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Tag: disowns

  • CAS disowns Giwa, rejects restraining order on FIFA

    CAS disowns Giwa, rejects restraining order on FIFA

    The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected the  request for provisional measures restraining FIFA from suspending Nigeria from internationally-organised football events.

    CAS stated on its official website that the case of the appellants was rejected because “it was without object at this stage.”

    But the appellants’ request for arbitration is still expected to be heard and determined by CAS.

    The appellants, Yahaya Adama, Obinna Ogba, Musa Talle, Effiong Johnson, Chidi Ofor Okenwa, Busari Ishola, Mohammed Saidu and Tijani Jubril asked CAS for “[a]n Interim Order restraining the Respondent (FIFA) whether by themselves, their servants, agents, officers, directors, legal representatives and others whomsoever from suspending, excluding, removing, foreclosing and/or banning the Nigerian Football Federation(NFF) or the Federal Republic of Nigeria from participation howsoever from international and or FIFA organised football events, pending the hearing and final determination of the Request for Arbitration dated  September 5, 2014 by CAS.”

    FIFA in its response, according to CAS, “noted that two cumulative conditions mentioned in the Emergency Committee’s decision dated  September 3, 2014 had been complied with and that therefore the NFF would not be suspended.”

    CAS concluded in its statement that: “Accordingly, the NFF is not suspended and the African Nations Cup qualifier match between South Africa and Nigeria scheduled to take place on September 10  is not affected.”

    On Tuesday, FIFA wrote to the NFF stating that it will not be suspended since “positive steps” had been taken to resolve its governance crisis.

    But the world football governing body warned that it will immediately suspend NFF “should the electoral process be affected by any interference or mishap” till FIFA’s next congress in May 2015.

     

  • Group disowns Elechi’s senatorial bid

    Group disowns Elechi’s senatorial bid

    A group, the ‘Igboesa Integrity Forum,’ has denied endorsing Ebonyi State Governor Martins Elechi for the Senate. The group led by Chief Ogbu Godwin rejected the governor’s bid, following consultations with stakeholders.

    In a statement, Godwin said the people of Igboesa deserved a senator, who will uplift the social, economic and infrastructural standards of the community and make meaningful contributions on the floor of the National Assembly.

    Lauding President Goodluck Jonathan’s achievements, he said, if the area is represented by a good senator, more dividends of democracy would be attracted. He praised the President for the reconstruction of the Enugu- Abaliki Expressway and the upgrading of the Enugu Airport to an international airport.

    Godwin added: “It is pertinent that the group scrutinises all aspirants that would want to represent the zone and come up with a consensus candidate that is experienced, intelligent and presentable to the people of Igboesa, based on his achievements and contribution to the infrastructural development and social wellbeing of the Igboesa clan”.

    The community leader called on the people to disregard the purported endorsement of the governor, saying that it is misleading.

    He said the media propaganda in Elechi’s favour does not have the blessing and consent of the clan.

    Godwin also dissociated the association from the pro-Elechi campaigns, urging the people to be vigilant.

    He added: “Our people should remain calm. Those that signed and placed the announcement on radio stations in the state did not have the consent of the people and it is an affront to the good people of Igboesa, especially the major stakeholders of the clan.”

     

  • Peace pact: MASSOB disowns Uwazuruike

    Aggrieved members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) insisted at the weekend on pursuing the actualisation of an independent Biafra state as against the unity pact agreement signed by their leader, Ralph Uwazuruike.

    The members, who distanced themselves from the plan to jettison the agitation for a united Nigeria, vowed to continue with the struggle, until “Biafrans are liberated from perceived oppression by the Nigerian government”.

    The MASSOB leader had during a meeting in Owerri, the Imo State capital, with other separatists, including Dr Frederick Fasehun, Asari Dokubo, Hamza al-Mustapha, Mohammed Abacha and Yerima Shetimma, issued a communique in support of the unity and coexistence of Nigeria.

    The group, under the umbrella of the National Unity Alliance (NUA), headed by Fasehun, founder of the Odua People’s Congress (OPC), posited that it would no longer be manipulated by mischievous and power thirsty politicians to disintegrate Nigeria for selfish reasons.

    But back home, the action of the MASSOB leader was seen as a betrayal of the cause for which many had been killed, maimed and displaced during the civil war fought more than 40 years ago.

    It has also generated widespread criticisms among members of the group, who had sustained the Biafran struggle in the last 13 years.

    One said: “We felt betrayed. We have wasted substantial years of our lives fighting for the independence of Biafra. Most of us have died in the process, while many others are languishing in prisons across the country.

    “Apart from this steep price, we have equally paid through our nose to fund the movement. But we are not going to allow all these sacrifices to go in vain.

    “For us the struggle for Biafra has just begun. Our collective destiny is greater than any person or group of persons.”

  • Ekiti disowns FRC’s debt claims

    The Ekiti State government has condemned a publication by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), which put the state’s debt profile at N35.4 billion.

    It described its financial status as “very healthy” and under the control of a “prudent and efficient administration”.

    Speaking with reporters, Commissioner for Finance Dapo Kolawole and the State FRC Chairman, Mr. Bayo Aina, said the publication was “twisted, misleading and intended to bring the current administration to disrepute”.

    They said it was unfortunate that the publication on the debt profile of some states was not up-to -date, adding that Ekiti’s indebtedness stood at “only N14.5 billion as at last December”.

    Kolawole said the N20 billion taken by the Governor Kayode Fayemi administration from the Capital Market went through “clearances and was certified by the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF), the Debt Management Office (DMO) and FRC in Abuja”.

    He said N12 billion had been repaid.

    The commissioner said the publication of the 2011 debt profile, when the 2012 figures had been presented before it, “revealed not only the FRC’s inefficiency but a complicity with politicians who cry foul needlessly and ceaselessly.”

    He said: “Ekiti is one of the few states that have domesticated the Fiscal Responsibility and Freedom of Information Laws, so we have nothing to hide.

    “FRC and DMO have set certain limits for borrowing and Ekiti has not gone beyond that. So, the borrowing by this government was done in consonance with international best practices.

    “The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the best instrument to regulate borrowing, but when it seems difficult to compute, the percentage of expenditure and revenue are considered. As at last December, Ekiti’s debt was N14.5 billion.

    “The N20 billion loan was spent on capital projects that were regenerative in nature and not spent on recurrent expenditure.

    “The moribund Ire Burnt Brick Factory that would employ about 300 people was resuscitated. The once bushy Ikogosi Warm is now worth over N3 billion in the Capital Market. It is not borrowing that is the issue, but how the government could use it to boost the economy.”

  • Tukur disowns aide over attack on governors

    Tukur disowns aide over attack on governors

    The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has disowned his media aide, Prince Oliver Okpala over attack on five north’s governors.

    Okpala had, in a statement on Tuesday, slammed Governors Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano); Babangida Aliyu (Niger); Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto); and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa).

    He described the governors as lacking in wisdom, caution, prudence and good counsel for allegedly calling for the removal of Tukur at a recent private meeting of the governors with President Goodluck Jonathan.

    A statement by the Acting National Secretary of the PDP, Dr.Aderemi Akitoye yesterday said Okpala’s statement did not represent the thoughts and actions of the chairman.

    According to Akitoye, Tukur could not have authorised such statement about the governors, “in view of his ever persistent role to achieve lasting peace and progress for the party which himself and others nursed from infancy”.

    In a another denial, Ahmed Shuaibu-Gara Gombe, who also issued a statement on the matter said Tukur was particularly infuriated by the attack on the governors, who were invited by the President for consultation in Abuja recently.

  • Ohanaeze disowns pro-Biafra agitation group

    The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has criticised the alleged re-declaration of the Republic of Biafra by the Biafra Zionist Movement (BZM).

    The event led to the arrest and prosecution of over 500 members of the group by the police.

    The Enugu State Chairman of Ohanaeze, Chief O. A. U. Onyema, explained that though the pan-Igbo group did not support the re-declaration, the Federal Government needs to probe the cause of such action and address it.

    He said the motive behind the action was beyond Ohanaeze’s understanding, adding that the people should not take advantage of Section 35 of the Constitution on the fundamental rights of individuals to cause anarchy.

    Onyema said: “Just recently, I was privileged to be in a joint crucial meeting between the National Executives of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo counterparts in Enugu. I am aware that the communique made it clear that the resolve of both group is to work for the future of Nigeria.

    “I am aware that there is a group called MASSOB (the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereignty of Biafra), which has been having issues with the Federal Government on its aspirations and modus operandi. But the sudden emergence of another group, called the Biafra Zionist Movement (BZM) and its sudden desire to re-declare Biafra is still an enigma to me. I cannot place what its intention is, having known the position of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo concerning Nigeria. We aspire to maintain its indivisibility for the better strength of our nation.

    “Although at the end of the Civil War in 1970, the then Commander-in-Chief, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, made a declaration of “no victor, no vanquished”. I advise the Federal Government to revisit that statement, analyse it in relation with the rate of development and the maintenance of federal infrastructure within the supposed ‘defunct Biafran State’. It should appreciate that the decay and neglect, especially of our roads, raise a question mark on whether actually the statement of ‘no victor, no vanquished, is not a mere window-dressing. Such belief can create the spirit of revisitation of the issues of Biafra as done by the BZM.

    “I am strongly opposed to disrespect of the law, and I advise our people to try to review their intended action regards the provisions of the law of the land, before they take such steps. Contravening the law leads to sanctions.”