profile/5683FB_IMG_16533107021641748.jpg

News_Naija

Calls For Speakers Removal Intensify As APC Dominates Edo Assembly

With the All Progressives Congress becoming the major party in the Edo State House of Assembly, it’s only a matter of time before the change of leadership takes place, writes ADEYINKA ADEDIPE The emergence of Senator Monday Okpehbolo as the Governor of Edo State on September 21, 2024, on the platform of the All Progressives Congress meant that the political dynamics were expected to change drastically. The governor inherited a state that had the Peoples Democratic Party dominating the local government administration and the state House of Assembly. While the 18 local government areas had PDP chairmen, the House of Assembly was dominated by the PDP. In the usual Nigerian style, a new government is not always comfortable with what it meets on ground. It was clear that the APC government wanted an arrangement where its members would dominate the political landscape and positions in the state. First to go were the local government chairmen and their deputies, who are still contesting their ouster in court while their party is still very vocal against the action taken by the APC government in the state. With the local government chairmen and their deputies out of the way, the next step for the APC was to find a way to dominate the House of Assembly. Though the current Speaker, Blessing Agbebaku, a PDP member, has cooperated with the APC government thus far, but some members of the ruling party feel it’s important for APC to dominate the House. So, when on March 12 four members of the House of Assembly (three from PDP and one from Labour Party) defected to the APC, it gave the ruling party an edge. It now has 13 members against PDP’s 11, with some others tipped to join the APC in the coming days. The lawmakers who moved to the APC from PDP are Donald Okugbe (Akoko Edo Constituency II), Bright Iyamu (Orhionmwon South Constituency II) and Sunday Ojezele (Esan South East), while Richard Edosa (Oredo West Constituency) crossed from the Labour Party to the PDP. After the defection, they stormed the APC secretariat in Benin City and were received by APC state working committee led by the acting state chairman of the party, Jarret Tenebe. Edosa, who spoke on behalf of the defected members, said the obvious division in their various parties, which gave them the platform to emerge as members of the House, also provided them the reason to dump the parties due to intractable crisis from the national to the state and local government levels. Still basking in the euphoria of becoming the leading party in the Assembly, on March 18, the APC wrote a letter to the leadership of the House of Assembly notifying them of its new status as the majority party in the Assembly. Speaker Blessing Agbebaku, who confirmed the receipt of the letter, said it was from the state APC office. Part of the letter, titled ‘Notification of APC majority status in the Edo State House of Assembly’, read, “I write to formally notify you that the APC has attained the majority status in the Edo State House of Assembly following the defection of four members from their respective party to APC.” The letter also noted that at the appropriate time the APC shall notify the House of the consequential effect of the present reality in the house. Agbebaku acknowledged the APC’s new majority status, adding “Distinguished members, you just heard the letter that was sent to me from the APC in Edo State. So, going by this letter, it means APC now has a majority in the House. “I want to wish the decampees well in their future endeavour.” Agbebaku noted that he was awaiting another letter from the APC nominating its principal officers, adding, “Thank you very much. I am waiting for the letter from APC for their nominees.” However, the Edo State chapter of the PDP, through its Publicity Secretary, Chris Nehikhare, vowed to institute a legal action against the three members of the state House of Assembly who decamped to the APC. Nehikhare said the party would take same action against any of its elected member who dumped the party. He told The PUNCH that a law suit had already been instituted against Ojezele, who had decamped earlier to the APC, adding that Okugbe and Iyamu would soon be taken to court. He debunked the claim that the PDP was in crisis in the state at the national level, noting that the decampees had no constitutional reason to leave the party. He said, “First of all, three out of the four who defected are PDP members. Of those three, Hon. Sunny Ojezele defected earlier and we have already taken him to court seeking to declare his seat vacant and retrieve our mandate. “Any of our elected official who defects to another party will definitely be taken to the court. Those who defect got elected on the platform of our party, so it is our mandate, and we will use legal means to reclaim it. Nehikhare said the party was hopeful of a favourable outcome at the court. He added, “The law is clear on what happens when someone decamps to another party. And we expect the law to be followed to the letter in the case we have instituted and the one we will institute against the others. “They have no basis for decamping because there is no division in our party both in Edo State and at the national level. We have one leadership, one secretariat at both levels.” With the APC now the dominant party in the Edo State House of Assembly, a group Edo North Conscience, has called on the Speaker, Blessing Agbebaku, to quit his position. The group, in a statement by its leader, Oshioke Aledeh, and secretary, Tunde Balogun, noted that the political landscape hung in the balance with the continuous stay of Agbebaku as the Speaker of the House of Assembly. The group also called on APC leaders in the state, including Governor Monday Okpehbolo, to expedite action and ensure that the APC took its rightful place in the Assembly. The statement read, “In a dramatic twist of political fate, the ENC is calling for a change of leadership in the state House of Assembly. “The embattled Speaker orchestrated the brutal campaign that left APC members in discomfort during the tumultuous state assembly elections that paved the way for his ascension to power. “We, therefore, question why Agbebaku should thrive where he has sown only discord. The Speaker, even when pretending to be at home with incumbent Governor Okpebholo, still has his loyalty intact with his platform, the Peoples Democratic Party. “Agbebaku ascended the Speaker’s seat backed by the then-dominant PDP, but their power has dwindled in recent months with a wave of defections to the APC. Now, the APC commands a significant majority in the House, boasting 13 seats to the PDP’s 11. “With the Speaker from the party with the smallest block, a palpable hunger for change has emerged.” “The ENC have therefore stepped into the fray and vowed to champion the cause for the Speaker’s removal, which it described as “untenable and inexplicable”. Also, the ENC has declared that its clamour for the removal of the incumbent Speaker is not just about party politics but a rallying cry that will reverberate through APC circles not only in Edo State but the country at large. “We will equally reach out to influential APC stakeholders, including Gov Okpebholo, as it’s time for the APC to take its rightful place by having one of its own as the Speaker.” All eyes were on the Speaker when the Assembly resumed on Monday, with keen followers of the state’s political terrain pondering the strategy he would apply to navigate the escalating demands for his ouster, with the APC prepared for his removal, having attained the majority status in the House. At resumption of plenary on Monday, the  APC, expectedly, took over leadership positions of the Assembly, with  Hon Jonathan Aigbokhan (APC, Esan West) was announced the new Majority Leader. During the plenary, the Speaker of the House, Blessing Agbebaku, read a letter from the APC leadership nominating the new principal officers. According to the letter, Aigbokhan was appointed the new Majority Leader, Addeh Isibor as Deputy Majority Leader and Mustapha Lucky as Chief Whip. Following the announcement of the new leadership, Agbebaku disclosed that the PDP would also submit its list of principal officers. He emphasised that the difference between majority and minority should not distract the House from their collective responsibility to the state. “What matters is that we all work together to ensure the success of Governor Monday Okpebholo,” Agbebaku said. However, Dada Ayokhai, a former Chief Press Secretary to late Speaker Zakawanu Garuba, argued that a change of leadership in the House of Assembly was not as straightforward as being peddled in some quarters. He noted that the House rule was that only a 2/3 majority could effect a change of leadership in the Assembly. He said the APC, which is in the majority with 13 members, needed 16 members to effect a change of leadership in the Assembly. Ayokhai added that, however, the rule had been jettisoned over the years as the use of force became a major tool for changing the Speaker and Deputy Speaker in the state Assembly. He said, “The Edo State House of Assembly resumed on April 7 to continue its normal legislative activities. The resumption of the House will bring along some fundamental changes in the leadership of the house with a change of guard. “By protocol, the APC has formally written to the Speaker of the House, Hon Blessing Agbebaku, about the development. The Speaker is expected to formally not only read the letter at the hallowed chamber but also announce the new leadership structure with APC producing the Majority Leader, Deputy Leader and Chief Whip. “By arrangement, Agbebaku of the PDP will be presiding over a house with APC in majority. The speaker as a presiding officer can continue to lead if the house so desire irrespective of party affiliation.” Ayokhai added, “In case there is a need to replace the Speaker, going by House rules, they lack the required numbers to do that, which is two-thirds majority of members,16. However, APC is in the majority with 13 members, while PDP has 11. “Unfortunately, Speakers are mostly removed, impeached, replaced through might and not rules. A good example was the impeachment of the late Zakawanu Garuba. “As it stands, the APC has two options in removing the Speaker – they can continue to lure some members of the PDP with mouthwatering offers or, better still, deploy the use of force backed by government machinery. Again, Garuba was a victim of such a power play. “Then who becomes the Speaker if replacement becomes inevitable? It’s any member from Edo North district, old member or a new one. Again, Zakawanu Garuba’s episode is a case study. A new convert, Hon Bright Omokhodion, was made Speaker ahead of old members.” In the midst of all these, will Agbebaku find a way to hold on to power, or is his reign on the verge of ending? Only time will tell. However, the obvious fact is that the Edo political atmosphere has become charged with Agbebaku still holding firm, with his removal from the seat appearing to be the only balm that would soothe members of the ruling APC.

profile/5377instablog.png.webp

Instablog9ja

Man Arrested For Allegedly D3filing And Impr3gnating A 14-year-old Girl In Ogun

profile/7498temp_profile_image551957892.jpg

Kuryliuk

Join TOM Clicker for a FREE AIRDROP! 🍅

dataDp/1032.jpeg

Worldnews

African Athletes Find Their Feet In Vietnams Marathon Running Boom

A surge in marathons and lucrative prize money has attracted runners from East Africa to Vietnam, but becoming a champion is not without challenges. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – Ethiopian runner Tesfaye Tsegaye Keress deftly made his way through nearly 18,000 participants to position himself near the starting line of the Techcombank Ho Chi Minh City International Marathon in December. Keress said his diminutive size – he stands just 1.62 metres (5.3ft) tall and weighs about 50kg (116 pounds) – allowed the 27-year-old to slink easily through the throngs of runners to secure a strategic spot near the front just before the starting pistol was fired, in what was billed as Vietnam’s biggest marathon. Just days earlier, Keress had landed in Ho Chi Minh City – Vietnam’s commercial capital. He was accompanied by fellow Ethiopian runner, Dereje Alemu Miko, who came to compete in the 21km (13-mile) half-marathon at the event where Keress would run the full 42.1km marathon. In a competition consisting primarily of thousands of local Vietnamese runners, the participation of Keress and Miko immediately stirred interest. Local media wanted to know who the competitors from East Africa were. As Keress told Al Jazeera, love for the sport of running was not the only reason for their trip to Vietnam. Keress knew that taking first place in the Ho Chi Minh City marathon would earn him a $2,500 cash prize. Winning was important, he said. “I have a wife and two sons, and we live in Sendafa,” Keress said, naming his hometown in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, about 38km (24 miles) northeast of the capital, Addis Ababa. “We run a chicken farm and have two cows for milk. We plan to expand our farm using the money from marathon races,” he said. To win, he would not only have to beat some of Vietnam’s best long-distance runners but also Kenya’s Edwin Kiptoo – a fellow East African who currently dominates Vietnam’s marathon running circuit after winning a string of major races. Keress might be considered an average runner in his native Ethiopia – a country that has produced some of the world’s most renowned track athletes. His personal best speed to complete a marathon is 2:23:50, which he achieved in 2023 in a marathon in Thailand. Though impressive, that speed would still rule him out of top-tier marathon competitions – the Boston Marathon requires speeds of less than 2 hours 13 minutes for entrants in its professional division. In Vietnam, however, Keress’s speed makes him a championship contender in a country where running has seen a steep rise in popularity. Over the past decade, marathons have boomed in Vietnam – a development partly attributed to the country’s increasingly wealthy middle class seeking ways to keep fit in the country’s burgeoning big cities. There is also a new social side to running in Vietnam’s well-attended marathons, according to reports, which have seen a steep rise in popularity since the mid-2010s. Despite a years-long slump during COVID, the popularity of running came back even stronger post-pandemic, with many people focused on keeping healthy. Local news site VnExpress reported in 2023 that a total of 41 full marathon races, with some 264,000 entrants, took place in 27 provinces and cities across Vietnam that year. That was 10 more marathons than were held in Vietnam in 2022. With hundreds of thousands of runners taking part in a plethora of marathons up and down this country of 100 million people, major private sponsors have stepped in with prize money. Vietnam’s many marathons and lucrative prizes of thousands of dollars for winners are now attracting high-performing athletes – like Keress and Kiptoo – from the elite running centres of East Africa. East African athletes have long been a dominant force in competitive running, with world-famous track stars like Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge – who in 2019 became the first person in recorded history to run a 42-km marathon in less than two hours – and Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie who is considered one of the greatest long-distance runners in history, having set 27 world records. Sporting scouts have for years flocked to Kenya and Ethiopia, among other East African countries, to identify promising talent. Deals to compete in competitions around the world are often mediated by sport agents, who sponsor a runner and in return may take a cut of their winnings if successful. There is also the opportunity to capitalise on media attention with product and brand deals that race victories accrue for individuals and running teams. Such an arrangement brought Keress and Miko to compete in the Ho Chi Minh City marathon and half-marathon in December. They are both managed by a promoter from Thailand who sponsors a team of runners and also operates a company specialising in energy supplements for athletes. Marathon running has also taken off in Thailand, along with a growing market for running gear and other services. And when runners such as Keress and Miko win races, there is a high return for sponsoring brand names and their products and services. When Edwin Kiptoo – who should not be confused with another younger Kenyan runner with the same name but of much greater international acclaim – first arrived in Vietnam in December 2023, he described how he was initially unprepared for the country and its costs. Simply finding accommodation on arrival was challenging for Kiptoo, who arrived with a budget of just 150,000 Vietnamese dong (less than $6), hoping to find a simple place to rest one night before the race. In downtown Ho Chi Minh City, the cheapest room Kiptoo could find was double that price. But good fortune seemed to favour Kiptoo when he was befriended by local runner Le Hoan whom he met at the race station where they went to collect their running bibs the day before the race. Learning of Kiptoo’s struggle to find somewhere cheap to stay, Le Hoan tried to help in the search for accommodation using a booking app. Still no luck. As Kiptoo had handed Le Hoan his passport during the search for somewhere to stay, the Vietnamese runner spotted that they were both born in the same year, and that the Kenyan’s birthday was on the same day as his wife’s. Taking the alignment of dates as an auspicious sign, Le Hoan invited the Kenyan to his home. Over dinner with Le Hoan’s family, Kiptoo told them how he was running to support his family and had to save as much as possible. Le Hoan paid for the runner’s stay in a hostel that night – on the eve of the huge Techcombank Ho Chi Minh City. The next day, Kiptoo would run faster than Vietnam’s two best marathon runners, Hoang Nguyen Thanh and Nguyen Van Lai, to win the race and pocket a $2,500 cash prize on the spot. “Mr Hoan took me home and offered me meals with his family. He also rented me a hostel room for the night,” Kiptoo recounted to Al Jazeera. “After I won my first race, I offered to pay Hoan back but he simply refused,” he said. “The generosity of him and his family truly surprised me,” he added. Kiptoo’s wins and public profile in Vietnam have rocketed since. He quickly became a star runner in Vietnam and his participation in races is now sought after. His winnings have also stacked up, earning an average of about $1,000 each week for taking first place in races across the country. But that was just the beginning. In October 2024, Kiptoo signed a major sponsorship contract with sportswear company Do-Win Vietnam. The company announced in a celebratory Facebook post how it had entered “a formal partnership with renowned runner Kiptoo!” “This collaboration will create new breakthroughs and further strengthen the brand’s position in the sports industry,” it said. The deal covers the runner’s living expenses, competition entrance fees, and, crucially, secures a visa allowing Kiptoo to compete professionally in Vietnam. In the past, visas and visa extensions for Africans in Vietnam have been problematic, partly due to a crackdown on foreigners involved in crime in the country. So having a major sponsor behind him gives runners such as Kiptoo a large degree of security. The 38-year-old, whose wife and daughter are still in Kenya, has even been given access to exclusive, publicly funded sports facilities and resources, which are typically reserved for provincial or national-level Vietnamese athletes. Now freed from financial pressure and logistical concerns regarding race participation, Kiptoo said he has been able to fully dedicate himself to training, making him a force nearly impossible to beat in Vietnam’s marathons. “The support from Vietnamese people makes me feel at home,” Kiptoo told Al Jazeera. Success in Vietnam has not only brought Kiptoo financial rewards but also elevated him to a sort of sports celebrity status among local people. He has been featured many times by local Vietnamese media because of his running success and his posts on Facebook receive thousands of reactions – mostly from his Vietnamese fans. A marathon, which usually lasts at least two hours for top-level runners, inherently carries risks as it challenges a person’s physical and mental limits. For African runners competing in Vietnam, challenges exist not only during the race but also in the many twists and turns their professional journey takes. In March 2023, runners Kemboi Ezekiel from Kenya and Marta Tinsae Birehan from Ethiopia were full of hope on entering a race in Ho Chi Minh City after hearing that breaking the Vietnamese marathon record would win them a car. After arriving in the country, they discovered that the car prize had been a one-time offer available only in the previous year’s race. Despite their disappointment, both runners went on to compete. While Ezekiel faced little competition in the men’s race, Marta unexpectedly collapsed while leading the women’s race. She had mistakenly consumed an electrolyte drink at a water station, which upset her digestive system. Even Kiptoo, with more experience and many marathon championships under his belt in Vietnam, cannot escape challenges. In late 2024, he was sponsored to compete in a marathon in Hanoi. Due to a misunderstanding, a sponsor failed to register Kiptoo among the professional athletes competing. As a result, despite winning the marathon, Kiptoo only received an age-group prize of $200, rather than the $2,100 winner’s takings. He said he did not want to complain about the outcome, saying “we all have to follow the rules.” Running in the Ho Chi Minh City Marathon in December along an already familiar course and accustomed to the climate, Kiptoo cruised to victory over Keress and thousands of others to further cement his reign over the Vietnamese marathon scene. Finishing just behind Kiptoo, Keress limped across the finish line, grimacing in pain. He attributed his performance to fatigue from another recent marathon. After receiving treatment in the recovery area, Keress’s pain subsided but his frustration lingered until his mood was lifted when he discovered that he had won $1,000 in prize money for taking third place – a welcome contribution to his dream of expanding his farm back home. However, as his promoter will also take a cut of his winnings, his actual takings would not be so big. His teammate Miko dominated the half marathon, securing a $600 prize. After their races, both runners were taken back to their hotel to rest before returning to Thailand, where they had been based for the previous six months in a training camp outside the capital, Bangkok. Their Thai promoter oversees all aspects of their running careers in Southeast Asia – from travel and accommodation to training plans, race entries and immigration visas. For runners such as Keress and Miko, who have travelled little beyond their home countries, such management deals are indispensable. They told Al Jazeera how they hold their Thai manager in high regard, viewing him as a sort of father figure. But the relationship seems closer to employee and employer, with the runners being very much bound by the overriding imperative of achieving good performance for their team and sponsor – in an unspoken power dynamic. Keress and Miko recounted how they had plans to return to Ethiopia and reunite with their families. They did not know how much prize money they would be bringing home with them as the cost of their travel expenses to competitions, accommodation and food are deducted from their winnings. And not all marathons pay winners immediately – some prizes are delayed for months and financial security is far from assured for many runners. Despite the difficulty and uncertainty faced by prize-hunting runners in Vietnam, rumours about the country as a life-changing destination for athletes are spreading in East Africa, according to Kiptoo, Keress and others. Previously a teacher in Eldoret, in Kenya’s Rift Valley region, Kiptoo’s meagre salary barely supported his family. Then COVID-19 hit and his family’s finances were devastated. That was, he said, when he took up running seriously as a way out of poverty. His success in Vietnam has not only allowed him to support his family but also to buy several properties as investments in Kenya. Kiptoo recounted how he never expected that Vietnam would become so central to his life as an athlete and breadwinner for his family. “In Kenya, we watch a lot of Vietnamese films, but very few people actually know what the country is really like,” Kiptoo said. He did not know either, at the beginning. Now with marathon running projected to continue growing in coming years, the draw of Vietnam for African runners is not likely to wane soon. “Perhaps more Kenyan athletes will come here in the future to earn money through running events. But it’s not easy,” he said. “The two countries are very far apart, and marathons always carry unpredictable risks.” Follow Al Jazeera English:...