Jonathan’s Denial of Ticket to Sylva: The Diezani Allison Madueke Factor

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The Peoples Democratic Party’s [PDP]  musical chairs in the Niger Delta State of Bayelsa appears a never ending episode as the Jonathan led PDP recently announced through its National Working Committee it has denied/disqualified the incumbent Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva and three others from contesting in the PDP gubernatorial exercise scheduled for November 19, 2011. The Jonathan led PDP disqualification announcement came 24 hours following the flag off of Gov Timipre Sylva’s campaign for the PDP primary election.

Information available to 247ureports.com through impeccable sources close to the activities in the Presidency reveal that there appears more than meets the naked eye in the imbroglio unfolding between the President and Bayelsa State. Information has it that the refusal of ‘certain’ candidates from participating in the PDP primaries rests principally on the politics of 2016 in Bayelsa State.

Our source revealed that President Goodluck Ebelemi Jonathan’s interest in the ongoing tussle for the PDP gubernatorial ticket has to do with his prefered choice for the governor’s seat come 2016.  The President, according to our source, wants the current Petroleum Minister, Mrs Diezani Allison Madueke  to mount the seat of Governor come 2016 in Bayelsa State – for reasons that are not clear.

As gathered, the President who remains hurt and somewhat vengeful over the role played by the Bayelsa State governor during the period when the Late President Yar’Adua was ill and admitted to a hospital outside the country, fears that Governor Timipre Sylva, if allowed to hold on to the PDP gubernatorial ticket, may win the general elections, and may not hand over to his [Jonathan] preferred choice for the seat in 2016. Our source indicates that the President had sought hard promises from Gov Timipre Sylva that he will ensure that the Petroleum Minister takes over in 2016 – of which Gov Timipre Sylva obliged and pledged to ensure the Petroluem Minister gets a smooth path to achieving her aspiration. But the Presiency could not bank their trust on the Governor. The source also points to the President’s refusal to allow the NWC of the PDP to clear the likes Ben Bruce and Timi Alaibe as symptomatic of the same fear of not handing over to the Petroleum Minister come 2016.

247ureports.com is not certain the reasons for the President’s determination to clear the way for the Petroluem Minister to mount the revered seat in Bayelsa come 2016 but unconfirmed sources in Bayelsa State indicate that the Presidency is interested in providing immunity cover for the Federal Minister.

Stay Tuned.

Poll Claims Americans Prefer Israel’s Netanyahu Over Obama

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Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
November 13, 2011

The man who may push the world into a catastrophic war, Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, is more popular than Obama according to a Greenberg Quinlan Rosner poll.

“52.3 percent of Americans rate Netanyahu positively, compared to 51.5 percent for Obama. Other polls have Obama’s approval ratings even lower, while Netanyahu has been consistently winning praise,” reports Israel Today magazine.

The Washington Examiner called the polling firm to confirm and request the full data, including the margin of error, but as of yesterday had not heard back from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner.

It is difficult to believe 52.3 percent of Americans even know who Netanyahu is. He isn’t, after all, Justin Bieber.

Netanyahu and his political party, Likud, have pushed for an attack on Iran for years.

Netanyahu has repeatedly emphasized that he wants to launch a military strike on Iran, notes Norman Solomon. “This is the Israeli government’s primary obligation,” Netanyahu said. “If it is not done by the current government, I plan to lead the next government to stop the Iranians.”

  • A d v e r t i s e m e n t

“The specter of Netanyahu and Ahmadinejad fueling each other’s madness as heads of state is frightening. In such a circumstance, the primary danger of conflagration would come from nuclear-armed Israel, not nuclear-unarmed Iran,” Solomon adds.

As Paul Craig Roberts noted back in 2009, Netanyahu and the Likudites in Israel know that if they attack Iran, the United States will get involved in short order due to its shared relationship and determination to kill Muslims. The “ironclad agreement between Israel and Washington to war against Muslim peoples is far stronger than the connection between the American public and the American government,” Roberts notes.

“The two great murderous, refugee-producing countries are the U.S. and Israel. Between them, they have murdered and dislocated millions of people who were a threat to no one,” Roberts writes elsewhere. “No countries on earth rival the U.S. and Israel for barbaric, murderous violence.”

“The military/security complex that rules America, together with the Israel Lobby and the banksters, needs a long list of dangerous enemies to keep the taxpayers’ money flowing into its coffers.”

“Israel is now ruled by the most nationalist, racist, and fanatical government it has ever had,” Ran HaCohen wrote in 2009 when “the rogue triumvirate of Netanyahu, Barak, and Lieberman” reined supreme. “Make no mistake: Netanyahu is a man of the occupation, as he always has been.”

In a perverse sort of way, this highly suspect poll makes sense. After all, millions of Americans not only rushed to the polls and voted for Obama, many of them experienced a delusional fervor bordering on schizophrenia during his campaign.

This occurred despite the obvious fact the Democrat Party is the mirror refection of the Republican Party and both enthusiastically support never-ending war and mass murder extending back to Democrat Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Bill Clinton oversaw the murder by starvation and disease of more than a half million Iraqi children, a record trumped by Republican George W. Bush, who as commander in chief managed to slaughter more than a million Iraqis and an undetermined number of Afghans and Pakistanis. Obama is adding exponentially to the pile of rotting flesh. He has moved the operation into Africa.

Netanyahu has the blood of Palestinian children on his hands, but that does not stand in the way of his popularity – again, if we can believe this poll – here and in Israel, the land of colonial mass psychosis.

Maybe Wilhelm Reich was right when he said the people suffer from a spiritual and psychological flaw because they invariably support and worship the most brutal and venal of leaders from Hitler to Stalin and Mao.

Rival Libyan militias clash near military base

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Rival militias have clashed on the outskirts of the Libyan capital for a fourth day in the deadliest and most sustained violence since the capture and killing of Muammar Gaddafi last month.

The fighting, which has killed at least 13 people since late last week, raised new concerns about the ability of Libya’s transitional government to disarm thousands of fighters and restore order after an eight-month civil war.

Libya’s interim leader, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, said his National Transitional Council brought together elders from the feuding areas — the coastal city of Zawiya and the nearby tribal lands of Warshefana — over the weekend and that the dispute has been resolved. “I want to assure the Libyan people that everything is under control,” he said Sunday.

However, as he spoke, fighting continued.

Heavy gunfire and explosions of rocket-propelled grenades were heard over hours Sunday (overnight, NZ time) in the area between the Warshefana lands, about 30 kilometres west of Tripoli, and Zawiya, another 15km to the west. White smoke rose into the air.

At one point, the two sides were battling for control of a major military camp of the ousted regime, said a fighter from Tripoli. The camp, once a base of elite forces commanded by one of Gaddafi’s sons, Khamis, is located on a highway midway between Tripoli and Zawiya.

In all, at least 13 people were killed in the fighting, including four from Zawiya and nine from Warshefana, according to gunmen and a hospital doctor in Warshefana. More than 100 people from Warshefana were wounded since Saturday, said Dr. Mohammed Sawan, adding that casualties stemmed from gunshots as well as shrapnel from rockets and mortar shells.

The reason for the initial clash remains unclear, though accusations have been flying, including that some of the Warshefana had links to the old regime. At one point last week, fighters from Zawiya entered Warshefana and seized weapons. In retaliation, Warshefana fighters set up random checkpoints and fired at the main highway.

On Sunday evening, dozens of Warshefana fighters assembled and said they would march on Zawiya. “We’ll be in Zawiya tonight,” they chanted before moving toward the city, armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.

Zawiya fighters, meanwhile, manned roadblocks on the outskirts of their city at intervals of about 200 metres. Groups of jumpy armed men, some brandishing RPGs, crowded around the checkpoints. Fighters searched trunks of cars and checked IDs.

Abdul-Jalil said the NTC has established a committee to address the grievances of both sides. He said the fighting was sparked by young men behaving irresponsibly, but he did not elaborate.

Since the October 20 death of Gaddafi, there have been a number of violent clashes between fighters, including a deadly shootout at a Tripoli hospital. Residents of the capital have also become increasingly annoyed with fighters from other areas of Libya who have taken over prime locations in the city, including a gated seaside resort village.

Despite the growing tensions, Abdul-Jalil and other NTC leaders have said they cannot disarm the fighters quickly.

Noting high unemployment among the armed men, Abdul-Jalil said the new government must offer alternatives first, including jobs, study and training.

The Call For Southern Intifada

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By Muhammad Ajah
 
The Southern intifada must begin now. One more strike, the wrist of the nation called Nigeria may burst open. One more hit, the neck may fly off its shoulders. One more mayhem, the testicles may fall on the floor. When that happens, don’t be surprised.
Stupid people! one Rudolf Ogoo Oknokwo posted on the web, NigerianWorldForum.
 
Intifada literally means shaking-off or struggle for emancipation. It is an Arabic loan-word that came into use in the late twentieth century. The Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Gaza Strip sometime in 1987 in protest against the continued Israeli occupation brought this word into common use.
 
It should not be accepted that the Southerners are stupid, as claimed or insinuated by Mr. Oknokwo. It is definitely out of passion for what is palpable. Yet, in certain circumstances certain effort can create more hatred and rancor in the minds of Nigerians. The Igbo people, widely acknowledged by all, are the most patriotic citizens of Nigeria, though they have been politically subjugated since the civil war caused by the attempted cessation from Nigeria and declaration of Biafra Republic.
 
But it is accepted that the Igbo have contributed seriously to the building of Nigeria. There is hardly any village in Nigeria where an Igbo person is not found. In short, because of the dexterity of the Igbo and their inclination to business and development, it is widely said that no business thrives where there is no Igbo man. In Kano, in Lagos, in Maiduguri, in Kaduna and now in Abuja, the Igbo have distinguished themselves in the nation building. This is not to justify whether or not the existence of the Igbo in every non-Igbo community and their willingness to develop wherever they are in order since other ethnic groups have often proved the contrary, it is an attestation that the Igbo love Nigeria more.
 
Instances abound where non-Igbo living in Igboland have not helped in developing the land. They stay long in the places and refuse to learn the language. Rather, they attempt to spread their language and even culture in the area. There are stories of such people who dwell over forty years in the Igbo communities and refuse to acquire lands, not to talk of building. They only engage in their businesses and politics. It’s very unfortunate and unacceptable for the unity and progress of the nation.    
 
But the unfortunate thing is the religious divide and claims that the northerners are Muslims while the Southerners are Christians. It is this divide that is one of the greatest problems in the country. Christians in the north should be as free as Muslims in the South. They should enjoy equal rights like other citizens. There should be a national debate to practically realize this freedom. Sometimes, one wonders what really is the faith of he who kills a fellow citizen in the name of religion.    
 
For God sake, were our forefathers born Christians or Muslims? Why all these understandings, claims and counterclaims?
   
My dear compatriots, there should be love and understanding. Both Islam and Christianity condemn bloodletting. Killing a soul, without justification, in Islam is like killing mankind as a whole. But the two religions have become destructive weapons in the hands of politicians. God save Nigeria. God save the Igbo. God save Nigerians. Amen.
 
Earnestly, my belief is that the sufferings of the Igbo in Nigeria will be a triumph at last. It is said that he who laughs last laughs longer. The Igbo are just patient people. And another adage warns, “beware of the wrath of the patient.”    
For Mr. Okonkwo to presume that Boko Haram may one day strike Lagos may not be far from mere imagination. Boko Haram is a creation just like many political gangsters formed for political use but which went weird because of lack of control. There is hardly any state where political gangsters are not nursed by the people in power. Many Nigerians, like myself, have not understood why all these killings.
 
Truly, the Boko Haram killings have been going on for a while. Many unpatriotic citizens are hiding under this name to perpetrate their wicked acts, just like it happened with the Niger Delta crisis where criminals infiltrated the genuine cause. Niger Delta crisis started as a joke until some of the youths were recruited and armed by their politicians. As time went on, dialogue and bargaining were employed to douse the tension.
 
We can remember that the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) often claimed any attack on government interests during the peak of the regional upheaval. Kidnapping for ransom was reported on daily basis. It gradually became clear that even people who were not from the region hid under MEND and sundry nomenclatures to carry out dastardly assaults. Mr. President himself once vehemently defended MEND on the grounds that MEND had genuine cause and so should not involve in such negative acts.
 
Except if Boko Haram has become an insurmountable entity, how can it hit Aso Rock? This kind of feelings should not portray our security as being so fragile or weak. The country had faced hard times and overcome them. It is just that the leadership is wary of killing innocent and law-abiding citizens in the course of applying force to quash any rebellious group. We know what happened in the Niger Delta, although the people were aggrieved on marginalization and alleged injustice and iniquity against them.
 
What is needed is for the security outfits especially the intelligence to intensify their efforts. Whoever is a trouble-maker has a home, a family and friends. He cannot succeed if he is not haboured by fellow citizens. But sometimes, it is reported that giving intelligent information to security outfits brings negative result to the informant who will be exposed to the criminals by the same security operatives. Such informants are then exposed to risks of attacks from the criminals. Which way, my people?
   
Whatever happens in Nigeria, we should not think of breaking into pieces or smaller countries. We should be thinking of creating more states so that development will go round and to the grassroots. North and South of Nigeria will be one and all these events will be history. It will be the United States of Nigeria (USN).
 
So Mr. Okonkwo, there should be no such choice left for the South to excise itself
from Nigeria BUT to exert itself in Nigeria. The South has the potentials to exert itself in this country economically cum politically if they can showcase political maturity and unity. These are what they seemed to have been lacking since from the past.
 
We must be very conscious of security intrigues from the West. We must always remember the American prediction of Nigeria’s breakage by 2015. We must resist this wicked insinuation by our collective selves.
 
Like many other compatriots, I was elated when Nigeria dismissed the terror advisory issued United States citizens in Nigeria by the US Embassy, warning of possible terror attacks on three major hotels in Abuja: NICON Luxury, Transcorp Hilton and the Sheraton Hotels. Such advisories were issued during the Niger Delta crisis but they did not yield any result than only created fear and confusion in their nationals.
 
While the National Security Adviser, Owoeye Andrew Azazi should be hailed for this brave stand, he should ensure that our security torchlight also beams outside the shores of Nigeria to track any foreign infiltration.
 
Muhammad Ajah is a poet, writer, author, advocate of humanity and good governance based in Abuja. E-mail mobahawwah@yahoo.co.uk

Fuel subsidy removal: A layman’s analysis

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Though Dangote has said it all, that “fuel subsidy removal is a foregone conclusion”, we the citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are at liberty to express our feelings on this issue that is bound to bring us hardship and worsen our situation.

I am not an economist so I won’t draw some fancy scales explaining what will happen if so and so happens, I rather prefer to explain it in a layman’s language with the hope that one of the I.M.F agents in Nigeria looks at the issue from our (masses’) own perspective and advise I.M.F to reverse their instructions, that Nigerians should cease to enjoy fuel subsidy because I am not convinced that any Nigerian can advise that fuel subsidy should be removed in this ‘hard times’.

Experts have forecast that when fuel subsidy is removed a litre of fuel will cost at least N140.It can be said that every home in Nigeria uses fuel, if not in their vehicles then for a power generating set which has become a necessity for all who can afford to buy one, because the power supply situation in Nigeria is nothing to even think about writing home about, in other words hopeless. An average power generating set consumes about 5 litres for it to work for about 6 hours daily; 5 litres presently cost N325 and will cost N700 when the subsidy is removed. Over 50% of Nigerians own cars and motorcycles that are fuelled by P.M.S (petrol), though a press statement attributed to the minister of petroleum argued that “the masses travel on big mass transit vehicles which run on diesel”, they also claimed that buses in places like Lagos, convey workers to and from their work places. What they failed to take into consideration is the fact that Lagos is just one state out of the 36 states that constitute Nigeria and a survey based on Lagos alone no matter how reliable cannot justify fuel subsidy removal for the whole country.

Anyway most cars used by average Nigerians consume about 60 litres of fuel weekly, which presently costs N3,900 and about N15,000 monthly. The removal of fuel subsidy however will increase the fuel expenses of average Nigerians who fill their tanks once a week to N8,400 and about N33,000 monthly.

Had it been that fuel subsidy removal will only affect the price of fuel itself there won’t have been much problem, but its removal will trigger a rise in prices in the Nigerian markets. Food, clothes and all that human beings need for survival will triple in prices. Nigerians are already barely managing to cope with the price rise that the news of the unimplemented minimum wage increase caused. The proposed fuel subsidy removal by the Nigerian government is a political miscalculation that might end up throwing Nigeria into chaos never before witnessed in Africa.

Some political jobbers are trying to convince the government that they have carried out consultations with the people, and that fuel subsidy removal can go on as planned. But President Jonathan needs not to look far for peoples opinion on the issue, let him just read the comments posted to him by Nigerians on his Facebook page and he will know how unpopular this subsidy removal issue is with Nigerians. Stimulating economic growth and ensuring effective penetration of developmental projects is a good policy, but the economists and other specialists that came up with the idea of fuel subsidy removal should use their vast knowledge and sophistication to look for another alternative in the interest of peace and democracy.

Adamu is publisher of Northern Wind

Kebbi: Tribunal Nullifies Gov Dakingari’s Election Victory

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Information available to 247ureports.com indicate that the Tribunal seating in Kebbi State has nullified the gubernatorial election of April/May 2o11 and has ordered for a new election to be conducted. The ruling came 6pm Sunday November 13,2011.

The gubernatorial candidate for the said April 2011 elections under the banner of the Congress for Progressive Change [CPC], Gari Malam had petitioned the Tribunal against the results that saw the winner of the electoral exercise to be the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] candidate, Gov Dakingari. The petitioner charged that the election was marred by electoral malpractices that compromised outcome of the election. The tribunal panel after deliberation agreed with the petitioner.

The Governor of Kebbi State, Malam Dakingari is yet to respond to the ruling of the electoral courts but sources close to the activities in the Kebbi government house indicate that the Governor intends to appeal the ruling.

Stay tuned

BreakingNews: Jonathan’s PDP Disqualifies Sylva; “I will not Decamp” – Sylva

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Information available to 247ureports.com indicate that the Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva has finally been announced by the National Working Committee [NWC] of the Jonathan led Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] as being disqualified from participating in the PDP gubernatorial primaries. This announcement came at minutes after 3pm Nigerian Time on Sunday November 13, 2011.

Sources close to the Governor of Bayelsa State, tell our correspondent that the disqualification comes as unfair. They stated that the Governor has assured his close associates that he remains a member of PDP, that he will not consider decamping to another political party in order to vie for the gubernatorial exercise of 2012. The Governor is said to leave everything to the hands of God.

It is recalled that Governor Timipre Sylva flagged off his campaign on Saturday in Yenogua before a mammoth crowd that included federal legislators, Bayelsa elders,party chieftains and ex-militant leaders.

The Governor had been issued a governorship clearance certificate bythe PDP screening panel in Port Harcourt on October 27, 2011.

Stay tuned

2 Togolese Marijuana Farmers, 5 Others Arrested in Oyo State

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oyo state commander suleiman jadi at the farm

Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Oyo State had apprehended seven cannabis cultivators including two Togolese. Cannabis plantation measuring 80.93 hectares was also destroyed. The farms were discovered based on intelligence report by kind hearted members of the public at Tola village in Akinyele Local Government Area bordering Ijeerun village in Ido Local Government Area of the State. The suspected seven cannabis farmers were apprehended inside tents at the cannabis plantations.

ali wasiu

Other major farmers are being hunted by the NDLEA in the State over their alleged illegal cultivation of cannabis. Authorities stated that the plantation is the largest ever discovered by the Oyo command. The State Commander, Mr. Suleiman Jadi said that his command was very happy with the discovery and subsequent destruction of the farms. “We are very pleased with this operation considering the size of the plantation. It means that supply will be drastically reduced. What we have done is to attack the source of supply. Seven major cannabis farmers including two Togolese were successfully arrested in connection with the plantation. Nine others are also on our wanted list” Jadi stated.

lawrence akeh

He gave the names of the suspects as Ali Wasiu, 23, a Togolese, Kojo Benjamin, 25, Togolese, Godwin Liwhu, 56, from Cross River State and Lawrence Akeh, 35, also from Cross River. Others are Raphael Abejide, 33, from Kogi State, Gabriel Okedotun, 30, from Oyo State and Sylvester Indo, 47, from Cross River State. Challenges facing the command according to Jadi include lack of operational vehicles and funds.

godwin liwhu

“This terrain is rough and we need hilux vehicles to penetrate deep into the forest. We also need funds for operations of this magnitude. What we do is to pay workers to destroy the farms because it is very large. Ideally we need helicopters for the destruction. This is a very difficult task if it is manually done but we have to accomplish it” Jadi stated.

gabriel okedotan

The commander stressed that between January and October 2011, the State Command had arrested 213 suspected drug dealers with a seizure of 15,243.582kg of cannabis. Among the suspects, 32 had been convicted by the courts and other cases are pending. Cannabis users that had been successfully counselled are 63 while others are currently undergoing counselling and rehabilitation. Two cannabis plantations had been previously destroyed within the year in Oluyole Local Government Area of the State. One measured about 4 hectares at Ibuso Forest and another 20 hectares at Gambari Forest Reserve.

Chairman/Chief Executive of the Agency Ahmadu Giade called on members of the public not to withhold information on drug barons from the Agency as nobody is immune to the activities of drug cartels. “Cannabis cultivation affects food security in the country. I therefore appeal to all stakeholders not to withhold information that will enhance our operations. Imagine the negative impact if this farm was not discovered by the Agency. Our economy will not only suffer, even innocent citizens will ultimately be affected” Giade stressed.

Some of the farmers during interrogation gave reasons for their involvement in the alleged crime. One of the major cannabis cultivators Godwin Liwhu, 56 year old said that cannabis plant offers rare benefits like huge profit and short maturity period.

NDLEA findings revealed that Godwin Liwhu invited the two Togolese to work in the farms and personally gave over half of the cannabis plantation to other farmers on lease. He was found to have solicited for the use of the land for cultivation of food and cash crops from the natives. When asked why he decided to cultivate cannabis, Godwin said it offers high profit. “It is easy to sell and matures in few months time. Cannabis does not need fertilizer and pest control. It is also cheaper to maintain” Godwin stated.

No doubt, the Agency requires resources to carry out massive education of farmers as well as provide improved seedlings to encourage the cultivation of food and cash crops. Meanwhile, the suspects will soon be charged to court.

Court May Reinstate Anambra Electoral Chief, Fixes Ruling Nov 16

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*judge angry, warns against arbitrary actions. 

The Anambra state governor, Mr Peter Obi has vowed that he would not appoint a new substantive chairman for the state’s Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) pending the hearing and determination of the Exparte application brought by the commission’s erstwhile chairman Prof Titus Eze against Gov Peter Obi and the state House of Assembly(ANHA) challenging the manner of his sack, last September 6, 2011.

 

In the suit, Ref. A/136/2011 which made its debut yesterday, before Hon Justice H.O. Ozor, Prof Eze, through his team of lawyers led by Chief Nnamdi Ibegbu(SAN) is seeking an order of court restraining the respondents- the governor, and the state Assembly from appointing another chairman pending the hearing and determination of the matter. And that Eze’s removal as the chairman of ANSIEC on Sept 6, 2011 was unconstitutional, illegal, null and void, and of no effect.

 

When the matter came up for hearing yesterday, Justice Ozor warned all parties to keep the peace, noting that any action taken before the next hearing date by the parties including the appointment of a new chairman would be set aside by his court.

 

But the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Emmanuel Chukwuma, who represented governor Obi and the state Assembly assured the court that no such appointment would be made.

 

Prof Eze said that his removal from office on Sept 6, 2011 was illegal, irregular,  unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect by virtue of Sec 199(1) with which he was appointed, and Sec 201(1) and 125(3), (4), and (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He also want a court declaration that he is still and remains the valid and lawful chairman of ANSIEC.

 

Especially when there was no audit report or query to him or was he summoned or given opportunity before any administrative, judicial or legislative panel for his defense or answer any charges for which he was indicted.

 

According to Prof Eze’s originating summons, “in view of the fact that the defendants did not comply with Sec 201(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federation, and the fact that he was not removed for misconduct, moreso that the Auditor General of the state relied on his periodic inspection cannot be the basis of misconduct which misconduct is unfounded.”

 

Citing the case of Gov of Kwara state Vs Ojibara. NWLR p661 as decided  Justice Oguntade, of the Supreme Court, Eze saw his ouster as judicial ambush which short-circuited all legal norms of natural justice, hence rendering their actions null and void.

 

Eze therefore wants his sack to be reversed and for the governor to be restrained from appointing anyone in his stead until the full determination of his suit. He was appointed in May 2010, for a five year term as the chairman of ANSIEC.

 

The suit, some political observers noted would help to put the conduct of the council election in the state on hold pending the final determination of the suit. This does not RSEaugur well for the state that last held council election in 1998.

 

However, others have expressed readiness to go to court to restrain the Minister Of Finance, the Accountant General of the Federation and the Fiscal, Revenue Mobilization and Allocation committee from releasing the allocations due the 21 councils in the state to Governor Obi pending the conduct of the council election in the state.

States Bankruptcy & Amaechi’s N115billion Story

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Written by Odimegwu Onwumere

Year in year out, every successive government in Nigeria claims it is constructing roads, building schools, health centers and so on. There is no end. What have been missing on the leaders menu are the building of industries, rehabilitating the existing ones and developing human resources. Nigerians in the Northern part of the country are running helter-skelter today because of insurgencies. Had it been that the Northern people who ruled Nigeria for close to forty years had developed the human power in the North, such economic sabotaging organization like Boko Haram would not have come up. There is no ruling out the fact that dastardly organizations recently arose in the South, but they were not as inimical as the Boko Haram, which has remained faceless, but fearless. This has continued to corkscrew Nigeria downhill in all facets of development. Especially, the governors under the umbrella of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) behave like people who lack the genuine ideas to develop their states because of their quest for more economy.

Most of them didn’t even prepare to come to lead their states. This could be the reason they hit their chest and say, they are building white elephant structures such as monorail and other frivolities. They hardly engage in projects that could yield revenue continuously for their states. They boast that they pay salaries to the tone of billions of naira, but how many of them can show how much in revenue the job of the workers in their states generate for Nigeria. They build health centres, whereas there is hardly any genuine industry in Nigeria that produces a common panadol. They also import drugs that are used in these health centres, just as the Federal Government continued to import petroleum products.

It is laughable when they open their mouths and talk of reviewing the revenue sharing formula because they still use the money to glorify the products from industries established by governors in other countries where democracy is well understood and practiced. In these countries, most of the governors hardly make the money that these governors here are loathing. Take a perfunctory look at the states, virtually nothing is working. Just political wrangling! Nigeria by now is supposed to have states that could boast of manufacturing at least pencil and books that should be used in the schools that they ‘continue’ to build.  They are hardly planning for tomorrow. They feel that the Federal Revenue Allocation should dictate the ability of a state to fruition.

It is worth understanding that rather than this Federal Revenue Allocation should be the capital with which the states develop, it is supposed to be additional excess revenue to boost development in the states. And any governor laying his ineptitude on the revenue for his state’s development mishap is just being greedy and lacks the dexterity on governance and economic development.

The states cannot be clamouring for more funds to develop who knows where and what. The taste of the pudding is in the eating. We lost NAFCON, NITEL; NNPC and the refineries are all in oblivion. Sustainability has been a very big problem in Nigeria. Hardly is there anything like Public Corporation. The ones that have not gone oblivion changed their names. It is no longer news that all that government managed corporations are maximum charade. Are the governors talking based on political and selfish interests or the interest of the people?

How true is the story that with the removal of oil subsidy that the economy will burgeon to another level? The campaign we had expected was for the betterment of the general masses. The idea of minimum wage has turned Shylockical the governors want to take a pound of flesh. The country is facing untold inflation and the citizens are experiencing abject hardship. The Peoples Democratic Party-led (PDP) government has not really helped this country. The legacy it wanted to leave was to rule Nigeria for sixty years when there were no functional refineries. What the PDP government has actually done in this country is motivating political brouhahas within states and among individuals.

On Tuesday, October 2008, Amaechi who is today crying about that the “state has no money, but not broke”, while on the opening ceremony of a six days conference on Sustainable Development, organized by the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) in conjunction with Southern field Development Partners, boasted of how Rivers State’s N115Billion savings attracted what he called treasury looters. To make the unsuspecting masses to love him much, the governor said that he was under deep pressure from some Rivers individuals, outside the Government, to share the this money for their personal use. He coined it: “N115 billion public funds.” But that he wouldn’t succumb to their pressure. He even said that he was ready to resign as governor.

Hear him: “We are not sharing any money to anybody no matter the pressure, I am prepared to resign as governor and leave N115billion for Rivers people in the account than share the money on 40 percent 60 percent basis, to any individual, to call me a good governor. When I assumed office I told you that the money I was holding is your money, it is common wealth, it is therefore not money to be shared to anybody including the N115 billion we have saved so far for development projects are attracting a lot of people who want to bring down the government to enable them spend the money.”

The question today is, is this the same Amaechi who said that he would resign instead he would share the ‘saved’ money? Now that the money has finished and the state is borrowing to the extent of going bankrupt, what is he still doing in office? It is a simple logic: He didn’t share the money he said that he was saving for the state and the money could not be found anywhere in the coffers of the state, so where is the money? If he could not give an answer it then means that his urging the people to emphasize their temerity and go for war against “the selfish persons” he said were after the N115billion, is ripe. This is why we are asking him. If the conscience of the people were not mortgaged by the state’s sudden bankruptcy, what else? Where is the promise that he would abide by the oath of office to serve the people if the state’s finance has diminished?

The people feel betrayed by the news of Rivers State’s sudden bankruptcy because Amaechi had incessantly given the story of his early life describing it as humble, saying that his “conscience would not allow him to betray the people of the state and would therefore not be corrupt.” This is the time that the state needs genuine auditing unlike during the period in quote Amaechi travelled overseas and said that it “was to engage a reputable audit firm to audit the state finances.” But double spoke that he “regretted that the secretary to the state government who was mandated to go EFCC to explain the absence of key officials that flew out with him became a victim of the commission’s excesses, as he was detained for nothing.” Hmmmmm!

The Chairman of the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), Mr. Bolaji Ogunseyi, reportedly said that the conference would be annual ritual because, according to him, it is the only uniform method of uniting the communities together for development in the state. He also promised the forum of being “a way of mediating in the developmental processes that would build local economies and enhance discussions among drivers of community development.” The Executive Director of Southern Field Development Partners, Mr. Kuromiema Miabiye also reportedly added that the forum was a platform for the development of ideas. But has this Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) not gone immediately it was launched?  

One is wondering what could have happened to any person that perhaps succeeded Amaechi if he was not declared winner in the April 2011 elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) because barely five months in office, the state is in a real financial flu. It means that the state was since financially feeble. Not the water that he boasted would be provided publicly in the state and that his administration has taken hardnosed steps to redress the situation, that we can see. What is the gain in his government highlighting its achievements recorded by the government since assumption of office when the money that he said he was saving is no more?

There is no better way to make the states work other than to take the advise many of the dignitaries who graced the (RSSDA) occasion reportedly offered as follows:

  1. Rawlings reportedly said that sustainable development would be achieved if the poverty steering on the peoples face is addressed, as against local and international investors accumulate wealth at the expense of the rural people. Again, he said that leaders at various levels should be truthful, because the people deserve to know where they are going.
  2. Prof. Pat Utomi said the people would appreciate better if contributions on how to develop their communities involves them, he identified various economic variables that would accentuate the pace of development in the rural areas, and urged leaders to preside over the people by example.
  3. Prof. Akpezi Ogbuigwe, said the transformation of rural communities is possible if the people are determined to develop their areas through practical designed long term measures… the people cannot achieve sustainability in the development of the communities if accountability is not enshrined in the moral fabric of the people…what happens in the environment influences development pattern of the people.

 

However, if Rawlings, Utomi, Ogbuigwe who attended the occasion and expressed satisfaction hear that the Rivers State they fervently praised is bankrupt, they might cover their faces in shame.

Odimegwu Onwumere is the Coordinator, Concerned Non-Indigenes In Rivers State (CONIRIV). Mobile: +2348032552855 (or) +2348057778358. Email: nirivpol@gmail.com

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