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Tag: Ita-Giwa

  • Ita-Giwa rejects Senate proposalon traditional rulers’ council

    Ita-Giwa rejects Senate proposalon traditional rulers’ council

    Elder stateswoman and former presidential adviser, Senator (Princess) Florence Ita-Giwa, has strongly criticised a proposal by the Senate through a Bill to designate only the Sultan of Sokoto and the Ooni of Ife as permanent co-chairmen of a proposed National Council of Traditional Rulers.

    She warned that such an arrangement risks institutionalising ethnic dominance and erasing critical aspects of Nigeria’s historical heritage.

    In a statement issued in Abuja, titled “Not in Our Time: The Obong of Calabar and the Erasure of a Treaty-Bearing Throne”, the former senator from Cross River State described the legislative proposal as “troubling” arguing that it excludes other historically significant thrones, particularly that of the Obong of Calabar.

    While reaffirming her respect for the Sultan and the Ooni, two of Nigeria’s most prominent traditional rulers, she warned that permanently elevating their stools above others could send a dangerous message to other ethnic nationalities across the country.

     Ita-Giwa emphasised the historical significance of the Obong of Calabar, noting that the throne is not merely ceremonial but rooted in diplomatic and sovereign authority.

    Read Also: Ita-Giwa lauds Cross River youths

     She recalled that the Obong signed a formal treaty with Great Britain in 1913—before the amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria—demonstrating the throne’s recognition on the international stage.

     Referencing Nigeria’s colonial history, she reminded the Senate that Calabar served as the capital of Southern Nigeria from 1899 until 1906, before the administrative headquarters was moved to Lagos. Even after the amalgamation in 1914, Calabar continued to play a prominent administrative role as a provincial capital.

    She also recalled her participation in the 2014 National Conference, where a consensus was reached that no ethnic monarchy should permanently dominate others in any national arrangement.

    Ita-Giwa said, “As a concerned elder stateswoman and daughter of the old Eastern Region, I rise with a deep sense of responsibility to address a troubling legislative development—the attempt by the Nigerian Senate to establish a National Council of Traditional Rulers with only the Sultan of Sokoto and the Ooni of Ife named as permanent co-chairmen.

     “Let me be clear from the onset: I hold the Sultan of Sokoto and the Ooni of Ife in the highest esteem. These are revered monarchs who have contributed immensely to Nigeria’s unity, heritage, and traditional leadership. This is not an attack on their persons or their exalted stools.

    “If the National Assembly is sincere, let it propose a rotational leadership structure or a council of equals. That is how you foster unity. That is how you reflect the true diversity of Nigeria’s royal heritage.

    “I strongly believe that ethnic dominance should not be institutionalized in a nation as diverse and historically rich as Nigeria. This move, though perhaps well-intentioned, sends a disturbing message. It risks excluding other respected royal stools and rewriting Nigeria’s pre-colonial and post-colonial history.

    “Let it be firmly stated: The Obong of Calabar is not a ceremonial monarch. He is a Treaty King. In 1913, before Nigeria’s amalgamation, the Obong of Calabar signed a formal treaty with Great Britain—an act signifying diplomatic agency and sovereign status. The Efik Kingdom, which the Obong represents, had long been a key player in regional governance, trade, and diplomacy.

     “The throne is not subordinate to any other; it stands as a sovereign symbol of a people and a place that helped shape Nigeria’s early history. From 1899 to April, 1906, Calabar served as capital of Southern Nigeria and only lost that status to Lagos in May, 1906 when Southern Nigeria and Lagos Colony were merged. Calabar subsequently served as provincial headquarters in the wake of the amalgamation between the Southern and Northern Nigeria.

     “You cannot build a Nigeria of peace by institutionalizing exclusion. If we must honour history, let us do so holistically. To elevate two thrones above all others is to tell the rest of Nigeria that their histories are secondary, their monarchies invisible, and their voices disposable. That is not the spirit of equity our nation needs.

     “I was privileged to be a delegate at the 2014 National Conference, where this issue arose, and we agreed—no ethnic throne should permanently dominate others. It was a wise, patriotic decision. We must not regress.

     “This is not just about the Efik people. It is about preserving truth, promoting fairness, and protecting the dignity of all Nigeria’s traditional institutions. The Obong of Calabar occupies a highly revered and historically significant throne, deserving of equal recognition and respect alongside any other.

     “Let history not say we were silent in the face of selective remembrance. Let posterity know we stood for equity. Not in our time. Not while I live. Enough is enough.”

  • Ita-Giwa lauds Cross River youths

    Ita-Giwa lauds Cross River youths

    Former Presidential Adviser, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, has expressed appreciation to Cross River youths for listening to the voice of reason and embracing dialogue, rather than demonstrations, as a means of addressing their concerns.

    Ita-Giwa in a statement made available to reporters, said dialogue was the only means towards sustainable development.

    The Bakassi leader urged the youths of the state to work with the amiable and people oriented governor of the state, Prince Bassey Otu, to ensure the success of his developmental plans for the state.

    She expressed confidence in the administration of the governor to steer the state to prosperity.

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    The former lawmaker urged the youths to be part of the efforts to ensure the state is restored to the enviable status it has always been known for and a destination for the world.

    Ita-Giwa urged the youths to always shun violence as the end result would always be counterproductive to their welfare and interests.

    She encouraged the youths to get more involved in governance so that they can be part of engineering the changes they desire in the system.

    The Cross River born political leader expressed optimism despite the challenging times that things would get better.

    However she urged that all hands must be on deck to build a society that ensures the well-being of every citizen.

  • Ita-Giwa urges youths to be more involved in politics

    Ita-Giwa urges youths to be more involved in politics

    Former Presidential Adviser, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, has called on the youths to get more involved in politics in a bid to effect the change they desire in the society.

    She urged them to be patient and not destroy the country in their bid to express their grievances.

    Speaking with The Nation on the heels of planned protests due to the economic downturn in the country, Ita-Giwa said the country cannot afford any more destruction.

    The Bakassi leader encouraged youths to get more involved in governance rather than staying aloof.

    She said they should join political parties and get more involved in activities of the government.

    Ita-Giwa urged them not to destroy the society, which they would eventually take over.

    She said the present administration was doing its best to fix the country.

    Read Also: Nigeria, China’s CNBM explore partnership on Evergreen City project

    “There are a lot things that are wrong in the country but the only way they can correct those ills is for them to join politics and make the change they desire.

    “There is no way they can help the country through demonstration but rather they would destroy their inheritance. The country is their own, so they should rather work towards securing it,” she said.

    Ita-Giwa reminded the youths that they have no other country and should make efforts to ensure that Nigeria remains united and peaceful for development.

    She urged them not to allow themselves to be used by anybody for selfish gains.

    Ita-Giwa discouraged the planned protest especially against the background of insecurity in parts of the country.

    The former lawmaker pointed out that in the past, in most cases, even peaceful protests have been overtaken by unscrupulous elements.

    She said with the state of insecurity in some parts of the country, it may get out of control.

  • FLORENCE ITA-GIWA: A POINT OF CORRECTION, PLEASE…. THIS IS WHO I AM

    FLORENCE ITA-GIWA: A POINT OF CORRECTION, PLEASE…. THIS IS WHO I AM

    As a public figure of several decades standing, my antecedents are widely known. Nevertheless, it has become necessary to restate who I am and correct some misleading information made about my person.

    My name is Florence Mayen Ita-Giwa (Asibong Ita, was also my maiden native Efik name). I was born on the 19th of February 1946. Although I do not have a birth certificate, I have an age declaration document sworn to by my late mother, which I have used all my life. My mother almost died of post-partum haemorrhage during my birth at the hospital; a situation which was made worse as the hospital did not have a blood bank. The story of the circumstances of my birth stuck in my memory, and because of it, I donated a blood bank to the hospital, much later in life.

    My late father, Obong Ofiong Umoh Ita Ofiong, was a traditional Ruler in Atabong, Bakassi. He attended Methodist Boys’ High School, Oron (founded in 1905) back in the early 20th century. His parents’ choice to send him to school in Oron was influenced by the fact that Archibong Town, and then James Town, both in Bakassi, were the first ports of call of the Methodist Church Mission in Nigeria in 1893. And, when the Mission set up its first school in these parts, it was natural that my late father would be educated there. 

    My mother, the late Chief (Mrs.) Beatrice Bassey Ita, was at first a school teacher before venturing into journalism and becoming a renowned pioneering female journalist in South East of Nigeria. Her parents were from the Ekpo Abasi Royal House of Calabar, and their family house was No. 19 Boco Street at Bayside of Calabar South Local Government Area in Cross River State, where I grew up right from infancy until we moved to No. 55 Beecroft Street, also at Bayside in Calabar South. I vividly recall how my mom used to entertain family and friends with tea in the afternoons; a veritable vestige of Calabar’s affinity with the culture of the British colonialists. 

    I started my education as a girl-child at the renowned Duke Town Primary School, Calabar (with a history dating back to 1846) before attending The Edgerly Memorial Girls’ School, also in Calabar. I took up Nursing as a profession and went for training in it at Aba in the present-day Abia State, although my dear mother had wished that I went into journalism like her. If there is anything like re-incarnation, I will still choose to belong to the noble profession of Nursing.

    My late mother was an avowed Zikist, who worked as a correspondent for the Zik Group of Newspapers in Calabar. She eventually sought transfer to Aba in order to remain close and keep watch over me while I was undergoing my studies. The Nigerian Civil War broke out while we were in Aba, and my mother and family chose to remain in the “Biafran” territory for the entire duration of the war until it ended in January 1970. I never set eyes on any federal troop or officer until when the war ended while we were at Ahiara, where we had fled to, having lost everything we owned in life. That is the closest exposure I had to fighting that raged during the Civil War. A Nigerian military officer rescued us alongside other relatives and graciously arranged for our safe passage to Calabar.

    Sometime after we arrived in Calabar, I recall that my mother was briefly detained by the Federal authorities as was the late Margaret Ekpo. My mother was eventually employed by the Sketch Newspaper as the South Eastern State correspondent at the time, and Aremo Segun Osoba, who was its Managing Director. The photograph of myself, Ndidi Okereke Onyuike, the former Director General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, and the late Cecilia Ekpenyong, the former Deputy Governor of Cross River State, which appeared in a book written by Brigadier General Alabi Isama was taken at a party in Port Harcourt sometime in the middle of 1970, long after the Civil War had ended. 

    I proceeded to the Kilburn Polytechnic London to train as a Medical Secretary. At the end of my studies, after my field work experience at the cancer follow-up department and periodontal department of the University College Hospital, Gower Street, London, on the strict insistence of my mother, I returned to Nigeria and was immediately employed by Beecham Laboratories as a Medical Representative.

    After receiving some training in Pharmaceutical Detailing, I was then posted to be in charge of the company’s northern Nigeria operations. After doing a good job at Beecham, I got head-hunted by Sandoz Pharmaceuticals and was appointed the Medical Representative in charge of Lagos State. I thereafter left paid employment to found Flobett Pharmacy and Med-Equip Limited, with branches at No. 1 Norman Williams Street, Ikoyi, and No. 1 Kofo Abayomi Street, Apapa – both in Lagos. Med-Equip Limited was an accredited agent of AJ Seward Medical Equipment UK and won a contract to fully equip seven 30-bed military hospitals (MRS) in different parts of Nigeria, including Zuru (in present-day Kebbi State), Owode in Ogun State and Ibawa in Akwa Ibom State. To this day, I am still able to conceptualize and set up a hospital from the reception to the morbid section.

    I joined politics, contested elections and won four very difficult contests starting from 1991, each time on “opposition party” platforms. I voluntarily opted out of seeking elective office to allow space for the next generation to express themselves in Nigerian politics, after my outing as Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2003. As a lawmaker, I attended a course on Legislative Management at the Thames Valley University, London. I am currently working on a book on “Legislative Management and Parliamentary Lobbying” with the objective of sharing knowledge with the next generation of politicians, public office holders and the general public.

    Apart from my daughter, I have 15 other lovely children that I brought out from the creeks of Bakassi and single-handedly weaned, nurtured and groomed into responsible and promising persons; to the glory of God Almighty. The youngest of them is now nine years old. She was rescued from the creeks of Bakassi at just four months old. Today, she attends one of the best private schools in Calabar. I also have a pair of 14-year-old twin boys whose parents were killed right in their presence at the age of four. They both attend what is considered one of the best high schools in Calabar, Access School. Most of my other children have graduated from the best private universities in Nigeria and Ghana as Petroleum Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Computer Engineers and so on. In my family there are no titles or divisions, because I believe that a child is a child, no matter how he or she came into this world. All these children are mine, given to me by God and I am committed to training them into good and worthy citizens of Nigeria, complete with strong family values, love, respect and compassion for their fellow human beings.

    It is common knowledge that a typical Calabar lady’s physiological issue cannot be “aesthetic augmentation”, but “reduction”. Besides, aesthetic procedures are not normally done under general anesthesia. So, a third-party or next-of-kin is not usually needed, unless there are underlying conditions which may be considered threats to the procedure, thereby warranting the assurance of a relative as surety. It is a fact that, 18 years ago I underwent liposuction (fat reduction) around my hips; a feature I obviously inherited from my late mother. This was public knowledge, as I had informed the media. I do not do things and hide in the shadows, or I am ashamed of. Nobody leaked any secret, as that procedure was public knowledge. I have consistently counselled younger women not to be scared of ageing, as it is an inevitable phase of life, but rather they should embrace the prospect of ageing gracefully and beautifully in good health, by embracing a healthy lifestyle and seeking any wholesome and safe medical intervention needed.

    On a final note, I have always advised career women and female politicians to stay strong and courageous, and not to ever cave into the threats or bullying or blackmail of chauvinists and other predators, irrespective of their gender.

    This is who I am. It is well. God bless you all.

    Senator (Princess) Dame Dr. Florence Ita-Giwa, OON, KSW

    Eka Iban Esien Efik Duop-iba (Mother of the female folk of the Efik Eburutu Kingdom & Member of the Royal Palace of the Obong of Calabar)

    Sunday, 17th September, 2023

  • 2018 Carnival Calabar would be biggest so far, says Ita-Giwa

    The Leader of the Seagull Band, one of the five competing bands in the world famous Carnival Calabar, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, says this year’s edition of the carnival would so far be the biggest and most relevant to the society.

    Ita-Giwa in a chat with The Nation in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, said this would be due to the theme of this year’s edition, which is “Africanism.”

    The former Presidential Adviser said they were working tirelessly to interpret the theme of the Carnival, which would hold on December 28.

    Her words, “This year’s carnival is going to be the biggest carnival so far because of the theme Africanism. It is such a huge theme and it is a theme that is very important for Africans to raise our consciousness about who we are. The story we are going to tell is a story of Africa. Where we were the before the white came and led us into believing that we were not good enough and thereby moved us to thinking that whatever is good is white.

    “The important thing is how the Carnival has grown from little to where we are today. The world knows about the Carnival and the entire Nigeria and the world are planning to come down here to come and see the Carnival. This is the going to be biggest and most colourful and most factual carnival because we are telling the story as it is. It would be the most relevant to what is happening today in Africa.”

  • Ita Giwa, others join PDP in Cross River

    The rank of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River State has swelled with the return of Senator Florence Ita- Giwa and others. She left the All Progressvies Congress (APC).

    Others who joined the PDP are a former Ambassador to Mali, Soni Abang, Mr. Tony Odey, Senator Patrick Ani and Hon. Ernest Irek.

    Speaking at the reception for the defectors, Ita Giwa said: “I am back to ensure that the turn by turn policy is followed, as only zoning can sustain democracy without a fight while creating opportunities for all to raise their heads.

    “In over one year, I went on that trip to APC, it wasn’t good for my body because a white goat loves no stain or dirt,” adding that “I feel guilty leaving this family as upon my return, so much love was shown to me and I was not shut out or looked down upon.”

    She said Governor Ben Ayade had performed magic which all must collectively return him to sustain his vision aimed at repositioning Cross River and making it the envy of others.

    “I cannot fight Ayade because he made the hitherto abandoned Bakassi Local Government Area to be celebrated among the existing local government areas in the state and indeed Nigeria. I am back to sustain democracy, to join hands with Ayade to win elections, for the sustenance of carnival which is dear to me and for the governor’s industrialization drive,” Ita- Giwa intimated.

    Receiving the defectors, PDP National Chairman Uche Secondus said “the party is for all, for the entire people, you are all co-owners in this party and everyone is a leader.” He applauded Ayade for his achievements.

    Ayade, his deputy Prof. Ivara Esu and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha witnessed the ceremony.

  • SA Tourism hosts Ita-Giwa, Banky W at Akwaaba Travel Fair

    South Africa Tourism(SAT) was one of the countries that participated in the just concluded 2018 AKWAABA – African Travel Market, the biggest travel and tourism show in West Africa. The fair brings exhibitors and buyers to meet with airlines, hotels, restaurants, tour operators, travel agents, state tourism boards, foreign trade and tourism sectors from over 20 countries in Africa and the UAE.

    To market destination South Africa, SAT South was one of the exhibitors. At the stand, South African Tourism, had an imposing stand to engage with trade, consumers and exhibitors alike, sharing information on the offerings the destination has to offer in line with the focus of the event for this year 2018 which included; introducing and encouraging African tour operators who promote African destinations to Africans, growing future of aviation in Africa, showcasing wining and dining as a key element of tourism through food fair, wedding destinations, SPA and wellness across Africa and engaging youths in Africa tourism  and travel.

    At the opening, Trade Relations Manager: West Africa for South African Tourism, Mr. Mohammed Tanko Kwajaffa, received the Director General, Nigerian National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Chief Otunba Olusegun Runsewe,  who declared the exhibition open alongside other top dignitaries from across the continent at the South African Tourism Destination Stand. The DG expressed his admiration saying: “We are very proud of South Africa as they made the whole of Africa proud during the World Cup 2010 as the first African country to host the World Cup.”

    Mohammed Kwajaffa, explained the huge impact AKWAABA has brought to Africa ‘s travel trade and tourism saying “One of the key game changers at Akwaaba Travel Market this year was the inclusion of the Local & Small-scale Tour Operators & Travel Agents to exhibit as it attracted more foot fall from their own clients and followers.” Also in attendance were NANTA BOT Chairman, Mr Steve Isokarie, NATOP President, Hajiya Bilikisu Abdul, FTAN President, Alhaji Rabo Kareem, HATMAN President, Mr Badaki Aliyu Ajayi, NANTA National VP, Mrs Susan, NANTA VP Lagos Zone, Mrs Lola Adewale, NANTA VP Western Zone, Mr Dagunduro Tokumbo all of Nigeria and from Ghana TOUGHA President, Mr Kwesi Eyison, GHATOF Rep, Mr Ahmed Naaman, and celebrities such as Ghanaian famous actor, Van Vicker and Nigeria’s famous singer and  actor, Banky W, contemporary vocalist and  chanter, Ire ‘D’ Stage Diva and many more who visited the South African Tourism destination stand.

  • Lai Mohammed, Ita-Giwa mourn Ras Kimono

    •Rastafarians plan candlelight procession in Ebonyi

    The minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has expressed shock and sadness at the passing of the globally-acclaimed reggae star, Ras Kimono.

    The minister in a statement signed by Mr. Segun Adeyemi, Special Adviser to the minister of Information and Culture stated that late Kimono will be remembered for his contribution to the elevation of reggae, his love of the masses, his life of discipline and his service to humanity.

    “Kimono helped to blaze the trail for the phenomenal growth of the Nigerian music industry, and he was a worthy mentor to the younger generation of Nigerian musicians,” Alhaji Mohammed said.

    “His legacy will surely endure.”

    The minister also extended his condolences to the family, friends and fans of the late artiste, and indeed to the entire Nigerian music industry, for losing a foremost proponent of reggae, a prominent campaigner for a better life for the people and a patriot.

    Also, former Presidential Adviser, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, described Ras Kimono’s death as a major loss to the country.

    Speaking in Calabar, Cross River State, she described Ras Kimono as not just an amazing entertainer, but an intellectual and activist, who used his music to send messages on issues that should be corrected in the country.

    Expressing shock at his demise, Ita-Giwa, who is also the leader of the Seagull Band, one of the five competition band at Carnival Calabar, said plans were underway to have him join the band in the carnival in December this year.

    “He was to join the carnival last year,” she said.

    “In fact he was to join the carnival this year. I am truly shocked and we miss him a great deal.

    “He should be honoured for his contribution to the development of this country and for democracy. He cried out for democracy. Nigeria needs to celebrate him.”

    Ras Kimono died on Sunday morning at the Lagoon Hospital, Ikoyi, Lagos. He was scheduled to travel to the US on Saturday but complained of ill-health on Friday evening and was rushed to an hospital in Ikeja, Lagos before he was transferred to Lagoon Hospital, Ikoyi.

    In May, he turned 60 and celebrated with coleagues in the music industry.

    Born Ekeleke Elumelu Onwubuya on May 9, 1958, Kimono who hailed from Delta State released his debut album with his Massive Dread Reggae Band, ‘Under Pressure’ while signed to Premier Music in 1989.

    Also speaking on the burial plans, Chairman of Copyright Society of Nigeria, COSON and friend of Ras Kimono, said Kimono’s family is yet to announce the burial plans but COSON is planning to give the late reggae star a befitting burials.

    “Meanwhile, flags are flying at half-mast at COSON House. There’s a condolence register at COSON House that are people are coming to sign on. The music of Ras Kimono plus he visuals of his biggest performances are showing at COSON House. We wuld ecelbrate him mightily. His funeral would be one of the best organised in the history of Nigeria with respect to artistes. I can assure you that.”

    Also, Rastafarians in Ebonyi State are planning to hold candlelight procession for Ras Kimono.

    Though a date is yet to be fixed, the reggae artists said that the procession was to honour Kimono “because of his great contributions to the development of the brand of music in the country.”

    Until his death, Ras Kimono who was a vegetarian for 37 years before his death practiced Rastafraianism.

     

    James Okoh, alias Rasta Omege, said he would coordinate the activities to ensure that Kimono was given a befitting tribute by Rastafarians in the state.

     

    “We would immediately convene a meeting to deliberate on ways to honour our departed father and further propagate the reggae gospel in the state and the country.

     

    “We would also organise candle light procession, hold road-shows, music concerts, Rastafarian-night, among other activities, to give Ras Kimono a befitting farewell.”

     

    Another Rastafarian, Charles Nduka, alias Rasta Iree, said Kimono’s contributions to the development of music, especially reggae and the entire social sector of the country, was unparalleled.

     

    “Kimono inspired young musicians in the country to embrace reggae and this helped in some of the positive changes witnessed in the society,” Rasta Iree said.

     

    “Kimono, through his songs, ensured that music was given its pride of place in the country and corrected the wrong notion that it is a venture for school drop-outs and never do wells.”

  • Dickson, Fasanmi, Ita-Giwa, ex-MOSOP leader, others hail Buhari on June 12

    BAYELSA State Governor Seriake Dickson; Second Republic senator, Chief Ayo Fasanmi; former Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters, Mrs Florence Ita-Giwa; former President of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Comrade Ledum Mitee and labour leader Isa Aremu yesterday added their voices to the commendations that have trailed the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to declare June 12 as the nation’s Democracy Day.

    On different occasions yesterday, they commended the President not only for recognising the landmark that the June 12, 1993 presidential election represents for the country but also for honouring the acclaimed winner of the election, Chief MKO Abiola, with the highest national honour.

    In a statement issued in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital yesterday, Dickson commended President Muhammadu Buhari for immortalising Abiola, the winner of the presidential election.

    The governor said although the award was belated, the gesture would partly address the wrongs of the past and strengthen democracy, insisting that it was better late than never.

    But the governor called on President Buhari to declare Abiola as a President that was never sworn in and urgently sponsor an executive bill to the National Assembly in order to legitimise it.

    He said declaring June 12 as Democracy Day, giving national honour to Abiola’s running mate, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, as well as giving posthumous national awards to Abiola and the late legal luminary, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, were in order.

    The governor, however, called on Buhari to show the same political will and patriotism on the critical issue of restructuring Nigeria.  He said the President should ensure that Nigeria is restructured with power devolved from the centre to the federating units and fiscal federalism enthroned to guarantee balance, peace, prosperity and stability in the country.

    He said a restructured Nigeria would address the dysfunctional system, over concentration of power at the centre, pseudo-federalism and the expropriation of the resources of the Niger Delta.

    While stressing that, those championing the cause of restructuring were the real patriots, the governor believed Buhari would etch his name on the sands of time and become “a Nigerian hero of all times if he restructures the country.”

    The governor  also urged the President to honour the then Chairman of National Electoral Commission (NEC), Prof. Humphrey Nwosu with a national award for his uncommon courage and commitment to the conduct of transparent elections in June, 1993, stressing that what is sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander.

    On her part, Ita-Giwa said with the development, democracy has been strengthened and entrenched in the country.

    “I look at it from the point of view of honouring people who put in efforts and those who lost their lives in ensuring the sustainability of democracy,” she said.  She said it was also a relief, especially for the family of the late Abiola, who must have carried the burden and anger for many years.

    Ita-Giwa said the declaration will give them more confidence in Nigeria.   Reacting to insinuations that it was a political move, she said: “In democracy, in my many years of experience, people would apply politics to things that are done devoid of political thinking.

    “For me it is a good thing to happen to this country.” Expressing support for the declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day, former President of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Comrade Ledum Mitee, said the decision was worthwhile.

    In a telephone interview with one of our correspondents yesterday, Mitee lauded the change but added: “Beyond the pronouncement, the Federal Government should ensure it upholds the values of June 12, as the 2019 general election is coming.

    “What made June 12 remarkable is not the month and number but the values MKO Abiola held for the return of democracy and for free, fair and credible election.”

    He challenged the government at all levels to replicate the credibility and fairness in the forthcoming elections.  Second Republic senator, Chief Ayo Fasanmi, said the declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day was in order.

    He said: “What Mr. President did really made me happy because it is better late than never. “The 1993 presidential election was the best, freest and most transparent election in the history of Nigeria, and acknowledging that and declaring the day of the election as Democracy Day is worthwhile.”

    He said on the day of election, Nigerians from the North and South went ahead to do away with ethnic and religious sentiments and voted for Moshood Kashimawo Abiola and Baba Gana Kingigbe on Muslim-Muslim ticket.

    According to him, June 12 really brought all Nigerians together and the day that had provided a united front for the nation must be celebrated.  Labour leader, Comrade Issa Aremu, also hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for bestowing on the late Chief MKO Abiola Nigeria’s highest honour and making June 12 Democracy Day in place of May 29.

    Comrade Aremu who is a member of NLC NEC and General Secretary of the Textile Workers Union, said President Buhari has ensured democratic consolidation by posthumously honouring Chief Abiola, as long demanded by democratic forces.  Aremu added that by conferring Chief Abiola with GCFR, President Buhari had commendably rekindled faith in sustainability of democracy in Africa’s largest democracy.

    According to him, “The President gave the correct signal that never again would any group of people violate the mandate of Nigerian people through mandate annulment.

    He said: “President Buhari has brought integrity to governance by shunning the hypocrisy and shameless denials of past leaders of Nigeria that June 12 was truly a watershed in the struggle for democracy in Nigeria.

    “Labour agrees with the administration that June 12, 1993 was far more symbolic of democracy in the Nigerian context than May 29, as it was on June 12, 1993 that Nigerians in millions expressed their democratic will in what was undisputedly the freest, fairest and most peaceful elections since our independence.”

  • Ita-Giwa mourns Olakunri

    A former Presidential Adviser, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, has mourned the demise of the first woman chartered accountant in Nigeria, Mrs Olutoyin Olakunri.

    The first woman chartered accountant in Sub-Sahara Africa died at the weekend.

    She was 80.

    In a condolence message, Senator Ita-Giwa described the accountant’s passage as a major loss to the country.

    Mama Bakassi, as the popular politician is called, commiserated with the Olakunri family.

    She described the late Mrs Olakunri as a pathfinder and a great inspiration to Nigerian women.

    Ita-Giwa said: “She was a pride to Nigerian women, a very professional lady and very elegant. She carried herself with so much dignity. Such a woman is not easy to find these days. For those of us still alive, we would continue to follow in her footsteps.

    “She was a pathfinder in her profession in Nigeria and an iconic lady. We should be celebrating her. I am very much in shock because I saw her iconic, amazing photoshoots with ThisDay Style not too long ago.”