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  • Driver recognition, motivation and education

    I was moved to write on this topic because of the two incidents that occurred about two weeks ago. The first involved a disgruntled driver who protested by setting on fire the school bus he was driving with 52 children.

    The second was the collision of two buses which led to the untimely death of about 60 passengers.

    There has been hues and cries about the high rate of accidents but the needed attention is not being paid to the drivers who constitute about 70 percent of the human factors responsible for road crashes.

    I have carried out research on employers’ attitude to drivers but the results are very far from what obtain in so other countries. A lot of employers do not see drivers as human beings or workers that need recognition and encouragement.

    The fact remains that drivers are among the most relevant staff needed for the survival and growth of any organisation whether the organisation owns vehicles or their staff use public transport.

    An error on the part of other staff of an organisation can be corrected without claiming lives but an error on the part of a driver can be very catastrophic. The life of the president can be easily terminated through an error on the part of his driver. The life of the best technocrat can be terminated through driver error. The life of the richest man can be terminated through driver error. The life of the most guarded or secured person can be terminated through driver error. The list of damages that can emanate from driver error is endless. Why then should some employers downgrade their drivers as if they are nonentities?

    Some look and address their drivers as illiterates and fools. This is a very wrong assessment and attitude. Driving is one of the most complex, if not the complex in the whole world mainly because of the numbers of the organs of the body simultaneously involved and the likely consequences of errors on the part of drivers. High level of knowledge, skills and wisdom are needed to drive safely in all situations. Therefore, whether safety conscious drivers are lettered or not, they are highly intelligent for successfully perceiving hazards, analysing the likely impacts and taking appropriate decisions that guaranteed safety in the face of the actions and inactions of other road users.

    Sometimes ago while doing a research, a driver lamented that his monthly salary when broken down is less than N2,000. The same driver spends an average of N800 on transport, works Monday to Saturday, eats N100 snacks most of the days, married with children, pays rent for a room apartment and drives a N15 million worth of vehicle in the organisation. The driver said, no matter the number of times his boss eats, he never for once gave him a leftover. He preferred to take the remnant home for his dogs. The total amount his boss has ever dashed him as gift for the five years he has worked with him is less than N5,000.

    The driver told me that most of the time he drives his boss within or outside the town, he sleeps in the car. He said he used to be so filled with anger on how he was being maltreated that he would sometimes press down the brake suddenly without any reason but just to disrupt his sleep. He said he thought of the damage he could do to the organisation.

    Many organisations have no provision of hotel accommodation for their drivers when outside their station, thereby compelling the drivers to sleep inside the vehicle. This habit fuels malaria, muscle cramps and fatigue for drivers which could hinder safe driving. Drivers are very vital in any organisation and should, therefore, be so recognised.They should be well- motivated in terms of salaries, housing allowance, transport allowance, overtime allowances, out-of-station allowances, hotel accommodation no matter how small or cheap the hotel room is, accident-free allowance and any motivation.

    Read also: 19 killed, 38 injured in Katsina road accident

    The emotion of a driver has a very strong influence on the visual, cognitive and physical effectiveness of the driver. Employers must ensure their drivers are well trained and updated regularly because of the dynamism in vehicle technology, ccupational health and road traffic regulations, among other factors. While the accredited driving schools  should focus more professional attention on driver training and re-retraining, the regulatory authorities should focus more attention on monitoring and certification of organisations (not drivers) for compliance to driver recognition, motivation and training.

    With the above well-considered and acted upon without compromise by the employers of drivers, drivers, professional or accredited driving schools and the regulatory authorities, a lot will be achieved in the reduction of road traffic crashes, injuries and deaths on the roads.

  • Coalition urges Buhari to review decision on digital bill

    A coalition of civil society organisations promoting digital rights in Nigeria and other African countries has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to review his decision on the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill.

    The coalition, in a statement at the weekend, expressed disappointment in President Buhari’s decision to decline assent to the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill.

    The bill, the group said, was meant to protect Internet users against the infringement of their fundamental freedoms and guarantee human rights online in the country.

    The organisations include Paradigm Initiative, African Academic Network on Internet Policy, Internet Society, Nigerian Chapter, Public and Private Development Centre, Dotunroy.com, Alliance for Affordable Internet – A4AI and World Wide Web Foundation. Others are Senegal ICT Users Association ( ASUTIC ), Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE Nigeria), Jonction Senegal, TechHer NG and Fantsuam Foundation, Nigeria.

    President Buhari declined to assent to the bill on the grounds that it fails to address too many technical subjects and that some areas covered by the bill are also covered by ‘various bills pending at the National Assembly’.

    Read also: Youths: Buhari keen in ending corruption, poverty

    The coalition said: “The various bills as referred to in the letter are still merely bills which may or may not become laws. For instance, the Data Protection Bill (HB. 02) has been pending at the National Assembly (NASS) for up to eight years. Why then would Mr President miss an opportunity to fill the lacuna for these subject areas when a bill duly passed by the NASS has been presented for assent? We make this assertion with the knowledge that no law or bill is perfect.”

    According to the coalition, the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill does not conflict with any existing laws or the Constitution of the Federal Republic, and it is uncommon that a bill would be stood down because it could conflict with laws that might exist in the future.

    “Our opinion is that the decision not to sign the bill is nothing short of a  missed opportunity for Nigeria to send an important message to the rest of the world on its commitment to protect its citizens from abuse and create a positive regulatory environment for digital technology,” the coalition said.

  • Court orders sale of properties of tax evaders to deray N35.9mn tax debt

    The Federal High Court, Abuja has ordered the sale of two landed properties belonging to two tax evaders- Zaibadari Company Limited and Tradecraft Nigeria Limited- to defray N35.9 million tax debts.

    A statement issued yesterday by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) said: “The court granted the sale order following prayers by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, (FIRS) to allow it sell the landed properties of the two firms to defray the tax liabilities which amounted to N18. 8 million against  Zaibadari and N17.1 million against Tradecraft.”

    The statement added that the FIRS approached the high court sitting in Abuja for an order to sell the companies’ properties after the two firms failed to honour series of demand notices issued to pay their outstanding tax liabilities.

    Counsel to the FIRS,  Collins Ugwunebo had told the court that Zaibadari was indebted to the FIRS to the tune of N18. 8 million, while Tradecraft owed the service N17.1 million in 2015.

    FIRS said it “issued and served demand notices on the two firms and gave them 30 days within which to pay arrears of taxes to the FIRS. Both firms failed to pay within 30 days the arrears of taxes within 30 days.”

    “Despite the Warrants of Distraint served on the two companies, both failed to pay the tax arrears, This led to the two suits against Tradecraft and Zaibadari”, the FIRS statement said.

    On October 17, last year, FIRS complied with the order of the court that it should run adverts in the Leadership newspaper to serve Zaibadari through substituted means.

    Ugwunebo, in an affidavit told the court that Zaibadari’s  assessment was based on 20 per cent of N62,675, 200 million which was the “deemed profit of the respondent (Zaibadari) landed property located at Plot 551 Wuye B03, FCT Abuja, valued at N313, 3376,000 million”.

    On March 23, 2019, Justice A. I . Chikere in the suit “FHC/ABJ/CS/438/2018 noted that” despite the service of process on the respondent’s company, it refused, neglected and failed to state its side of the case nor have counsel appear on its behalf to state its case.

    “It is trite law that an averment in an affidavit which is not challenged or controverted is deemed admitted as true. See DIGAL Vs NACHANG (2005) All NWLR (pt240) pg 41 at 46. Also in the case of ATAMAH & ANOR Vs EBOSELE & ORS (2018) LPELR 3825 where the court held that ín the nature, a party who has or has every opportunity to present its case before the court and who fails to do so cannot be heard to complain.

    “The court is bound to believe the affidavit in support of application to the effect that the respondent is a tax evader and in default of its tax obligation to the applicant.

    “Accordingly, an order for the sale of landed property of the respondent located at Plot 551, Wuye B03 FCT is hereby made to satisfy her arrears of tax N18,802, 560.00.

    Justice Chikere also ordered  the sale of the property at Plot 1151 Wuye B03 FCT, Abuja to satisfy the arrears of tax of N17, 150, 496:00 only and after the deduction of the expenses from the sale of the property, refund the amount in excess to the defendant or anybody authorised by her upon request by the defendants’ company’’.

  • Afreximbank president urges Fed Govt to sign AfCFTA

    President of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Oramah, has urged the Federal Government to sign the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

    He gave the advice while speaking in Lagos last Tuesday as guest lecturer at the 2019 edition of the annual Bullion Lecture organised by the Centre for Financial Journalism (CFJ Nigeria).

    Professor Oramah, who spoke on the topic: Leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Agreement to Boost Nigeria’s Economic Development, urged the Federal government to take urgent steps to endorse AfCAFTA in order to key into what he called a window of opportunity for the country to maximise its economic potential.

    He expressed concern over the inability of the  government to endorse the agreement, which was produced from the decisions and milestones articulated at the Abuja Treaty of  1991 aimed at defining clear plans for Africa’s economic integration.

    According to him, the AfCFTA was signed in Kigali, Rwanda on March 21, 2018 by 44 of 55 African countries while Nigeria which hosted the forum that gave birth to the initiative was yet to decide on what to do with it.

    Oramah said it was worrying to well-meaning Nigerians and other countries of Africa that a treaty, which Nigeria gave birth to had to be delivered in Rwanda  while smaller countries that looked up to  her had  endorsed the agreement and went forward to ratify it.

    “The AfCFTA, which was signed in Kigali, Rwanda on March 21, 2018, was in line with the Abuja Treaty expectations. So … the child that was conceived in Nigeria was born in Rwanda. And with the emergence of that child, Africa sees a renewed hope, a reinvigoration to chart a new course,” Oramah told the audience in Lagos.

    Tracing the historical and economic imperatives that necessitated the birth of the AfCFTA, the Afreximbank boss noted that Africa benefited a little from  many years it was ruled by colonial powers whose main focus was to draw the raw materials it needed for its home industries while it dumped its own manufactured goods in return.

    He said the AfCFTA was meant to change the narrative as a continent that was called the “Basket Case”, is now on the path to becoming the “Bread Basket” of the world.

    Read also: ‘AfCFTA’ll worsen Nigeria’s woes’

    Enumerating the benefits of the AfCFTA to Africa and to Nigeria in particular, Prof. Oramah said the treaty would create the environment for the continent to chart a new development path and eliminate the causes of weakness while upholding the areas of strength among the 55 countries of the continent.

    He also said the initiative would create the required economic integration that would promote sub-regional and continental supply chains such as the automotive industry, as “the AfCFTA offers opportunity for African countries to begin to create and nurture infant industries”.

    Oramah added that : “The AfCFTA creates opportunities for African economies, including Nigeria, to take over from China as the World’s manufacturing hub. China exports $45 billion of light manufacturers into Africa. Nigeria and other African countries can expect to fill that void if they take advantage of the tariff and non-tariff reductions in the AfCFTA.”

  • My refinery will transform Nigeria’s economy, says Dangote

    President/Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has said his refinery, when it comes on stream, would eliminate fuel scarcity and tranform the nation’s economy for decades.

    The refinery, located in Lekki, Lagos State, is expected to produce 65.4m litres of petrol (PMS) diesel (AGO) aviation jet fuel and kerosene (DKP) daily.

    The petroleum products are planned to meet the needs of Nigerians and most of the African continent.

    Addressing guests at the Dangote Special Day at the 40th Kaduna International Trade Fair, the foremost industrialist said his other businesses- Dangote cement, salt, sugar refineries as well as food products would ensure food security and improve lives for decades to come.

    Alhaji Dangote, who was represented by the Group Executive Director, Strategy and Government Relations, Mansur Ahmed, noted that , the gains of the huge investments in the different sectors by Dangote have moved the nation’s economy forward and complemented government’s effort in no small measure.

    According to Dangote, the Group continues to be the largest employer of labour in Nigeria, with over 50,000 direct and hundreds of thousands indirect employment opportunities.

    “The Rice Mills established in some states, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto, Enugu, Zamfara, Kano and Niger states would also ensure self-sufficient in rice production. We are doing everything possible to ensure Nigeria moves from an importing country to an exporting country.

    “We have succeeded in making Nigeria exporter of cement, earning hard currencies for the country and contributing in lifting the country from recession.

    REad also: Dangote Group assures Nigerians of good quality products

    “The feat is achievable because of the three Dangote Cement factories at Obajana in Kogi State, Gboko Cement factory in Benue  and Ogun states, because they are not only producing enough cements for local consumption but also for export,” he said

    President of Kaduna Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KADCCIMA)  Dr. Farida Muheeba Dankaka, lauded Dangote Group for its contribution to economic growth.

    Dr. Farida said the huge investments by the conglomerate is responsible for over 10% of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP). “KADCCIMA is proud to be associated with the conglomerate,” she stated.

  • Uber, AXA Mansard parley on safety

    Driver-partners registered on the Uber app, last Friday parleyed with the law enforcement officials, health and safety organisations, and members of the local Uber team on safety and security.

    Topics on where to obtain original vehicle registration details, minimise risks and prevent accidents, improve well-being and stress management for driver-partners, and a run-through of Uber’s in-app safety features were treated.

    Uber West Africa General Manager Lola Kassim said the firm is committed to safety and working to build a better experience for driver-partners.

    “It made sense for us to collaborate with relevant safety and security experts, and organisations like AXA Mansard to organise a workshop that provides driver-partners with relevant and useful safety tips. The Driver safety tips are designed to help driver-partners feel empowered to be safe and help them make safe decisions before, during, and after every ride,” Kassim said.

    Speaking on the safety, Greenlight Operations Manager for West Africa O’Yoma Ukueku, said: “At Uber, we’re working to help make cities safer, and that includes listening to those who protect and serve our communities every day. The workshop was designed to give driver-partners access to knowledge and information facilitated by subject matter experts on a wide variety of subjects that are critical to safety while on trips.

    ‘’As safety is a critical pillar to us at Uber, we are striving to ensure that driver-partners have access to information that improves the quality and safety of rides.”

    According to West Africa/Sub-Saharan Africa Communications Head Francesca Uriri, the workshop was part of a week-long Safety-Week initiative aimed at amplifying and re-iterating Uber’s ‘Safety Never Stops’ narrative of making rides safer and more secure for driver-partners and riders.

    Uber recently announced its new Safety Toolkit, which began a phased roll out to over 134 00 active riders and over 9 000 active drivers across the country.

    The toolkit will introduce new innovative features such as a driver in-app emergency button and speed alerts, which aim to raise the bar on safety, and increase transparency, accountability and peace of mind for all users.

  • 2019 elections: A postscript

    With the collation and announcement of the result of the Rivers State governorship elections which returned the incumbent Governor, Nyesom Wike duly elected, events of the last general elections will soon be consigned to the dustbin of history.

    But the elections will for a long time, continue to conjure images and feelings that question our future commitment and determination to imbibing relevant dispositions and attitudinal values that are supportive of the institutionalization of a virile democratic culture. Democracy is both a cultural and attitudinal thing requiring certain dispositions and set of rules for it to have relevance and meaning.

    But even with all the allure of that governance framework, especially its capacity to reflect the collective will of the people through periodic elections, what you find on these shores is criminal refusal or conspiracy by political actors to play by the rules. Most often, what you find are deliberate efforts by politicians and very influential persons in and out of government to sabotage these pristine values without which democracy will lose its relevance.

    That is why we are still at home with all manner of electoral malfeasance that increasingly cast serious slur on the prospects of democracy taking firm root on these shores. The last elections have come and gone. But their overall conduct left serious scars on our democratic credentials. In most places, the rules of the game were only observed in their breach. Ballot box snatching, killing of innocent voters with the aid of security agents, falsification and manipulation of results, deliberate disabling of the smart card readers, vote buying and high level violence were all the sad features of the last elections.

    It is nigh impossible for elections that are held under these highly volatile and life threatening circumstances to satisfy the real test of free, fair and credible conduct. But behind this desperation to win elections by hook and crook; behind the desire to sabotage and circumvent subsisting rules for personal gains, are certain systemic hiccups that must be tinkered with before the culture of free, fair and credible elections will take firm root in this country. We need to raise questions and provide answers as to why our politicians have overtime shown a scandalous disposition to subvert the rules of the game. We need to identify and address those factors that easily predispose our people to violence and all manner of illegalities just to secure victory at the polls.

    It is increasingly getting clearer that we cannot possibly part ways with these dysfunctional dispositions without serious institutional reforms. In this wise, the current structure of the Nigerian federal order is one that propels and reinforces the unbridled competition for power.  The disproportionate resources at the disposal of the centre; virtually controlling life and death provides both the necessary and sufficient conditions for the do-or die competition that characterize our electoral process.

    In a clime primordial and parochial cleavages are in constant competition with the central government for the loyalty of the citizens, it will be foolhardy not to expect a very rancorous and deadly electoral process as the various inclusive units strive to take advantage of the huge resources and powers at the centre for the benefit of their constituents. In effect, the current structure of the Nigerian federation is a key disincentive to free and fair elections.

    That accounts for the unbridled and rancorous competition to control the affairs at the centre. That is also the reason ethnic, religious and other mundane considerations feature very prominently in the overall calculations of which section of the country should occupy that position and at what point. It is for the same reason that those with the coercive apparatus of state deploy them to skew the outcome of elections to predetermined directions.

    If we must discourage this tendency; if we must part ways with our ruinous electoral pasts, it is difficult to run away from some form of restructuring by devolving more powers to the constituents. Through devolution and making the centre less attractive; the social strife and acrimony that hallmark our elections, sometimes threatening the very foundation of this country will be largely stymied. It will also reduce corruption in public places as there is a positive correlation between the level of corruption in public places and the disjointed federal contraption currently in place. A very serious government, one that places high premium on sustainable institutions and processes should be very concerned with policies and laws that seek to correct observed imperfections within the polity. We cannot grow the country both economically and politically by dilly-dallying over fundamental policy issues that will align our country to global best practices.

    Sadly, even where these imperfections have proven to be serious setbacks to the overall health of our country, they appear to draw criminal support from politicians and people in positions of authority. Sometimes, one begins to wonder if some of our leaders really wish this country to prosper. Or how else can one possibly justify the scandalous opposition of some of our leaders to policy issues and structural changes that will reduce the acrimony associated with political competition and unleash the huge potentials of our diverse peoples for rapid economic transformation?

    Before the elections, the National Assembly had sent the electoral bill which approved electronic transmission of results rather than manual collation to the president for his assent. Sadly, the president refused assent to that bill citing time constraints. But as events showed during the elections, President Buhari’s refusal to approve that bill turned out the greatest undoing of that election. Safe in some states like Rivers where the military was accused partisanship at the polling units resulting to deaths, the overall conduct of the elections at the polling booths were largely peaceful.

    The problem with the elections centred round the actions or inactions of electoral officers and politicians at the collation centres. That accounted for the suspension of the Rivers State governorship and state assembly elections. And when collation and announcement of results resumed, results from the polling units were very helpful. If the electoral bill had been passed into law before the last elections, perhaps, most of these unsavoury features at the collation centres would not have arisen.

    It is therefore vital to strengthen our laws to imbue confidence on the electoral process. There is the need for legislation to check some of the imperfections and abuses that rendered the elections a nightmare in many parts of the country. The overall conduct of the elections does not give confidence that any lessons have been learnt as it fell short of the gains recorded in 2015. There is the urgent need to take proactive steps to change this narrative.

    Now that we are over with the elections, the National Assembly should without delay, re-send the electoral bill for the assent of the president. Ordinarily, the president should have no problems assenting to the electoral bill since his reservations on time constraints cannot stand any longer. But where he still refuses assent to a law which by all estimation, will enhance the overall conduct of free, fair and credible elections, then we can understand where he is coming from.

    No right thinking leader, one that places national interest over and above other considerations can afford to stall processes and legislations that will serve the overall public good. That is the immediate challenge before the National Assembly and the president.

    There is also the challenge posed by the multiplicity of political parties. At the last count, there are more than 90 registered political parties in the country. In the last election in Imo State, 70 political parties were given the nod to field governorship candidates. But in the field, not more than five were really on the ground. The unwieldy number creates serious identification challenge for the electorate. The National Assembly should come up with legislations to check the current challenge posed by the multiplicity of parties that only exist in name. These will strengthen our institutions, structures and ultimately the wobbling democratic process.

  • Ndume’s defiance

    It’s a familiar drama. The central character is different this time, but the play is recognisable.  Senator Ali Ndume wants to be President of the Senate in the 9th National Assembly, against the position of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The APC is backing Senator Ahmad Lawan for the top seat in the upper chamber of the federal legislature.

    Ndume, on April 2, released his nine-point agenda ahead of June 9 when the next Senate President will be elected. The former Senate majority leader representing Borno South pledged to “work harmoniously and inter-dependently with the executive without undermining the principle of separation of powers.”

    It is noteworthy that the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, had earlier indicated that the party wanted Lawan to head the next Senate.   But Ndume had argued that Oshiomhole did not express the party’s position on the matter.

    However, according to the party’s spokesman, Lanre Isa-Onilu, “The ticket he (Ndume) is holding belongs to the APC and he cannot go and work with the opposition to give what belongs to the APC to the opposition, like it happened in 2015 when the position of the Deputy Senate President was given to the opposition by some desperate former members of the APC.”

    Isa-Onilu added: “Ndume will be wrong to be calling out the party’s national chairman. The national chairman spoke on behalf of the party. And when we talk of the party in this instance, it is not just about the NWC. The President (Muhammadu Buhari) was there when he said it. He did not say anything that the President was not aware of. He did not say anything that the leaders of the APC are not already part of.”

    So, what is Ndume up to? The APC‘s leadership has made it clear that what happened four years ago will not be allowed to happen again.  The outgoing Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who was then an APC member, had got the position by working against the party’s preference. It is no surprise that Saraki’s anti-party scheming brought him a burden.

    Party supremacy means the party is supreme. If the party had picked Ndume for the position, how would he have responded if another party member had challenged the party’s choice?

    Ndume needs to rethink his defiant posture.  He should learn from history. He can’t afford to work against party discipline, party cohesion and party integrity. A word to the wise is enough!

  • A destructive election

    After the mayhem, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the governorship election held on March 9. After the collation of results,  INEC’s returning officer, on April 3, said Wike polled 888, 264 votes to defeat  Biokpomabo Awara, the African Action Congress (AAC) candidate, who got 173, 859 votes.

    Wike is reported to have been close to tears after his re-election. He dedicated his victory to “God and those who were killed.” He was quoted as saying:  “Those who died not because they were criminals, but because they wanted to defend their votes…They protected our votes and they defended us. We pray God to grant their families the strength to bear the losses. We shall continue to support the families.”

    It is unclear how many people died as a result of the governorship election crisis in the state. It is unclear how many families were affected by the anarchy. But a March 10 statement by INEC, suspending “all electoral processes in the state until further notice,” indicated the degree of the chaos.

    INEC had said: “Based on reports from our officials in the field, the Independent National Electoral Commission has determined that there has been widespread disruption of elections conducted on March 9, 2019 in Rivers State. These initial reports suggest that violence occurred in a substantial number of polling units and collation centres, staff have been taken hostage and materials including result sheets have either been seized or destroyed by unauthorized persons. In addition, safety of our staff appears to be in jeopardy all over the state and the commission is concerned about the credibility of the process.”

    It is noteworthy that, ahead of the governorship election, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State had entered the arena when it wasn’t a participant in the election. The APC had been legally barred from fielding a candidate in the state’s governorship election. The Supreme Court had upheld the order of a Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, nullifying the APC primaries in Rivers State.  With this judgment, Rivers State APC candidates were disqualified from the National Assembly election as well as the governorship and state House of Assembly elections.

    The situation favoured the incumbent governor, Wike, who was seeking re-election.  With the APC out of the race, the PDP was expected to win easily. Only the APC was strong enough to seriously challenge the ruling party in the state.

    However, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, an APC leader in the state and a former governor of the state, had told the party’s supporters: “The leadership of the party met and agreed that we would work with a party called the African Action Congress, while we are still in court to reclaim our mandate. So… we will vote for the AAC. You must go home and vote for the AAC. There should be no excuse not to vote because there will be security for everybody. You must prepare and make sure you win the governorship election.”

    But APC National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole had contradicted Amaechi. Oshiomhole was quoted as saying: “I have never spoken at any forum that we have aligned with any party. There is only one party I oversee and that is APC; if there is going to be alignment, I will know. I can’t choose to be in the know. That has never been discussed with me or with any of the members of the national working committee.”

    This contradiction suggested that Amaechi was fighting solo. Considering that there is no love lost between Amaechi and Wike, it looked like Amaechi was interested in a grudge fight.

    Then the AAC deputy governorship candidate, Akpo Bomba Yeeh, dropped a bomb. He not only left the party “with effect from… 25th March 2019,” he also defected to the PDP.

    Yeeh said in his resignation letter: “My decisions were informed by the complete hijack of the structure and administration of our Party by a faction of the APC in Rivers State led by the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, for his personal political ambition. Furthermore, the Rotimi Amaechi led faction of the APC is not letting in its determination to subvert the will of Rivers people and cause crisis in the State using the platform of our promising Party. In the circumstance, I cannot in all conscience continue to lend support to the selfish political venture of the Minister of Transportation, which does not mean well for the progress and development of the people of Rivers State.”

    It is noteworthy that he added: “As a budding and promising politician, I also appeal to you to accept the reality of your crushing defeat and liberate yourself from being used by Rotimi Amaechi to cause unnecessary political crisis in our dear State.”

    It is interesting that at the time Yeeh left the AAC, INEC had suspended collation of results midway because of widespread violence and disruption of voting. But he probably knew enough about the party’s strengths and weaknesses, which is why he referred to a “crushing defeat.”

    When INEC finally announced the winner, the loser protested. The AAC governorship candidate, Biokpomabo Awara, claimed that INEC had turned the loser into the winner.  Awara said: “I have the unit by unit results of the March 9, 2019 elections in Rivers State. When they observed that I was leading and they saw the danger coming, they quickly moved on March 10 to save Wike, by suspending the collation of the results, which they resumed on April 1. As at the time the collation was suspended, I had 281,000 votes, as against Wike’s 79,000 votes. So, they (INEC officials) quickly came to his rescue.”

    The AAC’s loss deflated Amaechi, who had no business in the election since his party wasn’t a participant. His involvement was based on self- importance.  No doubt, his strange support for the AAC contributed to the sorrow, tears and blood that marked the governorship election in Rivers State.

  • Over 500 buildings affected as rainstorm wreaks havoc in Ondo

    Barely four days after rainstorm devastated valuables at Ugbe, Akoko North East Local Government  of Ondo State, two other neighbouring communities of Ikare-Akoko and Supare-Akoko at the weekend  lost property worth millions to the same natural disaster.

    Sources said over 500 houses were affected in the two communities.

    In Supare-Akoko, home town of former Deputy Governor Alhaji Ali Olanusi, the only downpour devastated many houses.

    Residents were in tears. The development was the same in Ikare-Akoko, headquarters of Akoko North East Local Government.

    An eyewitness, Mr Aliu Ehinju Anobi, from Supare-Akoko,  said when the rainstorm started, people started running for their lives.

    Read also: Two new mini-grids for Ondo

    He said over 70 per cent of  buildings in the town were ravaged.

    Ehinju Anobi listed Police Station, the old palace, schools and churches as badly devastated.

    He said at Ikare-Akoko, the situation was worse as houses, especially at Igbede  and Ishakunmi, were affected because of the demolition.

    A community leader from Ishakumi in Ikare, Akoko, Chief Oluke Olamomiara, urged government to come to their aid now that buiding materials were  costly.

    The Olisupare of Supare-Akoko, Oba Kasali Adedeji,  called on the government and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to assist  the people.