The Nation Newspaper

Category: Politics

  • Towards a new Nigeria

    The 2015 elections are almost here with us. And, the President is demonstrating daily how awesome his powers are under the 1999 constitution. As Commander-in-Chief, he could literally exclude some areas, states from the polls. He could even precipitate crisis nationwide and find excuse to postpone the elections citing relevant sections of the constitution.

    This would be easier done in a pseudo one-party state. But, at a time that another party has arrived to challenge the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), attempting to use such powers could actually turn out an ill-wind that would do no one any good.

    The article being reproduced below was first published in 2003, at the height of the Obasanjo autocracy. It is as relevant today as it was then. It only remains for me to warn that plans to use the military and Police to manipulate polls and hand over the mandate to a man rejected by the people would have dire consequences.

    ONE question that must of necessity agitate the mind of anyone sufficiently knowledgeable about the working of democracy is whether there is a Nigerian brand of democracy. Democracy has been defined in many ways but what is important to notee is that there are some universal principles that define the system. One, there are periodic elections. Two, there is a grundnorm binding on all operators within the system. Three, there is a due process (call it the Rule of Law) that must be followed to the letter. Four, and perhaps the most important of all, the will of the people must prevail at all times.

    In this country, all the rules have been breached. It has been demonstrated over and over again that the will of the people amount to nothing in the court of politicians. The most ingenious among them are busy at all times devising means of thwarting the will of the people. When elections are held, meetings are held late into the night right from the compilation of the voters register with a view to discarding with the masses’ choice.

    Just a few weeks after the hotly disputed elections held in April, the government has started unfolding its own interpretation of the mandate purportedly received at the polls. Last week, it unveiled a new regime of petroleum products prices. In a sense, it is a way of showing that the people might have endorsed the plan to hike prices of such basic commodities. No one bothered explaining how the extra money to be “saved” from the exercise would be spent.

    The 1999 Constitution makes the Nigerian President the most powerful in the world. He is really not accountable to anyone. He is, indeed, like the emperors of yore. He is the Chief Legislator, the most powerful judicial officer and, of course, the Chief Executive. Did you say how? Under the Constitution, the President proclaims, inaugurates and dissolves the National Assembly and most Bills are initiated by him. As we have seen over and over again since 1999, the President also, in unofficial capacity, appoints principal officers of the National Assembly and they enjoy office at his pleasure. With regard to the Judiciary, he appoints the Chief Justice of Nigeria. And, another appointee of his, this time, one responsible to him and him alone, the Attorney General, plays a crucial role in the National Judicial Council which administers the judiciary.

    By virtue of Section 315 of the Constitution, the President could make and unmake laws. This power was first demonstrated over the fate of the Petroleum Trust Fund inherited from the military. The President simply scrapped the body without recourse to the legislature. When the legislators asked questions about the source of his power to abolish a statutory body without a repeal of the relevant law, he brandished Section 315. Looks more like 419.

    Again, only last week, the President in what appears a flagrant disregard of the Constitution, decided to set aside the law by seeking to abrogate the Local Government Councils by fiat. To the best of this writer’s knowledge, Section 7 of the Constitution has not been abrogated. But the President has exercised his power to make and unmake. Makes him look more like the French King Louis XIV of the 17th Century.

    As time rolls by, with a former military leader as president, more of such powers would be exercised to the discomfiture of the electorate. In Nigeria, the electorate is certainly not the king.

  • Edo APC ward congresses raise fresh posers ahead 2015

    Edo APC ward congresses raise fresh posers ahead 2015

    The ward congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State have raised several salient issues ahead 2015 elections in the state, reports Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

    The ward congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that held on April 8, 2014, may have come and gone but the dust the exercise raised may take a while to settle.

    Aspirants to political offices sought to enhance their electoral chances by taking control of the party machinery or structure as it is generally believed that whoever is able to install his or her loyalists as ward executive committee members would be favoured to win party nomination in his constituency primary elections. Therefore, some ambitious persons and their supporters put everything in them to ensure victory.

    In Edo North Senatorial District, for instance, the battle of their lives was fought between current Senator, Domingo Alaba Obende; the Secretary to the Edo State Government, Professor Julius Ihonvbere; House of Representatives member, representing Etsako Federal Constituency, Engineer Abubakar Momoh and a retired military officer, Major Francis Alimhikhena.

    An analysis of the outcome of the congresses reveals an interesting scenario which political watchers say is a precursor to the things to come, particularly in any exercise to choose a senatorial candidate for the party. It was a test of popularity for the aspirants in the six local government areas which make up the senatorial district, namely Akoko- Edo; Etsako Central, Etsako East; Etsako West; Owan East and Owan West, with each aspirant struggling hard to take charge of his area.

    In Akoko-Edo Local Government Area, Senator Obende’s home turf, the congresses took place under an emotive atmosphere not devoid of thuggery and violence. According to informed sources, Senator Obende was away from the local government when the congresses took place. It is not clear if this was the reason his preferred chairmanship candidates did not win in the two wards in Igarra, his home town. A fence-mending meeting with political appointees from the area was said to have been called by the Senator three days after the congresses but was roundly boycotted since the governor was said to have warned against such meetings with aspirants.

    The meeting was said to have coincided with that of the Elders Council called by Chief Mike Oloyo, a situation interpreted by pundits as a calculated attempt to drive a wedge between the elders of the party in the area. The senator was also said to have met with the state chief executive, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, for several hours on Monday over the outcome of the ward congresses not only in his local government area but in all the local government areas of the senatorial district. This is seen as a last ditch effort at putting his ambition back on track.

    The two Owan Local Government Areas, East and West, are, no doubt, Professor Julius Ihonvbere’s strongholds with the very active support of Hon. Pally Iriase of the House of Representatives in Owan East. Political watchers say the 10 ward chairmen elected at the congresses would readily give their support to any aspirant anointed by him.

    Ihonvbere seems to have problems with fellow political office holders in Owan West, his base, with the House of Assembly member, honourable commissioner, Council chairman and an Abuja-based businessman each holding on to their wards on behalf of other aspirants. But the congress results from the other seven wards are said to favour Ihonvbere. Some disputed results were said to have been the subject of a long meeting in Government House on Monday with the local government area party leader, Shagari Oni, said to be insistent on subordinating the political office holders to his authority.

    The three Etsako Local Government Areas have two senatorial aspirants with both coming from Etsako East. They are Engr. Abubakar Momoh and retired Major Francis Alimhikhena. Each of them was able to gain control of only his ward with about 80 percent of the local government area under the control of political forces alleged to be opposed to the elevation of Momoh from the House of Representatives to the Senate in 2015. With the congress results, the entire scenario may have changed.

    Also, two distinct groups within the APC sought to outdo each other during the congresses in Etsako Central and Etsako West. In Central, the council chairman, House of Assembly member and an ex-council chairman, Chief Joseph Akhigbe Alemoh, squared up against veteran political tacticians, Alhaji M.Z. Naboya, Chief Brai Aloye and Alhaji Waziri Oshomah along with majority of political appointees. The conduct of the congresses was characterised with long delays and arguments, particularly in wards 1 and 2 but a consensus arrangement gave victory to the majority group headed by Chief Naboya with the 10 wards now conveniently dubbed ‘pro-Julius Ihonvbere’.

    In Etsako West, Oshiomhole was said to have preached consensus to avoid acrimonious ward congress elections. It worked. Positions were said to have been shared to the various villages/quarters which make up the wards and party members selected/nominated by ward leaders to fill such positions. This ensured rancour-free ward congresses with all the 12 wards under the firm control of the comrade governor.

    During the local government congress, scores of persons scampered for safety in Edo North Senatorial District when thugs stormed the venue of the congress in Akoko Edo and Owan West respectively, and thereby left several persons sustaining varying degrees of injuries.

    Specifically, in Owan West Local Government Area, the election was inconclusive due to the unruly behavour of the suspected thugs who were reported to have expressed displeasure over the list of the ward congress which they claimed was not favorable to them.

    The exercise was, however, postponed to a later date. “The elders and leaders of the party have reported the issue to the Divisional Police Officer in the area and the governor subsequently. We will not condone such unruly behavour from such top government functionaries,” Chief Isaiah Atafoh said.

    In Akoko Edo, loyalists of one of the top stakeholders were reported to have caused bodily injury on their unsuspecting victims, thereby disrupting the exercise. No less than six persons were reportedly injured after the melée.

    According to an eye witness account, Mr. Alaja Amune, loyalists of one of the top politicians from ward one and two in Igarra, administrative headquarters of Akoko Edo Local Government Area pounced on the other group when they were dissatisfied with the process and sensing defeat, they scattered the exercise and several people sustained injuries.

    According to a council official, Mr. Oladele Ebeneza, policemen stationed at the venue of the exercise were over-powered and over-whelmed but soldiers were drafted to the scene much later to save the day.

    It was gathered that the politician and his loyalists were dissatisfied with the position of the governor who told the leaders of Ward 2 to harmonise their lists for the exercise. The governor was reported to have addressed them on Monday in Government House on the need for an all-inclusive exercise but the top politician was said to have jettisoned the instruction of the governor, the Barrister Samuel Obaro group alleged.

    In a statement titled “Pitfalls Oshiomhole, Edo North APC leaders must avoid,” Mr. Oloyede Jamgbadi traced the political history this way, “Our beloved governor of Edo State and our son, Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, is a kind-hearted personality to a fault. He abhors discrimination and wants to satisfy everybody at the same time but not without making enmity along the line.”

    Recently, an associate of the top stakeholders was widely reported to have said, “We are not spectators in the party. We are not here to clap our hands for the Etsakos. Etsakos have had it twice and Owan once. Now that it is Akoko Edo’s turn, they think they can arm twist us to it. They should wait for their turn.

    “There must be fair play in this game. There must be justice and equity in the distribution of elective offices. The sitting governor is from Etsako, the majority leader of the House of Assembly is also from Etsako, the Chief of Staff to the President is from Etsako, the PDP State chairman is from Etsako.

    “I understand that an Etsako man is also interested in the deputy governorship ticket after the expiration of the tenure of the governor. The question one would ask them is, how justifiable does it sound for an Etsako man to be the senator and also clinch the governorship running mate ticket just after the governor’s two-term tenure?”

    As the party prepare for future elections, the issues raised as a result of the intrigues during the Ward congress will remain guides to the ruling APC in Edo State.

  • Ondo Labour Party chieftains battle Mimiko

    Recent developments within the Labour Party in Ondo State, which is the party’s national stronghold, show growing discontent among party leaders and members against Governor Olusegun Mimiko, Associate Editor, Dare Odufowokan, reports

    After years of what appeared to be the ability of Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State to hold the ruling Labour Party in Ondo State together, there are strong indications that the party is beginning to experience its share of internal crisis. Recent developments within the party in the state, which is the LP’s national stronghold, show that growing discontent among party leaders and members against Mimiko may be taking negative tolls on the popularity of the ruling party across the state.

    A flash of skirmish between the governor and top chieftains of his party, just before the last House of Representatives bye-election in Ilaje-Ese Odo Local Government Area of the state, left members of the party wondering if all is well within the party. Prominent party leaders, mainly from the southern senatorial district of the state, had cried out over what they described as the criminal neglect of their part of the state by the Mimiko administration.

    The public complaints of the LP leaders back then had been frowned at by the governor’s men who saw it as anti-party acts especially at a time when the party was going into an electoral contest in the same area of the state. But the leaders stood their ground, insisting that they have very little to campaign with among their people.

    “We are not against Governor Mimiko. We are not against our party, the Labour Party. What we are against is the criminal neglect of our parts of the state by the same government and party we led our people into years back. We are saying, for LP to continue to win election in Ondo South, there is need for the government and the party to compensate the people for the support it had enjoyed from our people in the past.

    As we speak, we have nothing to campaign with among our people. What are we to tell them? They want to know why they should continue to vote Labour Party? We really don’t have much to tell them. Apart from the market in Igbokoda, the OSOPADEC House at Igbokoda and the mega school at Igbokoda, we cannot point to any other project anywhere else in our vicinity after years of supporting this party,” Ondo South Eminent Leaders’ Group (OSELG), led by Chief Jerome Shemudara, had said then.

    But rather than listen to the complaints of the leaders, the party leadership had summoned and lambasted them, accusing them of working for opposition parties ahead of the bye-election.

    “The party leadership accused the leaders of plotting against the victory of the LP in the scheduled bye election. While the leaders insisted they have genuine reasons to complain, the party told them their approach was wrong and as such, their action is suspicious. The development degenerated into exchange of strong words between the two camps and not much was done to address the issues raised by the leaders,” our source said.

    That was the situation as at the time the bye-election in Ilaje-Ese Odo was held a couple of weeks back. As predicted by the elders, the LP was unable to record victory as the election was declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    That was when the simmering crisis blew open as a prominent leader of the ruling party in the state, Barrister Benson Enikuomehin, described the five years of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko in charge of the state’s affair as a huge failure given the total absence of meaningful development in most parts of the southern senatorial district of the state.

    Blaming the government for the inability of the party to win the House of Representatives bye-election in Ilaje-Ese Odo, Enikuomehin said all is not well within the ruling party because it is being administered as a one-man empire.

    Enikuomehin, a legal practitioner and immediate past commissioner of the state on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), said the inability of the ruling party to register an outright victory during last weekend’s bye-election in Ilaje-Ese Odo was because the people of the area are dissatisfied with the current administration over the many unfulfilled promises made to them in the past.

    The LP chieftain said “in spite of the about N800million that should accrue to the council monthly as an oil producing area, there is nothing to show to the people as the dividends of the same democracy they have diligently supported with their votes and efforts in the last five years.

    “Billions of naira come to the state as derivation on a monthly basis. 40 percent of this should come to Ilaje Ese Odo as an oil producing area in the state. If you calculate that in five years, that is a lot of money. The question the people are asking is where is this money? They are asking because there is nothing on ground in terms of development to show that huge amount was spent anywhere near our locality.

    “It is this situation that the people revolted against on Saturday by not voting for our party the way they used to do. I am a member of the Labour Party. We have complained severally but nothing came out of our complaints. We urged the governor to do something about the neglect of the area. He didn’t do anything. He only came around on Thursday to flag off the campaign for the election. Just two days before the election. That was why we lost in my ward.

    “Government must put in effort to persuade the people of our area. The hen that lays the golden egg shouldn’t be abandoned this way. The inability of the party to win is the reaction of the people to the inaction of this administration in the area. I am not saying the governor, but the government. This government has failed the people of Ilaje Ese Odo.

    “I pray we win the re-run election but if the people of the area decide otherwise, we should see it as a lesson for us as a party. W should simply accept it as a message from the people that they are unhappy with our government and our party. That will help us to correct our mistakes. Our chances in this election is similar to that of a dying man on life support with the gas running out,” he said.

    Enikuomehin said in spite of the fact that the governor practically relocated to the area to canvass for votes, his party could only manage a 1,000-vote lead margin closely followed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). According to him, this is a sign that the party is no longer popular amongst the people of the area.

    “I will tell you this, from what I know of politics, it is largely about development of the people and about things accruing to the personalities involved. No single footbridge has been constructed in my place in five years by this administration. I know some people will say this is anti party, but I don’t care. They may say I am working for the PDP. But I ask, what will the PDP give me? Money or what? Without being arrogant, I am a modestly successful person.

    “I know what I am saying. I cannot help saying these because I am used to saying the truth. The LP in Ondo State today is a government of one man for one man by one man. This is the truth. As I speak, the secretariat of our party in Akure is under lock and key. Who do we complain to, “ he lamented.

    Sources within the party told The Nation that the leadership of the LP may be considering sanctioning the former NDDC top shot for his comments. “He should know better than to criticise the party and government that much if he is still interested in the membership of the party,” another party chieftain said.

    But Enikuomehin said he is not disturbed by the rumoured attempt to discipline him. “If the LP is angry over what I have said here, they have just two options. They can summarily throw me out of the party or summon me and question me. But if they don’t do any of these two, I remain a member of the Labour Party in Ondo State. If they throw me out,  I have options too. We have the APC there and we have the PDP. Any other party that I feel will advance the cause of my people is a choice; I will gladly follow,” he added.

    This is not the first time the unity of the ruling party would be threatened by rift between the governor and other party leaders. In November 2012, tension rose between the leadership of Ondo State House of Assembly and the executive over the sack of nine local government caretaker chairmen in the state. The council chairmen were removed from office for their refusal to submit staff audit in their councils, and other related offences.

    But Mimiko, apparently unhappy with the state legislators’ decision, condemned the action of the State Assembly for sacking the former council bosses. At a meeting summoned by an aide of the governor, the new caretaker chairmen were allegedly ordered not to resume office until Mimiko returns from his overseas trip.

    The Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Information, Oyebo Aladetan, said the House took the decision in accordance with the nation’s constitution. He said the decision to sanction the council bosses was taken to put them on their toes and make them accountable to the people. However, one of the sacked Chairmen, Femi Ofakurin, said the decision of the House was not taken in good fate.

    The crisis was eventually resolved following interventions by party chieftains and elder statesmen, including the national leadership of the party.

    But by December 2013, 17 out of the 26 lawmakers elected into the Ondo State House of Assembly, shunned Mimiko’s 2014 budget presentation, sending signal of another breakdown in the relationship between the governor and the lawmakers. Only nine lawmakers were present at the Assembly. It was gathered that majority of the lawmakers who shunned the presentation did so out of grudge, particularly over what they described as poor implementation of the 2013 budget.

    The minority leader, Akpoebi Lubi, did not hide his feelings over the crisis. He rated the 2013 budget implementation in the state as 30 percent. He added that the House rejected the governor’s request for a review of the 2013 budget in December.

    Lubi said, “The budget presentation ceremony was illegal,” submitting that the governor needed a two-third majority of the members of the House to present the budget.

    The state Commissioner for Information, Kayode Akinmade, while reacting to the charge, said the budget represented the hope for the development of Ondo State and its people. He argued that the people could not be kept waiting and their yearnings threatened by any form of politics. According to him, there was no need to overheat the polity, because the governor was in a hurry to deliver projects that would transform the lives of the people.

    Akinmade explained that the seeming conflict would certainly be resolved, but the state would need stability for robust politics. Somehow, the issue was resolved and the party returned to its peaceful ways until the recent standoff between the governor and party chieftains reared its head, threatening to tear the ruling party apart.

  • Tambuwal’s survival streak and 2015 calculations

    Tambuwal’s survival streak and 2015 calculations

    Following the failure of last week’s impeachment plot against the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, he and his supporters may have altered PDP and Presidency’s 2015 permutations, reports  Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu

    It was another charged session at a closed-door meeting of members of the House of Representatives, in Abuja, last week’s Wednesday, when what began as a routine enquiry almost crystallized into an impeachment battle against Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

    In that hot encounter, some members of the House, who were reportedly in the minority, had asked the Speaker to give account of expenditure in the House. Apart from that, they demanded an increase in their quarterly allowances and running costs, warning that fulfillment of these demands would serve as preconditions for passing of the 2014 Budget.

    The matter however got to a tricky point when the aggrieved members created scenes and supporters of the Speaker put up stiff resistance to save the Speaker.

    The Nation gathered that since then, both Tambuwal and his opponents within and outside the House have redrawn their survival strategies. It was learnt that the sponsors of the latest impeachment attempt are directly connected to some powerful elements within the leadership of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Presidency who are not happy that the Speaker maintained his refusal to declare the seats of decamped former PDP members vacant.

    “So, although it was introduced mildly, what happened last week was a well backed plot to unseat Tambuwal. It is obvious to some leaders of PDP that the Speaker is playing a complex game. As we prepare for 2015 elections, a leader like Tambuwal cannot afford to dine and wine with political opponents and expect the rest of us to trust he would protect the interest of the party when the chips are down,” said a member of the National Working Committee of PDP, who pleaded not to be named.

    Our source said PDP, as the majority party must produce the Speaker of the House “and so, Tambuwal should realise the high office he is occupying on the ticket of PDP and act in ways that will boost the confidence of both the leadership and other members of the party. That is all we are saying. We are practicing partisan democracy. It is not realistic for any elected official, no matter how highly placed, to pretend that he or she got to the seat without a platform. What is happening at the House under Tambowal seem to give that impression and many of us think we cannot allow it to continue, not now that we are preparing for a crucial general election. From now on, the game must be plain. It is either you are for us or you are not. We cannot continue this double game.”

    On their part, Tambuwal’s supporters had, during the week, insisted that allegations against the Speaker were baseless. Tambuwal, they argued, had told his persecutors that he could not exceed the N150billion appropriation limit for the House just to satisfy their request for increased allowances, even as he reminded them how former Speaker Dimeji Bankole was sacrificed for succumbing to that same trap, taking N10billion bank loan in order to pay increased allowances.

    So the Easter break notwithstanding, it seems the struggle for Tambuwal’s seat is not yet over. An associate of the Speaker said his loyalists have sworn to be “awake” and ensure they are not taken for a ride. “During this Easter break, we will meet and review the situation because we do not want to be taken unaware. “Considering what is at stake and the kind of people we are dealing with, it would not be wise to think they have accepted defeat. No, we are aware they may try again, but we are waiting for them.

    The source, a top lawmaker, said top officials, including state governors, have been assigned the task of unseating Tambuwal “if he continues to hobnob with the opposition.”

    Past impeachment attempts

    Since May 2011, when Tambuwal emerged the Speaker of the House of Representatives, against the calculations of the leadership of his party, the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), he has literally walked a tight rope even as he displays uncanny ability to retain full control of the House, the odds notwithstanding.

    It would be recalled that way back in 2011, PDP leaders and the Presidency had zoned the slot to the South-West and Hon. Mulikat Adeola-Akande was fielded for the plum position, but riding on the wings of opposition groups and radical elements within the House, Tambuwal and Hon. Emeka Ihedioha emerged the Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively, an act some powerful members of the top leadership of PDP and the Presidency consider an affront and have therefore been unable to forgive them and their supporters.

    Perhaps because of this tricky beginning, Tambuwal and Ihedioha have had to contend with many impeachment plots, most of which are alleged to have been traced to some powerful sponsors within the Presidency and the PDP leadership.

    Perhaps, the first well-advertised attempt to remove Tambuwal was in early 2013, shortly after the Yuletide break, when his loyalists in the House successfully stopped a plot by a faceless group.

    The impeachment plot then was based on alleged fraudulent activity in the purchase of 400 Toyota Camry cars for members.

    The plot went awry following allegation that the administrators of the plot shortchanged other members of the group by paying them $5,000 each instead of the agreed amount, allegedly higher than the amount paid.

    In a twist of fate, over 288 members of the House in plenary rose for Tambuwal instead of removing him.

    Speaking earlier at the plenary, Tambuwal had said: “We are convinced now more than ever before, that the situation where majority of the citizens continue to live in abject poverty while an insignificant minority corner the commonwealth is not only unjust but unacceptable.

    “In this regard, we shall continue to adopt a pragmatic and functional approach to ensure that the war against corruption is removed from the realm of rhetoric by exercising absolute diligence in our oversight function so as to enhance transparency and accountability in both high and low strata.

    “As we begin a new year, we hope to be able to improve remarkably on the modest efforts we have made towards raising the quality of legislation in this country and the way we have handled issues arising from our oversight functions.

    “Fellow colleagues, this Honourable House has a contract with the Nigerian people to make sure they reap from the gains of our hard-earned democracy and as you all know our goal has always been to fulfill that mandate to the best of our capacity.

    “When we came in we promised to pursue an aggressive legislative agenda that will reposition this House not just as a key branch of government determined to deliver on its mandate, but as a veritable defender of the rights of the people.”

    On September 2013, at the peak of the crisis in PDP, which resulted in a break-away faction, known as the new-PDP; another plot by some members of the House to impeach Tambuwal failed when it became difficult for the sponsors to muster the statutorily required two-third majority for the proposed impeachment.

    The Abubakar Baraje-led faction of the New-PDP had alleged that the Presidency dangled N2.5million carrot before lawmakers to remove Tambuwal, who was considered a member of the new faction. That allegation was based on the fact that the impeachment plot matured shortly after Tambuwal, in his capacity as the Speaker of the House, received the Baraje group during a visit to the National Assembly to brief members on why they pulled out of the main PDP then led by  Dr.  Bamanga Tukur.

    His survival streak

    But since the commencement of his headship of the lower chamber of the National Assembly, Tambuwal’s successful handling of the most trying moments of the House have helped to shore up his reputation and acceptability, thus making it possible for him to survive power intrigues.

    Though Tambuwal’s closest associates and supporters have tried to anchor his survival on alleged uprightness, the Speaker and his henchmen in the House have had to face very trying moments that have further tasked their credibility.

    Such trying moments include the fuel subsidy scandal, where allegation of bribery was raised against some lawmakers identified as Tambuwal’s associates.

     Another major challenge was that of resolving the crisis that arose from the allegation of extortion made against the Chairman of the House Committee on Capital Market, Herman Hembe, by the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Arunma Oteh.

    The most recent incidents that have tasked the House leadership under Tambuwal include the state of emergency declared on Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states and the decampment of members from the political parties they were elected in to the opposition party.

    In all, while Tambuwal’s supporters applaud the way he has managed these tricky issues, especially his alleged prudence and financial transparency, his opponents complain over his relationship with the opposition.

    Also, another plot, allegedly sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to suspend Tambuwal, over his alleged romance with the opposition later that year also hit the rocks.

    He survived the plot when his home chapter of the PDP in Tambuwal Local Government Area of Sokoto State reportedly rebuffed the then national leadership of the party.

    According to sources, the plan of the PDP national leadership was for the PDP local chapter to announce his expulsion. If the local chapter had obliged, the plan, according to reports, was for the then national leadership to intervene by converting the expulsion to suspension “pending further investigation.”

    However, party sources said the local executive members of the party saw through the instigation and declared that it was beyond them to expel him.

    They advised those who had complaints against the Speaker to lodge same with the state executive council of the party.

    A source was quoted then as saying, “The plan was to get the L.G.A chapter of the party to expel the Speaker. If that had happened, the national leadership would have intervened by revoking the expulsion order and placing the Speaker on suspension while it claims to be looking into the allegations against him,” sources said.

    “That way, other lawmakers plotting to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) would have been cowed. But in spite of the heavy pressure mounted on them, the leadership of the PDP in the council declined to go all the way with the plan. Instead, they requested that those with genuine complaints against Tambuwal should report him to the state executive committee.”

    The Nation investigation then revealed that the Speaker survived the plot through the intervention of Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko. The governor, according to The Nation sources, prevailed upon the party chieftains in Tambuwal not to allow themselves to be used to disturb the peace of the state.

    Last week’s failure notwithstanding, The Nation gathered that sponsors of impeachment plots against Tambuwal have not given up but have only returned to the drawing board, swearing never to let go until they are sure he remains a PDP member in spirit. This is even as the Speaker’s loyalists and supporters are said to have organized some series of meetings aimed at protecting him. As the battle over Tambuwal’s seat continues, the question on the lips of many Nigerians is if the Speaker will eventually join the opposition party as his opponents in PDP have been alleging or if he would continue to bear the intrigues and continue to deemphasize party politics while carrying out his assignment as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

     Informed observers are eager to know where the pendulum will swing to when the lawmakers return to the House after their Easter break. They are also interested in locating the Tambuwal matter to the larger picture of 2015 general elections.

  • Taraba 2015: Clash of senatorial ambitions

    Taraba 2015: Clash of senatorial ambitions

    The race for the Senate has further divided the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Taraba State. The camps of ailing Governor Dambaba Suntai and Acting Governor Garba Umar are at war. The aspirants supported by the governor are contesting against those enjoying the tacit support of the acting governor. As the gladiators prepare for the primaries, Senior Correspondent FANEN IHYONGO examines the  strengths and weaknesses of the contenders. 

    Governor Dambaba Suntai and Acting Governor Garba Umar are locked in a supremacy battle in Taraba State. The two leaders are throwing their weight behind different senatorial aspirants in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for next year’s election. The tension between the two party leaders may escalate, ahead of the primaries.

    Taraba North

    In Taraba North, Senator Aisha Jummai Alhassan has declared her interest in the governorship. Therefore, her seat will be vacant next year. Already, some aspirants are jostling for the seat. They include Rev. Jolly Tavuro Nyame and Ahmed Yusuf, an engineer.

    Nyame

    He is the former governor of Taraba State. He hails from Zing Local Government Area. Nyame first ruled between 1992 and 1993. He was re-elected in 1999. In 2007, he bowed out of office, having completed two terms under the 1999 Constitution.

    The 58 year-old politician is a godfather to many politicians, including Governor Danbaba Suntai. He had wanted to become a senator since 2007. But, he dropped the idea when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) made moves to prosecute him on allegations of financial fraud. Nyame, a cleric, contested for the Senate in 2011 on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), but lost to Senator Aisha Alhassan of the PDP. He is now back in the PDP and he believes that he will get the ticket. He is popular and he has a strong political structure. Recently, Nyame reconciled with Suntai after over six years of frosty relationship. He also kicked against the proposal by Umar thatb he should be made the substantive governor.

    Yusuf

    Yusuf served is a former Commissioner of Finance. He served in Nyame Administration. He was a strong stalwart of the PDP. But, hhe defected to the ACN to contest for the gov ernorship. He was also a chieftain of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). Suntai persuaded him to return to the PDP. When he returned to the fold, he was appointed as the Chairman of the State Investments and Property Limited.

    Yusuf, an engineer from Jalingo, is very controversial. Observers have described him as the “Maradona” of Taraba politics . He knows the state’s voting strength and all the polling units by name. He is a a charismatic figure and a crowd puller.

    Having become a phenomenon in Taraba politics, his savvy and political profundity are both an advantage and a curse. Yusuf was recently sacked by the acting governor as the Chief of Staff iver some allegations.

    Taraba Central

    In the Central Zone, Senator Abubakar Tutare has said there is no vacancy. He is seeking a fresh mandate.But, many contenders, including Bashir Marafa, have indicated interest to wrestle for the PDP ticket with him.

    Bashir Marafa

    Bashir Marafa hails from Sardauna Local Government Area. He was elected into the House of Assembly thrice. He was a senatorial aspirant in 2001. But, he lost to Senator Abubakar Tutare at the primaries. To compensate him, Suntai appointed him as the Special Adviser on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.To gain Suntai’s favour, it was alleged that he married the governor’s sister-in-law. But, during the political impasse, Marafa joined Umar in the rebellion against the governor.

    Marafa is a cheerful giver. He is a grassroots politician. He is popular. and seen by many as a perfect gentleman who is deeply rooted in grassroots politics. However, he has been accused of disloyalty because he abandoned the governor in his trying period.

    Abubakar Tutare

    He is a former Finance and Works Commissioner. That was between 2007 and 2010. He later became the Secretary to the Government (SSG). He resigned as the Secretary to Government to vie for a seat in the Senate. Between 1999 and 2003, he was an aspirant for the House of Representatives. He lost to Dahiru Bako.

    The 49 politician hails from Gassol Local Government Area. Central senatorial district. He is a popular politician. But, he is not perceived as a vocal senator.

    The tragedy that has befallen Suntai is to his advantage. Before the plane crash, the governor was eyeing the Senate. Tutare is now an ally of the acting governor.

    Taraba South

    The senator representing Taraba South, Emmanuel Bwacha, is now a governorship aspirant. Therefore, the seat will be vacant next year. The aspirants include Aliyu Dankaro, Adamu Ibrahim and Sam Taminu.

    Aliyu Dankaro

    He is a veteran aspirant. In 2007, he lost the ticket to Senator Joel Ikenya. In 2011, he lost to Bwacha. Dankaro defected to the ACN and became its candidate. But, he lost his deposit. Few months later, he returned to the PDP.

    An architect, Dankaro is the Managing Director of Dasali Nigeria Limited. He is also a Consultant to Berger Paints Plc. The 50-year old politician hails from Takum. He is the son of the former Chairman of Nigerian Football Association (NFA) and Chairman Nigerian Sports Commission (NSC), the late Chief Sunday Dankaro. His father’s popularity is an added advantage to him. Since the crisis broke out between Suntai and Umar, he has pitched his tent with the acting governor.

    Adamu Ibrahim

    Adamu Ibrahim, 58, is a retired soldier. He was the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division, Enugu. He retired as a Major General and joined the murky waters of politics. To prove that he is not tired in his retirement, General Ibrahim set up the ‘A-Dinota Group,’ a fuel ethanol producing firm, to engage the youths and turn around the fortunes of the state. But, the firm did not see the light of the day.

    Ibrahim hails from Wukari. He is among the supporters of Umar, who want him to become the substantive governor.

    The General is an intelligent and affable politician. But, some aspirants have vowed to resist his military approach to political scheming.

    Sam-Tsokwa Taminu

    Sam-TsokwaTaminu is a lawyer. He is a member of the House of Representatives from Donga/Ussa/Takum Constituency. He was elected on the PDP platform for a second term in 2011.

    Born on May 29, 1959, Taminu hails from Takum Local Government Area. He is a former member of House of Assembly. he has also served as a commissioner. In spite of this pedigree, Taminu remains is a reclusive. He is not a vocal federal legislator.

    Suntai is his godfather. But, during the revolt against Suntai, Taminu defected to Umar’s camp. His foes are kicking against his senatorial ambition. But, as an observed said, he cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand.

  • ‘Yoruba in Kogi deserve better deal’

    ‘Yoruba in Kogi deserve better deal’

    Okun Development Association is the umbrella organisation articulating the interest of Okun and Oworo people in Kogi State. When its leaders recently paid a visit to Governor Idris Wada in Lokoja, the state capital, they protested the marginalisation of Yoruba in the state and offered suggestions on peaceful coexistence among the diverse ethnic groups, Their views on the national conference is contained in their memorandum to the governor. Excerpts:

    When Kogi State was created about 22 years ago, the Yoruba in the state had high hopes. Coming out the bitter experiences in the old Northern Region and Kwara State, and judging by its rich human and natural endowments, the state had very high potentials to be viable, if its human and natural resources were fully mobilised, deployed, distributed and exchanged, in the spirit of equity, fairness and justice.

    We have disturbing facts and figures about the way our state is going and as responsible stakeholders, we agreed among ourselves that we should, before anything else, meet with you and share the information with you. We came to Lokoja, believing strongly that: (a) Your Excellency wishes to promote the advancement and socio-economic uplift of the entire citizenry of the State in which the Okun people constitute an invaluable and principal actor. (b) Given the considerable level of frustration of our people, a forum like this would provide the Governor a veritable platform for a clearer perception of their feelings and accord our people their proper role that would engender patriotism in the interest of greater harmony and cohesion in the state.

    We wish to acquaint you with some of the sore concerns of our people and their present level of alienation and grave disadvantage, experienced perennially from manifest inequity, unfairness and marginalization in the scheme and skewed process of governance, especially from the aegis of the civilian administrations in the State since 1991 when Kogi State was created.

    Successive civilian governments in the state have compounded the trend of marginalization to a level that has become intolerable to the generality of our people. This is why we have decided to bring to the notice of the governor, the deplorable state of affairs meted out to our people by the state, with the hope that you will take urgent steps to reverse their fortunes positively. We have done this order to bring home palpably and unmistakably, the enormity of the inequity in the distribution of amenities, infrastructure, appointments and public goods suffered by our people relative to other pillars of the state and the East Senatorial District in particular.

    Our state is ailing and the ship of state is being assailed by a potentially disruptive storm. And we daresay that much of the adversity that afflicts the state is self-inflicted.

    Kogi State is built on three pillars of East, Central and West senatorial districts. These are like the three engines of a wide-bodied aircraft.

    Society thrives best if it upholds the time-tested principles of equity, justice and fairness. A man who has three wives, but chooses to fend for the needs of only one of them and her offspring would be deliberately inviting trouble into his own home.

    Based on repeated vicious circle of mistreatment, the average Okun citizen has become cynical, to the extent that he/she believes that there are positions in this State that he/she cannot and, indeed dare not, aspire to occupy simply by virtue of the place of his/her birth, curiously in a democratic/civilian government.

    No Okun person has ever been the Chief Executive of this state. No Okun citizen has been a substantive Accountant-General or the Permanent Secretary, Government House Administration. Our numerical strength in the work force has continued to acutely decline, even in the education sector where we undoubtedly excel above other groups in the state.

    We now, more concretely present illustrated profile of the state of unequal but conscious pattern of distribution of amenities, positions and offices in the state.

    Political Appointments: Of a weighted total of 293 political appointments by the Government of Kogi State, Kogi East carries the lion’s share of 166, Kogi Central has 51 and Kogi West takes 71. This amounts to 56.6 per cent for the East Senatorial District.

    Staff Disposition in the Civil Service: We are alarmed by the dwindling presence and influence of our people in the state civil service and unless urgent steps are taken to address the situation, the prospects are grim for us. At the creation of the state in August 1991, the size of the civil service stood at 19,806. Of this, Kogi East had 9,769 (about 49 per cent); Kogi West, 8,244 (about 41 per cent) while Kogi Central had 1,995 (about 10 per cent) members of staff. However, by 2013, the work force had ballooned to 35,209 (an increase of almost 78 per cent). Out of this, Kogi East has 24,621 (about 70 per cent); Kogi West, 6,519 (almost 19 per cent) while Kogi Central has 4,069 (almost 11 per cent). These figures show that while the relative share of the Igala/Bassa group has shot up consistently, that of the Okun/Lokoja/Kotonkarfe group stagnated for a while before it began to dwindle dangerously.

    Civil Service Appointments (Directorate Cadre): Out of 637 positions, Kogi East carts 318, Kogi Central takes 124 and Kogi West gets 195. Kogi East sweeps nearly 50 per cent of the total directorate level positions in the civil service.

    Kogi State University: Although its name suggests that this institution belongs to and is indeed funded with the resources of the entire state, the staffing at all levels seems to portray it as belonging to Kogi East alone. All the vice chancellors of the university so far have been Igala. The same goes for the Director of Works. The Registrar and Librarian of the institution are at present also from Kogi East. Of the total staff strength of 1,516 in the university, 1,118 or 73.7 per cent are from Kogi East, Kogi Central has 62 (4.09 percent), Kogi West has 115 or 7.6 per cent while non indigenes constitute15.2 per cent of the work force with 230. Of the total senior staff of 855, Kogi East with 486 takes the lion’s share of 56.7 per cent, Kogi Central has 43 (6.8 per cent), Kogi West, 105 or 16.6 per cent while non indigenes with 221 make up the balance of 25.9 per cent. The picture for junior staff is per haps benumbing to say the least. Kogi East takes up 632 (94 per cent) of the total of 661. Kogi Central has 19 (2.8 per cent); Kogi West has 10 (1.5 per cent) while non indigenes with nine make up the balance of 1.4 per cent.

    Of all the Secretaries to the State Government appointed in the life of the State, Kogi East has occupied the position seven times; Kogi Central, two times and Kogi West thrice.

    Accountant-General: All officers that have occupied this critical position, except for once by Kogi Central have been from Kogi East.

    Of the 18 Honourable Commissioners in the State, nine are from Kogi East, five from the West and four from Central Districts respectively. Kogi East takes 50 per cent of the allocation. Indeed, in clear departure from the letter and the spirit of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, one of our local government areas, Ijumu has no Commissioner in Your Excellency’s cabinet. This is a disturbing aberration, regardless of how it came about.

    Office of the Head of Service: Four of the most critical positions here are the Head of Service, the Permanent Secretary Administration, Director of Administration and the Director of Staff Welfare are all held by people from Kogi East! They determine posting, staff welfare and accommodation. Two of the other positions are held by Kogi Central and only one post is held by Kogi West.

    Government House: Even at the Government House here, there appears to be a deliberate and total lock-out of non-Kogi East persons in critical career and appointive positions. Indeed, the occupation of other ethnic groups except from Kogi East of the major offices has become a customary misnomer. We are aware that the positions of Chief of Staff to the Governor, Permanent Secretary, Administration and Director-General (Protocol) are held exclusively by people from the East senatorial district. The recent promotion of the erstwhile Director-General, Protocol to the position of Permanent Secretary and his subsequent transfer out of Government House presented an opportunity to give an Okun person who has been his deputy for years to assume the position. However, another officer of Kogi East extraction was hurriedly procured from another agency to take the position. Also the last time we checked, the Special Adviser, Special Duties (Government House), Special Adviser (Security) and the Special Adviser (Media) are all from the Igala/Bassa axis.

    Ministry of Finance: Only the Commissioner of Finance and the Accountant-General attend federation account allocation meetings and they alone can ascertain State allocations from that account. The two of them are from Kogi East. Not only that, the Auditor-General is also from Kogi East.

    Ministry of Local Government: All of the seven officers here are from Kogi East, including the Commissioner and Permanent Secretary as well as the Chairman, Local Government Service Commission.

    Distribution of Permanent Secretaries in Kogi State Civil Service: Of the 36 Permanent Secretaries in the Civil Service, 18 are from Kogi East, eleven from Kogi West and seven from Kogi Central. Kogi East takes 50 per cent of the allocation.

    The above statistics suffice to establish from these appointment and positional structures that Kogi East controls, firmly, all the administrative and financial machinery of the State. It is obvious that staff posting carried out by the office of the Head of Service is determined by ethnic imperative rather than by merit.

    The general picture graphically presented here is skewed toward Kogi East in pattern and structure of appointment scale. This reveals that Kogi East maintains a drowning dominance over and above the two other Districts put together. Kogi East produces, generally over almost 70 per cent of the State’s work-force. This runs grossly foul of the quantity and quality of the productivity scale of the populace. This grave imbalance bespeaks inequity and gross injustice such that provides a recipe for social discontent, citizen alienation and insecurity, if not promptly addressed by a responsive government as we believe your administration is poised to be portrayed before the citizens of the state across board and before the national spectrum.

    Security

    Your Excellency, a critical index of good governance, globally, is the state of security of lives and property. Today, Okunland is the most insecure segment of the State. Armed robbers are on perennial prowl on all the roads that lead to Okunland from Lokoja (through Obajana and Okene) and from Ilorin (through Eruku/Egbe). People commute these roads with the greatest trepidation and justifiable fear, at all times of the day. In the towns and villages in Okunland, there is no guarantee of security of lives and property. Banks are incessantly robbed with numerous lives lost and money looted by gun-running persons to the extent that, virtually all banks are shut to customers on a near-permanent basis and transactions are hardly possible.Our findings from the Army and Police authorities confirmed that they lack adequate vehicles and appropriate logistics to carryout regular patrols in the area.

    Unemployment

    Okunland faces a very grave unemployment crisis, particularly among the youth.

    Your Excellency is well aware of the communicational and economic importance of road access in the lives of people. It not only enhances social interaction and exchange, it enhances economic growth, especially in economies like ours whose mainstay is agriculture. There is a crucial road infrastructure deficit in Okunland. All roads linking the various communities and all roads linking the people to the rest of Kogi State and its borders are virtually impassable. From Lokoja to Kabba, from Omuooke in Ekiti State to Kabba, from Ondo State via Ajowa and Ayere to Kabba, and from Ilorin via Egbe to Kabba, all the road networks are in acute stage of disrepair. Though some of the roads are said to be federal roads, yet we all know that it is not the federal government that plies those roads.

    While available records show that 70 per cent of the state’s internally generated revenue is derived from Central and West senatorial districts, 80 per cent of capital projects are sited in East senatorial district. In many of our communities, people struggle daily with livestock to bail water from the streams that had been abandoned when, courtesy of the military administrations in Kwara State, potable water was available to them through boreholes.

    Education

    Today, there is no functioning tertiary institution, state or federal owned in Okunland. The College of Education (Technical) purportedly located in Kabba exists only in name. It has no structures, no teachers and no budgetary allocation. There is a sign board somewhere in Kabba announcing its presence but that is all there is to it.

    Pension

    The disarray in the administration of pension in the state deserves to be urgently remedied. There is a general feeling that the state has adopted the policy of non-payment of gratuity to retiring civil servants. For people to serve their state for 35 years and are thereafter thrown into the streets empty handed does not speak well of us as a people. The reward for service to the state should not be utter impoverishment.

    Our prayers

    Bold and urgent steps are taken to correct the patent lopsidedness in the distribution of political offices such that all parts of the state are made to have a sense of belonging. In particular, we demand that a Commissioner from Ijumu Local Government Area be appointed without further delay.

    •The administration should take steps to halt the continued decimation of Okun and Oworo people in the civil service and that qualified and competent Okun and Oworo indigenes in the service are appointed into positions commensurate with their training and experience.

    •Equal attention is given to the revival of decayed infrastructure in all parts of the state.

    • Rather than the present approach of allocating political offices, we would like to recommend that all available positions be put in a basket and shared based on the principles of equity and fairness. In this regard, for instance, it should be possible to correct the misnomer in having both the Commissioners of Works and Finance come from the same district.

    •Urgent steps are taken to reduce the current large number of Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants to the Governor.

    The law establishing Kogi State University should be revised to facilitate decentralization of the institution to enable it fulfill the dreams of its founding fathers.

    •This administration should commence payment without delay, of gratuity to civil servants who retired in the last two years and also sustain payment to those who retire forthwith. In addition, government should intensify steps to source funds to clear the backlog of gratuity to those who left service before the inception of this administration.

  • ‘Osun will vote for continuity’

    ‘Osun will vote for continuity’

    In this interview with MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE, Osun State Commissioner for Special Duties and Regional Integration Hon. Ajibola Bashiru speaks on the achievement of Aregbesola Administration and the governors’ re-election bid.

    Why is Governor Rauf Aregbesola seeking a second term?

    The justification lies in several aspects. Government has changed the fortune of the state and there is the need for consolidation. Secondly, the people of the State of Osun deserve the best, in terms of leadership and good governance. Thirdly, looking at the facts of history, the government has performed and, with all sense of modesty, he has used his position to serve the people. He has been able to deliver on his promises, which require consolidation by having a second term. He has provided leadership for the people and, of course, the people want the continuity of the leadership. The sustainability of good governance for the welfare of the people is very important at this point.

    The opposition do not believe in the picture you have painted. They believe the governor has come to divide the state along religious line…

    As far as I am concerned, what the opposition believes is outright derailment from the real issues.I would empirically demonstrate what the government of Osun State wants to do. It has come up with programmes and policies that have justified the pragmatic action of the government. I will like to comment on the intervention in the area of education. Before this government took over, the performance of the students in the educational ranking was 34 per cent. As at today, because of the intervention in the area of education, it has fast tracked the position.

    The school enrolment compiled by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics indicates that Osun has the highest enrolment in this country. That is not unconnected with the intervention by the government. And what is that intervention? We have embarked on massive infrastructure development. New schools are either being completed or undergoing construction. They are schools that match training standard all over the world.

    In terms of infrastructure, we are doing very well. It is only somebody who is a pathological liar that will say we have not made massive investment in that direction. We have the school feeding programme by which we feed the school children with nutritious meals. Aside the direct benefit of the nutritional quality, it has direct impact on their mental development. It also has some economic advantages. For instance, we have the food vendors with about 2000 of them recruited in the schools. That provides empowerment for the women. These women do not only serve as food vendors, they are equipped with modern facilities for them to be able to serve as community caterers.

    So, aside from whatever they make from providing school services, they earn additional income, acting as community caterers. So, the school feeding programme offers the benefit of empowerment and economic development. Another aspect of that school feeding programme has to do with agriculture. It will impress you to know that the quality of products the schools children are taking have nutritional value. What we have done is to create a scheme by which we give day old chicken to poultry and even the supply of cows which are supplied for use. We created the enabling markets for agriculture which have help to advance the cause of making the state dependable and having food security. Let us also look at the school uniform programme, we have provided over 700,000 uniforms to students in our schools.

    What are other areas of interventions?

    Government has also started the Omoluabi Garment Factory. It is located in Osogbo. The factory employs over 2000 tailors that produce school uniforms, uniform for corporate entity and other departments. Through this, we have created an economy that is employing people to the scheme. That is another aspect of our intervention and it is affecting our people positively. Of course, the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) has provided youth employment. During its commissioning, government did not lie to anybody. It was clear in the advertorial that scheme will provide 10,000 jobs. It is to offer important services to the communities. We have been able to get 20,000 into the scheme. Out of the 20,000, at least, 15,000 of them have been engaged in one way or the other. Some of them were absorbed into the civil service, which we did with equity.

    So, when I heard somebody says that the OYES scheme is not functioning, they are not fair in their comments. One of the things that the OYES scheme has done is to rekindle the spirit of entrepreneurship in our people. I want to say the first batch was taken to Germany for training and are now back. The second batch is going to leave by September for training in modern agriculture. So, what the scheme has done is to provide leadership training for the people. Fortunately, the world saw the wisdom in what we have done, even though the mischievous people said that we deceive the World Bank.

    How could somebody even allege that a government of the state deceives the World Bank?The World Bank tagged the project as one of the best engagement and empowerment schemes that has ever been developed in this part of the world. So, in the area of education, what we have also done is to ensure that we have necessary facilities to train the students like the Opon Imo, which is celebrated worldwide. So, when I hear somebody say over eight billion was spent on Opon Imo, that is not true. Only N1.2 billion was spent and if we are to buy text books this will be costlier. That is we will need about N10 billion to provide text books for 150,000 students. So, aside the fact that Opon Imo is convenient, it is innovative. It also has cost savings effect of ensuring that materials are made available to everybody.

    And when you talk about the so called segregation in our religious life, it is only in the imagination of mischief makers. This is a state that, for the first time, has provided a level playing ground for all religious organisations. We have traditionalist, there are Muslims and Christians in the state. I want to say we have predominantly Christian cabinet, even though the cabinet is not constituted on the religious ground, but those who have the competence to perform. Out of a cabinet of 30 people, not less than 24 are Christians. In the House of Assembly of 26, which will make law on every government policy, 15 out of them are Christians. Nonetheless, we still work in harmony. We still work for the best of the people. So, those people that are talking about religion are mischievous people.

    What is your reaction to the emergency of Senator Iyiola Omisore as the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate?

    One of the problems is the projection of questionable characters for our growing democracy. I believe that any political party that has the interest of the people at heart should not allow such a man to emerge as its flag bearer. The question you should ask is: what his pedigrees in terms of governance? This was a deputy governor who was impeached because of his misconduct. This is a man who was at the Senate for a period of eight years and did not deliver on anything. The road leading to his house was not even tarred. He could not use whatever influence he has at the federal level to tar the road. Even the road to his father’s house was not tarred. It means that the man is not even qualified to be a councilor and yet, he is gallivanting around that he will bring value to governance. As far as I am concerned, it is one of those dark spots in our democratic development for him to emerge in any political party, not to talk of the so-called ruling party in Nigeria.

    The presidency is bent on hijacking the Southwest ,beginning with Ekiti and Osun states, and the Minister of State for Defence and Minister of Police Affairs have been coming to the Southwest regularly. What are your fears?

    As you can see, these people that say they want to come and hijack the Southwest are either false students of history or they don’t mean well for Nigeria. If you go to the historical development of Nigeria, the First Republic collapsed because of the same agenda of hijacking power. How could they win? The only way that these characters can be able to get to power is to ride on the blood of the people of the Southwest and I know that will not be possible. In a free and fair contest, they cannot win. The facts are there. Senator Musiliu Obanikoro contested against Governor Babatunde Fashola in 2007. At that time, Fashola was still a dark horse in the political contest. But, he beat him with close to a million votes.

    What is the level of confidence you have in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)?

    I will tell you that, from the records of INEC, one cannot say with confidence that it will conduct free, fair election. But, we need to be vigilant. We will ensure that we deploy the resources to compel them to conduct free and fair election.

    How can you curtail thuggery, arson and violence during the electioneering?

    I think we need to sensitise our people and we also possibly to caution those people that perpetuate this violence. If you want to serve the people, why must you maim them? Why must you distabilise them psychologically? But as I said, the PDP primaries in the state of Osun showed that some people are interested in causing trouble and thread on the blood of the people to get to power.

  • ‘PDP is party for old brigade’

    ‘PDP is party for old brigade’

    Lagos State House of Assembly aspirant Bolaji Ajimotokan has described the All Progressives Congress (APC) as be the party to beat in 2015 because it is a mass movement.

    He said the APC manifesto is one of the best in Africa, adding that the party will transform the country, if voted into power.

    Ajimotokan described the APC as a party of the future. He said the People Democratic Party (PDP) is a aprty for the old brigade because it projects a conservative aganda.

    The politician spoke with reporters in Lagos after unfolding his ambition to vie for a seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly in Agege Constituency.

    He said: “I have come to bridge the gap between the needy and the affluent. Politics is about service. The Lagos State House of Assembly is a place the mission can be realised. Through law making, the ordinary people of Lagos State will continue to enjoy the dividend of democracy.”

    Ajimotokan promised to sponsor a bill that will make school attendance compulsory for children of school age, if elected as a lawmaker.

    He said: “I have to start by assisting in developing the minds of the people in the areas of education and their political rights. I also want to galvanise the youths through programmers that will bring them into the mainstream of development.

     

  • ‘Yoruba, Igbo can avert Nigeria’s disintegration’

    A leader of Igbo in Lagos State, Dr Femi Ferguson, has said that Nigeria will not disintegrate, if Yoruba and Igbo unite.

    He urged the leaders of the two ethnic groups to come up with suggestions on how to resoplve the security challenge confronting the country.

    Ferguson attributed the problems of Nigeria to conflicting interests, urging the diverse tribes to settle their differences at the national conference. He told reporters in Lagos that, for Nigeria to survive, Igbo and Yoruba leaders should cooperate with their Northern compatriots to salvage the country.

    Ferguson said that Yoruba have been good to Igbos living in the Southwest, particularly Lagos, adding that their businesses are doing well due to conducive environment which the Yoruba, their hosts, provide for them.

    The Igbo leader noted that Yoruba gave lands to the Igbos to settle and do businesses, recalling that, during the civil war, their abandoned property were protected in the Southwest.

    He said, based on the age-long relationship, Igbos and Yorubas owe Nigeria a duty to save it from chaos, disintegration and imminent war.

    Ferguson maintained that Igbo and Yoruba have what it takes to save the country from disintegrating. He stressed: “The American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has predicted that Nigeria would disintegrate in 2015. I am appealing to these two strong brothers to forget political rivalry and face the business of building this country to an enviable status. The national conference is a very good idea, but nothing meaningful would be achieved, if the Igbos and Yorubas fail to cooperate.

    “Personally, I don’t know why this has become difficult because the Yoruba protected the Igbos in the defunct Western Region during the civil war. There is no record of massacre of Igbos during the civil war in Yorubaland and afterwards. After the war, the Yoruba still welcomed Igbos with open arms, gave them land to settle and start their businesses.”

  • Journalist for House of Reps

    Journalist for House of Reps

    A journalist, Mr. Adewale Ogunniran, has unfolded his ambition to vie for a seat in the House of representatives in Ona-Ara/ Egbeda Constituency, Oyo State.

    Ogunniran, who is the publisher of Integrity Reporter, told the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the constituency that he was motivated by the desire to serve the people.

    The aspirant and his supporters were received at the weekly meeting of the party bythe local government chapter chairman, Pa Buiaminu Oladele, who promised a level playing ground for aspirants.

    Ogunniran solicited the elders’ support for his aspiration, promising not to let the party down. He said he would offer a qualitative representation, if elected as a federal legislator.

    A party elder, Pastor Matthew Bogunmbe, told Ogunniran that the elders have noted his ambition. He also prayed for his success at the primaries.

    Another elder, Pa Jaiyeola Bankole, decribed the aspirant as a young, dynamic figure, assuring that he will not disappoint the progressive family.

    He said: “We are happy that Ogunniran has come to us. He has shown that he is a true son of Ona Ara and Egbeda and we will give him our support for his ambition in 2015.”

    Other elders at the meeting were Mr Sunmaila Akani, Chairman Caretaker  committee of Ona Ara Local Government, Mr. Sina Adeagbo, Baba Elege, Hon. Jenrade, Mr Bola Fawole and Alhaji Ore