Barely 36 days to the governorship election in Bayelsa State, no fewer than 1,000 members of the All Progressives Congress in the state have defected to the Peoples Democratic Party.
Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson
The defecting members, comprising 800 delegates at the APC governorship primary election held on August 22 and August 29 declared for the PDP at a ceremony which took place at Peace Park, Yenagoa on Saturday.
The defectors were led into the Peace Park venue by two prominent members of the APC, Senator John Brambaifa and Mr. Alex Ekiotenne.
They were received at the venue by Governor Seriake Dickson; Deputy National Chairman, PDP, South-South, Mr. Cairo Ojuigbo; Acting State Chairman, PDP, Mr. Serena Dokubo-Spiff; Bayelsa Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd.), among other PDP leaders.
Addressing the defectors, Dickson commended Brambaifa and Ekiotenne for returning to the PDP fold which they left about five months ago.
Dickson said, “We are happy that Brambaifa and Ekiotenne are back to the PDP. They have been prominent strategists for the PDP. Our government, Bayelsa PDP and Bayelsans are happy that we are now complete.
“While the storm lasted, I always remembered them for their patriotism towards Bayelsa and the Ijaw nation. With them, our restoration crusade is full and ready to sail. They led the foundation for the mass movements of some PDP members to the APC.
“Today, it is operation ‘Wind up APC in Bayelsa. This is just the beginning of winding up the APC in Bayelsa. We will continue to receive our brothers and sisters who were misled.”
The governor, who urged the crowd to observe a minute’s silence for the late former Governor of the state, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, said since Alamieyeseigha’s demise, was feeling a sense of emptiness.
He said: “But with these two persons, I am a bit consoled. If not for the way they harassed and killed Alamieyeseigha, he would have been here with us.”
In his remarks, Ekiotenne said with their return to the PDP, the APC in Bayelsa was buried.
Alhaji Tafida Isa Mafindi, the Yeriman Muri, was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT) as well as a member of the campaign organisation of former President Jonathan in the last general elections.
In this interview , Mafindi explains why he dumped the PDP immediately after the presidential election in March, President Muhammed Buhari’s fight against corruption and the ministerial nominees, among other issues.
Are you still a PDP member?
No. I left the party immediately after the presidential election. I left the party because I was involved. I saw how they bastardized the party. I saw how they used hypocrisy to derail what we put forward as a party’s program and campaign.
Virtually all the leaders of the party were hypocritical. What they were advocating was that we should vote
PDP from the state House of Assembly to the House of Representatives and Senate; then, for presidency, vote APC.
Who were these people?
I am talking about highly placed people in the party. There was nothing hidden there. But for me, whatever I do, I do it out of interest, not because I derive material benefits from it. I am a professional accountant. I have a farm which I am running. I have a processing factory where the best meat in Africa is processed. So there is no reason for me to see where change is being given attention and I will continue with somebody who is not sure of who he is supporting. Is he supporting the common man or his President or his party? Everything was in disarray in the PDP. I saw how people were spending money as if we have the oil wealth of Saudi Arabia and Brunei put together.
So why did you wait until after the presidential election before leaving the PDP? And, are you now in APC?
As for my staying till after the presidential election, let us leave that and move on. But I am a member of the APC now. I am supporting the APC in Taraba to move the state forward.
What is your assessment of the APC government so far?
The party is going to fulfill its promises to Nigerians as it has all it takes to do things properly. It has a President that is honest, has focus and the followership that is ready to give the government the patience needed for the adjustment and change it wants to provide. You have seen how President Buhari took his time to select the best brains in terms of advisers, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, in terms of pursuing the Boko Haram insurgency, in terms of selecting ministerial nominees. Japanese people say good products come from good thinking.
But many Nigerians are talking about the re-cycling of some of the ministerial nominees?
It is not a matter of recycling. The problem is the Nigerian factor. Some people are comfortable criticising those in authority without providing alternative. The President took his time to study every ministry during the waiting period and brought out a blue print of how things will run properly. At the same time, he was scouting for the people to head the ministries.
There is the claim that government is selective in the fight against corruption as many PDP members are the targets of the anti-graft campaign.
seen to be interrogated If somebody is being investigated in Nigeria, he is a free and innocent man until the matter is taken to court and a verdict indicts the person. So, the question of some people saying the President is selective in the fight against corruption is neither here nor there. It is not something I expected from Nigerians who saw what happened from 1999 to this year under the PDP which I was part of .There is nothing people can say now that has not been said before and people are very good at arm chair criticism, and given the opportunity, they will do worse things. PMB has started doing his job as expected of him. For the Niger Delta, he gave the headship of the Amnesty Program to General Boro; for INEC, he appointed Prof. Yakuq, who is a tested person and for the Immigration, he appointed a North Central person from Nassarawa. For the NNPC, he appointed Kachikwu, a director in an international oil company based in America, now a ministerial nominee. So, people who thought Buhari will go to the Onitsha market to pick cobblers as ministers so that their brothers will bring applications and tenders to win contracts, whether there is fund or not, are the ones criticizing. Those who think he will bring palm wine tappers to the cabinet and not tested people like Fayemi and Fashola are those making noise. If Fashola is given any ministry to head today, will he not perform based on what he did in Lagos? We should not cut our noise to spite our face; let us hold our breathe and allow this government to gather steam. Already, a Single Treasury Account (TSA) has taken effect. Though there was semblance of that in capital expenditure, today the revenue is part of it.
And now, TSA is not only a matter for the ministries, it is also for all parastatals like where I worked before I retired, the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA). At the NPA, we spent 80% of our revenue on things that, if we talk about them, people will laugh. There are more fire equipment and shoes as well as clothes that can cover the whole of Nigeria at the NPA’ stores. People kept ordering, because the money was there to pay, whether there was need for them or not.
There are some things purchased that we can line up from Badagry to Calabar and if there is a new management, they will order for new ones. It got to a level that the NPA did not know what to do with money that they started creating subsidiaries. They created channel management in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Calabar, even when the subsidiaries were just to spend money. When we say the port is concessioned, it is not right. There is no port that is concessioned, That is the situation with the parastatals. Now, the revenue generated will go directly to the TSA and let me see the MD that can come to the Ministry of Finance to say he wants $35 million to pay for the dredging of the Calabar channel. And after one year, we won’t have vessels of $20million berthing there to discharge cargo. So let see who will say the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, will be spending 80
or 90% of its revenue on giving contracts to people to secure open sea that there is no need to secure. We have forgotten that NIMASA was made to handle cabotage so that Nigerians can own new vessels; and Nigeria does not have a single ship.
So for government to be criticized, one has to look at the antecedents. What has this government inherited? The rot, can you tell me the power we are generating today is why we spent all the billions from 1999 to date. Just generating 5,000 megawatts?
If Mabilla hydro had been constructed, it can produce twice of those megawatts. Can we say the small power generating stations we created are still producing? Why did we decide not to use solar for areas where we have sun shining for 18 hours a day? What about agriculture? Can we say Nigeria is represented in agric when we cannot produce meat? We are still slaughtering our cattle in a dirty environment. We drag cows as if we are dragging logs of wood to the shredding machines. Is that how we are going to produce our meat to compete in the world? What of rivers Niger and Benue? Can they produce enough fish for the people without us buying a single kilo from outside?
In the last regime, we saw a young man in the Ministry of Agriculture that came up with good dreams like cassava bread, processing zones, crops processing units, value added chains , but, at the end of the day, none of the bills he sent to the National Assembly saw the light of day. And as long as there is no Act of parliament, they are just verbal intentions; so we have to give this government the chance to redress all these anomalies. I believe by the time PMB has spent a year, Nigerians will see a President that will give food to every school child and will do more than they expected.
At the end of the day, those complaining today will be the ones lining the street dancing.
What expectations do you have from the ministerial nominees when they are assigned portfolios?
Let me talk about the agricultural sector where I am a stakeholder. I expect the minister to come up with a good program of creating farm lands first as the agric season is already over. You cannot start even dry season agriculture in November and December; besides all the equipment we are using in Nigeria today are obsolete. If this is the case, there is no way you can move agric forward. I expect the minister to start from land clearing and surveying to see what crop can grow , what sort of equipment is needed, because if agric is not mechanized, it is just a waste of time. Mechanization is the way to go and you can only do this if the farm land is available, because you cannot use private capital to clear land. You can not clear land privately to plant and get something back in terms of profit in three years. There has to be venture capital that will come in to clear farm land and be recoverable over a long period of time, so that the farmer will not be burdened with too much of interest on his productivity.
I am looking at a minister who will come with a deliberate policy to organize, standardize all the crops produced in Nigeria so that they can create a genuine market for the farmers to sell their products and get good values so that they re-invest against next season.
So that they will not allow middle men to buy the crops from the farmers when there is good harvest and make profit off the farmers and the middle men become richer while the farmers remain poor. I expect to see an agriculture minister that will encourage the youth to take to farming; I want to see young graduates from the various fields taking into agriculture as business. I want to see a minister of agric that will turn around the livestock sector, so that the hidden resources in our goats, ram, chicken, peacocks and cows can be exposed.
I expect to see a minister that can create an agricultural sector that is capable of paying 80% of the tax collected in Nigeria as 70% of Nigerians are farmers and if all the tax they generate can be harnessed, it will rebase our economy and the economy will change from eight trillion per annum to about 250 trillion per annum which we are capable of doing.
In Nigeria as of today, the only people paying tax correctly are the civil servants; all others are marginal and, if we are able to turn agriculture into a tax unit that can contribute effectively, Nigeria would have reached its destination.
Our expectation from the agric minister is to forget about the importation of rice to exportation of livestock, cassava chips, and rice. We need to harness our exportation strength in major crops. We need a minister that will network feeder roads for farmers to take their produce to the markets, just as we need a minister for agric that will provide storage facilities for all our perishable items and be able to standardized them at the airports for cargo to be taken to countries that we are having trade with. We will also be happy to have a minister of agriculture that will create a market for a well processed meat that will be sold in well preserved conditions.
In this interview with SEGUN OLUWAGBILE and TUNDE ODESOLA, former President Olusegun Obasanjo bares his mind on pro-Biafra agitations, Boko Haram war deadline, among other issues
You have some less privileged children you sponsor. Why don’t you make your philanthropic gestures public?
My bible says, what your right hand does, your left hand must not know. Why should I do good and shout it? Even in Yoruba tradition when you do that, there is no blessing of God in it for you anymore.
What motivates you to do this? I remember you adopted one kid, Nzikak Udom, among several others.
There are millions of people suffering, particularly in the area of education; if you can lift one up, you lift a lot of people up. Nzikak is special. Nzikak Udom is studying Economics in the university. He will soon become a pillar in his family and the society eventually. He too will lift people when he comes of age. It is only a foolish man that says, ‘If not for me, my friend wouldn’t have eaten yesterday’. I have a lot of adopted kids.
Is this attitude to life a result of your upbringing?
Nobody is an island unto himself. What I am is partly my DNA, partly my culture, partly my upbringing, partly my school, partly my church, partly my peers, partly my friends, partly the books I read, partly the profession I chose.
Who are your friends?
I have a very few of them. My friends in Nigeria include the likes of Akin Mabogunje, Joe Irukwu, Ahmed Joda, Christopher Kolade, Alex Okoro, Adamu Ciroma, Obafemi Olopade, Onaolapo Soleye.
As one of the leading soldiers that participated in bringing an end to the Biafra war, how do you feel about the fresh agitation for Biafra?
Fake agitation; you people make a mountain out of a molehill. These are boys who want to take people unawares and get money out of them in the name of Biafra. These are people you should ignore, I don’t talk about Biafra. (Philip) Effiong came and said Biafra ceased to exist and since that day, Biafra has ceased to exist.
Were there some promises the Nigerian state made to the Igbo nation which were not fulfilled?
Not as far as Biafra is concerned. We absorbed those we should absorb both into the civil service and into the military. Even those we didn’t absorb, who we initially regarded as being retired without benefit, later on we even gave them their benefits. Abandoned houses were returned. Within 10 years of the end of the civil war, an Igbo man became the vice-president of our country. It took the Americans 100 years before they got to that point. So, what are you talking about? They have held different ministerial positions existing in this country. We have Igbo as the Governor of Central Bank, Igbo has headed many parastatals in this country. That’s why these miscreants should be ignored. They want to get money and they go round and say, ‘We are still being victimised. We are still being treated badly in Nigeria,’ so that they can take money from people.
Don’t you think that Igbo leaders are not speaking against this phenomenon?
I won’t blame the Igbo leaders. I will ignore them (the agitators). The Igbo leaders that I’ve talked about, I mean the ones I’ve mentioned; Joe Irukwu won’t go out and do that type of thing, and many of them. The people who are doing this are the same people you will find in 419, they are the same people you will find in drugs. This (pro-Biafra agitation) is another source of money for them as far as they are concerned.
What’s your view about the Boko Haram war deadline?
I’ve talked about that. You have to have an objective, otherwise, if you say go, and you don’t an objective… An objective is not cast in concrete. Look, I want you to finish a job in two days though you know it could take probably four or five days, but you must give an objective. I believe that what the President will get and which he knows he can get, is that he can get the upper hand; the military will get the upper hand over Boko Haram and of course, I think we are working towards that. But we will not get the end of Boko Haram in three months or in six months. And even when you get the upper hand militarily, you have to do what you have to do – the socio-economic aspect.
While you were away from the country, your friend, Prof. Wole Soyinka, inaugurated a book in which he called you a child of circumstance…
(Talking in Yoruba: Se o so be?) Meaning: Did he say so?
He even said he won’t eat any food you give him without you eating from the food first…
(Continues in Yoruba: Mi o mo o.) Enhehn? I don’t know.
Nigerians on Friday agreed on the need by President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministers-designate to publicly declare their assets before they take the oath of office.
Ministerial list
They asked the ministers-designate to follow Buhari’s example by stating their worth in terms of money and properties, if they really believed in the President’s anti-graft war.
According to them, the declaration of assets by those appointed into public offices by Buhari was a moral necessity that should be encouraged.
The President had before his election, promised to publicly declare his asset and encourage his appointees to also do so.
He had insinuated that public declaration of assets would encourage accountability and reduce corruption in the polity.
Speaking with our correspondents on Friday, however, the Ijaw National Congress asked the President to stand by his words on the need to make the ministers declare their assets publicly.
“The ministers-designate must declare their assets publicly before they are assigned portfolios,” INC spokesperson, Mr. Victor Borubo, said.
He explained that though the constitution made the declaration of assets optional (secretly or publicly), it was morally necessary for the ministers to declare their worth publicly.
Borubo said that the ministers could be tempted to corruptly enrich themselves, adding that the change mantra of the ruling All Progressives Congress might suffer a setback if the appointees were not made to declare their assets publicly.
He said, “It is necessary that the ministers-designate declare their assets publicly. The intention is to ensure that they are not tempted to enrich themselves in a corrupt manner.
“The ministers should not be told before they declare their assets. In fact, much will not be achieved in the fight against corruption if the appointees are not ready to follow Buhari’s example.”
Also, the President, Afonja Descendants Union, Alhaji Olola Kasumu, told one of our correspondents in Ilorin that it would not be proper if the ministers were not made to declare their assets before they took the oath of office.
“It is part of the campaign promises of the APC that its appointees and elected officials will publicly declare their assets. The much needed change will be elusive if they do not declare their assets publicly.”
The President, Civil Liberties Organisation, Mr. Steve Daniel-Aluko, stressed the benefits of declaration of assets by public officials.
Daniel-Aluko told one of our correspondents that such a decision would further demonstrate the sincerity of the current APC-led government to fight corruption.
He said, “If we understand the meaning of the change mantra, then everything should be done not only differently, but in accordance with the law. By publicly declaring their assets, the ministers would have been seen as emulating the President, who had publicly declared his own assets.”
The Coordinator, Federation of Middle Belt People, Mr. Manasseh Watyil, shared a similar view.
He said, “If we must fight corruption to a logical end, then all political appointees must declare their assets. The President has led by example. So, it is necessary that others should follow.”
The hue and cry the APC-led government is making about zero tolerance for corruption, according to the President, Trade Union Congress, Mr. Bobboi Kaigama, would be meaningless if the ministers-designate failed to publicly declare their assets.
Kaigama said, “This has been our call; the ministers-designate are Buhari’s appointees and the President has already put a template in place – like a rule of engagement. So, they have to follow suit like the President and the Vice-President have done.
“The constitution has not said that they should make it public but there is a change mantra, which means that we have a scenario where there is zero tolerance for corruption and to prove to Nigerians that we have zero tolerance for corruption, those at the helm of affairs should do like Buhari and Osinbajo have already done.”
The General Secretary, Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr. Peter Ozo-Eson, also backed the call on ministers-designate and other appointees to publicly declare their assets.
He said, “The law requires them to declare their assets but it does not say that they must do it publicly. However, even the President has, in his wisdom, decided to declare his own assets publicly. To that extent, we believe that the greater the openness in this matter, the better it is for governance generally.
“The ministers-designate ought to be encouraged to take a cue from their principal and follow suit. I don’t think that we can force them because it is not a legal requirement, but it will promote transparency if they emulate the President.”
A chieftain of the Northern Elders Forum, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, believes that declaration of assets by public officials will elicit public confidence in the leadership.
He said, “Things should be done honestly and transparently and if public declaration of assets means more public confidence and trust, so be it. So, if Buhari’s public declaration is appreciated as a public trust, why should those who are working with the President not emulate him and do the same?”
A pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, said it would be a slap on Buhari’s administration if the ministers-designate failed to see the need to declare their assets.
The Secretary of the group, Chief Sehinde Arogbofa, said, “Is there any particular person you feel should not declare his assets? If the President has said people should declare assets and if he has gone ahead to declare his own, I see no reason why any political office holder should not declare his assets.
“If you are taking up a public responsibility and the leader has publicly declared his own and you refuse to declare your assets, I think it is a slap on the leadership.”
A northern socio-political organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum, on its part said the ministers-designate should be given a stipulated time within which they should make their assets known.
ACF National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim, told one of our correspondents that the issue was not negotiable as it would enhance public confidence in the President’s administration.
Ibrahim said, “The position of ACF is that all public officers must declare their assets in accordance with the requirements of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“And they should do it within the stipulated time as contained in the constitution because the constitution gives a time frame which should be complied with.”
Foremost Igbo socio-political association, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said though ministers-designate had been confirmed by the senate, any of them who refused to declare their assets publicly should be dropped.
The president of the youth wing of the organisation, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said any minister-designate who refuses to declare his assets publicly should be seen as corrupt and not fit to hold public office.
He said, “The view of Ohanaeze is that the ministers-designate should follow in the footsteps of the President by also declaring their assets publicly.
“Any of the ministers-designate who fails to do so should be seen as having a skeleton in his cupboard. Such a person should be seen as a corrupt person who is not fit to be in Buhari’s cabinet.”
The National President of South-South Solidarity Forum, Dr. Bassey Umoh, said ministers-designate have no reason not to declare their assets publicly since their principal had already set the pace.
He said, “If President Buhari has declared his asset, why should the ministers-designate delay? Although we have not felt the impact of the change mantra, we only hope it is not used as a political weapon.”
A lawyer and rights activist, Mr. Femi Aborisade, also stressed why those seeking public offices should declare their assets.
Aborisade said the realities of the economic distress of Nigeria today requires that only those who are prepared to publicly declare their assets and liabilities should venture close to public offices.
“Those who lack the courage should be told to remain in the private sector,” he said.
The recent ruling on the governorship election by the Rivers State Election Petitions Tribunal has surprisingly drawn the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress in the state closer to God, writes CHUKWUDI AKASIKE
Amaechi (second right) with his supporters at the thanksgiving in Port Harcourt
There is no doubt that people view court rulings from various perspectives. This explains why the people do not react the same way after the delivery of judgements by a court. While some persons would accept a court ruling with glee, others would feel sad over the same decision.
In Rivers State, the situation was different when the state Election Petitions Tribunal delivered judgement in favour of the All Progressives Congress. The tribunal had specifically declared that the election of Governor Nyesom Wike did not substantially comply with the dictates of the Electoral Act, especially in the area of the non-usage of the card reader.
Ordinarily, this particular court verdict should put those at the receiving end off and possibly make them to keep quiet for some time while they re-strategise and look for a way to see that the ruling is upturned. Surprisingly, the victorious and the defeated were in a jubilant mood about 24 hours after the ruling of the court on the governorship election.
Last Saturday, the mammoth crowd that gathered at the Port Harcourt International Airport to receive Wike, who came from Abuja after the ruling on the state governorship election, gave the impression that all was well. It was like a triumphant entry. Some youths in the state danced for several hours while waiting for the governor.
The following day, Sunday, was set aside for thanksgiving and solidarity rally organised by the state Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Felix Obuah. On the same day, the immediate past governor of the state, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, was in Port Harcourt to commemorate the anniversary of his victory at the Supreme Court on October 25, 2015. The programme, which was tagged “Special Thanksgiving,” immediately became a platform to express delight over the victory of the APC at the election tribunal.
In all these, nobody was in doubt that both parties went to different places to simultaneously thank God for the unfolding political development in the state. Wike had implied that the thanksgiving was necessary because he and his supporters were sure that victory would be theirs at last.
“We will win and I will complete my four years tenure as the governor of Rivers State. The thanksgiving service today is very significant because if what enemies planned had work, I wouldn’t have been governor today. The nullification of my election by tribunal sitting in Abuja shows that justice is ours. I am surprised that some people are celebrating over the judgement when they described the judgement against their candidates at the National Assembly as judicial fraud.
“It is now that they have confidence in judiciary. In spite of the judgement, we will still have hope in judiciary. I want to beg you, don’t be provoked; I know what happened at the weekend was provoking. But I know what their plans are; that was why I am begging you to be calm,” Wike had told a very prayerful crowd at the Obi Wali International Conference Centre in Port Harcourt.
Elsewhere in Port Harcourt, Amaechi said, “Those who know me very well know that this (court issue) is not a new path. The only problem is that we must put our knees on the ground because we have no power. The battle is of the Lord. Who can battle with the Lord, I say nobody. If you thought we won by our own strength, then you are not godly. Imagine the kind of money they (PDP politicians) were willing to pay. You can pay all the money you want to pay, if Christ says it is not your turn, it will not be your turn.
“I tell people that my greatest help in every battle I undertake is that it is not man. The greatest help is God. I always say God should not back me; he should face me and tell say my son, I am with you. Once I hear that, I will relax. It is not yet time for celebration. Even if you win at the Supreme Court, it is not yet time for celebration.”
Prof. Steve Okodudu of the Department of Sociology, University of Port Harcourt, explained that though nothing was wrong in organising a thanksgiving, even when one was on the losing side. He pointed out that for very religious person, the belief remained that in every situation, it was necessary to always honour God with praises and thanksgiving.
On the other hand, the university don noted that some Nigerians were very religion, but very ungodly in their attitude. According to him, those making fanfare out of an election victory should realise that some people were killed before and during the last general elections in the state and should not make it a fanfare.
He said, “If you are a very religious person, you also feel that in every situation, you should give thanks to God. But when people lost their lives in an election and pastors open their churches to celebrate election victory, to that extent, it is morally wrong. That also suggests that most Nigerians are very religious, but very ungodly people. If not, there are several ways you can thank God without making it a fanfare. People died before and during the election and it is morally wrong to celebrate without those that lost their lives during the election.”
In his remark, a human right activist and the Chancellor of the International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights, Dr. Omenazu Jackson, described as unfortunate a situation where those who were maimed or killed during the elections in Rivers State had yet to get justice. Omenazu expressed surprise that the Federal Government had not begun investigation to unmask those behind the killings.
While explaining that it was not enough for politicians to celebrate election victories, he said those who were affected by the violence before and during the elections should be compensated by ensuring that they get justice.
Jackson said, “We in the International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights are saying that it is unfortunate that nobody is pushing harder to ensure that those responsible for the violence that caused the death of many people in Rivers State during the last general elections are unmasked for prosecution. Apart from that, we are calling for the total ban from active politics of politicians who sponsored violence in the state.
“I can remember that I took a victim of political violence in Rivers State during the election to the hospital then. The man’s knee was almost cut off by cutlass-wielding political thugs. I am surprised that even President (Muhammadu) Buhari has not done anything to bring those behind the politically-motivated violence to book.
“Those behind the violence are still around and nothing is done to bring them to book. The truth is that when today’s unscrupulous politicians are using guns to win elections and nothing is done to correct the anomaly, the upcoming politicians would buy armoured personnel carriers to kill, maim and win elections with the belief that nothing would be done to investigate and bring them to book. That is not what we want in Rivers State and Nigeria as a whole.”
On the thanksgiving and solidarity rallies organised simultaneously by the APC and the PDP in the state, the human right activist explained that the immediate past governor did not set out to celebrate the election petitions tribunal’s ruling on the governorship election, but was only celebrating his October 25, 2007 Supreme Court judgement that eventually made him the governor of the state for eight years.
Omenazu, however, added that the thanksgiving ceremony organised by the PDP in the state on Sunday October 25, 2015, had been fixed before the court ruling on the governorship election with the belief that the Wike’s election would be upheld by the tribunal.
He said, “You can see what happened on Sunday after the judgement as a gathering for political outing for restitution of both parties. The APC’s meeting in Port Harcourt was already scheduled to mark the Supreme Court ruling anniversary that brought the former governor, Rotimi Amaechi, to power.
“What happened was that the marking of the anniversary coincided with the Saturday’s ruling of the tribunal on the 2015 governorship election in the state. But for the PDP, the party leaders had scheduled the thanksgiving and victory rally for Sunday, believing that the ruling of the tribunal would favour them.”
But a Port Harcourt-based public affairs analyst, Mr. Lekian James, viewed the court victory from a different perspective. He said that the PDP chieftains who decided to organise thanksgiving should not be blamed because they were expectant and believed that they would get victory in the Appeal or Supreme Court. Notwithstanding, James pointed out that the violence sponsored by politicians would one day be addressed.
“People see things from different angles. So, if the PDP decided to organise a thanksgiving rally or service, it should not be misconstrued. They may be thanking God for giving them the grace to appeal for an opportunity to upturn the tribunal’s judgement that is current against them,” James said.
As President Muhammadu Buhari’s fight against corruption continues, anti-graft agencies struggle to convince Nigerians that it is not selective, GBENRO ADEOYE writes
President Buhari
Many Nigerians have come to the realisation that corruption is a major challenge standing between the country and a good life for the citizens, hence their support for President Muhammadu Buhari, who many have dubbed as the “new sheriff in town”.
The administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan was largely derided by the public for its perceived failure in fighting corruption. The former President’s body language towards graft was often described in the media as permissive. The posture and antecedents of Buhari, a former military head of state, gave Nigerian masses the picture of a new sheriff coming on board to clean up the mess of past administrations.
His inaugural speech, in which he stated that he belonged to “everybody” and to “nobody” also endeared the President to some Nigerians, who were initially unsure of what to make of a septuagenarian president with dictatorial tendencies.
One thing is sure though, if the work of anti-graft agencies in Nigeria is in tandem with the President’s body language, then it can be said that Buhari’s body speaks louder than that of his predecessor, as anti-graft agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, have suddenly been spurred into action.
However, about five months into Buhari’s government, some analysts have already concluded that his body seems to be speaking a language different from that of his utterances.
While Buhari’s utterances avow that there would be no sacred cow in his war against corruption, the country’s anti-graft agencies have been perceived to be selective.
EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde
One of such persons is the Executive Chairman of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, Mr. Debo Adeniran, whose organisation has petitioned the EFCC, ICPC, the President and Senate President alleging corruption and financial misappropriation against former Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, and a former Ogun State Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, both of who made Buhari’s list of ministerial nominees.
Adeniran told our correspondent that he had reasons to believe that while the President’s anti-corruption war has been going after some people, Buhari has been protecting persons like Fashola and Adeosun from the arms of the law.
A former Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi; and a former Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, also made Buhari’s ministerial nominees’ list in spite of several petitions written to various anti-graft agencies against them.
Meanwhile, some others including Senate President Bukola Saraki; his wife, Toyin; a former Kebbi State Governor, Saidu Dakingari; his wife, Zainab; a former Akwa Ibom State Governor, Senator Godswill Akpabio; a former Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, have all been questioned by anti-corruption agencies.
“We have started writing petitions against Fashola to the EFCC and the ICPC since 2010,” Adeniran said.
“We have written about six or seven petitions and each time we wrote to the EFCC, we also wrote to the ICPC because the allegations concern both agencies. Recently, we sent a summary of our petitions to these agencies to the President for him to know what had been going on, so that he would be able to instruct the agencies to work on them. But he chose to nominate them as ministers.
“So till now, we believe that the President is interfering with the process of investigating Fashola and Adeosun, his nominee from Ogun State, who has a lot of corruption baggage hanging on her neck from her days as the Commissioner for Finance in the state. Buhari didn’t seem to have given credence to any of the allegations when he was nominating them.”
CACOL’s allegations against Fashola and Adeosun include corruption, misappropriation of public funds and contract inflation.
Adeniran has however threatened to sue the anti-graft agencies for their failure to investigate the duo based on the petitions against them.
In the same vein, a pressure group in Rivers State, The Integrity Group, wrote to a petition to the President, accusing Amaechi of N70bn fraud.
The group accused Amaechi and other functionaries of his administration of ‘’corruption, criminal breach of trust, unlawful enrichment and conversion of over N70bn state resources.”
Among other allegations, the former Governor was accused of fraudulent sale of Rivers State power assets and conversion of proceeds amounting to N60.48bn and unlawful enrichment of Messrs Collect Solutions (Nig.) Limited with public funds to the tune of N1.56bn.
Also, a Justice George Omereji-led Judicial Commission of Inquiry, which was recently set up by the Rivers State Government to look into the sale of valued assets belonging to the state, found Amaechi and some others responsible for misappropriating state funds to the tune of N97bn.
But there are no indications that Amaechi has been invited for questioning by the any of the anti-corruption agencies.
On September 29, 2014, a group, Save Ekiti Coalition, alleged that Fayemi misappropriated N20bbn as Ekiti State Governor in a petition it sent to the EFCC and the ICPC.
The petition, which was signed by the group’s secretary, Mr. Oke Ayodele, called for Fayemi’s investigation and prosecution, but there has been no record that the former governor has been called for questioning by any of the agencies.
Fashola, Amaechi, and Fayemi all contributed in various ways to Buhari’s success at the poll and experts have described their ministerial nominations and perceived exclusion from the probe list of anti-graft agencies as the reward for their labour.
The former governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, has been questioned by the EFCC over financial offences committed while in office between 2007 and 2011. But since Sylva’s defection from the PDP to the APC, the anti-graft agency seems to have slowed down its pace in prosecuting the former governor, allegedly because of his political strength in the party.
To reward Sylva for his loyalty to the APC, he emerged as the party’s governorship candidate in Bayelsa State.
A similar case to Sylva’s is that of former Kogi State Governor, Abubakar Audu, who also recently emerged as the APC governorship candidate in the state.
Audu is facing a 32-count charge which includes stealing, criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of public funds to the tune of about N11bn, but he was his party’s preferred candidate in spite of its anti-corruption war.
A lawyer and social commentator, Mr. Liborous Oshoma, described the situation as wrong, saying that the President has been employing double standard in his fight against corruption.
He said that anti-graft agencies under Buhari’s government have only been seen to acting on petitions against his political opponents and the like.
He said, “Everyone with allegations should be invited for questioning and those who are bringing the allegations should come to substantiate their petitions and if they are weighty, they should be taken before the appropriate authorities.
“Don’t act like some persons are the only people who are corrupt while the others are not. What that tells some of us is that we are not serious about fighting corruption.”
Meanwhile, the EFCC has acted on petitions filed by a lawyer, Mr. Leo Ekpenyong, against Akpabio, a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party, by inviting him for interrogation.
In the petition titled, ‘Petition against former Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State for gross and uncommon abuse of public trust’, Ekpenyoung accused Akpabio of diverting taxpayers’ money for personal use.
Before Akpabio’s invitation, operatives of the Department of State Services had in September 2015 searched the Akwa Ibom State House, in a move allegedly aimed at getting implicating evidence to link Akpabio to illegality.
Saraki is currently facing a 13-count charge of corruption and false declaration of asset at the Code of Conduct Tribunal in Abuja.
Although, he is a member of the APC following his defection from the PDP, his prosecution has largely been seen by the public as a witch-hunt for going against the dictates of his party to emerge as Senate President.
Recently, Dakingari, a PDP member, was arrested by the EFCC over allegations of misappropriating N3.8bn public fund. His wife, Zainab, was also accused of laundering N2bn for her husband.
However, the PDP through its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, accused Buhari of making the corruption war selective, saying it was targeted at members of his party.
But while Adeniran was in support of the investigation of the likes of Saraki and Dakingari for corruption, he said that CACOL was against the selective anti-corruption war, which seems to be overlooking some other people accused of graft.
He said, “All along, we have been expecting that the President would act beyond rhetoric on some of the petitions that have been pending with the anti-corruption agencies.”
Adeniran said his organisation had sent not less than six petitions each to the EFCC and the ICPC without concrete outcome.
He said, “High ranking Lagos State officials were questioned and interrogated by the EFCC around 2012. The agency has said that it has a discreet report but this has not been made available to us.
“We have demanding that the agency should let the world know the outcome of its investigation, even if it is that Fashola is not guilty. We should know why the agency thinks that he is not guilty. All of the projects Fashola did were at very high costs that are unrealistic anywhere in the world.”
On Adeosun, Adeniran said CACOL had also written to the EFCC and the ICPC to draw their attention to the alleged inflation of the costs of purchasing some Armoured Personnel Carriers bought in Ogun State while she Commissioner for Finance.
He therefore described the alleged selective probe by the current administration as bad for the country’s development.
“We are dissatisfied with the way the anti-corruption war is being fought and we are afraid that we may not achieve anything better than what we had before Buhari assumed office.
“Most of the people he is bringing to work with him are noisemakers who execute more projects in the media than they do in reality.”
Oshoma also expressed concern about the President’s anti-corruption war, saying his hope that the war would be better in Buhari’s had been dashed.
“We had expected a holistic approach but what we see is a far cry from that, so I’m not impressed with all of these gimmicks to fight corruption,” he said.
“When Saraki was charged before the code of conduct tribunal, I was one of those who said that he should step aside and answer to those charges and clear his name. In the same vein, I maintain that if a former governor, senator or any other person has a petition against him, irrespective of how spurious or irrelevant it is, it should be looked into and a conclusion must be reached.
“The world has moved beyond the argument that people can hold political positions once they have not been convicted. Where we are now is that if there are allegations hanging on your character, you should go and clear yourself before you hold any political office.”
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the spokesman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed, as a quarrelsome and misguided individual, completely unfit to hold responsible national office in a democratic government.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, said in a statement on Saturday that the cantankerous nature, resort to personal attacks and uncouth description of a rival political party always by the APC spokesman while responding to critical issues are indicative of his background, pedigree, upbringing and emptiness as a low life.
The party advised the APC spokesman to shed his offensive narcissist tendencies even in his desperation not to end up being a minister without a portfolio.
A Russian airliner has crashed in central Sinai with more than 200 people on board, the office of Egypt’s prime minister has confirmed.
The Airbus A-321 had just left the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, bound for the Russian city of St Petersburg.
Wreckage of the plane has been found in the Hassana area. It disappeared from radar screens when travelling at 9,500m (31,000ft), Egyptian officials said.
Egyptian officials said all the passengers were Russian.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered an official investigation into the crash.
The plane was operated by the small Russian airline Kogalymavia, based in western Siberia.
Russian authorities say it was carrying 217 passengers, 17 of them children, and seven crew. Most were tourists.
A centre to help relatives of the passengers has been set up at Pulkovo airport, Tass news agency quoted St Peterburg city officials as saying.
Sudden altitude loss
Initially there were conflicting reports about the fate of the plane, some suggesting it had disappeared over Cyprus.
But the office of Egyptian Prime Minister Sharif Ismail confirmed in a statement that a “Russian civilian plane… crashed in the central Sinai”.
It added that Mr Ismail had formed a crisis committee to deal with the crash.
Media reports say at least 50 ambulances have been sent to the scene.
The Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsiya said in a statement that flight 7K 9268 left Sharm el-Sheikh at 06:51 Moscow time (03:51 GMT) and had been due into St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport at 12:10.
The authority added that the aircraft failed to make scheduled contact with Cyprus air traffic control 23 minutes after take-off and disappeared from the radar.
Egypt’s civilian aviation ministry said the plane had been at an altitude of 9,500m (31,000ft) when it disappeared.
Live flight tracking service Flight Radar 24’s Mikail Robertson confirmed the altitude.
He told the BBC that the plane started to drop very fast, losing 1,500m in one minute before coverage was lost.
The BBC’s Orla Guerin in Cairo says it is likely there will be speculation about militant involvement in the incident – Sinai has an active militant network, with local Jihadis who have allied themselves to so-called Islamic State.
But the aircraft’s altitude suggests that it could not have been struck from the ground, she adds.
An official investigating the crash quoted by al-Ahram newspaper said it was caused by a “technical failure”.
The pilot had detected a problem and requested an emergency landing at the nearest airport, Ayman al-Mokadem said.
Local weather observations in the vicinity of the rescue scene suggest relatively benign conditions.
James Ocholi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria reliably described as one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s top picks for appointment as Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, represents several controversial clients including an Indian accused of defrauding several Nigerian banks of billions of naira, a former Managing Director of Finbank, Okey Nwosu, who is undergoing prosecution for questionable financial transactions, and a university professor from Kogi State currently facing trial over his suspected links with an Islamist terrorist group whose attacks have claimed thousands of Nigerian lives and led to billions of naira in damages.
James Ocholi
One source within the Presidency told SaharaReporters that President Buhari was receiving “very bad advice” from some of the associates he trusts most when it comes to appointments. “If he chooses Ocholi as the AGF, then his action would be at variance with what he has always said he stands for,” said one source. “He has said he has zero tolerance for corruption and that he is fully committed to the war against terrorism in Nigeria. The appointment of Ocholi as Minister of Justice and AGF would rubbish those claims,” the source added.
Mr. Ocholi’s importance in the defense of Patrick Fernandez, who allegedly defrauded five banks of N32 billion, was demonstrated last week when the trial had to be adjourned because the lawyer claimed that he was being screened as a minister. But a reliable source in Abuja disclosed to SaharaReporters that the truth was that Mr. Ocholi had already been screened and confirmed as minister at the time the trial was to proceed. “But his inability to be present physically in court stalled the case brought against Fernandez by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,” said the source.
Our Presidency source revealed that Mr. Ocholi rose to the top spot among those being considered for Minister of Justice because “he performed better that Abubakar Malami, another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, during the screening process.” According to the source, Mr. Buhari and his associates were appalled by Mr. Malami’s lack-luster performance during the screening.
While Mr. Ocholi’s representation of Mr. Fernandez, an Indian accused of defrauding banks of billions of naira, may be perceived as a case of defending a wealthy client, his legal representation of Yunus Nazif, a lecturer in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the Kogi State University, is bound to raise troubling questions. Mr. Nazif, who has a PhD, was in 2013 arrested with two AK-47 rifles in his possession. Prosecutors suggested that the academic had strong links with members of insurgent Islamist group, Boko Haram.
“It’s baffling that Ocholi came to represent Dr. Yunus Nazif who is not known to have the means to afford a high-priced SAN like Ocholi,” one of our sources said. Even so, Mr. Ocholi has vigorously defended the suspect, arguing at one point that, since the weapons found on his client were not labeled as “AK-47,” they could not be considered deadly weapons. He made the startling submission during one court session in 2014. A police investigator disclosed that the lecturer had virtually confessed to maintaining links to the Islamist terrorist group, even though his trial is ongoing.
Mr. Ocholi’s role as lead defense lawyer for former Finbank MD, Okey Nwosu, raises further questions about his fitness to become Nigeria’s chief lawyer. Mr. Nwosu and three other erstwhile directors, namely, Dayo Famoroti, Danjuma Ocholi and Agnes Ebubedike, are accused of stealing N10.9 billion from their former employee, now known as FCMB.
The EFCC is pursuing a 26-count charge against Mr. Nwosu and his fellow former bank executives. Mr. Ocholi and two other defense lawyers have been handling the case.
“Even if we allow for the presumption of innocence until proven guilty for Ocholi’s clients, there is still the issue of appearance. Will Nigerians ever feel confident that Ocholi can seriously prosecute cases of corruption and terrorism when he is a major player in defending high-profile defendants in corruption and terrorism?” one source asked.
President Muhammadu Buhari, the judiciary, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday came under fresh attack from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the party’s recent electoral reverses in Rivers and Akwa Ibom States.
PDP and APC
The PDP accused the Buhari administration of politicising and compromising critical institutions, including the judiciary, DSS and INEC, for the purpose of subverting democracy in the country.
The party’s national caucus, rising from an emergency meeting in Abuja on Thursday, where it reviewed the judgements of the Akwa Ibom and Rivers State Election Petition Tribunals, said the behaviour of the President and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) constitutes a huge threat to the nation’s democracy and danger to its peace, unity and progress.
It did not spare the National Assembly which it claimed was being intimidated by the executive arm of government.
In a communique issued at the end of the meeting, the PDP National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo, said the APC-led government has eroded the ‘gains’ recorded by the PDP in its 16 years in the saddle.
It vowed to “vigorously resist” the “undemocratic tendencies” it attributed to the President.
It said: “The undue interferences by the executive arm of government in the activities of the judiciary, legislature and INEC, using the Directorate of States Services (DSS), is clearly unacceptable to the PDP as well as the Nigerian people and the party resolved to vigorously resist such.
“The PDP finds it offensive and provocative the judiciary’s handling of cases involving it in election tribunals in some states, particularly Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Imo, Taraba, Ogun, Plateau and Lagos.
“The conclusive evidence of external influence on the Rivers State governorship election tribunal is the fact that it was able to deliver its judgment within 24 hours in a case that had nearly 100 witnesses, 1,000 pieces of documentary evidences and nine counsel’s final written addresses; each not less than 40 pages.
“The decision, in view of the rather interesting history of the case, indicates that the judiciary, like the PDP and the Nigerian electorate, are victims of the APC-led Federal Government.
“The tainted judgments of these tribunals, which are evidently products of arm-twisting from the nation’s security operatives under the direct command of an APC member, remains unacceptable to us”.
The PDP also alleged clandestine moves by the APC to use various agencies of government to manipulate the upcoming governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states, vowing to deploy every means within the law to resist the moves.
The APC, it claimed, is steering the country towards dictatorship and asked the judiciary to restore its image by taking immediate measures to protect itself from political interferences.
Besides, it said the Court of Appeal must remedy the “embarrassing rulings” by some election petition tribunals, particularly those of Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.
The PDP similarly called on President Buhari to stand up for justice and equity, and halt the undemocratic attitudes of agents of government in the interest of peace and stability.
It hailed its senators for walking out of the Red Chambers on Thursday ahead of the confirmation of former governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, as a ministerial nominee, saying: “We salute the courage and unity of purpose of our senators, especially as demonstrated in the Senate chambers on Thursday in their collective stand against impunity and corruption, in line with the wishes and aspirations of the Nigerian people.
“The PDP states that what the APC senators did at the ministerial screening was a death knell on their party’s pretentious war against corruption.”
It wondered why “former APC governors are being rewarded with ministerial appointments” while those of PDP “are being hounded and harassed in the selective war against corruption.”
A week ago, the Rivers State Election Petitions tribunal voided the emergence of PDP’s Nyesom Wike as winner of the April governorship election on account of the petition filed by the APC candidate, Mr.Dakuku Peterside.
The tribunal said the election was characterised by fraud citing the over one million votes recorded for Wike even when the records showed that under 300000 people were accredited to vote in the election.
Wike denounced the verdict and vowed to take his case to the Court of Appeal and if necessary the Supreme Court.
A few days earlier,the Akwa Ibom Election Tribunal had cancelled the results of the governosrship election in 18 local government area of the state .
It said fresh poll should be conducted in the affected areas.
Below are excerpts from the open letter, dated October 26, 2015, by Chief Edwin Clark, replying former Special Adviser on Media to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Reuben Abati, and other critics over his recent comments on the former president.
Edwin Clark
ORDINARILY at my age and position in life, I should not have to justify myself in a press controversy on my voluntary decision to quit partisan politics particularly when this personal and well intended act has come under unfair politicization of persons of mediocre temperament. For a couple of days now, I have been more bemused than angry by the not-so-funny, but, predictably, negative ingenuity of Nigerians, aided by an equally incredulous media, to create unpleasant things out of nothing. It has been a circus of those convinced that they have found a peg to hang their own, disloyalty, failure, shallowness and hatred unto, a ball to kick around, over my statement, not for the first time, that I was quitting partisan politics and my statement about former President Goodluck Jonathan, for reasons so obvious that I cannot understand what the orgy of self-flagellation is all about.
I still believe that former President Jonathan performed creditably well in various areas. I am very proud of him and so are millions of other Nigerians. He was good in so many areas, and did many good things for this nation. He resuscitated the railway system that was comatose for several decades; he engineered a robust economy for this nation; he fought against Polio and Ebola; maternal and child health; he did much for the power sector upon which President Muhammadu Buhari is now building; he tarred more roads than any of his predecessors; he turned agriculture to agro-business, a multibillion dollar business; he built the Almajiri schools in the Northern parts of this country; he established new federal universities across this nation; he allowed for free speech across this nation, and did not mind when he was criticised or, even, abused; people were not arbitrarily locked up in jail or prison, as he truly respected the rule of law; he signed the Freedom of Information Bill into law, which was not done by his predecessors; he modernised the aviation sector; he convoked a National Conference that brought Nigerians together and proffered recommendations on how to better bind Nigerians together as one; he sanitised the electoral system of this country, unlike what we had before him, when elections results were announced without actually voting, when ballot snatching were rampant and common place, he brought transparency into the electoral process, when people could vote and the votes actually openly counted without violence. Today he stands as the first African president to concede an election to an opponent, even before the final counts. There are many more achievements to his record, but because of time and space let me end here for now. These are all lasting legacies that he has left behind. He has certainly set a precedent for others to follow.
But no human being is perfect; only God is perfect. Therefore, to mention an area of former President Jonathan’s inaction may not be out of place. Every leader in this world has their fault. President Jonathan cannot be an exception. As the late British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan observed in his autobiography, politicians do not regret their mistakes because they can always explain themselves; but they never forgive themselves for opportunities they have lost. For instance, President Barrack Obama of United States of America is frequently attacked for not having the political will to deal with Israel over the Palestinian question.
This does not mean that he lacks the capacity to take action against Israel effectively or to deal with the affairs of the United States of America or that he lacks integrity. Several years ago, the entire Western world was being accused of lacking political will to deal with Apartheid South Africa. This did not mean any inaction of the Western countries by the rest of the world. It only means that President Obama and the statesmen of the western world had other considerations in their minds in the interest of their countries.
In keeping with my character I cannot say in private what I cannot say in the public. I do not therefore, reject or disown Jonathan as my beloved political son.
My open support for former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan
My support for President Goodluck Jonathan predates his presidency. It dates back to the period when he was the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State. So for people who are thinking that I only knew Dr. Jonathan when he became the President or that I was one of his hangers on, I think there will be need to give them a little information. My relevance and leadership of my people as an elder statesman and a critical stakeholder in this Nigeria project far pre-dates Dr. Jonathan’s public life and presidency. I have been relevant in politics and I have served my people honestly and creditably well. I became very close to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan when he was Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State. I was present in London when the late former Governor of Bayelsa State, the Governor General of the Ijaw Nation, Chief D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha (may his soul rest in perfect peace), was arrested in London on the prompting of the Nigerian government under President Olusegun Obasanjo because of his hatred for Chief Alamieyeseigha. I had to cancel my flight to Nigeria at the London Airport when the news of the arrest of Chief Alamieyeseigha was conveyed to me by Ambassador Pereware from Paris. I went with a few well-meaning Nigerians to Essex where we had been informed that he was kept, but could not find him. We went to a few other places before we were able to locate where he was. I remained in London for one week with him to put in place machineries for his bail. I recall the large-heartedness of Lady Ann Iyoha who brought out the title deed of her property in London to secure his bail and also the magnanimity of another woman from Amasoma, the home town of Chief Alamiyeseigha in Bayelsa State.
When I returned to Nigeria, I went to Bayelsa State to meet with stakeholders to see that a peaceful transition of power take place whereby Dr. Jonathan who was the then Deputy Governor became the governor. Ambassador Godknows Igali became the Secretary to the State Government.
Of course, I openly supported President Jonathan not only as my son but also as the first person to emerge from the minorities of the Niger Delta as the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I had no choice but to support him and I have no regrets. My support is total and unyielding. If most of President Jonathan’s close associates and political leaders exhibited such support, by espousing all his achievements, rather than the pretence and betrayal they were engaged in, the story today would have been different.
It will be recalled that I had on several occasions openly criticised the former President in the press and in my statements for actions or inactions which were damaging to the President’s image while he was in office. When the President failed to check the excesses of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, which included his undue interference with the activities of the EFCC, I did not fail to speak my mind openly in opposition to the President. When the President did not deliver on his promise to complete the construction of the East-West Road, I did not fail to speak my mind openly.
I even told him publicly that he should not leave the South South people poorer than he met them. When the Governors Forum appeared to arrogate to itself powers that infringed upon those of the President in the Constitution of Nigeria with impunity, I did not fail to criticise. The press conferences and open letters I wrote which were carried and published by the various media houses are there to confirm this claim. However, with all these, my support for him was and still is total and unshakeable.
My relationship with Jonathan was not based on material gains
It is indeed most disingenuous to insinuate that my relationship with former President Jonathan was based on what benefits accrued to me. Far from the truth as I never benefited any material thing from President Jonathan in all his six years of President. With all modesty, I am at this age contented. I state publicly therefore, that I never sought nor obtained any contract, oil block, oil lifting allocation or financial gratification from the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) during his years of administration.
Similarly, I never solicited for appointments or special placements for any of my children or relations in any government or private concern on account of my relationship with President Jonathan. It is, therefore, ludicrous and totally ill-motived for these wicked and mischievous persons to sell to the public that my decision portends a plan to seek any special favours from President Muhammadu Buhari and his government, or to protect those gains which I acquired from President Jonathan’s government which never existed.
On the contrary, my public service in this country which spans over 60 years had given me the opportunity to seek the political, social and economic development of my people and Nigeria in general. I remain committed more than ever before to the economic, political and social emancipation of the people of the Niger Delta, South South, the entire minorities and the development and unity of this great nation. This was even contained in the congratulatory letter which I wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari, dated 3rd April, 2015.
My retirement from partisan politics
I am fast approaching 90 years and had been in active politics for over 60 years. It came to me as a shock that misguided persons are trying to lose their senses over my decision to quit active partisan politics.
I was in the Niger Delta Congress (NDC), with the late sage Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye and late His Excellency, Chief Melford Okilo between 1955 and 1959. I was in Mid West Front (MWF). I was in the National Congress for Nigerian Citizens, NCNC. I was Secretary of the Zikist Vanguard, London in 1962. I served in General Yakubu Gowon’s cabinet as Minister of Information with late General Murtala Mohammed as Minister of Commerce, General Olusegun Obasanjo as Minister of Works, Alhaji Shehu Shagari as Minister of Finance. Today, three of these persons have become Presidents of Nigeria. Apart from Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the others are no longer in active politics.
I was a member of the National Party of Nigeria, NPN. I recall with heavy heart that most of the people with whom I played politics are either dead or have become politically inactive. Some of them are Makama Bida of Niger State, Maitama Sule of Kano State, K. O. Mbadiwe of Imo State, Fani Kayode, Tanko Yakassai, Dr. Ibrahim Tahil of Bauchi State, Adamu Ciroma of Yobe State, Alhaji Ali Monguno of Borno State, A. M. A. Akinloye, T. O. S. Benson, Dr. Okezie of Imo State, M. T. Mbu of Cross River State, His Royal Majesty the Olubadan of Ibadan, just to mention a few. Not too long ago, I found myself attending a PDP caucus meeting in Warri with young men who are grand children of my political colleagues. Today, I sometimes move in a wheelchair. I had intimated former President Jonathan that once the elections were over and he was sworn into office for the second term, I will leave partisan politics and retire to my village.
Thus, I recalled earlier receiving a request by a group with the rather uplifting name of “Think Nigeria First Initiative” (TNFI), for a courtesy call on me and to make me their Grand Patron. The name alone sent sensations of kindred spirit through me and I readily accepted. I responded, enthusiastically, naturally. It was in that context that I said that myself at the age of nearly 89 years, and having carried my passions of similar ideals with theirs for over 60 years, had decided that my energies needed a paradigm restructuring. This same position I had declared at Akure, Ondo State, on the 24th of August, 2015, at the meeting of the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly, SNPA, of which, by God’s grace, I am one of the Leaders.
I wish to refer here to the crude and unpolished language used by Dr. Reuben Abati against me that I would have still been a PDP card-carrying member if former President Jonathan had won the election. I do not know the background of Dr. Abati but for him to lie and devilishly imagine that I should have remained a PDP card-carrying member if President Jonathan won the election is satanic.
No reader of The Guardian Newspaper, particularly its Sunday edition, will easily forget the frequently provocative columns by Dr. Reuben Abati. As the Chairman of the Editorial Board of the newspaper and syndicated columnist, Abati had a freehand to write whatever he liked in his column and could also influence other news items. I do not recall any favourable remark made by Abati all those years when he was the Chairman of the Editorial Board and syndicated columnist about the former President His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, and the First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan.
If I recall correctly, they were always the butt of ridicule by Dr. Reuben Abati. In fact, he became so notorious and a fearless critic of former President Jonathan and his wife in The Guardian Newspaper that I had to draw the attention of my cousin, the proprietor of The Guardian Newspaper to his excesses. These vitriolic attacks on former President Jonathan and his wife only stopped when he was appointed the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity by the former President.
On his appointment, Aso Rock activities and Jonathan’s achievements were not sold to the people of Nigeria. Reuben Abati will recall the number of times when I called his attention to how he was being negligent of his duty as the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity by not defending President Jonathan against some of the scurrilous attacks against him and also by not promoting his image and the well-known achievements of his administration. My advice that a Publicity Committee made up of eminent journalists be put in place in Aso Rock and that media proprietors and senior journalists should be invited to Aso Rock were jettisoned by Abati.
Dr. Reuben Abati has risen to the defence of his last employer too late. He owes the former President apologies for his (Reuben Abati’s) failure to perform while in office. I should not be used as a scapegoat. I love Goodluck Jonathan and Goodluck Jonathan loves me.
I repeat again that I will like Dr. Abati to find out from his former boss whether I did not intimate him of my intention that I will leave active politics sometime in 2015 and return to my village after Dr. Jonathan’s re-election as the President of Nigeria. It would be recalled that only two weeks ago, the former PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, retired from partisan politics while celebrating his 80th Birthday. Although he is much younger than me, Reuben Abati and his likes did not feel offended. I repeat here again that I am very proud of my family background which has produced some of the most illustrious Nigerians and that I do not shift ground or change position. I still regard former President Jonathan as my son. Since the change of government, we have been in close communication on the telephone and Jonathan has visited me over four times.
When I pointed to the former President Jonathan that most of those who surrounded him were not loyal, sincere or patriotic but mere opportunists. It is, therefore, unfair and unjust for Reuben Abati and others to accuse me for saying things against former President Jonathan while he is no longer in office. It is even more shameful that Dr. Abati who claims to be a cultured Yoruba man, a people who have great respect for elders, to go on this wild macabre dance to insinuate and say outright lies against an elder statesman of my age and standing. Unknown to him, more Nigerians know me as a person of strong principles and ideals than he and his likes can imagine. This is why their attacks on me have exposed them to more ridicules in the eyes of most Nigerians, than they would have ever imagined.
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his government and Nigeria can not afford to pay forty two ministers and that not all the minister nominees that have been screened will have portfolios.
President Buhari
Moreso he went on to say that the country Nigeria was ‘material and morally vandalized’ and that he will reduce the numbers of ministries.
Buahri in an interview with Channels TV and Nigerian Television Authority in New Delhi in India said that he is working with a team of people introduced to him by others that he trust and must work with them.
Buhari while reacting to question on the the divide in the National Assembly over Rotimi Amaechi’s confirmation as minister said he did not walk into the presidency alone hence he can not work alone and that some of those having problems at the National Assembly he had never meet them.
‘This is team work I said I know people but there are people that I accept from other people in our team that I trust without even knowing them.’
‘May be those that are having problem in the National Assembly I doubt if I have meet him in my life but then I am working with others.’
‘I did not work into the presidency alone. I have to defend on all the three tiers of government from all part of the country.’
Backing his 36 Minister nominees Buhari said that he can not work out outside the constitution and that ministers must be appointed in conformity with the constitution of the Federal Government in that ministerial appointment must reflect the 36 states of the country.
And that these minister nominees though representing their states some will not have portfolios but will be part of his cabinet.
‘We can not work outside the constitution there must be a cabinet representative from each state.’
‘There use to be forty two ministers but I think we can bearly keep half of that now because we can not afford it.
‘Other may not be substantive ministers but they will seats in the cabinet because that is what the constitution said and we can’t operate outside the constitution’
‘We are reducing the number of ministries we can’t afford to pay.’
Buhari in the interview also said that the country has no money to pay salaries as the government had to seek the Central Bank governor to look for ways to pay states workers’ salaries.
‘Where is the money? Do you know the Federal Government has to help twenty seven states out of thirty six to pay salaries?.’
‘Nigeria can not pay salaries Nigeria had to summon the Governor of the Central Bank to see how it could pay salaries not to talk of projects, agreement signed with foreign countries, counter funding and so on. The country was material vandalized and morally so.’
On his ambition to see that the dreaded Boko Haram group is crushed by December the president said that his is optimistic on the capabitiy of the military and other government agencies in crushing the terrorists and as he feels sorry for those who think otherwise or have given up on winning the war against terrorist.
‘I am an optimistic person. I am sorry for those who have already given up. I remain confident that our military and other law enforcement agencies are more than equal to the task.’
‘Don’t forget that I made an earlier statement to the effect that the Nigerian military and police earned accolades all over the world: Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan.’
“They earned international respect and then here you are, the Nigerian military and other law enforcement agencies could not secure 14 local governments out of 774 until the government was changed.’
Further more on how he feels when critics say he is being selective in the fight against corruption Buhari said that anyone who is not corrupt should not be afraid rather they should encourage him to go headlong with the fight.
‘…if they are not involve in corruption they won’t mind they would encourage us to get whoever compromised his position in the trust being given on to him. I see it in the papers, watch it on screen but I have never lost a sleep on it because those that are not corrupt should even encourage us to do more. But those that are interested in the safety of those that have abused trust in the country office will go to any lenhgt including bribing people to give false information and so on.’
He went on to say that he is not being selective in his fight against corruption and that any bdy caught will be prosecuted for Nigerians to see.
‘Whoever is caught the document use in incriminating him or her will be use to prosecute him for Nigerians to know who has abused thrust’
On how he want to remembered the president said that ‘if we survived it I want Nigerian to have found out that I was genuine,a real patriot not that I only fought the Civil war but fought corruption to a stand still’.
THE Federal Ministry of Justice has recommended the trial of three top members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Enugu State over alleged forgery. The recommendation by the Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, followed a petition to the police headquarters, by Hon. Dennis Oguerinwa Amadi, representing Udi/Ezeagu Federal constituency at the House of Representatives, dated July 6, 2015.
PDP
Amadi alleged that the PDP members forged documents which a former member of the National Assembly benefited even as reports indicated yesterday that the police in Abuja have invited the alleged beneficiary for questioning.
In its report submitted to the Commissioner of Police, Force Intelligence Bureau, by the Investigating Police Officer, ASP Emmanuel Mordi, the Police stated that, “considering the overwhelming evidence that flows from the finding of facts in this case, it is conclusive that the suspects may have committed the offence of conspiracy to wit: forgery, impersonation, altering and perjury.”
The DPP, Muhammad Saidu Diri, who signed the document on behalf of the Solicitor General of the Federation, noted that the DPP established a possible case of forgery and should be prosecuted. “We have carefully perused the case file, it was discovered that the evidence available disclosed an offence of forgery which is a state offence.
“I am therefore directed to request you to forward the case file to the office of the Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, Enugu State for prosecution.”
The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday dismissed the appeal by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, challenging his trial on 13 counts of false assets declaration before the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
By a two-to-one split decision the three-man panel of the appeal court, held that the appeal lacked merit.
Justice Moore Adumein who led the panel and Justice Mohammed Mustapha dismissed the appeal, while Justice Joseph Ekanem in his dissenting judgement upheld the appeal and discharged the Senate President of the trial before the CCT.
The majority judgment dismissed all the six grounds of appeal by Saraki.
It dismissed the grounds that the charges were not properly served on him, that the tribunal was not duly constituted because it is comprised of two members instead of three and that absence of the Attorney-General of the Federation had rendered the charges incompetent.
But Justice Ekanem ruled that the the irregularities in the filing of the charges due to the failure of a lawyer in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. M.S Hassan, to indicate in his letter to the tribunal who authorised him to file the charges had rendered the charges incompetent.
The Federal Government, through the Code of Conduct Bureau, will arraign a former Minister of Niger Delta, Mr. Godsday Orubebe, on four counts of false assets declaration and bribery on November 9.
Orubebe, who is to be arraigned before the Justice Danladi Umar-led Code of Conduct Tribunal, was accused of failure to declare his assets at Plot 2722 Kyamu and Plot 2059 in Asokoro District both in Abuja on assumption of office as minister on September 26, 2007.
In count three, he was also accused of accepting N50m bribe from one Pastor Jonathan Alota, on September 19, 2012, for award of contract in favour of his (Alota’s) company, Chemtronics Nigeria Limited.
In count four, he allegedly accepted additional N20m bribe from Alota in 2013 for the award of a contract to Chemtronics Nigeria Limited for the construction of skill acquisition centre at Edo State for the sum of N1.8bn.
…Mobilizes, market women, traditional rulers, the clergy, others to protest
The Rivers State chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, says it has received credible information that Governor Nyesom Wike has begun to mobilize and incite different sections of Rivers people to protest against the judiciary for handing out unfavourable rulings on his matters at the tribunal and Supreme Court.
Nyesom Wike
“Two top traditional rulers in the state separately informed the APC that the embattled governor summoned them for a meeting today where they suspect that the governor may request and mobilize them to endorse protest documents against the rulings of the tribunal that annulled the so-called election of the governor and the decision of the Supreme Court that dismissed his appeal on jurisdiction of the tribunal” Mr Chris Finebone said in a statement today.
According to the APC, as part of Wike’s plan to mobilise the people of the state against the judiciary, he doled out huge cash to a section of market women who shamelessly went on a protest march yesterday (Thursday) denouncing the Nigerian judiciary and threatening the peace of the state.
The statement reads: “The APC has been told that after the meeting and mobilisation of traditional rulers to protest in today’s meeting, the next group pencilled down to be mobilised is the clergy in Rivers State. Wike believes that he can finance a section of the supposed men of God to protest and publish anti-judiciary articles and paid adverts in the media extolling the embattled governor.
“We can also reveal that a section of Ikwerre Chiefs and leaders of thought made up of mainly discredited persons of Ikwerre extraction are also being mobilised to protest and place paid adverts in the media in support of Nyesom Wike against the Nigerian judiciary.
“The APC is rather surprised that the same Nyesom Wike who freely boasts of having Supreme Court judges in his pocket (whatever that means) has now resorted to underhand and primitive tactics to undermine the same judiciary.
“The APC believes that it is important to alert Rivers people and Nigerians of this fiendish level of desperation on the part of Governor Nyesom Wike which is capable of endangering an already traumatised society which the Wike brand of politics has imposed on the state already. We urge you to resist Wike’s filthy lucre as real Rivers people are proud and not enticed or excited by filthy and odoriferous money.”
