The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Governor Adams Oshiomhole

  • Lawmaker lights up Edo community

    Lawmaker lights up Edo community

    AN electricty project inaugurate by Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has brought enormous joy to the agrarian community of Omorodion in Ovia South West Local Government Area of the state.

    The project, facilitated by Hon Isaac Osahon, a member of the House of Representatives, literally lit up the community.

    The journey to the village was tiresome, for the road is not properly graded. The villagers, mainly farmers, had been out of the national grid for many years.

    But majority of them, including children, women and the elderly, abandoned their farms, put on their best clothes and brought out their drums to welcome the governor and government functionaries who attended the inauguration.   The transformation of the village was automatic. Many residents brought out electrical appliances as a sign of change in status.

    Those who spoke said they were happy about the electricity project as it would enable them to preserve their farm produce.

    The people also got more than the transformer, as many were given grinding machines and motorcycles, among other employment aids.

    Head of the community, Mustapha Owolabi who spoke on behalf of the community, said they were in darkness for many years, describing the project as the “best gift ever”.

    Owolabi called on the government to pave roads leading to the community as well as provide a polling centre in the village.

    The chairman of Usen Community Development Association, Christopher Uhuangho said the community had been poorly represented over the years by successive government.

    Other projects inaugurated by the lawmaker included provision of solar street lights at Usen and construction of a community hall at Ekiadolor. A total of 30 motor-cycles and 46 grinding machines were distributed to some persons while N5m was given to 50 indigents to enable them start small scale businesses.

    Hon Osahon said his motivation to empower the people was in recognition of their loyalty and hardworking disposition to the party and compliment effort at delivering dividends of democracy.

    He listed other on-going projects to include construction of a 20 metre bridge across Egboha river in ward 2 in Ovia South West, solar street lighting at Iguobazuwa  and Udo township and boreholes across six communities.

    According to him, “You voted for me to represent you and I will do my best to provide what is expected of me. All we need is your support for our party, the APC to grow strong.”

    Governor Oshiomhole who was represented by Commissioner for Oil and Gas, Orobosa Omo-Ojo warned those given motor-cycles to stay clear from local governments were the use of motor-cycles were banned.

    The governor said any motor-cycle apprehended would be crushed and advised the beneficiaries not to be tempted to sell the grinding machines or use the N100,000 for other purposes other than businesses.     ‘

    He promised the people that their demands would be looked into.

  • Crisis hits Dialogue Panel over attack on Oshiomhole

    Crisis hits Dialogue Panel over attack on Oshiomhole

    -APC protests            -Committee begs governor    – Okurounmu: I don’t know if Nyiam is still member

    IT is meant to collate the agenda for a national conference, which is expected to resolve Nigeria’s differences, but the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue is now in need of a peacemaker.

    The national dialogue panel has been hit by a crisis over the conduct of its member, Col. Tony Nyiam (rtd), in Benin on Monday.

    Nyiam led the heckling of Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole when the governor was making his presentation during the panel’s public sitting .

    The panel member was restrained by his colleagues and others as he stood up and tried to launch himself at the governor, whose security team formed a ring round him.

    Oshiomhole is opposed to the conference, which he says has no agenda, in addition to being unnecessary.

    Nyiam’s action and those of people, who invaded the venue, ended the sitting – in a fiasco.

    Members of the panel are divided over Nyiam’s continued membership.

    To the chairman, Dr. Femi Okurounmu, Nyiam should cease to be a member.

    But it was gathered that some other members of the panel want him to continue but be cautioned.

    Those who argue for Nyiam’s retention believe that the panel has no authority to exclude any member since it was the President who inaugurated it.

    “I’m not in a position to say whether he has resigned or not. I don’t know anything about that. I can’t say whether he is still a member of the committee. I will not comment,” Dr. Okurounmu said last night on the telephone.

    He was asked to confirm the rumour that Nyiam had quit the job.

    Nyiam was absent when the panel sat in Enugu yesterday.

    But the panel has apologised to the governor on Nyiam’s conduct.

    In a letter signed by Okurounmu, titled “Dialogue Committee condemns unruly behaviour”, it said: “The Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue wants to put it on record that we noted the sad incident at today’s (Monday’s) Interactive Session with Nigerians from the Southsouth held in Benin City, Edo State.

    “The Committee wishes to state its unequivocal commitment and that of its members to the principles of democratic discourse. Although we take special exception to the unruly conduct of one of our members who joined the crowd in shouting down the Comrade Governor of Edo State, Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, while he was giving his remarks, the session continued and ended peacefully.”

    “We want to emphasise that the Committee will listen to all shades of opinions in the areas of its mandates and will not henceforth condone the kind of unacceptable behaviour we witnessed in Benin City.

    “The Committee wishes to express its sincere appreciation to the Government and people of Edo State for providing support to the Committee in its assignment in the state.”

    The panel, which sat in Enugu yesterday, will round off its sitting in the Southeast in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, today.

    The panel will be in Lagos on Friday, Okurounmu said yesterday. The Lagos leg ought to have been held tomorrow, according to the panel’s itinerary. No reason was given for the shift.

    The panel will meet with Southwest leaders at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) on Victoria Island, where a source said it was seeking “full security protection”.

    This is to avoid what happened in Benin, it was learnt, since the government of Lagos State, along with other All Progressives Congress (APC) controlled states, is opposed to the conference.

    The APC yesterday condemned the “sponsored disruption” of Oshiomhole’s presentation, saying “the despicable action has vindicated the party’s decision not to be part of the proposed conference”.

    In a statement by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the Committee “must be ashamed of itself that one of its members led the show of shame”.

    It demanded an unreserved apology from the Committee to Oshiomhole. Nyiam, said APC, must be publicly cautioned at the least or be excused from the committee.

    Said the APC: “The truth is that in proposing the conference, the government has no sincerity of purpose, does not believe in engaging in any dialogue with anyone, but itself and has only used it to distract the attention of Nigerians from the total absence of governance and sense of direction by the Jonathan Administration.

    “This is why we refused to participate in what is nothing but a sheer deceit. We have already been vindicated even before the start of the conference.”

    The party said since the essence of democratic discourse is for all sides to be allowed to have their say, it was wrong to have shouted down anyone because his stand does not tally with that of the committee or the organisers of the meeting.

    ‘’Worse still is that a member of the committee led the thugs who so rudely and irresponsibly shouted down a governor. What a contradiction, that a member of a panel set up to help forge national discourse does not even believe in the plurality of opinions. Does anyone need any further evidence that the committee has already made up its mind on the direction their so-called assignment will take? How can you sincerely hope to midwive a dialogue with Nigerians when you cannot even oversee a dialogue in a town hall meeting?’’ it queried.

    The APC expressed “shock” and “disgust” that the governor of a state” hosting a meeting of the advisory committee could be so primitively treated by hired thugs, led by no other than an out-of-control committee member.

    ‘’Even if they have no respect for the person of Governor Oshiomhole, couldn’t they have at least shown respect for the office he is occupying? If a person in the calibre of Oshiomhole, with his antecedents and prominent role in the national political discourse, cannot be allowed to air his opinion on any issue, what then will happen to ordinary citizens?’’ the party asked.

    It praised Oshiomhole for his maturity and decency, which showed in his handling of the situation.

    ‘’By his comportment, from which his security and other aides apparently took a cue, Oshiomhole averted what could have been a violent confrontation and left no one in doubt that he is a true democrat. In the end, those who conspired to humiliate him have unwittingly played up his tolerance, his decency and his democratic credentials,’’ the party said.

    The Edo State caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the House of Representatives also asked the committee to sack Nyiam.

    The caucus also supported the argument that the timing of the proposed conference was wrong as preparation for the 2015 elections would not give room for the constitution of credible delegates to the talks.

    The leader of the caucus, and the Minority Whip of the House, Samson Osagie, who was flanked by Razak Bello-Osagie, Abubabakr Momoh, Peter Akpatason and Jim Adun at a news briefing, said the attack on the governor was an attack and insult on the entire people of Edo State.

    He said: “‘We watched with serious concern and miffed that at a meeting convened to listen to the views of Nigerians on the necessity or otherwise of a National Conference, a governor could be disallowed from airing his personal views simply because it was unpalatable to some members of the Advisory Committee, which is supposed to be an umpire and their uniformed tribal jingoist”.

    “We agree, unequivocally with our governor that there have been 10 conferences which have yielded no positive result and that this present effort is calculated to further fritter away public resources that are supposed to be channeled on public spirited ventures and will yield no different result.

    “What we need, in our view, is a leadership that can break all barriers to our national development through purposeful, focused, courageous and visionary policies and programmes of government that will address the intractable problems of insecurity, unemployment, infrastructural deficit and human capital development,” Osagie said.

  • Dialogue panel chief incites thugs against Oshiomhole

    Dialogue panel chief incites thugs against Oshiomhole

    The national dialogue roadshow went awry yesterday in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

    A meeting of the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue in the Southsouth zone ended in a fiasco at the Imaguero Hall. The delegates left after comments by Governor Adams Oshiomhole caused an uproar.

    The hall was virtually empty by the time some ethnic groups and individuals were presenting their memoranda.

    The meeting that began at about 2pm ended at 4:30pm after committee Chairman Femi Okunrounmu declared that its members’ lives were not safe in Edo.

    The Isoko, Urhobo, Itsekiri and Bini had presented their stand before the fracas.

    It was as if some people were hired to disrupt the event when somebody from the audience interupted Oshiomhole a few minutes into his speech.

    The voice said” “Two minutes”. “I will do more than that,” Oshiomhole replied.

    The governor went on: “I want to make my own comments. They are my views and not the views of Edo State. It is not the view of any particular ethnic nationality. I think as a Nigerian we all have stake in this country and we have a duty to lay a solid foundation for the future of this country. I have a duty to be honest and truthful on the views and position that I canvass. My views are different. I asked the question, why are we having a national conference?”

    “I believe that anyone who convenes a meeting must be clear why he convened a meeting. I have the opportunity to travel far and wide. You don’t assemble people and then ask them, what do we talk?. Whoever wishes to convene a meeting must be clear on what the issues are. When you have stated why the meeting was convened, you can then ask what should be added or deleted. You have hundreds of agenda. When I was the NLC, a former president convened a national conference and up till now…

    Another interruption. Oshiomhole said: “You cannot shout me down. I know some persons were hired to be here.”

    He continued: “People from various states converged, money was spent and in the end I can’t remember what came out of that conference. It is a valid point to make that we failed before, we can make amend but it is important we learn from our history. I will be surprised if anything changes. As a leader, I have no business to mislead anyone. This conference will not be different from any previous conference.”

    Some ethnic nationalities, mainly from Bayelsa and Delta states, were accused of joining to shout down the governor.

    A member of the committee, Col. Tony Nyiam, stood up and made some unprintable remarks about Oshiomhole which led to a near free for all on the high table.

    Nyiam stood up, banging the table and screaming: “No!”, “no!”, “no”. The ex-soldier was restrained by other members of the committee who appeared shocked at his behaviour.

    The committee members hurriedly left after thugs invaded the hall.

    The governor was still making his contribution when Nyiam started screaming for him to sit down. He was then joined in by the thugs who disrupted the proceedings and many scampered for safety as a result of the unruliness of the committee member and the thugs.

    The governor, who insisted on concluding his remarks, yielded the floor to the thugs, who were getting violent.

    The National Anthem was hurriedly played as the governor took his exit.

    In a statement last night, the dialogue panel condemned the “unruly conduct” of one of its members for joining the crowd to heckle the governor.

    At a visit to him in his office by members of the committee led by Senator Femi Okurounmu either Oshiomhole said he had no faith in the process.

    He said: “All I owe Nigeria now is to speak my mind. It could be error of my head, but certainly not of my heart. As much as I wish you well, I just want to say that I have no faith in this process and I do not think it was necessary at all.”

    The governor added: “I am unable to find any basis to give me some illusion that this exercise will be different from the others.

    He lamented that 53 years after independence, Nigerians still prefer to look at themselves from their ethnic origin rather than being Nigerians. “For me, I am just a Nigerian,” Oshiomhole said.

    Oshiomhole said: “I do not think that more than 100 years when we have set aside billions of naira to celebrate our centenary the fact of our amalgamation of the North and Southern Nigeria, and we have lived together as one country for over a 100 years, and we have gone through independence, we have been free for 53 years and we are coming back to ask the question, how could we be there?

    “I think Nigeria needs to address very serious issues. When I see eminent Nigerians discussing this issue, I am sure they know that Nigeria’s problem is not this politics of sharing, which the national dialogue is all about; who is getting what, who has this natural endowment, who should do this or not do this. For me, this is the act of perfecting poverty.

    “The real challenge is getting Nigeria back to production. The real challenge is creating industrial base and this cannot be resolved through conferences. We have moved from parliamentary system in our own wisdom to the presidential system. We have test-run it and it was aborted by the military and it has re-incarnated in the present form,” he said, adding:

    “Nigeria does need a serious reflection about how to return to those core values that made Nigeria work before. Those healthy competition between the governments, visit the whole question of attitude and unless that changes, I do not see how any dialogue can work”, he said.

    The Governor said: “I was discussing with somebody last week and he noted that this is the eleventh conference and I ask what ten conferences could not do, how would the eleventh one do it? Why do we think we can continue doing the same thing the same old way and think that this time the outcome would be different?”

    The Governor said nobody convenes a meeting without stating the agenda and asking others to draw up the agenda for that meeting. “From conception we know we want to talk, but we do not know what we want to talk about.”

    Okurounmu said the committee was in Benin as part of its tour of the six geopolitical zones to get their input into the content of the agenda, the duration, choice of delegation and legal framework of the proposed dialogue.

    Okunroumu expressed happiness over the impressive turnout by Nigerians at the different venues of its sittings.

    “Nigerians have accepted the need to have this conference. We have been to four centres Minna, Akure, Jos and Calabar, and the turnout has been impressive and overwhelming.

    “In all the centres, Nigerians came from the rural areas, even from the remotest villages to make presentations to us and there are “no-go areas at all.

    “We are to listen to all Nigerians and I am happy that the turnout has been encouraging to the extent that we requested for bigger halls,’’ he said.

    The chairman noted that “we have been listening to different groups and views, but no single group who threatens to dismember Nigeria has come before us.

    “Nigerians all over the world are entitled to submit their views, but they must not be in the committee to air their views.

    They have our e-mail address. “Let them submit their memo to us and their views will be acknowledged. This is the essence of the committee.

    “That is why we are going round to know what are the things agitating the minds of Nigerians.

    “We will include these views in our report and these will definitely set the agenda for government and tell government how they want to be governed,’’ he said.

  • Traditional rulers honour Oshiomhole

    Traditional rulers honour Oshiomhole

    Traditional rulers in Edo State have shown their appreciation of infrastructural renewal in the state by conferring a title on Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

    Royal fathers from Edo North Senatorial District proclaimed him the Oshiosimua, meaning the redeemer of his people.

    It was the first time the royal fathers from the region would confer such an honour on an individual.

    Apart from his efforts in infrastructure, Oshiomhole is also said to have transformed palaces in the state.

    Communities in the zone told by previous administrations that it was impossible to build roads in their area or provide them with potable water, have been uplifted. There are now accessible roads to remote villages.

    Crown Prince of Benin Kingdom, His Royal Highness Ambassador Eheneden Erediauwa who was the chairman of the occasion described Governor Oshiomhole as the Messiah of Edo State, even as he said the people of the state must pray to God to give them another Oshiomhole after his tenure.

    Prince Erediauwa lashed out at Oshiomhole’s critics saying: “Those who doggedly want to criticise the governor for this and that, among others, should remember that he is just human like everyone of us with human shortcomings.”

    He praised the governor for effective utilisation of taxes collected from the people.

    “We must, therefore, commend him for his bold, resolute, resilient and principled approach in his handling of the many issues that have undermined the political, economic and social development of the state. As the Benin adage goes, the governor has been the biblical David in front of Goliath.

    “We must commend our indefatigable governor for his relentless effort to make the godfather syndrome in Edo politics a thing of the past. I hope other parts of the country have drawn a lesson from this.

    “We must commend His Excellency Adams Oshiomhole for demonstrating that a free and fair election can hold in Nigeria without the usual violence. Oshiomhole has become a shining torch bearer and flagship of democratic practice in Nigeria.

    “When I was serving as an Ambassador in Rome, I heard that the Comrade had introduced taxes. I spoke to some of his critics on the phone that the governor was only implementing existing tax laws; that the payment of tax was a sine qua non for development. I said payment of tax was a necessity for development and that I had confidence the governor will use the tax money judiciously.”

    Otaru of Auchi, His Royal Highness Alhaji Aliero Momoh, who led other traditional rulers to confer the title, said it was in recognition of the governor’s outstanding performance in the state.

    He said: “We are here today to celebrate a young man who has served his country. God says you look at the past to determine the future and the present. Now, what is the past of this young man? He was the foremost pioneer of a detribalised Nigerian Labour Congress and was the famous pioneer of the fight-to-finish of the rights of man.

    “He has delivered this most successfully before ever he thought about going into politics. Like I said, this occasion is grounded in the spirit of Edo State. That is why we invited the Crown Prince to be the chairman of this occasion to analyse and itemise the profile of the governor.

    “The man we are celebrating today is not Oshiomhole, it’s not Adams, not the comrade but Almighty God who has made him what he is and given him the soul to do what he did in the NLC and his first term in office which everybody in the state has bought into,” he added.

    Responding, Governor Oshiomhole promised to do his best to meet the expectation of the people. The governor, who expressed his joy, said the honour will propel him to do more for the people, saying “we may not have gotten where we want to be but we will get there. We will build more roads, hospitals and employ more of our youths, build industries for our people to work. But we must be vigilant about the forces of darkness. They are not resting but with God they are powerless. The will of the people must prevail.

    “Let me thank our royal fathers from different local government areas of Edo North for your decision to honour me this afternoon and like the Crown Prince said, it is not every day you find respected royal fathers from various kingdoms and domains coming together in unison to acknowledge and to give honour to their son.

    “By your action, you have increased my burden because as they say, to whom much is given, much is expected. Last year, I had the fortune of being recognised and appreciated by the royal fathers from Edo Central, from Esan land when they all agreed to confer on me the Adolor of Esan land. When I understood the full interpretation in English and that which you confer on me today, it will appear that the minds of our royal fathers are working the same way.

    “I am humbled and I am grateful. I am indebted and committed to continue to do my best using the instrument of my privileged office to deliver joy, happiness and prosperity to the greatest number of our people in Edo State,” the governor said.

    The royal fathers were led by the Otaru of Auchi, Alhaji Haliru Momoh, Ikelebe III. Other traditional rulers from Edo North Senatorial District included Aidonogie of South Ibie, HRH Kelvin Danesi; the Ogieneni of Uzairue Kingdom, Alhaji Kadiri Imonikhe Omogbai, the Okuokpelagbe of Okpella, Alhaji Derisu and other notable royal fathers from Etsako Kingdom.

    Members of the National Assembly, state lawmakers, the six council chairmen from the Edo North zone, members of the academia, notable Afemai indigenes and people from other parts of Edo State and beyond were in attendance.

  • How PDP tried to frustrate council polls, by Oshiomhole

    Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of doing everything possible to stop the recently-held Local Government election in the state last weekend.

    Oshiomhole added that the party has also stopped the conduct of the election twice in Esan North East Local government area by using federal might to harass and intimidate voters.

    Speaking during the inauguration of the Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of Oredo, Ikpoba Okha and Esan West Local Government Areas in Benin City yesterday, the governor said: “Twice, the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC ) tried to conduct election in Esan North East and twice the PDP disrupted it.

    “When I swore in the first set of local government chairmen, I made the point about how the Minister of Works (Mike Onolememen) used armed mobile policemen, over a dozen, to intimidate the voters in Esan North East and subsequently compelled the DPO and the Electoral Officer to announce the cancellation of the election and also went on television to say how could he have disturbed an election that was not held.

    “Let me repeat: I did not accuse him of undermining an election that was held; we accused him of illegally using the police, conniving with the DPO to order the postponement of the election. He caused the election to be postponed because he had no chance of winning.

    “The evidence was clear on that Saturday in Esan land. In Uromi, you had canopies belonging to ACN, the other canopy for PDP supporters and just looking at the canopies, you can see where the majority are and that was why he insisted that election must be postponed and he misused federal instrument to force that postponement in clear breach of the Electoral Act,” the governor noted.

    He added: “Today, we could have sworn in a candidate from the local government but again, he used hired thugs to confiscate election materials, carry fake result sheets and even detained people at Uromi police station.”

    The governor appealed to the opposition to allow the sanctity of the ballot to prevail, because primordial sentiments will not work in the state again.

    The governor, who urged the local government chairmen to sustain and build on the record of service of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), stated: “the voters believe in us and they expect that every promise made will be delivered.”

    Responding on behalf of others, the Chairman of Oredo local government area, Mr. Osaro Obazee, disclosed that they have resolved to tow the developmental strides of the Comrade Governor and to be prudent in the management of resources.

    The Chairmen of Ikpoba Okha and Esan West, Mrs. Itohan Ogbeide and Mr. Henry Irumundomon respectively, also took the oath of office along with their vice chairmen.

  • Jonathan, Atiku, Oshiomhole, others mourn Tribune Publisher

    President Goodluck Jonathan and other eminent Nigerians have paid tributes to the Publisher of Tribune Newspapers, Chief Oluwole Awolowo who died on Thursday in London.

    Jonathan said  in his condolence message to the Awolowo family said  the death Chief  Awolowo as sad and painful, noting that he was a distinguished evangelist, humanist and community leader.

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole and former Vice President  Atiku Abubakar also sympathized with the bereaved family.

    The President described the late Chief Awolowo as a worthy and honoured member of the Awolowo dynasty who diligently served God and humanity to the best of his abilities.

    He commended his steadfast, life-long commitment to upholding, maintaining and continually improving the Tribune newspapers which ensured that the paper and its sister publications have remained an objective voice of reason in Nigeria’s media space and continue to offer invaluable services to the nation.

    Governor Adams Oshiomhole said the death of Publisher of the Tribune Newspapers was  painful.

    In a condolence message to the matriarch of Awolowo family, Chief (Mrs) HID Awolowo, signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Peter Okhiria, Oshiomhole said:  “We share in the grief and pain of the Awolowo family at this very difficult period, knowing how closely knit the family is.

    “Oluwole upheld the Awolowo name till the end and kept the dream of the sage alive through his prudent management of the Tribune newspapers. He will always be remembered for his forthrightness.

    “Much as his death is painful to bear, we urge you to take heart and trust that the Lord whom he served faithfully cannot be wrong in His judgment. Be consoled by the fact that he devoted his life to the service of God and mankind and has gone to rest with the Lord.”

    A statement from the media office of the former Vice President described the late Chief  Awolowo as a peaceful person, who did his best to keep the kite of Awolowo’s heritage flying through decades after the death of the late sage.

    Atiku noted that the death of Chief Oluwole Awolowo is a loss not only to the Awolowo family, but also to all the supporters of the late sage himself.

    He described the deceased as a man who was at peace with his God and fellow humans, a demonstration of a modest life that he lived.

    “Decades after the death of his father, Chief Oluwole Awolowo did his best to keep the kite of the African Newspaper of Nigeria, publishers of the Nigerian Tribune flying. He will be remembered as a man of peace, who was committed to his family,”  the Turaki Adamawa added.

    He prayed that the Almighty God would grant the Awo family particularly its matriarch, Chief (Mrs) HID Awolowo the fortitude to bear the loss.