The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Rumpus

  • Rumpus among Southwest Muslims over Jonathan’s invitation

    There is anger and dissent among Muslim youths in the Southwest over an invitation by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The Nation learnt yesterday that the president’s campaign coordinator in the region, Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko, had, through his brother, Dr Abass Mimiko, extended an invitation to the youth, following rejection of the same by leaders of the Muslim community in the region.

    The governor’s younger brother is a Muslim activist.

    Jonathan’s earlier arrangement, it was learnt, was to meet the Muslim leaders under the aegis of the Muslim Ummah of Southwest (MUSWEN), headed by the renowned Prof. Daud Noibi.

    But the leaders rejected the invitation owing to the scandal that trailed such meeting with the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

    It was further learnt that Dr Abbas Mimiko contacted the National president of Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Sirajudeen AbdulAzeez, who lives in Akure.

    When AbdulAzeez called a meeting of the MSSN Executive, a source said he was almost beaten up for having the audacity to accept such a job knowing that that both the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (SCIAN) and MUSWEN had rejected similar invitations from the Presidency.

    But despite the threat by the MSSN exco to pass a vote of no confidence on him, AbdulAzeez was reportedly not prepared to give up as he has been contacting some other Muslim youths in the region.

    A source said: “We learnt that his contact with the leadership of NACOMYO (National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations) also got a rebuff as they don’t want to be in the bad book of the Muslim leaders.”

    It was learnt that AbdulAzeez was still making contacts with the youth wing of various Islamic groups, including NASFAT, Ansarudeen and Federation of Muslim Women Associations of Nigeria (FOMWAN).

    It was further gathered that the B-ZONE of MSSN plans to meet this weekend at Arisekola Mosque, Iwo Road, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, to pass a vote of no confidence in AbdulAzeez.

    The Chairman of the Muslim Community of Oyo State and a member of the MUSWEN  Board of Trustees , Alh Ishaq Kunle Sanni, said MUSWEN leaders have intervened.

    He insisted that no Muslim youth in Oyo State would attend any meeting with the President.

  • Rumpus in S/West PDP over Ashiru’s slot

    Rumpus in S/West PDP over Ashiru’s slot

    Jostling for one of the vacant ministerial slots rendered vacant by President Goodluck Jonathan when he sacked some members of the Federal Executive Council last week, may have once again thrown the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Southwest geo-political zone into confusion.

    According to reliable party sources, not less than 10 names have been forwarded to the Presidency by the leaders of the party in the zone for nomination as minister to replace Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, former minister of foreign affairs.

    This followed the inability of the PDP in the Southwest to agree on which state should nominate Ashiru’s replacement as a result of serious dispute over the status of the ministerial slot he occupied.

    “The party is back in its old ways of chaos and antagonism. While some of our leaders are backing Ogun State to nominate Ashiru’s replacement, others are saying any of the six states in the zone can nominate a candidate to fill the vacancy created by his sack.”

    This development has further polarized the party in the zone so much so that not less than ten names have found their ways to the Presidency as nominees for that singular ministerial slot. All effort to resolve the matter failed. Not less than three meeting were called in Lagos, Ijebu-Igbo and Ibadan to no avail, a source told The Nation yesterday.

    The Nation learnt that though Ashiru, who was nominated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, hails from Ogun State, his membership of the FEC was not as a representative of his state but as that of the entire Southwest geo-political zone.

    “You will recall that it was Akinwunmi Adeshina, the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development that was nominated from Ogun State back then. Ashiru’s nomination came after the President offered each of the six geo-political zones one more ministerial slot.

    “That was when Obasanjo used his influence to corner the slot for Ogun State and Ashiru benefited. The situation now is that Ogun State still has its minister in office in person of Adeshina. Ashiru’s slot is for the whole region and that is why any of the six states can aspire to fill the vacancy this time around. It is only Olusola Obada’s (former minister of state, Defence) replacement that must come from a particular state and that is Osun State,” our source added.

    It was learnt that while each of Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo states have forwarded the names of one nominee each for the vacant slot, three names were forwarded from Lagos State. In addition to these, the leadership of the party in the zone allegedly added two names to the long list for consideration.

    Sources say while the name of Sola Oke came in from Ondo State, Jide Adeniji, current Chairman of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) is being touted for the job by the party in Osun State. The Buruji Kashamu faction of the party in Ogun State has also nominated somebody for the job.

    It was also learnt that the three nominees from Lagos emerged after all interested party members were asked to indicate interest and appear before a screening committee at the senatorial district level.

    Those who were said to have indicated interest included Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, Dr. Ade Dosunmu, Tunji Shelle, Tolagbe Animashaun, Lanre Towry-Coker, Bode Oyedele, Mrs. Aduke Maina, Prince Oyebola, Segun Ogundimu, Deji Doherty and Setonji Koshoedo.

    After intense screening by the Chief Kola Balogun-led committee, which was inaugurated by leaders of the party, Shelle (Lagos Central), Salvador (Lagos West) and Maina (Lagos East), emerged as nominees.

    Jostling for ministerial nominations among politicians in the ruling party commenced following indications that President Goodluck Jonathan may have directed the Bamanga Tukur faction of the PDP to compile names of its members for ministerial positions.

    Jonathan, in his first major cabinet shake-up since his inauguration on May 29, 2011, had on Wednesday sacked nine ministers.

    Those sacked were Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufai (Education), Okon Ewa-Bassey (Science and Technology), Olugbenga Ashiru (Foreign Affairs), Hadiza Mailafia (Environment), Shamsudeen Usman (National Planning),and Ama Pepple (Housing, Lands and Urban Development).

    Also affected were Olusola Obada (Defence), and her counterparts in the Agriculture Ministry, Alhaji Bukar Tijani, and Power, Zainab Kuchi. In the South-West, there are two vacancies because of the removal of Ashiru and Obada.

     

  • Rumpus threatens Jonathan, G-7 talks

    Rumpus threatens Jonathan, G-7 talks

    The rumpus in the House of Representatives may threaten the reconvening of peace talks between President Goodluck Jonathan and the G-7 governors/Kawu Baraje faction, it was learnt last night.

    It was also learnt that the Presidency opted for October 7 to resume talks with the aggrieved governors to buy time on its next line of action.

    Besides the booing of the governors and the factional National Chairman of PDP, Kawu Baraje, the Presidency might use the ceasefire period to deal with those behind the factionalisation of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).

    A source, who pleaded not to be named, said: “The rumpus in the House is a setback for peace talks between the President and the aggrieved governors. The G-7 /Kawu Baraje faction may not return to the peace table.

    “The crisis has also shown that the President and his team were not committed to the pact reached at the conciliatory talks on Sunday. They had been using the meetings to buy time to gauge the feelings of the governors and design the next line of action.

    “You will recall that barely 12 hours after the Sunday meeting, the Bamanga Tukur-led PDP raised a caretaker committee for PDP in Kano State.

    “The signs are there that the peace talks might be as good as dead. The reconvening on October 7 for further talks is slim.”

    Another source said it was apparent that the Pesidency haddecided to whip inot line the G-7 governors and their sponsors.

    The source added: “In the next two to three weeks, there might be a crackdown on the governors, members of the Kawu Baraje faction and all their backers.”

     

  • Rumpus in INEC over APC

    Rumpus in INEC over APC

    All is not well at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the organisation’s handling of the application for registration filed by the proxy APC (African Peoples Congress).

    Officials of the commission have been under severe pressure sparked by the public outrage that greeted what many Nigerians see as a ploy by some vested interests to frustrate the registration of the All Progressive Congress (APC), a fusion of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

    The commission has not made any public comment on how it will proceed with the proxy APC’s application, but behind the curtains, INEC officials are working desperately to relieve themselves of the mess caused by the controversial application.

    Two groups are believed to have emerged in INEC on the APC matter, each holding tenaciously to its position.

    One group wants the application filed by the proxy APC to be disregarded because it was not filed properly.

    The other group is in favour of its registration, hinging its argument on the fact that a letter of intent is sufficient to serve as an application.

    The battle of opinions in INEC continues and it is the main reason why the commission has been silent on the war of words between the All Progressive Congress and the African Peoples Congress over which of them should be registered.

    The group supporting the consideration of the controversial application is said to be led by a director of the commission from the South-South.

    The official is said to have agreed with the promoters of the proxy APC to smuggle in the application.

    Leaders of the ACN, CPC, and ANPP, promoters of the All Progressive Congress have vowed to forge ahead with their identity and accused the proxy APC of working for the ruling PDP to truncate the fusion of their parties.

    The proxy APC said, having been the first to file in a letter of intent to register with INEC, it should be registered with the acronym.

    It said no one can intimidate it into abandoning the identity.

    Sources attributed the silence of the commission on the matter to the difference in opinions amongst the leadership of the body.

    Said one source: “It has not been easy for the commission to take a position because the leading figure among those supporting the controversial application is one of those officially saddled with resolving the matter.

    “The chairman feels the application was not properly routed and as such should be ignored, but some top persons feel otherwise. There is need for them to come to agreement first.

    “The chairman is only following protocol given the fact that there are those saddled with looking into a matter like this. He has expressed his personal opinion and is only waiting for an official report from those currently looking into the matter.

    “It is only after he gets a report from them that an official position will be made public.”