The police has confirmed this morning’s explosion in a church in Jos, Plateau State.
The Public Relations Officer, Plateau State Police Command, Emmanuel Abuh, confirmed the explosion. Abuh, however, said that the explosion occurred at the Evangelical Church of West Africa, Rukuba Road, Jos. The ECWA branch on Rukuba Road in Jos is close to the Lord’s Chosen Church, which sources initially told The Eagle Online was the target of the attackers. Our source said shooting is yet to subside in the area. The casualty figure from both the explosion and shooting is said to “be very high.” Residents of the area are said to be fleeing to other parts of the town.
The attention of the House of Representatives has been drawn to reports alleging that one of its members, has in the course of his committee work as a member of the ad hoc committee which investigated the subsidy regime, allegedly received a gratification from an oil baron to exonerate his companies from complicity in the oil subsidy scam.
While we await investigation into these weighty accusations, we wish to state without equivocation that this Honourable House will never take side with corruption and we will always stand on the side of the rule of law.
The reason we inaugurated the ad hoc committee to look into the controversial subsidy regime in the first place was to expose corruption in the sector, as such, we cannot, for whatever reason, support any underhand dealing from any quarter.
However, these accusations, what ever their merits, do not detract from the quality of the work done by the committee. The report of that committee was adopted by the whole House and we stand by the resolutions of the House.
The present House of Representatives will not relent in it’s efforts to render quality legislation and oversight functions to Nigerians. Today, we are gradually beginning to see the end of this monstrosity that has bedeviled our progress as a nation for so long.
We hope that the Executive will not, because of this allegation, abandon it’s commitment towards bringing to justice, the culprits already identified in the committee’s report.
JOHANNESBURG – A South African man wearing an army shirt and holding riffle in hand is wanted by authorities for racism.
A photo of a white man knelled down in front of a native black boy showed up on Facebook. The small child lays face down, stretched out on the ground with the white man displaying a big grin on his face as if to indicate that he, the hunter, got his prey.
South African white man poses over black child, displaying a huge grin.
The disturbing photo was also circled around by several news media. Since the photo appeared, the man has gone to authorities and stated that he paid the child to pose with him.
The man also said he was stunned to see the photo because he alleges the image was taken in 2007.
The photo was discovered in the Facebook profile of Eugene Terrorblanche. The name is a play of letters of the last name of Eugene Terre’Blanche, a member of South Africa’s Herstigte Nasionale Party who founded the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (or AWB) during the apartheid era and who was brutally hacked to death on April 3 2010.
The photo was uploaded in Terrorblanche’s profile on June 24 2010. Thus far none of his 600 followers have responded or commented on the photo.
Police is investigating the real identity of Terrorblanche and have asked the public for assistance.
No one knows if the child in the photo is actually alive or not. “I don’t know to what extend the local police has investigated if the child in the photo is still alive,” said McIntosh Polela of the state police.
Polela states that the focus shouldn’t be as much on the racist aspect of the photo as it should be on the possible murder of a child.
Ray Hartley, a journalist for the The Sunday Times said “if the man on the photo is indeed telling the truth than it’s nice to know the child wasn’t hurt in any way”.
“That doesn’t take away from the fact that some sick individual posted the image on Facebook with the intend to stir up other racists.”
Paul Jacobson, a lawyer who specializes in internet and media says that posting such a racist photo is clearly against Facebook regulations. According to Jacobson, the police has the power to directly asked Facebook to help with unveiling the identity of the person hiding behind the Eugene Terrorblanche profile.
Director of the ‘Women + Men Against Child Abuse’ children’s rights organization Miranda Jordan said she was shocked by the photo.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” she said. “This is disgusting and distasteful.”
According to Jordan, anyone who posted a comment or responded to the image negatively, can be prosecuted and held responsible.
“Even those who live in South Africa and saw this photo and did not report it to their local police can be held responsible,” said Jordan.
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa start a home series against England on the weekend with a new coach, new captain and old questions about not doing enough to address the politically sensitive issue of the racial composition of the team.
Former President Nelson Mandela helped turn the Springboks – once the sporting symbols of the white-minority apartheid regime – into models of racial reconciliation when South Africa hosted, and won, the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
Since then, the governing body of South African rugby has made the transformation of the racial composition of its teams a top priority but the overwhelming majority of the Springbok squad new coach Heyneke Meyer named for the England series is white.
His predecessor, Peter de Villiers, said it should not be this way.
“There are more black players who are capable of playing for South Africa than most people think,” former Springbok coach De Villiers said in a book released in the past few weeks.
“But before then, many talented young players have fallen through the cracks in the system.”
South Africans often speak of a racial divide in sports, with whites playing rugby and blacks playing soccer. But that breaks down in the southern part of the country where blacks have played rugby for decades and outnumber whites in organised rugby by more than a five to one margin.
Black players from the region face numerous hurdles in climbing the ranks due to a lack of sponsorship for black-majority clubs, white coaches who favour white players and resistance from upper levels of rugby for putting blacks on the field, critics said.
DEVELOP TALENT
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) has spent heavily to promote the game among the black majority and develop talent. While critics acknowledge progress has been made, they add institutional racism is holding back talented black players who could boost the overall level of play in the country.
SARU officials were not immediately available for comment.
At the level of the Springboks, about 70 to 80 percent of its members of the past several years have been white. The team has won two World Cups and been ranked consistently as one of the strongest international sides.
At junior levels, the percentage of non-whites is higher, with the under-21 team winning two world titles and under-19s also taking two.
Blacks make up about 80 percent of the population and whites nearly 10 percent.
De Villiers, the first black head coach for the Springboks, said a few rugby officials were angry when he placed nine black players among the starting 15 when he coached South Africa for the under 21 championships in 2005. That team won the world title, silencing his critics.
His Springbok team for last year’s World Cup was mostly white, with De Villiers saying there were not enough blacks who had risen to be in the talent pool for World Cup rugby.
As with many issues that touch on race in the country still scarred by apartheid, the debate about transformation in rugby has been political.
Gwede Mantashe, a former rugby player and now secretary general of the ruling African National Congress, said De Villiers was too timid and SARU too slow in pushing transformation.
“There is progress in terms of the coloured composition. But it is not enough. There is not a shortage of talent. There is not a shortage of skill,” he told Reuters in a recent interview.
A coach for one of the top black rugby teams in the Eastern Cape province has called for establishing quotas, which he feels will make upper level teams stronger.
“This is about merit. There are blacks as talented or more talented as any white, but they are not given a chance,” said Bantwini Matika.
Information recently made available to 247ureports.com reveals that a journalist and a publisher of a local magazine [National Issues] narrowly escaped death in the hands of thugs hired by officials of the Ebonyi State government.
The Journalist/Publisher, Igwe Emmanuel who resides at Abakaliki in Ebonyi State was struck by ‘unknown’ gunmen on the late evening [8pm] of Saturday June 2, 2012 while he drove home along Federal Teaching Hospital road in his Mazda 626 salon car with registration number AE19ZLL. The gunmen did not retrieve money from Igwe Emmanuel but they collected his laptop, camera, voice recorder and documents. The gunmen proceeded to beat Igwe Emmanuel with the butts of their pistols till he lost consciousness. The gunmen left Igwe Emmanuel by the roadside to die.
Good Samaritans who saw the body of Igwe Emmanuel lying lifeless at the roadside rescued him. They acted to rush him to the nearby Federal Teaching Hospital where he later regained consciousness. He was discharged from the hospital on Sunday June 3, 2012 – and was told to return the next day [Monday June 4, 2012].
As Igwe Emmanuel checked out of the hospital, he placed a ‘save our soul’ call to the commissioner of police, Adeole Adeniyi informing of the threat to his life – and of the rusty relationship he enjoys with two officials of the Ebonyi State government. Particularly, he mentioned their names to the Police Commissioner as Celestine Nwali [Commissioner for Local Government Affairs and Chieftaincy Matters] and Celestine Igberi [Chairman Igwo LGA and Chairman ALGON]. The Police Commissioner replied in a text message to Igwe Emmanuel stating “come and see me in my house today between now through 4pm“. Igwe Emmanuel Igwe, as told, went to the Police Commissioner’s home – a mobile police officer [MOPOL] by the name Chidi Uguru was assigned to the case.
On Monday June 4, 2012, following his scheduled appointment with the hospital, as Igwe Emmanuel made his way home, he was forcefully picked up by the police and detained at the State CID Police Headquarters in Abakaliki for questioning – on a petition filed by Celestine Nwali and Celestine Igberi – alleging ‘false publications’ by Igwe Emmanuel on their person.
Igwe Emmanuel was taken to a magistrate court after 24hours detention in police cell. He was charged with making ‘false publications’ and given bail by the magistrate – who requested for a shortee to be a ‘level 16’ civil servant – equivalent to a permanent secretary. Hearing was set for June 27, 2012.
The trouble with the two officials of the Ebonyi State government stems from revealing publication on the looting of Ebonyi State’s LGA funds. Igwe Emmanuel was responsible for blowing the whistle on the ongoing between Celestine Nwali and Celestine Igberi.
247ureports.com made efforts to reach Hon Celestine Nwali through his MTN line 0803xxxx783 but did not pick his calls nor did he respond to our text messages. The police commissioner, Adeole Adeniyi was reached on the mobile phone. He said he was in Abuja when the incidence occurred – so he could not comment.
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See below for one the published exchanges between Igwe Emmanuel and the two officials:-
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RE: LEAVE HON. CELE NWALI AND FAMILY ALONE
Reading through the centre page of the VOICE Newspaper of May 27 ,
2012 ,Vol 3 No 21 page 13 entitled LEAVE HON. CElE NWALI AND FAMILY
ALONE, one cannot but hear the voice of Hon. Celestine Nwali and see
the hand of his hirelings , hiring the page of the VOICE NEWSPAPER
linked directly to the faceless CONCERNED PEOPLE OF IKWO NOYO AND
FRIENDS OF HON. CELESTINE NWALI with public fund to intimidate malign
blackmail and thrash the person of Emma Igwe and national issue
newspaper for questioning societal ills. The amusing advertorial
bought by the honourable in the name of his friends and concerned Ikwo
Noyo clan which phonologically seems as if HON CELE and his family is
under any confinement only sought to demonize the publisher the
publisher of National Issue newspaper so as to mask his dirty under
dealings in the local government system instead of addressing the hue
and cry of the public in that level which the article in the National
Issue newspaper brought to the public notice how ever,I share in the
predicament of the pseudo friends of Hon. Cele Nwali and his concerned
Ikwo Noyo people, especially with their fruit less effort in that
piece of exercise the unhappy venom of that sting from the mind of
their paymaster which made them to twist the words out of meaning and
dragged the premise into confrontation. Any way, they can,t give what
they don,t have but I wish to state here that no amount of threat,
intimidation and harrastment will make the National Issue Newspaper to
submit and abandon its avowed defense of truth and social justice.
Perusing that rambling piece, I laboured hard to find the
marriage between the authors rigmarole and the stated premise. The
writer rather than attacking the fact raised in the publication delved
into the biography of the Commissioner and waded into the forages of
absurd illogicalities and self contradiction . Besides the authors
reckless ridicule of the art of journalism and the flagrant
demonstration OF CONSCIENCE and morality in the bid to purify the
malfeasance and indiscretion in the Commissionership of Hon. Cele
Nwali in the local government ministry, I would have over looked the
paid advertorial.
For the mare audacity of the writer to state that, while we urge
members of the public to view the vexatious article written in the
most ascorbic and unmitigated diatribe as the figment of the writers
imagination, I dare Hon. Clec Nwali and his coteries of concerned
food is ready apologists with facts to substantiate the issues raised
in that article. I make bold to put the records straight as a member
of this illustrious family that places high premium on facts not
fiction, reality not imagination .FACTS NO1: The author of the said
piece said, ‘‘we clearly wish to restate that during his reign in
earlier capacities, he had meritoriously served, on no occasion has he
been found wanting.’’ In this regard it is important to refresh Hon.
Cele and his acclaimed friends’ memory and inform the general public
how he defrauded the state in various questionable transactions in the
ministry of public utilities. One, do you know that CEWOPI is a
company Hon. Cele registered while he was serving as a commissioner
for works in the old Enugu State, fronting Mr. Igwe Emmanuel his
relation as the CEO of the company. Two, Do you know that CEWOPI
company which Hon. Cele is a director executed almost all the rural
electrification projects while he is the commissioner for public
utilities. Do you know that he awarded himself (CEWOPI) the contract
without due process as the contract finance agreement between the
CEWOPI and government was signed without the presence of critical
government officials? You need to know that the contracts which were
over-inflated and paid upfront in whole had no originating approval as
verbal approval was the order of the day. In essence while in that
ministry in an unconventional manner that rubbished the basic
foundation of the 2007 public procurement Act that seeks transparency
in the procurement and award of contracts. It is unthinkable that
those projects were never supervised neither did the company had any
good record of performance but Hon. Celestine regularly paid the
company the huge contractual sum including the increased variations.
This is the picture of a man that has not been found wanting!
FACTS NO2: Hon. Celestine Nwali approved and paid substantial amount
of money for the installation of traffic light at the busy junction in
Abakaliki metropolis without and fair deal in respect of government
and road users getting the contract value for the payment. Sad enough
the revered commissioner certified the work completed and satisfactory
but it is regrettable to note that the traffic light was not just
faulty but it didn’t function up to three weeks it was installed. It
is important to note that his successor in that ministry did not only
condemn the shoddy performance of the contractor of the contractor
but revoked it .The certification of those projects never completed or
badly executed poses serious questions on the integrity of the
Commissioner and represents such a sordid scenario in the ministry of
public utilities under Hon. Nwali .
FACTS NO 3 ; The financial status of Cewopi Nigeria Limited is
just questionable but frightening . It is obvious that CEWOPI was
hitherto a moribund company lacking manpower , materials and
machines, how come within few years of its rejuvenation , it has grown
solid capital base worth billions of naira ? Do you know the company
recently procured from abroad sophisticated machines and equipment
valued at over $7.8m . How did the company generatew that money?. He
has right to refutes these facts or keep quite and enjoy his impunity
stealing that is causing the state economic adversity.
FACTS NO 4. It is a matter of common knowledge that Barr. Igberi
Nweme had to remain the Chairman of Ikwo Local Government Area
despite the fact that he was not the choice of his people . It was
Hon. Cele Nwali’s arbitrations that sustained his succession programme
. The reality is that the council chairman is the commissioner’s
protégé in the council Area. Incredibly , he was condemned by the wife
of the Governor for obvious non-performance out of the thirteen
council chairmen. It is however absurd that rather than Hon. Cele’s
friends being emboldened to disclaim the National Issue assertion
“his brother who goes around giving various awards to council chairmen
and coordinators for a mere fact that they a monthly return of two
million naira to the powerful Ikwo Commissioner” . They succeeded in
expressing sentiment as according to the writers poser, “ How come
Cele Nwali who never withheld funds——-is being blamed for the
non-payment of such funds by some council chairmen even when he has
played his crucial part by releasing the fund? In a more desperate
move to exonerate the commissioner , the writer stated that “we
unequivocally wish to posit that the role of the ministry of local
government and chieftaincy matters is basically the supervision of
local governments and Development Centres and not to teleguide them
on the utilization of their funds” Can the Commissioner deny the fact
there is no nucleated link between him and various council chairmen ,
hasn’t he the commissioner been inspecting Igberi’s project and giving
him pass mark and numerous award. The council chairmen know the truth,
if any of them refutes this write-up I will personally use the
instrumentality of the freedom of information bill to compel Stanbic
Ibtc Bank to publish the various accounts of the council chairmen or
their relatives domiciled in the said bank for the purpose of stealing
our collective wealth. In another dimension , I will publish the
numerous property of Mr. Nwali so that Ebonyi will know where their
money is going. I stand to be challenged , Cele N wali is richer than
Governor Elechi. By 2007 Mr. Nwali insisted that GOVERNOR Elechi must
pay him before he will release his building for the use of the
GOVERNOR’S campaign . To be honest , NwalI never wore only cloth
throughout the duration of Elechi’s campaign by 2007, if anybody is in
doubt I can publish his pictures then.
The above rhetoric’s and emphasis as posited by friends of Hon.
Celestine Nwal.i is very pathetic . But let us assumethat the
commissioner is unable to discharge the powers conferred on him by
Ebonyi State local government councils and Development centres
amendment law 2008 which saddled the ministry of Local government and
chieftaincy matters with the provision of supervisory roles to the
local Government and Development centres . The same laws also empowers
the commissioner as it is thus stated therein , “The ministry of local
Government and Chieftaincy matters aims at consolidating on programmes
and activities that champions the causes of Ebonyi rural masses
through an efficient and effective local government system capable of
providing improved infrastructure ,human and social services to the
grassroot “ the amended law as stated here is anything to go by , it
is either the commissioner is incompetent or we make bold to restate
that Hon. Cele’s inability to checkmate the brisk inactivity of the
council chairmen and monitor the utilization of fund he released
reveals a marriage of mind between the assertion of National Issue
publication and the non-performance of the council chairmen. More
over, the failure of the commissioner to discharge the mandate of the
ministry especially as it pertains to the 1st, 4th, 6th schedule of
the haunting truth many Ebonyi leaders including the commissioner
already know but stubbornly refused to edmit. It is the fact that Hon.
Cele Nwali did not only lack the brain but he lacks the character to
free enough fund money for infrastructural development of the rural
area without unduly punishing the poor Ebonyians whose general
population is in a tight of poverty. It is the fact that the Hon.
Commissioner is the silkworm in the root of the local government
resources whose intuitive collaboration and influence and bad
influence on the council chairman leaves little or nothing to the
council to deliver on critical issues like healthcare , infrastructure
and skill acquisition programme which affect the the greater majority.
Facts no 5; That less for the error in the surname of the bank
account holders name in which the National Issue publication misnamed
Emeka Onele every other claim pertaining to the stanbic Ibtc
transaction as recorded in that publication are very correct with
proven evidences . However for obvious personal reasons we have
resolved not to publish the account numbers and transactions details
which is already cooling in our safe box . I dare any chairman to
publicly deny this fact and also advise the commissioner and his
so-called friends to stop bleeding the local government to death or
the citizenry will demand your prosecution . Moreso , since you have
resolved to take legal action against National Issue in a court of
competent jurisdiction over the said publication , we are happy to
inform you that National Issue Newspaper believe so much in justice
and rule of law , WE SHALL BE WAITING FOR YOU IN GOURT . It is
imperative to advise Hon. Cele to stop chasing an abstract ground in
pursuance of image laundering and reputation . No person is loosing
sleep over your insatiable percuniary gains neither is the
publication sponsored to bring your reputation to bring your
reputation to the mud ,rather the publication is only advising you to
stop giving pittance to the council chairmen in the name of
allocation . The fiagrant display of disregard for due process and
perpetration of illegality in the deduction of local government fund
accounts largely for the poverty , non-performance underdevelopment
and debilitating insecurity in the various concils of this state.
That article which incriminated the commissioner in the act of
governance at the local government governments also blamed the
reckless and excessive spending of the council chairmen due to the
possible hijack of her activities by the ministry . Please Mr.
Commissioner have merry on common wealth, God is watching!
Lastly, Hon. Celestine Nwali is hereby challenged to refute those
claims stated herein and take further step to declare his assets and
liabilities before 2007 and now . He should tell Ebonyians how a man
like him who was staying in an uncompleted building for a decade in a
passing of four years became stupendously rich. He should be bold
enough to tell Ebonyi peole how he made hiscash that he is not just a
property owner but seriouely into the business of estates and choice
property properties even in Dubai. In Abakalik! i alone Cele has
edifices over nine hundred million naira. He should tell Ebonyians how
and when hemade themoney to build those estates within the vicinity of
phoenix hotels , Ogbaga road mgbukube Abakaliki and . What of the
multi billion naira factory at Emene near Enugu. And why he should not
becompelled to return those funds to the peoples of the various
Iocal Government Areas. Good bless Ebonyi State and help Ebonyians
ROUSING WELCOME President Aquino waves to members of the Filipino-American community upon his arrival from London on Wednesday night (Thursday morning in Manila) at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland for an official working visit to the United States.
WASHINGTON—President Benigno Aquino arrived here on Wednesday night (Thursday morning in Manila) for a visit that will highlight the Philippines’ growing importance in American strategic thinking as the United States “pivots” to Asia and both countries worry about China’s intentions.
US President Barack Obama will receive Mr. Aquino at the Oval Office on Friday afternoon (Saturday morning in Manila) for discussions expected to center on China’s increasing aggressiveness in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
A day before Mr. Aquino’s arrival in the US capital, the US Senate passed a resolution calling for increased American defense and security cooperation with the Philippines, including support for the modernization of the Philippine military.
A US official said Washington saw Mr. Aquino as a leader who was “trying to do the right thing” to tackle the corruption, cronyism and red tape that have held back the economy of his nation of 93 million people.
Mr. Aquino’s plane—a chartered Philippine Airlines Airbus A340—landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland at 8:19 p.m. Eastern time (8:19 a.m. Thursday in Manila) from London’s Heathrow Airport.
Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Cuisia Jr., embassy staff members and a throng of well-wishers from the Filipino-American community in Washington welcomed Mr. Aquino.
Instead of boarding the presidential limousine after the reception of the honor guard, Mr. Aquino walked straight to meet his supporters at the edge of the tarmac, sending US Secret Service agents and official vehicles scrambling after him.
US Air Force personnel said it was “uncommon” for heads of state to approach well-wishers, with most boarding their vehicles at the foot of the ramp.
Mr. Aquino’s gesture sent his welcomers cheering. “We love you, P-Noy,” some shouted. “Mabuhay si P-Noy,” others cheered. (P-Noy is the president’s moniker.)
First White House meet
The President and Obama have met four times over the last two years, but never in the White House. This is the first time that the US leader is officially playing host to Mr. Aquino.
The meeting at the Oval Office will lay the groundwork for the future of the strategic partnership between the Philippines and the United States, Ambassador Cuisia said.
He said the two leaders would discuss global, regional and domestic issues, including those affecting bilateral relations.
“They will also be covering more specifically military and security cooperation, economic cooperation, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, people-to-people exchanges or people-to-people ties,” Cuisia said in an interview.
“But they will also, I’m sure, be talking about the West Philippine Sea as part of the maritime security discussions,” he said.
Mr. Aquino will also meet senior US lawmakers for “discussions on our bilateral economic and defense cooperation, the shift in the focus of the United States toward the Asia-Pacific and ways to revitalize our alliance,” Cuisia said in a statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Manila.
Senate resolution
On Tuesday, the US Senate passed Resolution No. 481 calling for increased defense and security cooperation with the Philippines. The measure was sponsored by Senator Richard Lugar in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the Philippines and the United States.
Senators John Kerry, James Inhofe, Jim Webb, Kelly Ayotte, Tad Cochran and Daniel Inouye also sponsored the resolution. They called on Manila and Washington to continue high-level consultations.
The DFA statement quoted Cuisia as saying that the Senate resolution “calls for increased cooperation and enhanced bilateral security ties between the two countries, including support for Philippine defense modernization, the rotational presence of US forces and increased humanitarian and disaster relief preparedness.”
“It also urged Washington to continue its efforts to assist Manila in the areas of maritime security, maritime domain awareness, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and related communications infrastructure to enable enhanced information sharing and overall military professionalism,” Cuisia said.
Importance of alliance
“This is a very positive development that further underscores the importance the United States places on its alliance with the Philippines,” he said. “The Filipino people greatly appreciate this gesture by our friends in the United States.”
Washington’s “rebalancing” of forces to the Asia-Pacific region, a post-Cold War strategy two decades in the making, has accelerated under the Obama administration in response to China’s rapid military modernization and growing assertiveness in the region.
60% of naval fleet
The Obama policy has focused on Southeast Asia and crafting flexible arrangements with other allies in Asia, Australia and the Philippines, and ship visits to Singapore and Vietnam.
No new US bases are envisioned, although 2,500 US troops will rotate through and train in Darwin, Australia. Any new arrangements with the Philippines would be smaller than the Australian program, US officials said.
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said at a security forum in Singapore last weekend that the United States would reposition its naval fleet so 60 percent of its battleships would be in the Asia-Pacific by the end of the decade, up from about 50 percent now.
The plan drew a pledge from China’s People’s Liberation Army to increase its vigilance.
In upgrading its military capability to protect its interest in disputed areas of the West Philippine Sea, Manila has been looking to Washington for ships, aircraft and surveillance equipment to build a credible defense posture.
New urgency
After high-level bilateral security and diplomatic talks in late April, the Obama administration pledged to increase its annual foreign military sales to the Philippines to $30 million, about three times the level of the 2011 program.
“We’ve been working with the Philippines on military modernization for 12 or 13 years, very intensively,” said Walter Lohman, a Southeast Asia expert at Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank.
“The only thing that has changed is the urgency of this and the seriousness the Philippines has shown under the Aquino administration,” he said.
Manila’s new urgency stems from a standoff with China at the Scarborough Shoal, a horseshoe-shaped reef near the Philippines in waters both countries claim. Since April 8, two Philippine civilian vessels have been facing off with nearly 100 Chinese vessels at the shoal.
Discussions between Mr. Aquino and Obama are expected to touch on the standoff.
US investors
On Thursday morning (Friday night in Manila), Mr. Aquino will meet US businessmen and prospective investors at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
Among those who will be present are top officials of power firm Sithe Global, which operates two 300-megawatt coal-fired power plants in Mariveles, Bataan; Denham Capital, a private equity firm specializing in energy and commodity investments; and electricity generation firm GN Power.
Mr. Aquino will also meet with officials of Underwriters Laboratories, the company that uses the “UL” trademark, specializing in the testing of electronic products, in the hope of enticing them to set up operations in the Philippines.
At 11 a.m., he will be interviewed by senior editors of Washington Post, after which he will proceed to the Quantico Marine Corps base in Virginia, which also houses the training facilities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Cuisia said at least one Philippine law enforcer was currently undergoing training at the FBI Academy, and that Mr. Aquino hoped to convince the US government to increase the number of slots allotted to Filipino police trainees.
US lawmakers
Mr. Aquino will meet US senators led by Inouye, the deputy Senate president and chair of the powerful appropriations committee.
“These senators are, of course, interested in the broad relationship between the Philippines and the United States,” Cuisia said.
“But more specifically, they also have expressed interest in what’s going on in the West Philippine Sea. They would like to listen to our President and find out what are the current developments in the West Philippine Sea.”
On Thursday night, Mr. Aquino will grace the dinner launch of the new lobby group US-Philippines Society.
Some persons are behaving as if they own Nigeria. They are spitting fire that Nigeria will combust if the 2015 presidential elections did not go the way they wanted. They have become self-acclaimed mouthpiece of their different ethnic regions, who in their entirety do not buy the idea of these persons.
This brings to fore the position of Ndigbo in the Nigerian political equation. There were promises and speculations during the 2011 elections campaign that Igbo would produce president come 2015. But it seems that those who made that promise and browbeaten Ndigbo to vote are now enjoying the gearshift of power and they no longer remember that Ndigbo are Nigerians. What they are saying is that if their son do not contest the presidential elections in 2015 there would be chaos, while others are saying that ‘they are born to rule’ thus, power should return to their region. But the Igbo have been very resolute and peaceable with all the fuming, as if there was a blood oath that the peace of Nigeria depended on Ndigbo.
Ndigbo have not joined the legion that is spitting fire and brimstone should power be turn away from them. They are looking at the whole thing from the angle that things are no longer as business as usual but this is different in the thinking of others.
What is happening in the power tussle in the country is an exposition that policies that appeal to Nigerians have been extirpated replaced with public speaking of bloodbath. With all these, how are they sure that they might get the vote of Ndigbo, since they don’t have respect for Ndigbo. A people that have respect don’t speech-make what would jeopardize the sensibilities of other people. Their statement means that if they are not president in 2015, there would be bloodbath. And where do they want Ndigbo to go during the period of the apocalyptic carnage?
Perhaps, in their thought, they have this notion that the Igbo could be bribed with money to vote. They did not know that this ‘Igbo love money propaganda’ has changed among Ndigbo. They are no longer in the disposition to be used and latter dumped. Is it not terrible that Nigeria is perishing for lack of knowledge and understanding? If not, how could anybody look into the eye of the other and make diminishing pronouncement they can never be intimidated, or else, they conflagrate the country.
The annoying thing is that it was not the Igbo that are drumming for war, but people who will not be there if their clarion calls should come to fruition. These loquacious individuals will not be there to fight. Even when many of them are full of questionable characters, they are not ashamed to call for war. Their exhibitions are just sectional, which is stupidity against the superiority of the Constitution, which does not allow people or groups to take the laws into their hands.
It is very sad that when any political party loses an election in Nigeria that election automatically is characterized as a rigged one. This does not imply that there have not been cases of recorded rigged elections in the country. Instead of these war mongers would start to suggest for the way forward and start putting policies and programmes together for 2015, they are calling for blood.
This mentality belongs to the dark days when some goons massacred millions of Ndigbo in the daylight for no just course and at the same time took up arms against the Igbo nation that saw to the killing of millions of Ndigbo across the Nigerian state. All that they were fighting for is the oil money which those in power are using with reckless abandon to the detriment of other resourceful means of the economy. They want to fight with their last drop of blood, not minding that not all are interested in their campaign for ethnicity.
What this war mongers do not perhaps take into cognizance is the fact that Nigeria does not at present needs warring men, but those who can fight the hardheaded phenomenon that is called Corruption in Nigeria. The war mongers should exclude Ndigbo when the war finally berthed. Ndigbo need justice, equity and the provision of security, and not war.
Therefore, this rhythm of violence and call for scene of carnage should stop. It is not helpful to Nigeria and her citizens. Action should not be taken against Ndigbo because they are quiet. Nobody or group is above the law, or should see self as one. If there must be bloodbath in 2015, it should then be between political parties against the other and should not be about Nigeria and her entire citizens. Not all the citizens are politicians. Some are not even card carrying members of any political party. And any party which feels that it cannot win in an election except it rigs, should desist from such fraudulent act. Ndigbo are tired of meaningless threats in Nigeria. Should they also spit fire?
Odimegwu Onwumere, a Poet/Author, and Media Consultant, writes from Rivers State. Mobile: +2348032552855. E-mail: apoet_25@yahoo.com
SOME journalists in the Eket axis of Akwa Ibom State, Southern Nigeria, who were covering the state’s Local Government elections on Saturday, were brashly dehumanized by the police in the area in the course of carrying out their lawful duties.
AkanimoReports gathered that at the Eket secretariat of the state Independent Electoral Commission (AKISIEC), scores of armed policemen descended on two reporters while a similar drama took place at the Ibesikpo Asutan area of the state.
The commander-in-chief of the assault on the journalists in Eket, the home of the American oil major, ExxonMobil, was said to be the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the area, Mr. Idowu Owohunwa. He allegedly ordered his men to ”deal” with the journalists after a brief discussion.
An eye-witness said the policemen swiftly descended on the reporters and left them with serious injuries after giving them a severe beating of their lives.
Among the victims are the District Correspondent of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) a state agency as well as the Editor of News Net a local tabloid in the state.
The Journalists lost various valuables including digital cameras and mini recorders in the seeming show of shame by the policemen.
The reporters were declined attention at the Divisional Police Headquarters when they approached policemen on duty to make a formal report of the incident.
The policemen told our roving correspondent that they had instructions from the commanding DPO not to receive such reports.
A team of reporters led by the state Chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr Joe Effiong, and his deputy, Mrs. Florence Umoetuk, visited the Eket police station to see their brutalized colleagues.
Appeals by the NUJ Chairman to incident the report in the police crime diary were rebuffed as the request fell on deaf ears.
By the time of filing in this report, the injured journalists were still receiving treatments at a private clinic for the bruises and injuries sustained during the attack.
One of the policemen allegedly boasted that reporting the matter to the police high command will not make any difference because the DPO has been ”a personal assistant to an Inspector General of Police at the Force Headquarters in Abuja”.
Robert Mugabe‘s motorcade has run over and killed a homeless man, but officials denied press reports that the accident victim was ignored and left to die on the road.
The Zimbabwean president, 88, was travelling to a funeral in his home district, Zvimba, on Wednesday when one of his outriders knocked the man down on a motorway.
“Eyewitnesses said the vagrant, who frequents the busy highway, was run over by the motorcade’s first outrider that clears the way for Mugabe.”
The Daily News also quoted an eyewitness as saying: “If that guy is still alive, it is a miracle. The bike ripped through the man’s legs while the bike rider was thrown off. The scene was so ghastly and bloody that one would not take a second glance.”
On Friday George Charamba, the president’s spokesperson, confirmed that a homeless man had been killed in an accident involving Mugabe’s outriders.
But asked why the motorcade – said to be one of the longest in Africa – failed to stop for the injured man, Charamba replied: “That’s not correct. The man died on the spot. He was ripped apart in an instant. He did not breathe a moment longer.”
He added: “Because he’s homeless, he will now probably have a pauper’s burial. I know he’s been taken to a mortuary.”
The Daily News said that when its reporter arrived at the scene of the accident, which was guarded by police officers, the damaged motorbike was being loaded into an unidentified truck. “An eyewitness said the bike was speeding and ran into the vagabond, who was in the middle of the road,” the paper continued.
“The motorcade sped past the accident scene in usual fashion and did not stop to assist the injured. The vagrant and rider were taken to hospital by ambulances that arrived at the scene later.”
Zimbabwe police declined to comment, directing calls to the president’s office.
Later on Wednesday, Mugabe’s motorcade was involved in another accident 60 miles (100km) west of Harare which left two troopers dead and two injured. The cause was said to be a Land Cruiser suffering a burst tyre.
Mugabe’s motorcade usually comprises police escort bikes, state security vehicles, police vehicles, his Zim 1 limousine and Land Cruiser trucks full of heavily armed soldiers, according to the Daily News. “He also travels with an ambulance among other vehicles. His motorcade is regarded as one of Africa’s longest.”
Zimbabwean road traffic regulations state that when a presidential motorcade is approaching “the driver of every vehicle on the road on which a state motorcade is travelling … shall halt his vehicle.”
The regulations also make it an offence to “make any gesture or statement within the view or hearing of the state motorcade with the intention of insulting any person travelling with an escort or any member of the escort.”
Electoral fraud , corruption and criminal forgery has become a recurrent phenomenon among rogue politicians seeking public office in Nigeria since the advent of this nascent democracy and very often the culprits go largely unpunished to the general discomfort of law abiding citizens .
Irked by the impudence of politicians who give bad name to politics, former President Olusegun Obasanjo in a recent outburst attacked the National Assembly as being populated by armed robbers who perhaps forge their way through to the top. Politicians aside from lying effortlessly under oath and committing criminal perjury, has also perfected the act of forgery and fabrication of anything forgeable such as birth certificates which alter their age to suit their fancy, academic qualifications , election result sheets and documents kept under lawful custody.
Unnerving is the now random forgery of court documents.
Most of these dirty and indecent acts are perpetuated under the guide of lawyers who were supposed to be servants in the temple of justice. These lawyers want to win at all cost either by crook or by hook. Need we remind ourselves that we are a nation governed by law and that incurable falsification , fabrications , forgery of official documents and lying under oath undermines the very foundation of our justice system and that taking judicial notice to curb the impunity of crooks in high places is an essential step to be taken if we must safeguard our liberty and democracy.
Rather than attack former President Obasanjo for characterizing some legislators robbers , the question is how do we purge our politics with dubious politicians? What manner of service will a rogue politician provide to hapless citizens other than serve his and her own selfish interest?
The latest entrant in this infamous saga of forgery and falsification is Lady Margery Okadigbo , a claimant to the Anambra North Senatorial Seat. The Anambra North Senatorial seat has been in contention since after the April 2011 general election living that senatorial district as the only zone without a Senator and representation in the 7th Senate, a painful anomaly which has taken a toll on the socio-economic fortunes of the people of the zone.
The judiciary has not helped matters in the Anambra North debacle as different courts has churned out different orders and often contradictory judgments that threw up winner at a different winner at every turn of the twist. The court of Appeal towards the end of December 2011 in a judgment that was wrapped in controversy ordered the leadership of the Senate and the Senate President to swear in Lady Margery Okadigbo as winner of the Senatorial Zone. The jaundiced judgment did not only throw politicians in the zone into confusion , it also proved political pundits wrong. Everyone had expected that either of Senator Alphonsus Igbeke , the immediate past Senator of the Zone who had a High Court judgment in his favor as the PDP candidate or Prince John Okechukwu Emeka whom the Election Petition Tribunal affirmed as Winner will emerge winner and representative of the zone. Before the surprise ruling of the Appeal Court Lady Okadigbo was never a contender nor a serious part of the equation. The question on the lips of observers was, what formed the basis of the Appeal Court judgment, was the Appeal court jazzed , compromised or merely hood winked?. How did an interloper become the victor?
Emerging and disturbing facts are that Lady Margery Okadigbo had approached the Appeal Court with a 183 page bundle of cooked documents containing ‘Affidavits of Facts’ purported to have been sworn to at the Registry of the Otuocha Judicial Division of the Anambra State High Court by the respective 183 persons whose names appeared on each page of said document. Lady Okadigbo it is now alleged, proceeded to convince the judges of the Appeal Court that the fictitious names on the cooked documents are delegates to an ‘imaginary’ primary in which she was purported to have won. The Court of Appeal made no attempt to verify the authenticity of her claims and genuineness of the documents placed before it but went straight in awarding the now controversial judgment that declared Lady Okadigbo as winner thereby further compounding the Anambra North Senatorial crisis and deepening the credibility and integrity crisis bedeviling the judiciary. Majority of the citizens of the zone who had spoken on the issue believed judgment was doled out to the highest bidder.
Mrs. EN Ezeanyika , the Assistant Registrar of the High Court Registry, Otuocha , Anambra Judicial Division the supposed originator of the toxic documents has since distanced the Registry from it because according to her, the documents bear no receipt numbers that will enable one trace the authenticity. To quote her own words in a letter published by the media ‘ there is no receipt number on any page of the attached bundle of documents (each titled ‘Affidavit of Facts’) each showing that they were paid for, or where they were paid for . To qualify as affidavits duly sworn to by such individuals , they ought to be paid for and the receipt number written on them , but there is no indication on the face of the documents showing that this was done. Accordingly there is nothing on the face of the document to enable me confirm them as affidavits of facts sworn to at the Registry of the Otuocha Judicial Division of the Anambra State High Court.
Also in a separate letter denouncing the 183 documents which Lady Okadigbo presented to the Appeal Court as falsified, Mr Obadiegwu whose name and signature had appeared on the falsified documents as the Commissioner for Oath vehemently denied the documents in strong terms and words, ‘the signature and stamp that appear on the 183 page bundle of document are not mine and are therefore forged. The dates appearing on the said documents tend to suggest they were sworn to in January 11th 2011 at which time I held office as the Assistant Chief Registrar and Commissioner for Oaths in the Otuocha Judicial Division of the Anambra State High Court. I have gone through my records in that Registry and could not find any document of that nature as emanating from the Registry’.
Mr Obadiegwu went ahead to back his position with a sworn affidavit deposed to on the 11th of May 2012 , including volunteering statement to the police under caution.
But for the allure of power , what will make a mother and widow of a revered statesman to engage in the indecent act of forgery , perjury and lying under oath . If this is not robbery as Obasanjo had suggested in his public statements , what then is robbery? Is forgery no longer a crime punishable by imprisonment under the law of this country? Are we operating two separate set of laws in Nigeria- one for the poor and another for the high and mighty? Why will the Police and also the Attorney General charge Senator Igbeke for the forgery of PDP state election primary results , believed in some quarters to be an illegal primary and then look the other way in the case of Lady Margery Okadigbo who obviously forged court documents, falsified signatures of judicial officers and including illegal fabrication of court stamp and seal?
Ironic is even the fact that Lady Okadigbo was among the most vociferous that urged the Federal Government to harass and prosecute Igbeke for alleged forgery only to turn around to now perfect one of the most grievous of fraud- forgery of court documents
Me thinks , the right place for Lady Okadigbo at this time ought to be in the dock and behind bars and not jostling between the Supreme Court to assist her gain a dubious entry into the red hallowed chamber of the Nigerian Senate.
As the people wait breathlessly for the final judgment of the Supreme Court which will finally decide between Senator Alphonsus Igbeke, Prince John Emeka and Lady Okadigbo who represents the zone at the 7th Assembly of the Nigerian Senate, one wont but say that the outcome of the drama will go a long way to reinforce, stabilize or truncate and destabilize the people’s trust in the credibility of our politics and justice system . Needless to say that the credibility of the present government has greatly been dented and hampered by the spate of criminal fraud , forgery and corruption in high public places , thus bringing to the fore the issue of selective justice which seems to be the mode of dispensing justice between the affluent, influential and well connected and the common people. The high and mighty who claim affinity to the presidency and corridors of power always go free despite the gravity of their offences while the commoners bear the brunt of judicial vehemence.
However on this matter, the Police and the Office of the Attorney General has task in its hand to wade into this scandalous allegation , conduct its findings and to take appropriate actions regarding any crime that may have been committed against the state.
At this point in time in the nation’s history , crime fighting agencies are what Nigerians look up to , to live up to their statutory billings and save the nation the continued embarrassment that aiding and abetting crime and corruption has foisted on her.
