The Nation Newspaper

Category: Politics

  • Constitution: Public session holds Nov 10

    A public session on the review of the 1999 constitution is to hold on November 10, in the Esigie College Hall, Abudu of the Orhionmwon/Uhunmwode Federal constituency .

    A statement by Mr Osaro Osemwengie, Legislative Aide to Hon Samson Osagie, representing Orhionmwon/ Uhunmwode Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives said the session will be under the chairmanship Justice J.O. Olubor, retired President of the Customary Court of Appeal, Edo state.

    The same session will also hold in Ovia Federal Constituency represented by Nosa Osahon, an engineer.

    The proceeding, which will be held simultaneously throughout the country as far as is practicable, will be held on same day and about the same time in all the federal constituencies across the country.

    The statement advised the people of the constituency to see the public session on the review of the 1999 Constitution as their golden opportunity to participate and contribute their views and position on issues to be included or reviewed in the constitution

     

  • Tribute to Mohammadu Mamman Shuwa

    Tribute to Mohammadu Mamman Shuwa

    Today is yet another sad day for our country Nigeria. This morning General Moham-madu Mamman Shuwa was murdered just outside his Maiduguri home by a group of heartless people who are suspected to be members of the muslim fundamentalist sect Boko Haram.This is a tragedy of monuemental proportions. General Mohammadu Mamman Shuwa was not only an absolute gentleman but he was also perhaps the most respected, effective, disciplined, restrained and successful battle commander in the Nigerian Army during the civil war. He was in command of the 1st Division of the Nigerian army and it was the 1st Division that managed to defeat the Biafran Army and enter the east from the northern front.

    Unlike many other commanders on both sides of the war, Shuwa was known for his immense compassion for the civilian population quite apart from his extraordinary courage and fighting skills. It is a matter of historical record that, unlike with other commanders, no massacres of civilians were carried out under him or by his 1st Division throughout the entire course of the war.

    After capturing them he treated the Biafran soldiers, enemy combatants and the Igbo civilian population with immense respect and remarkable compassion. This man was not just a profoundly good and humane person, he was not just a war hero, but he was also a great father, husband and family man. He was a very quiet man that consistently shunned the limelight and public office even though there is not one retired senior army officer in this country or politician, alive or dead, that did not revere him and hold him in the highest esteem.

    He was not only one of General Yakubu’s Gowon’s most trusted and able officers and senior commanders during the war but he was also exceptionally close to and highly respected by other great and distinguished war-time commanders like General Olusegun Obasanjo, General Mohammadu Buhari, General TY Danjuma, General Hassan Usman Katsina, General Benjamin Adekunle, General Adeyinka Adebayo, General Sani Abacha, General.Alani Akinrinade and General Ibrahim Babangida. They all looked up to General Shuwa just as did those of us in the younger generation and who are not in the military.

    I should mention the fact that again as a measure of this great man’s level of compassion it is on record that during the northern officers counter-coup of July of July 1966 he saved the lives of many Igbo officers by locking up the armoury and refusing to give up the key after the mass killing of Igbo officers started all over the country. At that time General Shuwa was Commander of the 5th Battalion in Kano. Had it not been for his timely intervention and efforts and the efforts of the late Major General James Oluyele, who was his Second in Command at the time, many more Igbo officers that were stationed in Kano, would have lost their lives that night.

    Yet there is far more to the story of this great man than just his efforts, as gallant and indispensable as they were, during the civil war. He went on to live a long and distinguished life of honour, duty, selfless service and distinction after the war. I mourn with my brother Hon. Yusuf Tuggar and his dear wife who have lost their father-in-law and father respectively in such tragic and cruel circumstances and I mourn with the Shuwa family of Maiduguri for this great loss.

    If I were to ever use the great Mark Anthony’s words when he saw Julius Caesar’s bleeding and dying body after he was cut short by Brutus and the other Roman traitors, this is the time that it is appropiate to do so. For I can say of General Mohammadu Shuwa as Mark Anthony said of Caeser that “here lies a Caesar, after whom comes no other”.

    We have lost a true ‘’titan’’ and a living ‘’immortal’’ all rolled into one. He was a great son of Nigeria and a glorious shining star and we must do all that we can to honour him even in death. May the Lord have mercy upon General Mohammadu Mamman Shuwa and forgive him of all his sins. May his good deeds speak for him before God. May the Lord welcome him into the hosts of Heaven. May his beautiful and compassionate soul rest in perfect peace. And may the Lord avenge him of all those that saw fit to cut short his precious life.

     

     

  • Delta ACN rebounds to tackle PDP over council polls

    Delta ACN rebounds to tackle PDP over council polls

    The dark days are over for the Delta State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). The party seems poised to challenge the ruling party in the state in the coming local government elections in 2015. Correspondent OKUNGBOWA AIWERIE reports.

     

    The Delta State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) appears to be stabilising after a period of internal crisis which severely hampered the party’s growth in the state. The subsequent poor showing of the party at the 2011 gubernatorial elections has also been attributed to the crisis.

    At the party’s congress which held in Asaba in 2010, Chief Adolor Okotie-Eboh, son of Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, Nigeria’s first Finance Minister in the First Republic, emerged chairman after the warring factions agreed to sheathe their swords and resolved to work in the interest of the party.

    However, despite the relative peace which reigns in the party, there are still pockets of discontent as represented by the strident calls by such people as Dr Veronica Ogbuagu, Harvest Igben and Senator Adego Eferakeya for the removal of the newly elected state chairman.

    The chairman has, however, dismissed such calls describing them as vain attempts to continue to cause disaffection within the party. He said the party has moved beyond the era of few people hijacking it for their selfish interest.

    His words: “No, these are just three individuals in the party causing trouble because they have discovered that they cannot penetrate me and make me work against the goals of our party, which in my opinion is why they are bitter.

    “They have not come out to say which rule I have broken, all they say is I am a former PDP man. Who is more PDP than a former commissioner under Chief James Ibori like Dr Ogbuagu or Senator Adego Eferakeya, a former member of PDP who represented Delta Central in the Senate? I never held any position even though I was a PDP member in the past. Omo-Agege used to be with us and was our principal and as our principal at that time we were loyal to his cause. He has gone back to PDP and we have moved on. We are rebuilding the party in order to make the sort of impact we want to make in 2015”.

    Aside the minor irritations of these dissenting members within its fold, a more pressing challenge for the party, according to Okotie-Eboh, is the forthcoming local government elections in the state.

    Although the Delta State House of Assembly recently passed the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC) amendment bill, it is yet to screen nominees presented by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan.

    This crucial task of screening of nominees by the legislature lies at the heart of the petition by the opposition ACN.

    The delay has opened the state government to attack by the opposition over its management of the process leading to the local council polls, thus setting the stage for an inevitable collision between the government and opposition parties.

    Aside the lethargy displayed in the amendment of the DSIEC bill by the State Legislature, the opposition in the state is miffed at the composition of nominees to serve on the board of the state election commission.

    Okotie-Eboh told The Nation that his party is opposed to the government’s move, stressing that some nominees presented to the Assembly by Governor Uduaghan were politicians.

    His words, “Local council election is a state affair, but I do not know why the House of Assembly has not considered our petition about some nominees presented by Governor Uduaghan to the House. Some of them are politicians; they are card carrying members of the PDP. We are not comfortable with those names and I hope they look into it and make replacements. Until there is a constitutional amendment on administration of local council polls, I guess we are stuck with the shenanigans of state government”.

    A copy of the petition made available to The Nation, signed by the party’s publicity secretary, Mr. Frank Egbomien said Uduaghan lacks the power to recommend persons to be screened by the legislature.

    Part of the petition reads:“The Delta State ACN wishes to draw the attention of the PDP government to the most recent decision of the Edo State High Court, sitting in Ekpoma on 16th May, 2012, wherein, Hon. Justice Akomolafe Wilson declared, among other things: “By virtue of Section-7(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), the Governors lack the power to handpick or recommend persons not democratically elected, to be screened or ratified by the House of Assembly, for the purpose of appointing such persons as members of the Local Government transition committees.”

    The party further alleges that the state government is plotting to install caretaker committee to run local councils. “Surprisingly, however, it has come to the knowledge of the Delta State ACN, that the PDP government of Delta State has perfected a plan to illegally constitute care-taker/transition committees to run the affairs of the Local Government Councils in the State,” it said.

    It continued: “The Delta State ACN wishes to condemn, in very strong terms, the PDP government’s ill-advised intention, which is undemocratic, unconstitutional, and contravenes the extant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and a subsisting court judgment on the matter. Section-7(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2010 (as amended), states clearly, that democratically elected structures must be ensured at the Local Government levels. This is the position of the law, which has been repeatedly upheld by the court.”

    But the State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Chike Ogeah denied the allegations leveled against it by ACN, stressing that the government was desirous of organising a free and fair local council poll and would ensure the integrity of the board of electoral umpire.

    He said: “The state government is not going to put PDP members into such a non partisan commission. The opposition should be patient until the list is made public and desist from working on hearsay. The state government fully realizes the importance of local government council polls and is determined to organize a free, fair and credible poll.”

    Okotie-Eboh is confident about the chances of his party in the local council polls and ultimately the 2015 Delta State gubernatorial elections.

    “I can tell you that the ruling party is in for a shocker, it is not proper to disclose our strategies on the pages of the newspaper. I can assure you that we are not sleeping we are working hard across the three senatorial districts with party faithful across the 25 local government areas and I hope we will make a good showing across the state in the local council polls and ultimately the gubernatorial election in 2015,” he declared.

     

     

  • Opposition parties ’ll unseat PDP in 2015, says Onu

    Opposition parties ’ll unseat PDP in 2015, says Onu

    Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu is the National Chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). The former governor of old Abia State, in this interview with GBENGA OMOKHUNU, speaks on his plans for the party, which he admits is losing its grip as a major opposition party in Nigeria, and the plan by major opposition parties to unseat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 general elections by forging an alliance soon. He also appraises the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

    What would you say was responsibly  for the party’s misfortune in recent elections?

    Honestly, there are so many reasons. One is that the ruling party Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wanted to impose on the nation a one-party system. For us in the ANPP, who used to be All Peoples Party (APP), we believe that if our party has not been very resilience, perhaps, we would have suffered even worse fate. Secondly, elections were not really free and fair, the result you get cannot be said to be a true reflection of the performance of various parties. So, all these contributed to the ANPP losing influence, the decline that we saw moving from controlling 9 states to 3, but we are very hopeful that the future belongs to ANPP and other opposition parties. We are really interested in working with other major opposition parties so that we can effect change for the good of our country.

    A former chairman, the late Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, was accused of dining and wining with the PDP through the Government of National Unity (GNU). This has been described as the source of the party’s misfortune. How would you react to this?

    It was not a decision taken by him. The participation of ANPP in the Government of National Unity was a decision taken by the party as of that time. You are aware that the National Executive Committee (NEC) of ANPP has, also with other organs, agreed that we should discontinue and so, the party entered into the relationship, not the national chairman and also the party decided to come out of it. As the national chairman, I am just there to do the will of the party. Even though the constitution says I should give direction and so on, but I can only implement whatever is acceptable to majority of members of the party. The decision now is that we should disengage from the GNU and seek cooporation which could lead to merger, go into alliance with other major opposition political parties and that is what we are doing now.

    There are suggestions that you are not criticising this government enough, is this true?

    For me, wherever I go, people come to me, they are very happy with what we are doing and they encourage me. We have done a lot in the political arena. The problems in the system are so many and it will take time to effect change. Nigerian politics since independence has been centred on politics of personalities, but the ANPP is leading the way, to move away from the politics of personalities to politics of issues. That is, whatever the system will accept must be idea driven. And we have achieved a lot in that regard because you will find that before any matter comes up, we will give our own position and we always go beyond just criticizing, we give options. So, I think that is the correct thing because if you go into just criticizing for the sake of it, then you are not helping because we are also interested in our nation being a leading nation in the world and we believe that if we give options, in terms of how we can develop faster, then Nigerians will have more confidence in us and give us the opportunity to govern at the federal level.

    What are your plans for 2015?

    We are not interested in remaining as opposition party; we want to be in government. We want to be in position to help solve many of the problems confronting our nation and also we don’t like the word ‘capture’; we will win states and we appeal to the conscience, the wellbeing of our citizens and once they believe in us, which is exactly what we are doing now to make Nigerians trust the ANPP, once that trust is there then it will be easy for us to win future elections. We intend to control far more states than we were controlling now, but above all, to be able to produce the President of the country.

    Since you took over the leadership of the party, what steps have you taken to revive it?

    First, it is our responsibility to ensure that our nation grows stronger than it is now and that Nigerians are made happy, proud citizens of their country. Our nation can win the respect it deserves in the comity of nations. These are the things that have propelled our activities in the party. We have tried to keep to our constitution, we believe that the constitution of the party should be supreme and we also believe that we in the leadership must not be above our constitution. We have complied completely with the letters and the spirit of the constitution and that has helped us to instil discipline, maintain order in the party and ensure that every member of the party is protected.

    Are you saying that there is noticeable peace in the party now?

    Yes, all those over bearing actions of individuals that used to be the hallmark of the party are no longer allowed. That is why there is peace in the party. We have eliminated crisis and the movement away from the party has been considerable controlled; as a matter of fact, now we are receiving members from different states of the country. This is one area we have done very well. Since we came, you noticed that we supervise the last set of primary and our convention was ranked to be the very best, even contestants who lost did not complain. We do not have cases in the court or in the tribunal. And the party has been peaceful and quiet for two years. We are very happy but the secret is that we allowed internal democracy, we uphold the supremacy of our constitution and we will continue to do that because when you do that then you will be fair and just and fair to everybody. We have been asking those who left to come back, we have written letters to them telling them that look, the house you helped to build, you must come back to make sure that this house is kept in good order and most of them have been responding. We are very happy about the progress and we hope this will continue.

    How far has the party gone with the alliance plan?

    Actually, we are working very hard, a committee has been set up and that committee drew its members from all the major organs of the party and we believe that they are working. We at the leadership have also done a lot of ground work, we have met with the leadership of many of the major parties just to soften the ground, we are very hopeful that there will be success at the end of the day. The issue of who becomes the candidate of either a new party or one of the parties or an alliance is something that will come up in 2015, you cannot pre-determine now, but whomsoever the alliance of the new party present, we will be happy to support the person, our interest is to make sure that we win elections at the centre.

    Do you think party members couldagree to support Buhari considering the fact that he left ANPP to form CPC?

    We should not be discussing individuals now because this thing is still far away and when that decision will be taken, it will depend on the mood of the nation. But any person who is chosen, I am sure they will also participate in the adoption. I must tell you that I am encouraged by the level of support we have received from members, they are very supportive, and they also believe that those things that do not work in the past, we should not continue with them. I think it is on that basis that we anticipate that if we form a merger or have alliances that all these things will work very well.

    Many party members don’t agree with the choice of former governor of Borno State Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the new Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT). How was he picked?

    I have not been told this as national chairman. At the ANPP, we believe in zoning, so the position of chairman of BoT was zoned to the North East and we got a letter from the North East where all our key members recommended the current BoT chairman even though it is the BoT that by our constitution can select their own chairman. All the leaders in the North East made that selection and when we were inaugurating the Board of Trustees, there was only one candidate and that was Senator Ali-Modu Sheriff. So, if there were other candidates, there would have been an election. Those who are making this comment have not brought it up to me. They should also have provided an alternative so that those who don’t like him will decide to vote against him. He is just starting. All organs of the party are working, we are interested in winning elections and my responsibility is to ensure that I harness all resources in the party and to make sure that the party operates efficiently. Our interest is duly to the country, we believe that if our party is strong, then we will be in a position to provide an alternative platform to ensure that politics becomes competitive in the nation so that those in office will always know that if they don’t do well, they can be voted out and that is the reason we are going for this merger and alliance discussion.

    In terms of delivering democracy dividends, how would you rate the governors?

    A number of governors have done very well. We in the opposition parties are worried because we have a situation where we are getting so much revenue into the country, more than we have ever had before and yet we cannot implement our capital budget and we have cases of insecurity at the level we never had before, our infrastructure is decaying; look at the flood, the meteorologists warned that there will be so much rainfall this year and that there will be flooding, there was that warning, but I don’t know whether there was any decision taken in response to that warning. Cameroon, our neighbouring country, told us they are going to release water from their dam, these are things that good governance can help us resolve. There are a lot of problems; look at assessment from international organizations, even from Africa, now Nigeria is ranked among the least. We are worried and there is high level of unemployment, poverty level is rising, even our own government agencies are saying so and that is why we are asking Nigerians to give us a chance, if you have tried one political party for 13 years, we should try another. It will help promote good governance.

    If by tomorrow you find your BoT Chairman working against the interest of the party, what action will the party take?

    I doubt he will do so because all members of the party have personally told me that they are going to work in the interest of the party and I believe he will continue to be loyal to the party.

    How would you assess President Goodluck Jonathan, considering the general insecurity in the country?

    The situation is very disturbing. We also know that the security of lives and property is the most important responsibility of any government and it is in the constitution and we see how insecure people are across the country. A lot of problems are all over the country. There is the lack of implementation of the capital budget. Look at the issue of fuel scarcity; the idea of fuel scarcity is very disturbing to us. The position of our party is very clear that we need to repair our refineries. There is no reason refineries can work in other countries and they cannot work in Nigeria. If all our refineries are working, we should be in a position to meet virtually all the needs of our nation. If we refine here, it means we are also creating jobs and this means a lot of benefits because the workers will be paying tax to government and so revenue of government will also rise. Look at the issue of flood, government should take necessary steps that ought to have been taken. So, we are interested because we don’t want to see prices rise. Government should address the need of our farmers with urgency so that crops can be planted; we need to take remedial actions to address this issue.

    Where do you want to see ANPP as a party in years to come?

    ANPP is a great party of the future. We are talking to the entire major opposition parties. Our aim is merger and that is what our National Executive Committee (NEC) has mandated us to do. If we don’t get it, then we form an alliance. What we want to do is to be able to produce President of Nigeria, let Nigerians see that many of the problems confronting us can be solved. At times, I am not comfortable that problems we have since independence are still with us. Something is wrong. I believe whatever comes out of our discussion will do well for Nigeria.

     

  • Politics of smear campaign in Oyo State

    Politics of smear campaign in Oyo State

    Last week was a trying time for the first family in Oyo State. The week started on a shocking note for the First Lady of the state, Chief (Mrs) Florence Ajimobi and his husband, Senator Abiola Ajimobi with the circulation of a report from an online medium, Newsleak, stating emphatically that she was in the custody of the London Metropolitan Police.

    The report pointed out that Mrs Ajimobi was arrested for laundering N500 million. The huge amount, it was alleged, was carried in pounds sterling and dollars by the governor’s wife, adding that his husband had to rush down to London to stand surety for her before she was released on bail by the Metropolitan Police. The medium also alleged that the journey to London was her 52nd trip abroad since her husband assumed office 17 months ago.

    The medium also stated that Governor Ajimobi had engaged the services of three Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) led by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) to represent her in court for the trial in London. It added that the lawyers were already on their way to London to start the defence of the First Lady as at Monday last week. The report spread fast like a whirlwind, jolting many people (friends and foes alike). Within a short period, social media became awash with the report, and with Nigerian media lapping up the “hot news.”

    Telephone lines were unusually busy as friends and foes made efforts to either spread the news or cross-check some facts about the rumour. A Lagos-based evening medium, PM News, blazed the report that Tuesday with additional report that the Metropolitan Police had confirmed Mrs Ajimobi’s arrest. In response, the governor sued the evening newspaper for libel to the tune of N1 billion, insisting that the newspaper must provide evidence of his wife’s arrest as claimed.

    The First Lady also told reporters in a telephone interview from her location in London that same Tuesday evening, saying that she was never arrested in London. Rather, she disclosed that she planned to return to Nigeria the following day to puncture the report as total falsehood. Mrs Ajimobi explained that she went to London with her 14-year-old daughter who just finished spending her two-week break. As a minor, Mrs Ajimobi explained that the British education regulations require that she goes home to her parents during mid-term and other holidays. She pointed out that she cannot stay alone at home in London; hence, she always goes to spend time with her. She added that the role of looking after the girl had become cumbersome since the election of her husband as she could no longer spend as much time as she used to spend with her due to office duties. She recalled her itinerary after her arrival on Wednesday: “I went to the United Kingdom on Sunday with my 14-year-old daughter who had been home for two weeks on mid-term break. It is my role as a mother to care for her. I can’t fail to perform my role as a mother because I am the wife of the governor. She has been in the UK over five years and, as I said earlier, I visit her every three weeks. I don’t have any other child there that can look after her. My son is in Birmingham and that is far away from the school she attends. So, I will keep performing my role as a mother. If I have to go back tomorrow to see her, I will do. I am not using government funds because she has been there since 2007. I have cared for her; I have nursed her.

    “As a responsible mother, I will look after my daughter. Because I cannot afford to stay there with her, she comes home every holiday. And because I am the First Lady of the state, I can no longer stay as I used to stay. I went to London on Sunday and I am back today. Let them know that I owe my children a duty that I will not give up for anything.” She expressed the belief that political opponents were behind the report and called on her opponents to avoid dirty politics. On the face value, the report contains some allegations that force many discerning readers to ask questions. Where is the confirmation from the London Metropolitan Police that Mrs Ajimobi was actually arrested? The ethics of journalism demand that stories, particularly those that contain allegations, require confirmation by agencies involved as well as reaction by the person alleged. But the story did not contain a single verified source, thereby raising credibility question on its content. The Met Police can always be contacted for confirmation either through its website or telephone contacts. The organisation is a well-organized security agency with international best practices as it handles security issues involving various nationals. So, journalists and even members of the public can easily communicate with it without hindrance. Mrs Ajimobi also has a spokesperson that can respond to such incident in the event that the woman can not be reached immediately. It is expected that media organizations would observe the ethics of the profession, particularly in this type of weighty allegation.

    The claim that her husband, Senator Ajimobi, had assembled a team of SANs to represent her wife in London court, to observers, is also absurd as lawyers who are not called to bar in the UK cannot practise law in the country. The practice of law is country-specific. Any lawyer not called to bar in a particular country cannot practise in that country.

    Again, the story claimed that the governor’s wife had traveled for 52 times since May, 2011. Mathematical calculations will interpret that to mean that Mrs Ajimobi has been traveling abroad once in about every 10 days since she became the First Lady. That is hardly possible, given her attendance at public functions in Oyo State since her husband’s election. No wonder the woman offered to show her traveling passport to fault the claim. Who are behind Newsleak? What does the medium stand to gain from the report? Was it just aimed at gaining popularity or aimed at smearing the image of the First Lady? Could it have been sponsored? If so, by who and for what reason? Looking at the spurious content of the report, it is safe to conclude that the build-up to 2015 general elections in the state may have started. Oyo State is known for deep, dirty politicking since the First Republic. It has been known as the hotbed of political violence in the past but it has been trying to shed the toga since the beginning of this administration. But with the current development, dirty, old-style politics in the state may be on its way back to the political scene. While politicians enjoy their game in the state, the legal fireworks between Ajimobi and PM News are sure to make interesting news reports to readers across the country.

  • 2015: Rumble in Akwa Ibom

    2015: Rumble in Akwa Ibom

    Last week, the unexpected happened in Akwa Ibom State. The deputy governor Mr Nsima Ekere took almost everybody by surprise. He resigned his position in a tersely worded, two paragraphed letter. He attributed his resignation to “personal reasons”. But this has been dismissed by analysts as a mere smokescreen for a high-wire power struggle rocking the state in respect of the 2015 governorship election.

    Among the medley of reasons that have been advanced for the unexpected resignation of the former deputy governor is the strongly held insinuation about Ekere’s ambition to succeed Akpabio.

    Part of Ekere’s aspiration, it was learnt, was to ensure that the Eket Senatorial District, which has not produced the governor of the state since 1999 is given an opportunity of leading the state in 2015 to engender a sense of belonging.

    Akwa Ibom, like every other state of the federation has three senatorial districts. They are Eket, Uyo and Ikot Ekpene. Almost all the oil resources for which the state is famous comes from the Eket Senatorial District stretching from Mbo to Ikot Abasi.

    Former governor Victor Attah, who governed from 1999 to 2007 hails from Ibesikpo Asutan in Uyo Senatorial District. Incumbent Governor Akpabio is from Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District. The choice of the next occupant of Government House, Uyo, in 2015 is said to be at the heart of last week’s political rumble in the state. There is the wide speculation here that the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Umana Umana is tipped to succeed Akpabio. He is from Nsit Ubiom in Uyo Local Government Area.

    Akpabio and Umana both served as commissioners under Governor Attah. Akpabio served in the Ministry of Local Government while Umana was in charge of finance. Umana, it was learnt, worked assiduously towards the emergence of the present governor in the state.

    As to be expected, the state quickly filled the seeming void created by the resignation of Nsima. On Saturday, Governor Akpabio swore in Lady Valerie Ebe as the new deputy governor. During her swearing-in, Governor Akpabio said that with her emergence, the state now has a triumvirate of women in key positions as Chief Judge, Head of Civil Service and now as a deputy governor.

    However, beyond the attempt to cloak the appointment as a sign of a gender friendly administration, the choice of Ebe has been described as a carefully considered one as a person that is unlikely to pull any surprises that would hurt the transition plans already on ground. The agenda is to safe guard a planned transition, it was learnt.

    A reliable source in Uyo said of the choice of Lady Valerie: “He might have picked her at that age, believing there would be no ambition of any kind. He probably wants someone who is completely loyal and maybe also to satisfy the womenfolk. Besides, women are known not to be as politically aggressive as men.”

    A widow, said to be in her mid 60s, Ebe had served before in the executive councils of the former governor Attah and incumbent Akpabio, and only left the present administration after the last cabinet shakeup. She was the legal adviser to the Peoples Democratic Party in the state.

    Described as a cool headed woman, she was married to the late Morris Ebe, who was a prominent politician in the state. She is also a teacher, lawyer and women mobilizer, who contributed to the emergence of the Akpabio government.

    She was appointed a Commissioner in the Ethical and Attitudinal Re-orientation Commission, EARCOM, during Obong Victor Attah’s regime. With the advantage of her position as President and founder of a socio-political organisation, Akwa Ibom Women League, she galvanised support from the women for the governorship ambition of Akpabio in 2007. She eventually became Akpabio’s Commissioner for Culture and Tourism and later Commissioner for Environment and Mineral Resources, until she was dropped in the cabinet reshuffle.

    The question being asked in Akwa Ibom and beyond now is whether the path to Government House has now been paved and made ready for an anointed individual in 2015? Political observers have also surmised that if the body language of the governor is anything to go by, he probably has cast his vote in the succession bid for Umana.

    The arrangement is believed to have already been set in motion, and like a moving train, is capable of crushing anything on its path. It is said that Ekere’s ambition, which also seems to be his bane, appeared to be a major cog in the wheel of the machinery that has been grinding quietly, slowly, yet surely towards 2015.

    The same machinery, which in seeking to preserve itself, had allegedly, covertly initiated an impeachment process against the former deputy to cut him short and make sure he doesn’t have the financial and political strength if he decides to run.

    Mixed reactions have trailed the circumstances surrounding his resignation. While some feel he gave in too easily, a disturbing quality for anyone who desires to lead a state like Akwa Ibom; others think it was the wisest thing to do as moves were already in place to get him impeached, in which case he would have been rendered politically irrelevant for life.

    It is, however, believed that he would continue to build structures to the best of his ability towards 2015, although many believe it is going to be an uphill task pitting against the wishes of a sitting governor. But a sympathizer who would not want his name in print, reasoned that he can take consolation from recent history that the former governor was unable to install someone of his choice.

    However, a downside to whatever influence such history may have to Ekere’s ambition, other observers noted that Akpabio who emerged as governor as the wishes of then incumbent Attah was in government “till the very last”, thereby building a very formidable base.

    According to a source in Uyo, “Ekere gave in too easily. The gesture suggests that he is not strong. He has only being in power for one year and that is not enough time to consolidate. He has been trying to build up a power structure but I am not sure he has much on ground. Leaving power now is a fatal blow to his political ambition.

    “If you are impeached for unjust reasons it doesn’t mean it is a death sentence. People would know. You have to fight. Even fighting would unearth some facts that are being hidden. The fight would become messy. And the world would know your own side of the story. Either there is something sinister he is afraid of or just downright weak, which anyway just boils down to the same weakness. Resigning on personal grounds does not make you strong enough to rule a state like Akwa Ibom where people would fight you to the ground. You have to be ready to take anything.”

    But arguing for Ekere’s action another said, “He did what he had to. He could not have fought against an impeachment because first, the House of Assembly to a great extent is a rubber stamp Assembly. Resigning honourably, at least saves him the dent of an impeachment on his political career, which could have telling effects on his future, politically.”

    For the governor, Akpabio, it is his third lieutenant in a space of two years. While this has shaken the belief of the people on the governor’s ability to be a team player, others hope Ebe sees 2015 as deputy governor of Akwa Ibom State.

  • 2015: Don’t distract Jonathan, Ijaw leader warns

    2015: Don’t distract Jonathan, Ijaw leader warns

    The Izon Community, a Lagos based Niger Delta group of Ijaw extrac-

    tion, has described the endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan

    by various groups ahead of the 2015 general elections as a distraction.

    Mr Regent Youmor, a former President of Izon Community told journalists in Lagos that the calls by various groups for the President to run in 2015 were premature.

    The group condemned leaders of the South-South geo-political zone under the aegis of the South- South Peoples Assembly (SSPA) for endorsing Jonathan for 2015 at its meeting in Effurun, Delta State, recently .

    “The President should not be distracted now; it is still too early for 2015,’’ Youmor said, describing those calling on the president to run in 2015 as “political merchants’’, whose calls were based on selfish reasons.

    “The President should be allowed to make up his mind and concern himself with giving good leadership and reducing the sufferings of the populace,’’ the Ijaw chief said. He urged Jonathan to disregard the detractors saying, “it is the people that should come and beg him; the power of democracy is the power of the masses,’’.

    He blamed the diminishing popularity of Jonathan on the non-performance of some members of his cabinet. “The goodwill and the popularity the President enjoyed at the last elections are fast diminishing owing to faults not entirely his, but of those people he has put in key places. Some of them are out just to acquire wealth at the detriment of the poor,’’ he said.

    Youmor expressed support for the President’s plan to wield the big stick against non-performing members of his cabinet. He said if he has an adviser that is not performing to expectation, such an adviser should be sacked.

  • ‘2012 budget’s implementation very embarrassing’

    ‘2012 budget’s implementation very embarrassing’

    The President has presented the 2013 Budget proposal to the National Assembly. What are your views?

    The timing of the Budget presentation is appropriate because it was done in the nick of time. This will afford the Senate and the House of Representatives sufficient time to study and brainstorm on the content, with a view to ensuring early passage as the case may be.

    It is a good development, because this is a clear departure from the past when the Budget proposal s were presented almost at the tail end of the year, leaving little time for proper deliberations and scrutiny by the lawmakers.

    As it were, the Budget document as presented by the President remains a proposal until both chambers of the National Assembly study it and make necessary amendments, where necessary, based on the priorities and needs of the masses. As you are very much aware, the National Assembly has the constitutional mandate to harmonize the budget proposal, at the end of which it will be returned to the President for his assent as required by the constitution and the Appropriation Act.

    Are you saying that the National Assembly will tinker with the budget and make amendments?

    Yes, of course. We have the constitutional obligation to do the best we can to make provisions for the basic needs of the masses. It is a collective responsibility.

    Let me remind you that in 2012, the President presented a Budget of N4.7 trillion. However, after the necessary appraisals and reviews, the National Assembly scaled the budget value to N4.877 trillion. With all intents and purposes, it was a modest increase, based on the realities of the moment at that time.

    The budget proposal for 2013, however, is N4.92 trillion as presented by Mr President. This figure represents an increase of about 5 per cent when compared to the proposal for the year 2012. Combined Defence and Security vote is N1.055 trillion, representing an increase of N135 billion over this year’s allocation.

    What are some of the other general features of the 2013 budget proposal?

    Education sector was allocated N426.53 billion, Health got N279.23 billion, Works is allocated N183.5 billion, while Agriculture and Rural Development was allocated N81.41 billion.

    There were a number of fiscal policies in the Budget proposal aimed at boosting economic growth and general development of the nation.

    As the vice chairman of Senate Committee on Water Resources, how much was voted for the sector as Capital expenditure in the 2013 budget?

    The total amount proposed in the 2013 budget as capital expenditure for Water Resources is N39, 876,340,812., that is N39.8 billion.

    In the 2012 budget, the capital expenditure for Water Resources was N79, 388,019,069., that is N79.3 billion. You can see that we have a short fall of about N40 billion in the 2013 budget proposal.

    Remember that when the 2012 budget was presented last year, I complained that the allocation to the Water Resources sector was grossly inadequate, but this year again the proposal for 2013 is even far less when compared to the previous year.

    Ordinarily, a sector as important as Water Resources should attract much higher allocation, considering the ever rising need for potable water for domestic use in all nook and cranny of the country and of course for irrigation and animal consumption.

    The sad incident of flood disaster across the nation is not and cannot be an indication that Nigeria has gotten more than its requirement of water that would warrant the cutting down or reduction of funds for the provision of water.

    There is a fundamental difference between potable water for domestic use and sanitation on one hand and flood water on the other.

    I think the only consolation we have here is the capacity of the National Assembly to effect some amendment and review the budget proposal as presented.

    How would you assess the level of implementation of the 2012 budget?

    With all sense of modesty, the level or percentage of the implementation of the 2012 budget is very low. We are now in the month of October, with only two months to the end of the year but the 2012 budget has not been implemented up to 40 per cent by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Surprisingly, almost everywhere, the necessary funds required to match the budget proposals have not been released. It is very embarrassing.

    In some cases, as at the end of September, 2012, the MDAs have not been able to secure the release of up to 30 per cent budget funds. You will then begin to wonder the reasons for the disconnect between budget proposal and the actual release of the required funds to accelerate national development.

    If budgets are drawn up and there are difficulties in sourcing the approved funds to execute identified or listed projects, then what is the essence of budgeting in the first place? It becomes a mere waste of time and energy, as well as resources and of course short changing the people when you fail to make the required funds available for the practical implementation of such budget proposals.

    Certainly, something is wrong somewhere, otherwise the question of failure to release budget funds to the appropriate implementing agencies should not arise.

    Why is it so?

    It is the responsibility of the Executive arm of government to ensure the prompt release of funds for the implementation of budget proposals.

    I am not very sure, but it appears there are elements of ineffectiveness and lack of sincerity on the one hand and lack of proper coordination between the various agencies; probably that is why it has been consistently difficult to implement budgets to an appreciable level.

    This inadequacy is directly undermining the capacity of the nation to make any meaningful progress, while the masses are always at the receiving end because the funds voted for their welfare and development are routinely held back without any verifiable justification, only to be mopped back into the federation account at the end of each year. In some cases, it becomes even very difficult to identify where these unspent budget funds are retired to or what becomes of it.

    As I said earlier, the 2012 budget in particular has not been implemented up to 40 per cent. For instance, I am a member of the Senate Committee on Health; we had interactive session with all the Chief Medical Directors of Federal Medical Centres in the country at the end of September and early October this year. None of them have been able to secure the release of up to 30 per cent of the funds voted in the 2012 budget for their various institutions. You can only imagine the negative effect of such development to the Healthcare delivery system.

    Everywhere, the story is the same, no one has been able to secure up to 50 per cent of funds allocated in the budget as at October, 2012.

    There have been insinuations that funds to finance the 2012 budget have been used to offset the expenses of President Goodluck Jonathan election in 2011. What is your reaction to this allegation?

    I doubt very much, it is simply an idle talk and illogical for anyone to make such a wild and unsubstantiated allegation or claim.

    Before and after the 2011 general elections, the revenue accruable to the Federation Account has been stable, there was no national emergency that warranted extra-ordinary expenditure by the government and as I speak with you, we have more than $40 billion in the nation’s external reserve. By this simple analysis, how can you then substantiate claims that the budget funds for the 2012 fiscal year were dissipated upfront to foot election expenses? I doubt very much.

  • Corruption on the bench depends on which bench

    Corruption on the bench depends on which bench

    Justice Okoi Itam was recently sworn in as the Acting Chief Judge of Cross River State. In this interview with journalists, he explains how he intends to improve the judiciary in the state. Nicholas Kalu was there

    It what point did it occur to you to study law?

    I grew up believing I should read law. That is the honest truth. Right from when I was young. I had a fascination with lawyers. Talk of Abraham Lincoln. We had a lot of American Encyclopaedias and most of those admired there happened to have been lawyers. Most of their great men, the ones I had admiration for, they were all lawyers. That was before the war. Before I went to secondary school, I know I was going to read law. Even my teachers knew that. But in my secondary school and higher school, efforts were made to dissuade me from reading law. Everybody knew I was going to read law. It reached the stage where they even held a staff meeting to discourage me to read law and read engineering or medicine, because fortunately or unfortunately, I was a sort of an all-rounder as far as schooling was concerned. Science and arts, there was no difference for me.

    My father encouraged me. Then, they said there were too many lawyers and it was actually an expensive affair. Every time I asked him, are you sure if I read law you would be able to pay or I should go to teaching and save money before I read law. He said when I got the admission, I should come back and ask him that question. He asked if he has even complained of school fees. I actually enjoyed the law. In the university I was who represented the university in international competitions, in Washington, Ghana and so on. As a judge I was in the Gambia. I rose to the acting chief justice in the Gambia before I came back. In the Gambian Court of Appeal, I was the judge advocate. Most of the commissions of enquiry were done by me. I enjoyed the work. It is the only work which I know how to do well. I have a personal satisfaction in it. It gives me pleasure. That is why I can work weather I eat or not. It gives me pleasure. And it doesn’t affect me because it is not work. It is like I am just doing a hubby.

    Most of your contemporaries chose to remain at the bar, why did you opt for the bench?

    Well, I didn’t really opt for the bench. At the time of our appointment, you don’t actually apply to be a judge. The judges may be the chief judge, they decide, sometimes, they recommend you without your knowledge. In my own case, I was not consulted. I didn’t know and until the names came out. So the problem was how to convince me to come and be sworn in. That is the honest truth. I knew I was going to be a lawyer for a long time. But for the appointment, it never actually occurred to me.

    Which areas are you planning to initiate some reforms to get the judiciary functioning in the state?

    We have already started. Interacting with relevant stakeholders. You cannot do much without understanding a system. And you have to be a bit detached to listen and hear what people are actually saying, what constitutes their welfare. Before, you were just doing your job. Your job was not to consider people’s problems and solve them from an administrative angle. You just do your cases and go away. We certainly have our basic stand and I as a person I have to try to build a consensus so that everybody keys into these visions. Principally, you have to think of staff welfare. We also know that we know that we are losing a lot by not having a customary court of appeal. That is one of our priorities, because from our interactions, virtually all the lawyers and staff, there are very interested, even other members of the society. You can see that all the state surrounding us have them. Also, we have a problem of accommodation when we have functions. We need a bar and good restaurant, convenient place for lawyers and staff and we were thinking of a multipurpose hall, where we can use and even lease out on weekends, even if not for money, but for important functions, whether state or otherwise. For the staff, all we need do is show good example. For instance if you call a meeting by 12, you should be there by twelve. You also try to have a situation where you have the staff believe that the whole place belongs to all of us, there is nobody that is the owner. I don’t own the judiciary because I am a judge or acting chief judge. Therefore, when I talk nobody would talk, anything I say is right, no.

    In the short time I have been here, I have discovered that the best ideas come from the most unlikely sources and who is the beneficiary? The judiciary. It is not a personal matter. So we are trying a lot and there are lots of areas we have to compare ourselves to other states that are much poorer, but in judicial matters are better off. We have to correct all those things and have a better judiciary. We should be able to be smiling when we are going. That is the border line. When I say we, I mean the whole state, indigenes and non-indigenes alike.

    What are you going to do about overcrowded prisons, especially about cases of awaiting trial?

    Like I said, I am talking of consultation. We have met the magistrates. We have heard the problems. We have noted them down. We are meeting with the criminal justice administration committee, which comprise the prisons, police, NGOs and everything, we hear their views and after that we meet with the lawyers, staff. By the time we collate all the views, then we get to see where the shoe actually pinches and why it is pinching. We are resolved to make a strong change that one can see and feel in those areas. The problem is there is too much. The people are just too many. There is always this presumption that when somebody is in custody, he must have committed an offence. It is the natural prejudice of society, but we hope that after all these consultations, we would find a way of reducing the prison population as much as possible. We hope to introduce things like non-custodial sentences. It is not everybody that has to go to prison. The society just suffers more. First they should be on bail, once they can produce minimum and acceptable surety, which is purely a matter of discretion.

    We intend to encourage the judges and magistrates to look at the law as a social service, look at these criminals as the law looks at them, which is to presume them innocent until they are proved guilty, and where you cannot prove them guilty and you keep on delaying, of course the person should go. Of course there is no society that does not have criminals, even from Heaven, people like Lucifer were angels, if we can believe them, but now they are devils. So out of four human beings, Cain and Abel were the first grandchildren of God and that was the first murder case. So you cannot avoid that problem, but you can attack it face on. We are on the process. We are going to set up a judicial restructuring and developmental committee. The idea is to make plans for the next four years in all aspects concerning the judicial sector. That is why we want to take everybody along, not just the judges or the magistrates. Everyone has a role to play.

    There are some cases that naturally if you release people on bail, the temptation to disappear is very great. And we have a lot of those matters. Sometimes you think to avoid complications in those matters, you say well, you remand in custody or you give conditions they cannot perfect. So what we do in such cases is we find a way to enable them review the conditions. And all we want is to be sure that the person actually appears for trial. But you know there is no art to read a man’s mind. You know a lot of them actually disappear but that does not bring the world to an end. That doesn’t mean you should bring everybody there because one or two have disappeared. So we would try. It is a matter of understanding the system and the society.

    Many believe there is a lot of corruption in the bench. What do you say to this?

    Corruption on the bench depends on which bench. You have the customary courts, we deal with them at the judicial service commission; we have the magistrates, those ones we deal with them at the judicial service commission level. We have the judges, those ones at the superior court, those ones we send them to the NJC to deal with. It doesn’t even need us because the parties involved can petition direct. You also have to bear in mind there is no system that doesn’t have its Judases. And even if Christ can pick just 12 disciples, he is the Son of God, we expect that he sees tomorrow and all of that, but he picked 12 and one was a traitor. Even Peter denied him. So what else do you expect from human beings? These are parts of nature and it is sheer pretence to say these things are not there. The only thing I can say is that when they come out, they are expeditiously treated. It is rare to escape punishment. Generally in society people tend to be harsher on their own people than others. So that is how it goes. For corruption I cannot say it is not there, but I know that the punishment is sure and certain. Some people can go to any length to win a case.

  • Ondo polls: Implications for Yoruba nation

    Ondo polls: Implications for Yoruba nation

    The last may not have been heard of the October 20, 2012  gubernatorial polls in Ondo State that saw the incumbent governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, re-elected for another four years. Now that the dust raised by the euphoria of the Pyrrhic victory is gradually settling down, the undercurrent waves of what really transpired immediately before, during and after the polls are surging to the fore. But more importantly, are the implications these would have on both the much-promoted socio-economic integration of the South-West geo-political zone as well as the Yoruba nation. For those who care to take a more critical and unbiased look at the outcome of the polls, particularly the Asiwaju Tinubu – loathing, reactionary forces in Yoruba politics, it is not yet time to sing Uhuru song. The reasons may not be so obvious but the facts are as real as the wavy lines on our palms.

    For instance, going by available voting figures, Mimiko, who won with 57 per cent of the votes back in 2007 while pitched against an incumbent governor, Dr.Olusegun Agagu, (who had then spent four years) this time around was able to garner a meager 41.2 per cent. The combined votes for the governorship candidates from the two major opposition parties, ACN and PDP outnumbered that of Mimiko! The implication of this trend is that in actual sense, majority of voters in Ondo State wanted him out of Government House. They also apparently voted in favour of regional integration.

    This is not too surprising, considering the glaring fact that contrary to the well-oiled Mimiko’s propaganda machinery, the facts on ground point to the dismal performance of a governor who could not provide the basic needs of the electorate. That is, in the critical areas of infrastructural development, employment generation, and the provision of educational facilities. No thanks to the comatose industrial sector that could not generate a single job. Even the much hyped Abiye Mother and Child Care centre , lacking in basic  drugs and medical facilities could not be replicated across the two other senatorial districts. And the Dome, promised as the first of its kind in the African continent to galvanise tourism is now doomed.

    In truth and honesty therefore, Mimiko’s victory is more as a function of the gadabout game he has cleverly played with the ruling PDP hierarchy than as a result of any meaningful achievements on ground.

    Recent events point to the fact that he has succeeded in using the Labour Party, LP as a mask to mesmerize and hoodwink his supporters while in actual fact he is PDP at heart. There is ample empirical evidence on ground to lend support to this claim. Amongst the PDP politicians of South-West extraction who brokered the deal for Mimiko to win at all costs in order to pave way for the acclaimed PDP rigging machinery to resurrect in the South-West come 2015 are Senator Iyiola Omisore,Taoreed Adedioja, and General Tunji Olurin. They were the matchmakers in the marriage of convenience between Mimiko and President Goodluck Jonathan, to grease the latter’s political ambition come 2015.

    That may explain the curious twists and turns that characterized the Ondo governorship polls. Unlike what transpired in the neigbouring Edo State months ago, where  the soldiers and policemen posted to ensure adequate security and prevent violence were some five to ten metres from each polling booth, most of them deployed to Ondo State were withdrawn from the rural areas. Instead,they were redeployed to the major cities of Akure, Ondo and particularly Owo, where the ACN candidate, Barrister Rotimi  Akeredolu, hails from. There was complete militarisation of that town, in a political shenanigan aimed at intimidating the voters. It should be noted that about 60 per cent of the voters in the state reside in the rural areas. Indeed, the electoral intrigue was such that, the security personnel deployed to such rigging spots on Thursday were summarily withdrawn on Friday night-on the eve of the election-and sent to the cities. Impeccable sources attest to the claim that the ‘order came from above.’ Yet, there are more burning questions.

    Why is it that the 11,000 policemen drafted to the state were all camped in the barracks? Why were those sent to man the polling booths only females? Was it not for them to be intimidated by LP thugs to carry out their nefarious activities of rigging in favour of their master? All these happened in places such as Idanre, Okitipupa, Igbo tako, Ipele, Ofosun. There were reports of ACN agents forced to sign the collated results with blood-thirsty cutlasses and guns pointed right at their necks. The answer to these queries should also interest Nigerians, as we inch closer to the 2015 polls, by the day.

    They should wonder how in Akure South LGA, where 29,000 voters were  accredited,  Mimiko,the Labour Party candiadate, polled 49,200 viotes! Where did trhe additional 20,200 voters emerge from? It was a similar pattern of number of votes cast in Ondo and Idanre as well as some other LGAs surpassing the accredited voters. This is no doubt, political abracadabra of the crudest kind.

    To lay credence to the insinuation that some powers collaborated to collate the results, teleguiding their every move, barely three hours after Mimiko was declared the winner, the PDP aparachitck made up of Olu Agbi,Segun Adegoke, were  at the Government House to congratulate Mimiko. This was at a time, their candidate, Oke, was crying foul over what he too described as a fraudulent electoral process!

    Similarly, the first traditional ruler the governor visited was none other than the anti-Yoruba element who, to the shock and outrage of his people declared support for the unpardonable annulment of the June 12 presidential election in 1993 by the famed IBB. Now that Ebenezer Babatope and former Ogun state governor, Gbenga Daniel, (who could not win his state for his party) have visited Mimiko with the PDP helmsmen from Osun, Ekiti and Lagos in tow, it should be clear to observers that the same reactionary forces who betrayed the Yoruba cause during the Abacha era  are regrouping, all for self-serving  reasons.

    If Mimko has been basking in the honeymoon of electoral fraud for three and half years  without much opposition,while subtly spreading the rumour that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was angling for Ondo state all for the oil money, now is the time to prove that he merits all the accolades received so far. If  ACN  could rattle him so effectively within three months, now is the time to face the reality. He may have enjoyed the tacit support of Ayo Adebanjo from Ijebu, Pastor Tunde Bakare from Ogun sate and Yinka Odumakin from Osun state, that are controlled effectively by the ACN, but when the chpis are down, it is his performance that counts.

    Truth is, that in the entire South West today, no politician has the clout, the character and charisma of Asiwaju Bola Ahmad Tinubu to reposition the zone in the face of the obvious political marginalisation of the Yoruba race.

    In the fullness of time,they will know who their true leaders are.

    *Ajanaku is the Director, Media and Publicity of ACN, Ondo