The Nation Newspaper

Tag: crisis

  • A contrived crisis

    It may well be that schemers are at work, or at play, in the unfolding drama in which a high-profile university in the country has been turned into a theatre of theatricalities. The ongoing show at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, Osun State, is certainly anti-intellectual, which is an intriguing irony in a space where the intellect should be king.

    Trying to understand what is happening at the university is trying to understand what is happening to the rule of law. At the centre of the confusion is the appointment of a new Vice Chancellor for OAU, which ought to be guided by well-defined and unambiguous guidelines.

    It is thought-provoking that members of OAU’s Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non- Academic Staff Union (NASU) protested against the selection procedure that produced Professor Ayobami Taofeek Salami. Their disruptive protest attracted the attention of the Federal Government, which also acted disruptively and arbitrarily by dissolving the university’s Governing Council.

    A report said the protesters “took over the University Senate building singing and dancing”, following the puzzling intervention by the authorities. The report continued: “This is a victory for all and one that is well-deserved,” the Chairman of SSANU, Ademola Oketunde, told the workers. “We have seen that President Buhari has a listening ear and we will continue to appreciate him for dissolving the Governing Council. However, we have not won totally as we will stay here till we have an Acting VC who will steer the affairs of the university.”

    This is the crux of the matter. In a reaction to the development, a statement by Concerned Obafemi Awolowo University Community Members said: “The truth is that currently there is neither vacancy in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor nor is there any ongoing process for the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor in OAU. That process has been completed as far back as June 6, 2016, when the Governing Council at its special meeting considered the report of the Joint Council and Senate Selection Board for the appointment of a new helmsman for the university and decided to appoint Professor Ayobami Taofeek Salami as the 11th Vice-Chancellor of OAU for a term of five years with effect from June 24, 2016.”

    Interestingly, the statement titled “Federal Government’s orders on OAU are wrong”, also said: “To validate the appointment, the Federal Character Commission under the Presidency on June 20 issued a ‘Certificate of Compliance’ to the Registrar of OAU authorising him to ‘issue a letter of appointment to Professor Ayobami Taofeek Salami as the substantive Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University’. And on June 24, a day after Prof. Bamitale Omole’s five-year tenure ended, Prof. Salami assumed office as the 11th Vice-Chancellor of the university. His address on assumption of office to the university community can be accessed by anybody on the Internet. Prof. Salami’s assumption of office was even widely reported in the media. How the Ministry of Education and the Visitor who were duly notified of the completed process that produced Prof. Salami ignored both that and the media reports on it is perturbing and incredible! Just what makes them think there is an ongoing process for the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor in OAU when in reality that process has been effectively completed?”

    This background suggests that the Federal Government acted in bad faith by dissolving the university’s Governing Council without any legal basis. The law-based concept of university autonomy is not cosmetic, and should not be treated with contempt.

    It is noteworthy that, in a statement, Ademola Oketunde and Wole Odewumi – chairmen of OAU’s SSANU and NASU – replied the opposing group with what they called “the following few facts, lawful and superior arguments on the matter”. They said: “At its meeting of March 8 to 10, 2016, the dissolved council unlawfully developed criteria and used them to score, rank and shortlist applicants for the VC’s post (scoring Prof. A. T. Salami 100%), rather than basing the short listing on whether or not the applicants met the advertised eligibility criteria. The Joint Council and Senate Selection Board (JCSSB) is the only statutory and lawful body empowered to interview, score, and rank VC applicants; and subsequently recommend three “suitable candidate” to Council, with full report of its activities. By this unlawful act, the dissolved Council usurped and hijacked the responsibility of JCSSB and rendered its purposes and functions irrelevant and outright useless.”

    This makes the matter curiouser and curiouser. Where lies the truth?  Indeed, the Federal Government should have been curious enough to get to the bottom of the matter through a thorough investigation before taking a decisive step.  It is unclear how the administration arrived at the decision to dissolve the university’s Governing Council, and why it seeks to invalidate the selection of Prof. Salami as VC. But it is clear that the administration needs clarity on the issue.

    The situation means that the institution is doubly challenged without a Governing Council and a VC, although the administration cannot unlawfully dissolve OAU’s Governing Council, which has the responsibility for lawfully selecting the university’s VC.  Furthermore, the idea of an Acting VC, as conceived by SSANU and NASU, cannot be lawfully concretised by the administration, given the extant legal framework of university autonomy.

    Relevant to the possibility of an Acting VC is a paper on “Appointment and Removal of a Vice Chancellor under Nigerian Law” by Prof. Ehi Oshio.  The Professor of Law argued: “The President/Visitor has no power under the Universities Autonomy Act to appoint even an Acting Vice-Chancellor as a matter of pure law. This is because the Act empowers only the Governing Council to appoint an Acting Vice-Chancellor on the recommendation of the Senate. Section 3(13) & (14) of the Principal Act as amended provides “In any case of a vacancy in the office of the Vice-Chancellor, the Council shall appoint an Acting Vice-Chancellor on recommendation of the Senate” “An Acting Vice-Chancellor in all circumstances shall not be in office for more than 6 months”.

    In other words, where there is no Governing Council, there must be a Governing Council. The Federal Government would do well to immediately reconstitute a Governing Council for OAU, “for the effective functioning of the University”, if it is too far gone to reverse the flawed dissolution.

    When all is said and done, the rule of law should not be the rule of lawlessness.  It is a point to ponder that SSANU and NASU had taken the matter to court, hoping to get a ruling restraining the VC’s selection process, but they have also taken the law into their own hands by forcing a shutdown at the university while the court case is still unresolved. Surely, the Governing Council could not have been expected to restrain itself in the absence of a valid injunction.

    In the final analysis, it would appear that the so-called OAU crisis is a contrivance by internal forces and may well be inspired by ulterior motives. As things stand, the ultimate casualty is the rule of law, and that is tragic indeed.

  • Niger Delta crisis should not be settled through force, says Ochicha

    Niger Delta crisis should not be settled through force, says Ochicha

    Mr Odey Ochicha was the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Cross River State. He spoke with NICHOLAS KALU in Calabar.

    What can you say about the resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta region?

    The situation in the Niger Delta should be resolved through dialogue not force. When a child rebels, the father does not crush or kill him. He adopts carrot and stick method because he is his Son whom he loves and cares for. He protects, counsel, guides, encourages and educates him to be a good child.  This is the method I recommend to quell the conflict in the Niger Delta area. I urge our aggrieved brothers in the Niger Delta to stop destroying our oil and gas installations in the area. These facilities belong to us all. There are necessary for our existence and continuous survival as a people and as a nation. They should not be destroyed but protected to achieve the purpose for their establishment. The greatest losers are the people of the area not anybody else.

    What is your take on the agitation by for the creation of a Republic of Biafra?

    The solution to the challenges facing our nation is not to agitate for separation but to have a balanced and fiscal federalism. The former president of the US, Thomas Jefferson championed balanced federalism in America and today, America is the leading nation in the world. Nigeria needs to do the same. All ethnic groups should have a sense of belonging and given its due recognition and respect which I simply described as the double Rs.

    Is it proper for the Federal Government to use brute force against the agitation?

    It is not proper to use force against the agitation for Biafra. Anybody can agitate for anything. But this should be done using civilized approaches as discussion, dialogue and negotiation. For me, it’s better to “jaw jaw” than “war war” as opined by the former Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill.

    What is your opinion of democracy in Nigeria?

    Democracy as defined by the former president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln is government of the people by the people and for the people. It is a government in which the people determine leadership. It affords the people the opportunity to periodically choose who represents them. It offers the people choices and for power to change hands. And it is when power change hands that we witness rapid progress and accelerated development of the country. For me, democracy is growing in Nigeria.

  • OAU crisis: Stakeholders kick against call for acting VC

    Some stakeholders have faulted the call by the Prof. Peter Akinola-led Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for the appointment of an acting vice chancellor for the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Ogun State.

    They dismissed the call as tactless and at variance with the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Act 2003, otherwise called the Universities Autonomy Act No. 1, 2007 and the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Act 2012.

    In a statement, titled: “A campaign of lies in OAU” yesterday in Osogbo, the stakeholders said the Act did not empower President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint an acting vice chancellor in any institution, much less when a substantive chancellor is in office.

    “It is laughable and ridiculous to read the prof asking the Visitor to deliberately violate the law and undo the result of ASUU’s many years of strenuous campaign for university autonomy in the name of finding solution to a matter that is simple.”

    They said the last congress of ASUU on June 30 only demanded for an investigative panel to examine the process that produced Prof. Ayobami Salami as vice chancellor.

    By his call, the stakeholders said “Akinola is only acting out a self-serving script to misinform the public”.

    They called on ASUU, NASU and SSANU to await the outcome of their suit against the appointment of Salami, instead of disrupting peace on the campus.

    The stakeholders said the purported dissolution of the Governing Council by the Federal Government was a misguided move that has no legal backing.

    “The action of the Visitor in OAU is wrong and he cannot remove a substantive vice-chancellor’’, the stakeholders continued.

    “If the Visitor has not taken the claims of these lost groups as truth, let him set up a panel to investigate the Governing Council and the process that led to the emergence of Prof. Salami as substantive vice-chancellor, who the Federal Character Commission under the Presidency, has given a letter of appointment through the OAU Registrar on Tuesday, June 21, 2016. That is the way of decent and civilised people.”

  • Why Jonathan should be involved in resolving Niger Delta crisis —Ex-Bayelsa Military Administrator Col. Obi

    Why Jonathan should be involved in resolving Niger Delta crisis —Ex-Bayelsa Military Administrator Col. Obi

    Colonel Edor Obi (rtd) is a former Military Administrator of Bayelsa State. He was a member of the committee that produced a technical report on the Niger Delta during the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s administration. In this interview with INNOCENT DURU, he discloses that he saw the current Niger Delta crisis coming. He also bemoans the renewed activities of militants in the region, which he blamed on the piecemeal implementation of the technical report he described as the most comprehensive ever produced in the country on the Niger Delta

    Niger Delta militants had sheathed their swords for a long time before the current bombing of oil facilities. What do you think is responsible for this renewed agitation?

    Well, I am one of the people who have always been concerned that we had the silence of the graveyard in the Niger Delta, because I happen to have been in the committee that produced the most comprehensive technical report on the Niger Delta under the late President (Umaru) Yar’Adua. The amnesty programme, which was a fallout of that committee, was just taken out of the holistic recommendation we made to address the issue of Niger Delta.

    As a stakeholder in the Niger Delta, what efforts have you made to address the problem?

    Of course, I remain a stakeholder and I will always share my views with other stakeholders, because at the end of the day, we don’t have any other country to run to. So we have to save this country. When President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in, I wrote a memo, and one of the issues in my memo was about the Niger Delta. Without any concrete information but based on my personal experience that there was a lot of unease in the region, I wrote about what needed to be done. I advised that we needed to pay attention to the Niger Delta because there was a lot of unease as there were issues about how the amnesty programme was going.

    Don’t also forget that there was a lot of political undertone, which goes back to the issue of true federalism. The issue of resource control has always played out. And don’t also forget that even recently, following the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) in the National Assembly, the issue of what is due to the host community has come up again. I think the ultimate thing for us to do is to think of how to implement the National Conference report which will restructure the country and bring us into true federalism, where the regions will have more control of their resources.

    I think if that is done, we will resolve many issues not just in the Niger Delta but also in the South East and other states. The bigger picture for me is the issue of going back to true federalism. Part of the things that I even recommended in my memo was that the immediate past president (Dr. Goodluck Jonathan) should be given a role to play in the Niger Delta because whether we like it or not, he remains a major stakeholder in the Niger Delta. And I also stated that we should not wait for things to deteriorate before we begin to react to them.

    Was the memo you wrote to the President borne out of the feeling that you should advise him or?

    I believe that I have a stake to offer my opinion on any national issue. I know the President and I believe that he means well. So I thought I owe him that to offer my advice on any national issue.

    Let us go back to the report you spoke about earlier. What were the other things that were recommended, and when the president decided to handle the issue of amnesty alone, what was the reaction of the committee?

    I must commend President Yar’ Adua because at the time we even decided to take the amnesty programme, we had what I will call one of the major challenges to our national security. Our production level was declining so rapidly that if we did not immediately embrace the amnesty programme, we would have arrived at a point in this country where our production would have probably amounted to nothing and the implication would have been that we would not have been able to realise any revenue and you can imagine what kind of national security issue this can cause. Probably we would have riots all over the country because people’s salaries would not be paid.

    So, he saw that immediately, and I am told he was advised from the earnings that were coming in, and I think he had consultations with the relevant authorities and said let’s talk to these boys and let them lay down their arms so that at least we can have our oil production back. So, that was probably why he was in a hurry to just take that aspect and implement it. The understanding was that he would look at the other recommendations more. I cannot just sit down and tell you about the other recommendations. If you look at the Niger Delta Development Commission, you will see that there is a master plan for the Niger Delta. One of the things we talked about was to take that master plan and implement it fully in all the places.

    Going back to our report, by the way, we did not create anything new. What we did was to just summarise the various reports between 1958 when we had the Willings Commission and the last report by the Ogbemudia committee set up by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. We talked about the issue of demobilisation, which eventually led to amnesty; skill acquisition; the training of those boys; job placement; the development of the host communities on sustainable basis and other things that should be done in the area of security, military and the economic and social impact programmes that were supposed to be implemented holistically with the various agencies.

    There were stages where we said the Federal Government and the oil companies, state governments and the host community should come together to fashion out some of these things that are supposed to be done there so they could be sustainable and could be done on a long term. The report is still in the archive. They can still go and look at it and see how best they can implement it, because as we speak, that is the most comprehensive report on the Niger Delta.

    Between the technical report on Niger Delta and the National Conference report, which one should the President be looking at?

    The Niger Delta report and the National Conference report are two different things. When you talk about the Niger Delta, we have the technical report you should look at. But you cannot do that in isolation. We are talking about two different things here. At the end of the day, the national conference report has to do with the issue of true federalism we are all talking about as Nigerians. In my opinion, whatever you do in any region, if you don’t pay attention to that report, they will keep reoccurring. The present arrangement is very flawed and we can’t sustain it for a long time. As much as possible, we need to whittle down the powers at the centre of government because it is over-wealthy and it is slowing down the development of the country.

    If you were the president, what would you do to resolve this issue?

    As the President, you have to consult, and I think he (President Buhari) is already doing that. After that, he will need to come up with a plan to implement what he comes up with. From most of the comments that I have read, a lot of people have advised the President to open a line of dialogue and avoid the excessive use of military because in the long term, it will be counterproductive. You can never win that war on the battlefield. You just have to open lines of communication.

    I am happy the Ogoni clean-up has begun. But I feel very sad that the President was not there to reassure the people as to his commitment and also exert his authority as the commander-in-chief. I recall one event when the Brass NLG grand breaking ceremony was going to take place at the height of the crisis in the Niger Delta under former President Obasanjo. There were a lot of security concerns but President Obasanjo went there himself and performed the ceremony. The managing director, who was from one of these multinational companies, did not show up, and they found that his country had advised that he should travel back home because of the crisis. What did Obasanjo do? He said if he as the president could go and the place was safe, he didn’t see any reason the managing director should not be there. At the end of the day, the managing director lost his job and Obasanjo gained the confidence of the people by that singular action.

    Yes, the Ogoni clean-up has been flagged off. The issue again is dialogue and it is very important. Again, if I were the President, I will call for that report and look at what has gone wrong, because part of the amnesty programme is a product of that report which was implemented piecemeal, and I think that led to some of the problems we have.

    Whether we like it not, in a democracy, we need to listen to the voice of the people. Most of these agitations, I believe that if there should be more dialogue, it will go a long way to douse the tension and reassure  the people and make us to begin to have the conviction that we can live together in a restricted country.

  • Niger Delta crisis: Ministers deal with wrong persons

    Niger Delta’s elite group, the United Niger Delta Energy Development Security Strategy (UNDEDSS), yesterday listed some conditions the Federal Government should meet to restore peace and order in the region.

    UNDEDSS said the conditions would save the nation further loss in the revenue accruable from oil and gas.

    The group spoke in Lagos after its emergency executive meeting on the crisis in Niger Delta.

    Its Secretary General Tony Uranta said Niger Delta unanimously resolved to resist further attempts by the Federal Government to deploy the military in the region or use what it called “divide and rule tactics” against the region’s key actors.

    “President Muhammadu Buhari is advised to personally and visibly head a holistic solution-seeking strategy that will prove his commitment to a robustly sustainable peace in the region, for there to be true unity, stability and progress in Nigeria,” Uranta said.

    The UNDEDSS spokesman decried what he called “the farce by too many of President Buhari’s political friends and ministers, who are wasting time establishing so-called Contact Committees that will not resolve pertinent issues sustainably”.

    Asked what the Federal Government needed to do to have everyone on its side, Uranta said: “There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. All Buhari has to do is return to the successful (late President Umaru Musa) Yar’Adua’s template of 2009.”

    But the UNDEDSS spokesman admitted that former President Goodluck Jonathan failed to consolidate on the late Yar’Adua’s gains in the region.

    He said the government knew how to resolve the region’s crisis, urging the President to broadcast to the nation an indefinite Federal Government’s ceasefire to be matched by armed actors in the region; government’s commitment to the National Maritime University at Okerenkoko and the appointment of a savvy special adviser (Niger Delta Affairs) to the President, among other conditions.

    Uranta said: “If President Buhari follows Yar’Adua’s lead, there will be sustainable cessation of hostilities in the Niger Delta and the nation will no longer be subjected to further losses in national revenue or the crippling power shortfall due to unavailability of crude and gas.”

  • Ndigbo in Isolo APC resolve crisis

    It’s cheery news that the crisis rocking the Igbo camp of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Isolo Local Council Development Area has been resolved.
    The hatchet often precipitated by leadership tussle or greed among the leaders has been buried with the formation of a new group, United Igbo Group in APC.
    The membership is drawn from the existing Igbo Mandate in APC, Igbo Vision in APC and Southeast APC Forum.
    The mission of the group is to create focus and direction for Ndigbo in Isolo politics and ensure credible Igbo leadership among political players.
    It is also to discourage sycophancy and greed among the Igbo politicians in party matters.
    A statement signed by the interim chairman of the group, Pastor Ndubisi, O. Nwachukwu, said “the group cannot continue to watch selfish individuals to truncate the unity and peaceful co-existence among the Igbo in APC in Isolo LCDA. “We advocate that Ndigbo must live in peace with their fellow Yoruba politicians,” he said.
    It would be recalled that the Igbo camp of Isolo LCDA was engulfed by series of crises before 2015 elections. Former Governor Babatunde Fashola had brought various Igbo groups to form Igbo United Political Coalition (IUPC) soon after his election.
    The IUPC later split into two factions; with one holding meetings in Apapa while the other held its meetings somewhere in Agidingbi in Ikeja.
    Before the 2015 general elections, Fashola brought the factions together again but perhaps this was done in a haste which did not yield any political or electoral gain to APC. No doubt, these crises had always constituted political misfortune for the party.
    The statement further said that to resolve the crisis permanently, it must be agreed that there is a problem arising from the controversy of 2015 and seek for a way of bringing everyone on board as a family.
    It also said: “We, through this medium, passionately call on the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu through Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and State Chairman of the APC to wade into the crisis to avoid the sad experience of 2015 elections.
    “One danger or issue we must address in Isolo LCDA is caucus affiliations which has eaten deep into the fabrics of the party, where those in power believe strongly in winner takes all, dictating who should have what, not minding whether it is in interest of the party or not.
    “We also dissociate ourselves from any communiqué released at the purported June 18, 2016 Igbo stakeholders’ summit which was not all-embracing.

  • Buhari wades into Edo Apc crisis

    Buhari wades into Edo Apc crisis

    There were indications yesterday that President Muhammadu Buhari may have directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal to interface with stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo state with a view to resolving the crisis in the party.

    Sources close to the party said the President has asked the SGF to meet with all the aspirants in the last governorship primary and other stakeholders within 24 hours.

    The primary which was held on June 18 and won by Mr. Godwin Obaseki, is being challenged by two of the aspirants, who alleged irregularities in the conduct of the primary.

    In his petitions to the Appeal Committee, Chris Ogiemwonyi alleged over voting, while Imansuagbon claimed that the primary was rigged electronically.

    The two aggrieved aspirants have threatened to go to court, if it fails to nullify the primary

    The source said: “The two aggrieved aspirants are waiting the recommendation of the committee, threatening to go to court and work against the party in the event of any last minutes endorsement”.

    The Chairman of the Primary Committee and  governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari, who was invited by the committee, was represented by a Director at the National Secretariat of the party.

    In his report to the party leadership, Masari noted the division in the chapter during primary and called for reconciliation.

    He said the party needed unity and harmony to retain Edo State.

    Masari feared that the chapter risked a post-primary crisis, if efforts were not made to resolve the crisis triggered by the contest.

    He urged party leaders to wade into the feud, stressing that delay could be dangerous.

    The Chairman of the Appeal Committee, Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele, said that the committee was compiling its recommendations, adding that the stakeholders met with the committee members and made oral presentations.

    He, however, denied knowledge of the proposed meeting between the aspirants and the SGF.

     

  • Forex Crisis: AUN confirms transfer of foreign students

    Forex Crisis: AUN confirms transfer of foreign students

    The American University of Nigeria (AUN) at the weekend confirmed that it had received transfer request from some Nigerian students studying abroad who want to return home to finish their studies because of the scarcity of foreign exchange.

    The AUN stated that due to difficulty in sourcing for forex, some Nigerians in the Diaspora had decided to send their children to the school to finish their education at home.

    A large number of Nigerian students are studying abroad, mainly in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and others.

    The Assistant Vice President, Digital Services and Chief Information Officer, (AUN), Mr. Julius Ayutabe, confirmed this to journalists in Abuja at the 16th graduation ceremony of Global International College.

    Ayutabe, who did not give the figures of foreign Nigerian students who had applied to finish their studies in the university, stated that the school had received students from the US and UK.

    Ayutabe, stated that Nigerian universities had bridged the gap between those abroad, adding that parents now feel comfortable to send their children to study in private universities at home.

    He said: “The Nigerians in the Diaspora are sending their children back home because even they now, are realizing the potential back home to train their children at par with those abroad. Especially with the value of the naira today, parents don’t have the option than to bring their children back home.

  • Sheriff’s camp urges political solution to PDP crisis

    Sheriff’s camp urges political solution to PDP crisis

    The camp of the embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff, has called for a political solution to the party’s leadership crisis.

    The stand-off between Sheriff and the chairman of the party’s Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has polarised the ranks of stakeholders, as both camps have continued to lay claim to the leadership.

    Making the call at the weekend, the immediate past National Vice Chairman (South-South) of the PDP, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, urged the Board of Trustees (BoT) to immediately facilitate a meeting between the warring factions.

    According to him,  the crisis requires a political solution, and the cases instituted by both camps, if allowed to go on, would hamper the chances of the party in the forth coming governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states.

    Ojougboh warned that if the BoT failed to save the situation, it could degenerate into an intractable situation capable of preventing the party from fielding candidates in future elections.

    The party chieftain dismissed claims by the Makarfi camp that Sheriff was hired by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to destroy the PDP, arguing that if the APC was sponsoring the embattled chairman, the police and the Department of State Service (DSS) would have taken sides with Sheriff.

    Said he, “The police invited both Makarfi and Sheriff  and tried to settle their differences. That is how the BoT should also behave. We are urging our leaders to be dispassionate in this matter.

    “The answer is not too difficult to proffer.  There is a court judgement by an Abuja High Court delivered by Justice Mohammed. In that judgement, it is stated clearly that the tenure of Sheriff ends in 2018, because Sheriff was elected by NEC to complete the tenure of Adamu Mu’azu.

    “A letter also written by INEC to PDP suspended the convention, saying that there should be no election into the offices of Chairman, National Secretary and Auditor. With all these put together, if you look at it legally and from the rule of law, you will see that Sheriff has a judgement and the law on his side.

    “Now, one begins to wonder. One of the emperors in the party, somebody like Mr. Nyesom Wike, is governor today by virtue of the courts and the rule of law.

    “Wilke lost at the court of first instance. He lost at another court in the second instance and won at the Supreme Court. But no one has come to tell Wike to allow for the political process to play, or to step down from being governor of Rivers”.

    Dr. Ojougboh noted that no one had appealed the judgement delivered in favour of Sheriff, adding that the embattled chairman has a good case.

  • Herdsmen, farmers’ clash looms in Bayelsa as group begins mediation

    Herdsmen, farmers’ clash looms in Bayelsa as group begins mediation

    There is tension in some parts of Bayelsa State following a looming clash between the Fulani herdsmen and farmers in the state.

    It was learnt that the farmers were angry at the activities of the herdsmen who allegedly allowed their cows to graze in their farmland destroying their crops.

    The development was reportedly breeding bad blood between the herdsmen and the farmers with angry youths in some of the areas threatening to confront the cattle rearers.

    Already, the herders and the farmers were said to have clashed with some of them sustaining injuries.

    To avert a repeat occurrence, advocacy groups, Nigeria Reconciliation and Stability Project (NRSP) of the British Council and the Bayelsa State Peace and Conflict Management Alliance (BSPCMA) waded into the controversy at the weekend.

    The groups decried the way farmers were being attacked by the Fulani herdsmen across the country.

    The leader, BSPCMA, Mrs Elizabeth Egbe, who spoke after the meeting in Yenagoa, with farmers and victims of the attack in the state said there was a need to find a lasting solution to the increasing attack.

    She said that the attacks on farmers by the Fulani herdsmen in the state were calling on the relevant authorities to step up action to avert the recurring situation.

    Egbe said: “Our move to check conflict between herdsmen and communities in the state has become necessary in order to ensure more peaceful co-existence and promote the country’s vision of self-sufficiency in food production.

    “We have heard that there is tension already in some communities in Bayelsa such as Biogbolo, Yenuzie-Epie, Okutukutu and Epie in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state, where some farmers were attacked by the herdsmen.

    “We are here to find out the root of the matter and way forward for the betterment of our people and Nigerians.

    “The farmers, who were attacked are here with us; some of them were beaten up and left with bruises recently while in their farms and some were cut with knives.

    “We have had a meeting with the security agencies to tackle the issue here in Bayelsa. So, we are urging the government to provide a grazing field for the Fulani herdsmen in the state – a place, where they can settle rather than moving from one bush to another.”

    One of the farmers and victim of the attack, Mrs. Margret Samuel, said during the attack, she was given a knife cut on her hand.

    She urged the government to protect the farmers against cruel attacks by Fulani herdsmen through an enabling law.

    “My hands were nearly cut off by the herdsmen during a recent attack. The attack was cruel and it must not be allowed to continue.

    “I was suprised when I saw a group of herdsmen in my farm on that faitful day and before I could say a word, they started beating me,” Samuel alleged.

    One of the herdsmen at the meeting, Suleman Abubakar, said that those fueling the attack were not herdsmen based in Bayelsa.

    Abubakar said: “I do not know where the attacks are coming from because I have never been part of it. I move my cows from place to place and do not find people’s trouble. I can tell you emphatically that we (herdsmen) in Bayelsa don’t know who is causing the problem in the state.

    “Those causing the trouble in Bayelsa are not herdsmen based here. We suggest that the relevant authorities should carry out more investigation to unravel those behind the dastardly act.”