The Nation Newspaper

Tag: won’t

  • We won’t allow indiscipline in PDP, says Jonathan

    We won’t allow indiscipline in PDP, says Jonathan

    President Jonathan told the Rivers PDP delegation that indiscipline would no longer be tolerated in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    He said: “Rivers State is a key state to Southeasterners. It is a key state that needs very strong, focused, committed leadership and maximum political unity and stability. Otherwise, anything could happen and affect the whole country.

    “For us to have a stable democracy, we have to have a strong political party. And that is why we get worried when we notice some of the indiscipline in some of the political parties. And the new PDP that we are all working together for will no longer tolerate indiscipline.

    “All over the world, parties are supposed to build on ideological differences. These may be close. If you look at the classical case of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Republican Convention (NRC) that were created by the military, their ideologies were a little to the right and a little to the left.

    “That is the essence of politics. But, in a situation where somebody is in a particular political party but his faith is in another political party… For those who are not holding political offices, yes you can excuse…But if you are holding an elective office, you won’t be in that party and be working for another party. Otherwise, why are you there?”

    Jonathan added: “I have listened to the introductions and being a Rivers person, I know key political actors in Rivers State; the who’s who in Rivers State; and they are here. I want to thank you for building this political structure for the state, for the interest of Rivers State and to position Rivers State in the politics of the country.

    “To me, I have been working with people of Rivers State for quite some time before I got here. I have had a robust relationship with my brothers and sisters in Rivers State. They are very reliable people who I believe will not speak with both sides of their mouths.”

  • Ameobi: Newcastle won’t go down

    Nigeria striker Shola Ameobi has insisted Newcastle United are too good to go down for the second time in four years.

    The Magpies crashed out of the top-flight back in 2009 during a time that saw four managers take charge at St James’ Park.

    The defeat in the hand of fellow strugglers Reading on Saturday will pile further pressure on the shoulders of boss Alan Pardew as they are now 16th on the table. However, Ameobi firmly believes that the current crop of players have the drive to steer United away from danger – a feat not managed back in 2009.

    “Back then there was a lot of discord. I remember thinking there were players who didn’t really want to be here and that doesn’t bode well for any team. Certainly those that are here now have better characters and better temperaments and hopefully that can help us,” said the 31-year-old.

    Ameobi said the current squad care for the club far more than some he can recall.

    “It is important that the people who are here now want to play for the club,” the striker said.

    “And I know that when they pull on that black and white shirt they have that feeling that we’re all in this together – and that wasn’t the case before. When we lose games I can see that everyone in this squad is hurting. It’s in their faces. Sometimes we’re in the changing room for half an hour after the game discussing it because we care. It means so much to the players – and four years ago it wasn’t like that.

    “Many of them knew they’d be leaving at the end of the season and I think that is the difference. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t as if they did not want to win and it’s important to state that, but afterwards they’d be smiling again within a few minutes. This season you can see that every single player is prepared to knuckle down.”

  • Oliha: FG won’t let Keshi’s Eagles win AFCON

    Oliha: FG won’t let Keshi’s Eagles win AFCON

    Thompson Oliha, a member of the Tunisia’94 Super Eagles which landed the second African Cup of Nations diadem for Nigeria has warned that previous broken promises made by the country’s rulers may not give the present crop of the Eagles enough enthusiasm to add to the two titles won in 1980 and 1994.

    Oliha in an exclusive chat on Thursday morning thumbed up the 23-man list released by the technical crew of the Eagles led by Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, but the former midfielder lampooned the federal government of Nigeria for its double standards and failure to redeem the pledge made to the 1994 Eagles team that won the African Cup of Nations.

    Nigeria won the 1994 tournament in Tunisia after defeating Zambia 2-1 in the finals, with some breathtaking displays in the competition.

    An enraged Oliha, who was a member of that team coached by Clemens Westerhof, said that some of the surviving players from the 1994 squad are still waiting to take possession of their houses with no definite date of when that would happen.

    “They promised us houses in Abuja and till date nothing is done, most of my contemporaries like Yekini and Uche Okafor are dead and they were not given their houses,” Oliha cried out.

    “But, if the Eagles should win again, won’t they treat them the way they treated us? I will rather pray that we don’t win, because Nigeria does not appreciate good deeds,” he said.

    “That notwithstanding I will go to South Africa to lend my support to Stephen Keshi because he has a vision that I support. I sincerely wish the team well,’’ he said.

    He nonetheless applauded Keshi’s decision to take as many as six home based players to the Nations Cup stating that the gesture would rub on positively on the standard and quality of the league.

  • Benue poll: ACN candidate won’t go to tribunal

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate for Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue state, Dickson Akoh, has said neither him nor his party would seek any justice on the newly constituted Election Petition Tribunal on the November 24 council poll.

    Addressing reporters in Makurdi, the state capital, Akoh said the decision to boycott the tribunal was borne out of the fact that the election defied constitutional order that should have certified its credibility.

    According to him, all those drafted to the tribunal, especially the one sitting in Otukpo, are allies of the present administration in the state.

    The politician alleged that the tribunal members would expectedly do the biddings of their benefactor.

    Akoh said appearing before the tribunal would mean that his party had accepted that an election took place.

    He said: “We will not give credibility to the November 24 election. Therefore, we will not go to the tribunal. Doing so would amount to us giving credibility to the election which, in our submission, did not even hold because the electorate was disenfranchised.”

    The chairmanship candidate also expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the state Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC).

    He noted that the electoral agency performed below the expectation of the people, despite the assurances from its chairman, Prof. Phillip Ahire, to deliver an election devoid of malpractices.

    Akoh urged the National Assembly to scrap the states’ bodies to pave the way for a single national electoral commission, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The politician noted that this is to ensure free, fair and credible elections that would no longer be manipulated by governments in power.

  • Amaechi: we won’t allow Bayelsa to collect Rivers oil wells

    Amaechi: we won’t allow Bayelsa to collect Rivers oil wells

    Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi talked tough yesterday on oil wells dispute between his state and Bayelsa – the President’s home state.

    “We won’t allow the ceding of our oil wells”, he said.

    Amaechi spoke while opening a legislative capacity building programme for the Rivers State House of Assembly in Calabar, Cross River State.

    He said Rivers and Bayelsa states had never had issues with boundaries, which according to him, are well known to all. He added that since the creation of Bayelsa State, there has been no law or agreement ceding any part of Kalabari communities or Rivers State to Bayelsa State.

    Said the governor: “We will not allow the attempt by the Bayelsa State government to collect our oil wells. I have read what the Bayelsa State governor said. That the 11th edition of the (administrative) map (of Nigeria) gave them the oil wells. When? They didn’t talk about the 1st edition to the 10th edition; they chose to avoid that, and went to the 11th edition, but the question they should answer is, why avoid the previous editions?”

    “But the Federal Government came to court and said, ‘oh we made a mistake in the 11th edition; we will correct it’. They should correct it; the documents were filed by their lawyers, not our lawyers. All we want is for the Federal Government to go back to the 10th edition and correct everything…

    “Bayelsa State was created so many years ago. There has been no law ceding that part of Kalabari kingdom to Bayelsa State. Now, when did it suddenly change? It changed in 2006, but I don’t want to join issues. I want the Kalabari people to represent themselves and I will stand behind them, and all what we are saying is that they should look from the 1st to the 10th edition (of the administrative map) and not an imaginary 11th edition.”

    He went on: “It won’t work; it will certainly not work. No matter how they try to intimidate the agencies of the Federal Government, we will continue to go to court and let our people know that the agencies of the Federal Government are being intimidated; that is what we are saying.”

    Amaechi urged Rivers people to stand behind his administration to ensure justice, equity and fair play in the “sudden” claims by the Bayelsa State Government.

    “All we want is for Rivers people to stand by us; Soku community has been in Rivers State long before Bayelsa State was created. Elem- Sangama is not a ward in Bayelsa State, but they said they don’t want territory, they want derivation, how can that work? Does oil come from the air? He has already answered the question for us, but we must struggle to get back our oil wells.” Amaechi said.

    He added: “Very soon, we shall present the Appropriation Bill. The kind of bills you have passed into law are useful to the people.”

    Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke said no compensation was paid to Bakassi indigenes that are passing through hard times.

    “A whole local government area was collected and handed over to Cameroon and till now, no compensation has been paid to my people. I think it is right for the federal government to look at this problems critically,” Imoke said.

  • Lato: 90% of my players won’t leave Kaduna Utd

    Lato: 90% of my players won’t leave Kaduna Utd

    Kaduna United chief coach, Saleh Tanko Lato has said that he will retain majority of his players for the next season if he get 100% commitment from them.

    The former Ranchers Bees of Kaduna ace told SportingLife that the team will try to avoid the difficulty witnessed last season when a majority of experienced players left for other clubs.

    The former Iwuanyau National of Owerri star, who replaced the former Technical Adviser Maurice Cooreman when the Belgian left for Warri Wolves, said he would build a team around his present crop of players for the next season for the sake of continuity.

    Two weeks to the end of 2011/2012 season the team parted ways with ten players.

    “The team has resumed training and we have started screening of new players. We want to do everything fast and by the end of the week we will know who will stay and who will go,” Lato, who captained the Home-Based Eagles under Clemence Westerhorf in 1990, told SportingLife.

    “We don’t want the repeat of last season when we lost most of our valuable players to other clubs. Two weeks to end the 2011/2012 season, we sacked 10 players and worked on the rest to achieve what we were able to achieve last season. Majority of players are new and, if I have my way, I will keep 90% of them for the sake of continuity and to build around them for next season, which I believe will make my job very easy.

    “At the moment we don’t know who among of them may have the interest of moving to another club, because you can’t predict players. That is why I want to sort this out quickly. But if I get 100% commitment and assurance from them, majority of them will stay.”

    The former Zamalek of Egypt player also informed SportingLife of his intention to beef-up his squad with ten more players.

    “As it is now, there is no board on ground and we will present our proposal to the ministry. They (ministry) are the policy makers and we don’t know what their intention will be, whether they will agree with us or not. I think 35 players will be okay for the team to prosecute our programme next season, meaning that we may sign at least 10 more players.”

  • I won’t allow interference in Judiciary, says CJN

    I won’t allow interference in Judiciary, says CJN

    •Falana, Jacobs, Ananaba, Mogaji, others now SANs

    Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar yesterday promised progressive revolution in the judiciary.

    She also vowed to resist interference from other arms of government by upholding the rule of law and strict adherence to the Constitution.

    The CJN spoke in Abuja at the Special Court Session to mark the beginning of the 2012/2013 legal year, and the swearing-in of 25 new Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN).

    She said the judiciary would continue “to retain its place as the last bastion of what is good, decent and Godly about humanity.”

    Besides, she said, the judiciary under her leadership will serve as a check on other arms of the government by interpreting the Constitution to determine their “extent and scope of powers and whether any action of any arm of government transgresses such limits.

    “It is the judiciary which has to ensure that the law is observed and that there is compliance with the requirements of law on the part of the government. Our courts should be Independent and subject only to the Constitution and the law, which they apply impartially, without fear, favour and prejudice. Without judicial independence, there can be no preservation of democratic values.”

    The new SANs are Human Rights Activist Femi Falana; former Dean of Faculty of Law Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, Professor Yemi Akinseye-George; Ekiti State Attorney General Akinlaja Dayo Moses; Rotimi Oluseyi Oguneso and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs.

    Others are former Plateau State Attorney General, Professor Dakas James Dakas, Mrs. Joy Adesina, Mrs. Connie-Jean Aremu, Adekunle Theophilus Oyesanya, Henry Ogbodu, Paul Ananaba, Solicitor of Babcock University, Ilishan, Remo, Ogun State; Francis Chuka Agbu, and Ahmed Raji.

    There are also Ogwu James Onoja, Mahmud Abubakar Magaji, Selekeowei Larry, Aliyu Umar, Illo Katune Sanusi, Oluseye Samuel Opansanya, Garba Tetengi, Abeni O. Mohammed, Aduroja Oluwamuyiwa, Charles Obishai, Ndukwe Nnawuchi and Luke Chukwudi Ilogu.

    Governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) and Isiaka Ajimobi (Oyo); former CJN S.M.A Belgore and deputy Governor of Delta State, Prof. Amos Utuama among others, attended the ceremony.

    Lamenting that there are an estimated 40,000 prisoners in Nigeria with about two-thirds of them not convicted, the CJN said the judiciary alone cannot ensure speedy trial without the prosecuting agencies playing their role.

    “The court cannot on its own prosecute criminal cases, there must be the willingness of all prosecuting agencies to prosecute cases brought before our courts especially high profile cases of corruption and all others”, she added.

    The CJN commended states that have introduced alternative punitive measures like community service, non- custodian sentences and probation, to decongest the prisons.

    “Implementation of these policies will no doubt be of great benefit to the government and the society at large,” she said.

    The CJN who promised speedy dispensation of justice in this legal year, also identified inadequate funding as one of the major problems confronting administration of justice.

    She regretted that the situation leaves judges at the mercy of state executives and politicians.

    “Unlike the federal judiciary that enjoys 90% of financial independence, inadequate funding and inaccessibility to funds appropriated to states’ judiciary in the budget, is a bane of administration of justice.

    “This situation calls for mutual and progressive partnership with the executive with a hope to finding a lasting solution to this lingering menace,” Justice Mukhtar stated.

    The CJN urged the new SANs to conduct themselves in line with the principles of the rule of law firmly anchored on the fundamental values of society.

    Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Okey Wali (SAN) called for a review of the criteria for the selection of new SANs.

    He said the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) should include the NBA President as a member.

    Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), commended the apex court for “profound judgments and rich jurisprudence”.