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Category: Politics

  • From Lar to Tukur: A floodgate of crises

    From Lar to Tukur: A floodgate of crises

    Despite its acclaimed winning streak, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been assailed by protracted leadership crises in its chequered history, EMMANUEL OLADESU and AUGUSTINE AVWODE examine the multiple crises, which drew the curtains on the turbulent tenures of the PDP chairmen in the last 14 years.

     

    Lar

     

    PDP was built on a solid foundation under theleadership of the renowned Middle-Belt politician, Chief Solomon Lar. The founding fathers were elder statesmen who, under the auspices of G-34, recommended a terminal date for the military rule. As the Provost of that college of elders, the lot fell on Lar to deliver the message to the late military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha. Curiously, he went to the lion’s den and returned alive. His vast experience as a First Republic federal legislator, Second Republic governor and former minister adequately prepared him for the task of leading a big party. PDP’s beginning was beautiful because the fold was a mixed grill of conservatives, progressives and repentant military apologists.

    The former Plateau State governor wielded the fold together. He had taken the baton of leadership from the interim chairman, the late Senator Sunday Awoniyi, the Aro of Mopa. In 1999, the acclaimed largest party in Africa won federal and state elections without rigging. The two parties that competed with it, the All Peoples Party (APP) and Alliance for Democracy (AD) originated, in part, from the PDP. The AD arrowhead, the late Chief Bola Ige, was among the eminent politicians who wrote the PDP constitution. It was after he left the group that Major-General David Jemibewon (rtd)became the chairman of the party’s Constitution Committee.

    Lar’s calculation was that, since the public opinion favoured power shift to the Southwest geo-political zone, either Chief Olu Falae or Ige, was well positioned to fly the PDP presidential flag. It was distressing to him that the two of them hurriedly left for the APP, and later, AD. Following their departure from the group that was about to metamorphose into the PDP, the conservative forces in the group, especially the members of the polarised PDM, backed by rich and influential retired Generals, raised a search team to discuss with the former military Head of State, Gen. Olussegun Obasanjo (rtd). Although presidential hopefuls, including former Vice President Alex Ekweme and the late Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, still slugged it out with the Ota farmer at the inaugural party primaries, he emerged as the candidate and later won the 1999 presidential election.

    Lar, a disciple of the Great Zik of Africa, is a celebrated democrat for President Obasanjo, a retired soldier battling with adjustment difficulties, the transition from soldering to politics was hard; hard for a man who relished the hierarchical military dictatorial order and command. His first move was to get the title of the “National Leader’ of the PDP.” Few months after he assumed office, he agitated for the change of baton at the party’s national secretariat. That was necessary to limit the party’s influence and moderation on presidential activities. It was clear that Lar, the former Police Affairs minister, had to bow out honourably for the relatively younger elements. He spent barely a year in office.

    During his tenure, crises were minimal and the party was supreme. Reflecting on Lar’s ouster, one of his aides, Dr Solomon Dalung, who teaches Law at the University of Jos, said that “immediately Obasanjo was inaugurated as the President, he disbanded Lar’s cabinet and the disbandment of that cabinet remains PDP’s waterloo today.”

     

    Gemade

     

    Lar had a second term ambition. But former President Obasanjo had a different agenda. The old politician was not indifferent to the tendency of the soldier-turned politician. he understood the body language. He therefore, decided to show interest in his successor.

    The position was zoned to the Northcentral geo-political zone. The contestants were the former interim chairman, Awoniyi, and Gemade, former member of the Interim National Government (ING) led by Chief Ernest Shonekan. Awoniyi, a Yoruba, was from Kogi State. Gemade hails from Benue State. Other contestants were Senator Ahmadu Ali, Yahaya Kwande, and Sule Usman from Kogi State.

    Awoniyi, who had often described himself as a Yoruba-Northerner, got the shock of his life when Obasanjo from Ogun State declared that, in the PDP, Yoruba could not produce the President and National Chairman as the same time. He fought back, saying that, by geographical factor, he was a northerner. But there was logic in Obasanjo’s thinking. That reality jolted the minority Yoruba in Kwara and Kogi from the illusion that they were northerners and fuelled the subsequent agitation s for the a new geographical design that would make them re-unite with their kit and kin in the Southwest.

    Many believed that the former federal Permanent Secretary, who was a former Private Secretary to the late Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the defunct Northern Region, was a tough politician who could challenge Obasanjo, if he undermined the party leadership. Awoniyi insisted on his candidature for the national chairmanship, but the Obasanjo forces overwhelmed him. He was harassed out of the party he co-founded. On his way out, he lamented the collapse of the party’s due process and derailment of the vision of its founding fathers. Awoniyi said that he was leaving the party of sinners. There was a determined attempt by him to float a new party, along with some aggrieved foes, but without success. In subsequent years, he became a moral voice in the North as the Chair

    man of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF).

    Since Lar knew that the so-called restructuring of the party mooted by Obasanjo was targeted against him, he supported Gemade against Awoniyi. That led to friction between the two politicians and founding chieftains. Obasanjo made Lar “adviser emeritus”, without any role. But when pressure was mounted on him, he made him the Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) Board. For the former chairman, the journey to irrelevance begun.

    The chairmanship election was not a walk-over for Gemade. A committee of elders from the Northcentral, led by PDP vice chairman from the zone, Alhaji Kolo from Niger State interviewed him and other aspirants at the Agura Hotels. Other members of the committee included Isaac Shaanu, Shaaba Lafiagi. Lar was chairman between December 1999 and November 1991.

    Gemade inherited a party ruptured by post-presidential primaries. His first move was to pacify the aggrieved presidential aspirants. But crisis had started brewing at the state chapters in many states because of the presidential directive that the pioneer chairmen should hand over to other chieftains in the party. The national chairman went on tour of the troubled chapter. Many of them were polarised. Party men and women looked to Obasanjo, and not the party chairman, for solutions to the intra-party crisis. It was evident that the idea of the national party caucus could not be sustained by the PDP. Suddenly, there was a push for the extension of the tenure of the members of the National Executive Council (NEC) from two to four years.

    The national chairman wanted to run the affairs of the party as a democrat. That meant mustering the effort to assert himself. But he was handicapped. Following disagreement with the National Party Leader on party issues, his days in the office were numbered. He complained that certain powerful forces in the party were making unreasonable and unethical demands from his office, adding that it was suicidal to grant the requests. Gemade predicted that the fate that would befall his successors would be worse. Reflecting on his tenure, he said: “ It was clear to me that the mindset of the people who had the party and the government in their control was such that the meddlesomeness that we were experiencing as the leadership of the party would not change”.

    At a special convention organised by a committee chaired by Senator David Mark, Gemade was replaced the chairman.

     

    Ogbeh

     

    Ogbeh rose to prominence in the Second Republic when he served as the Minister of Communications under the Shagari Administration. He is a man of impeccable character. When he was made the national chairman, he was a nominal member of the party. The former minister did not nurse a chairmanship ambition. But when the responsibility was entrusted upon him, he embraced the call to service. All those who wanted to succeed Gemade were edged out for him to emerge.

    It was very hard for the chairman to blend with Obasanjo. He felt that the President was elected to run the country and the chairman, in consultation with him, was meant to run the party. Ogbeh became the chairman as the party was preparing for the 2003 elections. The party was in turmoil. The state chapters were crisis-ridden and the divisions had weakened the fold. The crisis in Anambra State chapter drew a wedge between him and the President . Both canvassed opposing solutions.

    In Lagos State, there were three camps. Efforts to promote harmony failed. The feeling was that the former President was behind the dominant camp, which was bent on rusticating the members of other factions.

    In Osun State, the party was engulfed in a crisis of nomination. Ige, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, had been murdered. The former deputy governor, Otunba Iyiola Omisore, a defector from the AD to PDP, was standing trial for an alleged involvement. Therefore, Ogbeh counselled that he should not be fielded as the senatorial candidate for Ife/Ijesa District to preserve the image of the party. The President allegedly disagreed. Some party leaders supported him, explaining that, since Omisore had not been found guilty, he can contest while still in the custody.

    However, the parting of ways became imminent between Obasanjo and Ogbeh when he publicly advised the President to pay more attention to the sliding economy and the cries of the populace for improved welfare. As the Special Adviser to Obasanjo on Agriculture, he addressed some cogent issues related to governance, based on public outcry. The former President took exception to washing the administration’s linen in the public. The party chairman told the President that he was not his boy. “I told Obasanjo that I was not his cook”, he later reminisced. Ogbeh was advised to resign. He dragged his foot. But when he was harassed by security agents, he saw the danger coming. He resigned in 2005 in controversial circumstances and later joined the Action Congress (AC).

     

    Ali

     

    Perhaps, the only chairman who had a smooth relationship with the former President was Dr. Ahmadu Ali, a retired colonel, former Federal Commissioner for Education and Third Republic senator. He hails from Kogi State. The two soldiers understood themselves perfectly. Of course, Ali had been described as a chairman-on-waiting, since he contested against Gemade. When he was inaugurated as the chairman, Obasanjo said: “Now, Ali has come. Ali must stay”, a vague reference to the call for his removal as minister by students who insisted that “Ali must go”. Ogbeh was absent at the ceremony which held at the party’s national secretariat, Abuja. Unlike his predecessors, he spent his full term.

    Initially, former Governors Fidelis Tapgun (Plateau) and Lafiagi (Kogi); Senators A.T. Ahmed, Alex Kadiri and Abdulazeez Farouk were interested in the job. But they stepped down for him.

    Ogbulafor

     

    The emergence of Prince Vincent Ogbulafor as the fifth national chairman of the PDP followed the usual high wire politics in the party. He was the dark horse. He emerged, following the refusal of two implacable power blocs at play in the party to step down for each other.

    He did not bother to print many posters, neither did he campaign.Even though he was a former national secretary of the party, former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim and former Ebonyi State Governor Dr Sam Egwu were clearly the front runners.

    The politics of the ruling party is often mercurial and generally unpredictable. While Obasanjo supported Egwu, the anti-Obasanjo forces queued behind Anyim with an unbending resolve to thwart whatever agenda Obasanjo had up his sleeves. In the end, Ogbulafor emerged as a consensus candidate. Other aspirants stepped down for him at the party’s national convention in Abuja.

    Forty days after he assumed office, Ogbulafor declared that the PDP would rule Nigeria for 60 years under a one-party arrangement. Besides, he enunciated the plan by the party to monitor the performance of the 27 state governors on the platform of the party then.

    “I expect that every Nigerian will join the PDP. I don’t care, if Nigeria becomes a one-party state… We want to rule this country for the next 60 years and we meant it”, he had declared.

    But typically, Ogbulafor’s tenure at Wadata Plaza, Wuse, was not devoid of the intrigues that often consume its occupants. It is what analysts love to call the ‘banana peel’ of Wadata Plaza. He was forced to resign barely two years after taking office on May 10, 2010.

    As the stormy debate over zoning of the 2011 presidential ticket in the party took off, Ogbulafor made no pretence about his stance that the Presidency was zoned to the North.

    Soon, things began to fall apart for him. The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) took on him, alleging that he had perpetrated a fraud while he was a minister. He was dragged before an Abuja High Court to face 16-count criminal charge. His Southeast governors soon abandoned him. They mounted pressure on him to vacate office. He was also alleged to have handled, in a shabby manner, the crises in some states, particularly, Plateau, Anambra, Imo and Bauchi.

    A pressuere group within the party, the PDP Reform Forum with former Senate President Ken Nnamani, ex-Speaker, Federal House of Representatives, Aminu Bello Masari along side other stakeholders was also calling for a better and more operational National Working Committee that would drive the PDP in line with the ideals of the founding fathers.

    He resigned on May 13, 2010.

     

    Nwodo

     

    Former Governor of Enugu State and former National Secretary of the party Dr Okwesileze Nwodo took over form Ogbulafor on June 10, 2010. He emerged based on consensus arrangement and tacit blessing of the Presidency.

    Nwodo’s first major job as the National Chairman was to oppose zoning. Nwodo, at an interaction with the media, declared that the formula was ldead. However, he said that if party members wanted the issue revisited, he was ready to do so.

    Six months after, an Enugu State High Court presided over by Justice R N Onuorah ruled that he should vacate office immediately and stop parading himself as chairman, pending the determination of the substantive suit, which queried his eligibility for the post. Besides, he had gotten himself involved in the politics of the state and fell out with Governor Sullivan Chime. Southeast Governors rallied round their colleague and passed a vote of no confidence on Nwodo.

    Nwodo was forced to resigned and his deputy, Dr Haliru Bello Mohammed, took over as acting national chairman.

     

    Bello

     

    Bello was first elected PDP National Vice Chairman (North West Zone). By March 2008, he won the election into the position of the Deputy National Chairman of the party.

    Bello took over the rein of the party at a very crucial time. The 2011 general election was just at the corner. He successfully led the party to victory in the April 2011 general elections. But it must be said that Bello played an outstanding balancing game as he stood in the middle of the party that was torn in two between the pro-zoning elements and the no-more-zoning adherents. It was particularly interesting as he happened to be from the North where the majority were in support of zoning. Having helped President Jonathan to power, he was rewarded with the portfolio of the Minister of Defence . He was, however, dropped a year later in June 2012 folowing the crisis of the Boko Haram sect.

    Following that appointment, former National Secretary, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, took over as acting National Chairman to complete the tenure which remained the one single most troubled chairmanship tenure for the PDP. In all, four people served during the tenure.

     

    Tukur

     

    On March 23, 2012, former governor of old Gongola State Alhaji Bamanga Tukur emerged as the next national chairman of the PDP. But in the last one year and one month that he has been in office, it has not been smooth sailing for the consummate businessman turned politician. It has been one crisis after another.

    He has been having a running battle with the party’s governors who are said to be bent on removing him. For the record, Tukur could not be said to be the most popular aspirant from his Northeast Zone to which the party had conceded the chairmanship. In a test of strength three days before the national convention which produced him, Dr Musa Babayo had beaten Tukur to the ticket at a Northeast Zonal Convention in Bauchi. But the national body reversed it, saying it was unknown to the party tradition and constitution. And, apparently supported by the Presidency, Tukur emerged, again, via consensus arrangement.

    At the convention ground, Alhaji Shettima Mustapha announced the withdrawal of all the other 10 aspirants, leaving only Tukur in the race. And with only a voice vote by the delegates in the Eagles Square, they affirmed the choice of the Presidency for the top job.

    Tukur started off with steps that came as new, but controversial. On assumption of office as chairman, he appointed aides numbering about 15.

    Last week, however, he sacked all of them in one fell swoop. Tukur, before he sacked them, had a Chief of Staff, Special Adviser on Security Matters, Special Adviser on Independent National Electoral Commission and Electoral Matters, Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters. Besides, his salary, alleged to be N2million monthly, became the talk of town. Insiders say no chairman before him earned salaries other than sitting allowances.

    Tukur made reconciliation of all aggrieved old members of the party his campaign slogan and he has pursued that with much zest. As part of the plan to realise his vision, he selected some chieftains of the party and constituted them into an “advisory committee”. The committee, he claimed, would assist him in running the party.

    But when he inaugurated the committee on May 30, it was obvious that the chairman never had the support of members of the NWC. They stayed away on the ground that it was an illegal body, unknown to the constitution of the party.

    The committee has former Vice-President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme as chairman.

    Even two members of the NWC were listed on the committee, Deputy National Chairman Sam Jaja and former National Secretary Olagunsoye Oyinlola did not honour the inauguration too.

    Tukur also got involved in Adamawa State PDP internal affairs. He is from the state.

    Today, the Southwest PDP has been dealt a major blow. Now, the Rivers chapter of the party is enmeshed in crisis. His reconciliation tour was regarded even by party stalwarts as a flop, hence, the drafting of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih to kickstart another reconciliation.

    But, despite the fact that Tukur rode on Jonathan’s back to the office, some party chieftain said that he meant well for the party. He has embarked on reforms. He has also shown example by embracing the rule of law. As shown by the steps he had taken so far, he has demonstrated that PDP can be repositioned. And the first step, in Tukur’s view, is respect for the party’s constitution and enthronment of fairness, equity and justice.

     

  • PDP has failed, says Ahamba

    PDP has failed, says Ahamba

     A legal luminary, Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN), recently joined the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).  He spoke with AUGUSTINE AVWODE on partisan issues, shortly after the recebt party’s convention in Lagos.

    Two years after you announced that you were quitting partisan politics, you are back. What informed your decision to come back?

    When I made that statement on January 26, 2011, withdrawing from politics, I also said that I was not going to abandon the people. And that at anytime I felt they needed my voice, I would back. That is exactly what I am doing. I am just keeping to my words.

    What informed your choice of ACN?

    First, it would appear that ACN has the best internal democracy of all the parties in Nigeria and the most disciplined. These things are sine qua non for any government that wants to do well because charity begins at home. You can’t give what you don’t have. I see ACN as a party that is disciplined enough to impose discipline on Nigeria. And a party that is democratic enough to oversee democracy in Nigeria. I am not saying they are perfect, but they are the best.

    The ACN has now voted to join other progressives to form the All Progressives Congress (APC). How do you think the political space in the country will look like, when it is finally registered?

    There will still be enough political space because the APC will only mop up few parties out of about 50. We have other parties that are still there but these three are the most potent and visible and have decided to go together since they have a common vision of salvaging Nigeria from what you have at the moment. From 1999, one political party has ruled Nigeria in almost all parts of Nigeria. And since that time, there has been tales of woes. What is the problem? Now, if PDP couldn’t tackle corruption and doesn’t have teeth for fighting corruption, the best thing for Nigerians to do, since they want to fight corruption, is to try another team. If a team doesn’t score goals, you change the team. The PDP team has so far failed to score goals for Nigeria. And why should it continue? Now let us use a clear analogy to make it simple. Imagine a situation where you sent someone to the market; after four years, he came back from the market and told you he forgot what you asked him to buy; could you please tell him those things and allow him to go back to the market to buy them. You obliged, sent him back to the market and gave him a list of what to buy. He came back from the market and you ask where are the things you bought? He said sorry, I bought them but left them in the market. Give me another chance to go and bring them. Then you send him again only for him to say he doesn’t really remember when you sent him. Will you send that person to the market again to buy anything for you?

    This is the experience of Nigerians with the PDP. And the only wisdom Nigerians can manifest is to give another party a chance. Let them do what they know how to do best which is rigging elections. But the umpire has been put on notice, so he can’t be taken by surprise in 2015.

    The APC slogan is change. Do you think Nigerians are prepared for change?

    Ninety percent of Nigerians are ready to embrace change; 95 percent of Nigerians are afraid that those in control now will not allow the change. So, they are playing safe. Let me repeat; Ninety-five per cent of Nigerians are afraid that those holding what needs to be changed will not allow them to change it. So, they play safe by sticking with it. All they need is the leadership they can trust and they will come out in their true colours. This is the truth about Nigeria. Ninety-five per cent of Nigerian don’t like what is happening, but belle politics is the problem. Nobody wants to lose his job because they believe that if those people do those things they know how to do best, that the opposition will do nothing about it. So, they play safe. And let me tell you another thing you must understand. There is a difference between getting a result and winning an election. I want to speak with candour, that, PDP has not won an election since 2003. The only election they won was in 1999. They didn’t win 2003, 2007 and they wouldn’t have won 2011 but for some tactical mistakes by the opposition. So, but they have been lucky to obtain results. You were in Nigeria, do they campaign? They don’t campaign, they only believe in securing results. If the people they have been fighting individually have decided to come together and resist those fights, then there is a likelihood of success in this. Let me also say this, as I join this group, I don’t see my target as the PDP. My target is Nigeria. We have not come together to fight PDP, we have come together to salvage Nigeria from its difficulties. The difficulties happen to have been caused by the PDP. Our focus must remain Nigeria and thepeople of Nigeria and we must offer them an alternative.

    So, what do you think makes APC tick?

    What makes APC tick is that, it contains the aggregate of individually strong Nigerian politicians, who, if they put their acts together would from a formidable team. Tinubu has developed into a national leader in the West. Since Awolowo, this is the only leader they’ve had. Buhari, undoubtedly, is in firm control of the North. The only place we have opening is in the East and I believe that by the time APC settles down, some leadership will emerge from there. I have always told them at home that you don’t appoint such leaders; circumstances thrown them up. So, we are praying God to allow circumstance give us a leader in the East by the time we are through with the 2015 elections. If we get this together, it will work.

    Look at the governments that are being run, you find that the governments run by the parties held by those who are coming together, appear to be doing better than those who are unsure of winning election because they don’t have to please anybody to win election. Nigerians must think. In 1962 or 63, Ogunde wrote a play Yoruba Ronu. I want to say Nigeria Ronu. We can’t continue to grumble without doing something about the subject matter of the grumbling. I don’t believe in it. So, we must have to do something legitimately to bring a change. I am an advocate of Constitutional Revolution. The revolution you do within the Law.

    That is why I have always believed in the courts. Win or lose, I got back to fight there. Accept me or not, hate me or love me, I go back to fight there because it is the most peaceful means of effecting change. The alternative is terrible. The situation of everyman for himself, God for us, may it never happen in Nigeria in Jesus name.

  • Rivers PDP’s war of attrition

    Rivers PDP’s war of attrition

    Rivers State has become a battle ground between the forces loyal to Governor Rotimi Amaechi and Minister of  State for Education  Nyesom Wike. There are two parallel executive committees fighting for the soul of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).The crisis between the two key politicians has also polarised the House of Assembly. BISI OLANIYI writes on the war of attrition, the key figures in the protracted feud and the effects on the platform.

    The die is cast between President Goodluck Jonathan and Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi. The battle

    ground is not only the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), but also the troubled Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

    The President’s foot soldiers are led by the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, who wants to succeed Amaechi in 2015. His second-in-command is the party’s newly-inaugurated chairman Chief Felix Obuah.

    The governor, according to observers, is on the defensive. Amaechi is battling with the President to have a second term as the NGF Chairman. He is also fighting for the reinstatement of the sacked party chairman, Chief Godspower Ake. With the governor is Senator Magnus Abe from the Southeast District, who is also believed to be eyeing the governorship.

    Preparations for 2015

    The bone of contention is the 2015 governorship. Amaechi, an Ikwere, stirred the hornet’s nest last year when he declared that power should shift from Ikwere to another ethnic group. He explained that justice and fairness demanded that he should not be succeeded by another politician from Ikwere. But Wike’s supporters have disagreed, saying that it was an attempt to edge him out of the race. Wike is Ikwerre from Rumuepirikom.

    The minister fought back. He became the internal opposition leader in the Rivers PDP, firing salvos at the governor. So potent is this opposition that it has dwarfed other opposition parties in the state.

    There has been a cold war between Amaechi and the minister, since he was appointed a minister. Sources said that Wike had preferred the job of the Chief of Staff to ministerial responsibilities. In his view, being a state functionary would have made his senatorial ambition much easier to accomplish, while operating from Port Harcourt. But the governor thought otherwise. However, when Wike resumed at Abuja, he made up his mind to guard jelously his support base at home.

    Since the mininster indicated his interest in the governorship, the governor has taken some drastic steps to frustrate him. Five of the 32 members of the House of Assembly loyal to Wike have also been having a running battle with the governor. Parliamentary sources hinted that plans were underway to suspend them for going against the governor’s interest.The five “rebels” had voted against the suspension of the Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Prince Timothy Nsirim, the vice-chairman and all the seventeen councillors on April 22. Wike is from this local governmet.

    The lawmakers are Michael Chinda (Obio/Akpor II Constituency), Kelechi Godspower Nwogu (Omuma), Evans Bipi (Ogu/Bolo), Martins Amaewhule (Obio/Akpor I) and Victor Ihunwo (Port Harcourt III).

    Following the suspension of the elected Obio/Akpor council, a seven-member caretaker committee, headed by Dike Chikordi, was inaugurated by the Secretary to Government, Mr. George Feyii, on April 23, following the screening of the committee members by the House.

    Sources hinted that the suspended officials of Obio/Akpor council might not be allowed to return to office, thereby sending a signal from Amaechi’s camp that the battle line has been drawn.

    Prior to the suspension of the elected officials of Obio/Akpor Council at an emergency sitting of the House on April 22, presided over by the Speaker, Otelemaba Amachree, the lawmakers deliberated on the report of the House Committee on Local Government Affairs, chaired by Lucky Odili (Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Constituency, which found the sacked chairman and his team guilty of maladministration.

    Nsirim was accused of engaging in reckless spending and abuse of security funds. His deputy and 17 councillors were also accused of complicity.

    The House Committee indicated that its preliminary findings, which informed the interim report, were based on the petitions received from the locality. According to the committee, it is improper to allow the people being investigated to remain in office in the course of the investigation by the House.

    The committee urged the House to suspend all the elected officials and appoint a caretaker committee to run the council, pending the investigation. The committee also called for the immediate freezing of the council’s accounts.

    The Speaker did not permit any debate on the matter before the decision was taken, making the pro-Wike legislators to accuse the Speaker of bias. These loyalists of Wike therefore, decided to vote against the decision.

    Rancorous congress

    The Rivers PDP congress took place on March 17, 2012 at the Alfred Diete-Spiff Civic Centre, Port Harcourt. It was attended by the three senators from the state, The deputy governor, Tele Ikuru, an engineer, was in attendance. Ake emerged victorious.

    However, Obuah went to the court to challenge Ake’s emergence. He alleged that the emergence of the former National Vice Chairman (Southsouth) as the state chairman was undemocratic.

    On April 15, Justice Ishaq Bello of the Abuja High Court declared that his court had jurisdiction over the matter and adopted the affidavit of the Edo PDP chairman, Dan Orbih, who claimed that the results tendered by Ake did not emanate from the congress that he conducted in Rivers state.

    Justice Bello also overruled the video evidence to prove that Ake was the duly elected chairman.

    Show of strength

    Obuah returned to Port Harcourt from Abuja on April 19. He was welcomed by a mammoth crowd at the International Airport, Omagwa. It was a long convoy. Supporters were drumming, singing and dancing as they accompanied him to the the party secretariat along Aba Road.

    The next day, there was a carnival-like solidarity rally by Amaechi’s supporters at the main gate of the Government House, Port Harcourt with prominent politicians addressing the crowd.

    Wike was just about 100 metres away from the scene. He was a guest on a live programme, Viewpoint, at Rhythm 93.7 FM. There, he attacked the policies and programmes of Amaechi’s government. Many stayed glued to their radio for the programme. Others monitored the current affairs programme on their transistor radio.

    Succession battle

    The succession crisis has engulfed the state. Before Wike’s entry into the governorship race, the wife of the President, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, was supporting Senator George Sekibo from Rivers East for the slot. The minister’s partisan moves changed the calculation. Reality dawned on Amaechi’s men that Wike was not preparing for the senatorial race.

    The control of the party machinery is critical to the realisation of the governorship ambition. That accounts for why Amaechi and Wike are locked in battle for the control of the party. There are discordant tunes. The court said that Obuah is the authentic chairman of the party. But Amaechi’s men are kicking against the ruling. The Police Commissioner, Joseph Mbu, who is barely a month old in the state, said that the command would stand by the court judgement, which sacked the Ake-led executive. Mbu also threatened to deal ruthlessly with anyone or group of people trying to foment trouble in any part of the state.

    ALGON’s threat

    The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Rivers State Chapter, is taking sides in the divisive issue. On April 17, it cried out that the Federal Government wanted to shove Amaechi aside through an illegal impeachment. The body rejected the Obuah–led executive of the PDP.

    The 23 council chairmen, who belong to the PDP, said they were not afraid of expulsion. They converged on the residence of the Chief of Staff, Tony Okocha, where they threatened fire and brimestone. “We shall not support, recognise or do any business with any other state executive council of PDP, except the one duly elected by us and the accredited delegates from our various LGAs. The unfortunate decision of the Abuja High Court is a bad luck to democracy in Rivers State and Nigeria”, said the ALGON chairman, Chimbiko Akarolo.

    “The judgment is an indefensible judgment. It is being challenged at the Court of Appeal. We insist that Ake is the party chairman”, he added.

    Parting of ways

    In 2011, Amaechi and Wike were best of friends. Little did the governor guess that his former Chief of Staff will later disagree with him on succession. The feeling in Rivers State is that Wike is an automatic senatorial candidate. Observers have predicted that this will create tension between him andAmaechi, who is also eyeing the Senate. According to party sources, Wike thought that, since the next office Amaechi could aspire to is the Senate, the governor would support him for the governorship to avoid a clash at the senatorial primaries. Therefore, when the governor declared that an Ikwere should not succeed him, Wike thought that it was an attempt to politically liquidate him.

    Party chairman and House on war path

    If Obuah, who was edeclared as the authentic chairman, consolidates his hold on the party, it will be to the advantage of Wike. The impetus is being supplied by the Presidency, a source said. Obuah’s first assignment after returning from Abuja was to checkmate the House. But this has proved difficult because most of the legislators belong to the Amaechi camp.

    The chairman has demanded an explanation from the House over its plan to sanction some members who refused to toe the governor’s line. “The party is aware of the plan of the State House of Assembly to suspend from the House five members of the Assembly, for expressing their views on issues bordering on internal party democracy.

    “The party urges the State Assembly to discard the planned suspension of some of its members, as the party may take necessary disciplinary action against any errant member of the State Assembly.

    “The party views the purported dissolution of the chairman, the vice-chairman and 17 councillors of Obio/Akpor local government, without recourse to due process, as a flagrant display and abuse of power by the Rivers State Governor and the state House of Assembly and hereby condemns the action in its entirety.

    “Obio/Akpor council, under the able leadership of Prince Timothy Msirim, has performed creditably and deserves commendation from the Rivers House of Assmebly and the party.

    “It is appalling and disgraceful for the Rivers House of Assembly and Governor Rotimi Amaechi to trample upon the mandate of the good people of Obio/Akpor, on the basis of political victimisation.

    “The party hereby calls on the House of Assembly to take appropriate steps to review its decision within 48 hours, with a view to reinstating the sacked chairman, vice-chairman and the 17 councillors of Obio/Akpor local government in the interest of justice.

    “Otherwise, the party may be constrained to take appropriate disciplinary and legal actions, to check the excesses of Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi and some members of the Rivers House of Assembly.”

    The Rivers PDP chairman promised to unite the party and bring back all the aggrieved members to the fold. Obuah also warned PDP members against unguarded utterances against President Jonathan, the party leader. Wike, who is supporting Obuah, has the backing of the President, although the first lady, Patience, who hails from Okrika in Rivers State, is allegedly backing Ake and Amaechi.

    Allegation of judicial complicity

    Amaechi is bitter against the recent court judgment. The governor declared that the temple of justice had been desecrated, urging Nigerians to rise in defense of the rule of law.

    Amaechi also called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Maryam Mukhtar, to very quickly intervene in the crisis, in order to restore the battered image of the judiciary, the last hope of the common man.

    Amaechi, who was represented by his deputy, Tele Ikuru, while addressing the teeming supporters, said: “As a nation, one area we should not allow mud to go into is the judiciary. As a nation one area we should not allow to become a thing of play is the judiciary.

    “The temple of justice has been desecrated. Nigeria arise. If we do not rise, we will lose our country. As a nation, any day we allow the temple of justice to be desecrated, we will lose our country.

    “Any day a poor man cannot go to the court and state his case and get justice, that country is lost.

    “I therefore, call on the judges, particularly the CJN, to very quickly, with alarm, move into this matter. I have faith in the Chief Justice of this country. She is a woman of integrity. She is a woman, who has proved herself times without number.

    “This is another case for her to prove that she sits at the helm of justice in this country. She will ensure that justice is given to all.

    “I was privileged to be part of the Rivers State congress of PDP. I was privileged to see the votes counted. I was privileged to see the results announced and then suddenly, in broad daylight, somebody said that, that election produced another person.

    “When certain people die, their eyes will not close, because they tell broad day lies. Those who open their eyes, know what is right, see what is right and say something different. The day they will die, their eyes will never close”.

    Wike, however, said that, as a lawyer, he would never cast aspersions on the nation’s judiciary.

  • Uche Ekwunife set for governorship

    Uche Ekwunife set for governorship

    Not many people in Anambra State were surprised when reports filtered out that House of Representatives member, Hon. Uche Ekwunife, is oiling her political machinery to contest the 2014 governorship election next year. A member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), it is, however, not clear if the lawmaker has sought the blessing of Governor Peter Obi to contest for the party’s ticket, even as there are speculations that the governor has another person in mind as his would-be successor.

  • Okadigbo vs Igbeke: An end in sight?

    Okadigbo vs Igbeke: An end in sight?

    As the nation awaits the ruling of the Supreme Court on the rightful occupant of Anambra North Senatorial seat, Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, recalls the intrigues that have trailed the election.

     

    The Supreme Court has fixed May 31, 2013, for its judgment in an appeal filed by Alphonsus Igbeke, seeking to reclaim the Anambra North Senatorial seat from Margery Okadigbo.

    With that announcement, the apex court has given an indication that the legal tussle over the Anambra North senatorial seat, which started even before a winner was declared by the Independent National Electoral Committee (INEC) in May 2011, may soon be over.

    Although Mrs. Margery Okadigbo currently occupies the position, political observers argue that the lingering legal tussle has robbed the people of the district of good representation.

    The court fixed the date after both parties had adopted their briefs of arguments in the appeal, in which Igbeke is seeking to set-aside the verdict of the Court of Appeal, which unseated him and declared Lady Okadigbo as the rightful occupant of the seat.

    The Appeal Court had declared Okadigbo the lawful nominee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s primaries held on January 8, 2011. Consequently, Igbeke approached the Supreme Court, seeking some reprieve.

    The legal tussle didn’t start with the Appeal Court judgement, rather it started in 2011, when Igbeke contested and was declared winner of the PDP senatorial primaries for Anambra North district.

    However, his victory in the primary was challenged in court by two other contestants; Prince John Emeka and Mrs. Margery Okadigbo. In spite of several efforts by the PDP in Anambra State to resolve the matter amicably, the battle raged on in court until reprieve came the way of Igbeke through a Federal High Court judgement on March 17, 2011.

    Justice Kafarati of the Federal High Court confirmed Igbeke the authentic candidate of PDP for the election, having won the highest number of votes. With this judgment, Igbeke contested the senatorial election, won and was issued a Certificate of Return by the INEC as the PDP senator-elect for Anambra North zone.

    But Igbeke’s return to the Senate was once again stalled as the Senate leadership said it was in receipt of a letter from INEC saying that Igbeke was issued Certificate of Return without consideration of a notice of appeal and stay of execution.

    This was the situation until Friday, 16th December 2011, when the matter became more complicated with the Court of Appeal in Abuja and Enugu divisions reportedly delivering conflicting judgments on the matter.

    The Abuja division of the court declared Lady Margery Okadigbo as the authentic candidate, while the Enugu division dismissed her appeal seeking to be declared as the party’s candidate for the April election into the Senate.

    While a three-man panel, headed by Justice Samuel Oseji, alongside Justices Amina Augie and Abdu Aboki of the Enugu division of the court, dismissed the case brought by Okadigbo, the Abuja division of the court, headed by Justice M. U Mukhtar, held that Okadigbo was the candidate of the party.

    The court’s judgments emanated from appeals against the judgment of a Federal High Court which declared Senator Alphonsus Igbeke as the winner of the election into the senatorial district.

    Okadigbo and another claimant, Prince John Emeka, had challenged the high court judgment at the Court of Appeal in Abuja and Enugu respectively. It was in the midst of this judicial confusion that all the claimants, Igbeke inclusive, approached the Supreme Court for reprieves.

    In July 2012, the Supreme Court declared Okadigbo, who is the wife of the former senate president, the late Chuba Okadigbo, the duly nominated candidate of the PDP and the winner of the April 16, 2011 senatorial election for Anambra North zone. Consequently, on July 16, 2012 she was sworn in as the senator representing Anambra North senatorial district.

    But her stay in the upper chamber is far from being a peaceful one as she continued to be faced with legal obstacles. While Igbeke unrelentingly filed an appeal against her election at the Supreme Court, allegation of forgery was soon brought against Okadigbo.

    Accused of forging the documents with which she convinced the court to declare her as the senator-elect, Okadigbo was invited by the police and dragged to court by a coalition of human rights organisations. Thus began fresh rounds of legal tussle over the same Anambra north senatorial seat.

    And nearly two years into the life of the current senate, the matter of who is the rightful occupant of the senate seat in Anambra north remains unresolved. This explains why many people are interested in what the Supreme Court will be saying on May 31, 2013.

    While adopting their brief of argument in the appeal, Igbeke’s counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), prayed the five-man panel of the apex court to hold that his client is the valid candidate of the PDP in the said primary election.

    However, Senator Okadigbo’s lawyer, Yusuf Ali (SAN), opposed the appeal as he contended that the apex court lacked jurisdiction to entertain it, as it is not a trial court, therefore it cannot admit fresh exhibits from the appellant.

    He further argued that the apex court lacked jurisdiction in the matter because, according to the learned counsel, it would amount to the apex court reversing itself if it gave verdict contrary to its earlier judgment of July 6, 2012, where in Prince John Emeka Vs Lady Margery Okadigbo & Ors, the apex court declared Okadigbo as the proper candidate and senator-elect for the Anambra North Senatorial election of April 16, 2011.

    But Olanipekun says in the face of existing circumstances, it is doubtful if Ali’s arguement can suffice to preclude Igbeke’s appeal. He argues that the argument is standing on broken legs and as such, will not survive for long.

    “It must be pointed out that the matter before the apex court for judgment on July, 6, 2012 was between John Emeka and Margery Okadigbo and interestingly, Igbeke was not a party in the matter.

    As a matter of fact, before the judgment of July 6, 2012, Igbeke had competently filed his own appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which declared Okadigbo winner of the PDP primaries of January 8, 2011.

    It becomes necessary to recall here that Igbeke’s appeal came up at the apex court on July 5, 2012, a day before the said judgment was delivered,” Igbeke’s counsels submitted.

    With Igbeke still asking the apex court to declare him winner of the election in the senatorial zone because he contested and won it as acknowledged by the Chairman of the Electoral Panel of the NWC in the person of Senator Waku on January 5, 2011, the pronouncement of the Court on May 31, 2013 will either make or mar Senator Okadigbo’s sojourn at the National Assembly.

  • Ladoja and Oyo marriage of convenience

    Ladoja and Oyo marriage of convenience

    It is true that the history of political alliances in the country had never been pleasant to human memory. But while that is true, however, what is even truer is that never in the history of political alliances in the country had the spirit of such coalition been betrayed or abused in anyway near the contempt and disdain to which Rasidi Ladoja had subjected the recent or current working relationship between his Accord Party and Governor Abiola Ajimobi.

    I deliberately avoid the dragging of the ACN into the deal because it was a personal risk taken by Abiola Ajimobi.

    On the part of the ACN leadership, although it was circumspect enough about the unreliability and unpredictability of the so-called ally, going by his political antecedent, it was, however, magnanimous enough to have conceded some level of executive discretion to the governor on the administration of his government. It was in the exercise of that discretion that Ajimobi entered into that deal with Ladoja. So the question of him disobeying his party on the accord does not arise.

    In the case of the NPC/NCNC alliance of 1959, which was the first in the country, the two parties remained faithful until the alliance was voluntarily collapsed by the two parties on the approach of another general election in 1964. The collapse of that alliance, caused by the new radical leadership of the NCNC under Michael Okpara, who felt more at home and comfortable with the progressive forces in the country, especially the Action Group against the conservative nature of the NPC, the senior partner of the alliance. Even at that level of the political ineptitude of the NPC, Okpara never spoke openly against the seeming pedestrian style of Balewa until his party formally pulled out of the alliance.

    Coming nearer home, in the case of the UPP/NCNC marriage of convenience in the old western region between Akintola and Fani Kayode, individual members of the alliance like Adeoye Adisa, who was not comfortable with the merger plan, who was Minister for Information, pulled out of the government before the coalition metamorphosed into NNDP.

    I have read in some social media, some feeble defence based on Ladoja’s right of expression in spite of his rapport with Ajimobi. But where such postulates missed the point is that the rapport is not personal affairs between ‘two brothers’. Rather, the product which both agreed to sell on coming together is the government. It is on this basis that Ladoja nominated his men, which included his younger brother into that government. By virtue of the position, some of them as Commissioners and Special Advisers are in the highest decision making organ of government, which is the State Executive Council, which by both convention and statute is guided by top secrecy in its deliberations.

    Given the importance of that organ in governance, it is not supposed to be or even safe to be peopled by anybody of suspected loyalty. In view of the prevailing scenario, anybody keeping supporters of Ladoja in that sensitive body should submit his brain for psychiatric examination.

    Still on Ladoja, if he is now criticising the government because Ajimobi is derailing in governance, does he want his people to be consumed by the ‘impending’ doom. It is unethical of him to adopt an ‘eat and have cake’ strategy. The path of honour for him is to first ‘rescue’ his men by pulling them out of the ship ahead of the doom of his imagination and dream.

    That he did not do that can only be attributed to the fact that he knows within himself that the government is popular among the people; and will want his team to benefit from the gain of that popularity. The truth, however, is that to Ladoja, the 2015 campaign had begun in earnest. The main obstacle he sees on his way, rightly speaking, is Ajimobi and the ACN. Hence he cannot see anything good in the government of that party and especially the governor. As an astute politician and former governor himself, he should not have waited until the avoidable disgrace to which he and his party were subjected.

    With the exit of the fifth columnist in his government, what is left for Ajimobi is to remain focussed and consolidate on the success so far. The only way to do that is to put his house in order by ensuring that the ACN under his leadership remain well organised and united. He should remain purposeful and unshaking in his current will to move the state forward.

     

    • Sanni wrote in from Ibadan

  • Who is Aisha Wakil?

    Who is Aisha Wakil?

    She stood out when President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated the committee on amnesty for Boko Haram last Wednesday in Abuja, covered from head to toe in her burqa. The mystery of the woman behind the veil extends to her origins. Tony Akowe in Kaduna profiles the woman Boko Haram insurgents call “Mama.”

    In a region where women are given little attention, the announcement of the name of Aisha Wakil as a member of the Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the northern part of the country came to many as a surprise.

    Even though not much is known about her, her name has consistently appeared on the list of people allegedly released by the Boko Haram insurgents as one of those to represent them in any form of dialogue or negotiation with the government.

    In November last year, when the insurgents announced the names of prominent northerners who they wanted to represent them in negotiations with the Federal Government, Aisha Wakil and her husband, Justice Zanna Wakil of the Borno State judiciary, were on the list headed by former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari.

    When the leader of the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria, Sheikh Datti Ahmed, rejected his nomination into the committee, many Nigerians felt disappointed – especially in view of the fact that he is one of those that may have had any form of contact with members of the group. Ahmed was part of the botched peace deal and he believed that the government was not serious about peace with the insurgents.

    Alongside her husband, Justice Wakil, Aisha, a practicing lawyer was nominated by the government to help resolve the problem. Even though she was called the mystery lady, many Nigerians may not be aware of the fact that she has been in touch with some members of Boko Haram and was even instrumental to a ceasefire declaration announced by the group at a time which was later denied by another faction of the group.

    During one peace march by women in Borno State, she was quoted as asking them to come out and state their grievances. “My sons, I have been begging you since in silence to come out and state your grievances and stop destroying your homeland. Please come out and state your grievances and stop these killings,” she allegedly said amidst tears.

    One Mohammed Amin Abdullahi, who said Aisha was a friend to his sister, claimed on his Facebook page that Aisha Wakil actually hails from the South-East, but converted to Islam when verses of the Holy Qur’an started appearing on her skin and blended well with the Borno Muslim community.

    He wrote “Barr. Aisha Wakil, I would say, is a mysterious woman. She is Igbo by tribe and was a Christian during her education in University of Maiduguri many years ago. She converted to Islam when inscriptions of verses from the Holy Qur’an started appearing on her skin. Members of the sect became so close to her that they even called her mummy.

    “They visited her house at will. She even sold her valuables to feed them, just to convince them to drop their weapons. There was a time she seized from them and burnt a note book containing the lists of people killed and those to be killed.

    “A lot of them confessed to her that they were fed up with the sect activities. She has been trying to convince members to stop their insurgency long before the issue of dialogue and amnesty started. I got to know all these because she is a close friend of my sister’s, who is also a human rights activist. I once drove my sister, whose name I don’t want to mention here, to Aisha’s house and had the opportunity of seeing the sect members.”

    Barrister Wakil, who works with the National Human Rights Commission, told Peoples Daily, an Abuja-based newspaper that largely covers the north, that her relationship with members of the sect dates back to a time before the conflict began and before the death of the spiritual leader of the group.

    She also alluded to the insinuation that she was an Igbo lady. She was quoted as saying that she “started the dialogue process since 2009, even before the major crisis erupted, because I knew their slain spiritual leader, Muhammad Yusuf. His father in-law, late Alhaji Baba Fugu Mohammed, was my spiritual father in Islam, and I used to visit his home.

    “In fact, Mohammed Yusuf almost married my younger sister Amina, but Almighty Allah did not make it possible. So that was how I got closer to the duo. It went even to the extent that I was cooking food and taking it to the house of late Alhaji Fugu, to the pupils of the Qur’anic school, (almajari).

    “And because I am from the southern part of the country, I normally prepared southern dishes, which Yusuf had always come to eat. In fact he liked my egusi soup very much and we became very close when his father-in-law told him that I was the one who cooked the food. So anytime we met, he expressed delight and prayed that Almighty Allah would reward me, for he was eating from my pot and that was how I established a strong relationship with him.

    “Though I did not know where he lived at that time, but whenever I visited Fugu’s house, I saw many people trooping to the area and they would later gather behind a particular compound, so I asked Fugu who these people were. He replied that they were the followers of his son-in-law and that they had come for a preaching session conducted by the late Boko Haram leader. When they finished the preaching and were offering closing prayers, I would sometimes walk across to get the blessings of the prayers.”

    Wakil admits knowing some members of the sect saying, “I reside in Shehuri North Ward, the epicentre of the insurgency and I know majority of the insurgents, so I sat down and made up my mind, that how could I just watch them continue like that?”

    “When this thing was about to start in 2009, late Yusuf had been detained severally and when he came out after one of the detentions, I went to his house to greet him, but his followers refused to allow me access to him. I was angry and said I would never go to greet him again.

    “On hearing that, he rushed to his father-in-law and asked him to plead with me that I should forgive him, saying he was not around when I came. But three weeks to this problem, I started hearing rumours that they would launch deadly attacks. So, I called him (Yusuf) to my house and when he came, I learnt that Abubakar Shekau and other followers had escorted him, but they stayed outside.

    “When he entered my house, he didn’t even look directly at my face. He put his two hands behind him and I said to him, “my son, I’m hearing something. These rumours I’m hearing, I beg you in the name of Allah, don’t do it. He said that he was betrayed; I said by whom, he said by government, I said can I come into it, he said. Alright, if you can intervene and settle it, we are ready.’

    “But I was unable to do so due to the protocol involved in government, especially when it entails meeting governors. I tried all I could to get to the former governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, to discuss the issue, but wasn’t able to get to him. But I later spoke to Yusuf’s in-law, telling him that I was not comfortable with these rumours I was hearing but he said there was nothing he could do, as he was a man of over 70 years and that he had written a letter to the government but he didn’t tell me precisely the content of the said letter.

    “I continued talking to Yusuf and he kept giving me instances of the betrayal as his followers were shot over the use of crash helmet for instance. Then when they carried their dead bodies for burial they shot them again despite the fact that there was an agreement between them, they were betrayed.

    “In fact he had seriously lamented this betrayal as I’m talking to you now I don’t know the betrayal he was referring to and nobody has told me about it up till now. And another issue is, I didn’t know the problem will degenerate into mayhem like we have seen, otherwise I would have contacted some of the elders in the state so that they can come into the matter with a view to finding a solution to it.”

    But how was she able to convince the sect members to lay down their arms, she was asked. She said “it was not easy, it was hell. It was horrifying, scary, because when I spoke with one of them, he directed me to come to a particular place. When I reached the location, I found him with an AK 47 rifle and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

    “Afterwards, he said, ‘Mama, why did you risk your life to come here? I said because we are killing ourselves and I want to put a stop to the bloodshed. He said ‘you know I’m not alone’. I replied that yes, I know and I said but you can talk to others and that was how the whole thing started. I was able to persuade them to come out from their hide-outs in the forest and show their faces, promising that they will not be harmed or arrested. I was able to do so because I’m fully involved in the dialogue procedure.

    “After succeeding in convincing some of the insurgents to show up as their safety was guaranteed, I was linked with someone and I contacted the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, who welcomed the development and facilitated several meetings between myself and the insurgents who accepted the dialogue on one hand with the top officials of the state government as well as the Borno Elders Forum, after which the dialogue process was mapped out resulting in the present ceasefire.”

    They, however, gave conditions, which include the need for absolute confidence from government that they would not be arrested, all their members in detention should be freed, compensation should be paid to the families and relations of all those killed in the violence.

    Others were, rebuilding of the enclave of their leader and houses of some members destroyed in the conflicts, they should also be empowered to be self-reliant, and that all those involved in the extra-judicial killing of late Yusuf should be prosecuted.”

    She was not unmindful of the fact that some members of the sect denied ever agreeing to a ceasefire, but said that the denial could not have come from Abubakar Shekau, leader of the sect. She noted that the leaflets denying the ceasefire did not “emanate from Shekau, because he was in support of the truce and in fact was the one who directed Ibn Abdul-Aziz to represent the sect in the agreement.”

    Moreover, why did it take long before the purported Shekau denied the ceasefire? She replied: “You would recall that before the ceasefire was reached, Shekau was always hasty to react on any particular issue that didn’t emanate from him. I also want to dismiss the recent video footage of the person who claimed to be Shekau, because the insurgents’ spiritual leader does not cover his face in all his appearances as that man did. But even with the ceasefire, killings and bombings have continued. Actually all these attacks were the handiwork of some faceless enemies of peace and progress of the state. Whether they are politicians or ordinary citizens, all I know is that there are some individuals who are not at all happy with the ongoing peace process that the state has started enjoying.”

    But she is not happy with the statement credited to President Goodluck Jonathan, calling the sect members ghosts. She said, “it is quite unfortunate that the president made this statement at a time when dialogue is still going on, Boko Haram is not a faceless group because we have seen them and sat with them. The president’s position will not in any way jeopardise our peace initiative because we are doing it for the benefit of women, children and elderly people, who are at the receiving end.”

    This mystery woman may be the key to solving the insecurity that has continued to destroy the north and the economies of some of the most vibrant cities of the north. It is apparent that a lot will be expected from her if the peace initiative is to work.

     

  • ‘ABSU alumni align with Senate on Uzor Kalu’

    ‘ABSU alumni align with Senate on Uzor Kalu’

    Abia State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Umeh Kalu, asserts that the Abia State University was right in withdrawing the certificate awarded former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu following his admission in the 2001/2002 academic session, insisting the entire Alumni Association of the university was in support of the cancellation to correct what has been an obvious embarrassment to its members. He spoke with Eddie Onuzuruike and Agamnetochi Onoh

     

     

     

    Abia State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Umeh Kalu, is a man of many parts and was probably prepared for public life as a students’ union activist right from his days at Imo State University, later Abia State University, where he was a pioneer student and first Secretary General. Kalu must have cut his teeth in politics right from then while going ahead to practice and distinguish himself in the process. Even then, just like many radical lawyers in the mold of Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Falana and Olisa Agbakoba, Kalu formed and was involved in associations and movements that fought the cause of the masses.

    It was therefore not unexpected that when Governor Theodore Orji needed young radical minds to work with him, he recruited Kalu into his team and he has not disappointed ever since. Kalu more importantly has remained involved in matters affecting his alma mater where he doubles as the incumbent president of the alumni association. In that capacity, plus his current position as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Kalu was caught in the cross fire of taking a position on the issue of certificate withdrawal of former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu by the Abia State University.

    In his interview with a select section of the media, Kalu placed it on record there was no way he was going to remain indifferent to what almost amounts to a scandal going by the controversy it was generating, insisting it was the right thing to do irrespective of when it was done not minding whose ox was gored. According to him, it was sad that the matter was being blown out of proportion when ordinarily it should have been headline news for the institution’s campus bulletin.

    “The disposition of the dramatis personae in the matter, who would want to play politics with every issue, especially through the instrumentality of his newspaper which is always available to him to use as he wishes, appears to be the reason for all these,” Kalu said, referring to Orji Uzor Kalu, again insisting it was the prerogative of every university to issue its certificates to its graduates and deserving persons “on the condition that the awardees have met all conditions in character and learning for the award of such certificates and that the awarding authority could, when it became necessary, review its decision, including that of withdrawing such certificates, especially in circumstances where the certificate was either issued in error or obtained by fraud, undue influence or deceit.”

    Kalu said when the issue came up, he did an independent inquiry and discovered there were series of petitions bordered on the irregularity of the admission: “The petitions bordered on the fact of irregularity in his admission and non- attainment of the mandatory minimum semester work load for the award of a first degree of the university. Let me quickly state here too that this issue of the impropriety of the award of our university degree to Orji Uzor Kalu came up in 2006 during the Alumni First Homecoming at the university auditorium, Uturu in the course of our proceedings.”

    According to him one of the top guns of the alumni association, whom he refused to name, queried the degree awarded by those in charge of the university administration at the time but it was obvious they probably acted to keep their jobs.

    This alumnus, Kalu said, condemned the decision to admit and graduate a sitting governor in the circumstances in which they did. “I am informed that Orji Uzor Kalu did not meet the university’s basic conditions for admission. Secondly, he did not put up minimum academic workload of six semesters for the award of a first degree but only has on record two academic semesters and thirdly, Orji Uzor Kalu did not meet the basic academic requirements on time limit for re-admission into the university for students on transfer as he was alleged to have sought re-admission into Abia State University after having been out of school for over fifteen years, having left the University of Maiduguri in 1984 as against the university’s out of school period of not more than three years.”

    Reminded that this scandal could taint the image of the university if not properly handled, Kalu nodded in the affirmative. According to him, the bulk of the issue rested on the former governor, who he said should prove ABSU wrong by going to another university, meet its requirements, sit for the exams and pass out in flying colours and put to shame those who have decided otherwise regarding his admission irregularities. “Orji Uzor Kalu himself should realise that the Abia State University, being an institution, is bigger than all of us as individuals and will surely outlive us all. There are standards for everything and if one must possess a university degree, he must justify it. Everyone that has gone through universities will vividly recall the workload, deprivations and sleepless nights that are attendant to such acquisition.

    He said a situation where someone will create an atmosphere of glitz, put up one or two appearances in lecture halls for the cameras in a bid to acquire a university degree for whatever purpose is unacceptable, condemnable and even reprehensible,” insisting that pointing fingers in the direction of the Abia State Government was not the solution to the image issue. Kalu added: “We will not allow Orji Uzor Kalu to cheapen the degree of our university.”

    Kalu went ahead to reel out the distinguished members of the alumni association who will not allow this smear of the university’s image to hold. “This is the university that produced Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, present SSG to the Federal Government who is a 1987 set, Barrister Emeka Wogu, present Minister for Labour and Productivity (1986 set), Barrister Chuka Odom, immediate past Minister of State for the FCT (1985 set), Professor Anslem Odinkalu (1987 set), Barrister Chris Okewelonu, former SSG, Imo State (1985 set), Sir Greyne Anosike, Director in the Federal Ministry of Information (1985 set) and so many other distinguished Nigerians including myself who is the present Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Abia State. We align ourselves with the decision of the Senate.”

    Is Umeh Kalu also fighting to protect the image of the Abia State Government, which has been in a running battle with Uzor Kalu since he lost his stranglehold on it? He disagreed but was quick to add that there was no correlation between the university’s decision and Uzor Kalu’s political war with the state government. “The university is an independent body from the Government of Abia State. Although a state university, it has a law setting it up, which it must follow and guidelines regulating all activities in the university. There is a University Council that is charged with the general administration of the institution, headed by Senator (General) Ike Nwachukwu as chairman. All academic matters are statutorily regulated by the Senate, which is made up of seasoned academicians.

    If there are political battles to be fought between Orji Uzor Kalu and the present government of Abia State, the terrain for such battles is wide and definitely cannot be the university environment,” he argued.

    Kalu, who acknowledged that the Nigerian media wrote extensively on this subject in 2002, insisted it was not possible for a serving governor to gain a full time admission and pass his examinations because of the burden and demand of governance. He said that if the speculation is true that the Abia State Government had a hand in the withdrawal of the certificate, “it could equally be assumed that Orji Uzor Kalu used undue influence on the authorities to admit him without the requisite qualifications and awarded him a degree of the university without meeting the basic requirements.”

    The Abia State Attorney-General rose to the height of a disciplinarian the way a high court judge would, warning that public officers should be made to know the limits of their powers and that they are accountable for their deeds when in office and even when they are out of office. He stressed: “The best time for him to have sought the said admission either in Abia State University or elsewhere would have been after leaving office just like Chief Sam Onunaka Mbakwe did at the University of Lagos.”

    And what prevents Orji Uzor Kalu from challenging this matter in a competent court of law? Umeh Kalu said it was not unexpected but advised the ex-governor against listening to those seeking to profit from what looks like a good case. “A court action may not be in his interest in this matter as the university will not only join issues with him but may be forced to adduce and produce more damaging evidence that may lie in the realm of criminality in the process. So many persons who played one role or the other from the point of admission till the end game, which is the award of the supposed degree, may be culpable. It is therefore better to rest the matter and not to resurrect it.”

     

  • Aloysius Etuk on the firing line

    Aloysius Etuk on the firing line

    Just weeks after Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State announced that Senator Aloysius Etuk will be the campaign coordinator for his (Akpabio) election into the senate in 2015, latest reports indicate that some lawmakers and local government chairman in Etuk’s constituency have initiated a process to recall the senator from the National Assembly. Sources revealed that Etuk may have incurred the wrath of the governor over some undisclosed issues, which necessitated the action of Etuk’s constituents. Unconfirmed report indicates that the senator is allegedly not comfortable with ceding his seat to the governor in 2015 and may re-contest on another party’s platform.

  • Anambra 2014: The Ifeanyi Uba factor

    Anambra 2014: The Ifeanyi Uba factor

    Recently, Dr Ifeanyi Uba hosted some traditional rulers and president-generals of town unions in Anambra State to a grand reception at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Lagos.

    Transported all the way from the state to Lagos, it was a rare opportunity for the natural leaders to join other Anambriarians in Lagos to relate closely with Uba, whose governorship ambition is no longer a secret.

    The occasion afforded Uba the opportunity to discuss one on one with the stakeholders in Anambra State. In the process, he was apprised of the problems in the state and the aspirations of the people of the state.

    He asked questions. He received answers. The people also asked him questions and his answers were informed and candid. It was a pretty long town hall meeting of sorts which lasted from 8pm till 7am the following day.

    This shows that Uba is a man who listens and likes to receive ideas from the people. This cross fertilization of ideas is what drives democracy and leads to good governance.

    As would be expected, in the course of the visit, Uba also took his guests, made up of a wide spectrum of Anambrarians from all walks of life, including the traditional rulers, presidents-generals of town unions, opinion molders and ordinary people, on a facility tour of his companies and business offices. The aim, it seems, was for the people, who he is planning to lead, to see his investments and achievements in Lagos.

    The facilities included ships, jetties, depots, filling stations, tankers, and a host of other high-tech facilities on ground. It became apparent from findings from the tour that Uba’s Capital and Gas Oil Limited is one of the biggest distributors of petroleum products in Nigeria.

    Of great importance is the fact that Capital Oil and Gas has been a major player in the downstream sector ever before the subsidy regime. The company has tankers which supply fuel all over the country. In fact, the activities of the company in the area of supply of petroleum products is one of the reasons why fuel is available everywhere today. This is because while other companies horde fuel in order to make huge profit, Dr. Uba’s companies are only interested in making the products available to all and sundry. Profit is not the driving force for the company.

    At the end of it all, most of the guests agreed that Uba knows his onions in his chosen field of endeavour and is therefore a good candidate for the governorship seat of Anambra State.

    This concenssus, according to the guests, was because Uba, through that unique visit, “allowed his people to have a holistic eye-view and make a total appraisal of him as a businessman and a major player in the downstream sector of the oil economy. He was not afraid to let his people know him inside out. He has nothing to hide. He proved to us that he has no skeleton in his cup board. He laid all the cards on the table. After the visit, we can attest he is not a pretender. He showed us and the good people of Anambra State, who we represent, what he is doing in Lagos and his means of livelihood.”

    It should be mentioned here that this is the first time a business mogul from Anambra State who is interested in the governorship of the state has conducted his people round his business facilities, investments and activities, to prove that he has the capacity to govern a state like Anambra. He proved that he does clean business.

    This effort, to me, is commendable of an aspirant that wants to serve his people. I believe that Nigeria will be a great nation the day those who aspire to control the reins of power have the confidence and grace to take their constituents to their places of business and offices for an on-the-spot assessment of who and what they are.

    The Nigeria political landscape is littered with jobless, unemployed and hungry men and women who are in politics simply as a means of livelihood. Some politicians engage in politics not because they love their people and seek to advance their welfare. On the contrary, these politicians are only seeking the means to ek out a living, to survive and to make ends meet.

    No wonder, then, that as soon as such people secure power, they embark on monumental looting and plundering of the coffers as government allocation, meant for the provision of dividends of democracy are pocketed and embezzled with impunity. White elephant projects are kick-started here and there as a ploy to siphon public funds. To a large extent, the crippling corruption, fraud, embezzlement and widespread pilfering prevalent in Nigeria today is from hungry men who suffered great poverty, want and deprivation and who view public office as an opportunity to recoup what had been eaten by the locust.

    There are politicians who cannot fight elections on their own either because of lack of influence or resources or absolute poverty of ideas. This, they rely on godless godfathers who help and assist them to grab power on the understanding that they will use public funds to settle them back. This is the bane of Nigerian politics.

    We need a statesman, outspoken, confident, able and ready men who have no psychological problems and other inadequacies to join the political train so as to turn around the economy of this country. For such leadership offices, we do not need people who are merely looking for employment. We need men and women of reason who have made it in their chosen fields of endeavor and who cannot be swayed by financial considerations if they find themselves in the corridors of power.

    We need men like Uba, who are rich and will thereore not likely to misappropriate public funds but will augment the same with their own resources. We need patriots in power. We need statesmen. We need goodmen.

    The eve of godfatherism should be over. The godsons have ruined many states and governments. A distinguished personality and wealthy businessman like Uba will not likely dip hands into the coffers of government to help himself. Uba is not coming to government to make money. He is not seeking political office to acquire wealth or buy private jet which he already has. From what we have seen so far, it is certain that Uba is coming to create wealth in Anambra State, to reinvigorate the economy, resuscitate ailing infrastructures, provide employment and give hope to the people.

    The leaders in Anambra State have seen it all. They are in a position to assess Uba and his pedigree. For long, Anambra State has been held by the jugular by a group of never-do-wells and political tin-gods. Anambra State has been in neo-colonial bondage of sorts. The state has been in ruins. It has been unable to rise above mediocrity. The state lies comatose. This is a state where godfathers arrested a sitting governor and detained him. It is the state where ascendancy to governorship has been a function of who you know and how connected you are and not what you know and what you can offer.

    So, Dr. Uba, to progressive minded people of Anambra State, is a Daniel come to judgment. He is coming to wipe out the tears of helpless and hapless Anambrarians who have been suffering in silence and praying that a Messiah will come to save them from their bondage and incapacitation.

    The tour of his facilities in Lagos has opened the eyes of many. It is a testimony to Uba’s capacity and willingness to liberate Anambra from the shackles of poverty, penury and deprivation, once he becomes governor.

    In fact, the good people of Anambra State, the leaders and the common people like, are now convinced that Uba is a fit and proper person to be the Governor of Anambra State.

    This style, adopted by Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Uba, to say the least, is revolutionary, it is the first time a public office seeker has arranged to meet the people at close quarters to interact with them and share ideas on how to move the state forward. After the interaction, the people were not only impressed but they were of the firm view that Uba is the man whom God has prepared and positioned to save Anambra State from the ruin and maladministration of yester-years.

     

    * Okpala, a political analyst, wrote in from Awka, Anambra State