The Authorities of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, Akoko Ondo State, (AAUA), have announced the immediate
closure of the institution.
This follows the destruction of property within and outside the
University premises by some students over the death of a student in an
accident involving a commercial motorcycle outside the University Campus
on Friday.
A statement by the Acting Registrar, Sunday Ayeerun also said the
ongoing examination has been suspended while all students have been
asked to leave the campus and halls of residence
immediately.
The statement added that Students would be informed when to resume for the completion of their ongoing
examination at a later date.
The statement noted that management has set up a panel to look into
the protest in order to forestall such occurrence in future while
Parents and guardians were advised to take note of the development.
Source:Dailypost
There
are strong indications that President Muhammadu Buhari will return the
2016 Budget to the National Assembly to rework owing to its falling
below expectations.
Consequently, the president will not assent
the Appropriation Bill – which was sent to him on Thursday by lawmakers –
into law, as earlier planned, before leaving the country to China.
Sources close to the polity, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard,
confirmed that the President was disappointed that provisions for major
national projects and programmes that could turn around the economy
were either outrightly removed or funds for them ridiculously slashed by
the lawmakers.
It will be recalled on Thursday, the Presidency
had convened an emergency Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on
Friday for Ministers to review the budget passed for their respective
ministries, departments and agencies.
During
the review meeting presided over by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, who
doubles as the Head of the Economic Team, it was discovered that some
key projects were either removed or provisions made for them
significantly slashed.
These include key projects like the Calabar-Lagos coastal rail line for which Buhari made a provision of N60 billion.
While
the Kano-Lagos railway project was untouched, the amount set aside for
the completion of the Idu/Kaduna railway project, was slashed by N8.7
billion.
Speaking on the breakdown of discoveries that shocked Buhari, a top government official, said:
“At
the meeting, it was noticed that some very key aspects of the budget,
which have to do with government’s core infrastructural focus, were
removed. One of the projects is the subject of the President’s trip to
China – the Lagos/ Calabar coastal railway project – for which a
counterpart funding of N60bn was provided, but which was completely
removed by the National Assembly.
“The executive is working on two
major rail arteries, among other rail projects, to service the northern
and eastern parts of the country – the Lagos/Kano line and the
Calabar/Lagos line.
While the Lagos-Kano provision was left
untouched, the Calabar/ Lagos line was removed. The projects are to be
funded jointly by governments of China and Nigeria. It is one of the
main reasons for the President’s scheduled trip to China.
“Also,
the amount proposed for the completion of the Idu/Kaduna rail project
which has reached an advanced stage, was reduced by N8.7bn, a
development which will make it difficult for the project to be
completed”.
“Allocations for the purchase of essential drugs for
major health campaigns like polio and AIDS, which is fast depleting,
were removed and same allocated to provision of ambulance, which the
health ministry did not ask for.
“It was also observed that
certain provisions made in the areas of agriculture and water resources
to further the Federal Government’s diversification project were either
removed or reduced while the funds were moved to provisions of rural
health facilities and boreholes, for which provisions have been made
elsewhere.”
“The President is desirous of signing the Bill into
law so that implementation of the provisions could begin in earnest for
the benefit of the people. That is why the moment he received the
document on Thursday, a meeting was convened for Friday to immediately
start work on it.”
A policeman allegedly harassed two ladies today at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport.
According to an eye witness who sent this in, she wrote;
''Today,
the 10th April 2016 around 11 this morning, a police man was pictured,
alongside his colleagues at the Lagos International Airport (MMA 2),
molesting a woman, dragging her around and handling her
inappropriately.''
''The situation became very rowdy and violent. Another woman, a passersby took pictures of the ongoing situation. Realizing
this, the police man pictured, wearing the police armored vest, seized
the mobile phone of the second woman, harassed her with his riffle,
while abusing her verbally.''
''It took the intervention of airport officers for the phone to be released by the police.''
A ghastly bus accident happened this afternoon along Igando-Iba
Expressway. Passengers were fortunately removed from the vehicle but the
driver was trapped. The Police and medics have since arrived to handle
the situation. Photo credit @JudgeIyke) on twitter
Fibroids
are abnormal growths that develop in or on a woman’s uterus. Sometimes, these
tumors become quite large and cause severe abdominal pain and heavy periods. In
other cases, they cause no signs or symptoms at all. The growths are typically
benign (noncancerous). Another medical term for fibroids is "leiomyoma" (leye-oh-meye-OH-muh)
or just "myoma".
Fibroids can
grow as a single tumor, or there can be many of them in the uterus. They can be
as small as an apple seed or as big as a grapefruit. In unusual cases they can
become very large.
About 70 to 80 percent of women develop
fibroids by the time they reach age 50. Fibroids are most common in women in
their 40s and early 50s. Not all women with fibroids have symptoms. Women who
do have symptoms often find fibroids hard to live with. Some have pain and
heavy menstrual bleeding. Fibroids also can put pressure on the bladder,
causing frequent urination, or the rectum, causing rectal pressure. Should the
fibroids get very large, they can cause the abdomen (stomach area) to enlarge,
making a woman look pregnant.
The
name given to fibroids determine where is been located, different fibroids
develop in different locations in and on the uterus.
Intramural
Fibroids: They are the most common
type of fibroid. These types appear within the lining of the uterus
(endometrium). Intramural fibroids may grow larger and actually stretch your
womb.
Subserosal
Fibroids: They form on the outside
of the uterus, which is called the serosa. They may grow large enough to make
the womb appear bigger on one side.
Pedunculated
Fibroids:When subserosal tumors
develop a stem (a slender base that supports the tumor), they become
pedunculated fibroids.
Submucosal
Fibroids:These types of tumors
develop in the inner lining (myometrium) of the uterus. Submucosal tumors are
not as common as other types, but when they do develop, they may cause heavy
menstrual bleeding and trouble conceiving.
It
is unclear why fibroids develop, but several factors may influence their formation.
Some of these factors are:
Hormones: Estrogen and progesterone are the hormones produced
by the ovaries. They cause the uterine lining to regenerate during each
menstrual cycle and may stimulate the growth of fibroids.
Age: Fibroids become more common as women age,
especially during the 30s and 40s through menopause. After menopause, fibroids
usually shrink.
Family history: Having a family member with
fibroids increases your risk. If a woman's mother had fibroids, her risk of
having them is about three times higher than average.
Ethnic origin: African
women are more likely to develop fibroids than white women.
Obesity: Women who are overweight are at
higher risk for fibroids. For very heavy women, the risk is two to three times
greater than average.
Eating habits: Eating a
lot of red meat (e.g., beef) and ham is linked with a higher risk of fibroids.
Eating plenty of green vegetables seems to protect women from developing
fibroids.
Symptoms
will depend on the location and size of the tumor(s) and the number of tumors.
If tumor is very small, or if the patient is going through menopause, she may
not have any symptoms. Fibroids may shrink during and after menopause.
Symptoms of fibroids may
include:
Heavy
bleeding between or during periods that includes blood clots
What if I become pregnant and have fibroids?
Apart from generating symptoms, such as heavy vaginal bleeding, severe pelvic
and back pain, constipation, and bloating, the most common problems seen in
pregnant women with fibroids are:
·Premature
Labour:Depending on the location and size of the
fibroids, pregnant women with fibroids may be at a greater risk of experiencing
premature labour.
·Miscarriages:Due
to the increase in estrogen levels during pregnancy, fibroids can enlarge and
displace the placenta. Large fibroids in the uterine cavity can create a
shortage of space and hinder the growth of the baby, which may either lead to
miscarriage or cause congenital deformities in the baby.
·Cesarean
Birth:Multiple fibroids located in the lower part
of the uterus can block the vagina during pregnancy, making it necessary to
have a cesarean birth.
If you been diagnosed with Fibroids and you’re looking
for a natural, safe and easy way to permanently remove it and prevent its
recurrent growth without surgery, then Our 100% Natural Fibroid Remover Pack will help
you eliminate all types of Fibroids and its complications in the shortest possible time.
For more info, visit: http://topnaturalhealthcare.com
Nawa for Computer Village boys oo! Recently, a big-breasted woman was
at Computer Village, Ikeja in Lagos and young men in the area were all
over her.
They did not let her go without letting her know that they admire her
‘frontal’ asset. From the photos, it looked like they were even hailing
her!
The
Presidency has reacted to an allegation by the former Governor of Kano
State, Ibrahim Shekarau, that the President Muhammadu Buhari
administration is insensitive to the plight of Nigerians.
Dismissing
the allegation, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to
the President, Malam Garba Shehu, cautioned Shekarau to stop insulting
the intelligence of Nigerians with his false and misleading allegations.
“The
audacity of Shekarau to preach about sensitivity is incredibly amazing,
considering the large-scale stealing of public funds by the unseated
PDP government at the expense of the welfare of the people.
“The
greatest insensitivity to the welfare of the people is epic corruption
for which the PDP had a notorious and unrivalled record in our recent
democratic history of bad governance,’’ Shehu said, adding that “the
greed of PDP leaders respects no boundaries of decency and rationality,
so much that they could illegally steal any funds within their grip or
reach, including monies meant for the security of Nigerians and the
welfare of soldiers fighting terrorism in the Northeast.’’
He
said that the welfare of the citizens was at the heart of the President
and for this reason, “the administration is seeking permanent
solutions, not temporary ones to the county’s economic woes by first
securing it, developing infrastructure and diversifying its economy.’’
Shehu reassured that the several measures put in place by the Buhari administration would bear fruition in a matter of time.
• Why IBB, Atiku, Ciroma Asked Me To Work For Jonathan
• How I started the Movement Against Obasanjo’s Third-term Bid
Senator Ben Ndi Obi was generally seen as the brain behind the
peaceful conduct of the 2015 general elections that brought the
President Muhammadu Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) to the seat
of power. He was and still remains a chieftain of the then ruling — now
in opposition —
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but used his role as former President
Goodluck Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Inter-party Affairs to get
political gladiators at all levels to sign peace deals that culminated
in the famous Abuja Peace Accord. Ben Obi, in this interview with MARCEL
MBAMALU, the News Editor of The Guardian, speaks on that initiative, as
well as, on the prevailing political and socio-economic situation in
the country.
During the administration of President Jonathan, you played a major
role in what was to become a very peaceful transition. I remembered you
were going from one state to the other canvassing peace, and to some
people, that accounted for the relative peace that followed the 2015
Presidential election, as well as, those of Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun and
Anambra states in the first instance. But what would you say was missing
in those peace deals you midwifed, considering what is happening now?
I want to start by saying that when I was appointed in October 2011, it
took a long period of time to settle in with President Goodluck Jonathan
because if you recalled, in the same PDP, we had the northern leaders
searching for a northern consensus candidate. And these candidates (or
aspirants) were President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, Vice President
Atiku Abubakar, Gen. Aliyu Mohammed Gusau and Governor Bukola Saraki, as
he then was. These four aspirants were being considered by the northern
elders led by Mallam Adamu Ciroma in producing a consensus candidate.
Gen. Babangida had High Chief Raymond Dokpesi as his Director-General;
Atiku Abubakar had Chris Muhammad as his DG, Saraki had Udenta-Udenta,
and Gusau had me as his DG.
So when they finally settled for Atiku as a consensus candidate, they
then, directed the four of them to go to Atiku’s house and resolve on
who would be the consensus DG and the other three would be deputy DGs.
So, we retired to Atiku Abubakar’s residence in Asokoro and President
Babangida — who was always chairing the forum anytime the four of them
met — was also steering the meeting, said well at this point in time,
each aspirant should nominate who would be the consensus DG. So
Babangida nominated me, Atiku nominated me, Gusau nominated me, and
Saraki nominated me. It was Babangida who announced it to four of us.
So, coming from that background, you could see the uncomfortability
of President Jonathan in bringing me on board. But when we had meetings
(when he started talking to me), he said his idea was to bring me in as
his Political Adviser but he had realised that he was likely going to
run into trouble along the line with the political parties because they
were becoming too interested. So, he wanted to re-establish the office
of the special adviser, inter-party affairs and would want me to take
charge of that. I said, ‘Mr. President, the buck ends on your desk.
When he now offered me that (position), I went back to all these
leaders — President Babangida, Vice President Atiku, Gen. Gusau and
Saraki and to all the 15 northern leaders that were meeting — because I
attended all their meetings, and there was a standing instruction from
Adamu Ciroma and President Babangida that all the meetings that we had
must be conducted in English language. I was present in both the meeting
of the four and the meeting of the 15. So, a meeting of four became a
meeting of five and a meeting of 15 became a meeting of 16 because of my
presence.
So, to each and everyone of them, I said: ‘This is an offer I got
from President Goodluck Jonathan. What do I do, what is your advice?
What do you people suggest?’ Everyone of them said, ‘go and help him.’
Really?
That is the truth; the four of them and all the northern leaders, Adamu
Ciroma, MD Yusuf, Ango Abdullahi… all of them approved it.
It’s unfortunate, and I have been sad and pained to see what is
happening and I hoped and prayed that the leaders and elders of that
state would urgently intervene. People must respect that it is God who
gives you power and if God gives you power, that power is to protect the
lives of the people and not to massacre them. The maximum period
Governor Nyesom Wike will stay on that seat is just eight years. Why
must people loose their lives? Amaechi should be thankful to God. He was
speaker for eight years and governor for eight years. He is now
Minister for Transport. So it’s time for sober reflection. Why do we
need to do all of these to ourselves? Yet these were allies
Even though I understand a bit of Hausa, there was a standing
instruction that all their meetings should be held in English Language.
So, there was nothing that was said in anyway or manner that was to
exclude me from knowing.
True to type, a lot of President Jonathan’s political associates were
saying: ‘can he really trust Senator Ben Obi? On the other hand, I had
played politics in one way or the other with all the leaders in the
opposition party, including the then Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, now
President. Our paths had crossed; we had worked together.
So, when I came on board, I sought audience with President Jonathan
and I said: ‘Sir, you have insisted on having a transparent government
and you keep singing the song, one man, one vote, one woman, one vote,
one youth, one vote. We have to concretise it. We have to make Nigerians
see that you are sincere and honest in allowing INEC run a free, fair
and credible election all the way down.’
Were you convinced that the former president was honest from the beginning?
Yes; it was practical. I told him I wanted to start conducting
workshops. The first state was Edo. So, I wrote him, and he approved it.
I went to Edo State, invited all the candidates, including Adams
Oshiomhole who was the governor. Everybody spoke — and I was doing this
hand-in-gloves with Prof. Atahiru Jega, the chairman of INEC at the
time, who was so excited about it.
One day when I was with him, he asked, ‘How were you able it assemble
all of them, and they come in and they all agreed?’ I said, ‘honestly I
don’t even know. What I tried to do was, for every state I go to, I
talk to them directly, meet them one by one. Once you are a candidate,
you are a candidate. I get their commitment.’
So, it was a huge success, and the President called me to say, “How
did you do this? I told him it was all in line with responsibility. So
he said I should write formally for the workshop to be extended to all
states where elections would take place. At the time, elections were to
happen in Anambra, Osun, Edo, Ekiti and Ondo states.
On June 12, 2014, I held the first National Summit of all political
parties and I sought audience with the President. I said, ‘Mr.
President, in view of the fact that we are having Boko Haram and some
parties have reduced this to cheap political talks, there is need for us
to divorce our politics from the security situation we have found
ourselves in the country today and that is what I want to pursue now, If
I have your blessing to go ahead.’ So, he said, ‘yes, go ahead.’ He
said I should speak to his National Security Adviser. So, you could see
that all my workshops and summits were in conjunction with the National
Security Adviser.
Now, the problem was, it was just two months after APC had been
inaugurated into full-blooded political party. So, I wrote to the
leaders of APC reminding them of the significance of June 12 and why the
summit was necessary. But to my pleasant surprise, the National
Chairman of the APC then, Chief Bisi Akande – a man I have a lot of
respect for – brought the matter up before the National Executive
Committee (NEC) of the party and it was unanimously adopted by the NEC
of APC. I then sought appointment with Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (as he then
was) at his Aso drive residence. I said, ‘Sir, I have come to formally
invite you to participate in this all parties’ summit and it is going to
be chaired by General Abdulsalami Abubakar and Dr. Alex Ekuweme. When I
finished speaking, he said to me, ‘Ben, we all know you, we know what
you stand for, we know you will not do a thing that would not be
transparent. So I will come.’
That was how we held that summit which all of them attended —
President Jonathan, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and all the other leaders —
and they all signed the communiqué.
When we were at the waiting room before we went into the forum,
President Jonathan said, ‘how did you manage to get all of them?’ Gen.
Buhari said, ‘This summit was approved by the NEC of the party; it is
because we know Senator Obi is a straight forward person.’After that, I
started working towards organising an all-political parties summit.
How did all of these consultations lead up to the ultimate Abuja Peace Accord?
The Peace Accord took place on January 14, 2015; the Summit was the
first one. I must say this of President Jonathan: He would always
approve my suggestions because I would come open to him to say ‘this is
what I want to achieve.’ I didn’t want it to get to a point where some
people would say, ‘why did you push the President into this?’
I said to the President, ‘I want to do National Summit for the
election and I’m not going to use any of our Nigerian leaders. I want to
see how I can get in Kofi Annan, Emeka Anyaoku, Ibrahim Gambari, and
General Obiakor.’ These are Nigerians, but no political party would say
this one belongs to party A; I made sure I did not include such a
person.
Gen. Obiakor was the first ever African Special Adviser on security
to the United Nations, Gambari was the Undersecretary, Emeka Anyaoku was
Common Wealth Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, Secretary General, United
Nations.
I got Kofi Annan, talked to him and he agreed. So, I went to the
President and said Mr. Kofi Annan is coming to the event and was not too
sure. But when I wrote for the protocol and other things, he said, are
you sure he is coming? He called his chief of staff and said, ‘once it
is confirmed that Kofi Annan is here, if I have an engagement be it
campaign or anything, cancel it for me immediately.
Lo and behold, on the January 14, everybody was there. That’s how we
signed what now became what we know as the ABUJA Peace Accord. It says
that the election should be violence-free; result, once transparent,
should be accepted; INEC should conduct transparent, free, fair,
credible elections; and that late campaigns should be avoided.
But would you say that the January 14 peace accord was largely kept?
It was.
With the hate campaigns that preceded the presidential election?
O yes; we went further. Having done that, I worked hand-in-gloves with
Bishop Hassan Kukah and founded the national peace committee to follow
up on the Abuja Peace Accord. Now the follow up originally had Gen.
Abdulsalami Abubakar as chairman, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe as deputy
chairman with some others — about 22 highly-placed Nigerians from the
judiciary and all of that. So, we were meeting with Presidential
candidates before the election. And whenever anybody made hate
statements publicly we called the person to order individually and
collectively. So, we were monitoring everything, including INEC, from
beginning to the end, and we had a soft spot for President Jonathan and
President Buhari.
Would President Jonathan’s prompt acceptance of the result of that election be a result of that Peace Accord?
Absolutely! We were the first to move him; as soon as he made that
statement, we moved in. In fact, it was General Buhari who called us
because the idea was to go to Gen. Buhari to talk to him and say, ‘look
please make sure your party men and women are not saying anything
volatile,’ and then go on to President Jonathan. The results were
trickling in at the time.
So, Gen. Buhari called us at the secretariat at the Sheraton Hotel —
he actually called Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar — to say, ‘I have just
received a call from President Jonathan congratulating me; the result
has not been fully announced yet he has just congratulated me.’ So Gen.
Abdulsalami begged him and said, ‘Sir, I want to put you on speakerphone
because we are having a meeting, arranging to come to you as agreed.’
So, we put him on speakerphone and he repeated what he told Abdulsalami and we decided to go to the General.
So, President Jonathan was actually alone when he put a call to President Buhari congratulating him?
He was alone; nobody prompted him to do so.
Was there no pressure on him from your committee or from other
external forces to accept the results hours before he made the call?
See, that was why I used the likes of Kofi Annan and Emeka Anyaoku. With
such people, how can you rescind on such understanding to which you
appended your signature? So, I’m sure that he (President Jonathan) was
probably making sure he was not under any pressure from anybody: ‘Look, I
am the one that appended my signature to the document as president. If I
had not wanted my Special Adviser to hold the summit, I could have said
no to it and there would be no summit’ and these are the things he
considered and bet you me, that has made him what he is today — one of
the most respected politicians in the continent of Africa. That singular
act is what a lot of people are looking at and you can hear how
President Buhari refers to him outside the country and inside Nigeria.
Have you been in touch with the former president ever since he accepted that defeat and left power?
Yes!
What was the most important discussion you held so far?
He said, ‘look what else would I have done?
What was your response to that?
I said, ‘Mr. President, I congratulate you because for a man of your age
to have done what you did in the continent of Africa is rare. But, you
see, for what you did in making sure that we had the Abuja Peace Accord
and making yourself the sacrificial lamb for that peace accord, you
remain forever, the light for politicians to find their ways.’
Are you aware that many of your colleagues who worked with President Jonathan were actually unhappy that he accepted defeat?
I wasn’t bothered. I was working for President Jonathan as his Special
Adviser, Inter-party. My concern was Nigeria and the political parties
in Nigeria and what would bring ultimate peace in a setting that was so
soaked in tension. That was my concern.
Mind you, it was God that gave me the wisdom to apply in bringing about such a peace accord.
When we went to President Jonathan, he said that much to the committee
(NP committee); when we went to President Buhari, he repeated how I came
to him; and Cardinal John Onaiyekan, in a national interview repeated
how I brought about the National Peace Committee, saying that the
appreciation should go to me. Politics is a friendly game, there must be
winners, and there must be losers.
With what happened in Bayelsa and the blood flowing in Rivers, it would
appear that the peace accord got through your intervention has been
betrayed; what really went wrong?
I think there is need for President Buhari to look into the APC and
among his close associates for somebody who can navigate smoothly and
swiftly among political parties to make them understand that loosing
lives in elections does not worth it. It is not what election is all
about!
The duty of political leaders is to preserve lives — selfless
service. It is the duty of politicians. You are to serve and not to be
served. So we should put the blame on those politicians.
In fact, the acting chairman of INEC when they were preparing for
Kogi election — the very first election in this dispensation — sent me a
text: “Good afternoon Senator, we are already missing your activity; it
is showing up now. What do we do?”
I sent back and said “Dear Acting Chairman, I think it is proper for
INEC to organise something since there is nothing in the system or
government that would be holding the parties together.”
So, you see I think we must go back to that. You have to find
somebody who the political parties will listen to. I worked
hand-in-gloves with the Inter-party Advisory Council (IPAC). Each time
I’m doing this workshop or summit, they were there. So it was clear, I
didn’t need anybody.
The 2015 elections ended peacefully, thanks to your interventions, but
the tribunals nullified the outcomes in some states leading to repeat
elections in Rivers and Bayelsa, for instance. What do you say to those
who would argue that the peace could have been that of the graveyard?
It would be difficult for me to say because I’m not a lawyer. What
transpired at the tribunals would be difficult for me to say because I
did not attend.
Could it be that the elections were so peaceful but not so free and fair
as the verdicts of some of the tribunals tended to portray?
I don’t want to be involved with the judiciary, but Nigerians who
participated in the elections can speak for what they saw. If some cases
were different, well, I won’t say.
The news in town right now is that all your friends are running to APC for shelter. When would Senator Ben Obi join follow suit?
You know I have a principle that I set for myself since 1978.
What principle sir?
That once I stand at point A, I want to remain at point A from the
beginning to the end. I moved from the then ANPP; it was APP, and I gave
that party the name All Peoples Party (APP) on August 28, 1998 at the
Sheraton Hotel and I became the first National Secretary.
We had this problem when Alliance for Democracy (AD) joined. They
dropped Ogbonnaya Onu and Olu Falae became the candidate, with Shikanfi
now running and some of us let go. APP is the majority party. Why would
APP not produce a candidate and AD, the vice? And so there was
disagreement and the like of Saraki (Oloye), Ojukwu, Ikimi and myself
left. We didn’t leave the system; together with the nine APP governors,
we insisted. We said, well, if it is is Obasanjo, so be it.
Ultimately, Mahmud Waziri who was chairman and myself national
secretary ended up in the Obasanjo’s administration. Mahmud was the
Special Adviser, Inter-party Affairs and myself Special Assistant,
Office of the National Security Adviser.
They now changed the party’s name from APP to ANPP. Without inviting
us to any meeting, they wrote to us to drop our appointment with
Obasanjo. The party was in factions, so how could you have written? So,
we ignored them. And then, they said we had been expelled.
That was how Mbadinuju, who was my Governor, ran to Obasanjo and said
look, we know this man, he will just remain there, he would not move.
Please help us tell him that we are giving him a ticket to go and run
for the Senate in the PDP. As he was saying it, Obasanjo sent for me,
Ogbulafor and Audu Ogbeh. He said we should go and finalise my entry
into PDP…that Anambra State has already given me a platform to run for
the Senate. That was how I ran for the Senate.
Now, again after we had to fight Obasanjo and third-term elongation
plan, which I spearheaded. The first meeting took place in my house and
the first person that I brought on board was Senator Uche Chukwumerije.
The day I was sworn-in after a two-year legal battle, I then got further
names — they were six.
We had the first meeting, second meeting, the third meeting and then
the joint meeting of both the Senate and those of the House of
Representatives, also in my house. I had Senators Chukumerije, Bello
Bunza, Saidu Dansadau, Senator Maccido, Afikuyomi and Mamora
So, in 2006, after we had dismantled Obasanjo’s third-term agenda,
Obasanjo used Col. Ahmadu Ali to deregister us from the PDP, including
Vice-President Atiku Abubakar. They had to come and register Atiku in
the Vice President’s office.
So, that was what led to the formation of ANPP and I ended up being
the Vice Presidential candidate in 2007. After that, President Umaru
Yar’Adua came on board and set up the Alex Ekwueme reconciliation
committee that brought us back to the PDP.
Therefore, I don’t feel comfortable, even though everybody believed
all my colleagues are in APC. So, I still relate with them. For
instance, I have not attended any meeting with the PDP.
Why not?
Why would I? I want to give special attention to my family.
But you are still in the PDP?
I’m a loyal party member, very loyal and I don’t waiver. I said to
myself, one year, I want a change. I talk with my friends again and
again in APC.
If you were asked to intervene or assist in steering the Change Agenda, what would be your response?
By way of advice? Yes, I can give advice but not by way of appointment.
The PDP doesn’t have a working agreement with the APC government. But if
I am called upon by the APC to say, ‘what do we do, then, as a patriot
and responsible Nigerian citizen, I would oblige and give them advice,
offer some guidelines on the way I think things should be done.
Can you share your thoughts on the political situation in the country, especially as they affect events in Rivers?
It is disheartening to see what is happening. Politics should not be the
spilling of blood. That should be the last thing politicians should get
themselves involved in.
It’s unfortunate, and I have been sad and pained to see what is
happening and I hoped and prayed that the leaders and elders of that
state would urgently intervene. People must respect that it is God who
gives you power and if God gives you power, that power is to protect the
lives of the people and not to massacre them. The maximum period
Governor Nyesom Wike will stay on that seat is just eight years. Why
must people loose their lives? Amaechi should be thankful to God. He was
speaker for eight years and governor for eight years. He is now
Minister for Transport. So it’s time for sober reflection. Why do we
need to do all of these to ourselves? Yet these were allies.
You mean Amaechi and Wike?
Yes. Absolutely.
As a major political stakeholder in Anambra politics, why has it been difficult to get the politics right?
What happened from 2000 to 2003 was unfortunate — when we were deciding
on who should fly the party’s flag, the candidate of the party. As I
said this was one of the reasons I was in court for two years.
For instance, I won my primaries in the party’s convention unopposed.
When I ran in the general election, it was in fact, unopposed because
Ben Obi was running. So I eventually ran unopposed, only for me to hear
that my ticket had been given to somebody else after the primaries.
After the primaries?
After the general elections, it was given to somebody who was not an
aspirant for the senatorial seat. In fact, he was an aspirant for
governorship, he came to Senate for two years and I was in the
wilderness running from one court to the other — from Magistrate Court
to the Supreme Court — courts that had no jurisdiction. The interesting
thing is that I had 33 rulings, I won all; in all judgments, I won
because it was too obvious.
So, I was not the only victim. That was what happened to the PDP
situation at that time. And unfortunately, that has been the case and
that is why you see in as much as the PDP’s on ground in Anambra, they
never win elections because at election time, they become hydra-headed.
Now you have multiple factions and Obiano won and is now serving for
four years.
Is there any strategy for resolving this?
Well, I think maybe when we go for convention and a new leadership
emerges for the PDP – hopefully credible leadership — then we start
getting things right.
What would be your comment, your advice, considering what is happening in the country now?
Well, I must be honest with you and I said to myself, I want to
concentrate on my family for special attention for one year. I have been
in politics since 1998. I said to myself, with this new administration,
I want to give them time to settle in and leave them till at least one
year to see how things go before I would want to react in anyway about
the administration. But I know that President Buhari is a man with
integrity and very daring credibility to make a lot of changes happen.
Nigerians appears to be in a hurry to see these changes?
Nigerians are always in a hurry. Don’t forget, but I must say that I am
one of those pleading with them; yes, we want results, we want positive
results, we want to see changes promised. Please let us tarry a while.
The great Zik of Africa when Shagari won a landslide and you guys
confronted him and said ‘‘What do you say, he said to them ‘‘Surulere”
and he said Surulere is not that town, “Surulere is patience.” Let us
give them one year and see how things go thereafter.
This administration will clock one year on May 29, barely one month from now…
Yes, but don’t forget he gave a date that he would appoint his ministers
and he came up with his ministers. It takes time with great degree of
tact and acts and strategy. I am saying, answering your question, I gave
myself one year to assess him.
How do you describe your relationship with President Jonathan now that he is out of office?
Well, cordial relationship. I try to call him, ask after him. He was my
boss and would always remain my boss. Through him, I became Commander of
the Order of Nigeria. He approved that for me. He made me his special
adviser. We never had any problem. I gave him the best advice to the
best of my knowledge.
Do you discuss Nigeria when you talk?
Not at all!
Many people still think that the former President actually made some
mistakes, which if he had a second chance he wouldn’t repeat. Do you
also share that sentiment?
No human being is above mistakes come now and again. That you are
president doesn’t isolate you from making mistakes, but what is painful
is when you make mistakes of the heart.
Do you think he did his best when it comes to fighting corruption?
Well, you see the problem is and I kept saying this at that time, you
give somebody an assignment. If he had difficulties in carrying out the
assignment, he should say it. If it is funding, say it but those whom he
gave appointment never cried of being starved of fund or never said to
anybody that they were being influenced from doing our work. I sat down,
prepared the schedule of my office and took to him and he approved it. I
think people who were given assignments should be judged by their
performances, and not the former president. They too should be judged
for being competent or incompetent before you start saying, anyway, the
buck ends with Mr. President.
Some words for Nigerians in these trying times?
Well, I know things are a bit difficult and I know that Nigerians are
going through very hard times but this is a great country and I am
appealing with my colleagues, the politicians across the length and
breadth of this country to please in the name of God, play politics with
some degree of compassion for the Nigerian people to understand that
they have voted you in to give them quality service and not to come and
massacre them or strangulate them.
Nigerians should please let us give this administration some little
more time. I know that, as a person, President Buhari has the best
interest of this country at heart. That is why he contested again and
again before he was elected into office. He ordinarily would have said,
‘Nigerians you don’t want me, so be it. Let me go and rest.’ We, myself
and Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, encountered him in 1984. When Nigerian
politicians were running and were scared of him. We requested for an
audience, we met him and he was pleasant, he said he was concerned too.
He said he had read our manifestoes. He said that he granted an
interview to editors of Newswatch (Dele Giwa, Ray Ekpu, Yakubu Ahmed)
where he said if politics were played the way Nigerian Advance Party
played politics, this country wont be where it was at that time.
So, I know that the man has good intentions but it just that a tree
doesn’t make a forest. All hands must be on deck to move the country
forward.
Four gunmen riding in a fake police car were arrested in Mexico after the real authorities noticed a spelling mistake on their fake police vehicle. The car was painted to look exactly like the ones used by the federal police, but they spelled the word "division" with a "c" instead of an "s." While they were driving within the Western state of Michoacán, a military patrol saw the vehcile and became suspicious. They stopped the vehicle and arrested the four men with guns and ammunition when they confirmed they were fake.
"The detained suspects do not belong to any security force," the Michoacan authorities said in a statement Tuesday.
According to BBC reporter, Isa Sanusi who visited Kano recently, hotels in Kano state give out this slip to their guests to sign. Here is what he wrote
"I was in Kano earlier this week to collect material for a feature I'm working on and checked into hotel where I was asked to sign this slip. Every guest at most hotels here are required to sign such statements because of random raids by the Hisbah - the city's Islamic police force. The Sharia officers search the hotels looking for single women, who they always assume are prostitutes".
Yesterday, at about 4.00am troops of 101 Battalion of 7 Division received a tip off about impending attack in Maiduguri city by 4 suspected Boko Haram terrorists suicide bombers from Sambisa forest through Cashew Plantation.
The ever vigilant troops responded decisively by intercepting and neutralizing of the suspected terrorists at Madiyari village, while the third suicide bomber was intercepted and neutralized at Jimini-Bolori village.
Unfortunately 3 of our soldiers sustained injuries in the process and they have been evacuated to the unit’s Regimental Aid Post (RAP), for treatment.
The 2 unexploded Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) on the suicide bombers were safely detonated by a combined team of Nigeria Police and our Explosive Ordinance Device (EOD) experts.
In a related development, the troops also arrested 3 suspected Boko Haram terrorists at Nwagafete village comprising 2 women and a 16 year old boy who were connected to suspected terrorists’ food vendors earlier arrested.
Kindly disseminate the above information and the enclosed photographs to the public through your medium.
Thank you for your kind cooperation.
Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman Acting Director Army Public Relations
Prince Rotimi Obadofin, a former governorship candidate in Kogi state, is dead. Vanguard reports that the late politician was a front line member of Afenifere and hailed from Aiyegunle Gbede, in Ijumu local government area of Kogi state. Obadofin contested on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) before the merger which produced the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The late politician reportedly died in Osogbo, the Osun state capital on Thursday night after rupturing his appendix and also contested the governorship ticket of APC in last year’s election but could not make it past the primaries as he lost late Prince Abubakar Audu. Governor Yahaya Bello, who expressed shock over the death of Obadofin, described him as a ‘frontline progressive’ who displayed exemplary zeal for the actualization of civil rule in Nigeria. In a statement signed by his chief press secretary, Kingsley Fanwo, Governor Bello described the late Obadofin as a “Pragmatic democrat, fiery human right defender and a believer in the core ethos of Afenifere, a Yoruba socio-cultural group that wrestled power from khakistocrats and returned the nation to representative democracy.”
Paul Walker's daughter Meadow Walker has been awarded a $10.1 million settlement from Roger Rodas' estate. Roger Roda was the friend who was driving the car that killed both Paul Walker and himself in 2013.
"The amount paid by the estate of Roger Rodas into a trust for Meadow Walker only covers a fraction of what her father would have earned as an international movie star had his life not tragically been cut short," Meadow's lawyer, Jeffrey Milam, said in a statement to City News Service.
Roger Roda's widow and Paul Walker's daughter tried to sue the carmaker for Paul Walker and Roger Roda's death but Meadow's lawsuit was denied while earlier this week, a federal judge ruled that Rodas' widow cannot prove the carmaker was responsible for the accident. So she didn't win either.
