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Tag: Clark

  • Clark apologises to Nigerians, Lamido

    Clark apologises to Nigerians, Lamido

    Ijaw leader and former Information Minister, Chief Edwin Clark, has apologized to Nigerians for his recent comments and altercations with prominent politicians across the country.

    Chief Clark spoke with newsmen in Warri, Delta State yesterday in the wake of his recent entanglement with Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido.

    The Ijaw leader took on Lamido and four other governors for their recent visit to embattled Rivers State Governor, Rt Honourable Rotimi Amaechi, and other prominent Nigerians.

    He insisted that nobody could stop President Goodluck Jonathan from seeking election in 2015.

    His outburst elicited a stern riposte from Lamido.

    The Jigawa State Governor urged the elder statesman to mind his utterances in order not to jeopardize the nascent democracy.

    Chief Clark, speaking at the finals of the 1st Chief (Dr.) E.K Clark National Wrestling Championship held in Warri yesterday said: “I apologize to all Nigerians if my utterance or my action threatened the peace and unity of this country. All politicians and leaders should emphasize only those things that keep this country together. We cannot split; Nigeria is a large country.

    “Love is one of the greatest things that binds us together and Nigerians should learn to love one another and work assiduously for the unity of the country”.

    He disclosed that he had to rescind his decision to reply to a statement against his person by the Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, when he discovered that a wrestler from Jigawa State was squared against a wrestler from Delta State reiterated that most of the statements issued by politicians were as a result of political interests not that they were against the unity of the country.

    The former minister used the occasion to call for a national conference to be convened noting, “we need to discuss the basis of our unity in this country.”

    While also apologising to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan for any possible wrong he had done him, Chief Clark assured him of his support and that of his followers.

    Governor Uduaghan, in his speech, called on the people of the South–South and indeed Nigerians to ensure that they put the unity of the country first in whatever they do.

    He called for support for the success of President Goodluck Jonathan and his transformational agenda.He said: “The unity of Nigeria is paramount; the unity of the South-South is paramount; the unity of Delta State is paramount; Nigerians should continue to support the President to succeed.

    ”Our people in the South-South should support the President. Whatever challenges we have, we can discuss them back home. It is not for us to pull the President down.”

    He added:“We should avoid statements that are inciting. Many of us prayed for democracy. We should also work for the sustenance of our democracy.”

    Governor Uduaghan who was happy with the success recorded at the National Wrestling Championship said: “When there is no unity, there is no development.”

  • Count me out of Uyo political summit, says Edwin Clark

    Count me out of Uyo political summit, says Edwin Clark

    Chief Edwin Clark has denied any involvement in the proposed political summit slated for July 2nd and 3rd, 2013.

    The Ijaw leader, alongside Maitama Sule, Wole Soyinka, Emeka Anyaoku, according to reports in some national dailies, were to lead the Uyo political summit.

    According to a statement signed by the elder statesman and former Federal Commissioner, dissociated himself from the impression created by the publication that he was one the leaders of the purported political summit.

    He said that he does not have anything to do with.

    The statement reads in part:

    “I wish to use this medium to inform the general public that I have no idea, whatsoever, about the proposed political summit said to be organised by Citizen Advocacy Group and Project Nigeria in Uyo, Akwa- Ibom State, on 2nd and 3rd July, 2013.

    “I want to state, categorically, that I cannot be party to any discussion with any group in whose imagination there is “growing instability in the country.” For example, the unreasonable and unconstitutional call by Professor Ben Nwabueze, on behalf of The Patriots published in The Guardian of 13th, June, 2013, demanding that, “the President must immediately affirm to the nation that he will not be again a candidate for the office of president and that he will end his service to the nation as president, with the help of God, in May 2015.”

    “It is not surprising that Prof. Nwabueze in his write-up preferred to extol the military dictatorship of Mustapha Kamal Attaturk in Turkey, rather than a democratic example elsewhere, considering the Professor’s unrepentant services, as Secretary of Education, under the military regime of General Sani Abacha.

    “It must not be seen that people who are camouflaging their political ideas and ambition with intellectualism are encouraged.

    “How can I sit with such unpatriotic saboteurs of the democratic process? I, who strongly believe and a well known advocate of the indisputable fact that the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR, has performed, and is still performing, admirably and creditably well in restoring and consolidating political, economic and social stability in the country.

    “I strongly believe that the so called summit is being put together and will be attended by the advocates and supporters of those who see nothing, and will see nothing good in the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, in spite of glaring evidence of the numerous achievements so far recorded.”

  • Jonathan must run, say Clark, Ebute

    Jonathan must run, say Clark, Ebute

    A group of Southsouth and Middle Belt leaders yesterday urged President Godluck Jonathan to seek re-election in 2015.

    They met with the President for two hours at the Presidential Villa under an association, the Congress for Equality and Change (CEC).

    The group is co-led by Chief Edwin Clark and former Senate President Ameh Ebute.

    Clark said they decided to support Jonathan because he is qualified to run. He lashed out at those who claim that Jonathan is not qualified to run for another term.

    He said: “But you know very well that I will never lead a group that will be opposed to 2015, not because Clark is saying so. It is written in the Constitution of Nigeria. So, you can count me out of any group that is coming to meet Mr President with a view that he should not contest in 2015.

    “The group I have brought is made up of elders who believe that Mr President should contest as the Constitution provides in 2015.”

    According to him, former Presidents Shehu Shagari and Olusegun Obasanjo enjoyed two terms and President Jonathan should not be deprived of his constitutional rights because he is from the minority area.

    Clark went on: “Shagari did so. Obasanjo did so. Shagari’s second term was taken over by a military man. Today, he wants to be President. He staged a coup in 1983. I was also a senator at that time.”

    “When it came to Obasanjo, he did eight years under the Constitution. And some of my northern friends have said all they said was a second term for Shagari. If Jonathan wants thereafter, he could do so. If Shagari was entitled to two terms, why not Jonathan? Is it because he is a minority?”

    He also explained that his group was already selling its position to others.

    “We are dialoguing with people to educate people. For the past 50 to 53 years, we have not ruled in this country. Are we not citizens of this country? Let us be fair to one another,” he said.

    On why the group is backing President Jonathan who has not decided to run for re-election, Clark said: “It is because some people have started to say that he is not qualified to contest election in 2015 and those of us who believe in it and the Constitution is there, educate them and that is what we are doing.”

    “Whatever the President said, that he will decide in 2014 does not affect those who believe that he has a right.”

    “This was the meeting of the elders of Middle belt and the Southsouth. You know middle belt is made up of northcentral and northeast meeting with the Southsouth.

    “All together they are19 states. We have an organisation known as Congress for Equality and Change. Everybody in Nigeria is equal to the other.”

    Some of the members of the group at the meeting were Senator Bassey Ewa-Henshaw, Senator Roland Ovie, Senator Alex Kadiri, Senator Felix Ibru, Maj.-Gen. Lawrence Onoja, Air Commodore Dan Suleiman and former Senate President Ahmed Ebute.

    Ministers from the zones who attended the meeting included Water Resources Minister Mrs Sarah Ochekpe; Housing and Urban Development Minister Ms Amma Pepple; Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation Mohammed Adoke; Works Minister Mike Onelememen; Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs Dieziani Allison-Madueke; Minister of State for Trade and Investments Dr Samuel Ortong; Minister of Information Mr Labaran Maku, and Sports Minister Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi. Also in attendance was the Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs Mr. Ahmed Gulak.

    In a statement after the meeting, Presidential Spokesman Reuben Abati, said Dr. Jonathan told the visitors that his administration would never allow itself to be derailed from pursuing the Transformation Agenda to its logical conclusion.

    Abati said the President praised the elders for “working tirelessly to bring us to where we are today,” and for their continued support, promising that “as leaders, we will continue to do our best to justify the confidence you have reposed in us”.

    He also thanked the Middle Belt and South-South regions for their contributions to national unity, stressing that the unity of this country “depends on the cooperation of all”.

    The co-leader of the delegation and chairman of the Congress, Ebute, said the group is committed to promoting the equality of all Nigerians.

     

  • What Nigeria need is unity says Clark

    •Eulogises Southwest for its sophistication

    ELDER statesman and Southsouth leader Chief Edwin Clark has identified unity that is devoid of segregation and sentiments among all the tribes as what Nigeria needs to develop.

    The Ijaw leader spoke yesterday when he received members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) women from the Southwest under the aegis of Dynamic Women International who visited him. The women were drawn from Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, Osun,Ekiti and Lagos states.

    The group, in deviant to the warning by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that politicians should apply the brake on campaigns for 2015 or face prosecution declared their support for President Goodluck Jonathan, who is seen as a political son to Chief Clark.

    The Southsouth leader eulogised the Southwest, saying that leadership in Yorubaland is not decided by wealth, power or money but rather by positive impact, no leaders can impose himself on the Yoruba people.

    He also stressed that Yoruba because of the activities and leadership style of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo are by no means the most sophisticated and educated people.

    Clark said: “This is the type of unity we want in this country where there will not be segregation and sentiments among all the tribes, this women have come all the way from the South West to greet me on my birthday, this is highly commendable.

     

     

     

     

  • 2015: Nothing stops Jonathan from contesting, say Clark, Gbonigi, Ekwueme

    2015: Nothing stops Jonathan from contesting, say Clark, Gbonigi, Ekwueme

    The Southern Nigerian Peoples Assembly (SNPA) has said no individual can determine who becomes Nigeria’s President in 2015.

    The group said the power to choose the President resides in the electorate, adding that it is not subject to the whims and caprices of anybody or a group of persons.

    SNPA said President Goodluck Jonathan has the right to seek re-election in 2015, if he so wishes.

    The group also advised the President to convene a national conference to halt the political tension that has enveloped the country.

    In a communique by Rev. Bolanle Gbonigi (Southwest), former Vice President Alex Ekwueme (Southeast) and Chief Edwin Clark (South-South), issued at the end of its third general conference in Lagos, the group hailed Jonathan for taking what it called bold steps to reduce insecurity in the land.

    The meeting was attended by over 150 delegates. Dr. Cairo Ojougboh and Senator Lee Maeba led a host of former legislators to the conference.

    SNPA passed a vote of confidence on the President.

    “The choice of who becomes the president of Nigeria in 2015 resides with the Nigerian people and not subject to the authority, whims and caprices of any one person or persons,” the group said.

    It added: “The observed unease in the polity, emanating from several threats and drums of war, is a clear expression of continual shrinking space for national dialogue. As we move gradually towards the precipice, our rescue lies only in the convocation of a national conference, which shall provide an unfettered platform for Nigerians to negotiate and agree on terms of living together on the basis of mutual respect and trust. This is the only way to justify and make meaningful our centenary celebrations.”

    The group urged Jonathan to take appropriate steps to convene a national conference without further delay.

    It added: “A committee is hereby established to work out strategies and modalities to assist in the convocation of national conference by, not later than December 2013.

  • Clark: seek support from other regions

    Clark: seek support from other regions

    Ijaw national leader Edwin Kiagbodo Clark has urged a group, the Niger Delta Leaders Assembly to seek support from other regions, if President Goodluck Jonathan must win the 2015 presidential election.

    The Southsouth leader gave the advice at his country home, Kiagbodo, Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State when members of the assembly visited him.

    Clark said the President has the right to contest because the constitution allows him, adding that the opposition against him was from a certain part of the country.

    He said Jonathan had strengthened democracy, resuscitated the railway, improved power supply and has spent over N5 billion building schools for Almajiris.

    The Ijaw leader advised the group to reach out to other parts of the country since they alone cannot make Jonathan president in 2015.

    The group said its mission to Clark’s home was to pledge support for Jonathan in 2015.

    A statement by the National Chairman, Carson Agidah, and the Publicity Secretary, Samuel Abasiekong, urged the President not to be afraid or contemplate any other option than to re-contest.

    “Our position on this issue is not a threat but to bring to the limelight that this is our turn and right of the region as the constitution provides for our son, Goodluck Jonathan, to run for a second term.

    “We are not ready to compromise it or let it go because of ethno-religious and regional threats.”

  • Groups condemn Clark’s statement

    Groups condemn Clark’s statement

    YOUTHS, under the aegis of Delta Central Progressive Alliance (DCPA) and Delta Focus Group (DFG), have condemned a statement credited to Ijaw leader Chief Edwin Clark calling on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Victor Ochei, over the Independent Power Plant project.

    A statement by publicity secretaries of the groups Paul Agboghweta and Saturday Mofoye lamented why such statement should come from a respected Ijaw leader.

    The groups wondered why Clark likes attacking promising young men with vision and aspiration.

    They said: “Clark should know that Ochei has never indicated his interest to contest for governor in 2015, unlike Godsday Orubebe.

    “It is only groups like ours that are urging him to contest because we are ready to support him to actualise the dream.”

    The statement added that gone are the days when some group of elders and leaders would tell the youths who should be their representatives, “we Deltans will decide who will be the governor and not one individual.”

  • Between Clark and Orubebe

    The recent declaration by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe, that he will contest Delta State governorship seat in 2015 may have stirred the hornet’s nest within the state’s political circles.

    A few days ago, opposition to Orubebe came from the most unexpected quarters. Elder statesman and prominent Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, voiced his displeasure with Orubebe’s ambition. Warning that the minister cannot impose himself on the people, he also lampooned the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Victor Ochei, over his alleged governorship ambition. Currently, not a few stakeholders in the state are asking who Clark will throw his weight behind to succeed Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan in 2015.

  • House of Reps probe of Kuku, Asari discriminatory, says Clark

    House of Reps probe of Kuku, Asari discriminatory, says Clark

    Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark has expressed reservation over the House of Representatives’ probe of inflammatory statements credited to Presidential Adviser on Amnesty, Hon. Kingsley Kuku, and Alhaji Mujahid Asari-Dokubo.

    He demanded to know why the House did not react to similar statements made by prominent northern leaders, notably former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) and former Minister and Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, among others.

    Clark, whose position is contained in an open letter to the Speaker of House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, yesterday, praised and supported the House’s condemnation of Kuku’s and Dokubo’s statement.

    He said the statements are “unwarranted, uncalled for and irresponsible if such careless statements were made.”

    “However, one will like to express strong reservation on the House’s reaction which seems to be one-sided and discriminatory because the House had not condemned similar provocative, seditious and more inflammatory statements made by some Nigerian leaders especially northerners more so when some of the incitement arising from such statements are presently causing serious security problems in Nigeria.”

    He said only the House satisfactory answer to why it kept silent on similar statements made by Buhari, Ciroma, former Kaduna State Governor, Lawal Kaita and others will place the House above “sectional, tribal and religious influence” in the matter.

    “It is pertinent for me to add here that these inciting statements by these Northern leaders and politicians were not made in vain, they were matched by actions. The crisis that followed the 2011 election results was devastating. Election violence erupted in some parts of the North.”

    He advised the House not to restrict its investigation to Asari and Kuku’s statements, adding, “Mr. Speaker, please I urge the House of Representatives to investigate provocative and inflammatory statements made by all Nigerians on this issue because every Nigerian has the right to aspire to be the President of Nigeria, Senate, Speaker of the House and the Chief Justice of Nigeria.”

    “Today, some people believe when certain people achieve certain positions, others feel they have done a favour for them. I repeat that Nigerians must have to change because it is not the Nigerian of our dream” he added.

    Consequently, he reiterated call for National Conference before the nation’s centenary celebration in January 2014.

    He said the conference would help Nigerians decide what they expect and the type of country they want to belong to after 100 years of amalgamation.

  • Ijaws won’t go to war, says Clark

    Ijaws won’t go to war, says Clark

    Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has assured that his people would not engage in any violent agitation if President Jonathan does not secure a second tenure in the 2015 presidential election.

    Clark addressed reporters in his Warri, Delta State, home with the state Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Peter Nwaoboshi, and Chief Godwin Ogbetuo, among others.

    The elder statesman cautioned Minister of Niger Delta, Elder Godsday Orubebe, against making inflammatory statement to boost his political ambition.

    He said the Ijaw cannot impose a president on other Nigerians, adding that they would accept Nigerians’ verdict, if other zones refuse to vote for Jonathan’s re-election.

    Clark was reacting to the statements credited to Asari-Dokubo and Kuku that there would be trouble if Jonathan is not re-elected in 2015.

    The former Information Minister reaffirmed his earlier stance that Dr Jonathan is qualified for a re-election in 2015, adding that his kinsmen’s insistence on that right should not be misconstrued as a threat to cause violence if he is rejected at the polls.

    He said: “President Jonathan is not the president of Ijaw, Bayelsa, Rivers or any other state; he is the President of Nigeria. The South-South alone cannot make him president.

    “So, Ijaw will not make trouble if an Ijaw man is not accepted by other Nigerians. They will join other Nigerians to lobby for Mr. President. But anybody preventing Mr. President from realising his ambition is looking for trouble.”

    On Orubebe and Asari-Dokubo, the elder statesman said: “I have tried to disabuse the minds of the people and denied that neither Mr. President nor I is aware of Mr. Orubebe’s statement.

    “Orubebe should realise that peace is a scarce commodity in Delta State, particularly in the PDP since the 2007 governorship election.”