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The Arrest & Detention Of Hon. Farah Dagogo

By
The Source
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Farah Dagogo

By Annkio Briggs

I write from Port Harcourt, the capital city of Rivers State. I write as a Rivers State indigene, daughter, stakeholder, elder, and rights advocate.

I was outside of Rivers State and Nigeria when l was made aware that Hon. Farah Dagogo had been declared wanted by my State Government. While l was trying to confirm this information as the truth

from other stakeholders, elders and politicians, l heard that Hon. Farah Dagogo had been arrested.

Further investigation confirmed the news about his arrest and detention.

At this point, l decided to stop further commitments abroad and return home to Rivers State.

It is not a secret that l have been a reasonable and an unsolicited supporter of Governor Nyesom Wike. In fact, l see him as a younger brother as well as the elected Governor of my beloved Rivers State.

It is a fact that Hon. Farah Dagogo is known to me. He is known and is more like a son to me.

The passion with which l hold my State and all the peoples of the state cannot be measured, nor can the commitment with which l stand for right and truth, be measured.

I arrived in Port Harcourt on Monday, the 2nd of May, 2022, and drove straight to where Hon. Farah Dagogo was being held in custody.

The police allowed me to see him briefly, which was enough time for me to hear directly from him, his own story –  from the declaration for his arrest, to why he was declared wanted, his actual arrest, who arrested him and where he was taken.

The result of my visit to see Dagogo was that l was given access to other eyewitnesses to the arrest.

This took place when he went for screening as a Governorship aspirant of Rivers State in the upcoming elections of 2023.

Hon. Farah Dagogo was elected into the State House Assembly in 2015, and was again elected into the Federal House of Representatives from Rivers State, representing the Degema/Bonny Federal

Constituency both times on the PDP platform in 2019.

He is currently a House of Representative Member representing Degema/Bonny Constituency.

No Rivers State indigene and residents will forget what we went through in 2019, as the menacing Military tanks and soldiers rolled into Rivers state, and the huge prices the Riverine people especially paid for daring to vote their choice candidates and political party.

The concerns l have are as follows:

*Did his arrest affect his basic human rights to aspire to the office of Governor in the upcoming 2023 elections?

*Did his purchase of Governorship aspirant form to declare interest to run for the upcoming Governorship elections break any known laws in Rivers State, Nigeria or in the PDP party?

*Did the Police investigate and conclude with undeniable proofs that Hon. Farah Dagogo arranged and directed cultists to the South-South zonal office of the PDP in Port Harcourt?

If the Governor has information to that effect, he indeed, has to report it to the police as the Chief Security Officer of our State. But the Police must investigate and have proof of such before arresting any citizen, politician or not.

It is worth bearing in mind,   for the Police also need to know that Dagogo is a Governorship aspirant and his screening was due on the day that he was arrested and not on the day before when aspirants for National Assembly were being screened.

The people deserve a Police Force that gets their facts right before they are let loose on us.

The police arrested Hon. Farah Gagogo within hours of being accused of hiring cultists to the venue of the PDP zonal office in Port Harcourt, where he was expecting to be screened by

the PDP appointed Screening Committee, thereby denying him of his basic human rights to offer himself  to the people of his State.

He was denied his basic rights in the presence of the men and women representing the PDP, which should have long ago constituted a formidable opposition to the APC.

If the APC had acted in this manner towards Hon. Dagogo, or any other member of PDP, the PDP would have been shouting abuse of rights and, no doubt that l, Annkio Briggs, would have joined in condemning and accusing APC of witch-hunting.

It is a collective shame of the Federal House of Representatives and the National Assembly that, nearly seven days one of their members was so treated and denied his basic human rights, they are yet to express an opinion on the matter.

It is a shame on the PDP that the voices which have spoken up and have taken political advantage of the arrest of Dagogo are the APC.

It gets clearer every day how APC was able to easily take Federal Government political power from

PDP.

In the past seven years, all the PDP have done is say: “The broom cannot sweep, the umbrella willcover you.” How?, l dare ask.

Why did the Magistrate say he has no jurisdiction? What does he mean by that? Why was Honourable Dagogo denied bail, at least, pending police investigation? Have the Police and Judiciary decided to contribute to denying Dagogo his right to be screened?

After all these have been resolved, l hope the PDP will give Hon. Dagogo his opportunity to be screened as he did not, on his own volition, miss the screening as it is safe to assume that the Police arrested him to stop him from being screened.

The arrest of Hon. Farah Dagogo took place in the presence of PDP appointed Screening Committee. He was denied his basic human rights to be screened in the presence of those to conduct the screening.

PDP should not forget that we expect them to live up to the responsibilities of an opposition political party. If APC had arrested a PDP member at the venue of PDP screening of its member, PDP would be shouting abuse of human rights and dare l say l would have joined them in shouting rights abuse and witch hunting.

PDP cannot be saying this is a family affair when APC is gaining political mileage out of this. PDP should not continue to take the electorates of the Niger Delta for granted. When we wake up it will be the political loss of the PDP.

It is sadly clear why APC was able to take political power from PDP.

When all this is resolved, l expect the PDP to avail to Hon. Farah Dagogo a screening as he was denied his right to be screened.

The Police and Judiciary should not be sympathetic to any political party.

May l, at this point, call on all the indigenous peoples of our beloved Rivers States to remember that we are equal peoples of Rivers State.We we must take a stand for our future and refuse to let politics divide us, especially when the dividers take opportunities that we provide for them when we put party and strangers interests first in our beloved Rivers state.

Politics is the wagon that delivers the dividends of democracy. The the LGAs must ride on this wagon. The future, development, unity and justice of Rivers State is about, and for all, the peoples of Rivers state.

When l look back to the past l know Rivers State doesn’t want to see the political violence we saw in

2019, where tanks rolled into Rivers State, just to stop our people from voting for a candidate of our choice.

We all took risks to establish our rights to vote and to have our votes counted. It is our right.

I appeal again, the interests of our State and people must come first. Recalling the past seven years, the 2023 elections are likely to be worse than anything that we have seen since 1960, either as electorates or politicians.  Therefore, our lives, state and future must come first.

I call on the Inspector General of Police to look into the reasons and circumstances under which Hon. Farah Dagogo was arrested and is being held, and to please remember that these are uncertain times in Nigeria, from terrorism to political party interests.

Any injustice could give birth to reactions, and Rivers State, like Nigeria, is a political bubbling and boiling pot.

I speak with experience of 23 years spanning six elections in Nigeria and Rivers State, and we all, especially in Rivers State, need to bring the tempo down. We cannot call one situation an unjust situation at Federal Government level and call the same thing at Rivers State “it does not matter” – IT MATTERS!

I am concerned to hear that Hon. Dagogo is in hospital after six days in police custody. We all need to be concerned – politicians and non-politicians when in any custody must be protected. Months leading up to elections in Nigeria are dangerous times.

I have always stood fearlessly with, and for Truth, Right, Justice, Equity, and Equality, and l will continue to do so, in my beloved Rivers State and in the make by Lugard Nigeria that we find ourselves in.

 

The politicians of the PDP know that this can be resolved. l call on them to find the courage and to do so quickly; if you claim to be an elder politically or traditionally, be courageous and quench this political fire in our state. If you, for any reason, do not rise up for Rivers State, you will remember this statement.

I call for the release of Hon. Farah Dagogo from Police Custody on his own recognition and allow him his screening while the courts sort out if he is guilty or innocent of having deployed cultists to the South South Zonal Headquarters of the PDP in Port Harcourt.

Briggs, a daughter and servant of Rivers State wrote from Portharcourt

Decades Later, Abacha Loot Continues To Be Discovered

By
Uche Mbah
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By Uche Mbah

Millions of Dollars continue to be repatriated from money laundered and stashed away in foreign banks by late Nigerian dictator, General Sanni Abacha, and his associates.

The National Crime Agency, the Uk based crime detection agency, has been investigating the loot in collaboration with the US Department of Justice.

Information gathered by this magazine through the NCA website indicates that the Crime Agency has recovered $23,439,724.98 from the loot laundered out of Nigeria in the 1990s, during the rule of Abacha, associates and family.

According to the report, “the funds form part of a larger pool of monies identified by the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) as having been misappropriated by Abacha and his associates.”

The NCA acted on a request from the USDOJ, which report the Agency has been investigating for the past seven years.

They had pursued a “protracted litigation and international negotiation to obtain the recovery order, to enforce the US forfeiture order relating to the recovered monies.

The funds have now been transferred to the Home Office for onward transmission to the USDOJ, ” the DOJ website said.

According to reports, Billy Beattie, Asset Denial Senior Manager at the NCA, said: “The NCA is committed to ensuring that the UK is not a safe haven for criminals to launder their proceeds of crime, and civil recovery of assets is a powerful weapon in this fight.

“We work closely with UK and international partners to tackle the threat posed by corruption, which disproportionately impacts the poorest and most vulnerable members of society. We are committed to ensuring that those who perpetuate corruption do not benefit from their actions.”

“The NCA continues with other ongoing and affiliated cases where other monies are being identified   by the USDOJ “as having also been misappropriated by Abacha and his associates.”

CBN, Money Banks Step Up War Against Drug Money Inflows

By
James Orji
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CBN Gov Emefiele

By James Orji

The Godwin Emefiele-led Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has directed commercial banks in the country to block illicit drug proceeds front Republic of Benin. The apex bank said the banks must activate firewalls to prevent drug-related funds from the West African neighbour which has now become a hub for drug dealers, from entering the country.

The development came barely two weeks after the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA arrested billionaire drug kingpin Afam Mallinson Emmanuel Ukatu who was behind the N3 billion Tramadol deal linked to Abba Kyari, the disgraced former head of Intelligent Response Team, IRT.
Ukatu who is Chairman of Mallinson Group of Companies was eventually nabbed onboard a flight to Abuja at the MM2 terminal of the Lagos airport, Ikeja on April 13 several months after evading arrest by the anti-narcotic agency.

The magazine learnt from competent sources in CBN that the apex regulator has now stepped up collaboration with NDLEA with the aim of blocking illicit drugs related funds from getting passage into the country from neighbouring African nations.

The top financial regulator said it will hold any bank responsible for breech of this directive, adding that it has discovered that some criminals are trying to use the French speaking nation as a transit point of flushing Nigeria with drug money.

CBN, in a circular dated April 11 and signed by Asuquo Evelyn, Director of Banking Supervision department, said the order became necessary to stop Nigerian from being used as warehouse for dirty drug money.

It has, therefore, urged money banks and other financial institutions to strengthen their Know- Your Customers as well as customers due diligence mechanisms.

The circular said “We write to bring to your attention an intelligence report availed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which indicated that the Benin Republic is increasingly becoming a drug trafficking transit and consumption hub in West Africa,” the circular reads.

“In order to ensure that Nigerian banks are not used as conduits for laundering such illicit funds, it has become imperative to intensify the know-your-customer (KYC) and customer due diligence (CDD) measures in your bank as required by regulation.

“Consequently, you are required to implement additional measures on customers and business relationships linked to the Benin Republic. You are also required to re-classify related customers and transactions as high risk and conduct enhanced due diligence (ED) procedures accordingly.”

2023: Osinbajo Shuns South West Leaders’ Meeting With Akande, Tinubu

By
James Orji
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Yemi Osinbajo and Bola Tinubu

By James Orji

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will not attend a meeting convened by some south west leaders for presidential aspirants from the zone scheduled for Friday. The meeting was, arranged last week by former Governor of Osun state, Chief Bisi Akande and other Yoruba leaders with the intension of pruning down the number of aspirants and brightening the chances of the region in next year’s presidential election.

Some presidential hopefuls from the South west include Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Osinbajo, Governors Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, former governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, who is the latest aspirant to show interest in the race after declaring to run Thursday, amongst others.

Since announcement about the meeting was made last week, there were clear signals that some notable presidential aspirants will not attend, following watchers of events in the zone said the meeting was clearly “an APC affair” to drum up support for Tinubu, the party’s National Leader.
“The meeting should have been convened by traditional and religious leaders from the region, rather than Akande who is clearly an APC stalwart having held the position of APC National chairman at a point. It was clearly a mistake on the part of these leaders, and it’s not a su9 that the whole thing has fallen apart before it even started” , a source said on Friday.

Speaking on why Osinbajo will not attend the meeting, Kayode Ajulo, leader of pro- Osinbajo group, Progressives Lawyers for Osinbajo, PLO said his principal will not attend the meeting expected to take place at Lagos House, Marina today.

According to him, the meeting is a ploy to endorse Tinubu as the preferred candidate from the zone by Akande and others, through the back door. He said Osinbajo will not be cornered to drop his ambition for anyone, describing the venue of the meeting and conveners at root soldiers of Tinubu.

“The attention of the Progressive Lawyers for Osinbajo, PLO, has been drawn to a proposed meeting by some leaders of the APC in South West for the APC presidential aspirants of South West extraction slated to hold today, at State House, Marina, Lagos,” Ajulo said in a statement on Thursday.

The rights activist said further that, “We want to commend this initiative which we believe was borne out of our earlier call on the Yoruba leaders to hold a strategic conference to provide direction towards the fate of the South West in the coming presidential election.

“While it is our utmost desire that such an important meeting be conveyed to establish a consensus harmony among the aspirants of the APC in South West, we want to state clearly that it should be designed appropriately to promote fairness.

“This scheduled meeting should have been a welcome development but for the following configurations which were not rightfully designed.

“The composition of personality invited for this meeting is a testament to our position that the meeting is a sectional affair of the APC and clearly not in the interest of the southwest and Nigeria.
“The Choice of Venue: Lagos Flag House in Marina, Lagos belongs to Lagos State and associates. This venue should not play host to such a meeting if it will be adjudged to be credible and fair. The meeting, if it is for the collective good of the people, should be held at neutral locations like Ibadan, Oyo State or Akure, Ondo State.”

He questioned the motive behind the meeting, noting that the conveners did not have a clear agenda as to what they want to achieve other than a premeditated plan to throw up a particular candidate for the election.

“We can state for a fact that the motive of this meeting is inexplicit and undefined to many of the invited aspirants as most of them were never engaged. How the meeting is conveyed like a secret proceeding shows that the conveners have no defined agenda productive enough to be for the benefit of all.

“Information at our disposal has it that a communiqué has already been prepared, and in favour of a particular aspirant. This document is currently in circulation among some of the invitees.

“The above-stated positions have lent credence to the incredibility of the proposed meeting as well as the unreliability of same as a compass for the Southwest in the 2023 presidential election.
“We want to reiterate in clear terms that our recent call was directed at notable, respected and apolitical Yoruba leaders, who are genuinely interested in the development of the South West and Nigeria; leaders who patriotically and tenaciously hold on to the history and heritage of Yorubaland and the upliftment of the masses against inordinate personal gains.

“It is undoubted and without gainsaying that the meeting as conveyed with a prewritten communiqué without the inclusion of notable statesmen on the list of invitees is premeditated and planned to serve a purpose which will not be beneficial to the southwest and Nigeria,” Ajulo said.

Costa Rica 2022: Falconets In Tricky Group, To Face France, Korea Republic And Canada

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Falconet of Nigeria

By Akinwale Kasali

‘Group of Death’! That is where the nation’s Under-20 Female Team, the Falconets, has found itself at the 2022 FIFA Under-20 World Cup draw held in San Jose, Costa Rica.

The Coach Christopher Danjuma-tutored Falconets are In Group C, where it will play Female Football power- houses, France, Canada and South Korea.

Soccer analysts  and female Football enthusiasts had predicted a difficult Group for the Falconets following the caliber of the 16 teams which qualified for the mundial with Nigeria and  the Black Maidens of Ghana, the two which would hoist the Continent’s flag at the global showpiece.

Danjuma and Representatives of the Nigeria Football Federation at the draw ceremony that took  place at the Teatro Nacional (National Theatre) in San José, the capital of Costa Rica were dumbfounded as the Falconets were grouped among top rated teams. But as expected, Danjuma has remained optimistic that the Falconets will spring a surprise and qualify from the Group.

The other Groups in the 16 Team tournaments are as follow:

Group A – Hosts Costa Rica, Australia, Spain and Brazil

Group B – Germany, Colombia, New Zealand and Mexico.

Group C – France, Nigeria, Canada and Korea Republic.

Group D – Japan, Netherlands, Ghana and the United States of America (USA).

It would be recalled that the likes of Desire Oparanozie and Asisat Oshoala were products of the Falconets having showcased their brilliance at the Junior World Cup Stage.

At the 2010 Under-20 World Cup held in Germany, Oparanozie took the world by storm, as the nation got to the final of the tournament, losing to Germany in the final.

At the 2014 edition in Canada, the Falconets led by a young Oshoala lost again to Germany in extra time.

The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup returns in 2022 after the 2020 edition was canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Falconets had a successful qualification campaign for the tournament scheduled to take place in Costa Rica from Friday, August 10 to Sunday, August 28, 2022.

Ogun 2023: GNI, Yayi, Clash As Both Engage In War Of Words Over Ogun West Senatorial Seat

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Senator Olamilekan Adeola and Gboyega Isiaka

By Akinwale Kasali

Senator Olamilekan Adeola popularly known as Yayi, representing Lagos West Senatorial District at the National Assembly has engaged in war of words with Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, GNI, the Governorship Candidate of the Action Democratic Congress, ADC, at the 2019 election in Ogun State.

Yayi, who has declared interest to run for the Ogun West Senatorial District under the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has shifted his Party membership from Lagos State to Ogun State.

This move had over the past few months generated controversy among the APC ranks in Ogun State, but Yayi and GNI have been at loggerheads since the Senator indicated interest to vie for the position he is presently occupying in Ogun State APC.

Yayi had described GNI  as a serial loser, following GNI’s consecutive loss at the polls in 2011, 2015 and 2019.

The Ogun State born Senator Adeola had made this statement through his media aide, Kayode Odunaro, on Thursday, May 5, 2022, saying that elections are not won on the basis of money sharing, but on the credibility and hard work of the candidate.

This was in reaction to a story in Daily Trust Newspaper online of Thursday, May 5, 2022, with the title “2023: Isiaka Accuses Lagos Senator of Monetizing Ogun West Politics” credited to GNI, and published in other media outlets to the effect that Senator Adeola’s consecutive and consistent electoral successes were as a result of sharing money and bribing leaders of ‘Alimosho’ before the election.

The rebuttal by Yayi’s Media said Isiaka’s comments as born out of GNI’s political naivety, sheer inexperience, and frustration.

He said it was the height of political illiteracy for GNI to think that the five consecutive elections he won from the State House of Assembly through to the House of Representatives and the Senate were as a result of sharing money with leaders for endorsements.

Adeola submitted that he won elections based on robust engagement with the people as well as performance in office.

He, however, urged Isiaka to learn how elections are won, saying not fixated on money they can make for losing elections in the name of fighting for the cause of the people.

“The story further accused Senator Adeola of attempting to replicate the model in Ogun West Senatorial District where he is contesting for the senate seat in 2023.

“The Senator would have ignore this as yet another display of political tantrums and naivety born out of sheer inexperience and frustration but for the aspersion on political leaders in Alimosho, Lagos West and Ogun West as people that are easily compromised to arrive at their political preferences and endorsement of Senator Adeola over time.

“It is the height of political illiteracy for GNI to think that the 5 consecutives and progressive elections of Senator Adeola from the State House of Assembly through the House of Representatives and then the Senate is as a result of “sharing money” to leaders for endorsements shortly before election.

“Elementary political knowledge would have inform the mind of Isiaka to know that endorsement alone does not win election or re-elections as has been demonstrated by Senator Adeola. Election and re-election are won on the basis of the credibility and hard work of the candidates as well as performance in office. Senator Adeola has won elections on the basis of robust engagement with the people as well as performance on various mandates reposed on him by the electorate and not just some leaders that GNI want to malign unjustly. Certainly, he does not have the money to buy the leaders and electorate all the time. They trust him based on his peoples oriented approach to politics and demonstrated performance in office.

“But we are not surprised at the reasoning of Isiaka who has a record of serial loser of three elections back-to-back thinking that sharing money is the route to electoral victory. The question to ask is what has he done with all the huge funds raised/donated to him for the three elections he lost in spite of sentiment for a victory?  The answer may account for his loss of many followers in recent times.

“Going forward, GNI and his team should learn the ropes of how elections are won and lost and not be fixated on money they can make for losing elections in the name of fighting for the cause of the people. Having failed in the attempt to exclude Senator Adeola from the democratic contest for Ogun West Senatorial District, this is not the time to mouth insouciant inanities like ‘aberration’, “immoderate ambition” and a nebulous “collective sensibilities” but a time to engage the people at all levels for a changed political narrative that is upon Ogun West Senatorial District with the democratic participation of Senator Adeola.”

PDP Extols Late President Yar’Adua; Reinforces Demand for Rule of Law, Credible Elections

By
Adesina Soyooye
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Musa Yar Adua

By Adesina Soyooye

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has described the late President Umaru Yar’Adua as a pride to Nigeria, and a man who upheld the rule of law.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, on Thursday, to mark the anniversary of Yar’Adua’s passing, the PDP extolled the qualities of the late President, acknowledging his humility, and legacies.

The Party, particularly, praised his penchant for upholding the rule of law, and hailed him as a man of peace.

Yar’Adua, a former Governor of Katsina State, in 2007, succeeded President Olusegun Obasanjo in office. But he was a sick man, and, died in office midway into his four-year tenure.

He was succeeded by his Deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, who, after completing the remaining two years of the Yar’Adua Presidency, contested and won, in his own right, a four year tenure. He, however, lost his bid for a second term in office to the then General Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

Following is the full text of PDP’s statement.

“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) remembers with nostalgia the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua (President of Nigeria 2007-2010) who gave his all and died in the service of our dear fatherland, Nigeria.

“Late President Yar’Adua was a beloved leader and exceptionally courageous, humble, honest, forthright and dependable statesman, whose legacies in stabilizing our nation particularly in instilling the Rule of Law, equity and peaceful co-existence in line with the manifesto of the PDP remain unparalleled.

“He was an unrelenting advocate of the Rule of Law, who dignified the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by promptly executing Orders of Court in line with his Oath of Office even when such Orders are not favourable to his interest or that of his Party.

“Yar’Adua was a detribalized Nigerian, an angel of peace who manifestly loved Nigerians without regard to ethnic, religious, class or political considerations and placed the peace, unity and wellbeing of the people above every other interest.

“Despite his personal challenges, President Yar’Adua stood firm in the defense of truth, justice, fairness and laid a solid foundation for electoral reforms and credible elections in Nigeria.

“His avowed commitment to the unity and peaceful co-existence of our nation is legendry through his Amnesty Programme which brought relative peace to the then restive Niger Delta region of the country and set the nation on the path of social and economic sustainability.

“Indeed, our nation will continue to miss late President Yar’Adua as a leader with a heart for the people as envisioned by our founding fathers.

“The PDP in remembering late President Yar’Adua urges Nigerians to insist on the Rule of Law and credible elections in our country by actively participating in the on-going electoral process and voting en masse in the 2023 general elections to Rescue Nigeria from misrule and rudderlessness

“Our Party salutes the widow of the Late President Yar’Adua and the entire Yar’Adua family for their courage and steadfastness in upholding the virtues, values and legacies of the departed President.”

Senator Orji Kalu’s Brother, Mascot, Dumps APC, Forms New Party; Kalu Says He Is In Shock

By
Adesina Soyooye
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By Adesina Soyooye

The home support base of Orji Uzor Kalu, Senate Chief Whip, has dwindled. His younger brother, Mascot, has suddenly dumped the All Progressives Congress, APC, and formed a new Political Party, Action Peoples Party.

It is not known why Mascot, the 2019 defeated APC candidate for the House of Representatives, and a one-time Chief of Staff to a former Governor of the State, Senator Theodore Orji, dumped the APC where the brother, Senator Kalu is the leader in their Abia State.

Senator Kalu has expressed shock  at the development. He said his brother, Mascot,  neither gave him any inkling that he was dumping APC, not does he know the reason why he did that.

In a statement on his official Facebook page, Senator Kalu said, “I have received several calls from friends, associates, political stakeholders and leaders of thought seeking my opinion on the defection of my brother, Mascot, from the APC to Action Peoples Party, APP.

“Sincerely, the National Chairman, two Deputy National Chairmen of our great party, including the Senate President, persuaded him to remain with the APC but he declined.

“I was surprised to hear that he, alongside other stakeholders, launched the new party, Action Peoples Party, APP, yesterday,(Wednesday), in Umuahia without informing me.

“Well, I don’t have any issue with my brother; he has the right to take a decision on his political future, and, as a democrat, I acknowledge his right to determine his political affiliation and wishes him well.”

“I remain the Chief Whip of the Senate and a committed member of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

“I am even more determined to serve my people and facilitate more dividends of democracy to them.”

However, not a few people say they do not believe Senator Kalu that he is ignorant of his brother’s new move. Some allege that he might even be behind the new party. They pointed out that he did the same thing when he was Abia State Governor.

As the Abia State Governor under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, during his second term in office, he founded and funded a new Party, PPA, as his Plan B  following his misunderstanding with President Olusegun Obasanjo.

He followed that up by sponsoring two Governorship candidates in Imo and Anambra State, Ikedi Ohakim and Theodore Orji. Both men won the Governorship for Imo and Anambra States, respectively, in 2007.  Sadly for him, the two Governors later dumped PPA for the PDP, over what they alleged was Kalu’s suffocating control.

Is the same PPA scenario about to play out? Time will tell.

OPINION: Osinbajo And The Dogs of War

By
The Source
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By Dan Abubakar

“How does the Osinbajo serving in the Lagos State Government, under Tinubu as Governor, or that Tinubu nominated him as Vice President to Buhari, sentence him to a lifetime of servitude to Tinubu? The shallowness of the reasoning in Babachir Lawal’s piece, evidently on behalf of his master, speaks to the quality of many who now operate in the public space in Nigeria”

With the number of those lining up to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari increasing by the day and threatening to turn the whole business into a circus, anyone can be forgiven for choosing to shut out all the noise, or to scream: “Stop the world I want to get off!”

Most of those insisting on inflicting themselves on us have such character and record of public disservice that in much saner circumstances nobody will put them up even for the position of dog catcher or cow herder.

You hardly hear of them, or what they stand for, beyond their initial announcements or loosely-pasted posters flying off walls or overhead bridges. There is hardly any discussion of how to get the country out of its current quagmire. You infact get the sense that many of them do not even appreciate that the country is in a mess and, if they do, they think that in their envisaged elected or appointed positions they would be ensconced in a laager of self enrichment and comfort as wards of the state.

Their ongoing feverish  activity characterized by meeting after meeting in hotels and backrooms till wee hours of the morning to engage in what they do best – horse-trading and transactional politics that  profiteer off our differences.

This is why the candidacy of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has offered the prospect of a somewhat refreshing change to the political conversation. By the manner of his entrance and his oratory at various occasions, he appears to be predicating his campaign on a future of hope and is inspiring and channeling the energies of the youth to build that future. He offers an intimidating pedigree, including a first class education and experience at close quarters to appreciate the complexities of the country and what needs to be done. He thinks on his feet and has a mastery of the issues. At a recent event in Lagos, one guest who heard him speak leaned towards another and said “it is indeed high time Nigeria had a literate president”.

Osinbajo’s distinction in the field of APC candidates has inevitably made him the target of crude assault  and venomous abuse inspired by political opponents.

The latest has come, not too surprisingly, from former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, who was disgraced out of office in 2017.

An acolyte of Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, he has followed the track of those who my Christian friends say engage in blasphemy when they allege a Judas Iscariot level of  betrayal in Osinbajo pitting his ambition against Tinubu’s. How does the fact that Osibanjo serving in the Lagos State Government, under Tinubu as governor, or that Tinubu nominated him as Vice to Buhari, sentence him to a lifetime of servitude to Tinubu?

The shallowness of the reasoning in Lawal’s piece, evidently on behalf of his master, speaks to the quality of many who now operate in the public space in Nigeria.

As the build up to the APC convention gathers pace and the political environment appears more opaque because of the games being played even at the highest levels of the party and government, area boy politics, fear and loathing in the Tinubu camp and projected by the media he owns and those in actual servitude to him are to be  expected and with increased frequency.

They have no farther to look than Osibanjo in their search for enemies and locating a principal adversary. Unlike Osinbajo who most have described as a fair and level-minded person who is also quick and agile on his feet, their principal on the contrary appears to be the opposite such that it would actually be cruel in a society that still has a tradition of respect and even reverence for the elderly to have him stand up and speak in a debate.

Yet this must be one of the several requirements we must demand of all the political parties to institute in choosing their flag-bearers so as to prune the maddening number of jesters  currently in the race  if we are serious about having a president fit for purpose.

There are obvious many disqualifications of most of those rooting to be our next president, and as for Tinubu his best days are clearly not ahead of him. He would have been more highly regarded if we had seen the positive influence he has on the Buhari presidency, or for that matter even back an Osibanjo presidency.

Other than helping to put Buhari in power – a fact which must be acknowledged but which appears to give him this overpowering sense of entitlement –  what qualifies Tinubu to be president of Nigeria? That he is awash with cash? What is the source of all that money?

This is indeed a question that must be asked of all the candidates.

At a time the nation is in such desperate straits, when a driven, alert, razor-sharp and sacrificial leadership is needed, how do each of the candidates in all the parties measure up? What do they stand for? What programmes and projects have they  come up with to pull Nigeria out of the present abyss and to at last put it on a viable course of development?

The concern of most is that if the past is often a prologue, how will Nigeria under a Tinubu presidency be handled any differently from the fate of Lagos during and in the aftermath of Tinubu’s incumbency as governor?

The Tinubu crowd has however not been the only source of barbs at Osinbajo. Long before he declared his presidential ambition, one commentator far from these shores who teaches journalism in a university few Nigerians had heard of, had decided to make taking down Osinbajo his life assignment.

A Mr Know-All, he trades on rumours and professes to have information on even what goes on in Buhari’s bedroom. He routinely goes overboard in his pseudo-analyses, disparaging anyone he sets his sight on. He has engaged in an unholy war over Osinbajo’s faith – ascribing to the Vice President a level of intolerance that  those close to the man wonder just who this fellow is writing about.

He has been unrelenting. Needing the crutch of signing off his pieces with his credentials and academic qualifications in full display, he appears to forget that one of the first rules of journalism is that the reporter or analyst does not turn himself into the issue.

But such is ambition to present himself as a knowledgeable observer of Nigerian affairs and  draw attention to himself, that this previously unknown fellow continues to lob stones at anyone who catches his fancy in language unbefitting of the academic he professes to be.

As the party conventions draw nearer, the atmosphere is bound to be more heated and charged by vile distemper, abuse and  increased mischief, vitriol and vulgarity.

We must insist that the candidates and their followers/supporters  ensure an atmosphere focused on the issues that matter to Nigerians. A putrid atmosphere will only unfortunately draw attention away from the needed focus on the country’s challenges and the solutions we must find.

Abubakar, a Political Analyst, wrote-in from Abuja

Yahaya Bello: Group Carpets Ohanaeze Over Attacks On MASSOB Leader Uwazurike

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The Source
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Ralph Uwazurike and Yahaya Bello

A group under the aegis of the National Alliance For Democratic Governance (NADG), which says it is a pro-democracy group and accountable governance advocate, has condemned what it described as “unwanted attacks on the founder and leader of Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and the Biafra Independent Movement, Chief Ralph Uwazurike over his support for the presidential ambition of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.”

Uwazuruike had, a couple of days ago, shocked not a few Nigerians, especially, from the South-east Zone, when he led a street campaign in Owerri, Imo State, in support of the Presidential aspiration of the Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, under the All Progressives Congress, APC. 

But in defence of Uwazuruike, the Group wondered why Igbo politicians who have no respect for their opinion leaders should be supported while those outside Igbo land who honoured them with consultation visits should be disregarded by South East leaders whom they visited just because an Igbo son or daughter, who pretends that they do not exist, is contesting for elective position.

The NADG, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, James Ezema, urged Ohanaeze Ndigbo and others who were critical of the action of Chief Uwazurike,  to properly guide and advise Igbo politicians to respect their opinion leaders, market women and youth leaders if they need their support.

It said it was “unfortunate that a supposed apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, the once revered Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has now turned itself into a political regulatory organisation for the South East and now infringing on people’s fundamental rights to associate.

“In as much as Ndigbo, ahead of the 2023 general elections, are agitating for a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction as part of a visible remedy for the long years of marginalisation of the South East in particular and the old eastern region as a whole, it is undemocratic for Ohanaeze Ndigbo, or any individual for that matter, to decide for another Igbo son or daughter whom to associate with.

“If indeed Uwazurike has long ago lost relevance in Igbo land as the group claimed, why is Ohanaeze Ndigbo complaining about such a person?

“The Ohanaeze Ndigbo has, by its outburst against Chief Uwazurike, manifested the age-long lack of understanding of grassroots politics by most Igbo politicians who disregard their home front in pursuit of national political relevance.

“How many Igbo sons who are contesting for President have visited major Igbo stakeholders like Uwazurike and others?

“Has any Igbo presidential aspirant consulted international figures like former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Chief Emeka Anyaoku?

“We have many prominent Igbo sons like the former chieftain of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Chief Ralph Obioha, a staunch Igbo defender like Chief Willy Ezugwu, who is a traditional ruler and the Secretary General of Nigeria Political Parties (CUPP) and the National Coordinator of the South East Revival Group (SERG), among several other ranking Igbos opinion leaders. Who among the so-called Igbo aspirants visited them in the course of their consultations?

“Recall that Governor Yahaya Bello recently visited Chief Uwazurike at his country home in Imo State to seek his support for Presidency. How many of those presidential aspirant of Igbo extraction have visited Uwazurike to inform him of their plans to run for president?

“An Igbo proverb says “Ana esi n’ụlọ ama mma apụ n’èzí” (meaning that charity begins at home) and indeed, grassroots politics begins at home.

“Besides Peter Obi who visibly declared for president at a meeting with his traditional rulers and opinion leaders within his constituency, who among the Igbos contesting for president has visited traditional rulers, political elites, market women leaders or youth leaders, in South East?

“It is lack of understanding of grassroots politics that has led to such gross neglect of Igbo opinion leaders by presidential aspirants of South East extraction, yet when honour given by outsiders to these opinion leaders is returned, groups like Ohanaeze Ndigbo will kick against them rather than properly advising Igbo politicians to remember their home front if Igbos want to be united in reclaiming their lost grounds in the post-civil war Nigerian politics.

“Why should Chief Uwazurike, who merely reciprocated a gesture by Governor Yahaya Bello, be vilified as if Ndigbo are not seeing Yoruba presidential aspirants consulting their traditional rulers and opinion leaders in the South West while Igbo aspirants neglect their own?”, the Group said.

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