The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Much ado about tariff regime

    Electricity consumers nationwide will faceg a much-bigger problem soon. The reason is the Federal Government is planning to implement what its describes as major tarrif adjustment next year.  This, no doubt, will worsen the plight of the average consumers of electricity, who are daily experiencing power outages and its attendant effects on the economy, writes AKINOLA AJIBADE

     

    The Federal Government is to carry out a review of electricity tarrifs next month, which will be implemented  in January. This to promote efficiency in the sector currently battling problems such as illiquidity and poor service delivery due to lack of many deficient consumables required to deliver power to consumers.

    Electricity tarriffs that are integral to the growth of the sector vary from one firm to another, depending on how customers are classified.

    Before now, the government, through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), this year approved five minor electricity tarriff reviews, that were pending since June 2016, a development which has caused a spike in the cost of electricity.

    In its latest reports, NERC said the reviews approved were for the periods before 2018, adding that it was yet to approve a review of the tarriff for the first half of 2019. It said the tarriffs covered more than eight million customers in the books of the 11 power distribution companies (DisCos) in the country.

    The issue has generated public outcry, as members of the organised labour have criticised the measure, describing the development as unfortunate. It argued that  industry was struggling to provide enough power to meet the growing needs of Nigerians.

    While this lasted, the commission is working on how to review major tarriffs by  next month, which would be implemented in January.

    Investigation revealed that the implementation of major tarriffs would, like others before it, follow a progressive pattern, which means that NERC would increase the tarriffs in relation to the quantum of energy allocated by each distribution company and consumed by the end users.

    Findings further showed that the sector, on the average, has recorded an increase in tarriffs in the past five years.  It is on record that electricity consumers paid between N10 per kilowatt hour and N24.20 kobo per kilowatt hour within a period of five years – 2015 to 2019, without substantial improvement in electricity supply.

    Based on this, the industry will likely  witness increase in tarriffs in future, as NERC, in line with the constitution, is obliged to review tarriffs every six months, as stated in the Act, which established the Multi-Year-Tarrif Order (MYTO).

    MYTO was designed by the Federal Government to provide correct pricing, taking into consideration the key principles of cost reflectiveness and affordability, among others.

    Stakeholders said any attempts by NERC to increase tarriffs next year without ensuring a corresponding improvement in the supply of electricity,  would be an error of judgement..

    The stakeholders, who are drawn from the distribution arm of the power, manufacturing and allied sectors of the economy, berated the government for increasing tarriffs, in the face of irregular supply of electricity and low productivity.

     

    DisCos

    The 11 power distribution companies (DisCos) are in tandem with the Federal Government to implement major tarriffs in the sector. The firms, in the second quarter of 2019, was to hold a meeting with NERC on the issue. Though the meeting was postponed, the firms resolved that consumers must pay tarriffs as and when due.

    The Director, Research and Advocacy, Association of Nigerian Energy Distributors (ANED),  Sunday Oduntan, said the firms recorded a shortfall in tarriffs of N384 billion ilast year, saying the government should address the shortfall to enable DisCos perform their obligations.

    Read Also: NERC yet to approve hike in electricity tariff

     

    He said the sector had a tarriff gap of N1.3 trillion, arguing that the development had made it difficult for the power companies to perform the aggrements with the Federal Government.

    He said:” The tarrif gap is between what government has specified as the cost of electricity that we ( DisCos) distribute or retail and the cost of the product. It is the gap that has solely contributed to the excess of N1.3 trillion, which DisCos are carrying on their books.”

    Oduntan said the firms were not advocating for increase in tarrifs, but calling on the government to bridge the gap recorded by operators. He said when this happens, the firms would improve their services, maintain and build new networks, buy new equipment, solve metering problems and put in place other measures that would help in improving operational efficiency.

     

     

    Manufacturers’ opinons

    Consumers – industrial and domestic – are at the receiving end of problems in the sector. Industrial consumers are firms which provide services and produce goods.

    The President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria(MAN), Mansur Ahmed, said manufacturers were burdened by poor regulation of the power sector and tarriff regime, saying the sector was unable to provide regular electricity despite it being privatised  six years ago.

    Ahmed said:” We ( manufacturers) are frustrated by issues such as poor regulation and tarrif regime. We all know that power is not available in Nigeria,” wondering  why  government is asking consumers to pay tarriffs on energy that is not adequately provided for them.

    He added:  “Both the minor and major tarriff reviews that have been conducted in the time past, do not reflect in the quality of electricity, that is being supplied to Nigerians.They are short of expectations.

    He said the priority of the government should be on how to administer the tarriffs well and not increasing them without corresponding services to the people.

    “If power is available 24 fours in Nigeria, people would not be forced to pay for the energy which they are consuming. It is wrong to continue to impose tarriffs on people amid poor electricity supply in the country.” he added.

    He said tarriffs should reflect the cost of energy consumed by users, stating that consumers would be encouraged to pay when they have cost-reflective tarriffs.

    The economy, Ahmed said, is constrained by problems in the energy sector, stressing that the country may witnesss another round of recession, if it failed to significantly improve its power generation, distribution and transmission process.

     

    Labour kicks

    Organised Labour Unions, including Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and allied movements are protesting the plans to implement new tarriffs, saying such moves  demonstrated  that the government was not sensitive to the plight of masses.

    NLC President Mr. Ayuba Wabba, urged Nigerians to resist attempts by the government to hike  tarriffs, alleging that the Ministry of Power had conspired with electricity companies to create new tarriffs.

    Also, TUC President Mr. Bala Kaigama also alleged that NERC and electricity firms were trying to undercut Nigerians, by ensuring that they paid tarriffs not proportinate to the services they are giving to the people.

  • Push to ban textile importation gathers momentum

    The National Assembly has joined the organised private sector (OPS) to add fillip to the push to ban the importation of textiles for five years. Stakeholders say the move will halt the high mortality rate of textile mills, create jobs, make local textiles competitive and boost the economy, writes OLUWAKEMI  DAUDA.

     

    Following the debate on a motion sponsored by Senator Kabir Barkiya from Katsina State during a plenary on “Urgent need to revamp the nation’s comatose textile industry,” the National Assembly has appealed to the Federal Government to provide the necessary infrastructural facilities, especially power supply to local textile manufacturing companies, to revamp the industry.

    The Senate also called on the government to encourage local textile manufacturing companies by providing them with soft loans and easy access to credit facilities through the Bank of Industry (BoI).

    During the debate, Sen Barkiya said the textile industry played a significant role in the manufacturing sector of the economy, with a record of over 140 companies in the 1960s and 1970s.

    He said: “The textile industry recorded an annual growth of 67 per cent and, as at 1991, employed more than 25 per cent of the workers in the manufacturing sector. The textile industry was then the highest employer of labour apart from the civil service.”

    He noted that the industry had witnessed a massive decline in the last two decades, with many companies such as Kaduna Textile, Kano Textile and Aba Textile, among others, closing shop and throwing their workers into the labour market.

    Stakeholders, who spoke with The Nation on the proposed ban, said the Senate’s appeal was a step in the right direction. According to them, the industry can  generate over $10 billion annually across the value chain and employ over two million people if the necessary support is given to the sector.

    The stakeholders cited an instance that it was due to the previous ban on importation of textiles that the industry witnessed the influx of many investors in 1960s and 1970s with some of them in Kaduna and Kano, who pursued backward integration.

    One of the stakeholders and a former worker of the moribund Aswani Textile Industry, Mr. Suarau Arogundade, who spoke with The Nation on the sideline of their meeting in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, commended the Senate for the initiative and urged the government to follow the lawmakers’ advice to boost the economy and create jobs.

    “Nigeria textile industry was one of the largest industries in Africa before it went under based on bad government policies. The industry employed over one million people in the 70s and 80s and controlled over 60 per cent of market share in the country. It accounted for over 60 per cent of the total capacity in West Africa and recorded an average growth rate of 12.5 per cent in 1970s. Then, the industry used to generate over $2 billion annually across the value chain based on the competitive advantage the country enjoyed during the period and it can generate over $10billion annually now, if the right policies are put in place by the Federal Government.

    “It is regrettable that about 10 years ago, the government took an unprecedented and giant step to revive Nigeria’s prostrate and comatose cotton and garment industry. But the bail-out initiative called the Cotton Textiles and Garment- CTG -Industry Revival Scheme that signaled the start of a N100billion injection of funds to kick-start an industry that once provided employment to the largest number of Nigerians, generated 25 per cent of the manufacturing GDP and contributed 20 per cent of corporate taxation revenue in the country did not yield the expected result,” Arogundade said.

    He, therefore, lauded the Senate’s move, saying it would complement the government’s efforts to put the textile industry back on track.

    He identified some constraints dogging the industry, which are insufficient cotton seeds for production, high cost of operation, smuggling and counterfeiting, high influx of cheap textile and garment products into the country, lack of enabling infrastructure, especially steady power supply, limited access to funds and poor production standards, among others.

    A garment manufacturer at the meeting, Mr. Williams Adegoroye, said Nigerians needed to support the move.

    “Considering our population and natural endowment, our textile industries are supposed to be playing a dominant role in the region just the way China has dominated the Asian market. Our textile industry with over 180 firms in the 1960s and 1970s ought to have penetrated and be in control of the regional market with Nigeria’s brands while extending the market beyond the West and Central African sub-region.

    “But it is a shame that this is not the case. Textile industry in the country used to be a large and flourishing industry and contributed enormously to the country’s employment generation, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), government revenues and non-export earnings, but we lost all that during the military rule,” he said.

    Adegoroye lamented the inability of the textile industry to take advantage of duty free exports to the United States (U.S) as encouraged by the U.S. African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) 2000.

    “Textile industry is a first-generation industry in Nigeria. The industry provides an industrial base for almost all countries. Kaduna Textile mills, established in 1956, was the first textile firm in the country, followed by Nigeria Textile Mills in Lagos in 1962. Other top textile mills in the country are Aswani Textile, Afprint, Enpee industries, United Nigerian Textile Limited, Arewa Textiles, Five Star, etc.,” he added.

    Adegoroye regretted that many of the textile industry stopped production due to poor operating environment in the country, adding that restoring them to their past glory was vital to the nation’s economic growth and the government’s job creation objectives

    He urged the National Assembly to resolve the challenges in accessing loan by the textile industry players.

    “Remember that in 2010, the government introduced N100 billion Cotton, Textile and Garment Revival Scheme to stabilise and resuscitate some closed factories.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) later in 2016 floated a N50billion intervention fund as working capital, debt takeover and long-term loan to the Cotton, Textile and Garment value chain. Now is the time for the government to make public the names of the companies that have benefited from the funds,” he said.

    Also, an economist and textile importer, Mr. Frances Johnson threw his weight behind the National Assembly decision to ban the importation of textile into the country.

    He said the amount of foreign exchange they spent on importation of textiles was more than half of the amount needed to rebuild the failed textile companies.

    Johnson said the ban, if supported by the Federal Government, will inspire local production of textiles for both local and international markets.

    “This is a good initiative coming from the Senate, because if you look at what we spend on importation, it is huge; if that amount is used to develop local production, it will automatically impact on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    “It is high time the Federal Government controlled the levels of goods imported into the country. Too much dependence on importation is killing local industries due to unhealthy competition with foreign goods.

    “Based on our population, the country is a very good investment hub for foreign investors and companies because of the very ready market it had waiting to buy the textile products,’” he said.

    Johnson praised the Senate, saying once the government bans the importation of textile and the country has the capacity to produce, Nigerians will have no alternative than to purchase what we are producing locally and the sectors will begin to contribute significantly to the GDP.

    Government policy on the ban, he said, must include financial support to textile manufacturers with the provision of funds at single digits rate, to refit, retool and upgrade their factories in order to produce high quality textile materials for the local and international market.

    “Given the high domestic demand for textiles, the intervention of the Senate would be able to create jobs for the economy while increasing the production of textiles in the country.”

    Another stakeholder, Mr. Sunday Gabriel, said when the amount spent on outfits for social and religious activities on a weekly basis was considered, the potential market size would be well over $15 billion annually.

    Some of other stakeholders, who spoke with the paper, also commended the Senate for announcing the measures that may lead to revive the moribund textile industries.

    Read Also: Nigerians hail Senate over proposed five-year ban on textiles

     

    They, however, urged the government to strengthen the capacity of domestic industries and enhanced their competitiveness.

    A former union leader at Afprint, Mr. Alaba Yekinni, said the power issue must be addressed before the ban must be implemented.

    “It is impossible to achieve rapid industrialisation without resolving the issue of power and the deficit in key infrastructure.

    “Textile production is energy intensive.  This is a high energy cost environment and it is very difficult for any energy intensive sector to survive. That is why we want the Senate to ensure that the power issue is resolved before making their recommendations in black and white.

    He stated that trading in textiles was also a major economic activity in the country, both in the northern and southern parts, and many were making their living from it.

    “Many Nigerians make a living in the marketing of textiles.  The lawmakers cannot afford to ignore this segment of economic players.  The traders are the bridge between the producers and the consumers.

    “It is, therefore, very important for Federal Government to take into account the full ramifications of the consequences of policies and collateral outcomes before instituting the ban.

    Yekinni said the industry had been a beneficiary of several fiscal incentives and protectionist measures over the years, yet it had remained stagnant.

    He said: “Some of them have even gone into receivership as they could not repay their loans.  The lesson is that we should deal with the fundamental issues of production competitiveness in our economy.

    “The textile industry needs to be saved from the excruciating burden of high operating and production cost.”

    He added that for local textile industry to experience a boom in the line of the Executive Order, President Muhammad Buhari should order that all moribund textile companies be given one digit interest loans to revamp the industry.

    Barkiya had said government policies such as increase in taxation, high cost of production and trade liberalisation resulted in massive importation of textile materials and negatively affected local production.

    He said the resuscitation of the industry would provide additional revenue and assist the government to diversify the economy.

    Another lawmaker, Prof. Robert Boroffice, said the importation of textile materials was because of the comatose state of textile industry.

    “The closure of our borders is an eye-opener. China closed its borders for 40 years for its industrialisation and development.

    “I believe that the closure of our borders should be extended to allow us put our house in order,” Boroffice said.

  • Not too early to aim for success

    Setting goals and working hard to achieve them not only sets one on the path of living a purpose-driven life, but also makes one attain success. This was the focus at the 2018/2019 Prize Giving Day at Corona Secondary School Agbara, Ogun State, CHINAKA OKORO reports

     

    Fayobomi Olusola-Falodun, a Year 12 student of Corona Secondary School, Agbara, will for some time to come, bask in the euphoria of  winning the ‘Principal’s Special Award’ for her outstanding commitment in adding value to her fellow students and her polymath.

    Like Olusola-Falodun, Mr. Solomon Owolabi, is still celebrating his choice as the ‘Corona Secondary School Best Teacher of the 2018/2019 Session Award’. He also won the ‘Most Dedicated Teaching Member of Staff Award’.

    They were honoured at its annual Speech and Prize Giving Day which held on Sunday, November 17, at the sprawling premises of the school located at Agbara in Ogun State.

    Olusola-Falodun expressed great delight at the recognition bestowed upon her by the Principal, a feat she described as unexpected.

    She said: “I didn’t see this coming; I was just doing what I was supposed to do. I didn’t even notice that I was being observed by the Principal.

    “I am very excited about this award and I want to appreciate the students, members of staff and everyone at Corona for making this possible. I don’t think I am better than other students who also do some of the things I do. But I must appreciate the Principal for counting me worthy of the prize.”

    She praised the commitment of academic and non-academic members of staff who had continued to put the school on the global map of success. Of significance are the successes recorded by the school, which include the ACCA Foundation Level passed by 10 of the students during last session’s SAT, two students scored 1,550 out of the attainable 1,600; making it the second highest SAT score in the world while many students who scored above 300 in the last Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination and an average score of 272.

    From junior to senior classes, awards were given to students who have performed excellently in their academic pursuits. Those that have made the school proud at both national and international levels were also rewarded.

    Members of staff were not left out. From the non-academic members of staff to academic members of staff, excellence, outstanding and selfless services, among others, were rewarded. Students sang praises of the efforts of all their teachers.

    In competitions within the country, the school just received a plague from the Association of International School Educators of Nigeria (AISEN), won the United States (US) Consulate History competition for the ‘Worlds Women History Month’ and capped it with ‘National History Competition for Nigeria.

    In the academic awards category for the 2018/2019, the school showcased the best top three in various years ranging from year seven to year 11.

    In year seven, Oluwamurewa Fadare led with a cumulated 95.61 per cent, followed by Chisom Ike with a cumulated 92.22 per cent while the third position went to Samuel Marquis with 91.28 per cent.

    In year eight, Oyindoubra Akika led with 93.35 per cent, followed by Ogechukwu Alloh with 88.94 per cent while third position went to Iman Ibrahim Imam with 86.88 per cent. Top on the least of year 10   was Tamaramiebi Akika with 92.00 per cent followed Jay Esemudje with 91.91 per cent while the third position in that category went to Zara Okoli with 85.64 per cent.

    In the year 11 category, Olumosope Kayode came tops with 91.30 per cent, Gbenuola Olaiya came second with 90.80 per cent while the third position went to Ifeoma Osakwe who scored 89.70 per cent.

    Mrs. Salako-Oyedele said: “Today is another opportunity to reward children that are doing well. I am particularly glad at the academic achievements and other achievements recorded in other sectors such as sports, drama, art and most importantly, the “Principal’s Award” which is for the most improved student. This sort of creates the total child.

    “Education is something that is very important to the government of Ogun State, and to this effect, his Excellency, Dapo Abiodun is doing a lot of work,” she said.

    Corona Secondary School Board Chairman Niyi Yusuf said the occasion was to “celebrate and recognise the performances of outstanding students and members of staff in terms of academics, behavioural, sports, clubs and associations. And the point we are trying to make with the theme is that excellence is in all students, we only need to find it.”

    Read Also: LASG to close learning gaps in schools – Sanwo-Olu

     

    The Head-Boy, Gbenuola Olaiya, said the highest point for him was the recognition of teachers. He said: “They do a lot to ensure that we are at our best, and they hardly get the glory; we do. Hence, I am grateful to them and glad that the management also recognised their efforts.”

    The occasion was not for students and teachers alone. Experts and captains of industry were pulled to the school to admonish its students on how to aim and achieve success in life. This year’s theme was “Redefining Success.”

    Aside students, parents and members of staff of the school who attended, other personalities were also present. They included several captains of industry and dignitaries such as the Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Mrs. Noimot Salako-Oyedele, guest speaker cum Chairman on the occasion, Mr.  Rotimi Ashley-Dejo. Incidentally, Ashley-Dejo is the Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Girafit.com. Other dignitaries present were Mr. Dotun Suleiman and Mr. Niyi Yusuf, among others.

    The Principal, Corona Secondary School, Mrs. Chinedum Oluwadamiloa, noted that though, true success comes from hard work and dedication, the school was also very keen at other aspects of successes.

    She said: “This is a time where we, as members of staff and students, come together to applaud our achievements and efforts, and for recognising those individuals-teachers and students and other members of staff-who have given a touch of excellence to what they do; who have distinguished themselves by going the extra mile and breaking standing records.

    “This recognition hinges on behavioural and academic excellence, as well as sports, clubs and so many other areas. It is based on sound psychological principle of reward and reinforcement.

    “Success is such a misconstrued phenomenon; hence the need to situate what it is in the right perspective. True success is what comes from hard work. There is no such thing as overnight success.

    “There is a common misconception which equates success with a mere improvement on a previous record. While we concede to the fact that, improvement will be part of success, we contend that it does not define it.

    “Our understanding is that, success involves setting a goal and taking the right steps towards accomplishing it with later life focus and unfettered success and determination. It is a combination of those steps.

    “And like we say to our students regularly, you are never going to be able to score a goal until you take a shot. You cannot sit on the sideline and suddenly begin to score goals; you have to take that shot and that is what success is about.”

    Speaking on “Not too Early to Start”, Deji-Ashley encouraged students to see the need to start aspiring to be successful at tender ages.

    He made inferences with notable achievers such as Thomas Jefferson, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Copeland and Ben Carson, all of who, he said became achievers cum inventors at very tender ages of between eight and 15 years.

    He said: “Nobody sees you when you decide to be successful until you attain success. This tells you that success goes beyond that decision. The decision is just the beginning.

    “And the first key to success is to discover what you are good at and try your best at it. Our lives are a series of successes and failures. But if you don’t try something, you can never know if you can attain success in it or otherwise.”

    He also invalidated the notion that poor academic performance is caused by students’ participation in extra-curricular activities. On the contrary, he maintained that “from research, students who engage in extra-curricular activities are also the high flyers academically.

    “However, parents’ job is to help them manage their time effectively and not to stop them from engaging in extra-curricular activities. Parents should stop choosing careers for their children. Your job is to guide them in choosing what they are best at. That way, they can glow and become successful in their chosen careers.”

    On the prizes he said: “Those who were not rewarded today, it doesn’t mean that they are less successful, as everyone is a success at something,” even as he stressed the need for them to believe in themselves and devise a new strategy to achieve their set goals.

     

    This is a time when we, as members of staff and students, come together to applaud our achievements and efforts, and for recognising those individuals-teachers and students and other members of staff-who have given a touch of excellence to what they do; who have distinguished themselves by going the extra mile and breaking standing records

     

  • Who succeeds Oba Idowu Oniru?

    The demise of Oniru of Iruland, Oba Idowu Abiodun Oniru has opened serious contest for the coveted stool among the three ruling houses, writes TAJUDEEN ADEBANJO.

     

    The late Oba Idowu Abiodun Oniru, the Oniru of Iruland Lagos, opted for a low-key birthday celebration on September 6 this year and 17 days after, he died. He was the 12th of the 15 children of Chief Yesufu Oniru, who reigned for 50 years before his death in 1984 at the age of 120.

    His ascension to the throne followed a compromise by other ruling houses, which believed that Chief Yesufu fought and retrieved the majority of Iru lands acquired by the government. He was said to have lost 13 of his 15 children in the process. He was equally reputed to have built a palace at the Bar Beach, but didn’t live to occupy it.

    The Nation learnt that it was for these reasons and others that the other ruling houses decided to compensate his (Chief Yesufu’s) ruling house with the nomination of a successor. That concession paved the way for the Idowu Abiodun Oniru to mount the stool. Oba Idowu died at the age of 82, after reigning for 25 years.

    Under his reign, Iru land, the host to highbrow Oniru and Victoria Island, became a hub of investments and properties worth hundreds of billions of naira.

    The Nation learnt that the process of selecting the late monarch’s successor will commence after 41 days.

    In line with the mores of the land, monarchs are not considered deceased until the funeral rites and rituals have been performed to symbolise the conclusion of their earthly journey and the commemoration of a new life in the after world.

    Now that the 41 days for mourning and ritual rites for the departed Oba has elapsed, the race for the succession has begun.

     

    LIKELY ASPIRANTS

    ADESEGUN ONIRU

    TIJANI ONIRU

    HAKEEM AJASA

    ADEMOLA ONIRU

     

    According to a source, the progenitor of Iru land was Onigefon Oniru Imahin.

    In Iru land, there are three ruling houses qualified to produce monarchs one after the other.

    The late Orumbe Oniru Imahin was said to be the founding father of the three ruling houses, namely Abisogun, Akiogun and Ogunyemi.

    The three ruling houses have been stamped in accordance with the Lagos State Declaration made under the Customary Law Regulation Selection to the Oniru Chieftaincy of Lagos of September 14, 1993 and approved by the then Governor of the state, the late Sir Michael Agbolade Otedola.

    The Declaration approved rotation and the procedure to be followed in the nomination of candidates by the local government.

    It is pertinent to state that Oniru stool has been occupied by the following monarchs since 1589. They are Onigefon – 1589-1620; Mabogunje – 1621-1654; Ihuntayi – 1655-1687; Odudu Eleyiwo- 1688-1709; Abanu – 1710-1735; Olaletan- 1736-1790; Orisasanya-1792-1820; Orumbe – 1821-1835; Abisogun- 1836-1855; Akiogun – 1856-1893; Akinsanya Ogunyemi – 1894-1926; Lawani Oduloye – 1927-1933; Yesufu Abiodun Oniru-1934-1984 and  Idowu Abiodun Oniru-1994-2019.

    It would be recalled that those who occupied the stool from 1589 till 1984 used to Baales (Chief), until the reign of Idowu Abiodun Oniru.

    Idowu Abiodun Oniru in 1995 was accorded official recognition as a first class Oba and crowned at a colourful ceremony.

    In Yoruba traditional system, the person called Aremo is most likely to be the heir to the throne. There is already one in the Iru palace – Adesegun Oniru, a former Lagos State Commissioner for Waterfront.

    Just like the late Oba Yesufu and the late Oba Idowu, Adesegun is also from the Akiogun Ruling House.

    But there is a dissenting voice from the Abisogun Ruling House which said it is its turn to produce the next monarch.

    When reminded of the importance of Aremo in Yoruba land, a member of the ruling house dismissed the Aremo theory.

    He said Aremo is usually used for the first male child of a monarch and may not necessarily succeed his father.

    Baale of Igbosere, Chief Isa Salawu told The Nation that he expects the Abisogun House to send their nomination for the throne.

    “I expect the local council development area to call on the next ruling house to present a candidate,” he said.

    Chief Salawu said the constitutional requirement mandates that a new monarch be installed 90 days after the demise of the old monarch.

    He, however, said there is a cordial relationship with other ruling houses. “We are not fighting over who will succeed the late Oba Oniru. We expect other ruling houses to support us because it is our turn,” he said.

    Chief Salawu said the Ogunyemi Ruling House conceded the slot to the Akiogun’s house to honour Oba Idowu Abiodun.

    A member of the Oniru chieftaincy family of Lagos, Alhaji Wakeel Abiodun Ajasa also backed Chief Salawu’s claim that it is the Abisogun ruling house turn to produce the next Iru monarch.

    According to Ajasa, the Abiodun family of Akiogun Ruling House has dominated the throne from Chief Yesufu Abiodun, who reigned for 50 years. “The late Chief Yesufu’s son, Idowu Abiodun was again installed in 1994 after the next ruling house, Ogunyemi House, conceded their turn to Akiogun ruling house,” he said.

    The next ruling house, according to him, is Abisogun.

     

    Read Also: Race to become next Oba Oniru begins

     

    “We just want the world to know the true position of things as regards the ruling houses in Iru. The Akiogun house has ruled for 75 years. Others too should be allowed to rule the kingdom and we are not short of qualified candidates to mount the throne. We have sons who are well educated,” he said.

    A publication by the four branches of the Abisogun Ruling House said: “In view of the vacancy of the Obaship title of Oba Oniru, following the demise of Oba Oniru, the Abisogun Ruling House hereby state that they are ready and willing to nominate a candidate to fill the stool of the Oba of Oniru, being legally the rightful ruling house to do so at this point. The Abisogun Ruling House has become apprehensive and worried that plans are being made to wrongfully install a successor to the stool of Oba of Oniru by the same Akiogun family, who had produced Chief Yesufu Abiodun Oniru and Oba Idowu Abiodun Oniru, who ascended the throne by virtue of the concession by Ogunyemi Ruling House. The total number of years now spent by the Akiogun Ruling House is 75 years. The question is where lies the right of the other Ruling Houses, particularly the Abisogun Ruling House?

    “The Abisogun Ruling House categorically states that it is their turn to produce a candidate and appeal to the constituted authorities not to allow a suppression of the other Ruling Houses of Oniru Royal Family, particularly the Abisogun Ruling House.

    “It is the hope of the Abisogun Ruling House that the proper procedure will be followed in the process of nominating and selecting the candidate that will emerge from the Oniru Royal family which candidate should come from the Abisogun Ruling House.”

    However, the Ogunyemi Ruling House described the Abisogun’s position as untrue. In a rejoinder published on Monday, responding to the publication by the Abisogun Ruling House on November 8, the Ogunyemi House said the Abisogun Ruling House’s statement was misleading.

    The publication, signed by the Head of the Ogunyemi Ruling House, Madam Abimbola Ogunyemi, said: “Our attention has been drawn to the newspaper publication by the Abisogun Ruling House of the Oniru Royal Family. The publication erroneously states that the Ogunyemi Ruling House of the Oniru Royal Family declined and unilaterally conceded their right to the throne of Iru Land in 1984 to the Akiogun Ruling House upon the demise of our beloved Chief Yesufu Abiodun Oniru (1934 – 1984) paving the way for the tenure of our late Oba Idowu Abiodun Oniru, on the throne (1994 – 2019). The Abisogun Ruling House further states that by the ‘Order of Rotation/Succession’, they are entitled to present a candidate to occupy the Stool of Iru Land.

    “We, the Ogunyemi Ruling House of the Oniru Royal family, completely refute this erroneous and misleading claim by the Abisogun Ruling House. We state unequivocally that the publication of November 8 by the Abisogun Ruling House is merely a desperate attempt to distort history as well as to disrupt the peace and unity of Iru Land and the Oniru Royal Family.”

    According to the Ogunyemis, the ascension to throne by the late Chief Idowu Abiodun Oniru was made possible by the decision/action of the Ogunyemi Ruling House and the Abisogun Ruling House upon the demise of the late Chief Yesufu Abiodun Oniru.

    They said both ruling houses in conformity with provisions of the Obas and Chiefs Law of Lagos State 1981, opted not to produce a candidate to fill the stool of the Oniru Royal Family.

    The Ogunyemi Ruling House said: “Hence, by the lawful Order of Rotation, the Akiogun Ruling House was again presented with the opportunity to produce a candidate to occupy the stool of Oniru Royal Family.

    “It is noteworthy to mention that both Ogunyemi Ruling House and Abisogun Ruling House decided to concede the established Order of Rotation/Succession as a way of rewarding the late Chief Yesufu Abiodun Oniru, who spent his entire reign of 50 years confronting the Colonial Government and successive governments for the recovery of the Oniru Chieftaincy Family Lands, which had been unjustly seized/revoked from 1900.

    “Although a final court verdict was given in favour of the recovery of the Oniru Chieftaincy Family Land in 1974, the implementation did not materialise until shortly before the demise of Chief Yesufu Abiodun Oniru in 1984, making it impossible for him to benefit from the reward of his many years of labour. It was in view of this that the elders and members of the Ogunyemi Ruling House led by Madam Christianah Abeke Alder, and elders and members of the Abisogun Ruling House led by Pa. J. O Joshua, met with the overall head of the Oniru Royal Family, Pa Wahab Ogunbambi and agreed to honour the late Chief Yesufu Abiodun Oniru by unanimously asking the Akiogun Ruling House to present its late son Oba Idowu Abiodun Oniru to occupy the stool.”

    Madam Ogunyemi said the declaration stated that order of rotation among the three Ruling Houses shall be in the following manner: Abisogun, Akiogun and  Ogunyemi. “It is on the basis of the sacrosanctity of this arrangement that we, the Ogunyemi Ruling House wish to state that the claim by the Abisogun Ruling House that they are the rightful Ruling House to nominate and select a candidate is completely inconsistent with the Lagos State Declaration made under the Customary Law Regulation Selection to the Oniru Chieftaincy of Lagos as well as the extant provisions of the Obas and Chiefs Law of Lagos State 1981.

    “We, therefore, by this notice draw the attention of the relevant authorities to these two instruments of law in lawfully going about the consideration, selection and installation of the 15th Oniru of Iru Land as a way of fostering the peace, unity and progress of Iru land and its environs,” she said.

    Going by the Abisoguns and the Ogunyemis’ arguments, the question is ‘which ruling house should be asked to nominate candidate for the next Iru monarch?’

     

    Going by the Abisoguns and the Ogunyemis’ arguments, the question is ‘which ruling house should be asked to nominate candidate for the next Iru monarch?

     

  • ‘My opponents should wait till 2023’

     

    Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has urged his opponents to wait till 2023 to face him at the polls.

    The governor, who was speaking while flagging off the reconstruction of the 65-kilometre Moniya-Ijaye-Iseyin Road, said the people rejected the main opposition party in the state because it did nothing to develop the state.

    A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Taiwo Adisa, quoted Makinde as saying that although the previous administration awarded the contract for the rehabilitation of the road, the job was not done.

    He added: “We have told them to meet us in 2023,” Governor Makinde said, adding: “Though they got money, they did nothing. They spent the money on elections but did you vote for them? If they come to ask for your votes, will you vote for them?”

    The governor said he was determined to execute the Road contract as a way of fulfilling his campaign promise.

    He said: “I appreciate you for giving us the opportunity to serve you. During our campaign from here (Moniya) to Oke-Ogun, I promised that I will reconstruct the road if I become the Governor and, today, I am happy that it is the same project we are flagging off.

    He reiterated his resolve to construct infrastructure that will target the economy,  adding that when completed, the road, which is quite close to ongoing Dry Port project at Olorisaoko, will aid the movement of agricultural produces and mineral resources from Oke-Ogun area to the Dry Port for onward exporting.

    Read Also: Kogi: Oyo APC mocks Makinde over PDP loss

     

    The 65-kilometre road is being executed by KOPEK Construction Company, at the cost of N9.9 billion.

    The Governor, who described the road as an important one that can uplift the economy of the State, said his Government was embarking on the total reconstruction of the road as opposed to the planned rehabilitation by the immediate past administration.

    He berated how the road had been abandoned for years, culminating in loss of lives and properties as well as the destruction of farm produces due to the deplorable condition of the road.

    The governor said: “On this project, we are not talking about patching but total reconstruction of the road. I know you are all aware that there is a Dry Port project ongoing here in Olorisaoko. So, when they are conveying agricultural produces and solid minerals all the way from Oke-Ogun, this is the point where we will be exporting them.

    “You can recall that I also promised that the money we will spend on infrastructure will be targeted on expanding our economy and this road is a major road that can boost the economy of Oyo State. When we got into office, we discovered that the money that was awarded to carry out the road project was shared among those who held offices in the past administration.”

    They spent the money on campaign and the last election and, upon that, you did not vote for them.

    “This road was abandoned for eight years. Countless number of people have died on the road. Time has been wasted. In 2015, during the electioneering campaign, we had accident on this same road too but we thank God that no life was lost. It was because of that incidence that made me promise that if I eventually get the people’s mandate to serve the state, we won’t spend beyond 45 minutes to reach Iseyin from Moniya in the morning, afternoon and night. We will also mobilise security operatives to be patrolling the road.”

     

  • Challenges before Lyon, by ex-commissioner

    Former Bayelsa State Commissioner for Youth and Energy Maxwell Oko campaigned for self-determination and resource control in the Niger Delta. The All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain and Executive Director-designate of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) spoke with Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI on why the APC defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during last weekend’s governorship poll.

     

    The APC has triumphed in Bayelsa, after 20 years of PDP rule. What are your reactions?

    I want to say big congratulations to Chief David Lyon, the governor-elect of Bayelsa State. This is a new beginning in the history of Bayelsa State, as Bayelsans have been suffering for the past eight years and have been crying or yearning for change. Thank God; by His Grace, Bayelsans have spoken. Nigerians and indeed the entire world can hear and see the voice of Bayelsans, who demonstrated this during last Saturday’s governorship election. We are all very happy; my family is happy, my community is happy about this development. As you can see, behind me and around every corner of the house, as a community, as a people, and as a kingdom, we are celebrating the victory of today. This victory is not the victory of David Lyon and his family alone, it is the victory of Bayelsans, it is the victory of the Ijaw nation.

    What are the expectations of Bayelsans from David Lyon and his incoming APC administration?

    I think basically what Bayelsans expect is very simple: good governance. There are basic things that a leader must do yo make the people happy. I understand that for the past eight years pensioners have not been paid and that civil servants have suffered from salary cuts. For the past eight years also the power situation in Bayelsa has gone from bad to worse. The situation has not been so bad.

    I used to be a commissioner here eight years ago and I had no generator in my house. Every Bayelsan had my number at the time because I announced it on radio and called on them to get in touch with me if they do not have light in their area. So, we were all dependent on public power. But, today rather than our power situation to improve, it has worsened. From the 40 megawatts we left behind and the 110 megawatts generation infrastructure that we have, the power situation is now zero. There is also no workable public water supply.

    Basically, nothing has been working and these are the basic things that determine the fundamentals of good governance. These are some of the expectations of Bayelsans. I believe sincerely that David Lyon is a representer of good governance and he will make Bayelsans proud.

    Read also: INEC to issue Lyon certificate of return

     

    How will the victory of the APC in Bayelsa strengthen the state’s relationship with the government at the centre?

    Absolutely, it would strengthen the relationship of the state with the Federal Government. Like I said earlier, it’s a new beginning in the history of Bayelsa; although we have passed through a similar situation when we had a president of Nigeria of Bayelsa extraction. Now also with a Petroleum Minister a very close situation is repeating itself again politically. I know and I am convinced that our leader, the former governor and the minister of state for petroleum, with David Lyon’s position as governor, come February 14, 2020, and of course with my own collaboration as Executive Director-designate, Finance & Administration, of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), I can make a promise to Bayelsans that this combination will be a ‘Next Level’ step for Bayelsa State come 2020.

    It is a fact that the outgoing governor could not produce a successor of his choice. To you, what does that mean?

    That means a complete failure for him in that regard.

    You have just been confirmed as the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, by the National Assembly. What are you bringing into the office?

    A lot of things, as you can see, is out there in the public domain, as regards the functionality of the NDDC. The beauty for me is that I stand as a round peg in a round hole because I was involved in the struggle that led to the creation of the commission. Unfortunately, 19/20 years down the line, the commission has not been able to achieve the purpose for which most of us were involved in the agitation. So, coming there, for me, is to right the wrongs. In the very first, it is to reposition the commission. Administration will be directly under me, managing its finances will be directly under me. So, we just have to reposition the commission for the purpose for which it was set up and to stop the idea where appointees to the commission use the office as a springboard for political aspirations. This has been a major setback, in terms of realising the mandate of the commission. For me, it would be a time to focus and get the workings of the commission supporting the member states, so that we do not create political chaos. This is because, in the past, those who ho into such offices, rather than collaborating with their state governments to carry out developmental projects in the state, actually go on to create political tensions and rivalry. At the end of the day, it is the state and the ordinary man on the streets that suffer. Those are the sort of things that we should begin, to set the stage for a new developmental stage in moving you the ‘Next Level’.

    The Presidency has just instituted a probe into the finances of the NDDC from its inception. What do you think of this development?

    It is a the right step in the right direction. It must be implemented under us. If you’ve done the job, you will be exonerated. If you’ve not done the job and you’ve eaten the money, you will be compelled to refund it.

     

  • Kogi poll credible, say observer groups

    From James Azania, Lokoja

    The Coalition of Civil Society Groups accredited by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to observe the Kogi State governorship and Kogi West Senatorial re-run have condemned calls for the cancellation of last Saturday’s exercise.

    The coalition, at a post-election press conference in Lokoja, noted that the pockets of violence and ballot snatching did not undermine the fairness and credibility of the election.

    Its National Coordinator, Comrade Peter Nwokolo, called for the prosecution of perpetrators of violence and their sponsors.

    He said: “Coalition affiliates jointly or severally observed the elections in all polling units across Kogi State and our views here constitute a composite/bird’s eye view of our observations.

    “The elections were smooth and successful in most areas across the state as observed by our members.

    “Elections in a few polling centres were marred by violence, ballot box snatching and other forms of disruption, by hoodlums, some of them in police uniform, working for unknown principals.

    Read Also: Buhari seeks fair, transparent polls for Bayelsa, Kogi elections

     

    Nwokolo added: “The coalition calls on the Nigerian Police and other law enforcement agents to unearth the faceless individuals behind such criminal activities.

    “As said earlier, coalition observed incidences of violence which affected a few polling units across the state. The severity of such incidences were more pronounced in certain areas, particularly Lokoja. This is because of the sophistication of the operations in the affected units in the state capital.

    “Coalition must however note that while the worst act of violence disrupted polling in the affected units, the actual damage to the electoral outcomes remained minor overall.”

    payment.

    “Nevertheless, coalition notes that violence has remained a sad reality of elections in Nigeria for decades and the relevant authorities must do more to stamp it out.

    “Being unarmed in the main the police became as defenseless as the citizen-voters themselves wherever armed thuggery occurred.

    “In concluding, coalition states categorically that the 2019 Kogi State governorship elections held last Saturday,  were largely free, fair and credible. The observed anomalies reported above, including the incidents of thuggery and associated violence, were comparatively too few and ineffective to justify the calls from some quarters for total cancellation of the entire elections. The INEC is advised to ignore such calls as misguided.”

  • Ondo 2020: PDP, APC begin mobilisation

    From Damisi Ojo, Akure

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is happy over the friction among All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders in Ondo State. The opposition party is banking on the friction to rebuild its house for the task ahead.

    While the APC may consider zoning, the PDP will allow interested aspirant to contest. There are 17 contestants in the opposition party.

    PDP loyalists are using all strategies to ensure that they return to Alagbaka House,where they were dislodged on February 24, 2016 by the ruling APC.

    The party lost power to the APC due to  internal wrangling and litigations, which led to the failure of its candidate, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), to succeed former Governor Segun Mimiko.

    With its two senators, the opposition party said it is poised to send the APC out of power.

    Read Also: Ondo 2020: Atolagbe for governor

     

    Majority of  PDP aspirants are from the North.They include Dr. Eddy Olafeso, who is the National Vice Chairman (Southwest), and former Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Mobilisation under Agagu.

    Jegede, a former Commissioner for Justice under Mimiko, was the 2016 PDP governorship candidate. He lost to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.

    Last week, Olafeso declared his intention in Lagos, while Jegede has begun consultations with his supporters.

    Also, on the list is Sola Ebiseni, a lawyer and a three- time commissioner, and  the former Chairman of Ilaje Local Government, immediate past Publicity Secretary, Banji Okunomo, and Otunba Bamidele Akingboye.

    Others may still join the race as 2020 governorship draws near.

     

  • Why l defied Amaechi to run in 2019, by Godwin Abe

    Former Senator Mr Magnus Abe has revealed why he defied his erstwhile political leader and current minister of transport, Mr Rotimi Amaechi on the 2019 governorship election in Rivers state.

    In an interview with THE NATION, Abe said Amaechi accused him of working against Dr Dakuku Peterside in 2015 ” in front of my wife, ” an allegation he dubbed ” a lie from the pit of hell. “

    ” That’s not politics and that’s not how to ask a politician not to run for office. Rather than it being an incentive for me not to run, that was why l ran and l would not stop, ” Abe said.

     

    What is responsible for the unending crisis in the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC)?

    Nigerians are aware that the crisis in the APC in Rivers State has its origin in the unconstitutional decision of the leader of the party, Rotimi Amaechi, to summarily expel me and other leaders of the party seen as sympathetic to my governorship ambition, for no discernible reason.

    Amaechi announced this publicly at the meeting of APC stakeholders held at the Dome Event Centre, Peter Odili Road, Port Harcourt, stating that Senator Abe and all those sympathetic to him must leave the party and he went further to state that he was ready to destroy the party in Rivers state to achieve the objective, despite the pleas of many leaders present at the meeting.

    In fact, Mr. Loolo Ibieneye told Amaechi that the path he chose was not only unconstitutional, but would lead the party to disaster.

    Incidentally, that was the last day that Rivers APC members sat together in unity, with Amaechi present.

    The directive to unilaterally exclude party members from all party activities, without due process, is the origin and the root of the crisis in the Rivers state chapter of APC.

    Indeed, prior to the troubled congresses, the then Rivers Chairman of APC, Chief Ibiamu Ikanya, called an all-inclusive stakeholders/State Executive Committee (SEC) meeting of the party, where all the issues were amicably resolved, including the distribution of forms to all aspiring party members.

    An all-inclusive committee was set up to implement the resolutions of the meeting. As soon as Amaechi was informed of the move, he not only dissolved the committee, but he voided the efforts and consensus decisions reached by the entire leadership.

    Amaechi directed that in keeping with his earlier directives at the Dome, members of the party perceived as sympathetic to Senator Abe be excluded from the congresses and denied the forms they paid for.

    The disenfranchised members: Ibrahim Umar and 22 others, went to court, they rightfully secured an injunction on the facts, which Amaechi again directed the party to disobey. The rest as they say is history.

    In an unprecedented sponsored media campaign, the facts were buried and recrafted, one Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, a hired publicist for Amaechi, became the face of the attempt to rewrite history.

    Those who went to court were accused of working for Governor Nyesom Wike and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The courts were promoted as Wike’s supermarkets. Some of Amaechi’s publicists such as Oby Ndukwe and Lucky Worluh went as far as accusing me of plotting with the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, to kill President Muhammadu Buhari and collecting billions of naira from Governor Wike and the PDP to destabilise the APC in Rivers state.

    I was painted to the Nigerian public as a desperate politician, who destroyed his party, because of his personal ambition.

    My integrity and my reputation remain my most valuable assets. If I lose them to the politics of hate and deceit, then I would have lost everything. I appeal to all men of goodwill to remember that all the gold on earth is worth nothing, if we lose our name.

    What is actually your relationship with Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike?

    Everybody in Nigeria knows that I know Governor Wike very well. We worked together in the politics of Rivers State. When he was Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local  Government Council of Rivers State, I was the Minority Leader of Rivers House of Assembly (1999 to 2003, as a member of All Peoples Party and later All Nigeria Peoples Party). It is not a secret that in Nigeria, it is the Houses of Assembly that exercises core supervisory jurisdiction, by law, over the local governments. So, we had a relationship.

    He (Wike) later became Chief of Staff and I was Secretary to the State Government (when Amaechi was Rivers governor). We have a very close personal and family relationship, but in the course of our politics, we were in different political parties and we had our disagreements. In fact, we had a public fight, to the point where we took each other on publicly. It was not a hidden thing. Giving the nature of Nigerian politics, personal relationships were ruptured, as we went our different ways politically and it remains that way.

    When I had my thanksgiving service in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, the Archbishop (of Anglican Communion) who presided over the service, asked me if I had invited all the persons with whom I had issues and I said no, but he said I must invite all of them, including Governor Wike and Amaechi, stressing that one should not come to the house of God with a divided mind. So, I invited everybody across the country and people honoured the invitation, including Governor Wike, but transportation minister (Amaechi) did not honour the invitation, instead he chose the day to plan a parallel event in Bori-Ogoni, the headquarters of my senatorial district (Rivers Southeast). From then to now, I have had no personal contact or relationship with Governor Wike.

    I am ready to meet with the Rivers governor, because he made a broadcast the other day about the Ogoni oilfields in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 11. It is not right for any Ogoni son to have responded publicly to what Governor Wike said in his broadcast. If the governor said that Rivers State government had acquired the oilfields and ready to give Ogoni communities a percentage in the oilfields, I do not think that Ogoni person should be the first person to condemn it.

    I am interested in meeting with the Rivers governor to hear exactly what is happening, as far as the situation of Ogoni oilfields is concerned. So, I have no political relationship with Govermor Wike. Outside of meeting him at social occasions, I have not met him anywhere. I have not discussed politics with him. If he extends invitation to me, I will honour it, but politically, I am a member of the APC, while Governor Wike is a member of the PDP. That is where it stands. Anybody who has any alternate or contrary fact should take it before the courts.

    What is the current state of the APC in Rivers State?

    The party is still where it is. After we had all the issues in the courts that led to Rivers APC being excluded from the ballots, one expects that reasonable politicians will look for ways to put the party together. Whatever our anger or differences may be, we ought to try and look for a middle ground, so that our party can move forward, but rather than doing that, the transportation minister went ahead and set up a caretaker committee of his boys, which I will not recognise. I was not consulted, neither do I know of anybody who was consulted, before the caretaker committee was set up.

    He (Amaechi) wanted to use his boys to organise fresh congresses, without considering the fate of APC members who bought forms for the previous congresses, but were disenfranchised. The issue is back in the courts.

    How can unity be ensured in Rivers APC, ahead of 2023 elections?

    APC set up a committee, headed by former Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, to look into the issues. We appeared before the members of the committee. The day the committee members were to come to Port Harcourt, we were all there.

    The Southsouth Zonal Vice Chairman of APC also came to Port Harcourt for reconciliation, we were all there, but some people are determined to rewrite history. If you are going about saying some leaders of PDP sponsored some chieftains of APC in Rivers state, that is not peace.

    People having ambition or trying to contest for positions in a political party is one of the main reasons for setting up a political party. You cannot destroy the party. People can argue and quarrel, but they must try and work things out. You cannot continue to exclude some politicians in a party. A political party belongs to the members and the party should not be destroyed. For peace in the party, there must be understanding and respect for one another. We also need to have respect for the truth. These are the basic foundations on which true reconciliation and progress can be founded in any organisation, not just in the APC.

    You represented Rivers Southeast Senatorial District in the 7th and 8th Senate. You were also a governorship aspirant on APC platform in 2015 and 2019. What next?

    The most important office in any country is the office of the citizen. Every other thing is superfluous. I am a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The time that I held offices, other people did not hold offices. It did not stop them from contributing to Nigeria.

    Great nations, great cities, great societies, great organisations are not created, they are not made, they are built. They are not built only by the leaders. Everybody who is desirous of being part of something great, must have knowledge that he has an obligation to make a contribution to building that greatness that he desires to leave and be part of.

    Read Also: Buhari for special interview with NTA Monday

     

    My hope, my desire, my aspiration is to see Nigeria as a great country. To see Rivers as a great state. To see Port Harcourt as a great city. I know that I have a responsibility to contribute to the building of the greatness that I so desire. If we desire to see the APC as a great party, we must be prepared to make sacrifices and to participate in buding the greatness within the desired organisation or society.

    Today, I am not in office, but it does not mean that I am not a politician. It does not mean that I am not a Nigerian. It does not mean that my desire to see Nigeria as a great country or to see Rivers state as a prosperous, progressive and successful society terminates, because I am no longer a senator or I am not holding office.

    I can support the persons who are holding office. I can contribute ideas. I can still work to help to make Nigeria, Rivers state and APC better. So, nobody should be worried by the fact that I am not holding office. Let us keep building Nigeria and Rivers state.

    Why didn’t you agree to step down from the 2019 governorship race, in the interest of APC?

    In early 2015, the then Rivers governor (Amaechi), called me privately, with Chief G.U. Ake (now late), who was then the Rivers Chairman of APC and Dr. Dakuku Peterside. Amaechi said he was going to pick one of us as the governorship candidate of APC in Rivers state and that whoever he did not pick should support the other. This dragged on for quite some time. At the end of the day, he (Amaechi) picked Peterside, which led to eruption in Rivers state. But for my quick intervention, Government House, Port Harcourt would have been destroyed on that day.

    I mobilised for APC during the 2015 elections, I supported the party and its candidates. I almost lost my life.

    When it came to 2019, Amaechi did not call me privately, he called me in front on my wife. One of the things he said was that the last time (in 2015), I did not support Peterside. I told Amaechi that it was a lie from the pit of hell and I stated that anybody who said so, would answer to it before God. That’s not politics and that’s not how to ask a politician not to run for office. Rather than it being an incentive for me not to run, that was why I ran and I would not stop. After the 2019 elections, I announced that the run was over.

    It is not true that anybody called me in a meaningful manner, to engage me in the interest of the party. It was never done. If that had been done, I would have responded to it in that spirit.

    There was a day that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu sent for both of us (Abe and Amaechi) and we were to meet and I came. I called my team, I met with them and we agreed to go for the meeting. On that day, Asiwaju was not able to make the meeting and the meeting never held.

    The day we met with the National Chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, after I made my speech about the APC in Rivers state, Amaechi spent close to three hours, talking about me, he never mentioned APC in Rivers state and there was no concession or discussion about the fate of the party at that meeting.

    What is your relationship now with Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi?

    I have no problem with Amaechi. Power has its challenges. It is difficult to communicate properly with some people in certain circumstances. So, it is better to let them be. When we are normal, we will be able to engage one another in a more mutually, respectful situation, but right now, I do not think that the mutually respectful foundation for communication exists.

    You are a major stakeholder in the Niger Delta region. Does Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) need an Interim Management Committee (IMC), headed by an Ogoni person, Dr. Joi Nunieh, when the Senate has already screened and confirmed members of the new Board of the Federal  Government’s interventionist agency, nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari?

    As far as I know, everybody that has turned up at the NDDC was on the instructions of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is constitutionally mandated to appoint people to the NDDC. Whenever he (President Buhari) appointed people in NDDC as acting, interim or whatever, we gave them support.

     

    Even when some people came to NDDC’s corporate headquarters in Port Harcourt and they were boasting that they were appointed to deal with some of us, we did not go and say they should be removed. We did not campaign against them. We bore it as politicians, because we knew that they were appointed by the President.

    So, in these current appointments in NDDC, nobody has said that the IMC members were not appointed by President Buhari. If there are other people who want to take over from the members of IMC, they should take their case to the President. When he appoints them, the other people too will go, but for anybody to see people appointed by the President, they have taken over office, they are carrying out their duties and then begin to be promoting irresponsible noises, I do not think that is right.

    For now, the persons that have been appointed by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to run the affairs of NDDC, are Dr. Joi Nunieh (Acting Managing Director), Dr. Cairo Ojougboh (Acting Executive Director, Projects), and Chief Ibanga Bassey Etang (Acting Executive Director, Finance and Administration). This is not the first time that it was done. When Mene Derek (an Ogoni man) was removed as NDDC’s Executive Director, Finance and Administration, an acting management team of three persons was set up and the members took office. There was no noise then. Is it because Nunieh is a woman?

    I want to plead with Niger Delta people, let us conduct ourselves in a manner that shows that we understand the challenges that we are facing.

    There are stories about NDDC that some persons were collecting over N1 billion monthly and an individual having 300 contracts. Why do we leave the things that have not made the commission to make progress? President Buhari has ordered forensic audit of NDDC between 2001 and 2019. Let us make sure that the forensic audit is properly conducted. Why are we worrying about who is seated in NDDC? Somebody must sit there. In the interest of the Niger Delta, let people of the region not behave in a manner that will make other Nigerians feel that we do not know what we are doing.

    President Buhari has appointed Nunieh, Ojougboh and Etang. He has the constitutional right to do so. If the President is going to set up another board, he still has the constitutional right to do so. Our own is to make sure that the persons who are appointed understand that we the people of the Niger Delta, our eyes are now open and that we want service from those that are sent to NDDC to serve us. We should give support to the Nunieh-led IMC and to insist and demand that the members of IMC do what is right, in the interest of the Niger Delta. They should not be distracted.

    Are you in support of the call for the sack of the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, over his roles in the developments in NDDC?

    Are we the ones who appointed Senator Akpabio? President Buhari appointed him. Calls for Senator Akpabio’s sack are diversionary and not in the interest of the Niger Delta. The persons that the President has appointed, let us give them support.

     

    ‘I have no political relationship with Govermor Wike. Outside of meeting him at social occasions, I have not met him anywhere. I have not discussed politics with him. If he extends invitation to me, I will honour it, but politically, I am a member of the APC, while Governor Wike is a member of the PDP’

  • NGO holds free medical outreach

    By Ibrahim Kegbegbe

    Hundreds of widows and widowers have benefited from the medical outreach organised by a Non-Governmental organisation, Glance Fancier International Foundation (GFIF) in conjunction with Ojodu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) and Rotary International.

    The one-day Free Family Medical Outreach was held at Omole Estate in Lagos.

    Doctors and nurses offered various medical services, including, tests on malaria, blood pressure, HIV, sugar level and eye test, among others.

    There was also the distribution of mosquito nets, medication and eyeglasses to the participants.

    Medical experts also gave talks on wellness, healthy living and cancer awareness.

    According to GFIF’s Chief Executive Officer Mrs Gbemisola Fatiha Rufai, said the outreach was in furtherance of the NGO’s humanitarian service.

    The retired civil servant said the event was to take care of the less privileged individuals, especially widows.

    Mrs Rufai said: “Today, we have empowered over a hundred people with this outreach. We distributed mosquito nets as well as drugs. Doctors and Nurses are here to check participants’ sugar and blood levels, HIV and malaria tests. Those that are HIV positive will be referred to the appropriate quarters.

    Read Also: WHO rejects accusation of inadequate Ebola vaccine in Congo

     

    “We have a doctor from Houston, Texas in the United States, Dr. Sunkanmi Adeyinka to give the participants talk on well-being and healthy living. Another doctor will give talk on Cancer of the breast so that our women will not die of cancer when they are detected early.”

    Rufai explained that over 5,000 youths and widows have been empowered by the foundation since its establishment in 1989.

    “We are specialised in empowering the less privileged widows and youths with financial assistance and vocational training. We know the plight of widows and what we can do for them is to elevate their standard of living,” she said.

    Dr.  Adeyinka told the participants to eat healthy and engage in regular exercise.

    She said those who don’t do regular exercise are prone to having diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and kidney disease.

    “Eating of fruits, vegetables, engaging in daily exercises and consultation of medical experts for medical check-up may prevent the body from diseases,” she said.