The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Danjuma

  • Danjuma: Ojukwu should’ve conceded to save lives

    Danjuma: Ojukwu should’ve conceded to save lives

    Had former Biafran leader Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu- Ojukwu behaved like President Goodluck Jonathan who conceded after losing the March 28 election, many of the lives lost in the civil war would have been saved, former Minister of Defence Theophilus Danjuma  said yesterday.

    Gen. Danjuma spoke at his home in Abuja when the President visited him.

    The former Army chief is the political leader in Taraba State, one of the three states in the North won by President Jonathan. The others are Nasarawa and Plateau States.

    They met briefly behind closed-doors before the President departed for the Presidential Villa.

    No reasons were given for the meeting but the president thanked Gen. Danjuma for his fatherly support during the election.

    Gen. Danjuma said Jonathan’s decision to concede defeat to Buhari, had set a record in the country.

    According to him, if the late Ojukwu had done the same thing after the fall of Enugu, when his government had to flee into the bush, he would have saved the country from further bloodshed.

    He said: “The outcome of the election and the manner in which President Jonathan conceded victory to Gen. Buhari is totally unAfrican, it is very important in the history of Africa.

      ”Ojukwu didn’t do the same after the fall of Enugu. If he had conceded victory to the federal troops he would have saved the nation one full year of bloodshed.

    “President Jonathan has set a history, a record to be emulated by the rest of Africa and indeed the whole world. It’s an excellent thing he did.”

    Jonathan thanked him for his fatherly support during the election.

  • 2015: I won’t canvass for Jonathan, says Danjuma

    2015: I won’t canvass for Jonathan, says Danjuma

    Former Minister of Defence, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (Rtd.) on Wednesday declared that he cannot canvass support for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Danjuma, who just returned from abroad, was on a visit to the President at his official resident in the Presidential Villa.

    The philanthropist, who also heads the government’s Victims Support Fund, disclosed that he is not a member of any party and won’t canvass votes for politicians.

    He spoke with State House correspondents after about ten minutes discussion behind closed-doors with the President.

    Asked what he discussed with the president, he said: “Confidential. Don’t speculate. I came to visit the president and find out how things are going. I have been abroad. I just came back.”

    On whether he will canvass support for the president for the elections, he said: “I don’t canvass. I am not in any of the political parties. The president is Nigeria’s president.”

  • Between Danjuma and militants

    Even with the accord by political parties to maintain the peace during and after the elections, signals emanating from the landscape do not give comfort of mind. Not only have there been clear breaches of that agreement by party supporters, there is every thing to indicate that all is not well with us.

    Not with the recent stoning of the convoy of President Jonathan in both Katsina, Bauchi and Taraba states and the ensuing recrimination between Bauchi State governor, Isa Yuguda and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory  Bala Mohammed on who sponsored the unruly mob that stoned the president.

    If such highly placed personages could accuse each other of masterminding that devious attack, it only shows how desperate things have become. It is too early to take sides on the matter. But the fact that such allegations could be traded by members of the same party from the same state is a pointer to some foreboding signals as the elections inch nearer.

    Various insinuations could also be made about the development and one may not be out of the track depending on the prism from which the matter is being viewed. But one thing that seems clear is that there are vested interests bent on fomenting trouble within this critical electioneering period to satisfy interests of sectional lure. Rising attacks on party men and their property; tearing of posters and destruction of billboards across the country are all indicative of the foreboding order.

    Matters are not helped by threats of the dire consequences that await the nation should certain sections win or lose the election. Before now, the North through sundry groups and individuals had threatened dire consequences should Jonathan run for another term. Then also some ex-militants in the Niger Delta equally warned they would fight if Jonathan was intimidated out of the race. Such had been the mood.

    Even former President Olusegun Obasanjo had in his controversial letter to Jonathan warned of severe consequences should he run for the election in defiance of the agreement he purportedly signed with some groups to serve only a single term. With the emergence of Jonathan and Buhari as the candidates of the PDP and APC, it will not be surprising these sentiments are bound to influence the direction the elections assume in the days ahead. The north wants the presidency returned to it. But the South-south would not let go this time around. It wants to complete two terms before power shifts to the north. These facts are not in doubt.

    So when Niger Delta ex-militants reportedly threatened to return to their old ways should Jonathan lose the election, they were just re-echoing their earlier threats. Dokubo-Asari, leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Victor Ben Ebikabowei, aka Boyloaf; Government Ekpudomenowei, aka Tompolo and others had reportedly vowed to ensure that President Jonathan wins the coming elections.

    At a meeting they held at the Government House in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, the ex-militants threatened to unleash mayhem on the country and take back “Niger Delta oil” should the president lose the election. Hear them: “for every Goliath, God created a David. For every Pharaoh, there is Moses. We are going to war. Every one of you should go and fortify yourself”.

    Boyloaf condemned the attacks on President Jonathan in the north and emphasized that nobody has the monopoly of the means of violence. For him, “keep grudges and sentiments apart. We are ready to match them bumper to bumper”.

    From all indications, the main grouse of the militants is with the attacks on the convoy of President Jonathan when his campaign team visited Katsina and Bauchi states. They view the two incidents as a clear attempt to intimidate and frustrate their kinsman in his presidential ambition. Emotions are again high.

    The nation has once more, been drawn nearer to the stark realities that await it as the elections approach. More than every other thing else, the threats have exposed the high stakes in the coming elections and issues that are likely to determine their direction and eventual outcome.

    Matters are not helped by the fact of the emergence of the candidates of the two major political from the nations’ two dominant geo-political divide-North and South. Not surprisingly, the threats by the ex-militants (though not entirely new) have drawn the ire of some influential persons in the country. This is more so when the meeting was held at a government house with some state and federal officials in attendance

    When therefore a former minister of Defense, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma called on the authorities to arrest the ex-militants for their unguarded statements, he was only drawing collective attention to the inherent dangers and potentially explosive nature of the coming elections. Danjuma who described the statements as reckless called on the authorities to arrest the ex-militants

    But the ex-militants have fired back questioning Danjuma’s intention since he did not speak out when similar threats came from sections of the north. They are also piqued by the silence of the likes of Danjuma on the Boko Haram insurgency which had been dubbed political grievances masquerading in religious garb. These views were shared by the secretary-general of the Ohaneze Ndigbo, Joe Nworgu when he urged Danjuma to concern himself more with the destructive activities of the Boko Haram sect rather than mere verbal threats. “They should prevail on all those behind the insurgency in the north to stop. Let them do that and not to call for the arrest of people who are merely issuing verbal threats”, the Ohaneze scribe reasoned.

    Implicit in this is the widely held belief that Boko Haram is the north’s similitude of the Niger Delta militants. Its main objective is to ensure that power returns to that section of the country. If this is so, Danjuma is being put to test for not showing sufficient concerns for the actual war that has been going on in the north-east.

    He is being put to test for his silence on the source of the sophisticated military hardware, arms and ammunitions freely available to Boko Haram and with which they have been waging war against the nation. He may also have to speak out on the silence of the northern elite on the insurgency and their body language that seems to give covert support to the group. If we are not sufficiently frightened by the raging war in the north-east, why the ruse over mere verbal threats, one may wish to ask?

    That is however not to justify the threats by the ex-militants. We do not need to heat up the polity any more. But what all these point to is that ethnicity and religion are the key factors in determining the direction of the coming elections. The north and south-south are laying claims to Presidency as a matter of right. They seem to be saying that only one of their own can sufficiently protect their interest within this unity in diversity. They seem to be implying that sections benefit most when a person from their stock ascends that high office. They may be right. But that in itself is an admission of the pervasive systemic inequities that accentuate bitter competition for power.

    The choice is ours either to address these nagging national issues or allow the bitter competition that arises out of the desire of sections to corner the apparatus of governance for their own good. That is the real issue which the arrest of thousands of ex-militants cannot resolve.

     

  • War threats: Niger Delta ex-militants give Danjuma 7-day ultimatum

    War threats: Niger Delta ex-militants give Danjuma 7-day ultimatum

    Former defence minister, Gen. Yakubu Danjuma, yesterday got a seven-day ultimatum from a group of ex-militants in the Niger Delta to withdraw his statement in which he called for the arrest of some former warlords or face their wrath.

    Gen. Danjuma had, on Wednesday,  condemned last weekend’s meeting of the former warlords in Yenagoa where they threatened to unleash terror on the country if President Goodluck Jonathan loses next month’s election.

    Danjuma called for immediate arrest of the war mongers including Government Ekpemupolo a.k.a. Tompolo, Asari Dokubo and Victor Ben Ebikabowei a.k.a. Boyloaf.

    A group of ex-militants —the Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative—led by Reuben Wilson, issued the ultimatum to Danjuma to withdraw the ‘insult’, failing which it said he would be courting trouble.

    Boyloaf, reacting separately to Danjuma’s call for the arrest of the militants, threatened yesterday to attack the general’s assets in the Niger Delta if he fails to “retrace his steps” and apologise to the former militants and the people of the Niger Delta.

    The Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative, in a statement by its  President, Reuben Wilson, said that Danjuma, by calling for the arrest of the militants “has walked on the tail of the serpent.”

    The group said: “As much as he has the right to free speech, Danjuma ought to know that the oil money he is enjoying today, through his ownership of oil blocs, came from our sacrifices and blood. We staked our lives to fight for the development of our country.

    “We fought for freedom for our land and it pains us that people like Danjuma who have reaped bountifully from the Niger Delta, can wake up to insult our sensibilities.

    “For Danjuma to call for the arrest of Asari Dokubo, then he has walked on the tail of the serpent.

    “The much we know is that we the ex militants who decided to drop our guns to join forces with the federal government to develop the country, especially the Niger Delta, have never said anything or taken any action that would warrant such explosives from Danjuma.“

    Restating its support for President Jonathan in next month’s election,the group said: “All we have said overtime is that our brother and president, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, a true son of the Niger Delta, deserves to enjoy the two terms in office provided for in the constitution.

    “We stand by this right and we will do everything legal and legitimate to make sure that he is not robbed of that right; not by a thousand Danjumas.

    “Danjuma cannot be enjoying our oil money and be insulting us at the same time. We are therefore giving him seven days from today to retract the statement he made to the media on the arrest of Asari Dokubo. We see his call as a declaration of war with the former fighters and we will like to tell him that we are ready to face him, having declared himself our enemy.

    “We are well aware that he owns oil blocs in the Niger Delta. He cannot be eating from our farm and at the same time calling us stupid and wishing that we should be arrested while he continues to harvest from our farm.

    “Danjuma should apologise to all the former fighters or we will assume that he has no regrets for his utterances.

    “We wish to sound this note of warning to all those who think they can intimidate us and force us to abandon our struggle for the re-election of Jonathan-their joint effort aimed at denying us our right will not work. They may be in the majority but we have a minority oil and that is what is feeding this country.

    “If they want to push a minority man out of Aso Rock by force, they should start thinking of where they will get money to keep their man in Aso Rock because our oil money will no more be there for them to share.

    “Danjuma must retract the statement within 7 days and apologise to us.”

    Ebokabowei, on his part described Danjuma’s demand for their arrest as “reckless and provocative,” and wondered why the former chief of army staff did not condemn the attack on the president’s convoy in some northern states.

    His words:“What are the issues that elicited retired General TY Danjuma’s reckless and provocative call? When the motor convoy (sic)  of the symbol of our collective national sovereignty, President Goodluck Jonathan, was attacked in northern cities of Jos, Katsina and Bauchi, by hegemonic Northern establishment and their hired elements, retired General T.Y Danjuma did not grant any interview to condemn the act.

    “He lost his voice because he is in tacit support of such manoeuvres to disgrace and remove President Goodluck Jonathan from office using whatever means possible.

    “Nigerians should not be deceived; retired General TY Danjuma is not moved to intervene in national issues for altruistic reasons.”

    He alleged that Danjuma has failed to provide for the Niger Delta communities where his company prospects for oil.

    “Is this the kind of man that will now speak about the unity of Nigeria? For General TY Danjuma and his likes, the unity of Nigeria centres on the control of the oil resources in the Niger Delta.

    “Our eyes are now open. Wwe are watching. Any attempt to cause any inconvenience by way of arrest or intimidation of any Niger Delta leader will be met with stiff resistance and the consequences will be grave and disproportional. This is a promise and not a threat,” he said.

    However, Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on the amnesty programme, Mr Kingsley Kuku, dismissed reports that the Ijaw will go to war if President Goodluck Jonathan is not re-elected into office.

    Tompolo, Dokubo, Boyloaf and other former warlords, Kuku said, only expressed concern over the way the president was treated during his campaign in Bauchi and Katsina states.

    Kuku reacted to the reports in Abuja yesterday at a forum on how to apply the lessons learnt from the solutions that brought the Niger Delta militancy to a calm, in solving the Boko Haram problem.

    Aside from this, Kuku also asked leaders from the North-East to take ownership of the Boko Haram problem and end it.

    Kuku and Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State were at the Yenagoa meeting of the ex-warlords.

    The meeting took place at the Government House, Yenagoa.

    Also yesterday, the Northern Coalition for Good Governance condemned the recent war threats issued by the Niger Delta militants.

    It urged politicians to shun acts capable of endangering the country’s democracy.

    The group also insisted that all the people suspected to have played any role in the post 2011 election violence should be brought to book with a view to ensuring violence-free elections next month.

    The Group’s Director of Research and Documentation, Dr. Ibrahim Baba, told journalists in Abuja after a protest demanding justice during the elections that Nigerians should not allow the 2011 post-election violence repeat itself.

    He argued that one of the ways that election violence could be averted is by the prosecution of those involved.

    He said the group would stand against anybody or group trying to divide the country through religion, ethnicity or tribalism.

    On Dokubo, he said, “We condemn Dokubo’s threat and any act of linguistics intimidation. We condemn it in all entirety. There is nobody that is above the law; nobody should try to sectionalize the country for whatever reason. We condemn Asari-Dokubo and his vituperations; we condemn any person that is trying to promote ethnicity, religion and tribalism. Asari-Dokubo is not an exception and we want to say that if he is found culpable in any thing we will also take him head on”.

  • ‘Obasanjo, Danjuma are misinformed’

    ‘Obasanjo, Danjuma are misinformed’

    The Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan On Niger Delta Affairs and Chairman, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Kingsley Kuku, has said comments by former President Olusegun Obasanjo about him and the programme he ran were due to lack of facts.

    He also denied declaration of war by some leaders of Niger Delta ex-militants.

    According to Kuku, the reaction of former Defence Minister, Gen Theophilus Danjuma, on the purported declaration of war was based on ‘misinformation’.

    He promised to visit the two leaders soon to present the facts before them.

    Speaking yesterday in Abuja at a national discourse on how to stop insurgency in the Northeast, the presidential aide said it was important not to react too quickly to the comments on national issues by former leaders because such comments might be from uniformed perspectives.

    He said: “I don’t respond to leaders about me because they may not have the facts of their accusation.

    “When former President Olusegun Obasanjo had to write a few things about me, as a person and the programme I run in his book, I found it difficult to respond to him because I understood very clearly that he didn’t have the right information.

    “Knowing Baba very well, I know the moment you pass the right information to him, he ends up in the next two, three days fighting for you.

    “I owe him the responsibility of putting the facts together and take to him later. I owe him an explanation”.

    Kuku regretted that Gen Danjuma’s reaction to the reported declaration was hugely affected by the social media.

    He, however, asserted that there was never a declaration of war at the Yenegoa meeting two Saturdays ago.

    “Gen Theophilus  Danjuma’s call for the  arrest of some Niger Delta ex-militants due to call for war was due to lack of appropriate information.

    “I’m sure he is just reading social media, maybe he likes Facebook, Twitter and maybe WhatsApp.”

  • Danjuma: arrest Tompolo, Asari-Dokubo, others now

    Danjuma: arrest Tompolo, Asari-Dokubo, others now

    One-time Minister of Defence Gen. Theophilus Danjuma yesterday called for the arrest of former Niger Delta-militants, who are threatening to rock the boat should President Goodluck Jonathan lose the February 14  election.

    Mujaheed Dokubo-Asari said after a meeting last week in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, that “ex-militants” would return to their old ways should Dr Jonathan lose the election.

    Gen. Danjuma described the statement as “reckless” and called for the arrest of the ex-militants.

    Saying politicians and their supporters should be wary of provocative and inflammatory statements, he described Asari-Dokubo’s threat as condemnable.

    He said “Those are very reckless statements made by irresponsible individuals and they should be condemned. In fact, they should be arrested.”

    The former Chief of Army Staff was responding to reporters’ questions in Kano during the inauguration of the

    Senate building of the North West University. The institution was established by the Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso administration.

     ”Successors abandon what they inherit; my prayer is that whoever that is going to succeed you (Kwankwaso) will continue with the very good work you have started,” Gen. Danjuma, the guest of honour said.

    Gen Danjuma also commissioned the multi billion naira Kwankwasiyya Village, one of the three mega cities built by the governor who he described as a man with foresight under whose watch Kano has witnessed rapid development.

    Kwankwaso said his administration had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)with a Chinese firm, which has acquired 200 units from the Kwankwassiyya village and within three months the state governments will be richer with N5 billion.

    Dokubo-Asari, leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF); Victor Ben Ebikabowei, aka, Boyloaf; Government Ekpudomenowei, aka Tompolo and other ex-militants last Saturday vowed to ensure that President Goodluck Jonathan wins the presidential election.

    The militant leaders and their ex-followers spoke at the meeting at a Government House in Yenagoa, threatening to unleash violence on the country and take back “Niger Delta oil” should the president lose the election.

    They also said any attempt to dethrone Jonathan would be seen as a direct attack on the Ijaw nation.

    Addressing the Yenagoa meeting, Dokubo-Asari said: “For every Goliath, God created a David. For every Pharoah, there is a Moses. We are going to war. Everyone of you should go and fortify yourself.”

    Boyloaf condemned the attack on President Jonathan in the North, saying nobody has the monopoly of violence. “Keep grudges and sentiments apart. We are ready to match them bumper to bumper,” he said.

    The Federal Government has so far not reacted to the threat.

    But the Ijaw Youth Council on Monday clarified the statement by Dokubo-Asari, which it described as his personal opinion and not that of the group.

    According to the IYC, its interest is that the elections should be fair. It said if the president loses a free and fair poll, there would be no trouble, but that they would not accept an unfair election.

    The Police and the State Security Service (SSS) have threatened to arrest anyone making provocative statements but they have not reacted to this development.

    Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda has claimed that the stoning of the President’s convoy in Bauchiwas the handiwork of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporters.

    The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) believes that attacks are part of PDP’s plan to force a postponement of the polls.

  • Danjuma: arrest Tompolo, Asari-Dokubo, others now

    Danjuma: arrest Tompolo, Asari-Dokubo, others now

    One-time Minister of Defence Gen. Theophilus Danjuma yesterday called for the arrest of former Niger Delta-militants, who are threatening to rock the boat should President Goodluck Jonathan lose the February 14  election.

    Mujaheed Dokubo-Asari said after a meeting last week in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, that “ex-militants” would return to their old ways should Dr Jonathan lose the election.

    Gen. Danjuma described the statement as “reckless” and called for the arrest of the ex-militants.

    Saying politicians and their supporters should be wary of provocative and inflammatory statements, he described Asari-Dokubo’s threat as condemnable.

    He said “Those are very reckless statements made by irresponsible individuals and they should be condemned. In fact, they should be arrested.”

    The former Chief of Army Staff was responding to reporters’ questions in Kano during the inauguration of the

    Senate building of the North West University. The institution was established by the Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso administration.

     ”Successors abandon what they inherit; my prayer is that whoever that is going to succeed you (Kwankwaso) will continue with the very good work you have started,” Gen. Danjuma, the guest of honour said.

    Gen Danjuma also commissioned the multi billion naira Kwankwasiyya Village, one of the three mega cities built by the governor who he described as a man with foresight under whose watch Kano has witnessed rapid development.

    Kwankwaso said his administration had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)with a Chinese firm, which has acquired 200 units from the Kwankwassiyya village and within three months the state governments will be richer with N5 billion.

    Dokubo-Asari, leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF); Victor Ben Ebikabowei, aka, Boyloaf; Government Ekpudomenowei, aka Tompolo and other ex-militants last Saturday vowed to ensure that President Goodluck Jonathan wins the presidential election.

    The militant leaders and their ex-followers spoke at the meeting at a Government House in Yenagoa, threatening to unleash violence on the country and take back “Niger Delta oil” should the president lose the election.

    They also said any attempt to dethrone Jonathan would be seen as a direct attack on the Ijaw nation.

    Addressing the Yenagoa meeting, Dokubo-Asari said: “For every Goliath, God created a David. For every Pharoah, there is a Moses. We are going to war. Everyone of you should go and fortify yourself.”

    Boyloaf condemned the attack on President Jonathan in the North, saying nobody has the monopoly of violence. “Keep grudges and sentiments apart. We are ready to match them bumper to bumper,” he said.

    The Federal Government has so far not reacted to the threat.

    But the Ijaw Youth Council on Monday clarified the statement by Dokubo-Asari, which it described as his personal opinion and not that of the group.

    According to the IYC, its interest is that the elections should be fair. It said if the president loses a free and fair poll, there would be no trouble, but that they would not accept an unfair election.

    The Police and the State Security Service (SSS) have threatened to arrest anyone making provocative statements but they have not reacted to this development.

    Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda has claimed that the stoning of the President’s convoy in Bauchiwas the handiwork of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporters.

    The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) believes that attacks are part of PDP’s plan to force a postponement of the polls.

  • Danjuma donates water reservoir to varsity

    Danjuma donates water reservoir to varsity

    The South Atlantic Petroleum Limited (SAPETRO) has donated one million litre water reservoir to the Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK). The reservoir was commissioned on Tuesday in a ceremony marked with feast of culture and comedy.

    Water is a scarce commodity in the university and protest by students to draw the authorities’ attention to their plight led to the death of three students two years ago.

    The project was commissioned by the chairman of SAPETRO, General Theophilus Danjuma (Rtd), who was represented by the Executive Vice Chairman, Senator Desi Danjuma.

    Senator Danjuma said: “I am delighted to be here today to commission this project on behalf of my husband and the entire management of SAPETRO. We are proud to deliver this project as one of our corporate social responsibilities. Water is life and we all know that when you have good source of water, you have good source of life. We are pleased to be intervening in some parts of the development of this institution. SAPETRO will continue to do the best to support the development of this university.”

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Muhammad Mainoma, said the reservoir would solve the water challenge facing the school. “Anybody who gives you water has given you a life. With this intervention by SAPETRO, which constructed and donated a one million litre water reservoir, the water problem in the university has now been solved. We thank the management of SAPETRO for this contribution,” he said.

    Students of the Department of Theatre and Cultural Studies entertained the guests with cultural performance.

    While giving vote of thanks, the Registrar, Alhaji Dalhatu Mamman, said: “We do not have enough words to use in showing our gratitude to General Danjuma for this wonderful and life-touching project. His contributions to the development of this university have always been remarkable. As we all know, the university clinic, a modern and well-equipped healthcare centre was constructed and donated by General Danjuma. We pray that he will continue to be our partner in progress. Your wealth means nothing until you use such wealth to touch the lives of people in the society.”

    A plaque of honour was presented to Senator Danjuma by the VC on behalf of the university community to show appreciation for the intervention project.

    It should be recalled that the university was shut down for months in 2013, following a violent protest over water shortage on campus.

     

  • Danjuma, Tinubu, others for Jukun’s festival

    Danjuma, Tinubu, others for Jukun’s festival

    Elder statesman Gen. Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, All Progressives Congress (APC) national leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka and Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF) Mr. Danladi  Irimiya Kifasi are among eminent personalities expected to grace the groundbreaking and foundation-laying ceremony of the Lagos secretariat of the Jukun Development Association (JDA).

    The occasion, which also marks the end of year celebration of the association, will hold on Saturday, at the Air Force Officers Mess, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    Also expected at the event are the paramount ruler of the Jukun kingdom, the Aku Uka of Wukari, and other prominent sons and daughters of the Jukunland.

    Addressing a news conference in Lagos, the National

    President of the association, Comrade Bako Benjamin, said the event with the theme: “Unity and Peace, a panacea for national development”, is coming at a difficult time in the life of the people, as their

    Southern Taraba homeland has been enmeshed in crisis since the assumption of Acting Governor Alhaji Garba Umar.

    He said Gen. Danjuma would be the father of the day, Kifasi, chairman, and the human rights crusader, Mr. Femi Falana, (SAN), would deliver the keynote address.

    Other dignitaries, according to him, will include a Taraba State governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief David Sabo.

  • Danjuma chairs Law Partnership board

    Danjuma chairs Law Partnership board

    The vice Chairman of South  Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO), Senator Daisy Danjuma has been appointed the chairman of the newly inaugurated board of trustees of the Lagos Public Interest Law Partnership (LPILP).

    The board of trustees will oversee  the management of the LPIPLP trust fund.

    Other members of the seven-man board inaugurated last week are the Lagos Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice,  Mr Ade Ipaye; Managing Partner, Olaniwun Ajayi and Company, Professor Konyinsola Ajayi; Deputy Director-General, Nigerian Law School, Lagos Campus, Mrs Toun Adebiyi; Chairman Nigerian Bar Association(NBA), Lagos Branch, Mr Alex Muoka; Director, Prisoners’ Rights Advocacy Initiative (PRAI),  Mr. Ahmed Adetola-Kazeem while  Miss Funmilayo Owuye, the LPIPL coordinator is to serve as the Executive Secretary.

    Ipaye said the constitution of the board was made possible with the seed fund provided by the state government for the establishment of the Pro Bono Trust Fund during the first Annual Lagos State Pro Bono Week, which held in April.

    He pointed out that the board would reinforce the administration’s commitment to build strong and dependable institutions managed by people with character, experience and integrity.

    Ipaye remarked that as part of the objectives of the board, it would be expected to review and recommend funding for qualifying pro bono projects; provision of funds for the training and retraining of the LPILP staff; assist pro bono lawyers, as may be necessary, to secure the attendance of witnesses and offset exceptional and unexpected costs of litigation.

    Senator Danjuma thanked government for the opportunity given them to serve the people of Lagos.

    She said with the LPILP, “the State Government is building a functional platform that aims to ensure that justice and access to justice are within the reach of every resident of the State irrespective of his/her geographical location and financial means.”