P/Harcourt Shootings: Bring Lawlessness, Reign Of Impunity In Rivers To An End, APC Tells Jonathan

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to as a matter of urgency put an end to the worsening reign of impunity in Rivers State, which is being perpetrated under his watch by those, who it said are obviously acting to impress him and the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, an indigene of the state.

APC in a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the call became necessary following the irresponsible act of brigandage by the police, which stopped a peaceful and lawful rally billed for the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state today by the Save Rivers Movement (SRM), an organization campaigning against the impunity of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP-controlled Federal Government against the government and people of Rivers State.

”The police went to the venue of the rally, pulled down the erected canopies and fired tear gas at everyone around there and even into nearby homes, with the result that five children are now feared to have died from suffocation due to this shameful Gestapo-style action of the police, who are being funded by taxpayers to protect the lives and property of the same citizens they are now brutalizing and killing.

”Not only that, they injured the Chief of Staff to Gov. Chibuike Amaechi and fired a supposed rubber bullet, at point blank  range, at Senator Magnus Abe, who is now gravely injured. The Senator is believed to have been deliberately targeted for attack by the police.

”We understand that the exceptional brutal clampdown on the planned rally by the police, who seem to have now surpassed even their own act of brutality against the people of the state, was aimed at impressing the First Lady, believed to be due in Port Harcourt on the same day (Sunday)”, it said.

The opposition party argued that it was unheard of for a Commissioner of Police in any state to be so bold as to be waging a war against an elected Governor and his aides/supporters if not for the fact that he is being empowered to do so by higher authorities, adding that everyone knows that the impenitent Rivers Police Commissioner, Mbu Joseph Mbu believes he is now the de facto Governor of Rivers because he has the support of the Presidency to exhibit impudence.

”Mbu, who is going down in Nigeria’s history as a classic example of an officer of the law turned the biggest violator of the law, has not only defied the resolutions of the National Assembly, he has also thumbed his nose at the ultimatum issued by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). He is the Alternate Inspector General of the Police who takes orders only from a conniving presidency”, the party said.

It said the only reason the impunity in Rivers could have continued unchecked is because it is a dress rehearsal for what is being planned for 2015, hence the party has continued to raise the alarm over the instigated crisis in Rivers.

”Since this reign of impunity started, the Rivers Governor has been barred from accessing his official residence by the police; Members of the State House of Assembly have been tear-gassed and harassed endlessly; the plane owned by the state government has been grounded, using the institutions of state; and even a chartered plane bearing the Governor has been prevented from takeoff, not minding that the member of the state House of Assembly which the plane was supposed to be carrying was not on board. No one has apologized for this chutzpah.

”This is all happening under the watch of a President who has been widely quoted as saying his ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian. The statement now rings hollow, considering what is happening in Rivers and elsewhere, which is generally regarded as a sign of things to come ahead of 2015.

”President Jonathan should act today to bring Rivers State and indeed Nigeria back from the brink of lawlessness. His body language must discourage the likes of Mbu from turning Nigerian into a lawless nation. He must differentiate his position as the leader of the PDP from his perch as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”, APC said

Quit Letter: OBJ Insists No Going Back To PDP Until Tukur Addresses Kashamu Issue

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Sunday maintained that the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur should address the issues raised in his letter saying pleas that he should reconsider his withdrawal from the party were misplaced.

Obasanjo spoke on the backdrop of the PDP national chairman’s reply to his letter pleading with him to remain in the party as his “fatherly disposition” was an asset the party could use. Information Nigeria also reports that President Goodluck Jonathan had allegedly reached out to Obasanjo via a telephone conversation urging him to reconsider the withdrawal of his activities from the party.

But the former president remained adamant on Sunday noting that he had raised issues and conditions for him to involve himself in the affairs of the party again, stressing that until they were addressed, he would not reconsider his position.
Among the conditions raised by Obasanjo in his fiery letter to Tukur dated January 7 and copied to Jonathan, was that a chieftain of the party from Ogun State, Prince Buruji Kashamu should be removed from his place of prominence in the affairs of the party. Obasanjo had said that he would not subject himself to the leadership of Kashamu, who he described as a “habitual criminal” and fugitive from justice in the United States.

The former president, who spoke through his media aide, Mr. Tunde Oladunjoye said: “[ex]-President Obasanjo wrote a letter and in that letter there were conditions, there were issues he raised and he is a member and card carrying member of PDP but he is not going to participate in activities of the party until the issues he raised are addressed.

“So the question should not be to Obasanjo, your question should be to the people who received the letter and to how they are going to address the issues he raised.

“The letter said until certain issues are addressed. The letter is very clear, ‘I am with you, I remain a member, but I will not participate in your activities until you address the issues’. The question is has he addressed the issues?” Oladunjoye asked rhetorically.

2015: Group Throws Weight Behind Chime’s Senatorial Ambition

The Enugu State Stakeholders Advisory Group, an assembly of eminent persons from the state, has called on Gov. Sullivan Chime to contest the Enugu West Senatorial seat in 2015.

The group made the call in a statement in Enugu on Sunday which was signed by its Chairman, Prof. Solomon Anadike, and Secretary, Chief Sunday Ojiogu.

They urged Chime to yield to the demands of the people on the senatorial bid after he might have completed his term as governor in 2015.

“Considering Gov. Chime’s exceptional performance in Enugu State, it will be most appropriate to have him continue serving the people of Enugu, this time in the Senate.

“We are sure he will again register another exceptional performance there”, they said.

The group urged the governor to ensure that the agreement to produce the PDP gubernatorial candidate from the Enugu North Zone and the replacement of legislators who had served two terms at both state and national levels were implemented.

They, however, commended Chime for his declaration of support for President Goodluck Jonathan for the presidency in 2015, reports NAN.

“We are well aware that Gov. Chime has pledged the total loyalty of the Enugu State PDP to President Jonathan.

“We are pleased with this declaration of solidarity and loyalty to the president and we commend him highly”, they said.

The group also charged the people of the state not to yield to pressure from some quarters to cause disaffection in the state. “We are aware that some people are making plans to factionalise the PDP in the state. We should not allow it to happen because it will not augur well for the existing peace and development in the state”, they added. (NAN)

Adamawa PDP Stakeholders Beg Jonathan To Save Tukur From Impending Sack

Unlike the case of the proverbial Prophet that has no honour in his hometown, embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has received support from Elders, Leaders and Stakeholders Forum, Adamawa State PDP chapter, as they have pleaded with President Goodluck Jonathan not to sack him.

The Forum noted that those calling for Tukur’s head were doing so for selfish reasons adding that should they succeed in their plot, the already volatile political situation in the ruling party will take a turn for the worse.

Condemning the vote of no confidence passed on Tukur by other members of the National Working Committee, NWC, at a meeting with Mr. Jonathan at the presidential villa on Thursday night, the Adamawa State PDP stakeholders and elders, warned that the removal of the national chairman and the politics of his replacement would undoubtedly open up other wounds in the party that would be difficult to heal.

A statement signed by former Adamawa State governorship aspirant, Dr. Umar Ardo on behalf of the leaders and stakeholders, read: “As members of the Adamawa State PDP’s Stakeholders and Elders we condemn in very strong terms the so-called vote of no confidence purportedly passed on the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, by some members of the NWC of the party.

“We also disagree with their reasoning in calling on President Goodluck Jonathan to drop his support for the National Chairman.

“We recall with grave concern the same antic employed by the same members of the NWC, then led by Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, to so-called reverse the dissolution of the Pro-Nyako-led Kugama EXCO in Adamawa State last January.

“We view the current act as another attempt by the same reactionary forces that then tried to undermine the political standing of the National Chairman and in the process almost wrecked constitutionalism in our party affairs.

“The same forces are at it again, trying to create needless constitutional crisis for the party in an election year on the altar of self-ego of the opponents of the National Chairman. It is a well-known prophetic saying that a house divided against itself will surely fall.

“We, therefore, plead with the President to see the current action of the members of the NWC as an act principally aimed at dividing the house and not uniting it. They failed then on Adamawa, they will fail now too, on Nigeria.

“We further call on the president to also take account of the fact that the central opposition to the PDP is coming from the so-called Hausa-Fulani core North, to which Bamanga belongs, many of whom are still holding on to the PDP on account of Bamanga’s leadership.

“The removal of Bamanga and the politics of his replacement will undoubtedly unlock several chains of events the final outcome of which no one can fathom for the party.

“Those who left the party did not do so on account of Bamanga but on account of their own peculiar irreconcilable local politics in their constituencies. Bamanga becomes only a convenient excuse for them”.

Gbajabiamila To Jonathan: ‘You Don’t Have The Powers To Remove Sanusi From Office’

As the purported rift between President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi generates mixed reaction in the polity, the National Assembly, according to Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila will not aid the president’s request to sack the governor from office.

Gbajabiamila, who is the House of Representatives Minority Leader, was speaking on the backdrop of recent media reports that the president had directed Sanusi to turn in his resignation letter following the perceived embarrassment caused to his administration by a memo the CBN governor wrote but which later leaked to the press, raising the alarm over alleged unremitted oil revenue funds by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, to the tune of $49.8 billion (about N8 trillion). Sanusi has since revised the amount down to $10.8 billion.

However, the lawmaker advised the president to first of all sack the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah before calling for Sanusi’s resignation.

Expressing surprise at the concerns generated by Jonathan’s demand, Gbajabiamila recalled that the National Assembly was scorned when it was fighting for CBN’s autonomy.

In a statement yesterday by his Research Assistant, Wasiu Olanrewaju-Smart, the lawyer-turned lawmaker admitted that the president had the rights to demand for Sanusi’s sack but reminded him that the power to remove the CBN governor was vested only in the National Assembly.

It reads: “In the light of the wide speculation about the telephone conversation between the President and Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, urging the (BCN) governor to resign before his resignation in June, 2014, House Minority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila said the President has the right to make such demand but does not possess the power.

“Mr President has the right to ask the CBN governor to resign; same way Nigerians have the right to ask him or anyone to resign. However and unfortunately, he does not have the powers. Having a right is one thing, having the power is another.

“Many have asked Mr President to resign but they lack the powers to compel him.

“If those advising the President cannot think, at least they can read. The laws of the land are written in English and in black and white.

“By asking that the President seek the approval of two-thirds of the Senate, the law essentially seeks to enforce the doctrine of checks and balances and avoid the abuse of powers of a capricious and arbitrary President while also guaranteeing the autonomy of the CBN”.

The lawmaker noted that the apex bank deserved its autonomy.

He also decried the President’s derogatory treatment of an earlier request by Nigerians and the National Assembly when they urged him to purge his cabinet of corrupt officials.

Fani-Kayode On PH Shootings: Jonathan Leading Nigeria To Hell, Destruction

A former Minister of Aviation and fierce critic of the Goodluck Jonathan administration, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has said that the shooting that took place in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the rally organised by the Save Rivers Movement, a mobilisation group of the All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday, is an indication that the president is leading Nigeria to hell.

He, however, said that the president must know that no amount of intimidation would silence the voice of opposition in the country.

Fani-Kayode, who said this in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, described the attack as disheartening, adding that with police openly attacking citizens, it was clear the Jonathan administration has lost its “mind and bearing”.

In apparent reference to the allegation by former President Olusegun Obasanjo that the present administration was training snipers and had drawn up a list of opposition figures for assassination, Fani-Kayode regretted that policemen were now openly attacking the same innocent Nigerians and opposition figures that they are being paid to protect

He said: “Now policemen are openly attacking the same innocent Nigerians and opposition figures that they are being paid to protect. This government has lost its mind and its bearing. The president is leading Nigeria on the road to hell and on the path to Kigali.

“The madness, the attacks, the killings, the insults, the persecution, the wickedness, the impunity and the intimidation has to stop forthwith or else the consequences will be grave for the continued unity of our country”, Fani-Kayode warned.

On the alleged shooting of the senator representing Rivers South-East senatorial district with rubber bullets and teargas canisters, the former minister said, “The attack on Senator Magnus Abe and other members of the APC in Port Harcourt today by agents of Nigeria’s security forces are disheartening and exceptionally dangerous”.

He recalled that “Just a couple of days ago Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso’s father was attacked and some of his people killed in Kano by unknown gunmen. Such wickedness, intolerance and evil is rarely seen.

“Let those that believe that they can silence the voices of the opposition with threats of violence and death be rest assured of one thing – we cannot be intimidated and neither can we be silenced”.

My Re-Election Bid Not Worth The Blood Of Any Nigerian – Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday warned politicians and elder statesmen to guard their utterances to ensure they always promote peace and unity.

Jonathan, who was speaking at an inter-denominational church service organized as part of activities to commemorate the 2014 Armed Forces Remembrance Day which held at the National Christian Centre, Abuja, urged elders to emulate fallen heroes of the Nigerian Armed Forces, who he said paid the ultimate price to keep the nation united.

Although, he did not mention the name of any politician, the president alleged that senior citizens between the ages of 70 and 80 years, who knew that the unity of Nigeria was paramount than any individual’s interest, encouraged youths to hate and carry arms to kill others.

The President also cautioned that his re-election bid should not lead to bloodshed.

He also advised those defecting to do so well and those staying to remain steadfast.

Jonathan said: “We are also to emulate them. Those who have paid the supreme sacrifice to keep our nation together; those of us who are alive, especially leaders today, should think of what we can do to honour them. This is to know that whatever we say, whatever song we sing, it should be a song that will bring honour to them and peace to this country.

“Sometimes, I get worried when I listen to provocative statements that come from very senior citizens; people who ordinarily you perceive as very senior citizens. They are people who are probably 70 or 80 years, who have seen it all, who ordinarily should know the unity of this country is more important than the interest any individual.

“Sometimes, they preach hate and even encourage young people to carry arms and kill one another”.

On his ambition, Jonathan said: “I have always said it that any ambition I have at any time is not worth the blood of any Nigerian. I will never ever expect a Nigerian to spill a drop of his blood because Goodluck Jonathan must fulfil his ambition.

“…So, on an occasion when we are remembering those who have kept this country one for us to be celebrating our centenary, we should admonish ourselves. To the key actors today, we should preach peace; we should preach unity.

“If all of us collectively talk about the unity and peace of this country, then all our economic and security problems will be resolved and the country will move in the direction we want it to”.

On the significance of the Remembrance Day, he said: “Today’s occasion, as we all know, is a service to remember our Armed Forces. The concluding programme is on Wednesday, January 15. This programme was launched on December 16 (last year). From the day it was launched, there have been a lot of commitments as people have donated various sums of money. Even after that launch, I’ve seen so many people wearing the tags…

“The Armed Forces Remembrance Day is a unique occasion, but this year’s programme is even more unique because on January 1, this year, Nigeria made 100 years as a nation. It’s not easy to get there.

“There were lots of challenges. For us to have reached 100 years some people paid dearly for it; some people worked for it.

“The first group of people we can remember, who worked and paid dearly for it were in the Armed Forces. You know the challenges they faced during the Civil War. But for them, we wouldn’t have celebrated the centenary”, the president said.

The Archbishop of Methodist Church of Nigeria in Abuja, Archbishop Job Oche, admonished the political class to stop threatening the corporate existence of the country ahead of the 2015 elections.

He said: “May I advise all politicians here to give us peace of mind. People have started to fear how 2015 will look like. If you need our votes, don’t threaten us. Begin to preach peace. That will make us to come out and vote”.

The first reading was taken by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Azubuike Ihejirika while the president took the second reading.

Dignitaries at the service included Service Chiefs, Senate President, David Mark; House of Representatives Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha; President Jonathan’s mother, Madam Eunice and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BOT) Chairman, Tony Anenih.

Others were: the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Anyim Pius Anyim, Minister of States for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Oloye Jumoke Akinjide, ministers and other top government officials.

Widows, widowers and children and relatives of the departed Armed Forces personnel also attended the service.

APGA Sweeps 20 Out Of 21 Chairmanship Seats In Anambra Council Polls

The ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Anambra has won 20 chairmanship seats out of 21 in Saturday’s local government elections in the state.

The Acting Chairman of the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC), Mr Sylvester Okonkwo, announced the results in Awka on Sunday.

Okonkwo said the elections were not conducted in Nnewi North Local Government Area due to the late arrival of materials in the area.

He said it was unanimously agreed by parties that the election be conducted on Jan. 18.

He said that APGA won a total of 304 councillorship seats out of the 327 wards in the state.

He announced that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won 12 councillorship seats while the Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA) and United Progressives Party (UPP) secured one councillorship seat each.

Okonkwo commended the people of the state for eschewing violence before, during and after the polls, even when he said there was a report of interception of a vehicle conveying election materials.

He urged those who were aggrieved with the outcome of the election to go to court.

The chairman recalled that local council election was last conducted in the state in 1998 while attempts to conduct the poll before Saturday had met brick walls.

He noted that attempts were made in December 1998, Dec. 4, 2004, February 2005, November 2011, Oct. 5, 2013, Dec. 14, 2013, Dec. 21, 2013 before it was finally conducted on Jan. 11.

In his reaction, the Chairman of APGA in the state, Mr Mike Kwentor, ascribed the party’s victory to the infrastructural development of the state by Gov. Peter Obi.

Kwentor said the party was not bothered by the postponement of the election in Nnewi North, boasting that the party will win the election when conducted.

“That other political parties got pockets of victories show that there is democracy in Anambra.

“Grassroots democracy is the election of villagers and commoners, so depending on the credibility of the candidate, villagers voted their choice”, he said.

Also reacting, Mr Jude Mbaegbu, the chairman-elect of Ekwusigo Local Government Area, promised good governance to the people of his area, appealing to the opposition to support his administration. (NAN)

Why Obasanjo Cannot Stop Me From Supporting Jonathan, PDP – Kashamu

The Chairman of the Organisation and Mobilisation Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party in the South West and sole financier of PDP in Ogun State, Prince Buruji Kashamu on Sunday vowed that no amount of criticism or attack on his person by former President Olusegun Obasanjo will deter him from supporting President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election in 2015.

Kashamu also said that the recent letters written by Mr. Obasanjo in which he made reference to him had only made him even more popular.

Speaking with newsmen at the end of an emergency meeting of the state chapter of the party held in his Ijebu-Igbo country home, Kashamu accused Obasanjo of alleged plan to “hijack” him from mobilizing the people of the South West zone for Jonathan in the 2015 election.

The former president had written a letter to the National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and President Jonathan informing them of his decision to withdraw his activities from the party at all levels following the imposition of Kashamu, who he described as a wanted fugitive abroad, as the leader of the party in the Southwest.

But according to the man at the eye of the storm, “You ought to know the strategy of Obasanjo that he [Obasanjo] wanted to hijack me from Jonathan, that if I don’t support Jonathan in South West, the South West would be easier for them. How many times has he called me? How many times Obasanjo has sent people to me that why am I so stubborn? Many that he had sent, I did not answer them because I am not a betrayer.

“When I love somebody and believe in the leadership of somebody, whatever happens I accept that I will go with the person. I believe in the leadership of Jonathan, I believe in the government of Jonathan and in his transformation agenda and I believe in his wise management”.

He further stressed that no one could stop him from his continued support for the president’s reelection bid in 2015.

“It’s only Jonathan that can open his mouth and say don’t support me again. What I’m doing is for the party, for Jonathan and the country. Jonathan is a good president, he is loyal to Nigeria, he’s a complete gentleman, transparent and a believer in due process. We are ready to go the extra mile in delivering the South West to him.

“You know when it comes to mobilizing the people, I’m a grassroots person. I’ve already opened offices all over the South West. In Ogun State over two million registered in the last election but only 400,000 voted. In each state, I have registered in my data over 20,000 supporters. Tell me which grassroots does Obasanjo have? The last election we did, they beat him flat. I have 80 per cent of PDP leaders in Ogun”, Kashamu said.

The Ogun PDP chieftain, however, said that he was unperturbed by Obasanjo’s continued attack, saying rather than rubbish his personality as envisaged by the former president, it has rather made him more popular.

“When I heard yesterday (Saturday) about Obasanjo’s latest letter, I started dancing that my popularity has gone up again. I never knew I could become this popular until Obasanjo started his series of letters. Obasanjo would mention my name in his letters and the president too in his reply”, he said.

Kashamu also vowed to continue to oppose Obasanjo’s alleged penchant for imposing his loyalists on party members in the South West zone.

“The same strategies we have been using in Ogun we have taken to Osun, Oyo, Lagos and others”, he said.