Tag: apologise

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) yesterday in Abuja urged the Federal Government to withdraw the query issued to the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Chief Festus Odimegwu.

It said government should tender an unreserved apology to him in the spirit of honesty.

The association decried the politicisation of Odimegwu’s comment, which faulted the previous census exercises and the 2006 census, saying it was a ploy by the North to blackmail President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the 2015 general elections.

Spokesman for CAN in the 19 northern states and Abuja, Mr. Sunny Oithatch, in a statement said the call by the Arewa Consultative Forum and Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State for the sacking of the NPC boss before the 2016 census because he was a southerner was misplaced.

He said: “The call by ACF on President Jonathan to make sure that Odimegwu does not supervise the 2016 census is misplaced. The question we are asking is: Which part of the North are they saying has higher population? When has ACF become a political party that every time it will always dabble into politics?

“We in CAN hereby demand that the Federal Government should withdraw the query issued to Odimegwu with immediate alacrity. Why would the government be blindfolded by Kwankwaso? The government should also apologise to Odimegwu. Jonathan should make sure that nothing happens to him. We are surprised that Jonathan is allowing himself to be intimidated by the Islamic North.

“Before the 2006 census, we confronted the former chairman of NPC, Mr. Samu’ila Makama from Plateau State, on why religion and ethnicity are not included in census matters to be able to ascertain who is who in Nigeria and the man was sweating. “

Embattled Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Victor Umeh has accused factional chairman of the party Maxi Okwu of ridiculing the former leader of the party, the late Chukwuemeka Ojukwu.

Umeh told reporters in Enugu yesterday that APGA is demanding an apology from Okwu for describing the late Ojukwu as an extremist.

Okwu was reported to have said that APGA would drop Ojukwu’s extremism and adopt Nnamdi Azikiwe’s compromise approach in his post-election speech.

Umeh did not stop at that. He also wanted Ndigbo to ostracise Okwu for making that statement which portrayed Ojukwu as uncompromising in nature.

Umeh, who was declared APGA national chairman on Monday by the Appeal Court sitting in Enugu, regretted that Anambra State Governor Peter Obi was sitting beside Okwu while he was denigrating the person of “the late leader of the party and of Ndigbo.”

“It is ‘blasphemy’ of the greatest proportion that Okwu should describe Ojukwu as an extremist .

“And Governor Peter Obi, who benefitted immensely from Ojukwu, was sitting there at the purported convention clapping for him.

“Ojukwu was never an extremist but a man of honour who always spoke and came out challenging policies when they go wrong.

“That does not mean extremism. I am weeping that APGA is being abused by a stranger who was imposed on the people.

“We will not allow a stranger to project APGA as an unserious party.

“How can he call Ojukwu an extremist? It is on record that Maxi Okwu never liked Ojukwu.

“He had always been critical of Ojukwu. I blame Obi for giving somebody who has no political character and vision the platform to denigrate Ojukwu.

“For that attack on Ojukwu, APGA demands an unreserved apology from Maxi Okwu. “

Umeh also criticised Okwu’s outburst of Okwu that the decision of the Court of Appeal declaring him the authentic national chairman of APGA as futiile and not binding on him “and his co-travellers.”

He reminded Okwu that the ground for staying the decision of the lower court by the Appeal Court was the issue of jurisdiction.

Umeh also reminded Okwu that the presence of the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) at the said convention does not validate it

“In a no distant future, INEC will tell us which of which is the real APGA.

“The kangaroo convention was not convened by lawful authorities of APGA.

“APGA constitution provides that only the national chairman can convene a convention.”

The Senator representing Taraba North Senatorial District, Aisha Jumai Alhassan, has urged ailing Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai to apologise to the people of the state “for the wrongs he has done them”.

Suntai was, on October 25, involved in a plane crash in company of three others.

He survived the mishap but sustained serious injuries.

Senator Alhassan said Suntai’s survival was a divine intervention to make the governor apologise and seek forgiveness from Tarabans.

Alhassan spoke at her Christmas gala celebration at her home near the Presidential Lodge, Jalingo, the state capital.

She said: “God has given him (Suntai) a chance to apologise. When he comes back, he should seek forgiveness from the people of Taraba for all the wrongs and injustices he has done to the state and its people.”

But the government yesterday said the senator’s statement was unfortunate.

It noted that Alhassan spoke when the people of the state were praying for Suntai to return to his desk to continue the development of the state.

The Commissioner for Information Mr Emmanuel Bello said Suntai survived the crash because God and the people want him to continue serving the state.

He said the governor has worked for the peace and security of Taraba State and provided infrastructure, especially roads, to accelerate its development.

Bello advised Alhassan to apologise to the people for making what he called an unguarded statement.

The senator has been an opponent and critic of the Suntai administration. She often said the governor was surrounded by crooks and once petitioned the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the governor’s alleged anti-democratic practices within the party.

Alhassan also said the state PDP Chairman, Victor Bala, was not democratically-elected (in accordance with the tenets of the ruling party’s constitution), adding that he would soon vacate the office.

She said: “Victor Bala was just handpicked by the governor and imposed on PDP members. He was not elected. He will soon leave that seat.”

The senator said all she has been doing was to entrench internal democracy in the system. “I want the right thing to be done; people should be allowed to vote for whom they want.

“I invited over 60 personalities from this government, but if you look around, you won’t see government or PDP officials here, for they would be relieved of their jobs”, she said.

A former governor, Rev. Jolly Tavuro Nyame, urged the Suntai administration to reabsorb the PDP members it allegedly sacked for attending one of Alhassan’s events in Abuja.

Nyame said: “It was a wedding ceremony, which anybody could attend. But some people were sacked from office for attending the event, because it was organised by Senator Alhassan. I am advising that those people must be returned their jobs. Otherwise, only God knows. Some people have done more wrongs to the people of this state, but they were not sacked from office.”

The former governor led Taraba for 10 years and ensured that Suntai succeeded him. But both are no longer on good terms.