Court: no troops for elections

military

A Federal High Court sitting in Sokoto yesterday ruled that it is unconstitutional for the military to be deployed for election purposes.
Justice Mohammed Rilwan ruled that other than for the purposes of protecting the nation’s territorial integrity, no constitutional provision allows for the deployment of the military for elections.
The suit challenging the deployment of military for election duties was instituted by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly, Bello Goronyo, representing Goronyo Constituency.
Justice Rilwan added that” for the federal government to do so, it must have taken recourse to the National Assembly, which would enact such law”.

Kano Emir to electorate: don’t vote for persecutors

Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has urged voters to make a credible choice in next month’s elections by not allowing their votes to fall into the hands of those he described as persecutors.

According to the monarch, making a bad choice will be a recipe for disaster.

Sanusi spoke when the state Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) governorship candidate, Bashir Ishaq, visited him in his palace yesterday.

The emir said  leadership required commitment and sacrifice, stressing that one was at liberty to vote for a candidate of one’s choice.

But, he advised: “You should make sure that you do  not allow your votes to fall into the hands of persecutors; you should not concede your votes to those you know would oppress you.”

The Kano Emirate Council, he said, is a non-partisan traditional institution that is never known to be dancing to the whims and caprices of any political party.

The monarch, who spoke at length on the need to avoid violence in the name of politics, also advised politicians to accommodate one another’s views  without prejudice.

The PDM governorship candidate said he was concerned about the abysmal decline of education at primary and secondary levels, adding that with his foray into the race, he was determined to deal with the rot.

He stated that he was also willing to establish an independent power station in the state in the face of the nation’s appalling economy, stressing that with adequate power supply, the state’s economy would remarkably improve.

Ishaq said the sector  would also receive his priority attention because of expectations placed on the government for a robust healthcare system.

He added that he was willing to come up with a unique concept of governance for the state.

Tompolo: I insist Nigeria ’ll break if Jonathan loses

Tompolo

Former Niger Delta militants seem unrepentant on their widely condemned stand that there will be trouble should President Goodluck Jonathan lose the February 14 election.

Among those who condemned the former militants’ stand is one time Defence Minister Lt.-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, who said war mongers should be arrested.

But yesterday, former Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) leader Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo) restated the threat he issued along with other ex-militant leaders in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

 The threat, said to have been issued in the presence of Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson and the Special Adviser to President Jonathan on Niger Delta, Mr Kingsley Kuku, has been widely condemned.

 Tompolo attacked Gen. Danjuma, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and all perceived enemies of President Jonathan, who he insisted must win to avert a crisis.

 He said: “Gen. Danjuma and his cohorts should know that I remain resolute on my position in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, that President Goodluck Jonathan must win this election for Nigeria to continue to stay together.”

 Besides, Tompolo, in the statement signed by his Media Adviser, Mr Paul Bebenimibo, in Warri yesterday, accused the former Army chief of being behind the stoning of President Goodluck Jonathan in Katsina and Bauchi states.

Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda said Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members were behind the stoning of the President’s convoy in Bauchi.

 Tompolo warned that Nigeria was already on the brink of disintegration in the wake of the expiration of the 1914 amalgamation treaty, hinting that the defeat of President Jonathan could be the final nail on the coffin.

 Said he: “Gen. Danjuma should be reminded that the devilish treaty that brought the Southern and Northern Protectorates together in 1914 expired last year. Danjuma and his likes, such as Gen. Buhari, Gen. Obasanjo and Mr. Bola Tinubu, should be grateful to President Jonathan who has been keeping this country together.

 ”If not for President Jonathan, Nigeria would not have been any more.  Danjuma and his cohorts should be reminded of the saying that ‘those who live in glass house should not throw stones’.

 ”The call by Gen. T.Y Danjuma (rtd) to arrest me and other agitators for a better living for the people of the Niger Delta region is an indication that he is behind terrorism in the North eastern part of the country as well as the stoning of President Jonathan’s convoy in Kastina and Bauchi states, because he has never condemned those acts, even though Boko Haram attacked churches and mosques in his home town.

 ”Is Gen. Danjuma not aware of the peaceful atmosphere when Gen. Buhari visited Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa (home state of the President) states for campaign?  Why is it that President Jonathan’s convoy was attacked in Kastina and Bauchi states without any provocation?

“Who is Gen. Danjuma if not for the oil wealth he is enjoying from the Niger Delta? He should be rather arrested for being behind terrorism in the North.

“Where was Danjuma when Mallam Ciroma Adamu threatened to make Nigeria ungovernable, if President Jonathan defeated the All Progressive Congress Presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammedu Buhari?  Where was this so called statesman when the APC campaign Director General (DG), Mr. Rotimi Ameachi threatened to form a parallel government if President Jonathan wins the 2015 elections?  Where was this hypocrite when Dr. Junaid Muhammed, Muhammedu Buhari and Atiku Abubakar all said in separate interviews that the nation will boil if Jonathan won the election in 2011?

“Is it the interest of Nigeria Gen. Danjuma is protecting or his oil bloc in the Niger Delta?  Is it the interest of Nigeria Danjuma is protecting or his 50 million dollars donation to Gen. Buhari for his campaign?

 ”Let Gen. Danjuma and his cohorts know that they will not see any Ijaw man, the Igbos and others to fight on their side if the war that they are planning broke up,” he added.

 The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), in a statement circulated by its spokesman, Eric Omare, said the former defense chief’s call fell short of such expected from a statesman, expedition viewed against the background of the fact that he failed to comment while President Jonathan’s campaign train was consistently attacked in some northern states.

The IYC, which claimed to be in the meeting in the Bayelsa state’s Government House where the threats were allegedly issued, also described the reports of threat as misleading as such was never part of the meeting’s resolutions.

The group however called on security agencies in the country to ignore the calls from General Danjuma and the opposition All Progressives’ Congress (APC) for the arrest of the former militant leaders as they were borne out of misleading reports.

“We are surprised that General Danjuma swiftly called for the arrest of Tompolo, Asari and other Niger-Deltans, whereas he has neither condemned nor called for the arrest of those who have been consistently attacking the convoy of President Jonathan in the northern part of the country. General Danjuma’s call is not deserving of an elder statesman who is supposed to be unbiased rather than his obvious bias against the Niger-Delta people. Only yesterday, in Gombe State a supporter of President Jonathan who was pasting his posters was attacked and seriously brutalised. Why has General Danjuma not condemned this dastardly act if he is really an elder statement?

“There was no time at the meeting the Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Seriake Dickson, with youth leaders and ex-Niger Delta freedom fighters where it was resolved that Niger Delta people would destabilise Nigeria, if President Jonathan fails the February 14, 2015 presidential election. This did not form part of the resolutions of the meeting, which were read out by Hon. Kingsley Kuku for Governor Dickson to transmit to Mr. President.

“The meeting was called by the Governor of Bayelsa State, to solicit support for President Jonathan from Niger-Delta youths and ex-freedom fighters. However, the meeting frowned at and  its dissatisfaction with the persistent attack on the campaign convoy of President Jonathan in some northern states when General Buhari, his main opponent, was protected and campaigned freely in the south during his campaign tour. Hence, the meeting condemned in the strongest terms the attack on President Jonathan and resolved that nobody can intimidate President Jonathan out of the presidential race. At the meeting, all the youth leaders and ex-Niger Delta freedom fighters resolved to put their grievances aside and agree to work for the re-election of President Jonathan.

“Therefore, the report on ex-militants threatening to destabilise Nigeria in the event of President Jonathan losing the 2015 election is not part of the resolution of the meeting. The meeting could not have discussed that as we are confident that President Jonathan would win the February 14, 2015 presidential election.

“We, therefore, call on Nigerians and the security agencies to disregard the call for arrest of Tompolo, Asari and others, which is based on a misleading report. The accusation levelled against President Jonathan by the APC is also unfounded,” the statement said.

A former Minister of Defence (State), Dr Rowland Oritsejafor, called for caution over threats on the outcome of next month’s election, stressing that President Jonathan does not support violence.

 Oritsejafor, who spoke to reporters in Warri, Delta State, remarked that that the initial threat was reportedly issued at the Bayelsa State Government House does not mean that it was the position of the Governor Seriake Dickson, or that of the PDP.

 He said, “I can be invited to Aso Rock and then I make a statement; does that mean that the president supported what I said? Let us be very clear, PDP is a peaceful government with well-respected and responsible people. There is no way the PDP would support violence.

“Some people are making statements. I cannot come and defend those statements because I don’t know from where they are coming and I wasn’t there. However, as far as PDP is concerned, we will pursue peace and it is in our interest to pursue peace.

“So why would we want to invest in violence when we have opportunity to show what we can do? You can hear the President going round, it is all about what he has done and he keeps rolling them out.”

Pressed for reaction on the failure of security agencies and the Federal Government to take action on the threat, Oritsejafor conceded that he “would be worried if nothing is being done about it, but I don’t have the information and you have to be very careful when it comes to security.”

“You don’t know what they are doing, except you have done your investigation. If nothing is being done, that is unfortunate and I need to find out,” Oritsejafor added.

The leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, also yesterday, replied Gen. Danjuma in an abusive manner calling for his and other ex-militant leaders’ arrest for making provocative and inflammatory statements on Jonathan’s re-election.

Dokubo-Asari, an indigene of Buguma, the headquarters of the Asari-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State and a former President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), spoke yesterday by the telephone, said: “Danjuma is a big…

“How can a … call for my arrest?

“I was misquoted. I did not make any provocative statement in Yenagoa and I did not threaten anybody. President Jonathan has already won the election.”

In Dokubo-Asari’s view with the “impressive” performance of President Jonathan, there is nothing to worry about.

Chadian soldiers recapture Nigerian town from B’Haram

Members of Boko Haram sect

Chadian soldiers have smoked out the Boko Haram insurgents out of Malumfatori town in north-eastern Nigeria, a top security source said.

One of our correspondents gathered on Thursday that the recapture of the town, which lies near the borders of Chad and Niger, followed two days of fighting between the insurgents and the soldiers.

Both ground and air forces are reported to have been used in the assault.

It was learnt that the Chadian soldiers moved into the town which was earlier seized by the Boko Haram sect after crossing Lake Chad. It is not known if the operation was approved by Nigeria.

However, the Nigerian military confirmed that the town had been recaptured but said that the feat was performed by soldiers from the Multinational Task involved in the ongoing operation against the insurgents in the North-East.

The Multi-National Joint Task Force comprises military personnel from Nigeria, Chad and Niger. Although Cameroon was supposed to be one of the troops contributing nation to the force, its troops had yet to participate in the activities of the force.

It was added that the area had always been the focus of the activities of the Nigeria military especially the aerial surveillance and patrol activities of the Nigerian Force.

On Thursday, the Director, Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, said in a text message sent to one of our correspondents that Malafatori fall within the area covered by the operations of the Multi National Joint Task Force.

Olukolade said that the Nigeria Air Force had been involved in aerial operations in the Malumfatori axis for two days as part of the ongoing effort against terrorism.

He said, “Malumfatori is within the area of operation covered by the Multi National Joint Task Force of which Chad has always been a part.

“The Nigerian Air Force has also been conducting air mission there for two days now, it is all part of the ongoing efforts against terrorism.”

However, people who fled the area were reported to have said they had seen military planes bombing the town.

Some of those who left the town during the fighting were reported to have crossed into Niger.

Meanwhile, reports from the area said fighting had now spread to a nearby town, Abadam.

Meanwhile, the African Union heads of state are due to discuss the crisis over Boko Haram at their summit beginning on Friday (today).

Ghanaian President John Mahama had said the leaders must produce a “specific plan of action” to “deal permanently” with Boko Haram.

PDP steals N100 from every litre of kerosene – Oshiomhole

Governor, Adams Oshiomhole

The Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, on Thursday accused the Peoples Democratic Party-led Federal Government of duping Nigerians by selling kerosene N150 per litre instead of N50.

Oshiomhole, who said this while receiving defectors from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress in Benin, the Edo State capital, also said that Nigerians had been suffering since the PDP assumed power 16 years ago.

This, he said, was because of the PDP’s dedication “to preserve the privileges of the few.”

Oshiomhole said the Federal Government had been doing this by not allowing the masses to enjoy the benefits of the natural resources bestowed on the country by God through shady subsidy deals on petroleum products.

The governor said, “The man who has a shop must close by 6 pm. If he operates beyond 6pm, he must put on a generator, and buy petrol or diesel. For 16 years, the PDP can’t give us light. But if they leave us in peace even in the dark, it will be bad enough but for them, that is not bad enough.”

“From Otuoke to Benin City, to Lagos, to Ekpoma, to Iyahmo, to Sokoto, kerosene is now between N150 and N160 per litre. For every N150 you spend in buying a litre of kerosene, the PDP steals N100 because in the books of the NNPC, they have it on records that kerosene is N50 per litre.”

Oshiomhole also commended the quality of the defectors, who he described as knowledgeable.

He said, “Today is not just the fact of the huge number in this hall but it is also about the quality of the brains that have now join us; and in a world that is knowledge-driven, it is only the party that can parade the best brains that can drive the sustainable change that Nigeria is currently battling with in order to bail our country from its present political quagmire.”

The governor also likened the ruling party to “an impotent man.”

Dokubo, Tompolo’s war threat unacceptable –FG

Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Moro

The Federal Government officially reacted on Thursday to the war threat by ex- Niger Delta militants, saying it was reprehensible.

The condemnation came barely a day after a former Minister of Defence, Lt.Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, called for their arrest and seven days after the ex-militants made the threat at the Government House in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

The ex-militants – Mujahiden Dokubo-Asari, Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo), Victor Ebikabowei (aka Boyloaf) and others – had at the end of a meeting attended by Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson, said, “For every Goliath, God created a David. For every Pharaoh, there is a Moses. We are going to war. Every one of you should go and fortify yourself.”

But as the Federal Government, through the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, cautioned against inflammatory remarks, unrepentant Ekpemupolo, said Danjuma was the one that should be arrested by security operatives.

The minister, at a news conference in Abuja, said that there was no basis for the ex-militants to be beating war drums since President Goodluck Jonathan had said   he would concede defeat if he lost the February 14 presidential election.

He said, “It is reprehensible for people to threaten this country with mayhem should their candidate lose the election . The President,   Dr. Jonathan, has not left anybody in doubt as to his preparedness to conduct a free, fair, credible and transparent election.

“Mr. President has said that in the unlikely event of his losing the election, in the course of this exercise, that he was straight man enough, he was democratic enough to concede defeat.

“So, if Mr. President himself, who is the main contestant, who is the President of this country, who is the leader of the PDP(Peoples Democratic Party) has come out to say that he was going to ensure free and fair elections where the choice of Nigerians would be respected, I do not see where statements from supporters of either Mr. President or any   political party for that matter should derail the course of this democratic movement.”

The minister, who said that the anxiety over the elections was unwarranted, stressed that the Federal Government was determined to conduct hitch-free elections.

He added that security agencies had been sufficiently mobilised for the elections.

Shortly after Moro spoke, Ekpemupolo, in a statement by his Media Adviser, Paul Bebenimibo, wondered why Danjuma, who did not condemn the stoning of Jonathan’s convoy in Katsina and Bauchi states, would want them arrested.

He asked, “Is Gen. Danjuma not aware of the peaceful atmosphere when Gen. Buhari visited Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa   states for campaign? Why is it that President Jonathan’s convoy was attacked in Kastina and Bauchi states without any provocation?

“Where was this so-called statesman when the APC campaign Director General, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, threatened to form a parallel government if Jonathan wins the 2015 elections?”

Ekpemupolo said that Danjuma should be reminded that the treaty that brought the Southern and Northern Protectorates together in 1914, expired last year.

He added, “Let Gen. Danjuma and his cohorts know that they will not see any Ijaw man, Igbo and others to fight on their side if the war that they are planning breaks out.

“And finally, Gen. Danjuma and his cohorts should know that I remain resolute on my position in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, that President Goodluck Jonathan must win this election for Nigeria to continue to stay together.”

Ohaneze Ndigbo also faulted Danjuma and called on him to worry himself more with ending the destructive activities of Boko Haram in the North-East.

The Secretary General of the group, Joe Nworgu, told one of our correspondents on the telephone that   the arrest of Ekpemupolo and Dokubo-Asari was not the solution to the security problem in the country.

He said, “They should prevail on all those behind the insurgency in the North to stop. Let them do that and not to call for the arrest of people who are merely issuing verbal threats.

“The group they armed are destabilising the country. Their men are already armed and fighting and embarrassing the country. These ones are only issuing verbal threats.

“Luckily, Danjuma is in charge of the relief funds for victims of the insurgency. He is in a better position to know those that should be cautioned.”

Nworgu   enjoined those perpetrating violence to realise that no single group of individuals had the monopoly of violence.

But the Northern Elders Forum has declared support for the call by Danjuma.

The forum’s spokesperson, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, said   in a telephone interview with The PUNCH, “It makes a lot of sense. It serves as a wake-up call for people who are derelict of their duties.

“If somebody (in the security services) is asleep, he should wake up and do his job that is all Gen. Danjuma is saying.”

Abdullahi dismissed allegations that the former minister was being partisan by not speaking up when similar statements were made by some   northerners.

He said, “That’s absolute rubbish, it does not make sense to make such claims. This is not the first time they (ex-Niger Delta militants) are issuing such threats; It   has been going on for some time and nobody has cautioned them.

“If you look at the environment and venue where they make such comments you cannot connect it directly to those who are responsible for it. People have been calling for this (arrest) for a long time.”

The Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has also cautioned those beating the drums of war to refrain from doing so as it threatens the survival of the country.

Secretary of the group, Chief Seinde Arogbofa, said in Akure that the former militants and Boko Haram insurgents were taking issues to the extreme.

He said, “That is not the part of democracy. Although they were reacting to the attack on the President when he went to campaign in the north, it is not sufficient to begin to talk about war.

“Even the President will not accept that. He would not want the country to break in his hands.

“What the former militants should be doing is to campaign effectively for the President so that he becomes President.”

Amaechi’s criticism, a challenge – Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has admitted the criticism by Governor Rotimi Amaechi that his government has not done anything for the people of Rivers State.

This, he said, was because he did not want to be seen as an ethnic leader. Hence, his resolve to ensure the equitable distribution of resources across the country.

Jonathan’s wife is from Rivers State.

President Jonathan, who spoke during the presidential rally of the Peoples Democratic Party at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Igwuruta-Ali, Ikwerre Local Government of Rivers State, however, promised to develop the South-South region if elected for a second term in office.

The President was reacting to the criticism by Amaechi, who is also the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation, that he (Jonathan) had not done anything for Rivers and Bayelsa states.

Describing Amaechi’s statement as a challenge, Jonathan admitted that though he had not allocated more development to his people, the situation was an indication that he (Jonathan) meant well for the country.

He pointed out that he accepted Amaechi’s challenge, but would do “something” for the South-South states when he is re-elected,

The President said, “What I want to tell you and the rest of the country is that the director-general of the APC presidential campaign organisation, when he was in Yenagoa and when he was in Port Harcourt, mentioned clearly that the President had done nothing for the two states.

“Don’t worry. It is good news because people are saying that I concentrated development in the South-South. Bayelsa State was part of Rivers State. Then, if I don’t concentrate development in this state, that means there has not been development in Rivers and Bayelsa states.

“The DG (Amaechi) is telling Nigerians that I have not done this. That means that I am a transparent person. I did not allocate positions to my people. The DG would have been the very first person to expose me to the rest of the world; not just Nigeria. He would have taken me to America, to South Africa, to France, to UK, but that shows clearly that we mean well for this country.

“In our development, every part of Nigeria must be carried along. You will agree with me that when we looked at the university education, and we insisted that look, the Federal Government must make sure that all Nigerian youths must have opportunity for university education.

“We did not divide North or South; we made sure that all the states that had no federal university got a federal university. I am not going to comment on development in Rivers State and Bayelsa states. I can reassure you that just work with us; vote for us on February 14, for me and Sambo and on February 28, for Wike and Ipalibo. Since we have been challenged that we have not done anything, we will do something.”

Earlier, the PDP governorship candidate in the state, Chief Nyesom Wike, had expressed confidence that the party would win the February 2015 presidential and governorship elections.

Calling on the people of the state to vote for the PDP, Wike, who was formally presented with his party’s flag, criticised Amaechi for his (Amaechi) refusal to approve the application by the state PDP for the usage of the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium.

In her remarked, the President’s wife, Patience, boasted that the PDP would get over 2.4 million votes in Rivers State, adding that such a feat would be an improvement on the 2 million votes won by the party in 2011.

Mrs. Jonathan said that only the PDP had done a lot in the area of women empowerment, maintaining that the women had been able to manage the economy of the country.

War threat: Danjuma calls for Dokubo, Tompolo’s arrest

Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd.)

A former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd.), has called for the arrest of an ex-Niger Delta militants, including Mujahideen   Dokubo-Asari and Government Ekpudomenowei(akaTompolo)   for   threatening to declare war against the nation if President Goodluck loses the February 14 election.

Danjuma, who described the threat as “unguarded and reckless,” warned that “miscreants” must not be allowed to hold the country by the jugular.

Dokubo-Asari, had at a meeting on Friday at the Bayelsa State Government House, Yenagoa, urged an end to what he termed, the intimidation of the Ijaw by other Nigerians.

“For every Goliath, God created a David. For every Pharaoh, there is a Moses. We are going to war. Every one of you should go and fortify yourself,” he said.

At the meeting were Governor Seriake Dickson, Ekpudomenowei, Victor Ebikabowei (aka Boy Loaf), the   Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Kingsley Kuku and the   President General, the Ijaw Youth Council, Udengs Eradiri.

Boyloaf also said at the meeting that if the North succeeded in regaining power on February 14,   the people of the Niger Delta would take their oil back.

However, Danjuma while inaugurating the Kwankwasiyya City alongside   Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, on Wednesday wondered why Dokubo-Asari and Ebikabowei were heating up the polity.

He reminded them that since Nigeria and its resources belonged to everyone,   no one   must hold the government to ransom.

The former Defence minister, therefore, urged the necessary government agencies to immediately arrest the ex-militants.

“You should arrest Asari Dokubo, Tompolo, Boyloaf and other Niger Delta militants for making reckless statements, which in any way does not mean keeping Nigeria as one entity. They   create a war situation.

“Those were reckless statements coming from irresponsible individuals; they should be condemned and   arrested immediately,” he said.

In a situation like this, the issue of entrenching peace in the country is what is needed most. We should not allow some miscreants to hold us to ransom,” he said.

Danjuma, who served as a Defence minister during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, added,   “Nigeria belongs to everybody and we must do everything possible to safeguard her unity.”

He also asked politicians to stop making utterances capable of overheating the polity.

The former minister said, “As we are approaching election time, we must strive to ensure that important issues are thoroughly discussed but not personalities. We want to have a perfect election where no one would have an axe to grind with anybody.

“Once   politicians base their campaigns on issues not personalities and avoid anything capable of causing disaffection, I am confident that we would have foul-free elections.”

He commended Kwankwaso for providing physical infrastructure in the last four years and described the Kwankwasiyya City as one of the modern edifices in the current democratic dispensation.

Ex-militants’ war threat is unacceptable

Dokubo-Asari

Taking impunity to a new level, some ex-Niger Delta militants, joined by some intemperate public officials, gathered in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, last week to declare war against Nigeria in advance, should President Goodluck Jonathan lose next month’s presidential election. While disdain for law and order is not totally unexpected from pardoned ex-insurgents, the participation of Governor Seriake Dickson and a presidential adviser, Kingsley Kuku, in that provocative conclave is doubly unacceptable and should warrant a response from the government.

The bravado was shocking. According to news reports, the ex-militants, featuring some ex-warlords, vowed to take up arms against the country if Jonathan lost the February 14 presidential election. They also threatened reprisals for attacks on the President’s campaign team and vehicles in some northern states. Asari Dokubo, who has repeatedly trodden this path, urged attendees to get ready for war: “This action is calling the Niger Delta youths to war.”

Like him, others, including Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo, and Victor Ebikabowei, aka Boy Loaf, vowed to disrupt oil production. “If they take the power away from Jonathan, we will take our oil,” declared Ebikabowei. If the threats of persons who once violently resorted to self-help were disturbing, the benevolent presence of Dickson and Kuku was alarming.

Rather than moderate the extremism on display, Dickson, playing the amiable host, reportedly thanked the speakers for “backing the re-election of President Jonathan with greater vigour” and promised to relate their position to him. On his part, Kuku, the President’s Special Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs and Chairman of the Amnesty Implementation Committee, reportedly read the resolutions of the meeting, reiterating that the region’s youths would not take attacks on the President’s campaign entourage lightly.

If these reports are a true reflection of what transpired, Dickson’s and Kuku’s actions were simply treasonable. They have desecrated the high offices they occupy. Dickson imprudently provided the hallowed chambers of the Government House, Yenagoa, for the infamous meeting and lent the imprimatur of his exalted office to threats against the country and the 1999 Constitution that he solemnly swore to uphold.

Most offensive is the complete disregard for law and the electoral process. The militants did not hinge their angst on any universally acceptable present or future injustice to their preferred choice for president. Rather, they demonstrated utter disregard for the electoral process, vowing to declare war and disrupt oil production even if Jonathan lost in a free and fair contest.

This arrogance is insufferable and the rest of Nigeria should be concerned. First, leaders, elders, traditional authorities and even the youths of Ijawland, on whose behalf the incendiary threats were purportedly made, should come out to disclaim the preposterous provocation. It is an ill-wind that benefits no one, certainly not the 14 million population claimed by the Ijaw Foundation.

Jonathan should not play the ostrich on this one. The threat is too weighty to be ignored, especially with the presence of his aide, Kuku, at the meeting. He should not forget this statement that “nobody’s political ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian.” Nigerians have risen as one against mindless, unprovoked violence or threats by any group. When misguided youths rampaged in some northern states after the 2011 presidential election, they received national and worldwide condemnation. His silence can only be interpreted as tacit agreement. Did he send Kuku to the meeting or was the adviser there in his personal capacity? No presidential adviser or state governor ought to be associated with such threats.

The central pillars of democracy are the rule of law and regular free and fair elections. Jonathan won one in 2011; he can remain in office for another four years only through another electoral victory. You neither go to war when your candidate loses an election nor declare war ahead of it.

The misguided militants forget that the votes of the Ijaw militants alone cannot secure election and Nigeria is a single constituency for an aspirant to the presidency. Jonathan won handily across the country in 2011. He fortuitously ascended the presidency, first, as Acting President, not by the actions of his kinsmen, who also played no role whatsoever in his nomination to the vice-presidency in 2007.

It is tragic that ex-militants, once accused of kidnapping, sabotage of oil facilities and killing of soldiers and policemen but were granted amnesty by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, are once again threatening violence on the basis of a divine right to the Presidency. A media report published in February 2014 estimated that at least N260 billion was spent on ex-Niger Delta militants between 2009 and 2013 through amnesty payments and lucrative pipeline protection deals, while N35.8 billion was voted for ex-militants in 2014. Ekpemupolo’s company has been awarded a controversial multimillion dollar coastal protection contract just as Asari Dokubo, Ebikabowei and others also have been given contracts.

Thousands have received scholarships and monthly payouts.

Two years ago, Kuku had, during a visit to the United States, similarly threatened war if Jonathan was not returned to office in 2015. Asari Dokubo has been making the same threat for years with no response from the President. Nigerians can no longer accept silence from their President, whose then political adviser, Ahmed Gulak, reacting to yet another threat of violence from Asari Dokubo in 2013, said the ex-militant was merely expressing his own opinion.

The militants make no pretence to being well-armed. In any case, their security contracts enable them to legally procure sophisticated weapons, funded by the taxpayer, and immense wealth to buy more outside official channels.

The inaction of the Department of State Service and the police is baffling, but may not be unconnected with their reading of the president’s body language. Jonathan should not allow his ambition and supporters to plunge Nigeria into a blood-soaked crisis. The security agencies should shun partisanship and do their duty to the state by taking counter-measures against any violent threats to the country.

Agbaje, a tax defaulter —Fashola

Governor Babatunde Fashola

The Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, says the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democracy Party, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, is a tax defaulter.

The governor said this on Wednesday at the eighth Annual Lagos State Taxation Stakeholders’ Conference in the Ikeja area.

Fashola urged the residents of the state to reject “a serial tax evader” in the forthcoming governorship election.

He added that it was irresponsible for any politician seeking public office to evade tax and still claim to be a law-abiding citizen.

Fashola said, “All those who have paid their taxes have shown that they are lawful citizens. And anyone who has failed to pay tax is a bad citizen; he is also a cheat. Such person benefits from the roads, hospitals and other facilities provided with taxes paid by other residents.

“I know that you have to vote next month, but look at that candidate that will take over from me. And be careful of who to vote for. You will remember in 2007, Jimi Agbaje claimed that he was in Democratic People’s Alliance and later crossed to the PDP.

“You know that he manages a pharmacy called Jaykay Pharmacy, located at 9, Randle Close, Apapa. His pharmacy has not paid Land Use Charge for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

“They paid in 2013 and 2014 because they discovered that the election would be holding in 2015. His pharmacy owes this state N1, 629, 064.62.

“Let us do that mathematics to see how many facilities the funds would have provided in our hospitals and stationery in our schools. But this was the same person who complained that the state government spent three per cent of its budget on education. Local governments are responsible for the management of the primary schools and yet, he has withheld their taxes.

“This is the man who wants to be your next governor. I will advise that you avoid a deceiver and a tax evader.”

The Director, Media and Publicity, Jimi Agbaje Campaign Organisation, Mr. Felix Oboagwina, said Agbaje had been commended by the Commissioner for Finance, Ayo Gbeleyi, for paying the Land Use Charge on his residence and wondered why the government was bringing up the matter less than a month to the elections

He explained that Agbaje was no longer in charge of the Jaykay Pharmaceuticals and could not be held liable for any tax-related issue.

He said, “Although he founded JayKay Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Agbaje left the directorship of the company in 2006, and this is on record with the state. He is no longer involved in the running of the company. And today, he is not even an Executive Director.

“We have a letter signed by Ayo Gbeleyi, the Commissioner for Finance in Lagos State, where Agbaje received commendations for fulfilling his tax obligations.”

Okonjo-Iweala, Ezekwesili clash over Soludo

Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

The Federal Government on Wednesday said the five-year tenure of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria was a disaster to the banking sector.

While the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, described Soludo’s criticism of the management of the economy under President Goodluck Jonathan as “intellectual hara-kiri,” a former Minister of Education, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, called for a public debate by all parties on the actual state of the economy.

Similarly, a faction of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum led by Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State described as illusionary and attention-seeking, Soludo’s recent article on the state of the economy.

Soludo, who was the CBN governor between May 2004 and May 2009, had on Monday written an article in which he claimed that the Nigerian economy under Jonathan had performed woefully.

While reacting to the article, Okonjo-Iweala through a statement issued by her Special Adviser on Communications, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, said not only was it littered with abusive and unbecoming language, it showed Soludo, whom she described as an “embittered loser in the Nigerian political space,” could get so derailed by misquoting economic facts and maliciously turning statistics on their head to justify a hatchet job.

However, Ezekwesili said on her Twitter handle shortly after Okonjo-Iweala’s response was made public, that the “nation and people seem to be on an accelerated race to the bottom. So sad! Why would a statement from (the) government read like that? Gosh!”

She also demanded to know what had happened to the report of the forensic audit on the reported missing $20bn from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation as alleged by Sanusi shortly before he was suspended from office by the President.

Okonjo-Iweala had said the Federal Government had hired forensic auditors to scrutinise the accounts of the NNPC following the controversies generated by the allegation of the missing money. But up untill now, the report of the audit has not been made public.

In a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, Ezekwesili said that rather than resort to abusive language over Soludo’s comments, the government and the critics of its management of the economy should opt for a national dialogue where the touted achievements of the administration of the President could be subjected to deeper analysis.

In an earlier tweet, she had said that with the character of the response the managers of the economy, have given to Soludo, “a debate is imperative.”

She told one of our correspondents that if the government had been receptive to her observations made in a lecture she delivered at the convocation of the University of Nigeria, Nnsuka in January 2013 on the management of the external reserves and the ECA, the nation would not have found herself in the current economic crisis as a result of dwindling revenue from crude oil.

Okonjo-Iweala had said in her response to Soludo, “It is a sad day for Nigeria and the economics profession that someone like Soludo, a former CBN governor, should write such an article. If Soludo wants to regain respect, he should return to the path of professionalism. He certainly needs something to improve his image from that of someone whose sojourn into national economic management ended in disaster for the banking sector.

“His sojourn in politics ended in overwhelming rejection by the electorate, and more recently, his sojourn abroad has put him out of touch with the reality of the Nigerian economy.”

Okonjo-Iweala noted that the banking sector was practically brought to its knees and required a massive bailout by Nigerian taxpayers during the tenure of Soludo.

This bailout, which according to her, was carried out by Soludo’s successor, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, cleaned up all the bad debts and transferred them to the newly-established Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, from where they are currently being managed.

She said, “There is definitely an issue of character with Prof. Charles Soludo and his desperate search for power and relevance in Nigeria. So much of what is written is outright nonsense and self-seeking aggrandisement that need not be dignified with a response.

“It is totally remarkable that Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, the man who presided over the worst mismanagement of Nigeria’s banking sector as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria between May 2004 and May 2009, can write about the mismanagement of the economy.

“The consolidation of the banking sector was a good policy idea of the (Olusegun) Obasanjo administration but Soludo went on to thoroughly mismanage its implementation, leading to the worst financial crisis in Nigeria’s history.

“So what did Soludo do? After consolidation, the regulatory functions of the Soludo-led CBN were very poorly exercised. As governor, he failed to adequately supervise and regulate the now larger banks, an anomaly in financial sector supervision.

“In fact, as every Nigerian knows in his time, there was very little separation between the regulators and the regulated, which is a violation of a key requirement of central banking success.

“This led to infractions in corporate governance in many banks as loans and other credit instruments running to hundreds of billions of naira were extended to clients without following due process, and several of these loans could not be paid back.”

The minister claimed that Soludo singlehandedly mismanaged the banking sector, which led to the accumulation of huge toxic assets, and allowed paralysis to get to the banking sector during the period of the global financial crisis.

The liabilities of the banking, according to her, cost Nigerian taxpayers the sum of N5.67tn to clean up the books of the banks.

Okonjo-Iweala said, “This massive accumulation of bad debts, or non-performing loans as they are called in the banking sector, meant that our banks were ill-positioned to deal with the global financial crisis when it hit. In fact, the banking sector was brought to its knees and required a massive bailout by Nigerian taxpayers.

“So, let it be noted for the record that Soludo’s single-handed mismanagement of the banking sector led to an incredible accumulation of liabilities that will cost taxpayers about N5.67tn (being the total face value of AMCON-issued bonds) to clean up.

“Let it be noted also that this amount, which is more than the entire Federal Government’s 2015 budget, constitutes the bulk of Nigeria’s ‘contingent liabilities’ mentioned in Soludo’s article.

“It is only in Nigeria where someone who perpetrated such a colossal economic atrocity would have the temerity to make assertions on public debt and the management of the economy.”

The minister said the cost-cutting measures introduced by the Federal Government were in response to the drop in crude oil prices.

A statement released in Abuja and signed by the Secretary and Administrator of the Jang faction of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Mr. Osaro Onaiwu, stated that members of the faction were at a loss as to the motive behind the Soludo article, adding that the “half-truths and falsehood in the article could not be a sincere attempt to contribute to the national discourse, but rather a failed attempt at self-aggrandisement.”

Nigeria, a failed state under Jonathan –David-West

Prof. Tam David-West

A former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Prof. Tam David-West, on Tuesday described Nigeria as a failed state.

David-West, at a news conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said that any government that could not protect its citizens was a failed government.

He said, “We have a failed state in Nigeria today. I have been reading what is happening in Rivers State. Any government that cannot protect   its citizens   is not worth being called a government.”

The professor of virology expressed his support for Governor Rotimi Amaechi and   any party that would bring light over the country’s current darkness.

“I stand for a government that knows that 19 is bigger than 16. I stand for a party that I know will bring light to the darkness in Nigeria. I stand for a party of people of substance both in words and in character,” he said.

Also at the news conference, the   All Progressives Congress in the state   called on the United Nations, the Amnesty International and other relevant international organisations to intervene in the continued attacks on its members.

It said through its Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, that while some of its members had been killed by suspected Peoples Democratic Party thugs, others had been seriously injured.

The party urged   humanitarian and democratic organisations to send   high-powered election monitoring teams to the state.

According to the APC, doing so   would help to avert bloodbath and make the   election outcomes in the state acceptable.

It said, “We call on Amnesty International, the International Red Cross, the relevant organs of the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union and the United Nations to immediately begin investigation into the gruesome killings in Rivers State.

“An acceptable electoral outcome is possible in Rivers State only if the elections are truly free and fair. There cannot be free and fair elections if the spate of violent high handedness, intimidation and terror is not halted.

“As the 2015 general election approaches, the scale, magnitude and intensity of the orchestrated violence against members of the APC are assuming a frightful dimension.”

The APC which however called on   its members to remain calm and law-abiding, criticised the police in the state for their inability to arrest any of those that participated in 13 different attacks on them.

It said, “This press conference is our distress call to all men, women, organisations, nations and people, who cherish democracy to intervene before it is too late.

“It is unimaginable that a President (Goodluck Jonathan), who himself claims his roots from Niger Delta would permit unprovoked and   premeditated violent attacks on the same people he hopes to ride on their sentiments to retain his Presidency.”

Also, the lawmaker representing Rivers South-East, Senator Magnus Abe, attributed the   harassment and intimidation of APC members   to   Jonathan’s fear that he might lose the state during the forthcoming elections.

“Another reason is because the   PDP is bent on   taking over power in Rivers State as a result of its (Rivers) economic significance in the country,” Abe said.

He, however, expressed dissatisfaction over the attitude of the police, saying, “We have reported many times to the police, but nothing has happened. There is no pretence about the partiality of security operatives. There is nothing we are saying that the authorities are not aware of.”

Also, the governorship candidate of the APC in the state,   Dakuku Peterside, claimed   that as of the time of the news conference, members of the party were being attacked in Khana and Etche Local Government Areas of the state.

“We have been receiving text messages from our members who are currently going through distress in the hands of political thugs,” Peterside added.

Military deploys drones to battle Boko Haram

•Sect hoists flag in Monguno
Come drones and other sophisticated equipment have been deployed in the Northeast to curtail Boko Haram’s insurgency, The Nation learnt yesterday.
It was also learnt that the military intensified air strikes on Boko Haram bases in Monguno to reclaim the town, which fell to the sect’s fighters last weekend.
The acquisition of the drones is part of the  new massive military campaign to be launched soon against Boko Haram.
A source, who spoke in confidence, said most of the equipment were sourced from the Far East, including Russia and Ukraine, following lack of cooperation by some Western countries.
The source said the arrival of the hardware has boosted the morale of troops.
The source said: “The military has deployed some drones and sophisticated hardware in the North-East in line with its timeline to end Boko Haram insurgency.
“These drones will complement ongoing air and land strikes against some bases of the sect.
“The simultaneous attacks on Monguno, Konduga and Maiduguri  by Boko Haram insurgents were pre-emptive steps against the military by the sect.
“With effective equipment, the insurgents were aware that the game is up and in annoyance, they decided to attack military installations and troops.”
The military has intensified air strikes on the insurgents’ locations in Monguno.
Another source said: “Troops will soon reclaim Monguno because the insurgents in the town have been trapped. They cannot move away from the town since troops have laid siege to all entry and exit points.
“You see, the insurgents also struck in Monguno, Konduga and Maiduguri to divert attention of the military from the relocation of some of their commanders from one of their strategic camps to another.”
Fleeing residents yesterday disclosed that the insurgents are in full control of the town.
Abdullahi Jibril, who fled to Maiduguri through Gajiganna told our correspondent that there was no military presence in Monguno.
Jibril said residents of Gajiganna, a town on the Baga/ Monguno road, were also on the run for fear of an impending attack by the insurgents.
“As I am talking to you now, there is no single soldier in Monguno. Anybody that is saying that there are soldiers fighting in Monguno is lying. The Boko Haram have put their flag in the hospital, police station and the military barracks. They are preaching in the place right now.
“I was lucky to escape after I moved my father and my mother to Gajiganna. They killed the Imam Bachila of  Bakasi area.  They also caught the chief Imam of Monguno town, Liman Modu who is the most respected in the town,” Abdullahi Jibril informed.
Hundreds of soldiers from Monguno are stranded and loitering on the streets of Maiduguri after the Sunday attack on the military formation in the area.
The soldiers were denied access to Maimalari Barracks and some of them were rather camped at AIT on Damboa Road.
Our correspondent who was on Baga Road saw many stranded soldiers among other hundred displaced civilians from Monguno, Baga and Gajiganna sitting under tree, with nowhere to go.
Some of the soldiers had their guns on their shoulders, their shuttle bags on their back.
Some of the soldiers who spoke on condition of anonymity expressed anger with the Federal Government for, according to him, not doing enough for them in the fight against Boko Haram.
“I can’t imagine that a Federal Government will abandon her soldiers to die in a fight that cannot take one hour to finish with serious commitment. We fight in the bush with Boko Haram and no one sends us any jet but when one man is coming for campaign, you see many Alpha Jets with helicopter gunships patrolling, flying in the air. Is this fair?” a soldier said.
Some of the soldiers were angry that they were denied access to the Maimalari Barracks in Maiduguri.
One said: “Can you imagine that as soldiers, we came into Maiduguri and the army authorities turned us down from entering the barracks. Where is the esprit de corps that we preach among us?”

APC replies Soludo

APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) will not ride to power on mere rhetorics of ‘change’, the party said yesterday through the Director, Policy, Research and Strategy of its Presidential Campaign, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.
Fayemi was reacting to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Prof Charles Soludo’s counsel that the APC presidential flag bearer Gen. Muhammadu Buhari should give facts and figures on how he plans to implement his party’s ambitious manifesto.
.

Attacks on my person not surprising —Buhari

Former Head of State, Gen.Muhammadu Buhari

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the February 14 presidential election, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Tuesday said he was not surprised at attacks on his person by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party leaders.

He also said that Nigeria could not afford another four years under a PDP-led government.

He explained that a party which had failed to deliver on promises it had been making to Nigerians for almost 16 years, would have nothing new to offer if given another four years.

Buhari said this while receiving in audience a delegation of members of the Peoples Democratic Movement who were in his office to adopt him as their candidate for the 2015 presidential election.

According to him, whether or not the Nigerian elite is willing to admit it, the 2015 elections represent a watershed in the nation’s political history.

He said, “What you have said summarises the problems of this country. You have looked carefully and found out that this year, 2015, whichever way politicians and the elite look at it, is another time or watershed in our political system.

“If we get it wrong this time, and allow the PDP to go again for the next four years, this country is going to be in trouble. Right now, with the unfortunate event of crumbling oil price, the economy is really in a mess. Coupled with insecurity, it is only a country like Nigeria that can survive and get out of this situation we are in. A lot of countries will just disappear either from the map or from the political equation of nation states. But Nigerians are so resilient to the extent that there are international personalities who could not understand why Nigeria still exists.

“There was a former UN Secretary General who said that if he retires, he will go to Nigeria because, according to him, what is happening to Nigeria, no other country can go through it and survive.”

Buhari added, “The 16 years of the PDP has been hell. Remember that we use to have Nigeria Airways, Nigeria Railways, Nigeria Shipping Line. Try and find out how much we have spent on power in the last 16 years from the vast resources we accumulate over that period because the price of oil went up to 142 dollars per barrel.

“What did we do with that money? We said that we paid debts with billions of Naira. If that amount was put into infrastructure such as power, roads, railways, farming etc, the amount of job it will create would be enormous. Today, some of our youths have become danger to the society because of lack of jobs. I hope the elite will properly document these 16 years as presenting the worst leadership this country has ever witnessed.”

Buhari noted that for Nigeria to develop, there must be a conscious effort to plan for the youths who, he said, constituted 65 per cent of the nation’s population.

He also said that the decision of his opponents to resort to personal attacks did not come to him as a surprise because “this is Nigeria.”

The candidate said, “I am not surprised. This is Nigeria, if people are serious about this (certificate) issue; they ought to have listened to the legal adviser of INEC.

“This is the fourth time, I’ll run for this office and INEC by law have got those documents. They (INEC) said they have got them. Anybody who has any different idea should go to court. They are now in court, let them remain there.”

Buhari also commended the PDM for coming out to join him in his quest to rescue Nigeria.

He told the delegation that he was delighted that the political family which former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was leading had formally declared support for him.

He revealed that he had tried to get them on board through Atiku who he described as “your senior colleague, the Turakin Adamawa.”

Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Bashir Ibrahim, who is also the national chairman of the party, said the delegation took the decision to support Buhari at a National Executive Committee meeting.

He said, “The NEC of our party, at its meeting of January 22, 2015 noted that the party has no presidential candidate for the election of February 14. It considered and accepted the need to support a candidate in order to save Nigeria for imminent collapse and give it a new lease of life.”

Meanwhile, the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation has alerted the nation’s security agencies of a plot to use thugs to embarrass Buhari.

According to the APC campaign, the plot is aimed at disrupting the campaign rally of its candidate scheduled to hold in Taraba State on Wednesday (today).

This was contained in a statement issued by the Directorate of Media and Publicity of the Campaign organisation.

It was signed by its Director, Mallam Garba Shehu. He said the APC Campaign got wind of a plan to use thugs to throw stones and sachets of water at the Buhari team when it visits the state.

Jonathan, Mark knock Maku for dumping PDP

Former Minister of Information, Labaran Maku

President Goodluck Jonathan; President of the Senate, David Mark; and a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ahmadu Ali, on Tuesday lashed out at a former Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, for dumping the PDP for the All Progressives Grand Alliance.

While Jonathan described Maku’s action as anti-party, Mark said the former minister was a liar while Ali described him as an ingrate.

They spoke at the Lafia Township Stadium during the PDP presidential rally.

Jonathan said there was no truth in the former minister’s claim that he (the President) encouraged him to join APGA.

The President said he could not be involved in anti-party activities.

Jonathan said he did not at any time have any discussion with him. He said he did not encourage Maku to join another party.

He said the PDP did not encourage anti-party activities and he, as the leader, would never flout the party’s rules and regulations.

Mark, on his part, said Maku had to apologise and retrace his steps before he could be accepted back to the party.

“Don’t be deceived by any son of yours that says he has been put in another party to run for the governorship. Mr. President is the PDP from top to bottom,” he said.

The Senate President said the North Central was solidly behind the President and would vote for him because he had brought democratic dividends to bear on the region.

Ali also described Maku as an ingrate, saying that despite using the platform of the party to rise to stardom, he jumped the ship because of greed.

He said the President had never asked anybody to join any party to canvass votes for him. He said Maku’s intention was to smear the image of Jonathan and portray him as a religious bigot.

He accused Maku of dropping the name of the President in his bid to realise his ambition, which he insisted would never happen because he lacked the required integrity.

Ali said Maku’s people now treat him with disdain because he did not portray leadership qualities.

Also at the rally, Jonathan said the person that would succeed him would be younger than him.

The President said that he was close to 60 years, adding that a younger person would succeed.

“Obasanjo was president at 70, Yar’Adua at 60 and me, close to 60. So, the next president must be younger than I,” Jonathan said.

APC to sue NCC for closing fund-raising platform

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has vowed to challenge the decision of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to shut down its fund-raising platform in court.
Director of Fund-Raising of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation and Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, who said this yesterday evening at the directorate’s meeting, said the party has no choice than to seek legal redress.
Fashola described the NCC’s action as a clear breach of constitutional provisions, describing it as a double standard on the part of the commission, which allowed President Goodluck Jonathan to raise fund, using the same platform in 2010.
The governor said the directive from the commission closing the platform was contained in a letter dated January 19 by officials of the NCC.
According to him, those who signed the letter included the Director of Consumer Affairs, Maryam Bayi, and the Head of Legal and Regulatory Services, Yinka Akinloye, acting on behalf of the NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Dr. Eugene Juwah.
He argued that in 2010, approval was given to the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation to raise funds using such a platform, wondering why the APC is being denied the same right in 2015.
“We have advised our lawyers to go to court. They are preparing the papers now. In 2010, approval was given to the Jonathan/Sambo campaign to raise fund (using such a platform).The rule seems to have changed in 2015.”
He, however, told the gathering that the fund-raising platform, which included the sale of scratch cards and donations into the designated First Bank Plc, was still valid.
The governor said although the platform was established when Buhari was seeking for the party’s nomination as flagbearer, it is still  running and supporters can still donate.

Yuguda, an APC mole in PDP —FCT minister

 Governor Isa Yuguda

The Federal Capital Territory Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, has described the Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda, as an All Progressives Congress’ mole in the Peoples Democratic Party.

Mohammed, who denied being the mastermind of the attack on President Goodluck Jonathan’s convoy in Bauchi by political thugs on January 22, described Yuguda’s allegation against him as irrational.

The governor had fingered Mohammed as the sponsor of the attack on the President’s convoy during a campaign in Bauchi, but the minister in a statement by his special aide on media, Nosike Ogbuenyi, in Abuja on Monday, stated that Yuguda’s allegation was embarrassing.

He queried the governor’s allegiance to the PDP and wondered when he became the APC spokesman.

Mohammed said, “It is simply irrational for Governor Yuguda to allege that the minister hired thugs to stone and embarrass himself (minister) while addressing the presidential rally in his home state. By this claim, Yuguda has proven correct the allegation that he has been hobnobbing with the APC at night and running with the PDP in daytime.

“By Yuguda’s latest embarrassing conduct, he has successfully exposed his chameleonic character as an APC mole in the PDP. We call on Isa Yuguda to please respect himself by leaving Senator Bala Mohammed alone.”

The minister wondered why the governor exonerated the APC of culpability in the attack on the PDP presidential campaign team in Bauchi, noting that Yuguda had not been campaigning for Jonathan in his state.

“Many Nigerians still remember recent media reports that Yuguda is the real godfather and sponsor of the APC governorship candidate in Bauchi State and that he has not been campaigning for President Jonathan’s re-election in the state. Again, history is there to expose the governor as an unabashed fifth columnist in the PDP,” Mohammed stated.

He said that he had consistently suffered attacks from the negative politics in the state for his support for the President, adding that in 2011, thugs protesting against Jonathan’s victory in the elections, razed down his two-storey building and almost killed his mother and other relatives in Bauchi.

The minister stated that his only sin was that he mobilised lawmakers to invoke the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ to confer powers on the then Vice President Jonathan to act as President while the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was away in Saudi Arabia for medical attention.

APC, Fayose clash over student leaders’ arrest

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose

The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has berated Governor Ayodele Fayose for the arrest of students’ leaders who participated in the campaign rally of the party’s presidential candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, in the state on Saturday.

According to the opposition party, the National Vice-President, External, National Association of Nigerian Students, Tosin Ogunkuade, has been arrested on the order of the governor for addressing the crowd during Buhari campaign in the state on Saturday.

A statement by the APC state Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, said Ogunkuade’s offence was that the student leader highlighted the challenges facing the Nigerian students, saying the present government was not capable of addressing the hardships being faced by the students in accessing quality education.

“He said to the applause of hundreds of students in attendance that Buhari presented a better hope for students in their educational pursuits,” Olatubosun said.

But Fayose said that those arrested were the APC thugs caught with dangerous weapons and recruited by one APC member in the House of Representatives to terrorise supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party in Erijiyan and Ikogosi-Ekiti.

Olatubosun said thugs trailed Ogunkuade to Ikogosi-Ekiti just 24 hours after he spoke, “where he and other students were seriously injured after they were attacked with machet and other dangerous weapons.

“After these students were attacked at Ikogosi, they ran to Efon-Alaye Police Station to report the matter. To our surprise, the police detained them before they were transferred to Aramoko-Ekiti Police Station.

“To our shock again, just this morning, one of their colleagues, Damilare Bewaji, who went to visit them at the Aramoko Police Station, was also arrested and detained by the police on the order of the governor,” he added.

Olatunbosun described the arrest as one in the series of other attacks on the APC sympathisers and supporters after Saturday’s campaign.

“Just this morning, the home of a former Commissioner for Finance under Governor Kayode Fayemi, Dapo Kolawole, escaped being razed on the order of the governor.

“His offence was that he pasted the APC flags and posters of the party’s candidates on his building and Fayose does not want to see these posters on his way to Ijurin where he is billed to install the Oba of the town. The thugs shot at Mr. Kolawole’s compound as well as that of his father, Pa Kolawole.

“It is curious that the students, who were the complainants, are now being turned into the accused, as the police are being forced to slam criminal charges against the innocent students.”

The APC spokesman urged the police to stop being partisan in the handling of political crisis in the state while he reminded the governor that he did not have the monopoly of violence.

However, Fayose in a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, announced that four APC thugs had been arrested by the police.

“The thugs were arrested with guns, axes, cutlasses and other dangerous weapons while trying to escape through Efon-Alaaye at about 3am today.

“The thugs were Odebunmi Idowu (from Ilupeju-Ekiti), Aliyu Yusuf (from Ibadan), Oladayo Obikoya (from Ikogosi) and Ogunkuade Oluwatosin (a.k.a Jasper).

“They were arrested in a red-coloured Nissan Sunny with registration number Ekiti AH 176 EFY, and were moved to the Aramoko-Ekiti Police Station, where they were detained briefly before they were moved to the Police Headquarters, Ado-Ekiti,” the statement said.

Lawyer sues over Buhari’s certificate

Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.)

A legal practitioner, Mr. Chukwunweike Okafor, on Monday, approached the Federal High Court in Abuja with an application seeking a declaration that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), lacked the educational qualification to stand for the February 14 presidential election.

The originating summons marked FHC/ABJ/CS/01/2015 has Buhari, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission as the first, second and third defendants respectively.

The suit was filed pursuant to Section 131 of the Constitution, which prescribes a minimum qualification for nomination to participate in the presidential election and Section 31 of the Electoral Act that requires all presidential candidates to depose to an affidavit that they have satisfied and complied with the constitutional requirements to be President of Nigeria.

Okafor, in the suit filed through his counsel, Chief Ugo Ugunnadi, is contending that Buhari’s form CF001 with the INEC, wherein he stated that he obtained the minimum educational qualification of West African Senior School Certificate could not be valid as the said certificate was allegedly false or not genuine.

The plaintiff, among other things, is asking the court to declare that “the information contained in Buhari’s affidavit dated November 24, 2014, stating that the Secretary of the Military Board was in custody of his WASSC was false and thereby disqualified him from contesting the 2015 general elections.”

The lawyer is therefore seeking an order of the court “compelling INEC to withdraw, remove and/or delete the names of the 1st and 2nd defendants from the list of persons or political parties eligible to contest for the Office of the President of Nigeria in the 2015 general elections.”

The courts reopened today after being shut down for three weeks by the striking judicial workers in the country.

No date has yet been fixed to hear Okafor’s originating summons.