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Angry, PDP Rebukes Buhari, Calls Him, APC, Clueless, Rudderless, Arrogant In Failure

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The Source
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Debo Ologunagba - PDP Publicity Secretary

In its most strongly-worded attack on President Muhammadu Buhari and his Government so far, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  dismissed them in choice, negative, words.

“The PDP asserts that President Buhari presides over the most rudderless, corrupt, disunited, disorganised, arrogant political party and Government in the history of our country, a fact that is already established by Nigerians across board,” the Party said in a Press statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, on Sunday, March 13, 2022.

The PDP was reacting to Buhari’s advice to his Party, the All Progressives Congress,  not to be like the PDP which, in 2015, lost power to the APC because of its internal crisis. He advised the APC to learn from the loss of the PDP, and not be like it.

Buhari is in London, but the APC has been engulfed in serious leadership crisis which is threatening its scheduled National Convention against March 26, 2022.

Said the PDP: “If the President were ‘present’ as President and party leader, he should have known that the  Party that is “enfeebled and adrift”, plagued by disunity, mismanagement and corruption, arrogance of power and self-aggrandizement which he alluded to, is not the PDP but the evidently mismanaged and mutating crisis-ridden APC.”

Following is the full text of the statement entitled:

Buhari, APC, Perfect Examples of Arrogance in Failure- PDP

“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) describes the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration as a perfect example of arrogance in failure.

“The PDP asserts that President Buhari presides over the most rudderless, corrupt, disunited, disorganized, arrogant political party and government in the history of our country; a fact that is already established by Nigerians across board.

“PDP’s position is predicated on the comments by President Buhari, who in his lame attempt to address the irreconcilable infighting in his fizzling APC fixated on the PDP, apparently discomfited by the renewed massive popularity of the PDP among Nigerians ahead of the 2023 general elections.

“The Buhari administration is a certified failure which has brought unprecedented economic hardship, chaos, escalated insecurity, a state of anomie and hopelessness in our country in the last six years.

“If Mr. President were ‘present’ as President and party leader, he should have known that the party that is “enfeebled and adrift”, plagued by ‘disunity, mismanagement and corruption”; “arrogance of power” and “self-aggrandizement” which he alluded to, is not the PDP but the evidently mismanaged and mutating crisis ridden APC.

“It is important to educate Mr. President on the arrogance of power in his refusal to timeously appoint an economic team or listen to wise counsel on the economy and security. This is why he completely mismanaged our national affairs and turned our nation into the poverty capital of the world and the third country with the highest level of terrorism according to the World Terrorism Index.

“Such arrogance of power is manifesting in President Buhari and APC’s refusal to accept failure for the near collapse of our economy from the $550 billion economy (largest in Africa and 26th globally) handed over to them in 2015 by the PDP; the fall of the naira from about N197 to a dollar to almost N600 today and the hike in petrol price from N87 per liter in 2015 to between N300 andN400 per liter today.

“In addition to this, the price of diesel which is a critical component in the productive sector of the economy now stands at inconceivable N700 per liter under the APC.

“Is it not arrogance of power that informed the Buhari-led APC administration to import contaminated fuel, induce agonizing fuel scarcity on our citizens and yet had the effrontery to tell Nigerians that “heaven will not fall” over the fuel situation?

“The same arrogance of power accounted for the repeated refusal by the APC administration to obey Court Orders; for President Buhari’s repeated refusal to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill until he was pressured by the PDP and Nigerians as well as his constant disdain toward the people in repeatedly refusing to address the nation on critical issues, notably during the October 2020 EndSARS protest and the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The arrogance and impunity of the APC administration also accounted for its refusal to prosecute APC leaders indicted for corruption; the barefaced denial that no one was killed in the EndSARS protest despite national and international evidence of bloody massacre of our youths at the Lekki Tollgate as well as the failure to account for the billions of naira Covid-19 Funds stolen by APC leaders.

“This is in addition to the recent arrogant, corrupt and criminal removal of electricity subsidy without reference to Nigerians among other thoughtless and inhumane actions of the APC government.

“Moreover, it is ludicrous that Mr. President who confirmed that the APC as a party of irreconcilable political warlords, is bedeviled by “the infighting we are seeing” instead of the expected “robust debate on the issues that matter”, is looking elsewhere for a lesson in “disunity, mismanagement and corruption”.

“Mr. President has so arrogantly mismanaged the APC that it is now plagued by two illegal national chairmen, multiple structures in States; enfeebled to the extent that it cannot conduct a valid National Convention or produce legitimate candidates for elections, with its activities no longer recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“Since President Buhari has now agreed that government should not be “a vehicle for self-aggrandizement to be held at all costs” the PDP urges him to assist his party to wind up as Nigerians are now rallying on the platform of the united, cohesive, focused and dependable PDP in our mission to Rescue and Rebuild our nation from the arrogance and misrule of the Buhari APC government.”

Clergyman Nabbed By NDLEA For Carrying Drugs

By
The Source
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Ugochukwu Emmanuel

By Gideon Njoku

His mission on earth is dual. On one hand, he is a winner of souls for Christ. He carries the Holy Bible. And preaches the Gospel to his congregation. But on the other hand, too, he is a devil’s workshop. He deceives his congregation, and destroys souls.

Rev. Ugochukwu Emmanuel’s double life has been exposed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

Ugochukwu is the General Overseer of Christ Living Hope Church which Headquarters is at Isuaniocha, Mgbakwu road, Awka North Local Government Area, Anambra State. He also has branches  in Abuja.

But this last Monday, the NDLEA exposed who he really is. A carrier of illicit drug. A destroyer of souls.

Ugochukwu was nabbed by Operatives of the Agency at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

He was on his way to Nairobi, Kenya, when he was caught by the Operatives.  On him were 54   “sticks” of illicit substance.

His religious crusade in Nairobi was scheduled to last for three weeks. And, on interrogation by the NDLEA, he confessed that he packed the substance to use for the period his crusade would last.

Confirming the story, NDLEA  Spokesman, Femi Babafemi  said: “When tested, the 54 sticks proved positive to Cannabis. The Clergyman confessed during a preliminary interview that  he packed the quantity of illicit substance on his body to use during his three weeks crusade in Kenya.”

Noted an eye witness: “He needed the substance to get high and be able to win souls for Christ in Nairobi.”

It is not known, yet, the state of his congregation in Nigeria, or of those who packaged the Crusade he was going to.

Newly Elected Chairmen, Councillors In Ekiti Lament Over Poor Remuneration

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

Ekiti State Chapter of the  Association of Local Government Chairmen,(ALGON) is set to meet Governor Kayode Fayemi over poor condition of service for the elected officials of the third tier of Government.

The Chairmen and Councillors were elected during last year’s December Local Government election for 16 constitutionally recognized Councils and nine Local Council Development Areas, (LCDA).

While the Chairmen were sworn in within a week of their election, the Councillors were inaugurated last month, precisely, February 14,  over two months after their election.

It was gathered that the Councillors were planning to embark on a peaceful protest over delay in their inauguration before the exercise took place.

When their salary and other allowances were to be released through the office of Chief of Staff to the Governor, it was learnt that they fell short of that of their immediate predecesors in office.

Further checks revealed that elected and appointees at the Third Tier of Government under the administrations of former Governors Segun Oni and Ayo Fayose enjoyed better renumerations than the present administration of Dr Kayode Fayemi.

Chairmen under the present administration are on salary of less than N300, 000, Vice Chairman, N250,000 while Councillors take home monthly pay is about N100,000 after various deductions.

Monthly security vote of Council Chairmen has also been reduced to a paltry sum of N300,000, despite the high spate of insecurity in the state.

Governor Fayemi has not hidden his opposition to the existence of Local Councils, as the Third Tier of Government in Nigeria.

Even as the Chairman, of the Nigeria Governors Forum, (NGF), he has strongly canvassed against the autonomy of local government, saying in the type of Nigeria’s democracy, state and Federal Government should be federating units.

It was further learnt that with the creation of additional LCDAs by the present administration, constitutionally recognized Local Councils are in for more troubles.

The misfortunes of the councils are further compounded by their inability to generate funds internally.

Many Local Governments in the state cannot generate N100,000 in a month, while the amount being generated is being embezzled by revenue officials that refuse to account for money in their care.

Some of the elected Chairmen, according to further investigation now go about in their personal vehicles as their Local Government cannot afford to buy official cars for them.

The Chairmen have to revert to the Commissioner for Local Government over any contract that is above N100,000.

These and more are some of the issues to be tabled before Governor Fayemi by the newly elected officials of the state chapter of ALGON anytime they are opportuned to meet with him.

Wike Taunts Shaibu, Edo DG; “Look At A Deputy Governor Wearing Khaki”; Asks, “Who Is His Father?”

By
Adesina Soyooye
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By Adesina Soyooye

The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Edo State Chapter, boiled over on Friday, March 11, 2022, when the no-nonsense-taking Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, waded in.

Speaking at a commissioning ceremony in  Rivers State, Wike taunted the Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, for daring to threaten the PDP.

Shaibu had, while speaking on a National Television, threatened the PDP. “There is an alternative to the Party”, he said.

But an evidently shocked Wike took Shaibu on for his audacity, and taunted him; ” Look at a Deputy Governor wearing khaki. Then, he asked: “Who is his father?”

Querying Shaibu’s new found audacity, Wike told the story of how Shaibu knelt down, begging the PDP to accommodate them in the Party, only for Shaibu to now have the guts to threaten the Party, talking about alternative.

Shaibu and his boss, Governor Godwin Obaseki, had been denied a second term ticket by the All Progressives Congress, APC, then, under the Chairmanship of Adams Oshiomhole, a former Governor of Edo State. That action pushed Obaseki and Shaibu out of APC, and to the PDP. But it, also, marked the end of Oshiomhole’s Chairmanship of the APC. He was sacked, unceremoniously, by President Muhammadu Buhari for that and other sundry issues.

The first place Obaseki and Shaibu ran to, as soon as they were denied the ticket, was  Government House, Porthacourt, Rivers State, to see Wike. The PDP not only accommodated them, but went overboard to give them the ticket which earned them a second term in office.

Remembering how both men ran helter-skelter begging to be accommodated by the PDP, and the tension the Party struggled to douse  among its other aspirants so as to accommodate both men, Wike couldn’t understand where Shaibu was coming from. He couldn’t understand what gave a Deputy Governor the guts to threaten a National Party. And Wike threatened that Shaibu will face serious disciplinary action.

Edo Deputy Gov Shuaibu
Shuaibu

To see to that, the Governor said he has petitioned the National Chairman of the PDP against Shaibu, insisting that Shaibu’s utterances were unprecedented.

Wike: “He (Shaibu) is threatening the Party that there is an alternative to the PDP. This is the same Deputy Governor that knelt down to beg for us to give them the umbrella. Today, he has the effrontery to threaten the PDP. What a shame!

“These were the same people when they were denied the ticket by ordinary APC, ran to PDP to beg for umbrella. A Deputy Governor is wearing khaki.

“When they were denied ticket under the APC, they were running helter-skelter begging everybody to give them the umbrella. We went and ensured that they won that election.

“Today, that Deputy Governor will be ranting, A Deputy Governor! A Deputy Governor will come on the television to tell the PDP that there is alternative.

“I have written to the National Chairman of the Party. If they don’t constitute a Disciplinary Committee against the Deputy Governor, I will invoke the sections of the Party and ensure they discipline the Deputy Governor.

“He lost his election during the election. It is unfortunate!

“I have never seen a Deputy Governor, come out of the Television to threaten the Party. Who is his father?

“Now that he has started the trouble, let him wait. We will make sure he never rests.

“How can you come and threaten a whole Party when we are there as Governors? It won’t work. And it will never work.”

A couple of months ago, there were speculations that Deputy Governor Shaibu was, allegedly, having some problems with Governor Obaseki over appointments, and could be headed back to the APC. But they remained what they were – mere speculations.

Clamour for Nigerian President Of Southeast Extraction Resonates In The U.S.

By
The Source
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Johns Hopkins University

Conferees at Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC, say it will engender peace, cohesion and national stability if a President of South-east extraction is elected in Nigeria in 2023.

This is as the growing clamour for that resonated, loudly, on Friday, March 11, in the United States of America at an international conference organized by a group, Nextier Advisory. The group is a multi-competency public policy advisory firm with core competencies in policy research, analysis, design and implementation.

The conference which took place, in-person, at the meeting hall of the School of Advanced and International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC, also had an online audience drawn from around the world on Zoom.

Themed “U.S. policy and Nigeria’s national decisions in the 2023 elections,” organisers of the conference that included School of Advanced and International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University, School of International Service at the American University, and the Center for Peace, Democracy and Development at the University of Massachusetts, said the goal was to ascertain how best U.S. policy can strengthen democratic institutions in Nigeria and help the country manage its perfect storm of security crises, and help affirm commitment to civilian electoral rule in Nigeria.

Participants at the Conference that included Nigerians agreed that the easiest way to ensure peace in the country was to promote equity, fairness and justice.

With nationwide elections scheduled for early 2023 and tensions over who will succeed the term-limited President and Governors escalating in recent months, the Conferees warned the situation was sure to aggravate the already precarious security situation in the country as the nation moves toward hotly contested party primaries in mid-2022.

“Nigeria’s increasing fragility has become the subject of increasing debate and concern. The country has displayed a growing national security crisis arising from widespread kidnappings, banditry, multiple ongoing insurrections, rising secessionist movements, intensifying farmer-herder conflicts, and elite struggles over control of political offices,” the conference organisers noted.

But Prof Chudi Uwazurike, an academic and former member of the Federal House of Representatives, said the most pragmatic way of dealing with the Nigerian question was to ensure that Nigeria elects a President from the Southeast in the 2023 elections.

Prof Uwazurike’s call was echoed by Idayat Hassan, Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), an Abuja-based policy advocacy and research organization focusing on deepening democracy and development in West Africa.

Urging the political parties, particularly the dominant ones – Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) – to zone their Presidential tickets to the Southeast, both Prof Uwazurike and Idaya, a Lawyer, said such a move will not only promote equity, justice, and fairness but also engender the needed peace, cohesion and national stability that will stimulate nation-building.

Prof Uwazurike, a renowned public intellectual, said: “Zoning presidency to the Southeast in 2023 will address grievances. Nigeria has a fantastic opportunity in 2023 to create a good future but there is a need to address the injustice done to the Southeast region. There is the need to ensure there is equity, justice, and fairness so as to assuage the people.

“Their request is not a radical one but a rational approach that will promote peace and national cohesion.”

Speaking in the same vein, Idayat Hassan said: “2023 will provide another unique opportunity to re-negotiate the country. If there is no justice and equity, Nigeria will collapse. We need to acknowledge the injustice that was done to the people (South-easterners).

“Election 2023 should be seen as a time for genuine reconciliation in Nigeria by supporting a President from the Southeast region to emerge in 2023.

“We must allow inclusion, equity, justice and fairness to reign because without it you cannot deepen the nation’s democracy.”

There has been clamour for the Igbo to be allowed to produce the president in 2023 since it is the only major ethnic group that hasn’t held the position since 1999, not even the vice president.

However, a participant, Brig. General Saleh Bala, said he was opposed to the idea of zoning.

Rather than rotating political positions around tribal groupings, he is of the view that since democracy is a game of numbers, the majority should have the final say.

But he was countered by Chief Osita Chidoka, former Minister of Aviation, who reminded him that concepts like quota system and Federal Character, which was codified in the Constitution were all done to carry along certain parts of the country considered to be lagging behind for the sake of unity and inclusiveness.

In his contribution, Michael Gonzales, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs, whose portfolio covers West Africa and the Sahel Region, reiterated America’s commitment to ensuring transparent and credible elections in Nigeria in 2023.

Gonzales warned that there would be sanctions for Government officials who would be tempted to manipulate the 2023 elections.

Simon Ekpa Threatens Guerilla Warfare In The South-east; Says It Begins March 15

By
The Source
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By Charles Igbo

As from the 15th of March, a guerilla warfare will break out in the South-east. This is according to Simon Ekpa,  the self proclaimed disciple of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.

Ekpa is based in Finland, where he is a citizen. He sounds and behaves like a more aggresive version of IPOB. And, hardly, according to reports, adhere to any instructions from the Directorate of Services, DOS of IPOB.

He first entred into  National consciousness when the IPOB leader, Kanu, was re-arrested and brought back to Nigeria from Nairobi. He, literally, claimed the “leadership” of IPOB’s broadcasting arm. But a couple of days later, he was countered by the leadership of IPOB, which said he was just one of the broadcasters, but has refused to adhere to their code of conduct.

When the leadership of IPOB canceled the every Monday sit-at-home order, it didn’t sit well with Ekpa. He, allegedly, gave a counter order.

Since then, his relationship with the DOS has not been tidy. A few days ago, he let it be known that Kanu has been removed by some people as the Leader of IPOB. He said Sofia Kalu, identified as the Director of Finance, IPOB, in London, is the new Leader, while Kanu is now a Director.

However, Kanu’s family  denied the claim, insisting, through his younger brother, Kanunta Kanu, that Nnamdi Kanu remains the only Leader of IPOB.

Now, Ekpa has raised the ante, and increased the tempo and tension.

In a post which surfaced on Saturday, March 12, Ekpa threatened that a guerilla war will begin in Igboland if Federal Security Agents do not pull out before then. He accused them of killing children and women, all in the name of “stopping Biafra freedom or secessionist as you call them.”

He then issued a three-day ultimatum to them to leave, failing which a guerilla warfare would begin.

His post reads:

“You who bring military to kill our children and women in the name of stopping Biafra freedom or secessionist as you call them.

“15. 3. 2022 is the deadline to demilitarise our region or face the Biafra Guerilla warfare as their defence.

“We will not also allow those who brought them. Simon Ekpa.”

It is not yet confirmed if he consulted the IPOB DOS before the ultimatum. But there has been no response from IPOB and/or any Security Agency.

Already, fear has gripped not a few people in the South-east for a guerilla warfare is the least expected in a zone which economy is almost crippled by insecurity.

NURTW Crisis: How Lagos Agberos Make Over N123 Billion Yearly; Reason For Crisis

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Musiliu Akinsany- MC Oluomo

By Akinwale Kasali

The crisis rocking the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, at the National level has deepened. Most, especially, the economy hub of the nation, Lagos State.

It, however, escalated after the suspension of Musiliu Akinsanya, MC Oluomo, by the National Body led by Tajudeen Baruwa for, alleged, high handedness, insurbodination, abuse of power and lack of respect for the constituted authority.

Though, the Lagos State Chapter of the NURTW has been engulfed in crisis, which led to the killings and severe injuries sustained at Idumota area of the State, as factions within the State Chapter. They had a free for all fight.

The reason for this fisticuff is said to be power of dominance and supremacy from MC Oluomo and the National body, especially with Baruwa.

Lagos State, the commercial hub of the nation, the most valuable State in terms revenue generation, prompting MC Oluomo to ride on that crest and act like a colossus.

According to International Center For Investigative Reporting, ICIR, Lagos State NURTW generates over N123 Billion on a yearly basis.

Analyzing how the Lagos NURTW generates such huge revenue, ICIR highlighted that the number of Commercial Buses in Lagos to be 75,000, with each Bus paying a sum of N3,000 on a daily basis.

At the end of of the Year, revenue generated from buses is a whopping sum of N82.1 Billion.

ICIR Stastitics

For Motorcycles, putting into consideration that it is banned in some parts of Lagos, making most Okada riders to operate in the hinterlands of the State,

the statistics of ICIR indicates that there are 37,000 Motorcycles operating in the State and each one of them pay the sum of N600 to the NURTW daily.

Annually, the sum of N8.1 Billion is realized from Motorcycles.

For Tricycles, popularly known as Keke Marwa and Keke Napep, they pay N1,800 daily for the NURTW officials. It is estimated that there are 50,000 Tricycles in the State.

At the end of the year, the Lagos Agberos generate the sum of N32.9 Billion.

These juicy largesse is the reason why becoming the Chairman of the NURTW Lagos Chapter is always like going to war. Candidates deploy any means available to get to the position.

It was gathered that the reason behind the crisis is this largesse, which sources within the NURTW confirmed.

The source said that MC Oluomo was not ready to listen to directives from the National body because the State he governs has the financial muscle and it is also a major financier of the Union.

Reaction Trails Dispatch Rider Caught With Child Inside Dispatch Box

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Chid Caught in Dispatch Rider

By Akinwale Kasali

No one could have ever imagined it that a child could be stuffed inside a Dispatch Rider’s box. If not for the intelligence and security consciousness of passers-by at the Sangotedo area of Lagos State, Saturday morning, a yet to be named Dispatch Rider would have succeeded in the act of kidnapping.

It was gathered that the Dispatch Rider kidnapped the Child and stuffed him inside his Dispatch Box.  But the cry of the child was what alerted passers-by who gave a hot chase to the Rider and apprehended him at a traffic point.

A passer-by was said to have raised an alarm

which attracted other passers-by who rescued the child. They descended on the suspect, beat him mercilessly, and were about to lynch him before he was rescued by security agents.

Eyewitness account said that it took the intervention of the Police within the axis to stop the irate crowd from setting him ablaze. On rescue, the suspect was sandwiched between a motorcyclist and another man carrying the baby who only wore a singlet. We could not confirm where they were headed to. But the angry crowd kept hitting the Dispatch Rider who was wearing a t-shirt.

At the time of filing this report, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, said the case has not been reported to any police station or formation in the state.

He called on the parents of the said stolen child and those  still holding the suspect to report to the nearest police station .

He said:”The attention of the Lagos State Police Command has been drawn to a video going viral on social media alleging that a dispatch rider was caught with a stolen child in dispatch box.

“The command wishes to inform the public that the incident said to have taken place in Sangotedo area, Lekki, was not reported at any police station to enable the police take appropriate actions.

“Notwithstanding that the incident was not reported, Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi, has directed that efforts should be intensified to locate the whereabouts of the alleged dispatch rider and the parents or guardians of the child to enable the police investigate the incident”.

Reactions have, however, trailed this development, as social media users took different social media platforms to condemn the act, calling on security agencies and the Lagos State Government to wade into the issue and see that justice is served, and the Dispatch Rider prosecuted.

They, also, called on Security Agencies to no longer give Dispatch Riders an easy passage but to screen the boxes they are carrying, wondering what more atrocities some of them had committed using dispatch boxes.

2023: Southern, Middle Belt Leaders Insist On Restructuring, Rotation Of Presidency To South

By
The Source
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South And Middle Belt Leaders

“The designation of Governor of a State as the Chief Security Officer of the State is a ruse without being in control of the State’s of the State’s Security apparatus.”

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF A MEETING OF THE SOUTHERN AND MIDDLE BELT LEADERS’ FORUM HELD ON THURSDAY, 10TH MARCH 2022

  1. A Meeting of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum (SMBLF), held on Thursday, 10th March 2022, in Abuja under the Chairmanship of the Leader and Elder Statesman, Chief E. K. Clark, OFR, CON.
  2. Delegations of the constituent Organisations of the SMBLF were respectively led by Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Leader of Afenifere (South West); Dr. Pogu Bitrus, President of the Middle Belt Forum ( Middle Belt); Professor George Obiozor, President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo represented by the Secretary-General, Ambassador Okey Emuchay, MFR (South East); and Senator Emmanuel Ibok Essien, FNSE, National Chairman of Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF (South South).
  3. The Meeting was also attended by former Governors, Ministers, Federal and state legislators, top politicians and professionals from the Southern and Middle Belt regions, including His Excellency, Senator Jonah Jang, Senator Femi Okurounmu, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Professor Ihechukwu Madubuike, Professor Charles Nwekeabu, Chief Gary Igwariwey (former PG Ohanaeze), Senator Bassey Ewa Henshaw, HRH Eze Cletus Iluomanya, Dr. Solomon Arase, Chief Supo Shonibare, Chief Sola Ebiseni, Chief Edozie Ezeugwa, Eze Dr. Ibe Nwosu, Engr. Bekinbo Dagogo-Jack, Nze Ozichukwu Chukwu, Elder Steven Bangoji, Dr. Akin Fapohunda, Dr. Alabi Femi, Dame Betty Igbeyi, mni, Hon. Dr. Stella Dorgu, Nella Andem-Ewa, SAN, Dr. Ebun Sonaiya, Hon. Edward Pwajok, SAN, Dr. Alex Ogbonnia, Eze Charles Olisakwe, Hon. Keftin Amiga, CP Iorbes Ihagh (Rtd)- PG MUT, Dr. Mrs. Esther Mangzha, Mrs. Beatrice Eze, Elizabeth A. Jibrin, Engr. Bayo Adenekan, Elder Mac Emakpore, Chief Douyi Douglas-Naingba, Akin Osuntokun, Hon. Jonathan Asake (SOKAPU), Comrade Jare Ajayi and Ken Robinson, among others.
  4. The Meeting extensively discussed the State of Affairs in the country, particularly, the security situation, Restructuring and the 2023 General Elections.
  5. Arising therefrom, the meeting resolved as follows:
  6. That the existing Constitution and Structure of Nigeria are grossly flawed, therefore, insists on the fundamental RESTRUCTURING of the country, to reflect true federalism, and enthrone equity, fairness and justice, before the 2023 General Elections;
  7. Notes, in particular, that Local Government affairs are state matters and that the listing of Local Governments in the Constitution is inconsistent with the principle of federalism;

iii.  Further notes that the Reports of both the 2014 National Conference and the Governor Nasir El-Rufai – APC Committee on True Federalism of 2018 recommended that the Federation of Nigeria should remain as constituted by the Federal Government and the States, and specifically excluded Local Government from being a Tier of Government in the federation but only subject to the creation and administration of the States;

  1. That the legislations of the National Assembly granting Local Government autonomy are superfluous and exercise in futility;
  2. Declares that State Police is a sine qua non in a Federal System of Government; notes that there is no government, properly so-called, that is without the Instrument and Capacity to enforce its Laws and maintain security within its Territorial Jurisdiction;
  3. Posits that the resultant effect of the monopoly of internal security by the Federal Government is the unprecedented dire state of insecurity in the country;

vii.  Emphasizes that the designation of Governor of a State as the Chief Security Officer of the State is a ruse without being in control of the State’s Security Apparatus;

THUS, URGES THAT EVERY STATE IN NIGERIA SHOULD HAVE ITS OWN POLICE, TO COMPLEMENT THE FEDERAL POLICE.

viii.  Demands the harmonization and immediate implementation of the Reports of the 2014 National Conference and the 2018 APC Committee on True Federalism aforesaid rather than the current cosmetic Constitutional Amendment, which is a drain on the resources of the country and do not address fundamental issues including fiscal federalism.

  1. Maintains that the basis of any viable democracy, especially in a diverse and complex country such as Nigeria, is fair and even sharing of power;
  2. THEREFORE, UNEQUIVOCALLY, AND IN FULL RESOLVE, AGAIN, CALL ON ALL POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE COUNTRY TO ZONE THEIR PRESIDENTIAL TICKETS TO THE SOUTH;
  3. Accordingly, calls on all lovers of peace and equity in Nigeria, particularly our people of Southern Nigeria and Middle Belt region to REJECT any political party that fails to zone its Presidential ticket to the South;

xii. Consequently cautions Political Stakeholders from Southern Nigeria against aspirations or actions that would compromise the shared Resolve of our people.

xiii   On the worsening state of insecurity in the country, the Forum, particularly, decries the continued kidnappings and killings of innocent citizens and wanton destruction of livelihoods across the country by terrorists and criminals, especially in the North West, North East and Middle Belt region;

xiv.  Condemns, in the strongest terms, the ongoing massacres and decimation of indigenous populations, especially in Zuru, Kebbi State, Southern Kaduna, Benue, Plateau and Southern Gombe, where an untold number of citizens have been killed and Communities deliberately displaced,  by Islamic Extremists and foreign Fulani Herders, with plausible official complicity.

  1. Urges the Federal Government, especially, to be alive to its primary duty of protecting the lives and property of citizens; safeguard all Communities across Nigeria, and ensure the immediate return of displaced citizens to their ancestral homes.

xvi.  Demands, in national interest, the immediate release of Nnamdi Kanu and a stop to any further persecution of Sunday Igboho, who is currently on a conditional release in Benin Republic,

xvii.  Warns that the continued detention and trial of Nnamdi Kanu on charges of terrorism and treasonable felony while known Boko Haram terrorists are being given VIP treatments and hosted in Government Houses is not only provocative and perfidious but a bizarre double standard on the part of the Nigerian State.

xviii.  More disconcerting is the fact that the women and children rendered widows, orphans, and displaced by the terrorists, now being gratified by the Federal Government and its security agencies, are wallowing in wretched IDP camps.

xix.  Warns that the Federal government’s lukewarm attitude in tackling the security challenges in the country lends credence to impressions that this administration is using insecurity to foster certain political agenda.

  1. However, reaffirms commitment to the unity of Nigeria, situated on the tenets of Equity, Fairness, Justice, and the Principle of Federalism.
  2. The meeting was held in an atmosphere of harmony and collective commitment to the decisions.
  3. Done in ABUJA, this 10th Day of March 2022.

Signed:

Chief Dr E. K. Clark, OFR, CON – Leader

Chief Ayo Adebanjo – Leader, Afenifere

Dr. Pogu Bitrus – National President, Middle Belt Forum

Ambassador Okey Emuchay, MFR – Secretary-General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo for Professor George Obiozor, the President – General.

Senator Emmanuel Ibok Essien, FNSE, National Chairman of Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF

Osun: More Trouble For Adeleke Ahead July Gov Election

By
James Orji
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0

By James Orji

The coast in not yet clear for Senator Ademola Adeleke as the candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP in the July governorship election in Osun state.

Adeleke’s nephew Dele Adeleke had earlier withdrawn from the race as a PDP aspirant after the family waded in to clear the way for the senator to clinch the ticket.

On Tuesday, the PDP in the state declared the senator as the winner of the governorship primary conducted by the party, despite a parallel election by a faction of the PDP which later declared Dotun Babayemi as their own candidate for the election.

The primary conducted by the Adeleke group was supervised by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the PDP had gone ahead to present a certificate of return to the senator in preparation for the governorship election coming up in four months time.

But four days after Adeleke was declared by PDP as its candidate, an Osun State High Court sitting in Ijebu-Jesa has nullified his candidacy.

The court said it only recognized Babayemi, the candidate elected by the other faction, whose ward executives were elected on September 25, 2021.

The court also granted an interim order affirming 215 delegates elected on September 25, 2021, as the authentic delegates in accordance with a motion ex parte filed on behalf of Adedokun Ademola and 29 others by his counsel, Edmund Biriomoni.

In line with Ademola’s lawyers’ request, the court said an order of “mandatory interim injunction is granted by this court recognising or affirming the Peoples Democratic Party, Osun state governorship primary conducted on the 8th of March, 2022, wherein the ward executive officers elected on the 25th of September, 2021 in the following wards listed as (a) -(y) in the motion paper of the Peoples Democratic Party voted as delegates in full complaint with the judgement of the court delivered on 22nd of November, 2021 and order of the mandatory interim injunction granted on the 3rd of March, 2022, affirming the 215 ward executive officers as the authentic/or authorised elected ward executive officers permitted to vote as delegates at the party governorship primaries.

“An order of mandatory interim injunction of this court is granted restraining the defendants/respondents from recognising any other governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party, Osun state conducted on the 8th of March, 2022, apart from the governorship primaries conducted on the 8th of March, 2022 wherein ward executive officers elected on the 25th of September, 2021 in the following wards listed as (a) -(y) in the motion papers, of the Peoples Democratic Party, Osun state voted as delegates at governorship primary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Osun state in full compliance with the judgement of the court delivered on the 22nd of November, 2021 and order of mandatory interim injunction granted on the 3rd of March, 2022 affirming the 215 ward executive officers as the authentic/or authorised or elected ward executive officers permitted to vote as delegates at the party governorship primaries”.

Meanwhile, watchers of events in the state insist that the PDP must put its house in order to be able to stand a chance against Governor Gboyega Oyetola, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC in the upcoming election. Oyetola narrowly defeated Senator Adeleke four year ago.

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