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APC Chieftain Bar Cecilia Drums Support for Akpabio’s Bid for Senate President

Published

1 year ago

May 5, 2023

Joel Olabisi

A Senatorial aspirant of the Northern Senatorial District in Cross River State under the All Progressive Congress (APC), Bar. Adams Cecilia, has lent her voice on Senator Akpabio’s bid for the leadership position of the Senate of the 10th National Assembly.

Barr Cecilia who stated this in a parley with newsmen in Abuja noted that since the commencement of political activism in 1999 to date, no one from the South South geopolitical zone of the country that has occupied the seat of the Senate President.

She said now is the right time in fairness and equity to the zone to have one of its own occupy the coveted Presidency seat of the Senate, adding that Senator Godswill Akpabio is the right man for the position having done well in delivering greater successes for the party in the just concluded 2022 general elections by not only winning his senatorial seat, but garnering 132,683 votes for the presidential election in Akwa Ibom state for President-elect, His Excellency, Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

‘In view of the above, and in line with the APC Governors’ memo to the president-elect, His Excellency, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu on the appropriate zoning of the offices which requested the contributions to the presidential election as a major factor, the South South carries the day against the voting pattern of the South-East that exhibited “exclusionary electoral conduct’’, Bar Cecilia noted.

Furthermore, the excellent track records of experience in political governance and administration that Senator Akpabio has acquired, qualified him more than his fellow contenders for the position of the Senate President, having served as a Commissioner, a Governor, a Minister of the Federal Republic and a ranking member of the senate who sacrificed his political career by accepting to give up his position as the Minority Leader in the Senate when he defected to the All Progressive Congress.

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NAPTIP Restates Commitment To Fighting Human Trafficking

Published

2 days ago

July 25, 2024

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

… decries corruption in law enforcement, weak legislation

The Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi, has pledged the agency’s commitment to fight human trafficking.

Waziri-Azi gave the assurance during an anti-corruption radio program, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, in Abuja.

The commitment by NAPTIP follows an investigative report by Human Angle Media exposing how many Nigerians trafficked to Egypt are inhumanely treated and exploited by their sponsors.

Represented by the agency’s Director of Public Enlightenment, Mrs. Kehinde Akomolafe, decried the rising number of Nigerians who are victims of trafficking, pledging that “NAPTIP is fighting on all sides to curb human trafficking.”

Akomolafe disclosed that the agency is aware of the report of Nigerians trafficked to Egypt and has already commenced interventions to rescue them while warning citizens to be wary of “offers that are too good to be true.”

She identified weak legislation, lengthy judicial processes, and corrupt law enforcement officials as factors aiding and abetting trafficking in Nigeria and elsewhere in the world.

“Corruption is endemic and cuts across other countries of the world, and that’s why trafficking is easily perpetrated in Nigeria and around the globe. You find law enforcement officials aiding and abetting traffickers. Some of them know these traffickers from their operations either at the entry or exit point. They give them something or become too familiar with them.

“Apart from the bribery aspect, we also have officials turning a blind eye to trafficking activities, and that’s why for us at the agency (NAPTIP), we are not resting.”

According to her, the agency, from inception, secured 672 convictions, 67 in 2023, and 35 persons so far this year (2024). She added that “NAPTIP is winning the war against trafficking but still wants stiffer punishment for traffickers and the support of the judiciary in hastening cases.

“weak legislation is aiding trafficking. That’s why the agency continues pushing for amendments. Currently, NAPTIP is pushing for stiffer punishment against traffickers that will lead to confiscation of their monies and property.

“NAPTIP Director-General (Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi) is fighting on all sides against human trafficking.

“Where law enforcement officials are found complicit, NAPTIP Director-General does not take it lightly; she doesn’t compromise her anti-corruption stance even when a staff is involved,” Akomolafe stated.

According to the Editor of Southern Operations, Human Angle Media, Kabir Adejumo, many Nigerians trafficked to Egypt engage in forced labour. They are also living in fear as authorities go after illegal immigrants.

Adejumo said victims interviewed during the investigation are willing and interested in returning home, but their sponsors refuse to release their travel passports and threaten to implicate them.

He also revealed that the NAPTIP and Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) are aware of the plight of Nigerians trafficked in Egypt and have currently rescued one person.

On her part, the Programme Manager of the Human Angle Foundation, Angela Umoro-David, expressed satisfaction at NAPTIP’s response to trafficking cases while urging the agency to stay on course with their mandate.

Umoro-David called on Nigerians to use a Freedom of Information platform (foi.humananglemedia.com) to help citizens navigate requests for public records from different government parastatals and agencies.

She stressed that the platform “is a website where people can submit their FOI requests to us (Human Angle), and we’ll submit it on their behalf to the particular agency. So we act as middlemen, connecting these government parastatals to the citizens”.

Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program PRIMORG uses to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.

The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation

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