The Ekiti Council of Elders has advised Governor Ayodele Fayose to place premium on projects that will add immediate value to the lives of the citizens.
It also tasked him to to tackle the dwindling resources for the state by improving on the Internally Generated Revenue.
Fayose, Govenor elect in Ekiti State
In a communiqué signed by its Chairman, Chief Deji Fasuan, after its ordinary meeting of October 31, the Council, which advised the Governor to deemphasise preference for capital projects with long gestation period, said it appeared that Ekiti people had no tolerance for projects that had no immediate value on their lives.
“We recommended that the little resources available to government be spent on projects that will have immediate value on the populace.
“Deliberate efforts should now be made to reduce emphasis on capital projects that have long gestation period before the benefit can reach our people. It appears Ekiti people have no tolerance for projects that have no immediate value on their lives.
“We want to advise the new administration to address as quickly the welfare of the citizens, especially as relates to unpaid salaries, wages and other benefits that can a multiplying effects on the local economy,” the Council stated.
The council noted that the immediate past government made tremendous efforts at improving the State’s IGR. It, however, stated that the feat was still “still abysmally low compared to other political units in Nigeria.”
It appealed to Ekitis at home and in the diaspora to invest in the state to supports efforts by the government to provide employment.
The council also appealed to politicians, irrespective of their party leanings to sustain the relative peace being enjoyed after the June 21 Governorship election in the state.
“Ekiti needs peace for necessary development. By all means we will continue to belong to different political persuasions, but Ekiti , our land of honour and fountain of knowledge should progress and develop peacefully for the benefit of all.
“We recall with regret the unnecessary loss of lives which characterized some attempted court proceeding , an event that is now regarded as a black spot in our constitutional march to full democracy.”
Sheik Ahmad Gunmi explodes again on why President Jonathan, Gen. Buhari should not contest 2015 Presidential election
Fiery Islamic Scholar and scion of late Sheik Abubakar Gunmi, Sheik Ahmad Gunmi has said why he wrote two separate letters asking both President Goodluck Jonathan and the former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, rtd, not to contest the 2015 presidential election.
Gunmi who spoke with Saturday Vanguard in an exclusive interview in Kaduna Wednesday, said that both ‘’Buhari and Jonathan are polarising figures”, pointing out that Buhari’s participation in the election would exacerbate violence in the country while Jonathan was not an acceptable candidate to a “great chunk of Nigerians”.
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Sheikh Gumi
’The north is frantic; they don’t want President Jonathan to come back because of their safety, lives and security. And this has made them to be too attached to Gen. Buhari because they think he is the only credible person and he has large followers who feel that they can help defeat Jonathan. I know like Jonathan, Buhari is also polarizing figure.
‘’Buhari is not only a polarizing figure in Nigeria, he is even so in the North. There are people who don’t want him at all for different reasons. My Islamic credentials make me see things in broader perspective. And that’s why I am seriously telling him to consider that leadership is not only about honesty and accountability. It also has to do with conformity, flexibility, being nice to people and not just disciplinary strictness. No! All these people that are attached to him would be very surprised if he gets into power. He will not do what they want.’’
Gunmi further said that Buhari’s followers were not only ‘’irrational, fanatical and sentimental,’’ but were already hoping that ‘’their man will be president,’’ adding that if ‘’suddenly he is announced the loser… there would be ‘flames of war; they start nobody can control them.’’
According to him, ‘’It is about a Nigerian citizen (himself) telling Gen. Buhari, please step down for peace, unity and stability of Nigeria because your followers are fanatical, irrational, sentimental and they are many, not few.
So, please … and look at their reaction (intolerance). Just telling their man to step down, and they reacted this way; what more if they were hoping, dreaming – because I tell you they are sentimental and irrational – hoping their man will be president and suddenly he’s announced the loser, how will their reaction be like? And who can control them? You see, the flames of war, when they start nobody can control them
On Jonathan, Gunmi also said that he was a polarising figure pointing out that, “a big section of Nigeria will be uncomfortable with him (Jonathan) continuing as President.’’
to him, ‘’tquestion of Nigeria now is not about winning election, neither is it a question of I’m right, I won. It’s not about that now. It’s about responsibility. It’s not enough to say I have won election. It is only enough when every part of Nigeria feels truly that you have won.
‘’Secondly, when all sections say, we will be comfortable with your leadership then that’s it. If there is any section of Nigeria which is afraid and suspicious of your leadership, then don’t contest in the first place. Because everything in this democracy was designed to have a peaceful and mutual understanding and consent of the people as enshrined in the constitution.
‘’But in this case, if President Jonathan wins, a huge part of the society will feel uncomfortable and frightened by his continuation. The natural thing to do is to give the chance to another person to contest; this is just natural everywhere in the world.’’
BOKO HARAM
Furthermore, Gunmi spoke on the war against Boko Haram, blaming the inability of the Military to defeat the terrorists on fifth columnists within the system and mercenaries from neighbouring countries like Chad.
According to him, ‘’Who can believe that with the kind of wealth that Nigeria has; our soldiers will be given few bullets to face Boko Haram? Nobody knows that this Boko Haram, from the few the army were able to kill, were mercenaries from Chad. There are even some none-Muslims among them.
‘’A soldier came to us here from Bita, which is very close to the Sambisa Forest (in Borno State). He said when they went freshly with ammunition they were able to repel the initial attacks by Boko Haram. When the Boko Haram insurgents were withdrawing, he heard some shouting some names like Victor, Amir, John, Mohammed etc They were calling their colleagues. Boko Haram are not only Muslims.
‘’The Boko Haram issue has two perspectives – the perspective you, the press, have been bombarding Nigerians with and the true perspective seen by the victims. Let me tell you what the victims see in Boko Haram. We almost have one full year of state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States. ‘’The people gave the government the benefit of doubt at the beginning.
The National Assembly sanctioned the state of emergency and that means that soldiers can liquidate or kill anybody without trial. That automatically puts you out of the area if you are an outsider. You cannot go and see for yourself what’s happening. Powers were given to them and also huge sums of money. With these huge sums, nobody would have thought that after this long period, we will still be fighting them.
NO MILITARY STRATEGY TO FIGHT BOKO HARAM
‘’Soldiers at the fronts were being eliminated, outnumbered, and many civilians incarcerated. The Army were just there arresting civilians and putting them in prison.
There is no military strategy to fight Boko Haram. On the contrary some of these soldiers cry to me personally. They come to us and tell us stories contrary to what you people hear. Helicopter droppings, tinted glassed vehicles, sometimes with foreigners in them. Army officers telling me that sometimes they’ll pursue them but would be given orders to stop, don’t pursue. You (the press) don’t know this but we know, and even recorded some. We know it’s a remote controlled war. This stalemate is a remote controlled war.’’
Families of the 219 schoolgirls held for more than six months by Boko Haram militants on Saturday said they were shocked but not surprised at fresh claims that the teenagers had been married off.
Chibok girls
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau made the claim in a new video obtained by AFP on Friday, in which he also said that all the girls had converted to Islam and rejected claims of a ceasefire and peace talks.
The head of the Chibok Elders Forum in the northeast Nigerian town, Pogo Bitrus, told AFP: “It (the claim about marriage) is shocking to us, although we know that Boko Haram is not a reliable group.
“We were sceptical about the talks to release our girls and we never took the ceasefire seriously because since the announcement, they have never stopped attacking communities.
“Therefore the information that our girls have been married off is not surprising to us,” said Bitrus, whose four nieces are among the hostages.
“We are only hoping the government will step up whatever efforts it is making to quell the insurgency.”
Nigeria’s military and presidency said on October 17 that they had reached a deal to end five years of deadly violence in the country’s northeast, as well as agreement to release the Chibok girls.
But violence has continued unabated, including a triple bomb attack on a bus station in the northern city of Gombe on Friday, which killed at least eight and injured dozens more.
Shekau indicated in earlier video messages that the girls would be sold as slave brides and that some, but not all, had converted to Islam.
His latest claim that they were now all Muslims and had been “married off” chimes with testimony from former hostages that forced conversion and marriage are commonplace in Boko Haram camps.
Human Rights Watch said in a report published this week that upwards of 500 women and girls have been kidnapped since 2009, although some estimates put the figure at more than 1,000.
Enoch Mark, a Christian pastor in Chibok whose daughter and niece are among the hostages, said the girls’ families were “lost for words”.
“Since they were kidnapped we have no certainty about the situation they are in. We keep getting conflicting information,” he added.
They were “ironically lucky” that world attention has focused on the Chibok girls, he added, but said their situation was part of a wider issue.
“Only God knows the number of girls kidnapped by Boko Haram,” he said. “We only keep hoping that they will be returned to us and if they are not we take solace in God.”
– See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/11/families-chibok-girls-shocked-marriage-claims/#sthash.8YgGAH6P.dpuf
Families of the 219 schoolgirls held for more than six months by Boko Haram militants on Saturday said they were shocked but not surprised at fresh claims that the teenagers had been married off.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau made the claim in a new video obtained by AFP on Friday, in which he also said that all the girls had converted to Islam and rejected claims of a ceasefire and peace talks.
The head of the Chibok Elders Forum in the northeast Nigerian town, Pogo Bitrus, told AFP: “It (the claim about marriage) is shocking to us, although we know that Boko Haram is not a reliable group.
“We were sceptical about the talks to release our girls and we never took the ceasefire seriously because since the announcement, they have never stopped attacking communities.
“Therefore the information that our girls have been married off is not surprising to us,” said Bitrus, whose four nieces are among the hostages.
“We are only hoping the government will step up whatever efforts it is making to quell the insurgency.”
Nigeria’s military and presidency said on October 17 that they had reached a deal to end five years of deadly violence in the country’s northeast, as well as agreement to release the Chibok girls.
But violence has continued unabated, including a triple bomb attack on a bus station in the northern city of Gombe on Friday, which killed at least eight and injured dozens more.
Shekau indicated in earlier video messages that the girls would be sold as slave brides and that some, but not all, had converted to Islam.
His latest claim that they were now all Muslims and had been “married off” chimes with testimony from former hostages that forced conversion and marriage are commonplace in Boko Haram camps.
Human Rights Watch said in a report published this week that upwards of 500 women and girls have been kidnapped since 2009, although some estimates put the figure at more than 1,000.
Enoch Mark, a Christian pastor in Chibok whose daughter and niece are among the hostages, said the girls’ families were “lost for words”.
“Since they were kidnapped we have no certainty about the situation they are in. We keep getting conflicting information,” he added.
They were “ironically lucky” that world attention has focused on the Chibok girls, he added, but said their situation was part of a wider issue.
“Only God knows the number of girls kidnapped by Boko Haram,” he said. “We only keep hoping that they will be returned to us and if they are not we take solace in God.”
THE first defendant in the ongoing trial of the murder of Cynthia Osokogwu, Okwumo Nwabufo, on Friday, told a Lagos High Court sitting at Igbosere that he and the deceased were lovers and that he had even proposed to her and they were about getting married.
Nwabufo, who was led in evidence by his counsel, Chris Opara, said that he and the deceased met at Shoprite in Lekki in 2011 where he went for shopping, while she was also shopping at a fashion shop, contrary to reports that they met on facebook.
Cynthia Osokogwu and her killers
The defendant said when he met her, she was making enquiries, so he introduced himself to her and she equally introduced herself to him, adding that he gave her his card and she gave him her phone number.
He also stated that the deceased told him about herself and where she resided and he also did the same and they became very close.
The defendant, who claimed to be a car dealer and also a part-time student of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) studying accounting, said he paid the deceased a visit in Abuja and he invited her to where he lodged at a hotel in Abuja.
Nwabufo said from that moment, they became close and he started assisting.
“Cynthia was my girlfriend, we were close as the way lovers are before they get married, she visited me often in Lagos, she had been to my house up to five times. I have been very helpful to her, doing everything a boyfriend can do to his girlfriend like monetary support, moral support and advising her always.
“I promised her that I would marry her and she accepted, but told me it was still early, that I should wait till Christmas when I would visit her parents in Delta State. Everything about us was going well till the day I heard about her death. I was so devastated, I was crying asking why should it be her and who must have done this. The police didn’t give me chance to express my feelings and they made me look like a murderer,” he said.
He further told the court that he received a call from the deceased on July 21 2012 that she would be in Lagos at Cosmilla Hotel, Lake View Estate, Festac Town, that he should come over to see her.
“She had earlier sent a BlackBerry phone to me to repair. I asked her what was the problem with the phone. and she said most items on the phone used to delete easily. I gave it to my second cousin, Chidera (the second defendant) to assist me in giving it to a repairer because I was busy. When the phone was repaired, I called my girlfriend but she told me that people told her that once a BlackBerry had issues, the best thing was to sell it. So she asked me to sell it. That was how I asked my second cousin to sell and give me the money. So he sold it for N40,000 and gave me the money,” he added.
According to the defendant, having the money with him and based on the fact that he was happy seeing her, he decided to go to the hotel with the second defendant. When he got there, he introduced himself to the receptionist and asked if he could see the deceased.
“I tried calling her phones but they were not connecting. I pleaded with the receptionist to check the name on their guest list because Cynthia said she lodged there, but she said there was no such name. I was confused and asked her if there was any other hotel around that bears the name Cosmilla, or if they have a branch around, she said no,” he said.
“After this, I left the hotel and returned to my house. I was still worried why her phone was not connecting. I and my cousin continued to call her number. After some time, I became tired of calling the line and instead, I called the hotel, it was my cousin’s phone that was able to get the hotel and I told him to ask if they had seen her. I kept on trying the number again. The next time I reached her, I was surprised to hear that she had an accident and that she was in Rabiu Hospital, Abuja.”
The defendant told Justice Olabisi Akinlade that he was sad and curious and then decided to contact people in Abuja if they knew any hospital called Rabiu Hospital, but all his efforts proved abortive until he was arrested by the police.
He told the judge that on August 1, 2012, he was in his house around 1.00a.m. with one of his cousins and a friend who was about to travel to South Africa when he heard a loud noise and saw policemen in his sitting room. They asked who was Echezona and he answered that he was the one, after which he said the policemen started beating him.
During cross examination by the Attorney General of Lagos State, Ade Ipaye, the defendant told the court that he did not meet the late Cynthia on facebook as he did not have a facebook account.
“I can’t recall anything in the statement obtained by the police because the police told me to follow the script,” he added.
When asked about the time he proposed to the deceased, he said he could not remember but that it took place in his room during one of her visits to him. He also said he did not know what she studied in the university and had forgotten her birthday.
He denied ever knowing Ryhophnol and also denied putting the drug in the deceased’s drink.
“I came across the drug during this trial. I don’t know how it looks like, it is a fabricated story and allegation against me. Cynthia was my girlfriend who I loved. I can never think of such and I can’t do such to any human being. I didn’t administer any drug on her, it was the police that told me to accept and to put it in writing and to claim that the pharmacist sold it to me,” he said
The matter was adjourned till December 12 for continuation of trial.
THE presidency on Friday assessed the performance of previous Nigerian leaders since independence and concluded that even though they did well within the circumstances they found themselves, none of them achieved half of what President Goodluck Jonathan has done in four years.
President Jonathan
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, who made this assertion during a 4-Day Public Affairs Forum organised in Abuja to highlight the achievements of the present administration, also gave a hint on the campaign strategy the administration would adopt towards the 2015 presidential election.
He described as “nonsense” claims that the transformation agenda of the Federal Government exists only in the media, regretting, however, that not much had been done to sell the good performance of government to the Nigerian people.
Naming the various Nigerian past leaders, the presidential aide remarked that they contributed immensely to the development of the country to their best ability as he observed that each of them had his own achievement.
“All past administrationsdid well but Jonathan is the best.
“No government from 1960 has done half of what Jonathan has done in four years,” he added.
Okupe revealed that the administration would unleash the achievements of President Jonathan on Nigerians during the campaign to convince them that he remained the best option for the country in the years to come.
He said: “It is nonsense to say that the transformation agenda of Jonathan exists only on the television. We have not spoken about what he has done. We are going to overwhelm Nigerians during the campaign.”
Okupe advised Nigerians to shun the antics of the opposition, saying that in spite of all their talks, they have not been able to tell Nigerians what they will offer.
He said: “People say they are coming. They haven’t said what they will do. Jonathan’s own is ‘we have done this, we have done that.’
“This election will be a no contest. We are telling the world what Jonathan has done. We will not stop until well beyond February.”
The Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, presented his ministry’s achievements in the last four years during the occasion with the theme, “The Jonathan administration: Four impactful years.”
The party condemn failed attempt by political mercenaries
By Ehi Ekhator, Naija Center News
The Rivers State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP strongly condemns failed attempt by political mercenaries, using combustible substance to set its State Secretariat, along Aba Road in Port Harcourt, ablaze in the early hours of today, Friday, October 31, 2014.
PDP secretariat
In the early hours of today, some group of boys invaded the State Secretariat of the PDP, locked the Security guards at the premises, poured petroleum product (fuel) on the two storey building which ignited fire that could not create positive impact on the ground floor of the PDP State Secretariat.
The Party expresses serious concern and suspicion on the manner and timing of the event which occurred just less than 24 hours after a group of dissidents comprising a handful of expelled and suspended members of the Party and mixed with agents and members of the All Progressives Congress, who sparsely congregated at the liberation stadium, Elekahia, during which they threatened violence on the PDP and its leaders, as some of them called for the postponement of the ward congresses of the party billed for tomorrow Saturday.
The Party also notes that few minutes after the unfortunate incident of arson on its Party Secretariat, in a manner that suggested that they are privy to the arrangement, and what looks like an already prepared press statement, waiting for the incident to occur, the Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, through one Chris Finebone, issued a press statement and laid claim to the property as belonging to the Rivers State Government.
The statement added “It appears to us that they either masterminded it or wanted the property razed down to claim the land, since according to them; it belongs to the Rivers State Government. It is also obvious that the APC elements are determined to make the State ungovernable only to blackmail members of our great Party, the PDP.”
The Rivers State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP hereby calls on the Inspector General of Police, IGP, the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, and all relevant security agencies in the country to invite for interrogation, Chris Finebone and organizers of the ill fated rally on Thursday at Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt, who have already been revealed by Mr Finebone as those behind the dastardly act. Mr. Chris Finebone, had in a Press Statement in which he signed as State Publicity Secretary said, “their evil scheme has finally become public knowledge early this morning as men of the Rivers State Government Fire Service are battling to contain the fire at the PDP State Secretariat ostensibly carried out by a faction of the party”.
The organizers of the ill fated rally having failed to achieve their aim of calling off the ward congresses, have resorted to intimidation and violence.
“We also call on whoever is linked to this dastardly incident and politicians to search their conscience and that politics should not be seen as a do or die affair. It is important that we engage ourselves with respect and regard for the growth and development of our dear State even as we strive to place the interest of Rivers State beyond parochial, egocentric, jingoist and wishy-washy interest.” The statement said
The PDP however, wishes to restate that no amount of intimidation, attacks and blackmail would discourage the Party from doing what is just, fair and equitable, by allowing all eminently qualified and interested members of the Party to contest all levels of elections on the platform of the Party, irrespective of ethnicity.
The PDP also enjoins everybody to come to the primaries to test their popularity and desist from violent actions and uncomplimentary remarks against the Party.
Bro Felix Obuah, chairman PDP Rivers State allay fears over the conduct of the Local Government congresses billed for today Saturday November 1, 2014, assuring party faithful that the ward congresses would hold in all wards in Rivers State as scheduled.
Meanwhile, the Party expresses sincere appreciation to the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Dan Bature, who has promptly visited the PDP State Party Secretariat to assess the level of destruction on the building.
During the visit, the CP, who was received on arrival by the State Secretary of the Party, Prince Ibibia Walter, assured 24 hours security at the Party Secretariat.
Earlier Report PDP Secretariat sets ablaze by arsonists
The police averted a fire disaster, in the early hours of Friday, as suspected arsonists set the Rivers State secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Port Harcourt, ablaze.
The arsonists, numbering four, were said to have been seen standing near the two-storey building with one of them holding a jerrycan, at about 4:35a.m.
The incident occurred less than 24-hours after 14 PDP governorship aspirants in the state held a rally, in Port Harcourt, the state capital, protesting the rejection of zoning by the state leadership of the party.
Some members of the party, including the 14 governorship aspirants, had been calling for the removal of the Felix Obuah-led state executive to pave way for a caretaker committee to conduct the party’s forthcoming primaries.
The night guard watching over the PDP building became suspicious of the arsonists and asked for their mission. He reportedly threatened to shoot them if they refused to leave the area.
The arsonists were said to have ignored the guard’s threat and instead tried to get hold of him and ended up pouring some of the fuel on his legs, while one of them headed to the ground floor entrance of the building and tried to force the gate open.
The guard and other security men seeing the building had been set on fire, raised the alarm which attracted other residents of the area to the scene who helped in preventing the fire from spreading.
Commenting on the incident, the state PDP chairman, Mr Felix Obuah, attributed the fire incident to some desperate politicians who he said “do not want the ward and local government congresses, scheduled for today, to hold.
“They are trying to force the cancellation of the ward and local government congresses schedule for this weekend.
“Let me say that no matter the desperation of that group, our congress must go on as planned,” he said
The Peoples Democratic Party members in the House of Representatives and their All Progressives Congress colleagues are set for a showdown over alleged plan by the PDP caucus to reconvene the House next Tuesday.
Tambuwal and the others
Saturday PUNCH learnt that the PDP lawmakers’ plan jolted their APC counterparts many of whom had already travelled to their constituencies to prepare for the party’s primaries.
It was gathered that the APC leaders vowed to oppose the move with “every means possible.”
The Speaker, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, on Tuesday adjourned sitting in the House till December 3, 2014 shortly after he dumped the PDP for the APC.
On the other hand, the Senate adjourned to reconvene on November 4, 2014.
It was learnt that both the Presidency and the PDP national headquarters were displeased with Tambuwal’s defection.
A PDP source, who did not want his name mentioned, told Saturday PUNCH that the Presidency felt that Tambuwal adjourned sitting in the House to enable him to settle down in his new party, the APC.
But when the PDP caucus reportedly began making a move to reconvene sitting, the APC caucus described such as “a very big joke and laughable proposal.”
The House Minority Whip, Mr. Sampson Osagie, who confirmed the anger of the APC members, told Saturday PUNCH that the only authorised official to reconvene the House was Tambuwal.
He explained that even Tambuwal could not do it alone until he received the approval of the leadership of the House.
Osagie said, “It will amount to complete illegality for anybody to contemplate a thing like that. The House was properly adjourned by the Speaker on Tuesday; he is the only authority by our rules to reconvene the House.
“This will come after a meeting of all the party caucuses in the House.”
According to Osagie, the planned PDP caucus decision to resort to collecting signatures of members to reconvene the House is an illegality and totally against the House rules.
But PDP members dismissed Osagie. One of the members, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “This is a very simple and straightforward issue. It is like telling the whole world that if the Speaker is sick, and there is an emergency, we cannot reconvene the House.
“All that is required is to get 120 members to sign to reconvene the House. There is a Deputy Speaker who can preside over the House in the absence of the Speaker.”
Asked why it was necessary to reconvene the House barely one week after it adjourned till December 3, another senior PDP source replied that it was to “discuss the 2015 budget, Petroleum Industry Bill and of course, any other important matter that needs urgent attention.”
Ironically, the House gave preparation for the budget, PIB and party primaries as the reasons it earlier took the lengthy adjournment.
It was gathered that Tambuwal might be prevented from entering the National Assembly to preside over any session of the House as part of the wider plan to “effectively frustrate him.”
