Ondo deputy gov defects, Mimiko wishes him well

Ondo State deputy governor, Alhaji Ali Olanusi

 

Barely two days to the presidential election, the Ondo State deputy governor, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, has dumped the Peoples Democratic Party to the rival All Progressives Congress in the state.

The development came barely five days after the Rivers State Deputy Governor, Mr. Tele Ikuru, dumped the APC for PDP.

In a swift reaction to Olanusi’s defection, the Ondo state government said it wished the deputy governor well.

The state Commissioner for Information, Kayode Akinmade, in a two-paragraph statement, said, “The state government just received the news of the defection of Alhaji All Olanusi, the Deputy Governor of Ondo State, to the All Progressives Congress.

“Though it came as a surprise, the government acknowledges his right to determine his political affiliation and wish him well.”

Announcing his defection on Thursday, Olanusi, in a statement, said, “While still being in place as the democratically-elected Deputy Governor of Ondo State, I have decided to lead my teeming supporters and well wishers in the state into the All Progressives Congress where we can find justice, fairness, equity and democratic liberty, a party to which majority of our kith and kin in Yorubaland belong.

“I have taken this decision at this critical time, in the best interest of peace, stability and good governance of our dear state and for the overall development of the South-West and the nation.”

The deputy governor noted that as a result of the unfolding political development in the country, particularly in Ondo State, it was clear that he needed to chart a new course for majority of his followers who looked up to him for direction and leadership.

“They (his followers) have watched helplessly in the last six years the untold marginalisation and total exclusion from the government they laboured to put in place,” he said.

The APC in the state, which received the news with delight, stated that the development signalled victory for the party in the coming elections.

The Publicity Secretary of the party, Omo’oba Adesanya, said the party welcomed the deputy governor into the party, saying more PDP members would be joining APC before the election.

He said, “We welcome him into the fold of the APC. It shows that the wind of change that is blowing is across board.

“Olanusi understands the political rhythm and he is dancing to it appropriately. Change is imminent and victory is certain.”

Meanwhile, the Deputy Speaker of the Ondo State House Assembly, Dare Emiola, has dissociated himself from the Olanusi’s action.

Olanusi and Eniola are both from the Akoko South-West Local Government Area and had hitherto been strong political allies.

Eniola, in a statement in Akure on Thursday, asserted his continued membership of the PDP in spite of Olanusi’s defection.

He said, “I want to use this opportunity to dissociate myself from the actions of the deputy governor, Alhaji Olanusi, who dumped the PDP for APC.

“All the honourable members of the Ondo State House of Assembly are still full-fledged members of the PDP to which I belong.”

He also said the PDP would sweep the polls on Saturday despite the defection of the deputy governor, calling on all supporters of the party to remain steadfast.

The traditional ruler of Supare Akoko, hometown of Olanusi, Oba Adejoro Adedeji, also on Thursday described the deputy governor’s defection as “a rude shock and embarrassment to the Supare community.”

The monarch said this in a chat with journalists in Akure.

Adedeji, who noted that the defection was of no effect, said the decision of the deputy governor was unilateral as he never informed any member of the community before he defected.

“Olanusi is on his own,” he said.

Also on Thursday, the PDP in Ondo State said Olanusi was never a member of the party going by the last re-registration exercise conducted in the party.

A statement by the party’s Publicity Director, Ayo Fadaka, stated that the deputy governor was not registered both in his ward and local government by the party.

The Ondo PDP spokesman said, “It is however pertinent for us to underscore the fact that Alhaji Olanusi is not a member of the PDP in Ondo State as he was not re-registered in his ward and local government by the party.

“While admitting that he attended two party functions recently, he was a passive observer at such functions and his attendance does not in any manner confer membership on him.

“By his latest political gymnastic, it is obvious that he had been a clandestine member of the APC and a mole in the government of Governor Olusegun Mimiko and has just received the order to declare openly for them.”

He noted that Olanusi’s action was intended to serve as a response to the declaration of Ikuru in Rivers, adding that “both are however not in the same cadre, while Ikuru possess the power and influence to inflict devastating damages on APC in Rivers State, same cannot be said of Ali Olanusi of Ondo State.

Thugs open fire on Gov Amaechi’s convoy

Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi
| credits: File copy

 

RIVERS State Governor Rotimi Amaechi escaped unhurt in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area on Thursday when gunmen, suspected to be political thugs, fired shots at his convoy.

Two members of the All Progressives Congress were however unlucky as they were seriously injured in the incident, which happened at about 6pm on Thursday.

The governor was   on a door-to-door ward campaign of the area.

An SMS sent to our correspondent by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. David Iyofor, indicated that the attackers   made bonfire along a major road in the area to prevent the governor from leaving.

The SMS read, “This evening, gunshots were fired at the convoy of Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi at Rumuolumeni, Obio/Akpor LGA by PDP thugs.

“Obio/Akpor is the home of the PDP governorship candidate in the state, Nyesom Wike. The thugs attacked the governor’s convoy and his entourage with bottles, stones and other dangerous objects. Then gunshots were fired at the convoy.

“When the governor was leaving the community, bonfire was set up on the road to prevent him from leaving. More gunshots were fired at his convoy. Amaechi was on door-to-door ward campaign in the state.”

The Greater Together Campaign Organisation, a team in charge of the APC candidate, Dakuku Peterside’s governorship campaign, described the attack on the convoy as part of the plan to assassinate chieftains and members of the APC.

The Director of the campaign organisation, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, said in a statement   in Port Harcourt   that the thugs were repelled by the governor’s security personnel.

Semenitari lamented that the situation in the state had become worrisome considering that a group of security operatives had gone to the governor’s home town to carry out a secret investigation.

The statement read in part, “In keeping with their plans to attack and assassinate chieftains and members of the APC, thugs of the PDPambushed the convoy of Governor Amaechi, who was on a door-to-door campaign in Rumuolumeni, Obio/Akpor, Rivers State.

“The thugs were repelled by the governor’s security personnel. However, the PDP in Rivers State has concluded plans to launch house-to-house attack on APC chieftains in the state with the aid of security personnel.”

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmad Mohammad, told our correspondent that he was still trying to reach out to the Divisional Police Officer in Obio/Akpor to ascertain the veracity of the claim that the governor’s convoy was attacked.

Mohammad promised to react to the matter as soon as he got any response from the DPO in Obio/Akpor   but he had yet to keep the promise as of 9pm on Thursday.

Also in Edo State, the government on Thursday alleged deployment of armed soldiers in the country home of Governor Adams Oshiomhole in Iyamoh     Etsakor West LGA.

A statement by the state Commissioner   for Information and Orientation,   Louis Odion, said the presence of the soldiers was to “intimidate the governor on   election day.”

The statement read in part, “Family members of the   governor were shocked to find his country home taken over by soldiers this(Thursday) afternoon. When asked, the invading force said they were acting on orders from above.

“We also have it on good authority that the Army high command in Abuja had sent some soldiers to Edo State on what they described as ‘special operations’.

“In order not to arouse suspicion, these soldiers were told to dress in suits and pose as SSS operatives and station them at polling units on election day, particularly in areas seen as APC strongholds.”

Please support me, Jonathan begs North

President Goodluck Jonathan

 

President Goodluck Jonathan has begged the North, specifically the North-East geo-political zone, to support and vote for him on Saturday.
Jonathan in a letter titled, ‘My dear Arewa brothers and sisters’, which he personally signed, said it would be unfair for anyone to blame him for the Boko Haram menace which resulted in the death of over 15,000 Nigerians.
The President admitted that his administration initially underestimated the menace and that was why the terrorists were able to kill many Nigerians.
He added that the menace was compounded by the lack of equipment.
The President, however, said the successes recorded by the Armed Forces in the last six weeks showed that he was indeed capable of curbing terrorism. He, therefore, called on northerners to vote for him in order to perfect the work he had started.
He said, “I do understand that my first duty to you at this time is to rid the entire North of the menace of Boko Haram and secure your lives and property. You and I know that nothing in Nigeria’s past prepared us for the unprecedented reign of unmitigated terror, mayhem and destruction which these murderous terrorists have visited on parts of our country.
“The initial slowness in effectively responding to the threat was as a result of the asymmetrical nature of the war on terror and the need for us to properly equip our security agencies for the successful prosecution of the war.
“Given the recent successes recorded by our Armed Forces with your cooperation and patriotic support, the cooperation of our neighbours as well as the laudable gallantry of security agents, I am confident that in the shortest possible time, the menace of Boko Haram would have been eliminated for good.”
Jonathan’s inability to curb terrorism had made him very unpopular in some northern states to the extent that he was stoned in some of the states while he was campaigning.
Jonathan said he and the people of the South-South geo-political zone supported his late predecessor, Umaru Yar’Adua who was from the North.
He, therefore, urged them to do the same for him.
He said, “Because Nigeria today is in desperate need of stability, I plead with you to join me in building on the foundation of the traditional alliance between us which has always served to keep Nigeria one strong, united and prosperous nation,” he said.
The soaring popularity of Jonathan’s main rival, Maj.Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd), of the All Progressives Congress, among the Arewa community seems to have jolted the President.
The Vice President, Namadi Sambo, also met northerners in Lagos on Thursday to beg them to vote for Jonathan for the sake of national peace and unity.
Incidentally, the wife of the President, Patience Jonathan, who has been campaigning for her husband, has avoided visiting the North-West and the North-East.

Switzerland to return N75.2bn Abacha loot to Nigeria

Former late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha
| credits: http://i.telegraph.co.uk

 

Swiss officials have said the $380m siphoned off by the family of the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, and confiscated by the Geneva authorities, will be returned to Nigeria. The amount is about N75.2bn at N198/dollar interbank rate.

The file on the matter, opened since 1999, would be closed, the officials said in a statement on the website of the Geneva public prosecutor’s office.

According to the office, the move comes now that Nigeria and the Abacha family have struck a deal.

The Federal Government has long been chasing funds looted by the Abacha clan while the matriach was in power from 1994 to 1998.

The prosecutor’s office said overall, the Abacha clan was thought to have diverted about $5bn from the Nigerian treasury, adding that much of it ended up abroad.

“The $380m in question was seized in Luxembourg in 2006 on the orders of the Geneva justice authorities. The funds were under the control of various companies controlled by the Abacha family, which is considered a criminal organisation,” the prosecutor’s office said in the statement.

It said the repatriation and confiscation of the funds followed the conclusion of an agreement in July 2014 between the Federal Government and the Abacha family. This, it added, set out the confiscation of the assets and their return to Nigeria. The Federal Government would drop its complaint against Abba Abacha, the son of the former ruler.

According to the prosecutor’s office statement, the confiscation order “allows, among other things, that the funds returned to the Federal Republic of Nigeria are monitored by the World Bank,” and if the monitoring is not effective, the funds will be returned to the Geneva authorities.

The statement also said that the file against Abba Abacha was now closed, based on an article in the penal code, which allowed criminal proceedings to be abandoned once the defendant had made amends as much as was possible.

In 2012, after a legal back and forth, the Geneva Police Court gave Abba Abacha a one-year suspended prison sentence for belonging to a criminal organisation.

Abba was absent from the court room. The Federal Court in Lausanne, Switzerland’s highest instance, quashed the sentence in May 2014.

Elections may not hold in liberated towns, villages

Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Kenneth Minimah

 

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, on Tuesday hinted that elections may not hold in North-East communities recently liberated from Boko Haram insurgents.

Minimah told journalists after a Security Council meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja that government structures needed to be restored in the town and villages before issues about elections could be discussed.

The presidential election is billed for March 28 while governorship and National Assembly polls will take place on April 11.

The COAS however said that the Independent National Electoral Commission needed to re-assess the situation in the communities before a final stand could be taken on elections.

The Chairman of INEC,   Attahiru Jega, had briefed the meeting attended by all heads of security agencies and relevant ministers of the state of the electoral body’s   preparedness for the   general elections while the security chiefs gave updates on the anti-terrorism war.

Minimah said, “I am not competent to speak on that (elections) matter. INEC is still there, INEC has to re-access the situation and evaluate because the areas have been liberated, but I can also tell you that not all structures of governance have been reinstated.

“They will need to be reinstated so that citizens can go back to their areas and it is then I think they can execute their rights as voters.”

When probed further, the Army chief said he did not know how soon the structures could be reinstated.

When further asked whether the operation could be completed before March 28, he replied , “It is our wish and we pray God gives that to us, but war is war. War sometimes is not fought on some platforms of permutation.”

The COAS disclosed that after reviewing the North-East operations particularly in the last three weeks, the council renewed its confidence in the Nigerian Armed Forces and commended the troops.

He said, “You know Yobe and Adamawa states have been liberated completely and we look forward to the reinstatement of structures of government and governance.

“I am also sure you know that in Borno State, out of the 27 local governments, we have three local governments remaining: Abadam, Kalabaldi and Gwoza and we are optimistic that with time, we will liberate those LGAs.”

Despite the success recorded however, Minimah said there was no news yet on the over 200 schoolgirls abducted in Chibok, Borno State, almost a year ago.

He said, “There is no news on the Chibok girls for now. In all the liberated areas , we have also made enquiries but the truth is when the terrorists are running away, they also run with their families.

“Those we have   come in contact with have not made any comments suggesting that Chibok girls were there and taken away.

“But we are optimistic that as they are losing the   areas captured by them,   we will get further details on that.”

The Army boss also denied media reports that   security agencies   were being assisted in the war against terrorism by mercenaries.

“There are no mercenaries employed by anyone. What we have are advisers and instructors and they are all over the world. Whenever you have new equipment, the equipment comes with contract and the contract includes maintenance and the technicians that come with them are those that we hire,” he said.

Jega had emerged from the council meeting at about 2.20pm after briefing the members on INEC’s   preparations for the elections.

He was accompanied to the meeting by two top officials of the commission.

When State House correspondents asked him about the meeting, the INEC boss simply said, “I believe it went well.”

He did not answer subsequent questions relating to the use of card reader during the elections and INEC’s level of   preparedness as he made his way out of the Presidential Villa.

The meeting which started a few minutes after 11am had in attendance, the Vice President Namadi Sambo; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation,   Pius Anyim; the Chief of Staff to the President,   Jones Arogbofa; the   National Security Adviser,   Sambo Dasuki; the Attorney-General of the Federation, Muhammed Adoke (SAN); the Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan; the Minister of Interior,   Aba Moro; and   Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aminu Wali.

Others  were the Chief of Defence Staff,   Alex Badeh; the Chief of Naval Staff, Usman Jibrin; the Chief of Air Staff,   Adesola Amosu; the Inspector-General of Police,   Suleiman Abba; as well as the heads of the Department of State Services, the National Intelligence Agency and the Chief of Defence Intelligence.

700,000 PVCs still being produced –Jega

The PUNCH gathered from one of the officials that attended the meeting that Jega reassured the council of INEC’s readiness for the elections.

He was also said to have told the council that 700,000 permanent voter cards were still being produced and that those who had yet to collect their PVCs still had till March 22 to do so.

According to the official, Jega explained that the commission had utilised the six-week period of extension to further perfect the electoral process in order to deliver credible elections to Nigerians.

A copy of Jega’s statement at the meeting tagged “Update on INEC’s preparedness for the 2015 general elections,” was also obtained exclusively by our correspondent.

In the document, the INEC boss insisted that the commission had forged ahead in its determination to conduct the elections on the rescheduled dates.

He said, “It can be seen that INEC has forged ahead with preparations to conduct the 2015 general elections as rescheduled for March 28 and April 11.

“We believe that the period of extension has offered us an opportunity to further perfect the electoral process for the delivery of free, fair, credible and peaceful elections.

“I am pleased that all the non-sensitive and sensitive materials for the elections, including ballot papers, have now been delivered to states ready for deployment.”

Jega however   raised security concerns over the polls.

He stressed the need for soldiers to be on standby in case of violence since policemen who would be at polling booths would not be armed.

The electoral umpire added, “Security on the day of election and the days following the elections remains a major area of concern.

“Among other things, we hope that the traditional ban on public officials moving around with their security details and orderlies will be stringently enforced.

“We also hope that the ban on unauthorised general movement will be enforced. The bounding over politicians and the rounding up of thugs and drug suppliers should be intensified.

“Perhaps most importantly, we appeal for special preparations for protecting election staff, including rapid evacuation when necessary. Corpers’ lodges should also be adequately protected.”

Jega also said that the commission had made full preparations to enable Internally Displaced Persons to vote during the elections.

This, he explained, would apply to IDPs from areas that are worst hit by the insurgency, specifically Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

The plan, according to him, is to create voting centres in safe areas.

He said where applicable, the voting centres would be located close to the IDP camps.

Jega added that the arrangement would require special provisions for security and the commission would be counting on the various agencies for assistance.

He described the turnout for the mock demonstration of card reader as satisfactory.

According to him, the demonstration was also largely satisfactory with close to 100 percent verification and 60 percent authentication.

My husband is the messiah, Patience Jonathan says

Patience Jonathan
| credits: File copy

 

Wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, on Tuesday in Ilorin, Kwara State, said her husband was the messiah hence she told Nigerian women not to vote for Maj.Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress.

“Nigerian women, if they (APC) come, tell them that your mother said you should not listen to them. They have nothing to offer. They have nothing to give you, Nigerian women; because the battle has already been conquered, God has opened the way for us. God has brought down the messiah for us. And PDP is the messiah. Goodluck is the messiah,” the President’s wife said at the Peoples Democratic Party’s women presidential rally in Ilorin.

She asked Buhari to leave politics and governance to younger people.

“I am a person that will tell the truth. I will not abuse people, but if you are old you are old, so leave it to younger people,” she said in a veiled reference to her husband’s main challenger, whom the PDP had said was too old to occupy the President’s office.

Buhari was born December 17, 1942.

The President’s wife likened the opposition APC to an “expired and adulterated drug” and urged the Nigerian electorate not to vote for the party, saying it could lead to their death.

She said God had told her that the APC would lose the general elections rescheduled for March 28 and April 11 general elections.

Mrs. Jonathan said, “What are we going to take expired drug to do? Have you seen anywhere where APC cured any person? If you vote and drink it and die, it is not my business. Do not go near APC. It is an expired drug and an adulterated drug.”

She said the Jonathan-led Federal Government had positively transformed the country through provision of massive infrastructure as well as good and functional health care and good educational system.

She also promised that the PDP would reclaim governance of Kwara State, saying the state was stolen from the PDP.

“They stole our mandate. This is opposition state. All these provisions of the Federal Government, they are claiming that they are the ones providing them, meanwhile they are embezzling the money.

“Anyone that comes, they eat it up. This time, PDP says no to them.”

Patience also cautioned APC leaders against making its campaign to clash with that of the PDP. She accused the APC of deliberately planning the political events of Aishat Buhari, the wife of the APC presidential candidate, to coincide with her own rally in order to create an atmosphere for violence between the two camps.

She said, “PDP is not shaken; as far as we are there, there is no need for trouble. You know that Mama Peace, your mother, is peace-loving, so the children must also be peace-loving. Women are peace makers and no woman that makes trouble is worth to be called a woman.

“Before I went to Edo State, the APC was there, all to make trouble. I have always been telling them that they like to make trouble. I wanted to go to Edo, they were there. Why? To make trouble. I wanted to come to Kwara, they were there. Why? To make trouble. As I was coming today at the airport, they were also coming so that there would be trouble but I told my security people that I am a mother of peace, so let them go in peace. We, wives of political leaders should not make trouble, so even if they come to you to make trouble, don’t fall for their tricks.”

Mrs. Buhari’s convoy was attacked by suspected thugs in Ilorin on Monday.

Patience added, “Kwara is PDP. They only stole the mandate because the Government House they are occupying today is in the name of PDP. We shall take it over. Everyday they change from one name to another and very soon they will change to Ebola and then death will come. My God that I serve has told me that they will fail. So don’t be deceived, don’t listen to their lies.

“There is office for wife of President but they were saying there is none. But soon they brought one ‘Hajia’ as wife of the President and she is now saying, ‘don’t worry, my husband made a mistake, we shall make provisions as necessary.’ Don’t believe what they are saying, hold to what you have because it is better than what you are yet to see.”

2,123 policemen protected Jonathan while robbers raided bank – Fashola

Governor Babatunde Fashola
| credits: File copy

THE Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, on Tuesday said 2, 123 policemen that would have helped to repel the Thursday bank robbery in the state were sent to protect President Goodluck Jonathan when he visited Lagos.

Fashola, who said this at the 2015 Agric Value Chains Empowerment programme, lamented that the President’s visit to the state paralysed the state security apparatus so much that it could not foil the robbery.

He said nearly all the vehicles bought by the state government for the police to be able to respond rapidly to crimes were on the alert for the President.

Fashola said, “The President came to Lagos last Thursday, and while citizens were being robbed, the President was protected by 2,123 security personnel.

“Let me be very clear, the President is entitled to every protection; he is our President, but the question to ask is; when you were being traumatised, where were these 2,123 men, because you are also entitled to be protected? The reason why the President gets all that protection is so that he can protect all of us.”

Fashola said he was also worried by the reports of violence and harassment of innocent citizens on Monday during a protest by members of the Oodua People’s Congress and loyalists of the Peoples Democratic Party.

“Yesterday (Monday), they also showed the difference between us when the supporters of the PDP and President Jonathan came out. On March 7, just about a week ago, the APC held a solidarity walk in Lagos. Did anybody attack you on that day?

“So, yesterday, they held their own, and instead of canvassing for your votes, they were showing you knives and cutlasses.”

About 3,529 beneficiaries of the empowerment programme, were given farm inputs, including fish feeds, eggs, cattles, and fertilisers, among others.

Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Gbolahan Lawal, said the programme had resulted in significant reduction in poverty.

“For some beneficiaries, it was a lift of a lifetime.

“During the exercise in 2014, 3,149 households benefited.

“Those who were not fortunate today will have to register for the next exercise,” Lawal said.

Armed pro-Jonathan groups protest against Jega in Lagos

The pro-Jonathan protesters in Lagos ... on Monday
| credits: Goke Famadewa

 

Thousands of Odua Peoples Congress and the Coalition of Concerned Nigerians members   loyal to the Peoples Democratic Party took to three major roads in Lagos on Monday demanding the sack of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega.

The protesters, who wore T-shirts with PDP inscriptions and pictures of President Goodluck Jonathan, started gathering in front of the Federal Road Safety Commission near the old Lagos Toll Gate on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway as early as 7am.

From there, they proceeded on foot and in about 100 buses to the front of the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere, causing traffic snarl on the ever busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ikorodu Road and   Funso Williams(Western) Avenue in the city.

The demonstrators, who wielded broken bottles and knives,   also displayed banners and posters calling for Jega’s removal.

They destroyed outdoor adverts of All Progressives Congress candidates on the street lights along the highways.

A LASTMA official claimed that some of the demonstrators   stormed their Anthony office,     chased them away   and released many impounded vehicles   to their owners.

The National Coordinator of the OPC, Chief Gani Adams, led the protest which had   some popular actors and musicians such as Zack Orji, Alex Usifo, Paul Obazele, Obesere and Saheed Osupa, participating.

The protest forced motorists to seek alternative routes. Many passengers, most of whom were rushing to their respective offices, had to disembark from commercial vehicles and trekked long distances to escape the snarl.

The absence of   Lagos State Traffic Management Agency officials from the highways emboldened the confidence of the protesters, some of whom drove against traffic and others on the restricted BRT lanes.

Policemen from the state command and soldiers attached to OP MESA provided security for the demonstrators who distributed Jonathan’s campaign leaflets   to passers-by and   motorists stuck in traffic. The leaflets contained the ‘‘achievements’’ of   Jonathan.

Some of the protesters   gave out fliers that bore the ‘‘sins’’ of Jega.

One of the fliers read, “Over five million people have yet to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards in the South-West; over 2.5 million persons in the South-South and two million in the South-East while Jega claimed to have recorded 90 per cent distribution in the North, despite the high level of insecurity in the North-East.

“There is illegal registration of underage voters in the North, registration of nationals of Chad, Niger Republic and Cameroon. Over one million PVCs have been recovered from them by security agents and yet Jega cannot give an explanation.

“It is obvious that Jega is playing a well scripted Northern agenda as he has positioned northerners to the most sensitive INEC positions .

“The creation of over 30, 000 polling units now termed voting centres in the North against the South-West and awarding the contract of sensitive INEC materials such as PVCs and ballot papers to foreign companies traced to APC leaders.

“Plotting to create chaos and unrest in Nigeria by insisting on holding elections on February 14 when he was aware that 34 per cent of Nigerians in the South-West had yet to obtain their PVCs.”

Some of their placards   read, “Jega must go”, Jega pushing Northern agenda.”

• Some of the protesters destroying a campaign board on Ikorodu Road, Lagos … on Monday.

Adams, who addressed the demonstrators at the entrance to the Teslim Balogun Stadium, said that Jega would have embarrassed Nigeria if the elections had   held on February 14.

He said he had while expressing his displeasure with Jega’s handling of the election process to Jonathan, informed him (the President) of the “peaceful protest.”

Adams said, “We just had a peaceful protest to register our displeasure with Jega on the way he has been hadling the preparations for this important elections. We   also made our position known to Jonathan.

“Jega should proceed on terminal leave and let a credible Nigerian be appointed to conduct the elections.”

Usifo, who also spoke, said, “It’s all about the concerned citizens of Nigeria. Some citizens believe that Jega has already compromised. On   February 14 when he said he was ready for the elections,   he was not because many registered citizens had yet to collect their PVCs.

“I sincerely believe that his professorship is even questionable. If as a professor he does not know what he is doing, then I don’t know who will help us. We   don’t want violence.”

He hinted that another round of protest might take place if the situation did not improve.

Obazele also accused Jega of pursuing a northern agenda and attempting to disenfranchise voters in the South.

   Orji, in a brief interview with one of our correspondents, dismissed claims that     the protesters were paid by anyone.

He said, “We believe in the president that he is a credible person for this moment. We don’t want anybody to come and set us back for decades. We have not been paid to organise this.

“We just believe in Mr. President because we have been following his excellent track record.”

Some of the affected motorists and commuters condemned the protest, saying it should not have been on a Monday.

One of the motorists, Aramide Olayinka,   said she spent close to three hours from Ketu Bus Stop to Palmgrove.

She said, “Monday should not have been chosen for such a protest. They should have done so on a weekend, But if they must, they should have communicated it properly to the members of the public. You can see that I am already late for work today (Monday). ”

A commuter, Lara Ogunbanke, said that she had not been able to meet up for a job interview.

She said, “What these people are doing is very annoying. I have an interview at Jibowu and I left my home as early as 9am but I am still in the traffic and it is 11am.

“I had to alight from the bus I was in and treked. I am indifferent to politics but even if I were to vote, I definitely would not vote for the PDP because of this rubbish. Why would they pick a Monday? Why not Saturday or Sunday?”

Another commuter, James Nzewi, said the protesters should have left the BRT lane vacant so that the effect of the traffic would be less.”

Reacting, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, said the protest was in line with the N9bn allegedly given to the OPC and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra by Jonathan to disrupt the elections.

Mohammed wondered why the OPC embarked on such a march less than four days after Adams and other OPC leaders met with Jonathan at the State House, Marina.

He said, “As we said earlier, Jonathan has bribed ethnic militia groups with N9bn to ensure that the polls were scuttled. The OPC protest was funded by Jonathan and this is part of the grand plot we spoke about.”

The Publicity Secretary of the Lagos State chapter of the APC, Joe Igbokwe, said in a statement that it was unfortunate that Jonathan was using “armed thugs” to intimidate Lagosians.

Igbokwe wondered why APC adverts were vandalised since the protest was against Jega.

He said, “No one should be surprised at what is happening today because it reflects the last acts of a dying junta desperate to use every means to remain in power.

“It is obvious that Jonathan and the PDP have given up hence the open and bizarre sponsorship, bribery and inducement to militia groups through generous dollar bribes and contract bazaars, for the purpose of creating enormous crisis and confusion in a bid to scuttle the coming elections.

“We see the present actions of OPC as spurred by the multi-billion naira contract that was recently given to their leaders by a desperate Jonathan as bribery to secure such hatchet jobs they are doing at present.

“Nigerians should note that the action of the hired mercenaries like OPC on the streets of Lagos, where they are visiting destruction on APC campaign materials, is an act of war, as the intended purpose is to provoke monumental crisis that will stop the elections through widespread violence that may lead to war.

“The PDP is desperate to plunge the country into such war that will make both Rwanda and Burundi a child’s play considering the mix of the country’s population. We see the desperation of the PDP to remain in power when it is obvious that Nigerians don’t want it, as a clear and present danger and we alert the world to hold the PDP responsible for any breach of security in Nigeria today.”

After the leaders and actors addressed the media and left,   gunshots rent the air, causing further confusion in the area.

However, our correspondents could not ascertain if the gunshots   were fired by the heavily armed policemen or members of the OPC.

I’m not ready to feed Jonathan in prison – Patience

Mrs. Patience Jonathan

Wife of the President, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, has said she is not ready to feed her husband, President Goodluck Jonathan, in prison.

The President’s wife spoke in Ado Ekiti, on Monday, during the rally of the women’s wing of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Making a reference to the All Progressives Congress, she asked, “What did they forget in Aso rock? If you vote PDP and Jonathan, it would be better for you. If you vote APC, you will go to prison. How can you jail somebody for 300 years? I’m not ready to carry food to my husband inside prison oh!”

She openly admitted that the Office of the First Lady, which she occupies, is illegal.

She, however, said there was nothing wrong in a woman supporting her husband in office.

She said, “They said there is no Office of the First Lady. Already, we know that there is no Office of the First Lady but there is wife of the President.

“As (the) wife of the President, if you are good, people will love you. You will have a Non-Governmental Organisation through which you will touch people’s lives. That is why I brought Women for Change Initiative.”

While she was talking, women – both old and young – fought to have their share of the leftover of rice distributed by Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, during the last Christmas festival, packaged in small bags.

The women were still struggling over the rice packaged in small bags when attention was diverted to another struggle for buckets presented by Senator Gbemi Saraki in commemoration of the October 16 inauguration of Fayose.

In the struggle, which almost resulted in a stampede, many of the women got injured.

Shoes, headgears, wigs and bags littered the floor while a woman was heard complaining to a friend that she lost her bangle.

Security men had a hectic time controlling the surging women who engaged in a brawl.

Mrs. Jonathan described APC as a poison, saying, “If you drink APC, you will die.”

Accusing the party of having to change name several times, she said, “Since my father was born, they have been around changing from one name to another. Very soon they would answer Ebola. The name can’t change you; it is only performance that can change you. If you like change it 100 times.

“Nigerian women shine your eyes, don’t go for analogue, go for digital. PDP is digital, APC is analogue.

Fayose at the event took a swipe at former President Olusegun Obasanjo, saying his tacit support for the APC presidential candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhamadu Buhari (retd.), would get him nowhere.

“After Jonathan, the North can have their own eight years. Whether they like it or not, whether that our baba, you know him, whether he tore his card or not, whether he ate the card or not, Buhari is going nowhere,” he declared.

“Goodluck is our own. He is coming back. I am carrying the madate of a people who believe in me. If they do elections here 20 times, I will win,” he boasted.

Mrs. Jonathan said it was time for the women to pay back her husband for appointing several women into positions of authority.

“This is the time to say thank you so that he will do more. Those people when they were there, they said we didn’t have brains. Jonathan came and lifted us from where we were lying helplessly.”

She urged the women to collect their Permanent Voter Cards and vote massively for the president.

“PDP is not a party that tells lies. Whatever we promise to do, we do. We are not a propagandist party. Ekiti women, your mother is here and I will not tell you lies, but the truth.

“Nigerian women shine your eyes o! Vote with what you have seen, who you already know and who has performed. If anyone is telling you change, they are deceiving you.

“These were people that when they were there before Goodluck Jonathan, they did not count you women as anything. But today, PDP has wiped away our tears. Jonathan has wiped off our tears. He has fulfilled his promise of giving women 35 per cent participation. He gave 16 seats to women out of 42 slots in his cabinet. He is a performer.”

Earlier, over 100 wives of Ekiti monarchs welcomed the President’s wife to the palace of the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, where seven of them prayed for her while she knelt down in their midst.

Speaking through the wife of the Ewi, Mrs. Abosede Adejugbe, the wives of the monarchs appealed to the President’s wife to extend the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme to Ekiti State fully.

She assured her of total support in the coming general election.

The wife of the Ewi also called on six other ‘oloris’ in addition to herself to pray for Mrs. Jonathan, describing seven as a powerful number.

Thugs attack Buhari’s wife’s convoy in Ilorin

Aishat Buhari
| credits: http://static.pulse.ng

 

The convoy of Aishat Buhari, wife of Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, was on Monday attacked by suspected political thugs in Ilorin, Kwara State .

Aishat and some APC women were returning from a visit to the Emir of Ilorin, Ibrahim Zulu-Gambari, when the attack took place. They were in the city for a two-day voter education summit for women in the state.

Our correspondent learnt that no one was hurt in the incident that left no fewer than 10 vehicles in the convoy damaged.

The state APC chairman, Ishiola Balogun-Fulani, who confirmed the attack to journalists, accused a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain of being behind it.

He advised the police and other security agencies in the state not only to be on the alert but to call PDP members in the state to order.

Balogun-Fulani said, “It would be recalled that the APC had reported to the police and other security agencies about the plan by the PDP to cause violence in the state before, during and after the forthcoming general elections.

“A worrisome incident took place on Monday, March 16, 2015 during the visit of Hajia Aishat Buhari, wife of APC presidential candidate. Her convoy was attacked around a film house along Emir Road, Ilorin. About 10 vehicles were vandalised.

“We also have it on good authority that two of the PDP thugs have been apprehended by the Police.

The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Salihu Garba, confirmed the attack.

“We are aware of the attack. Investigations have commenced,” Garba said.

Mr. Tajudeen Abdulkareem, a media aide to the PDP Kwara State governorship candidate, Simeon Ajibola, said PDP members were not involved in the attack.

He said the attack might have been masterminded by those who worked for APC leader in the state, Dr. Bukola Saraki

He said, “PDP elders and supporters have been in Kwara South since Sunday on campaign.

“Those who harrased Mrs. Buhari cannot be our members. They may be area boys who wanted to extort money. They are the boys used and abandoned by the APC state leader, Dr. Bukola Saraki.

ICC to probe Patience Jonathan

Mrs. Patience Jonathan
| credits: news.naij.com

 

The Internal Criminal Court on Monday said Nigeria’s First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, is liable to prosecution.

The global criminal court added that it had begun conducting preliminary examinations relating to the situations in Nigeria.

In an email written to our correspondent, the Office of the prosecutor stated that it received the petition written by the major opposition party in Nigeria, the All Progressives Congress, asking the ICC to prosecute President Goodluck Jonathan’s wife for making inciting comments that might lead to violence.

The email read, “Under Article 15 of the Rome Statue, the Prosecutor of the ICC may receive information on crimes within the jurisdiction on the Court (also called ‘Communication’).

“With regards to your enquiry, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court can confirm receipt of the communication referred to since the sender (APC) has made this fact public in the media.”

It added that the court would take all the necessary steps, which will likely include interrogating the President’s wife and others mentioned in the petition of the APC.

“The office will give consideration to this communication, as appropriate, in accordance with the provisions of the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court, as it does with all such communications,” the email sent to our correspondent concluded.

Also, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, on Monday issued a press statement made available to our correspondent.

In it, she reiterated the stance of the ICC to prosecute anyone who promotes or instigates violence before, during or after the general elections.

The ICC prosecutor noted that it had already started to conduct independent and impartial investigations and prosecution of the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Darfur, Sudan, Libya, Ivory Coast and Mali.

“The Office is also conducting preliminary examinations relating to the situations in Afghanistan, Colombia, Georgia, Guinea, Honduras, Iraq, Nigeria, Ukraine and Palestine,” the ICC said.

Jonathan, wife planning to kill me –Father Mbaka

Ejike Mbaka
| credits: http://www.vanguardngr.com/

 

Enugu-based Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, has alleged that President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience, were planning to kill him over his criticism of the Federal Government and his opposition to the President’s re-election.

Mbaka, in a new video currently trending on YouTube, made the allegation during a sermon he delivered in his church.

The congregation erupted in a howl when Mbaka said, “President Jonathan and his wife are planning to kill me.”

The Roman Catholic Priest, whose recent comments on the general elections generated ripples, said the plan to assassinate him showed that the President no longer had the fear of God.

He said, “Although I sent a letter about this somewhere but I want to say this to the atmosphere. Let me say to the whole world that President Jonathan and his wife, Patience, are planning to assassinate Father Mbaka. It is a known secret, so whoever they want to use, I don’t know. They may not come themselves. They may use these unemployed people. The same people I am speaking for. I don’t know why people no longer have the fear of God.

“Do they think that killing Father Mbaka will make Jonathan and his wife win the election? Is Mbaka their problem? And a priest asked a question that touched me. He said all this while that Father Mbaka has been supporting Jonathan and his wife, did Buhari and his party make any statement to threatened him?”

Mbaka maintained that his criticism of the Jonathan administration was a divine mandate, while making allusion to the bible story of when God sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go.

He compared his New Year message against President Jonathan to Moses’ message to the Egyptian King, Pharaoh.

He said in the video, “I am just trying to tell any Pharaoh that is threatening to kill any Moses to remember what happened in Exodus chapter 12. After the Passover, the family of Pharaoh cried. They ended in the middle of the Red Sea.”

The Catholic priest said despite the threats, he would continue to discharge his duties without fear of anyone.

Mbaka also denied that Patience Jonathan gave him any money when she visited his church.

He said although President Jonathan dropped money for him through Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, he left the money with Ekweremadu and his wife. He also said that Patience Jonathan’s offering to the church was also rejected.

Mbaka launched a scathing criticism of President Jonathan last year when he gave a sermon condemning his re-election.