Imo West Senator, Hope Uzodimma, has stated that he won’t reconcile with his former wife, Augusta, because their marriage has been legally dissolved by the Court and the Catholic Church about 17 years ago.
He said a Lagos High Court Ikeja presided over by Justice Bayo Manuwa and the Catholic Canon Tribunal of Orlu Diocese Catholic Church in Imo State where the marriage was initially consummated have dissolved the marriage after irreconcilable issues in 1998.
Uzodimma in a statement in Abuja said the dissolution by the Catholic Church has been granted by the Catholic Papal’s Dispensation.
The Senator was reacting to the purported alarm raised by Augusta in which she called on the Catholic Church and all concerned not to recognize the his planned second marriage.
He wondered why the former wife would suddenly wake up from her slumber after 17 years to raise unnecessary alarm.
According to him, the dissolution of the marriage having broken down irretrievably, followed all due processes (legal and Canon laws) “as we have a judgement Absolute from the High Court and also a judgement Absolute from the Catholic Tribunal”.
He said because of the love for his children, he would not go into the details of what led to the dissolution and that as a responsible man, “I have not abandoned Augusta whom I have continued to meet her needs, being the mother of my children”.
Uzodimma accused his political detractors who having failed at all fronts to drag his name to the mud,have now resorted to conscript Augusta to champion their cause.” I see the handiwork of my political detractors in this”, he added.
The Senator called for calm and urged his friends and teeming supporters to disregard the action of Augusta as she is manipulated by political detractors.
Following the inauguration of a factional executives of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) led by Alhaji Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim, by the acting Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Hajia Amina Zakari, political stakeholders have expressed anxiety and fear that the end is near for the body.
While the national chairman of PDM, Alhaji Bashir Yusuf, who emerged chairman in July 24 was inaugurated last week Thursday, the national chairman of PPA, Peter Ameh, was also elected by 16 political parties the sameday as chairman of the council at a bye-election which held in Abuja.
The former national chairman of IPAC, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, who swore in Ameh at the venue, explained that there were challenges with previous election, which was given to INEC for verification, hence the decision to hold a bye-election for the chairmanship position.
Yunusa, who doubles as chairman of NCP said, “two political parties, AD and APGA, were denied participation in the election, in fact after giving due certified letters from their political parties.
I had sworn to protect the interest of all political parties and at that election that was not carried out.”
On why the bye-election was held in a hotel as against INEC premises where the July 24 election held, he said “IPAC is an independent body and INEC is just an observer. So we may decide to have elections anywhere. There is no document that stipulates that election must be held at INEC office.”
On the boycott and endless litigation that may arise from this bye-election, he said, “as far as I am concerned, IPAC is a voluntary body individual parties can decide to join or not. I have done the best I could as an individual to make sure that we close ranks.
He, however, expressed regret that IPAC was disintegrating, noting that what he did was in fair play and justice.
“I can assure that I have done my best in my capacity. For me, IPAC will come out stronger after this. We are all politicians, and when issues are being raised we can war-war and later jaw-jaw. I have done the best I can in making sure that everything remains the way it is.”
On INEC’s absence at the bye-election, he said: “you can hear from the electoral committee; they invited INEC. As I told you yesterday night I was there at INEC in the process of trying to make reconciliation work but one party invited by INEC and others were not invited.”
Speaking to journalists also, Ameh vowed to unite the council, recognizing that there is crack in the council.
He said, “we are going to work together. The minority will have their say but the majority will have their way. There are issues, but as the newly elected chairman of the council – because I have been there as former national secretary – I will use my experience and relationship to resolve whatever problems have been there and make the house a united and indivisible front and use it to confront the challenges of poverty and hunger in the country as well as collaborate with every tier of government to see that justice and prosperity are brought to our people.”
The new redefined anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC], under the new administration of the federal government headed by President Mohammadu Buhari may have found its anti-corruption footing again as the EFCC Chairman battles for his continued stay as the head of the EFCC.
Information available to 247ureports.com from consortium of competent sources indicate that the EFCC operators have compiled a list of potentially corrupt officials, and practices – that it intend to begin aggressive investigation against. One out of the officials includes the former governor of Anambra State, Chief Peter Obi – whom operators within the EFCC allege has received petitions on his fraudulent contract award practices while at the realm of affairs in Anambra for eight years – “he may have looted funds in excess of N700billion”, claims the EFCC source.
Prior to leaving the seat of Governor of Anambra State, the petition claimed that Governor Peter Obi awarded contracts in excess of 1trillion Naira to friends and cousins. The contracts numbered in excess three hundred [300] – with many of the contracts being valued upwards of 500million Naira. Most of the contracts were awarded without bidding or due process. “He will award the contracts and then collect 20% upfront for himself” said the petitioner who also added that some of the contracts were yet to be flagged off before he would collect the 20% ‘kickback’. He collected the said kickbacks on all of the 300 contract awards. The EFCC source revealed that preliminary evidence suggest that Peter Obi may have been engaged in the fraudulent practice for the eight [8] years he served as governor – summing to an estimated sum in excess of N700billion.
The ongoing construction of flyover along enugu/osha expressway – the Peter Obi administration attempted truncating the contract specifications in order to loot the funds from the project. Obiano halted it and instructed the project continued as designedThe frontal view of the Awka mega shopping mall – under construction.Another frontal view of the mall
In addition to the blatant fraud of collecting 20% kickback upfront before flag off of contracts, the petition cited blatant illegal adjustments to contractual bid documents and agreement to result in the looting of up to 50% of the contract sum. A case point example was given as the Awka Mega Shopping mall being erect near the legendary Ikenga Hotel in Awka. The original contract specifications which the contractors used to bid on the project included provisions for a comprehensive movie theatre and an art gallery of world scale standard. The movie theatre was to be placed on the topmost floor of the shopping mall. But as the contract was awarded, the Peter Obi administration released the money and then told to the contractor to not construct the movie theatre and the art gallery. In so doing, the contractor would not be paid for the movie gallery – while the money for the gallery had already been withdrawn from the state treasury. According to the petitioner, the Peter Obi also collected an upfront 20% kickback before flagging off the project. “Peter Obi made over 130million from the shopping scam”.
Similar practises were alleged to have occurred with other projects. One of the major ones highlighted by the petitioner was the Agulu Lake Resort which Peter Obi launched at the eve of his leaving the seat of governor. The multi-billion naira project is reported to have netted Peter Obi and his group sums in excess of N900million. According to an EFCC operator, cursory inspection of the contract documents and the contract terms and conditions show that the contract was inflated by over 250% – and that the project on ground reflects a toned down project compared to the stipulations on the design and engineering drawings. “Many of the items on the engineering drawings are not on ground, they removed it but the money have been released”. The same fraudulent practice was alleged to have taken place in Onitsha – with the Onitsha mega shopping mall.
Newly erected modern bus stops with seating arrangement and night lighting
The ongoing construction of three giant flyovers in the state capital was also alleged to be the result of the current administration’s refusal to play along with the fraudulent scam. The original contract specifications developed by the Peter Obi administration for the rehabilitation of sections of the Enugu/Onitsha federal expressway included provisions for three flyovers – it was submitted to the federal government under the then President Goodluck Jonathan for approval for funds to be remitted for the project. Basing on the engineering design presented by the Peter Obi administration, the project cost was estimated and approved and funds made available to the Peter Obi administration. But as the actual contract work commenced, Peter Obi instructed the contract engineer to remove the three flyovers and the network of gutters. The contractor had little or no choice but to agree. And the work commence with Peter Obi pocketing the money originally earmarked for the construction of 3 mega flyovers and broad network of gutters.
With the arrival of the present administration [Willie Obiano], and upon comprehensive inspection of all existing contract agreements/documents and engineering specifications of the many ongoing projects, the obvious became clear. It became apparent major financial offenses may have been committed by the former chief executive officer of the state. According to the petitioner, the incoming governor became fixed in a corner – without a quick solution to the quagmire. Most of the pending contractual agreements were not executable owing to the manner funds had been disbursed directly to Chief Peter Obi without the contract receiving any portion of the said monies.
For this reason, the contractors find themselves having to consider downing tools for reasons of their inability to carry their various projects to completion. Available information indicate many of the contractors have since abandoned their projects for lack of funds solely because of Governor Obiano’s insistence on completing the various projects according to design specifications – or face litigation.
The presidency on Saturday advised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to stop playing down achievements so far recorded by President Muhammadu Buhari.
This is contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the president’s Senior Special Assistant, Media, Malam Garba Shehu.
Shehu said the PDP should rather bury its head in shame for subjecting Nigeria to the “worst economic plunder through corruption’’ in its recent history.
Shehu was reacting to the statement issued by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, that “the economy is going down’’ under the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.
“It is ridiculous for any sane government to artificially rebase the economy and claim to transform Nigeria into the largest economy in Africa as the PDP administration did.’’
He also said that the defeated former ruling party was artificially manipulating statistics to create the illusion of impressive economic performance record.
He said if PDP’s claim of economic successes in terms of GDP, employment generation, poverty alleviation and others were genuine, Nigerians would not have voted the party out of power.
He said if the former ruling party was doing well, the opposition parties would have found it difficult to defeat it.
The president’s aide said the PDP assumed performance was nothing more than window dressing, and a detachment from reality.
“Nigerians no longer face exploitation at filling stations because the government is taking punitive measures against marketers that punish poor Nigerians.’’
He said queues had disappeared at the filling stations and the Naira was enjoying favourable exchange rate.
According to him, the present administration has successfully blocked leakages and other avenues for corruption.
He said the administration had also frustrated efforts by corrupt elements to divert public funds to private pockets.
“Once the formal trial for corruption begins, the PDP might no longer have the moral legs to stand on.
Delta State Police Command has arrested and detained some officials of Labour Party (LP) over the possession of sensitive electoral documents of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in relation to the just concluded governorship and House of Assembly elections in the state.
Investigations revealed that those arrested are top members of LP who are alleged to have stolen INEC electoral materials for the 2015 general election.
A certified true copy of the police report signed by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Hafiz M. Inuwa and addressed to the commissioner of police states that a premafacie case of forgery and falsification have been established.
According to the police report with reference number CR3000/DTS/SD3/VOL/3/230, and dated 25th June, 2015, the police acting on a tip-off swooped on a popular hotel located in the metropolis of Asaba, the Delta State capital and found the suspects in possession of INEC original copies of results relating to the just concluded governorship election in the state.
The report further stated that “ the recovered and identified result sheets are sensitive materials that should not be found outside the custody of INEC or officials of INEC and that the person that stole the result sheet is the person that stands to gain advantage at the Electoral Petition Tribunal if INEC could not produce the result sheets when the tribunal demands for it”
The report listed the items recovered to include; “47 completed copies of original result sheet, otherwise known as , form EC8A, for the governorship election held in parts of Warri South; 16 completed copies of original result sheets, otherwise known as form EC8A(1), for House of Assembly held in parts of Warri South; 7 completed copies of original result sheets , otherwise known as form EC8 for governorship election held in parts of Ugheli North”.
Other items removed also include, “ 5 completed copies of original result sheet , otherwise known as form EC8A(1), for House of Assembly election held in Ugheli North and one copy of original form EC8B(1) for summary of results from polling units in Warri South. Also recovered were 149 original copies of polling unit material receipt forms, otherwise known as form EC25B; 139 copies of forged forms EC25B among others”.
Among those arrested and interrogated in connection with the incident are Chief Tony Ezegwu , who is the Delta State Labour Party Chairman and Onodawerho Esiri , the prime suspects in the report.
The report indicates that two staff of INEC staff allegedly conniving with the agents of the Labour Party were interrogated , adding that “ following the discovery of these exhibits , INEC did a stock taking of its strong room and discovered that a total of 117 results sheets for governorship election and 20 house of Assembly election are missing from their strong room”.
The police have concluded plans to charge the suspects to court for conspiracy to steal, forgery and receiving of stolen INEC property.
Few of the agencies in Nigeria ever enjoy continuity as the phenomenon is
akin to a camel passing the eye of a needle. Usually, a new helmsman comes
into the saddle and the only strategy at making impact is to belittle the
achievement of predecessors with large scale reversal of policies
regardless of whether they are working. The National Agency for Food and
Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has to the good fortune of
Nigerians and purposeful leadership of its incumbent Director General, Dr
Paul Orhii did not fall to such bad lot. Instead, the agency has become a
perfect example of what how public institutions should run in terms of
succession plans.
Dr Orhii has proven to be the progressive Chief Executive Officer who
succeeded a reformist (late) Professor Dora Akunyili in piloting the
affairs of the agency. He built on the foundation that Dr Akunyili and the
result has been the remarkable pace at which NAFDAC has grown since he took
over its affairs. It is definitely no easy task getting NAFDAC to become
one of the world’s top 20 drug regulators and keeping it in that position.
No doubt, the agency has not be prolific in making headlines but this does
not detract from the sheer volume of activities that go on unreported. For
instance it has not been possible for the counterfeit drug cartels that
have been sent out of business to find their way back into circulation as
the agency daily move one step ahead of them under the able leadership of
Dr Orhii. These daily confrontations may not be in the news but the fact
that Nigerians can buy and consume food and medications with the least of
worries is enough indication that those who would have it otherwise have
been properly curtailed.
Public enlightenment has however not suffered under Orhii as NAFDAC boss.
Series of television, radio, print, online and non-legacy media advertising
has ensured that the populace continue to get informed and educated on
issues around food and drug safety, which is key to sending counterfeiters
out of business. Even though this aspect has not suffered, it must be
pointed out that it is the one area when the NAFDAC boss must seek more
resources to increase what is presently being done as it is important to
further reach those that are yet to be reached with the needed messages.
It is noteworthy that the enforcement activities of the organization did
not detract from its ability to generate revenue. From internally generated
revenue of N2.5billion upon his assumption of duty, Orhii brought about an
increase over the course of four years. Three years ago it earned above N6
billion, moved up to about N7 billion last year with a projection of N9
billion for 2015. It becomes even more remarkable when one realizes that
the increase in revenue was in part due to the plugging of leakages. Beyond
plugging leakages, a comparison with other food and drug regulators
worldwide shows that the Orhii led NAFDAC apparently runs one of the
leanest budget on the globe and has thus saved the government money by
judiciously managing resources.
The organization has also recorded milestones under Orhii in the aspect of
training staff to meet global standards. Available information indicates
the agency, under his watch, has trained staff, locally and
internationally. The result has been for these staff to be able to hold
their own when they are among peers from other nations. This no doubt plays
a role in the increase level of self-reliance that the country today enjoys
in food and drug administration.
NAFDAC has also transformed in terms of infrastructure as the Orhii led
administration marshalled resources to build laboratories and facilities in
places where there previously none. The enforcement office in Apapa falls
into the category of such projects that have created conducive work
environment for staff. The agency’s laboratory that was destroyed by an
inferno in 2004 was rebuilt as well as the rehabilitation of structures
that have become dilapidated in other locations. The drug laboratory in
Yaba was designated as the Centre of Excellence in Africa after it was so
refurbished from its dilapidated state. The upgrade to these facilities
with staff training has earned the agency several international
accreditations that would have been otherwise impossible.
Another of Dr Orhii’s legacy is his taking the bull by the horn and
securing land in Abuja for NAFDAC to build its national headquarters.
Completion of the building will further strengthen public confidence in the
organization while improving its performance.
There is equally the often ignored achievement of NAFDAC under the able
leadership of Dr Orhii. Few people appreciate the fact that the credibility
and reliability of made in Nigeria drugs was something that could be
exploited for the benefit of industries in Nigeria. These qualities are
what the agency has now tapped into that has made in Nigeria drugs to find
high acceptance in the international market because they were well promoted
by the organisation. The implication of this trend is that the gains of
reforms at NAFDAC have delivered benefits even to citizens and Nigerians
businesses and is thus a model that could prove useful for adaptation by
regulators of other sectors.
The narrative on the positive changes in NAFDAC can go on for several pages
even when abridged as has been the case in this article. The crux of the
matter is thus to urge Dr Paul Orhii to redouble his efforts with a view to
beating his own record in the foreseeable future. He cannot afford to
relent on these giant steps he has taken and must do more because Nigerians
demand more of him. He must sustain this NAFDAC’s success story.
Agbese is Executive Secretary, Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency.
I received the news of the passing of Ambassador Ade Adefuye with great sadness. He and my husband developed a warm friendship in Washington.
He was a very dedicated and hardworking man who represented the country with sterling patriotism and passion.
Ambassador Adefuye was much respected in the diplomatic community for his strong intellect and deep knowledge of Nigeria and Africa.
I interacted closely with him in the course of my job as Minister of Finance and I saw firsthand his dedication to the task of helping diplomats and investors understand Nigeria and appreciate the country’s many positives. He participated robustly in many sessions with investors especially on infrastructure and agriculture financing.
And of course he was always ever ready to speak up and defend the country whenever necessary. But he also had a great sense of humour and, during tense moments, Ambassador Adefuye could be counted upon to say something to relieve the stress.
A strong family man, he took great pride in his wife and children who always stood by him and gave him strength.
Our thoughts are with the Adefuye family at this difficult time and we pray that the memory of his worthy life would comfort and strengthen them in their grief.
Yesterday I received a call from a friend who said he called to apologise and to accept that he was wrong all along on Buhari and that he has now come to accept that my dissection on Buhari was right. According to him, since action speaks louder than words he finally changed his mind after Buhari’s latest appointments all of which went to Northerners convinced him that far from being a national leader who genuinely wanted to turn Nigeria around for the better, Buhari has rather proven to be a narrow, sectional, dictatorial and insensitive leader whose primary interest and agenda was for the North. He concluded that such a sectional leader in an increasingly divided nation like Nigeria can only do more harm than good and on that premise he was finally quitting the Buhari camp.
Now this was a friend whom I always argued with and who until yesterday was a die-hard Buhari supporter that was in the face of many absurdities still willing to give Buhari the benefit of doubt until the latest appointments jolted him from dream-land into the reality of a deeply tribal, vindictive, undemocratic and divisive president who having come to power on the slogan of change is now unfolding what for all intents and purposes is negative change. I have spoken to a few other friends since then and I noted that without any exception Buhari’s supporters are beginning to dump him in droves. One of them, a journalist with connections to top members of the APC revealed to me that even the APC is regretting their choice of Buhari. Thus, for all the deafening noise of change that accompanied his campaign, Buhari it seems is dead on arrival and already a certified failure for the reasons outlined below.
(1)Nepotism/Tribalism
According to the failed states index reports, one the most important reasons for which a state becomes classified a failed state is group grievance or disharmony within a state. More broadly marginalisation and dissent constitute fundamental markers or pointers to a failed state. Nigeria as a nation has been through a secessionist civil war, Major Gideon Orkar’s coup of 1990 that almost succeeded in Balkanizing the nation and ever widening ethno-religious cleavages and conflicts arising from group grievances and dissent. Against this backdrop the first test of a Nigerian leader is how well he navigates and manages the existential problems associated with the nation’s delicate diversity and in this critical test Buhari has failed woefully. The evidence of his failure is in the strident outcries that have trailed his blatantly sectional appointments since he was sworn in. His lopsided appointments have so brazenly gone to the North while excluding other regions that you would be forgiven to think Nigeria is a now a “federal government of the North.”
Laughable reasons ranging from competence to merit has been advanced by Buhari’s handlers to justify his shameful sectionalism, but none of the reasons holds up to scrutiny. Firstly all regions have an abundance of qualified and meritorious personnel, secondly it is strange that the North that is considered educationally disadvantaged which is reflective in the lower quota and cut off marks with which Northerners are admitted to federal schools and universities can claim to be more meritorious or competent than Southerners who are required to score a higher cut off mark before they can be admitted to the same universities. Thirdly if Northerners are as competent and meritorious as Buhari handlers now spuriously claim why are they almost totally absent in the merit driven private sector? Walk into any bank or factory and 95 percent of the time, you are most likely going to see a Tunde, Emeka, Efosa, Okon or Ejiro than an Abubakar in the cadres and these are private organisations that are strictly merit driven. Why also are they absent in the merit driven leadership of international organisations such as the World Bank, African Development bank amongst others or is there a different measure of competence and merit by Buhari and his handlers? Truth is; Buhari’s own standard of merit and competence is driven by tribalism and tribalism alone and this explains his sectional appointments to date.
Not only has Buhari’s tribal appointments violated the constitutional provision on federal character it has further deepened Nigeria’s ethnic divisions so soon in his administration. The distribution of offices in the House of Representatives is another example of Buhari’s dangerous sectionalism. While the speaker of the house Hon Dogara preferred an all inclusive distribution in line with the federal character principle Buhari overruled him and instigated the total exclusion of the Southeast zone. For a very fragile nation with a chequered past and present of bloodletting owing to its ethnic and religious fault lines, Buhari coming on the heels of his campaign platform of change, had the choice and ample opportunity to like Nelson Mandela be a nation builder, reconciler and father figure for all, instead he chose to unfold an agenda of sectionalism and Northern domination thereby consolidating Nigeria as a failed state and pushing it further to the brink. Buhari is thus as it concerns managing Nigeria’s diversity a certified failure.
(2) Failed Promises To Publicly Declare Assets And Constitute Cabinet Immediately
One of the greatest marks of a leader is the ability to keep his words and promises. In the course of the campaign Buhari promised in his well publicised covenant to declare his assets publicly and to constitute a cabinet immediately he is sworn in to tackle the multifarious problems confronting the nation, but more than 3 months and almost 100 days after being sworn in Buhari has reneged on the promise to publicly declare his assets and has continuously given illogical reasons for the delay in constituting his cabinet. What is he hiding that has made him unable to publicly declare his assets? Most importantly when a leader is ever too willing to make bogus promises he does not intend to keep just to get what he wants, such a leader is dubious and in that regards Buhari is already a failure.
(3)Politicisation Of Corruption War And Selective Victimisation
Beware of those who promise to fight corruption but end up making so much noise on the pages of newspapers with no real action against corrupt persons. Much of what has passed for Buhari’s anti-corruption war has been politics and hypocrisy. While they have ended up making wild unsubstantiated allegations and politicising the corruption wahala in newspapers, the EFFC and ICPC has been largely dormant with no flurry of arrests and prosecutions, at the same time Buhari has been hypocritically hobnobbing and shielding well known corrupt individuals like Amaechi former governor of Rivers state who ironically travelled with him to America and Obasanjo who is listed in the Halliburton scam because they backed him during the elections. Making noise in newspapers and selectively shielding corrupt individuals who happen to be your supporters is a flawed way of fighting corruption and in this regards Buhari is already a failure.
(4) Undemocratic Tendencies And Dictatorship In A Democracy
Like many of his critics observed, Buhari is not a democrat and does not believe in democracy. He publicly admitted during the course of an interview in the United States that he would discriminate against those who didn’t vote for him, which is indicative of his undemocratic preference for a one party state and disdain for competitive democracy. He has also increasingly become dictatorial, refusing to appoint a cabinet and isolating his party while taking decisions on his own. None of this conforms with the practice of democracy and Buhari is already a failure in this regards.
(5) No Action Plan or Initiative To Begin Implementation of Campaign Promises
In the course of the now obvious wayo campaign, Buhari promised social welfare payments for the poor, free meals for students, free education, free medical care, the establishment of regional development agencies, creation of 1 million new jobs annually amongst other lavish promises. But 7 months after winning elections and almost 4 months after being sworn in there is not a single initiative, action plan or road map for the implementation of any of the campaign promises. Indeed there is no longer any talk of any of the campaign promises. The many campaign promises have turned out to be a scam with which Buhari and his enablers hoodwinked the gullible and in this regards Buhari is already a failure.
(6) Absence of Nation Building And Refusal To Implement National Confab Report
Buhari came to power in a nation confronted with deadly Islamic terrorism by Boko Haram in pursuit of self determination for the purposes of creating an Islamic State, and others such as Radio Biafra, MASSOB, MEND, SNC conveners group, OPC and others all clamouring for self determination. One would have expected that confronted with such secessionist forces Buhari would have as a priority established a committee on nation building and looked into the implementation of aspects of the national conference report that will enhance national unity. Rather than embark on any of such necessary initiatives Buhari has toed the line of Northern conservatives by refusing to implement any aspect of the confab report or take any initiative on nation building. Buhari thus represents a set-back for Nigerian unity and failure in that regards.
(7) Boko Haram Continues With No End In Sight
One of the strongest points of Buhari’s campaign was promising to end Boko Haram, but since coming to power, Boko Haram has continued its murderous rampage with even more ferocity. Thousands have been killed and maimed since he was sworn in and thousands are set to die in the days ahead. Apart from illogically relocating army chiefs to Borno state which provided no results there is no new strategy for dealing with Boko Haram beyond the regional effort which former president Jonathan nurtured and which he had criticised at the time. Buhari is thus a failure in that regards.
(8) Appropriating the Achievements of Jonathan
Because Buhari has no achievements of his own having spent time indulging in propaganda even after winning elections, he is now mischievously trying to appropriate former president Goodluck Jonathan’s achievements. Some cases in point are the refineries that recently became operational which Buhari who was barely two months in power when they became operational is trying to appropriate. Yet it takes 18-24 months for a complete overhaul of badly broken refineries that have been in disrepair since Babangida’s military regime. How then can a two months old Buhari administration that has no minister of petroleum claim credit for a project that has been ongoing since 2013? Reported improvements in electricity has also been falsely appropriated by Buhari, not minding that there are always seasonal improvements in electricity particularly during the rainy season that usually ebbs after the season (hope they will credit it to Buhari when it ebbs) and not minding that NEPA has since been unbundled and sold to private sector operators just like GSM and thus no longer under the control of government. Is it not strange that a government that does not even have a minister of power can claim credit for a private sector driven power generation?
The resumption of railway ferries after more than two decades of inactivity is another achievement of former president Jonathan that Buhari and his deceitful louts have tried to appropriate. Most absurd is the appropriation of the eradication of Polio for the first time ever in Northern Nigeria whose one year anniversary was celebrated a few weeks ago when Buhari’s presidency was only about two months old. How can a two month old administration without a minister of health claim credit for Polio that was eradicated ten months before he came to power? This dishonesty and propaganda on account of having no new or initiated projects of his own to showcase is another area where Buhari has failed.
Ultimately Buhari is an old school, sectional, bigoted, dictatorial, undemocratic and primitive leader who is not suited to the leadership demands of a diverse nation in the modern times. His unsuitability for office is vindicated by his resort to banal sectionalism, bigotry and reconstitution of the born to rule Northern agenda in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious environment which has ignited mass protests and increased the tempo of separatist groups. His other sins border on unfulfilled promises, absence of nation building, fake and hypocritical war on corruption, government by propaganda which together has condemned his government to failure already. Nigerians should not expect anything from Buhari. The only change he has brought is negative change which will further destroy Nigeria. It is remarkable that for the first time in Nigeria’s history we have a situation where a president’s sectional appointments have attracted so much public opprobrium to the extent that some including his erstwhile supporters are insisting it must be revised. Such has never happened before and is a bad omen which is demonstrative of the extent of Buhari’s bigotry and failure so soon in his administration. Nigeria is unfortunate to have a tribalist like Buhari as leader and will end up worse for it. All should brace up for the coming storm as consequences of Buhari’s negative change and consequent failure continues to unfold.
The overwhelming evidences emanating from the Delta Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Asaba, the Delta State capital, are indicative that a possible re-run may be the last option for the choice of who takes over the soul of Delta, one of the most politically volatile state in the oil rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The election which was conducted on April 11, 2015 and produced former Senator Ifeanyi Okowa of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as winner is being challenged by the candidates of the All Progressive Congress APC, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor and Labour Party, Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru.
Ordinarily, Otega, whose party now rules at the Presidency, cannot lay claim to victory at the polls, even Great Ogboru who won in four local government areas going by the results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, and has been a champion in the tribunal war since the days of the immediate past Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan. Their contention, as it seems, is that Okowa, supported by Uduaghan, rigged his way into victory, hence he cannot be declared winner of an allegedly rigged election. Evidences being released at the tribunal are suggestive that Okowa manipulated the votes, settled a lot of grounds, increased the figures of voters more than accredited persons, consequently, he won with outrageous votes.
The contention of Otega and Ogboru therefore is that the tribunal should invalidate the election and then call for a re-run. In the election which was conducted throughout the nation on April 11, Okowa was said to have polled 724, 680 votes, Ogboru of Labour Party polled 130,028 votes while O’tega of APC scored 67,825 votes. Ogboru won in four local government areas while Okowa won in 21 local governments leaving APC with none. But contrary to figures which gave Okowa victory, facts emanating from INEC headquarters in Abuja indicate that prior to shutting down the central server as at April 29, only 709,000 persons were reported accredited and at the expiration of the shutting down of data upload, the final tally stood at 715,393 accredited voters in the state.
But reports say Delta INEC office put the figure of accredited voters above 900,000, exceeding the actual accredited number as revealed by the report obtained from the central server at INEC Abuja headquarters. Otega and Ogboru are therefore contending that there was a compromise at the collation centres in connivance with INEC officials at the Delta office. They are now arguing that if total accredited voters from the INEC is 715, 393 and Okowa alone scored 724,680, exceeding number of voters accredited by INEC, where then comes the 130,082 and 67,825 persons that voted for the Labour Party and the APC candidates?
At the tribunal which now sits on daily basis in Asaba, with Justice Nasiru Gunmi as Chairman, there are always fireworks as the Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) hired by Okowa, Ogboru and Otega and heavily paid to prosecute their cases argue both in favour and against issues raised by the three parties. But evidences pouring in from those invited by the tribunal to testify are hair raising as they all point to the fact that the election was maliciously rigged to favour the PDP candidate.
Two INEC officials, an Assistant Director in the ICT Department from Abuja headquarters and Chief Planning Officer, Delta State office, were directed to give testimony on the conduct of the April 11 election, following the request by the All Progressives Congress and its candidate, Emerhor Otega. Apart from the accreditation report which is one undeniable evidence, other documents tendered by the INEC officials at the commencement of hearing, included manual for election officials 2015; INEC’s April 2, 2015 press statement making accreditation through use of card readers only mandatory for the governorship elections; and guidelines and regulations for the conduct of 2015 general elections.
They told the tribunal that “the card readers recorded no sustained failure during the governorship election in Delta State and that as the accreditation was in progress, the central server was recording the number of persons from the various states. This appears to be unknown or ignored by the parties in contention as the election progressed in the state. In Nigeria’s technology driven 2015 elections, INEC central server generated real time data from card readers across polling units. This was to detect malpractices, especially inflation of figures. Although Okowa’s legal team objected to the admissibility of the documents presented by the INEC officials, their objection was overruled by the tribunal.
The objection caused a mild drama at the tribunal as the witness’ testimony was strongly in favour of the opposing candidates. The Abuja official was subpoenaed by the court to confirm the credibility of the Card Readers as used Unit by Unit during the governorship elections in the state. This was to show, verify and authenticate the record of how the election was conducted and the result generated from the polling units.
But lead counsel to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Mr. Alex Iziyon (SAN), the counsel to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Timothy Kehinde as well as counsel to INEC, had argued that the witness, who happens to be an Assistant Director of INEC, Mrs. Abimbola Oludunjoye, cannot tender any document because it was neither certified nor contained in the petitioner’s grouse. However, their objections were overruled as their plea fell on deaf ears.
The INEC staff who claimed to have put up 16 years in the commission and stood by her testimony on oath, told the tribunal that the server for the uploading of information from the Card Readers was shut down after six weeks of the conduct of the election. According to her, the commission’s headquarters communicated to all the Heads of Departments across the country before it was shut down.
When she was confronted with the question that the Card Readers may contain incorrect information or tampered with by the field workers before it was uploaded, Mrs. Oladunjoye said; “the information in the Card Reader cannot be tampered with”. Besides the INEC staff who testified at the tribunal, all arguments so far raised at the tribunal have never been in favour of the sitting governor, Ifeanyi Okowa. The sitting, which rotates between Ogboru and O’tega taking their turns to present their cases, runs from 9.am through to 6 pm on daily basis with adjournments in between days on few occasions.
The struggle is getting tense on daily basis as the PDP battles to retain its power hold on the state. A source close to the State PDP Chairman, Edwin Uzor, confirmed that PDP structures across the state have been put on red alert in early preparations for possible re-run election. The fear gripping the PDP is not unconnected with the confirmation of INEC staff that 709,000 voters were accredited for the April 11 governorship election in the state.
What this means is that if only Okowa’s votes exceed the 709,000 voters captured, it appears that Deltans did not vote for the other candidates that participated in the election. The PDP source further hinted that this development has crashed the hope of the PDP legal team who are currently battling to strangulate the trial process through crafted legal technicalities that appear not working as planned. PDP is parading three high flyer Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) with a view to intimidating the opposing candidates to pull out of the tribunal.
Unlike previous tribunals where justices were biased and ruled under the influence of Abuja powers, the Justice Nasiru Gunmi led tribunal has been fair in his dealing with all the parties involved in the tribunal. One thing that may turn the table against Okowa is that he has no one at the Abuja power house who could press any button for him, unlike the days of Uduaghan and Ogboru where PDP was controlling the presidency and the state. Then, it was wide knowledge that the influence of former President Goodluck Jonathan had overpowering effect on the outcome of the tribunal that tried the case between Ogboru and Uduaghan. But the ongoing tribunal has Okowa and his friends in Delta alone as the presidency and the judiciary are now under the control of the All Progressive Congress (APC).
As it is now, Deltans are in high spirit waiting for the outcome of the tribunal in the coming weeks. On daily basis, the crowd that gather at the tribunal in support of their prefer candidates is always intimidating. Some leave the venue with broad smiles with anticipation of victory, others leave with bowed head as fear grips some hearts over the possible outcome of the tribunal. Going round Asaba, the state capital, many are already anticipating an outcome that will lead to a re-run, while a few are of the opinion that it might favour the sitting governor, Ifeanyi Okowa as it has always been. Some have also said even if the election is conducted many times in Delta, Okowa will emerge governor as he has all the strongmen in the state.
But others are of the view that going by some programmes already put in place by the governor and some pains he has caused some persons, especially the civil servants he has sacked which he refused to call back and other government officials he has relieved of their appointments, the free health scheme which he is converting to compulsory contributory health insurance scheme, the alleged introduction of school fees to public schools beginning from next academic session, Deltans may turn their hearts away from him. While a few are of the opinion that with the appointments he has made so far and the ongoing youth empowerment program, he has touched many lives which could work in his favour if the tribunal eventually calls for a re-run. While the argument continues among Deltans and the legal fireworks reign in the tribunal, time and event will tell who rules Delta as the wind of change blows across the nation.
The Kano State Police Command has warned the public against the activities of some fraudsters extorting money from unsuspecting people on the pretext of getting them enlisted into the police.
This is contained in statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the command, ASP Magaji Majiya and issued to newsmen in Kano on Saturday.
The statement said reports had reached the command on the activities of the fraudsters.
According to the statement, the command has yet to receive any directive on recruitment in line with the Federal Government’s plan to employ additional 10, 000 police officers across the country.
It urged the general public to report any person who approached them on the exercise to relevant security agencies, assuring that such fraudsters would be severely sanctioned.
