The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • Zoning, Akwa Ibom and 2015

    The 2015 general election promises to be another defining moment for Nigeria as a country. The situation is no different in Akwa Ibom State where the search for the successor of Governor Godswill Akpabio has begun in earnest, even though the elections are still two years away.

    Already there has arisen a lot of argument in many quarters regarding where the next governor should hail from. Ethnic warlords and political jobbers believe the next occupant of the Hilltop Mansion, as the Akwa Ibom State government house is known, must come from the Eket Senatorial District. They argue that the district has never produced a governor in Akwa Ibom since the creation of the state about 25 years ago and that it is the turn of the district to produce the governor of the state in 2015. It is rather regrettable that our brand of politics is based more on ethnic and other primordial considerations rather than the capacity and the ability of the candidate to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people. To my mind, we seem to have lost it as a people.

    Akwa Ibom State was created on September 23, 1987 by the military administration of General Ibrahim Babangida, Nigeria’s former military president. The state was carved out of the old Cross River State with Uyo as its capital city. The then Col. Tunde Ogbeha was the first Military Administrator for the state.

    Just like every other state in today’s Nigeria, Akwa Ibom State has three Senatorial Districts namely the Uyo Senatorial District comprising the Ibibio speaking people, the Ikot Ekpene Senatorial district populated largely by the Annangs and the Ibibios and the Eket Senatorial District made up of the Oron, Eket and the Ibibio speaking people. Governor Godswill Obot Akpabio, the incumbent governor is an Annang man from the Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District while his predecessor, Obong Victor Attah is an Ibibio man from Uyo Senatorial District.

    For the avoidance of doubt, at no time has zoning ever been a factor in the governorship election of Akwa Ibom State. The eventual emergence of Obong Victor Attah and even his successor, the incumbent Akpabio as governors at different times were purely an electoral computation and not based on any zoning arrangement, as the race was thrown open to every senatorial district in the state. A closer look at the profile of the various contestants for the governorship seat at different phases of the gubernatorial election may suffice here. The facts are there for anyone to glean from.

    In 1991, during the subtle democratic experiment of former military president, General Babangida, culminating in the creation of two political parties, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Republican Convention (NRC), the ethnic origin of the aspirants in Akwa Ibom State was never an issue for debate. Prominent aspirants for the governorship race of that era included the late Obong Akpan Isemin from the Uyo Senatorial District under the platform of the National Republican Convention, Etukudo Ekporo, also from the Uyo Senatorial District, under the National Republican Convention political party, Mfon Amana from the Eket Senatorial District under NRC and Ekong Etuk of the SDP from Uyo Senatorial district. However, the political drama of the early 1990s ended with the dissolution of the two political parties of the Babangida era by the late General Sani Abacha.

    Similarly, at the commencement of political activities in 1999, notable gubernatorial aspirants emerged from every section of the state and included Obong Akpan Isemin under the All Peoples Party (APP), Obong Victor Attah, PDP, Uyo Senatorial District, Dr. Mfon Amana (APP) Eket and Benjamin Okoko (PDP) also from Eket Senatorial District.

    Then, again, in 2003, the profile of contestants was equally representative of the different senatorial districts in the state. Notable aspirants who indicated interest in the governorship position included Obong Victor Attah (Uyo ) under the PDP platform, Ambassador Etim Okpoyo and Dr. Udonsak both from the Eket Senatorial Zone, declared their intentions under the platform of the PDP and the ANPP, respectively. Dr. Ime Umanah from the Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District joined the race also under the ANPP platform.

    In the same vein, the number, calibre and representativeness of aspirants were to increase in 2007 when democracy appeared to have taken a firmer root in the country. Of the six prominent governorship aspirants, three under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were from the Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District, namely, Don Etiebet, Dr. Ime Umana and Godswill Akpabio. Uyo Senatorial District produced two aspirants, namely, Group Captain Sam Ewang of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and James Iniama of the Action Congress of Nigeria. Larry Esin was the lone contestant from the Eket Senatorial District. Akpabio won the election and is currently serving his second term in office.

    Furthermore, not even the power of incumbency could deter other aspirants from contesting the 2011 governorship election in the state. Three notable aspirants under the PDP vied for the governorship ticket. Of the three, Akpabio was the lone contestant from the Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District, Imoh Udo from Uyo Senatorial District and Frank Okon from the Eket Senatorial District. Senator Akpan Udoedehe from the Uyo Senatorial District contested under the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria while Group Captain Ewang, a former Military Administrator of Ogun State, also from Uyo, vied for the governorship position under the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). Esin from Eket Senatorial District contested under the banner of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

    My layman’s understanding of zoning presupposes that when a particular position is zoned to a certain senatorial district, only aspirants from that region are eligible to contest for that position. But that has never been the case in Akwa Ibom State.

    From the foregoing therefore, it is glaring that the governorship election has always been an open contest for all Akwa Ibomites irrespective of the ethnic origin or the senatorial districts they hail from. This therefore makes nonsense of the agitation for a zoning formula in the state even as the so-called zoning argument has only served to expose the insidious role of ethnicity and tribal sentiments inherent in the politics of the state. This type of thinking can only retard the development of a people.

    The present scenario where zoning appears to be a front burner issue equally throws up some pertinent and soul-searching questions: where is Akwa Ibom heading in 2015? What has suddenly gone wrong with our politics? Why should we be seen to be trivialising a serious issue of electing the chief executive of our dear state?

    It should be noted that our hope and progress as a people lies not in our ethnic origin or other divisive considerations, rather, we should be clamouring for those intrinsic values that tend to strengthen the bond of unity among us.

    This becomes more imperative in the 2015 governorship election when all people of Akwa Ibom should join forces together to elect a man of honour and integrity as governor. We need a governor that will make meaningful impact in the lives of the people. We should choose meritocracy over and above zonacracy. Akwa Ibom needs a youthful leader who is honest, sincere, pragmatic and reasonable in managing the vast resources of the state and not an ethnic bigot foisted on the state to execute the agenda of his godfathers.

     

    •Akpanobio writes from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State

     

  • My driver’s licence woes at Ogun Joint Tax Board

    Sir: I applied for the renewal of my National Driver’s Licence on Tuesday, June 4, at the Okemosan office of the Joint Tax Board, Abeokuta, Ogun State. Upon the payment of the required sum of N6350, I was instantly issued with a computer generated acknowledgement slip which stands as substitute for a receipt for the transaction. It’s however annoying as it is baffling that up till now I have not been able to have my image captured and without which it would be impossible to have the actual license.

    I must acknowledge though that earlier on, I had applied for the reissue of my car number plate which was promptly processed and got within 24 hours. But in the case of the driver’s license, it is a different ball game altogether.

    I have been visiting the board every week hoping that luck would smile on me one of these days. But at every turn, I have always met with a brick wall. What I later discovered is that I’m not alone in the lurch; there are hundreds, if not thousands of other applicants who have found themselves in this quagmire.

    From the discreet enquiry I made, I understand that there is just one camera in use and this device works erratically. It got to a point that it broke down completely and out of use for a period of time. As it is now, it would seem like the camera can no longer cope with the loads of work at it’s disposal and has again been working in fits and starts even after its repair.

    Some questions applicants have been asking and which are begging for answers are :Why is that only one camera is in use in spite of the huge revenue generated? Why will innocent people be subjected to untold abuse and hardship simply because one is acquiring a driver’s license? Is it a sin on the part of applicants to have complied with this obligation to own a license?

    My appeal therefore is that the authorities concerned both the state government and the Federal Road Safety Commission should do something urgently to reverse this ugly and avoidable situation.

     

    •Olu Ajayi,

    Abeokuta.

  • Abia’s regime of multiple taxes

    SIR: The President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan should hearken to this clarion call and come to the rescue of Abians, especially Aba residents from their quagmire. Since the beginning of the present civilian rule in 1999, Aba residents have been overburdened with catalogue of taxes and levies, probably with a view to restoring the city to its past glory but there is virtually no sign of improvement up to this moment. I remember vividly when Aba was the pride and envy of the neighbourhood states in the area of infrastructure, industrialization, landscaping, cooperation and what have you. During this period under review, even up to the regime of the old Imo State civilian governor, Dr Sam Onunaka Mbakwe, there was absolute sanity in the city as people were doing their businesses with confidence and aplomb without being molested by touts. In short Enyimba city was an epitome of comfortability.

    My heart bleeds whenever I visit some major roads in Aba that were sound in all ramification in the past but have degenerated to their present state now.

    Every year, Aba residents are laden with payments of multiplicity of taxes and levies like infrastructural levy, sanitation levy, property rate, Loading and unloading levy (this is for transporters and importers) and numerous others, not to talk of their ordeal with health Inspectors that compel them to pay for abatement fees that are not receipted. My utmost concern is that Aba residents need liberation from their present untold hardship. This plea is informed by the fact that in spite of these payments, their roads still remain deplorable, especially roads and streets in the suburbs. A visit to roads like Ohanku, Obohia, Cemetery, Omoba, Ngwa, Eziukwu, Hospital, jubilee, St Michaels will confirm this.

    The present governor, Dr T A Orji has been doing everything to arrest the situation in Aba but I feel he cannot go further with the dearth resources he receives from the federal allocation, and no revenue is being received from industries as they are no longer viable. More over, Aba is not the only town he is committed to.

    Against this backdrop, I plead with President Jonathan in the name of God to relieve Aba residents from the pangs of perennial taxes and levies.

     

    •Nkemakolam Gabriel,

    Port Harcourt.

  • Rivers’ House of commotion

    SIR: In Christian belief, resurrection is the event in which Jesus Christ came back to life after he had been killed. When an old story came to life, resurrection has taken place. However, in the political arena, and to be specific in Rivers State House of Assembly, the menace we thought had gone with the wind had found its ugly way back to our political terrain.

    Between 1999 and 2007, Nigeria’s democracy experienced series of political gangsterism. The case of Ngige in Anambara State was pathetic. When Governor Ngige fell into the black book of the then President Obasanjo, he was kidnapped, taken to the forest and forced to sign his resignation letter under duress. He was treated like a criminal! Joshua Dariye of Plateau State was impeached by eight House of Assembly members who could not form two-third majority in the House; in Ekiti State, Fayose escaped to a neighbouring country to avoid arrest; Ladoja of Oyo State followed the same path where his colleagues were buried. This was an occasion that preluded the six INEC Direct Data Capture machine being diverted to rig election for the ex governor of Oyo State, Otunba Alao Akala. An incident of order from above as usual was played in the scene. Shameful era indeed!

    This politics of do or die affair disappeared during the era of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Governors during his administration settled down with rest of minds without intimidation or harassment from “oga at top”.

    What has suddenly gone wrong with our mentality? Instead of consolidating on the nascent democracy and build solid foundation for the younger generation, we now scuttle it simply because somebody, somewhere want to achieve a personal ambition.

    The event that took place in the Rivers State House of Assembly few days ago can best be described as theatre of war. We may also call it a state of anarchy, where there are no rules to individuals conduct. Nigerians watch on live telecast Tuesday how members of the Rivers State House of Assembly demonstrated their real persons. It was like two rival cults members showing their stuff. Human Heads were smashed, blood stains every where. Are these ones honourable? Can any good law come out of these law breakers?

    What could have led to this national embarrassment? It is clear that President Goodluck Jonathan’s quest to remove Amaechi at all means from the governors forum resurfaced at the Rivers House. Hence the speaker has to go to pave way for the smooth impeachment of Governor Amaechi. Amaechi on the other hand is like the son and the father fighting. The son is winning while the father loosing out, but the father wouldn’t give up because he believes he is the father.

    There are more honourable ways of doing things. Why should our leaders operate with such impunity? Our image is at stake! Nigeria no longer set a good example to other African nations, but rather bad example. Let us learn from history to avoid this fire on the mountain.

     

    • Sunday Alifia,

    Ibadan.

  • Osoba: How to celebrate a beacon

    Mount Rushmore is the home of a frozen history of the United States of America. It parades giant busts of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, four men whose administrations straddled the first 150 years of US history.

    Nestling in Rapid City, South Dakota, Mount Rushmore is a testimony to achievement, history and statesmanship. It tells the story of the giant strides of US democracy trapped in the statues of the figures who drove noble and patriotic visions of nation building in difficult times.

    It is said to have attracted thousands of people from within and without the US with visitors describing Mount Rushmore as the Shrine of Democracy. The project was begun by Gutzon Borglum on August 10, 1927 and completed 14 years later in October 1941, at the cost of $900,000, a princely sum then. It is a stately structure carved out of a solid granite cliff reaching high to 5,725 feet that is visible miles away. Each head of the four presidents is 60 feet high, suggesting that during their tenures they posted larger-than-life performance!

    Those who troop to the site return remarking that they are challenged to offer selfless service to society so that history would also note their contribution and record it to inspire upcoming generations. The Rushmore Four have exerted such sweeping influence that it is claimed that in moments of national distress, US presidents often head there for inspiration.

    Now, if sculpted history of men of acclaim can move people to aspire to do better for mankind and society, it follows that more of such persons should both be celebrated and held up for mention in every generation. If Nigeria is today buffeted by failed values and falling (fallen?) standards guiding our national and private lives, does it indicate that we have no great masters to lead us or to teach us? Or is it a case of refusal to heed them?

    Either way, the point appears to be that a Mount Rushmore can be beneficial to aid the process of reshaping or reforming society, its people and the organs enabling their existence.

    Nigeria needs its own Mount Rushmore as much as my own professional constituency, journalism, does to galvanise us to higher levels of probity, accountability and selflessness in service to man and God. We have all missed the mark on this score. We need some pep talk from past and living history figures.

    Marking the birthday of Aremo Segun Osoba today has drawn me to this discussion on the need to identify heroes of the nation and of its institutions. Today we mourn the absence (or is it loss?) of men and women who constitute examples of the staying power of principle, of those who in the face of personal peril, can stand up for what is right.

    I declare with solemnity that Osoba is one such person. He has evinced this both in his days as a practising journalist and as a politician. Let me cite a couple of events that support this position. In 1984, when we all stood in awe of Decree Four that sent Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor to jail, Osoba was the Managing Director of Daily Times, owned by the military government under Muhammadu Buhari. Osoba took a mortal risk to enter the dock as a defence witness during the trial of the two journalists who were said to have breached the decree. Of course he was aware of what could befall him: dismissal and possible arrest by the ruthless military rulers. But he put principled professionalism first before personal considerations, even if it hurt! In the event, no harm came his way.

    Another occasion was when he was in charge at The Sketch in Ibadan. After the 1983 ballot, the government owned paper fell into the hands of the NPN administration of Governor Omololu Olunloyo. There was a tight-rope walk here: the two other owner-states Ogun and Ondo were UPN-controlled. Again Osoba sought refuge in the unfailing time-honored rock: the principle of balance. He broke the paper into parts, giving to NPN its due (propaganda) and to UPN its share of stories. He didn’t accede to NPN’s demands for exclusive coverage of party stories. Nor did he blackout UPN.

    He says of this leveler policy: “We became very innovative in the designing of the pages and in balancing the stories that came our way. That is the only way you could be sure of survival. You must be professional, innovative and think ahead. It was not necessarily under the military alone. Even civilian governments are intolerant of criticisms. One must also be objective. When we carried stories that were offensive to the government, we balanced it with their reaction.”

    Respecting the ethic principle was constantly at work even when Osoba was Ogun State Governor on sabbatical from journalism during his second coming.

    Between 1999 and 2001, he championed a non-party-based campaign over the payment of Excess Crude Oil revenue due to the states. A hefty N198b windfall had accrued following the sharp rise in petroleum products in the world market from the second quarter of 1999. The price exceeded the $18 per barrel projected in the budget. Then the Federal Government, acting on the advice of the Central Bank of Nigeria, ‘sat’ on the money and refused to share it out to the states as was the practice. The state governments kicked against this sudden change in the rules of the game and threatened that unless their share was paid, they would as well reject their monthly allocations and trigger unprecedented social, political and economic paralysis nationwide.

    Osoba, an Alliance for Democracy governor, waded in on the side of the PDP governors notably those in the Niger Delta who were vociferous in the agitation for the release of the excess funds. While his party was berating the ruling PDP for alleged maladministration, Osoba refused to join the blame game. He was reported to have finally broken the logjam by marshalling a strategy of lobby that required deft negotiations rather than open confrontation or politicking.

    I do believe that these are enduring virtues and values the nation needs to see reflect in its citizens for the regeneration of society. We want to see them in politics, in our homes, in schools, in interpersonal relationships, in workplaces and in a word, in our spirit, soul and body.

    If journalists do finally have their own Mount Rushmore (which we need) Segun Osoba should have his effigy there. Yet he told a reporter that the honour is due rather to others. He said: “I am not the best reporter. There are greater journalists alive. Sam Amuka is a man who has founded two major national newspapers and both are still alive today- The Punch and The Vanguard. Alhaji Lateef Jakande is the oldest living journalist for now. Alhaji Alade Odunewu is over 80. At the age of 77, Sam Amuka is still practising. He is the oldest practising journalist in Nigeria. There are greater journalists than I who still need to be celebrated… That would spur me to insist on us celebrating greater journalists who are still alive and greater than I.”

    What modesty! What self-effacement!

    Happy Birthday Aremo Segun Osoba!

    • Ojewale writes from Ota, Ogun State.

  • The shame of a party

    The Peoples Democratic Party has become a huge joke. The self-styled “largest party in Africa” moves from one crisis to another these days with most largely self-induced. The party under the leadership of Bamanga Tukur seems bent on burning the house she inhabits even when no provision has been made for a new abode.

    The latest in a series of laughable actions of the party is the suspension of Otunba Gbenga Daniel on June 27. Unlike the suspension of former governor Rasheed Ladoja of Oyo State and Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, Daniel’s own was done by his ward executives in Sagamu local government of Ogun State. At a press conference addressed by the chairman of the party in Ogun East senatorial district, Doyin Fakoya, Daniel was suspended for allegedly romancing with the Labour Party in the state.

    Twelve other members of the party in the same area were suspended along with the former governor to restore “discipline” to the party. Asides from standing logic on its head in hastily concluding that Daniel and the other 12 were responsible for indiscipline in the party, the so-called suspension cannot be divorced from the series of crises that have bedevilled the party across the country. We should not forget also that there are cases in court by aggrieved members of the party in the south west zone over the way and manner the former national executive committee ran the party.

    Before Fakoya and his gang turn discipline into a condiment or spice that must be added to PDP to make it a sweet-smelling soup in Nigeria, we need to take a proper look at Daniel’s antecedents as a politician and how it is debatable if anybody has worked tirelessly in raising the party’s profile in the south west. Many seem to have forgotten that this same man that has now become persona non grata headed the Jonathan/Sambo campaign in the geopolitical zone where, apart from Osun State, President Goodluck Jonathan won handsomely even when PDP lost governorship elections in some of the states. For a party which is gradually coming out of the darkness, it is incomprehensible that one of its leading lights even when it does not seem fashionable to identify with it in the zone is being hounded out of the party.

    Suddenly, he must be hounded out of a party that he is the oxygen that the asphyxiating party needs badly. His other reward is the prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), thereby wasting money and resources in establishing a fraud case against him for nearly three years now. The state chapters of PDP across the south west are embroiled in needless fights and acrimony that the national body is powerless to stop and those who can help settle some of these disputes like Daniel must be kicked out. Is it possible that there are fifth columnists that are programming the party to self-destruct?

    Ironically, other leading and high ranking PDP members that are fraternising openly with opposition parties, taking chieftaincy titles and honorary degrees from state universities, shunning state functions, and criticising the party openly at every available opportunity are waltzing around, daring the party hierarchy to do their worst. They remain brides that must be courted and kids that must be pacified with candies so as to stop crying.

    It is, however, not too late for PDP to redeem herself. Just as Gov. Aliyu Wamakko’s suspension was rescinded after the party saw the futility in embarking on such a course of action, so also must Daniel be recalled and allowed to take PDP in the south west to the Promised Land.

    By Niyi Ajibade

    Lagos.

  • If I were President for 48 hours

    IF I were to be president for 48 hours, my first pre-occupation would be to inaugurate a strong committee on security issues. Security is a crucial problem we face in this country, with crimes like killings, kidnapping, and terrorism which is becoming rampant.

    Second, the issue of bribery and corruption which has become frequent; I will set up a panel of honest individuals from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arrest and prosecute corrupt officers and individuals.

    Third, I will embark on a nationwide road repair project to save our roads from further degradation. Federal Trunk A roads like Lagos – Ibadan express road which is in a dilapidated state will be resurfaced with durable materials. I will also institute a panel to ensure regular maintenance of these roads to facilitate easy movement of people and goods and also reduce cases of accidents.

    I will also inaugurate a panel of economists to proffer solutions to the country’s economic problems and make the economy buoyant as this will increase the standard of living, reduce unemployment, and reduce poverty.

    Lastly, I will set up an Agricultural Board to boost the agricultural sector with the aim of making more food available at cheap prices to the average masses and also boost our foreign income.

    From Hannah Okebiorunkosi

    (12 years old, JSS 3)

    Student, St. Pesak Group of Schools

    Odoguyan, Ikorodu,

    Lagos State

  • Ogun West: Before another misadventure

    SIR: Like a recurring decimal, the clamour is again loud and high-sounding that Yewa-Awori must produce the next governor of Ogun State. The agitation is not new in the state. It has been on since the Second Republic, but it gained prominence during the aborted Third Republic. During the days of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), fierce arguments were canvassed on why a politician from the Yewa-Awori axis of the state should be allowed to lead the state. Happily, it found a listening ear. The late Professor Afolabi Olabimtan was in pole position to clinch the ticket.

    Suddenly, as if possessed, an array of politicians from the axis rushed to grab the same ticket.  All efforts to placate them to drop the ambitions failed. SDP leaders then decided to conduct a primary to choose its flag-bearer among the 11 politicians jostling for the ticket.

    Among the ticket-chasing pack was a certain politician from Ogun Central by name Olusegun Osoba. The insistence of Osoba in that race altered the political calculation. Alarmed by the danger, elders from Ogun West made spirited effort to appeal to the aspirants from the zone to allow just one or two aspirants from the area contest the primaries. They laboured in vain. Like a raging bull, 10 Yewa-Awori aspirants charged into the battle and were worsted by Osoba for the SDP ticket.

    At the dawn of civil rule in 1999, the scar of the SDP defeat was still fresh in the minds of Yewa politicians to contest for the ticket and since the choice of who becomes the Ogun state governor was made by Afenifere leaders, Osoba  had little opposition.

    By 2003, the agitation had become deafening. Otunba Gbenga Daniel from Ogun East effortlessly secured the PDP ticket. Daniel eventually won.

    During his second term, Daniel made a heavy weather of his desire to hand over to a Yewa-Awori man. However, the sincerity behind the assertion soon became questionable when five of his close aides jumped into the race for the sole PDP ticket. The contest became rowdy.

    Daniel’s PPN picked Gboyega Nasir Isiaka from Imeko while PDP settled for General Adetunji Olurin from Ilaro. But like what happened in the SDP days, another Egbaman, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, picked the ACN ticket. He dusted the two Yewa contestants in the race.

    Ahead 2015 gubernatorial election, the agitation is again reaching a crescendo. Politicians and interest groups are again asking that Ogun West be allowed to produce the next governor of Ogun State. They are arguing that Senator Amosun should spend just four years and quit.

    Having failed to win the coveted seat in 2011, the noble way forward for Yewa-Awori is to plan for 2019. With the political realities on the ground and the approval rating of Senator Amosun, if agitators go into the 2015 political battle, they will be worsted again and it will be the fourth time that will happen. They would suddenly wear the toga of ‘serial losers’ or ‘perpetual agitators’.

    • Tolulope Obalanlege

    Ota,Ogun State.

  • Who pays Rivers’ retirees terminal benefits?

    SIR: Sequel to the failure of previous efforts to achieve any positive result, it has become compelling to use this platform to bring to public attention the untold hardship Rivers State Civil Service retirees of July 1, 2007 to January 1, 2011 are going through concerning the non-payment of already worked out federal share of their terminal benefits (gratuity and monthly pension) for over six(6) years now without any known justification.

    Based on the extant procedure, any service by any person in any state Civil Service up to March 31, 1976, is the responsibility of the Federal Government in terms of payment of terminal benefits upon retirement.

    Suffice to say that the retirees, who had completed 35 years of meritorious service, never expected that a proportion of their terminal benefit will get embroiled in uncertainty at the end of their service period.

    The federal share of terminal benefits have become problematic in the aftermath of the enactment of the Pensions Reform Act of 2004, and the subsequent coming into force of the contributory pension scheme from July 1, 2007. The Act removed anybody with less than three (3) years of service from participation in the contributory pensions scheme who will continue to draw pensions under the old arrangement. Despite circulars Nos. HCSF/C503/11/96 of 28th June, 2004 and TRY/N/10XB.10/2004; OAG7/TS/026/VOL.IV/284 of 28th September, 2004 on the “Implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme in the Federal Public Service”, which were never addressed to any state government, the contributory Pension Scheme was not in place when the retirees of July 1, 2007 to January 1, 2011 left the Rivers States Civil Service on retirement. In fact, the scheme was only introduced in 2012. Besides, the exemption provision of the Act, to all intents and purposes, covered all the affected retirees.

    Everything considered, we believe that the Rivers State Government has the responsibility to pay the outstanding Federal Share of the terminal benefits of retirees.

    Letters of 15th June, 2011 and 13th August, 2012 addressed to His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State, the Hon. Commissioner of Finance, The Head of Service of Rivers State, and the Rivers State Accountant-General by this author were neither acknowledged nor any reply given till date.

    Meanwhile, some retirees have died without enjoying their benefits. In addition, the retiree’s benefits, initially computed up to October, 2011 or thereabout when it was rumoured that a team from Federal Establishments Abuja, was coming to Port Harcourt, to screen the retirees, have since shot up. The team has not showed up till date.

    The nagging question is, who will pay the Federal Share of the terminal benefits of Rivers State Civil Service retirees of July 1, 2007 to January 1, 2011?

    We hereby make this Save Our Souls (SOS) to all those concerned to initiate action and take urgent steps to pay the retirees who have been suffering from short payment of their monthly pension. As the saying goes, a stitch in time saves nine. The living should enjoy the fruit of their labour.

    • Elder Daso Josiah Koko (JP)

    Port Harcourt.

  • APC’s wind of change

    SIR: The birth of All Progressives congress (APC), is a clear signal that Nigeria is about to walk on the right part of a true democratic state. Now that we have an alternative political party to provide succor even if only for the flavor of change, I expect Nigerians to whole heartedly embrace this party as a beacon of hope for a new Nigeria as this is our dignified specific.

    All over the world, countries that practice true democracy are where democracy is rotated by elections among major political parties. This gives flavour to policies of divergent views which brings about possible ways to move nations forward. Accepting otherwise means we are not ready to move on with the rest of the world. When a political party rules for almost two decades without meaningful development, and the opposition is not strong enough to unseat that incumbent even when crisis persists like what we have seen with the PDP, the people are simply in chains.

    So, if men with a history of progressive abilities from their different political platform as we have seen comes together to create an opportunity for freedom for all, we can only make the most desired change possible by queuing behind them. Any alliance to wrestle power and redefine hope for a Nigeria of our dream should be welcomed. Change is a consistent solution that always comes. Looking at the space and time, the APC seems to be the unstoppable bulldozer for this change today and if APC can put one of Nigeria’s important political defects in check, the imposition of candidates which is an all important issue beside this great birth, a new dawn will truly be born!

    This PDP led administration has succeeded itself at the centre for 14 years of our democracy. What we see at every new dispensation is claims of obliviousness of bad policies of the outgone by same recycled politicians from same political party. I’m not being contemptuous here: First dispensation, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was Deputy Governor. Second dispensation he was governor; third dispensation he was vice president/president and now in this current dispensation he is president. Same people with glaring inability to govern have held on to power since 1999. In reality, our economy is in shambles because with ideas so synonymous, nothing can be an additional value.

    The world has passed the stage where governments like that of the PDP with lots of lapses and failed policies year after year can be allowed to remain in power.

    • Iluogwikphe R. Ogbhemhe,

    Port Harcourt.