The Nation Newspaper

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  • Get ready for 2015 presidency, Ezeife, Madubuike tell Ndigbo

    Get ready for 2015 presidency, Ezeife, Madubuike tell Ndigbo

    AS the debate over the fate of the South-East geo-political zone in the 2015 presidential race gathers momentum, two Igbo leaders, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, a former governor of Anambra State and Dr. Ihechukwu Madubuike, a former minister of health and education, have called on the zone to get its house in order, in preparation for the race.

    The two political leaders, who spoke to The Nation in Lagos, when they led other Igbo leaders to pay a solidarity visit to the management of Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on the recent appointment of Mr. Calistus Obi, as Executive Director of the federal government agency, said it has become necessary for Ndigbo to be ready for the 2015 race.

    Ndigbo, Ezeife said, “should prepare and be ready as an interest group. We are not out to haunt President Goodluck Jonathan, but at the appropriate time, we will make the necessary negotiation.”

    Madubuike spoke in the same fashion, saying that “Ndigbo are aware there is an incumbent president, a president that was supported by the zone during his election into office.”

    They, however, pointed out that the support the president got from the zone was based on some expectations and that at the appropriate time the president’s fulfilment of his promises to Ndigbo and the expectations of the people will count.

    They said the leaders and people of South-East zone are not toying with the 2015 presidency. “We are meeting and preparing. As you know, Ndigbo deserve, more than any other, to produce the next president of Nigeria.”

    Recently, there have been mixed reports on the position of Ndigbo on whether to support President Jonathan’s presidential bid in 2015 or to insist on Igbo presidency.

    Speaking at the event, NIMASA Director-General, Patrick Akpobololokemi, said it would be difficult for Nigeria to make progress without the Igbo nation, primarily because of their contribution in trade and technology.

    He assured the visitors that Obi will serve as a bridge between Ndigbo and NIMASA

     

  • Arepo NNPC killing: Police arrest six suspects  

    Arepo NNPC killing: Police arrest six suspects  

    Operatives of the Police Special Task Force on Anti-Pipeline Vandalism Unit, Force Headquarters Annex Lagos, have arrested six suspected vandals alleged to have participated in the incident that led to the killing of three Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) staff at Arepo Village, Owode in Ogun state.

    Those arrested are Posibi Ruben, Imerepmamu Ijebu Joel, John Aye Isaiah, Saheed Onisa Mudashiru, Ineye Okpose and Timi Gnungunu.

    Joel told investigators he knows where they buried the NNPC officials.

    He said: “I don’t know the exact spot where the killed NNPC officials were buried but my friend called Showebune told me the NNPC official were killed and buried at a land across the river.

    “I know the land where they were buried but I don’t know the exact spot.

    “Shortly after the incident, my landlord told me to be careful that my Ijaw brothers have caused trouble in the area by killing the NNPC officials who came for maintenance.’’

    He confirmed Tokuwa, Egbe, Egbekowhea, John Togo and Bashiru killed the NPPC officials, adding, “I know their houses and I can take the police there.”

    Last August, suspected vandals burst pipelines to siphon petroleum products at Arepo village, leading to a fire outbreak.

    Maintenance engineers sent by the NPPC to repair the ruptured pipeline were killed while carrying out the exercise.

    The hoodlums, using canoes and speedboats, reportedly descended on the engineers and other security operatives at the scene.

    The Assistant Commissioner of Police –in- Charge of the Task Force, Friday Ibadin, confirmed the arrests.

    Ibadin said the police have been on the trail of the suspected vandals since the incident occurred.

    According to him: “We got a tip- off that the same vandals who escaped after the incident were back to continue their normal business of vandalisation.”

    Policemen led by the Lagos Sector Commander, Mr. Onaghise Osayande, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), stormed the area and arrested those suspected vandals.

    About 200 gallons of 25 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) were recovered with hundreds of abandoned empty gallons.

    It was discovered the suspects knew what happened to the dead NNPC officials during investigations.

    Another suspect, John Aye Isaiah, popularly known as JTF, said: “Two weeks ago, I came back from a church programme and heard that some guys went to quench the fire.

    “I heard they exchanged fire with them and they killed the NNPC, the security and people that went there for the operation.

    “I know some of the people involved. They include Nduka, who stays around Isawo in Ikorodu and Beekay Austin, who lives at Ikorodu.

    “Others are Pasco, Epeu and Peresi, who all stay in Ikorodu.”

    He added: “I am not a vandal but sometimes I do buy PMS from them at cheaper prices.”

    Another suspect, Ineye Okpose, popularly known as pastor, advised the police to direct their search to Ondo state as he understood the remaining suspects have relocated.

    “They should look out for one notorious vandal called Togo, who happens to be my neighbour. I overheard when they were arguing with his boys that it’s time to relocate to another state as the police is coming for an arrest,” he said.

    Force Police spokesman, Frank Mba, a Chief Superintendent (CSP), said that police are on the trail of the other suspects still at large.

    He called on the Arepo community to help fish out the hoodlums.

    The suspects, he said, would soon be charged to court after completion of investigations.

  • P-H/Enugu express: Abia Assembly puts pressure on Fed Govt

    P-H/Enugu express: Abia Assembly puts pressure on Fed Govt

    Members of the Abia State House of Assembly have resolved to put pressure on the federal government to fix its roads in the state as many of them have become death traps.

    The House in the resolution urged the federal authorities to declare a state of emergency in respect of its roads in the state.

    Ndukwe Ojukwu, representing Bende North, said the Assembly had earlier summoned the state controller of the Federal Road Maintenance Authority (FERMA), the federal controller of works and the commissioner for works on the bad state of the roads to no avail.

    “We had fruitful discussions but unfortunately nothing has happened,” he said.

    Ojukwu recalled that the Assembly at a point even called a strike to protest the poor state of the roads during which a member of the House collapsed.

    He added:”Now the fifth House has written to the minister of works; nothing has been done because of kidnappings. But now our governor has provided security yet they are not back”.

    Also speaking, the member representing Ukwa West state constituency, Tony Mezie Nwubani said the people of the state gave President Goodluck Jonathan 100% of their votes during the 2011 presidential election and wondered why the state should now be abandoned by the present administration.

    He described the Enugu/Port Harcourt express way as a death trap, saying: “We are calling on the federal government that promised to turn the road into six lanes to just maintain what is there now to stop our people from dying”.

    The member representing Ikwuano, Emeka Osoagbaka said Abia is strategic because it connects the rest of the country with states like Cross River, Akwa Ibom and others in the South South. “ Osoagbaka said that it is time for the state to shout for the people to hear and know what is happening, pointing out that it is the right of the people of the state to have all federal roads in the state reconstructed.

  • ‘How to tackle crises in Nigeria’

    ‘How to tackle crises in Nigeria’

    President of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Organisation of Nigeria, Bishop Goodluck Akpede, yesterday stated that addressing ownership, control and management of the nation’s natural resources is crucial to maintaining peace and stability in Nigeria.

    Speaking at the World Peace Day celebration in Kaduna organised by the National Peacemakers Initiatives, Akpede said most of the crises in Nigeria are related to wealth and resource control.

    The cleric said good natural resource management can play a central role in building sustainable peace in the country.

    He said Nigeria must develop capacity for non-violent conflict resolution to avoid frequent clashes.

    President General of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club, Rafiu Ladipo, called for provision of social amenities and job opportunities to engage youths.

    He argued that when youths are engaged, they will not embrace violence.

    Ladipo called on the ruling class to emulate the virtues of Nigeria’s founding fathers, stating, “this nation cannot be divided no matter what happens. This nation must remain one”.

  • Corruption charges: Bafarawa raises new posers

    Corruption charges: Bafarawa raises new posers

    • Says EFCC can’t sustain viability of charges again

    Former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa has alleged political motive in the recent withdrawal of charges against six persons who are facing trial with him for corruption.

    Bafarawa and 15 others, including the six against whom charges were dropped, were arraigned before the Sokoto State High Court in December 2009.

    He said the names of the six were removed from the charge sheet after joining “the political camp of the incumbent governor.”

    The former governor accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the state government of playing politics with the case.

    In a petition through his lawyer, Mr. Rickey Tarfa (SAN) to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, Bafarawa protested the handling of the case and called for proper investigation of the matter.

    He spoke of “other political factors at play, using the instrumentality of the EFCC and manipulating same to achieve a specific political agenda.”

    He said the evidence of the former co-accused can no longer be relied upon to be the truth and therefore “the charge can no longer be viably sustained in the absence of these key co-accused persons.”

    He added: “We urge that you use your good office to investigate the above and order that the charges be dropped if the facts are as we have stated, so that the impression be not given to the general public that the machinery of the commission is in this instance being used to further certain political interests instead of to fight corruption.”

    Bafarawa’s trouble started when, Governor Aliyu Wamako of Sokoto State, in his inaugural speech, alleged that the much-celebrated N13 billion or N11 billion “purported to be bequeathed by the outgoing administration could not be traced, instead, almost all the major government accounts were found to have been overdrawn to the tune of over N2 billion.”

    Reacting to the open allegation, Bafarawa wrote a letter to the chairman of EFCC on May 30, 2007, narrating how Wamako allegedly refused to honour invitations he extended to him before the hand-over to enable them discuss details of the handing over account and the actual amount his administration would be handing over to the incoming government.

    However, Bafarawa was invited by the commission a year after, through a letter dated 6th May, 2008 for an interview on the issues he raised in his letter.

    On turning up to honour the invitation, he was arrested and detained for about seven days and his international passport seized before he was taken to Sokoto State, where he was arraigned on 16th December, 2009 alongside 15 others.

    They were arraigned on a 47-count charge of conspiracy, criminal misappropriation and criminal breach of trust.

  • Sacked NIMC workers bemoan fate

    Sacked NIMC workers bemoan fate

    About 4000 workers of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) sacked by the Director-General, Chris Onyemena, have threatened to hand over the DG to God, if his decision is not rescinded even as some have been recalled and directed to attend a workshop in Asaba Delta state.

    Some of the recalled workers, who went for the workshop at Hotel Benieza Asaba, The Nation gathered, were those who have higher degrees. They were tutored on registration of National Identity card and management of data base as anchored by the Deputy Director in charge of training, Mrs. Florence Igboke.

    One of the victims who did not want to be named said, ‘’We are not against his sack but let him follow the due process of sack. Some of us have worked for 15 years, 20 years and 29 years

    Last year, the commission said it had discovered 4,000 “ghost workers” in its fold and was planning to reduce its personnel cost which rose from N3.3 billion in 2011 to N4.2billion in 2012.

    The Labour Adviser to the Director-General of the commission, Ayo Olorunfemi, said the organisation was one of the few offices in the country with majority of its workforce in the junior cadre.

    The affected staff members were inherited by NIMC from the defunct Department of National Civic Registration (DNCR), under the former Ministry of Internal Affairs, now Ministry of Interior, the commission said.

  • CPC, ANPP, CNPP demand cancellation of N5000

    CPC, ANPP, CNPP demand cancellation of N5000

    The opposition All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) are not impressed by the suspension of the introduction of the N5000 note.

    Only an outright cancellation of the plan, they say, will satisfy them and the generality of Nigerians.

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday ordered a stay of action on the plan by the Central Bank to enable it enlighten Nigerians more on the issue.

    The parties declared yesterday that what Nigerians are demanding is withdrawal of the plan and not just suspension.

    National Publicity Secretary of CPC, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, said the people’s wish must be respected by government.

    He said: “This is a welcome development as it firmly proclaims the constitutionally entrenched dictum that sovereignty within the democratic space rests with the Nigerian people. Indeed, any government exists for the welfare and security of the people. However, the overwhelming decision of Nigerians is for the total truncation of this plan and not just its suspension,” he said on the phone.

    “As a party, we align totally with Nigerians’ unconditional rejection of the planned currency re-denomination and ask the Federal Government to uphold the people’s wish.”

    Emma Eneukwu, National Publicity Secretary of ANPP, said: “We believe it is the weight of the people’s wish that tilted the recalcitrant stance of the Presidency on this highly unpopular and misguided planned policy. The joy of democracy is the sovereignty of the masses at all times, and we are positive that our great country is evolving in democratic best practices at an impressive speed, being catalysed by a patriotic and focused legislature.

    “A couple of days ago, we had a cause to condemn the despicable action of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in denying an opinion poll it carried out, whereby it was discovered that 75 per cent of Nigerians opposed the introduction of N5000 notes.

    “The curious rejoinder signed by the NBS management said that opinion poll ‘‘is not an official statistical tool because it is not based on any statistical methodologies or systems that formulate the basis on which all of the NBS’ surveys are developed.”

    According to the survey, 75.1 per cent of Nigerians are opposed to the currency restructuring by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which will lead to the introduction of the 5000 note as the country’s highest currency denomination and the conversion of lesser bills to coins.

    “According to the poll, only 16.1 per cent of the Nigerian populace is in strong support of the CBN policy while 4.04 and 4.62 per cent are partially in support and against the currency restructuring, respectively.

    “We lamented that it was patently naïve, at best, and deceptive, at worst, for an agency as supposedly scientific and well-informed as the NBS to go public with a ham’s act of a rebuttal which tried to discredit one of its own most authentic and effective ways of gauging the heartbeat of the people, just in a bid to play to the gallery.

    “Therefore, Mr President’s rejection of CBN’s plan has justified our stance that the NBS survey was a manifest signpost of the wishes of the people, as we questioned the competence of the Statistician General of the Federation in serving a nation of more than 150 million multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-creed peoples; for denying such patent and valid methodology for gauging the pulse of the people anywhere in the world.”

    CNPP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, said: “It is refreshing that President Goodluck Jonathan listened to the voice of the people. That is the essence of democracy. It is unlike the case of Justice Isa Salami, where Mr President refused to listen to the National Judicial Council and the people.

    We hope that the CBN will be able to adduce more cogent reasons and convince Nigerians before rolling out the new notes. Otherwise, is it not paradoxical to on one hand initiate a cashless society and on the other hand embark on jumbo printing of cash?

    Mr. Sam Ohuabunwa, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Neimeth Pharmaceuticals, welcomed the suspension of the banknote because, according to him, “It is the right thing for the President to do.”

    He added: “If Nigerians were vociferous in condemning a policy, I think it is the right thing for the President to listen to the people. The people have spoken against it, past leaders have spoken against it, and the National Assembly spoke against it. So, it is the right thing for Mr. President to do.

    “It is also good that the CBN has complied with the directive. It shows responsible stewardship. Nigerians are the owners of the nation.”

    Chief John Odeyemi, former chairman, Ecobank and President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce, blamed the CBN for mishandling the campaign on the suspended currency.

    He said: “There was a lot of arrogance in the way they went about the campaign. By saying he (President Jonathan) has suspended the introduction, it is as good as saying that he has stopped it. It may be for one or five years, the bottom line is that the yearnings of the people have been addressed.”

    Prof. Kayode Familoni of the Economics Department, University of Lagos said the government’s action was an indication that it is a listening one.

    “The President has said the CBN should be given more time to sensitise the people on the benefits of the policy. That is okay. The CBN should be given the opportunity to convince us. I believe that the cost of the policy far outweighs the benefits. But if the CBN is able to convince us that the benefits out-weighs the cost, then that is good.”A retired permanent secretary in the old Ondo State, Chief Deji Fasuan described the decision of the Federal Government to introduce the N5000 in the first place as a form of madness.

    He said: “ I have been in contact with many currencies in the world, minus the Yen. You can hardly find a national currency with such heaviness at the top and nothing at the bottom.”

    He called for the outright cancellation of the plan, saying the facts which informed the move were spurious and a “mere fraud”.

    “Nothing is straight forward here in Nigeria. Nothing is honest. No data is correct. The statistical data on which the argument for the introduction is based is wrong and defective, and it should not be introduced at all.”

    However, Second Republic Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters, Alhaji Tanko Yakassi said President Jonathan should have held firmly to his decision to introduce the bank note.

    “What I will advise Jonathan is not to allow the media to hijack his administration because if he accepts that, it could derail his administration,” he said.

    A Jos based labour activist, Yilden Bilgwan, is in full support of the N5000 banknote. He said the National Assembly members who rose against it were speaking for themselves, as there was nothing to show that they consulted with their constituents on the matter before opposing it.

    A member of the House of Representatives, representing Jos East/Jos South, Mr. Bitrus Kaze, said he expects the President to order a total withdrawal of the policy and save Nigerians from what he called the scourge of policies being churned out by the CBN governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido.

    Nigeria, he stressed, “cannot risk another protest over anti-human policies,” adding: “I want the President to be aware that the CBN governor is about to get him into trouble with Nigerians. Sanusi has earned himself a reputation of forcing his policies on Nigerians, and the President should be able to defend Nigerians from the scourge of such policies.”

    Mr.Lawrence Anya, a Jos based lawyer is in support of the withdrawal of the policy, while the National Secretary of Jama at Nasril Islam (JNI) Dr Abubakar Khalid hopes the suspension of the N5000 would mark the beginning of the total withdrawal of the plan.

    He said: ”The directive to the CBN to sensitize Nigerians before introducing the new policy will not work, and it will also fail the way the introduction of the policy failed. But for now, let’s give the president the benefit of the doubt. He has begun to react to the wishes and aspirations of the masses, and I’ m also sure the CBN cannot convince Nigerians, no matter the level of enlightenment it tries to create.

    Also speaking, the President of the Nigerian Voters Assembly and former National President of the Campaign for Democracy (CD), Comrade Mashood Erubami, dismissed the suspension of the plan as an insult on Nigerians.

    He condemned what he called the arrogance of the CBN governor on the issue, and said what Nigerians are demanding is the cancellation of the plan.

    He said: ” It is now very certain that there is an evil alliance between the CBN and the Presidency, confirming the insinuation that the urge to use part of the cost of printing the currency for election might be the real reason at the root of the desperation of the two institutions.

    “The printing of N5000 denomination and restructuring of the lower currency into coins has been rejected by those who are genuine economist known to Nigerians. hence nobody should be trapped by the fake explanation of the governor of the CBN and his deputy, which tends to insult the intelligence of Nigerians that there is no link between inflation and higher currency denominations.

    “ If the reactions of Nigerians to the proposed currency overhaul is a transferred aggression from the hardship in the land, the CBN should not add more,” the social crusader stated.

    an act of oppression on Nigerians.

    The Executive Secretary of the Anti-Corruption Network, Dino Melaye said President Jonathan ordered the suspension because he had no option.

    “The President’s decision to rescind the N5000 note is applaudable, because democracy is about the people,” he said, adding that, “It is about carrying out the wishes and aspirations of the people and the constitution is clear about that.

    “Any government policy or any government programme that is in conflict with public interest must be discarded. So the President had no option.

    “Nigerians are the ones who suspended it. So if you print it I will reject it I will not spend it. But we are happy that the National Assembly listened to the voice of reason and stood behind the people.”

  • Subsidy claims: FG pays additional N56.7bn to marketers

    Subsidy claims: FG pays additional N56.7bn to marketers

    Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, on Friday said that the Federal Government had paid additional N56.75 billion to oil marketers out of the 2012 subsidy claims.

    While briefing newsmen in Abuja, Okonjo-Iweala, also Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, said that the payments were made to 14 companies after being screened by the committee on oil subsidy claims.

    She said that the companies were Bovas and Company Ltd., Folawiyo Energy Ltd., Forte Oil Plc, Ibafon Oil Ltd. and Integrated Oil and Gas Ltd.

    Others include M.R.S Oil Nigeria Ltd., Nipco Plc, Oando Plc, Northwest Petroleum and Gas Ltd., Rainoil Ltd., Shorelink Ltd., Swift Oil Ltd., Tecno Oil Ltd. and Total Nigeria Ltd.

    “The ministry of finance has been making payments and screening the activities of the marketers,’’ she said.

    The Minister said that the sum of N56.755 billion was paid this week to the marketers that had been screened successfully.

    According to her, the ministry has been on a mission to carefully screen and verify the oil marketers.

    “We are preparing to continue this new system where we carefully screen marketers of petroleum products.

    “We will carry out the screening before and after any payment is made,” she said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), recalls that the Federal Government said it had paid N78.9 billion to 43 oil marketers for 2012 subsidy claims as at Aug. 24.

  • Senate meets Alison-Madueke, NNPC boss, others on fuel scarcity

    Senate meets Alison-Madueke, NNPC boss, others on fuel scarcity

    Worried about the perennial fuel scarcity in parts of the country, the Senate yesterday invited Petroleum Resources Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Andrew Yakubu, to find a way out of the problem.

    Apart from Alison-Madueke and Yakubu, the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Mr. Reginald Stanley, was also invited to the meeting.

    They are scheduled to appear before the Senator Magnus Abe-led Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) next week.

    A statement by Senator Abe said that the long queues of vehicles at filling stations seen in Abuja and some other cities in the country are “unacceptable.”

    It said: “We thought that the era of Nigerians queuing at filling stations for indeterminate hours to procure PMS and other petroleum products, was indeed gone forever. It is, indeed, an embarrassment that precious man-hours are wasted in the quest to fulfill a basic need.

    “What was initially perceived as a glitch in the distribution chain has now ballooned into queues in what now seems to be a gradual return to that inglorious era.

    “The Senate Petroleum Resources Committee intends to engage those in charge with a view to ascertaining and charting workable solutions to the challenges in the downstream sector.

    “To this end, we will meet with the Petroleum Resources Minister, the NNPC GMD, PPPRA and other relevant stakeholders next week.”

  • Ondo 2012: Poll must reflect people’s wish, Akinrinade warns

    Ondo 2012: Poll must reflect people’s wish, Akinrinade warns

    Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Alani Akinrinade (rtd), in the countdown to next month’s governorship election in Ondo State yesterday  said  the people of the  state cannot afford to “play into the waiting hands of the anarchy that results from manipulated elections.”

    “Election must be a true reflection of the people collective wish,” he  declared  at a one-day workshop  to sentisize the people and the parties on the election.

    Gen. Akinrinade,  who was the chairman of the workshop, stressed the importance of free and fair elections and that when elections are not free and fair, the results are the erosion of democracy and  enthronement of bad leadership.

    He maintained that election must be a true reflection of the people’s collective wish.

    “All democrats must stand up to salute President Goodluck Jonathan when he unequivocally pledged his commitment to the principle of one man, one vote and an electoral system in which every vote counts.”

    The Chairman of the  Independent Electoral commission, (INEC) Prof. Attahiru Jega, represented by Hajiya Aminat Zakari  urged all contestants and stakeholders to adhere strictly to the rule of the game and play politics of no bitterness.

    The INEC boss promised a free and fair election in the state with the efforts of security agents.

     Governor   Olusegun Mimiko,  who is seeking a second term on the ticket of Labour party (LP), emphasized the principle of one man, one vote and  urged the people of the state to protect their votes on election day.

    The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), represented by his running mate, Mr. Saka Lawal, condemned the denial of air time to opposition parties by public electronic media in the state.

    He also lamented the series of attacks by the LP against members of the PDP.

     He said: “We in the PDP, we are not violent, but the sitting government ever since has not learnt anything from us. Over the last one month, we have been to 203 wards, we have visited about 350 communities.We were at Idanre, we got police permit, but the SA  to the sitting governor led thugs to attack our members.If not for the timely intervention of the Commissioner of Police, that rally would have been aborted”

    The Action Congress of Nigeria governorship candidate, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, represented by the vice chairman, South West of the party, Senator James Kolawole, noted that the consequences of not conducting a free and fair election are grievous.

     He maintained that Ondo State has sophisticated citizenry which makes it mandatory to ensure free and fair election in the state.

    Kolawole said the ACN, being a peaceful party, will not tolerate and promote any form of violence.

    Political parties, fielding candidates in the election, endorsed the principle of free and fair election and agreed to play the game according to the  rules.

    In a communiqué jointly signed by the chairmen of the  parties, they pledged  to desist from violence and politics of do-or-die.

    The workshop was organized by the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Inter-Party Affairs, Senator Ben Ndi Obi, with the objective of  preaching peace, love and unity in the polity.