President Goodluck Jonathan has said that PDP will work to lead Nigeria to greatness. He spoke in Sokoto on Saturday at a grand reception organised for a former governor of the state, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, who defected to PDP with his supporters from APC. “The PDP is the only party that is stable and it will continue to uphold the tenets of democracy. The PDP respects the rule of law at all levels and we respect the constitution,” he said. Jonathan said PDP was the number one party in Nigeria and would continue to be so. He further said that the Federal Government under the party would continue to deliver the dividends of democracy to Nigerians. Jonathan commended the people of the state for their sustained support for PDP and urged them not to relent.
Senator Gbemisola Saraki, sister of former governor Bukola Saraki and some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara state, central Nigeria and their supporters, on Saturday, moved en masse to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Mr Lola Ashiru, an APC chieftain in Offa, Kwara, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, also of APC and oil mogul, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the governorship candidate of the CPC in the 2011 elections were among those who defected to the PDP. Addressing supporters in Ilorin, Gbemisola Saraki urged them to join hands with the PDP “to rescue the state from the shackle of oppression.’’ Saraki, who said she was worried about the plight of youths in the state, added that majority of them were jobless.
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) this morning hit out hard at the All Progressives Congress (APC) for allegedly employing “guerilla style of registration” in its on-going membership drive. APGA joined issues with APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for reportedly ordering, through his daughter, Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, whom he previously installed as the Iyaloja (President- General of Market Traders) of Lagos, that no trader would henceforth be allowed to operate in Lagos except on the production of an APC membership card. Acting National Publicity Secretary of APGA, Mr. Stanley Chira, said in a statement that the party does not find it funny that a National party like APC “would condescend so low as to be using intimidation and blackmailing to gain membership.” “It is absurd to note that APC LAGOS State through the leader SENATOR AHMED BOLA TINUBU instructed the daughter to implement such absurd policy. The Rivers State Governor, Mr Chibuike Amaechi, also warned Rivers State residents that they will not be allowed to use public health services (Hospitals) in the state without an APC Membership Registration Card,” Chira said.
■ Accused of impregnating 12-year-old pry school pupil As she sat beside her mother with her face radiating innocence and a protruding tummy, nothing seems to have changed for Kehinde Williams, a 12- year old pupil, allegedly impregnated by four men, who are father’s tenants. Her guiltless mien as a child betrayed the worry and anxiety being expressed by her mother and of course the society over her predicament. The four men have been accused of taking turn to rape her at different times mostly on her mother’s bed. Three of them now in prison custody are: Shaibu Isiaka, 29; John Obah, 30; Vincent 28, while one Idris, who is also in his late 20s is on the run. Shaibu, married and has a child works with a private security company, while Idris, also works in another security company and lives with Shaibu.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has made it clear to the new national chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu that for him to return to active participation in the party, President Goodluck Jonathan should fulfill his promise not to contest the 2015 presidential election for the second tenure. According to Greenbarge Reporters, an online medium, Obasanjo had recently made it public that he would have nothing to do with PDP again until certain anomalies are corrected. The new chairman met him recently, with a view to convincing him to change his mind. Reliable sources said that the meeting flopped because the former President insisted Jonathan must honour his alleged promise in 2011 not to contest the 2015 presidential election. Obasanjo was also said to have given other conditions that the new leadership of the party must meet before he would change his mind. They include the restructuring of the party as well as the correction of the anomalies relating to the removal of Olagunsoye Oyinlola as the national secretary of the PDP and Bode Mustapha as national auditor in early 2013.
Former Lagos State governor and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress of Nigeria, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has described the Jonathan led government as one that routinely abuses power and manipulates the people. Speaking at a dinner organised by a Lagos group, the New Generation, NG at the Muson Center in Lagos, Tinubu went to great length to draw a distinction between the PDP and the APC. He blamed the Jonathan led PDP government for reckless spending and corruption in the oil sector. According to him, the administration has turned funds meant for government programmes into slush funds to fill the pockets of party loyalists. Tinubu noted that Nigerians are yet to get a satisfactory explanation on the 400,000 barrels per day that is stolen. He opined that the NNPC has been converted into an ATM. “Like I have maintained previously, the Sure-P project is a drain pipe. A slush fund for political patronage. For instance, the N253.5 billion alleged to have being spent on projects by the Federal government as at December 2013 is not reflective in the lives of ordinary Nigerians. In 2012, about N180 Billion accrued to the Federal Government in Sure-P alone”.
About 31 passengers, including the son of late strongman of Ibadan politics, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu, Senator Kamoru Adedibu, were hurriedly evacuated from an aircraft at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Friday, after the plane caught fire shortly before take-off. The plane, an Overland Airlines aircraft, scheduled for Ibadan from Abuja at 4:52p.m. was about to take off when it started emitting smoke from one of its engines. One of the passengers who spoke with Saturday Tribune, Olufunmilayo Rotiba, Chief Executive Officer, Special Travels and Tours, said the about 31 passengers of the plane were already seated before the incident.
THE South-West geo-political zone on Friday restated its demand for regional autonomy, true federalism and resource control as its leaders gathered in Ishara-Remo, in Ogun State, to take a common position on what to present as agenda at the forthcoming national conference holding in Abuja. The meeting, tagged ‘A National Conference Preliminary Meeting on Yoruba Position’, which was held at the residence of chieftain of Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Sir Olaniwun Ajayi, had in attendance prominent Yoruba leaders, including Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State; former governor of Ogun State, Chief Gbenga Daniel; former Secretary to the Federal Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Olu Falae; Chief Ayo Adebanjo; Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu and Dr. Tunji Braithwaite. Others include Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi; Pa Reuben Fasoranti; Gen. Alani Akinrinade; the Secretary-General, Yoruba Unity Forum (YUF), Dr. Kunle Olajide; Bishop Ayo Ladigbolu; Chief Supo Shonibare; Mr. Bisi Adebuyi; Spokesman of Afenifere, Mr.Yinka Odumakin; Mr. Shina Kawonise; Prof. Wale Are Olaitan; Dr. Akin Onigbinde; former Minister of Mines, Alhaji Sharafa Ishola; Senior Pastor, Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare; former Chairman, Punch Newspapers Limited, Chief Ajibola Ogunsola, and the National Coordinator, Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams, among others.
A fresh controversy ensued on Friday as the family of the late former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, alleged that a governorship aspirant in Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, planned to “bring an impersonator” to speak on behalf of the family at his campaign rally in Osogbo, the Osun State capital today, in order to exonerate him on the murder of the late Attorney General. The family, in a statement signed by Mr. Akin Ige and Ige’s daughter, Mrs. Funso Adegbola, said it was united in getting justice for the late justice minister, while describing the governorship aspirant as “the prime suspect” in “the botched murder trial” of Ige. Senator Omisore, who was tried and freed by the Oyo State High Court over the murder, is billed to launch his campaign bid for the governorship of Osun State in Osogbo today. The Ige family stressed that members of the public should disregard “any impersonator who might have been bought to exonerate any person,” describing the alleged plan as “part of the calculated plot to further irritate the lingering pains of the murder of (their) patriarch and to attempt to further dance on Ige’s grave.”
Indications emerged yesterday that the erstwhile Commissioner of Police in Rivers State, Mbu Joseph Mbu, was redeployed to stave off plans by the opposition All Progressives Congress APC to use its increasing numerical strength at the National Assembly to stall the 2014 budget proposal before the lawmakers. However, the police said Mbu’s redeployment was a normal routine in the force as well as part of its strategic resolve to reposition the force for greater efficiency. Saturday Mirror learnt from competent police sources that the presidency had intervened in the redeployment exercise, directing that Mr. Mbu be brought to the FCT Police Command. “His current posting is not far from the outcry generated by his activities in Rivers State, especially his continued altercation with the state governor, Rotimi Amaechi.
Ade Abbas (not real name) looked furtively around before he spoke. It was clear he was afraid. He was afraid like many other factory workers, who simply walked away when our correspondent approached them to inquire about working conditions in their places of work. They did not want to get fired. The condition in the country has taught these youths to be thankful for their situation and count themselves fortunate to be employed, no matter how terrible the working condition in their places of work is. Some of them told our correspondent that they were aware that their case was ‘voluntary slavery;’ but said they had become powerless as a result of the economic hardship in the country. “I don’t want to lose my job please, I cannot lose this job. My wife is pregnant. The survival of my family and I depends on the N15,000 I earn here per month,” Abbas said. He tried to explain the reason why he had to be vigilant as he met with our correspondent some distance away from one of the factories of Lifemate Furniture, where he works on Oregun Road, Lagos.
FORMER Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who recently defected from the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressives Congress (APC) told The Guardian Friday the situation in the PDP has made it technically impossible for him to bring the needed change in the governance of the country. Atiku said: “Nobody, however rich or powerful, can bring about change without being in the government and to do that, you need a platform to do so. PDP has made that option technically impossible for me. And for that reason, I chose the APC because the party’s manifesto has a lot in common with my own policy document on the reformation of Nigeria. “Nigeria suffers from poor governance, which is why its oil wealth has not significantly improved the living standards of the ordinary Nigerians. I have found genuine commitment among the APC leaders in making Nigeria remarkably better. APC does not pay lip service to democracy and I could see genuine passion among its leaders and members of how to move Nigeria forward.
• Amaechi Says No Victor, No Vanquished THE Supreme Court Friday rejected attempt by a former governor of Rivers State, Chief Celestine Omehia to join a suit filed by Chief Cyprian Chukwu seeking to determine and possibly abridge the tenure of office of Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. The court also reprimanded Omehia’s counsel, James Ezike for using foul language in his brief to address senior legal practitioners and counsel to Amaechi, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) and Mr. Rickey Tarfa (SAN) and asked him to apologise. But to the consternation of all present, Ezike refused to apologise. In a unanimous verdict, the Supreme Court agreed with the submission of Amaechi’s counsel, Fagbemi, that the Court of Appeal was in error to have joined Omehia as a party at the appellate court without having fulfilled the condition precedent for it to join him as an interested party.
THE police in Ogun State have arrested four people suspected to have raped and murdered a 50-year-old woman from Benin Republic in Abeokuta, the state capital. The suspects were said to have gained entry through the window of the victim’s house at the Oniyanrin area of the city in the night before carrying out the dastardly act. The victim, a mother of five, also known as Mama Friday, lived in a boys’ quarters of a main building alone, as her husband, a bricklayer, works in the Ifo area. The gang, it was gathered, had a field day with the victim, whose neighbours were oblivious of the incident.
THE fresh allegation by the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, of missing $20 billion crude oil money has continued to generate ripples as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has denied withholding any money due to the Federation Account, describing Mallam Sanusi as a bloody liar and an inconsistent person. NNPC’s Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production, Mr Abiye Membere, told newsmen in Abuja that the alleged rip-off of the Federation Account was a figment of the CBN governor’s imagination. Mr. Membere said with the fresh allegation, Sanusi had once again proved to be “consistently inconsistent,” an attitude he said had become the hallmark of the CBN governor. While calling for caution on the issue, in the interest of the economy and Nigerians at large, the NNPC director said the corporation would soon address all the issues with a view to putting the matter to rest once and for all.
An aggrieved victim of the June 3, 2012 Dana Airline plane crash at Iju Ishaga, Lagos, Pastor Omawunmi Daniel, and his business venture, Thursmay Educational Service Limited, have filed a N540 million suit against the airline. Other defendants in the suit are the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and Prestige Assurance Plc. In a statement of claims filed before a Federal High Court in Lagos by a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Dele Adeshina, SAN, on behalf of the plaintiff, Pastor Omawunmi averred that he is the owner of the four plots of land situated at 8/10, Popoola Olaniyi Street, Iju Ishaga, Lagos. He also said that that on June 3, 2012 at exactly 3.45 p.m., Dana Airline Model MD Douglas MJ83 aircraft crashed into his property and destroyed all his buildings and structures, including the personal belonging of his entire family, fish ponds, warehouses, furniture workshops and warehouse belonging to his company and Mrs. Nike Odunpitan. He averred that his house is not close to an airport, and as such, the plane’s crash onto his property was sudden, shocking and devastating and same could not have been imagined or contemplated.
It is the question that has been dominating Washington dinner parties for weeks: could the once-golden First Couple of the United States really be heading for the rocks? If rumours are to be believed, the 21-year marriage of Barack and Michelle Obama has been racked by screaming rows, allegations of infidelity and a string of jealous fights. While the White House has refused to comment on the reports, there has been a distinct frostiness in the air between the couple in recent months. According to a report in the National Enquirer which plastered ‘Obama Divorce Bombshell!’ across its front page, the pair have been at loggerheads since last summer and are now sleeping in separate bedrooms. The ‘final straw’, apparently, was Michelle’s outrage when her husband publicly humiliated her by openly flirting and posing for his now infamous ‘selfie’ photograph with Denmark’s glamorous blonde Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service. According to published reports, Mrs Obama is only standing by her 52-year-old husband until his presidency ends. He will then return to his home state of Hawaii while she will remain with their daughters in Washington.
When US basketball player Alex Owumi signed a contract to play for a team in Benghazi, Libya, he had no idea that his employer was the the most feared man in the country. Nor did he guess the country was about to descend into war. Here he tells his story, parts of which some readers may find distressing. It was a beautiful flat. Everything was state of the art and it was spacious, too. It had two big living rooms, three big bedrooms, flat screens everywhere. The couches had gold trim and were so big and heavy they were impossible to move. The door to the apartment was reinforced steel, like on a bank vault. It was 27 December 2010 and I had just arrived in Benghazi, Libya’s second biggest city, to play basketball for a team called Al-Nasr Benghazi. I had stayed in some nice places playing for teams in Europe, but this seventh-floor apartment in the middle of town was something else. It was like the Taj Mahal.
In his renewed move to curb the proliferation of arms and thuggery, the inspector-general of police (IGP), Mr Mohammed Abubakar, has banned the issuance of new firearms licences to individuals. This was disclosed to journalists in Lagos yesterday by force police public relations officer Frank Mba, at the pull-out ceremony of some top police officers at the Police College, Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday. Mba said that arms proliferation and thuggery were among security challenges the police intended to arrest without further delay. He said the police had recovered several arms through intelligence gathering, adding that the development informed the IGP’s decision to freeze the issuance of new licences for arms.
Another round of intra party crisis is brewing in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) between supporters of the late Dim Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu’s widow, Bianca and those supporting Governor Peter Obi over the leadership of the party. It would be recalled that at a function in Enugu, a faction of APGA led by Maxi Okwu made Bianca the leader of the party while another faction led by Sir Victor Umeh in Awka recognised Obi as leader as well. Ever since, both camps have been at each orders throat in attempt to take full control of the party. According to Okwu at a function in February 16, 2013 where Board of Trustee (BOT) members like Tim Menakaya canvassed to make Peter Obi the leader of APGA which the governor turned down contending that even in death, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu remains the leader of our party.
The All Progressives Congress does not seem to be getting its act right in its quest for constructive opposition, writes Shaka Momodu Even the diehard sympathisers of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) would be shifting uncomfortably in their seats about its tactics now. They would be wondering what is happening to the goodwill the party enjoyed when it came into being some months ago. Today, a cross section of Nigerians are beginning to doubt whether they did not rejoice too soon when the party crossed the registration hurdle. Many thought albeit wrongly that it would counter the impunity that has become the second name of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
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