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Tag: tells

  • Emulate Tinubu’s virtues, CLO leader tells Igbo leaders

    IGBO leaders have been urged to emulate the virtues of All Progressives Congress (APC)stalwart Bola Ahmed Tinubu that brought the Yoruba into political limelight in the present democratic dispensation.

    Chairman, Civil Liberties Organisations in Anambra State Comrade Vincent Ezekwueme stated this in Onitsha during the inauguration of the Human Rights Liberty Access and Peace Defenders Foundation (HURIJE) and award presentation.

    He said the Igbos should also borrow a leaf from their Yoruba counterparts, who insisted on integrity, transparency and good governance rather than party affiliations during voting.

    Delivering a paper titled: “Your vote power to enthrone good governance”, Ezekwueme urged the southeast people to be dynamic, tactful and diplomatic in exercising their franchise.

    “Igbo political leaders must emulate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for showing selflessness, courage, consistent, patriotism and political intelligence and sagacity that brought the Yorubas into political limelight.

    “The Igbos must be dynamic, tactful, diplomatic, sagacious and patriotic in exercising their franchise by emulating the Yoruba that always vote for integrity, transparency and good governance not political parties.”

    The CLO leader also asked the Ohaneze Ndigbo leadership to apologise to President Muhammadu Buhari for declining his request to visiting the Southeast during the 2015 presidential electioneering campaign.

    He described the act as political suicide and great disservice to the Igbo on the part of the former leadership of the apex Igbo organisation.

    Regretting the prevalent apathy among eligible voters in the Southeast, Ezekwueme called on those opposed to the forthcoming elections to rescind their decision for the overall interest of the Igbos.

    “It is important to note that the race to all elective positions in the country has begun. We must not only take active part, but ensure every eligible voter not only register but vote with his conscience and conviction,” he said.

    Chairman, Board of Trustees of the human rights group, Dede Uzor A. Uzor, expressed displeasure over decline of good governance and right abuses in South East.

    He said: “We want to state categorically that the governors of the zone have not shown enough political will to provide strong leadership to their respective states.

    “Basic infrastructure such as good roads, water and poverty alleviation has continued to be a mirage. Crimes and criminality are fast returning to the zone.”

    The occasion witnessed award presentations to Deputy Director, Public Relations Nigerian Army, Col. Musa Sagir, Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, Haruna Mohammed and Deputy Commissioner of Police (SCIID) Bassey Essien.

  • Lagos APC primary fine, Oshiomhole tells Buhari

    •Chair overrules panel

    •Party: Sanwo-Olu won

    •Tinubu hails primary

    All Progresives Congress (APC) National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole has dismissed fears that yesterday’s governorship primary in Lagos State was controversial.

    He said the party leadership was in control of the shadow election.

    Speaking at the Presidential Villa after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, the former Edo State Governor said: “I told the President that the primaries held as planned and everything is being done to ensure there is no violence because democracy doesn’t flourish with violence.

    “Nigerians must begin to learn how to differ in opinion and in choice without fighting; this is something people have to acquire over time.

    “For me, I’m excited that if we can do it in Lagos, it can be done anywhere.

    “Everything that is being done is done under the control, supervision and direction of the NWC.’’

    In Lagos, the Clement Ebri Election Committee said the exercise did not receive its blessing because the conditions prescribed were not followed.

    Party Chairman Tunde Balogun rejected the Committee’s verdict, saying the election was free and fair.

    Leaders of the party, including Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Deputy Governor Idiat Adebule, Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, commissioners, aspirant Babajide Sanwo-Olu and party members who turned out in large numbers, participated in the election.

    But Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who was in his hometown Epe for the primary, remained indoors.

    Reporteers who accompanied him to Epe were asked to leave for Lagos shortly before 11a.m.

    Ebri said at about 4.30 pm when he addressed the media was just ready for the primary.

    He said he had contacted the APC national secretariat for further directives.

    “We are ready to give the state the most credible election. It is not our fault that this exercise took this long. In some states, primary has been moved to Thursday.

    “We were waiting for the (Lagos State) party chairman to provide certain information that will enable us post people to the wards. We have two aspirants and we needed to be fair to both parties. The information we demanded for came in about an hour ago. And we had to struggle this period to balance the equation,” Ebri said, adding:

    “We have five persons from the local organising committee and four for each ward. They will all go out to ensure the primary is conducted. We all understand the terrain in the state, especially as it concerns the traffic situation. So, the materials are available now and ready for deployment.

    “The national secretariat advised us to use ballot papers and we came into Lagos with thousands of them. But during the stakeholders meeting, it became obvious that the state chapter of the party wasn’t ready for such primary. They claimed that there was no time to educate the members and others. And based on the submission made at the stakeholders meeting, some changes were made.

    “And we were advised to conduct the open ballot in a manner that would be objective to all parties. And that is one of the adjustments we made to accommodate views of the stakeholders.

    “We had a session with representatives of both aspirants here at about 8 am. And we asked that they should bring names of their representatives that would be used for the exercise. But the names didn’t arrive early from both parties.”

    Ebri went on: “Because of the political tension in the state, we decided to be very careful, very methodical and very meticulous in doing it. As party men, peace is very important to us than victory; we want victory that will be celebrated by both parties; we want victory that will be credible; a victory that will be in line with the guidelines and extant rules and laws in this country. We are ready to go to the field and execute this in clinical fashion.

    “Lagos is a flagship of APC and must continue to remain so for years to come and so in conducting anything that has to do with Lagos, we have to do it with a lot of circumspection and objectivity and it should be a showpiece for the rest of the country.

    Displaying the result sheets, the Panel Chairman said it was “in impeccable condition and not one single sheet is missing and it is not possible for this committee to do any other thing than it has been instructed to do”.

    “We have guidelines and we will stick to those guidelines to be sure that we are fair to both parties.”

    Balogun insisted that the primary was devoid of violence and, therefore, credible.

    He said the agents of the two parties were present at the wards where the election took place and that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and election observers witnessed the exercise.

    “The election took place simultaneously in all the 245 wards. Some of our members were visible in the local governments. For example our national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was at Ikeja, his own ward.

    “He took part in the election and we saw the results. The results have been signed by the agents of the two aspirants.  Those results were credible because the INEC too were there and they all signed. We were all witnesses to the conduct of the election. There were no violence, no chaos; it was free, fair and transparent.”

    Asked whether any member of the NWC panel members was there, he said: ‘’What I know is that I did not go round the wards. The venue I went to, I saw some observers apart from the agents and INEC. They were publicly conducted, constitutionally done and I think we will leave the rest for the people and the press . That is  why we have to wait for the committee charged with the responsibility to announce the results. We are not to announce the results.

    Some women from Shomolu/Bariga who protested at the Ikeja hotel where the panel members addressed the media, complained that they were not allowed to vote in their wards because they are known supporters of Governor Ambode.

     

  • Gov Elechi tells workers to support Buhari

    Gov. Martin Elechi of Ebonyi state yesterday commended workers in the state, for their support of his administration in the last eight years.

    The commendation came as part of the address the governor delivered to the people on Friday in Abakaliki during the 2015 Joint Workers Day Celebration in the state.

    He urged them to extend such support to the incoming administration. “My administration did its best to enhance workers’ welfare through prompt payment of salaries and other entitlements.

    “We also trained workers in Information Communication Technology (ICT), construction of ultra-modern civil service secretariat, which will be inaugurated in a fortnight,” the governor said.

    Elechi was represented by his deputy, Dave Umahi, who is also the governor-elect, who used the forum to assure that his government would fight corruption when he assumed office on May 29.

    “I made a promise to God during my campaign that I will not embezzle state funds, award contracts to myself, relatives or friends’’.

    Chief Ikechukwu Nwafor, Ebonyi State Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) commended workers for their solidarity and support during its month-long strike.

     

  • Keep praying, Jonathan tells Nigerians

    President Goodluck Jonathan has urged Nigerians not to relent in their prayers for peace, stability and unity.

    Jonathan spoke in Abuja at the enthronement of Rev. Oche Job as the Methodist Archbishop of Abuja Diocese.

    Job succeeded Rev. Chimaroke Iweha, who retired in November, last year.

    Represented by Prof. Chinedu Nebo, the Minister of Power, Dr Jonathan noted that the situation in the country would have gone worse were it not for payers.

    He said: “We should continue to serve God in our nation. We need to continue to cry out (pray) to Him. If we have not been doing that, it will be much worse.

    “Even though things don’t seem to be the best, it will have been worse, if we were not crying out and telling people not to do the wrong thing.”

    Senate President David Mark, who read the first lesson, urged Nigerians to continue to pray for the nation.

    He said: “All the religions have a stake in this country. Faith can do so much for us. If we have faith and believe in God sincerely, this country will make progress.

    “There is no country that can make progress if the people do not have faith, irrespective of their religions.”

    The senate president urged Christians and Muslims to live in harmony and work for the progress and stability of the country.

    The Prelate of the church, Dr Samuel Uche, advised governments at various levels to provide for the welfare of the citizenry.

    “In any nation, there is what we call intangibles: honesty, integrity, transparency, high morality which make a country stable. These are what the church provides.

    “The government provides the tangibles like roads, water supply, energy, employment, ensures there is security and makes sure that the citizens are well cared for.

    “In other words, the church takes care of the soul and spirit, while the government takes care of the physical needs of the people,” Dr Uche said.

    The cleric urged Nigerians to sustain the nation’s unity, adding that remaining together would make the nation stronger and viable.

  • Support Fayemi, senator tells opposition

    Senator Babafemi Ojudu (Ekiti Central District) has urged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to support the administration of Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi.

    He said the time had come for PDP members to contribute to the state’s growth.

    Ojudu was reacting to the Supreme Court ‘s dismissal of ousted “Governor” Segun Oni’s petition.

    Oni was challenging the Appeal Court verdict that declared Fayemi governor.

    In a statement in Abuja, Ojudu said he did not understand the logic behind Oni’s petition, saying it does not take a lawyer to know it was a stillborn from the word go.

    The statement reads: “The judgment lasted less than 20 minutes. The court dismissed the PDP’s case with ignominy. My friend and brother allowed himself to be duped again. I am happy and sad at the same time.

    “I am shocked that someone as educated as my friend, Olusegun Oni, could not assess the situation and seek good advice.

    “Fraudsters in his party set him up and sent him on a journey to nowhere. It is time for all friends of Oni to prevail on him to leave PDP. He does not belong in that crowd.”

    Ojudu congratulated Fayemi, his executive committee members and Ekiti people for yet another triumph of truth over falsehood.

    He described the ruling as a demonstration of God’s love and support for the Fayemi administration.

  • Ex-Minister’s, others’ trial: Witness tells court how funds were paid to ‘wrong contractor’

    Ex-Minister’s, others’ trial: Witness tells court how funds were paid to ‘wrong contractor’

    A prosecution witness in the trial of former Works Minister Hassan Lawal and seven others yesterday revealed how funds meant for government’s project were paid to a company that was not a party to the deal.

    The witness, a Deputy Superintendent of Police and an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Chike Nwibe told a Federal High Court that a party to the contract for the building of a bridge on River Benue, Sirag Nigeria Limited allegedly paid N147million to Proman Vital Ventures Limited.

    “The 8th defendant (Wise Health Services Limited) is not a party to the concession contract and was not found to have performed any contract job for the N147million that was paid to it,” Nwibe, the first prosecution witness, said.

    Nwibe was cross-examined by two defence lawyers, Ibrahim Ishiaku, SAN (for Lawal) and Wahab Toye (for the second accused, Adeogba Godwin Ademola) at the resumed hearing of the case before Justice Adamu Bello of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

    Lawal, Ademola and five companies are being tried for their alleged complicity in the fraud uncovered in the N75.7billion contract for the building of Benue River bridge named: Buto Bagama Bridge, while the minister was in office. It was to be built to link Nasarawa to Kogi states.

    The companies are Digital Toll Company Limited, Swede Control Interlink Limited,Proman Vital Ventures Limited, Siraj Nigeria Limited and Wise Health Services Limited (WHSL).

    “We could not find any reason why Siraj paid N147million to the 8th accused. However, in the course of investigation, the second accused (Ademola) claimed he borrowed money to Digital Toll Company Limited (GTCL), a company that he was the Chief Executive Officer. But there was no document to support this claim,” the witness said.

    He told the court that Ademola was the alter ego of both Siraj and WHSL), being the MD\CEO of one and owner of the other. Nwibe said the relationship between Ademola and WHSL, in relation to the contract was that N147million was paid to the company from a contract awarded by him.

    On whether the N6billion released for the job was before Lawal became minister in 2009, he said no, because payment of about N3billion was made in 2009.

    When asked how the EFCC got to know about the case, he said it was through the complaint made by the Federal Government, Nasarawa and Kogi states about the way the contractors were executing the project.

    He said he did not know if a petition was written to his agency, but that the directive to investigate the project was given by the then commissions’ chairman, who constituted an investigative team, in which he was a member.

    Nwibe told the court that when his investigation team visited the project site, no work was done. He said the saw evidence of works done, but could not quantify it because the team was not accumpanied by an Estate Valuer.

    He said the total initial release of N6billion was paid in tranches, adding that only N3billion was released once.

    Justice Bello has adjourned the case to May 27 for continuation of trial.

  • You must take polio vaccine, WHO tells travelers from Nigeria, others

    NIGERIANS travelling abroad are to take the oral polio vaccine beginning from May, next year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said yesterday through its official, Dr Ray Nihar.

    Dr Nihar said children and adult travelling out of Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan would need to have the vaccine administered on them.

    The WHO official spoke at the monthly review meeting of royal fathers in Kaduna State.

    He said the global organization would soon issue a standing recommendation to nations under the International Health Regulations.

    Dr Nihar said travelers from the identified countries must be certified as having been vaccinated against polio “to reduce the risk of the virus spreading to polio-free countries”.

    He said the report issued by the International Monitory Board on Polio revealed that “too many communities” regard polio vaccination as an imposition with no benefit.

    Dr Nihar noted that polio eradication is vital in affected countries, adding that neighbouring countries would not be safe.

    In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Chairman, Kaduna State Action Committee on the Eradication of Polio, Alhaji Mustapha Jumare said insecurity and inaccessibility to certain areas had affected total coverage.

    He also blamed vaccinators for laxity, thereby retarding efforts at ending the disease.

    Also, the Chief of Kagoro, Mr Afuwai Bonet urged legislators to participate in the fight against polio in their respective constituencies.

    Bonet said compelling Nigerians travelling abroad to take the vaccine would be an embarrassment to Nigeria including the legislators.