The Nation Newspaper

Tag: threat

  • Parties deregistration, threat to 2015 elections

    As if he was referring to the pretext of the multiple judgment dilemma which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) raised in refusing to honour the Chris Okotie-led Fresh Democratic Party’s verdict, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, subsequent to his confirmation by the Senate as the Chief Justice of Nigeria, said; “… the personal interest of judges and lawyers in certain political cases had been behind the incidences of conflicting judgments… these conflicting judgments are mostly common in political cases involving election tribunals where there are a lot of interests…”

    It will be recalled that FRESH proceeded to Justice G. O. Kolawole’s Federal High Court 5, Abuja Division, where it secured a victory in July 2013. FRESH, which upturned its de-registration, has strenuously claimed that INEC was deliberately frustrating its incursion into mainstream politicking. The catalogue of events since the December 2012 de-registration shows this to be true.

    INEC filed a notice of appeal but failed to perfect the process at the Appeal Court within the stipulated 90 days. But in response to FRESH’s sustained calls on the commission to make good the verdict, it instructed the party to re-register. There was then hurried re-amendment of Section 78 (7) (ii) of the Electoral Act by the National Assembly, which stipulates that political parties must win seats during state and National Assembly elections, to include councillorship elections, though this section of the Act has been set aside by the FRESH ruling.

    But after months of silence and subsequent re-filing of another notice of appeal in July 2013, nine months clear of the 90 days window, INEC chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, declared unequivocally that the law is the law and until it is changed, the commission will maintain status quo. Invariably, FRESH should not expect to see its name on the ballot papers come 2015, irrespective of the ruling. Now, Hope Democratic Party (HDP) has also secured another verdict akin to FRESH’s at Justice Ademola Adeniyi’s Federal High Court, Abuja, who referred to FRESH’s verdict and questioned why the agency had not complied with it.

    INEC is out of touch with voter sentiments, and in making such a statement must expect a riposte, especially while touting a misleading notice of appeal which is now gathering dust, since they don’t regard the judiciary’s right of interpretation or even the verdict as worthy of the paper it was written on. The electoral agency is acting like an autocratic boss who doesn’t care about contradictions. INEC is 30 years behind the world’s current affairs, as a bird’s eye view of global politics shows that the paradigm of elective political participation has changed, and cunning play of political hands is obsolete.

    Political representation is not a question of winning over ideology, but that the dismal state of leading parties’ style of politicking and crony governance, a staple of Nigerian politics, needs to be put under with an integrity-focused and vibrant opposition. If there is a sector of Nigeria which needs a boom in un-curtailed representation, it is freedom of participatory politics. The prejudice of thinking that the new parties are not proper political organisms because they are not run by the old breed politicians is unfounded: INEC must be neutral, and not put the nascent parties under pressure to perform in a lopsided race.

    The internal manipulations and bureaucratic certification imposed by stalwarts of the ruling class is at the root of the emergence of smaller parties, and it can so easily asphyxiate the emphasis on innovation which the nation needs now. The yearning for a truly deregulated political space is being stymied by the daunting obstacle of animosity evidenced by INEC and the increased regulation by the Senate’s latest re-amendment of the voided electoral act. FRESH should be allowed to pursue its mandate without the fanged oversight of INEC. When it is asked to surrender itself to an abstract process which has consistently proven faulty, then it is stifled.

    The last few years has been filled with incredible upheavals inflicted by PDP’s super-stratum of politicians who have been moldering in politics with an inflated opinion of their own relevance and abilities. The irony of this cabal’s self-exultation is that the nation has been stuck in the doldrums, so growth is bound to stagnate and slow down to a halt, especially with unforeseen circumstance like the fall in global oil prices; Nigeria’s economic mainstay. To parry the threat posed by FRESH, the leading party, which is not on the side of the masses, faces humiliation at the hands of this nationalist rival they once dismissed as non-starters and closet politicians.

    Okotie’s paradigm shift is all about challenging the status-quo and putting things in a different and more productive light with a global mindset. His party’s strategic perception means it is alert to the need for change, creative about how to accomplish that change, and alive to the strengths and weaknesses which may influence, enhance or frustrate the right atmosphere to accomplish that change, like INEC is engendering.

    In today’s highly evolved and networked world, a robust political and governmental structure is vital in every nation, one that is reliable, providing innovative solutions to challenges, not one that bamboozles the polity by the amount of noise which government’s peddle through their media machinery. But they cannot dispose of the fact that the populace consults with each other about current issues, rather than depend on the rehearsed media façade of spin doctors. But to put deception lower down the pecking order, Nigerians need to take a stand. We can’t continue to be fobbed off with generic excuses- we must begin to assert our rights.

    So 2015 presents another chance to address arguably the two largest issues facing Nigeria: corruption and transparency, by voting out the ruling cabal, whose philosophy is best expressed as ‘to the greater glory of us’ (Ad Manus Gloriam). The present rumblings in the political atmosphere are indicative of the need for change, and CJN, Justice Mohammed must save the judiciary from this political attrition by politicians, by making cases like this FRESH/HDP tango a matter of urgency.

    Days after INEC’s lifting on the ban on campaigns, and the continued denial of these two parties the right to participate, despite an extant verdict, the possibility of a legal recourse already flies a red flag and jeopardizes the conduct and outcome of 2015 general elections. Now is the time for the CJN to alter the course of INEC’s highhandedness.

     

    • Godswill wrote from Delta State
  • Dahiru: Tambuwal not a threat

    Dahiru: Tambuwal not a threat

    Sokoto State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspir-ant Senator Umaru Dahiru has said  that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal’s ambition will not  affect his chance of picking the  ticket for the general elections.

    Senator Dahiru, who submitted his nomination form at the National a Secretariat, told reporters that he is in the race to improve on the achievement of the APC government in the state.

    He said the government has achieved a lot in the last four years, adding that the successor should be a matured person who can sustain the legacies.

    He said  Tambuwal’s governorship ambition is his legitimate right, adding that the number of contenders has now risen to eight.

    He dismissed the idea of anointing a candidate for the position, pointing out that he was confident that the people of the state are determined to have a free and fair  shadow poll.

    Dahiru said: “As I made mention at one time, I want to improve on the works of the current governor because he has done perfectly well and I want to improve on it. I believe Sokoto need more to be done and I believe I have the capacity to do much more than what is already on the ground.

    “I want to improve on areas like education, healthcare, infrastructure and so many other areas. We need to do alot and of course, you know that youth unemployment is there as a big challenge nationwide and in Sokoto in particular, it is a raal challenge. The issue of women empowerment is also there; but I believe if I am given the mantle of leadership, I will improve on what is now on the ground”

    He added: “You know if people want to be wherever they want you to be you have to respond and people are calling me to come and respond in that capacity and I believe I have to answer to their call.

    “I can never be threatened by anybody. He is not and can never be a threat to me. I believe that nobody can play God. It is for Hod to decide who become the flag bearer of the party”

    On Tambuwal entering the race, he said: “He is welcome. All we want is a free and fair election, there is nothing to be worried about and I believe he will concede if he get defeat at the primaries and equally I will do the same, and it is not only Tambuwal and me but we are now eight in number”.

    He added: “Anybody can claim that, anybody can say it but the people of Sokoto will determine and not anybody and I keep on saying it nobody can determine my political aspiration if the people want it I am going to do it”.

  • Aspirant raises alarm over threat to life

    Aspirant raises alarm over threat to life

    A House of Representativesaspirant in Akinyele/Lagelu Constituency, Oyo State, Hon. Oladimeji Olayinka Segelu, has raised an alarm that his life is being threatened by some politicians in the area.

    Segelu said in a statement in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the threat is in connection with his ambition. He urged security agencies to beef up security around prominent politicians before, during and after the polls.

    The PDP chieftain lamented that his supporters, who embarked on a sensitisation drive for voters’ registration were attacked by hoodlums at Ogunsowo village, near Oyedeji, in Igbo Elerin area of Lagelu Local Government.

    Segelu, who is a close associate of Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman  however, said no amount of threat, harassment and intimidation could stop him from pursuining his ambition.

    He said: “The coming election and subsequent ones will be a matter of choice between merit coupled with credibility and mediocrity coupled with notoriety which are the alternatives open to the people of Akinyele/Lagelu Federal Constituency in 2015. I am confident that the people will go for the most credible candidate.”.

  • Impunity a threat, says Oyebode

    A Professor of International law, Akin Oyebode,has warned that massive corruption and impunity constitute grave threats to freedom.

    Oyebode, who in a keynote address he delivered  at the Annual National Management Conference of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) in Effurun, Warri, said these maladies also threaten national survival unless countered by adequate measures.

    Speaking on “Building institutional capacities as a pathway to good governance: The importance of a legal and regulatory framework,” the law professor, who was conferred with the fellowship of the Nigerian Institute of Management at the occasion, warned that the destiny of the nation “must never be abandoned to the whims and caprices of enemies of the open society and fidelity to law and due process.”

    “We all should recognise the necessity to subject all activities and actions under the superintendence of law, or else, we open the flood-gates to chaos and disintegration,” he said.

    “In a situation of threatened state failure, massive corruption, impunity and rising incidence of self-help, enlightened self-interest warrant recognition by all concerned of veritable threats to individual freedom and national survival, which need to be met by the adoption of requisite, well-considered measures to salvage the situation,” Oyebode said.

    According to the University of Lagos (UNILAG) professor of law, who interrogated the critical role of law in institutional capacity-building towards good governance, the time has come to re-dedicate “ourselves to the tested approach of subjecting human conduct to the governance of rules” as originally advocated by Lon Fuller, his one-time teacher.

  • South Africa are Falcons’ biggest threat, says Oparanozie

    South Africa are Falcons’ biggest threat, says Oparanozie

    EnAvant Guingamp of France striker, Desire Ugochi Oparanozie is delighted for an opportunity to attend her second African Women Championship (AWC) after her triumphant trip to the 2010 edition in South Africa. She tells SportingLife’s TUNDE LIADI of the spirit in the present Super Falcons’ camp and the country’s likely biggest foes at the 8th AWC in Namibia which runs from 11 to 25 October, 2014 as well as her club career. EXCERPTS…

     

    SPORTINGLIFE: Good to have you back in the national team after the tussle with your club over your release for the 2015 African Women Championship (AWC) slated for Namibia

    I’m always happy to come play for my country because it is an honour to be chosen from millions of Nigerians that are in the round leather game. I’m happy that I’m back to render my help in the interest of the Super Falcons.

    I have put the events that transpired leading to my eventual release by my club behind me and I have my eyes focused on the AWC and ensuring that I achieve a personal target of winning my second trophy for Nigeria after the 2010 AWC in South Africa.

     

    What should Nigerians be expecting from Oparanozie and the rest of the Super Falcons when the competition kicks off on Saturday (today)?

    Nigerians should be expecting from us the trophy because it is our modest target. We have won it before on numerous occasions and winning it again is our ambition. It won’t be easy because other Africans are striving to catch up with us, but we won’t relent. We have resolved to improve on our game to ensure that this time nothing stands in our way and the trophy.

     

    The Falcons are grouped with the hosts, Namibia, Ivory Coast and Zambia. Are you going to be bothered by any of these countries?

    We are not afraid of any of our first round opponents because we are Super Falcons and have won the AWC a record six times out of eight editions. We respect the three countries but we are going to take them one after the other when the competition begins. We don’t have to brag about anything because on a good day, we are capable of beating anybody.

     

    With the absence of Equatorial Guinea in Namibia, the Falcons will face the Ivory Coast in the first game on Saturday (today). What should we expect from you and your team-mates?

    We are in Namibia with the sole objective of winning the trophy and we know the importance of ensuring that we get all the three points in our first game. We don’t know much about Ivory Coast besides the fact that they eliminated the defending champions, the Equatorial Guinea.

    We will take them as they come, we are going to give them their due although we will be very professional when the game kicks off.

     

    Which country are the greatest threat to Falcons’ quest to win a record seventh African crown?

    I will say it is ourselves that we have the greatest worry for, about whether we are going to win or not. But on a larger scale I believe it is only South Africa that is our major worry and not even Ghana and Cameroon. We will know how to cross the bridge when we get there but now we must concentrate on our first round foes and when we are through to the last four we shall know how to plot the defeat of our opponents.

     

    The Super Falcons will be playing in the 2014 AWC with their eyes firmly on a place in next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada. Having featured at the World Cup before when it was played in 2011 what does playing at the World Cup again mean to you?

    It is the dream of every player to play in the World Cup and I am not an exception. It was cool playing in the World Cup three years ago. I was quite young then but now I am more mature and raring to go this term. I am happy that the list is a blend of the young and the experienced. It will pay off in Namibia but what we just need to do is to put our acts together and work for the interest of our country.

     

    On February 21, 2014 news hit Nigerian media that you had moved to Atasehir Belediyespor to play in the Turkish Women’s First Football League from Germany, but not too long ago you surfaced in the French League with  En Avant Guingamp. What informed your decision to leave for Turkey and now France within a very short time after you left WFL Wolfsburg?

    Football is better enjoyed when one is part of the decision makers. It becomes very uninteresting if you are made to sit on the bench without game time. When I was with Wolfsburg, I was not getting the playing time I desired, so I had to leave. We both agreed that we should cancel the contract mutually. It was also similar in Turkey but I’m happy to inform you that I have started enjoying the game again since I got to France.

  • ‘APC not a threat to PDP in Rivers’

    ‘APC not a threat to PDP in Rivers’

    The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, Chief Felix Obuah , spoke with BISI OLANIYI in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term bid, the agitation for power shift, zoning and preparations for next year’s elections. 

    How can crisis be averted in Rivers State in next year’s elections?

    Some people are trying to heat up the polity. The major stakeholders in the game should play by the rules of the game. Rivers used to be a one party state, but Governor Amaechi decided to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC), based on his personal reasons.

    During the 2015 elections, there will be opposition in Rivers State, unlike it used to be, but 2015 will come and go. With God on our side, it will not degenerate to what we cannot handle. Although, a lot of problems are associated with pollicking, what matters most is for the stakeholders to play it according to the rules of the game. The security agencies are equal to the task.

    The right leaders will emerge in 2015, because we always believe in the God factor. It is not about how high you are, the money you have or your influence. There is no power that will be, except ordained by God. So, let us not overheat the polity, because of our personal interests. God makes leaders. Dr. Goodluck Jonathan never knew he would be the President of Nigeria. He showed interest in becoming the Governor of Bayelsa State, but he became the Vice-President and later President.

    President Jonathan has surpassed all the records of Nigeria’s past presidents and Heads of State. Imagine Dr. Jonathan, an Ijaw from Bayelsa State, a minority part of the country, now the President of Nigeria. That alone is a confirmation that only God can give power. We should not be killing ourselves or carrying guns, just because we want our brothers, friends or kinsmen to emerge as candidates of the political parties or winners of elections. We should always remember the God factor. God makes leaders.

    The feeling is that President Jonathan has not performed/ Why are you suporting him?

    President Jonathan has performed very well. He is the best so far. I am supporting him wholeheartedly. Not only me, all the members of the Rivers state PDP will wholeheartedly support the re-election of President Jonathan, without dropping a vote.

    Can the PDP beat the APC in next year’s polls?

    The APC is not a threat, any day, any time and can never be. With the defection of Amaechi, how many persons have followed him to the APC, besides the people he is sharing our resources with? The local government caretaker committee chairmen and members; his House of Assembly members and his commissioners moved with him to the APC. Amaechi is almost rounding off his tenure, but no development in all the 23 LGAs of Rivers state.

    I am from Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA of Rivers state, very rich in crude oil and gas, but what has Amaechi done in my LGA? He will always talk about health centres and model primary schools, but forgetting that my LGA produces the resources that sustain Rivers state and Nigeria.

    Amaechi has not done well. He may be claiming to have done well in mono-rail, which is laughable. I used to like Amaechi as a brother and namesake (Amaechi). In his first tenure, when he was in the PDP, he was doing well, but his attention is now on his personal interest. Amaechi is not up to 50 years and I am moving close to 60 years. I am Amaechi’s senior in age, but I still see him as my friend.

    I am ready to welcome Amaechi back to the PDP and there will be a level playing field for everybody. Amaechi will be forgiven, upon his return to the PDP. He must realise his mistakes, plead and come back to the PDP. His reasons for defecting to the APC are uncalled for. He left the PDP that is doing very well, to support the unknown the APC.

    Some of Amaechi’s friends, who left the PDP, have been given waivers and they are back to the PDP. I can also plead on behalf of Amaechi with the leadership of the PDP to also grant him waiver, if he repents and apologises. Amaechi is a young man and he still has hope for tomorrow.

    I have always placed emphasis on peace. I have been inviting Amaechi for peace meeting, as his elder brother, but he is claiming that I have been insulting him with the invitations. What is wrong in inviting my younger brother to a meeting to ensure peace, no matter his position? I am a man of peace.

    Amaechi remains my friend, but the truth must be said. As the governor of Rivers state, I will continue to give Amaechi all the respect, but that does not stop us from telling Amaechi where he is not doing well. Words of elders are words of wisdom. Amaechi should listen to us, as elders. PDP’s candidates will win the Rivers governorship and the presidential elections in 2015.

    Why is the PDP threatening to sanction former Minister of Culture and Tourism Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas for allegedly fraternising with Governor Amaechi over the proposed power shift to the riverrine area?

    Unlike what was the situation in the PDP, when Amaechi and Godspower Ake (ex-Rivers Chairman of the PDP, whom Obuah succeeded) were in charge and were imposing candidates and not allowing the people’s choices to prevail. That is not democracy. This time, the delegates will elect the candidates of the party, without imposition. No matter how highly placed the person is, we will not allow him/her to impose candidates on the party. We should allow the delegates and the electorate to elect their leaders.

    A particular person, because of his closeness to Governor Amaechi, cannot on behalf of the party, meet with the so-called governorship aspirants, without due regard to the party’s hierarchy in the state. After meeting with and fraternising with Amaechi, in the name of stakeholders, he will then come back and call PDP stakeholders to a meeting. We are just trying to caution that if he does not play to the rules of the game, he should not blame the party’s hierarchy for taking drastic actions against him, based on the party’s rules and regulations.

    How can the division in the PDP over zoning be resolved?

    There is no division in the PDP in Rivers State. In the PDP, we have guidelines. The PDP is going to present the best candidates for the elections. PDP is going to allow the people to choose their leaders. The zoning they are talking about is a gentleman’s agreement, but not in the constitutions of the PDP and Nigeria.

    Some selfish politicians are trying to create problems, but we will not allow them to dictate to the party. If the United States of America zoned its Presidency, maybe Barack Obama would not have been the President today. Not considering where Obama came from, he was elected the President of the USA twice and he is doing very well.

    We want the best persons to be the candidates of the PDP in Rivers state, during the 2015 elections. If the best governorship candidate is from Kalabari, Ogoni or Omoku (his hometown), we will support the person. Omoku people are also entitled to be governor, because we are feeding this nation, through the abundant crude oil and gas.

    An Omoku person has not been Rivers governor. What stopped the PDP in Rivers State from zoning the governorship to Omoku? In view of my leadership style and belief in internal democracy, I want the best hand to lead. The best candidates with the best credentials will be featured by the PDP in Rivers State during the 2015 elections.

    The Minister of State for Education fought for you to become the chairman. He is a governorship aspirant. Won’t you support his ambition?

    I have no choice candidate. I will allow the people’s verdict. If I wanted to capitalise on my relationship with Wike, I could have acted like Amaechi and Godspower Ake and imposed Wike on the people, but I am insisting that the best governorship candidate should be elected by the PDP’s delegates, no matter where he/she hails from, as long as the person is an indigene of Rivers state.

    Wike is the leader of the PDP in Rivers state. When Amaechi left the PDP, vacuum would not be allowed and a senior official in government, Wike, was chosen. Barr. Wike is doing so well. Rivers people, especially PDP members, have been calling on Wike to vie as governor in 2015. If he chooses to run and the people vote for him, what stops him? He has handled positions of trust and he has done very well. I am the father of all the aspirants. They are all my children. My role is to ensure a level playing field.

    Who is the PDP leader in Rivers? Dr. Peter Odili or Wike?

    Dr. Peter Odili is our father and leader of the PDP, the APC and other political parties, as well as non-politicians in Rivers State. Dr. Odili is also the leader of Amaechi and he (Odili) is the political leader of Rivers State and the Southsouth zone. In the PDP in Rivers state, our leader is Chief  Nyesom Wike.

    Have you and other leaders of the PDP been fair to Amaechi?

    Amaechi wanted to play smart, by denying me, the rightful leader that won the PDP primaries, of victory. He knows that I am an upright and transparent man, who will never give to cheating. Amaechi knows that as chairman of the party in Rivers state, I will not allow his imposition of candidates to prevail.

    In the 23 LGAs of Rivers state, there is no development, because Amaechi imposed all the chairmen, who will be loyal to him. The people are crying. I was a chairman of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LG council of the state and I put in my best. The records are still there.

    When Amaechi denied me the chairmanship of the PDP in Rivers state and imposed Godspower Ake, I went to court and God restored my stolen mandate. Many politicians, who left the PDP, because of Amaechi’s highhandedness and dictatorial tendencies, are now back to the party, with my emergence as chairman.

  • CONTEMPT OF COURT THREAT: NFF can’t confirm receipt of court injunction

    CONTEMPT OF COURT THREAT: NFF can’t confirm receipt of court injunction

    Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) General Secretary Musa Amadu has told NationSport in Abuja that he is currently on leave in America and cannot confirm that the secretariat was served a court order prohibiting Saturday’s NFF Congress which held in Warri.

    On Friday, a Federal High Court in Jos issued an injunction ordering the FIFA-recognised Aminu Maigari-led NFF not to hold the congress on Saturday, September 20 in Warri, as directed by FIFA.

    The injunction, obtained by two members of the Chris Giwa-led faction of the NFF, directed that the Maigari faction should be served through the electronic and print media.

    Nevertheless, the Congress went ahead and approved September 30 as the date for a new election into the board of the federation.

    Principal officers of the NFF as well as delegates to the Congress of Saturday have now been threatened with contempt charges.

    “I cannot confirm to you now if the letters have been received at the secretariat of the NFF,” Amadu said. “I am on my annual leave and currently in the United States with my family.

    “They may have served them the letter, but it is only those at the secretariat that can confirm this.”

    When NationSport visited the NFF secretariat on Wednesday, none of its principal officers were available to confirm the receipt of the document.

    However, the form 48 from the Jos High Court was seen posted on the wall near the entrance door of the secretariat, although NationSport could not confirm that the document was received by any of the secretariat staff.

  • De Raufs DG raises alarm over threat to life

    De Raufs DG raises alarm over threat to life

    The Director General of De Raufs, Comrade Amotolu Shittu, has raised an alarm of plan by unidentified men to assassinate him.

    Through his group, De Raufs, Shittu is mobilising support for the re-election of Governor Rauf Aregbesola in the August 9 guber poll.

    At a press conference in Osogbo, Osun State, on Sunday, he disclosed that strange men had been monitoring his movement in the last three weeks.

    He alleged that unidentified group of men three days ago came to his house very late at night and started banging his gate, attempting to force it open.

    He said the development had made him relocate his family while he he too had abandoned the house for fear of being attacked.

    According to him: “I have lately received many strange threat messages and calls. And not long ago, some men attacked the Director of Mobilisation of our group in a broad day light in front of our office. I don’t think what I have done by supporting Aregbesola should bother anybody.

    “It is my choice to support the governor I believe is doing well and mean well for the people. As a human right activist, my concern is about the people and if any government is promoting their interest. I have monitored the policies and programmes of Aregbesola and I have seen that they are people-oriented.”

    Shittu said he decided not to report the threats against him to the security agents because he had lost confidence in the security agencies with the recent deployment of operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) to the state.

    Condemning wearing of masks by these security operatives in the state , he warned President Goodluck Jonathan not to militarize the state.

    “Any attempt by the PDP and Jonathan to take over Osun state by force may consume them.? I don’t know the ratipnae or justification of the Federal Government to invade a peaceful state with masked security men, whom, we suspect are thugs. Their operation could be likened to that of miscreants or hoodlums. Whatever evil the perpetrate no one would be able to identified them since they are using hoods in an unregistered vehicles.

    “They are killers, they are not in the state to secure lives and property. We are crying out loud now to the whole world to see them as agents of destruction.”

  • Obama to meet Jonathan, other African leaders on Boko Haram threat

    Obama to meet Jonathan, other African leaders on Boko Haram threat

    The  threat posed to Africa’s security by Islamic militants will top the agenda when President Barack Obama of the United States of America  holds a summit  for  African leaders, including President Goodluck Jonathan, next week in Washington D.C.

    It is expected to discuss  kidnappings and killings by Boko Haram in Nigeria, the civil war in South Sudan and deadly attacks by the Somalia militant group, Shebab, in Kenya.

    Invitations were sent to 50 heads of state and government for the  three-day meeting   that is also seen  as    a counterweight to China’s decade-long surge in investment and trade with Africa.

    Only four presidents were excluded: Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir, Eritrea’s Issaias Afeworki and the Central African Republic’s transitional leader Catherine Samba Panza.

    The outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa could find itself at the centre of talks,although  the leaders of Sierra Leone and Liberia have cancelled their  trips to Washington over the epidemic, which was first declared at the beginning of the year in Guinea and has so far claimed more than 725 lives.

    President Obama said yesterday  that delegates to the summit from Ebola-hit areas would be screened for the disease.

    “Folks that are coming from these countries that have even a marginal risk, or an infinitesimal risk of having been exposed in some fashion, we’re making sure we’re doing screening on that end as they leave the country,” Obama told reporters.

    He added there would be “additional screening”  in the United States for the summit.

    “We feel confident the procedures we have put in place are appropriate,” Obama insisted.

    The United States, working through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health agencies, was also planning to “surge some resources down there and organization to these countries that are pretty poor and don’t have a strong public health infrastructure so that we can start containing the problem.”

    Obama sought to reassure the public that the Ebola virus was not easily transmitted.

    “The key is identifying, quarantining, isolating those who contract it and making sure that practices are in place that avoid transmission,” Obama said.

    “It can be done, but it’s got to be done in an organized, systematic way and that means we have to help these countries accomplish that.”

    President François Hollande of France,way back in May hosted  the Presidents of Nigeria,Chad,Niger and Cameroun to map out strategy on containing terrorism in West Africa.

    Nigeria and its neighbours agreed,at the Paris mini-summit, on a regional plan of action to combat Boko Haram.

    They pledged cooperation including joint border patrols and sharing intelligence to find the  over 200 school girls abducted in Chibok by Boko Haram in April.

  • I resigned because of Daniel’s threat, says LP chair

    I resigned because of Daniel’s threat, says LP chair

    The Chairman of the Ogun State chapter of the Labour Party(LP), Bode Simeon, has resigned, alleging “harassment, intimidation and threat” to his life by former Governor Gbenga Daniel.

    Daniel’s media aide, Mr Ayo Giwa, did not comment on the allegation when The Nation called him yesterday.

    In the resignation letter dated July 26, and addressed to the National Chairman of the party, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, someone also accused a federal lawmaker from Ondo State of threatening his life.

    The letter reads: “You will also recall that since the coming of Otunba Gbenga Daniel in to the party, we have not known any peace. He colluded with the National Secretariat using financial inducements to destroy Ogun LP. My life has been a subject of harassment, threats and intimidation.

    “Regarding the on-going suits in Lagos; I did it to affirm my belief in the rule of law, and even after the order was made, you disobeyed it and continue to promote illegality in Ogun state. But because of the persistent threat by Otunba Gbenga Daniel (OGD), Hon. Akinlaja to my life to drop the suit.

    “You threatened to deal with me on many occasions, I have got threats from Otunba Gbenga Daniel to withdraw from the case or risk bad things happening to my life. I do not want to waste my life in the course of running the party and I put the blame at you, my National Chairman for your inconsistency.

    “In view of this confusion to my life by Gbenga Daniel through Otunba Olumide Osunsina,  I accept responsibilities and events that led to the current crisis in Ogun Labour Party.”