Governor of Kaduna state Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and his deputy, Architect Barnabas Bala Bantex allegedly traded slaps during an argument at a cabinet meeting in the state.
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The Whistle has been monitoring reports that the Governor of Kaduna state Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and his deputy, Architect Barnabas Bala Bantex had traded slaps during an argument at a cabinet meeting in the state. According to a reliable source via a telephone conversation, the Governor and the deputy have been having a cold war over the plans by the governor to sack top civil servants in the state.
The governor who is embarking on a civil service reform agenda had decided to retire these top civil servants, who still had some years left in service but the deputy was said to have been disturbed and deeply uncomfortable with the situation.
The deputy governor had confided in his close associates that the list of top top civil servants marked for this retirement exercise reflected a majority of up to 70 per cent from the Southern Kaduna extraction. During the cabinet meeting, the deputy governor bared his mind and told governor El-rufai he is not in support of the exercise, he said that he cannot control the backlash that will arrive as a result of that action. Arc. Bantex was quoted as saying “I cannot go home, they will stone me”
The governor had insisted that the decision was without prejudice and in the best interest of the state but the deputy insists that on equality as his constituency already feels marginalized. At this point the conversation became heated between the Governor and his Deputy and words were traded between both leading to Governor Elrufai landing a slap on the face of his deputy. The deputy governor was said to have immediately taken his seat and told the governor that since having arguments and counter views has earned him a slap, he thinks the right thing to do was to let everyone know and resign.
Nigeria's former President Goodluck Jonathan has ignored a meeting called by PDP National Chairman Ali Modu Sheriff, Punch reports.
Several ex governors elected on the PDP platform attended the stakeholders meeting in Abuja heralded by Modu Sheriff at the party’s national headquarters.
Goodluck Jonathan, his deputy, Namadi Sambo; and former governors Peter Odili (Rivers), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Donald Duke (Cross River), Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), and deputy governor Muktar Shagari of Sokoto State were also invited to the meeting, but were absent.
The Senator representing Kano Central, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has alleged a plot to impeach President Muhammadu Buhari by some of his colleagues in the red cambers.
Kwankwaso who made the allegation in Abuja yesterday fingered 13 Senators who he didn’t name as having collected some signatures to execute the plot.
He said that those behind the move were, however yet to summon the courage to move the motion on the floor of the upper chamber.
According to him, “any miscreant that fails to make his case in the hallowed chamber is simply a bastard. We are aware of all that some of us have been doing to unseat the President. They should not assume that we are ignorant of their antics. Right now 13 of them have appended their signatures to a petition to initiate impeachment process against the President,” Kwankwaso said.
Text of President Muhammadu Buhari’s remarks at the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja, March 24, 2016.
PROTOCOLS
We are members of the legacy party, plus APGA and DPP. We realized since 2005 that to remove the PDP from power, we must sink our differences, come together and form a party. God willing, that eventually happened and that is why we are where we are today, coming together inspite of our differences, both personal and ideological. We must not forget that. Having identified that as members of the legacy party, we again identified three fundamental things facing us. First, security, second, economy and unemployment and thirdly, corruption. We campaigned throughout the country on these three fundamental issues and nobody successfully challenged us and these issues remained relevant.
On security, we have made progress. It was a very courageous decision that the party took and executed by the Executive by removing most of the military hierarchy and appointing those to take over from them, acquiring some new hard and soft ware and raising the morale of the military to go secure the rest of the country which was then 14 out of 774 local government. I have said it often that as far as I know and the service Chiefs who are on ground, they are not holding any local government. But they still have some capability especially on soft targets by using technology.
For Niger Delta, the militants are sending some conflicting messages. Some have said they are ready to drop their arms and join the rest of the nation to build it. But part of them are still sabotaging installations which is making investments in that lucrative area of Nigeria difficult because nobody will submit his riches to financial institutions, get money only to suffer huge loss. So, the environment for investment is being sabotaged by our own selves, Nigerians. We are doing our best with the military by trying to persuade them to join the rest of the country because in unity lies our strength.
Of course the leadership of INEC has been changed, but I appeal to the leadership of the military, security agents and INEC that what I want Nigerians to remember me for, even if I have to leave the Presidency tomorrow is that I respect them. I want all Nigerians to believe and hold their PVC as personal entitlement as Nigerians and use it the way the like, and vote for whoever they like at which ever election. If they voluntarily sold it, it is part of their right and so, let them sell it and remain at home and not participate in any election. But let the law enforcement agencies give them the confidence that nobody will come out who has money to hire thugs, give them drugs and stop them from exercising their fundamental right.
I am afraid I did not succeed in the election in Kogi, Bayelsa, Rivers. I think that more Nigerians are killed or killed themselves in Rivers than in any particular state. At this stage of our political development, to remain brutal is shameful and as a government, I promise we will do something by the next general election.
On the economy, the fall of oil prices after Nigeria has made itself a mono economy is a disaster. I wonder why people could not believe that in Nigeria, about 27 out of 36 states have difficulty in paying basic salaries of their workers. If from 1999 to at least 2003, oil is above 100 dollars per barrel and an export of about 2 million barrel per day, how come Nigeria failed to make some arrangement to cushion the effect of a probably volatile oil market? Again, it show failure of the last administration. But we are now to pick the pieces as an APC government and so, there is no need complaining, but let us concentrate and see how much we can do with whatever remains of the economy. We realized that agriculture and solid minerals are two areas that can quickly come to help us to recover economically, at least in terms of employment and feeding ourselves and more importantly, saving the hard currency to make sure that what is left our industries remain open, employing Nigerians and producing goods and services which is very important.
The policy we are trying to implement is TSA. When we insist that we have to know what comes in and what goes out for us to make a comprehensive amendment to the economy. If you go and see the Central Bank Governor, he will tell you that in the TSA, we have more than N3 trillion. Where would this money have been if TSA was not in vogue? I was made to understand that vouchers would have quickly been raised towards the end of the financial year and checks made. Whether they are going into projects or private pockets, nobody can prove it to you. But that money is there, it is identified, if is quantified and when the budget comes back eventually, the Ministry of finance will see how to allocate it to the rest of the country.
We have tried to make sure that NNPC is reorganized, so that we know how much of our crude is taken, how much it is sold and to which account the money is going. But I tell you that up to the time we came, if anybody told you that he knows how much of crude exchanges hands either on the high sea or reaching their destination and the accounts the money goes into, that person is not telling you the truth. We are getting the cooperation of countries that has received this crude. But we have to be sure of the facts in our hands before we start prosecution so that Nigerians will believe what we have been telling them.
Again, I have to repeat myself here for you to appreciate what I am going through because you are closer to the people than myself. I was telling a British team that came to supervise the training team they sent, that when I was in uniform, you took the perceived corrupt ones and put them in safe custody and quietly told them they were guilty until they can prove themselves innocent. But now under multi-party democratic system, I see some of them ride Rolls Royce, some of them have built estates here, but they are innocent until we can prove them guilty. This situation is true and you don’t need to stress your imagination to find out. If you can find out, you discover that a level eight officer has five houses, while you, as a Permanent Secretary or Commissioner is still living in a rented house. We have to get credible evidence to carry out successful prosecution and get judgement from the Judiciary. But effort is being made to give a list of recoveries in whatever currencies so far so that Nigerians will know that it is not all about long stories.
For the party, I will like you to continue to make sacrifice. I know you are being harassed since the election that they haven’t seen anything on the ground. Well, if you have any explanation that could be accepted, is that you have three more years to go. When we came in after 16 years of PDP, each government had 42 ministries. We reduced them to 24, removed 21 Permanent Secretaries. We sat down and reflected seriously. We were all in the process of taking over at a time of national budget. So, imagine the volume of work and with what happened in the National Assembly, the padding, it would appear that below the Permanent Secretaries, there are still a lot of bureaucracies that are still with them. So, you have to appreciate the position we are in. Having cut 42 to 24, correspondingly, the parastatals will be cut down to some size and realigned and the boards reconstituted. We gave a blanket order which we had to rescind when we said all boards are suspended or dissolved. We had to go back and lick our vomit in terms of university boards because we found out that according to their laws, they cannot choose Vice Chancellors unless the Boards seat down, interview prospective candidates who wants to be VCs. So, there is nothing wrong in saying sorry and going back on your decision. So, we said sorry and allow all the universities to continue with their boards. But for the rest, eventually, we will make it. So, please, try to bear with us as we reflect on where we found ourselves.
For globetrotting, sometimes, you need to present your case on personal basis to your economic colleagues and neighbors. Nothing is better than personal touch and I believe that we are learning a lot and eventually, the nation will realize so, I don’t envy you on the harassment you are going through from your constituencies. Take it with a lot of determination and we will be all right, God willing.
A SERVING member of the House of Representatives from Kano State, Bashir Husain, and the Special Assistant to Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso on Empowerment Programme, Hajia Maryma Kofar Mata, were among the members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who decamped to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
The development, according to a statement made available by the media office of Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, yesterday, is a fallout of the visit of Sambo to the state.
According to the statement, Husain is representing Gwale Federal Constituency, while Kofar Mata was the immediate past State Women Leader of APC.
It added that Sambo, during the Kano visit, met with several stakeholders, where he urged them to reach out to the people and inform them of the achievements of the President Jonathan-led administration and the laudable programmes of the PDP. The fallout of these stakeholders’ meetings was the defection of the two stalwarts of APC.
The Vice President, while receiving the decampees, welcomed them warmly to the shade provided by the party, stressing that PDP’s umbrella was large enough to accommodate anyone interested in joining the party.
He urged them to feel at home and work assiduously for the victory of the party in the forthcoming elections, so that the party and the administration would continue to move the country forward.
Sambo, who described the PDP as “the party of Nigeria with the most people oriented programmes that has been transforming the socio-economic wellbeing of Nigerians in the right direction,” also added, “PDP is Nigeria, and Nigeria is PDP. If you go to every corner and the remotest part of Nigeria, PDP has a system in place.”
In their response, the decampees said they defected from the APC because the PDP and the administration of President Jonathan and Vice President Sambo, have been delivering more and better dividends of democracy to Nigerians through their Transformation Agenda. They pledged to work tirelessly to move the party and the country to greater heights.
President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday describe as shameful the recent political killings in Rivers state as a result of the rerun elections ordered by the Court of Appeal, adding that more Nigerians have been killed in Rivers than another state in the country.
The President who spoke at the National Executive Council meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) revealed that the government has saved over N3 trillion through its Treasury Single Account policy, while that the list of money recovered by government through the ongoing anti corruption crusade will soon be made public.
The President also said it was regrettable that the nation failed to save for the rainy days when oil sold for above 100 dollars, pointing out that at the moment, about 27 states in the country are not able to pay the salaries of their workers as and when due.
Buhari who expressed sadness over the violence that characterized elections in the country appealed to security agents in the country to try and give Nigerians the confidence to go out and perform their constitutional responsibility without molestation, adding that even though the leadership of INEC has been changed, he has shown that he has a lot of respect for them and the security agents.
He said: “Of course, the leadership of INEC has been changed, but I appeal to the leadership of the military, security agents and INEC that what I want Nigerians to remember me for, even if I have to leave the Presidency tomorrow is that I respect them.
“I want all Nigerians to believe and hold their PVC as personal entitlement as Nigerians and use it the way the like, and vote for whoever they like at which ever election. If they voluntarily sold it, it is part of their right and so, let them sell it and remain at home and not participate in any election.
“But let the law enforcement agencies give them the confidence that nobody will come out who has money to hire thugs, give them drugs and stop them from exercising their fundamental right.
“I am afraid I did not succeed in the election in Kogi, Bayelsa, Rivers. I think that more Nigerians are killed or killed themselves in Rivers than in any particular state. At this stage of our political development, to remain brutal is shameful and as a government, I promise we will do something by the next general election.”
A committee set up to probe contracts awarded by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) from 2011 to 2015 has indicted more than 300 companies and prominent citizens including serving and retired officers of the armed forces.
This was contained in a Thursday statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu.
Over N7 Billion has been recovered so far from the indicted companies and individuals.
Another N41 Billion is to be refunded by the indicted companies while further investigation by the EFCC has been ordered to determine whether another N75 Billion should be recovered from some of the companies for unexecuted or partially executed contracts.
The committee further established that one of the indicted companies, Societe D’Equipment International was overpaid to the tune of 7.9 Million Euros and $7.09 Million.
The committee which is different from the committee that is investigating the Defence Arms and Equipment Procurement, discovered that there was a total disregard of salient provisions of the Public Procurement Act in the award of contracts by ONSA.
Several contractors were apparently over paid, while others were given full upfront payments contrary to their contract terms and agreements in force.
There was also evidence of payments to individuals and companies by ONSA without any contractual agreement or evidence of jobs executed. The committee further discovered that somecompanies failed to meet up their tax obligations for contracts executed.
The Committee succeeded in recovering some of the funds from these individuals and organizations amounting to N3,537,549,223.04; $8,000,000.00 and houses worth N512,000,000.00 from 32 companies. The Committee also established that some individuals and companies received monies without evidence of contractual agreements or jobs done. The amount received by these individuals was N7,104,925,000.00.
In a similar vein, the Committee revealed that some companies that failed to execute contracts or did so partially were to make refunds.
The total amount to be refunded is N19,896,539,125.20; $43,771,433.73 and 2 houses in Abuja worth N260,000,000.00.
The Committee also revealed that 15 companies were awarded contracts that require further investigation to ascertain the status of their contracts.
The total value of the contracts awarded in this category was N11,726,571,161.00; $202,136,890.00 and €4,114,752.96.
The Companies investigated by the committee include: a. Abrahams Telecommunication Limited and Value Trust Investment Limited RC 1050628 and RC133792. b. Bilal Turnkey Contractors Limited RC 616389. c. Circular Automobile Limited RC 953549. d. Continental Project Associates Limited RC 1201210. e. Da’voice Network Solutions Limited RC 658879. f. Foretech Investment Limited RC 759046. g. Forts and Sheild Limited RC 1148793. h. GDP Associated Limited RC 830715. i. Hakimco Automobiles – RC 904389. j. Hamada Properties and Investment Limited RC 635720. k. International Resources Management Company RC 228657. l. Investment Options Limited – RC 133484. m. Jakadiya Picture Company Limited RC 270972. n. JBE Multimedia Investment Limited RC 48875. o. Kamala Motors Limited RC 845545. p. Key Information Services Limited RC 297516. q. Leeman Communications Limited RC 499781. r. MCAF Associates RC 734745. s. Moortown Global Investment RC 968416. t. Syntec Nigeria Limited RC 220165. u. Trafiga Limited RC 1098961. v. Trim Communications Limited RC 261180. w. Securicor Emergency and Safety RC 431246. x. Sologic Integrated Services Limited RC 744982. y. Wada Autos Limited RC 1082513. z. Zukhruf Nigeria Limited RC 306244. aa. 2020 Nigeria Limited RC 1090292. bb. A and B Associates Limited RC 279980.
The individuals and companies that received payments without contractual agreements are:
a. Honourable Bello Matawalle. b. Brigadier General AS Mormoni-Bashir (the former Principal General Staff Officer at the ONSA and still a serving military officer). c. Alhaji Umar Sani. d. Dr Yakubu Sanky. e. Baba Bala. f. Ambassador Clement Layiwola Lasseinde (a Director in the ONSA). g. An architect from Baitil Atiq Travels and Tours. h. Alhaji Shuaibu Salisu (The former Director of Finance and Administration at the ONSA). i. Colonel Bello Fadile (rtd) (Special Adviser to Lt Col Sambo Dasuki; former NSA). j. Mr Otunla Jonah Niyi. k. Otunba Adelakun. l. Alhaji Bashir Yaguda. m. Dr Tunji Olagunju. n. Miss Oluwatoyin Oluwagbayi. o. Lt Col MS Dasuki (rtd) {The former NSA}. p. Honourable Maipata Mohammed Abubakar. q. Mohammed Suleiman. From Musaco investment and properties. r. Ibrahim Abdullahi also from Musaco investment and properties. s. Alhaji Aliyu Usman. t. 18 other officers that served in the ONSA.
The companies that out rightly failed to execute contracts or did so partially, and have therefore been asked to refund various sums with are as follows: a. A and Hatman Limited. b. Abuja Consulting Limited. c. Afro-Arab Investment. d. Agbede A Adeshina and Co. e. Aleppo Systems Nigeria Limited – RC 947255. f. Amp Africa Holdings and Solar Services. g. Apple Drops Nigeria Limited – RC 1102219. h. Apt Security Limited – RC 165189. i. Autoforms Integrated Enterprises Limited – RC 1234829. j. Axis Consulting Services Limited – RC 1151145. k. Belsha Nigeria Limited. l. Community Defence Law Foundation – RC/IT No 56854. m. Complus International Service Limited. n. Cosse Limited – RC 316214. o. Daar Investment and Holdings Limited. p. Dalhatu Investment Limited – RC 404535. q. Destra Investment Limited. r. Development Strategies International Limited – RC 361191. t. DFX/White Zebu BDC – RC787658/RC1049919. u. Duchy Concepts Limited RC392281. v. Fara Security Limited RC 694607. w. Fimex Gilt Nigeria Limited RC 143150. x. First Aralac Global Limited RC939512. y. Fix-HYL Global Investment RC1129654. z. Good year Properties Limited RC1168828. aa. Image Merchant Promotions Limited RC 416703. bb. Interglobal Limited RC 189188. cc. Jos Peace Dialogue Forum CAC/IT/No75434. dd. Kakatar Limited RC 443321. ee. Leaderette Nigeria/Norden Global RC 422129/RC1119925. ff. London Advertising Limited UK BASED. gg. Mithra Oil Limited RC 620979. hh. NigerLink BOG (Under Musaco Investment) RC 834592 ii. Iban Global (Under Musaco Investment) jj. Musaco Investment (Bank Charges) kk. Mystrose Limited RC 475579. ll. NAF Holding Company Limited. mm. Peach Tree Communications Limited RC 410115. nn. Perception BDC RC 740741. oo. Pioneer Ventures RC 69776. pp. Proptex Nigerian Limited – RC 116801. qq. Prosedec Interglobal Limited RC 619845. rr. Real Property Investment Limited RC 294761. ss. Sinash Communications Limited RC 333134. tt. Skytick International Limited RC 798693. uu. Soject Nigeria Limited RC 74991. vv. StellaVera Development Company Limited RC 713258. ww. Teracon AG SWISS BASED. xx. Wehsec Farms Limited RC 713258. yy. African Cable Television Limited RC 1113903. zz. BCN Nigeria Limited RC 509693. aaa. Brains and Hammers RC 655673. bbb. Concept Options Ultimate Limited RC 604167. ccc. Elizade Nigeria Limited RC 11544. ddd. Emerging Platforms Limited RC 922205. eee. EMI System Nigeria Limited RC 248986. fff. Hadassa Investment and Security RC 709085. ggg. Kala Consulting Solutions Limited RC 98562. hhh. Pioneer Ventures. iii. Nan Bizcom Nigeria Limited RC 680708. jjj. Nerres Limited RC 1138835. kkk. Plectrum Consulting Limited RC 937931. lll. Protech Consultant RC 301426. mmm. Summit Publications Limited RC 304671. nnn. Telios Development Limited RC 468351. ooo. Urban Abode Nigeria Limited RC 651613. ppp. RCN Networks Limited RC 439720. qqq. Sail International Limited RC 97863. rrr. Suburban Broadway Limited – RC 469689. sss. Geronimo Middle East and Africa. ttt. Julius Berger RC 6852. uuu. Romgat Morgan Nigeria Limited RC 902020. vvv. Stallion Motors Limited RC 178627.
Contracts awarded to the following companies are to be further investigated: a. 2020 Nigeria Limited RC 1090292. b. Acacia Holdings Limited RC 940978. c. Africair Incorporated US Company. d. Augusta Westland Limited. e. Almond Project Limited. f. Bam Project and Properties. g. Bob Oshodin Organisation Limited RC 790662. h. Coral Builders Limited RC 397748. i. Dan Clington Nigeria Limited RC 940978. j. Law Partners and Associates BN/UY/004566. k. Magnificient 5 ventures Limited BN/2299463. l. MPS Global Services Limited. m. One plus Holdings Nigeria Limited RC 695999. n. Quadsix Nigeria Limited RC 1177968. o. Reliance Reference Hospitals
Senate President, Bukola Saraki and some governors of APC controlled states, particularly from the southern part of the country as well as some national leaders of the party failed to attend the crucial meeting of the National Executive Council of the APC in Abuja. There was heavy security around the national secretariat of the party ahead of the meeting with only a few journalists covering the party allowed into the secretariat to cover the meeting on Thursday. The National Chairman of the party Chief John Odigie Oyegun who arrived the secretariat at exactly 9.10 was subjected to security checks by the Presidential guards before being allowed into the building. Also absent at the meeting were Deputy Speaker, Suleiman Lasun, House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, Deputy Whip of the Senator, Francis Alimikhena among others. Those who attended the NEC meeting include Speaker of the Housemof Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Ado Doguwa, Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, former Zamfara state governor, Senator Ahmed Sani and labour leader, Hon. Peter Akpatason, Senators Dino Melaye and Binta Masi Garba.
The Anambra State coordinator of Kwankwaso Envoy Nigeria, Hon Charles Onwuzulike has said that only God could stop Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, former Governor of Kano State from contesting in 2019 elections.
Onwuzulike stated this while addressing journalists in Awka after a meeting with supporters of the former governor in Anambra State.
Irked by the alleged insults and abusive words in some section of the media against the person of Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, former Governor of Kano State, believed to be emanating from his successor, Dr. Abdulahi Umar Ganduje and others, Hon Charles Onwuzulike, said those attacking Kwankwaso were doing so because of his leadership quality and ambition come 2019.
He said that it was only God that could stop Kwankwasor from contesting in 2019 and from realizing his ambition.
Reiterating the resolve of the people in the State to always be in support of Kwankwaso, Onwuzulike who is the Anambra State Chairman of Youths Sports Federation of Nigeria, described him as a performer who achieved a lot in Kano State when he was governor of the state.
“His achievements will speak for him whenever he comes out for any elective position in the country because he is a man of the people”, he hinted.
The Anambra State coordinator who hinted that he grew up in Kano and knows Kwankwaso family for 57 years as being down to earth, urged the detractors of the former governor s to have a change of heart.
“Kwankwaso made Dr. Abdulahi Umar Ganduje, the governor of Kano State but now he has turned against him because of political interest. No man has equaled him in terms of performance since 59 years ago I know his reputable family”, Onwuzulike said.
He commended Kwankwaso for his patience in the face of these alleged abuses and deliberate intimidation.
The plan to replace the Board of Trustees (BoT) with a council of elders may be ratified during today’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), credible sources have said. A vote to amend the APC constitution to accommodate the new organ was taken at the Tuesday national caucus which held behind closed-doors at the new banquet hall of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting was attended by President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, APC National Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, APC National Leader Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Senate President Bukola Saraki, House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Senate Leader Ali Ndume, House Leader Femi Gbajabiamila and some state governors among others. Because of the new amendment to the party’s constitution, the NEC will ratify the nullification of the BoT and approve the constitution of a council of elders at national, zonal and state levels. If the amendment scales through, the much-anticipated election of the BoT chairman, deputy chairman and secretary will no longer be necessary and the meeting of the board rescheduled for next week will no longer hold. Sources said the national caucus meeting also discussed the need to have a formal leadership for the national caucus of the party, a move which has not been worked out. The meeting, it was further gathered, addressed the issues of security, how to improve the economy and reviewed the rerun elections so far conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Daily Trust learnt that the APC National Chairman, Chief Odigie-Oyegun, used the meeting to speak on the reported plan to ease him out of office. Odigie-Oyegun was said to have told those allegedly sponsoring the move to get him out of office that there were procedures for removing people. He was also said to have reminded them of the need to, not only respect the tenure of his office, but also stop the “campaign of calumny which is disgracing the party”.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) members of the national caucus on March 23, revealed their candidate for the 2019 presidential election.
Vanguard reports that the national caucus comprising serving and former governors, the National Assembly leadership, and selected members of the national executive of the party at a meeting held on Tuesday night endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari to run for a second term in office.
According to them, the endorsement of Buhari for a second term would help to stabilise the polity considering the 16-year rot inherited from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The caucus at the meeting constituted a committee to resolve all pending issues in the party among other pressing issues agreed on. It was gathered that the caucus agreed that President Buhari should be allowed to seek a second term, though some of the caucus members also noted that it was too early to kick start a second term campaign for the president.
It was further learnt that the matter was brought to the fore in a bid to curb restiveness among some party leaders, who have been split over their 2019 political ambition. The development is attributed to the problems that led to the crisis in the National Assembly and also the inability of the party to inaugurate its board of trustees (BoT) till date.
A source privy to the situation in the party said: “With Buhari contesting in 2019, those who have been squabbling will now have to queue up behind him and put the interest of the party ahead.”
In a related development, senators elected on the platform of the party on Tuesday night also decided to work together. In a meeting held in Abuja, the senators vowed to unify themselves in order not to misplace their influence to the more united PDP caucus in the house. However, the national chairman of the party, chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who spoke with journalists at the end of the meeting, clarified that there was no threat against his position.
He dismissed reports of pressure on him to resign his office, saying: “I am not aware that my office is under threat. I led the party to the State House. It amazes me, occasionally it annoys me. That is one of the things you have to endure when you are in a position like mine.”
The national chairman confirmed that a committee was set up to resolve all the crises in the party. He urged Nigerians to give the party time to deliver, assuring them that the administration would pick up after the 2016 budget is passed.
As part of efforts to avoid fissures and internal feuds in the party, the president has ordered the worth-west governors and leaders to reunite Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and his predecessor, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso.
Meanwhile, as the party is busy settling personal issues and internal disputes as well as preparing for 2019 presidential election, the country’s major opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party has asked President Buhari to constitute a panel that will investigate the violence that characterised the Rivers state rerun parliamentary election.
The National Assembly management has requested the presiding officers to reduce the number of their aides by at least 60 percent as part of cost cutting measures, according to Daily Trust reports. Senate President Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara and their deputies have hired over 400 aides, sources said.
Saraki is said to have over 112 aides, Dogara about 170, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu 60 and Deputy Speaker Yusuf Suleiman Lasun 58. But the assembly bureaucracy has lately asked the presiding officers and their deputies to reduce the figures drastically.
Sources said Saraki and Dogara have been requested to cut down the numbers to 25 each while Ekweremadu and Lasun should have 17 each. The aides are in three categories – Special Advisers (SAs), Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) and Special Assistants whose salaries range between N700, 000 to over a million naira each. The special advisers earn about the same salaries as federal permanent secretaries while the others earn higher than directors in federal government establishments.
Two weeks ago over N10bn was paid as severance package to Senate and House legislative aides that served in the seventh assembly. The severance pay was 300 percent of their annual basic salary.
In January, the presiding officers met with the National Assembly management on how to cut down on expenditures. Sources said the management intimated the presiding officers that they could not guarantee regular payment of salaries to such aides, especially when most of them were placed on higher grade levels. Daily Trust findings revealed that the salaries of all the political appointees have not been paid since January. It was gathered that the last time the aides collected their salaries was in December.
Most of the aides are said to have little or even nothing to do. They hang around the National Assembly complex or stay in their colleagues’ offices as they have no offices of their own. A source close to the office of the Senate President explained that most of the appointments were mere ‘political patronage.’
“The appointments are political patronages; it is an avenue to settle supporters politically. Most of them will be collecting salaries without doing anything. “I know only last week two persons were recruited. They showed me their employment letters,” he said. Daily Trust also gathered that about 50 percent of the aides are former lawmakers who served with Dogara during the last 7th Assembly.
Most of them were said to have been rewarded for their support to Dogara, while a few others were nominated by some close friends to the speaker. “The truth of the matter is that he (Dogara) made so many appointments. He has different manner of aides.” A top management staff, who preferred anonymity, told Daily Trust that it was true that the speaker over-employed. It was gathered that the National Assembly management made two suggestions to the speaker on how to manage the situation.
The management told Dogara to demote most of the special advisers to senior special assistants, while majority of the senior special assistants should be demoted to personal assistants otherwise the only option would be to sack most of the appointees. When contacted, peaker’s spokesman, Turaki Hassan, referred our correspondent to the National Assembly management, saying it was purely a management issue. The Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to Saraki, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu referred our correspondent to the Chief of Staff, Senator Isa Galaudu.
However, when Olaniyonu took our correspondent to Galaudu he declined comment. Also, the the Director of Information in the National Assembly Mr Ishaku Dibal said he was not aware of the matter, but that he would contact his superiors and get back to our correspondent. He never did. Former Senate President David Mark was reported to have sacked 120 aides in June last year when he lost his position after his party became a minority. It was gathered that the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, had over 100 aides during his time.
A look at the reviewed remuneration package for the legislature at the federal, state and local government levels, Volume II, 2007 by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) showed that a presiding officer of the National Assembly is entitled to two types of office aides – special assistants and personal assistants. For the special assistant, the commission provides that “In recognition of the need for this provision, it is hereby retained; the personnel shall be provided by the National Assembly Service Commission and shall be within GL 12 and 14 levels.”
As for personal assistants, it said: “The existing 25% of the annual basic salary shall be maintained. This is to enable the office holders employ personal assistants of their choice.” The document by the commission indicates that a presiding officer is also entitled to four domestic staff – a cook, a steward, a gardener and a housekeeper. For the domestic staff, it said: “An allowance of 75% of the annual basic salary shall be made payable on a monthly basis to affected officers to cater for the emoluments of four staff.”
This is a registered business name (not an NGO) founded by Chinedu Okpalanma, the erstwhile DG of ISWB. Documents show that himself and some other elements are its founders. The attached letterhead clearly shows the business name ISWB Concept in two places.
Soliciting for Money
Contrary to many assertions by the ISWB elements that they are not looking to make or share money, that they are purely funded by members of the ISWB organization, we have evidence on the contrary by way of the attached letter. (Page 2)
As seen in Page 2, ISWB members have sent out many letters to Nigerians soliciting for ridiculous amounts of money. We obtained the attached letter from a VIP who was criminally approached for a sum in excess of N1 Billion Naira. We were approached by this same VIP in confidence. This VIP has already informed us that he intends to petition the relevant security agencies to look into the matter as he believes this is clearly fraudulent. We also have proof of several other politicians and heads of industry that have been approached by this dubious criminals. We will publish more letters/documents in due course.
We reckon it is criminal case and misleading to use a registered business name, as an NGO (i.e not for profit entity) soliciting for monies from Nigerians running into several billions. We have already sent a petition to the relevant authorities to look into the matter.
Chinedu Okpalanma
We have evidence showing Chinedu is the main founder, he remains within the organization as its arrow head working from the background never showing himself to the public while using other puppets to call the shots. He never resigned, He only changed his public role from DG to the Board Secretary of ISWB and still runs the show. 4. Ogochukwu Ezeaku
He is the founder & CEO of montage Africa. He is notoriously known for coveting top Government officials in return for favors. Montage Africa is known to host the annual MAWEA (montage Africa women in excellence award).
In 2013 he hosted an award where he celebrated several PDP Bigwigs including many persons that have stolen from Nigeria (and they claim they are fighting corruption). Amongst the list of his award recipients, Patience GEJ tops the list, with the likes of Diezani & Stella Oduah amongst those he celebrated. He is the Board Chairman of ISWB and now wants us to believe he is leading a campaign against corruption. We are yet to see ISWB attack Diezani or Stella Oduah in its anti corruption campaign. We attach relevant information which is widely available in the Internet.
In November 2015, he unsuccessfully organized another MAWEA event where he lobbied APC women faithful which turned out to be a disaster due to amount of those that shunned the event. This is why he is hell bent on coming at this government with deceit at any cost.
Ogochukwu operates completely out of the media reach just like his accomplice Chinedu. We know why they are hiding!
NB - 15 lungi Street Wuse 2 Abuja is the corporate HQ of both montage Africa and ISWB. Refer to the bottom corner of the letterhead.
NB - the GSM number 08087777318 is the official number of ISWB on its letterhead, fliers and billboard. It was the number our investigators reached Chinedu.
Nine million man rally
We call on the security agencies to invite the ISWB members to firstly deny them clearance for this deceitful rally. It is neither beneficial to the president nor does it justify the yearnings of many poor who do not even stand a chance of affording the trip to Abuja. If any group is allowed to assemble even 100,000 people on a working day (which 31st March is), that group is capable of undermining security and only Gods knows the type of agenda these people have. We have already sent a petition to relevant security agencies for further action.
OUR POSITION We call on the CnC to immediately deploy the necessary government officials to dissociate his government from this group, to arrest the people responsible for this campaign of calumny, and have this group dissolved immediately.
We call on the elements of ISWB to call off their shameless plot of FRAUD within the next 24 hours. Failure to heed advice, will result in an all out assault as we plan to release full identities of members and their financial backers, pictures taken, proof of meetings, voice recordings, copies of letters and other documentation of this monumental FRAUD. ...more to come.
Signed,
FraudHorn
Committed to reporting verified FRAUD Activity in Nigeria.
The race for 2019 Presidency may have split the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) into three camps, battling for the soul of the party.
The three main camps are the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) caucus, defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) cum South-West caucus and new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) caucus.
Sources said there are other sub-camps and caucuses that are ready to align with the main three camps when need be.
The tussle in APC is said to be connected with the 2019 general elections and the body language of President Muhammadu Buhari regarding the presidential election, which is red years away.
Daily Sun gathered that so intense is the struggle that the three contending factions are scheming to produce chairman of the influential Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party. The BoT is an advisory organ but wields considerable influence in who gets what in any political party.
It was gathered that the struggle for control in the party started shortly after the presidential election on March 28, 2015. Some Buhari loyalists said as it was time the president became the undisputed leader of the party, while others contended that he should face governance and leave party matters to the politicians.
Shortly after, some members of CPC, Buhari’s former party, reportedly said it was normal to allow the incumbent the right of first refusal on a second term and that talks of 2019 should be jettisoned until the APC stabilises in government.
But, members of the defunct ACN and the nPDP believed the president should only serve one term; set the country on the right pedestal, fight corruption and quit the stage for a younger member of the party to take over and continue with the APC manifesto.
In the lead up to the national caucus, BoT and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings tomorrow, a major issue for resolution is the Senate leadership squabble which is still festering.
The attempt of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), chaired by the chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, to get members in the National Assembly respect the party position failed miserably.
Senators jettisoned the party’s position and zonal arrangement for offices, while the House of Representatives worked out an arrangement that subsists today.
Inability of the party to have its way in the National Assembly was blamed on the chairman with some stakeholders calling for his removal which is allegedly being championed by a governor from the South-South where Oyegun comes from.
But, another source in the APC disclosed that, “even if Oyegun is kicked out, because of the zoning formula in the party, the South-South will still occupy the chairmanship position.”
Another knotty issue for the party’s NEC to solve would be who to succeed Alhaji Lai Mohammed. Mohammed, before his appointment as the Information and Culture Minister, was the party’s spokesman. He is from the North-Central.
His deputy, Timi Frank, is from the South-South; a situation which may have worked against him from occupying the position before now.
So, as the party convenes its meeting tomorrow, Daily Sun gathered that some members would seize the occasion to ask for “more political patronage.”
According to one of the chieftains of the party, “some of us who worked for the party have not been compensated. Boards of federal agencies have been dissolved. This is the time to put loyal party members on these boards,” said an assistant to one of the party’s leaders.
“The slow pace of appointments and removal of PDP appointees in government positions are all to the detriment of APC members on the long waiting lists of some of our ogas.
The distribution of political patronage should have strong inputs from the party as a strategy for strengthening party loyalty and motivation of party faithful…” he added.
Meanwhile, APC National Auditor, George Moghalu has denied cracks in the party.
He said such speculation is a figment of the imaginations of mischief makers.
“Such speculations are figment of the imaginations of certain persons. As for the BoT chairman, I can tell you the decision of who becomes the chairman is an exclusive reserve of the members, and the person to emerge as the chairman will be known very soon when we organise the inauguration,” he noted.
Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike, yesterday March 22nd, said his predecessor who is now Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, was disgraced during the rerun elections held in the state over the weekend as he, Amaechi, came in noisily but left the state quietly as the results from the election showed the people were for PDP and not for Amaechi's APC. Wike said this while addressing his party faithfuls at the government house.
“Amaechi plot to rig the rerun elections was for him to rubbish the Supreme Court Judgement. He came back to the state noisily, but left quietly and shamefully. No Army is stronger than the people. No police is stronger than our people. How many times will they cancel elections for the APC. Amaechi is not on ground in Rivers State. Those who were overzealous during the rerun elections did so without the knowledge of the president“he said
The Senate on Wednesday passed the 2016 Appropriation budget of N6.06 trillion. But this came with a complaint by the Senate Committee on Appropriation about the omission of some agencies from the budget. However, the Chairman of the Committee on Appropriation, Senator Danjuma Goje, said the service wide votes will take care of the omission of workers’ salary in the 2016 budget. Goje explained that the budget has already been harmonised by both chambers before presenting it.
After postponing the laying of the N6.08 trillion 2016 Appropriation Bill for three consecutive times, both chambers of the Senate and House of Representatives yesterday received the final report of its joint committees on appropriation and finance, preparatory to the passage of the bill.
It is expected that the National Assembly will pass the bill today, before proceeding on a short Easter break. The passage of the 2016 budget has been postponed on several occasions as a result of ”padding” and other irregularities detected by the lawmakers in the bill submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari on December 22, 2015. President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, yesterday declared that the 2016 budget would be passed before Friday. Saraki made the declaration on his twitter handle. “The budget will be laid today (yesterday) for deliberation on amendments that were done and we will pass it before the end of the week.
“The #Budget2016 wasn’t sent to us just for the sake of it. It is our duty to make sure it is realistic and implementable. “…With this, the Senate intends to concentrate on the budget and to pass it before the end of the week,” he said in a tweet. In the Senate, the 2016 Appropriation Bill was laid by the Chairman, Committee on Appropriation, Danjuma Goje (APC, Gombe Central). The Senate received the report of the Conference Committee on the 2016, 2017 and 2018 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP). The Conference Committee report on MTEF was presented by the chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator John Enoh (PDP, Cross River Central).
After receiving the three reports, the Senate resolved to stand down other items in the Order Paper and adjourned till today, in honour of a member of the House of Representatives representing Nasarawa/ Toto Federal Constituency of Nasarawa State, Hon. Musa Baba Onwana, who died last week. In the House, Speaker Yakubu Dogara said the House received the 2016 appropriation “because of overriding national interest.”
He said: “Today is really a sad day for us, but because of the overriding interest of the country, which of course is the budget, we will take only one item and we adjourn sitting till tomorrow (Wednesday).” Shortly after receiving the report, the House adjourned in honour of Hon. Musa Baba Onwana, who died on Thursday, March 17. Until his death, Onwana represented Nasarawa/ Toto Federal Constituency of Nasarawa State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The budget report, which was laid on the floor by the chairman of the appropriation committee, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin (APC, Kano) read: “That the House do receive the Report of the Committees on Appropriations and Finance on a Bill for an Act to authorise the issue from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation, the total sum of N6,077,680,000,000 only, of which, N351,370,000,000 only is for Statutory Transfers; Nl,475,320,000 only is for Debt Service; N2,648,600,000,000 only is for Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure, while the sum of Nl,845,540,000,000 inclusive of N157,150,000,000 is for Statutory Transfers and N86,000,000,000 as Interest on Capitalised Loans, is for contribution to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure for the Year Ending on the 31st.” Before passing the budget today, the House is expected to pass the 2016-2018 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), whose report was also received yesterday.
The preamble to the MTEF report presented by the chairman of the committee on finance, Hon. Babangida Ibrahim (APC, Katsina) states that: “The House notes that the 2016-2018 MTEF and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) of the Federal Government of Nigeria was passed by the House on Thursday, December 17, 2015 and transmitted to the Senate for concurrence. “The Senate passed same with some differences; The two chambers met in conference and adopted a harmonized version of the report. A clean copy of the conference report is ready for receipt and adoption.”
THE TRENT has obtained a video of Azubuike Wonjoku, a candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC for the House of Assembly in Rivers State demanding a refund from an unidentified electoral officer.
Wonjoku reportedly stormed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) collation centre to confront the INEC staff.
Wonjoku contested for a seat in state assembly in Ikwerre Local Government Area.
Former president, Olusegun Obasanjo has addressed his major motive for supporting the presidential candidacy of Bayelsa's Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in 2011.
Former president, Olusegun Obasanjo has said that he does not regret helping Goodluck Jonathan became Nigeria’s number one citizen.
Obasanjo said further that he supported Jonathan in order to grant the minority a chance to rule the country. The former president made the comments during a recent interview, according to Vanguard.
“I believe that Nigeria politics will be strengthened even more if we have the opportunity to allow the minority in its own right to emerge as President, and I do not have any apology for anybody because the purpose I wanted Nigeria to achieve had been achieved,” Obasanjo said.
“That any Nigerian can become president, it is not a regret for Nigeria and for me because Nigeria gave him that opportunity, he used, abused, misused as he wished and at the appropriate time, Nigerians said thank you for what you have done and what you have not done and Nigeria said bye bye, which is the beauty of democracy,” he added.
Obasanjo became a major critic of Jonathan towards the end of the latter’s administration and at one time compared Jonathan’s regime to that of late dictator, Sani Abacha.
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that APC’s promise of providing one million housing units may be impossible.
The President said that in order to make the promise come true, the Federal Government must be able to build 250,000 housing units while the 22 states being governed by the party also build another 250,000 housing units.
He added that foreign investors together with big construction companies will then be encouraged to provide the balance.
Buhari made the revelation on Monday at the opening of the National Economic Council’s economic retreat held inside the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said, “Some estimates put Nigeria’s housing deficit at about 16million units.
“In our successful campaign to win the general elections last year, our party, the APC, promised to build a million housing units a year.
“This will turn out to be a very tall order unless: the Federal Government builds 250,000 units. The 22 APC states together manage another 250,000 units.
“We invite foreign investors together with local domiciled big construction companies to enter into commercial housing building to pick up the rest.”
Buhari listed the three most frequent public concerns brought to his attention in the housing sector to include severe shortage of housing; high rents and unaffordable prices for prospective buyers especially middle and low-income earners.
He added that he is aware that red tape, corruption and plain public service inefficiency lead to long delays in obtaining ownership of title documents while there are no long term funding sources for mortgage purposes.
According to him, while these hurdles are not easy to scale, his administration must find solutions to the housing deficit.
He suggested that the retreat could start by looking at the laws.
He said relevant laws should be reviewed to make the process of acquiring statutory right of occupancy shorter, less cumbersome and less costly.
He also said court procedures for mortgages cases should make enforcement more efficient while Ministry of Works and Housing should upgrade its computeristion of title registration system for greater efficiency.
Buhari was also of the opinion that achieving affordable housing for all Nigerians will require the development of strong and enduring mortgage institutions with transparent processes and procedures.
He also said when fully operational, the Mortgage Re-financing Company should ensure adequate support for mortgage financing.
THE Independent National Electoral Commssion, INEC, has said that it will not return to Rivers until the state is conducive to conduct elections.
The INEC spoke as the heavy shootings that characterised weekend’s federal and some state legislative re-run elections in Rivers, yesterday, petered out and became a verbal warfare among stakeholders in the polls as the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and All Progressives Congress, APC, traded blames over the issue.
We won’t return to Rivers until there is peace – INEC Mr Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, revealed that INEC had scheduled a meeting for tomorrow to review the situation in Rivers, adding: “I don’t want to pre-empt anything ahead of the Wednesday meeting.”
Citing widespread irregularities, the commission annulled the election in eight local government areas and also suspended collation of results after declaring few results. In an interview in Abuja with The Cable, yesterday, Osaze-Uzzi also said the commission would investigate the allegations levelled against it during the election.
He said the decision on when the remaining results of the election would announced would be taken at the meeting.
Military plotting to declare state of emergency — Wike
Apart from attacking the APC, Governor Nyesom Wike accused the military of orchestrating violence in the elections as part of a plot to declare a state of emergency in the state.
The governor, who said no official of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has power to cancel results already declared by the electoral umpire, stated that the government had video evidence of the ignoble role of soldiers during the elections. Wike, in a statement by his media aide, Mr Simeon Nwakaudu, said: “We have videos of the atrocities committed by the military across Rivers State.
We shall release them at the appropriate time. There is an attempt to cause violence to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State.”
He said the APC was not prepared for the elections, noting that it concentrated on propaganda instead of relating with the people for the elections.
This came as the Rivers APC called for the arrest of Wike over the alleged assassination attempt on Dr Dakuku Peterside and others and cancellations of the polls. just as the Rivers PDP attributed the cancellation of the election in parts of the state to use of fake electoral materials.
Hold INEC, security agencies responsible – PDP
The national leadership of the PDP said the INEC and security agencies should be held responsible, if there is a break down of law and order in Rivers State as a result of the failure of the commission to declare the results of last Saturday’s election. In a statement, yesterday, National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, said the conduct of polls fell short of the standard expected in view of the preparations put into it.
The position of the party came on the heels of a warning by the National Vice Chairman, South of the party, Dr Cairo Ojuogboh, that attempt by the APC to manipulate the outcome of elections would have dire consequences on the country. Metuh noted that it was disappointing that since Prof. Mahmood Yakubu’s appointment as chairman of the INEC, he had not been able to conduct any conclusive election in few constituencies and states so far and wondered what would be the case when the entire country is involved. He said: “Also grossly unacceptable is the shoddy work by security operatives leading to escalation of violence, avoidable deaths and eventual cancellation of election results in eight local government areas of the state.”
On his part, Ojuogboh called on the APC-led Federal Government to allow Wike run the state government, saying after four years, he will be accountable to the people of Rivers State.
He said: “The entire idea of trying to take over the Rivers State House of Assembly by force by rigging the elections so that the lawmakers can oppose Wike in governance is a badly thoughout idea. So we employ the Federal Government and the APC to advise the APC Rivers state to thread cautiously, because peace has no alternative.
If you do not prepare for peace, what you prepare for is war.” Also, the Rivers PDP said it was unfortunate and shameful that despite all efforts and assurances from security agencies and all stakeholders prior to the polls, some APC desperate and agitated political office seekers still went on to connive with certain electoral officers and military personnel to smuggle in fake election materials with a view to rigging the election, leading to the cancellation of election in some parts of the state by the INEC. '
In a statement by Jerry Needam, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Rivers State PDP Chairman, Felix Obuah, the party blamed the precarious situation on the Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, whom he said had threatened to use any means possible to stop the ruling PDP government in the state from winning the election.
Wike turning Rivers to another Somalia – APC Countering, the Rivers APC expressed outrage over the assassination attempt on the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, the State APC Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, and the deputy governorship candidate of the party in the April 2015 elections, Asita O. Asita. Describing as “outrageous, an affront and condemnable,” the “brazen attempt to snuff out the lives of three key leaders of Rivers APC,“ the party in a statement held Governor Wike responsible for the assassination attempt.
It called on relevant security agencies to quickly arrest and interrogate him and to hasten to bring the full weight of the law on all those involved in the dastardly act.
The party, in the statement by Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, SSA Media and Public Affairs to the state Chairman, APC Rivers State, said: “We have often cried out about Wike’s bloodthirstiness but, unfortunately, nothing was done to keep him in check.
“Before last weekend’s state and National Assembly rerun elections in the state, we had openly cried out following Wike’s open threats on the lives of President Muhammadu Buhari, Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, and Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
Those who thought we were shouting wolf where one does not exist now know better.” The Rivers APC lamented that Wike, in only 10 months in office, is fast turning Rivers State into another Somalia. The party said: “He is attempting to dwarf other evil and satanic regimes such as those of Mobutu Sese Seko, Emperor Jean Bedel Bokassa and Idi Amin Dada known for displaying optimum barbarism. Wike now hunts his opponents like a game, with many beheaded, clubbed to death or buried alive like chicken.”
Rivers APC call for cancellation of polls This came as the Rivers APC called for outright cancellation of the rerun election in the 23 local government areas of the state, saying it was characterised by violence. State chairman of the party, Dr Davies Ikanya, who spoke, yesterday, evening at the state secretariat of the party in Port Harcourt alleged that the Police connived with the PDP to manipulate the exercise.
Wike is wrong, we‘re out to ensure peace, order —Defence hqtrs
The Defence Headquarters, yesterday, debunked allegations by Wike that the military orchestrated and supervised the violence that characterized the polls.
Acting Director of Defence Information, Brig-General Rabe Abubakar, told Vanguard last night: “Our (military’s) presence in Niger Delta is not exclusively for election but to ensure peace and order in the region and to ensure protection of lives and property of Nigerians.
“We also have oversight functions of protecting pipelines and ensuring that illegal economic sabotage activities do not take place. Kidnapping, piracy are also challenges we are there to checkmate. So nobody can say we are tied down to any particular individual or certain group because of any election or interest.
Regarding the accusation of Governor Wike, Abubakar said: “We are not joining issues with any personality. We are extremely professional; we are trained to maintain peace and orderliness.
We will never join issues with any Nigerian. We are for everybody. We will checkmate anybody or group that wants to perpetrate crime or violence because that is why we are there. We belong to all Nigerians and cannot belong to a selective few.”
NYSC loses corps member Meantime, the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, has announced the death of a corps member, Okonta Samuel, with call-up number RV/15B/5539, during the re-run elections. Mr. Samuel, who served at GCSS Ukpeliede, was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Ahoada West Local Government Area.
Vowing to assist in ensuring that the killers are fished out and brought to book, the NYSC prayed for the repose of his soul and for the family to have the fortitude to bear the loss.
NYSC also said two other corps members that were with the deceased at the time of the incident were rescued by security agents.
The trial of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal which is rumoured to be as a result of a power tussle within the All Progressives Congress may end up costing the ruling party its leadership of the Senate.
According to political analysts, the current trial of Bukola Saraki may cause the ruling party a colossal loss which may see the opposition party, PDP take over the Senate.
Since the trial began in earnest, stakeholders and political pundits have been brainstorming on the possible fallout from the planned replacement of Saraki by his antagonists in the Presidency, as well as in the ruling All Progressives Congress. The pundits are of the firm view that the opposition People's Democratic Party, with a sizeable number of lawmakers in the Senate, may be the biggest beneficiary.
As of today, APC has 57 Senators, while the PDP has 46. Six seats, with three in Rivers, one in Imo, another one in Anambra and one in Kogi states are still pending. If the PDP is able to secure these vital seats, they would move closer to clinching the coveted seat if Saraki is eventually convicted and removed.
One of the observers, Dan Ojo, who spoke to a Daily Sun correspondent, said the PDP missed a golden chance during the inauguration of the 8th Senate. According to him, former Senate President, David Mark, would have been able to secure the seat if the PDP was desirous of the position. Mr. Ojo predicted that if the Presidency and APC leaders do not tread with caution in their renewed desperation to oust Saraki, Nigeria may go the way of the United States of America where the opposition Republican Party is in control of the Congress.
Ojo said: “The PDP may be in the opposition, but they still know how to be smart. For me, I think that they missed a golden opportunity during the inauguration of the Senate. They had about 49 members also. They also had people in the APC who were ready to support them. They should have cashed in on the crisis in APC to vote Mark in as president for the third time. I am sure they realised that late and that was why they quickly supported Ike Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate President.
“If the elections in Rivers, Imo, Anambra and Kogi should go as planned, PDP will end up having more than 50 Senators and you know what that means. Even without the prompting of the Presidency or the APC, PDP will make an attempt to take over the Senate. This is a possibility and people must be aware. The APC should not be in a hurry to return PDP to power by their own hands. This is my candid advice.
“One more thing. President Muhammadu Buhari cannot afford to have PDP take over the leadership of the National Assembly.
Look at what happened when former president Goodluck Jonathan allowed it and Aminu Tambuwal defected to APC. That largely affected him. President Barack Obama has been having issues dealing with the Congress, which is under the control of the Republicans. They must be careful.”
With the trial of Saraki at an advanced stage and rerun National Assembly elections almost concluded across the country, new twists and dimensions of what to expect in the event that Saraki is booted out, will surface. For now, like spectators in a movie, Nigerians will have to sit back and enjoy the play.
Billionaire Ayiri Emami, chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and ally of James Ibori, former Governor of the state, has predicted that Ibori who is currently serving a jail term in the United Kingdom, would return home to Nigeria, not later than July.
Speaking with members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Warri Correspondent Chapel, on Friday, Emami, disclosed that he plans to embark on a campaign to mobilise stakeholders and resources to bring a lasting solution to the menace of vandalisation of oil facilities in the Niger-Delta which he said was causing huge damage to the nation’s economy.
“There have been speculations as to when Ibori would return, but I can confidently tell you that by June or at most July, he would return home to Nigeria and we all need him, especially in Delta to sanitise things again,” he declared.
“If he were here, a lot of things would not have happened. Ibori was one of those who predicted that Goodluck Jonathan and the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, would not win the 2015 Presidential election.
“It was fear of the unknown that made his brother, former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to remain in PDP. I listened to Ibori, I had to leave”
“The gas Nigeria produces supplies electricity to several parts of the country, but the communities from where it is being extracted don’t have electricity. The crude oil from the land is refined into fuel but there are no fuel distribution outlets to serve riverine communities so they perpetually buy from the black market.
“People are shouting now about fuel scarcity because of recent irregularity in importation, but year in year out, coastal communities in Niger Delta never get fuel at the normal pump price.
“My campaign to be unfolded soon is to ensure the adequate provision of infrastructure and opportunities in the oil producing area so that vandalism will stop.
“Far from applying force to shut out the vandals. The whole idea is to ensure that the oil and gas being taken from the region make meaning in the lives of the host communities. We’ll not achieve this if the vandalisation continues,” Ayiri added.
Ibori was arrested in Dubai, United Arab Emirates under Interpol arrest warrants issued from United Kingdom courts enacted by the Metropolitan Police and was convicted in April 2012 by a Southwark Crown Court, UK, for money laundering and conspiracy, and handed a 13-year jail sentence.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has given reasons why all electoral processes regarding the re-run parliamentary elections in Rivers state was suspended.
The electoral body gave the reasons through a statement issued by Director, Voter Education and Publicity, Oluwole Osaze- Uzzi.
According to INEC, “Pursuant to the orders of the Court of Appeal, but “rather unfortunately, some of these elections witnessed the disruption of the process, including the barricading of some of the INEC local government offices and Registration Area Centres (RACs) used for the distribution of electoral materials which led to the late commencement of the exercise in some places and consequently, its smooth take off.
“Of more serious concern was the level of threats, violence and intimidation of election officials and voters by well armed thugs and miscreants allegedly acting on behalf of some politicians, which marred the elections in some areas.
“There were reports of numerous attacks resulting in fatalities, kidnappings, ballot snatching, diversion of officials and materials, amongst others, which necessitated its suspension in 8 local government areas.
“Regrettably, such deviant behaviour has continued today (Sunday). Several permanent and ad hoc staff engaged by the commission have been attacked, again resulting in fatalities, while some have been forcibly abducted and taken to unknown destinations.
“Under such difficult circumstances, the Returning Officers were only able to collate and declare results in one federal and nine state constituencies where the disruption and malpractices were not so widespread.
“Having reviewed the situation, the commission is compelled to suspend all further action concerning the exercise in all the other constituencies in the state pending the receipt of a comprehensive report from its field officials and monitors.
“For the avoidance of doubt, it should be noted that the suspension does not affect the constituencies where the exercise has been completed and the results declared by the Returning Officers,” Osaze-Uzzi added.
Secretary to the State Government of Rivers State, SSG, Kenneth Kobani, who was arrested by the Nigerian Army claims that his arrest by the army during Saturday’s legislative rerun was as a result of the involvement of the Nigerian military who took sides during the election.
Commander of 2nd Brigade, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Stephenson Olabanji, accused Kobani of disrupting process, hence his arrest.
[embed]https://youtu.be/0I1HczX1XUQ[/embed]
Olabanji, who said the law is not meant for only “the lower cadre”, also confirmed the arrest of Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike’s aide, Cyril Dum.
He disclosed this at a joint security news conference in Port Harcourt, capital of the state, saying both men were nabbed in Gokana and Khana local government areas.
“Many people were arrested yesterday for disrupting the electoral process and the law is not meant for just the lower cadre alone,” he said.
“No matter who you are, if you go against the law, you will definitely face the music.
“So, there is nothing like being secretary to the state government; many people were arrested as you have been told; a lot of people were arrested.”
Olabanji denied claims by the state government that some commissioners and other top officials were manhandled by the army during the election.
Wike has however denied that his SSG and aide disrupted any electoral process, saying Kobani and Dum were arrested by the army while they were ensuring that election materials were moved to polling units.
A former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, says he has no presidential ambition.
Daniel said this during a chat with journalists ahead of his forthcoming 60th birthday on Saturday.
The former governor said he would remain as an elder statesman, giving advice to politicians.
“I have no presidential ambition or any political position but would remain as an elder statesman, giving advice to politicians,” he said.
Daniel said the day he was arraigned in court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was the worst day of his life.
He said, “The day I will never forget in my life was the day I was arraigned in court in Abeokuta. Some students sponsored by the government that were singing abusive songs outside the court. They were calling me a thief. They said I took $3m of state funds, N1bn of local government funds but they were lies.”
Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president has expressed anger against those asking him to account for recovered Abacha loot, describing them as illiterates and stupid people.
He also said there was nothing wrong in President Muhammadu Buhari’s frequent trips as, according to him, Nigeria needs to be in touch with important centres of the world. Obasanjo, who stated this in an interview, weekend, said the role of his office was to facilitate the recovery process and not how it was put to use.
He said: “They said the money recovered from Abacha, I should account for it. What stupidity! The man who asked for it, the man who gave the judgement or who answered them are all stupid, with due respect.
“I don’t keep account, all Abacha loots were sent to Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and every bit of it was reported to Minister of Finance. My job was to write where we can get help to recover the money.
“Every penny that comes out of it went to CBN, so if they want to know what happened to the money, they should call CBN governor or call the Minister of Finance.
“But again, it shows ignorance, total ignorance, which is lacking and you wonder, are these people educated?
They can also approach the man who helped us in recovering process to give the list of money recovered and where he took it.”
Reports by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have it that President Muhammadu Buhari may have called an emergency meeting in Abuja over the bloody legislative rerun election in Rivers state.
The party had earlier in the day alleged that the president was already planning to declare a state of emergency in the state following the violence which has marred the election so far.
And in a series of tweets by the party’s official Twitter handle on Sunday evening, President Buhari has assembled some leaders of the National Assembly as well as many other lawmakers on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The meeting may yet be to declare a state of emergency in the state following the killings and unending violence in the south-southern state. Check out the tweets below:
Contrary to what is widely understood, former Senior Special Assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe has claimed that Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, whose presidency he also served, has not resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
It would be recalled that Obasanjo had last year in the build up to the general elections denounced his membership of the PDP last year, instructing the chairman of the PDP at his ward in Abeokuta, Sunmonu Oladunjoye to help him tear his party membership card publicly.
But in a statement issued on Friday, Okupe insisted that the former President has not left the erstwhile ruling party, adding that “Baba Obasanjo still remains the undisputed and authentic leader of the PDP in the south-west.”
He said in the statement, “the fact that he tore his membership card is not tantamount to resignation from the party. An action he has not undertaken to date.
“Tearing of the membership card though a very negative action is undoubtedly a knee-jerk reaction to certain unacceptable or intolerable happenings within the party which can and will be redressed.
“In his temporary absence, we have a collegiate or confederal leadership of eminent and distinguished elders including Chief Bode George, Chief Ogunlewe, Aare Jubril Martins Kuye, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Chief Mrs Apampa, Dr. lekan Balogun, Baba Richard Akinjide, Alhaji Yekini Adeojo, Chief Ebenezer BABATOPE, Shuabu Oyedokun, Iyiola Omisore, Prof. Adeniran, Gov Fayose, Gov Mimiko, Senator Bode Olajumoke amongst others.
“Senator Buruji Kashamu is NOT the leader of the PDP in the south-west. He is not even the leader of the party in Ogun state. He leads an NGO called Omo Ilu which engages in empowerment programmes in the state, mainly in the Ogun east senatorial district.
“We are a proud and a foremost race in Nigeria. We have enviable political antecedents and capable of presenting nationally credible and acceptable leadership at any and all time.”
Confusion ensued at the Mile one police station this morning 20th March , 2016 in Port Harcourt the Rivers state capital when the minister of transport, Rotimi Amaechi invaded the station with armed military men in an attempt to release one Mrs Ekwi Adebisa , an INEC collation officer that was arrested by the police for manipulating election results in favour of the APC at ward 10, PHALGA. Mrs Ekwi was arrested at Novotel Hotels, Port Harcourt where she was lodged by Rotimi Amaechi to enable them falsify results. Information of her clandestine acts led some of the electorates who tipped the police for her arrest. It was gathered that the PDP candidate for ward 10, Blessing Nsiegbe who once accused Amaechi of murdering her husband was allegedly leading with over 60 percent votes when Mrs Ekwi Adesina conspired to falsify the election results in favour of the APC.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="533"] Dakuku Peterside discussing with other members of the Amaechi squad at the police station[/caption]
The electorates who were at the collation centre raised an alarm and alerted the police who arrested her. On hearing of her arrest, Amaechi stormed the police station with heavily armed military men and attempted to release the lady. This was met with stiff resistance by the electorates who refused to leave the police station demanding that she be left with the police to face the full wrath of the law.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="642"] Amaechi with his aides arriving the station[/caption]
Governor Wike also hearing of the issue visited the police station demanding the police to ensure that the accused was handled professionally according to the law. However
Along with Rotimi Amaechi was the NDDC MD, Mrs Ibim Seminitari and Dakuku Peterside, the DG NIMASA who also led the APC crew rallied with a well armed military squad.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="708"] Governor Wike arrivig the police station[/caption]
Governor Wike also hearing of the issue visited the police station demanding the police to ensure that the accused was handled professionally according to the law. However, It was gathered that a call from the villa to the DPO of Mile one police station had him succumb and released the accused, Mrs Ekwi to Amaechi and his team.
The military men attached to the minister began shooting in the air to scare the electorates who were defiant to intimidation. The election has been marred with violence repeatedly perpetrated by the military in connivance with the APC according to the PDP. So far seven persons have been reportedly killed and many more wounded.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="674"] A section of the military men that came with Rotimi Amaechi[/caption]
Members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) are already forming queues behind former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, ahead of tomorrow’s meeting of the Board of Trustees (BoT), Daily Trust on Sunday learnt yesterday. Sources said the BoT meeting, scheduled to hold at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja, would be used to elect both the chairman and secretary of the Board, which is an advisory body of elders and leaders considered as the conscience of the party.
A leader of the APC in Abia State and former National Chairman of the Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA), Chief Sam Nkire, had already declared his interest to become the secretary of the party’s BoT.
The latest development is an indication that the first interim National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, may no longer be in the APC BoT chairmanship contest. The APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, confirmed tomorrow’s meeting last Monday after resuming from a 10-day working break. After the emergence of the BoT chairman, a meeting of the party’s national caucus will follow on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Chief Odigie-Oyegun said the meeting of the APC National Executive Committee (NEC), which is the party’s highest decision making organ, will hold on Thursday, March 24, 2016. Daily Trust on Sunday learnt that the need to fill vacant positions in the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) would be ratified at the NEC meeting. The APC national chairman, who spoke with journalists at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja, had said that all arrangements had been concluded to conduct congresses through which a substantive national publicity secretary to succeed Alhaji Lai Mohammed would emerge.
Some politicians and members of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign organisation who were given money to campaign for the ex-president have threatened to implicate the ex-President if they are arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The EFCC had last week alleged that some directors of the Peoples Democratic Party Campaign Organisation and some ex-ministers received N3.145bn during the campaign. The money, according to the anti-graft agency, emanated from the account of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The commission said the Director of Publicity of the organisation, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, received N840m; a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Chief Olu Falae, received N100m; while N320m was also paid into the bank account of the Goodluck Support Group, an association which played a major role in Jonathan’s campaign.
The EFCC had also said that a former Governor of Imo State, Achike Udenwa, and a former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Viola Onwuliri, got N350m in two tranches while the Director of Finance of the campaign organisation, Nenadi Usman, got N36.9m.
The commission, it was reported, was extending its probe to all PDP governorship candidates who also received money from the same account.
The EFCC explained that monies were transferred from the account of the CBN to a Federal Government account from which the money was transferred to the account of Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited.
It was from the Joint Dimension’s account with Zenith Bank that the money was shared to various individuals and campaign organisations inaugurated by Jonathan.
The two people who were in charge of funds were the Director of Finance, Nenadi Usman, and a former Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, who played an advisory role. It was also Anenih who insisted that Falae be given N100m.
Some of the groups that received money from the account were the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria, the Goodluck Support Group and the zonal chapters of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation.
Some political parties that also collected money from Jonathan are the SDP and Accord Party through Chief Falae and former Governor Rashidi Ladoja respectively.
However, some of those indicted by the EFCC have vowed not to go down without a fight.
They told our correspondent that they received the monies based on the assumption that they were not public funds.
A former minister under Jonathan, who was part of the campaign team, said, “Jonathan is beginning to annoy all of us because we are being dragged through the mud and he is keeping quiet. When we were given the monies, we were told that they were sourced from private individuals.
“Now, the EFCC has stated that the money came from the account of the CBN and the EFCC has also provided evidence that the monies came from the CBN and the agency has told us to refund the monies. We have spent everything on campaigns.
“We are being disgraced on the pages of newspapers and yet Jonathan is keeping quiet. I am not a military man like Sambo Dasuki. I cannot spend weeks in custody. If I am arrested, I will let the whole of Nigeria know that Jonathan was the one that gave me the funds. Let Jonathan return the money. I cannot pay for another person’s sins.”
Another PDP chieftain told our correspondent that apart from the CBN, other government agencies such as Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation all provided funds for the Jonathan campaign.
He said, “Dasuki never acted alone. The Department of State Services knows that he got Jonathan’s approval. His trial is being stalled because of what he knows. The CBN also had approvals from Jonathan. The CBN transferred these funds based on a memo signed by the former Permanent Secretary at the Villa.
“Let the EFCC go after Jonathan if they want the monies back. We cannot refund what we did not steal.”
A former presidential aide who is also being investigated by the EFCC told our correspondent that if the anti-graft agency arrested every person connected with the monies and Jonathan was left alone, then it would be a selective anti-corruption war.
He said, ““Maybe it is time for some of us to testify against Jonathan and expose everything. He and his Presidency officials did all these things without us knowing and now instead of owning up and taking full responsibility for his actions he wants to leave the innocent hanging.
“He doesn’t care whose life is destroyed. He only cares about himself and whatever deal he has with Buhari. The former NSA is suffering because of him. Olisa Metuh is suffering because if him. The DG NIMASA is suffering because of him. Diezani is suffering because of him and so many others.
“Everything they did was with his approval and permission yet he has now left them to hang all alone. How can he sleep well at night? Now he wants to sacrifice his entire campaign organisation and the strongest directors that he has even though they did nothing wrong and they were not part of his scam.
“We warned Anenih, Fani-Kayode, Ahmadu Alli, Nenadi Usman and all the others not to stick their necks out for Jonathan and not to help him but they wouldn’t listen. Even Obasanjo called some of them and warned them that he is concealing a lot from them about his actions and funding and that he would betray them but they didn’t listen or believe him. Now look at the mess they are all in.”
Mrs Ekwi Adebisa[/caption]
Dakuku Peterside discussing with other members of the Amaechi squad at the police station[/caption]
Amaechi with his aides arriving the station[/caption]
Governor Wike arrivig the police station[/caption]
A section of the military men that came with Rotimi Amaechi[/caption]