Following what came to light today at the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal where all 7 Defence Witnesses of Governor Nyesom Wike complained bitterly of sight challenges and could not read their own statements, the All Progressives Congress, APC, has urged the Governorship Candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside to establish a specialist eye hospital in the state to tackle the menace of visual challenges as soon as he is sworn in to office.
APC data Centre
The APC in a statement signed and issued to The Press in Port Harcourt today believes that if all 7 witnesses from Tai [3], Khana[3] and Andoni[1] LGAs who testified were coached by Nyesom Wike’s legal team to feign blindness in order to escape re-affirming their statements and taking questions from Counsel to the Petitioner on cross examination thereby helping Wike to escape with the stolen mandate of the peoples, that strategy failed woefully.
The APC said it is curious that witnesses some in their 30s all claiming to be serving or retired civil servants who deposed to statements suddenly became blind when asked to read their statements.
“Some claimed they could not read their personal data information on their PVCs. This was to enable them dodge cross examination by the Lead Counsel to Dr. Dakuku Peterside [Petitioner]. Eventually, the judge ruled that witnesses must read documents as may be requested by the Tribunal or Counsels”.
The cross examinations by Chief Akin Olujimi [Counsel to Petitioner – Dr. Dakuku Peterside] exposed a lot of inconsistencies in the assertions and statements of the Defence Witnesses. For example, when asked his age, one of the Defence Witnesses said he was 53 and has been voting from 1979. A simple calculation showed that he was not a witness of truth as he could not have been up to the voting age of 18 years by 1979.
The APC noted that no amount of theatricals and coaching by Wike’s lawyers will save the caretaker governor from being chased away from Government House, Port Harcourt by the time the Tribunal hands down its verdict.
ALL is not well between Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the man widely referred to as the “unofficial vice president”, Mallam Nasir el Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State. Proof: after a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) held on 17th September, 2015, el Rufai showed up in Osinbajo’s office and both took a photograph, all smiles; and splashed them all over the internet. Purpose: to debunk the “rumours” making the rounds that they had exchanged insults. To confirm the story further, a meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) a couple of days ago tabled as an item for discussion/resolution the “face-off” between Osinbajo and el Rufai.
El-Rufai
El Rufai has been throwing his weight around since Buhari emerged as President of Nigeria. He is widely reputed to have been behind the double shuffle we saw on the last day of Professor Attahiru Jega as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Remember, Jega at the expiration of his tenure, had handed over to Alhaji Ahmed Wali as the Acting National Chairman. Barely six hours after that a letter from President Buhari ordered Wali to hand over to Hajiya Amina Zakari, a perceived close relation, to act as National Chairman. This was in total contravention of the law; an illegality that subsists till today when Zakari is preparing to conduct the Bayelsa and Kogi State governorship elections. Fingers pointed to el Rufai for carrying out the “coup” which is liable to compromise the independence of the INEC. It could feather Buhari and his APC’s political nest and compromise the integrity of our future elections.
El Rufai is also believed to be the brain behind the appointment of Mallam Abba Kyari as the Chief of Staff to the President. He also reportedly got the founder of the #Bringback Our Girls campaigners (one of the outfits used to hound former President Goodluck Jonathan out of power), Hadiza Bala Usman a seat on Buhari’s Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption. There is hardly any trip Buhari considers important that el Rufai does not abandon his governorship job in Kaduna to accompany him to. And there is virtually no important meeting that Buhari convenes that el Rufai does not attend as a close confidant and adviser. El Rufai is having a time of his life as the younger Northern brain that Buhari draws from to rule Nigeria.
This is not the first time he is enjoying this run of power in Aso Villa. Remember his days with former President Olusegun Obasanjo? He came into the Obasanjo government through the good graces of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who made him the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE). But when the power struggle between Obasanjo and Atiku turned nasty and no-holds-barred, el Rufai nipped over to Obasanjo. His influence rapidly grew, and the pioneer Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu, once described him as ‘the de facto No. 2 official” in the Obasanjo presidency.
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo
In turn, el Rufai disclosed that Ribadu would be appointed Minister of Power when Obasanjo’s handpicked successor, Governor Umaru Yar’ Adua, won the presidential election in 2007. Incidentally, when Yar’ Adua assumed office, el Rufai fled to Boston/Baltimore in America while Ribadu went into self-exile in the UK. They both returned under our dovish former President Jonathan. But while Ribadu found his place in that regime, el Rufai, after being ignored by Jonathan for “too long”, joined the Arewa army for the return of power to the North by all means as a propagandist. El Rufai became a foot soldier for Buhari when the latter broke his resolve not to run for election again and started the journey with Bola Tinubu toward the birth of the now ruling APC.
If the constitution and the political behaviour of Nigerians had allowed it, Buhari could have preferred to have a Northern Muslim as his vice president, just as he did when he and the late Major General Tunde Idiagbon, a fellow Fulani Muslim, paired for head of state and deputy in 1984. But for political expediency and to brighten his electoral chances, Prof. Osinbajo, a Christian cleric, was ‘foisted” on him. I remember the day Osinbajo was unveiled as Buhari’s VP late in 2014. He said he was “proud” to be Buhari’s running mate.
He must have since discovered that he was merely a “burden of necessity”. On June 5th, 2015, barely a week after he took oath as Vice President, Osinbajo was reportedly barred from attending a national security meeting where the anti-Boko Haram strategy was discussed. He was ignominiously referred to by newly-installed Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki as “a mere commissioner”. And when he went to Aso Villa Chapel to worship, he found it under lock and key! It was only the media uproar which this generated that got it reluctantly opened for him to worship in.
The latest humiliation of Osinbajo came at a recent meeting presided over by Buhari. El Rufai, still being true to himself, reportedly used “rude” words on Osinbajo, who, in annoyance, told him off and walked out of the meeting. We hope the APC will be able to mend the fence between the elected Vice President and the kitchen cabinet “vice president”, one of Buhari’s “long suffering disciples”.
Down memory lane: IBB Boys disrespected Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe as Babangida’s No. 2 in 1986 and the Abiriba-born sea warrior resigned honourably from government. Al Mustapha and Abacha’s Boys humiliated General Sani Abacha’s Deputy, Lt Gen Oladipo Diya in 1998 when he was condemned to death for coup plotting. The Katsina “Yar’ Adua cabal” trampled former Vice President Jonathan underfoot and we had to invoke a “doctrine of necessity” to promote him to President when Yar’ Adua died in 2010. The French say: déjà vu: Nigerians say: nor bi today.
But the only Northern Vice Presidents – Atiku and Namadi Sambo – enjoyed dignified tenures of office without harassment by Southern “underlings”. Why? Answer that.
Residents of Evbuotubu, Iguedayi and other neighbouring communities in the Egor Local Government Area of Edo State on Wednesday took to the streets of Benin, the state capital, to protest against what they described as the deplorable condition of the roads in the communities.
Scene of the protest
The protesters, under the aegis of the Movement for Better Tomorrow, grounded traffic for several hours as they marched through the busy Ring Road to the state House of Assembly at about 8.30am.
Activities on Sapele Road also came to a halt, prompting motorists to seek alternative but longer routes to their destinations.
Some of the aggrieved protesters, including youths and market women, displayed placards with inscriptions calling for the reconstruction of the affected roads by the state government. They also urged the government to address the problem of power outage in the area.
Security operatives from the Nigeria Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were at the scene of protest to ensure that the protesters did “not take the law” into their hands.
The aggrieved residents later made their way to the Government House, where they were received by the Chief of Staff to the state governor, Mr. Patrick Obahiagbon, who assured them that the state government would look into their complaints.
One of the protesters, Mr. Ken Obasuyi, told our correspondent that the poor condition of the roads had been worsened by persistent rainfalls which had increased the cost of living in the communities.
Obasuyi said, “We are having a peaceful protest to call on the state government to work on our roads. We don’t have roads. We don’t have a health centre and schools.
“Evbuotubu links Oliha, Owina and Asoro roads; we are appealing to the state government to do something about this road and others. When it rains, commercial bus drivers charge N200 from Ring Road to Evbuotubu bus stop, instead of N50.”
A trader in Evbuotubu market, Mrs. Helen Eyerekpen, also called for the intervention of the state governor in repairing the roads, saying traders were losing their businesses to other communities.
“The bad roads have affected us a lot. When residents from Ugbiyoko community want to buy things from our market, they just go to Oba Market or Oliha because we don’t have good roads.
“We want the government to help us; that is why we are here,” the mother of three said.
Another resident, Mr. Matthew Osadolor, also lamented that power outage in the community had not helped matters, adding that his mother, a trader, had been counting her losses due to poor patronage.
“People don’t go to our shops again or the market. Our youths, who learnt welding, cannot work because there is no power supply in the area
“I can’t remember the last time we had electricity in Evbuotubu. The community has one of the largest votes in Egor, but it is like Evbuotubu is not part of Benin.
“My mum owns a shop in Evbuotubu. Just yesterday, she threw away most of her bunches of plantain because they had become bad. The governor should please attend to the area.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Benin Electricity Distribution Company, Mr. Curtis Nwadei, promised to get back to our correspondent, as soon as he got details of the state of power supply in the affected community, from the business manager.
At last, Senate President Bukola Saraki Wednesday received the first twenty – one names of nominees to make President Buhari ministerial list , just as the names would be forwarded in batches.
President Buhari
Vanguard gathered that a former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi and his counterpart in Lagos, Babatunde Fashola were among the names forwarded to the senate.
Others in the list are, former governors, Anambra, Chris Ngige; Abia State, Ogbonaya Onu, Ekiti, Kayode Fayemi; a one time APC governorship flag bearer in Taraba, Aisha Alhassan,
Also said to be on the list are Kayode Fayemi, a former governor of Ekiti State; a former Governor of Anambra State, Chris Ngige; and a one-time Governor of Abia State, Ogbonaya Onu; Amina Mohammed; A former commissioner of Ogun State, Kunle Adeosun; Malami Abubakar (SAN) and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Ibe Kachikwu
Kachikwu’s appointment as Vanguard reported yesterday, will be to function as the junior minister taking charge of day-to-day affairs in the sector while Buhari oversees it as stated by him at the New York on Tuesday, while attending the UN General Assembly, that he, Buhari would be minister of petroleum resources (see more on this).
A source told Vanguard that instead of thirty – six names, President Buhari sent twenty – one names as Ministerial nominees to the Senate President, with plans to send others very early on Tuesday before plenary session.
Senate President Saraki received the long awaited ministerial list from the Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari at 4.59 pm.
The Chief of Staff to the President was accompanied to Saraki’s office by the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang.
There was a new twist to the submission of Ministerial list to the Senate as it was received directly by the Senate President and brought by the Chief of Staff to the President as against the tradition where the office of the Senate President through the registry receives it from the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matter( Senate).
A High Court judge who granted an order that appeared to halt the trial of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, over alleged corruption, has stood down from the case.
Bukola Saraki
Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court excused himself from the case on Wednesday, and transferred the matter to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mahmud Mohammed, for reassigning, the News Agency of Nigeria reported.
He said he took the decision due to “negative reports”, NAN reported.
Mr. Saraki is facing a 13-count charge of alleged corruption and false declaration of assets before the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
He denies wrongdoing and says the case was instigated by those angry he became the Senate president.
After the Code of Conduct Bureau filed charges against him two weeks ago, Mr. Saraki approached a high court to block the trial.
Justice Mohammed summoned the chairman of Code of Conduct Bureau and officials of the Ministry of Justice to explain why he should not order the stoppage of the trial.
The judge’s injunction was rejected by the Code of Conduct Tribunal which argued that the two courts were of coordinate jurisdiction.
Mr. Saraki later appeared before the tribunal after the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal, and asked him to face trial.
On Tuesday, Mr. Saraki was given a vote of confidence by 83 senators.
The National Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal in Taraba State, on Wednesday nullified the election of Bashir Marafa of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
In the judgement, the tribunal ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to issue Certificate of Return to All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate, Yusuf Abubakar.
Reading the judgement, one of the members of the tribunal, Suleiman Yusuf, said the petitioners in case, the APC and its candidate had proved their case beyond reasonable doubt.
The tribunal held that the election of Mr. Marafa, who represents Taraba Central in the Senate, could not stand as he did not score the lawful majority votes in the March 28 election.
The tribunal therefore ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to return Mr. Abubakar as the candidate that scored the majority lawful votes during the polls.
It said that the petitioners, whose main complaint was non-inclusion of results in 16 polling units in Kaigamma Ward of Bali Local Government Area in the overall result, had substantially proved their case.
The tribunal said that the swapping of the results of Social Democratic Party, SDP candidate with the ones of the PDP’s candidates in Takalafiya Ward was also substantially proved.
According to it, the alleged cancellation of results at collation centres, after the presiding officer had announced same results at the polling units, contravened the Electoral Law.
It said that non-inclusion of the results of 16 polling units where elections were credibly conducted and announced was also against the law.
The tribunal held that after re-collation of the results, the APC candidate scored 66,097 votes, while Mr. Marafa of PDP scored 64,356 votes.
The tribunal, therefore, directed INEC to issue the Certificate of Return to the APC candidate as the duly elected candidate who scored the lawful majority votes at the election.
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki has confirmed that he received the wide speculated ministerial list on Wednesday.
Presentation of list of Ministerial Nominees by Chief of Staff to President
He disclosed this on his twitter handle that he received the list at 5pm.
Saraki said “I can confirm to you that I have just received the list.”
President Muhammadu who is presently attending the 70th session of the United Nation General Assembly in New York had promised Nigerians to unveil his list of nominees in Semtemper.
The Senators eagerly waited for the list on Wednesday until they adjourned the plenary to Tuesday next week in the believe that, it was not forth coming.
Senator Dino Melaye had said early Wednesday that the list was yet to reach the Senate.
Pandemonium broke out on Tuesday at the Ogun State Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Isabo, Abeokuta, as suspected thugs flogged politicians who had converged on the court’s premises.
PDP crisis
The attackers, who were armed with canes and other weapons, descended on some notable party chieftains.
Those flogged include supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party, including a former Chairman of Yewa North Local Government, Olusoji Eweje, Sesan Orelaja, and a former women leader of the Labour Party, Mrs. Omolola Soyombo.
The state PDP chairman, Bayo Dayo, and the National Auditor of the party, Alhaji Wole Adeyanju, were said to have narrowly escaped being whipped by the hoodlums.
The free-for-all began shortly after the chairman of the three-man panel, Justice Henry Olusiyi, reserved judgment in the case, in which the governorship candidate of the PDP, Prince Gboyega Isiaka, is challenging the election which returned Senator Ibikunle Amosun of the All Progressives Congress as the state governor for the second time.
Lawyers, other party faithful and journalists had to wait inside the courtroom because the court premises had been turned into a battlefield. The security operatives were overwhelmed by the hoodlums until they called for a reinforcement.
Consequently, more security operatives including men of the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police led by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bello Makwashi, stormed the tribunal to rescue the situation which persisted for more than one hour.
Earlier, counsel for all the parties had adopted their final written addresses and were allowed to address the court while respondents also replied on point of law.
The counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission, Olusina Sofola (SAN), urged the court to strike out all grounds of the petition except two, saying the grounds violated Section 138 of the Electoral Act and were as such incompetent.
Sofola told the court that the reliefs sought in the substantive petition were inconsistent and that the only option for the court “is to throw out the whole petition.”
The counsel for the 2nd respondent, George Oyeniyi, who also prayed the court to dismiss the evidence of PW9 (Benjamin Ibikunle) for being an interested party, argued that the petitioners had abandoned their reliefs.
Oyeniyi described the case as hopeless.
The counsel for the 1st respondent, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), also said what the petitioners were attempting to do was to amend the substantive petition through the back door.
The petitioners had requested the court to cancel the election results in nine local councils and declare Isiaka the winner of the April 11, 2015 governorship poll or order for another election in those contentious local councils.
Meanwhile, the Director of Publicity of Gboyega Isiaka Campaign Organisation, Ifekayode Akinbode, has accused the APC supporters of masterminding the attack on the PDP leaders and supporters, describing it as “barbaric and senseless.”
But the state Publicity Secretary of the APC, Sola Lawal, refuted this claim, stressing that the party “is discipline and has respect for the rule of law and individual, so it is not right to accuse it of using thugs to unleash terror on anyone.”
ABUJA—The Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, said yesterday that the police authorities were not privy to the fact that the family of former Secretary to Government of the Federation, SGF, Chief Olu Falae, who was freed by his kidnappers at Owo, Ondo State last week, paid ransom, saying such payment amounted to encouraging crime.
Police Inspector General, Solomon Arase
The IGP also advised families who might find themselves in such situation in the future to desist from paying ransom since it was not a guarantee that the victim would come out alive.
In a statement issued directly by his office, titled ‘RE-RANSOM PAYMENT BY FAMILY OF CHIEF OLU FALAE’ IGP Arase said: “The office of the Inspector General of Police has been inundated with enquiries on claims by Chief Olu Falae and his family that a ransom was paid to his abductors following the kidnapping incident involving him on September 21 and 24, 2015.
”As a law enforcement agency guided by the rule of law and professional ethics, we do not under any circumstances encourage the payment of ransom to kidnappers or other criminals as it is tantamount to rewarding crime and motivating other criminals to follow that part.
”As such, the police was not in any way privy to any arrangement that would have led to payment of ransom by the elder statesman or his family. For the respected Chief to declare that he paid a ransom is therefore demotivating news.
”Our approach was a professional response to what we saw as a crime against a respected national personality known to embrace peace and who has dedicated his valuable life to selfless service of our nation.
”The Police under the leadership of the Inspector General of Police deployed our unique intelligence and operational capabilities, including Police helicopters on aerial surveillance.
”Our intelligence and operational teams comprising Intelligence response teams (Special Anti-Kidnapping Unit), Conventional and Mobile Policemen were deployed for rescue operation.
”They followed the path from the point of kidnap at his farm at Ilodo, along Igbatoro road in Akure, and trailed the hoodlums through bushes to Owo in Ondo State. In the process, we were able to identify the major actors and currently, high level Police activities are being emplaced to apprehend and bring them to justice.
”As professionals, it is our conviction that the unprecedented massive deployment of Police resources and men to support search and rescue operation put pressure on the criminals to release the elder statesman.
”This is much so, that history has shown that even when ransom is proven to have been paid, the life or safe return of a kidnap victim may not be guaranteed. The primary interest of the Police in this instance and granted the circumstance of this incident was the safe rescue of Chief Olu Falae which was achieved.
”Whatever the family did as regards the payment of ransom was outside the knowledge and consent of the Police and at this point, we wish to advise that in future that families who fall victims of such acts should rather work closely with the police component of the rescue initiatives so that we can achieve the primary purpose of rescuing the victim alive instead of wittingly or unwittingly giving the impression of encouraging criminal activity by rewarding criminals with payment of ransom.”
”In this instance, having confirmed that ransom was paid to the abductors, the police will be interested in widening their investigative scope with a view to exploring the lead further with a view to knowing how the ransom was paid and to whom such payment was made.
”If the payment was perfected through bank transactions, the police has the capacity to track such transactions and will be liaising with the bank to enable us trace the cash and apprehend the perpetrators. This could be an added lead that could strengthen on-going post kidnapping efforts of the police.
”The Inspector General of Police wishes to reassure Nigerians to strengthening and enhancing the safety and security of its citizens while counting on Nigerians to continue to support and work in strong synergy with the police towards the achievement of our statutory mandate.”
BENIN CITY—Tragedy struck in Benin City on Monday, as a driver attached to a private firm in Edo State, crushed his friend, Pa Egbe Eghobawaye, to death, after sharing a local gin, popularly known as Ogogoro, together.
The tragedy started when the driver was said to have visited Pa Eghobawaye, who was theOdionwere (oldest man) of Nekpenekpen Street, off First East Circular road in Benin City, and requested for the local gin from the wife of the deceased, who deals in the local gin.
After sharing the Ogogoro with Pa Eghobawaye, said to be in his 80s, he decided to go back to his office, but lost control of the vehicle and crushed his friend to death, to the surprise of residents of the area.
Angry residents were said to have descended on the driver, but he was rescued by some youths, who handed him over to the Police.
The Odionwere was said to be having a shave in front of his house after the drink with his friend, when the truck driver lost control, and hit him.
Wife of the deceased who witnessed the incident, was said to have fainted, and was rushed to the hospital where she was revived.
Brother to the deceased, Mr. Solomon Omoregie, who spoke to newsmen, lamented that “for a company driver to kill my brother like this, is very callous. We will not take the law into our hands and we have told our family members not to take any action by burning the vehicle or by killing the man. We want the police to take up the case and do what is necessary”
At the time of this report, it was gathered that the Odionwere was buried Monday night following his instruction to his children that his corpse should not be deposited in the mortuary.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Stephen Onwuche, said the driver had been arrested and that investigations were ongoing to ascertain the real cause of the incident.
ONITSHA—Leader of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, yesterday, gave what he termed as genuine reasons the United Nations should allow Biafra to be separated from Nigeria.
Biafra Soldiers
One of the reasons, he stated, was that the population of the former Eastern state, now South East and part of South South that make up Biafra land can currently boast of over 10 million people, adding that the Biafran people naturally do not share similar culture and tradition with Hausa-Fulani of the North and Yoruba of the South West as to continue to remain together under one country called Nigeria.
According to Uwazuruike, another reason was that MASSOB, as a separatist group, had all it takes to run a sovereign state of Biafra, having had enough instruments, structures, flag, currency, coat of arms and defence to assume a status of an existing government.
Uwazuruike, who spoke to newsmen, yesterday in Onitsha, Anambra State, through MASSOB’s Deputy National Director of Information, Mazi Chris Mocha, ahead of the on-going UN General Assembly, renewed his call on the world body to accord a recognition to Biafra as a sovereign state, just as it did to South Sudan which had been accorded a sovereign status since July 9, 2011.
He recalled that US had classified Nigeria, Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan as failed states which needed to be divided between 2011 and 2015, adding that it was only from Sudan that South Sudan was carved out on July 9, 2011, remaining Nigeria, Ethiopia and Somalia.
He cited examples of carving out of East-Timor with only a population of about 821,000 from Indonesia on May 22, 2002; carving out of Serbia with a population of about 10 million from Montenegro on July 2006; carving out of South Ossertia from Georgia and carving out of Kosovo from Serbia on February 17, 2008.
He, therefore, urged UN to grant the sovereignty of Biafra to save the people from further annihilation in Nigeria since there was no basis whatsoever for Biafra people’s continued stay with Nigeria, adding, “Nigeria cannot make any appreciable economic progress until Biafra is allowed to go, particularly now that Lord Fredrick Luggard’s amalgamation of 1914 has since January 1, 2014, expired after 100 years of the amalgamation.”
He wondered why the UN had not been proactive in tackling the knotty problems of the oppressed in Nigeria and asked rhetorically: “is UN waiting till things degenerate into full blown war again or to continue as genocide before they will act?”
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria on Tuesday said 10 more corpses of deceased Nigerian pilgrims had been identified, bringing the number of pilgrims who died at Mina stampede, to 64.
Giving newsmen an update on the incident in Mecca, Alhaji Uba Mana, the Director, Public Affairs of the commission, said 244 pilgrims had been declared missing.
Mana said 71 pilgrims were injured as against the 61 pilgrims earlier announced by the commission.
He said of the 64 deceased pilgrims, 46 were transported to Saudi Arabia by state pilgrims’ welfare agencies and 18 by private tour operators.
Mana also said that 12 of the 71 injured pilgrims were transported to Saudi Arabia by tour operators and 59 by state pilgrims’ welfare agencies.
He said the deceased were from Adamawa,Bauchi, Borno, Ekiti, Jigawa, FCT, Cross Rivers, Gombe, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kaduna, Kwara, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Plateau, Rivers Sokoto, Yobe, Taraba, and Zamfara states.
NAN recalls that more than 749 pilgrims were reported to have died, and 805 others injured, during Thursday’s stampede on the way to the Jamrat complex (stoning site) in Mina, Saudi Arabia.
THE Senate, expectedly, had a stormy session on Tuesday as some members of the upper legislative chamber protested the passing of vote of confidence in the Senate president, Olusola Saraki, by 83 senators.
Bukola Saraki
Tuesday was the Senate’s first plenary since the arraignment of Saraki by the Code of Conduct Bureau for false asset declaration. The senior lawmakers had been on break since August 13.
Members of the House of Representatives, however, on Tuesday, said they had chosen to support the anti-corruption crusade of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Speaker of the House, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, conveyed the position of the House in an address to lawmakers as they reconvened in Abuja after a six-week annual recess.
There was uproar in the Senate as the senator representing Zamfara Central Senatorial District, Kabir Marafa, complained that he was denied the opportunity to air his own view before the Senate president subjected the confidence motion to vote.
Senator Babajide Omoworare also protested the inclusion of his name as a co-sponsor of the confidence vote in Saraki.
Omoworare, representing Osun East Senatorial District, said his consent was not sought even as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Business.
He later, in a statement, dissociated himself from the vote of confidence passed in Saraki.
In an electronic mail to one of our correspondents, Omoworare said he was not contacted before his name was included in the list of 84 senators, who passed votes of confidence in Saraki.
He had then moved that his name should be struck out of the motion.
The motion for the lawmakers to pass vote of confidence in the Senate president was moved by an All Progressives Congress member representing Niger East Senatorial District, David Umaru, on behalf of 83 others.
The motion, reportedly endorsed by 48 Peoples Democratic Party senators and 35 APC senators, was passed by overwhelming shout of ‘ye’ by the lawmakers.
It was the second confidence vote in Saraki in as many as two months. Eighty-one out of the 108 members of the Senate passed a similar vote on July 28
Umaru, while moving the motion, had noted alleged interference in the affairs of the senate “by detractors and media propaganda against senators, the senate and its leadership for selfish politicians.”
He said the Senate would not allow itself to be distracted and that it would not succumb to blackmail in the course of carrying out its constitutional responsibilities.
He therefore called on innocent Nigerians, groups and political associations not to allow themselves to be used by any person or persons to intimidate or blackmail the Senate and its leadership.
But Marafa,who is the spokesperson for the Senate Unity Forum, a group opposed to the leadership of the Senate by Saraki, caused an uproar by noting that Saraki was only calling on his supporters to contribute.
Marafa, who was later recognised to speak after Saraki had ruled on the motion, cited order 53 (5) of the Senate Standing Rule, which forbids the Senate from discussing any issue before the court.
The insistence of Saraki that Marafa should also read the provision of Order 53 (6), which equally forbids any senator from raising any issue upon which the Senate president had ruled upon, degenerated into an open confrontation between the two lawmakers.
While Marafa argued that Saraki deliberately denied him an opportunity to talk before he ruled on the issue, the Senate president stood his ground and ruled the Zamfara senator out of order.
An angry Marafa consequently stood up and accused Saraki of giving only his loyalists the opportunity to speak on the floor and the resultant reactions from both pro- and anti – Saraki senators disrupted the deliberation on the motion on the outbreak of cholera moved by Senator Soni Ogbuoji.
An APC member representing Bauchi Central, Senator Issah Missau, climbed his seat and shouted on Marafa to “shut up and sit down” and Marafa responded by threatening to beat up Missau.
At the height of the confusion in the chamber, the immediate past Senate president, David Mark, stood up and quietly walked out.
In the ensuing confusion, Saraki called on the Sergeant-at-Arms to bring the proceedings to order but some of Marafa’s colleagues in the SUF, led by Senator Ahmad Lawan, sent back the Sergeant-at-Arms, saying the situation was under control.
Marafa was thereafter led out of the chamber by some senators who took him to the office of Senator Olusola Adeyeye (Osun Central) and barred him from speaking to journalists.
The aggrieved senator later returned to the chamber and the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, apologised on his behalf to the Senate.
The Senate spokesperson, Senator Dino Melaye, while addressing journalists after the plenary, lamented “the unruly behaviour of Marafa” and warned that the Senate would take necessary disciplinary action against him in future if he repeated such attitude.
Melaye said, “The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, in session, apologised to Nigerians for the unbecoming attitude of Senator Marafa. That act is disgraceful, unacceptable and condemnable and that the senate regrets that.
“We want to assure Nigerians that this will be the last time that the Senate will condone such misbehaviour. His action contravenes Section 56 of the Standing Rule of the Senate but his misbehaviour is regrettable.
“The Senate will do everything within its powers to ensure that the situation does not repeat itself and where it is repeated, it would be met with stiff adherence to the rules of the Senate.”
The Police Service Commission has dismissed two senior officers for acts unbecoming of law officers.
It also retired compulsorily two others and reduced the ranks of another three at its 13th plenary meeting which was presided over by the commission Chairman, Mike Okiro in Abuja.
According to a statement on Tuesday by the Head, Press and Public Relations, PSC, Ikechukwu Ani, the commission deliberated on 37 Pending Disciplinary Matters and 65 appeals and petitions before it.
Out of the 65 appeals and petitions, approval was given by the commission for the reinstatement of 15 officers, nine were reinstated and retired while 41 others were rejected, the statement added.
It partly read,”The commission approved the dismissal of two senior police officers, retired compulsorily two others and reduced the ranks of another three.
“It also approved letters of severe reprimand for 11 senior Officers, letters of reprimand for eight, letters of warning for three and letters of advice for four; The commission also exonerated four police officers.”
Former Governor Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State who was declared the winner of the disputed All Progressives Congress governorship primary last week has accepted the cancellation of the exercise by the leadership of the party.
Timipre Sylva
His campaign team, however, boasted that he would win the next primary.
The Timipre Sylva Campaign Organisation described the invalidation of the primary as unfortunate.
A statement signed on behalf of the campaign team by Mr. Doifie Buokoribo, on Tuesday, however, said Sylva would abide by the party’s decision because as a loyal party member, he believes in the supremacy of the party.
The campaign organisation, in the statement titled, “We will win again,” told supporters to remain calm and steadfast, saying, “Ultimately, our victory is sure.”
The statement by the campaign team read in part, “The cancellation of the September 22 primary, where Chief Timipre Sylva was overwhelmingly voted by the APC family in our state to be the governorship candidate at the December 5 governorship election, is unfortunate.
“But as loyal and faithful party folks, we have the serenity to accept the decision in the larger interest of our great party. We urge our teeming supporters to remain peaceful and unruffled, rest assured that all is well.
“Ultimately, our victory is sure. Our hope cannot be annulled. Our mission to rescue Bayelsa State from the grip of maladministration and underdevelopment is a task that must be accomplished.”
It urged delegates to turn out more than ever on Wednesday to repeat the “overwhelming endorsement you gave Sylva on September 22.”
Though there had been fears that Sylva might head for the courts to stop the new primary, sources said influential members of the party prevailed on him not to take any action that would be inimical to the interest of the party.
Sylva was said to have dropped the idea of going to court and decided to participate in the fresh primary to safeguard the interest of the party ahead of the December 5 governorship election.
A former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, says President Muhammadu Buhari, who is a Fulani man, is sympathetic towards Fulani herdsmen.
Femi Fani-Kayode
The former minister said this in a Facebook post titled, ‘Herdsmen from hell’ while reacting to the abduction of a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
Fani-Kayode said Buhari had in the past referred to Fulani herdsmen as ‘my people’. He, therefore, argued that he was not surprised that Fulani herdsmen were hardly arrested despite their many acts of violence.
He said, “In the last few years the Fulani herdsmen have attacked, ravaged and pillaged many rural communities south of the River Niger and they have slaughtered and raped thousands of innocent people in the South-South, the South-East and the South-West.
“We recall how, after a violent clash between them and some Yoruba farmers in Oyo State in 2000, General Buhari (as he then was) led a strong delegation of northern leaders to see the late Governor of Oyo State, Lam Adeshina. On arrival, Buhari put the question to him: ‘Why are your people killing my people?’ This was a classic case of a Freudian slip.
“The Bible says out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The general had spoken his mind. Governor Adeshina was shocked with disbelief and he responded by telling Buhari that he was rather surprised that a former Head of State would refer to one ethnic group as his people while referring to another as someone else’s.”
Fani-Kayode, who was the spokesperson for former President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign organisation, said Buhari had never shown concern for the plight of the people of the South.
He said this was why it took Buhari 48 hours to react to Falae’s kidnap.
Fani-Kayode said it was possible that Buhari knew those behind the abduction Falae because the herdsmen released Falae 24 hours after the presidency condemned the abduction. He noted that no one had since been arrested for Falae’s kidnap.
He added, “Another curious twist to the tale is the fact that it took the Buhari administration two days to make any formal announcement on Falae’s abduction and just the day after they (Presidency) finally did so, the elder statesman was suddenly released.
“The question is this: who is pulling the strings from behind the scenes and who is attempting to test our resolve and test the waters?”
The Peoples Democratic Party chieftain said Falae’s claim that the Fulani herdsmen had links with Boko Haram should not be ignored.
He said the Fulani herdsmen were a security threat and could easily cause crisis in the South-West having populated the entire region under the guise of selling cattle.
As the nation awaits President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial list, the President on Tuesday said he would head the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
President Buhari
Buhari dropped the hint in one of the interviews he granted one of the foreign media in his hotel shortly before departing New York.
The President was in New York to participate in the 70th United Nations General Assembly.
“I will serve as the Minister of Petroleum Resources myself,” Buhari told his interviewer.
The nation’s petroleum sector has been said to be enmeshed in corruption with millions of dollars said to be missing in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
Shortly after assuming office, Buhari sacked and replaced the management of the company.
The new management had started a general reorganisation of the firm.
Buhari had on Monday said the trial of those who looted the NNPC would commence soon.
Meanwhile, ministerial list that President Muhammadu Buhari will submit to the Senate on Wednesday (today)will not contain all the members of his proposed cabinet, THE PUNCH has learnt.
Buhari was inaugurated on May 29, having defeated former President Goodluck Jonathan in the presidential election held in March.
Investigation by one of our correspondents on Tuesday revealed that what would be transmitted to the Senate this week would not be a complete list of nominees.
A top government official familiar with the arrangement confided in one of our correspondents that Buhari would send the names of the nominees to the Senate in batches.
“What the Senate will be getting on Tuesday or Wednesday will not be a complete list. The names will be sent in batches but quite a number will be on this first list while others will be compiled and sent later,” the source said.
The President may have decided to send the names in batches in order to meet the September deadline he set for himself rather than waiting to compile the full list and fail to beat the deadline.
Efforts made by one of our correspondents to get an insight into the list of the first batch of would-be ministers did not however yield any positive result on Tuesday.
The issue of the list has however been generating concerns among members of Buhari’s delegation to the 70th United Nations General Assembly holding in New York.
Many of the politicians on the President’s delegation who felt they might be considered for ministerial positions were getting in touch with Nigeria intermittently on the telephone for latest information on the list while they also kept making themselves visible for Buhari.
Some of them who could not hide their anxiety were heard asking Nigerian journalists if they had latest information on the list.
Prominent chiefs of the All Progressives Congress on the President’s delegation include a former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi; a former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi; and a former member of the House of Representatives, Abike Dabiri-Erewa among others.
Meanwhile, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said on Tuesday that his leadership would not employ vendetta in the screening of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s wise men.
Saraki, who stated this in his welcome address to his colleagues at a plenary after their six-week recess, expressed confidence that Nigeria’s economy would experience a turn-around with the appointment of ministers.
He said, “As we await the list of ministerial nominees this week, I believe the presence of ministers will create the space for greater policy engagement with the executive arm of government.
“It will also enable us to begin to respond in a more systematic manner to the various economic and social challenges before us, especially through our various committees that will also be constituted soon.
“On this note, I want to urge you all my colleagues to ensure that what is uppermost in our minds as we begin the constitutional task of screening of ministerial nominees is the overall interest of our country, informed by the enormity and the urgency of the challenges before us.
“Once the list is submitted, let us ensure that we treat it with dispatch and thoroughness. We must not be held down by unnecessary politicking.”
The police in Edo State on Tuesday arraigned two men before an Egor Magistrate’s Court for allegedly raping and assaulting a 12-year-old girl in Egor local government area of the state.
Names of the suspects were given as Festus Owie (20) and Blessing Ebiminor (21).
They were arraigned on a three-count charge of defilement, rape and assault and the offence was committed on October 26, 2014 at 46, First Oromina Street, off Siluko road, Benin City.
The offences contravene Sections 218 and 222 of the Criminal Code Cap 48, Vol II, Laws of the defunct Bendel State of Nigeria, 1976, applicable in the state.
The charges read, ” That you, Festus Owie (aka Ebo) on or about October, 2014, at about 1200 hours at No. 46, First Oromina Street, off Siluko road, Benin City, in the Egor Magisterial district did unlawfully have sexual intercourse with one Beauty (surname withheld) aged 12 years, by inserting your penis into her vagina and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 218 of the Criminal Code Cap 48, Vol II, Laws of the defunct Bendel State of Nigeria, 1976, as applicable in Edo State.
“That you, Blessing Ebiminor, on or about October, 2014, at about 1200 hours at No. 46, First Oromina Street, off Siluko road, Benin City, in the Egor Magisterial district, did indecently assault one Beauty (surname withheld) aged 12 years, against her consent and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 222 of the Criminal Code Cap 48, Vol II, Laws of the defunct Bendel State of Nigeria, 1976, as applicable in Edo State.
The suspects pleaded not guilty and the Presiding Magistrate, Igho Braimoh, insisted that the case must go on despite pleas that the first accused person has paid the victim the sum of N100,000 to withdraw the case.
Braimoh adjourned the case to October 19 for further hearing.
ABUJA–SENATE President,Bukola Saraki,Tuesday,reiterated that his trial by the Code of Conduct Tribunal,CCT,was being influenced by people outside the National Assembly who were not comfortable with his emergence as Senate President
But he said the ‘intruders’ were fighting a lost battle as they were not National Assembly members to effect their desired leadership in the Red Chamber.
Bukola Saraki
This was even as he disclosed that the screening of the ministerial nominees being awaited by the Senate would not be business as usual,vowing that the exercise would be thoroughly carried out.
Speaking while welcoming senators back,after six weeks of recess, Saraki insisted that his travails in the hands of the anti-graft agency were the handiwork of those he referred to as “powerful individuals outside” the legislature.
“I wish to reiterate my remarks before the Tribunal, that I have no iota of doubt that I am on trial today because I am the president of the Nigerian Senate, against the wishes of some powerful individuals outside this Chambers,”he said.
In an apparent reference to the outsiders,the Senate President said: “The laws of Nigeria does not give any consideration to any other forces outside the Senate in the election of its President.
“And to yield the ground on this note, is to be complicit in the subversion of democracy and its core principles of separation of powers as enshrined in our constitution.”
“This, in your wisdom, is what you have done by electing me to be the first among all of you who are my equals,”he told his colleagues.
He said the activities of the powerful individuals outside the legislature would not deter him,vowing that he would always defend the independence of the legislature.
He also noted that too many people have fought and died for the democracy being enjoyed in the country today,adding: “We would not be honouring them and their memories if we allow the sad chapters of our history to continue to repeat themselves like a bad curse.”
“As for me, I am prepared to do my duty in defence of our democracy and in safeguarding the independence of the National Assembly. My duty, as I see it, is to do justice and honour to the memory of those who have paid even higher prices to give us this democracy and this constitution.”
“Primarily as a senator of the Federal Republic and as Senate President, I owe it to this Senate to stand strong in the face of relentless persecution.
“I invite all of you to stand with me to defend this Senate and preserve its sanctity.
“Ultimately, our legacies would not be defined by how long we stay here and in whatever position; but by what we did with this great opportunity that our people have given us by the grace of Almighty God,”he stressed.
But he commended President Muhammadu Buhari, for refusing to interfere in the election of the National Assembly leadership “even in the face of enormous pressures on him to do so.”
He said the action of the president “proved quite concretely that he is indeed a born-again democrat.”
Speaking on the awaited ministerial screening, Senator Saraki said: “As we await the list of ministerial nominees this week, I believe the presence of ministers will create the space for greater policy engagement with the Executive Arm of government and enable us to begin to respond in a more systematic manner to the various economic and social challenges before us, especially through our various Committees that will also be constituted soon.
“On this note, I want to urge you all my colleagues to ensure that what is uppermost in our minds as we begin the constitutional task of screening of ministerial nominees is the overall interest of our country, informed by the enormity and the urgency of the challenges before us.
“Once the list is submitted, let us ensure that we treat it with dispatch and thoroughness. We must not be held down by unnecessary politicking. The enormity of our national challenges at this time does not give room for pettiness or politics of vendetta,”he charged senators.
The Senate President added:”This is an auspicious moment for us to rededicate ourselves to all that which will advance our nation,move us closer to the dreams of our founding fathers and our attain ourdestiny as the greatest nation of the black race on the planet.
“All that we seek for our country is achievable in our life time if we all play our part and forsake our old ways. But the least we must do is to ensure that while we are here, we are able to lay the necessary foundation for our children and their children to live a more prosperous life.”
Saraki charged senators to sit up to their constitutional responsibilities,vowing that the Senate under his watch will exercise it functions without fear or favour.
BENIN—SIX-YEAR-OLD Miss Sharon Eghobamien, a pupil of Eriya Group of Schools, Ihogbe, Benin-City, Edo State, was playing in her mother’s shop when three randy male students of the School of Nursing, Benin, swooped on her, whisked her away to a hideout where they defiled her.
SIX-YEAR-OLD Miss Sharon Eghobamien, a pupil of Eriya Group of Schools
That was on the May 25, 2015.When she was questioned by her mother, Mrs. Rachel Eghobamien, a petty trader, who observed that her daughter was always complaining of abdominal pains, frequent urinating and defecating, she opened up on how the three students usually whisk her through the window, took her to their hostel and rape her.
She gave the names of the suspected rapists as Kennedy, Paul Aghama and Jeffery, saying they carried out the escapades whenever she (Mrs Eghobamien) was not around. Suspicion: Mrs. Eghobamien told Niger Delta Voice that she became apprehensive that something grave might have happened to her daughter when she noticed that she was not walking normally and always complained of abdominal pains, urinating frequently and defecating.
Charge ofdefilement
“I begin to question her and she then told me that whenever I am not in the shop, these boys always took her away through the window to their hostels to defile her” “I took her to the Central Hospital Benin where she was examined by a doctor and it was discovered that she had been defiled and her hymen was already broken. I then reported the case at the Aideyan Police Station, Benin City and from there it was transferred to Esigie Police Station, the section in charge of defilement cases in Benin.”
Strange development
She disclosed that while the matter was still with the Edo State Police Command, where the suspected students were detained pending police investigation, something curious happened.
Her words, “While police officers at Esigie Police Station were carrying out discreet investigation to unravel the intrigues behind the defilement as instructed by the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. James Ezike, the suspects and their cohorts concocted a frivolous petition to the office of the AIG, Zone 5.”
Mrs Eghobamien, a casual worker at the School of Nursing, said while the suspects under investigation by the state Police Command were in detention, some officials of the School of Nursing, Benin approached her to withdraw the case from the police.
She said she refused and they deprived her from removing her things from the school until date. Consequently, she said that her life was threatened and following the boasting from the suspects that they have some powerful individuals, who would use their positions to influence the Office of the AIG, Zone 5 investigating the case to give them a safe landing, she decided to consult a Benin based legal practitioner, Olayiwola Afolabi, on the issue.
Incredulous police report: Afolabi in a petition to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, appealed to him to allow an independent panel of police investigators in- charge of defilement matters other than those from the office of the AIG Zone 5 to conduct fresh investigation into the case.
He said that some powerful persons used their positions to influence the office of the AIG, Zone 5 to sweep the heinous crime under the carpet and more so, cases of rape fall under the purview of the state Police Command.
The solicitor asserted, “To our greatest chagrin, our client was told that the said investigation report contains among other things that her daughter, who is only six years old is the one responsible for her broken hymen by using instruments to penetrate her vagina; this fact only points to one direction – that the boasting of the suspects was true.”
“The curious thing about this matter is that while the case was pending at AIG Zone 5, Ministry of Health officers that oversee the School of Nursing called our client to come with her daughter that was defiled. After our client and her daughter had made statement to them, they began to ask her what exactly she wanted with the case at the AIG Zone 5, using her words.
“We have laboured to bring before the Inspector General of Police the various intrigues associated with this case due to the fact that the family of the victim has no money but we believe the Inspector General of Police is only our hope in this matter,” he said.
Arase overrules AIG
Following the petition from the legal practitioner, the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, reverted an earlier report from the AIG’s office, which stated that the six-year-old girl penetrated her private part with instruments. He directed the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Chris Ezkike, through his Principal Staff Officer, Idowu Owohunwa (ACP), to step up investigation into the case.
…Residents flee Omoku, Obrikom communities …LG chair blasts security agencies for incompetence …Youth leader absolves police, tells off LG chair
By Davies Iheamnachor & Gift Nwankpa
OMOKU—UNIDENTIFIED gunmen have run amok in Rivers State, killing at least 15 persons at Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, ONELGA, of the state in the last few weeks. The gory massacre has sent shivers down the spine of residents. The armed men, apparently seething with rage that over 200 cultists renounced cultism in the area, took aim at Omoku community lately, shooting sporadically and exterminating the lives of innocent people in all their three raids.
Cult clash
Niger Delta Voice gathered that, indeed, about 200 cultists, formerly of the Icelander Cult, terrorizing the area, openly repudiated their membership of the group at a Peace and Prayer programme organized by the ONELGA Youth Forum. The development restored hope to the people of the area, as many residents who relocated from the area returned when they heard about the wind of change blowing in the community.
Transient respite: However, the relief was temporal, as barely one week after the entreaty programme, the gunmen returned in full swing shattering the fragile peace enjoyed by the people for less than 30 days. The gangsters exterminated five persons that renounced cultism, penultimate Sunday, in Omoku town. They also invaded Omoruyi Street in the same community at about 9.00 pm and killed another five persons.
The Sunday incident raised palpable tension in Omoku town with people scampering to bed earlier than usual. A source told Niger Delta Voice that some of those who allegedly disowned cultism in the peace programme were not faithful to their promise.
Youth leader laments killings:
A youth leader in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government, Mr. Bright Abali condemned the deliberate killings of the innocent people as a senseless murder.
Abali, one of the youths that organized the peace programme where the cultists purportedly repented, said the level of killings in the area, especially after over 200 cultists turned their back on cultism was affecting the community. He said: “Politics have come and gone we should not continue to carry dead bodies, we cannot continue like this. I call on these masked gunmen to sheath their sword. Let it not look as if they deceived us.”
Fresh strike: While citizens were bemoaning the Omuku invasion, cultists struck, last Wednesday, at Obrikom community, killing six persons. Sources said the cultists opened fire soon as they stormed the community and like Omoku episode, Obrikom villagers were currently moving out of the under attack town.
LG chair blames security agencies, peace organizers: Contacted, chair of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area, Mr. Austin Ahiamadu, blamed the security agencies over the killings, stressing that the security agencies refused to live up to expectation in securing lives and properties in the area
Security agencies
He also criticized the peace reconciliation rally held in the area by a group, stressing that it was wrong to organize such programme without involving the local government council. He disclosed that the council had organized a security and peace meeting with both the security agencies and community stakeholders to proffer solution to the root cause of the crisis.
Big deception
Ahiamadu asserted, “The boys have not repented, if they had, why do they kill people, how will people who claim they have repented still be killing our people over nothing. “What they did was just a mere deceit, how would they organize a peace move without the knowledge of the local government,” he added.
Ahiamadu called on the state government and security agencies to re-double efforts in retuning normalcy, pointing out, “The situation is getting out of hand here.”
Youth chair tackles LG chair
The chair of ONELGA Youth Forum, Kingsley Ogumike, took the local government boss to the cleaners, accusing him of leading the people from a promised land.
“How would he know what his happening here when he rules from outside the local government area, he will not know the efforts of the police because he is not around, we did our best and deserve commendation, we sent invitation to everyone, including him but he was not around to receive it. God knows where is ruling the local government from,” he said.
Police vow to fish out criminals
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kimo Musa, who confirmed the killings, said police were currently investigating the incidents.
Musa said that the police were on top of the situation and would unravel and bring the culprits to book. He enjoined the people of the area to go about their normal businesses and make available any useful to the police.
The House of Representatives said on Tuesday that it wholly supported the anti-corruption war of the Federal Government and its decision to cleanse the polity of sleaze.
Yakubu Dogara
But, the House urged “great circumspection” in the ongoing prosecution of the President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, over alleged false asset declaration “in order to maintain proper focus in the pursuit of the common good.”
The Speaker of the House, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, conveyed the position of the House in an address to lawmakers as they reconvened in Abuja after a six-week annual recess.
The House commended Saraki for submitting himself to the jurisdiction of the Code of Conduct Tribunal to pass the message that nobody was above the law.
Dogara added, “The barometer of the polity has been on the rise of late because of certain developments concerning the arraignment of the President of the Senate.
“While commending the President of the Senate for submitting himself to the jurisdiction of the Code of Conduct Tribunal in the recognition that no person is above the law, I wish to caution that there is need for great circumspection in times such as this in order to maintain proper focus in pursuit of the common good.
“In this regard, I wish to commend you, my dear colleagues, for the maturity of avoiding further escalation through media commentaries.
“We commend and fully support the effort of government towards sanitising the polity through the war against corruption, impunity and other vices. “
Dogara noted that the House expected institutions created by Acts of the National Assembly to be fair and ensure that justice was seen to have been done at all times.
He noted that acting to the contrary could be a stain on the success of democracy.
“As legislators with the mandate of making as well as reforming the law, we expect that these institutions, which are the creation of these laws, would prove their capacity for fairness, justice and strict adherence to the rule of law in order not to endanger our democracy.
“I am confident that our justice system has the capacity to do justice to all citizens. In any case, the legislature remains the bulwark in defence of our democracy, fundamental human rights and rule of law,” the speaker added.
To his colleagues, Dogara reminded them of the fact that they must lead by example by being above board to be able to perform their duties of over-sighting Ministries, Agencies of government.
“We must, at all times, remind ourselves that we are equally been over-sighted by the people whose mandate we hold and indeed ultimately by God.
“We will therefore do well to adopt the righteous doctrine of leadership by example. Only then shall we be able to face accountability with confidence,” the speaker told his colleagues.
Although, Dogara applauded the introduction of the Treasury Single Account by the government, describing the policy as “commendable”, he observed that extra-budgetary expenditure by agencies also fell under revenue leakages.
Sen. Oluremi Tinubu on Tuesday said that she did not get the support of her husband, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to run for second term in the past National Assembly elections.
Senator Oluremi Tinubu Credit: Punch News
Tinubu, Lagos Central Senatorial District, made the disclosure while answering questions at the ongoing “Women in Government’’ conference organised by the South-West Region of the Department For International Development (DFID).
The conference was organised in collaboration with the Lagos State Office of the Deputy Governor.
She said that it was her district leaders who got the form for her and talked her husband into allowing her to run for the position.
According to her, Asiwaju likes his wife to be at home, and what is more confusing to me is that most Muslim men do not want their wives to work, but I am a hard worker.
“People have been saying that I got to this position because I am Asiwaju’s wife.
`What they did not realise is that in the past election, my husband asked me not to go for a second term.
“It was the leaders in my district that got me the form and talked to him that they wanted me to go back.
“You can go to my district, the elites might not know me but the grassroots are the ones supporting and voting massively for me.
“I think that is enough for me and that is how you can get elected, you have to really identify with your people; if really know your people, they will stand up for you,’’ she said.
Tinubu said she fought and worked hard as it was difficult getting the vote of the masses.
“When I got the bill to run for primaries, I told my husband that I needed money and he said no money.
“I fought with the people in my constituency because they said I have to give them more money and I said no, what about the ones I have been giving to you before?
“If you are not going to vote, so be it.
“They said that they were just voting for me because of Asiwaju and I responded that Asiwaju is not even supporting me, then, you can go and vote for him.
“But I’m grateful they voted for me.
“I have realised that when you are elected, you have to go back and work with your constituency because that is where your support and vote rests,’’ she said.
A recently married Pakistani woman died after her in-laws forced her to drink acid, for bringing what they considered to be insufficient dowry, police said on Tuesday.
The crime occurred Monday in the Daska area of Punjab province.
Police official Rana Riaz said 25-year-old Takreem Bibi was married on September 4, and her in-laws were angry about her dowry.
“She was taken to hospital, where she died due to internal injuries caused by acid consumption,” he said.
Raiz told newsmen that the police were still trying to track down Bibi’s husband in connection the crime.
The killing of women for lack of dowry is common in Pakistan.
Last week, 26-year-old woman was poisoned to death by her husband in the same region, Daska, for not bringing enough dowry
Almost 1000 protesters comprising various socio-political pressure groups have barricaded the entrance of the National Assembly, Abuja, in support of the embattled Senate President, Olubukola Abubakar Saraki.
They carried various placards with different inscriptions but two dominant messages were; “Stop the political witch-hunt of Saraki”, and “Enough is enough, we support Saraki and Ekweremadu”.
They cited the case of ongoing false assets declaration at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Abuja, as a pure case of “political witch-hunt”.
One of the groups, which also matched through the Bayelsa House to the National Assembly, used the warned anti-graft agencies “to desist from being used against perceived political enemies” of some powerful figures in the All Progressive Congress (APC).
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde, monday said corrupt people had now taken their crimes beyond borders, and therefore canvassed for collaboration among all anti-graft agencies across West African region to rid the region of economic and financial crimes.
EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde
He stated this at the opening ceremony of the maiden training programme of the Network of National Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa, NACIWA, which was held at the EFCC Academy, Karu, Abuja.
In his paper entitled: ‘West African Law Enforcement Agencies Must Cooperate to Win War on Corruption,’ Lamorde noted that such professional relationships come in very handy when bureaucratic bottlenecks threaten to derail law enforcement activities across jurisdictions.
“We must bear in mind that the criminals who we are after, have no problems whatsoever forging such cross-jurisdictional operational alliances in order to perpetrate crimes.
“Crimes in each of our nations today have not only grown in proportion, but in sophistication, and criminals now have reaches across national institutions and borders, and can even threaten the very existence of some states,” he said.
The anti-graft czar, while commending the creation of NACIWA – a coalition of anti-corruption agencies across the West African sub-region, noted that such a body could not have come at a most auspicious time, and that the training will provide participants a veritable platform of networking and sharing of ideas.
On his part, President Muhammadu Buhari has again stressed his determination and resolve to strengthen anti-graft agencies in Nigeria, with the view of ensuring that the war on corruption is fought to a conclusion.
The president, who was represented by the Secretary to the Federal Government (SFG), Babachir David Lawal, noted that corruption would always fight back, thus necessitating the need to strengthen various anti-graft agencies in the country.
“We shall strengthen agencies in the country involved in the corruption war,” he said, noting that the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies in the country had been charged to ramp up the corruption war and “save us from the scourge of corruption.”
Expressing the resolve of the current administration to ensure that the war against corruption is prosecuted to the letter, he said: “The time to act against corruption is now, and we do not have to wait till all the resources are in place. It is now.”
The president added: “They’ll fight back, indeed, they are already fighting back, but what they don’t know is that there is the will to ensure victory is achieved, because we have to reclaim our stolen wealth.”
President of NACIWA, Issoufou Boureima, while expressing gratitude to the EFCC for playing a pivotal role in the establishment of NACIWA, and for hosting the training which had participants from Republic of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Republic of Niger, Senegal, Togo, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, stressed the need for anti-graft agencies in the sub region to unite in fighting corruption.
While commending the commitment of the EFCC chairman in the fight against corruption and the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC for its unalloyed support: in the creation of NACIWA, he said, “There is need for us to eradicate corruption and deploy every effort in a very sincere manner to check corruption in our society.”
In his remarks, the regional representative of the UNODC, Samuel De-Jaegere, re-echoed the views of Lamorde, noting that it was very important for anti-graft in the region to share knowledge, skills and information in the war against corruption.
“Now that we have NACIWA, which is essential for collaboration among anti-corruption agencies in the sub region, all of us have to work closely to make sure we win the war against corruption,” he said.
De-Jaegere said the establishment of NACIWA could not have come at a better time because, “we need to collaborate to bring those who steal our wealth, flee neighbouring countries with the aim of keeping the ill-gotten wealth abroad.”
Joseph Kamara, chairman, anti-corruption commission in Sierra Leone, reinforced the need for a reinvigorated commitment in fighting corruption.
“It’s a heavy burden on us to discharge, and collaborate, because it is not only a necessity, we definitely need to build a stronger network,” he said.
On his part, Brown Odigie, representative of the Head, Democracy and Good Governance at the ECOWAS, Eyesan Okorodudu, further stressed the need to achieve the goals of NACIWA.
“We need to ensure that the goal is achieved, and the key objective, is for NACIWA to increase capacity among member states to fight corruption,” he said.
Other dignitaries at the opening ceremony included Ekpo Nta, chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC); Sam Saba, Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB); Salawu O. Bello, Director, Operations, Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA), who represented the DG of NIA, A. G. Wobin; a Corps Commander representing the Corps Marshall of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), and Hycinth Dagala, who represented the Inspector General of Police (IG), Solomon Arase.
Your rescue slogan visionless, rudderless – APGA tells Okorocha
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has asked the Imo State Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, not to delude himself that the people are happy with his performance.
Okorocha
In a statement issued on Sunday by APGA’s National Director of Publicity, Mr. Ifeanacho Oguejiofor, the party described the governor’s rescue mission slogan as nothing but “visionless and rudderless, that needs to be truly rescued from crass ineptitude and gross maladministration.”
The party said its attention had been drawn to the self-serving and personal glorification interview granted by Okorocha in which he made disparaging and caustic remarks against APGA, adding that the party was more than just a political association which nobody can wish away, not even the governor.
While cautioning the governor to mind his negative utterances against APGA, the party said its formation was deep rooted, strong, invincible and made up of a mass movement of true democrats and progressives, which nobody can conquer or destroy.
It said instead of the governor to be eternally grateful to APGA which emancipated him from “his aeon of political bondage, years of unrealised electoral contestation and long gallivanting political wilderness, which his personal quest for power made him to traverse, he chose to commit sacrilege against the party and poured insult on the sensibilities of those APGA faithful and supporters.
“The party is advising Okorocha to stop living in fool’s paradise, as his governance anchored on “Rescue Mission” is nothing but visionless and rudderless, that needs to be truly rescued from crass ineptitude and gross maladministration,” it said
The statement said it is a common knowledge that the government of Imo state led by Okorocha lacks the basic managerial skills and ideas on how to govern a state like Imo State, which is richly endowed with both great intellectuals and huge material resources.
“APGA therefore urges him to go to Anambra State for a tutorial on how to govern a modern state and on how to harness the various abundant potentialities in Imo State.
“The Imo State governor should be told in case he pretends not to be aware, that Imo people are generally disappointed in his awkward style of administration, which caters only to the needs and desires of his in-laws, relations and business partners with his self-deceptive slogan of “my people, my people” instead of “my in-laws, my business partners”, which is a baptismal reference of his kind of governance of Imo State.
“Moreover, the man who is at the helm of affairs in Douglas House who is politically naïve should know that governance is not about how loquacious, garrulous, sophistry and theatrical a governor chooses to be, but how he can positively impact on the welfare and lives of the hoi polloi, which is what the Imo people are in dire need of now, instead of his junketing around.
“He should know that the present national leadership of the party led by Victor Ike Oye, is painstakingly revitalising, reinvigorating and repositioning the party, for a strong presence and quick march to take its due political space and position in the body politic, so as to liberate the marginalised and the downtrodden people of Nigeria.”
Poor electricity distribution facilities across the country may jeopardise plan by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to see on-grid electricity generation hit 6, 000 megawatts by the end of 2015, the regulatory agency has revealed.
Power electricity
NERC said that preliminary report of the technical committee it recently set up to drive the realisation of the target indicated that the extent of infrastructure deterioration in the distribution network might have been underestimated.
It explained that the market still experiences huge load rejection and shedding as a result of the development, adding that new measures would have to be devised to overcome such massive distribution infrastructure decline.
Chairman of NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi told THISDAY in Abuja that the position of the agency stemmed from the preliminary works of the committee he set up some weeks back to help reclaim and transmit stranded electricity generation capacities into the national grid.
When asked about the feasibility of the December 6,000MW generation and distribution target, Amadi said: “It is feasible depending on how quickly we can turn around the network of the distribution and transmission company.”
“I am worried about getting this milestone because of the preliminary report I have got from the committee. The deterioration of the Discos network is worse than we think. There is still massive load rejection even as we have solved the imbalance energy problem. So, it means that there is something else. That something else is getting our attention,” Amadi added.
“Maybe we get to succeed in this target. Don’t forget that this is my own ambitious target not a target set in MYTO for the market. Why am I setting this target? I will like us to crown the tenure on a high. We all like to succeed. It is miserable that we have for 16 years set a target of 6,000MW and never got it. I will be sad if we miss it. I will be very happy to have the Commission finish its first tenure on 6,000MW. It is like breaking the jinx so that we can aim at 10,000 and 20,000MW. If we don’t get to 6,000MW under Buhari’s new paradigm of discipline and anticorruption then how can we be sure of getting 10,000MW soon? We have to work hard,” Amadi explained.
The transmission network with its poor infrastructure had often been identified as the weakest link in the country’s electricity network.
However, NERC’s identification of the distribution weakness confirmed the slow pace of investments to upgrade the distribution network by operators.
Reports also revealed that the impact of the apparent slow pace investment on the distribution network is further compounded by the reluctance of some Distribution Companies (Discos) to take over the distribution assets built by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Plc under the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs).
