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Tag: Amaechi

  • Why I’m backing Peterside as Rivers APC’s governorship candidate –Amaechi

    Why I’m backing Peterside as Rivers APC’s governorship candidate –Amaechi

    River State Governor and Nigeria Governors Forum chairman has disclosed that he and other members of the Rivers caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC) decided to back the Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, as the governorship candidate of the party because of  his youthfulness.

    Amaechi stated that Peterside, 44, a former Rivers Commissioner for Works, who represents Andoni-Opobo/Nkoro constituency would be able to relate well with the youths.

    He noted that his government was desirous of ensuring sustainable development for Rivers people with the firm belief in the power of the people to make a positive change.

    Amaechi said: “In spite of the various challenges experienced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), we urge our citizens not to relent in participating in the exercise.  It is our hope that the electoral body will do all that is necessary to ensure a hitch-free exercise in the state and that no eligible voter is denied his card or registration.

    “Through this participation, we can individually and collectively elect credible men and women into various positions in the forthcoming 2015 general elections. Your Permanent Voter Registration Card guarantees you a voice in governance.

  • Amaechi collects PVC card at Ubima

    Rivers State Governor and chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has picked his Permanent Voter’s Card in his native home Ubima, with a call to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct transparent elections.

     Governor Amaechi collected his permanent voter’s card on Friday at Ward 8, Unit 14 in Ubima in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state. He was accompanied by APC stakeholders as INEC National Commissioner in charge of Rivers, Cross River and Akwa-Ibom States; Barr (Mrs) Thelma Iremiren issued him his card.

     Amaechi said he was impressed with the effort made by INEC in his ward on the collection of Permanent Voter’s Card.

    “I am delighted that you have said that the thumbprint will work and that only those with permanent voter’s card will vote because then, believe me, if you do this with the machine, you have reduced rigging. The only other thing INEC will do is keep away the military. If INEC could keep away the military and bring the machine, there may not be massive rigging that we used to see”, he said.

  • Amaechi is reckless – Presidency

    The Presidency on Thursday came down hard on the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, describing him as “reckless” and “a liability” to his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, at a briefing in Abuja on Thursday, accused Amaechi of “incitement, treason and gross rascality.”

    Okupe was reacting to a statement in Abuja by Amaechi on Wednesday, where the Governor warned that Nigerians would be mobilised for civil disobedience if the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rigged the 2015 general elections.

    “This statement is clearly a further evidence of Governor Amaechi’s penchant for lawlessness and anarchy in his unbridled pursuit for power. It is curious and unthinkable that a man who was himself a beneficiary of the court process would disdain the very platform through which he acquired the opportunity to make his reckless and provocative statement.

    “It is even more worrisome when one considers the fact that Governor Amaechi’s party, which is relatively new, came on board promising hope to Nigerians. With statements like this, it is clear that Amaechi is more of a liability to his party than asset and has the potential to bring his party to further opprobrium and disrepute.

    “For someone who aspires to become the Vice President of this country, his disdain for law and order is not only unfortunate but also patently dangerous and sends dark signals about the survival of our democracy.

    “Discerning Nigerians know that comments like this not only do not augur well for any democracy, but also portray Mr. Amaechi as a reckless, power hungry individual who lacks both the democratic temper and respect for constituted authority and institutions.

    “For a party that has made so much noise about its intentions to offer Nigerians a new deal, we wonder how the APC can be comfortable with a loose cannon like Governor Amaechi.

    “It is clear to any discerning mind that Mr. Amaechi’s indecorous outbursts and his obvious disregard and contempt for the rule of law, has defined him as unfit to hold any serious public office in this country let alone the Vice Presidency of Nigeria to which he aspires,” Okupe stated.

    The President’s aide maintained that the PDP had lost a number of elections in some states under President Goodluck Jonathan, without the President interfering with the pronouncement by the electoral body.

    According to him, the President had remained committed to electoral transparency in all elections conducted under his watch, adding that on several occasions, the Jonathan had gone ahead to congratulate winners in elections where his party lost.

    “It is therefore preposterous, evil and mischievous for Mr. Amaechi to suggest that there were plans by the Federal government to rig any elections in today’s Nigeria,” he added.

  • Abuja quakes as Buhari, Oyegun, Amaechi protest

    Abuja quakes as Buhari, Oyegun, Amaechi protest

    Oni, Onu, Oyinlola, El-Rufai, others lead Salvation Rally

    All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders yesterday took to the streets their case against the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administration.

    Some of the party’s leading lights, including Chiarman John Odigie-Oyegun, led a “Salvation Rally” in Abuja, accusing President Jonathan of using the Boko Haram insurgency as a joker to win election.

    The party said there was  no limit to the length the President  had not gone in his “obsession” for re-election.

    It accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of working in concert with the Presidential Villa to corrupt the system and disenfranchise voters in APC-controlled states.

    APC queried why the Permanent Voters Cards collection and the continuous registration in 12 states were a fiasco.

    It  challenged the government and INEC to explain why the PVC collection was muddled up in Lagos, Kano Rivers, Niger, Ogun, Katsina, Kaduna, Zamfara and  all APC strongholds

    The APC said it was becoming obvious that President Goodluck Jonathan might be unable to organise a free and fair election next February.

    The party said the President was also planning to use the extension of the emergency rule not to conduct the 2015 poll in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

    It protested against the inadequate funding of the Federation Account to, in the party’s view, starve APC-controlled states of funds.

    Besides the rally, the APC chieftains defied old age and apparatchik of office to march around Abuja metropolis to draw the attention of the government and Nigerians to the insurgency in the Northeast.

    Odigie-Oyegun, in an address to open the Salvation Rally at the Eagle Square in Abuja, said the party had tabled four demands which the President must address immediately.

    He said the rally was a demonstration of its lack of confidence in Jonathan’s administration.

    Odigie-Oyegun said: “We are here today as a practical demonstration of our lack of confidence in the ability or willingness of President Goodluck Jonathan to organise a free and fair election come February 2015.

    “President Goodluck Jonathan is so desperate to win re-election that it will now appear that there is a secret understanding that our security forces should turn a blind eye to the Boko Haram Insurgency so that the insurgents can occupy as much territory as possible and make elections impossible in these areas, knowing full well these are APC strongholds.

    “Otherwise, how does one explain that local hunters carrying dane guns and amulets are capable of dislodging the dreaded Boko Haram while our once proud army, which has distinguished itself in and out of the country, has failed?

    We daily hear idle talks that the President needs to declare total war on Boko Haram.

    “ Pray, what has the Jonathan government been doing since the moment the state of emergency was declared the very first time? Or is the President saying that he declared and renewed the state of emergency only to cage the civil populace so that the insurgents can have a free rein?”

    Odigie-Oyegun said the party suspected that Boko Haram insurgency was being used to promote Jonathan’s re-election bid.

    To APC, the extension of the emergency rule may be the President’s ploy not to conduct the 2015 poll in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

    He added: “Without doubt, the war against Boko Haram has become a tool for self enrichment and a tool to disenfranchise Nigerians who are perceived not likely to vote for President Jonathan’s re-election.

    “Everything points to the fact that President Jonathan’s handling of the Boko Haram insurgency is aimed at one thing and one thing only: disenfranchisement of persons who are perceived not to be in support of his re-election, especially in the North-Eastern part of the country.

    “Is it not curious that Mubi was captured without one shot being fired by the insurgents or one single casualty on the part of Federal troops?”

    “As a matter of fact, we have it on good authority that as soon as President Goodluck Jonathan obtains the green light from the National Assembly, there will be no elections in the North-Eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. By this singular act, some five million Nigerians will be disenfranchised, making Jonathan’s re-election a foregone conclusion.”

    Odigie-Oyegun accused Jonathan of being obsessed with re-election by using every issue, including abduction of 219 Chibok girls, as pawns.

    He said: “There is no limit to the length Jonathan has not gone in his obsession for re-election, using the kidnapped Chibok girls as pawns on his political chessboard. On the 17th of October, he cruelly played on the emotions and sensibilities of all Nigerians, especially the families, relations and associates of the kidnapped girls, when he asked his Chief of Defence staff to falsely announce that Boko Haram has agreed to a ceasefire and that the release of the kidnapped Chibok girls was just a matter of days.

    “ Of course, President Jonathan and his cohorts knew this to be false but he needed to deceive Nigerians so as to prepare their minds for his eventual declaration for re-election.”

    He tabled the party’s four demands which Jonathan must address.

    They are:

    •an end to the raging insurgency that is daily killing and maiming our compatriots,

    •an end to the impunity that permeates the Jonathan Administration;

    •an end to the massive corruption that has left our compatriots impoverished in the midst of plenty; and

    •an unambiguous effort to ensure that that 2015 elections will be free and fair.

    The APC National Chairman wrote off the recent distribution of Permanent Voters Cards by INEC and declared the exercise as a deliberate plot to  corrupt the system to disenfranchise voters in APC-controlled states.

    He said: “As you must all be aware, the recent exercise by INEC of collection of Permanent Voters Cards and continuous registration in 12 states of the Federation was a fiasco. The official explanation from the Independent National Electoral Commission is to blame it all on computer error.But we know this is a lie.

    “The truth of the matter is that the ICT unit of INEC, which is working hands in gloves with the Presidential villa, deliberately corrupted the system in order to disenfranchise voters in APC controlled states.

    “How else do you explain the fact this same exercise, which had gone fairly well in 24 other states – mostly PDP states – is now a fiasco in Lagos, Kano Rivers, Niger, Ogun, Katsina, Kaduna, Zamfara all APC strongholds and with the highest number of registered voters?

    “In the aforementioned states, millions of voters have been disenfranchised because the system was deliberately corrupted to wipe out their names from the voters register. Even those who were able to vote in 2011 could no longer find their names on the register.

    “Zero units are now to be found more in APC-controlled states or strongholds. The PDP, realising the overwhelming support and followership which APC enjoys in the above mentioned states, has deliberately decided to use the ICT department of INEC to rig the 2015 general elections at source by disenfranchising millions of the opposition party’s supporters.”

    Odigie-Oyegun said APC was joining issues with Jonathan on the poor funding of the Federation Account, which was meant to starve APC states of funds.

    He said: “President Goodluck Jonathan, embarrassed by the runaway success of APC controlled states, has in the last two years embarked on a wicked scheme to create disaffection among the electorate in APC-controlled states by not funding the Federation Account adequately.

    “While this may appear a general problem affecting all states, he has secretly and unconstitutionally being funding PDP controlled states. Not too long ago he dashed all PDP controlled states N2 billion each. Not only does this affect the letter and spirit of our constitution, it also portrays him as the President of the PDP and not that of Nigeria.

    “Although oil has been selling at well over USD108 against the benchmark of USD78, President Jonathan had been funding the Federation Account only between 60-70%. What is his official explanation for this? He claims it is as a result of massive crude oil theft that he has been unable to fund the Federation Account adequately!

    “The truth of the matter is that since the countrywide protest on the subsidy oil scam of 2012 and the embarrassing revelations by the House of Representatives panel, this government has now resorted to stealing from source.

    “How can we be losing steadily on daily basis over months the same quantity, 700,000 barrels of crude? It is this stealing of crude at source that has made it impossible for the govern to adequately fund the Federation Account, and which has led to poverty and unemployment.

    “Is it not baffling that up till today no serious individual or significant organisation has been apprehended for stealing 700,000 barrels of crude everyday! It is nothing but authority stealing-apologies to Fela Anikulpo-Kuti.

    “Only a few days ago, President Jonathan’s administration declared austerity measures. Given the difference between the selling price of our crude in the international market of an average of 108 dollars and the bench mark price of 78 dollars in the last three years, the government should today have close to fifty billion dollars (US$50 billion) in Excess Crude Account.

    “But as a result of corruption and arbitrary manipulation of the account, today the government has declared that there is just three billion dollars (US$3 billion) in this account.”

    The APC National Chairman said political developments in Osun, Edo, Ekiti had pointed to the fact that Jonathan might not allow a free and fair poll in 2015.

    He asked the international community to have keen interest in the process leading to the next General elections.

    He said: “Another pointer that President Jonathan will not allow a free and fair election in 2015 is the reckless use of the police and the military in past elections in Ekiti and Osun states. The extensive use of firearms by PDP thugs in Edo State in collusion with the police to vandalise the Edo State House of Assembly residential quarters, and the police humiliating treatment of Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi are few examples of acts of impunity of this government.

    In Edo State, the police continue to disobey the orders of both the High Court and the Court of Appeal. In Ekiti State the police looked the other way when judges were being beaten and only two days ago in the same Ekiti under the protection of the police, democratically-elected principal officers of the state House of Assembly were sacked by six out of the 26 elected members.

    “The Nigeria Police Force has today become the armed wing of the PDP and they cannot be trusted under President Jonathan to be unbiased umpire in the February 2015 elections.

    “To the international community, we say it is not just enough to rush to declare any election free and fair on election day. We say election is a process, hence they must show interest in all the pre-election events leading up to the election day.

    “In the end, everyone must work together to ensure that the will of the people prevails, that no one who is eligible to vote is disenfranchised, and that every vote must not just be counted, it must count!”

    Odigie-Oyegun said the salvation rally was the beginning of the occupation of Abuja by the party unless the situation in the country improves.

    He said: “What you are seeing here today, which is the first stage of the occupation of Abuja, is just a warning shot.

    “If we do not see any discernible change of attitude on the part of the government, then we will move to the next stage on the list of actions that our party intends to take to stop the rot being perpetuated by the PDP-led Federal Government

    “We are, therefore, using this opportunity to alert Nigerians and the international community to what is undoubtedly a set of carefully-set booby traps on the path to free and fair elections next year.

    “To Nigerians who are desirous of a positive change, we say eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, and we call on them to join us to say NO to impunity, NO to corruption, NO to scorched-earth politics and NO to do or die politics.”

    The APC National Chairman later led some leaders and members of the party in a protest march around Abuja to press home their concerns and demands.

    Some of those at the Salvation Rally are: Former Head of State and presidential aspirant  Gen. Muhammadu Buhari; Governor Rotimi Amaechi; ex-governors Ogbonnaya Onu, Segun Oni(Deputy National Chairman for South),  Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; ex-FCT Minister, Nasir El-Rufai; Deputy National Chairman(North) Sen. Lawal Shuaibu; National Secretary Mai Mala Buni; the National Organising Secretary Osita Izunaso;  presidential aspirant Sam Nda-Isaiah, a former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Umaru Dembo,  National Publicity Secretary Lai Mohammed and Suleiman Hunkuyi, among others.

  • VC praises Amaechi for varsity status

    The Vice-Chancellor, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Port Harcourt, Prof. Rosemund Green-Osahogulu, has said the university community will continue to appreciate Governor Chibuike Amaechi administration for upgrading the Rivers State College of Education Rumuolumeni to a university.

    She said it was necessary to thank Amaechi for eventually completing a process started by previous administration.

    Green-Osahogulu made this remark during the 30th/32nd convocation of the university penultimate week.

    She said the institution, which has three campuses in Port Harcourt are to be upgraded.

    “The battle to upgrade the college of education to university status started since October 2009 when Governor Chibuike  Rotimi Amaechi upgraded the college to the status of Rivers State University of Education.

    “The subsequent renaming of the university as Ignatius Ajuru University of Education of course was done by the governor in honour of the last but one chairman of the pre -upgrade college of education governing council, which is the departed Ambassador Ignatius Ajuru.

    “As we are celebrating our graduates today, it is necessary to thank the effort of the governor and all those who have made it possible for us to achieve our dream success. Don’t forget we give glory to God for giving us the testimony.”

     

  • Buhari, Amaechi and people power

    Of all the possible expressive metaphors, why did Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd) go for the gun?  It would appear that the former military ruler and All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential hopeful is still in love with the weapon nearly 30 years after his military government was toppled and after three futile electoral attempts to be president. He blurred the fundamental distinction between the gun and the vote at a rally in Kaduna where Nasir El-Rufai, a former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), formally unveiled his governorship aspiration.

    Interestingly, Buhari reportedly said to the crowd: “Your card is your gun against incompetence in government and deception.” He added: “We have suffered enough. You know what it takes to repair Nigeria, especially as regards infrastructure, security and employment. Let us get the infrastructure working; let’s get security materially, physically and morally.”

    Considering that his party’s symbol is a broom, it may have been more fitting, and by far less jolting, if Buhari had stuck to the familiar image of sweeping as a means of removing the unwanted. It is possible to interpret his language of violence as a reflection of the depth of his political frustration, which is understandable in the context of the observable continuing ruin of the country by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). There is no doubt that the picture of the gun, perhaps more than any other euphemistic expression, drives the point home not only about the need for direct action but also the necessity for a destruction of the status quo.

    The suggestion of blood and death, in the framework of social resistance, was similarly communicated by Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi of the APC at another rally in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, where Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed publicly announced his pursuit of re-election. In an impassioned speech, Amaechi said: “I am very impressed by the number of persons that I have seen here today. What you must do is to stop the PDP from rigging.” He continued: “When you vote, do not go home at all. They will bring soldiers and police, remain there. If they want to kill us, let them kill us. If you go home, you will hear a different result. Stay there and make sure nobody rigs you out.”

    This striking convergence of thoughts, particularly the frightening verbalisation of violence, mirrors the decay and the defiance in the country’s political arena. Against this background, next year’s general elections promise to be, in a manner of speaking, a battle to the death for the country’s soul. It may be considered reassuring that the situation is not without instances of non-violent combativeness. APC leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu said at Ahmed’s event: “The best thing to do is to sweep them away through broom revolution.”  Significantly, his choice of words, even with the apparent lexical ambiguity, plays down blood and guts.

    It is a tribute to the essential concept of political sovereignty that, by clear implication, the APC’s approach is to rouse people power. It is a positive and creditable corporate stance, which has an excellent potential for achieving the desired regime change. However, the party will need to get its act together in order to surmount the objective challenges of organising for power and change, especially given the crippling socio-economic conditions that have blunted political consciousness across the country, resulting in an unbelievable atrophy of the exercise of political sovereignty. In other words, the people seem to have lost their voice, if not their votes.

    To save the sinking ship, words, whether hot or cold, will never be enough. How well the campaigners for change can demonstrate difference and distinction will likely be an indispensable factor in awakening the people. Sadly, it is still possible to argue, as various observers have done, that the opposition is yet to acquire a distinctive and unimpeachable stamp of progressivism.

    It would amount to a gross failure of discernment to trivialise the capacity of the Goodluck Jonathan administration for self-perpetuation. Indeed, Jonathan’s stunning choreographic approach to the 2015 presidential election may qualify as arguably the most systematically planned and methodically controlled pursuit of power in the country’s history of democratic politics, which should not necessarily be seen in constructive terms. Consider his unprecedented exclusive endorsement for re-election by the PDP state governors, Board of Trustees and National Executive Committee, which effectively foreclosed the conventional presidential primary to choose a candidate.  Add to this picture the reinforcing activities of the myriad Jonathan support groups practically begging him to be the PDP presidential candidate in the coming election.

    In a manner that may have been thought impossible based on reason, the desperadoes have not only redefined the noble concept of “transformational government”; they have also gone to the ridiculous extent of labelling the Jonathan administration as an exemplary case in point. It is instructive to note that Jonathan has continued to display a reptilian sneakiness, and perhaps the ultimate joke concerning his open concealment of his re-election ambition must be his show at his party’s September 20 “Southwest sensitisation rally.”  In his speech on the occasion, he referred to the various endorsements and introduced a calculated complication. He said: “I also have the right of refusal and I thank the party for giving me the opportunity.”

    Whoever thought he might exercise this “right of refusal” must be living on another planet. So, news that he had set up a Presidential Declaration Committee to work towards a November date when he would formally declare his presidential ambition was unsurprising. When he eventually pronounces his hunger for power, or finally puts his power-hungry scheming beyond question, the countdown to an unforgettable power struggle would begin in earnest.

    There is no doubt that the country is at a historical juncture of colossal consequence. It is a ripe moment for a full and far-reaching performance by the people, who will need to reclaim their sovereignty by seizing the stage. It remains to be seen whether they would be guided by Buhari’s image of the gun, or Amaechi’s be-ready-for-death presentation, or Tinubu’s picture of a thorough sweep.

  • Short Takes

    Short Takes

    While some said my choice – Buhari/Amaechi – cannot hurt the president, most of those who reacted said that will be the very last nail on the coffin of impunity, insecurity and corruption, otherwise known as the PDP.

    I received tonnes of reactions on the 4-part article: Periscoping APC’s Ideal Presidential Candidate. While some said my choice – Buhari/Amaechi – cannot hurt the president, most of those who reacted said that will be the very last nail on the coffin of impunity, insecurity and corruption, otherwise known as the PDP.

    Today’s SHORT TAKES, therefore, parade eloquent testimonies as to why the latter opinion will prevail, come February, 2015.

    PRESIDENT GOODLUCK                        JONATHAN

    . “Without security, there is no government. So it is not debatable, it is something we have to address and we are working towards that with vigour. But if I’m voted into power within the next four years, the issue of power will become a thing of the past. Four years is enough for anyone in power to make significant improvement and if I can’t improve on power within this period, it then means I cannot do anything even if I am there for the next four years.” – Jonathan to Nigerian diplomats at UNECA, Addis-Ababa, 2011.

    The only improvement I can see is public money being splashed on private companies called Gencos, Discos, whatever.

    DR REUBEN ABATI ON THE                 FIRST LADY.

    “The sober truth is that democracy is about rights and responsibilities, a democratic dispensation therefore cannot be a licence for disagreeable conduct as a norm; just as the possession of power in any form does not guarantee the right to be reckless or to ignore the etiquette required of office holders. Anyone in the corridors of power, either by chance or right, or appointment, is expected to behave decorously.

    Dame Patience Jonathan, our president’s wife, failed the test this week in Okrika, Rivers State. It is trite knowledge that there is a critical difference between Yenagoa and Abuja, and a world of difference between being the wife of a Deputy Governor/Governor/Vice president and being the wife of Nigeria’s No 1 citizen. When people suddenly find themselves in such latter position, prepared or unprepared, anywhere in the world, they are taken through a crash programme in finishing and poise and made to realise that being the wife of an important man comes with serious responsibilities. If Dame Patience went through such re-orientation, the course was incomplete. -The Guardian, Thursday, 27 August, 2010.

    SOME KEY  NIGERIANS ON                 GEN. BUHARI

    PRESIDENT SHAGARI -“After the Army  toppled our democratic regime it has option but to install Buhari as head of state so as to avoid credibility problems, especially in the sight of the international community because of his being an epitome of integrity.”

    -.PRESIDENT OBASANJO -“There are only two honest and reliable Nigerians – myself and Buhari. All what the PDP is saying of Buhari being a fundamentalist is mere hot

    lies. They just fear him. He is as reliable as he is hardworking, honest and incorruptible.”

    .GEN. ABDUSALAMI – “Buhari was honest and sincere in all his conduct that perhaps, only very few Nigerians could match him in integrity.”

    PRESIDENT JONATHAN – “Gen. Muhammadu Buhari was a true patriot, respected former head of state, elder statesman and a nationalist.”

    -.LATE GEN. ABACHA (PTF INAUGURAL SPEECH).-“I have realised our collective mistake in over-throwing you. I have seen the terrible damage which our action caused to the Nigerian psyche. I am most sorry. Please, come and do what is best known about you. Patriotic service to the nation.”

    – PRESIDENT IBRAHIM BABANGIDA -“If Buhari quits PTF job as he promises, and as we knew him to mean his words all along, I will  support the idea of scrapping PTF as no one else can do the job like him. I respect Buhari. He was my boss. He was an honourable man. And I can say this anywhere.”

    .ALH. ISIYAKU IBRAHIM –  “As a member of PDP BOT, I decided personally to donate  N5,000,000 to Buhari’s campaign organisation because of my firm belief  in his ability to right all the nation’s wrongs-.

    ALHAJI ISIAKU IBRAHIM -MEMBER, PDP BOT MEMBER (at a Book launch in Kaduna) – “Buhari is as clean as the book I am holding.”

    -SEN. MAKARFI  (a former Kaduna State governor)- “If the truth must be said, Buhari remains the only real threat to PDP whether he runs for the presidency or not due to his wider followership among the masses that now hate the elite circle.”

    – BALARABE MUSA (a former Kaduna State governor) – Punch January 21, 2011 – “General Buhari rose from the rank of a Lieutenant in the army to a General. At one time, he was a GOC. He was later appointed Military Administrator of the old North-East. He was in the Petroleum Ministry as minister. In December 1983 he became Head of State via a coup. During the late General Sani Abacha’s regime, he headed the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) before former President Obasanjo scrapped it. But I read in the papers where the General himself said after obtaining his CPC presidential form, which cost him over N5 million, he is now left with less than a million naira in his account. Now, my task is to challenge all of us to ensure this man becomes president. General Buhari deserves to be given a chance. When he became Head of State after the 1983 coup, thousands of Second Republic politicians, including me, were picked and locked up by the junta. But even in Kirikiri I discovered that the NPN elements among us were giving bribe to prison officials to ensure they got a double ration of food. It dawned on me that people who can offer bribes even in Kirikiri have no reason to be our leaders. Buhari was vindicated.”

    ON SPEAKER TAMBUWAL’S              RESIGNATION

    “Concerning calls for Mr. Speaker to step down from the position to which his colleagues freely elected him on June 6, 2011, we wish to reaffirm that the Speakership of the House of Representatives, or any other national elective position, belongs to the generality of Nigerians, not the political platforms upon which such leaders emerge. While the case of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who as a sitting vice president moved to another political party – and did not get judicial reprobation for the act – is still fresh in our memories and the clear provisions of Section 50(1) (b) of the Nigerian Constitution easily settles the worries regarding the continued Speakership of Rt. Hon. Tambuwal. It says: ‘There shall be a Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves.” It would, therefore, amount to an affront on members’ privilege to question their constitutionally-guaranteed right to freely elect their leaders. “Additionally, Order 1, Rule 1 (2) of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives states: ‘In all cases not provided for hereinafter, or by sectional or other orders, precedents or practices of the House, the House shall by resolution regulate its procedure’. “It is in the light of the foregoing that the House wishes to appeal to those who seek to ‘regulate its procedure’ from outside its hallowed chambers to have a rethink, as the nation’s Constitution, the Standing Orders of the House and precedent – as in the Speakership of the late Rt. Hon. Edwin Ume-Ezeoke in the Second Republic on a minority platform – have all provided answers to what may have otherwise been a knotty political issue.” -Hon Victor Afam Ogene (Deputy Chairman, Media and Public Affairs.)

    When I heard the government has withdrawn the Speaker’s security details, my reaction was: very good; there goes the 2015 budget in flames!

  • Jonathan’s attack on Amaechi an affront on Rivers people, says govt

    Jonathan’s attack on Amaechi an affront on Rivers people, says govt

    Rivers State government yesterday said President Goodluck Jonathan’s attack on him was an affront on Rivers people.

    He said he would continue to protect the interest of Rivers people, without negotiating their future for his personal benefits.

    Amaechi, who spoke yesterday to reporters in Port Harcourt through the Rivers Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, said: “Let me remind Dr. Abati that threats, undue references and attacks on persons who are chief executives of their states, is an attack and affront on the collective psyche of Rivers people. Telling Rivers people that their governor is not safe is something I think Dr. Abati will not want to do in a democracy.

    “He (Abati) must acknowledge that Rivers people have a right to feel battered and bruised, that the Train 7 of the NLNG (Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company on Bonny Island, Rivers State) has been refused to come on board and therefore over 10,000 Rivers people have not been employed.

    “He must understand that the 10,000 youths are upset that they have not been allowed to have jobs, because the Brass LNG (in Bayelsa State) has not come up. He must understand that he must find ways to assuage the feelings of these 10,000 youths, who have not been employed because the Train 7 of the NLNG has not come on stream.

    “He must find ways to explain to the people of Bonny Island why they cannot have a road leading to Bonny and why when Rivers State Government wanted to embark on that road project, along with the NLNG, they were stopped by the Federal Government for which Dr. Abati works.”

    She said: “Our concern as the Government of Rivers State is the presence of the underhand tap by the Federal Government. We do not know what Dr. Abati is talking about. We, however, want to alert him to the fact that this is a federation and the President is not the senior prefect of this federation. He is Mr. President and he is accorded his due respect as the President.

    “However, each of the states is a part of the federating entity and their governors are duly elected by the people to serve as chief executives of their states. The relationship between the states and the centre is that of equals and the President remains the first among the equals, and we give him the regard as the first among the equals and the leader of the nation.

    “We, however, do not think that those who work for him should construe his role as first among equals to senior prefect over the governors, because that is not what federalism is.”

     

     

     

     

     

    “We have read his (Abati’s) statement and we do not think that the statement is informed, but we believe that it did not come from someone who followed the facts. Fortunately, the television stations aired it and he may like to request for the video tape, so that he can watch it properly and be better informed, and therefore respond professionally.

    “What he (Abati) issued yesterday (on Sunday) was his opinion, which is really different from presenting the facts as they occur, and therefore, it will be difficult for me, being a news person, to take issues with him. I will therefore just refer him back to the table and ask him to address the facts that have been raised by His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State.

    “The facts are clear that as at today (yesterday), there is no significant federal presence in Rivers State. That as at today (yesterday), the Port Harcourt International Airport remains abandoned. That as at today yesterday), the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, created by His Excellency, the late President Umaru Yar’adua and has had a whole cake as an assignment, yet the only thing that reoccurs on the agenda of the Niger Delta Affairs Ministry is the East-West Road. Perhaps, Dr. Abati will want to controvert that by showing us other issues that are on the agenda of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.”

    Semenitari also described as untrue, the allegation by Abati that the Rivers governor abused President Jonathan, his wife, Dame Patience, who is an indigene of Okrika in Rivers state, and the Federal Government, during Saturday’s mega rally in Port Harcourt.

    She said: “Clearly, that statement must have been written before the rally. If it was not written before the rally, then I am at a loss at where Dr. Abati saw the so-called statement against the President, his wife and the Federal Government. There was no point during the rally where the wife of the President was mentioned and that was because issues being discussed were not issues about persons, but about governance.

    “The issues were in no way related to her (Dame Patience), as she does not hold any official position in government. Therefore, there is no need referring to her, where governance issues are being discussed.

    “Dr. Abati must have written his statement in anticipation of what he hopes might have been said or he had written it, having at the back of his mind, his own previous statements against the First Lady (in his columns in The Guardian) and therefore just coming from the background of what he himself had written about the First Lady.

    “Governor Amaechi did not refer to the President in any personal capacity. He did refer to the activities of the Federal Government. He did refer to the fact that the Federal Government’s Ministry of Aviation has not completed the remodelling of the Port Harcourt International Airport, which was started at the same time as Enugu, Lagos, Kano and Calabar, among others.

    “He (Amaechi) did refer to the fact the Rivers people were being treated like refugees and we have become internally-displaced persons in our own state and our only offence was that we gave the President over two million votes in 2011. He did complain that the Rivers people only feel marginalised, but are poor cousins to the Federal Government. He did complain as to why Rivers people continue not to have the funds that come from their oil wells and the fact that the oil wells that belong to Rivers State were taken to Bayelsa and Abia States.

    “He (Amaechi) wondered if it was an offence to be cousins to rich brothers. He asked if the Ijaw people in Rivers State were any less Ijaw than their cousins across the river in Bayelsa, in Delta and in Ondo states. He thought that if it was a matter of Ijaw ethnicity, which he ascribed to, because he felt that first and foremost, Nigeria is a federation comprising every ethnic colouration and therefore, every ethnicity should feel entitled to the commonwealth.”

    The Rivers information commissioner also stated that if it was a matter of ethnicity, the Ijaw in Rivers State deserved to also benefit from their Ijaw brother from Bayelsa State (Dr. Jonathan).

    She said: “He (Amaechi) said that brotherhood means that you will take care of my needs as your brother and therefore, the Bonny-Bodo Road (in Rivers State) would have been completed by now. He did ask if it was not true that the first Port Harcourt Refinery was built by Tafawa Balewa.”

  • Presidency threatens Amaechi

    Presidency threatens Amaechi

    The Presidency yesterday threatened  Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi with legal action over his comments on President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

    Speaking during the 7th anniversary of his Supreme Court victory in Port Harcourt, the state capital on Saturday, Amaechi, among other accusations, claimed that corruption under Jonathan has reached an industrial scale.

    But, in a statement issued yesterday, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, maintained that the claims were false and baseless.

    The statement accused Amaechi of making “totally false and baseless vituperations against President Jonathan, the First Lady and the Federal Government”.

    It described allegations as “completely unfounded and off-the-mark” and alleged “demagoguery, libel, blackmail and incitement of public disorder”.

    The Presidency maintained that Amaechi was using falsehood to incite the people against his perceived political enemies.

    The statement said: “We can only assume therefore that he is deliberately spewing malicious falsehood in a desperate effort to incite the people of Rivers State and Nigeria against his assumed political foes.

    “We warn him that there are legal, constitutional and moral limits to political rascality beyond which he will not be allowed to go without repercussions.

    “The immunity which he currently enjoys notwithstanding, Governor Amaechi should be under no illusions:  A day of reckoning will surely come when he will answer for all his actions and false allegations against President Jonathan, the First Lady and the Federal Government.”

    Continuing, the statement reads: “He should also know that Nigerians are aware of the truth and will never be fooled or swayed by his arrant opportunism and anti-Jonathan rantings.

    “Nigerians know that while Mr. Amaechi falsely accuses others of corruption, he cannot show or explain to the people of Rivers State what he has done with the billions of Naira that has accrued to the state under his tenure.”

    It went on:  “Nigerians will know too that while he falsely alleges that Rivers and other states have not received funds due to them from the Federation account, the only outstanding allocation was for September, which was released to all states well over a week ago.

    “The governor should stop trying to make President Jonathan the scapegoat for his woeful performance in Rivers State and look to his own very apparent failings and incompetencies.

    “He should also stop blackmailing the First Lady who has demanded nothing from him other than good governance, justice, equity, fairness, real development and progress in Rivers State.”

    Also yesterday, First Lady Patience Jonathan denied asking for money from the Rivers State governor.

    Amaechi had, while speaking in Port Harcourt at the joint graduation of the students of University of Ibadan and pioneer graduates of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, at the weekend, was quoted as saying that his problem with Mrs. Jonathan started after he rejected her demand.

    “I refused to give them money in Abuja because if I did that, I won’t be able to carry out any development project or finish the road from Rumuolumeni to Rumuepirikom.

    “The quarrel between me and the wife of the President is because she said I should bring your money, Rivers people’s money and share with her,” the governor reportedly said.

    But Mrs. Jonathan, in a statement by her media assistant, Mr. Ayo Adewuyi, said the statement was a deliberate attempt to malign her.

    The statement read: “Having waited patiently for Governor Amaechi to refute the statement credited to him about the First Lady, (with the assumption that he was misquoted), it has become clear that it was a deliberate attempt to malign Dame Patience Jonathan and score cheap political point.

    ”The governor may have been beclouded by the political uncertainty surrounding him to make such a jaundiced and unsubstantiated allegation that the First Lady asked him to bring Rivers State money to share.

    “This is a blatant lie designed to denigrate the person of Dame Patience Jonathan and undermine the Presidency. This is to say the least most unfortunate.

    “It is crystal clear that Governor Amaechi is looking for cheap excuse for his failure in the governance of the state. We say without any iota of equivocation that the First Lady never made such a request and could not have done so in any way either directly and indirectly.”

  • Wike criticises Amaechi for celebrating verdict

    Wike criticises Amaechi for celebrating verdict

    Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant Nyesom Wike has criticised Governor Rotimi Amaechi for celebrating the Supreme Court judgment that brought him to power while allegedly “crippling” the state’s judiciary.

    His Special Assistant (Media), Simeon Nwakaudu, said in a statement that the former minister of State for Education spoke at Abonema last Saturday at a rally where he addressed would-be PDP delegates from the four local councils of Akuku Toro, Asari Toro, Degema and Bonny.

    The aspirant said for a man, who benefited from the judiciary, it was unfortunate that the governor allegedly locked up the courts to deny the less-privileged indigenes access to justice.

    Wike regretted that instead of presenting his party’s candidate, the governor was busy campaigning for himself.

    He also wondered why Amaechi was losing sleep over PDP candidate.

    The aspirant said: “Amaechi is happy with the Supreme Court judgemetn that brought him to power but he has crippled the judiciary. Amaechi is siphoning Rivers money. But he will lose the presidential and governorship elections.

    “Amaechi is spending on PDP governorship aspirants because he cannot present a candidate of APC. I will win the PDP primary by the support of PDP members and will go ahead to win the governorship election.”

    Responding, an Ijaw leader, Chief Precious Elegema, said it’s no coincidence that Wike was visiting the Ijaws to promote his governorship candidacy.

    He thanked the aspirant for proposing to choose his deputy from the Ijaw.

    Elegema said though the Ijaw were interested in becoming the state’s governor, but at the moment, they fully support Wike.

    He added that Rivers State was at a moment of decision, hence the need to support a strong candidate who would liberate the state.

    Former commissioner, Chief David Briggs, stressed that the Kalabari people were working with Wike for future reasons, adding that the people have entered a contract with the former minister for the state’s development.

    King Hope Dan Obusenga, a traditional leader of Oceania in Akuku Toro, said even before Wike started his aspiration, he had started his developmental projects in the area, touching the lives of the people.

    He stressed that Wike stopped Amaechi’s impunity in the area, by ensuring that soldiers were posted to maintain peace.

    According to him, if Wike as a minister could promote peace in the area, he would promote infrastructural development. He donated N10 million to the Wike campaign funds.