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Tag: Obanikoro

  • Sinister signs

    Sinister signs

    Underhand tactics in Ekiti and Osun PDP primaries, and Obanikoro’s bullying campaign in Lagos send alarming signals in the run-up to 2015   

    Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti), Iyiola Omisore (Osun), Jelili Adesiyan (Osun) and Musiliu Obanikoro (Lagos) — what does this quad have in common? They are the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) South West battling rams for the 2015 general elections.

    It might be early days yet. But if the morning truly shows the day, there is ample cause to worry.

    The pair of Mr. Fayose and Senator Omisore do nothing wrong to aspire and win the gubernatorial tickets of their party, PDP. The elections are fixed for June 21 (Ekiti) and August 9 (Osun). It is a constitutional injunction that they face up to the incumbents of their respective states, no matter how brilliant or parlous their performances have been.

    Still, the mode of their emergence simply confound many. Mr. Fayose emerged from a primary election that all his opponents boycotted, alleging a sleight of hand from “Abuja”, a euphemism for PDP national and the Jonathan Presidency’s alleged collusion.

    Mr. Fayose is a politically damaged product. For starters, he was impeached during his first stint as Ekiti governor, and the jury is still out there whether he is indeed legally qualified to run, so short after his 2006 impeachment debacle. Aside, he is currently docked for alleged sleaze; aside from murder charges, all throwbacks from his 2003 to 2006 governorship days. Indeed, his legal defence team even told the court to defer his trial until the election, to allow him concentrate on his electioneering. But the court demurred.

    Yet, in spite of the albatross on his neck, the PDP wasted no time in endorsing his candidacy and dismissing the protest of his opponents. What might the PDP motive be, in its alacrity to push such a damaged good? A manic effort to self-destroy or frenzied mischief not to play by the rules?

    In Osun, Senator Omisore’s emergence was even more sinister. Isiaka Adeleke, a former governor of Osun, made a hasty withdrawal from the Osun PDP primaries. This came after he was allegedly assaulted and physically manhandled to apparently scare him out of the race.

    Newspaper reports quote Alhaji Adeleke as alleging that the pair of Omisore and Jelili Adesiyan, Minister of Police Affairs, beat him up, using an ensemble of policemen Mr. Adesiyan allegedly cobbled together from Abuja; and perhaps some allied thugs. Before his own alleged assault and battery, Alhaji Adeleke also claimed he saw policemen point guns to the heads of some men laying face down, alleging the men were thugs. But they later turned out to be Adeleke supporters, who the former governor prevailed on the police to free, before meeting his waterloo.

    Despite all of this alleged arms-twisting, the PDP has endorsed the process that produced Senator Omisore. Again, this seeming uncritical acceptance beggars belief, despite the grave allegations and the baggage Omisore carries to the fray, despite his non-conviction in the Bola Ige assassination case. That much seemed to be getting to the former senator, when he declared his intention was not to shed blood but to serve the people.

    By embracing Mr. Fayose and Senator Omisore (controversial at best, damaged at worst), the PDP appears to have given up on reason and settled for sheer brawn. With its disastrous record when the party ruled the roost in the two states, and its enduring parlous record in the past 15 years as the federal ruling party, such vote for brawn sits pat in his seeming determination to take the two South West states by force, in the run-up to 2015. But even as battering rams, the two candidates enter the race with heavy baggage. The electorate should do the needful.

    But it is in the area of free and plausible elections that the spectre of Messrs Adesiyan and Obanikoro looms. Both, by the way, have lost no time in making news for all the wrong reasons.

    Mr. Adesiyan, an Omisore ally and minister of the federal republic, stands rightly accused of grievously abusing his office, if the allegation is true that he amassed policemen to harass the supporters of Alhaji Adeleke and beat up the prime rival to Senator Omisore, in the bid for the PDP Osun gubernatorial ticket.

    How a man who became minister virtually yesterday could pull off such alleged recklessness is a sad reminder of how frail our institutions of state are. It is even more shocking that there is no reported presidential outrage at this alleged criminalisation of the police for partisan purposes. From our experience in the past, such were the roads that led to Golgotha in the First and Second Republics.

    The Obanikoro campaign is even more sinister, for it involves corralling the military for partisan wars. Mr. Obanikoro, a Lagosian and Minister of State for Defence, has been reported by newspapers to draft soldiers to seize lands on which there are ongoing construction works by the Lagos State government, claiming such parcels of land belong to the Federal Government.

    From history, this is a very dangerous manoeuvre. The First Republic faltered partly because the powers-that-be back then unleashed soldiers on the dissenting Tiv, in what was known as the Tiv riots but which some insisted was some genocide. Now, Mr. Obanikoro has been reported, aside from his escapade in Lagos, to have carted soldiers to the bye-election in Ondo State to fill a vacant House of Representative seat. The gloomy road to 2015 is all too clear, except if checked and both Obanikoro and Adesiyan called to order.

    President Goodluck Jonathan must rein in his misbehaving ministers. The president too must resist those who might be instigating him to clear disaster. Brazen abuse of state security organs, especially the military, for partisan purposes, is an ill wind that blows no one any good. It should never be tolerated under whatever guise.

    Taking the South West by force has been the political grave of many. Jonathan must be wary of such a fatal mistake.

  • ‘Call Obanikoro to order’

    ‘Call Obanikoro to order’

    Lagos State House of Assembly Deputy Whip Rotimi Abiru has urged the Federal Government and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to call Minister of State for Defence Musliu Obanikoro to order.

    Abiru described the alleged use of soldiers by Obanikoro to stop housing projects of the Lagos State government as wicked.

    He said Obanikoro’s claim that the land belongs to the Federal Government was “annoying”.

    Abiru urged the Presidency and the PDP to caution the minister, adding: “Was Obanikoro made a minister to further the well known PDP battle to stifle Lagos and a fifth of Nigeria’s entire population just because Lagos refuses to join the PDP bandwagon?

    “Obanikoro’s effort is just another greedy and illegal land grab that will fail, as there is no basis for such reckless impunity. One is beginning to believe that Obanikoro’s appointment as minister was to create crises in Lagos while the PDP leads Nigeria to a certain guillotine by each passing day.

    “What Obanikoro is doing today has no legal basis, but he believes that a sophisticated state like Lagos could be overwhelmed by the use of brute force and misuse of the military. Lagos will certainly show him that such tactics have no place in a democracy.”

  • Call Obanikoro to order, Lagos lawmaker tells presidency, PDP

    Call Obanikoro to order, Lagos lawmaker tells presidency, PDP

    Deputy Whip of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rotimi Abiru Thursday called on the Federal Government and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to call to order, the Minister of State for Defence, Musliu Obanikoro.

    Abiru stated this while reacting to the alleged illegal use of the military by Obanikoro to stop the mass housing project of Governor Raji Fashola at Ilubirin on the weird claim that the land belongs to the Federal Government.

    Describing the action as greedy, wicked and annoying, the lawmaker advised the Presidency and the PDP to as a matter of urgency caution the minister from continuing with such act.

    According to Abiru, “was Obanikoro made a minister to further the well known PDP battle to stifle Lagos and a fifth of Nigeria’s entire population just because Lagos refuse to join the PDP bandwagon?

    “The claim by Obinokoro that the federal government owns the same land reclaimed recently by the Lagos State government is not only ridiculous but entirely outlandish.

    “Obanikoro’s effort is just another greedy, illegal land grab that will fail as there exist no basis or grounds for such reckless impunity.

    One is beginning to believe that Obanikoro’s appointment as minister was to create enough crisis in Lagos, engage in a battle of forts with the legally constituted authority and create the same enabling environment to distract, obstruct the globally acclaimed feat made by the Lagos State government in all spheres of governance while Obanikoro’s PDP leads Nigeria to a certain guillotine by each passing day.

    “What Obanikoro is doing today has no legal basis or backing but he believes that a sophisticated state like Lagos could be overwhelmed by the use of brute force and misuse of the military. Lagos will certainly show him that such tactics have no place in a democracy.

    “It is so annoying that Obanikoro targets the provision of mass housing for Lagosians in the absence of such provision by the government he serves in Abuja. To now act as a dog in a manger and seek to frustrate the well lauded efforts of Lagos to provide cheap housing to Lagosians tantamount to sheer wickedness, of the type that had marked the relationship between the PDP government and Nigerians these past fifteen years,” the lawmaker added.

  • Call for probe of Obanikoro’s role in Ondo poll

    Call for probe of Obanikoro’s role in Ondo poll

    A socio-political group, Restoration Alliance, has called for the probe of Minister of State for Defence Musiliu Obanikoro’s role in the by-election in Ilaje/Ese-odo Federal Constituency, Ondo State.

    In a statement yesterday by its General Secretary, Akin Ulenuse, the group said the Minister had questions to answer about his activities in Ilaje about a week before the election and the role he played on the by-election day.

    The group also wants the Minister to explain “why he led soldiers to intimidate voters in an election that does not directly affect him or the people of Lagos Island.”

    The statement reads: “We have it on good authority that the Minister arrived the area days before the election and supervised the harassment and intimidation of voters by the soldiers he led to the area. It should be ascertained if the minister acted alone or he was by his action, doing somebody or some person’s bidding.”

    Reactions have continued to trail the declaration of the election as inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    In a joint statement, the Chairman of People for Democratic Change (PDC), Lawrence Oyebamiji; his Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) counterpart Lawrence Kehinde and Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) Chairman Chief Alamuren Ogunbodede urged INEC to declare the Labour Party’s (LP’s) standard bearer, Mr. Kolade Akinjo, winner of the poll.

    They based their decision on the fact that the result in 21 of the 22 wards had been collated and Akinjo had the highest votes of over 23,000.

    Praising INEC for a “job well done during the election”, they urged the candidates of other parties to accept defeat in good faith and cooperate with the winner.

    The party chairmen said: “The people of Ondo State should not be made to go through the rigour they passed through in last Saturday’s poll because of a ward election, both in terms of money and energy. We agree that the LP candidate be declared winner so that the existing peace in the state can be maintained.”

  • Call for probe of Obanikoro’s role in Ondo poll

    Call for probe of Obanikoro’s role in Ondo poll

    A socio-political group, Restoration Alliance, has called for the probe of Minister of State for Defence Musiliu Obanikoro’s role in the by-election in Ilaje/Ese-odo Federal Constituency, Ondo State.

    In a statement yesterday by its General Secretary, Akin Ulenuse, the group said the Minister had questions to answer about his activities in Ilaje about a week before the election and the role he played on the by-election day.

    The group also wants the Minister to explain “why he led soldiers to intimidate voters in an election that does not directly affect him or the people of Lagos Island.”

    The statement reads: “We have it on good authority that the Minister arrived the area days before the election and supervised the harassment and intimidation of voters by the soldiers he led to the area. It should be ascertained if the minister acted alone or he was by his action, doing somebody or some person’s bidding.”

    Reactions have continued to trail the declaration of the election as inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    In a joint statement, the Chairman of People for Democratic Change (PDC), Lawrence Oyebamiji; his Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) counterpart Lawrence Kehinde and Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) Chairman Chief Alamuren Ogunbodede urged INEC to declare the Labour Party’s (LP’s) standard bearer, Mr. Kolade Akinjo, winner of the poll.

    They based their decision on the fact that the result in 21 of the 22 wards had been collated and Akinjo had the highest votes of over 23,000.

    Praising INEC for a “job well done during the election”, they urged the candidates of other parties to accept defeat in good faith and cooperate with the winner.

    The party chairmen said: “The people of Ondo State should not be made to go through the rigour they passed through in last Saturday’s poll because of a ward election, both in terms of money and energy. We agree that the LP candidate be declared winner so that the existing peace in the state can be maintained.”

  • Is Obanikoro a true Lagosian?

    Is Obanikoro a true Lagosian?

    What has the job of a junior minister in the department of defence got to do with lands and housing? We ask, what is he doing defending the indefensible when he should be working with his superior minister on how to stop the menace of Boko Haram, arrest the kidnap of his mentors’ family members or how he should work with the national security adviser to broker peace with a disquieted corps of service chiefs?

    Rather Musiliu Obanikoro, a failed governorship candidate in Lagos State, has morphed from electoral disaster of his own to fighting to bring misfortune to the lives of people he contested to save in his previous incarnation. How can we say he means well when a land that has already been set aside to give shelter to over a thousand souls is giving him sleepless nights in his elite mansion?

    Was that why he contested for the same position in 2007? So he wanted to deprive the homeless of their deserved roofs over their heads. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, the Lagos State governor, who bested him in that election and walloped his party’s candidate the second time, said he has documents to show that the federal government handed to Lagos State the Ilubirin property where the housing complex will be erected. But rather than follow decency by first consulting with the government, he deployed military men to occupy the place. He had the option of going to court first. He did not. Is he minister of invasion of lands and housing?

    Is it a case of Obanikoro bringing his office as a minister of defence to tackle lands that belong to the people? Is that the way he defines his position as junior minister of defence? To attack, they say, is a form of defence. That is Obanikoro’s way of showing that he is the defender of the mandate.

    That is the act of the coward who would not fight until he thinks he has seen a perceived lazy man. Lagos State does not have control of the armed forces. The federal government does. Lagos State does not control the police. The federal government does in our skewed federalism.

    Is it not the proper thing to do for a Jonathan administration that believes in due process to take the matter to court? Rather “Koro,” as he is called, has taken arms before the law. Yet he will claim he is a true Lagosian. Maybe he is a Lagosian by birth. He is certainly not a Lagosian by heart or in spirit. His style to Lagos is perfidy, and Lagos loves those who love them. “Koro” is made of a different stripe.

  • Lagos APC slams Obanikoro for land grabbing

    Lagos APC slams Obanikoro for land grabbing

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State has criticised the Minister of State for Defence, Musliu Obanikoro for using soldiers to stop the housing project of the state government at Ilubirin.

    Dismissing Obanikoro’s claim that the land belongs to the Federal Government, APC asked if Obanikoro was made a minister to “further the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) battle to stifle Lagos and a fifth of Nigeria’s population because Lagos has refused to join the PDP bandwagon”.

    In a statement by its Interim Publicity Secretary, Joe Igbokwe, APC said Obinokoro’s claim was ridiculous, adding that the state government had reclaimed the land.

    It said Lagos would be intimidated by “such primitive tactics” and warned Obanikoro to steer clear of the land.

    APC said: “We are yet to understand the basis upon which Obanikoro is claiming that a part of Lagos, which was reclaimed by the state government, belongs to the Federal Government, as well as his obnoxious use of the military to stop a housing project of the Lagos State government.

    “This is an illegal use of crude means to overwhelm and annex Lagos, since the state refused to sign up to the decadent politics of the PDP and its decrementing values. We see Obanikoro’s effort as just another greedy, illegal land grab that will fail, as there is no basis for such reckless impunity.

    “Lagos APC is now being made to understand that Obanikoro’s appointment as a minister was to create crisis in Lagos, engage in a battle of forts with the legally constituted authority and obstruct the globally-acclaimed feat by the Lagos State government.

    “We are convinced that the perpetration of illegality and employment of brute force to mount an illegal quest for territory in Lagos has become such an attractive fad with successive PDP governments and we assure Obanikoro and his masters that just as previous efforts failed, this one too will.

    “We are aware that what Obanikoro is doing today has no legal basis or backing, but as an average PDP man, he believes that a sophisticated state as Lagos could be overwhelmed by the use of brute force and misuse of the military. Lagos will certainly show him that such tactics have no place in a democracy, even with the misuse the PDP has subjected it to.

    “We warn Obanikoro and whoever he represents in his present obnoxious quest to annex Lagos land to steer clear of this act, for Lagos will not sit idly by and watch such annoying perpetration of illegality against it by an overzealous agent of backwardness. We urge Lagosians to rise up and condemn this illegal act as it portends grave danger to the interests of Lagosians.”

  • Gusau, Obanikoro take a bow at Senate

    Gusau, Obanikoro take a bow at Senate

    The infamous “bow and go” syndrome played out yesterday, as the Senate screened six people President Goodluck Jonathan nominated for ministerial appointments.

    Those screened included Senator Musiliu Obanikoro (Lagos), Mohammed Wakil (Borno), Amb. Aminu Wali (Kano), Mrs. Akon Etim Eyakenyi (Akwa Ibom), Mrs. Lawrencia Labaran Mallam (Kaduna) and Gen. Mohammed Aliu Gusau (rtd) (Zamfara).

    Senator Obanikoro, who was the first to be screened, recalled his days in the Senate and his appointment as the High Commissioner to Ghana.

    He listed some of his achievements as a High Commissioner in Ghana and the motions and bills he sponsored as a senator.

    One the motions, he recalled, was the issue of ocean surge in Lagos, which he noted led the Senate to empower a committee to visit the site and seek a solution. He also recalled that he sponsored anti-casualisation bill to prevent expatriates from enslaving Nigerians.

    He was asked to “bow and go” without any question.

    Before Obanikoro was asked to “bow and go”, Senate President David Mark noted that the Senate believed that anybody, who became a senator or a member of the House of Representatives was more than qualified to be a minister.

    A former Leader of the House of Representatives, Wakil, was the second to be screened.

    The politician, who was accompanied by a former Speaker of the House, Ghali Umar Na’Abba and a host of other old House members, also recalled his days in the lower chamber and his contributions.

    He was also asked to “bow and go” without a question.

    The same treatment was extended to Gen. Gusau.

    As the Sergeant at Arms walked the ex-National Security Adviser (NSA) to former President Olusegun Obasanjo into the chamber, Mark remarked that Gusau is a retired General from NDA Course One, while he (Mark) is a retired General from NDA Course Three.

    There was a prolonged laughter in the chamber as senators shouted “it is a tale of two Generals”.

    The Senate President’s remark set the mood in the chamber, as senators shouted “bow and go, bow and go.”

    Mark asked: “Is it the wish of the Senate that Gusau should bow and go?”

    The senators yelled “yes, he should bow and go.”

    Mark asked Gusau to take a bow and go.

    The former NSA stepped forward, lowed his head toward the Senate President, did the same to the side the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators sat and turned to the side of the opposition parties’ senators and bowed.

    Gusau took calculated steps to the door where a horde of loyalists were waiting for him.

    An observer at the Senate gallery remarked: “It is good to belong.” Amb. Wali (Kano), Mrs. Eyakenyi and Mrs. Mallam did not enjoy the same privilege given to Obanikoro, Wakil and Gusau, as they were grilled by the Senate before they were allowed to leave the chamber.

    The screening of the next set of six nominees may be concluded today.

  • Senate screens six ministerial nominees

    … Nominees asked to ‘ bow and go’

    The infamous “bow and go” syndrome played out on Wednesday as the Senate screened six persons President Goodluck Jonathan nominated for ministerial appointment.

    Those screened are – Senator Musiliu Obanikoro (Lagos), Hon. Mohammed Wakil (Borno), Ambassador Aminu Wali (Kano), Mrs. Akon Etim Eyakenyi (Akwa Ibom), Mrs. Lawrencia Labaran Mallam (Kaduna) and Gen. Mohammed Aliu Gusau (Rtd) (Zamfara).

    Senator Obanikoro who was the first to be screened recalled his days in the Senate and his appointment as Nigeria High Commissioner to Ghana.

    He listed some of his achievements as a High Commissioner in Ghana and the motions and bills he sponsored as a Senator.

    One of the motions, he recalled, was the issue of ocean surge in Lagos which led the Senate to empower a committee to visit the site to seek solution.

    He also recalled that he sponsored anti casualisation bill to prevent expatriates from enslaving Nigerians.

    He was asked to “bow and go” without any question.

    Before Obanikoro was asked to “bow and go” Senate President, David Mark, noted that the Senate believed that anybody who was able to become a Senator or a member of the House of Representatives was more than qualified to be a minister.

    A former leader of the House of Representatives, Wakil was the second to be screened.

    The former House Leader who was accompanied by a former Speaker of the House, Hon. Ghali Umar Na’Abba and a host of other old House members, also recalled his days in the lower chamber and his work experience.

    He was also asked to “bow and go” without question.

    The same treatment was extended to General Gusau.

    As the Sergeant at Arms walked the former National Security Adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo into the chamber, Mark remarked that Gusau is a retired General from NDA Course one while he (Mark) is a retired General from NDA Course three.

    There was prolonged laughter in the chamber as Senators shouted “it is a tale of two Generals.”

    The Senate President’s remark set the mood in the chamber as Senators shouted “bow and go, bow and go.”

    Mark promptly asked “Is it the wish of the Senate that Gusau should bow and go?”

    The Senators yelled “yes, he should bow and go.”

    Mark asked Gusau to take a bow and go.

     

  • Lagos 2015: Obanikoro, Agbaje, others warm up for governorship

    Lagos 2015: Obanikoro, Agbaje, others warm up for governorship

    Former Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Ghana Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, Afenifere chieftain Mr. Jimi Agbaje, former House of Representatives member Hon. Setonji Koshoedo, Mr. Demola Doherty, and Dr. Ade Dosunmu are among the politicians warming up for the Lagos State governorship, ahead of 2015.

    Obanikoro, the chairman of the Nigerian National Social Insurance Trust Fund (NNSITF), was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in 2007. He had defected from the Alliance for Democracy (AD) to the PDP, almost two years before the election. He lost to Governor Babatunce Fashola (SAN) at the poll.

    Party sources said that the politician from Lagos Central is fortifying his structures in preparations for the governorship primaries. It is not certain, if his ambition will be supported by the pro-Bode George forces in the party. In 2007, George camp rooted for the widow of the late Mr. Funso Williams, who was the party’s 2003 flag bearer. However, Obanikoro has resources to run a state-wide campaigns.

    Since the beginning of this year, PDP leaders have been mounting pressures on Agbaje to defect to the party, with the assurance that he would be offered the ticket in 2015. Among party leaders who had visited him were George and former Works minister Senator Seye Ogunlewe. A source said: “The pressures being mounted on Agbaje this time around has the tacit blessing of president Goodluck Jonathan, whose party, the PDP, is bent on capturing Lagos State. PDP is looking for a credible candidate to face the ACN or APC candidate. Agbaje is popular and he is perceived as a politician without blemish. But he has not given a definite answer to the PDP leaders wooing him”.

    Close associated of Agbaje confided that, though he has a governorship ambition, he is reluctant to join the PDP because of the party’s reputation in the Southwest. “Jimi Agbaje is a progressive politician and he is not desperate. He is interested in serving Lagosians and he is fit to rule, but there is the fear that his defection to the PDP may polarise his support base. He does not want to take a wrong step. So, he is being careful”, said a source.