The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • Magic wand that National Conference is not

    SIR: If there be anything found wanting within the nebulous body of men and women known as the Nigerian leadership class, intelligentsia and indeed, a section of the civil society; idealistic postulations of solutions to the myriad of problems confronting the country, certainly, cannot be one of those failings..

    I have always found it quite farcical seeing a number of Nigerians who lay claim to belonging to the intelligentsia subscribing to a position not popularized or arrived at by any process of critical scientific reasoning but by the bare fact of such position or thinking merely wearing, for instance, a tinge of novelty.

    Let me start from the not-too-long-a-distant past of the heydays of the mad rush for company share acquisition. Even holy sanctuaries of worship were not spared, as lectures on share acquisition almost became part of the liturgy. Then came the tsunami of global meltdown and subsequently, Sanusi’s bank reform which helped to expose the rump of the chicken. Now, we all know better.

    Enter the late President Yar’Adua. At the outset of his administrations, when little was known about the man, many had already gone to town to regale us of how independent minded he was, and it spread like wild fire. Even when the nation almost came to a stand-still, consequent upon the late President’s ill health, a section of the leadership class and the intelligentsia could still afford to regale us with tales that the late president was meticulously studying the situation on ground in order to come up with a lasting panacea. Then, death came calling, exposing the hidden cabals behind the mask. Now, we know better.

    And, now, enter once again, the much acclaimed political elixir called National Conference. While it is conceded that the agitation for National Conference has been with us for some time now, the government of the day suddenly became conscious of the significance and renewed resonance in the agitation as its tenure winds to a close and with that came the imperative of bringing the same body of men and women, the intelligentsia and political class to “brainstorm and fashion out the way forward” for the beloved country, Nigeria.

    While the fact cannot be gainsaid that there is nothing wrong for a people to hold regular talks among themselves in a bid to forge ahead, it is however, worrisome to begin to regard such avenue for discussion as an end in itself and a substitute for action. For whatever National Conference may be worth, it will be quite delusional to think that it is the magic wand we all need to get ourselves out of the systemic decay we have found ourselves.

    Pray, as lofty as the idea of the National Conference may appear in concept, certain questions beg answers: what hope there is in practical terms for honest and workable solutions to emerge from the motley crowd of men and women who got selected through the same well-worn means of leadership selection – the same procedure that has now become our albatross, that our so-called present elected representatives emerged?

    In the unlikely event of workable solutions emerging from the jaw-jaw, who implements the decisions of the participant at the conference? The same present government saddled with the responsibility of implementing the plethora of findings of the numerous panels of inquiry and fact-finding committees whose graves litter the shelves of all the government ministries, departments and agencies in our polity?

    •Chris Edache Agbiti, Esq.,

    Abuja.

  • Cartoon

    Cartoon

  • Akintola, Adekunle deserve centenary recognition

    SIR: The decision of the federal government led by Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to celebrate 100 years anniversary of Nigeria as a nation is worthwhile and the government deserves kudos for the feat. In spite of contrary views, the amalgamation of the various pre-colonial nations to form Nigeria by the British colonial overlord has more benefits than minuses. The population, landmass, human resources, peoples, and cultural diversity, if well harnessed, could have made the nation one of the most advanced in the world. Problems being grappled with are just teething ones which, with commitment and dedication on the part of our leaders, would soon fizzle out.

    While I do not know the criteria used in selecting the recipients of the centenary awards, I want to say that there were some omissions which the government has to consider in future. Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola and Brigadier General Benjamin Adekunle (retd) are two Nigerians who so much cherished the unity of Nigeria and paid dearly for its sustenance: Akintola with his life and Adekunle his health.

    Since the centenary celebration was premised mostly on the sustenance of the unity and corporate existence of this nation, the duo should have been given recognition. Ogbomoso people are some of the most travelled peoples in Nigeria; they so much cherish unity of this nation. This was exhibited by late S.L.A Akintola when contrary to the stand of his party – the Action Group on regional solidarity harped on national solidarity as a means of promoting unity and development in Nigeria. This later cost him his life. Also, Adekunle as commander 3rd Marine Commando of the Nigerian Army during the civil war contributed to the corporate existence of this nation by his exploits which was nationally acknowledged. The General is presently bedridden due to the effects of the war.

    Why the duo was left out of the centenary award is hard to conjecture. I believe that it was an oversight on the part of the centenary committee saddled with the selection. President Jonathan is implored to make some amendment by giving honour to whom honour is due.

    • Adewuyi Adegbite

    Apake, Ogbomoso.

  • Cartoon

    Cartoon

  • ASUP-erlative action

    A quick quiz for you: a people are as good as their leaders, their constitution, their institutions and even their country: true or false? True, to a large extent. A native saying corroborates this truism that if you consider your farm as truly your farm, so it shall be and when you refer to it as that farm of mine, so too it shall be. Hardball indulges in Monday’s outing by polytechnic students in Lagos protesting the strike by their teachers, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP. Believe it or not, for about five months, nearly half of an academic session, all the federal polytechnics and colleges of technology have been shut because of a trade dispute between lecturers and the government.

    Recall that the nation was held in thrall for about half of last year because university lecturers (Academic Staff of Union of Universities, ASUU) also downed tools largely because of the government’s nonchalance and insouciance. Apparently the ASUP crisis predated ASUU but we wager that ASUU may have been main-streamed because it affects us more. The same reason why ASUP were neglected and ASUU were highlighted is the same reason crisis persists in the polytechnic campuses today. In their uncanny manner, Nigerian policy makers have managed to down-grade this cadre of technical education, making its certificate seem inferior even though the content of their curriculum may not be inferior to the university system.

    So at job interviews, in offices and at every turn, graduates of higher technical education are openly discriminated against and made to seem like second class citizens who committed some mortal offence by enrolling for inferior technical certificates in government-established technical institutions. But Hardball in this piece is not about the fine details of the pros and cons of these two cadres of pedagogy. We are here concerned about the gallant action of last Monday spear-headed by a non-governmental organisation, Education Rights Campaign (ERC).

    According to reports, ERC’s national co-ordinator Hassan Soweto Taiwo led the students under the aegis of Concerned Students Against Education Commercialization, (COSATEC). The protest, which comprised students of polytechnics across Lagos State, started at 9am from Yaba College of Technology spreading on to Ikorodu road, the major road artery linking Lagos Mainland with the Island. The placards-wielding students held up traffic for hours as they sang, danced and laid on the road. It was albeit, a very peaceful protest which was well organised, regulated and turned out most effective.

    The students had yielded way without letting the protest get out of hand. To underscore their seriousness, one of the leaders said, “We cannot stay at home and watch the strike continue. This is the first phase of the protest; it will continue next week, if the government refuses to implement the agreement it signed with ASUP.” It is indeed a superlative effort by these youths in organising this protest in a most civilised manner; making the point without allowing any mishap of any kind. Nigerian youths must do more of this kind of creative and peaceful agitation in order to keep the authorities in check.

    We ask: what is the Presidency thinking as students stayed home on forced holidays for 9 months? What is the education minister doing as an entire academic session is lost? Is there a worse index of irresponsibility? An up and doing minister who cares about legacy, who is not distracted by politics, will never allow this to happen. Will government act now?

  • Arise ’O’ compatriots

    SIR: “In less than 200 years, this great country, USA was wielded together by people of so many diverse backgrounds. They built a mighty nation and had forgotten where they came from and who their ancestors were. They had pride in only one thing – their US citizenship. I am a changed man from today. Until now I never really believed we could be one united country. But if the Americans could do it, so can we”. Rt. Hon. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. 1955.

    In the beginning, we had visionary leaders, great men with unparalleled commitment to the unity and development of Nigeria. They were not perfect beings. They did make mistakes. But in all, they were absolutely sincere in their commitment to the Nigeria project. We had Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the focused, principled, incorruptible visionary leader as our first Prime Minister. We had the Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello. The Sardauna was absolutely committed to the development of the North and its people irrespective of ethnic or religious affiliations. From the East, we had the Zik of Africa, Sir Nnamdi Azikiwe. An orator par excellence and the first President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he was unparalleled in his commitment to a truly united Nigeria. From the West, we had Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the first Premier of the Western region. He was an excellent manager of human and material resources. His free education programme helped a lot of Western indigenes to have unparalleled access to educational growth and career development.

    True federalism was in practice. The regions competed with one another for good. They did not depend on the largesse from the centre. State of origin was not a major issue.

    Then came military interventions. Democracy went on suspension. Successive generations of political elites (military/civilian) became more committed to wealth acquisitions for themselves and their cronies. They allocate oil blocks to themselves. Public agencies or institutions such as the Nigerian Railways, Refineries, NEPA, NITEL that could make life easier for the common man were gradually destroyed. The political elites preferred importation of fuel products, trailers and allied, generating sets and others to making the much needed public institutions work. When we complained that we wanted better services, we were told the agencies can never work as public institutions. Privatization is the only way out. The public agencies were sold off at take-away prices to the same political elites that destroyed them in the first place.

    To maintain their continuous hold on power; they introduced divide and rule tactics with ethnicity and religion as the bait. We became hooked and lost in self socio-political delusions. When they disagree amongst themselves over the spoils of office, crises are instigated to show that they are powers that must be pleased!

    The result is the mess we have found ourselves today. Systemic corruption is firmly entrenched in the polity. Billions of dollars are either stolen or misappropriated. Our educational system is in shambles. Inherited tertiary institutions are shadows of former selves. The ones established after those of our fathers are not well equipped. Power Holding Company of Nigeria has lived to expectations of holding power without releasing it! Nigerians are sharply divided along ethno-religious lines.

    Which way forward? The greatest obstacle to fighting poverty and impunity of our leaders is primordial attachment to ethnicity or religion. When we are ready to clearly look inward in each region and discover how our political elites who cry marginalization and say they are fighting on our behalf contributed significantly to the present level of poverty and infrastructural deficiencies. When majority of Nigerians are able to shed the toga of primordial attachment to ethnicity or religion, which makes all critical issues reduced to nothing; then a new Nigeria is born. Then we shall be ready to vote for a visionary leadership irrespective of the ethnic or religious group of the candidate.

    • Akinlolu, Abdulazeez Adelaja,

    University of Ilorin.

  • Jonathan and zero allocation to Ajaokuta

    SIR: “One thing that is dear to Nigerians is the Ajaokuta Steel Complex and until we revive that complex, we cannot talk about Vision 20:2020. This is because for you to play big globally, you must industrialize and for you to industrialize you must produce steel. The Ajaokuta complex must be revived.”

    The above statement was made by President Goodluck Jonathan at his Presidential electioneering campaign rally in 2011 in Lokoja, Kogi State capital.

    This assertion by Jonathan, no doubt, clearly agrees with the position of many Nigerians on the need to advance the country’s economy through the entrenchment of a vibrant and viable

    steel sector.  After three years of making the pronouncement, nothing much seems to have been done by the President to actualise the completion of the steel company.

    This was what prompted the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman recently to say that President Jonathan has not shown enough commitment to steel development in Nigeria. He stated this while condemning the zero allocation for capital projects in the company in the 2014 budget proposal, during the budget defence of Ministry of Mines and Steel.

    The neglect of Ajaokuta Steel by successive governments has always been an issue of great concern to most Nigerians. Corruption and lack of political will on the part of government have been responsible for the non-completion of the project, whose contract was awarded since in the 70s.

    It is expected that the National Assembly should be able to do something about the inclusion of capital allocation for the completion of the company in the budget. For all intents and purposes, our federal parliamentarians at the two chambers should, as a matter of urgency, make provisions for Ajaokuta Steel and the Nigerian Iron Ore Manufacturing Company( NIOMCO) in the current budget before them followed by a resolution on why the President must execute the project.

    • Michael Jegede,

    Abuja

  • Paying the supreme price for a job

    SIR: Nigerians will never forget in a hurry the recruitment exercise into various cadres of the Nigerian Immigration Services held Saturday March 15 at various designated centres throughout the country. At the last count, 15 of more than 526,000 applicants jostling for 4500 jobs paid the supreme price with their lives while other survivors are currently receiving treatment in some government hospitals.

    Why did the facility manager of the National Stadium with 38 entry point choose to open only one point resulting to the stampede? Is it convenient and comfortable for a person expected to write a test to do so at a football pitch? What happened to various halls and classes in our secondary and tertiary institutions which are better and built for that kind of academic exercise? The stipulated age bracket of applicants qualified for these jobs is between 25 – 27 years. The application portal should have applied a brake that will automatically disqualify those who are above the age limit. This would have naturally reduced the number of applicants.

    The naked truth is that unemployment index in the country has risen to a scary level and government has since lost grip of the appropriate measures to take in order to reduce it. The fact that 526,000 applicants jostle for less than 5000 jobs in a country blessed with abundant human and material resources has once again reminded us of the ticking time bomb imminently waiting to explode. With no definite employment plan on ground for graduates churned out yearly from our tertiary institutions, the nation is left with no option than to revert to our once old national prized but forgotten agriculture and mining sectors of the economy. In the 1960’s, these two moribund sectors created more than 50% employment opportunities in Nigeria.

    In the circumstance that the Minister of Interior Abba Moro has found himself, the honourable thing to do would have been to suspend the Comptroller of Immigrations if he has such powers and throw in the towel instead of setting up a committee. That would have earned him respect among Nigerians who will see him as a man of integrity rather than a hanger-on. He promised paying for the hospital bills of the survivors but how much will he pay for the dead graduates?

    The culture of resignation as a way of taking responsibility for any error by heads of ministries and parastatals should be cultivated in Nigerian governance system. The era of putting up a bold face and pretend as if all is well in the face of a glaring and avoidable man-made national disaster is over. President Goodluck Jonathan is implored to expressly place the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro and the Comptroller General of Immigrations David Parradang on administrative leave with immediate effect.

    More regrettable is that this happened also during Immigration recruitment of 2008. No drastic measures were taken and no lesson was learnt then. The death of these innocent Nigerians should spur government to take decisive action on unemployment now.

    • Sunday Onyemaechi Eze

    Samaru Zaria

  • APC governors beware!

    Since about July last year, the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory have been starved of funds through a drastic reduction of 40% of their statutory allocations attributed to shortfall in oil revenue. For instance, the state of Osun which used to receive monthly allocation of between ¦ 4.4 – 4.6bn now gets ¦ 3.2bn, a shortfall of a whopping ¦ 1.2bn – ¦ 1.4bn per month. Consequent upon this, some states have not been able to meet their obligation to workers in the payment of salaries and pensions as and at when due.

    For this strange development, the affected governors all over the country should raise local and international alarms about the coincidence of the alleged 40% cut in statutory allocations, just at the time some states’ elections (Ekiti and Osun) in 2014, and general elections in 2015, are anxiously being expected. Precisely what is the motive of the PDP led federal government for starving state governors of much needed funds at this time? We can hazard a reasonable guess. While the $20bn which ought to have gone to the states have disappeared into thin air, the coincidence of its disappearance at this time when elections are around the corner is highly suspect. The governors should cry out to find out the whereabouts of this whopping amount of money, especially as it is more than the nation’s budget for one year! With this kind of hard currency disappearing at election time, we are faced with the possibility of too much money in the coffers of the federal government to prosecute elections in some states this year, and especially the 2015 general elections, with money that belongs to all the states of the federation going to finance one party to the exclusion of other parties. I say this because the issue has been raised that the billions of dollars missing oil money, “largely from bumper oil revenue, have either been stolen by officers or mismanaged outright” through inflated contracts and phantom oil and kerosene subsidies that would usually be used for stock-pilling of funds for the state elections this year and, more especially, the Presidential and state elections next year. Those who would benefit from the missing oil money are the governors, National Assembly members as well as members of The House of Assembly of the ruling party, the PDP. All PDP candidates would share in this gigantic loot while the purported 40% shortfall to the PDP governors would be nothing compared to their portion of the unremitted (missing) billions of dollars already diverted to campaign funds, to the disadvantage of opposition parties

    From the look of things, the leading opposition party, the APC should feel worried about the damage money can do to them through hungry electorate and greedy, inconsistent and unprincipled politicians including those who may have defected to the APC, and may want to defect again to the PDP, for money. If the APC is not careful, the federal government could buy over as many as possible those now parading themselves as APC politicians from its incredibly huge war chest already stock-piled from unremitted oil money. My advice is that the APC and well meaning Nigerians should cry out daily to the people of Nigeria and the international community about the $20m missing oil money.

    This is against the background that the House of Representatives Ad Hoc committee on fuel subsidy reportedly discovered that the NNPC paid itself ¦ 847.94bn even after it had been paid another ¦ 844.94bn by the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency in 2011, a discovery that revealed how the company had been making criminal double withdrawals from the treasury for many years!

    The Economist of London once noted of the ugly scenario in the oil industry:”Information about Africa’s biggest industry is an opaque myriad of numbers. No one knows which ones are accurate; no one knows how much oil Nigeria actually produces. If there were an authoritative figure, the truly horrifying scope of corruption would be exposed”. And the World Bank has said that about $400bn of oil money has been stolen since 1960, while companies like NOC of Malaysia, ARMCO of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and many others make about $10bn profit yearly, with investments in western countries and Asia. But in Nigeria, its NNPC incur a loss through missing money last year of between $10bn – $20bn to government officials and private companies who would plough the money back into some individuals’ private accounts from which some political party would eventually benefit for the purpose of prosecuting the 2014 and 2015 elections.

    Now, for the APC governors: be prepared for further withholding of statutory allocations, including allocations for the PDP as cover up for what the PDP governors’ would get from the missing oil money. This is the evil machination by the federal government to make it difficult, if not impossible, for you to pay workers’ salaries so that they would be turned against you before, and during, elections. The federal government hopes to benefit from this wicked strategy of starvation as a weapon in war. Apart from creating bad blood between APC states and their workers, the federal government may be trying to deprive affected states of financial assistance rendered to political parties by their governors from whom it is withholding substantial allocations. It is a new form of rigging which the APC governors must cry out loud and clear about to Nigerians and the international community. With the incredible amount of public fund amassed by the presidency and party officials, we can understand why President Jonathan boasted that the PDP would “use the polls to reclaim lost states at the coming elections”, even in the face of mounting unpopularity of his government and party. For all this, you should go to every corner of Nigeria, to cities, villages, the deserts, and mountain top to shout about this wicked strategy of the Jonathan administration, in all your campaigns to the good people of Nigeria whose wealth has been looted by wicked and ungodly politicians seeking a return to power by all means and at all costs.

    I am glad that Senator Bukola Saraki has noticed this wicked scenario when he “urged” President Goodluck Jonathan “not to stifle opposition states” (The Nation, March 10, p.5) and quickly followed by The Nation’s editorial titled “Jonathan’s subtle threat” (March 13, p.17). President Jonathan was reported to have warned opposition state governors “to stop abusing him and the federal government or they would lose so many things”. One would have denied this horrible presidential statement from Jonathan on his behalf, but events, as shown by withholding billions of Naira from states’ monthly allocations, confirm the president’s statement that they would lose many things, including more deductions from their legitimate full monthly allocations. So, APC Governors, be on the lookout and shine your eyes. The deduction of 40% from all the 36 states is a ruse, as eventually it would not affect the PDP states in terms of money that would be pumped into their coffers from the missing oil money. The pity of this all is that everything is happening just because of elections in which nobody knows who would take part, not to talk about winning. In the eyes of God political victimization, vengeance and witch-hunting could backfire, as God has a way of punishing the wicked, unrighteous and ungodly in the affairs of man, political intrigues and subterfuge included. Mr. President, Sir, you too must beware, for whatever you think will be may not be. In philosophy, we call this induction of caution.

     

    • Prof Makinde, FNAL is DG/CEO Awolowo Centre for Philosophy, Ideology and Good Governance, Osogbo, Osun State

  • Nnamani’s futile re-entry into PDP

    The ongoing political struggle for Enugu East Senatorial seat in 2015 is becoming more intriguing and interesting. What has made it more interesting was the recent alleged return of the former governor of Enugu State, and one time senator representing Enugu East district,

    Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after many years of political hibernation in his party, Peoples Democratic Change (PDC).

    Nnamani’s stage-managed return to the PDP reminded one of that his Abia State counterpart, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu who embarked on the same political shortcut to PDP sometimes last year, but hit a strong brickwall that has kept him out of the party till date. Not because he has no constitutional rights to belong to any association, but such rights have laid down procedures as enshrined in the party’s constitution – procedures that Kalu has refused to come down from the Olympian height to obey.

    It appears that Nnamani and his new found political allies in the state have not learnt anything from Kalu’s political misadventure in Abia PDP since last year.

    Was Nnamani not the one who founded PDC in 2010 on whose platform he sought for re-election to Senate in 2011, but was defeated by Gil Nnaji of PDP? So why was Nnamani abandoning the party he formed in 2010 again to force his back way to PDP without following due process? Has he forgotten that he is no longer the governor of the state and the party leader in the state?

    Many had expected or believed that Nnamani from experiences should have been a good student of political history, but his recent political move has proved otherwise. If he, and his political cohorts still believe that Nnamani has any atom of political relevance and followership in the state, such could be proven in his PDC in 2015. Nnamani’s desperation for a return to PDP appears suspicious and must be watched.

    What is even worrisome is that someone who is being tried by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged corrupt practices would be forcing his way back to PDP with such heavy political baggage hanging on his neck which has made him a liability,

    instead of a political asset.

    Looking at his political antecedents since 1999 as a governor and Senator before defecting to PDC in 2010, it is obvious that he was more of a propagandist than a true leader of the people. Nnamani who represented Enugu East senatorial district for four years never called any constituency parley or even that of a smaller gathering like stakeholders of his constituency. What he did as a Senator was to carry on as a lord of manor who owed his constituency nothing, but saw his position in the senate as due compensation or retirement benefit. He only attracted only six water boreholes that he dug all in his native Agbani community. That is reason why it remains a puzzle to see the alliance of Senators Ike Ekweremadu, Gil Nnaji and Nnamani in their unfolding marriage of inconveniences in the state ahead of 2015. The sudden political marriage was not only a conspiracy against the interest of the people, it is also selfish and a self-serving move aimed at taking the state back to dark days of political insecurity and crisis.

    It is clear that the only thing that unites the three senators is their loss of focus and poor representation of their constituencies. If it is a continuation of their poor outings that they want to foster in the state, then their flight may have crash landed at the very take-off.

    It is becoming evident that the trio of Nnamani, Nnaji and Ekweremmadu are losing sleep over the adoption of the Chief of Staff to Governor Sullivan Chime, Ifeoma Nwobodo by the people of Enugu East Senatorial District to represent them in Senate 2015. Mrs Nwobodo, a clear-headed and diligent woman has been adopted to represent the zone after her successful assignment with Governor Chime. Her adoption by virtually all the stakeholders in Nkanu land did not come to many as a surprise given the plethora of her achievements in both human empowerment and infrastructural developments in the senatorial district. One good thing that cannot be taken away from her is her strong grassroots political machinery across the state, especially in Nkanuland. Presently, there are many groups falling on top of one another to campaign for her in Enugu east zone, stressing that Enugu east senatorial zone is the heritage of Nkanu clan occupying the Wawa heartland.

    It is worthy to recall that apart from Senator Isaiah Ani from Isi-Uzo who represented the then Nsukka zone in the Second republic, the zone had from 1999 since the senatorial district was carved out in the present democratic dispensation, produced to the same Senate the likes of former Governor of old Anambra State Senator Jim Nwobodo and former President of the Senate Ken Nnamnai and presently Senator Gil Nnaji. It is also remarkable that since 1999, no Senator has represented the zone twice in quick successions and 2015 will not be different.

    The melodrama presently playing out in Nkanu land is the quest for political leadership of the zone, since the zone will not produce governorship of Enugu State in the next eight years. Who would become the rallying point of the zone in post 2015? There is no doubt that presently, Nwobodo fills the vacuum, since Dr. Nnamani had played himself out of reckoning and demonstrated lack of leadership during his inglorious time. Mrs. Nwobodo has singlehandedly dictated the pace of political development in the zone in the last four years which gives her the leverage of winning in the Enugu east senatorial election in 2015.

    Majority of people of the zone also attest to the her attraction of both human and infrastructural empowerment to the zone. These and some other factors gave rise to permutations that Mrs Nwobodo would have an upper hand against the incumbent Senator Gil Nnaji who is mostly criticized for being a bench warmer at the National Assembly since 2003 when he was first elected a House of Representative member. Nnaji is therefore expected to move on without much trouble having conceded the seat through an alleged agreement, but Nnaji is again accused of connivance with former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani and Senator Ike Ekweremadu to undo the authority of Governor Sullivan Chime. Ekweremadu and Nnaji may be hoping to capitalize on Nnamani’s so-called value even when they are aware that the man has lost touch with the people.

    It therefore follows that lawmakers who deliberately decided to become lawbreakers cannot be allowed more chances of impunity. Since the trio of Nnamani, Ekweremadu and Nnaji are ignorant of PDP constitution, they should be referred to Imo State to learn from the Achike Udenwa experience of how best to make triumphant entry back to a PDP. The PDP constitution is clear on how a former member can return to the party without necessarily breaking party offices like some have attempted to do.

    • Nnaji wrote from Agbani, Enugu State