– Zakari Biu under house arrest, permanent secretary Borno Gov’s Lodge in custody
Incensed by the escape from Police custody of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram’s top operative, Kabir Sokoto, President Goodluck Jonathan Wednesday ordered the Inspector-General of Police, Hafiz Ringim, to produce the suspect within 24 hours or be sacked.
This is coming as the man at the centre of the controversy, Biu, Borno State-born Commissioner of Police, Zakari Biu, who created room for the escape of the suspect, was placed under house arrest.
He was later brought to the Force Headquarters with his surbodinates where they have been detained since Wednesday morning.
The Permanent Secretary, Borno State Governor’s Lodge and other staff of the lodge have all been rounded up.
The Infrastructure News gathered that the IGP spent the whole of Tuesday waiting to see President Jonathan who had summoned him but was so enraged that he refused to see him preferring instead to deal with the Minister of Police Affairs, Caleb Olubolade.
The IGP waited all day to see the president but was later told that the president was no longer going to see him. As at the time of filling this report, the IGP was still at the minister’s office waiting to pick up the letter from the presidency.
The Force Headquarters had explained in a statement Tuesday that Kabir Sokoto escaped under police guard on the way to Abaji in Abuja to search his house whereupon they were attacked by angry youth, who overpowered the team thus paving the way for him to escape, a tale taken with a pinch of salt by discerning Nigerians.
URBAN and rural areas in the Niger Delta, Nigeria’s main oil and gas region, are currently experiencing a severe non-availability of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol, in the energy stations. This has resulted to long queues at the stations with commuters made to pay through their noses.
Worried, the Niger Delta Indigenous Movement for Radical Change (NDIMRC), a socio-political group, is calling for ”a thorough purge” of the allegedly graft-ridden energy sector of Nigeria..
Before the Monday slash of PMS price from N141 per litre to N97 by President Goodluck Jonathan, the product was everywhere. The sudden non-availability of the product at the retail stations is a major cause of worry to the civil society.
The Niger Delta group told AkanimoReports on Wednesday that they strongly believe that there is a high level conspiracy involving top players in the state agencies ”to mess up” the Jonathan ”due to the florishing graft channels in the oil sector”.
They therefore, want the Federal Government to sack the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Austen Oniwon, an engineer, the top executives of the Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR), those of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), and those of the Petroleum Resources Ministry in a bid to allow for unfettered probe of the institutions.
While they lauded Jonathan, for directing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately commence a probe of the utilization of the more than N1.3 trillion subsidy fund and for petrol price to N97 per litre, they insisted that without putting top executives of the state institutions ”out of circulation, the probe process could be infected by the graft virus in the sector”..
NDIMRC President, Nelly Emma, told AkanimoReports that the probe was long overdue. Both the group Secretary, John Sailor and Public Relations Officer, Mukoro Stanley, in a telephone chat with our correspondent in Warri, the commercial nerve-centre of Delta State, all agreed with their leader.
According to them, ”we have been insisting that the NNPC is rotten and all the rotten eggs in the corporation must be arrested and prosecuted. President Jonathan should start with that if he is serious about fighting graft”.
They alleged that the NNPC management has been working with the ‘cabal’ suspected to be sucking the country dry, and bent on frustrating efforts of President Jonathan’s administration at transformation.
Continuing, they said the NNPC Headquarters in Abuja should be properly watched in order to prevent it from being set on fire to cover up all ”the dirty tracks there” before the probe by EFCC, adding, ”this is why we are seriously calling for the purge of the oil sector.”.
They argued that when this is done, government should pick a qualified person working within the NNPC and who is either from the South South or the East to pilot the affairs of NNPC. We plead that the EFCC should do a clean job in the probe of the Corporation,” the group stated.
In the mean time, they are calling on Petroleum Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to encourage local players from the oil region who have invested heavily in capacity building, with ”good contracts and give allocations and oil blocks to our people because it is our oil”.
Adding, they said, ”fix our people in sensitive positions in NNPC instead of allowing such positions to be occupied by the Hausas and Yorubas who are not supporting the administration of President Jonathan. The Petroleum Minister cannot afford to fail the people of the Niger Delta region”.
The Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji, wishes to offer the following clarifications regarding the existence and status of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and its staff.
1.Staff of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) at the corporate headquarters in Abuja are being redeployed to its successor companies, following the winding up of PHCN with effect from 1st January 2012.
2.This exercise is therefore a routine transfer of staff and not a displacement or redundancy exercise that could warrant any form of anxiety or protest.
3.The regulatory agency has already directed that no further funds be made available to the PHCN corporate headquarters since it is not a market participant with effect from 1stJanuary 2012. Therefore staff who choose to remain in the former PHCN corporate headquarters building – rather than proceed forthwith to the companies to which they have been redeployed – would find that there is no work to do in the building and that there is nobody to pay them at the end of the month for doing nothing in that building.
4.For the record, the Electric Power Sector Reform (EPSR) Act, 2005 empowers the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) to incorporate an initial holding company within six months of the coming into force of the Act. This holding company would assume the staff, assets and liabilities of the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA). This was how PHCN came into being.
5.The NCP was also mandated (Section 8) to create a number of successor companies which will assume PHCN staff, assets and liabilities. This was to be done within eight months after the incorporation of PHCN. Subsequently, NCP created six (6) generation, one (1) transmission and 11 distribution companies, in addition to other marketing, bulk purchase, and liability asset management companies.
6.The EPSR Act (Section 7) also mandates the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to issue an interim licence to PHCN which shall be valid for a period of not more than 18 months. NERC duly issued this licence in 2006 for the period required by law. What this means is that, by law, PHCN should have ceased to exist by 2007.
7.Finally, under Section 10, this law stipulates that not later than one year after the creation of successor companies, NCP shall issue a binding order to PHCN to transfer its remaining employees, assets, liabilities, rights and obligations to the successor companies.
8.The PHCN has been issued with this transfer order by the authorities, which has occasioned the current transfer of PHCN corporate headquarters staff not only to the various successor companies but also to the parent ministry and other agencies of government where their services would be required.
9.These processes are without prejudice to prior agreements reached with the workers on their entitlements, including the 50% salary increase which government has graciously granted the workers. The transferred workers shall enjoy their enhanced salaries, benefits and allowances in whichever successor company to which they have been redeployed.
10.In particular, workers should note that their 50% salary increase arrears for June, July and August 2012, plus their transfer allowances and their January allowances will be paid at their new stations.
Patrick Chukwuemeka with his luggage containing 7.1kg liquid cocaine
Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos have apprehended a 32 year old man, Patrick Chukwuemeka with 7.1kg of liquid cocaine. The drug which was emulsified in a solvent and factory packaged as wine was intercepted during the screening of passengers in an Emirate flight from Brazil enroute Dubai.
Three of the nine packs of wine that the suspect imported were found to contain cocaine. The estimated street value of the drug is 63.9 million naira. However, seized cocaine in liquid form is not common in the country as most seizures are in powdery form.
The 7.1kg liquid cocaine on display
Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA Ahmadu Giade while inspecting the mode of drug concealment stated that the Agency will continue to expose the tricks of drug barons in the country. The NDLEA boss attributed the seizure to the alertness of officers at the airport. “We are poised to expose the tricks of drug barons in the country. Their calculation was that they could pass undetected but we have proven them wrong. We shall bring these enemies of the society to book” Giade promised.
patrick chukwuemeka'sluggage containing 7.1kg liquid cocaine
According to the anti-drug Commander at the Lagos airport, Mr. Hamza Umar, the suspect is believed to be working for a Brazilian drug syndicate. In his words, “this is the second arrest this year and both suspects came from Brazil. This suspect, Patrick Chukwuemeka was caught with 7.1kg of cocaine in liquid form while the first suspect Martins Henry Anuo imported 1.500kg of powdery cocaine from Brazil. 500 grammes were in the sole of his shoes while 1kg was concealed in his hand luggage”.
The suspect Patrick Chukwuemeka who had an Emirate flight ticket number 1764539551392 arrived at about 2300 hours on Monday January 16, 2012. He hails from Enugu and had lived in Brazil for over seven years. Investigation revealed that he left Nigeria to Abidjan, Cote d’ivoire in 2002. The following year he moved to Cape Verde and in 2004 he travelled to Brazil. Patrick had his primary education at Aji Central School Aji, Enugu State where he graduated in 1994. He also attended Aji High School from 1994 to 2000.
Displaying the liquid cocaine before Ahmadu Gide
In his statement, Patrick said that he indulged in drug trafficking due to financial difficulty. “I earn a living in Brazil as a barber. A Brazilian lady whom I impregnated delivered a baby girl and since then I have been under financial stress to cater for myself and my family. In a bid to survive I have to smuggle the drug for 1.2 million naira. It was my last resort because there was no body to assist me. I am sad”he lamented.
English side Arsenal FC will host the Nigeria Local Organising Committee (LOC) at the Emirates Stadium this weekend.
A delegation led by Razaq Bello-Osagie will finalise discussion with Arsenal and sign the tour’s contract alongside DanJan Sports limited. This will formalise and officially ratify the club’s summer pre-season tour to Nigeria. It will be the English side’s first ever visit to Africa. The club traditionally hosts an annual pre-season tournament at the Emirates Stadium, but they opted to postpone the event for a year because of the 2012 London Olympics. As part of their preparation for the 2012/13 season, the club have opted to connect with their huge fan base in Africa, by visiting the continent.
In July 2008, DanJan Sports brought two other English clubs, Manchester United and Portsmouth, to the Nigerian capital Abuja for pre-season friendly.
Manchester United took on Portsmouth before Pompey then played against Nigeria Premier League (NPL) side Kano Pillars.
The English Premier League is hugely popular in football-mad Nigeria, with millions of fans following the league on both terrestrial and satellite television.
Senator Gbenga Obadara yesterday called on the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke to resign or be redeployed to another ministry to allow the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) free hand to investigate the payments of N1.3trillion subsidy on petrol and kerosene last year.
The call is sequel to the letter by Mrs. Alison-Madueke inviting the anti-graft body to probe all imports subsidy payments on fuel and kerosene.
Obadara, who represents Ogun Central Senatorial District on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the Red Chambers spoke in Abuja in an exclusive interview with The Nation.
According to the Senator, Mrs. Alison-Madueke ought to step aside to allow for “decency”, “probity” and “transparency”.
Obadara said: “The way forward is what they have just started and I can tell you, the Minister of Petroleum cannot approbate and reprobate.
“She is not supposed to be on that seat while that investigation is being done by the EFCC.
“Morally, she is supposed to be removed to another Ministry if the President still wants her to be a part of his government.
“In that, there would be probity. In that, Nigeria will see that for the first time we have taken the bull by the horn. We must take the bull by the horn.
“Let a fresh blood be injected into that Ministry. Believe me, if you have character, even elected and appointed people, we should have character to say no when we are being confronted on things that bothers on national issues.
“It means the President must have done much. It is like who comes to equity, goes with clean hands. If this has been there for these very good months and nothing was done until when this issue of subsidy removal came up and you are writing on the 12th of January to EFCC as if she just resumed that office last week.
“And mind you, it was during her tenure N1.3trillion was spent as subsidy. No! She should be able to have decency to step aside and let a clean job be done.”
Earlier, Senator Obadara bemoaned the huge economic loses that attended the one week labour strike and street protests saying they could have been avoided through wise counsel.
As President Obama prepares to give his third State of the Union address next week, he faces a dispirited and polarized electorate that is sharply divided over his record, worried about the pace of the economic recovery and deeply pessimistic about the country’s trajectory.In a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, 9 percent of Americans see a strong economic recovery — a number that has hardly budged in more than two years. Twice as many say they are worse off financially since Obama became president than say their situations have improved.
Slightly more than half the respondents — 52 percent — say Obama has accomplished “not much” or “little or nothing” as president, while 47 percent offer a positive assessment of his record. Those findings are identical to public attitudes two years ago.The president’s ratings on a series of domestic and economic issues paint a portrait of an incumbent facing a difficult reelection campaign. Yet Obama has begun to recover from career lows in several important areas, including job creation, which is expected to be at the center of the debate in the general-election contest.Also, Democrats are starting to feel better about the country and the economy, and they are showing renewed confidence that the president will prevail in his bid for a second term.
Obama’s political advisers have long been preparing for a more competitive campaign this year than his race against Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in 2008. That is borne out in a hypothetical matchup against Republican front-runner Mitt Romney. In that test, 47 percent support the former Massachusetts governor, and 46 percent back the president.
That nearly even split shows up repeatedly in the new poll. Obama’s job ratings are 48 percent approval and 48 percent disapproval. On questions of whether he is a strong leader, or empathetic or in sync with respondents on values, the country is closely divided.
An approval rating below 50 percent is hardly a strong starting point in an election year, but for a president whose approval had dipped as low as 42 percent last fall, returning to even is a clear improvement.
Obama spent much of the fall in a pitched battle with congressional Republicans over jobs and the economy, and he won a December face-off over a temporary extension of a payroll tax cut. In that time, his ratings improved somewhat on the issue of job creation, with 45 percent approving of his performance and 51 percent disapproving. Those are are among his best numbers on the issue in the past two years.
Public attitudes are even more stubbornly negative regarding his management of the economy in general, although there, too, assessments are better now than they were a few months ago. Much still depends on the trajectory of the economy. The unemployment rate has dipped to 8.5 percent, as four consecutive monthly declines brought an end to a more than two-year streak with the jobless rate consistently hovering around or above 9 percent.
Obama continues to receive more positive than negative reviews of his handling of international affairs in general, and most approve of his work dealing with the threat of terrorism, although here he has lost some ground from the big increase he received in the aftermath of the targeted killing of Osama bin Laden last year.
The president earns less solid ratings on the possibility of Iran’s obtaining a nuclear weapon. Republican presidential candidates have been extremely critical of Obama’s posture toward Iran. The Post-ABC News poll found that 48 percent of Americans disapprove of his handling of this issue and 33 percent approve. Nineteen percent expressed no opinion.
Obama begins the year with a good boost from the Democratic base, whose enthusiasm is critical to his reelection prospects. Most Democrats, 53 percent, say the country is heading in the right direction, a 21-point increase since September. Two in three say they see a rejuvenated economy, up 19 points from November.
Politically, much of the past year has focused on sparring between the president and the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, with the two sides fiercely opposed to each other on taxes, health care and other issues. Despite congressional Republicans receiving far lower approval ratings than Obama — in this poll, 21 percent give the GOP good marks — the two sides remain evenly matched in many respects.Obama and the Republicans in Congress run neck and neck when it comes to whom the public trusts on the economy, taxes and the deficit. Most of those who see few accomplishments during Obama’s three years in office blame the president, not the Republicans in Congress, for the lack of progress.Obama maintains an advantage over congressional Republicans on the issue of who is trusted to protect the middle class. But for the first time, he is tied with Republicans among independents on this question. But neither side should take comfort in that. A record-high 20 percent of independents say they trust neither side when it comes to the interests of the middle class.
Obama has a narrow edge over congressional Republicans on job creation overall, but that again turns into a near-tie among independents. Three times as many independents say they are in worse shape since Obama took office; that’s slightly more negative than it was for former president George H.W. Bush in January 1992, the year he sought reelection. (At 35 percent among independents, Obama’s approval rating on the economy tops Bush’s 24 percent.)
One key theme of the campaign is breaking in Obama’s favor. By 55 percent to 38 percent, more Americans consider inequality the bigger economic issue than over-regulation of free enterprise. A majority of independents say inequality is the bigger issue.
Nearly three-quarters of those focused on government overreach would support Romney in a matchup with Obama, while slightly more than six in 10 who say the economic system is tilted toward the wealthy would back the president.
Obama trails Romney among independent voters, but he is not without strong pushback. By a ratio of greater than 2 to 1, independents fault former president George W. Bush more than Obama for the current economic problems. Most — 56 percent — view Obama as someone who “sticks to his principles.” Even 44 percent of Republicans credit the president on this front, far above the 13 percent overall approval rating he receives from them.
The telephone poll was conducted Jan. 12 to 15 among 1,000 randomly selected adults. The results from the full survey have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
—
Polling manager Peyton M. Craighill and polling analyst Scott Clement contributed to this report.
Right now the hitherto ubiquitous deputy governor of Kano state, Dr. Abdullahi “The Frog” Ganduje, has become the fall guy of Kano politics. The sucker has again played into the trap of his master, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who always avoids tricky situations and sends his deputy to do the necessary dirty job that has to be done for him.
Ganduje has reputation (or is it notoriety?) of being the Sycophant-in-Chief at the governor’s court of jesters, since the first tenure of their administration (1999-2003). Which is essentially why even Ahmed Garba Bichi, Kwankwaso’s man Friday and anointed gubernatorial candidate for PDP in 2007, could not supplant him for the position of deputy governor in this year’s election.
He (Ganduje) is said to be always at the beck and call of Kwankwaso and so ever ready at any given time to condescend and even sit in deference by the chair of the man he regards as the be-all and end-all of his career as a politician. This is to the extent that many of his principled political associates had to leave him because they could not bear seeing their leader belittling himself just for a pot of porridge.
Well, last week Ganduje was tricked again to play the fool. The governor called him for a meeting at his office with a view to addressing the press on the issue of fuel subsidy which has agitated the minds of the people of Nigeria since the announcement of its removal by the federal government on new year’s day.
Protests were being staged in major cities of the country including Kano and people wanted to know whether their so-called elected leaders were with them on the issue or not. On the day of the meeting the youths had gathered at the Silver Jubilee Square in Kano metropolis, which they renamed ‘Liberation Square,’ and pledged to camp there indefinitely (a la Cairo’s Tahrir Square) until the Federal Government rescinded its decision on subsidy removal.
However, at about 1.30am during the first night the protesters were raided in a commando fashion and forced to flee the area. Some vehicles were to used to disperse them. One of the drivers reportedly drove mercilessly on sleeping protestors, reminiscent of the Tiennamen Square massacre in China, breaking the ribs of one them who later died at the hospital.
This nefarious action should not come as a surprise as earlier in the week the deputy governor was ordered by Kwankwaso to address the press announcing his government’s support for the removal of the fuel subsidy. So he was naturally opposed to the mass protest being staged at the ‘Liberation Square.’
Reports in the media blamed the police for the raid but the police denied undertaking any operation on the spot that night. It was later discovered that it was carried out by Askarawan Kwankwasiyya (i.e. Kwankwasiyya soldiers, note: not PDP soldiers as the guy has personalised the party by naming it after himself!) sent there by the government, as the vehicle in question had KNSG plate number as testified by some protesters. This matter should naturally have drawn the attention of international human rights groups by now.
Ganduje, the ever loyal deputy (to the utter dismay of his followers the guy even served as Kwankwaso’s Personal Assistant when he was minister of defence under Obasanjo) did exactly as he was told. However, apparently someone smarter than the two of them drew their attention to the implication of their action. And so desperate moves were made by the government to prevent the publication of the story by newspapers the following day. Reporters were reportedly bribed to kill the story, but the Daily Trust somehow managed to publish it.
Piqued by the publication the government bought almost all the copies brought to the state to prevent the people from reading it, and, in its characteristic manner of dealing ruthlessly with its critics, sent its thugs to burn the regional office of the newspaper. Were it not for the prompt action of the police the multi-million Naira publishing house would have been burnt to ashes on that day.
All this would not have taken place if those who imposed themselves as our leaders have the intellectual capacity to provide good leadership. It is disappointing to note that even Ganduje, said to be the brain worker for the government (being the one with authentic Ph. D, Kwankwaso’s is fake!), could not see the political implication of supporting the withdrawal of subsidy at a time Nigerians were up against the government’s action. Unless, of course, if he acted out of blind loyalty to the dunce governor as usual.
Despite this however the deputy governor is now bearing the brunt of the political blunder of his boss. The Kwankwasiyya thugs were so incensed with what he did that they were said to have attempted to burn his house in anger.
And right now Ganduje is like a vulture among Kwankwasiyya zealots. The poor guy is despised and ridiculed in official circles, for a fault that is not entirely his own. But the sucker is not perturbed; he is ready as always to do the bidding of his master, even if his role essentially is to perpetually be the scapegoat that is at the beck and call of his crafty master. That’s Ganduje “The Frog” for you!
Reminder to Kano people: Da ma an gaya mana; ko muyi Takai ko muyi Tagumi. Kadan ma kenan. (We’ve been told before; to either vote for Takai or we would regret. This is just the beginning).
Following the Federal Government‘s Policy on deregulation which led to the controversial removal of subsidy on petroleum products, groups and individuals have called for probe of the Akwa Ibom State Government on their alleged sabotage of the Amakpe Refinery Project, Eket
Speaking during a press conference organized by a group known as Concerned Unemployed Graduates, Eket chapter, the coordinator, while advising the Federal Government to rescind its earlier decision on the fuel subsidy for the interest of the Nigeria Masses also called for a High Powered Panel of Enquiry into the lingering crisis which has led to the delay in commencement of operation in the Amakpe Refinery, Eket.
Noting that the commencement of operations in the said Refinery would have helped cushion the harsh effects of the fuel subsidy removal as well reduced the level of unemployment in the State. CUG alleged that the current crisis in the indigenous company was caused by a cabal of oil subsidy beneficiaries in collaboration with the Akwa Ibom State Governor, His Excellency, Chief (Dr) Godswill Akpabio.
“Our attention has been drawn to the public outcry due to the harsh effects of the subsidy removal on petrol by the Federal Government of Nigeria led by our son, His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR. We have also noted with keen interest the future benefits the said removal might bring to the people of Nigeria through the deregulation of the Petroleum sub-sector.
“While we would have loved to support the said policy, we are constrained by the negative effects it has caused the poor masses of Nigeria, hence, we wish to advise the Federal Government of Nigeria to, as a matter of urgency, rescind its earlier removal of the fuel subsidy for the interest of the Nigerian people until the necessary measures to cushion a possible future removal effects, are put in place.
“…we also wish to call on the Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan – led administration to set up a high-powered panel of inquiry into the unacceptable delay in the commencement of operations in the AMAKPE Refinery, Eket, owned by indigenes of Akwa Ibom State.
“it is our belief that the said delay is being caused by the cabal of fuel Subsidy beneficiaries in collaboration with the Akwa Ibom State Governor, His Excellency, Chief (Dr) Godwill Akpabio, CON.
“… our position is on the premise that the commencement of operation in Amakpe Refinery would, apart from providing fuel for use by the Nigerian citizens, have also helped in providingFollowing the Federal Government‘s Policy on deregulation which led to the controversial removal of subsidy on petroleum products, groups and individuals have called for probe of the Akwa Ibom State Government on their alleged sabotage of the Amakpe Refinery Project, Eket
Speaking during a press conference organized by a group known as Concerned Unemployed Graduates, Eket chapter, the coordinator, while advising the Federal Government to rescind its earlier decision on the fuel subsidy for the interest of the Nigeria Masses also called for a High Powered Panel of Enquiry into the lingering crisis which has led to the delay in commencement of operation in the Amakpe Refinery, Eket.
Noting that the commencement of operations in the said Refinery would have helped cushion the harsh effects of the fuel subsidy removal as well reduced the level of unemployment in the State. CUG alleged that the current crisis in the indigenous company was caused by a cabal of oil subsidy beneficiaries in collaboration with the Akwa Ibom State Governor, His Excellency, Chief (Dr) Godswill Akpabio.
“Our attention has been drawn to the public outcry due to the harsh effects of the subsidy removal on petrol by the Federal Government of Nigeria led by our son, His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR. We have also noted with keen interest the future benefits the said removal might bring to the people of Nigeria through the deregulation of the Petroleum sub-sector.
“While we would have loved to support the said policy, we are constrained by the negative effects it has caused the poor masses of Nigeria, hence, we wish to advise the Federal Government of Nigeria to, as a matter of urgency, rescind its earlier removal of the fuel subsidy for the interest of the Nigerian people until the necessary measures to cushion a possible future removal effects, are put in place.
“…we also wish to call on the Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan – led administration to set up a high-powered panel of inquiry into the unacceptable delay in the commencement of operations in the AMAKPE Refinery, Eket, owned by indigenes of Akwa Ibom State.
“it is our belief that the said delay is being caused by the cabal of fuel Subsidy beneficiaries in collaboration with the Akwa Ibom State Governor, His Excellency, Chief (Dr) Godwill Akpabio, CON.
“… our position is on the premise that the commencement of operation in Amakpe Refinery would, apart from providing fuel for use by the Nigerian citizens, have also helped in providing job opportunities for the unemployed youths in the State”, the group concludes. for the unemployed youths in the State”, the group concludes.
Ohaneze Ndigbo South Africa condemns in strong terms the terrorist attack carried out against the people of God and Ndigbo on 25th December 2011- Christmas day in Madala,Jos,Yobe and subsequent massacre of Ndigbo in Mubi towns of Nigeria by an Islamic Sect Boko Haram.
This is an act of cowardice on the part of the perpetrators.
One common theme in Nigeria since 1945 is that Igbo life is not sacred; almost nobody is ever brought to book for the spilling of innocent Igbo life. Igbo murderers operate with impunity and even enjoy tacit support of some government officials and security agencies. In the market place, in the churches, on the streets, the bloods of the Igbos are spilled every month. How long shall the world remain silent in the face of continued injustice against Ndigbo?
We condemn the attacks on Churches and Ndigbo by these terrorists Boko Haram.
Ndigbo continue to face the threat of extinction everyday. We have been persecuted and have even fought back against our powerful persecutors for more than half a century now. Rather than bring us peace and security, the silent support of some International bodies has increased the advantage of our oppressors over us.
Today as these horrendous massacres of Ndigbo persist, the federal government and people of Nigeria are busy with the issue of oil subsidy while a section of the country perishes. The world press focuses on oil while human blood, the blood of the Igbos wet the streets of the Northern states of Nigeria.
We cannot continue to watch as the security situation in Nigeria continues to deteriorate. The Federal government of Nigeria must act now to avoid another civil war in the style of Rwanda and Sudan. Now is the time to act before the anger of the youths, as vindictive as it is take matters into their hands.
We stand by the victims in grief and sadness over the unjustified and utterly inhuman tragedy they had to face.
We pray the Lord grant peace to the dead and strength to us the living that we will be victorious in this struggle.
The responsibility of all Igbos, no matter where you come from, is not to allow crises which belong outside our borders to permeate their way in. The security, unity and integrity of our people are a great responsibility and we are all responsible for providing these crucial necessities for future generations.
Let the people of God go to their own land. The time is now.
