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Tag: Rumpus

  • Rumpus in Ondo APC over Assembly candidates

    There is tension in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State on the likely tampering with the list of the party’s House of Assembly candidates.

    The camp of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu is especially worried because of the likelihood of sharing the seats among four groups in the party, contrary to the plan of the camp to dominate the list with its men, sources said at the weekend.

    The four groups are those of Akeredolu, Senator Ajayi Boroffice, Mr. Segun Abraham and Mr. Olusola Oke.

    The fear in the governor’s camp is that this arrangement will keep their camp in the minority in the scheme of things in the next House of Assembly.

    Party officials also said the candidature of Senator Yele Omogunwa for Ondo South continues to create ripples to the extent that the three APC House of Representatives candidates in the area are believed to have decided to distance themselves from him.

    They are said to be planning to campaign independently of him.

    The candidates are: Donald Ojogo (Ilaje/Ese Odo), Mayowa Akinfolarin (Odigbo/Ile Oluji) and Akintoye Albert (Okitipupa/Irele).

    The source, who blamed Akeredolu for the situation that led to the victory of Omogunwa because he was trying to impose Lucky Ayedatiwa as senatorial candidate which the national secretarial prevented and retained Omogunwa.

    “What I can tell you is that for now, the three Reps are just finding different means to adopt as campaign strategies because unlike their counterparts in the Central and North, who have a good ground to go round with their senatorial candidates, the situation in the South is a bit difficult.

    “It is technically the turn of Ileoluji/Okeigbo to produce a senator for the district.

    “Our fear is for this situation not to affect their chances and that of Mr President because the elections will take place the same day and you know what that means to the system,” the source said.

    No party official was willing to speak yesterday on the matter.

  • Rumpus in Ondo APC over adoption of indirect primary

    THE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State is presently embroiled in crisis over the adoption of indirect primary system for elections in the state.

    Last Tuesday, there was a stakeholders meeting of the party at the party’s state secretariat in Akure, where Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu was in attendance.

    After the almost three hours deliberation, the party resolved that all its candidates for all elective posts in the 2019 General Elections will emerge through indirect primary system.

    The National Executive Committee (NEC)  of the party had earlier agreed on direct primaries.

    However, many relevant stakeholders of the ruling party were not present where the decision on indirect primaries was sealed.

    The likes of the Senator representing Ondo North District, Prof. Ajayi Boroffice and members of the House of Representatives, including Afe Olowookere (Akure North/Akure South); Babatunde Kolawole(Akoko Southeast/Southwest) and Bamidele Baderinwa(Idanre/Ifedore), among others, did not attend the meeting.

    A member, Board of Trustee of APC and former Deputy Governor, Ali Olanusi, who was at the meeting, disagreed with the adoption of indirect primary against the NEC resolve to go on direct primary.

    At the forum, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Bamidele Oloyelogun, moved the motion for the adoption of the indirect primary system. He was seconded by the chairman of the party in Owo Local Government Area of the state, Chief S. Ogunleye.

    The state chairman of the party, Ade Adetimehin, who presided over the meeting, said the leadership of the party in the state took the decision in line with the party’s constitution.

    Speaking with reporters after the meeting, the senator representing Ondo Central Senatorial District, Tayo Alasoadura, said the leadership of the party arrived at the decision to adopt indirect primary to benefit its members.

    The lawmaker insisted that direct primary could give room for manipulations and irregularities as nonmembers of the party could participate in the election, while indirect system would be hitch-free and peaceful.

    Alasoadura said “The constitution of the APC allows either direct or indirect primary system and as a party we have decided to adopt indirect primary system to ensure that the process that will produce our candidates in Ondo State will be fair and thorough,”

    He said many new members of the party did not have the party’s membership card to use for election if the party adopts direct primary system; hence the adoption of the indirect system which he said is less expensive to apply.

    However, the lawmaker representing Ondo North District, Prof Ajayi Boroffice, said he was not aware of the purported meeting where it was agreed that the party had adopted indirect primary for all elections.

    According to a statement by his press secretary, Kayode Fakuyi, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Science and Technology said such decision was not the true reflection and correct representation of the position of the APC.

    He said whatever the decision they took was subject to approval or rejection of the National Working Committee (NWC).

    Also, members of the Unity Group (UG) within the APC said the leadership of the party erred as there was a pending suit challenging the composition of the party’s executive in the state.

    Speaking through the Osun State Commissioner for Regional

    Integration, Bola Ilori, the group insisted that the faction was in support of the decision of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party and President Muhammadu Buhari over the primary elections of the party.

    Ilori said “since there is no executive on ground for the APC in Ondo State in the face of the law, whatever decision taken at the purported stakeholders meeting was a nullity and it cannot stand.

    He said the group was in support of Buhari and the NEC of APC, stressing that they would abide by the resolutions of NEC.

    The crisis within the APC in Ondo State was the fall-out of the 2016 election when Aketi group of Governor Akeredolu severed relationship with Boroffice’s group on the claim that the latter worked against the victory of the ruling party.

    It was the same factor that was responsible for the last parallel congresses both at ward, local and state levels, leading to the emergence of two parallel party’s Exco.

    With the same problem, the screening of local government council aspirants for December 1, is being affected at present.

    Already, the dispute has attracted litigation at the Federal High Court, Abuja, where the factional group is contesting the alleged manipulation of the party congresses in favour of Aketi group.

  • Rumpus in the PDP

    Rumpus in the PDP

    WITH the affirmation of Ali Modu Sheriff, former governor of Borno State, as chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the future of the former ruling party that dominated politics between 1999 and 2015 becomes even more uncertain. For about 10 months, Senator Sheriff had been locked in a leadership struggle with former governor of Kaduna State, Ahmed Makarfi, a struggle that seemed as enervating as it was intractable. Despite earnest reconciliation efforts and court interventions, both politicians have since sustained their intransigence. Now, with his hands strengthened by the Appeal Court ruling of Friday, Senator Sheriff, who has always been less inclined to conciliation, less disposed to intellectualising the party’s problems, but is more instinctive, spontaneous and gregarious, will find greater incentive to become much more inflexible than before. The party is evidently in trouble.
    Senator Sheriff, party apparatchiks have long suspected, is a long distance runner. He is not wearied by war nor by its longevity, nor yet by its aftermaths. Emboldened by the Appeal Court decision, he will hope he can wear the opposition within the party down in a war of attrition he is peculiarly suited and gifted to fight. And by combining his wealth and aggression with his uncanny gregariousness, he will expect that, with time, famished foot soldiers of the party would eventually discard their resentment against him and rally behind his banner and tilt the scale against his chafing and restless opponents. Whether he succeeds in his goals will, however, depend on just how resolute the mercurial Senator Makarfi can remain in the face of disheartening judicial reverses, and how well party bosses can keep their nerves steady as rumours of disaffection course through the party’s rank and file. But more importantly, the shape of the bitter war within the party and its outcome will depend overall on how party leaders can resist the temptation to bolt from the stable as the next elections loom.
    To be sure, however, party leaders, including governors and national lawmakers, favour Senator Makarfi. They see him as a team player, a reasonable man who is guided by his intellect than his emotions or by any consideration of wealth, a face of the party they could turn to the rest of the country with pride and satisfaction, an uncomplicated, honest, principled, and dispassionate politician, with no baggage, and with no airs. He is not as beefy as Senator Sheriff, but party elite think him much firmer, more mercurial, and more reformist. If they are to stand any chance of turning Friday’s setback into some sort of victory, they will have to cobble together a coalition of fighters and strategists able to unhorse the now self-satisfied Senator Sheriff. But that, alas, will depend on how the Supreme Court rules in the weeks or months to come, and how quickly too. Otherwise, the country should steady itself for the greatest mass defection in Nigeria’s political history, for it is inconceivable that party leaders would swallow their pride and rally to the cause of a man who considers himself rich and independent, and whose motives and style they suspect and resent bitterly.
    Weighed on the scale, Senator Makarfi enjoys the bigger support of the two combatants. But that support is tenuous, and will get even more tenuous as the months grind towards the inexorable 2019 polls, and as party leaders in favour of Senator Makarfi get desperate. Worse, party bigwigs face a far more dispiriting prospect of fainthearted party faithful withholding their support or even hawking it in droves to willing buyers because they are unsure which side their bread is buttered and because their mercenary instincts cannot be sated. Many PDP leaders have publicly announced where they stand, even as Senator Sheriff himself has determined those the party would not welcome and who, in his opinion, had become a pariah. In fact the pugnacity of the former Borno governor has prompted the suspicion that he is in the PDP as a spoiler rather than to actualise what many politicians believe to be his presidential ambition. Senator Sheriff is unlikely to be a spoiler. He is too ambitious and conceited to lend himself as a willing tool in the hands of a puppeteer.
    It is hard to tell how the Supreme Court would vote in the matter, or how quickly. But what is clear now is that because Senator Sheriff is supported by a minority, he cannot begin any serious planning or reorganisation for the 2019 polls. And because Senator Makarfi is on the other hand supported by the majority but denied by the courts, his faction cannot also begin any serious plans for the future despite their sanguine claims. Whatever modicum of progress they make will have to be eked out of the stalemate forced on them by the courts and their own factional intransigence. That progress, assuming it is noticeable, will pale into insignificance in the face of a resurgent All Progressives Congress (APC) which has mastered both the art of exposing the PDP’s 16-year underbelly of corruption and promoting the modest qualities of their ageing and sometimes infirm president, Muhammadu Buhari.
    Except the Supreme Court can decide the matter very quickly, the PDP’s prospect of regaining its rhythm and verve is indeed very bleak. They are more factionalised than the APC, rudderless, poorly motivated, unable to atone for the massive corruption they inspired in public officers for more than a decade, and too fixated on the wrong things and priorities. The APC may have set a precedence in winning national elections after a short period of formation and planning. But that incredible political chutzpah, which the APC demonstrated between 2013 and 2015, is virtually difficult, if not impossible, to replicate. For now there is no opposition to the APC on account of the PDP’s obsession with internal bickering, while defections to the ruling party are taking place in trickles, with the distinct possibility that they could become a flood. And just as Senator Sheriff seems prepared to stand his ground, his opponents also appeared set to fight to the death, as they have gleefully announced.
    No clairvoyant is needed to tell Nigerians that Senator Sheriff will eventually be undone, if not by the internal opposition within the PDP, then by his own excesses. But whether the new PDP that has just emerged from Friday’s pyrrhic victory is able to make a great showing in 2019 or fizzle away will depend not on how it continues to fritter away its modest accomplishments and whatever is left of its talents, but on how prodigally the APC squanders the humongous advantage gifted it by the unprecedented conflation of human goodwill and celestial sleight of hand in 2015.

  • Rumpus in South-East APC over Nnamani

    Rumpus in South-East APC over Nnamani

    Governor Rochas Okorocha’s declaration of Senator Ken Nnamani, a former Senate President, as South-East Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), after a controversial zonal party meeting in Imo State, is threatening to polarise the party in the zone, reports Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan 

    A proclamation by Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, announcing Senator Ken Nnamani, a former Senate President, as the leader of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-East geo-political zone, has been severally described as a sham and unacceptable to the teeming members of the party in the zone.

    Several petitions expressing the disgust of chieftains and members of the party across the zone on the unexpected and controversial pronouncement have been sent to the national leadership of the party, sources claimed. The Nation gathered that Okorocha’s announcement appears to have pitched him against some prominent chieftains of the party in the zone and even beyond.

    While making the controversial pronouncement recently, Okorocha had said he declined the offer to lead the party in the zone despite pressure from many members of the party, but decided to propose Nnamani as a suitable person to lead the ruling party in the zone. Nnamani, it would be recalled, joined the party late last year from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    ”Now that Igbo leaders are together in APC, Nigerians will hear us. There is a vacuum of leadership in the South-East APC. I am a governor. My brothers, Chris Ngige and Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, are ministers; hence, the importance of Senator Ken Nnamani coming at this time. I decline the leadership of Ndigbo in APC.

    With Senator Ken Nnamani now with us in the party, the question of who is the leader of APC in the South-East has been answered. Ken Nnamani is the leader of APC in the South-East. Senator Nnamani should then work with other leaders like Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Jim Nwobodo and a host of others to give Ndigbo political direction,” the governor said.

    The Imo State helmsman made the now controversial pronouncement during a zonal stakeholders’ meeting of the party held at the Imo International Convention Centre (IICC), Owerri, last week. In attendance were Ken Nnamani, Emeka Offor, Ifeanyi Araraume, Tony Eze, Ebuka Onunkwo, Jombo Offor, deputy governor of Imo State, Eze Madumere, and other chieftains of the party in the zone.

    But many party chieftains have since accused Okorocha of making the announcement as part of a political stunt to score cheap political points. Some party sources alleged that the event at which Nanmani was declared leader of the party in the zone is not a zonal stakeholders’ meeting but a stage-managed occasion pulled by the governor to achieve a predetermined intention.

    But supporters of the governor’s choice argued to the contrary. According to a chieftain of the party in Abia State, Sylvanus Okpara, the event was widely announced across the states of the zone and clearly explained as a stakeholders’ meeting called for the purpose of moving the party forward in the zone. ‘It is wrong to say Okorocha stage-managed it,” he said.

    Meeting boycotted?

    But what those supporting Okorocha may have to further explain is the absence of some frontline chieftains of the party in the zone at the said stakeholders’ meeting held in Owerri, where Nnamani became leader of the South-East APC. Amidst insinuations in many quarters that the meeting may have been boycotted by the chieftains, pundits say their absence took away a lot from the gathering.

    Chief among those absent at the stakeholders’ meeting were the five South-East ministers currently serving in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. As members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), these party chieftains are recognised as part of the leadership of the party in their various states.

    Members of the FEC who were not part of the deliberations at the said stakeholders’ meeting include Senator Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment; Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science and Technology; Chief Anthony Anwuka, Minister of State, Education, Godfrey Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Okechukwu Enelamah, Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment.

    Similarly, top party leaders of the party in the South-East were not at the parley. Those absent at the meeting include former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, and governorship candidates of the party in some states of the zone during the last general election held in 2015. Some state chairmen of the party were also absent at the meeting.

    “While the issue of how Okorocha arrived at the choice of Nnamani as party leader is indeed controversial, the meeting at which the announcement was made is even more controversial. The status of the parley as a zonal party function is yet to be explained. The leadership of the party in the zone is yet to explain how the meeting was called.

    There are talks that some people were not invited to the meeting but that has been countered in some quarters. There is therefore serious need for a full disclosure about who called the meeting and how it was called. It is only when this is done that we can address the many conspiracy theories that are now being formulated by some people over this controversial pronouncement by Governor Okorocha,” another party chieftain said.

    A wave of rejections

    Leading the band of those who will hear nothing of the said endorsement of Nnamani by Okorocha as APC South-East leader is the Ebonyi State chapter of the APC. The party, during the week, disassociated itself from Nnamani’s adoption by Okorocha as the leader of the ruling party in the geo-political zone.

    The APC in Ebonyi said the choice of Nnamani as the APC South-East leader is contrary to the desires of numerous leading Igbo chieftains and other stakeholders within the party. It further described the reported unilateral declaration of the former Senate President by the Imo State Governor as a huge joke.

    Acting Chairman of the party in the state, Pastor Eze Nwachukwu Eze, in a statement issued in Abakaliki by the party, said Okorocha’s alleged unilateral declaration of Nnamani as the leader of South-East APC was not only intended to ridicule the status of the party in the South-East but also to cause unnecessary disaffection in the party.

    “The attention of the APC, Ebonyi State, has been drawn to the attempt to ridicule the party in the South-East zone by the mischievous gimmicks of Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State who will stop at nothing to discredit the party at all times. His recent adoption of Distinguished Senator Ken Nnamani as his leader in the South-East is an attempt to give what he does not have which amounts to a joke.

    “The APC as a party in Ebonyi State disassociates itself wholly from the charade. For avoidance of doubt, we state unequivocally that Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu remains the number one APC leader in Igboland,” the party said in the press release signed by the Acting State Chairman, Pastor Eze Nwachukwu Eze.

    Also reacting to Okorocha’s action during the week, the APC National Auditor, Chief George Moghalu, berated Okorocha for unilaterally choosing a leader for the party in the zone and asked the governor to stop appropriating the leadership of the party in the South-East to new comers, declaring that the Imo State helmsman cannot force a leader on the party in the zone.

     “You see, one thing about leadership, and I have said it several times, is that a leader isn’t appointed. You can elect a chairman; you can elect a secretary, a governor or a president. A leader evolves from amongst the people. It is your activities; it is your relationship and the level of communication you have with the people that determines your leadership. It is not by appointment and I believe everyone understands that.

    “You don’t appoint a leader, you don’t elect a leader except in a case where you have the constitutional provision but in a situation where you are talking about the South-East as a people, leadership will always evolve from amongst the people and those who are leaders in their own rights; the Dr. Ogbonnaya Onus, the Senator Chris Ngiges, these are leaders that have earned their status and there was no day we conducted an election to say that we elected Dr. Onu as leader or Dr. Ngige as leader; they evolved. I am also a leader by every structure of imagination but it has to evolve from amongst the people,” he noted.

    Also, the APC youth wing in the South-East has expressed its dissatisfaction with the declaration of Senator Nnamani as leader of the APC in the zone by Okorocha. The youths insisted that the Imo State governor lacks the capacity to impose a leader on the teeming members of the ruling party, adding that the party is bigger than him.

    Speaking on behalf of the wing’s leadership in Owerri, Comrade Kelvin Anyanwu alleged that the stakeholders’ meeting of the South-East APC was hurriedly convened by Okorocha without consulting widely with other prominent leaders of the party in Igboland. This, he claimed, informed the poor attendance by party stalwarts from the zone.

     “The so-called expanded meeting was a mere gathering of political aides and associates of Governor Okorocha. We had expected a proper invitation to party chieftains across Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra and Imo states. But this was not done as the Imo State Governor hurriedly convened the meeting.

    The meeting was not attended by party bigwigs from the zone, including Minister of Labour and Productivity, Sen. Chris Ngige, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Godfrey Onyeama, Minister of Science and Technology, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Okechukwu Enelemah, former Governor of Old Anambra State, Chief Jim Nwobodo, former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, among others.

     “It is saddening that at a time the APC is supposed to be driving membership in the region, Okorocha is rather focusing his energy on polarizing the party in order to achieve his inordinate ambition. The APC belongs to all party stalwarts and as such we shall not fold our arms and allow an egoistic Okorocha scuttle the future of the party in the South-East,’ he said.

    Dissenting voices

    But a chieftain of the party in Enugu State, Chief Anike Nwoga, has thrown his weight behind Okorocha over the choice of the former Senate President, Nnamani, as the leader of the party in the Sout-East. Nwoga, the founding Vice Chairman of the APC in Enugu State, said Okorocha’s decision was taken in good faith and for the interest of Ndigbo.

    “Some people have been saying why Ken Nnamani? But my response to that is that he is 100 percent qualified to be the leader of APC in the South-East. Okorocha saw leadership quality in Senator Ken Nnamani and that is why he conceded the South-East zonal leadership to him. We should not forget that he was the number three man in Nigeria, having served as the Senate President.

    “Considering that position, there is nobody in APC today that is more qualified than Nnamani for the South-East leader of the party. Governor Okorocha is a wise person; he did the most intelligent thing; he has done a great thing for the growth of the APC in the South-East because Nnamani is a great son of Igbo land, a decent man for that matter.

    “Let us not also forget that since the news of his defection to the APC spread in Nigeria, many people have also been joining the party not just in the South-East but across the country. This is because of Ken Nnamani’s name- that’s why we see other senators, other top politicians also trooping into the party,” he said.

    On the insinuation that Nnamani is a new entrant into the party, Nwoga argued that “you might be there since 100 years ago but even if someone comes in today, you have equal rights. Besides, you may also be there for 100 years but not making any visible contribution but someone comes in today and performs more than you.

    “So, we should all rally round Nnamani; with him Igbos will get all they need; the APC has gotten the kind of leadership it needs in the South-East. Before now, those that parade themselves as APC leaders in the zone are not even accessible to the people; they don’t even answer phone calls. But call Nnamani any time, he will pick your call; if you go to his house, his doors are always open,” he added.

    Similarly, the leader of Abia State caucus of the APC, Chief Sam Nkire, has congratulated former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, on his emergence as leader of the party in the South-East. Nkire said he believes Nnamani is qualified, fit and proper to lead the APC people in the South-East, if not Nigeria in general.

    He also commended Okorocha for hosting the South-East APC caucus meeting. He said without that meeting, “Senator Nnamani’s emergence would not have been possible. He also acknowledged that Okorocha has, since the inception of APC, played the role of a father to members of the party in the zone and noted that “his reward will not be in heaven alone.”

  • Rumpus over Code

    Take another look at the FRC Act

    Jim Obazee has learnt a bitter lesson following his sack by the Federal Government over his zeal to enforce the Governance Code of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) he presided over had generated. The former Executive Secretary of the council was summarily sacked without efforts to give him a hearing.

    It was yet another indication that the government could sacrifice anyone if ever it feels embarrassed by actions taken by him or his agency. The code aims at regulating practices within the churches, mosques and other registered Not-for-Profit Organisations. The code had claimed a big victim in the person of Pastor Enoch Adeboye who was the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).

    The persona of Pastor Adeboye looms very large and his word was law. He presided over the church, all its divisions and structures. This, the FRC frowned at, arguing that a spiritual leader should not at the same time have the last say on spending and administration.

    The churches kicked and it became a subject of litigation. In interpreting the law, the court said Obazee and the FRC acted within the confines of the law, and threw out the suit. At that point, Obazee who was having a running battle with the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Okechukwu Enelama, himself a staunch member of the church, felt his hands had been strengthened and moved to enforce the regulation. In a table-turning move, Pastor Adeboye announced that the FRC was forcing him to relinquish his position as the General Overseer of the church in Nigeria. He named an Assistant General Overseer, Joshua Obayemi, as National Overseer while retaining control internationally. In that capacity, he would be the Global Missioner and Spiritual Leader. Pastor Obayemi is to be assisted by Pastor Johnson Odesola as secretary of the Governing Council, while Joseph Adeyokunnu is the treasurer.

    A number of things happened so fast that it was difficult to keep track. One critical poser is: Did the FRC act ultra vires? We do not think so. The FRC Act has been in operation since 2011 and Obazee had made great progress in ensuring greater transparency and distribution of power in the private sector. When the code was drawn up, public hearing was organised in Lagos and the government made no effort to abort the process.

    It could be argued, as many of the churches have held, that government has no business prescribing tenure for church leaders who lay claim to being commissioned by God. They could also contend that the structure of the church or mosque has no relationship with government regulations since worshippers come on their free will. There is merit in the argument, but it is obvious that religious houses have dabbled into so many businesses in recent times that should attract the attention of the authorities. Besides, a number of atrocities have been traced to wrangling in churches that government cannot pretend indifference since fallouts could imperil national security. Besides, the experience in other climes tends to suggest that regulating the churches is in order.

    It should be pointed out that when worship centres submit to registration, they accept some form of guidance and regulation. In England and Wales, the Charities Act of 2011 stipulates that Annual Returns be made by the churches. When a popular Nigerian pastor and his church were deemed to have violated the law in 2013, they were sensationally sanctioned.

    He was forbidden from making any investments thereafter without clearance from the commission. The Charities and Trustees Investments (Scotland) of 2015 has similar provisions. The churches are treated as other not-for-profit organisations. Legally, the FRC’s actions are covered by section 5 of the 2015 Act that requires its Directorate of Corporate Governance to develop principles and practices applicable in the country.

    Section 73 specifically empowers the council to enact regulations. In democratic practice, such lawmaking powers are not strange as they are covered under the category of delegated legislation. The council could further argue from a sure ground since the court had ruled that its action was in order. We, however, find it difficult to support the council’s attempt at specifying tenure for the church leaders. The council ought to have restricted itself to prescribing processes, procedures and structures that could guarantee best corporate governance in the not-for-profit organisations. Had it been so minded, it could have won the sympathy of most Nigerians.

    The churches and similar organisations should realise that the days of opaque administration are over. The books have to be kept and made available to all members and the regulating authorities whenever so demanded. The rumpus is evidence of the inaction of the umbrella Christian body, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). We call on the association and Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) to weigh in with a bid to sanitising religious practices in the country.

    As Jesus Christ said on taxation, leaders of the Christian faith should “give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s”, even as they give unto God what He deserves. We also want to draw attention to Apostle Paul’s injunction to the Roman Church: “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God…Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.”  All Nigerians – governments, individuals, institutions and agencies – must work for the country’s progress.

  • Rumpus in Edo

    Rumpus in Edo

    Political leaders in the state should adhere to universal and inviolable
    features that mark democracy out as the best form of government

    Political development in the country has been very slow because of the reluctance of leaders to follow the due process. At critical junctures, those at the helm of affairs are too desperate and as such would not allow the Rule of Law prevail. At such times, institutions are subverted, rules disregarded and lives unduly wasted.

    This has been the situation in Edo State where another governorship election is due. The stakes are high owing to the political history of the state as well as the state of the nation today. It is a straight contest between two political parties – the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). While the PDP ran affairs of the state between 1999 and 2008, the APC displaced it as the ruling party that year and has since called the tune. The PDP remains strong in the state and has control of the government structures in all other states in the South South zone, but the APC’s strong showing at the 2015 general elections, especially its emergence as governing party at the centre makes it quite formidable.

    We acknowledge, therefore, that the Edo State governorship election is billed to be keenly contested. But, it is a shame that, even before the real inter-party contest, intra-party squabbles appear to be tearing the APC apart. Anyone who contends that Governor Adams Oshiomhole should be disinterested in the choice of his successor is being unrealistic. He thus has the right to support whoever he chooses. The deputy governor, Dr. Pius Odubu, too, who has indicated interest in moving up the ladder as the number one citizen, is pursuing a legitimate cause. The governor has the right to lend his weight to the aspiration of whoever he chooses. He equally understands what the state needs at a time like this and would be right to use these parameters to decide who obtains his support.

    While all these are legitimate, what is unacceptable is that arsenal is amassed for the intra-party contest as if it is a full-blown war. The ugly incidents that have marked and marred the campaign so far tend to suggest that the APC in the state merely pays lip service to democracy. A situation that has seen the guns booming and people wounded because an aspirant is not expected to take his campaign to someone else’s perceived territory is unacceptable. It the strong man of the area is so popular, he should leave the prospecting aspirant to poach for votes in vain.

    The eyes of all Nigerians are on Edo State. It is a state that prides itself as strong in education and culture. Governor Oshiomhole is believed to have worked hard in almost eight years to develop the state physically. He deserves to step down in glory, with the people counting the blessings they got under his administration. It is to his credit that the godfathers in the state were dethroned. At a time that the PDP was fully entrenched at the state and federal levels, the governor came to the party fully prepared and won the electoral contest fair and square. This is the tradition that must be sustained in the state.

    We recall that Dr. Odubu was a member of the House of Representatives. As such, he should be familiar with the tenets of democracy and has been exposed to politics at the federal and state levels. We call on him to live up to high expectations. The soap box and the ballot box are hallmarks of representative democracy; not thuggery, guns and machetes. The wrong use of money, state resources and brawn has been the bane of our politics so far. Leaders who owe their emergence in power to force rather than popular support invariably turn their back at the people.

    All the major stakeholders should accept that the people, in this case, the delegates, are the kings. They should be allowed to make their free choice in an atmosphere devoid of violence, wrongful deployment of state resources and authority and undue heat. Edo people deserve more than they are getting at this point.

    Unfortunately, while the party is boiling, the House of Assembly is also being showcased as an arena for boxers and wrestlers, rather than decent lawmakers. Again, owing to the ambition to control. We hope the lawmakers would see reason and retrace their steps.

    The gladiators in the crisis in Edo State must realise that, ultimately, power is transient. History teaches that whatever a man does, he will one day leave the scene or would be left behind. Edo State should point in the direction of political progress, not retrogression.

     

  • Rumpus in Muslim community over Aare Musulumi

    Rumpus in Muslim community over Aare Musulumi

    YORUBA Muslims are divided over  the selection of a successful trade merchant, Alhaji Dauda Akinola, as the Aare (President) Musulumi of Yorubaland.

    The last holder of the title, Alhaji AbdulAzeez Arisekola Alao, died last year. He was a business mogul and philanthropist.

    The Chief Imam of Ibadan, Sheik Abdulganiy Agbotomokekere, in a statement last week, announced Akinola (aka Dedamak), as the new holder of the title.

    But some Muslim leaders, who craved anonymity, said they were not involved in the  selection of Arisekola’s successor.

    They said they were still in shock because, if anyone would be conferred with a title covering the entire Muslim community in Yorubaland, consultations were expected to be made with all major leaders, groups and stakeholders in the six states of the region.

    The states are Lagos, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ogun and Ekiti.

    A source close to the leadership of the League of Imams and Alfas in the Southwest said the league was still waiting for those who conferred the title on Akinola to brief them on the “unilateral” decision.

    The source added that all groups within the Muslim community should have held meetings to review nominations for the position and agreed on a candidate before such announcement can be made.

    Another source close to the leadership of Ibadan Muslim community said they were still at a loss over the decision, which is viewed as an error.

    The Nation also learnt that some other qualified Muslims would have been nominated for the post, if it was thrown open.

    Akinola is a business merchant, who deals in automobile and building materials.

    With sales outlets spread over the country, especially in the Southwest, Dedamak, as he is fondly called, imports asbestos, roofing sheets, KVA generators, motorcycles and others.

    He was said to have made fortune at a time when only few people showed interest in the business.

    Agbotomokekere was not available for comments last night.

  • Rumpus in KWASU over proposed ASUU

    Rumpus in KWASU over proposed ASUU

    Teachers at the five-year -ld Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete and the management are set for a showdown over the former’s plan to form KWASU’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    Members of the academic staff hasve inaugurated KWASU’s ASUU caretaker committee, preparatory to the formation of the union.

    The chairman and secretary of the caretaker committee are: Dr Dauda Adeshola and Dr Shehu Abdul-Ganiyu Salau.

    But the management has described any form of unionism on campus without its consent as illegal.

    Adeshola, shortly after his inauguration, urged members to be resolute in their determination to bargain for better conditions of service. He assured that the proposed association would not contravene laid down rules and regulation.

    Interestingly, the caretaker committee had informed the management of the inauguration of KWASU-ASUU. A letter dated August 17th, 2015 and signed by Adeshola stated thus: “This is to officially inform the university management and the academic community that ASUU, KWASU chapter was officially inaugurated on Thursday the 13th of August, 2015 where a caretaker committee was set up for the take-off.”

    The letter entitled: “Inauguration of ASUU, KWASU chapter,” was addressed to the registrar.

    “We pledge the loyalty of the union to the university authorities and the government of Kwara State. Kwara State University established in 2009, is now about to witness union activities after the five-year waiting period stipulated by both the National Universities Commission (NUC) and KWASU conditions of Service and Regulations,” the letter added.

    A circular by the principal/protocol officer, KWASU, Hamidat Yusuf, described the meetings that cumulated to the emergence of the caretaker committee as “illegal, cultic and combative unionism.”

    The circular reads: “This is to inform the university community that the management is aware of groups of KWASU staff holding clandestine meetings in odd venues in Malete in the name of cultism or combative unionism.

    “The university wishes to warn all concerned that this is illegal under KWASU rules and no nefarious clandestine group, no matter what name it disguised itself, will be recognised by the university. The university only recently attained five years of peaceful and purposeful academic calendar.

    “An acceptable legal unionism for students, academic and non academic staff will be ushered in within an open framework with active participation of management and all concerned. No amount of effort by the handful 17 staff that met outside the campus and held cultist meeting to create chaos in the school will succeed.

    “The police, office of the university safety and other security agencies have been put on alert to monitor these nefarious individuals and each of the 17 staff or any other who might be misguided is hereby warned.

    “A timetable will be published at appropriate time for peaceful unionism. Some gangs are obviously sad about the peaceful nature of KWASU in the face of national difficulties and seek to cause disaffection with government.”

    However, the Provost College of Information and Communication Technology, Prof Innocent Okoye expressed his happiness on the development.

    “For the first time, I am feeling that I am in a university. For once an issue of common interest is being discussed and people are taking sides based on their interests. It is very good for KWASU. So let the controversies continue; conflict is needed for change to take place.”

    The provost who said he was at the meeting from beginning to the end, protested that the meeting was not clandestine, having been convened with prior knowledge of the Nigeria police and national headquarters of ASUU.

    Also reacting, Head of Department (HOD), Aeronautics and Astronautics, Prof Chris Odetunde is disappointed that any peace-loving administration will address peaceful gathering as an illegal union.

    “If the administration enjoys controlling the going and coming of faculty, staff and students then it should change KWASU to Kwara state secondary school; KWASU is a citadel of learning for matured thoughts and cross pollination of ideas. Such circular needs to be retracted as it dislocates the peace on campus. It is unconscionable,” Odetunde added.

  • Rumpus in Kogi APC over Audu’s gubernatorial ambition

    Rumpus in Kogi APC over Audu’s gubernatorial ambition

    Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, reports that Prince Abubakar Audu’s interest to contest for the All Progressives Congress’ governorship ticket in Kogi State has raised the stakes ahead the October governorship election in the state

    Though it started as a rumour, whispered in hushed tones, as the people of Kogi State prepare for the 2015 gubernatorial ambition scheduled to hold in October, it is now public knowledge that their former governor, Prince Abubakar Audu, is interested in returning to Lugard House to serve in the same capacity for a third time.

    While the news of the ex-governor’s renewed ambition is being received across the state with mixed feelings, it appears his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), may have been thrown into a serious internal squabble as groups within it battle for and against Audu’s ambition.

    Already, there are allegations and counter allegations. While the former governor’s camp accused his critics of ganging up against him for no reason, other governorship aspirants within the party are accusing Audu of plotting to acquire the party’s ticket through undemocratic means.

    “Prince Audu’s ambition is an ill wind that will blow nobody any good. He knows he cannot win the primary election of the APC and he is planning to subvert the process and award the ticket to himself,” a governorship aspirant lamented. But an aide of the former governor debunked such allegations, saying “these people who before now feel the APC cannot achieve anything in Kogi are now shouting. They are confusionists out to distract the party.”

    The Nation learnt that trouble started within the party following Audu’s decision to finally make his ambition public after months of insinuations and indications. Few weeks back, the former governor announced that he would heed the call of the people of the state to again come forward and contest the forthcoming governorship election.

    He spoke at his Ogbonicha country home in Ofu Local Government Area of the state at a civic reception he organised for his party, the APC’s national and state assemblies’ members in the state. Justifying his decision, Audu said the state was his ”baby” which he would not abandon.

    “The voice of men are the voice of God, the people are yearning for me to come back because of my performance between 1999 and 2003. A lot of people have been wallowing in abject poverty with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in power in the state. A lot of people are dying.  As a matter of fact, Kogi is my baby and if I turn my back against my baby, it means I am an irresponsible father,” he said.

    And as if responding to widespread questions from his critic as to what he is coming back to do, the APC leader said, “I am coming back to salvage; rescue the state and place it back to where I left it in 2003 and even go beyond that.”

    Stiff opposition

    It took little or no time for the public announcement to attract responses from within the party. Expectedly, the first group to reject Audu was the one loyal to the former governor’s arch-rival and fellow party man, Barrister James Ocholi. According to party sources, the group is opposed to Audu because of the running political battle between him and Ocholi.

    “After the successful merger of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), these two leaders, Audu and Ocholi have been locking horns over who becomes party leader in the state.

    Naturally, members who came from the CPC were sympathetic to Ocholi, while those in the ACN group were sympathetic to Audu. Those who came from other parties either followed Audu’s group or Ocholi’s group. As a result of the situation, the CPC group has Muhammed Mabo as their chairman, while the ACN group picks Alhaji Hadi Amentur as the party chairman.

    But they were later reconciled by the party’s national leaders. Hence, Hadi became the chairman in an election supervised by the officials of the party from the national headquarters without the presence of factions. The division was again brought to limelight again during the primary election to pick candidates for the National Assembly and State Assembly elections as election materials were said to have been hijacked by Audu’s group, led by Dino Melaye,” a party source alleged.

    Beside the Ocholi group, some elders are also opposed to Audu’s ambition for some reasons and they are voicing their rejection of him loudly even as the former governor and his team go about seeking the support of groups and individuals within and outside the party in a bid to ensure the success of his ambition.

    The elders, under the aegis of the All Progressives Elders Vanguard, called on the party and President Muhammadu Buhari to save the party from imminent collapse under the leadership of Audu. They claimed that Audu had hijacked the party machinery to his benefit, warning that the APC would lose the goodwill it enjoyed during the presidential election if Audu was not called to order.

    The elders, in a letter to Buhari, warned that the outcome of the state assembly election could be replicated during the governorship election in 2016 except the former governor is prevailed upon to drop his governorship ambition and also allow the rule of law to take root.

    The elders said the party’s misfortune in the National Assembly election in the state was due to the ambition of the former governor. The party was victorious in the March 28 presidential and National Assembly elections, but performed dismally in the governorship and state assembly polls.

    The letter signed by Isa Sani Omolori, chairman of the APC Elders’ Vanguard, Kogi Central, also accused Audu of being interested only in building structures for his governorship ambition than working for the collective good of the party.

    The letter read in part: “The main problem of the party (APC) in the state is not that of followership but leadership, which zeroes down on former Governor Abubakar Audu, whose dictatorial politics would destroy rather than build the party.

    “What happened at the last national elections was for Audu to put up structures to launch his governorship ambition rather than abide by the party’s constitution and follow due process in the primaries.”

    Another group, Kogi Renewal Group, kicked against Audu’s quest to get the APC governorship ticket.

    The Chairman of the group, Dr. Abubakar Yakubu, told journalists that Kogi needed change but the change the state needed was not the return of Audu to Lugard House.

    The group advised him to canvass support for other aspirants outside Kogi East Senatorial District to become governor in 2016, stressing that Kogi State had been generous with their support for candidates from Kogi East in the last 16 years. To them, Audu’s ambition is against the principle of equity and fairness.

    Alhaji Suleiman Baba Ali, a former health commissioner in the state and APC governorship aspirant, also want his former boss to quit the race. “As I said, I worked in an administration led by Prince Audu, 1999 to 2003. You must give that to him. I have said that every time. Among all the governors we have had in Kogi, his performance is still the best. I’m proud to have been associated with that government.

    But basically, we think this is the time for others to have their hands on governance in Kogi. Those of us who have learnt from him and imbibed good things from him, this is an opportunity for us to do well, while he plays the fatherly role and stays back. He should give advice on how to make Kogi a better state.

    At the same time, he should be able to fight for Kogi at national level so that he can get bigger and better things because of his fatherly role. He may not be able to get these things directly if he is the governor himself. That is the role of the leadership of the party at national level. They should look at it and I believe they are looking at those possibilities,” Ali argued.

    Counter position

    But the Kogi Peoples Assembly (KPA) chided some self acclaimed politicians in the state who it claimed are bent on frustrating the governorship bid of Audu, saying they can’t stop him from returning to Luggard House next year. Speaking to journalists in Abuja over the unfolding political power play ahead of the forthcoming governorship election in the state, the group’s coordinator, Engr. Solomon Adaji, said Audu’s position as the leader of the APC in the state was not contestable.

    Describing critics of Audu’s leadership political status in the party as political neophytes, Adaji specifically condemned the recent statements credited to those he called faceless persons operating under groups against Audu, saying they “are jittery over the unwavering and high status of Prince Abubakar Audu in APC”.

    “Audu represents the agent of change and a gift to any nation like ours which is in desperate need to attain democratic advancement. They had tried in vain to ridicule a man of integrity, honour and prudence; a principled and transparent individual; a revered political colossus, a quintessential achiever”, Adaji noted.

    He described as arrant nonsense suggestions from some quarters that Audu was more interested in building structures for his governorship ambition than working for the collective good of the party. Describing Audu as a shrewd politician, Adaji explained that the former governor does not need to build new political structures to actualise his governorship ambition in the next dispensation.

    He said, “Audu had in place magnificent structure in Kogi State, dating back to 1991, when he ran for the position of the governor of Kogi State under the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC). It was under the same 1991 structure that Audu used in 1999 to emerge victorious as governor of Kogi State under the platform of the defunct All Peoples Party (APP).

    “To put in perspective Audu’s political structure and followership transcends the landscape of Kogi State. As an internationally recognised politician cum business mogul, Audu is not an individual in the political scene of the nation as erroneously expressed by these critics.

    “Audu being a household name in Kogi State, with unprecedented political followers, admirers and supporters across the nooks and crannies in the state will not capitalise on any new structures to win the forthcoming governorship election.

    “Audu has built structures within and around notable political parties across the country, and one of which transformed into the political tsunami, called the All Progressive Congress (APC) today.

    “He single-handedly formed a rainbow alliance with the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) Action Congress (AC) and Movement for the Restoration and Defence of Democracy (MRDD) aimed at rooting out PDP’s misrule in the State”.

    He noted that Kogi State was in a deplorable condition under the present leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would therefore require a banker of repute in the person of Prince Abubakar to rescue it.

    Another group loyal to Audu, Confluence for Change, responded, saying Prince Audu is the leader of the APC in the state.

    The group said, in a statement signed by its chairman, Isah Ibrahim, that Audu had remained a rallying point for the APC not only in Kogi State but in the North Central zone.

    Also, thousands of youths from the 21 local governments of Kogi State staged a peaceful rally at Murtala Muhammed Bridge on Abuja-Jamata-Lokoja Road in support of the governorship ambition of Prince Audu. The APC Youth Leader, Omale Moses, who led the rally, said since the former governor left office, the state had collapsed socially and economically, adding that they wanted him to come and save the state from bad leadership.

    Also, a chieftain of the party, Alhaji Linco Ocheje, believed that there was neither a division nor a problem in the APC over who would become the governorship candidate. He said Audu and any other party member were constitutionally guaranteed the right to vie for the governorship seat in a free and transparent primary election.

    He likened the Kogi scenario to the contest among Buhari, Atiku Abubakar and Rabiu Kwankwaso during the presidential primary election when people believed that the APC would have scattered but came out stronger at the end.

    A crowded race

    Findings by The Nation revealed that opposition to the former governor’s ambition is not just verbal, as many aspirants are already warming up to wrestle with him for the APC governorship ticket. The primary elections have been fixed for between August 25 and September 15 by INEC.

    Aside Audu, who was the first governor of the state and leader of the APC in the state, there are about ten other aspirant eyeing the APC ticket. The ex-governor was denied a return to Lugard House by Alhaji Ibrahim Idris in 2003. He had contested all subsequent governorship elections in the state but had always lost.

    Pundits say one major factor that may affect his chances this time around, in spite of APC’s seeming good stead to defeat the ruling PDP, is the agitation for power shift from his native Kogi East which has been ruling the state since its creation in 1991. But his handlers believe his popularity and the numerical strength of his zone will deliver the votes for him.

    Other aspirant seeking the party’s ticket include budding political giant, Yahaya Bello, also called “Fair Plus”, which is his business name, according to sources. He is from Kogi Central, a zone highly favoured by proponents of power shift. This factor, coupled with his popularity across the state, especially among the youths, is expected to work in his favour.

    Audu’s arch-rival, James Ocholi, is another strong contender for the APC governorship ticket from the eastern flank of the state. The 55-year-old Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) is a former governorship aspirant on the platform of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the state. His closeness to President Muhammadu Buhari is being bandied as a selling point by his supporters.

    Also in the race is Salihu Atawodi. He is a retired Air Vice Marshal. A reckoned politician, he, alongside other ex-PDP chieftains, joined the APC shortly before the general election. Although considered an aspirant of note by many, his critics say he is too new in the party to be trusted with the ticket.

    Other chieftains of the APC said to be keen about contesting the primary election for the party’s governorship ticket are Aliyu Zakari Jiya, Habeeb Yaqeen, Suleiman Babe Ali, Onukaba Adinoyi Ojo, Lanre Ipinmisho, Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, Rotimi Yaqub Obadofin, former Deputy Governor, Alex Usman Kadiri, Nicholas Yahaya Ugbane and Olusola George Olumoroti.

    Fear, assurance

    Consequent upon the open opposition to Audu’s quest to fly the party’s flag and the crowded race to the primary election, keen watchers of the development are warning of a rancorous contest within the party which may affect its chances at the general election later in the year.

    But the APC chairman in the state, Hadi Amentur, insists there is no division in the party. Amentur is confident that there is no cause for alarm because of his belief that there was no PDP in the state at the moment. He said it was normal and constitutional for any member of the party to aspire to get the party’s ticket for the governorship election.

    According to him, any member of the party can contest any position in the party as long as he or she is a member. Nobody can stop anyone from contesting the governorship ticket. He said the constitution allowed those who wanted to contest to do so through the primary election, stressing that those saying somebody should not contest were only making noise because the party constitution clearly spelt it out.

    “We won three senatorial seats, six House of Representatives and 11 State House of Assembly seats. More seats will be collected through the tribunal. With the poor performance of the PDP, led by Idris Wada, it would be an easy ride for the APC,” he said.

    With such reassuring words from the leadership of the party in the state, one can only wait to see how President Buhari’s party men will manage the situation in the Confluence State ahead of the battle for the  Lugard House.

  • Rumpus in Southwest as Muslims back Jonathan

    Rumpus in Southwest as Muslims back Jonathan

    •No genuine Muslim was there, says MUSWEN 

    There is rumpus among Southwest Muslims as the “leadership” of the Muslim Ummah in Southwest, Edo and Delta states yesterday backed the second term bid of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    This appears to be in defiance of the orders given by the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) not to meet with politicians until after the elections.

    The ‘endorsement’was done at an interactive meeting with Vice-President Namadi Sambo in Akure, the Ondo State capital. The meeting was convened by Governor Olusegun Mimiko.

    The Islamic leaders, led by the Secretary-General, League of Imams and Alfas, South West, Edo and Delta states, Sheik Ahmad Aladesawe, decried the neglect of Southwest Muslims in the Jonathan administration.

    Reading the resolutions, Mimiko’s Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties Sodiq Obanoyen said after looking at Jonathan’s achievements, the Muslim community agreed that he deserved another term.

    He noted that as Muslims, they have the right to dialogue with any person, particular those who seek their support, adding that the invitation gave Muslims the opportunity to discuss issues affecting them with the Presidency.

    “We, the Muslims in the Southwest, are still largely marginalised in political patronage and appointments.

    “Our people are well read, we have political sophistication and we are willing to work for our dear country.

    “We, therefore, appeal through the Vice President to Mr. President that political patronage and appointments must be commensurate with the number of people.”

    Sambo solicited the votes of the Muslim community, saying the present administration had implemented policies for the benefit of Nigerians.

    Mimiko said Christians and Muslims had been living in peace in the Southwest.

    At the event were Senator Iyiola Omisore, former Ekiti State Deputy Governor Tai Lawal, Chief Imam of Delta State, Abdul Rasheed Ahmad, Chief Imam of Osogbo, Rabiu Animasaun, Chief Iman of Ekiti, Bello Keulere, among others.

    In a swift reaction, MUSWEN’s Executive Secretary Prof Dawud Noibi; Chief Imam of Ibadanland, who is the president-general, League of Imams and Alfas Southwest, Edo and Delta states, Sheikh Baosari Haruna and Chairman, Muslim Community of Oyo State, Alhaji Ishaq Kunle disowned the Akure meeting.

    They described it as an Ondo affair, which has nothing to do with the leadership of the Muslim Ummah in Southwest, Edo and Delta states.

    Prof Noibi, who spoke though MUSWEN’s Media Consultant, Alhaji Femi Abbas, said MUSWEN leadership had decided not to meet any politician or political party because it’s aware of desperate moves by unscrupulous politicians to break the rank and file of the Muslims in Southwest.

    He said: “There is no prominent Imam from the Southwest at the meeting because we all agreed not to be part of such a clandestine move; no Chief Imam from Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun attended the meeting, except for the Chief Imam of Owo, who doubles as the Ondo State Muslim Community chairman and as secretary general, League of Imams and Alfas Southwest, Edo and Delta states, Alhaji Sheikh Ahmad Aladesawe.

    “Aladesawe is only playing Mimiko’s card; he did that for his own interest.”

    Haruna described the meeting as politically-motivated. He denied sending a representative to the meeting.

    “I am in Ibadan as we speak. I never asked anybody to represent me. Whoever said he represented me at the meeting is an impostor; he should be arrested and be prosecuted.

    “Whatever benefits such person received either in cash or kind will not be useful to him,” he said.

    Sanni dared any Imam at the meeting to campaign for President Jonathan on the Minbar, if he will not be stoned.

    “Those who went there are dollar-hungry clerics; they dare not come out and tell the public their mission at the meeting, else they will be stoned.

    “We understand Sheikh Aladesawe was under pressure from Governor Mimiko to support Jonathan.

    “Jonathan has forgotten so soon how he treated the Muslims during the composition of the National Conference, now he is running from post to pillar, seeking our support,” he said.