non-application of the principles of Federal Character.

Firstly, six months into her appointment as the chairperson of the commission, her leadership was applauded to have recorded great success which was perceived to have unsettled many of her detractors and notably among her achievements as of that time is the centralisation of the administrative structures of the monitoring and enforcements department. The improvements she brought to the Commission was already giving the advocates of merits over sentiments some levels of justifications.
Secondly, the excitements and the achievements so far recorded by the chairman,Dr.Mueeba Farida Dankaka appeared to have been unsettling some who are not happy with the strides and the achievements of the chairman, as some commissioners within the commission petitioned the independent corrupt practices and other related offence commission,ICPC, this time around, accusing the chairman of the offences relating to the abuse of office.
It should be noted that prior to her appointment to head the FCC, Dankaka was the immediate past president of the Kaduna chambers of commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, an endeavour she undertook meritoriously. Dankaka was far from controversy when she was the head of affairs at KADCIMA.This got many wondering and talking as what could have happened to a trusted entrepreneur who got a national award for her contributions to the National economy while outside the government employment. She was confered with the order of Merit of order of the Niger, OON,by President Mohammed Buhari for her contributions to the Nigerian economy, as an entrepreuneur per excellence.
A response by the FCC boss at that time which was later proved right suggests there was personal motives and interest clash between her and the petitioners who are out just to tarnish her image and the credibility of the leadership of the commission for personal gains.They wants business as usual which was not possible under her watch.
The petitioners who as earlier stated are commissioners in the commission then have accused the chairman of infractions such as granting of waivers to advertise to MDA,s and shunning the principles of federal character in job allocations.She was also accused of acting alone without recourse to fellow commissioners.After investigations by relevant agencies,the petition has nothing in it and it therefore failed.
From findings,the petitioners appears to be using a new tactics to stage a media war of calumny against the chairman.
Today, the same masters of calumny against the FCC boss are at it again.
They are unrelenting even when they know their antics would take them no where.Today the trending issue is the usage of the mass media to dessiminate falsehood by alleging that the FCC chairman was involved in a certificate forgery case.It would have been advisable to ignore the petitioners entirely by not attaching any importance to this brazen falsehood but just to clear the air once and for all.There basically six things this petitioners needs to know about Dr.Mueeba Dankaka and they are as follows:
Educationally, she is a graduate of the Kaduna Polytechnic and the Ahmadu Bello university, Zaria, Kaduna state. She is from Offa, Kwara state of Nigerra.She is a Kaduna based successful business woman who is before her appointment as the FCC boss was into construction and consumer product developments.
Her past leadership role includes her headship of the Farida Ventures limited which she served as CEO and she was the immediate past president of Kaduna chambers of commerce, industries, mines and agriculture, KADCIMA.Her political affiliation is that she was a member of the governor Abdul-.Razak APC transition committee in the year 2019. She has many awards and honours and this includes the conferment on her the prestigious National Productivity merit award of the order of the niger by President Mohammad Buhari for her contributions to the Nigerian economy as an entrepreneur per excellence.Her people conferred on her the title of the ERELU of Offa, kwara state.
Today, the furore over certificate is nothing but the height of the act of desperation from jealous and greedy merchants of evil and campaign of calumny against a good woman who is committed to the development of Nigeria. Her maiden name should never be an issue because she is simply Farida Muheeba Dankaka, all names she got from her parents.It is adviseable that this ugly campaign of calumny which was targeted to stop her from achieving the mandate given to her by the president stop forthwith.She is delivering on her mandate and we should support the president by supporting her.
Musa Wada is a public affairs analyst and writes from Abuja

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BREAKING: President Tinubu declares state of emergency in Rivers [Details of broadcast]

TEXT OF THE BROADCAST BY PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMED FORCES, DECLARING STATE OF EMERGENCY IN RIVERS STATE ON TUESDAY 18 MARCH 2025

Fellow Nigerians, I feel greatly disturbed at the turn we have come to regarding the political crisis in Rivers State. Like many of you, I have watched with concern the development with the hope that the parties involved would allow good sense to prevail at the soonest, but all that hope burned out without any solution to the crisis.

With the crisis persisting, there is no way democratic governance, which we have all fought and worked for over the years, can thrive in a way that will redound to the benefit of the good people of the state. The state has been at a standstill since the crisis started, with the good people of the state not being able to have access to the dividends of democracy.
Also, it is public knowledge that the Governor of Rivers State for unjustifiable reasons, demolished the House of Assembly of the state as far back as 13th December 2023 and has, up until now, fourteen (14) months after, not rebuilt same. I have made personal interventions between the contending parties for a peaceful resolution of the crisis, but my efforts have been largely ignored by the parties to the crisis. I am also aware that many well-meaning Nigerians, Leaders of thought and Patriotic groups have also intervened at various times with the best of intentions to resolve the matter, but all their efforts were also to no avail. Still, I thank them.
On February 28, 2025, the supreme court, in a judgment in respect of about eight consolidated appeals concerning the political crisis in Rivers State, based on several grave unconstitutional acts and disregard of rule of law that have been committed by the Governor of Rivers State as shown by the evidence before it pronounced in very clear terms:
“a government cannot be said to exist without one of the three arms that make up the government of a state under the 1999 Constitution as amended. In this case the head of the executive arm of the government has chosen to collapse the legislature to enable him to govern without the legislature as a despot. As it is there is no government in Rivers State.”
The above pronouncement came after a catalogue of judicial findings of constitutional breaches against the Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Going Forward in their judgment, and having found and held that 27 members of the House who had allegedly defected
“are still valid members of Rivers State House of Assembly and cannot be prevented from participating in the proceedings of that House by the 8th Respondent (that is, the Governor) in cohorts with four members”
The Supreme Court then made some orders to restore the state to immediate constitutional democracy. These orders include the immediate passing of an Appropriation Bill by the Rivers State House of Assembly which up till now has not been facilitated.
Some militants had threatened fire and brimstone against their perceived enemy of the governor who has up till now NOT disowned them.
Apart from that both the House and the governor have not been able to work together.
Both of them do not realise that they are in office to work together for the peace and good governance of the state.
The latest security reports made available to me show that between yesterday and today there have been disturbing incidents of vandalization of pipelines by some militant without the governor taking any action to curtail them. I have, of course given stern order to the security agencies to ensure safety of lives of the good people of Rivers State and the oil pipelines.
With all these and many more, no good and responsible President will standby and allow the grave situation to continue without taking remedial steps prescribed by the Constitution to address the situation in the state, which no doubt requires extraordinary measures to restore good governance, peace, order and security.
In the circumstance, having soberly reflected on and evaluated the political situation in Rivers State and the Governor and Deputy Governor of Rivers State having failed to make a request to me as President to issue this proclamation as required by section 305(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, it has become inevitably compelling for me to invoke the provision of section 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State with effect from today, 18th March, 2025 and I so do.
By this declaration, the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the House of Assembly of Rivers State are hereby suspended for an initial period of six months.
In the meantime, I hereby nominate Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (Rtd) as Administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state in the interest of the good people of Rivers State. For the avoidance of doubt, this declaration does not affect the judicial arm of Rivers State, which shall continue to function in accordance with their constitutional mandate.
The Administrator will not make any new laws. He will, however, be free to formulate regulations as may be found necessary to do his job, but such regulations will need to be considered and approved by the Federal Executive Council and promulgated by the President for the state.
This declaration has been published in the Federal Gazette, a copy of which has been forwarded to the National Assembly in accordance with the Constitution. It is my fervent hope that this inevitable intervention will help to restore peace and order in Rivers State by awakening all the contenders to the constitutional imperatives binding on all political players in Rivers State in particular and Nigeria as a whole.
Long live a united, peaceful, secure and democratic Rivers State in particular and the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a whole.

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Plateau gov’t expresses concern over violence in Shendam LGA, calls for calm

The Plateau state government has expressed concern over violence in Shimankar (Menkaat), Shendam Local Government Area, of the State which unfortunately caused unnecessary tension within the community.

In a statement by the State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Hon Joyce Lohya Ramnap, made available to journalists in Jos, it condemned in strongest terms and warned such violence would not be tolerated any longer.

The statement called for dialogue to differences and disagreement before it snowballed into violence, adding that government will not allow anyone to undermine peace and unity of the State.
Part of the statement read: “I want to reiterate the Plateau State Government’s unwavering commitment to upholding peace and security for all citizens, especially during such tense moments.”
Acknowledging the swift response of law enforcement agencies and the traditional institutions in containing the situation, we are calling for even greater collaboration between community leaders, security agencies, and the public to prevent further escalation,thus the need to maintain peace, calm and restraint from all parties.
“We urge the people of the community to pursue peaceful resolutions to any disagreements instead of resorting to violence.”
In line with the administration’s “Time is Now” vision under the leadership of Governor Mutfwang, I want to emphasise that the state is focused on ensuring lasting peace and harmony, irrespective of religious or tribal differences.
Government is also assuring the public that security agencies have been instructed to conduct a thorough investigation into the root causes of the skirmishes and to ensure that those responsible for any breach of public peace are held accountable.
Towards this end, Plateau citizens are to remain vigilant yet peaceful and to actively support all efforts to de-escalate the situation as the State Government is committed to fostering a peaceful coexistence for all citizens, the statement further reads.

News
Governor Alia distances self from protest against Benue CJ

As protest rocks Benue State against the Chief Judge, Justice Maurice Ikpembese for relocating the Benue Local Government Election Petitions Tribunal from Makurdi to Abuja, Governor Hyacinth Alia has distanced himself from the protest.

Protesters in their hundreds from Benue State took to the streets of Abuja on Monday, for a peaceful protest from the National Assembly to the Supreme Court to express their outrage over the Benue CJ’s decision.

Prior to Monday’s massive protest Justice Ikpembese raised security concerns and moved the Tribunal to Abuja, a development that triggered protest as they are saying the Tribunal would have remained in Makurdi for them to monitor proceedings.
The tribunal is currently handling disputes arising from the Benue State Local Government elections conducted on October 5, 2024.
Reports indicate that 93 petitioners, including aggrieved candidates from both the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party, have filed cases at the tribunal since October 17, 2024.
The Benue State Government, through the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and Public Order, Mr. Fidelis Mnyim, had questioned the CJ’s unilateral decision, noting that neither the governor nor his office had been formally notified.

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