Buhari denied us ‘juicy’ ministries – Igbo groups

Our correspondents

Opinion leaders and socio-political associations in the South- East believe that Igbo were deliberately denied ‘juicy’ ministries by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo

Leaders of the foremost Igbo socio-political body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and Njiko Igbo, another prominent pan-Igbo association, described the portfolios assigned to Igbo ministers as ‘disappointing.’

Speaking with one of our correspondents on the telephone, President of Ohanaeze Youth Wing, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, who spoke on behalf of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said Ogbonnaya Onu and Chris Ngige deserved ‘more influential’ ministries than Science and Technology, and Labour and Productivity, respectively.

Isiguzoro said, “We are disappointed that somebody of the calibre of Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu was assigned to Science and Technology ministry, even Dr. Chris Ngige should have been appointed as the Health Minister instead of Labour and Productivity.

“Okechukwu Enalama should have been appointed Minister of Finance.

“Igbo ministers did not get juicy portfolios, except perhaps Ibe Kachikwu and Rotimi Amaechi, who are our brothers from the South-South.

“We are not happy that we did not get the juicy portfolios, although we are happy that our brothers from the Niger Delta got.

“Nevertheless, the era of impunity has gone and we expect all the Igbo ministers to perform excellently.

“We expect them to close ranks and work towards developing Igboland.”

Also, President of Njiko Igbo, Reverend Okechukwu Obioha, said Buhari relegated Igbo ministers to the background in his cabinet.

But he admitted that the association was not surprised.

He said, “They are adding more salt to the injury, we expected that. We can see that we (Igbo) are not wanted in this country. At the moment, the sharing of the national cake is between the North and the South-West.

“What will Ngige be doing as Labour and Productivity minister when the Federal Government is not employing anyone, or creating jobs?

“Even the Foreign Affairs portfolio that was given to an Igboman (Geoffrey Onyeama) is of no consequence because already Buhari has travelled to most of the countries and he will continue to do so.

“He has travelled in six months more than the immediate past president travelled in six years.

“So the Foreign Affairs minister will just be a rubber stamp.

“Buhari has taken the Ministry of Petroleum Resources for himself, making an Igboman the Minister of State.

“So, he (Buhari) has virtually given the Igbo nothing.

“But the problem is this will lead to more agitation for Biafra,” Obioha said.

Too early to assess ministers – Nwabueze group

However, the Igbo Leaders of Thought, an association of prominent Igbo personalities, led by foremost constitutional lawyer, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, said it was too early to praise, or condemn the new cabinet.

The Secretary General of the ILT, Evang. Eliot Uko, said it was a welcome relief that a cabinet had been put in place after several months.

Speaking with one of our correspondents on the telephone, he said, “It would be wrong to praise the cabinet, or to condemn it, hurriedly. We are happy that the cabinet has taken off but it is necessary for the cabinet to realise that expectations are very high.

“They should also understand the implications of crashing this high expectation.”

Asked to state the views of the ILT concerning the ministries assigned to Igbo ministers, Uko said, “The Igbo Leaders of Thought are not that petty-minded to judge which ministries are juicy, and the ones that are not.

“Juicy or non-juicy portfolios, we want a cabinet that can take Nigeria to a higher level, bearing in mind that there is need to restructure this country.”

CHRD faults education minister appointment

But the Coalition of Human Rights Defenders faulted President Muhammadu Buhari appointment of Adamu Adamu appointment as Education minister and a professor as Minister of State for Education.

The convener of the body in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Inibehe Effiong, said in Uyo on Thursday that a reverse of the appointment would be adequate.

According to him, Buhari with the appointment of ministers and the portfolios that had been assigned to them was on the right track.

“Buhari seems to be on the right track with the appointment of ministers and the portfolios that have been assigned to them. It is encouraging because it shows a departure from the past.

“Though I have reservation on some of the portfolios especially that of Education ministry, where Adamu Adamu is the minister, while the professor is made a Minister of State. I felt the reverse should have been the case,” he said.

On the corruption charges levelled against some of the ministers, Effiong stated that there was nothing so serious as some of the allegations emanated from those who had political grudges with some of the ministers.

He stated that the development was the carry-over of acrimony and hatred by the Peoples Democratic Party senators against some of the ministers.

Cabinet composition fair – Ijaw youth

The Ijaw Youth Council commended the President for a fair and even distribution of ministries in the assignment of portfolios.

The IYC President, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, said on Thursday that the development would help in forging national integration that is badly needed in the country.

Eradiri said, “The new cabinet composition will help in national integration that is strongly needed at these trying times of our nation.

“We urge the ministers from the Niger Delta to live up to expectations and use their offices to address the challenges of youth unemployment that is the catalyst for the high rate of crimes, kidnappings, pipeline vandalism and oil-related theft prevalent in the region.”

Also, a foremost Ijaw activist, Mr. Alagoa Morris, urged President Buhari to ensure that the ministers do not fail the nation by giving them necessary tools to carry out their functions.

He challenged the President to ensure that critical areas of corruption, power supply, mass housing, justice and human rights, security, etc were tackled, saying tha addressing them would be the beginning of getting the nation out of its present predicament.

Morris state, “The appointment of ministers and assignment of portfolios was long awaited and, thank God, it finally came like a much desired rain in the arid land.

“However, while it is hoped that round pegs are not placed in the square holes, it is important to say that much is being expected from Buhari and his cabinet and the Nigeria project must not fail, especially with the sailing mantra of change.

“Again, it is instructive to urge Mr. President to ensure that the round pegs in round holes meet their expected ends. To be effective in the task ahead, the necessary tools of the office should not be denied them because if you appoint and starve the ministers free mind to execute their duties, that is ‘disempowerment’.”

He reminded the President that Nigerians had been in the wilderness of needs for too long and that it was time the government made the positive moves to get Nigerians out of the woods.

He also urged Nigerians to give genuine support to the Federal Government so that the populace, could as a nation, advance collectively towards the ideal – the promised land.

He advocated the necessity for Buhari and Nigerians to exercise the important roles of supervising, monitoring and observing the ministers and offer criticism where necessary constructively so that they would not veer from the task given to them.

Also, a the public affairs analyst and the Chancellor of the International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights, Dr. Jackson Omenazu, said Nigerians would be satisfied with the crop of ministers put together as federal cabinet by President Buhari.

Buhari denied us ‘juicy’ ministries – Igbo groups

60% of illegal arms in South East produced locally - Presidential C’ttee

Nnewi—Presidential  Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons, PRESCOM, stakeholders’ sensitization forum, held at Enugu for South East zone, has revealed that about 60 per cent of the illegal arms in the zone are produced locally.

Professor Aloysius Okolie, who is the South East coordinator on House Survey, of PRESCOM,   made the revelation during a two-day stakeholders’ sensitization forum on the comprehensive national Small Arms and Light Weapons, SALW,  survey in Nigeria,at Villa Toscana Hotel, Enugu.

He said that  60 per cent are fabricated locally in Nigeria and “some communities are known for their natural fabrication of arms,” adding that politicians were part of  arms proliferation in the area and most of the political leaders helped in the importation and fabrication of arms.           The sensitization forum tagged, ‘All Hands on Deck,’ also revealed that “40 per cent of the arms are imported by the political leaders and the rest 60 per cent fabricated within the zone.”

According to him: “The essence of the survey is not for the government to embark on   disarmament,  but to find out those factors that motivate people into acquiring such arms and sources of the arms.”

Earlier, the PRESCOM coordinator, Mr. Dickson Orji, stated that the essence of the forum was to give room for information and interaction on how to curtail proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the country.

“It will create awareness on the socio-economic impact of illicit small arms and light weapons proliferation in Nigeria and sensitize the Nigerian populace on the proposed comprehensive SALW survey in Nigeria.

“The forum will galvanize support for the survey team and enumerators to ensure collaboration at the grass roots for the success of the project,” he stated.

60% of illegal arms in South East produced locally - Presidential C’ttee

Federal Appointment: Buhari to appoint more South-East to pacify aggrieved zones

SUNDAY PUNCH – There were indications on Saturday that President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress had begun moves to compensate the South-East for not getting any appointments so far in the current administration.

Buhari

SUNDAY PUNCH reliably gathered that some states in the geopolitical zone might get more than one ministerial slot.

The Presidency and the APC sources, who spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH on condition of anonymity, also justified the appointments made by Buhari on Thursday.

A top member of the party said the President was not unmindful of criticisms that greeted the alleged lopsided appointments.

He said, “The President has assured us that all zones that have not been represented in the appointments he has made so far will be compensated.

“For example, some states in the South-East may get more than one ministerial slots. The President is going to make board and ambassadorial appointments. All zones, including the South-East, will be represented in this government.”

Prominent Nigerians and socio-political groups, have criticised the appointments made by Buhari so far.

Out of 31 appointments made so far, 24 of the appointees are from the North and seven are from the South. The South-East has no representation in the Buhari-led government.

SUNDAY PUNCH however gathered that the emergence of the new Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Pastor David Lawal, and the Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, was the result of the politics among power blocks in the APC.

It was learnt that the two appointees belonged to the Congress for Progressive defunct Change, which Buhari led, before it merged with other parties to form the APC

A Presidency source told one of our correspondents that Lawal and Kyari were picked because of their closeness and loyalty to the President.

The source said, “Although the President is a loyal member of the party, the levels of trust he has in the members differ. There are various blocks in the APC.

“You don’t give appointments such as chief of staff and the SGF to your rival or his loyalists; you give them to those you can vouch for. Those posts are ears and eyes of the President and they are not subjected to the party’s ratification.”

It was also gathered that the latest appointments confirmed the existence of various power blocks in the APC.

It will be recalled that the CPC, led by Buhari, merged with the Action Congress of Nigeria, the All Nigerians Peoples Party and a faction of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, led by the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, to form the APC.

They were later joined by five governors, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also defected from the PDP to the APC.

Meanwhile, the Presidency, on Saturday, assured Nigerians that by the end of the series of appointments being made by Buhari, no part of Nigeria would feel alienated.

The Special Assistant to the President on Media Affairs, Mr. Garba Shehu, said this in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents.

When asked if the South- East and other parts of the country, who are complaining of being marginalised by Buhari would be compensated, Shehu said appointments so far made by the President were just a few out of so many that would be made by the President.

He said, “There will be ministers, heads of government departments, federal boards and ambassadors. At the end of the exercise, no part of the country will be left feeling left out.”

Federal Appointment: Buhari to appoint more South-East to pacify aggrieved zones

Henry Chibueze, a man who killed 7 including girlfriend in one day

By Ifeanyi OKOLIE

On Saturday, February 16, 2013, Henry Chibueze, a notorious kidnapper terrorizing South East and South South parts of the country, stormed the home of his girlfriend, Sandra Ijedinma, at Igando area of Lagos State, with an AK47 assault rifle and opened fire on everyone present in the apartment, killing his girlfriend, her elder sister   Praise Ozor,   and her two children.

Henry Chibueze, A kidnapper and murderer

Not satisfied, Henry proceeded to a nearby street where one of Sandra’s elder sisters resided and killed the woman and three of her children, before fleeing.

His anger was said to have been that Sandra, who was an optician with Madonna University, had called off their relationship, when she learnt that   he was a kidnapper.       Sandra’s twin sister, Katherine who sustained a bullet would during the attack had told vanguard in 2013 that the assailant was   familiar with everyone in their family but nobody knew he was a kidnapper . She explained that her late sister used to visit Henry at his base in Delta State and in one of such visits, some heavily armed men stormed Henry’s apartment, manhandling Sandra in the process.

She added that the armed men reportedly told Sandra that her lover absconded with their share of a ransom paid to them for one of their  kidnapping exploits, threatening to wipe out all his (Henry’s) family members if he did not pay them. Thereafter, Sandra informed her family members in Lagos of what had happened and they rushed to Delta State to bring her to Lagos for proper treatment. But while she was receiving the treatment, she called off the relationship and Henry; feeling betrayed, stormed their Lagos home and killed people while Katherine narrowly escaped death.

The police in Lagos went all out in search of Henry. Vanguard gathered that operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, who were then headed by Sp Abba Kyari, trailed him to Abia, Delta and Rivers State, where they rounded up some of his close friends, relatives and seven members of his gang who were behind the kidnap of a British national, Diction Lee, few minutes after the Briton arrived at the country. They kidnapped him on Airport Road, Ikeja.   At that point, it was established that Henry had escaped from the country and was based in Ivory Coast.

But while the search for him went cold in Lagos, Henry, was said to have regrouped with his gang in Imo State and they coordinated several kidnappings in the South East and South South, where he kidnapped over 200 persons, killing most of his victims, including the wife of a royal father in Imo State and an official of the Imo State Environmental Transformation Commission which yielded him N50m ransom.

However, luck ran out on him, last weekend, when he attempted to kidnap the tribunal Judges, handling Election Petition in Imo State, at their lodge, in Disney Hotels, along Onitsha -Owerri Road. Operatives of the Department of State Security, DSS, acting On a tip-off swooped on him, but he managed to escape with bullet wounds which he had gone to treat in the house of his elder brother’s wife, in Ohafia, Abia State, where men of the secret police eventually apprehended him.

He   was arrested along side an army deserter, Akeem Bello, from Kwara State, who abandoned his duty post at Maiduguiri where he was posted. Fear of the activities of the Boko Haram sect probably informed his action. A native doctor, Dan Elengi, who is said to be the proprietor of a popular hotel at Ohii in Owerri Local Government Area,   of Imo State was also among those nabbed.

The 28-year-old man, who is an indigene of Nwangele Local Government Area of Imo State, confessed when he was paraded before the Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, that he operated from Abidjan, Cote d’ Ivoire and he killed his girl friend and members of her family because she stole his N45million, after he had opened a shop for her in Aba.

Meanwhile, relatives of his victims have been thrown into celebration following news of his arrest. They called on the Imo State Government to ensure that Henry who is also known as Vampire is prosecuted judiciously.   Ekene Ozor, the husband of one of   Sandra’s sisters who was killed on the day of the attack wants Henry to pay for his crimes. “That man is evil. He robbed me of my wife and two children and robbed my in-laws of eight members of their family.

But my God told me that he would not escape judgment. I am grateful to God for his arrest and I commend the efforts of the Nigeria police especially, the Special Anti Robbery Squad SARS, Lagos State Police Command, who first handled my case, the DSS operatives for their continued efforts to apprehend this heartless criminal. I wish to commend also the governor of Imo State Rochas Okorocha, for his efforts in the arrest of the deadly gang of killers. Days after the attack on my home were highly traumatic. I had seven corpses to deal with at a time and they were all in the mortuary. I was the only one taking care of my remaining children and

I passionately wish to appeal to governors Rochas Okorocha, Ifeanyi Okowa, Akinwumi Ambode and other governors in the federation and well meaning Nigerians to come to my aid as I feel very concerned about the education of my remaining children and their welfare.

Things have tough for me, my little children.   We are still having the psychological pain of the attack of Henry. We have been haunted by the fear of another attack by the serial killer. There have been fears of going out freely because of the horrifying threats from the serial killer and his cohorts. Consequently, I’m indebted to the tune of N7.2 million excluding properties sold to meet up with bills, drugs, surgery of my wife’s younger sister who survived gun shots.   It is by grace of God that I am still alive because it made me hypertensive since then.”

 

Henry Chibueze, a man who killed 7 including girlfriend in one day

NBC neutralises “Biafra Radio” broadcasts, arrests operators

ABUJA – National Broadcasting Commission, NBC on Friday said it has “neutralised” illegal broadcasts from Biafra Radio which it said has “shattered” the peace of south east zone of Nigeria with hate and seditious messages.

It added that it had equally arrested its operators and confiscated many of their transmitters in various locations.

According to the Commission, the arrested operators had been taken to Abuja for prosecution.

A release by the Director-General of the Commission, Emeka Mba, stated that it efforts were being made to remove the transmissions of the illegal station from the satellite.

The Commission further decried activities of the “illegal Radio station”, through the transmission of messages, saying that Nigeria cannot afford another blood-letting after the civil war.

It however asked Nigerians to unite against the station.

The statement read thus:

“The national Broadcasting Commission, has effectively neutralised the illegal broadcasts from the seditious pirate radio station that has recently shattered the peace in parts of the south east of Nigeria with unsavoury hate messages.

“Working with security operatives, the Commission has also tracked down, neutralised and confiscated transmitter equipment from several locations in the region. Some suspects involved in the illicit broadcasts have also been arrested and taken to Abuja for questioning and prosecution.

“The commission has also worked with other agencies to remove the transmission of the illegal station from the satellite and this has put paid to the divisive and disruptive transmissions. We are working on the internet transmissions.

“The National Broadcasting Commission wishes to appreciate the concerns expressed by Nigerians over the seditions activities of the illegal “Biafra Radio” transmitting hate message that are unfortunately designed to create disunity among Nigerians and mislead young people in a deliberate act of subversion. Nigerians do not need another round of heartache and bloodshed.

“The Commission reiterates its calls to the public to disregard the hate messages coming from the misguided station, and urges Nigerians to unite in joining hands with the government to build a stronger and more prosperous nation.”

 

NBC neutralises “Biafra Radio” broadcasts, arrests operators

Confab: North rejects creation of additional state for South-East

ABUJA—Even before the proposal for the creation of one more state for the South-East geo-political zone is tabled at plenary for discussion, the North has rejected the plan, saying the zone does not have the required landmass and population to warrant the new state.

The opposition of the North to the creation of more states in the country and particularly for the South-East, is contained in a 46-page document, prepared by the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, for all northern delegates to the ongoing National Conference.

The document, which is entitled “Key Issues before the Northern Delegates to the 2014 National Conference”, also described Northern Nigeria as the “backbone and strength of Nigeria” and has already been distributed to the northern delegates.

The ACF said it opposed the creation of more states in Nigeria because too many states have tended to convert them into what it called “mere cost or effort centres” at the expense of socio-economic development.

“It is against this backdrop that the ACF believes that the creation of any additional state at this point in time is counter-productive and therefore, should be kept on hold until the need can be justified in future.

“The argument that creation of states should be on the basis of equality irrespective of population and landmass is inconsistent with the elementary concept of justice, since injustice is not only when equals are treated unequally but also when unequals are treated equally”.

The northern group argued further that going by the population average per state, each of the 36 states of the federation could be assumed to have an average of 3,888,987 and a landmass of 27,327 square kilometre.

Using its baseline land mass and average population for each of the states, ACF argued that the South-East with a total population of 16,381, 729 and a landmass of 33,664 square kilometres, presents each of the five states in the zone with a population of 3, 276,345 and a landmass of 33,664 square kilometres.

ACF, therefore, argued that the population per state in the South-East is far less than the national average by 612,642 while its landmass of 33,664 square kilometres is not up to 25 per cent of the National Average.

The group maintained that the total land mass of the South-East is just a little above the National Average per state.

On the other hand, the ACF boasted that its seven states in the North-West alone, boasts of a population of 35,786,994 and a land mass of 222,120 square kilometres, with an average population of 5,112,421, which it claimed is 1,223,434 higher than the national average.

Turning to the South-West, the northern group pointed out that the six states in the zone have a small population of 27,581,994, which amounts to 4,596,999 per state, which is 1,320,654 far higher than the South-East average.

But the ACF conceded that by land mass, the South-West with a figure of 78,774 square kilometres is 13,129 square kilometres or twice the South-East average.

The group argued that for any state to be created in the South-East, the South-West must have up to nine states first, if population were to be used as the deciding factor and as many as 12 more states if land mass were to be the deciding factor.

The north argued: “This proposition, which formed the cardinal position of the South-East since the 1994 Constitutional Conference, has been crafted to whittle down any political advantage the north could exercise in Nigeria despite its huge territorial size and large population.

“Yet, the concept of geo-political zones has no place in our constitution and it should remain so,” the group maintaine

 

Confab: North rejects creation of additional state for South-East

Jonathan desperate to be re-elected - South East APC

ENUGU — The All Progressives Congress, APC, South East zone, has described President Goodluck Jonathan as a man desperate to get re-elected in 2015 general elections by hook or crook.

The party said that Jonathan’s desperation was for the second time was unveiled during the Peoples Democratic Party,, PDP, zonal South East rally in Enugu,  weekend.

APC stated that President Jonathan’s verbal attack on their party in Enugu gave him out as a man obsessed with do-or-die politics in his bid for a second term.

Jonathan said the APC was progressing to nowhere in particular but to hell, adding that his party was the only true democratic party in Nigeria.

The APC South East spokesman, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, noted that President Jonathan’s speech was uncouth, unpresidential and show-cased a desperate President in his quest for a second term.

“How can a president throw caution to the winds, mount the rostrum only to cast aspersions on our great party, the APC? It means he has not found time to read the manifesto of APC, which has War Against Corruption as the first cardinal programme, a war Jonathan detests,” he said.

Okechukwu reminded his party members that penultimate week, during the North East zonal rally in Bauchi State, the President, instead of narrating his efforts in combating Boko Haram insurgency, resorted to blame games, insults and invectives, which was unbecoming of a President.

Okechukwu called on Ndigbo to distance themselves from President Jonathan, insisting that a vote for Jonathan in 2015 would be a wasted vote.

He noted that Niger Deltans were even  disappointed with his poor performance since he failed in four years to complete the East-West road which cut across the length and breadth of the region.

He said:  “Will it not be foolhardy to expect anything good from the same President with the same inchoate, nebulous and anti-people  economic policy, bedeviled by pervasive and monumental corruption?

“For you cannot vote the same President with the same inept and clueless leadership qualities and expect different result.

”On Enugu International Airport, he said in spite of the hype, it cannot attract major international airlines like British Airways, Lufthansa unless the coal industry is reactivated and it is only the APC that can do this.”

 

Jonathan desperate to be re-elected - South East APC